Author Archives: Paul Bramhall

The Roundup: Punishment (2024) Review

“The Roundup: Punishment” Teaser Poster

Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Moo-Yul, Lee Dong-Hwi, Park Ji-Hwan, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Ji-Hoon, Lee Joo-Bin, Park Bo-kyung, Derek Chouinard Running Time: 109 min.  By Paul Bramhall In a world where it’s perfectly normal to wait a couple of years for a sequel to land, The Roundup rebranded follow-ups to 2017’s The Outlaws have looked to buck the trend. Audiences only had to wait 11 months … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Virtual Recall (2010) Review

Director: Larry Cheung Cast: Stephen Fung, Cherrie Ying Choi Yi, Tang Yi Fei, Samuel Pang King Chi, Sammul Chan Kin Fung, Lemon Zhang Meng, Mandy Chiang Nga Man, Simon Lui Yue Yeung, Astrid Chan Chi Ching, Tin Kai Man, Li Hui Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall Back in the late 2000’s it kind of felt like director Roy Chow’s 2009 production Murderer placed an exclamation mark on the … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Lethal Combat: Techno Warriors 2 | aka Digital Warriors (2000) Review

AKA: Digital Warriors  Director: Philip Ko Fei Cast: Darren Shahlavi, Lee Kwang-su, Yukari Oshima, Zoren Legaspi, Jimmy Ko, Man-Kei Lin, James Jim-Si Ha, Philip Ko Fei, Winston Ellis, Thorsten Nickel Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall Let’s address the elephant in the room – I’m convinced nobody was clamouring for a sequel to the 1997 sci-fi action mashup Techno Warriors. Philip Ko Fei’s incomprehensible Philippines shot action flick gave … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, Filipino, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Lama Avenger, The | aka The Three Avengers (1979) Review

Director: Wong Wa-Kei Cast: Bruce Li (Ho Chung Tao), Chin Yuet Sang, Michael Winston, Chui Fat, Lee Hoi San, Baan Yun Sang, Ching Chu, Sham Chin Bo, Austin Wai  Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall Looking back at the careers of the Bruceploitation genres big three – Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee – eventually all of them would step out of the Little Dragon’s shadow, admirably pushing … Continue reading

Posted in All, Bruceploitation, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, The (2023) Review

Director: Wong Ching-Po Cast: Ethan Juan, Li Li-Ren, Ben Yuen, Ivan Chen, Gingle Wang, Chen Yi-wen, Lee Lee-zen Running Time: 134 min. By Paul Bramhall  One of the biggest tragedies of the increasingly restrictive policies Mainland China has placed on the film industry has been the fact that some of the newer creative talents from Hong Kong have simply disappeared off the radar. Filmmakers like Pang Ho-Cheung and Lee Ka-Wing, … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Closet, The (2020) Review

Director: Kim Kwang-Bin Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Kim Nam-Gil, Heo Yool, Kim Si-A, Park Sung-Woong, Shin Hyun-Bin Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall  While the practice of shamanism has always been around in Korean cinema, it was arguably The Wailing that popularised it within the context of the horror genre for a 21st century audience, and 2020’s The Closet was one of many productions post its release in which shamanism … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Dance of Death | aka Eternal Conflict (1980) Review

AKA: Eternal Conflict Director: Chan Chi Hwa Cast: Angela Mao, Wang Tai-Lang, Hsu Pu-Liao, Dean Shek Tien, Chia Kai, Paul Chun Pui, Ko Pao, Sun Jung-Chi, Lee Man Tai, Chan Chi Hwa, Chiu Ting Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall There are certain stars of the old-school kung-fu genre who faded from the spotlight before the fight choreography evolved into the more complex and dynamic style that began to … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

‘No Retreat, No Surrender’ to return to screens as a Limited Series!

