Rating: 4.0

‘No Blood No Tears’ may not be a film for all tastes, not least due its violent nature towards women and the slightly laid-back pace but it is a challenging and rewarding film as well as an entertaining one.

There may not be much here that we haven’t seen before, but it’s certainly been a while since we’ve seen most of it done so well.

Chen Wen Pin and his on-screen daughter are excellent in the films two most important roles, bringing a humanity to characters who represent a sad underclass in Taiwanese society.

It’s far better than other American style martial arts movies such as ‘China O’Brien’, ‘American Shaolin’ and the like, showing what can be done if a little extra time is taken over the choreography.

‘Nobody Knows’ is worthy film-making, memorable well beyond its two hour duration and recommended to anyone seeking challenging, not necessarily uplifting cinema.

‘Not One Less’ is slow-moving and starts awkwardly, but patient viewers will be rewarded with a very memorable Chinese production.

Despite the often tough nature of the film, the unrelenting bleakness of the final third and some questionable plot devices, ‘Oasis’ is a film (unless you are completely black of heart) that stirs the soul.

It may not be the type of film that international Studio Ghibli fans have come to expect, but ‘Ocean Waves’ proves that the studio is just as capable of producing a winner in every genre.

Anyone searching for a traditional kung-fu flick that is filled with sublime choreography need look no further than this.

This particular hybrid is a healthy beast rather than a corrupted mutant and works surprisingly well as a police procedural thriller.

‘On The Run’ is a superb effort from Biao and a welcome change of pace for an actor who is so often seen as just the “little brother” of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

John Woo really surprised the audiences with this mixture of acrobatic gunplay action and comedy.