Genre: Drama

‘The Pye-Dog’ is guided through moments where the pace slackens needlessly by distracting the critical amongst us with a triumvirate of stars who gel together exceptionally.

Yes, there a few passable fights here and there, but they are filmed in that quick-cut style that every director now utilises, obscuring any quality that the performers might have.

The cast is not without charm, the idea not without potential, but ‘The Real Iron Monkey’ is a certified dud.

Charlie Nguyen’s film takes a dark and violent piece of Vietnam’s history and for the most part crafts an exciting action ride that unfortunately stumbles somewhat in the drama department.

Alongside ‘Invincible Shaolin’, ‘The Rebel Intruders’ ranks as one of the best of the Venoms’ films and one of their most realised.

Bravo to everyone behind ‘The Red Turtle’ for reminding this reviewer just how powerful simple, intelligent film-making can be without the bells and whistles.

‘The Replacement Killers’ is a film that borrows heavily from infinitely better works and winds up being distinctly average. While the trendy action still makes it watchable, it’s not enough to push it past the 3 star mark.

Despite the visual opulence on show and a couple of decent set-pieces, ‘The Restless’ is just a bit of a shallow affair and not as much fun as it should have been.

It’s just disappointing that the obvious craft at work by the experienced crew on ‘The Revenger’ never quite translates into a solid, coherent whole.

Rarely has the simple theme of love been given such a spellbinding presentation as Zhang Yimou’s ‘The Road Home’.

The two Dereks have provided viewers with a down-to-earth story of sadness that firmly keeps the attention until the final credits roll.

Ann Hui’s version of Emperor Chien Lung isn’t a masterpiece, but is certainly worthy viewing – far more so than ‘The Emperor And His Brother’.