All Film Reviews

‘Driving Miss Wealthy’ simply isn’t sharp enough or emotionally engaging enough to sustain the attention.

Johnnie To charges out the gate with ‘Drug War’: a blitz of tension, style and almost unrelenting momentum.

No one who claims to be a Hong Kong action cinema fan or a true Chan fan should be without a copy of this movie.

This is truly a masterpiece of the genre with Chan, who was approaching his 40th birthday at the time, on astounding form.

The weak plot and general ridiculousness are just too much to bear, and most of the star power winds up being utterly wasted.

The action ranges from the adequate to the quite good – hardly a ringing endorsement, I grant you – but suffers from that same curse of poor wirework.

The choreography is refreshing and innovative though the storyline is badly developed and cannot fall back on well-written characters.

Yuen Woo Ping weaves more choreographed magic into the narrative and allows the entire cast to show what they can do.

Taking a well-trod tale of unrequited love and combining efforts with current hot property Miriam Yeung, Yip imbues proceedings with an infectious air.

There aren’t any surprises in ‘Duckweed’, but for a well made feel-good film it’s about as good as we’ll see this year.

A poor script, uninvolving direction and some tepid fight scenes combine to test even the most forgiving viewer’s patience.

‘Duel To The Death’ is ostentatious proof director Ching Siu Tung is not someone merely told where to put the camera.

This is a sharply original love story set to incredible moving pictures. It has beautiful actors, heartfelt emotion and a genuine sense of originality.

The film is reliant on the gentle charm of its principal cast and the genuine warmth of the relationships therein.

While ‘Dying To Survive’ offers an important message, it is, at its heart, an excellent comic drama.

Fun if frivolous, ‘Dynamite Warrior’ is not the best of its kind but worthwhile for the awesome combat.

‘Eagle’s Claw’ is a reminder of Lee Tso-Nam’s ability to take a potentially pedestrian storyline and fill it with shades of intrigue throughout.

‘Eastern Condors’ is a mind blowing mix of kung fu and wartime combat that will have you hooked from start to finish.

It will forever be a footnote in Yeoh’s career (especially now) but it offers a comforting bit of nostalgia. And not a great deal else, sadly.

Feng’s achievement is that his work here is a delightful romance while also successfully juggling numerous other sub-plots.

‘Echoes Of The Rainbow’ is full of the balancing act between cliché and skilled drama, complete with solid performances throughout.

‘End of Innocence’ won’t be counted among the great thrillers to come out of Asia in recent years, but it’s a more than competent effort and generates real tension before the credits roll.

‘Edge of the Empire’ just doesn’t live up to its potential, takes itself too seriously to be cheesy fun and is recommended only to die hard historical epic fans.

‘Eerie’ may adhere to cliché and an over-reliance on jump scares but thanks to an effective sense of dread conjures up a worthwhile watch in the long-haired-scary-ghost-girl genre.