Wednesday, September 1

Movie review: Undisputed III: Redemption

We make another trip to the straight-to-DVD bin with Undisputed III: Redemption, the latest in the cult favorite series that focuses on brawny men beating the crap out of each other in prison-based tournaments. The third entry sticks to the same formula, which ends up not being a bad thing.

Full review here

Tuesday, August 31

TV review: Fight Quest: Kung Fu/Wing Chun

Discovery's Fight Quest sends a pair of men to far-flung locales, where they take a few days to learn the basics of various fighting styles, and then put them to the test during a match. While you're not likely to gain any deep knowledge of the disciplines presented, the proceedings are still entertaining.

Full review here

Monday, August 30

Movie review: Operation Scorpio

Don't let Operation Scorpio's silly title and generic cover art fool you -- this isn't a dopey cheap spy thriller. Rather, it's a modern martial arts movie with a liberal dose of old-school flavoring that serves up tons of hard-hitting and high-flying action that should please fans of classic kung fu releases.

Full review here

Upcoming Blu-Ray release: Death Note 1 & 2

On September 20, the Death Note films are coming out in the UK on Blu-Ray via a four-disc set that includes both movies and two discs of extras. Death Note centers on Light, a student who discovers a notebook that grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose face they have seen. The story follows Light's attempt to rule a world cleansed of evil using the notebook, and the conflict between him, his opponents, and a mysterious detective known only as L.

You can click here to watch a trailer, or head to Amazon UK to order the Blu-Ray set.

Upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD release: Raging Phoenix

Chocolate's young Thai martial arts phenom Yanin "Jija" Vismitananda returns in Raging Phoenix, which is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray from Magnet on Spetember 14. Jija plays Deu, a drummer who becomes a vigilante to save other women from the clutches of the evil Jaguar gang after she is almost abducted by them. Combining traditional Muay Thai, Chinese-inspired drunken style fighting, and breakdancing, this is definitely one of the more unique martial arts films to come down the pipe over the past few years.

The DVD and Blu-Ray are available for pre-order at Amazon.

Thursday, August 19

Site news: Taking a break

Hong Kong Film Net will be going on a bit of a hiatus, as your friendly neighborhood webmaster will be taking a trip to Las Vegas. Why would you go to the desert in August, you might ask? Well, this is the same person that has worked on a website focusing on relatively obscure movies for over twelve years, so maybe I don't have the most common sense. At any rate, there may be some attempts to post updates to hkfilm.net's pages on Facebook and Twitter, but most likely updates will resume the week of August 29th.

Wednesday, August 18

Upcoming DVD release: The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms

Dragon Dynasty is bringing out another Shaw Brothers classic on September 14 when they release their new DVD of Chang Cheh's kung fu masterpiece The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms (aka Crippled Avengers). No word yet on any extras, but the movie will have both English and Cantonese language tracks.

The DVD is available for pre-order at Amazon.

Upcoming movie release: Mao's Last Dancer

Coming to select US theatres this Friday, Mao's Last Dancer tells the story of renowned ballet dancer Li Cunxin's journey from an impoverished life in rural China to true stardom on the international stage. The cast includes Bruce Greenwood, Kyle Maclachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda Schull, and newcomer Chi Cao, a dancer and principal at the Birmingham Royal Ballet making his screen debut as Li Cunxin.

For more information about Mao's Last Dancer, please visit the film's official site and Facebook page, or click here to watch a trailer.