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Review

Irradiated

Bleak, experimental but lacking emotion…

Review

Raped by an Angel 3: Sexual Fantasy of the Chief Executive

The third instalment of the infamous Category III sleaze series, and the strangest yet…

Review

Double Team

Dennis Rodman is a low-key MVP in Tsui Hark’s first fully American film. Will that make sense by the end of this review? Who knows?…

Review

The Edge of Daybreak

The Fall of the House of…

Review

Hong Kong New Wave Cinema (1978-2000)

Well researched but clunkily written, author Pak Tong Cheuk misses the chance to truly bring the 70s/80s cinema scene to life…

Review
Minari
A warm drama about the power of family in the face of adversity…
Review
Beyond The Dream
To say that this HK social issue indie was a surprise blockbuster and delight is quite the understatement…
Review
All Night Long 3: The Final Chapter
Katsuya Matsumura moves away from revenge for the third in the series, and into even nastier territory…
Review
I Still Remember
“Once in your life, you have to cheer for yourself!”…
Review
Once Upon a Time in China
Jet Li leaps into the role that had come before for others but that he was born to play!…
Review
In The Mood For Love (Original Soundtrack)
Set the mood with a sultry cinematic soundscape perfect for the last days of lockdown longing…

COMING SOON...

Review: Luginsky
Review: Tropical Malady
Review: Fresh Wave 2019: 3 Generations 3 Days

Latest news

All the latest news from Asian cinema...

News
‘Voices of Youth. Unseen Taiwanese films of the 1960s’ soon online!
New Asian film festival Electric Shadows presents a selection of rediscovered and restored 1960s films…
Competitions
Win JCVD’s latest on Blu-ray, Wake Of Death!
Don’t miss a chance to win this limited edition, co-starring Simon Yam and Philip Tan…
News
HKIFF45 is going online to showcase nearly 60 international films
Its 45th edition will take place from 1 to 12 April…
News
Focus Hong Kong launches online UK Easter Edition
The Easter edition runs online 31 March to 6 April, screening UK premieres and much-loved classics…
News
5 Asian films to watch at 2021 Berlinale
Our picks for the summer special accessible for the public from 9 to 20 June…
News
Asian Pop-Up Cinema Announces Season 12: Streaming, Drive-Ins, Oscars & more…
Season 12 will screen more than 33 films from March 15 – May 1 2021

HKIFF45

The Hong Kong International Film Festival returns for it’s 45th edition, running from 1-12 April 2021…

Review
Irradiated
Bleak, experimental but lacking emotion…
Review
The Edge of Daybreak
The Fall of the House of…
News
HKIFF45 is going online to showcase nearly 60 international films
Its 45th edition will take place from 1 to 12 April…
Review
Verdict
A sincere domestic abuse drama directs the spotlight at the Philippine legal system…
News
HKIFF reveals a showcase of restored Chinese language classics
The showcase will feature landmark films throughout Chinese cinema history…
News
Hong Kong International Film Festival set to celebrate Shochiku Cinema’s Centenary
The showcase will feature a diverse selection of films from the legendary studio’s history

Focus Hong Kong

A new UK film festival celebrating the amazing cinema of Hong Kong starts its inaugural event running from 9 to 15 February…

Review
Beyond The Dream
To say that this HK social issue indie was a surprise blockbuster and delight is quite the understatement…
Review
I Still Remember
“Once in your life, you have to cheer for yourself!”…
Review
Once Upon a Time in China
Jet Li leaps into the role that had come before for others but that he was born to play!…
Feature
Jun Li interview: “I was concerned about the safety of the whole...
easternKicks catches up with the director of Tracey on his latest film Drifting…
News
Focus Hong Kong launches online UK Easter Edition
The Easter edition runs online 31 March to 6 April, screening UK premieres and much-loved classics…
Review
A Witness Out Of The Blue
An overly ambitious film sharing many of the attributes of Hong Kong’s best crime dramas…
Review
Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down
A snapshot of contemporary Hong Kong through four short films…
Review
A Witness Out of the Blue
A superb performance from Louis Koo elevates this intriguing thriller…
Interview
Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...
We talk to the truly iconic actress about her career…
News
Focus Hong Kong launches in the UK February 2021
A new UK film festival celebrating the amazing cinema of Hong Kong takes place online 9-15 February…

The Immortal Leslie Cheung

On the eighteenth anniversary of his death, we remember the life and career of beloved Hong Kong star Leslie Cheung…

