While there’s a vocal contingent online citing MCU fatigue, I’m getting excited after the last two films — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals — as things feel like they’re starting anew. We don’t know if… Read More ›
martial arts
“The Emperor’s Sword” seeks to immortalize the legends of Chinese lore, but fails on just about every level in its attempts to do so.
Ideas are often one thing, whereas execution is entirely another. There are plenty of films which sound incredible, but the finished product seems entirely devoid of the potential. This is the best way to describe the frustration that comes from… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Yakuza Princess” actor MASUMI.
EoM contributor Thomas Manning recently had the opportunity to interview singer-songwriter and actress MASUMI about her role in the new film Yakuza Princess, an action thriller from director Vicente Amorim. MASUMI speaks on the physical demands of this martial arts… Read More ›
Thriller/dramedy “Nightshooters” brings the action amid laughs and horror.
For all the talk of major releases like Dune (2021) or Eternals (2021) or the bemoaning of limited access of films like Last Night in Soho (2021) or Antlers (2021), all films which were released by large studios, it’s easy… Read More ›
Sadly, when betting on this particular G.I. Joe adaptation, “Snake Eyes” is an appropriate title.
It’s been a long road to go from the first iteration of “America’s Moveable Fighting Man” G.I. Joe to the latest live-action cinematic rendition of the characters from that universe. In that time, the Hasbro toyline has gone from a… Read More ›
“Baby Assassins” is a bubbly action crime comedy that’s not afraid to kick a lot of ass. [Fantastic Fest]
If you’ve ever sat absorbing something for the first time — a song, a book, a play, a movie — and thought to yourself, “I can’t wait to revisit this,” then you’ll have some sense of what will await you… Read More ›
Beloved Hong Kong director Johnnie To joins The Criterion Collection with 2004 genre-hybrid “Throw Down.”
If you’re well-versed in Hong Kong cinema, then the name Johnnie To will carry a great deal of weight. Among those who know, his films like A Hero Never Dies (1998), PTU (2003), and Election (2005) exemplify the Kong Kong… Read More ›
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” sends the MCU in an exciting and new unknown direction.
There are many differences in American and Asian cinema, but none stand out as much as the way stunt sequences are used. More often than not, a stunt sequence in American-made films is more about wowing the audience than moving… Read More ›
“The Fatal Raid” Blu-ray Giveaway
Director Jacky Lee’s The Fatal Raid first released in Hong Kong September 2019 before releasing in other overseas locations, but never released in the United States. Thanks to Well Go USA, not only do American audiences have the chance to check… Read More ›
Actors Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse bring their dazzling fists of fury to writer/director Benny Chan’s final film: action thriller “Raging Fire.”
Which would you rather do: the hard right thing or the easy wrong thing? A decision like this is simple when the stakes are low, like what’s for dinner: cooking it yourself when you have all the ingredients but are… Read More ›
The prophecy complete and the tournament on the horizon, it must mean 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” is out on home video.
29 years after the debut of the Ed Boon and John Tobias’s arcade cabinet classic Mortal Kombat, director Simon McQuoid and writers Greg Russo and David Callaham (Godzilla vs. Kong) unleash the third live-action adaption of the beloved martial arts… Read More ›
“Mortal Kombat” Blu-ray Giveaway
Did you look at director Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat and scream “GET OVER HERE!” Thanks to the kind folks at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, we’re set to help you make that dream come true. That’s right, we’ve got one (1) Blu-ray… Read More ›
Despite mixed success with the action and emotional resonance of the drama, you can still see the promise within “Silat Warriors: Deed of Death.”
Though the highest grossing films in Malaysia mostly come from the international market, one shouldn’t discount the country for its own cinematic successes. There’s docudrama The Big Durian (2003), the first Malaysian film to screen at the Sundance Film Festival,… Read More ›
“Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death” Blu-ray Giveaway
After streaming exclusively on martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH!, Malaysian martial arts film Silat Warriors: Dead of Death is set for home release on July 6th. Thanks to film distributor Well Go USA, EoM has two (2) Blu-ray copies to give… Read More ›
“The Paper Tigers” reenter the ring thanks to Well Go USA’s home release edition.
Martial arts films hold a special place in cinema. Whether it’s the swirling wonder of wuxia or a straight-forward bare-knuckle brawler, the Asian import captured the imagination in the 1970s – 1980s and has yet to loosen its hold on… Read More ›
Martial arts crime comedy “Undercover Punch & Gun” is largely undercooked despite good ideas.
Over the last few years in America there’s been a surge of “gun fu” films: The Matrix (1999), Equilibrium (2002), all the way up to the recent John Wick series. It’s not that the combination of martial arts and weaponry… Read More ›
Simon McQuoid’s “Mortal Kombat” is not a flawless victory.
Debuting in 1992, Ed Boon and John Tobias’s arcade game Mortal Kombat shook the foundation of popular kulture almost immediately. It wasn’t just the karacter design (digitized versions of real people known as “sprites”) or the in-game mythos, but the… Read More ›
Martial arts action comedy “The Rookies” is best left on the bench.
When you market a film based on being from the writer of 2004’s New Police Story, a continuation/reboot of Jackie Chan’s action-martial arts-drama series, then you’d better be on par or be willing to lose a lot of face. Sadly,… Read More ›
“Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1” Blu-ray Giveaway
Tak Sakaguchi was a street fighter when writer/director Ryûhei Kitamura hired him to play Prisoner KSC2-303 in Versus (2000). Since then, Sakaguchi developed quite the resume as a live actor, voice actor, and stunt coordinator in films large and small. Now… Read More ›
The martial arts of “The Swordsman” cut through the narrative mire.
Consider the logline for Choi Jae-hoon’s feature film directorial debut The Swordsman (Geom-gaek) for a moment: a blinded swordsman comes out of hiding when his daughter is kidnapped by slave traders. With this type of description, one would presume a… Read More ›