Author: Andrew Saroch

It was a big box office hit on its release, features Chingmy Yau looking adorable and has some decent chemistry between the cast, but that’s not enough to drag the viewer through the ninety-minute running time.

‘Broker’ is deceptively gentle in the same way as the tide is – constant, soothing and yet with a power to erode even the hardest granite with its motion.

The comedy is hit-and-miss and as it takes up the majority of the running time, it slows the pace right down after a promising start.

The action ranges from the adequate to the quite good – hardly a ringing endorsement, I grant you – but suffers from that same curse of poor wirework.

‘New Kung Fu Cult Master’ isn’t a great film, maybe not even a very good one, but there’s enough strengths here to make you eager to watch the second part.

Xing Wenxiong’s delightful remake of ‘The Magic Hour’ retains the charm and wit of the original, but makes some key changes to improve it.

‘The Magic Hour’ is a fun comedy, though not the classic it promises to be. It still has an enormous amount to recommend it though and is a good starting point for those looking into Japanese comedy.

‘Escape of Shark’ is a remake of Australian thriller ‘Bait’ which, while not a masterpiece either, is several notches above this effort.

The quality increases as the film progresses and the viewer is more invested in the characters, meaning that it stands out as one of the more exciting swordplay films of recent years.

‘Ip Man: The Awakening’ may not be remembered in the great canon of Chinese folk hero cinema, but as a solid offering that clocks in under ninety minutes, this is recommended.

Penned by prolific director and writer Wong Jing, ‘Hit Team’ is a formulaic cop thriller done on a low budget, something that makes itself very apparent early on.

I can imagine watching it thirty years ago and wanting to throw a brick at the screen, but, imbued with a tidal wave of nostalgia today, it was a decent ninety-minute distraction.