Category Archives: Reviews

Drive (2011) Review

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn Writer: Hossein Amini, James Sallis Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks, Kaden Leos, Jeff Wolfe, James Biberi Running Time: 100 min. By HKFanatic When a director has good taste in music, or at least makes the right selections on the soundtrack, it can change the viewer’s entire perception of a film. Nicolas Winding Refn added an unexpected … Continue reading

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Outrage (2010) Review

Outrage: Way of the Yakuza Blu-ray & DVD (Magnolia)

Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Tomokazu Miura, Jun Kunimura, Tetta Sugimoto, Takashi Tsukamoto, Hideo Nakano, Renji Ishibashi, Fumiyo Kohinata Running Time: 109 min. By HKFanatic “Outrage” is Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano’s first Yakuza film in ten years (since 2000’s “Brother“). Kitano himself admitted he designed the film from the ground up to be a commercial crowd-pleaser, a goal that seems well within his … Continue reading

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Redbelt (2008) Review

"Redbelt" American Theatrical Poster

Director: David Mamet Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, Rodrigo Santoro, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Randy Couture, Caroline de Souza Correa, Mike Goldberg, Damon Herriman, Dan Inosanto, Enson Inoue, Ricky Jay, John Machado, Ray Mancini, Joe Mantegna, Max Martini, Emily Mortimer, David Paymer Running Time: 100 min. By JJ Hatfield Red Belt is truly an exceptional martial arts movie. It achieves this distinction by focusing on one quiet unassuming man … Continue reading

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Last Man Standing (1996) Review

Director: Walter Hill Writer: Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Walter Hill Producer: Walter Hill, Arthur M. Sarkissian Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Alexandra Powers, David Patrick Kelly, Karina Lombard, Bruce Dern Running Time: 101 min. By HKFanatic With a $67 million price tag, the box office failure of “Last Man Standing” in 1996 put a momentary end to Bruce Willis’ Hollywood clout and effectively derailed director Walter Hill’s career. It’s not … Continue reading

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Mad Detective (2007) Review

"Mad Detective" Theatrical Poster

Director: Johnnie To Co-director: Wai Ka-Fai Cast: Lau Ching-Wan, Andy On Chi-Kit, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Kelly Lin Hsi-Lei, Lee Kwok-Lun, Karen Lee, Flora Chan Wai-Shan, Eddy Ko Hung, Lam Suet Running Time: 91 min. By Mighty Peking Man Johnny To is usually a hit or miss with me, but I respect the guy. After all, he makes a shit load of movies (usually 2 a year, not counting ones he … Continue reading

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Fong Sai-yuk II | aka Legend of Fong Sai-yuk 2 (1993) Review

"Fong Sai-yuk II" DVD Cover

Director: Corey Yuen  Cast: Jet Li, Josephine Siao, Michelle Reis, Adam Cheng, Corey Yuen, Peter Chan Lung Running Time: 96 min.  By Numskull Not many wire fu movies deliver the goods as well as Fong Sai Yuk does, and not many sequels match up to the original as well as Fong Sai Yuk 2. Jet Li, Michelle Reis, and Josephine Siao all return as the title character, his puppy-dog eyed fiancee … Continue reading

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Fong Sai-yuk | The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk (1993) Review

"The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk" DVD Cover

Director: Corey Yuen  Cast: Jet Li, Josephine Siao, Michelle Reis, Sibelle Hu, Peter Chan Lung, Paul Chu Kong  Running Time: 100 min.  By Numskull Ah, the days when duels to the death (or at least to the severe bruising) were fought in public at the drop of a hat and ripe, buxom young women were offered as prizes to the most skilled combatants. Fling all the synonyms for “barbaric” you … Continue reading

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Mission: Impossible II | aka M:I-2 (2000) Review

