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on Richard Norton, ‘Gymkata’ and ‘City Hunter’ actor, martial artist, trainer and stunt performer, dies at 75My favorites with him are Twinkle Twinkle, and Magic Crystal. It’s interestin…
on Richard Norton, ‘Gymkata’ and ‘City Hunter’ actor, martial artist, trainer and stunt performer, dies at 75Also, the other Richard, Chamberlain, from the original Shogun, passed away r…
on Looking for some spear-slicing action? Donnie Yen’s ‘The Lost Bladesman’ arrives on Blu-ray from ImprintVery underrated Donnie Yen gem. The movie, along with Sakra, has arguably the…
on Wild, The (2023) ReviewThis review does a great job of breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of…
on Don’t fight what you can’t see! Arrow announces Blu-ray for Yoshiyuki Kuroda’s 1970 actioner ‘The Invisible Swordsman’Dear Arrow... Let "old" Asian cinema to 88 Films, Eureka, BFI n' Co.
on Leopard Fist Ninja (1982) ReviewYeah, the little girl turning into the hero certainly threw me too.
on Kung Fu Rookie (2023) Review& just like that, Z Ravas reappeared after 5 years in the wilderness, the sam…
on Hong Kong’s Heaven’s Gate? Juno Mak’s anticipated thriller ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ to finally shine this yearThere was apparently a 15 minute preview screening at Hong Kong's FILMART con…
on The Kosugi ninja empire lives on! Watch the Trailer for Shane Kosugi’s ‘Seek’ starring Kansuke Asano and Kane KosugiHaters gonna hate, I suppose. 🥱 Oh well.
on Hong Kong’s Heaven’s Gate? Juno Mak’s anticipated thriller ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ to finally shine this yearWhen the film public screening ?
on Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu (1981) ReviewMost, if not all, of Godfrey Ho's movies are on Tubi, including this. Imagine…
on The Kosugi ninja empire lives on! Watch the Trailer for Shane Kosugi’s ‘Seek’ starring Kansuke Asano and Kane KosugiPaul: Where is your source ? FCS: My source is that I made it the FUCK up ! x…
Category Archives: Reviews
Lights Out (2024) Review
Director: Christian Sesma Cast: Frank Grillo, Scott Adkins, Dermot Mulroney, Jaime King, Mekhi Phifer, Kevin Gage, Amaury Nolasco, JuJu Chan, Erica Peeples, Jessica Medina Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall An opening scene that sees a soldier under heavy fire in Afghanistan, trying to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds. Nondescript enemies popping up everywhere as cannon fodder. A harrowing conclusion before we cut forward to present day, where we … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews
Tagged Christian Sesma, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, JuJu Chan, Scott Adkins
Shadow Fist Hunter | aka The Shadow Chaser (1973) Review
Director: Fei-chien Wu Cast: Yip Tai Kong, Yi Yuan, Liang Pin, Pearl Chang Ling, Wu Kuan, Kwan Hung, Chen Hui-Lou Running Time: 90 min. By Will McGuire On Black Friday of last year, the small press label Dark Forces released a pair of extremely rare classic kung fu films: Deadly Kung Fu Factor and this film, Shadow Fist Hunter. Remastered from newly discovered 35mm prints, the films represent a fascinating … Continue reading
Foggy Mountain | aka The Foggy Mountain-Dinh Mu Suong (2020) Review
Director: Phan Anh Cast: Peter Pham, Kim Long Thach, Simon Kook, Cong Ninh, Pham Huy Thuc, Truc May Running Time: 86 min. By Paul Bramhall In the world of martial arts cinema Vietnam has been in somewhat of a unique position in the 21st century, in that its most popular star is female, with Veronica Ngo leading the charge with the likes of Furie and its sequel, Furies, which she … Continue reading
Returned a Single-Legged Man 2 (1974) Review
Director: Lee Doo-yong Cast: Han Yong-cheol, Bae Su-chun, Kim Mun-ju, Im Eun-joo, Elton Chong, Park Dong-ryong, Cho Chun, Kim Wang-guk, Hwang Jang Lee, Han Tae-Il Running Time: 88 min. By Paul Bramhall The taekwon-action genre is one that’s largely faded into obscurity both in the west and in its native Korea, a combination of lack of availability, and the titles which are available usually being heavily bastardized from their original versions. … Continue reading
Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews
Tagged Elton Chong, Han Yong-cheol, Hwang Jang Lee, Lee Doo-yong
Concrete Utopia (2023) Review
Directed: Uhm Tae-Hwa Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Park Seo-Jun, Park Bo-Young, Kim Sun-Young, Kim Do-Yoon, Park Ji-Hu, Lee Seo-Hwan, Kang Ae-Shim, Lee Hyo-Je, Lee Sun-Hee Running Time: 129 min. By Will McGuire Concrete Utopia, South Korea’s nomination for Best Foreign Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards, is a tense thriller, a particularly honest class commentary, a leap forward for special effects work in the Korean cinema, and twenty minutes too long. … Continue reading
Shatter | aka Call Him Mr. Shatter (1974) Review
Director: Michael Carreras Co-director: Monte Hellman Cast: Stuart Whitman, Ti Lung, Lily Li Li-Li, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Ko Hung, Keung Hon, James Ma Chim-Si, Lau Nga-Ying, Lo Wei, Wong Pau Gei, Lau Kar Wing, Roy Chiao Hung, Fung Hak On Running Time: 89 min. By Ian Whittle It’s probably no surprise that Hammer ended up getting into cahoots with the Shaw Brothers – in 1974, tactical programming meant that … Continue reading
Posted in All, Asian Related, Chinese, News, Other Movies, Reviews, Shaw Brothers
Tagged Fung Hak On, Lau Kar Wing, Lee Hoi-Sang, Lily Li Li-Li, Lo Wei, Peter Cushing, Roy Chiao, Stuart Whitman, Ti Lung
Badland Hunters (2024) Review
Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-seok, Lee Hee-Jun, Lee Jun-Young, Roh Jeong-Eui, Ahn Ji-Hye, Park Ji-Hoon, Jang Young-Namm, Park Sang-Hoon , Ahn Seong-Bong Running Time: 107 min. By Paul Bramhall Badland Hunters marks the latest entry in Korea’s burgeoning fascination with post-apocalyptic settings, a spin-off from director Eom Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia, which saw a group of survivors living in the last standing apartment block after an earthquake razed Seoul to … Continue reading
Rescue, The (2020) Review
Director: Dante Lam Cast: Eddie Peng, Xin Zhilei, Wang Yanlin, Lan Yingying, Wang Yutian, Xu Yang, Li Mincheng, Carlos Chan, Zhang Guoqiang, Guo Xiaodong, Wei Daxun Running Time: 139 min. By Paul Bramhall It would be Wu Jing’s 2015 production Wolf Warrior that kickstarted the latest era of ’Main melody’ movies, fully embodying President Xi’s speech from the previous year that filmmakers should make “patriotism the main theme of literary and … Continue reading
Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024) Review
Director: Choi Dong-hun Cast: Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Kim Woo-Bin, Kim Tae-Ri, Lee Ha-Nee, Yum Jung-Ah, Jo Woo-Jin, Kim Eui-Sung, Jin Sun-Kyu, Wi Ji-woong, Lee Si-hoon Running Time: 123 min. By Paul Bramhall Korea’s premier blockbuster director Choi Dong-hoon returned with a bang in 2022 with Alienoid, a time travelling sci-fi genre mash-up that threw in everything from Shaw Brothers references to a John Woo homage. Shot as a 2-parter, the second … Continue reading
Pistol Opera (2001) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Makiko Esumi, Sayoko Yamaguchi, Kirin Kiki, Mikijiro Hira, Masatoshi Nagase, Kenji Sawada, Hanae Kan, Jan Woudstra, Haruko Kato, Kensaku Watanabe Running Time: 112 min. By Martin Sandison Seijun Suzuki’s 1967 art-yakuza classic Branded to Kill has a hallowed place in movie history. It was deemed too experimental by Nikkatsu, who produced the picture and for whom Suzuki had made many low budget formulaic efforts previously, and … Continue reading
Wanted Man (2024) Review
Director: Dolph Lundgren Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Michael Pare, Aaron McPherson, Christina Villa, Roger Cross, Michael Worth, Bourke Floyd, Gabriel ‘G-Rod’ Rodriguez Running Time: 86 min. By Henry McKeand It’s a new year, and Dolph Lundgren is still making movies. Really making them, too. His latest film, Wanted Man, is his seventh as a director. He also produced and co-wrote the script along with Frank Valdez and DTV legend … Continue reading
Posted in All, News, Other Movies, Reviews
Tagged Dolph Lundgren, Michael Paré, Michael Worth
Sanak (2021) Review
Director: Kanishk Varma Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Maitra, Neha Dhupia, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Chandan Roy, Adrija Sinha, Kiran Karmarkar, Arsh Merchant Running Time: 117 min. By Henry McKeand Early in Sanak, as our hero Vivaan (Vidyut Jammwal) grabs something in his living room, the camera lingers on three carefully placed DVDs: Die Hard, Speed, and John Wick. More than just an unsubtle nod to director Kanishk Varma’s influences, this feels … Continue reading
Blind War (2022) Review
Director: Suiqiang Huo Cast: Andy On Chi Kit, Waise Lee, Yang Xing, Hank Qi, Jane Wu, Vincent Matile, Cheng Si Han, Zhang Ya Qi, Dao Dao, Li Fa Guang, Alexandre Robillard Running Time: 100 min. By Paul Bramhall Is there any production looked down upon more in Asia than the Chinese web movie? Arguably no. Maybe even more so than Filipino romantic comedies. Rapidly made and rarely clocking in longer … Continue reading
Flying Swordsman, The | The Hidden Fox (2022) Review
AKA: The Hidden Fox Director: Qiao Lei Cast: Zhao Huawei, Fu Jia, Yusi Chen, Ray Lui Leung Wai, Shanshan Chunyu, Zihan Chen Running Time: 104 min. By Will McGuire The Flying Swordsman (aka The Hidden Fox) is great entertainment. It is, like the best of contemporary wuxia films, a strong evolution of the style that began in the late-60’s revival of the genre at Shaw Brothers and though it has … Continue reading
I Did It My Way (2023) Review
Director: Jason Kwan Cast: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Gordon Lam, Cya Liu, Eddie Peng, Simon Yam, Chan Chun-Fung, Kent Cheng, Hedwig Tam, Lam Suet, Philip Keung, Mike Leeder Running Time: 115 min. By Paul Bramhall On paper at least, I Did It My Way feels like it should be the subtitle for a 4th instalment of The White Storm franchise. Like each instalment of the popular action thrillers, the focus is … Continue reading
Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Eddie Peng, Gordon Lam, Jason Kwan, Kent Cheng Jak Si, Lam Suet, Mike Leeder, Simon Yam
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