Release Year: 2008

It may not be as intensely gory as say ‘Machine Girl’ or ‘Tokyo Gore Police’ but it is still a delightfully mad slice of Japanese comic book horror.

It may be a little rough around the edges and lack the gloss of a big budget action film but ‘Ten Dead Men’ holds it own and shows independent action cinema can serve up the goods.

A gripping often emotional rollercoaster of a thriller, ‘The Chaser’ isn’t just one of the best Korean films of the year but one of the best films of the year.

Very 1980s in its tone, a factor which adds to a lot of the fun, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’, is flashy and harmless and shows the two Hong Kong stars still have charisma to burn.

‘The Good, The Bad, The Weird’ is a great achievement and another success for Kim Jee-woon and is most importantly big, bright and ballistic entertainment that should be seen on a screen as big as possible.

‘The Guard Post’ is a much more successful film than ‘R-Point’, in style, pacing, tension and acting, and a very satisfying and creepy slice of Korean ghostly horror.

Slick, sick exploitation ‘Machine Girl’ is absurd Japanese cinema at its best. About as subtle as a kick in the balls it is nevertheless well designed, gore soaked, action packed and surprisingly funny entertainment.

‘The Magic Hour’ is a fun comedy, though not the classic it promises to be. It still has an enormous amount to recommend it though and is a good starting point for those looking into Japanese comedy.

Some may be disappointed that Kitmura’s kinetic style has been diluted somewhat by the Hollywood machine but it’s good to see him trying something different and at a more slow burn pace.

Normally I’m the first to find some sort of saving grace in all Van Damme vehicles, but ‘The Shepherd’ is just so under-par that it’s painful.

‘The Way We Are’ is a gentle production about an act of kindness flowering into a friendship and how simple events can create a long-standing link between people who are initially strangers.

‘Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon’ is a mixture of well shot conflict, stirring heroism and flawed drama.