Author: Andrew Saroch

‘Everything Under Control’ brings together a few members of popular Cantopop group Mirror and the ever quirky Ivana Wong for a suitably amusing and defiantly odd Hong Kong comedy.

The fight action is apologetic, the comedy forced and the complete package a grave disservice to the young audience it was obviously intended for.

‘A Legend’ was a sequel nobody asked for, a follow-up to the woeful ‘Kung Fu Yoga’ which I only now realise was intended as a sequel to ‘The Myth’.

There are some excellent action scenes here and though the choreography gets a little too familiar, it does throw in a few unusual moves.

Based on a pre-war short story, it tackles a major crime in a sober, yet discreet way and plays with the idea that even an obvious crime has many layers hidden beneath the surface.

‘Kung Fu Chefs’ slipped through the cracks on its initial release, but with its star getting more attention than ever before, it might be worth revisiting.

‘The Tai Chi Master’ has all the components you expect – an impressive budget, a handful of beautiful actresses, and plenty of action – but never quite convinces.

Andrew Saroch bids farewell to Hong Kong film and television actress Lily Li (李麗麗).

‘Black Rain’ excels in its examination of Japanese society, especially in the post-Atomic age. The bomb almost becomes the end of a civilisation as the traditional customs and expectations change forever.

‘Yellow Fangs’ is an excellent creature feature that may have slipped under the radar for many audiences. Hopefully, Sanada’s burgeoning reputation worldwide might mean that this changes soon.

Bookended by two outstanding train-based action sequences, ‘Moscow Mission’ starts with a bang before settling into a more standard, yet still entertaining, police procedural.

Despite its strengths and a bit of nostalgia for those of us who remember that early-90s aesthetic, ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ is less than the sum of its parts.