Interview
Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...
We talk to the truly iconic actress about her career…
Review
The Bride With White Hair
A peak moment of wuxia ‘wire-fu’ from which there was no coming back…
Feature
The Immortal Leslie Cheung
On the 17th anniversary of his death, we remember the life and career of the beloved Hong Kong star…
Review
All’s Well Ends Well
Ensemble cast blasts through Lunar New Year blues with classic comedy hi-jinks…
Feature
6 Fantastic Tony Ching Siu-tung Action Scenes!
The team at easternKicks select some of their favourite scenes from the great Hong Kong action director…
Review
The Bride With White Hair
A watershed 90s Hong Kong movie, one of the most visually striking of its kind…
Review
Farewell my Concubine
A true masterpiece exploring China’s history during the mid-20th century through the lives of two friends and opera stars…
Review
Behind the Yellow Line
A footnote from the end of one era of Hong Kong cinema, and the dawn of the next…
Review
Rouge
Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui star in one of Hong Kong cinemas finest moments. In a word, magical…
Review
Days of Being Wild
Leslie Cheung leads an all-star cast in Wong Kar-wai’s sophomore film…

Glasgow Film Festival 2021

Glasgow Film Festival goes online this year with their new online viewing platform but the same mix of films from across the globe…

Review
Minari
A warm drama about the power of family in the face of adversity…
Review
The Drug King
A solid but overly familiar true-life crime drama from Inside Men director Woo Min-ho…
Review
Back to the Wharf
Actions from 15 years ago haunt a man returning to his hometown…
Review
Dreams on Fire
A luminously kinetic run through Tokyo’s street dance scene and fine vehicle for dancer Bambi; nothing more nothing less…
Review
Spring Tide
Acclaimed director Yang Lina’s second fiction feature explores the lives of women in modern China…
Review
The Swordsman
A familiar-looking Joseon drama, redeemed by fantastically overblown fight sequences…

International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021

The winter edition programme reveals 3 Asian debuts in the Tiger Competition, cutting-edge short films and new works of emerging filmmakers…

Review
The Edge of Daybreak
The Fall of the House of…
Feature
Jun Li interview: “I was concerned about the safety of the whole...
easternKicks catches up with the director of Tracey on his latest film Drifting…
Interview
Taiki Sakpisit interview: “She’s fighting her way from death back to being...
Director Taiki Sakpisit spoke to easternKicks about his award-winning feature debut film…
Review
Sexual Drive
Promises sexual liberation through food, but is mostly a guy talking dirty to humiliate people…
Interview
Aristocrats interview: “The aim was to show discrepancies between a woman’s feelings...
We talk to the filmmakers of Aristocrats, premiered at the 2021 IFFR…
Review
Pebbles
Austere, impressive debut in which the landscape and nature dramatically dictate life…

The easternKicks Podcast

A regular magazine programme about East Asian film, with the latest news, reviews and interviews.

Podcast
Episode 22: Tokyo Dragon Chef vs Crazy Samurai
We discuss the latest from Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi…
Podcast
Episode 21: The Woman Who Ran and Hong Sang-soo
We discuss the Korean director’s latest film…
Podcast
Episode 20: The Gift Guide
Naughty or nice, we select the perfect gifts for every Asian film fan…
Podcast
Episode 19: Spotlight on…The Bride with White Hair
We celebrate the classic starring Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung..
Podcast
Episode 18: Hungry Ghost Halloween!
We rediscover some unsung horrors from the 2000s…
Podcast
Episode 17: Into the Leijiverse!
We talk to Helen McCarthy about her new book on manga legend Leiji Matsumoto…
Podcast
Episode 16: A pop-up chat about Asian Pop-up Cinema!
We talk to founder of the Chicago festival, Sophia Wong Boccio…
Podcast
Episode 15: NYAFF Action Award winner Geran!
We talk to the team behind the Malaysian martial art film taking centre stage…
Podcast
Episode 14: All aboard for Peninsula!
Does Yeon Song-ho’s sequel reach its destination, or derail the franchise…?
Podcast
Episode 12: House Of Hummingbird
We focus on the multi-award-winning debut South Korean film…

Interviews

Our interviews with filmmakers, directors, actors, composers and much more besides from the world of Asian film…

