Jet Li (The One), Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and Louis Leterrier (The Transporter 2) have collaborated in Unleashed to create a seamless action movie that succeeds in almost every department. Besson, who it seems has been avoiding directing since Continue reading Unleashed
The Western world seems to be in the grip of Zhang Yimou hero-worship… ok bad pun, but with the release of Hero (Ying Xiong) and then House of Flying Daggers in short succession, it seems you can’t turn anywhere without Continue reading House of Flying Daggers
If you’re after some slapstick comedy of ridiculous proportions, then Shaolin Soccer is the film for you. This film is vibrant and crazy. There is almost no dull moments in this flimsy premise that thankfully never outstays its welcome. The Continue reading Shaolin Soccer
Okay, so I should have known that this film wouldn’t be great. In fact I knew it wouldn’t be great. But I thought at least it would be vaguely interesting, and that maybe the action would be impressive. Unfortunately this Continue reading Tsui Hark’s Vampire Hunters
Zatôichi is apparently based on a well-known Japanese folk story, of the blind samurai. It confused me greatly. Maybe I don’t relate to Japanese cinema? Or I don’t have the cultural understanding to appreciate the humour and references in this Continue reading Zatôichi
Forget fancy cinematography, bullet time or super slow motion. Forget CGI effects and bluescreen. This film is well and truly ‘old school’. The martial arts action is frantic and hurried, recalling the late great Kurosawa’s work.
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Continue reading Sword In The Moon
It’s got a good poster, hasn’t it? It looks exciting, yes? That’s what I thought when I first saw it on the video store shelf. Unfortunately I was VERY disappointed. Versus is basically two or so hours of fighting. And Continue reading Versus
After the disappointment of Volcano High I was thrilled with The Princess Blade, one of the many new DVDs appearing in my video store in the ‘Eastern Eye’ collection. This film is just about as close to live action Anime as Continue reading The Princess Blade
There’s been a recent surge in the availability of Asian cinema in our local video stores here in Melbourne. As a consequence I’ve been lapping up many of the (mostly Japanese) films on offer. Volcano High hails from South Korea Continue reading Volcano High
I was never quite convinced by Hero, although I couldn’t figure out why. Was it the mode of story-telling – repeated scenes from different perspectives over and over again – that got to me? Or just the story itself? Whatever Continue reading Hero