Category Archives: Reviews

Ninja Champion | aka Poisonous Rose Stripping the Night (1986) Review

Director: Kim Si-hyun Co-director: Godfrey Ho Cast: Choe Eun-hye, Im Ja-ho, Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Baek Hwang-ki, Richard Harrison, Bruce Baron, Pierre Tremblay, Yoon Yang-Ha, Park Se-bum Running Time: 87 min.  By Paul Bramhall There are only 2 types of people in the world who’d want to watch Ninja Champion – those who enjoy cut ‘n’ paste Godfrey Ho ninja flicks, and those who want to check out an obscure … Continue reading

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Crazy Samurai Musashi | aka Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 (2020) Review

Crazy Samurai Musashi | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

Director: Yuji Shimomura Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Kento Yamazaki, Yousuke Saito, Ben Hiura, Arata Yamanaka, Fuka Hara, Kosei Kimura, Nobu Morimoto, Akihiko Sai, Masaaki Takarai Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall Crazy Samurai Musashi is one of those movies that’s journey to the screen is just as interesting as the movie itself, spanning over 10 years before it eventually arrived in 2020. Initially announced as a collaboration between Japanese action … Continue reading

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Deliver Us from Evil: Final Cut (2020) Review

Director: Hong Won-Chan Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Lee Jung-Jae, Park Jung-Min, Park So-Yi, Choi Hee-Seo, Park Myoung-Hoon, Oh Dae-Hwan, Shim Young-Eun, Kim Sung-Gon Running Time: 108 min. By Paul Bramhall Seven years have passed since Korean thespians Lee Jung-jae and Hwang Jung-min starred together in 2013’s New World in which they played sworn brothers, with one a no-nonsense cop deep undercover, and the other a live wire unpredictable gangster. In 2020 … Continue reading

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Keys to the Heart (2018) Review

Director: Choi Sung-Hyun Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Park Jung-Min, Youn Yuh-Jung, Han Ji-Min, Choi Ri, Kim Sung-Ryoung, Moon Sook, Hwang Suk-Jung, Lee Joo-Young, Baek Hyun-Jin Running Time: 120 min. By Paul Bramhall Stories about washed up boxers have been around for almost as long as cinema itself, and the Korean movie industry is no exception. From Choi Min-sik in Crying Fist, to So Ji-sub in Always, and more recently Um Tae-goo … Continue reading

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Tai Chi Boxer | aka Tai Chi II (1996) Review

Director: Yuen Woo Ping Co-director: Cheung Sing Yim Cast: Wu Jing, Christy Chung Lai Tai, Yu Hai, Mark Cheng Ho Nam, Billy Chow Bei Lei, Sibelle Hu Hui Zhong, Darren Shahlavi, Ji Chun Hua, Jin De-Mao Running Time: 96 min.  By Paul Bramhall Most discussions that see Tai Chi Boxer mentioned tend to involve the wire-fu craze that dominated the Hong Kong martial arts genre in the first half of the … Continue reading

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Nobody (2021) Review

Director: Ilya Naishuller Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov, RZA, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, Christopher Lloyd, Gage Munroe, Billy MacLellan, J. P. Manoux Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall Any movie which advertises itself as “From the writer of John Wick” provides some inclination as to what to expect, however even the most casual movie fan may be surprised at just how many tropes are recycled in 2021’s … Continue reading

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King Swindler (1993) Review

Director: Chu Yen Ping Cast: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Tuo Tsung-Hua, Liu Chun, Hiu Hiu, Billy Gilman, Lau Kei, Tu Fu-Ping, Chien Te-Men, Tsai Chia-Hung, Lin Hsieh-Wen Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s common knowledge that back in the 1980’s Jimmy Wang Yu stepped in to straighten up some trouble Jackie Chan was having with the Triads, and to repay the One Armed Boxer for his … Continue reading

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Paper Tigers, The (2020) Review

