Havoc (2025) Review

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Paul Bramhall
"Havoc" Netflix Poster

“Havoc” Netflix Poster

Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker, Sunny Pang, Justin Cornwell, Luis Guzmán, Jessie Mei Li, Yeo Yann Yann, Quelin Sepulveda, Michelle Waterson, Gordon Alexander, John Cummins
Running Time: 105 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Most of the audience for Havoc will consist of the average Netflix subscriber looking for their latest action fix, which isn’t a bad thing. For some of us though, it’s a much bigger deal than just the latest straight to streaming action movie, marking the return of director Gareth Evans to feature length action movie making for the first time since 2014’s The Raid 2. While in-between the Welshman has directed the folk horror tale The Apostle in 2018, as well as helming several episodes of the TV series Gangs of London (which he created), for action fans he’ll always be known for the trilogy of movies he made in Indonesia with Iko Uwais, a silat practitioner who he discovered in 2007. Together they made 2009’s Merantau, 2011’s The Raid: Redemption, and the previously mentioned sequel from 2014, productions that would have a lasting influence on action filmmaking that continues to this day.

With Evans departure from Indonesia to return to his home country it felt unclear for a while if that meant he’d also put his action filmmaking days behind him, however if what’s on display in Havoc is anything to go by, then that clarity is now very much there – 11 years on he’s still very much an action filmmaker. Described by the man himself as being strongly influenced Continue reading →

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

The Tattooed Dragon | Blu-ray (Eureka)

Posted on April 25, 2025 by JJ Bona

RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2025

On July 21, 2025, Eureka is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for The Tattooed Dragon, a 1973 Golden Harvest kung fu classic starring Jimmy Wang Yu (The One-Armed Swordsman).

Written and directed by Lo Wei, the man behind the Bruce Lee’s international hits The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, The Tattooed Dragon was designed to bring martial arts superstar Jimmy Wang Yu to a global audience still hungry for kung fu cinema in the aftermath Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News | Tagged |

Yadang: The Snitch (2025) Review

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Paul Bramhall
"Yadang: The Snitch" Theatrical Poster

“Yadang: The Snitch” Theatrical Poster

Director: Hwang Byeong-gug
Cast: Kang Ha-neul, Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-joon, Chae Won-bin, Ryu Kyung-soo, Kim Geum-soon, Yu Seong-ju, Lim Sung-kyun, Cho Wan-ki, Kim Mi Suk
Running Time: 122 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

In Korea the term Yadang refers to a professional snitch, a role that exists as an unofficial liaison between the junkies and the cops, forming a kind of symbiotic relationship that allows the latter to leverage the former in extracting information on where the drugs they take are coming from. The snitch is paid for their services under the table, and technically everyone should walk away happy – the cops get a fast track to intel that would otherwise take months of investigative work, and the junkies escape jailtime thanks to the information they’ve given up. In Yadang: The Snitch the title role is played by Kang Ha-neul (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure, Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet), who we meet in a fast-paced opening segment that shows how he came to exclusively work for an ambitious prosecutor played by Yoo Hae-jin (Exhuma, Confidential Assignment).

Keen to work his way up the ranks, the pair have become so good at what they do that Hae-jin starts getting to the criminals before the cops do, much to the chagrin of a detective played by Park Hae-joon (Heart Blackened, Believer), whose months of investigative work turn out to be for nothing. However when the trio’s paths overlap during a drug bust involving Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Is it a Boeing 737 MAX? Trailer for ‘Wings of Dread’ starring ‘The Raid’ martial arts star Iko Uwais and Ashton Chen

Posted on April 24, 2025 by JJ Bona

We’ll soon be seeing Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2, Headshot, Beyond Skyline) in Wings of Dread, an upcoming action thriller directed by Qin Pengfei (Fight Against Evil, Black Storm) and Ashton Chen (Ip Man 2, Blade of Fury), who will also co-star alongside Uwais.

According to AT, Wings of Dread is Iko Uwais’ first Continue reading →

Posted in News, Top 4 Featured |

Some magnificent news! Chang Cheh’s ‘The Magnificent Trio’ and ‘Magnificent Wanderers’ is now shipping!

Posted on April 24, 2025 by JJ Bona

On April 28, 2025, Eureka is releasing a Blu-ray (Region B) collection for The Magnificent Chang Cheh, which will include 1966’s The Magnificent Trio and 1977’s Magnificent Wanderers.

