Trigger Warning: The film includes a moment of spousal rape that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. The scene in question is discussed in the following home review. Of the various action subgenres to come out of Hong Kong action… Read More ›
Hong Kong
Johnnie To’s mixed-genre “Romancing in Thin Air” gets a first-time US and UK Blu-ray via Radiance Films.
When a storyteller — whether writer, director, actor, etc. — becomes known for something, they very often get pigeon-holed and face difficulty escaping that perception. People known for westerns do westerns, for action do action, for horror do horror, and… Read More ›
Filmmaker Tsui Hark’s violent wuxia deconstruction “The Blade” joins The Criterion Collection with a first-time 4K UHD restoration.
Martial arts fans have it so good right now; it’s truly incredible. With deals being made to restore and re-print various titles out of Hong Kong, what was once hard to find (Hard Boiled) and barely accessible on HD (Rumble… Read More ›
Gordan Chan’s folktale adaptation “King of Beggars” receives a 2K restoration from Eureka Entertainment.
Cinema borrowing from folktales is a natural fit given that folktales often elevate figures or events and cinema does this innately through projection. Who wouldn’t want to see the figures or events of lore cast upon a 40-foot screen or… Read More ›
Alfred Cheung Kin-Ting’s crime thriller “On the Run” gets a Region A release by 88 Films.
The only feeling better for a cinephile in learning that a film you dig or never got the chance to see is getting a physical release is learning that said film that’s out of print or region locked is getting… Read More ›
88 Films releases another Yuen Biao 2K restoration with action comedy “Rosa.”
By the time 1986 arrived, Yuen Biao, one Hong Kong’s “Three Dragons,” had appeared in the Sammo Hung-co-directed Warrior’s Two (1978), lead Brandy Yuen Jan-Yeung’s The Champions (1983), and co-starred in Jackie Chan’s Project A (1983) and Sammo Hung’s My… Read More ›
Kenji Tanigaki’s “The Furious” delivers action, violence, chaos, story, and heart in well-balanced cinematic experience. [TIFF]
If you didn’t know who director Kenji Tanigaki (Enter the Fat Dragon) was before, then after you see his explosive newest feature, The Furious, you’ll know he is one to look out for if you’re a fan of movies like… Read More ›
Wilson Yip/Donnie Yen 2007 crime actioner “Flash Point” gets re-released on Blu-ray by Well Go USA.
Actor Donnie Yen has an extensive filmography of dramas, actioners, comedies, fantasy titles, and thrillers, often overlapping the genres in the same film and delivering solid martial arts entertainment in the process. From In the Line of Duty 4 (1989)… Read More ›
Low-stakes sports dramedy “Good Game” is worth booting up and logging in. [Fantasia]
In the realm of capitalism, if you can do it, chances are you can make money off of it. That’s why you can make money from doing everything from playing board games, tossing a pig skin, or PvP Counter-Strike competitions…. Read More ›
Filmmaker Po-Chih Leong’s wartime dramatic actioner “Hong Kong 1941” joins Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema series with a strong HD restoration.
In the history of the world, there have been indigenous peoples and there have been colonizers. In some cases, it’s viewed as a matter of perspective, but, by and large, if a people originated from a location, they are the… Read More ›
88 Films offers Lau Kar-Leung’s action comedy “The Lady is the Boss” for a first-time U.S. release.
Actor, writer, director Lau Kar-Leung is a staple of the Shaw Brothers Studio as evidenced by projects like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), The Shadow Boxing (1979), The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984), and Disciples of the 36th Chamber… Read More ›
Genre-hybrid “Running on Karma” gets a 2K restoration as it’s added to Eureka Entertainment’s “Masters of Cinema” series.
“You can’t take anything with you when you die, except your deeds.” – Lee Fun Yee (Cecilla Cheung) in Running on Karma Established in 1996 by director Johnnie To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, production house Milkyway Image Ltd. would… Read More ›
Donnie Yen’s “The Prosecutor” receives verdicts of guilty for attempting too much and not guilty for the entertainment it provides in the process.
Like many in the Hong Kong scene, Donnie Yen has worn and continues to wear many hats. He’s been a member of a stunt team (The Miracle Fighters) and an actor (Tiger Cage; Blade II), sometimes on the same project;… Read More ›
Sammo Hung’s wartime actioner “Eastern Condors” receives an impressive 2K restoration from The Criterion Collection.
It’s very common for members of Hong Kong (HK) cinema to take on multiple career paths through their lifetime. Many start as stunt people, working their way up to actor and then, often, to the position of writing and/or directing,… Read More ›
Patrick Tam’s wuxia tale, “The Sword (名劍),” reaches new audiences with its 2K restoration from Eureka Entertainment.
In 2024, it’s quite easy for cinema-going audiences to identify the Chinese genre of fantastical martial arts tales known as wuxia thanks to films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002), and, more recently, Śakra (2023). Though a popular… Read More ›
Set sail with 88 Film’s 4K UHD remaster of the Jackie Chan-created “Project A” Collection.
Stuntman-turned-Actor Jackie Chan has been the lead of some of martial arts cinema’s most beloved films, including Meals on Wheels (1984), Police Story (1985), and Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which don’t even include the films made after his crossover… Read More ›
“The Shadow Boxing” is welcomed into the 88 Asia Collection with a bare-bones limited edition HD transfer.
In his lifetime, Lau Kar-leung’s worked as an actor (How Wong Fei-Hung Defeated Three Bullies with a Rod (1953); Golden Swallow (1968)), a stuntman (The Black Musketeer ‘F’ (1968); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)), a writer (Legendary Weapons of… Read More ›
The fists and comedy fly fast and hit hard in Yuen Woo-ping’s “The Miracle Fighters,” newly restored in 2K from Eureka Entertainment.
There are few names in action that command respect in the way that Yuen Woo-ping does. A stuntman turned actor, writer, and director, Yuen Woo-ping is responsible for films like Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master (1979) and Donnie Yen’s Tiger Cage… Read More ›
Eureka Entertainment brings home the messy but entertaining “The Miracle Fighters,” an ‘80s mashup of kung fu, fantasy, and comedy.
Those not used to extreme tonal shifts, a mixture of martial arts, comedy, and fantasy in one may be in for a shock watching Yuen Woo-ping’s cult hit The Miracle Fighters (1982). Within the first 10 minutes, we witness a… Read More ›
Director Soi Cheang’s “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” incorporates elements of new school and old school Hong Kong cinema which rattle audiences’ bones and souls in equal measure. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Every community has its stories — tales of victories and defeats, of perilous ends and new beginnings, and of the old guard and the new. Sometimes these take the form of myths and legends born from imagination and other times… Read More ›