Director: Bao Tran Cast: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Jae Suh Park, Matthew Page, Joziah Lagonoy, Ken Quitugua, Phillip Dang, Andy Le, Brian Le, Yoshi Sudarso, Peter Sudarso, Gui DaSilva-Greene, Mark Poletti, Yuji Okumoto, Raymond Ma, Roger Yuan Running Time: 108 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s been a long journey for writer and director Quoc Bao Tran’s first full length feature, The Paper Tigers, to come to fruition. … Continue reading

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Night in Paradise (2020) Review

Director: Park Hoon-Jung Cast: Um Tae-Goo, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Cha Seung-Won, Park Ho-San, Cho Dong-in, Lee Ki-young Running Time: 130 min. By Paul Bramhall The Korean gangster movie that was such a consistently entertaining part of the countries output during the 00’s and early 10’s has largely dropped off in recent years, with genre efforts these days more likely to be low budget productions lacking the creative spark of those that … Continue reading

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Lover of the Last Empress (1995) Review

Director: Andrew Lau Cast: Tony Leung Ka Fai, Chingmy Yau, Chan Kwok Bong, Valerie Chow, Ku Feng, Yu Rong Guang, Kingdom Yuen King Tan, Yvonne Yung Hung, Bao Fang, Lo Hung Running Time: 99 min.  By Paul Bramhall Before John Wick went on the rampage triggered by the murder of his puppy, there was Chingmy Yau in Lover of the Last Empress, whose ascent to the position of Empress Dowager is … Continue reading

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Kung Fu from Beyond the Grave (1982) Review

Director: Li Chao Cast: Billy Chong Chun Lai, Lo Lieh, Dai Sai Aan, Alan Chui Chung San, Lai Kim Hung, Fang Mien, Ou-Yang Sha Fei, Goo Gwan, So Kwok Leung Running Time: 88 min.  By Paul Bramhall Following the success of Sammo Hung’s Close Encounter of the Spooky Kind in 1980, soon a slew of titles mixing kung fu and the supernatural filled Hong Kong cinema, with the likes of … Continue reading

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Mysterious Footworks of Kung Fu (1978) Review

Director: Chen Wah Cast: Charles Heung Wah-Keung, Michael Chan Wai-Man, Chiang Tao, Fan Mei-Sheng, Betty Ting Pei, Gam Ming, Mang Hoi, Do Ping, Kong Do Running Time: 95 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic After starring in Eagle Claws Champion, James Heung realized he preferred working behind the scenes, so he founded Super Win Film with his brother Charles. Heung’s company produced only two films, Mysterious Footworks of Kung Fu and Goose Boxer, both … Continue reading

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King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) Review

Director: Ishiro Honda Cast: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Ichiro Arishima, Mie Hama, Shoichi Hirose, Haruo Nakajima, Jun Tazaki, Akiko Wakabayashi, Akihiko Hirata Running Time: 97 min. By Ian Whittle The great animator Willis O’Brien remains immortal for his legendary creation King Kong, introduced in 1933 in RKO’s mega-hit film. But that didn’t translate into lots of steady work. O’Brien walked off the rushed “serio-comic phantasy” sequel The Son … Continue reading

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Legend of the Drunken Tiger (1991) Review

Director: Robert Tai Cast: Kara Hui, Chui Kei-Wai, Alexander Lo Rei, Cheung Kwok Keung, Ku Feng, Ho Pak Kwong, Man Siu, Wong Hap, Lee Lung Yam, Chan Yue-Ching Running Time: 98 min.  By Paul Bramhall The early 90’s was the peak era for the whole ”Legend of the….” title structure in Hong Kong cinema. Legend of the Dragon gave us Stephen Chow vs Jimmy White, Legend of the Liquid Sword … Continue reading

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Amsterdam Connection (1978) Review

"Amsterdam Connection" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Shaolin Connection Director: Fan Mei-Sheng Co-director: Law Kei Cast: Chan Sing, Mi Lan, Jason Pai Piao, Bolo Yeung Sze, Fan Mei-Sheng, Wong Yuen-San, Fan Siu-Wong, Law Kei, Lam Ching-Ying, Lau Kar-Yung, Wan Fat Running Time: 90 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic If you love watching movies, chances are you’ve seen at least one with the word ‘connection’ in its title. It might have been one of the greats, such … Continue reading

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