Category Archives: Reviews

Dragon Bruce Lee, Part II | aka Big Boss 2 (1981) Review

"Dragon Bruce Lee, Part II" Korean Poster

AKA: Dragon Lee Fights Again Director: To Man-Bo Co-director: Lee Eun Cast: Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Lee Suk-jin, Cheung Lik, Ju Eun-seop, Jang Ryeok, Bolo Yeung, Tien Feng, Philip Ko Fei, Sham Chin Bo, To Wai Wo Running Time: 75 min. By Ian Whittle OK, this is rather complicated. A 1930’s set kung fu movie starring Dragon Lee that, depending on what version you own, is a sequel to one … Continue reading

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Ghost in Love (1999) Review

"Ghost in Love" Theatrical Poster

Director: Lee Kwang-Hoon Writer: Hong Ju-ri Lee Sung-Jae, Kim Hee-Seon, Cha Seung-Won, Yoo Hye-Jung, Jang Jin-Young, Lee Young-Ja, Park Kwang-Jung, Jeong Won-Jung, Jang Se-Jin Running Time: 91 min. By Paul Bramhall 1999 was a landmark year for Korean cinema. After starting the 90’s with a film industry practically on its last legs, throughout most of the decade it slowly began to regain popularity with local audiences, before finally, on the … Continue reading

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Fist of Fear, Touch of Death: Anniversary Edition (1980) Review

Fist of Feat, Touch of Death | Blu-ray (The Film Detective)

AKA: Dragon and the Cobra Director: Mathew Mallinson Producer: Terry Levene Cast: Aaron Banks, Adolph Caesar, Teruyuki Higa, Bill Louie, Fred Williamson, Ron Van Clief, Gail Turner, Hollywood Browde, Louis Neglia, Annette Bronson Running Time: 86 min. By Jeff Bona Whenever the discussion topic of “What’s the worst Bruceploitation movie ever made?” comes up, the answer 99.9% of the time will be Fist of Fear, Touch of Death. Is it really … Continue reading

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Jackie and Bruce to the Rescue | aka Fist of Death (1982) Review

"Jackie and Bruce to the Rescue" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Fist of Death Director: Wu Chia Chun Co-director: Choe Dong-Joon Cast: Kim Tai-chung, Lee Siu-Ming, Wang Pao-Yu, He Ying, Chang Il-Sik, Eagle Han Ying, Ma Sha, Chen Shan, Baek Hwang-ki, Park Yong-Pal Running time: 90 min.  By Ian Whittle You’d think a film featuring a Bruce Lee clone AND a Jackie Chan clone (not to mention maverick exploitation producer Dick Randall’s name on the credits) would be a lot … Continue reading

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Attrition | aka Final Mission (2018) Review

"Attrition" Korean Theatrical Poster

Directer: Mathieu Weschler Cast: Steven Seagal, Fan Siu-Wong, Ting Sue, Vithaya Pansringarm, Yu Kang, Fan Mei-Sheng, Rudy Youngblood, James P. Bennett, Sergey Badyuk, Cha-Lee Yoon, Kat Ingkarat, Bayra Bela, Kang Yu Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall The last time Steven Seagal undertook one of his passion projects we ended up with 1994’s On Deadly Ground, a bombastic environmental action thriller in which Seagal asks us “What does it … Continue reading

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Metamorphosis (2019) Review

"Metamorphosis" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Hong-Sun Cast: Bae Sung-Woo, Sung Dong-Il, Jang Young-Nam, Kim Hye-Jun, Cho Yi-Hyun, Kim Kang-Hoon, Jung Yun-Ha, Baek Yoon-Sik, Kim Lee-Kyung Running Time: 113 min. By Paul Bramhall The current South Korean fixation with bad-ass priests continues with Metamorphosis. Capping off the holy trilogy of 2019, following the release of The Divine Fury (MMA priests!) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (occult detective priests!) earlier in the year, the latest … Continue reading

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Take Point | aka PMC: Private Military Company (2018) Review

"Take Point" Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Byung-Woo Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Lee Sun-Kyun, Jennifer Ehle, Kevin Durand, Malik Yoba, Spencer Daniels, Shin Hyun-Bin, Ahn Seong-Bong, Kim Sun-Hyuk Running Time: 124 min. By Paul Bramhall The Korean film industry has an interesting relationship with the action genre. A mainstay of the countries cinematic output for a long time, it was ultimately an action movie which brought Korean cinema to international attention with 1999’s Shiri. Skips forward 20 … Continue reading

