Release Year: 1990

‘All For The Winner’ is a fun all-round movie with a particularly pleasing performance from Stephen Chow.

Obviously I still wouldn’t call it good in the traditional sense, but it is a familiar slice of cheese that certainly goes down easily.

For newcomers, it may prove a little difficult to get into and occasionally confusing but those already enjoying Kitano’s films will easily find several merits here that are synonymous with his best work.

‘Bullet in the Head’ still packs an enormous emotional punch and is very much one of the all time classics of Hong Kong cinema.

The narrative is fairly crisp, but cannot make the action any less ‘American’ in its pace and imagination (or lack of!).

While it’ll never scale the heights of its Hong Kong counterparts of the day, this fast and fun sequel still delivers the Rothock, Norton and Cooke action goods.

Make no mistake, ‘Coup De Grace’ is not an award winner or even a genre masterpiece, but its modest goals are easily achieved.

The film is a genuinely well-made buddy cop outing that has two great leading performances and a healthy helping of Hong Kong-styled heroic bloodshed.

It’s nothing particularly new or flashy, but it is filled with enough action and comedy to leave you smiling once the final credits roll.

‘Dragon Ball Z: Tree Of Might’ is probably the weakest of the movies up until this point, simply because it feels like a case of going through the motions.

‘Dragon from Russia’ is best described as a group of excellent fight sequences strung together by a rather muddled plot and some curious casting.

The narrative and sonic stylings lag behind the excellent visuals, and the film isn’t really more than the sum of its parts.