In just about every culture on Earth there is a story involving the creation of existence. There are stories of emergence, of coming out of nothingness, of being born from chaos, and more. In each culture, these stories serve as… Read More ›
Mandarin
Huang Jianming’s animated fantasy adventure “Goodbye Monster” brings home an opportunity for families to have hard conversations.
In August 2022, director Huang Jianming (Bobby the Hedgehog) took audiences on an adventure on the island of Kunlun wherein a banished doctor tried to make things right. It’s a colorful tale featuring a collection of characters that seem inspired… Read More ›
“I Am T-Rex” Blu-ray Giveaway
Available for your family’s home viewing enjoyment is directing duo Cai Shangming and Chen Silin’s animated adventure I Am T-Rex, out on shelves as of June 20th. If you’re the sort that gets down with animated dinosaur tales, then rejoice in… Read More ›
“Young Ip Man” Blu-ray Giveaway
In the cinematic adventures of Ip Man, the notable real-life Chinese hero, he’s battled fellow masters, Japanese forces, corrupt businessmen, and more. Now, in a new story from director Li Liming, audiences watch as a young Ip Man tries to… Read More ›
“The King of Wuxia:” Fall in love with the Twilight Samurai. [Old School Kung Fu Fest]
“He was a pure artist. The kind you meet once or twice in a lifetime.” King Hu, the subject of documentary The King of Wuxia, was once named among the five greatest filmmakers on Earth. Kicking off Metrograph’s 10th Old… Read More ›
“New Gods: Yang Jian,” the fourth film in Light Chaser Animation’s Investiture of the Gods Universe, comes home via Shout! Factory and GKids Films.
The New Gods series from Light Chaser is a refreshing approach to cultural stories. Each one of their films, even if not listed with the New Gods label (White Snake and Green Snake) allows the audience to engage with the… Read More ›
Don’t worry, smile: 88 Films’s 2K restoration is “Gorgeous.”
Martial artist. Stuntman. Action director. Comedic Actor. Romantic lead? The first four absolutely describe world-renowned physical performer Jackie Chan, but the last? Certainly during his time making films with studio/distributor Golden Harvest, that’s not something the actor dared pursue as… Read More ›
“Code of the Assassins” Blu-ray Giveaway
Black Mask (1996) and Dragon Blade (2015) director Daniel Lee Yan-Kong released wuxia action drama Code of the Assassins (青面修罗) in 2022, with it landing on streamer Hi-YAH! at the start of March and on home video via Well GO USA toward… Read More ›
“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” imagines Chinese historical figure Huo Yuanjin in a personal conflict during the first Sino-Japanese War.
Each country has their history and storytellers often find those histories ripe for the picking when trying to devise ways to entertain. In the U.S., for instance, audiences marveled at cinematic release The Patriot (2000) for its depiction of sacrifice… Read More ›
The “New Gods” cinematic universe expands with the visually stunning “Yang Jian.”
Animation studio Light Chaser Animation has released seven films with ones most likely known in North America being White Snake (2019), New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021), and Green Snake (2021), the latter two likely because of their accessibility on Netflix…. Read More ›
“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” Blu-ray Giveaway
There are plenty of films which have explored the life of legendary martial artist Ip Man, but few that do the same for creator of the Chin Woo Athletic Association, Master Huo Yuan Jia. Starring Du Yuhang (Kung Fu League)… Read More ›
Mixed-media documentary “Eternal Spring (长春)” offers a unique perspective on what the persecution of people of faith really looks like.
In March 2002, in order to combat the persistent and often violent persecution practitioners of Falun Gong endured in China, several members decided to break into the evening news to project one of their DVDs. The idea being that if… Read More ›
Arrow Video presents director Johnnie To’s “Running Out of Time” collection in a lovely 2K restoration.
There was a time when the transition away from physical media to digital seemed like a gift as largely hard-to-find media became accessible. Without getting into the larger economic issues within their respective areas, the shift toward digital acquisition with… Read More ›
Jimmy Wang Yu’s 50-year-old film “One-Armed Boxer” gets rejuvenated with a brand-new 2K restoration from Arrow Video.
Beginning in 1965, actor Jimmy Wang Yu worked making films for the famous Shaw Brothers Studio operated by Run Run Shaw, making films like One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Come Drink with Me (1966) sequel Golden Swallow (1968). It wasn’t until… Read More ›
Famed director Ang Lee’s first feature-length film, “Pushing Hands,” receives a lovely 2K restoration from Film Movement.
As an adolescent, I heard about director Ang Lee’s films — Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Ice Storm (1997) — but it was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) that would be my entry point into… Read More ›
“Pushing Hands” Blu-ray Giveaway
Director Ang Lee’s filmography includes such greats as Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and Brokeback Mountain (2005). Coming to home video from Film Movement on May 10th is a 2K restoration of Lee’s feature-length directorial… Read More ›
The final piece of director King Hu’s Inn Trilogy is available for purchase thanks to Arrow Video’s physical release of “Come Drink with Me.”
In 1966, director King Hu (Dragon Inn) released Da zui xia, also known as The Great Drunken Hero and Come Drink with Me, a martial arts tale that’s equal parts swordplay and drama. The film starred Cheng Pei-pei (Crouching Tiger,… Read More ›
Uneven in tone and narrative at times, “Schemes in Antiques” isn’t the con romp you expect, but it’s a ride worth taking.
Chinese adventure hybrid Schemes in Antiques from director Derek Kwok (Immortal Demon Slayer) may feel, to American audiences, like a mash-up between National Treasure (2004) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001). It’s at times silly, serious, delicate, and violent, all while using… Read More ›
The fantastic spectacle of animated adventure “The Monkey King: Reborn” almost makes up for the thin script.
Cultural legends and myths have been fodder for storytelling (books, music, video games, movies) since the birth of each of them. Why not take something that audiences are already familiar with and either retell or reform it in a way… Read More ›
“The Monkey King: Reborn” Blu-ray Giveaway
There have been many adaptations of the mythical figure Sun Wukong, more commonly known as The Monkey King. He’s been depicted by Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom, Donnie Yen in The Monkey King, Stephen Chow in A Chinese Odyssey, and… Read More ›