Rating: 3.0

Not sure what it wants to be, the latest Japanese production of their beloved property is not the triumphant return some had hoped.

Not the best of its kind and it drags a little too much with the running time, ‘Shogun’s Samurai’ is still a decent slice of Samurai drama from a time when they used to make them big.

A mixed bag unfortunately but if you stick with it there is some incredible fight action come the second half which is a great showcase for some very gifted screen fighters.

Though there’s far less of the ghastly CGI that marred ‘The Touch’, ‘Silver Hawk’ still continues to remind the viewer of the chasm between the choreography of the 80s/early90s and today.

‘Simply Actors’ represents a modest enough cinematic diversion, even superficially entertaining in passages, for modern Hong Kong cinema aficionados.

It’s almost as if the makers watched ‘Rush Hour’, ‘Shanghai Noon’ and even ‘Around The World In Eighty Days’ and thought how utilitarian it might be just to throw various elements from these into one puzzling lump.

Like an enticing travel documentary, ‘Sky Lovers’ leaves the viewer with a feeling of wonder toward its subject.

The opening does promise a fun and breezy film before it gets bogged down in confusion, but there are moments that keep the viewer watching.

Helmed by the then prolific Lo Wei and giving Wong Tao an early leading role, ‘Slaughter in San Francisco’ is some often cheesy but action-packed old school martial arts action.

‘Sleeping Fist’ is not brave enough to offer any variations on a very tired theme, but it is consistently rewarding from an action perspective.

The cast is packed with the usual gallery of stars that one associates with a Sammo production and of course the action (when it happens) is expertly choreographed by the man himself.

‘Snake Deadly Act’ is a typical example of a good, but not great independent kung fu flick.