Halfway through Jackie Chan’s latest effort, The Accidental Spy, a thought occurred to me. It was this: If I was a cab driver (irregardless of country, or city of work) and someone, a total stranger, got in and told me to “follow that car” — pointing to a car in front of me that...

Ascant one year after the tremendous success of its original, A Better Tomorrow, theaters around the world were treated to A Better Tomorrow II. Although I think a better title might have been, It’s Still a Better Tomorrow (tongue firmly in cheek, of course). The movie is incredibly rough around...

Iron Monkey is a tale of two movies. First, let me assure you that “writing credits” in Hong Kong action films are a secondary (if that) concern. Movies are “envisioned” and then shot and “written” while the movie is in-production. This is the case with Iron Monkey,...

There is an infamous tradition in Hong Kong cinema to take Hollywood movies and turn them into Chinese movies. Jet Li did it with The Bodyguard from Beijing, which converted the Kevin Costner movie, The Bodyguard. There are a host of other movies, too numerous to mention. Most of the times these “conversions”...

There is something to be said about a movie which has a hero who, when faced with certain defeat, decides to tear off his own arm and use it as a weapon against his opponent to secure his escape so he can fight another day. That’s the kind of imaginative scene that exists in abundance in The Storm...

Obviously, as the title implies, Jet Li’s character is a Communist Chinese, and in a weird twist of plot machinations which I am still at a lost to understand, is either requested or ordered to proceed to British-controlled Hong Kong to protect Cheung’s character, a big-name singer/famous...

Let it be said that Jackie Chan, the undisputed “Clown Prince of Kung-fu,” is a good stuntman. Let it also be said that Jackie Chan, the actor, is a one-trick pony. Then, let it be said that “Drunken Master 2″ (re-titled “Legend of Drunken Master” for re-release in...

I don’t think it’s too much hyperbole to say that John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” changed how the world looked at Hong Kong cinema. The film centers around two childhood friends who also happen to be counterfeiters, Mark (would-be International superstar Chow Yun-Fat) and...

“God of Gamblers 3″ is my first entry into the popular “God of Gamblers” series. I believe there is 4 — GOG1 to 3, and then two GOG3’s, this one and another one, which is supposed to be a prequel. This movie is supposed to be a comedy, and it is a very funny movie,...

Tsui Hark is an old hand when it comes to filmmaking. The veteran Hong Kong director has either directed or produced over 40 films in his native land, and has taken the John Woo route to Hollywood success by directing Jean Claude Van Damme in two American/Hong Kong productions. Not surprisingly his two...

For sheer martial arts excitement, “Fist of Legend” stands as one of Jet Li’s most impressive films, and that’s saying a lot considering that most fans of Li knows he’s put out some very excellent action movies in his Hong Kong career, before making the jump to Hollywood....

“Hard-Boiled” has the distinction of being action auteur John Woo’s last Hong Kong picture, and so far, his last picture with his familiar star (and offscreen friend) Chow Yun-Fat. I don’t think it would be too farfetched to say that the duo have turned what was once a joke in...