Category Archives: Reviews

Big Boss: Mandarin Cut, The (1971) Review

Director: Lo Wei Producer: Raymond Chow Cast: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien Chun, Han Ying Chieh, Nora Miao, Lee Kwan, Anthony Lau, Lam Ching Ying, Billy Chan Wui Ngai, Peter Yang Kwan Running Time: 115 min. By Ian Whittle The Big Boss remains a rather intriguing oddity. Golden Harvest’s first contemporary martial arts movie, it was released the same month as Shaw’s also Thailand filmed Duel of Fists. But … Continue reading

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Hidden Blade (2023) Review

Director: Cheng Er Cast: Tony Leung, Wang Yibo, Chengpeng Dong, Zhou Xun, Eric Wang, Huang Lei, Hiroyuki Mori Running Time: 130 min.  By Paul Bramhall Spy thrillers set in the 30’s and 40’s have become something of a genre unto themselves in the Chinese film industry during the last decade or so, with titles likes Alan Mak and Felix Chong’s The Silent War, Ann Hui’s Our Time Will Come, and Chen … Continue reading

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Night of the Assassin | aka The Assassin (2023) Review

Director: Kwak Jeong-deok Cast: Shin Hyun-joon, Kim Min-kyung, Lee Ro-woon, Lee Moon-sik, Hong Eunki, Kim Byung-chun Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall  I remember back in 2003, the UK DVD label Hong Kong Legends created a sister label called Premier Asia, of which the intent was to highlight productions from other parts of Asia beyond Hong Kong shores. One of the first titles (possibly even the first?) was the 2000 Korean … Continue reading

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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) Review

Director: Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny, Esai Morales, Shea Whigham, Rob Delaney Running Time: 163 min. By Paul Bramhall In the closing line for my review of 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, I’d expressed a hope that if Tom Cruise was to return, then all he’d need was for “someone to hook him up with Gareth Evans for Mission: … Continue reading

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Fox with Nine Tails, The (1994) Review

"The Fox with Nine Tails" Theatrical Poster

Director: Park Heonsu Cast: Ko So-young, Jung Woo-sung, Dok-go Young-jae, Bang Eun-hee, Lee Ki-young Running Time: 115 min.  By Paul Bramhall   Korean cinema was in a transitionary period during the 1990’s, a decade which would culminate in its film industry achieving an international breakthrough thanks to Kang Je-gyu’s bombastic action movie Shiri. The start of the decade was a very different story, with Korea opening up to import foreign cinema, … Continue reading

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Unleashed (2020) Review

Director: Ambrose Kwok Co-director: Ka Hei Kwok Cast: Sun Zhen-Feng, Ken Lo, Zheng Zi-Ping, Venus Wong, Sam Lee, Raymond Chiu Running Time: 84 min.  By Henry McKeand There’s something quaint about Unleashed, the 2020 kickboxing film from Kwok Ka-Hei and Ambrose Kwok Yat-Choi. Then again, in a modern action climate dominated by assassins and digital blood spray, maybe there’s something quaint about all movies concerned mainly with competitions and training … Continue reading

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One Ranger (2023) Review

Director: Jesse V. Johnson Cast: Thomas Jane, Dean Jagger, Dominique Tipper, Jess Liaudin, Rachel Wilde, Nick Moran, Patrick Bergin, John Malkovich, Alena Gerber, David Sakurai Running Time: 95 min. By Henry McKeand Once upon a time, One Ranger, the latest from DTV titan Jesse V. Johnson, would have been a reliable box office draw based solely on the strength of its logline: A crusty Texas Ranger named (Thomas Jane) is … Continue reading

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Childe, The (2023) Review

Director: Park Hoon-Jung Cast: Kim Sun-Ho, Kang Tae-Ju, Kim Kang-Woo, Go Ara, Justin John Harvey, Caroline Magbojos Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall As a director and scriptwriter Park Hoon-jung has become one of the most consistent commercial filmmakers in Korea since his debut with The Showdown in 2010, going on to helm a further 7 productions over the next 13 years. His latest arrives in the form of … Continue reading

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Cobweb (2023) Review

Director: Kim Jee-Woon Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Lim Soo-jung, Oh Jung-Se, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Krystal Jung, Jung Woo-sung Running Time: 135 min.  By Paul Bramhall Back in the 2000’s the Korean film industry was going through a creative renaissance, so much so that its popularity overseas coined the term the ‘Korean Wave’, referencing that particular period of the countries cinematic output. Back then there were a trio of directors at the forefront … Continue reading

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Extraction 2 (2023) Review

"The Childe" Theatrical Poster

Director: Sam Hargrave Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Idris Elba, Andro Japaridze, Levan Saginashvili Running Time: 122 min.  By Paul Bramhall In the closing scene of 2020’s Extraction, we saw Chris Hemsworth riddled with bullets and left for dead in Bangladesh, falling from a bridge into the river below to sail away into the great beyond. Except, Extraction is an action movie, and if there’s one thing … Continue reading

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Born Invincible (1978) Review

Director: Joseph Kuo Cast: Mark Long, Jack Long, Carter Wong, Lo Lieh, Nancy Yen, Corey Yuen, Yuen Shun Yee, Lung Fei, Alan Chui, Yuen Sam, Chen Chiu, Chu Siu Wa, Yuen Woo Ping Running Time: 83 min. By Ian Whittle My immediate reaction to Born Invincible is that someone must have put all the actor’s names in a hat before assigning roles… we’ve got regular villain Lung Fei playing the master … Continue reading

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The Roundup: No Way Out (2023) Review

Director: Lee Sang-Yong Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Munetaka Aoki, Jun Kunimura, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-jae, Jun Suk-ho, Ko Kyu-phil, Bae Noo-ri, Lee Ji-hoon Running Time: 105 min. By Paul Bramhall The expression “it’s the role he was born to play” may be a cliched one, but its hard to think of a more fitting one when it comes to Ma Dong-seok playing the witty, hammer fisted detective Ma Seok-do. Introduced in 2017’s … Continue reading

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Sound of Summer, The (2022) Review

Director: Guy Cast: Kaori Hoshino, Shinya Hankawa, Keita Kusaka, Kiyomi Kametani, Kuromi Kirishima Running Time: 75 min. By Henry McKeand The Sound of Summer, the first full length effort from the Japan-based, British-born director known as “Guy,” opens with a transformation. A cicada sheds its skin in unsettling close-up; it’s akin to seeing an alien parasite burst forth from a suffering host. Against a black background, it looks uncanny, almost … Continue reading

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Day Zero (2022) Review

Director: Joey De Guzman Cast: ​Brandon Vera, Pepe Herrera, Mary Jean Lastimosa, Joey Marquez, Ricci Rivero, Freya Fury Montierro, Yohance Levi Buie, Jema Galanza, Jovit Moya Running Time: 82 min. By Paul Bramhall In the late 2010’s it began to feel like the Philippines film industry was finally stepping out of the insipid stupor it had spent most of the 21st century in, and was making a legitimate effort to produce some solid action … Continue reading

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Girl on a Bulldozer, The (2022) Review

Director: Park Ri-Woong Cast: Kim Hye-Yoon, Park Hyuk-Kwon, Oh Man-Seok, Yesung, Choi Hee-Jin, Lee Hwi-Jong, Sung Yeo-Jin, Kim Hee-Chang, Han Hye-Ji, Kim Joong-Ki Running Time: 112 min.  By Paul Bramhall The Korean indie movie has long been the stomping ground of grim and gritty drama’s focusing on societies downtrodden and overlooked, with those focusing on teenage girls almost being its own genre. In the last 10 years alone we’ve had … Continue reading

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