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Tazza: One Eyed Jack (2019) Review

“Tazza: One Eyed Jack” Theatrical Poster

Director: Kwon Oh-Kwang Cast: Park Jung-Min, Ryoo Seung-Bum, Choi Yu-Hwa, Woo Hyeon, Yoon Je-Moon, Lee Kwang-Soo, Lim Ji-Yeon, Kwon Hae-Hyo, Choi Dong-Hoon, Kim Ye-Eun Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s probably a stretch to say that anyone was clamouring for a third entry into Korea’s Tazza series. The original entry, 2006’s Tazza: The High Rollers, marked director Choi Dong-hoon’s sophomore feature, and its colourful energy combined with performances … Continue reading

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A*P*E (1976) Review

"A*P*E" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Paul Leder Cast: Joanna Kerns, Rod Arrants, Alex Nicol, Lee Nak-hun, Yeon-jeong Woo, Jerry Harke, Larry Chandler, Walt Myers, J.J. Gould, Kwon Il-soo, Chiu Chun Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall When people think about Asian takes on King Kong, chances are the most likely answer they’re going to give you will be the 1977 Shaw Brothers flick The Mighty Peking Man, which came a year after Hollywood’s … Continue reading

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Undercover Punch and Gun (2019) Review

"Undercover Punch and Gun" Theatrical Poster

Director: Philip Lui Co-director: Frankie Tam Cast: Andy On, Philip Ng, Vanness Wu, Carrie Ng, Nicholas Tse, Carrie Ng, Lam Suet, Aka Zhao, Jiang Luxia, Aaron Aziz, Joyce Feng, Jessica Cambensy Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall Before you’ve gotten through the plethora of production company logos that kick off Undercover Punch and Gun (and there’s a lot of them!), the title alone is enough to give an indication as to … Continue reading

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Parasite (2019) Review

"Parasite" Theatrical Poster

Director: Bong Joon-Ho Cast: Song Kang-Ho, Jang Hye-Jin, Choi Woo-Sik, Park So-Dam, Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Jung Ji-So, Jeong Hyun-Jun, Lee Jung-Eun, Park Seo-Joon Running Time: 131 min. By Paul Bramhall The following review for Parasite was originally posted on COF in July of 2019. Because the film took home four Academy Awards at the recent 2020 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Film and Best Original Screenplay), we … Continue reading

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Warriors of the Nation (2018) Review

Warriors of the Nation | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

AKA: Unity of Heroes 2 Director: Marco Mak Cast: Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo, Miya Muqi, Kenya Sawada, Na Wei, Lubing Li, Huanhuan Wei Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall To many kung fu fans in the west the genre may be regarded as dead and buried, but in China streaming channels like Youku and iQiyi have been providing a steady stream of original kung fu flicks for a number of … Continue reading

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First Love (2020) Review

"First Love" Theatrical Poster

Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Masaru Nakamura Cast: Masataka Kubota, Sakurako Konishi, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani, Seiyo Uchino, Becky, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Takahiro Miura, Maimi Yajima Running Time: 115 min. By Martin Sandison It’s pretty difficult to be an Asian movie fan in the last 25 years, and not love at least one Takashi Miike film. An omnipresence in challenging, genre-shifting vital cinema, the director is irrepressible and much-loved. Even … Continue reading

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Battle of Jangsari, The (2019) Review

"The Battle of Jangsari" Theatrical Poster

Director: Kwak Kyung-Taek Co-director: Kim Tae-Hoon Cast: Kim Myung-Min, Minho, Kim Sung-Cheol, Kim In-Kwon, Kwak Si-Yang, Megan Fox, Jang Ji-Gun, Lee Ho-Jung, Lee Jae-Wook, Dong Bang-Woo, Kim Mi-Hwa  Running Time: 104 min. By Paul Bramhall With the thawing in relations between North and South Korea in recent years, movies about the Korean War have taken a back seat, and noticeably been replaced by more action-centric productions which partner agents from … Continue reading

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Human, Space, Time and Human (2018) Review

"Human, Space, Time and Human" Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk Cast: Jang Keun-Suk, Ryoo Seung-Bum, Ahn Sung-Ki, Mina Fujii, Lee Sung-Jae, Joe Odagiri, Tae Hang-Ho, Park Se-in, Sung Ki-Yoon, Kim Dong-chan Running Time: 122 min. By Paul Bramhall If ever there was an example of a movie destined to seal the fate of its creator, then it could very well be Human, Space, Time and Human, controversial Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk’s latest (and most likely last) movie. … Continue reading

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