While fans have been lamenting the upcoming 6th and final season of Cobra Kai, good news is on the way with the recent announcement from 365 Flix that another 80’s trilogy is going to receive the limited series treatment in the form of No Retreat, No Surrender. The 1986 original marked Seasonal Films venture into the English language market, and introduced the talents of director and choreographer Corey Yuen to … Continue reading

Posted in News | Tagged |

Baby Assassins 2 (2023) Review

AKA: Baby Assassins: 2 Babies Director: Yugo Sakamoto Cast: Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Joey Iwanaga, Tatsuomi Hamada, Atomu Mizuishi Running Time: 101 min.  By Paul Bramhall I confess I wasn’t the biggest fan of Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins, concluding that the 2021 production “will likely only appeal to those action fans who are willing to wait (or perhaps skip forward) to see Masanori Mimoto unleash under the choreography of Kensuke … Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Wild, The (2023) Review

Director: Kim Bong-han Cast: Park Sung-woong, Oh Dae-hwan, Seo Ji-hye, Joo Suk-tae, Oh Dal-soo, Hwang Se-In  Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall When Korean cinema broke out internationally in the early 2000’s it was the countries gangster genre that quickly gained a favourable reputation, defined by an aesthetic that never shone away from brutal violence, and populated by memorable characters who were usually lucky to make it to the … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Exhuma (2024) Review

Director: Jang Jae-Hyon Cast: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, Lee Do-hyun, Jeon Jin-Ki, Kim Jae-cheol, Hong Seo-jun Running Time: 134 min. By Paul Bramhall While many directors in the Korean film industry tend to gravitate between different genres, there’s something admirable about how director and writer Jang Jae-hyeon has carved out a niche for himself helming supernatural horror mysteries. After making his feature length debut with The Priests in … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Polar Rescue (2022) Review

AKA: Come Back Home Director: Lo Chi-Leung Cast: Donnie Yen, Cecilia Han, Jia Bing, Yuan Jinhui, Hou Tianlai, Xu Guangyu, Lin Chenhan Running Time: 102 min. By Paul Bramhall Despite 2022 only being a couple of years ago, it feels like Donnie Yen’s first legitimate foray into headlining a production that relied purely on his acting chops has already been forgotten about. Having returned to the contemporary action thriller with … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Driven to Kill (2009) Review

Director: Jeff King Cast: Steven Seagal, Mike Dopud, Igor Zhizhikin, Robert Wisden, Inna Korobkina, Zak Santiago, Andrew Rasputin, Evgeniy Lazarev, Laura Mennell Running Time: 98 min. By Paul Bramhall Before Steven Seagal was awarded the Order of Friendship from Vladimir Putin in 2023. Before he became the Special Representative for Russia & U.S. cultural links in 2018. Even before he attained Russian citizenship in 2016. Before all of that, there … Continue reading

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged |

To Sir, With Love | aka Bloody Reunion (2006) Review

Director: Im Dae-woong Cast: Oh Mi-Hee, Seo Young-Hee, Yeo Hyeon-Soo, Lee Ji-Hyun, Yoo Sul-Ah, Lee Dong-Kyu, Kim Eung-soo, Jang Sung-Won, Park Hyo-Joon, Lee Tae-Rim Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall Pick any Asian horror from the early to mid-2000’s, and there’s a high chance you’ll encounter a long black-haired ghost, inevitably showing up to terrorise the cast and seek revenge for a past wrong. A trend that was started … Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews |

Monstrous Corpse, A (1981) Review

Director: Kang Beomgu Cast: Chiang Ming, Yu Gwang-ok, Hong Yun-jeong, Kim Wang-guk, Baek Song, Pauline Wong Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall  As far as baffling remake choices go, the obscure Korean horror oddity A Monstrous Corpse from 1981 must surely be up there as one of the top contenders. A reimagining of the 1974 Italian and Spanish co-production Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, director Jorge Grau’s Lake District set … Continue reading

Posted in All, Chinese, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |