Kick'em In The Ghoulies

   Film Reviews

                                                                                                                         1 , 2 ,   Thai action,      Hong Kong Classics

copyright© Golden Network Asia Ltd/Bangkok Film Studio 2009 /E1 Entertainment 2010

Take Ong Bak and add a mix of Roller-Ball and Kung fu Dunk and FireBall is what you get ,FireBall is A Thai film that's not got Panna Rittikrai at the helm or any where else for that matter.Coming from a different studio and producers and Directors ,it's nice to see other Thai action films getting a UK release.(Yes this is out NOW in the UK).

Starring Preeti Barameeanant ,who is being touted as the next big action star ,the film looks hopeful.

Now FireBall evolves around a sporting match ,that is quite illegal in that the players are teams of Five who play to basically get a Basketball in to a net ,the winner is the first team to score one goal ,and there's only one Net.

Seems mediocre from that standpoint,the big difference is that these guys do anything to stop their opponents from scoring ,this includes beating the living day lights out of each other and if that does not work then killing your opponent  is on too.All arranged by rich business men to make money from bets ,that could make a killing.

Preeti plays Tai who is released from prison only to find that his twin brother lay in a coma in hospital ,the cause FireBall .

  So what does he do ,well he finds out about this sport of death and pretends to be his brother (Tan) returning to the fray ,even though his brother  was beaten to near death the last time no one suspects he's not who he says he is.By getting in with a new team and working his way through to  the finals in a hope for justice.

Action wise the film does not let you down ,it has all the crazy fighting we come to expect from the Thai's at the moment ,with Muay Thai and inventive moves and kicks that will make you sit up and watch .Once the film starts and Tai is part of a team the action comes thick and fast ,and along with the story which has Tai going up against the players that ruined his brother.It makes for a adrenalin fueled ride.

But and it's a big but,where Ong Bak ,or Chocolate or any other film action choreographed or directed by Panna Rttikrai or anyone else at Baa-Ram-Ewe offer fight scenes that focus on the action from a viewpoint ,FireBall falls prey to the American style of quick editing often found in films like the Transporter or any film where the fighters are one extensively doubled or not as talented as we are led to believe.

Now it could be that the director "Thanakorn Pongsuwan "wanted to give a international feel to his film ,that's not a bad thing ,but when it constantly flashes from one piece of action to the next at break neck speed with near epileptic Consequences then it fails big time.

I really wanted to give this a big thumbs up as the basics of the action and the story work well together ,but the quick messy editing ,that gave me a headache at the end which lasted for ten minutes after is a major flaw here.

Sum Up - Don't view if your prone to epilepsy,migraine or if your drunk ,on second thoughts being drunk might help with this one.

Score out of Ten = 5

The Snake     

Copyright ©Winson Entertainment Distribution Ltd.

Ha ,a Korean Martial art flick for a change,as not many are made and when they appear i always like to track them down .Providing their reasonable to buy as some Korean films can set you back a pretty penny.

Geochilmaru is the name of the film in question and it looks like i have found a film that one day may be similar to what i am doing here.

The film which is directed by Kim Jin-seong and stars a group of Martial artists that know their art (maybe not are all true masters but this is a novel film).                

  Basically Geochilmaru is a founder of a Martial art website of which there are many thousands of members.once a every so often members are picked to travel to meet this Master on the web so they may learn from him.

Eight protagonists are chosen to travel to see him all from varying martial arts background ,a mini bus is hired to pick them up and take them on their journey.      

  Among them are a film stunt man,Taekwondo master,Wushu acrobat a Wushu female champion a Kick-boxer  and traditional Boxer ,street fighter and Judo Champion.

Thing is once all together they are told that only one of them may meet the legendary Geochilmaru and that they must decide among them who it should be. ( i have to do this ,think someone can meet the Snake).

They are each given a bracelet ,and only the one that possess all eight bracelets can meet the master.So after much verbal confrontation they decide the only Way is to have a tournament ,so along there travels on one of their stops they all get out split up and  and whoever meets one another will do battle and the loser will give the winner his or her bracelet.

Now given that the weather is snowy  their near forests ,what we have is the stage for some pretty awesome battles .On top of this they have already had trouble with the police who seems to keep running in to them ,but it's only one policeman by himself in a rural area and he's timid as well.(the street-fighter guy has already disarmed the policeman of his gun prior to the battles)

So what about the film in general ,well it's shot on a budget on digital camera's and it does show a bit ,also the acting is not really top notch ,i think because these are fighters not film stars.Some people may think the action is too slow but considering the low budget cameras used  and the fact we have NO CGI or Wire work ,it's these guys and gals doing all their own action.

