Release Year: 2018

While the animation and action are definitely well handled, the numerous anime movie clichés prevent it from ever progressing beyond anything other than filler.

Overcoming a small budget and using a single location to its advantage, ‘Nightshooters’ is slick, laugh-out-loud funny and when it cuts loose, a full tilt action flick.

It’s big, it’s brash and in several sequences surprisingly gory but ‘Operation Red Sea’ is big screen, blockbusting action done well.

Mixing the zombie, martial arts and men-on-a-mission genres, ‘Redcon-1’ adopts a take no prisoners approach and rarely lets up over its almost 2 hour run time.

Basically a showcase for Kahn’s incredible fight skills, ‘Revenger’ is best when the all out martial arts mayhem is on screen.

‘Savage’ pulls few punches in its tough tale of a mountain cop on a quest to extract revenge on a trio of criminals who killed his partner.

Zhang Yimou’s black, white and blood red opus mixes political intrigue, wuxia action and enough twists and turns to fill several mysteries.

As a work of cinema, ‘Shoplifters’ is as carefully considered, lovingly framed and beautifully measured as the very best the medium offers.

‘Still Human’ is everything that good Hong Kong cinema can be. It tells a good story without pomp, grounds it in reality and focuses on ordinary everyday folk.

Perhaps not the most original narrative wise, ‘The Bouncer’ is entertaining thanks to solid direction, a great setting and an excellent performance from the Muscles from Brussels.

‘The Bravest Escort Group’ was one of those films you start watching while all the while thinking that it must have either been edited down from a much longer version or part of a series.

A refreshing reminder of how action films used to be made where brains, brawn and banter all play a part in shaping a satisfying story.