Philippines – Heroic Cinema

Maria (2019)

Andrew — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 11:58:09 +0000

The vengeful female assassin is a recognisable character. Perhaps because they’re not as common, or because it plays against the idea of the fairer sex, Lady Snowblood and her ilk (such as The Villainess) stand out more than their male counterparts. Maria sticks its own knife in the lady killer body of work and while the title character herself does the job with competence, the film around her does not reach the same standard.

On a macro level Maria… (read more)

Buybust (2018)

Andrew — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 09:47:53 +0000

As much as it is a product of its time and place, Buybust is also another film indebted to The Raid. Gareth Evans’s hard-hitting cult classic is not even ten years old, but its influence is wide and continuing to spread. It popularised both the premise of a police squad finding their backs to the wall in a confined location and the tightly choreographed dance of fighters and camera operator with its action. The 2012 film Dredd was practically … (read more)

Eastern Condors (1987)

Justin — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:31:54 +0000

Eastern Condors is a hell of a lot of fun, and an interesting film to boot. It’s a modern war film (set in post-war Vietnam) which is a quite a rarity in Hong Kong cinema. It’s also got a very strong cast of late-80’s action stars, including Sammo Hung (who also directs), Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Corey Yuen, Yuen Woo-ping (in an acting role), Lam Ching-Ying, Chin Kar Lok… the list goes on and on.

The story starts in America, … (read more)

Gagamboy (2003)

Alison — Thu, 28 Oct 2004 04:10:07 +0000

Ever wondered where super-heroes get their costumes? Or what to do when you wake up one morning festooned with orange goo? Well, Gagamboy will answer all your questions, and give you a jolly good time to boot.

Gagamboy is absolutely the most fun you’ll ever have in public. After all, who could resist a film with a poor but honest hero, lovely heroine, moustache-twirling villain, and of course some toxic waste that turns the hero into Gagamboy (Spiderboy) and the … (read more)