Genre: Action

‘Rurouni Kenshin’ is resolutely pulp entertainment though and while it is unlikely to be mentioned in the same breath as ‘Yojimbo’ in years to come, it hits enough of its targets to satisfy.

As an action comedy, it is one of the best efforts to come out of Hollywood in recent years as not only is it laugh-out-loud funny, but the action is still 10 times better than anything else around at the time.

For the first and last 30 minutes I was truly impressed, and loved every minute although there was a short sag in the middle.

‘Rush Hour 3’ barely even passes as a competent movie and I think that it’s about time that Tucker (who never really had much talent in the first place) and Chan moved onto other things.

The setup is basically a showcase for star Kotik and various real-life Russian MMA fighters to cut loose in a series of elaborate fight scenes and confrontations.

‘Sacrifice’ is not going to find itself among Chen Kaige’s most revered films, yet it is still a classy almost operatic historical film that holds the attention.

A mix of historical drama, romantic melodrama, and frantic wuxia superhero charged action, Yen and his crew certainly go all out to create an epic and kudos to their ambition.

While the whole story and most of the acting is goofy-as-hell there’s no doubting the fun ‘Sakura Killers’ delivers, along with all the great ninja busting.

Only recommended for hardcore gore fans, those who have to see every film from this unique genre and if you are sitting around with a bunch of less critical film fans getting very drunk.

‘Samurai Warrior’ looks and feels cheap, and certainly shows no signs of any Miike-style magic. There’s also a real lack of meat in the story and the overall approach to structuring the film is a bad one.

Short but sharp samurai flick from an early on in his career Hideo Gosha, ‘Samurai Wolf’ still packs a punch despite its short running time and being almost 60 years old.

Slicker and swifter this time around, ‘Samurai Wolf II’ is still some dark, fight filled, chanbara entertainment but is perhaps unnecessarily complex and convoluted for its own good.