-
-
-
-
-
-
Newest Comments
on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridayI caught this at a special screening* in my neck of the woods. So…I caveat th…
on Blades of the Guardians (2026) ReviewI kind of agree. It starts off really rough. Maybe I went in with too high ex…
on City on Fire (1987) ReviewOverrated, far from Lam's best movies (School on fire, Prison on fire and "It…
on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyI’d like to hear your thoughts
on Blades of the Guardians (2026) ReviewHonestly thought the film was the wuxia equivalent of Marvel slop. Entertaini…
on The Japanese ‘Rocky’? Perhaps. But it’s every bit its equal! Shuji Terayama’s ‘The Boxer’ arrives on Blu-ray in JulyIf you like it, check out Ashita no Joe on Crunchyroll.
on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters Fridayyou sound like Michael Jackson on that old South Park episode. "That's ignora…
on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyThanks for elaborating. Good to know. I'll give it a chance if it convenientl…
on Martial arts star Cynthia Rothrock teams up with Tim Scanlon for SRS Cinema’s Blu-ray for ‘Ryan Carson’You don't know the budget and/or the time constraints that came with this mov…
on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridayEverything is inspired by things that came before. Hong Kong cinema itself wa…
on Life After Fighting (2024) ReviewJe découvre pour la première fois Bren Foster dans son premier film Life Afte…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upI also forgot Iko Uwais.
on ‘Blades of the Guardians’ hits digital on June 30 and arrives on physical media on August 25 with a new overly long titleThat's up to Jet Li, not for you to decided.
on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridayUh, seriously? The John Wick films were literally inspired by Hong Kong kung…
Category Archives: Reviews
Death Stranding (2023) Review
Director: Danny Pang Cast: Wallace Chung, Francis Ng, Myolie Wu, Qiming Fei, Samuel Ku, Keru Wang Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall Cinema is a funny thing. There are those movies that catch you off guard in ways that can be life affirming, give you an unexpected adrenaline rush, or even tear up. Then there are those movies that catch you off guard in ways which you leave you … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Danny Pang, Francis Ng, Wallace Chung
Thunderbird (2022) Review
Director: Lee Jae-Won Cast: Seo Hyun-Woo, Lee Myeong-Ro, Lee Seol, Kim Kyu-baek, Park Seung-tae, Choi Euna Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to being a fan of the “having a bad day” sub-genre, the kind which places a character (or characters) in an unenviable situation over the course of a short timeframe, and come with a narrative that’s usually built around the mantra of everything that can … Continue reading
Bursting Point (2023) Review
Director: Calvin Tong Co-director: Dante Lam Cast: Nick Cheung Ka-Fai, William Chan Wai-Ting, Isabella Leung Lok-Sze, Shaun Tam Chun-Yin, Philip Keung Hiu-Man, Chrissie Chau Sau-Na Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall Since helming 2016’s Operation Mekong Dante Lam has become China’s go-to man for bombastic big budget actioners that espouse the virtues of the country’s various military divisions, with the army, navy (2018’s Operation Red Sea) and Search & … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Dante Lam, Isabella Leung Lok Si, Ken Lo, Nick Cheung Ka Fai
River (2023) Review
Director: Junta Yamaguchi Cast: Riko Fujitani, Yuki Torigoe, Yoshimasa Kondo, Haruki Nakagawa, Masahi Suwa Running Time: 86 min. By Paul Bramhall Making a follow-up to a debut that relied heavily on a gimmick is always a tricky proposition, as several directors have found out over the years. In Japan the most obvious example is Shinichiro Ueda, who after his almost flawless debut with 2017’s One Cut of the Dead has struggled to … Continue reading
Roundup: Punishment, The (2024) Review
Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Moo-Yul, Lee Dong-Hwi, Park Ji-Hwan, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Ji-Hoon, Lee Joo-Bin, Park Bo-kyung, Derek Chouinard Running Time: 109 min. By Paul Bramhall In a world where it’s perfectly normal to wait a couple of years for a sequel to land, The Roundup rebranded follow-ups to 2017’s The Outlaws have looked to buck the trend. Audiences only had to wait 11 months … Continue reading
Virtual Recall (2010) Review
Director: Larry Cheung Cast: Stephen Fung, Cherrie Ying Choi Yi, Tang Yi Fei, Samuel Pang King Chi, Sammul Chan Kin Fung, Lemon Zhang Meng, Mandy Chiang Nga Man, Simon Lui Yue Yeung, Astrid Chan Chi Ching, Tin Kai Man, Li Hui Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall Back in the late 2000’s it kind of felt like director Roy Chow’s 2009 production Murderer placed an exclamation mark on the … Continue reading
