All Film Reviews

‘Big Man Japan’ isn’t always quite as quirky and clever as it thinks it is but is nevertheless another entertaining example of why Japanese cinema is at the forefront of the unique and creative.

Boobs and blood can be a fun distraction but they aren’t enough to make up for a complete lack of anything else.

‘BKO: Bangkok Knockout’ delivers pretty much exactly what you would expect: a non-stop rollercoaster ride of brutally brilliant fight scenes housed in a sorry excuse for a movie.

‘Black Belt’ could well be a cult hit that influences those who follow it. It is not a flawless masterpiece, but its differences – as well as its similarities – make it a work that is worthy of its popularity.

Jade Leung’s impressively committed performance and the always dependable Simon Yam elevate the low budget nature of the flick making it an entertaining romp.

While the original was essentially a remake of Luc Besson’s ‘La Femme Nikita’, ‘Black Cat II’ is more a straightforward action flick, with a little bit of ‘Terminator’ thrown in.

‘Black Coal, Thin Ice’ is one of those films that are encountered once in a while that are much easier to admire than feel warm and fuzzy about.

There is a degree of drama in this story of redemption but it’s not constructed with any great care and can hardly make up for the lack of sparkle in the choreography.

The action is still impressive, and deserves 4 stars, but the direction, annoying camera work and lack of real plot drag it down into the 3 star category.

‘Black Mask 2’ could be seen as Hark’s interpretation of what appeals to a global audience or maybe he just watched one too many episodes of ‘Power Rangers’ before production began.

‘Black Rain’ excels in its examination of Japanese society, especially in the post-Atomic age. The bomb almost becomes the end of a civilisation as the traditional customs and expectations change forever.

Low budget, straight-forward, though with a couple of unexpected twists and turns, this was a fun and surprisingly action packed ride.

Along with all the sweet kickboxing action the flick crams in a fair chunk of graphic gore and a surprising amount of drama for a low budget B-movie.

Part 2 showed some nicer choreography but was hindered by the MTV-style camera work, which has seemingly infected all action films of the past few years.

‘Blade of the 47 Ronin’ is slick albeit silly fun that rightly plays everything just earnest enough to be taken seriously but having fun with the hokey concept of Samurai’s running around modern Budapest fighting evil witches.

Billed as Takashi Miike’s 100th film at the time of release, ‘Blade of the Immortal’ sees the enfant terrible deliver one of his best films of recent: both violently excessive and beautifully crafted.

A classy affair all round, ‘Blades of Blood’ is an invigorating and hugely enjoyable slice of chanbara styled storytelling from Korea.

‘Bleeding Steel’ starts with promise and then refuses to flesh out any of the plot details, leaving us bewildered shortly after our interest had piqued.

‘Blind’ is a more than capable thriller that builds patiently to an edge-of-the-seat climax. And Kim Ha-Neul continues to ascend to the top of Korea’s starlist with another charismatic performance.

A straightforward martial arts film it may be but is all the better for it and features a great cast, blistering fight scenes and proves that sometimes old school is the best school.

Takeshi Kitano has played a gallery of rogues during his career, but his performance as Shunpei Kim, a brutal Korean immigrant in Yoichi Sai’s ‘Blood and Bones’ is his most powerful.

Not a complete waste of time as it does provide some basic gangster movie stylings but ‘Blood Brothers’ is just that: an exercise in style and a style that has been done much better by other films.

Director Teddy page made a ton of these action clunkers back in the day and while it’s far from his best it does boast Karen Shepherd in a lead role kicking lots of ass.

This short, sharp and mostly sweet martial arts vampire actioner may lack budget and a dense narrative but what it does have is oodles and oodles of awesome fight action.