Category Archives: Reviews

Master, The | aka The Final Master (2015) Review

June 2, 2016 Martin Sandison
The Final Master | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Xu Haofeng Writer: Xu Haofeng Cast: Fan Liao, Xiao Song Jia, Jiang Wenli, Huang Jue, Jin Shijie, Zhang Aoyue, Song Yang, Dong Xiaosong, Leon Dai, Chen Kuan-tai, Xiong Xin-Xin Running Time: 109 min. By Martin Sandison Now that the old guard of Hong Kong martial arts stars are getting on in age, the eyes of the kung fu movie-loving public have turned to Mainland China. With big money behind … Continue reading →

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Techno Warriors | aka Computer Hero (1997) Review

June 1, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"Techno Warriors" Korean Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Cyber Warrior Director: Philip Ko Fei Cast: Philip Ko Fei, Tamara Guo, Darren Shahlavi, Winston Ellis, Monsour del Rosario, James Ha Chim Si, Thorsten Nickel, Alan Chan Yiu Lun, Niño Muhlach Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall The career of Philip Ko Fei is an interesting one to say the least, and one which has made me an unabashed fan of his work. If you were to … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, Filipino, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Outlaw: Black Dagger (1968) Review

May 29, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Black Dagger" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 5 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Kunie Tanaka, Sanae Kitabayashi, Kaku Takashina, Yoshiro Aoki Running Time: 86 min. By Kelly Warner Outlaw: Black Dagger begins the way most the other Outlaw films end: a bloody knife fight, tragedy, and a love story interrupted. This opening sequence is actually the film’s finest moment, giving us drama and action with no shortage of style. During the … Continue reading →

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Martial Arts Master Wong Fei Hung (1992) Review

May 25, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"Martial Arts Master Wong Fei Hung" VHS Cover

AKA: Great Hero from China Director: Lee Chiu Cast: Chin Kar Lok, Lam Ching Ying, Jacqueline Ng, Suen Kwok Ming, Kwan Hoi San, Chan Siu Pang Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall The name of Chin Kar Lok should be one that needs no introduction to anyone who considers themselves a fan of Hong Kong action cinema. The current president of the Hong Kong Stuntman Association and respected action … Continue reading →

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Shepherd, The: Border Patrol (2008) Review‏

May 22, 2016 Kelly Warner
The Shepherd: Border Patrol | DVD (Image Entertainment)

Director: Isaac Florentine Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Lord, Natalie J. Robb, Gary McDonald, Daniel Perrone, Scott Adkins, Andrée Bernard, Miles Anderson Running Time: 95 min. By Kelly Warner Who needs a giant wall that costs upwards of $18 billion when you could just hire JCVD to man the border between the US and Mexico? Hey folks, that was me trying to make an eight year old film seem topical … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Coin Locker Girl | aka Chinatown (2014) Review

May 20, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"Coin Locker Girl" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Han Jun-Hee Cast: Kim Hye-Soo, Kim Go-Eun, Um Tae-Goo, Park Bo-Gum, Ko Gyung-Pyo, Lee Soo-Kyung, Cho Hyun-Chul, Jo Bok-Rae, Lee Dae-Yeon, Ki Joo-Bong Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall As anyone who’s seen any number of Korean gangster movies will know, rarely are they complete without a scene in a basement carpark, a setting which never fails to lend itself to knife wielding figures of the underworld partaking … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Shanghai (2010) Review

May 18, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Shanghai" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Mikael Håfström Writer: Hossein Amini Cast: John Cusack, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Rinko Kikuchi, David Morse, Franka Potente, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Hugh Bonneville, Benedict Wong Running Time: 105 min. By Kyle Warner Once upon a time, Shanghai had a considerable amount of buzz surrounding it, with some dreaming up award talk considering its stellar cast of international talent, and others more realistically just hoping for a cool … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Goro the Assassin (1968) Review

May 16, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Goro the Assassin" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 4 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Asao Koike, Jiro Okazaki, Kei Sato, Tatsuya Fuji, Shoki Fukae Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner The Outlaw series dabbles in many genres over the span of its six films. They’re yakuza thrillers, romantic dramas, and action movies with noirish antiheroes. Hell, director Toshio Masuda views the original Gangster VIP as a youth picture. The fourth film, … Continue reading →

