Rating: 3.5

‘House Of Flying Daggers’ has too many trappings of an arthouse production that screams ‘self-conscious’ throughout.

It doesn’t rank up there with the best of any genre but for a lightweight action-comedy it is worth a watch.

The production has enough genuine laughs, sharp satirical swipes and overall skill to be rated as recommended viewing.

Perhaps too overly convoluted, po-faced and twist happy for its own good, ‘Hunt’ is nevertheless mounted with impressive verve and if one can forgive its flaws, is an exhilarating action charged political thriller.

‘If The Sun Rose In The West’ accomplishes its modest directives and creates two characters we quickly warm to throughout their moments together.

‘Illang’ looks fantastic, often thrills, and features some incredible and expertly staged action but suffers from pacing issues and a lukewarm emotional core.

Van Damme puts in a very strong leading performance and Lam helps elevate some mediocre material to a much higher status.

‘Incredible Kung Fu Mission’ is peppered with a decent mix of humour, sentimentality and superior fight action, creating a solid independent feature.

By no means a classic action comedy, ‘Inspector Pink Dragon’ nonetheless succeeds in providing a entertaining 90-odd minutes.

The action is slick and just about gets the balance right between computer effects and practical choreography, while the cast are appealing.

‘Ip Man: The Awakening’ may not be remembered in the great canon of Chinese folk hero cinema, but as a solid offering that clocks in under ninety minutes, this is recommended.

Herman Yau’s conclusion to the story deserves its place among its contemporaries. And any film with Anthony Wong giving his all is well worth adding to your collection.