All Film Reviews

Ultimately, ‘Hula Girls’ lacks its own identity. It takes a popular concept and rests on the fact that it apparently has a factual source material as its inspiration.

Perhaps too overly convoluted, po-faced and twist happy for its own good, ‘Hunt’ is nevertheless mounted with impressive verve and if one can forgive its flaws, is an exhilarating action charged political thriller.

Loaded with breakneck action, ‘Hunt the Wicked’ gets by on its energetic execution and its two martial arts stars facing off before teaming up.

While it doesn’t completely succeed in its intentions it is still a brave, and very dark, experimental thriller recommended to the less judgemental out there.

Suo can craft works that move the mind and the heart while entrancing the viewer along the way.

‘I Love Hong Kong’ doesn’t steer too far away from the usual New Year hi-jinks – it is an entertaining 2011 release, but will probably not be remembered come 2012.

Something of a minor undiscovered gem, it’s not hard to see why ‘I Love Lolanto’ was a box office hit in its day and remains well worth seeking out as a latter-day diversion.

‘I Love Maria’ offers a very good 100 minutes of entertainment for those who are looking for something new within Hong Kong cinema.

If there should be any lingering breath in the viewer when watching this, the ubiquitous humorous mahjong scene about forty minutes in should be like a suffocating pillow held over their face.

Not even the odd moment of black humour and Kim Jee-Woon’s knack for crafting exhilarating sequences of action and tension can elevate his film beyond pure nihilism.

The same lead duo and director had given audiences the wildly uneven ‘Fast Fingers’ the year before, but whereas that was entertaining, ‘I Will Finally Knock You Down, Dad!’ is a bit of a slog.

‘I Wish I Had A Wife’ plods along with the piano score that seems to be indelibly tattooed onto the soundtracks of Korean rom-coms.

By no means a disaster but a frustratingly mixed bag from a usually consistent and exciting filmmaker.

Brilliant. Heart-breaking. Life-affirming. Devastating. These are the first words that came to my mind as the credits rolled.

‘Iceman’ is more of a lame comedy with a little bit a decent action rather than the fantasy blockbuster if could have been.

What could have been a fun period set actioner is instead a rushed, confusing sequel which, as other reviews have pointed out, seems to have been cobbled together in a rush from unused footage from the first ‘Iceman’.

Unpretentious, well crafted, a great central performance and some excellent action make ‘Ichi’ a hugely enjoyable experience and refreshing take on the samurai genre.

For those prepared for difficult material and subject matter it is a stylish, gripping example of fearless, maverick cinema.

‘If The Sun Rose In The West’ accomplishes its modest directives and creates two characters we quickly warm to throughout their moments together.

This gentle, emollient romantic drama is further proof of my never-ending mantra that, at their very best, no film-making industry can tap into the softer emotions better than Asian cinema.

‘Illang’ looks fantastic, often thrills, and features some incredible and expertly staged action but suffers from pacing issues and a lukewarm emotional core.

A partial remake of ‘Eyewitness’, the flawed, but diverting 1981 William Hurt/Sigourney Weaver thriller, ‘In Between Loves’ starts with promise only to quickly lose it all.

Over its full running time of a modest ninety minutes, ‘In Full Bloom’ runs out of steam and the attempt at deeper layers of introspection become stilted.

Van Damme puts in a very strong leading performance and Lam helps elevate some mediocre material to a much higher status.