The Raid 2
There are a number of startling action scenes to be found here, and one mighty fine car chase. It’s just such a pity that the film couldn’t elicit any emotion from me.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Raid 2
There are a number of startling action scenes to be found here, and one mighty fine car chase. It’s just such a pity that the film couldn’t elicit any emotion from me.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Raid 2
Keanu gets the job done as per usual, and the rest of the cast are almost entirely Japanese, which at least makes up for Kai’s American accent. Even so, there isn’t much fun to be had here.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading 47 Ronin
The cinematography and editing is wonderful, not only capturing the action with a minimal amount of trickery but also showing classic cinematic flair. The performances are perfunctory but get the job done.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Merantau
The action on display is wonderful. If the fights involved any wire-related trickery, I certainly couldn’t spot it, and I have no idea how the participants didn’t break every bone in their bodies. The average martial arts movie is usually all in good fun – in true Looney Tunes fashion we see very little blood. The Raid, however, is about as gory as a horror flick.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Raid
There are flaming swords, deadly darts and most importantly, Drizzle’s Floppy Sword. Deadly yet lightweight, it can warp to execute a killing blow around her opponent’s weapons. It’s gloriously silly but great fun to watch.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Reign of Assassins
I have to be completely honest here. I understood nothing in this film. Nothing at all. I was completely adrift in an ocean of “what the hell’s going on?” with no narrative buoy on which to cling, and I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the opening title card.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Lost Bladesman
The action is perfectly shot, too, using a filter to exaggerate all the colours so that every frame is wonderfully iridescent. The editing is great, and the cinematographers really know how to properly capture the fights.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Raging Phoenix
I appreciate that Goemon’s all about the heroic slaughter and not really about the romance, but it would have been nice to be given some indication as to why the young Chacha Asai is so worthy of our titular hero’s attention, aside from the fact that she’s perfectly symmetrical and says very little.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Goemon
As far as video game adaptations go, no one was expecting too much from Dead or Alive. Turns out it could have been worse – at least it delivers on its two core promises: it’s a silly action flick and Continue reading DOA: Dead or Alive
Jet Li’s last wushu film is entertaining, with some great fights, but is time and again bogged down by clunky emotional passages. Whilst director Ronny Yu explained before the film the difference between traditional Chinese reality-bound action films like Fearless Continue reading Fearless