Breathing Fire (1991) Review

"Breathing Fire" Theatrical Poster

“Breathing Fire” Theatrical Poster

Director: Lou Kennedy
Co-director: Brandon De-Wilde
Cast: Ke Huy Quan, Eddie Saavedra, Ed Neil, Jerry Trimble, Bolo Yeung, Wendell C. Whitaker
Running Time: 85 min.

By Henry McKeand

How’s this for an early-90s time capsule? Breathing Fire is a film so dedicated to its Xtreme teenage aesthetic that the plot revolves around a group of kickboxing bank robbers searching for a slice of pizza. Just when you think it couldn’t get more radical, the two young heroes turn out to be martial arts prodigies who turn even boring chores into electro hip-hop dance competitions. These are Power Rangers characters filtered through a sun-soaked DTV action filter—Chuck Norris acolytes with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle personalities. 

These characters exist in a movie that belongs to the unofficial “evil henchman played by Bolo Yeung” subgenre of American action cinema. Everyone’s trying to kick like JCVD and the whole thing is shot like a Fat Boys music video. It’s a visual celebration of yuppie American excess, but it worships at the altar of HK action and uses a Taiwanese crew to craft bold, workmanlike fight sequences. It’s clearly shot in contemporary California, but there’s something alien about its world—dialogue delivered by native English speakers is stilted to the point of sounding dubbed. 

The plot revolves around Tony, played by Eddie Saavedra, and his adopted Vietnamese brother Charlie, played by Ke Huy Quan. Unbeknownst to them, their father Michael, played by Jerry Trimble, is a ruthless criminal who has stored the loot from a major gold heist in a vault that requires two keys to enter. Naturally, he and his gang encrust the keys into a plastic pizza and then cut the pizza into several slices, meaning they need each other to access the gold. Through a series of misadventures, Tony and Charlie are introduced to Annie (played by Laura Hamilton), the daughter Continue reading

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

Clementine (2004) Review

"Clementine" Theatrical Poster

“Clementine” Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Doo-young
Cast: Lee Dong-jun, Steven Seagal, Kim Hye-Ri, Eun Seo-Woo, Ki Joo-Bong, Kim Jung-Tae, Lim Ho, Lim Hyeok-Pil, Simon Rhee, So-yeon Kim, Jun Won-Joo
Running Time: 100 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The likelihood is you’ve never found yourself asking if there’s a Korean version of Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, but just on the off chance that you have, then let me put forward the case for Lee Dong-jun. A three-time taekwondo world champion and regular member of the Korean national team in the 1980s, similar to Wilson he converted to acting once his competitive career had run its course, turning up in various tough guy roles to dispense precision timed kicks to the face. It would be 1996’s Charisma that arguably offered up the best opportunity for Dong-jun to show off his skills, one of many direct-to-video taekwondo gangster flicks that Korea cranked out throughout the 1990’s, and the directorial debut of Kim Doo-young.

Doo-young would only go on to direct 2 more movies after his debut, the first being 2003’s Dying or Live about a restaurant delivery driver who’s obsessed with Bruce Lee, and the second coming a year later in the form of Clementine. His final feature is noteworthy because it finally gave Dong-jun star billing in a taekwondo movie, and to top it all off, the selling point was that his main opponent would be Steven Seagal! The master of mumbling and Aikido had his final cinematic outing just a couple of years prior with 2002’s Half Past Dead, and in 2004 many were still dazed and confused as to what direction Seagal’s career was headed in (including me!). DTV seemed to be the order of the day, and while The Foreigner was unwatchable dreck, Belly of the Beast saw legendary Hong Kong director and choreographer Ching Siu-Tung at the helm. So, Steven Seagal Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Drive My Car | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Drive My Car | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Drive My Car | Blu-ray (Criterion)

RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2022

On July 19, 2022, Criterion is releasing the Blu-ray and DVD for Drive My Car (read our review), a 2021 film from co-writer (with Takamasa Oe) and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. This award-winning, critically acclaimed film stars Hidetoshi Nishijima (Mozu: The Movie), Masaki Okada (Rage) and Toko Miura (Silent Rain).

