10. MEN SUDDENLY IN BLACK

Respect to Podcast On Fire for big upping Edmond Pang, this is a great black relationship comedy about randy guys trying to stay ahead of their wives. Eric Tsang is great in this and I look forward to riffling about more in the Pang back catalogue.

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9. BREATHLESS

A domestic/gangster drama about a foul mouthed loan shark’s thug violence towards the world, especially his family. Actually carries some humour with it and while it's story and themes are nothing new, the acting and staging are fresh compared to the slick blockbuster style of most movies in 2009. Also contains some of the most inventive swears ever.

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8. THE TERRORIST

Proof that South Korea made worthy actioners before 'Shiri', 'The Terrorist' is heroic bloodshed given a Korean spin. Out go the .45s, in go the wild brawls that would come to categorise flicks such as 'Oldboy' ten years later. The film has some great fights mixed, in with some over the top melodrama along with a signature tune you'll be humming for days. A bit obscure but worth tracking down.

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7. A WAR NAMED DESIRE

Hip, cool and effortlessly slick this is the film Milkyway forgot to make. Francis Ng heads the cast of a gun slinging gangster film that is pure John Woo given a late 90s remix. A cracking soundtrack that mixes Spanish guitar and fast techno meshes with razor visuals and a tight plot give this great little movie a heads up from Johnnie To's similar silly pastiche, 'A Hero Never Dies'.

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6. MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG

A late Shaw Brothers prototype for later movies like 'Eastern Condors', 'Mercenaries From Hong Kong' is a great Wong Jing helmed, Ti Lung starring sleazy actioner. Despite some cheap looking car stunts, this film is chocked full of fantastic stunts and some actual good laughs. Include some dodgy looking women and torture by drill and you have an effective action film at the cusp of the move from kung fu shapes to 'Police Story'.

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5. THE CHASER

'The Chaser' made me cheer as it is the cinematic version of a lurid paperback that doesn't exist. The plot is small scale and its cast is for the most part abhorrent, the lead character being an ex-cop/pimp who is trying to find out who has been knocking off his whores. The subject matter might be unpleasant but there is plenty of black humour to lift it from wallowing in hard boiled horror. It is very James Ellroy meets 'Seven' but the hammer and poker intoxicated finale is pure Korea.

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4. HEARTBREAK YAKUZA

Some of the talent behind 'Gonza The Spearman' made this forgotten 1987 Yakuza film. An undercurrent of Hong Kong action flows throughout, aswell as puzzling references to Huckleberry Finn. It is very stylish and violent, filmed in a very relaxed manner, the opposite of Yakuza norm. It is mostly about relationships as a Yakuza clan's lead assassin chooses between a childhood friend and his current moll. In the end rivals make the decision for him and it culminates in a Peckinpah style shootout. Anyone who digs Miike's more 'normal' output such as 'Rainy Dog' would dig this.

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3. VENGEANCE

It was a bit of a retread of previous ground but Johnnie To's mainly English language thriller is a cut above most other director's output. As usual the story is simplistic but executed well, the action and mood is as stylish and hip as Milkyway's original highpoint in the late 90s. Contains my favourite dialogue of the year in 'Chef? Chef My Ass!' French actor Johnny Hallyday earns extra points for carrying the later half of the film on his own.

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2. THE FIRST 7TH NIGHT

I'm always for small Hong Kong genre movies than the big epics and this was 2009's best. Part ghost story, part crime caper 'The First 7th Night' is one of four movies Herman Yau released in 2009. It is an excellent mood piece, obviously low on budget but making full use of it to create an atmospheric chiller. It has a category III rating for some bloody violence but it is more laid back than his in your face outings like 'The Untold Story'.

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1. ROUGH CUT

A film within a film, a gangster stars in a gangster film and he and the lead actor share a strange friendship and jealousy over their positions in life. The gangster wants to be the actor and vice versa. Through in some typical underworld politics and some chaotic brawling and you have a genuine Korean gangster classic.

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