Reviews

  • Drunken Master Su Qier

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    Jan 12

    The action ranges from the adequate to the quite good – hardly a ringing endorsement, I grant you – but suffers from that same curse of poor wirework.

  • Hunt

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    Jan 2

    Perhaps too overly convoluted, po-faced and twist happy for its own good, ‘Hunt’ is nevertheless mounted with impressive verve and if one can forgive its flaws, is an exhilarating action charged political thriller.

  • New Kung Fu Cult Master

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    Dec 25

    ‘New Kung Fu Cult Master’ isn’t a great film, maybe not even a very good one, but there’s enough strengths here to make you eager to watch the second part.

  • Speed Dating

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    Dec 15

    ‘Speed Dating’ is a fast and funny short blast of action-comedy that nicely sets proceedings up for a potential full-length feature – which would be very welcome.

  • The Battle At Lake Changjin II

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    Dec 7

    The film veers between harrowing war bloodshed and comic book daredevil action and while it never shies away from the horrors of war the film is always entertaining: certainly, from an action standpoint.

  • Too Cool To Kill

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    Nov 30

    Xing Wenxiong’s delightful remake of ‘The Magic Hour’ retains the charm and wit of the original, but makes some key changes to improve it.

  • The Magic Hour

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    Nov 21

    ‘The Magic Hour’ is a fun comedy, though not the classic it promises to be. It still has an enormous amount to recommend it though and is a good starting point for those looking into Japanese comedy.

  • The Princess

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    Nov 1

    Essentially the story of a princess locked in a tower by an evil wannabe ruler, the flick gets down to brass tacks right out the gate: fast and furious fight action.

  • Mulan

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    Oct 25

    While proceedings do get a little dry and flat on occasion, for the most part this version of ‘Mulan’ is a well-made and entertaining epic that never resorts to heavy-handed storytelling.

  • The Invincible Dragon

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    Sep 27

    If ‘The Invincible Dragon’ had just embraced its barmier B-movie aspects and run with them, then this could have been a fun throwback to action films of yesteryear.

  • Escape Of Shark

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    Sep 20

    ‘Escape of Shark’ is a remake of Australian thriller ‘Bait’ which, while not a masterpiece either, is several notches above this effort.

  • Carter

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    Sep 13

    Joo Won and the stunt people do give it their all and there are some creative sequences on show, but it doesn’t quite come together into a satisfying whole.

  • Song Of The Assassins

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    Sep 7

    The quality increases as the film progresses and the viewer is more invested in the characters, meaning that it stands out as one of the more exciting swordplay films of recent years.

  • Blood Chase

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    Aug 30

    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.

  • Ip Man: The Awakening

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    Aug 22

    ‘Ip Man: The Awakening’ may not be remembered in the great canon of Chinese folk hero cinema, but as a solid offering that clocks in under ninety minutes, this is recommended.

  • Incantation

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    Aug 15

    A palpable sense of all-consuming dread is maintained throughout the runtime and the makers never resort to jump scares just for the sake of them.

  • Hit Team

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    Aug 4

    Penned by prolific director and writer Wong Jing, ‘Hit Team’ is a formulaic cop thriller done on a low budget, something that makes itself very apparent early on.

  • Ultimax Force

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    Jul 26

    ‘Ultimax Force’ has it all really: great B-movie title, lots of ridiculous moments that defy logic, unintentionally hilarious acting and a heap of cool action.

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