"Mission: Impossible II" American Theatrical Poster

Director: John Woo Cast: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, William R. Mapother, Brendan Gleeson, Anthony Hopkins, John Polson, Dominic Purcell Running Time: 123 min. By HKFanatic “Mission: Impossible II” is one of those films that debuted to big money at the box office (it’s still the most successful film in the franchise, although “Ghost Protocol” is getting there), only to later be regarded with great critical and … Continue reading

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Infatuation (1995) Review

Director: Jimmy Sin Chi-Wai Writer: Choi Ting-Ting Producer: Chow Yiu-Shan Cast: Francoise Yip, Wong Chung-Kwan, Money Lo Man-Yee, Simon Lui Yu-Yeung, Donna Chu Git-Yee, Hugo Ng Doi-Yung Running Time: 92 min. By Brmanuk Ken (Wong Chung Kwan) has a drunken one night stand with his secretary, Maggie (Francoise Yip Fong Wah), whilst separated from his wife May (Money Lo Man Yee). When Ken and May reconcile, Maggie, who wrongly believes … Continue reading

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Cannonball Run, The (1981) Review

"The Cannonball Run" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Hal Needham Cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, George Furth, Michael Hui, Johnny Yune, Molly Picon, Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder Running Time: 95 min. By Numskull The infrared sureillance device in Jackie’s computerized race car may be “the cat’s ass”, but this movie certainly isn’t. It’s more … Continue reading

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Expendables, The: Extended Director’s Cut (2010) Review

"The Expendables: Extended Director's Cut" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Sylvester Stallone Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Daniels, David Zayas Running Time: 113 min. By HKFanatic “Double dipping” is a fairly common practice for studios these days. If a film you love comes out on blu-ray and has a weak visual transfer, you can pretty much hold your breath until … Continue reading

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Cutie Honey (2004) Review

Director: Hideaki Anno Cast: Eriko Sato, Mikako Ichikawa, Jun Murakami, Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Hairi Katagiri, Shie Kohinata, Mayumi Shintani, Eisuke Sasai, Toru Tezuka, Ryō Kase, Ryo Iwamatsu, Suzuki Matsuo, Kyusaku Shimada, Ryuhei Matsuda Running Time: 93 min. By Ningen This live-action film is based an anime series about a cyborg girl who changes outfits and weapons to fight crime, the appeal being that she briefly becomes naked when she changes. For … Continue reading

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Love Exposure (2008) Review

"Love Exposure" International Theatrical Poster

Director: Sion Sono Writer: Sion Sono Producer: Haruo Umekawa Cast: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Ando, Makiko Watanabe, Atsuro Watabe Running Time: 237 min. By HKFanatic This is a film whose reputation precedes it – that of being one long-ass movie. “Love Exposure” is “Suicide Club” director Sion Sono’s four hour ode to love, Christianity, upskirt photography, and awkward erections. To be honest, I put “Love Exposure” into my DVD … Continue reading

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Champions | aka Duo Biao (2008) Review

"Champions" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Tsui Siu Ming Writer: Tsui Siu Ming Producer: Tom Cheung, Amy Lee, Tsui Siu Ming Cast: Dicky Cheung Wai Kin, Tse Miu, Debbie Ng Tin Yu, Priscilla Wong Cuiru, Chui Heung Tung, Wai Chi Ho, Yu Rong Guang, Maria Cordero, Lee Fai Running Time: 117 min. By HKFanatic If you thought “Ip Man 2” and “Jet Li’s Fearless” went a wee bit overboard with their jingoistic ‘ra ra China’ … Continue reading

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Dream of a Warrior (2001) Review

Director: Park Hee-Joon Producer: Kim Hyung-Joon Cast: Leon Lai Ming, Lee Na-Young, Park Eun-Hye, Yoon Tae-Young, Kim Ji-Moo Running Time: 84 min. By JJ Hatfield A tale of romance and time travel begins with action in a futuristic? form of Korea. Having a question mark in the first sentence should serve as a warning to the reader – there are many questionable aspects of this movie. This film is billed … Continue reading

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