Interview
Taiki Sakpisit interview: “She’s fighting her way from death back to being...
Director Taiki Sakpisit spoke to easternKicks about his award-winning feature debut film…
Interview
Kimo Stamboel interview: “Joko and me were friends, but this was the...
The director chats about The Queen of Black Magic and the popularity of Indonesian folk horror…
Interview
Aristocrats interview: “The aim was to show discrepancies between a woman’s feelings...
We talk to the filmmakers of Aristocrats, premiered at the 2021 IFFR…
Interview
Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...
We talk to the truly iconic actress about her career…
Interview
Takeshi Fukunaga interview: “I wanted to carry the voices of Ainu people”
We talk to the director of the film Ainu Mosir, which recently premiered on Netflix…
Interview
Popo Fan interview: “Borders are closing, it’s even more powerful to show...
Chinese diaspora filmmaker, curator and writer speaks about upcoming film series inspired by transcultural exchange…
Interview
Thop Nazareno interview: Edward
We talk to the director of the acclaimed Filipino coming-of-age drama…
Interview
Norris Wong interview: “We’re slowly re-establishing Hong Kong filmmaking”
My Prince Edward writer-director shares her thoughts on marriage, migration, human connection and filmmaking…
Interview
Wang Jing interview: The Best Is Yet To Come
After working as an assistant director for Jia Zhang-ke, Wang Jing makes his impressive directorial debut…
Interview
Tiffany Hsiung interview: Sing Me a Lullaby
The award-winning Asian Canadian filmmaker offers a deeply personal and revealing story about her own family in Sing Me a Lullaby…

The best in film festival coverage, year after year

Coverage of CinemAsia Film Festival 2019

Coverage of Chinese Visual Festival 2019

Coverage of Nippon Connection Film Festival 2019

Coverage of Five Flavours Film Festival 2018

BFI Japan 2020

A celebration of over 100 years of Japanese Cinema. Now playing on BFI Player with screenings and live events to come later in the year…

Review
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
A hostess approaching 30 sees fewer days ahead in a male-dominated world, in Mikio Naruse’s understated kitchen sink drama…
Review
The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice
Rigidity and sentimentality meet in a quiet Tokyo household in Yasujiro Ozu’s superb drama…
Review
Ikiru
Takashi Shimura’s legendary performance grounds the raw humanity of this Kurosawa masterpiece…
Podcast
Episode 9: BFI’s Japan 2020
We pick some treats from the BFI’s celebration of over 100 years of Japanese Cinema…
Review
Funeral Parade of Roses
A must-see, one-of-kind cinematic experience you cannot miss…
Review
High and Low
A deep examination of the physical and economic disparities of post-war modern societies…
Review
Onibaba
Kaneto Shindo’s erotic horror classic has withstood the test of time and has a thing or two to teach on the art of mood-setting…
News
BFI launches Japan 2020: Over 100 years of Japanese Cinema
Seasons coming to BFI Player from 11 May, with screenings later in the year…
Review
Kwaidan
Kobayashi’s dazzling masterpiece is back with a stunning 2K restoration…
Review
After Life
A truly classic Kore-eda…

cineXtremes

Celebrating the excesses of Hong Kong Category III, Asian extreme and exploitation cinema…

Review
Raped by an Angel 3: Sexual Fantasy of the Chief Executive
The third instalment of the infamous Category III sleaze series, and the strangest yet…
Review
All Night Long 3: The Final Chapter
Katsuya Matsumura moves away from revenge for the third in the series, and into even nastier territory…
Review
All Night Long 2: Atrocity
The second part of Katsuya Matsumura’s infamous series lives up to its billing…
Review
All Night Long
The first entry in one of Japan’s most notorious extreme film franchises…
Review
Satan’s Slave
The original Indonesian horror classic, recently remade by Joko Anwar…
Review
The Queen of Black Magic (1981)
The original Indonesian black magic classic, recently remade by Kimo Stamboel…
Review
Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1
‘Crazy’ is right for a film that’s essentially a 77-minute, one-take samurai battle scene featuring Tak Sakaguchi…
Interview
Kimo Stamboel interview: “Joko and me were friends, but this was the...
The director chats about The Queen of Black Magic and the popularity of Indonesian folk horror…
Review
May the Devil Take You Too
Timo Tjahjanto follows up his 2018 horror hit with more creepy curses and Evil Dead-style shenanigans…
Review
The Queen of Black Magic
A group of men return to the orphanage where they grew up and fall foul of a particularly nasty curse…

Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits

In memory of Jō Shishido, this series looks back at 10 defining films and roles in his signature genre he had a massive impact on, from a few of his most famous to some virtually unknown in the West…

Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #1: Branded To Kill
Joe & Suzuki both defined and redefined an era by making everything out of nothing in one of cinema’s greatest miracles…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #2: Cruel Gun Story
A dark, riveting heist movie with Joe’s richest character figuratively. Can he score big to become it literally as well?…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #3: Youth of the Beast
Joe and Seijun Suzuki raise the bar for yakuza cinema with sophisticated savagery and beautified brutality…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #4: Blood Feud
Joe does it like a boss, leading a yakuza army and romancing Meiko Kaji in his most commanding role…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #5: A Colt is My Passport
Curious yakuza/noir/new wave/western hybrid that’s nothing new individually but fresh and unique as a unit…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #6: Retaliation
“Akira & Joe” together and against each other in their most violent, explosively macho collaboration of all…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #7: Revenge of the She-Cat Gambler
A super-sly Joe may be saviour, undoing, or both for the She-Cat, in an unusually mellow yakuza film…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #8: Velvet Hustler
Pimp/player/hustler Tetsuya Watari’s pursued by killer Joe in this colourful, hedonistic yakuza curiosity…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #9: New Battles Without Honor and Humanity
Fukasaku’s seminal series loses steam on its reboot, but kept afloat by a mighty yakuza ensemble…
Review
Joe’s Baddest Gangster Hits #10: The Boy Who Came Back
Joe’s cinematic gang initiation while all the girls start chasing Kobayashi in Suzuki’s modest but historic early youth drama…

Shaw Brothers Classics

With the 88 Films ongoing release of Shaw Brothers classic horrors and martial arts on Blu-ray, we look at some of the finest films to come out of the Hong Kong’s world famous studio…

Review
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter
The swansong of Shaw Brothers is a true martial arts masterpiece…
Review
Masked Avengers
A later Venoms mob film missing some regular faces but with a superb performance from Phillip Kwok, plus a bucketload of blood…
Review
The Flying Guillotine
Kung fu craziness with a mad emperor, villainous traitors and batsh*t insane weapon…
Review
The Oily Maniac
Classic exploitation howler where a man transforms to enact revenge upon those who have unwisely wronged him…
Review
Five Superfighters
Clash of the Titans kung fu style or a Hong Kong Dirty Almost half-a-dozen…
Review
The Seeding of a Ghost
One of the Shaw Brothers’ most infamous and sleazy shockers finally gets the rerelease it deserves…
Review
The Angry Guest
The “iron triangle” attempts to work its magic with a different approach, but falls pretty flat…
Review
Heroes of the East
A softer version of the Chinese vs Japanese theme in this classic from director Lau Kar-Leung…
Review
The Killer Snakes
A downtrodden young man finds he can communicate with snakes, and uses them to take gruesome revenge…
Review
House Of Traps
Chang Cheh’s action packed, and completely impractical, solution to simple home security! Definitely not sponsored by Ikea…

Filmmaker Focus: Bong Joon-ho

With various award nominations and wins, including a record-breaking six nominations for a Korean film at the Oscars, we celebrate the director’s career…

Review
Snowpiercer
Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 fantasy sci-fi thriller finally receives a proper UK Blu Ray release through Lionsgate…
Review
Parasite (Black & White Version)
With the Oscar-winner still in UK cinemas, a new version is already here, but do we really need it?…
News
Parasite Makes History At 2020 Oscars With 4 Wins!
Bong Joon-ho picks up 4 Oscars in a record-breaking history-making night
News
Parasite wins at 2020 BAFTAs
Don’t count the Bong Joon-ho favourite out of the Oscars race yet, as it swept up two awards at the BAFTAs
Review
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s latest is a scathing, though uneven, take on the complexities of the modern class war…
Review
Parasite
A smart and snappy black comedy with a surprisingly dark denouement…
Podcast
Episode 2: A Parasite special
In a special episode, we look at the film on everyone’s lips…
News
Golden Globes 2020: Asian cinema makes big waves with 2 historic wins!
The first Korean film to win a Golden Globe…
Feature
Top 10 Films of 2019: 1 – Parasite
Here it is, the prestigious easternKicks FILM OF THE YEAR… coming in at #1 on our Top 10 Films of 2019 is PARASITE
Feature
Bong Joon-ho at BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series: “I first saw Hitchcock’s Psycho...
The award-winning Korean filmmaker discusses screenwriting at Curzon Mayfair, London

Terracotta DVD Store - 20% Off with code

Geonbae! the cinema of Hong Sang-soo

With The Woman Who Ran coming to Curzon cinemas and Curzon Home Cinema from 11 December, and debuting on MUBI from 20 December, we toast one of Korea’s most idiosyncratic filmmakers…