So did i enjoy it ,hell yes once your past the beginning and your comfortable with the quality of the camera work .which you will forget i assure you .You will have a really good time as the eight fighters enter in to battle at random to attain the bracelets.Along with some light relief from the incompetent Police man popping up now and then and some story twists that will make you enjoy the film more and more.

I highly recommend this budget auctioneer from Korea and await the next fight flick from this part of the World.

Score out of Ten = 8

The Snake.   

 Copyright ©2008 SunDream Motion Pictures LTD

Here's a film that took me by storm ,It's all about how in the 1930's the Chinese wanted to send a Team to the Olympics.Even though the first appearance for the Chinese as the Peoples Republic of China was in 1952.

This was a time when they where known as the Republic of China and had sent people in 1932 - 1936 - and 1948.

But this was a time when most of the athletes where Martial artists who also excelled in other areas like running / Gymnastics and such like.So a team was to be picked but first they had to fund the trip and the Government would only fund half of it ,so the athletes had to find ways to make the extra money needed to send a team abroad.

They did this by having fund raising events ,showing off their arts and so forth. But on top of this they had to pick a handful of people to take ,so a competition was held between the Martial arts schools to pick the Best of the Bunch.

This film follows the artists as they do battle with one another and within themselves to pull out all the stops to succeed.The film gives the impression that all Chinese can be Champions and has a feel good factor to it and is very patriotic.

But then it was made during the 2008 Olympics ,so it has a Heavy Influence from this.

Starring Dicky Cheung Wai-Kin,Xie Miao,Priscilla Wong Chui-Yu and legendary actor and a firm favorite of mine Yu Rong-Guang.On top of that it is directed by Tsui Siu- Ming .Which i enjoy his direction off.

Yu Rong Guang plays the head of the China Martial arts academy and is chosen to head up the team and arrange the extra funding needed.

But rival school master Xu Xiandong  a proficient Eagle claw master challenges and demands try outs take place to determine who shall go and who shall stay.

All in all i really enjoyed this film with it's excellent Kung Fu battles that take place ,and to see Yu Rong-Guang in action again is a joy to my heart as i was sorely disappointed when he failed to deliver in Jackie's New Police Story.(I so much wanted him and Jackie to go at it).

Some say the film is far fetched ,but hey this is action Cinema from the people that know action a bit of OTT  story telling is fine with me especially when it's so much fun .And the Two Hour running time seemed to fly by for me and still could have stayed another half hour if it had to.

So the comments that it should have been 90 minutes long (from other reviews and sources )is obviously that these watchers did not grasp the story or get involved by it.

My opinion is to track this down if you like lots off action and a film that will touch you in many areas.A great film which i wholly enjoyed.

Score out of Ten = 8

The Snake 

Copyright© 2006/Mandrill films/2008 Revolver Entertainment

 Yes it's a review of our prize film 'Kiltro' .Well Kiltro is the first Chilean Martial arts film starring Marko Zaror in the lead as Zamir .The film is directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza who also wrote the story.Now Zamir is one of those harmless giants who is in love with Kim (who seems to be just a school girl here.a bit weird here)Anyway she has no interest in Zamir even though he had saved her from rapists.

Thing is the only way to show his affection is to beat the hell out of any guy that talks to her (not really the way to go)Now Kim is played by Caterina Jadresic and she is clearly not Korean but her father in the film clearly is and runs a Martial arts school.Now when a Mysterious Man arrives to take revenge on Kim's father Zamir comes to the rescue only to be beaten up by this Zorro like character (Max Kalba) who is quite brutal with his walking stick which he uses to a bloody effect.Now Kalba kidnaps Kim's father and Zamir and Kim run away to a Small dwarf who is more to do with Zamir then he knows ,as he new his father who was a great combatant. Now Kalba  wants revenge for the betrayal of a past love who Kim's father ( Teran) was part off.

