Blog Archives

Golden Job (2018)

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Posted on November 24, 2021 by Andrew

Chin Kar Lok is one of those hard yakka performers the Hong Kong and Chinese film industries have relied on over the years and I have a lot of time for his work. A stunt veteran and background character for much of the 80s and 90s (e.g. Millionaires Express) with an occasional lead role (e.g. The Scorpion King), for the last decade or so he has been more of a character actor (e.g. Cold War). He only … (read more)

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Millionaires Express (1986)

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Posted on August 18, 2016 by Andrew

This movie is ridiculous. I mean that in the best sense of the word, as in over-the-top silliness, expertly crafted to make you grin with glee or cringe with incredulity depending on your familiarity with Hong Kong’s special filmic sauce — equal parts broad visual gags, verbal comedy that doesn’t quite translate, kinetic action and a pinch or two of political incorrectness, all boiling down to a bubbling broth of good old fashioned fun.

Just look at that cast list! … (read more)

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The Wrath of Vajra (2013)

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Posted on August 23, 2014 by Justin

Slick-looking and super-masculine, The Wrath of Vajra feels like a “fight movie” from a much earlier time, supplemented with mostly modern production and cinematography. A time when men were men and fought each other for reasons that were delivered in an early barrage of impenetrable exposition, getting it over with at the start so that we can get on with the kicks and punches.

The setting is the 1940s, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Japanese are finding that … (read more)

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Samurai (2001)

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Posted on December 2, 2004 by Alison

Okay, well, it helps to know the genre of any film before you start watching, and this one falls into the category of “Japanese computer geek samurai and sci-fi thriller”. Oh. Like a lot of Japanese films, devilishly hard to pigeonhole, and therefore usually entertaining, because so much variety usually throws up something worth a look.

The best thing about this film is undoubtedly the actor playing the cop Fujiwara: veteran actor Yasuaki Kurata, perhaps last seen in Fist Of … (read more)

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