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Clones of Bruce Lee, The (1980) Review

May 12, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"The Clones of Bruce Lee" Theatrical Poster

AKA: Death Penalty on Three Robots Director: Joseph Kong Cast: Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, Bruce Lai, Bruce Thai, Jon Benn, Bolo Yeung, Alexander Grand, Kong Do, Cheng Kei-Ying, San Kuai, Mak Fei-Hung Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall I have a confession, and I’ll admit that it’s one that won’t be popular. Not only am I a Bruceploitaiton fan, but I usually find the Bruce Lee clone movies to … Continue reading →

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Office (2014) Review

May 9, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"Office" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Hong Won-Chan Cast: Ko Ah-Sung, Park Sung-Woong, Bae Sung-Woo, Kim Eui-Sung, Ryoo Hyoun-Kyoung, Lee Chae-Eun, Son Soo-Hyun, Park Jung-Min, Oh Dae-Hwan Running Time: 111 min. By Paul Bramhall The English language poster created for Office when it was invited to Cannes came with the slogan – ‘He murdered his family, and then came back to work.’ The line effectively sets up expectations for a straight forward worker-pushed-over-the-edge slasher movie, … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Heartless (1968) Review

May 7, 2016 Kelly Warner

AKA: Gangster VIP 3 Director: Mio Ezaki Producer: Kaneo Iwaib Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Ryohei Uchida, Koji Wada, Hiroshi Nawa, Isao Tamagawa, Eiji Go, Ryoji Hayama, Fumio Watanabe, Kaku Takashina, Asao Uchida Running Time: 92 min. Kelly Warner For me, Outlaw: Heartless is a difficult film to figure out. Viewed purely on its own terms, it’s an entertaining crime pic with a cool antihero leading a cast of interesting … Continue reading →

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Bodyguard, The (2016) Review

May 5, 2016 Martin Sandison
The Bodyguard | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

AKA: My Beloved Bodyguard Director: Sammo Hung Cast: Sammo Hung, Jaqueline Chan, Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Zhu Yuchen, Jack Feng, Li Qin Qin, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Tsui Hark, Karl Maka, Dean Shek, James Lee Guy, Tomer Oz, Yuen Qiu, Feng Shaofeng, Hu Jun, Eddie Peng Running Time: 99 min. By Martin Sandison The Bodyguard is Sammo Hung’s first directorial feature since 1997’s Once Upon a Time in China and America, which … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 (1968) Review

May 1, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Izumi Ashikawa, Eimei Esumi, Jukei Fujioka, Shoki Fukae, Joji Hidehara, Seishiro Iwate, Meiko Kaji, Hatsuko Kawahara, Ichiro Kijima, Toshizo Kudo, Kayo Matsuo, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 97 min. By Kelly Warner Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 catches up with our gangster protagonist Goro Fujikawa (Tetsuya Watari) as he rides a train out of Tokyo to reunite with the woman he sent away at … Continue reading →

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Emperor of the Underworld (1994) Review

April 29, 2016 Paul Bramhall
"An Emperor of the Underworld" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Hwang Jang Lee Writer: Im Seung-su Cast: Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Hwang Jang Lee, Lee Jin Young, Kim Mi Young, Hyeon Kil Su Running Time: 87 min. By Paul Bramhall If there was ever a genre that could be described as having little to no exposure outside of its native country, then it’s the 90’s Korean action movie. Compared to the likes of Hong Kong and Japan’s own action cinema … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Gangster VIP (1968) Review

April 27, 2016 Kelly Warner

Director: Toshio Masuda Writer: Kaneo Ikegami, Reiji Kubota Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Mitsuo Hamada, Tamio Kawaji, Kyosuke Machida, Kayo Matsuo Running Time: 93 min. By Kelly Warner There are a huge number of classic Japanese films that most the world hasn’t seen yet. So it’s always great when a home video distributor like Arrow, Criterion, Eureka, and others rediscover some forgotten gem and show it to the world. And … Continue reading →

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