20th Century Boys
Monday, February 16th, 2009Get ready for the next phenomenon as Nakoi Urasawa’s hit manga finally hits our screens as a live-action trilogy… (more…)

Get ready for the next phenomenon as Nakoi Urasawa’s hit manga finally hits our screens as a live-action trilogy… (more…)
It’s John Woo all right, but turned all the way up to 11!… (more…)
The latest from Kim Ji-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, The Quiet Family), a slick tale of that revenge resounds with amazing style and wit, but ultimately do we really care?… (more…)
Wong Kar-wai returns to his 1994 classic to produce a definite version – but is it really any better…? (more…)
This impressive debut by the Pang brothers is a heady mix of dazzling imagery and a violent tale of love, betrayal and redemption… (more…)
With the upcoming release of the live-action version, what better time to revisit the original that started it all… (more…)
Director Prachya Pinkaew brings us a whole new female fighting sensation in the making, JeeJa Yanin, but is it another Ong-Bak or an overly earnest disappointment like Warrior King? (more…)
A(nother) 21st century take on an anime fave from the past, former model Eriko Sato gets a flimsy excuse to run around in her underwear and skintight cat suit… (more…)
Chor Yuan directs Derek Yee in this classic Wuxia tale from Shaw Brothers… (more…)
A solid live-action version of a manga starring Battle Royale’s Tatsuya Fujiwara that thankfully doesn’t quite replicate the amoral tone of the original manga – but be prepared to wait for the sequel! (more…)
A super slick thriller from Benny Chan (Heroic Duo, Gen-X Cops, A Moment of Romance) – but easy on the melodrama!… (more…)
Veteran Hong Kong director Tony Siu-Tung Ching (director of classic “A Chinese Ghost Story” and the “Swordsman” trilogy and the action choreographer for “Curse Of The Golden Flower”, “Hero” and “House Of Flying Daggers”) makes a dazzling return to vintage form with the epic, AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS, starring Donnie Yen (Flashpoint; Dragon Tiger Gate; Seven Swords; Hero), Kelly Chen (the Infernal Affairs trilogy; Tokyo Raiders) and Leon Lai (Seven Swords; Infernal Affairs 3). You can read our review here »
AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Cine Asia on 23rd March 2009. Special Features include: Making Of featurette; Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo audio options; theatrical trailer.
Johnnie To’s triad epic may not offer anything new to the gangster genre, but his ensemble cast are a delight to watch… (more…)
It’s time for another Election, but can there really be any winners in Johnnie To’s vision of Hong Kong turbulent and violent underworld?… (more…)
Another rather convincing slice of the Hong Kong triad gang world from Election director Johnnie To – with an ensemble cast to die for!… (more…)
Just a small town boy trying to make it big – oh, why have I got Bronski Beat playing in my head, it’s not like that at all!… (more…)
Dodgeball meets Rollerball in this violent bloodsport flick, but before you go thinking we’re back to the excesses of 80s martial arts films, think again… (more…)
The latest teaming of director Wilson Yip and star/action choreographer Donnie Yen (Dragon Tiger Gate, S.P.L.) brings the sort of top-notch martial arts we’ve come to expect – so why is it so light on action? (more…)
Lau Ching Wan (Mad Detective, The Longest Nite) and Francis Ng (The Bride With White Hair, 2000 AD) star in this superbly paced thriller from writer/director Ringo Lam (Full Contact, City On Fire)… (more…)
It’s John Woo at his most brutal and explosive, but Woo fans beware – there was a reason this film originally stayed on the shelf for a couple of years… (more…)
A martial arts movie star famous for his stunts? Now who could Wong Jing be lampooning in this Jet Li vehicle?… (more…)
Novelist Kan Shimozawa’s famous blind swordsman Zatoichi, recently brought to the screen by Beat Takeshi, gets a feminine makeover courtesy Fumihiko Sori, director of Ping Pong and the Anime Vexille… (more…)
They don’t come much slicker than this – Tony Leung and Andy Lau shine in this classy thriller… (more…)
The beginnings of Superintendent Wong and Sam’s feud are revealed in this solid, enjoyable prequel to a modern classic. It’s far more than just a re-run of the original… (more…)
Hong Kong’s most successful trilogy finally runs out of steam with a disappointing (and frankly rather pointless) finale – those Godfather comparisons continue… (more…)
The Fast and The Furious gets the Hong Kong treatment, but will this appeal to anyone other than boy racers?… (more…)
Heralded as something of a return to heyday of Hong Kong action movies, Invisible Target isn’t quite that, but it sure ain’t half bad. (more…)
Little Red Riding Hood retold as a psychological thriller from the director of Ghost In The Shell and Patlabor – but just who exactly is the wolf? (more…)
Bound to become a flawed, beautiful classic, Park Chan-wook’s final instalment in his revenge trilogy is a master class in the making… (more…)
Danny Lee (The Killer, City On Fire) in the film that made him a star… (more…)
Lu Chuan’s latest film about the rape of Nanjing may be in black and white, but his characters most definitely are not… (more…)
‘I am Quick Gun Murugan. Mind it.’ Fast and silly, Shashanka Ghosh’s Tamil Nadu western spoof is a whole lot of fun… (more…)
Sergio Leone meets The Wacky Races in Kim Jee-woon’s Asian Western – it’s a real blast!… (more…)
Director Sion Sono follows up Exte: Hair Extensions with an equally unpredictable (nearly) four-hour epic love story… of sorts… (more…)
An inventively twisted tale from directors Johnnie To and Wong Ka-Fai (Fulltime Killer, Running On Karma, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts). Finally the Hong Kong thriller is back on form – Korea watch out!… (more…)
Yet more Jackie Chan films from the archives, but do we really need them in ‘Ultra-bit’ quality?… (more…)
Some six years after it was originally released this Korean classic has finally been made available in the UK – but has it been worth the wait?… (more…)
A return to form for Jackie, but this could be way too sentimental for Western action audiences… (more…)
Director Park Chan-wook’s follow-up to Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is an even better twisted tale of revenge… (more…)
Tony Jaa’s back with one heck of a finale fight scene – but will this film finally put him back on the martial arts map? (more…)