Now Teran was also part of the Drunken sect and vows revenge of all of the sect .This puts Zamir in the front line as his father was part of the sect .Now the Dwarf (Nik Nak)  is unable to fight Kalba and defeat him as he is Old and a Dwarf (his words not mine) So he sends Zamir to train with Soto a former sect member who new Zamir's father ,now when Kalba hears this he kidnaps Kim.Well now learns the art of Zeta from Soto and upon learning this he gets given a set of Bladed Spurs.Basically what happens Zamir must infiltrate Kalba's hide out and fight of his Cronies before confronting Kalba and rescuing Kim.

Now is it Entertaining ,yeah it's pretty easy to watch (don't forget this is Chilean with Subtitles)From a martial arts view Marko Zaror is very competent and pulls off some very fancy kicks at quite a speed considering he's a big guy.

The film is quite bloody throughout with Kalba and his walking stick come sword which he hooks and slices peoples body parts off with ,then when Zamir gets his spurs he has  ago at slicing people to bits with spinning kicks,jumping kicks and so forth.From a low point the film has a strange story which borrows from many old films (the director's  a fan of i suppose ).

The Zorro character does not fit the story so well and the guy playing him is not as talented a fighter as we would like ,then we have the dwarf character (nik nak) i thought i had started watching another film when he appeared.Along with the strange eyebrows Kim has (you keep looking at them 'thinking whats going on here).Is it worth a watch a big yes just because some of the action is cool ,but he's not the next Tony Jaa as the advertising would imply.The Snake                                                              Score out of Ten = 7.5   

Well here's a film with a difference ,Based loosely as a spoof of Steven Chow's Shaolin Girl which in turn was a Chinese/Japan collaboration  to Steven Chow's Shaolin Soccer.

But the Difference here is where Steven Chow Directed Shaolin Soccer and Produced Shaolin Girl ,he has nothing to do with this film.This is a film directed by Kotaro Terauchi and stars Chiyoko Asami as Miyoko the Shaolin Grandma.         

Now the film starts with a local mailman finding a old lady dead on her hallway floor,who just happens to be Miyoko.After calling the police he is told to stay till they arrive .

Now as he is there he notices that her life's story has been documented by herself on a series of scrolls ,which in turn he reads and thus the story of Shaolin Grandma is told.Now Miyoko is the Head of the Shaolin temple after her teacher who found her as a youngster dies.Living in secret with her disciples of which there only a few.(i think the budget was thin)                         

Now Miyoko is challenged by a rival school fronted by Ippon-Ashi (Nao Nagasawa) who along with her Affro sidekick defeats Shaolin Grandma and takes over the school and it's students apart from two loyal disciples who follow her in to the big city.Here they Start to perform as street performers and not before long are confronted by a man who owns a nightclub and wants them to put on a show.

Now working in a nightclub is going well for a while ,But the performance starts to go towards Miyoko dancing on stage in a pole dancers style which is really nasty considering she is 67.This does not last long as Ippon -Ashi finds her and beats her up again .

She leaves the club where she loses her fellow disciples respect for not standing up for herself.Now the film gets weird as she ends up living in a box near a local park where locals play Croquet .There she catches the eye of a gentlemen that spots her and encourages her to join the team.But on this team of OAP Croquet players she has a rival who wants to humiliate her.Using her skills she overcomes this and ends up in a relationship with this guy  which now involves her documenting her sexual exploits with him.

(This is what the mailman who discovered is reading)                                                                                                 

Then out of the blue she decides to live peaceful life she must return to Shaolin and confront Ippon-Ashi.She re-teams  with her two students which results in a Training session for her to get in shape,which is reminiscent of many Old School Kung Fu flicks.

When ready she confronts her adversary and in a fight that is so badly put together she reclaims her school.What makes this funny  though is the pure cheek of the director in casting this Old Lady in this role who has no skill in the department she is portraying.and along with crazy wire work and poor special effects this actually makes for a entertaining 90 minutes.

It won't win any awards and at tops you may watch it twice.   So whats the lowdown well check out the trailer below and then check my score.The Snake.

Score out of Ten = 6.5 

  Copyright © CN ENTERTAINMENT / Golden Scene /K-20 Film Partners 2009

 K-20 is most likely one of the most enjoyable films i have seen for a time even though it does have some sad moments of poverty and such like in this alternate reality set in 1949 in Japan where World War II has been avoided.

Set in the Imperial capitol of Teito where the rich stay rich and the poor are destined to remain that way as once you are classed as rich or poor you are forbidden to try and change your destiny.

