All Film Reviews

This particular hybrid is a healthy beast rather than a corrupted mutant and works surprisingly well as a police procedural thriller.

‘Oh! Yes Sir!!!’ could have perhaps been more appealing if there had been added emphasis on the action or a little less smuttiness in the humour.

Definitely not to everyone’s taste, but ink black humour and Choi’s powerhouse performance prevent ‘Oldboy’ from becoming unendurable.

‘On The Run’ is a superb effort from Biao and a welcome change of pace for an actor who is so often seen as just the “little brother” of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

‘Once A Black Sheep’ is solid fare though its relative anonymity should tell you much about its place in Hong Kong cinema.

It’s a pleasure to see Jordan Chan given a lead role in a major production and his cowardly cook is a delightful antithesis to ‘Chicken’ from the series that made his name.

John Woo really surprised the audiences with this mixture of acrobatic gunplay action and comedy.

Hark combines a well-paced and beautifully photographed narrative with strong characters and exciting fight action.

Fans of the first two will be sorely disappointed by ‘Once Upon A Time In China And America’ and will no doubt feel somewhat short-changed.

In my opinion, this film does not have the same numerous levels within its story which made the first such an all round classic, however, much of the action is just as impressive.

Tsui Hark very cleverly realised that topping the fight action in part 2 would be almost impossible, and adopted a different style accordingly.

The action (ladder fight excepted) is equal to part 1, but not the dramatic element, and it is certainly not the equal of part 2 for fight choreography.

For those that hate the frequent use of wire-fu (like me), you better look elsewhere as action choreography for this film relies heavily upon its use.

This is a well acted and written coming-of-age drama with some intense fight scenes. An absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable movie.

The master stroke is of course the incorporation of Yuen Woo Ping as fight choreographer and he serves up some of the best fisticuffs of recent years.

‘Once Upon A Time In Triad Society’ is a great little movie, purely down to Francis Ng in what must be one of his greatest roles.

‘One Arm Hero’ has its moments, though they don’t help the finished production achieve anything more than the entertaining.

A few moments of Wang Yu madness creep into the film to enliven things, but this is mostly a hard slog to get through.

Not a classic, but for those not yet bored by vengeful serial killing and familial mysteries, there is much to recommend here.

It may be a throwback, perhaps an antiquated one to some, but in an era of uninspiring cinema, it’s strangely welcome.

‘One Piece 3D2Y’ is definitely worth a watch for fans of the show, if for no other reason than to see the blistering battles between Luffy and World.

Despite all the talk prior to its release, the film is essentially just routine filler that, whilst definitely still fun and impressive to look at, doesn’t exactly break any new boundaries.

‘One Piece Film: Z’ is a really good ‘One Piece’ movie. It has some very solid animation, plenty of action and an engaging story that genuinely feels connected to the show.

Being an action fan it is fair to say I was very aware of the lack of it, but at the same time this is easily overlooked when you consider the quality exhibited in the story department.