Podcast
Episode 21: The Woman Who Ran and Hong Sang-soo
We discuss the Korean director’s latest film…
Review
The Woman Who Ran
What’s left unsaid and the spaces between the conversations are what make this film so compelling…
News
Hong Sang-soo’s The Woman Who Ran hits the UK December 11th
The latest award-winning film from the acclaimed Korean auteur comes to Curzon and Curzon Home Cinema via CMC…
Review
Grass
Indie director Hong Sang-soo’s latest film is short, sparse and (bitter)sweet…
Review
Hotel by the River
Hong Sang-soo’s new drama sees the director defiantly changing nothing at all about his methods…
Review
Woman is the Future of Man, Tale of Cinema: Two Films by...
On UK Blu-ray for the first time, Hong Sang-soo’s fifth and sixth films provide a double dose of relationship missteps and woe…
Review
The Day After
A publisher’s adultery is revealed in surprisingly linear tale of duplicity and mistaken identity from Hong Sang-soo…
Review
On the Beach at Night Alone
A young actress tries to get over a break-up in this latest musing on love, etc. from Hong Sang-Soo…
Review
Yourself And Yours
Hong Sang-soo returns with a recognisable mix in one of his most romantic films yet…
Review
Right Now, Wrong Then
The master of unreliable narrative returns with a different but familiar take…

Irradiated

Raped by an Angel 3: Sexual Fantasy of the Chief Executive

Double Team

The Edge of Daybreak

Hong Kong New Wave Cinema (1978-2000)

Minari

Beyond The Dream

All Night Long 3: The Final Chapter

I Still Remember

Once Upon a Time in China

In The Mood For Love (Original Soundtrack)

‘Voices of Youth. Unseen Taiwanese films of the 1960s’ soon online!

Win JCVD’s latest on Blu-ray, Wake Of Death!

HKIFF45 is going online to showcase nearly 60 international films

Focus Hong Kong launches online UK Easter Edition

5 Asian films to watch at 2021 Berlinale

Asian Pop-Up Cinema Announces Season 12: Streaming, Drive-Ins, Oscars & more…

Irradiated

The Edge of Daybreak

HKIFF45 is going online to showcase nearly 60 international films

Verdict

HKIFF reveals a showcase of restored Chinese language classics

Hong Kong International Film Festival set to celebrate Shochiku Cinema’s Centenary

Beyond The Dream

I Still Remember

Once Upon a Time in China

Jun Li interview: “I was concerned about the safety of the whole...

Focus Hong Kong launches online UK Easter Edition

A Witness Out Of The Blue

Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down

A Witness Out of the Blue

Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...

Focus Hong Kong launches in the UK February 2021

Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...

The Bride With White Hair

The Immortal Leslie Cheung

All’s Well Ends Well

6 Fantastic Tony Ching Siu-tung Action Scenes!

The Bride With White Hair

Farewell my Concubine

Behind the Yellow Line

Rouge

Days of Being Wild

Minari

The Drug King

Back to the Wharf

Dreams on Fire

Spring Tide

The Swordsman

The Edge of Daybreak

Jun Li interview: “I was concerned about the safety of the whole...

Taiki Sakpisit interview: “She’s fighting her way from death back to being...

Sexual Drive

Aristocrats interview: “The aim was to show discrepancies between a woman’s feelings...

Pebbles

Episode 22: Tokyo Dragon Chef vs Crazy Samurai

Episode 21: The Woman Who Ran and Hong Sang-soo

Episode 20: The Gift Guide

Episode 19: Spotlight on…The Bride with White Hair

Episode 18: Hungry Ghost Halloween!

Episode 17: Into the Leijiverse!

Episode 16: A pop-up chat about Asian Pop-up Cinema!

Episode 15: NYAFF Action Award winner Geran!

Episode 14: All aboard for Peninsula!

Episode 12: House Of Hummingbird

Taiki Sakpisit interview: “She’s fighting her way from death back to being...

Kimo Stamboel interview: “Joko and me were friends, but this was the...

Aristocrats interview: “The aim was to show discrepancies between a woman’s feelings...

Brigitte Lin interview: “I totally forgot what I had said. Was it...

Takeshi Fukunaga interview: “I wanted to carry the voices of Ainu people”

Popo Fan interview: “Borders are closing, it’s even more powerful to show...

Thop Nazareno interview: Edward

Norris Wong interview: “We’re slowly re-establishing Hong Kong filmmaking”

Wang Jing interview: The Best Is Yet To Come

Tiffany Hsiung interview: Sing Me a Lullaby

The best in film festival coverage, year after year

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice

Ikiru

Episode 9: BFI’s Japan 2020