Author: Andrew Skeates

Perhaps the only downside is that I would still rather watch one of Van Damme’s straight action pictures.

While ‘Iron Angels’ may not be the best Hong Kong action film from the city’s movie heyday, it’s certainly a benchmark in the battling babes genre.

Hard hitting action reminiscent of old school Hong Kong actioners, solid performances and sleek direction makes ‘Invisible Target’ one of the years best action flicks.

Unpretentious, well crafted, a great central performance and some excellent action make ‘Ichi’ a hugely enjoyable experience and refreshing take on the samurai genre.

By no means a disaster but a frustratingly mixed bag from a usually consistent and exciting filmmaker.

Not even the odd moment of black humour and Kim Jee-Woon’s knack for crafting exhilarating sequences of action and tension can elevate his film beyond pure nihilism.

While it doesn’t completely succeed in its intentions it is still a brave, and very dark, experimental thriller recommended to the less judgemental out there.

Not as enjoyable or as accomplished as some of the director’s other efforts but worthy of a look if you’re a fan of Sono’s work and “non-conventional” cinema.

The whole thing rollicks along at a fair clip and the film has a kind of charming, uncomplicated 1980s fantasy action film vibe to it making it a much more enjoyable experience than one might expect.

You are either into these kinds of flicks or not but with an infectious energy, a musical score that propels all the lunacy and a complete commitment to going insane, ‘Helldriver’ is, well, as mad as a bag of smashed frogs!

An incredible samurai film and a classic piece of Japanese filmmaking this is old school filmmaking and storytelling at its best.

This version of ‘Hara-Kiri’ just simply pales in comparison to Kobayashi’s version and while it’s certainly good for a majority of its run time, you still may be wondering what’s the point of it.