All Film Reviews

John Woo allowed his imagination and cinematic showmanship full flight in ‘Hard Boiled’, strapping his trademark visuals and themes to an RPG and launching them into orbit.

The only reason I can find to recommend it is to see a young Tony Jaa in action, but even this isn’t enough of a reason to sit through all of the surrounding “comedy” sequences.

‘Hard Revenge, Milly’ is a short burst of blood-soaked fun that is likely to please fans of this ever-expanding genre.

Packed with exciting fight sequences, huge helpings of blood and some solid leading performances, it is clearly one of the more enjoyable examples of Japanese VCinema.

‘Hard Target’ always seems to be credited simply as John Woo’s first American movie, but I actually think it is more accurately labelled as his best Hollywood outing.

As good as a belated direct-to-DVD sequel to a John Woo/Jean Claude Van Damme classic gets.

With a sparse soundtrack, and an ensemble of superb performers, Koji Fukada has fashioned a haunting film that is never quite a thriller despite leanings in that direction.

Whilst not without some near-peripheral flourishes of merit, To’s film is perhaps no more (or less) notable than many other similar productions of the era.

Fine performances, good cinematography and a well-paced storyline – despite the difficulty on my part to pick out its failings – will offer most viewers a rewarding 100 minutes of entertainment.

Unfortunately not enough of the storyline’s potential is realised to be fully satisfying; such an intriguing plot needed a bit more attention to its effects instead of just skimming over the matter.

This provides solid viewing for fans while the veterans will no doubt enjoy spotting the endless array of familiar faces in the background.

The first twenty minutes are a barrage of over-stylised visual tricks and self-conscious winks to the audience; these begin to dissipate as the story continues, but it takes optimism to endure these early weaknesses.

‘Headshot’ is often a thrilling ride and once again showcases Iko Uwais at the top of his game and that Indonesia is one of the biggest innovators in modern martial arts cinema.

Not that ‘Heart Against Hearts’ doesn’t have its moments, but it certainly never develops the story beyond typical moments of Hong Kong farce.

‘Heart Into Hearts’ is subsequently a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns, a sequel that tries to impress with its relative opulence but forgets how important its characters are.

If you prefer to see Jackie in films like ‘Shanghai Noon’ and ‘Rush Hour’ then this may not be for you, but if you want to see an alternative to his stereotyped bumbling hero then it will certainly deliver.

With consistent pacing, a convincing story and an effortless mixture of comedy and romance, it is no wonder that ‘Heart To Hearts’ was successful enough to spawn two sequels and numerous imitators.

‘Heat Team’ will undoubtedly baffle more than it will appease; the fractured style and severe lack of focus on what the film actually wants to achieve is difficult to forgive.

‘Heaven and Hell’ is actually a whole lot more interesting, and engaging, than one would outwardly expect from its (largely) negative reputation.

The director has taken complicated source material and distilled it into something arresting before, but here he finds too many sub-plots to balance and too many characters to accommodate.

Those expecting a one-woman killing machine type flick may be disappointed as this is much more a character piece and darkly told tale that pulls no punches.

You are either into these kinds of flicks or not but with an infectious energy, a musical score that propels all the lunacy and a complete commitment to going insane, ‘Helldriver’ is, well, as mad as a bag of smashed frogs!

While it runs out of steam far sooner than it should have done, ‘Hello Mr. Billionaire’ does offer a few smiles along the way.

Not a Brunel intellectual challenge, this is a recommended satirical comedy, easy to enjoy and a feather in the cap of Johnnie To’s varied filmography.