Official details:

Only Ryusuke Hamaguchi—with his extraordinary sensitivity to the mysterious resonances of human interactions—could sweep up international awards and galvanize audiences everywhere with a pensive, three-hour movie about an experimental staging of an Anton Chekhov play, presented in nine languages and adapted from Haruki Murakami stories. With Continue reading

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

Okja | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Okja | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Okja | Blu-ray (Criterion)

RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2022

On July 5, 2022, Criterion is releasing the 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD for Okja, from Bong Joon-ho (The Snowpiercer), the acclaimed director of the 2006 Korean monster masterpiece The Host, as well as the 2019 sensation, Parasite.

Read the official details below:

Master genre exploder Bong Joon Ho swirls pathos, dark satire, action, and horror into an exhilarating twenty-first-century fairy tale. An all-star cast including Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, and Jake Gyllenhaal is led by An Seo Hyun as Mija, a South Korean girl growing up on an Edenic mountainside with her grandfather and best friend: Okja, a giant, empathetic “superpig” created as part of a secret GMO experiment. When Continue reading

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

Deal on Fire! The Karate Kid Collection | 4K UHD + Blu-ray | Only $41.99 – Expires soon!

The Karate Kid Collection |

Today’s Deal on Fire is the 4K + Blu-ray + Digital set for The Karate Kid Collection, which includes The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid II and The Karate Kid III (The Next Karate Kid is absent from this collection).

Read on for the official Continue reading

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) Review

"Everything Everywhere All At Once" Poster

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” Poster

Director: Dan Kwan
Co-director: Daniel Scheinert
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sunita Mani, Aaron Lazar, Audrey Wasilewski
Running Time: 139 min.

By Paul Bramhall

As an actress Michelle Yeoh has made an impact in every decade she’s been active. In the 80’s she kick-started the Girls with Guns genre in her first starring role with Yes, Madam!. In the 90’s she came out of retirement and proceeded to give both Jackie Chan and James Bond a run for their money, co-starring along side Chan in Police Story 3: Supercop, and being the first Asian Bond girl in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies. In the 2000’s she’d star in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and in doing so introduced the wuxia genre to the world in a way which no other film has before or since, and in the 2010’s she featured in the first Hollywood movie to have a leading cast consisting entirely of Asians with the (appropriately titled) Crazy Rich Asians. Now in 2022 Yeoh once again leaves her mark on the 2020’s by headlining Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The sophomore feature length production from the duo known as Daniels – consisting of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once follows 2016’s Swiss Army Man, and if anything shows their knack for the off-kilter and quirky certainly wasn’t a one off. The plot focuses on Yeoh’s laundromat owner who’s having a particularly stressful day. On top of needing to prepare for a tax audit by the IRS, her demanding father is flying in for a Chinese New Year party taking place later on the same day, her stubborn daughter wants to bring her girlfriend, and she’s Continue reading

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

Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) Review

"Mechanical Violator Hakaider" Theatrical Poster

“Mechanical Violator Hakaider” Theatrical Poster

Director: Keita Amemiya
Cast: Yuji Kishimoto, Mai Hosho, Yasuaki Honda, Dai Matsumoto, Kazuhiko Inoue, Sumisu Andi
Running Time: 51/71 min.

By Henry McKeand

There’s cerebral, lore driven science fiction, and then there’s something like Mechanical Violator Hakaider: a lizard-brained action fantasy with little patience for traditional world-building or character development. Directed by Keita Amemiya (Zeiram, Kamen Rider ZO) and based on the 1972 tokusatsu series Android Kikaider, the film is a blissfully short piece of violent, industrial cyberpunk that prioritizes special effects and atmosphere over all else.

The original Kikaider series focused on the titular android, a superhero who regularly faced off against Hakaider, a villainous android. Like most tokusatsu shows, the series focused primarily on colorful spectacle, which was enough to warrant a manga adaptation and a follow-up series, Kikaider 01. These original shows were created by Shotaro Ishinomori, and they featured the same bright suits and high-concept heroics as other Ishinomori properties such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

By the time the 90s rolled around, tastes had evolved, and what was once a failproof formula had started to feel tame. Kikaider still had loyal fans, but two decades of cultural changes meant that modernizing the franchise would be tricky. Luckily, Amemiya turned out to be the perfect director for the job, and the resulting Mechanical Violator Hakaider captures so much of what’s charming Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews |

The Sadness | Blu-ray (Raven Banner)

The Sadness | Blu-ray (Raven Banner)

The Sadness | Blu-ray (Raven Banner)

RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2022

On May 17, 2022, Raven Banner will be releasing a Blu-ray for The Sadness (read our review), the debut feature from writer/director Rob Jabbaz. The film will also making its streaming debut on the Shudder streaming platform on May 12, 2022.

