All Film Reviews

‘Savage’ pulls few punches in its tough tale of a mountain cop on a quest to extract revenge on a trio of criminals who killed his partner.

A pulpy period actioner is a good way to describe ‘Savage Dog’ but come the second half, the film veers into full on exploitation madness as the violence is ramped up.

The action is typically American. Gruner displays a repertoire of 3 different kicks at a less than blistering pace, while his opponents are even less impressive.

Yu’s epic is often stunning to look at, is a lot less stuffy and longwinded than many a recent Chinese period epic, moves at a fair clip and delivers a surfeit of adrenaline surged spectacle.

Despite eschewing all the trappings of a big budget thriller, ‘Saving Mr. Wu’ is still a tense and perhaps even thought-provoking production.

Her adventures may not have attracted the crowds on its Korean release, but this is still a comedy with style and confidence in spades.

With a startling visual style and innovative action aplenty, ‘Saviour Of The Soul’ ranks among the very best of the Hong Kong fantasy genre.

The slightly absurdist Japanese style means that the film is very much an acquired taste, likely to baffle as many as it might amuse.

This comedy succeeds because of its wit and characterisation, two attributes that go hand-in-hand in the better efforts of the genre.

Not that I am expecting high art from what is a low budget Japanese action film but this film really is awful.

Lau Ching-Wan is simply stunning in the role of Root, putting so much delicate charm and humility in his part that it’s impossible for the viewer not to empathise with him.

‘Sealed With A Kiss’ has the raw promise of a director to watch in the future, but intersperses this with a general lack of focus.

When the focus is on the more interesting science fiction narrative, director Lau succeeds in throwing in some surprising touches.

The one thing in the film’s favour is some passable fisticuffs though even this becomes repetitive after the hundredth faceless drone is punched in the head at the end.

As is sadly the case with many of the current crop of 3D films, ‘Sector 7’ is another cinematic Potemkin village.

Far more subtle than Chow Sing Chi, but certainly as funny, ‘Security Unlimited’ is an excellent introduction to the world of the Hui brothers.

For the undemanding genre fan, or neophyte viewers just discovering Asian horror, ‘Seeding of a Ghost’ is that illustrious “beer & pizza” time waster that provides a taster of what else to expect.

All nicely shot on location and featuring the crisp and crunchy fight action we expect from Adkins and Florentine, ‘Seized’ delivers the goods.

The two most striking things about ‘Send Me To The Clouds’ are the photography and the performance of actress Yao Chen.

‘Seoul Raiders’ is not only a disappointment in comparison to ‘Tokyo Raiders’, but also a worrying reminder of the recent lack of sparkle in Hong Kong action cinema.

Definitely a blight on Billy Chung’s eclectic cinematic oeuvre, ‘Set Up’ is a formerly shelved title that should have remained buried indefinitely.

‘Seven Warriors’ does not compare to the flawless epic that inspired it, but it’s encouraging to report that this is well worth watching.

Zhang Yimou’s black, white and blood red opus mixes political intrigue, wuxia action and enough twists and turns to fill several mysteries.

I only recommend ‘Shadow Fury’ to Alpha Stunts completists like me, as although the infrequent fight scenes are fun to watch, the rest of the running time drags along too painfully for most.