Genre: Martial Arts

‘Death Duel’ is a bleak, nihilistic swordplay film that embodies all of the qualities that one expects from a Chor Yuen adaptation of a Gu Long story.

Thankfully, you’re never too far away from a spot of fisticuffs, which is a very good thing because you’re not likely to gain much enjoyment from any other part of this film.

It’s nice to see Wilson and Rothrock back in action and there are some flashes of talent in amongst the fight scenes, but none of it is ever quite enough to overcome the film’s obvious faults.

I could wax lyrical about the film for a while longer as ‘Death Grip’ really is great stuff from a director and team who know how to put a fight film together.

Mainstream Hong Kong cinema has often embraced the bizarre and the baffling, but ‘Demon Of The Lute’ may be a step too far for many.

‘Detective Story’ is another entertaining blast of martial arts fun from The Stunt People featuring some of the best screen fighting around.

For the most part ‘Die Fighting’ is an excellent (meta) martial arts flick showcasing the Z Team to be major players on the action movie block meaning breath is abated for their next feature film.

This splendid period kung-fu film once again gives evidence of the immense quality that rolled out of the Shaw Brothers studios during the 70’s.

‘Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog’ doesn’t compare to Sammo’s classics, but it’s diverting enough to persuade genre fans to catch it.

The film has stood the test of time in terms of fight action, performances and direction, all of which are exceptional.

‘Disciples Of The 36th Chamber’ is a quality film; from the choreography to Liu Chia-Liang’s artistically composed frames, this is a more sophisticated kung fu film.

‘Dog’ is a powerful short film that doesn’t flinch on the violence and certainly delves into the dark corners of society.