All Film Reviews

It may not be quite as thrilling a prospect as it could have been with Bruce Lee in the leading role, but ‘Circle Of Iron’ still retains many likeable qualities.

The pace of the feature is not as consistent as it needed to be, but Wu Ma makes sure that there is enough reasons to remain interested.

All in all, this film has little to recommend it unless you are a big Cynthia Rothrock fan.

The combination of wacky humour and Chan’s superior comedic timing make ‘City Hunter’ a lot of fun to watch.

‘City Under Siege’ plods along to something of an anti-climax after nearly two hours, never achieving logical pacing or suspense.

‘CJ7’ is a warm-hearted sci-fi comedy with solid special effects and a winning performance by newcomer Xu Jiao.

‘CJ7: The Cartoon’ is a definite step down from the original, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a fun companion piece that can be enjoyed by all the family.

Another chance to see that consummate genre star, Ti Lung, glide through every scene with a debonair charm that is hard to equal.

‘Clan Of Amazons’ is an elegant swordplay film that shows how entertaining the genre can be when the various components are properly blended.

Another awesome Shaw Brothers film with an insane concept and some heavenly fight action choreographed by the one and only Liu Chia-Liang.

However challenging – and at times frustrating – this swordplay drama is, there’s nonetheless enough reasons to stay watching and endure to the conclusion.

‘Clash’, while not the full on action film it could have been, still provides enough low-rent thrills for the less judgemental fight fan.

There is no doubt that this quirky and engrossing production has its faults; not all of the loose ends are successfully tied up and those that are seem to work out a little too neatly.

Director Park Jin Pyo once again handles a harrowing subject with sensitivity and respect for his characters.

There’s very little action on offer and Seagal is just a secondary character in a movie in which his name and face are plastered all over the packaging.

‘Cold War’ is consistently entertaining and its massive success at the Hong Kong box-office shows that it clearly struck a chord with local audiences.

Like the first film, it is a slick and intense thriller that boasts solid performances from its cast.

‘Come Drink With Me’ has convinced me of King Hu’s mastery of film-making and I would certainly consider his work here to be almost equal to the best of Chang Cheh and Liu Chia-Liang.

The style and substance of ‘Comeuppance’ are in well-balanced equilibrium as neither overtakes the other, but there is still something indefinable that proves to be obvious by the time the credits roll.

‘Command Performance’ isn’t exactly the worst movie ever, but it is a far cry from the Dolph Lundgren vehicles that we used to know and love.

Recalling those doomed rom-drams of yesteryear where low-level gangster falls for someone from a totally different world, ‘Concerto Of The Bully’ is something of a nostalgia trip.

‘Confessions’ balances between cold hard reality and a subtly dream-like atmosphere that convinces the viewer that there isn’t a world outside of this horror.

What starts off as quite interesting and engaging becomes progressively more disjointed meaning drama and characters suffer.

This isn’t the best ever Hong Kong movie – it isn’t even the best ever Hong Kong gambling movie – but it could have been much worse.