Category Archives: Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Review

Director: Chad Stahelski Cast: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Ian McShane, George Georgiou, Marko Zaror, Aimée Kwan Running Time: 169 min. By Henry McKeand Midway through John Wick: Chapter 2, the titular boogeyman guns his way down a subway escalator and passes a blink-or-you-miss it poster that reads: “The Only Way Out Is To Go Through.” Like so … Continue reading

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A Family (2020) Review

AKA: Yakuza and the Family Director: Michihito Fujii Cast: Go Ayano, Hiroshi Tachi, Machiko Ono, Yukiya Kitamura, Hayato Ichihara, Hayato Isomura, Shun Sugata, Suon Kan, Ryutaro Ninomiya, Taro Suruga Running Time: 135 min. By Henry McKeand “Lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.” It’s been nearly twenty-five years since Tony Soprano, perhaps America’s last real mafia icon, said these words in … Continue reading

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Returned Single-Legged Man | aka The Korean Connection (1974) Review

AKA: The Korean Connection Director: Lee Doo-yong Cast: Han Yong-cheol, Kwan Yung-moon, Jeong Sonyeo, Lee So-yeong, Kim Mun-ju, Nam Chung-il, Bae Su-chun, Kwon Il-soo, Cho Chun, Elton Chong, Hwang Jang Lee, Nam Chung-il, Lim Hae-lim, Kim Ki-bum Running Time: 88 min. By Paul Bramhall Being a fan of Korea’s martial arts output, which spanned from the 1960’s through to the 1990’s, has never been a particularly rewarding endeavour. Want to … Continue reading

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Invitation Only (2009) Review

Director: Kevin Ko Cast: Bryant Chang, Jerry Huang, Julianne Chu, Kristian Brodie, Maria Ozawa, Kao Ying-Hsuan, Lene Lai, Vivi Ho, Liz Ran Yang, Joseph Ma Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall Like every genre, horror is one that goes through phases. While in recent times we increasingly see horror being used as a theme to explore trauma, back in the 2000’s the genre was in a much more visceral … Continue reading

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Code of the Assassins (2022) Review

AKA: Song of the Assassins Director: Daniel Lee Yan-Kong Cast: William Feng Shaofeng, Gina Jin Chen, Zhang Hao, Hu Jun, Summer Xu Qing, Wang Qing-Xiang, Kenneth Tsang, Ray Lui, Norman Tsui, Jack Kao Kuo-Hsin Running Time: 119 min.  By Paul Bramhall After a long and arduous journey, in 2022 Code of the Assassins finally made it to the screen. Filming started way back in 2017 with grand plans to include … Continue reading

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Manchurian Tiger, The (1974) Review

Director: Lee Doo-Yong Cast: Han Yong-cheol, Kim Mun-ju, Bae Su-chun, Woo Yeon-jeong, Chang Il-sik, Park Dong-ryong, Sim Sang Chun, Gang Dong-gyu, Choe Sung-kwan Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall Looking back on the evolution of martial arts cinema over the years, there’s little doubt that it was the 1970’s when the genre evolved at such a rate that, if you put a production from 1970 and 1979 side-by-side, it … Continue reading

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Head Rush | aka Lôi Báo (2017) Review

AKA: Lôi Báo Director: Victor Vu Cast: Cuong Seven, Tran Thi Nha Phuong, Quach Ngoc Ngoan, Ngoc Anh Vu, Jason Ninh Cao Running Time: 107 min. By Paul Bramhall There was a time in the mid-late 2000’s when it seemed like Vietnam was going to be the next big thing when it came to action filmmaking in Asia. After briefly facing off against Tony Jaa in 2005’s Tom Yum Goong, … Continue reading

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Unlocked (2023) Review

Director: Kim Tae-Joon Cast: Chun Woo-Hee, Im Si-Wan, Kim Hee-Won, Park Ho-San, Kim Ye-Won, Jeon Jin-Oh, Oh Hyun-Kyung, Ryoo Sung-Hyun, Jeon Ik-Ryung, Kim Joo-Ryung Running Time: 117 min.  By Paul Bramhall Ever since the mobile phone became widely available in the late 90’s there’s been no shortage of cinematic offerings to have their plots revolve around the device that we can’t live without. Korea is no different, be it supernatural … Continue reading