One of the Shaw Brothers Studio’s most prolific directors, Chang Cheh – or the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema” – is the filmmaker behind Five Deadly Venoms, Chinatown Kid and Boxer Rebellion. Collected here are two films by this maestro of martial arts Continue reading →

Posted in News, Top 4 Featured |

Was it Cliff who made Bruce disappear? Plot details and title for David Fincher’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ sequel

Posted on April 23, 2025 by JJ Bona

A sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood – titled The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth – is brewing with David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) directing a script written by Tarantino.

Frequent Fincher/Tarantino collaborator Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds) will reprise his role as Cliff Booth, the tough-guy Hollywood stuntman Continue reading →

Posted in News |

Bren Foster vs Kris Van Damme? ‘Life After Fighting’ star Bren Foster returns in the Jesse V. Johnson-penned ‘The Farmer’

Posted on April 23, 2025 by JJ Bona

Production has wrapped for The Farmer, an upcoming actioner starring Australian martial artist Bren Foster, who is hot off the heels of his impressive 2024 film debut, Life After Fighting (which he also directed, wrote, produced and choreographed).

The Farmer finds Foster once again taking the lead as an ex-fighter who, while making a living working on a farm and underground fighting, finds himself Continue reading →

Posted in News |

Shaolin Boxers, The (1974) Review

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Ian Whittle
Shaolin Boxers | Blu-ray (Eureka)

Shaolin Boxers | Blu-ray (Eureka)

Director: Huang Ta
Cast: James Tin, Lee Tin-ying, Li Min-lang, Chu Mu, Leung Tin, Tien Mi, Hon Kwok-Choi, Chu Mu, Choi Sui-Cheng, Cheung Chok-Chow, Mars
Running Time: 78 min.

By Ian Whittle

“The only problem with James Tien seems to be his weight. When we first saw him on screen he was slim and muscular but of late his girth seems to have increased somewhat. Perhaps his marriage early in 1974 had something to do with it. The studio claims he does not drink much but home cooking can spoil the form of a kung fu fighter.”

– Clash Magazine, 1975

Ouch!

James Tien is probably one of kung fu cinema’s big enigmas – since retiring in 1993 after Blade of Fury, he does not appear to have given a single interview on his career. The impression some film critics/historians like to cultivate is of him seething away at Bruce Lee having stolen his thunder, much in the manner that we know Bela Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, Golden Harvest, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

A licky boom boom down! Watch the Trailer for ‘Yadang: The Snitch’ arriving in Theaters on April 25th from Well Go USA

Posted on April 21, 2025 by JJ Bona
"Yadang: The Snitch" Theatrical Poster

“Yadang: The Snitch” Theatrical Poster

In Theaters April 25th and On Digital September 9th is Hwang Byeong-gug’s Yadang: The Snitch, the latest South Korean import from Well Go USA.

Framed and left for dead by the ruthless prosecutor he once served, Kang-su — a cunning drug informant — finds himself crippled and locked away. Years later, freed but broken, he teams up with a disillusioned detective to take down the corrupt power structure that betrayed him. Fueled by vengeance and a fierce will to reclaim his life, Kang-su’s fight for justice blurs the line between hero and villain. Ya Dang The Snitch — a gritty tale of betrayal and redemption.

Yadang: The Snitch stars Kang Ha-neul (Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet), Yoo Hae-jin (Confidential Assignment), Park Hae-joon (Heart Blackened), Ryu Continue reading →

Posted in News |

The Beast to Die | Blu-ray (Radiance)

Posted on April 21, 2025 by JJ Bona

RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2025

On July 21, 2025, Radiance is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for 1980’s The Beast to Die. Directed by Toru Murakawa (The Game Trilogy) from a venomous script by Shoichi Maruyama (Yokohama BJ Blues), this unsettling dark thriller was Yusaku Matsuda’s farewell to his 1970s action hero persona.

Deeply scarred by what he witnessed on battlefields across Asia, a young war photographer (Yusaku Matsuda, Yokohama BJ Blues) returns to the bustling Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, News | Tagged |

1.21 gigawatts!!! Action comedy ‘A Samurai in Time’ arriving to Blu-ray on April 28 from Third Window Films

Posted on April 20, 2025 by JJ Bona

On April 28, 2025, Third Window Films is releasing a Blu-ray (Region Free) for A Samurai in Time, a 2023 action-comedy from director Junichi Yasuda (Gohan).

