Newest Comments
Andrew Hernandez on Mortal Kombat II (2026) ReviewIt’s good to see this being talked about here. The 6.5 is a fair rating, sinc…
Dal on B-B-B-B-B-Benny the Jet! The Keanu Reeves-produced Benny “The Jet” Urquidez documentary currently filmingReally looking forward to this!
Throwdown on Hop right to it! New Bruce Lee doc, ‘Mr. Vampire’ reboot and more arriving from veteran Hong Kong producer Bey LoganGreat commentaries on the old DVDs, Bey. Question, since you're working with…
Ska Martes on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridaySo its a Iqiyi type effort but theatrical and "elevated"? Is it better than X…
KayKay on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridayI caught this at a special screening* in my neck of the woods. So…I caveat th…
Ska Martes on Blades of the Guardians (2026) ReviewI kind of agree. It starts off really rough. Maybe I went in with too high ex…
Typo on City on Fire (1987) ReviewOverrated, far from Lam's best movies (School on fire, Prison on fire and "It…
Typo on Duel to the Death (1982) ReviewIn my top ten, easily.
Typo on City War (1988) ReviewVery average. Not my cup of tea anymore, or, more likely, I can't say anymore…
Typo on Master, The | aka The Final Master (2015) ReviewThat guy rules. He's the best. My favorite martial arts movies since, what...…
Typo on ‘Blades of the Guardians’ hits digital on June 30 and arrives on physical media on August 25 with a new overly long titleI'll take it, first day!
Dal on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyI’d like to hear your thoughts
D3SH on Blades of the Guardians (2026) ReviewHonestly thought the film was the wuxia equivalent of Marvel slop. Entertaini…
Ningen on The Japanese ‘Rocky’? Perhaps. But it’s every bit its equal! Shuji Terayama’s ‘The Boxer’ arrives on Blu-ray in JulyIf you like it, check out Ashita no Joe on Crunchyroll.
dakuan on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters Fridayyou sound like Michael Jackson on that old South Park episode. "That's ignora…
JJ Bona on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyThanks for elaborating. Good to know. I'll give it a chance if it convenientl…
Dal on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyNo, it wasn’t just the lack of action pieces, l was disappointed with the who…
Ningen on Shaolin Soccer (2001) ReviewLooks like it's the dubbed version. *Sigh*. https://www.academymuseum.org/pro…
Ningen on GET OVER HERE! Watch a fight clip from ‘Mortal Kombat II’ starring Karl Urban, Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki SanadaFirst ten minutes free. https://youtu.be/Uwq3EzDCVqA?si=_c5WWbNAS00qtj6Z
Ningen on Shaolin Soccer (2001) ReviewAcademy screening this Sunday. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZVN8r5APMX/?ut…
JJ Bona on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyHmmm... Sounds like the common complaint is for the lack of any interesting a…
Dal on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in JulyI went in expecting to love Tornado but left the cinema really disappointed!…
JJ Bona on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWould definitely be interesting to see Bren Foster in a HK flick. They'd get…
Steve Marger on Martial arts star Cynthia Rothrock teams up with Tim Scanlon for SRS Cinema’s Blu-ray for ‘Ryan Carson’You don't know the budget and/or the time constraints that came with this mov…
Anonymous on Most posters ever award goes to THE FURIOUS! The highly anticipated martial arts thriller hitting theaters FridayEverything is inspired by things that came before. Hong Kong cinema itself wa…
-
Disclaimer: cityonfire.com does not own any of the photos contained in the blog. cityonfire.com was made merely to pay homage to these films, directors, talent, etc. and not for any profit or commercial reasons. No copyright infringement intended. The photos are copyrighted and courtesy by their respective owners.
“Copyright Disclaimer, Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statue that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, education or personal use tops the balance in favor of fair use.”