Produced and filmed in Taiwan, critics are calling The Sadness “The most violent and depraed zombie movie ever made”.

The city of Taipei suddenly erupts into bloody chaos as ordinary people are compulsively driven to enact the most cruel and ghastly things they can imagine. Murder, torture, and mutilation are only the beginning… A young couple is pushed to the limits of sanity as they try to reunite amid the violence and depravity. The age Continue reading

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

Midnight (2021) Review

"Midnight" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Midnight” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kwon Oh-Seung
Cast: Jin Ki-Joo, Wi Ha-Joon, Park Hoon, Gil Hae-Yeon, Kim Hye-Yoon, Na Eun-Saem, Kim Yoo-Ri, Kang Sang-Won, Lee Sang-Eun, Lim Seung-Min
Running Time: 100 min.

By Paul Bramhall

When looking at landmark movies that came to define Korean cinema in the 21st century, it shouldn’t take too long before Na Hong-jin’s 2008 serial killer thriller The Chaser is brought into the discussion. Sure there had been serial killer thrillers before, notably Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder from 2003, however it was The Chaser’s stripped down ticking clock narrative, pitting a former cop turned pimp versus a hammer wielding prostitute killer, that kick started a wave of similarly themed productions. Few were able to match the power and intensity of Hong-jin’s debut though, and by the time the 2020’s rolled around the Korean serial killer thriller as we’d come to know it had all but disappeared. That is until 2021, when another first-time director in the form of Kwon Oh-seung decided to go the serial killer route for his debut, Midnight. 

Midnight sees Wi Ha-joon (Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, Coin Locker Girl) as a suave psychopath with a penchant for killing women. This fact is established in the opening scene, wherein he does exactly that, luring a lady who’s just wrapped up working in a secluded part of town into his van by offering a lift to the main road. Of course, she never makes it. Things don’t go quite to plan for Ha-joon with his next victim though, a girl who he stabs in the stomach and dumps in a dark alley out of sight. She’s able to muster the strength to throw her shoes into the street in the hope of grabbing someone’s attention, and it proves enough to catch the eye of a passer-by played by Jin Ki-joo (Little Forest, The Land of Happiness). The twist on the standard genre tropes come in the form of Ki-joo’s character Continue reading

Posted in Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022) Review

"Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" Netflix Poster

“Yaksha: Ruthless Operations” Netflix Poster

Director: Nah Hyeon
Cast: Sol Kyung-Gu, Park Hae-Soo, Yang Dong-Geun, Lee El, Song Jae-Rim, Jin Young, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi 
Running Time: 125 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Taking its title from a type of spirit that exists in Hindu and Buddhist culture responsible for looking after hidden treasures, Yaksha: Ruthless Operations is also the name of the latest Korean offering from Netflix. Far from being a supernatural outing, here the reference is made to Sol Kyung-gu’s (Idol, Memoir of a Murderer) crumpled secret operative, who we meet in the opening scene on the tail of a double agent in Hong Kong. Bolting straight out of the gates, we get a grenade in the shape of a Yaksha’s head (or at least, that’s what I think it was), a vehicular chase that leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, and an intense fight scene as Kyung-gu and the double agent face off. With the Hong Kong police on his tail, Kyung-gu makes a call to advise the receiver that he’s going to fold, and proceeds to drop off the map.

Skipping ahead 4 years later and we meet righteous prosecutor played by Park Hae-soo (Time to Hunt, Pirates), who finds himself demoted when his team make an error that sees a high-profile client slip through the net. Redemption may be on the cards through when he’s offered a chance at being reinstated, coming in the form of a trip to Shenyang in Mainland China. It’s explained the city has the highest number of spies in Asia, and is essentially one large black site where power struggles between North and South Korea, China, and Japan play out hidden from view to the naked eye. Korea’s Intelligence Agency has a team there who work off the radar, however it’s become clear that the reports being sent through for the last 6 months are fake, and it’s now gotten Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

7 Undeniable Benefits of Starting a Blog for Your Business

Did you know that around 92% of marketers incorporate blog posts into their marketing strategy? While there are nearly 32 million active bloggers in the US, blogging is still a great way to stay competitive.

