Wednesday, March 17

Blu-Ray review: Red Cliff

Overall, Magnolia has put together a very solid Blu-Ray release here that would make a great addition to a lot of people's collections. With Red Cliff's huge booming action scenes, it's definitely a movie that's great for showing off your home theatre.

Full review here

Tuesday, March 16

DVD review: The Killer

Dragon Dynasty's new two-disc set isn't quite the perfect release many fans have been hoping for, but with a solid set of extras, including over an hour's worth of interviews with John Woo, even people who already have this movie on DVD should give this release a look.

Full review here

News: Upcoming DVD releases

A couple more notable releases will be out soon courtesy of Dragon Dynasty. Tsui Hark's historical epic, Seven Swords, is coming to Blu-Ray on May 25, while Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, the critically-acclaimed followup to Jimmy Wang Yu's classic kung fu movie, will be headed to standard-definition DVD on June 8.

Both releases are available for pre-order at Amazon.

Sunday, March 14

Movie review: Desperation Verge

It's one thing to be a low-budget straight-to-video release. It's another thing entirely to be that sort of picture, but actually be shot on video. Desperation Verge is that sort of effort. And not only does it have next to no production values, it's just damn boring to boot.

Full review here

Movie review: Mummy Dearest

One of director Ronny Yu's early films, Mummy Dearest takes on the seemingly Herculean task of putting the squeaky-clean (and very bland) pop star Alan Tam in a role where he plays a demented serial killer. Oh, did I mention that this is a comedy? On paper, this all sounds like a terrible idea, especially given the woeful nature of the majority of Hong Kong comedies released during this period. But, actually, despite some mis-steps, Mummy Dearest does end up being a fairly fun movie to check out.

Full review here

Wednesday, March 10

Movie review: Cop Unbowed

Despite having a fairly solid cast that includes Alex Fong, Lam Suet, and Eddy Ko Hung, director Wai Tat's one and only feature, 2004's Cop Unbowed, fails to impress by not offering a glimpse of originality or sliver of passion during its' thankfully brief eighty-five minute running time.

Full review here

Saturday, March 6

Movie review: Street Angels

If you're a fan of trashy Hong Kong cinema, you're probably already familiar with the work of Billy Tang, who's responsible for Category III classics like Red to Kill. While Street Angels is "only" rated IIB, there's more than enough sex and violence presented here to keep devotees of the seedier side happy.

Full review here

Movie review: The Treasure Hunter

Chu Yen-Ping has long been known as one of the lower-tier directors working in Asia. Even when he's gotten to work with big stars such as Jackie Chan, the results have been duds like Island of Fire. Chu's latest effort, The Treasure Hunter, isn't going to rocket him to the top echelon of Asian directors, but it's an entertaining enough picture if you just want to check out a brainless action/adventure.

Full review here

Friday, March 5

Movie review: The Storm Warriors

The sequel to one of the biggest Hong Kong box-office hits of all time, The Storm Warriors is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the past few years. Sadly, it falls into the same trap of many sequels, and the end product is simply something that isn't anywhere near as good as the original.

Full review here