Category Archives: Reviews

Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970) Review

"Delinquent Girl Boss" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Female Boss Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Hideichi Nagahara Cast: Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Koji Wada, Bunjaku Han, Yuka Kemari, Hanako Tokachi, Yūko Shimazu, Yuka Ohashi, Miki Yanagi, Toshimitsu Shima Running Time: 80 min. By Kelly Warner After Roger Corman’s 1966 outlaw biker film The Wild Angels (which starred Peter Fonda pre-Easy Rider) became a surprise hit in Japan, Japanese studios were quick to cash in and make … Continue reading

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World of Kanako, The (2014) Review

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Cast: Koji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Joe Odagiri, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Hiroki Nakajima, Ai Hashimoto, Asuka Kurosawa, Miki Nakatani, Hitoshi Hoshino, Mahiro Takasugi, Jun Kunimura Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall While Japanese mainstream filmmaking has arguably been in a creative slump for a long time, there remains a few directors out there who are worth watching. Sono Sion, Miike Takashi, and Takeshi ‘Beat’ … Continue reading

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100 Yen Love (2014) Review

Director: Masaharu Take Writer: Shin Adachi Cast: Sakura Ando, Hirofumi Arai, Miyoko Inagawa, Saori Koide, Shohei Uno, Tadashi Sakata, Yozaburo Ito, Osamu Shigematu, Toshie Negishi, Ruka Wakabayashi Running Time: 113 min. By Martin Sandison As well as being a beautiful and cultural place, my home city of Edinburgh, Scotland has one of the longest-running film festivals in the world, this year being the 69th. This time the festival has been … Continue reading

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For the Emperor (2014) Review

Director: Park Sang-Joon Cast: Lee Min-Ki, Park Sung-Woong, Lee Tae-Im, Kim Jong-Goo, Lee Jae-Won, Han Jae-Young, Lee Yoo-Joon, Jung Heung-Chae, Park Jin-Woo Running Time: 104 min. By Kelly Warner In his first years playing in the pros, pitcher Lee Hwan (Lee Min-ki) was a rising star. After an injury hurts his career, Hwan starts rigging his games and earning money on the side. When he’s arrested for illegal gambling, Hwan … Continue reading

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Return of the Valuables (1975) Review

Director: Chui Dai-Gwan Writer: Gam Kim Producer: Chen Ching-Te Cast: Chen Tao, Joan Lin Feng-Chiao, Gary List, Lee Seung, Lam Chi, Miao Tian, Lan Yun, Gam Kim, Chen Chiu, Chan San-Yat, Tsang Ming-Cheong, Yeung Hung, Keung Hon, Wong Goon-Hung, Chui Lap, Cho Kin, Siu Wong-Lung, Lui Wan-Biu Running Time: 82 min. By Paul Bramhall Toby Russell should be a name that anyone who counts themselves as a fan of kung … Continue reading

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Cross | aka Smile for Me (2012) Review

Cross | DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Daniel Chan Yee Hang Writer: Daniel Chan Yee Hang Cast: Simon Yam, Kenny Wong, Mimi Kung, Liu Kai-Chi, Evelyn Choi, Chen Ran, Nick Cheung, Pal Sinn, Zhu Guangxuan, Mo Tzu-Yi, September Zhang Running Time: 90 min. By Kelly Warner It took four directors over two years to complete Cross, a thriller that’s less than 80 minutes long with a good portion of that running time taken up by flashbacks. … Continue reading

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Stray Dog (1949) Review

"Stray Dog" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Honma, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Ichiro Sugai, Gen Shimizu, Noriko Sengoku Running Time: 122 min. By Matthew Le-feuvre At a time when social or political ambivalence wasn’t an option to explore or express through art – or by any other visual medium – acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, then under contract with the Toho film studios, was … Continue reading

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Master Killers | aka The Master Avenger (1980) Review

