Come the late ’60s the Japanese film industry was floundering, hurt by the rise in popularity of television and the constant influx of Hollywood movies to satisfy an ever present American contingent. Japanese films seemed tired and out of ideas, so budgets were cut and the rise of exploitation cinema […]
Ben Jones
Horror, Cult, Grindhouse & Psychotronic B-Movies. Celebrating the Trashy side of Cinema. Crowned “Trash King” by podhard & Official NWPPVIP of
The New World Pod
Wolves, Pigs & Men (1964) Yakuza Cinema By way of the French New Wave (Review)
The influence that French New Wave had on Japanese cinema throughout the 60s can never be understated. With its swathes of nihilism and cool tragedy, it seemed that one perfectly reflected the emotions of the other, as all sides (just 15-20 years removed from World War II) these children of […]
Message From Space (1978) Japan’s Contribution to the Star Wars Craze (Review)
There has been a long tradition of Tokusatsu (特撮 – “Special Photography”) in Japanese cinema. With greats like Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya unleashing on an unsuspecting world the most they Gojira/Godzilla in 1954, Science Fiction would never be the same again in Japan. Eiji Tsuburaya in particular created many […]
A Bittersweet Life (2005) One of the Many Guiding Lights of the Korean Golden Age (Review)
The South Korean New Wave of the late 1990s to mid 2000s shone a light onto a country whose films were reserved for the arthouse cinemas and festival circuits, with directors such as Im Kwan Taek and Lee Chang-dong telling beautiful stories of Korean people and the loss of their […]
The Double Crossers (1976) Kung Fu Meets Poliziotteschi (Review)
It can’t be stated enough just how much the release of King Boxer (aka Five Fingers Of Death) in North America changed the landscape of this very regional film industry. Suddenly the largest film market in the world was available and a flood of Kung Fu movies would find their […]
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) Ancient Chinese Folktale with Spectacle as Epic as Lord of the Rings (Review)
I can see the quotes now, “The Chinese Lord Of The Rings” they’ll call it, and whilst that isn’t a wild and inaccurate statement (and genuinely meant as a compliment), it does undermine the cultural significance of Creation of the Gods’ story and how only now is it possible to […]
The Miracle Fighters (1982) Lost Under the Weight of Yuen Woo Ping’s Many Classics (Review)
Yuen Woo Ping. One of the few names that has transcended the films he worked on and become synonymous with top quality fights. Thanks to his work on films such as The Matrix, Kill Bill and arguably the one that put his name on the global cinematic map, Crouching Tiger, […]
A Queens Ransom (1976) The One with The One Armed Boxer and James Bond (Review)
Did you ever hear about the time James Bond and The One Armed Swordsman started in a film together? No? Would it surprise you more to know that they did two movies in the mid 70s, both made under the banner of Golden Harvest? One of which sees release this […]
China O Brien I & II (1990) The Simple Pleasures of the Straight to Video Years(Review)
Having blazed a trail for non-Hong Kong/Chinese actors in such hi-octane action movies as Yes, Madame (1985), Millionaires Express (1986), Righting Wrongs (1986) and going as far getting her own starring feature in the 1989 action/comedy Lady Reporter (aka The Blonde Fury), the time had come for Cynthia Rothrock to […]
Black Mask (1996) Hong Kong’s Answer to the 1990s Superhero Boom (Review)
The years leading up to the hand over of Hong Kong from the UK to China was starting to show in the pop culture produced at this time. Films that were drenched in paranoia and uncertainty of what the future held under the Chinese Communist Party. This mood reflected in […]