Lethal Combat: Techno Warriors 2 | aka Digital Warriors (2000) Review
AKA: Digital Warriors Director: Philip Ko Fei Cast: Darren Shahlavi, Lee Kwang-su, Yukari Oshima, Zoren Legaspi, Jimmy Ko, Man-Kei Lin, James Jim-Si Ha, Philip Ko Fei, Winston Ellis, Thorsten Nickel Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall Let’s address the elephant in the room – I’m convinced nobody was clamouring for a sequel to the 1997 sci-fi action mashup Techno Warriors. Philip Ko Fei’s incomprehensible Philippines shot action flick gave … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, Filipino, News, Reviews
Tagged Darren Shahlavi, Philip Ko Fei, Yukari Oshima
Lama Avenger, The | aka The Three Avengers (1979) Review
Director: Wong Wa-Kei Cast: Bruce Li (Ho Chung Tao), Chin Yuet Sang, Michael Winston, Chui Fat, Lee Hoi San, Baan Yun Sang, Ching Chu, Sham Chin Bo, Austin Wai Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall Looking back at the careers of the Bruceploitation genres big three – Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee – eventually all of them would step out of the Little Dragon’s shadow, admirably pushing … Continue reading
Posted in All, Bruceploitation, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bruce Li (Ho Chung Tao), Chui Fat, Lee Hoi-Sang, Sham Chin Bo, Wong Wa-Kei
King Kong Escapes (1967) Review
Director: Honda Ishiro Cast: Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Mie Hama, Akira Takarada, Hideyo Amamoto, Yoshifumi Tajima, Yoshifumi Tajima, Andrew Hughes, Shoichi Hirose, Ryuji Kita Running Time: 96/104 min. By Ian Whittle Following the colossal success of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Toho did not rush to bring back the giant ape in a hurry – the cost of licensing the character from RKO was high, and Toho had been left holding … Continue reading
Game of Killers (1982) Review
Director: Hui Sing-Yue Cast: Barry Chan Wai Ji Wan, Lung Chan, Chu Shao-Hwa, Chun-Eah Lung, Su Kuo-Liang, Tu Kuei-Hua, Lin Wan-Chang, Lin Kuang-Yung Running Time: 81/90 min. By Will McGuire Recently I reviewed Dark Forces’ kung fu double feature Shadow Fist Hunter and Deadly Kung Fu Factor those of you who were shopping discs on Black Friday last year may recall that at the exact same time those discs who … Continue reading
Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, The (2023) Review
Director: Wong Ching-Po Cast: Ethan Juan, Li Li-Ren, Ben Yuen, Ivan Chen, Gingle Wang, Chen Yi-wen, Lee Lee-zen Running Time: 134 min. By Paul Bramhall One of the biggest tragedies of the increasingly restrictive policies Mainland China has placed on the film industry has been the fact that some of the newer creative talents from Hong Kong have simply disappeared off the radar. Filmmakers like Pang Ho-Cheung and Lee Ka-Wing, … Continue reading
Monkey Man (2024) Review
Director: Dev Patel Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande Running Time: 121 min. By Will McGuire Monkey Man is Dev Patel’s love letter to Southeast Asian action cinema from 8 Diagram Pole Fighter right up to The Night Comes For Us. It is what a lot of action fans have been clamoring for: a mid budget, carefully produced … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews
Tagged Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley
Closet, The (2020) Review
Director: Kim Kwang-Bin Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Kim Nam-Gil, Heo Yool, Kim Si-A, Park Sung-Woong, Shin Hyun-Bin Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall While the practice of shamanism has always been around in Korean cinema, it was arguably The Wailing that popularised it within the context of the horror genre for a 21st century audience, and 2020’s The Closet was one of many productions post its release in which shamanism … Continue reading
Swordsman of All Swordsmen, The (1968) Review
Director: Joseph Kuo Cast: Polly Shang-Kwan, Tin Peng, Miu Tin, Tin Yau, Sit Hon, Kong Nam, Cho Kin, Go Ming, Liu Chu, O Yau Man, Hung Fa Long, Lee Tso Nam, Ngai So Running Time: 85 min. By Will McGuire The Swordsman of All Swordsmen is a film in a unique position in 2024: despite being a little seen but highly regarded early film from one of the legendary directors … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Joseph Kuo, Lee Tso Nam, Polly Shang-Kwan, Tin Peng
Dance of Death | aka Eternal Conflict (1980) Review
AKA: Eternal Conflict Director: Chan Chi Hwa Cast: Angela Mao, Wang Tai-Lang, Hsu Pu-Liao, Dean Shek Tien, Chia Kai, Paul Chun Pui, Ko Pao, Sun Jung-Chi, Lee Man Tai, Chan Chi Hwa, Chiu Ting Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall There are certain stars of the old-school kung-fu genre who faded from the spotlight before the fight choreography evolved into the more complex and dynamic style that began to … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Angela Mao, Chan Chi Hwa, Dean Shek, Paul Chun Pui
1 Comment