Louis Cha Leung Yung casts a huge shadow over the wuxia. Better known by the pen name Jin Yong, he would not only co-founded the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao, his wuxia novels would become essential reading and influence the genre on the large and small screen alike to this […]
Kung Fu
Beach of the War Gods (1973) A Seven Samurai retelling with epic intensions (Review)
The Skyhawk (1974) A “not so” Classic passing of the Wong Fei-Hung torch that still carries the weight of history (Review)
There are actors that just become synonymous with certain roles. For instance, if I were to mention Sherlock Holmes then many would think of Benedict Cumberbatch, whilst others would think of Basil Rathbone, and for a character that has appeared in over 250 screen adaptations, that isn’t bad going. The […]
Burning Paradise (1994) Classic Wire-Fu that suffers due to the legendary status of its peers (Review)
The Dead And The Deadly (1982) Sammo is on fine supernatural form (Blu-Ray Review)
Angela Mao: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (1972) – a must for any connoisseur of the Kung Fu genre (Blu-Ray Review)
There is a long tradition of on-screen female action stars in Chinese cinema history. Sometimes referred to as 打女/Du Na (see THIS excellent video by Accented Cinema for a deeper dive into this tradition) and starting back when Shanghai was the centre of the Chinese film-making world in the 1930s […]
Dreadnaught (1981) Dragon Dance Majesty from Yuen Woo-Ping (Review)
Even for the most ardent fans, martial arts cinema can get very samey. It’s not a criticism far from it; the same realisation happens with fans of other formally strict genres – like the western, slasher or fantasy movies. All-time classics are the DNA from which repetition and formulaic plotting […]