Author: Andrew Saroch

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.

Ultimately, it is Joe Don Baker that makes ‘Golden Needles’ worth tracking down; it’s by no means his best work, but he’s always great to watch.

‘The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure’ is a big, unapologetic action film that borrows all of the pomp and bombast of its American contemporaries.

Clifton Ko has been behind the lens for quite a few of these family comedies though the box-office hit ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World’ is one of his best efforts.

There are some plot holes that become apparent as the film continues, but good quality action and a fine cast cover a multitude of sins.

‘A Massacre Survivor’ features an always watchable Shih Szu as the heroine. Unfortunately, she’s one of the few characters to get much polish.

When you’ve got Dean Shek, Sandra Ng and Eric Tsang all screeching for ninety minutes, you know it’s going to be a tough experience.

Episodic and pantomimic, this is a series of not especially interesting scenes sewn together with a completely uninvolving main narrative.

‘A Distant Cry From Spring’ is the very best of Yamada’s themes, contained in a truly beautiful masterpiece that leaves tears in the eye as the credits roll.

The major strength here is E Jingwen who is such an eternally affable figure that you are rooting for her from the first frame until the end.

It works perfectly with these protagonists and Lee Sang-Geun throws every cinematic trick and cliché out of the bag to put these two through the wringer.

Over its full running time of a modest ninety minutes, ‘In Full Bloom’ runs out of steam and the attempt at deeper layers of introspection become stilted.