All Film Reviews

There’s weaknesses in some of the plot twists, but there’s also good action, fine performances and the kind of bold visual statements that linger in the mind.

‘Iron Fists’ is packed with varied action, good performances from luminaries like Chen Kuan-Tai and Mang Fei and is constructed in a way that does no shame to its lofty inspiration.

Anyone who appreciates quality choreography, well executed fight sequences and a well told story will love this and will definitely want to own it!

Powered by Wu’s lean direction and vision and Li’s brilliant star turn, ‘Iron Road’ should win new fans for both.

With the martial arts action severely lacking in excitement and a whole lot of WTF, means ‘Ironheart’ is just a load a B-movie badness.

For a low budget, rushed production, the emotional content of the film and the quality of its cast save the day providing us with a kung fu influenced ‘Shawshank Redemption’ wannabe.

For those who have had their fingers burnt on numerous occasions by Hong Kong rom-coms, I offer up ‘It Had To Be You’ as a partial redemption.

‘It’s A Drink, It’s A Bomb’ is far less interested in developing a logical plot and far more devoted to the increasingly bizarre situations our protagonists find themselves in.

‘It’s A Great, Great World’ starts out small and unassuming and before you know it has evolved into something more colourful, vibrant and involving than you could have ever expected.

Clifton Ko has been behind the lens for quite a few of these family comedies though the box-office hit ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World’ is one of his best efforts.

It may not be the most original fight flick around but ‘Jailbreak’ obliterates any flaws through its dedication to sating the most ardent fight fan’s want for excessive action.

With brains, brawn and cool, cruel style to spare, ‘Japan Organized Crime Boss’ is a fantastic entry point to Fukasaku’s earlier movies.

Perhaps the only downside is that I would still rather watch one of Van Damme’s straight action pictures.

The film wears its fun proudly on its sleeve and if you can go along with it, ‘Jeon Woo-Chi’ does provide a lot of action packed, sorcery-laden entertainment.

Clocking in at around the 80 minute mark, ‘Jiang Hu’ is short and snappy, delving into a a specific moment in the characters lives making it neither overly complex or lacking in substance.

Don’t expect a constant, action packed thrill ride but do expect an engrossing character piece that just unfortunately lays on some of its points a little too hard.

Entertaining for the most part and certainly packed with fight action, the film unfortunately suffers from muddled execution of its own brilliantly bananas concept.

Despite doing some things right in terms of the look and feel of the franchise, it never quite seems to re-capture the atmosphere or the magical abilities to the point where they truly captivate.

‘Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons’ is a solid fantasy film that retains a fair amount of that Stephen Chow magic.

Not quite as tight and effective as ‘White Ghost’ but still a freaky little tale featuring a rather memorable exorcism scene.

If you think Japanese horror cinema is becoming mired in recently coined cliché, or you simply love being scared, the troubling, dreadful world of ‘Ju-on’ is required viewing.

While ‘Ju-on 2’ is another rewarding journey through a landscape of fear and loathing, now is the time for its creator to terrorise avenues new.

Well acted, tightly plotted and directed ‘White Ghost’ piles on the scares thick and fast cramming in an awful lot of ‘Ju-On’ ghost weirdness into its short running time.

‘Juliet In Love’ could be well-described as an economic and perhaps minimal love story; there are no grand gestures or over-the-top histrionics.