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War of the God Monsters | aka The Flying Monster (1985) Review

AKA: The Flying Monster Director: Kim Jung-yong Cast: Kim Ki-ju, Nam Hye-gyeong, Kim Da-hye, Moon Tae-Seon, Kim Uk, Jang Cheol Running Time: 85 min.  By Paul Bramhall Korean cinema was in a strange place during the mid-80’s. After military strongman Chun Doo-hwan essentially elected himself as the country’s president in September 1980 following months of martial law and the infamous Gwangju Massacre in May, filmmakers needed to be extra cautious not … Continue reading

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Slate (2021) Review

Director: Jo Bareun Cast: Ahn Ji-hye, Lee Min Ji, Park Tae San, Jung Jin-woo, Lee Se-ho, Nam I-seul, Jo Sun-ki Running Time: 100 min.  By Paul Bramhall It could be argued that the swordplay movie has never really fallen out of fashion in Asian cinema, with each decade bringing about a reinvention of the genre in one way or another. Be it Patrick Tam’s The Sword in the 1980’s, Tsui … Continue reading

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Deep Trap (2015) Review

Director: Kwon Hyung-Jin Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Jo Han-Sun, Kim Min-Kyung, Ji An, Yoon Joo, Kwon Bum-Taek, Kim Dong-Hyun, Min Kyung-Jin, Jeong Gi-Seop, Kang Seung-Wan Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall In the Korean film industry the mid-budget genre piece has become increasingly rare in recent years, with the international success of 2019’s Parasite and the 2021 Netflix series Squid Game seemingly widening the gap when it comes to production … Continue reading

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Geochilmaru: The Showdown (2005) Review

Director: Kim Jin-sung Cast: Jang Tae-sik, Sung Hong-il, Kwon Min-gi, Yu Rang-rae, Hong Seung-hun, Mi-jeong Oh Running Time: 86 min.  By Paul Bramhall My memory of Geochilmaru – The Showdown being released in 2005 is one of it being dragged over the coals in almost every review it received. Now, with the benefit of hindsight 18 years later, I would theorise there are a couple of contributing factors to the … Continue reading

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Death Promise (1977) Review

Director: Robert Warmflash Cast: Charles Bonet, Speedy Leacock, Bill Louie, Thompson Kao Kang, Vincent Van Lynn, Thom Kendell, Abe Hendy, Tony Liu, Bob O’Connell, Tony De Caprio Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall While the grindhouse cinemas that lined New York’s 42nd street during the 70’s were filled with a steady stream of kung-fu flicks from Hong Kong and Taiwan, occasionally a more local product also populated the screens. … Continue reading

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Double Threat (2022) Review

Director: Shane Stanley Cast: Danielle C. Ryan, Dawn Olivieri, Matthew Lawrence, Kevin Joy, Andrea Logan, Mo Gallini, David Castro, Aimey Beer, Val Barri, Dmitriy Karas Running Time: 92 min. By Henry McKeand “What do you think this is? A Hallmark movie?” This line from last year’s Double Threat, spoken by a cynical mob fixer, is supposed to indicate that, no, this is not a Hallmark movie. But with middle-of-the-road digital … Continue reading

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Legend of Gatotkaca (2022) Review

AKA: Satria Dewa: Gatotkaca Director: Hanung Bramantyo Cast: Rizky Nazar, Omar Daniel, Yatie Surachman, Ali Fikry, Yasmin Napper, Zsazsa Utari, Cecep Arif Rahman, Yayan Ruhian, Jerome Kurnia, Apuk Misdafie Running Time: 129 min.  By Paul Bramhall In the west Indonesia’s popular superhero comics may be relatively unknown, but on local shores they’ve been making a resurgence in recent years through a number of big screen adaptations, no doubt inspired by the … Continue reading

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