24 City (2008) Movie Review

“24 City” is the latest offering from sixth generation Mainland China director Jia Zhangke and sees him continuing to explore themes of the country’s modern history and economic progress. Here, he does this through a semi-documentary that focuses on the story of a munitions factory, once moved...

November 7th, 2009 | Read More

Palisades Tartan’s Asian Horror: Essential Collection Review

Just in time for Halloween, Palisades Tartan has grouped together three of the most successful Asian horror films of recent years in one region 2 DVD collection. Although terms such as ‘essential’ are woefully overused when it comes to such compilations, in this case it certainly rings true, as the...

October 30th, 2009 | Read More

On His Majesty’s Secret Service (2009) Movie Review

Wong Jing goes back to the old school with “On his Majesty’s Secret Service” a truly madcap period set comedy in the classic early 1990s style. Although the master of the form himself, Stephen Chow, isn’t starring in such films anymore, there’s certainly no reason to stop making them, and in...

October 12th, 2009 | Read More

Tracing Shadow (2009) Movie Review

“Tracing Shadow” marks the fourth directorial outing for popular Hong Kong Star Francis Ng, and sees him again co-helming with Marco Mak, who he previously worked with on “Dancing Lion”. The film itself is somewhat of a throwback to the glory days of Hong Kong cinema, being a wacky martial arts...

October 12th, 2009 | Read More

Metallic Attraction: Kungfu Cyborg (2009) Movie Review

With so many Chinese films still being called ‘Kung Fu’ something or other, and with the continuing global success of Michael Bay’s blockbuster “Transformer” franchise, “Kung Fu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction” was pretty much inevitable. The Hong Kong director getting in on the act is none...

October 9th, 2009 | Read More

Till Death Shall We Start (1990) Movie Review

Originally released back in 1990 when the Hong Kong ghost comedy was enjoying somewhat of a resurgence, “Till Death Shall we Start” joined the ranks of films with suspiciously familiar sounding titles, including the likes of “Till Death do we Scare” and “Till Death do us Laugh”. The film...

September 12th, 2009 | Read More

Buttonman (2008) Movie Review

Grim crime drama “Buttonman” is the latest offering from rising Taiwanese director Chien Ren Hao, previously responsible for “The Underground Order”. The film is the first from Taiwan to be produced by Hong Kong company Mei Ah, and boasts a suitably impressive cast which includes Francis Ng,...

September 6th, 2009 | Read More

Pretty Ghost (1991) Movie Review

It’s time again for that most uniquely Hong Kong of genres, the ghost comedy romance, with the re-release of the 1991 outing “Pretty Ghost”. The film, which apparently also went under the bizarrely inaccurate title of “Alien Wife” (the film features no aliens, and no wives), marked the directorial...

September 6th, 2009 | Read More

Team of Miracles: We Will Rock You (2009) Movie Review

Directed by Adrian Kwan, previously responsible for the likes of “The Miracle Box” and the Sam Lee horror “Scaremonger”, turns his attention to the age-old sports underdog story with “Team of Miracles – We Will Rock You”. The film is based on the true story of the Hong Kong homeless football...

August 25th, 2009 | Read More

Love Connected (2009) Movie Review

“Love Connected” is the latest outing from Hong Kong director Patrick Kong, who previously enjoyed commercial success with the likes of “Nobody’s Perfect”, “Marriage with a Fool” and “Love is Not All Around”. Although 2008 did see him dabble in the horror genre with “Forgive and Forget”,...

August 23rd, 2009 | Read More

Kung Fu Girl (1973) Movie Review

“Kung Fu Girl”, also known as “None but the Brave”, was originally released back in 1973 as a vehicle for Cheng Pei Pei, the former Shaw Brothers martial arts queen, who had been lured back to Hong Kong by Golden Harvest after apparently giving up her career and moving to the US. Having starred...

August 13th, 2009 | Read More

God Man Dog (2007) Movie Review

Originally released back in 2007, “God Man Dog” was the second feature from Taiwanese writer director Singing Chen, following some years after his 2000 award winning debut “Bundled”. His sophomore effort was also a critical success, playing at festivals around the world, and claiming the Tagesspiegel...

July 26th, 2009 | Read More

The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks 2 (2009) Movie Review

The category III sexploitation revival continues with “The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks 2”, the next instalment of director Chin Man Kei’s adaptation of the Chinese text ‘Jin Pin Mei’, a.k.a. ‘The Plum in the Golden Vase’. Chin is certainly more than qualified to reintroduce viewers...

July 5th, 2009 | Read More

Tactical Unit: Partners (2009) Movie Review

“Tactical Unit – Partners” is the latest and apparently final entry in the new Johnnie To produced “PTU” series. The film was directed by Lawrence Lau, who also helmed the second in the series, “No Way Out”, as well as a number of other recently acclaimed films such as “My Name is Fame”...

June 13th, 2009 | Read More

The Storm Riders (1998) Movie Review

Having reached its tenth anniversary and with a big budget Pang Brothers directed sequel on the way, the remastered re-release of “The Storm Riders” is both timely and welcome. A massive box office hit on its original 1998 release, the film was a milestone in Hong Kong fantasy cinema, boasting a...

June 13th, 2009 | Read More

The Sniper (2009) Movie Review

“The Sniper” is a film which hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, thanks to the all-consuming nude photo scandal surrounding star Edison Chen, resulting in a long delay to its release and an apparently drastic cutting down of his role. However, for once this may actually have been a good...

June 6th, 2009 | Read More

A Very Short Life (2009) Movie Review

With Hong Kong cinema not always being known for its sensitive side, a category III rated drama about child abuse and murder may not initially sound like a particularly appetising prospect. Thankfully, “A Very Short Life”, which was written and directed by “Fatal Move” helmer Dennis Law, takes...

June 6th, 2009 | Read More

Wushu: The Young Generation (2008) Movie Review

As a film which is actually about martial arts, it is hard to fault the pedigree of “Wushu – The Young Generation”. Aimed at introducing a new and highly talented bunch of experts, the film also stars the legendary Sammo Hung, and was produced by none other than Jackie Chan. It was directed by...

June 6th, 2009 | Read More

The Sniper (2009) Movie Review

Hong Kong’s “The Sniper” appeals to me because it’s about those mysterious guys who you never see, but who can kill you from three football fields away, and you’d never know it. When done right, like the 1993 Tom Berenger movie “Sniper” or 2001’s “Enemy at the Gates”, sniping is an...

May 17th, 2009 | Read More

Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking (2007) Movie Review

“Iris Chang – The Rape of Nanking” is a documentary produced in 2007 by the Toronto based ‘Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia’ to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre. The film is based upon Chang’s bestselling 1997 book “The Rape of Nanking:...

May 16th, 2009 | Read More