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2046 (2004) Movie Review
It’s always been one of my biggest regrets that I haven’t cultured myself sufficiently to the point where I can rattle off the titles of the operatic scores and music that shows up in
Read More »The Longest Nite (1997) Movie Review
Hong Kong action films commonly have a strong moralistic streak, whether they are of the ‘heroic bloodshed’ genre typified by John Woo films such as “The Killer” or “Hard Boiled”, or the recent crop
Read More »The Untold Scandal (2003) Movie Review
Despite having a somewhat similar title and sharing a Category III rating, “The Untold Scandal” is not in fact another entry in the ongoing Hong Kong “Untold Story” series. It is instead a new
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Team America: World Police (2004) Movie Review
(Movie Review by Donnie Saxton) Ironically, just the other day I was asking myself: why in the world hasn’t anyone made a film exploring the geopolitical realities of nuclear proliferation starring wooden marionettes? Matt
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Zebraman (2004) Movie Review
You probably won’t find a wackier film than Takashi Miike’s “Zebraman”, a Japanese movie about a loser who discovers that, by making a homemade superhero costume, he can literally transform into his TV idol
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Bangkok Haunted (2001) Movie Review
The anthology has been an enduringly popular film format, especially in the horror genre, with classics such as the original “Dead of Night” and Mario Bava’s “Black Sabbath” to more modern variations like “Creepshow”
Read More »Trilogy of Lust 2 (1996) Movie Review
It’s not easy championing Category III films, and trying to convince people of the entertainment value of exploitation shockers such as “Red to Kill” or “Dr. Lamb” can be difficult at the best of
Read More »Suzhou River (2000) Movie Review
Following the global success of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, viewers in the West have witnessed a revived interest in the works of fifth generation Chinese directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. These
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Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars (2004) Mini-Series TV Review
Part One: It’s back. “Farscape” resurfaces after a year’s absence, ushered back to life by fan outrage that was so loud The Powers That Be at the Sci-Fi Channel (which owns the show) saw
Read More »Fighter in the Wind (2004) Movie Review
As much as the Koreans have an innate antagonism towards Americans, they dislike the Japanese even more. As such, even when “Fighter in the Wind” is harsh on the Americans (if you watch enough
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Cross Fire (2000) Movie Review
“Cross Fire” was produced by the Japanese Toho studios, best known for the classic, enduring “Godzilla” series. This attempt at trying something a little different with the horror genre, as opposed to simply churning
Read More »The Untold Story 2 (1998) Movie Review
Given the success and influence of “The Untold Story”, a sequel was inevitable; the only surprise being that it actually took five years for it to appear. Although “The Untold Story 2″ has no
Read More »The Untold Story (1992) Movie Review
“The Untold Story” is not only the greatest category III film ever made, but also one of the best of any kind to have come from Hong Kong. Gripping, horrific and uncompromising, this infamous
Read More »Blind Fury (1989) Movie Review
“Blind Fury” is one of those movies from the ’80s — the glory days of vacuous action movies and high school sex comedies — that I like even though I know it’s not a
Read More »The Quiet Family (1998) Movie Review
“The Quiet Family” is the debut film by Korean director Kim Ji-Woon, who has been attracting a considerable amount of attention recently with his complex and multi-layered “A Tale of Two Sisters”. The two
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Gozu (2004) Movie Review
“Gozu” is another recent effort from the apparently tireless Takashi Miike, bringing his total of films released over the last couple of years to a staggering 12, though it’s quite possible there are even
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Patlabor: The Movie 2 (1993) Movie Review
“Patlabor 2″, the sequel to 1990′s “Patlabor: The Movie”, examines the unique status of Japan in the modern world. The country is an economic world power, but due to the constitution drafted after World
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Secret Agents (2004) Movie Review
The French don’t generally do a lot of straight action movies, or if they do, you don’t hear a lot about them. “Crimson Rivers” (which starred “Secret Agents’” Vincent Cassel) was a stab at
Read More »The Shaolin Temple (1979) Movie Review
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Boy sees father killed by evil warlord. Boy escapes to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu. Boy gets payback. Of course, there’s more to the plot
Read More »Wake of Death (2004) Movie Review
“Wake of Death”, the latest Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick, stars the Muscles from Brussels as a gangster out for revenge against fellow gangster Simon Yam. The film plays out as you might expect,
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