Reviews
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Bodyguard Kiba
Existing in its own heightened reality, ‘Bodyguard Kiba’ is all about making our hero look cool (and indestructible!) and the bad guys as nasty as possible.
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Visitors
Owing a lot to likes of ‘Evil Dead’ (and other 80s style demon/zombie/gore films) Kenichi Ugana puts enough of his own spin and Japanese style quirk into proceedings to make it his own.
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Fighting Spirit
‘Fighting Spirit’ has some energy and a surfeit of almost non-stop fights but is just a little too cheap, hokey, and grimy to recommend as silly fun.
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A Guilty Conscience
While not without some dry humour, Jack Ng’s courtroom drama is a mostly sober look at a theme that pops up in cinema worldwide, namely how the legal system tends to favour those with money and influence.
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Code of Honor
There’s very little action on offer and Seagal is just a secondary character in a movie in which his name and face are plastered all over the packaging.
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Slaughter In San Francisco
Helmed by the then prolific Lo Wei and giving Wong Tao an early leading role, ‘Slaughter in San Francisco’ is some often cheesy but action-packed old school martial arts action.
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Yakuza Wolf 2
Cool, swift, and breezy, ‘Yakuza Wolf 2’ may be different in tone and style to the first film, and nowhere near as satisfying, but is still some fun gangster action with Chiba at the top of his game.
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Yakuza Wolf
Fierce Yakuza action from the man Sonny Chiba, ‘Yakuza Wolf’ has lost none of its power as it dishes up a hard-hitting dose of violent action and in-your-face exploitation.
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River
‘River’ might not reach ‘Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes’ heights of loopy brilliance, but it’s another mixture of Japanese invention and wit that is sure to please those looking for an antidote to bloated Hollywood excess.
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Long Arm Of The Law II
Not for the fainthearted but for fans of hard-edged cop action films from the golden era of Hong Kong, this is tough to beat.
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Perfect Days
A hard slog for some, but a beautiful appreciation of the ordinary for many, a look at how day-to-day life can have a worth all of its own.
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I Will Finally Knock You Down, Dad!
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.
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Samurai Wolf II
Slicker and swifter this time around, ‘Samurai Wolf II’ is still some dark, fight filled, chanbara entertainment but is perhaps unnecessarily complex and convoluted for its own good.
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Samurai Wolf
Short but sharp samurai flick from an early on in his career Hideo Gosha, ‘Samurai Wolf’ still packs a punch despite its short running time and being almost 60 years old.
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The Goldfinger
Despite its flaws, ‘The Goldfinger’ is an entertaining and well-acted piece of cinema with the highlights being the face-to-face meetings of Lau and Leung throughout the film.
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Devils
A sort of mix between ‘Freaky Friday’ and ‘Face/Off’ but with a lot bloodier horror and grimness, ‘Devils’ is some tough, grue splattered, body-swap thrills.
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Virus
You will probably have to be in a certain mood to watch a film as pessimistic as this, but the reward is an excellent piece of entertainment with plenty of food for thought.
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Godzilla Minus One
Coming with a boatload of deserved hype, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ really does live up to the love that has been showered upon it.
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One More Chance
It may be a throwback, perhaps an antiquated one to some, but in an era of uninspiring cinema, it’s strangely welcome.
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Casino Raiders
Not as saturated with action as some of its ilk of the time but a solid gangster gambling drama nonetheless with the two leads at the top of their game.
Best New Films
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A Guilty Conscience
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Yakuza Wolf
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Long Arm Of The Law II
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Perfect Days
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Virus
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Godzilla Minus One
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Casino Raiders
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The Wandering Earth II
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Ballerina
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Beach Of The War Gods
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Kill Boksoon
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Cop Image
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The Seventh Curse
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Baby Assassins
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Project Wolf Hunting
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Dreams
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The Bullet Train
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The Big 4
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Broker
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Violent Streets
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The Witch: Part 2. The Other One
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Too Cool To Kill
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The Princess
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Song Of The Assassins
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Incantation
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Nightshooters
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Spiritwalker
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Escape From Mogadishu
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Shaolin And Wu Tang
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Midnight
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A Distant Cry From Spring
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Exit