The Bloody Escape (1975) Movie Review

Although “The Bloody Escape”, a 1975 Shaw Brothers release, was officially directed by Sun Chung (”The Kung Fu Instructor”), some sources state that he was assisted by famed “Five Venoms” director Chang Cheh. To be honest, the truth is largely irrelevant, as the film...

April 21st, 2006 | Read More

The Art of Fighting (2006) Movie Review

Although the DVD box art seems to suggest some kind of wacky martial arts comedy, “The Art of Fighting”, the directorial debut from Shin Han Sol, is actually a brutal, surprisingly bittersweet drama. This attempt at misdirection by the producers is a shame, as the film is very entertaining,...

April 19th, 2006 | Read More

The Golden Lion (1975) Movie Review

“The Golden Lion” is a re-release of the 1975 Shaw Brothers swordplay film directed by the prolific Ho Meng Hua, probably best known for “The Flying Guillotine”. As well as being responsible for a good number of traditional wuxia films, Hua actually worked for the studio across...

April 14th, 2006 | Read More

The Heirloom (2005) Movie Review

“The Heirloom” marks the debut of Taiwanese director Leste Chen, who had previously worked on music videos for the likes of Joey Yung and Eason Chan, a fact which is probably enough to start alarm bells ringing. Fortunately, the director manages to transcend his roots, and has produced a...

April 14th, 2006 | Read More

Five Tough Guys (aka Kung Fu Hellcats, 1974) Movie Review

“Five Tough Guys” is a new release of the 1974 Shaw Brothers film directed by Pao Hsueh-li, best known for his work on “The Water Margin” and “Boxer from Shantung”, both of which he co-directed with the legendary Chang Cheh (”The Five Venoms”). “Five...

April 2nd, 2006 | Read More

Kung Fu Instructor (1979) Movie Review

“The Kung Fu Instructor” is a re-release of the 1979 Shaw Brothers film by director Sun Chung, probably best known for the action classic “City War” as well as the infamous “Human Skin Lanterns”. The film is of special interest for the fact that it was the first by...

March 28th, 2006 | Read More

Fearless (2006) Movie Review

“Fearless” has been one of the most talked about martial arts films in years for a number of reasons, not least of which was the announcement by Jet Li that it would be his last ‘wushu’ outing. Adding to the ensuing storm of publicity was the editing out of around forty minutes,...

March 22nd, 2006 | Read More

B420 (2005) Movie Review

“B420″ is written, produced and directed by first timer Mathew Tang, and gets off to a less than promising start by having a frankly hideous title. Mixing letters and numbers in such a lame fashion is always a bad idea, whether as a weak attempt to catch some kind of text-speak zeitgeist,...

March 9th, 2006 | Read More

A Side, B Side, Seaside (2005) Movie Review

“A Side, B Side, Seaside “, directed by Chan Wing Chiu, was accepted into competition at the 2005 Hong Kong , Pusan and Tokyo festivals, though why is a complete mystery, as it barely qualifies as a film at all. Rather, it is an interminably long hour and a half of watching...

March 7th, 2006 | Read More

The 14 Amazons (1972) Movie Review

“The 14 Amazons” is a 1972 Shaw Brothers classic, directed by Cheng Gang, who also made the likes of “The Sword of Swords” and “Flying Guillotine 2″ for the famous studio. Although perhaps not as well known in the West as other Shaw genre films, “The 14 Amazons”...

March 2nd, 2006 | Read More

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005) Movie Review

“Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles” sees Zhang Yimou returning to the kind of intimate drama with which he made his name as a director. Eschewing the flashy visuals of “Hero” and the cheap melodrama of “House of Flying Daggers”, “Miles” tells a simple,...

February 2nd, 2006 | Read More

Wait Til You’re Older (2005) Movie Review

“Wait ’til you’re Older” is a Hong Kong take on the ever-popular fantasy scenario of a child inhabiting the body of an adult. This is a theme much-beloved of Hollywood screenwriters, with essentially the same film appearing every few years with a different big name taking the...

January 29th, 2006 | Read More

A Chinese Tall Story (2005) Movie Review

Oh boy. It’s another Hong Kong movie where CGI isn’t just the order of the day, it’s the order, the menu, and the restaurant! In short, Jeffrey Lau’s “A Chinese Tall Story” is a combination muddled storytelling, needlessly convoluted plotting, oftentimes inspired...

January 19th, 2006 | Read More

The Promise (2005) Movie Review

Chen Kaige’s “The Promise” arrives in a year crowded with Asian big-budget martial arts epics, counting among the competition Jackie Chan’s “The Myth”, Tsui Hark’s “Seven Swords”, and Myung-se Lee’s “The Duelist”, with 2006 promising...

January 4th, 2006 | Read More

Election (2005) Movie Review

As much as it pains me to say it, I must: Johnnie To’s latest, the Triad crime thriller “Election”, is painfully average. There it is. I said it. And this is coming from a big fan of the director, who has grace us with hardcore gems like “The Mission” (still the best Johnnie...

November 29th, 2005 | Read More

Sha Po Lang (aka Killzone, 2005) Movie Review

Advertised as a throwback to the days of gritty, hardcore Hong Kong action films, “Sha Po Lang” (currently going by the non-descriptive international title of “SPL”) is certainly unlike anything flooding the industry at the moment. The first ten minutes of are presented in melancholy...

November 21st, 2005 | Read More

Dragon Squad (aka Dragon Heat, 2005) Movie Review

The big-budget Hong Kong actioner “Dragon Squad” (which was supposedly “produced” by Steven Seagal) is a big, loud, and dumb movie made for a globalized world. The narrative makes no logical sense, with the type of incredible leaps in plot development that could only exist in...

November 17th, 2005 | Read More

The Myth (2004) Movie Review

Stanley Tong’s big-budget epic “The Myth” is an conflicted attempt to further the persona of Jackie the Actor, while at the same time remaining familiar enough to those that demands the Jackie of old. The serious side is represented by Jackie’s role as a Qin-era General named...

October 12th, 2005 | Read More

A Time to Love (2004) Movie Review

(Guest Movie Review by Alex Lui) It was inevitable that the classic love story Romeo and Juliet would get updated yet again, as if having to endure Baz Luhrmann’s dizzying interpretation in his 1996 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes wasn’t bad enough. Though the story has been...

October 10th, 2005 | Read More

A West Lake Moment (2004) Movie Review

“AWest Lake Moment” is the latest film from Hong Kong director Yim Ho, best known for complex emotional dramas such as “The Kitchen” and “Homecoming”. Here, the director turns his hand to contemporary romance, with an attempt to explore modern relationships in a manner...

August 31st, 2005 | Read More