"Master Killers" Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Master Avenger Director: Wong Hung Cheung Cast: Casanova Wong, Blacky Ko, Philip Ko Fei, Bolo Yeung, Chiang Kam, Suen Kwok Ming Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s an old romantic cliché that goes something along the lines of everyone has that someone out there who’s ‘the one’, and what a tragedy it would be if they never realize it. Comparatively, for a kung fu fan like myself, … Continue reading

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Happiness of the Katakuris, The (2001) Review

The Happiness of the Katakuris | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)

Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tetsuro Tamba, Naoto Takenaka, Tamaki Miyazaki, Takashi Matsuzaki Running Time: 113 min. By Kelly Warner When Takashi Miike agreed to do a remake of Kim Jee-woon’s directorial debut The Quiet Family, he wanted to give the story his own “personal stamp” to make his version worthwhile. And Miike did exactly that, turning the dark comedy into … Continue reading

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Daisy (2006) Review

"Daisy" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Andrew Lau Writer: Felix Chong Producer: Hoon-tak Jung Cast: Jeong Woo-Sung, Jun Ji-Hyun (Gianna Jun), Lee Sung-jae, Cheon Ho-Jin, Simon Yam Tat Wah, David Chiang Da Wei, Yu Sun-Cheol, Dion Lam Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall On paper Daisy reads like an Asian action thriller fan’s dream. A Korea and Hong Kong co-production (which translates to Korea being in-front of the camera and Hong Kong being behind … Continue reading

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Outcast (2014) Review

Director: Nick Powell Writer: James Dormer Cast: Hayden Christensen, Nicolas Cage, Liu Yifei, Ji Ke Jun Yi, Andy On, Wang Bozhao, Fernando Chien Running Time: 99 min. By Kyle Warner When a successful Hollywood star decides to star in a Chinese production, I see it as an interesting career choice. Maybe the script drew them in, maybe it was the chance to work on a new sort of film set, … Continue reading

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Shadowless Sword (2005) Review

"Shadowless Sword" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Young-Jun Cast: Yun So-Yi, Lee Seo-Jin, Shin Hyun-Joon, Lee Gi-Yong, Jeong Ho-Bin, Park Seong-Woong Running Time: 98 min. By Paul Bramhall The words ‘Korean’ and ‘wuxia’ are not really two which you’d immediately think of putting together. The Korean film industry has gained a reputation for producing high quality entries in the likes of the gangster, revenge thriller, and melodrama genres. On the other hand, the wuxia genre … Continue reading

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Crank 2: High Voltage (2009) Review

"Crank: High Voltage" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Mark Neveldine Co-director: Brian Taylor Cast: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins, Jr., Efren Ramirez, Bai Ling, David Carradine, Dwight Yoakam, Corey Haim, Keone Young, Art Hsu Running Time: 95 min. By HKFanatic I used to wonder what a film directed by video game auteur Suda51 (No More Heroes) would look like. Then I saw Crank 2: High Voltage and wondered no more. With High Voltage, writer/director team Mark … Continue reading

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Eight Escorts, The (1980) Review

AKA: Eight Peerless Treasures Director: Pao Hsueh Lieh Writer: Katy Chin, Ni Kuang Cast: Hsu Feng, Au Lap Bo, Michael Chan Wai Man, Choi Wang, Fang Mien, Goo Chang, Ko Keung, Danny Lee Sau Yin, Lily Li Li Li, Ling Yun, Mau Ging Shun, Stewart Tam Tin, Dorian Tan Tao Liang, Wong Ching, Wang Chung, Wu Ma Running Time: 90 min. By Martin Sandison In 1972 director Pao Hsieh Li and … Continue reading

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Rage | aka Tokarev (2014) Review

Director: Paco Cabezas Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, Danny Glover, Max Ryan, Michael McGrady, Judd Lormand, Max Fowler, Pasha D. Lychnikoff Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall For several years now Nicolas Cage seems to have had a ‘say yes to everything’ policy in place when it comes to accepting movie roles. It’s a policy which has taken him to some odd places – in 2014 alone … Continue reading

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