Category Archives: Reviews
Angel Terminators (1990) Review
Director: Wai Lit Producer: Georges Lai Cast: Sharon Yeung Pan Pan, Kenneth Tsang, Carrie Ng, Michiko Nishiwaki, Alan Chui Chung San, Kara Hui Ying Hung, Cheng Yuen Man, Dick Wei Running Time: 91 min. By HKFanatic Here’s a full admission: I love “girls with guns” movies. Back in the late 80’s and 90’s, this sub-genre of Hong Kong action cinema saw women like Moon Lee and Cynthia Khan kicking and … Continue reading
Posted in Chinese, News, Reviews
Tagged Carrie Ng Kar Lai, Dick Wei, Kara Hui, Kenneth Tsang, Michiko Nishikawa, Sharon Yeung Pan Pan
Taking Manhattan (1992) Review
Director: Kirk Wong Producer: Eric Tsang Cast: Carrie Ng, Lui Chi Yin, Andrew Chan Gwan, Jeff Lee Tak Wing, David Lea, Connie Cabret, Alana Jerins, Michael Lewis, Angelo Lopez, Jaclyn Ngai, Benny Nieves Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s common knowledge that many Hong Kong directors have, in the past, tried their hand at making a movie in an English speaking country. Philip Ko brought Simon Yam to … Continue reading
Switch (2013) Review
Director: Jay Sun Writer: Jay Sun Cast: Andy Lau, Tong Dawei, Zhang Jing Chu, Lin Chi-ling, Siqin Gaowa, Liu Yu Qi, Wu Xiu Bo Running Time: 122 min. By Paul Bramhall With China quickly becoming one of the biggest movie markets in the world, the temptation to appeal to the sizable Chinese box office has seen a lot of the studios adjusting their output for the audience there. Hollywood co-productions … Continue reading
Pirates, The (2014) Review
Director: Lee Seok-Hun Cast: Kim Nam-Gil, Son Ye-Jin, Yu Hae-Jin, Lee Kyung-Young, Oh Dal-Su, Kim Tae-Woo, Park Cheol-Min, Shin Jeong-Geun, Kim Won-Hae, Jo Dal-Hwan, Jo Hee-Bong, Jeong Seong-Hwa, Sully, Lee Yi-Kyung Running Time: 130 min. By Kelly Warner Sometimes a movie surprises you. As I sat down to watch the South Korean adventure The Pirates, I expected a silly headache of a movie that existed just to cash-in on the … Continue reading
Bruce’s Deadly Fingers (1976) Review
AKA: Bruce’s Fingers Director: Joseph Kong Cast: Bruce Le, Michael Chan Wai Man, Lo Lieh, Nora Miao Ke Hsiu, Cheung Lik, Chu Chi Ling, Bolo Yeung Tze, Kong Do, Tong Tin Hei, Li Chao, Kok Lee Yan Running Time: 90 min. By Matthew Le-feuvre The “MacGuffin” or “suspension of disbelief” (a reference term coined by Sharon Stone’s femme fatale character from Basic Instinct) has neither been a celluloid problem for the … Continue reading
Divine Move, The (2014) Review
Director: Jo Beom-Goo Cast: Jeong Woo-Sung, Lee Bum-Soo, Ahn Seong-Gi, Kim In-Kwon, Lee Si-Young, Ahn Gil-Gang, Lee Do-Kyung, Choi Jin-Hyuk, Jeong Hae-Gyun Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall The gambling genre seems to come in and out of fashion in Asian cinema. The early 80’s gave us Shaw Brothers gambling flicks such as Challenge of the Gamesters, by the early 90’s we had Chow Yun Fat doing his thing … Continue reading
Posted in Korean, News, Reviews
Tagged Ahn Seo-hyun, Jo Beom-goo, Jung Woo-sung, Lee Si-Young
Tekken 2: Kazuya’s Revenge (2014) Review
AKA: Tekken: A Man Called X Director: Wych Kaosayananda Cast: Kane Kosugi, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rade Serbedzija, Gary Daniels, Kelly Wenham, Ron Smoorenburg, Paige Lindquist, Charlotte Kirk Running Time: 88 min. By Kelly Warner 2010’s Tekken came and went without many people taking notice. Well, I’m going to be honest: I kind of liked the film. I mean, make no mistake, I would never call it a good movie, but it’s … Continue reading
Posted in News, Reviews, Thai
Tagged Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Gary Daniels, Kane Kosugi, Ron Smoorenburg, Wych Kaosayananda
Tokyo Drifter (1966) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji, Tsuyoshi Yoshida, Ryuji Kita Running Time: 83 min. By Kelly Warner Most film buffs probably know the story of how director Seijun Suzuki was fired by Nikkatsu after producing his 1967 film Branded to Kill, and was then effectively blacklisted from filmmaking after suing his former employers. But the story is more complicated than that. Branded to Kill … Continue reading
Hard Day, A (2014) Review
Director: Kim Seong-Hun Cast: Lee Seon-Gyun, Jo Jin-Woong, Shin Jeong-Geun, Jeong Man-Sik, Kim Gang-Hyun Running Time: 111 min. By oneleaf Nothing is going right for ill-tempered, single parent Detective Go today. Driving to his mother’s funeral, he receives a call from a colleague informing him that the precinct is being raided by agents from Internal Affairs who are armed with ledgers of corrupt officers taking bribes. Fazed and distracted by … Continue reading
Beyond Outrage (2012) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Beat Takeshi, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Akira Nakao, Shigeru Koyama, Toshiyuki Nishida, Sansei Shiomi, Katsunori Takahashi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yutaka Matsushige, Hideo Nakano, Kenta Kiritani, Hirofumi Arai, Tetsushi Tanaka Running Time: 112 min. By HKFanatic After delivering a modern update on the popular Zatoichi character in 2003, writer/director/actor Takeshi Kitano spent the rest of that decade on a detour into the world of avant … Continue reading
Future Hunters | aka Deadly Quest (1986) Review
AKA: Spear of Destiny Director: Cirio H. Santiago Cast: Robert Patrick, Linda Carol, Ed Crick, Bob Schott, David Light, Paul Holmes, Peter Shilton, Ursula Marquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Bruce Le (aka Huang Kin Long, Wong Kin Lung), Hwang Jang Lee, Richard Norton, Mike Abbott Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall There are some movies which simple defy normal comprehension, and even before reading any sort of synopsis, just by looking … Continue reading
Man on High Heels (2014) Review
Director: Jang Jin Cast: Cha Seung-Won, Oh Jeong-Se, Lee Som, Go Kyung-Pyo, Shin Sung-Hun, Jo Bok-Rae Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall In many ways the gangster genre is to the Korean movie industry what the heroic bloodshed genre was to the Hong Kong movie industry of the 90’s. Ever since Korean cinema gained international recognition in the late 90’s, every year we can be guaranteed a hard hitting … Continue reading
























6 Comments