With one strike of lightning, samurai Kosaka Shinzaemon accidentally teleports through time and finds himself in modern day Japan. However, his realisation doesn’t hit so quickly, because of all places, he happens to land on a period drama film set! After facing the director’s wrath for veering away from a script he has no idea about, Kosaka is saved by the kind Continue reading →

Posted in News |

Monkey Goes West, The (1966) Review

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Paul Bramhall
The Monkey Goes West | Blu-ray (Imprint)

The Monkey Goes West | Blu-ray (Imprint)

Director: Ho Meng Hua
Cast: Yueh Hua, Ho Fan, Pang Pang, Tien Shun, Fan Mei Sheng, Kao Pao-Shu, Lan Wei-Lieh, Li Yin, Diana Chang Chung-Wen, Mao Wei
Running Time: 112 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Having gotten into Asian cinema in the late 1990’s, my first exposure to the phenomena of Journey to the West mania came in the 2010’s. For most of the decade it felt like a big screen adaptation of the 16th century novel was never more than a few months away – from Soi Cheang’s Monkey King trilogy (2014 – 2018), Stephen Chow’s double bill of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and Journey to the West: Demon Chapter (2017), Derek Kwok’s 2017 adaptation Wu Kong, to a big budget 3D animated feature in the form of The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven (2012). That’s before you begin to count the literal bombardment of web-movies (easily pushing into double figures) that also took the tale as their inspiration.

Looking at the bigger picture though, it quickly becomes clear that movie adaptations of Journey to the West have never really gone away. Since the first known version in 1927 called Journey to the West: The Spider’s Cave, the tale of a monk travelling to India to retrieve a Buddhist scripture has been having the spotlight stolen out from under him for close to 100 years Continue reading →

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , |

Godzilla Minus Two? Takashi Yamakazi’s ‘Godzilla Minus One’ sequel may start filming this year

Posted on April 14, 2025 by JJ Bona

Later this year, Takashi Yamazaki (The Fighter Pilot), the director of the massively successful 2023 kaiju thriller, Godzilla Minus One, will start filming Godzilla Minus One 2. No plot details have been revealed, but the follow-up will be a direct sequel that takes place in Japan.

A sequel to Godzilla Minus One should come as no surprise, given Godzilla Minus One was this incredible success in late 2023 — earning $55M Continue reading →

Posted in News |

Under the Gun (1995) Review

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Z Ravas
"Under the Gun" Theatrical Poster

“Under the Gun” Theatrical Poster

Director: Matthew George
Cast: Richard Norton, Kathy Long, Jane Badler, Peter Lindsay, Robert Bruce, David Serafin, Ron Vreeken, Tino Ceberano, Adam Haddrick, Sam Greco
Running Time: 93 min.

By Z Ravas

As action fans around the globe react with sadness at the untimely loss of actor Richard Norton at the age of 75, I realized it was high time I dug deeper into the actor’s body of work. Sure, like most fans of Hong Kong martial arts movies, I’d seen Norton square off against Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan in movies like Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars and City Hunter, but I’d never actually watched one of his starring vehicles. When I read a review of the 1995 actioner Under the Gun that labeled it the ‘Direct to Video martial arts version of Uncut Gems,’ I just had to see for myself how a movie could live up to that description; if you’re familiar with that 2019 high anxiety thriller from the Safdie Brothers, about a compulsive gambler trying to pay off his debt to the mob before time runs out, you know it didn’t exactly feel like it had room for spin kicks.

And yet, I’m here to tell you that that description is not far off. Under the Gun follows Richard Norton as Frank Torrence, a former professional hockey player(!) turned nightclub owner with a problem: he’s got one last shift to work before he signs a deal to sell his club and absconds to Mexico City, but seemingly everyone who walks through the doors of his establishment Continue reading →

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

Do you believe in miracles? 88 Films’ 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release for Jackie Chan’s 1989 masterpiece is now shipping

Posted on April 12, 2025 by JJ Bona

On April 14, 2025, 88 Films is releasing a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Region B) release for Miracles (aka Mr. Canton and Lady Rose), Jackie Chan’s 1989 Golden Harvest martial arts film, which is loosely remade from Frank Capra’s 1961 classic Pocketful of Miracles.

Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, Miracles features an all-star cast that includes Rose Gua Ah Leh (The Wedding Banquet), Anita Mui Yim-fong (Drunken Master 2), Wu Ma (The Blonde Fury), Michael Chow Man Kin (Era of Vampires), Fung Hak Continue reading →

Posted in News |
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