Blogging is an effective way to establish your company as an authority figure while increasing your website’s organic traffic. No matter what industry you’re in, your company can benefit from a business blog.

This guide will discuss our top seven benefits of starting a blog for your company.

1. Increase Your Website’s Traffic

Every business wants to increase the traffic to their website. People can find your company’s website by typing your name into a search engine, but that usually only works for customers that know who you are. You want to get on the radar of those who aren’t aware of what you have to offer.

Writing blog posts is a cost-effective way to boost traffic to your website, especially if you optimize them for search engines. By including relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for throughout your blogs, you can drive traffic to your website.

2. Repurpose Your Blogs for Other Initiatives

Business blogs can help you get discovered on other platforms, such as LinkedIn or Twitter. Each time you write a blog post, you can share it on your personal and professional social media accounts. You’ll expose your company to other people who might not know you.

You can also use your blog content for your social media posts. Your social media manager doesn’t have to create new content to post. They can pull information and graphics from the blogs you’ve written.

3. Establish Your Company Blog as an Authority Figure

Your blogs should include relevant information and tie back to the products and services you offer. The content should answer questions that your target audience is asking. Creating valuable articles or content will establish your company as an authority and industry leader.

If you’re unsure what to write about, use a blog topic generator. You can input information about your target audience and what you’re trying to solve for them. The online tool will help you develop a topic that you can use as a jumping-off point.

You can also include educational blog posts as sales tools in an email funnel. Drop a link to an informative blog post in one of your email blasts, helping your lead through the sales funnel.

For example, your sales team might get a question from a customer that requires a documented answer or a lengthy explanation. They can pull the response from your previous blog posts. The blogs will help the sales process progress while positioning your sales team as a helpful resource.

4. Convert Your Website Traffic Into Leads

Once you start getting more organic traffic to your website, it’s time to convert those visitors into leads. When you create a blog, each post allows you to generate additional leads for your company.

You can turn a blog reader into a lead by including a call-to-action with every blog post. Some examples of common calls-to-action include:

  • Book a demo
  • Read another article
  • Schedule a phone call
  • Download a free whitepaper, trial, etc.

Any blog you write should include a call to action. Remember that not all visitors to your blog will turn into leads. It’s important just to get started blogging, and you’ll notice an increase in your lead conversion.

5. Drive Your Company’s Long Term Results 

You don’t have to do a ton of work once you post a blog to your website. Over time, your blog will get views and leads.

For example, some people might see your blog post on social media a few days after it goes live. Your email subscribers might read your newsletter and check out the blog.

You’ll continue to get traffic to your website for weeks or even years after the blog post goes live. Many people only look at the first day of traffic to measure the success of a blog post. Blogs generate traffic and leads for your company beyond that first day or even week.

6. Promote Your Services and Products

Providing your readers with information and answering their questions is a vital component of blog posts. However, you should use blog posts as an opportunity to promote what your company has to offer.

For example, say your company sells shoes. You can write a blog post on the top 10 shoes that are trending for summer. In your blog, you can link back to shoes that you sell on your website.

This also applies if you offer services. Imagine that your company sells logos and other graphic design items. You can draft a blog on how to design a logo, referring to your services throughout the blog to encourage them to work with a professional.

7. Share News About Your Company

No matter the size of your business, you can promote and share company information through blog posts. Some news you can share includes:

  • New hire for your team
  • Interview with an industry expert
  • A case study that highlights your services and products
  • Trade show or event that you’ll be present at

Sharing company information helps humanize your business. It also helps your target audience see that you’re not just about promoting and selling your products.

Start a Business Blog to Grow Your Audience and Sales 

A business blog is a great way to establish your company as an authority figure while promoting your products and services. Your business will benefit from incorporating blog posts into your marketing campaigns.

Did you find this article helpful? Explore our blog to see more articles on how to grow your business.

Posted in News |

Dr. Lamb | Blu-ray (Unearthed Films)

Dr. Lamb | Blu-ray (Unearthed Films)

Dr. Lamb | Blu-ray (Unearthed Films)

RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2022

On August 9, 2022, Unearthed Films is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A) for Dr. Lamb, a 1992 Hong Kong film starring Simon Yam (Final Run), and directed by both Danny Lee Sau Yin (The Killer) and Billy Tang Hin Sing (Run and Kill).

