Country: South Korea

However smartly presented this big budget hit is, it is the dry Korean eccentricity, Bong Joon-Ho’s confident orchestration and the actors at the forefront who make this so captivating.

Rittikrai fashions numerous scenes of mayhem and gets the flexible newcomer Na Tae-Joo to perform the kind of outlandish kicks that seem to defy logic.

With its refreshing 90-minute runtime and welcome 1990s action movie approach to delivering as many set-pieces as possible, ‘The Killer’ may lack overall character development, but it delivers stellar done-for-real action.

A rather by-the-numbers old school Golden Harvest produced fight flick, ‘The Manchu Boxer’ is nevertheless worth a watch thanks to some decent martial arts action and a fun bad guy role for Sammo Hung.

‘The Old Woman with the Knife’ is a worthy adaptation fuelled by a dark tone, punishing action, and a fantastic lead performance from Lee Hye-Young.

Moments of wacky promise are in stark contrast to the majority of the film, which gets stuck down a cul-de-sac while in no desperate rush to turn back again.

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

The laid back approach to proceedings will certainly be enjoyed by some but the film seems to take too long to get going anywhere, the suspense often diluted by a meandering pace.

‘The Quiz Show Scandal’ is a keenly-observed comic creation. As nutty as a Korean version of ‘It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World’ should be while also succeeding in pulling off moments of mordant wit.

Despite the visual opulence on show and a couple of decent set-pieces, ‘The Restless’ is just a bit of a shallow affair and not as much fun as it should have been.

‘The Show Must Go On’ is still packed with bone-dry humour juxtaposed with moments of gripping tension, a feat that should not be underestimated.

While it may not be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it is still a fast-paced and action-packed thriller that is guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping.