Asian Movie Reviews »
Audition (1999) Movie Review
I’ve been hearing filmmaker Takashi Miike’s name for a while now. The man is apparently the biggest thing to come out of Japan since the samurai, and his other movie, Ichi the Killer, is...
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Black Mask (1996) Movie Review
Movies like Jet Li’s Black Mask is the kind of film that gave Hong Kong its reputation as an industry unconcern with story but addicted to adrenaline-inducing action. The film, directed by Daniel Lee...
Read More »Dance of a Dream (2001) Movie Review
When it comes to ballroom dancing, I’m an ant working around an anthill — re: I am clueless. Having said that, I couldn’t tell you if the actors in Andrew Lau’s Dance of a...
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Joint Security Area (2000) Movie Review
Chan-wook Park’s “Joint Security Area” (“JSA”) tells the tale of 5 soldiers — 3 North Koreans and 2 South Koreans — who become involved in a bloody gun battle one cold night while manning...
Read More »Tokyo Raiders (2000) Movie Review
Tokyo Raiders is an action/comedy that stars one of my favorite Hong Kong actors, Tony Leung, who plays a dashing private investigator/ spy/ government agent/ ladies man. Prolific actor Ekin Cheng once again rears...
Read More »Skyline Cruisers (2000) Movie Review
There are a lot of differences between a Heist film and a Caper film. A Caper film concerns itself with looking “cool” as its protagonists steal from or break into high-tech security systems, buildings,...
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Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Movie Review
Ang Lee’s movies always find a way to surprise me. Maybe that’s why I like them so much — I go in not expecting much, but come out having learned a lot about life....
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Avenging Fist (2001) Movie Review
Hong Kong actor Ekin Cheng (Second Time Around) is prolific, but unfortunately it’s the kind of prolific that goes for quantity over quality. I can scarcely sit down to watch a Hong Kong film...
Read More »A.f.r.i.k.a. (2001) Movie Review
The South Korean movie “A.f.r.i.k.a” is a Chicks on the Run film, a subgenre that is often associated with Road Movies, since the two subgenres often features combined conventions. Chicks on the Run films...
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April Story (1998) Movie Review
The Japanese film April Story, besides having an annoyingly sweet soundtrack, is a 1-hour film. It is a romance film at its core, but has elements of a Fish out of Water movie in...
Read More »The Bride With White Hair 2 (1993) Movie Review
Ronny Yu’s The Bride With White Hair 2 is a good example of a sequel that shouldn’t have been, and the two White Hair films, put together, is a good example of a movie...
Read More »Christmas in August (1998) Movie Review
Jin-ho Hur’s “Christmas in August” is the 1998 forerunner to his masterpiece “One Fine Spring Day”, and just like the other film, “Christmas” explores the human condition and sheds light on the power of...
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Monsoon Wedding (2002) Movie Review
The inherent problem with reviewing a foreign film that comes from a country that you know very little about is, well, you know very little about the country. As a result, you (the critic...
Read More »The Bride With White Hair (1993) Movie Review
The Bride With White Hair looks more like an overly produced and big budgeted stage play than an actual movie. As written and directed by Ronny Yu (with co-writer David Wu) The Bride With...
Read More »Young and Dangerous 6: Born to be King (2000) Movie Review
Young and Dangerous 6: Born to be King is the latest chapter in the Young and Dangerous series, which began in 1996 and has become something of a phenomenon in Hong Kong. There have...
Read More »Art Museum by the Zoo (1998) Movie Review
Jeong-hyang Lee’s “Art Museum by the Zoo” is not a very original movie. Let’s get that out of the way first, shall we? You’ve seen the exact same formula being played out in countless...
Read More »Second Time Around (2001) Movie Review
My never-ending enthusiasm for Time Travel movies is one of the few things I can depend on about myself. Jeffrey Lau’s Second Time Around is a Time Travel movie, and like all Time Travel...
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Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001) Movie Review
My memory of the original Vampire Hunter D, of which Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a sequel to, is a little hazy. The original came out in 1985 and I saw it...
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China Strike Force (2003) Movie Review
As the writer/director of a movie you know you’ve done something grossly wrong when your audience would rather spend time with your villains than with your heroes. Such is the case with Stanley Tong’s...
Read More »This is Law (2002) Movie Review
Byeong-jin Min’s first effort, This is Law, is the kind of film that should be sued for false advertisement — at least according to what the movie’s poster (as seen above) promises. Not only...
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