Official details:

The infamous and legendary CAT III atrocity in its full uncut form from the 2K master, Dr. Lamb is coming from Unearthed Films in 2022!

A mentally disturbed taxi driver lusts for blood every rainy night, and several young women are brutally murdered. He likes to take photos of the victims’ dismembered bodies as his special mementos after has sex Continue reading

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

Wind Blast (2010) Review

"Wind Blast" Theatrical Poster

“Wind Blast” Theatrical Poster

Director Gao Qun-Shu
Cast: Duan Yi-Hong, Ni Da-Hong, Jacky Wu Jing, Zhang Li, Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Yu Nan, Xia Yu, Charlie Yeung, He Tiehong, Wang Shuang-Bao, Chi Qiang
Running Time: 114 min. 

By Paul Bramhall 

If any movie is representative of Chinese mainstream cinema being at a crossroads, then the case for Wind Blast being it is a strong one. Made in 2010, it was a time when China’s rapid economic development saw hundreds of cinemas being opened around the country, and the likes of both Hong Kong and Hollywood came to realise the box office potential a population of over a billion could bring. At the same time, while censorship was a given in Mainland cinema, it was still a world away from the path that would be set in 2014, when President Xi Jinping famously urged the film industry to make “patriotism the main theme of literary and artistic creation”. It was a statement that ushered in the era of ‘main melody’ movies, kick started the following year with Wolf Warrior, the sophomore directorial feature of Beijing native Wu Jing, a production that unashamedly branded itself as jingoistic propaganda to the tune of box office success.

Wu Jing had spent the majority of the mid-1990’s to late-2000’s in Hong Kong being branded as the next big kung fu star. While he worked with some of the best, including Yuen Woo-Ping, Lau Kar-Leung, and Donnie Yen, he never really stuck as leading man material despite his best efforts. In 2010 he released a statement revealing that he was tired of the celebrity culture that working in Hong Kong came with, and wished to head back to his homeland. Wind Blast was the first movie he’d work on having returned to the Mainland, and giving little indication to the stardom that would await him just 5 years later, here he’s unceremoniously cast in a supporting role (which may explain Continue reading

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

Kung Fu Stuntmen, Yuen Biao, Jet Li, Cynthia Rothrock and more! Here’s what’s on Hi-YAH for the month of April!


Hi-YAH!, Well Go USA’s very own Asian/martial arts streaming channel has just announced their New Release line up for the month of April, which includes a New title added to Hi-YAH! every Friday.

If you want to give Hi-YAH! a go, visitors of this site can use the promo code “CITYONFIRE” for a FREE 30 Day trial!

Read on for the full list of New Continue reading

Posted in News |

Hard Hit (2021) Review

"Hard Hit" Theatrical Poster

“Hard Hit” Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Chang-Ju
Cast: Jo Woo-Jin, Lee Jae-In, Jin Kyung, Kim Ji-Ho, Jun Suk-Ho, Ji Chang-Wook, Haerry Kim
Running Time: 94 min.

By Henry McKeand

The best Korean thrillers are successful because they push traditional genre elements to new extremes, creating violent psychodramas that value intensity above all else. These films often have runtimes of at least two hours, but there’s almost zero room for Hollywood sentimentality or warmed-over narrative conventions. 

Not only does last year’s Hard Hit, written and directed by Kim Chang-ju, boast a relatively short runtime of 94 minutes, but it also embraces thriller cliches at an almost alarming rate. There are a few bold twists and an underlying message about class divides, but this is a stripped-down suspense film above all else. At best, Chang-ju’s efficient and unpretentious approach is a breath of fresh air. At worst, it feels like a two-dimensional riff on a now-familiar thriller setup: a claustrophobic game of cat and (trapped) mouse. 

The film tells the story of Seong-gyu (Jo Woo-jin), a successful bank manager who is taking his children to school when he receives a call from an unknown number. The man on the other line tells Seong-gyu that there are pressure-sensitive bombs under the seats that will blow if anyone tries to leave the car. The caller wants money, and it becomes clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to get it. This is all established within the first 15 minutes, and the rest of the film is essentially one long set piece that forces Seong-gyu to race through Busan trying to save his family. In the process, he must Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |