Release Year: 2010

‘Ong Bak 3’ has all the hallmarks of a film rushed into production with a complete disregard for cinematic fundamentals and quality control.

Fast, fresh, funny and full of character and tension, this is wuxia done well and should be seen by fans of the genre at their earliest convenience.

‘Sacrifice’ is not going to find itself among Chen Kaige’s most revered films, yet it is still a classy almost operatic historical film that holds the attention.

‘Samurai Warrior’ looks and feels cheap, and certainly shows no signs of any Miike-style magic. There’s also a real lack of meat in the story and the overall approach to structuring the film is a bad one.

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

‘Shanghai’ is an entertaining watch buoyed by an impressive cast which features several Eastern superstars showing they can hold their own against some of Hollywood’s finest.

‘Skills’ is a decent effort for a parkour themed action film, but is only sporadically entertaining and not as thrilling as it should have been.

Even a few moments of magic from Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Gary Daniels do little to improve the overall picture, and it has to be said that this is a sorry excuse for a ‘Tekken’ movie.

‘The Butcher, the Chef & the Swordsman’ may be an uneven yoking of brilliance and banality, but it is so heavily stacked in favour of the former that this still proves to be a film of great interest.

‘The Last Kung Fu Monk’ is essentially a handful of mediocre fight scenes strung together by a weak plot and some incredibly cheesy drama.

‘The Legend Is Born: Ip Man’ does not try to outdo the spectacle of its more lavish inspiration, though Herman Yau does try to give the viewers the ample Wing Chun action they crave.

‘The Quiz Show Scandal’ is a keenly-observed comic creation. As nutty as a Korean version of ‘It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World’ should be while also succeeding in pulling off moments of mordant wit.