Now in this film written & directed by Sato Shimako a mysterious thief K-20 has gripped the city stealing priceless paintings and objects from the rich.Now Takeshi Kaneshiro plays Heikichi a circus acrobat who is fooled by  K-20 to take the fall for him as a the authorities are constantly on his trail with the help of Detective Kogoro Akechi ( played here by Nakamura Toru) who also happens to be a rich baron.Now Akechi is due to be married to princess Yoko Hashiba who's grandfather held the key to a powerful machine (TESLA) that can harness electricity enough to power cities and factories without the aid of power lines ,just by setting a co-ordinance.But also this power could be used as a weapon of mass destruction and it is this that K-20 wants to find.

At the wedding of Akechi and Yoko Heikichi, who has been conned in to taking photo's of the couple ends up setting of a explosion with the camera he has been given by a fake executive from a  publication.Now Heikichi is captured and proclaimed to be K-20 the phantom thief as the identity of K-20 is not known as he is a master of disguise.

Now being imprisoned and beaten and tortured he is near death and upon being transferred he is rescued by his old circus friend and his band of thieves.Now Heikichi is not fond of thieves and vows to return to the circus but what he does not know is the circus has been trashed and burned by the authorities and upon seeing this and finding one of his old circus band who is a young boy living in poverty and struggling to survive ,vows to become a thief to survive.But instead is given the thieves handbook which outlines how to avoid capture ,routes of escape and the art of disguise as his friends believe if he can master this he can catch the real K-20 and prove his innocence.

Now by chance he stumbles on Yoko who has just been confronted  by K-20 about the Tesla machine and is on the run from him when she is rescued by Heikichi and when she finds out who he is sets out to help him clear his name by capturing K-20.

 This has to be one of the most enjoyable films as you watch Heikichi  train himself in the art of Evasion and disguise and in his battles with the masked thief K-20 and along with a story that's about looking after your own and surviving under Imperial rule with all the odds against you.The cast is brilliant each give a solid performance and suit their characters well and the ever reliant Kaneshiro delivers once again after seeing him in Red cliff and Warlords.

The action is fast and furious with a good helping of free running abilities and fighting ,i don't know how much Kaneshiro actually did himself or was done by a double but this does not matter with such a enjoyable film that delivers on all levels.It will make you laugh and feel sad and have in suspense all at the same time .Better then Batman ,Superman or most other stylized super heroes K-20 is hard to beat as he and Heikichi jump ,fight and glide through the air.Truly a top film not to be missed The Snake.Score out of Ten = 9

Top photo Takeshi Kaneshiro  as Heikichi  / Bottom left Matsu Takako who plays Yoko and Right Nakamura Toru who plays Akechi

copyright© Emperor Motion Pictures/Emperor Dragon Movies Ltd 2009

Jackie Chan is back this time in a gritty drama directed by Derek Yee, in a story penned by him.The film is set in and around the Nineties when a lot of Chinese immigrants fled China for a better life by the means of getting in to Japan illegally only to find that what waited for them was a seedy and dangerous world where they had to hide from the Police and do the jobs that no one wanted to do for half the wage .

On top of this the Locals despised them for doing the work at cheap rates and the people that employed them exploited them.So the other way to get money was to steal ,and sell illegal goods on the black market working in and around the local yakuza run gangs .What waited for them was a life of crime and violence .                               

The story starts in a local Chinese village in China where Steelhead (Jackie) is a humble tractor repairman who is wooing his long time sweetheart Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei).One day Xiu Xiu tells Steelhead that her aunt in Japan says she should visit her and talking to Steelhead he agrees she should as it would be a learning experience for her.So she leaves for Japan now she plans to stay a while and write to Steelhead but after a while the contact stops and her family get concerned at what may have happened to her .

It is at this point that it is left to Steelhead to get to Japan to look for his girlfriend, he has a relation in Japan and with help from locals and the odd illegal immigrant shipper he lands along with about a hundred other Chinese looking for the rich life on the outskirts of the city only to be discovered by the local Police officer who they append smack about steal his gun and run.it is here that you see how gritty this is gonna get .Now Steelhead arrives in the city looking for his relations place of habitat after a long trek and witnessing the poverty that awaits him he arrives at Jie's (Daniel Wu)residence it is here that he is introduced to a plethora of Chinese immigrants staying in the same place with Jie ,among them is a who's who of Asia cinema ( Ken Lo,Chin kar Lok,Lam Suet)

Now Steelheads aim here is to find Xiu Xiu and to get by wants to find work so to get by with help from his new found family he works as a rubbish clearer in a dump but has to flee when a accident happens and some one calls the police ,then as a cleaner in the sewage system again only to be found by the police and caught but when a struggle ensues the Immigrants flee only to be chased and when one police man Inspector Kitano(Naoto Takenaka) struggles with Steelhead the inspector is left in the sewage ,but unable to swim Steelhead saves him and flees.    

Now Steelheads next job is washing dishes at a local restaurant and when  a young lady gives him some money to get food  she leaves with her client only to be confronted by hoodlums at this point Steelhead comes to the rescue and this is the start of the a relation ship with the young lady who's name is Lily (Fan Bing Bing).                

Now Steelhead is out with Jie one Night when they come across a lot of attention surrounding a local crime boss Euguchi (Masaya Kato)it is here that he finds his long lost love ,but as the Crime bosses woman .She enters his car but not with out seeing Steelhead first .Steelhead is subdued by Jie as if he were to get involved he would be killed.So form here Steelheads pretty depressed ,

You would be you have searched for your girlfriend for ages traveled illegally to Japan done dirty jobs chased by police only to find she's living with the local Yakuza Boss in luxury.Heh i would go home ,or in Steelheads case he wakes up and takes note that the only way to survive is to enter the crime world by selling phone cards stolen and fake ,and stealing goods from shops and warehouses so they can sell them to the black market traders at a nice profit ,and all is going well for him as this petty criminal living amongst his friends and becoming closer to Lily.They even all pitch in to buy Jie a Chestnut stall as he gets nervous stealing goods and such.

They even have a hooky panchinko machine in a local club which is fixed to pay out all the time.Now unfortunately Jie has a interest in a local bosses daughter who has Yakuza protection and when he is seen touching her he is coxed to there bar and beaten to hell and upon arriving back home this seems to much for Steelhead who goes and confronts the Boss along with his friends who finally arive a short while after .A fight ensues and this is no martial art fight like your used to seeing with Jackie this is a bars and bats street fight that sends a message across.

But other then that all is well until once again Jie is asked to look after the Panchinko machine for five minutes while his friend spends a penny,but poor old Jie is caught by the owners of the parlor and taken out side and beaten to an inch of his life only then to be tortured  by his own Chestnut cart and in the result losing his hand just before Steelhead and the others arrive but with the arsenal the gangs have ,Swords and machetes they have no choice but to flee and without recovering Jie's hand.  

This torments Steelhead and he vows to avenge his friend and this is where the movie gets really gritty as Steelhead sneaks in to the Panchinko parlor's offices in a attempt to kill the boss only to find that they have plans to kill the local Yakuza boss Euguchi and his wife (His long lost Girlfriend).

Euguchi arrives and is attacked by the gang only to be saved by Steelhead who is hiding beneath a chair and when he comes out he slices off the arm of the the thug that hurt his friend and helps Euguchi escape.Now Euguchi thanks and trys to pay him but Steelhead refuses and Euguchi recognizes him from the night he saw him looking at his wife .He invites him to his house where he meets Xiu Xiu for the first time since China as he believes Steelhead to be a friend from his wifes village, and as Euguchi does not speak Chinese they discuss their Situation and Steelhead leaves .

But Euguchi can see there is more here and comments to his wife about the relation ship between her and Steelhead.Shortly after wards Euguchi finds Steelhead to thank him once again and to offer him work ,he wants him to kill two Yakuza leaders so he can gain control.Steelhead agrees on one condition ,he gets control of Shinjuku.You know now that this film is getting grimmer by the minute and seeing Steelhead kill two people ( one who is played by legendary karate master Yasuaki Kurata)

What follows is Steelheads passport to a  life as a crime lord but in his heart he just wants to live a humble life and gives control to his friends while he wants to run a legitimate business with his new girl friend Lily ,The thing is here is what his friends do is run riot and Jie with the help of Euguchi deals drugs and basically becomes a pain in the backside with his bullish ways,but the ploy here is to rid  Shinjuku of Steelhead and Euguchi's enemies and the cop that's trying to nail him (Kitano)

But Kitano has gone to Steelhead and warned him that his friends are doing wrong ,dealing drugs and Steelhead agrees to try to talk to them to imprison Euguchi and stop the life of crime they have lived on.But al this is not going to be accepted by them and Euguchi is waiting for him along with another Yakuza leader who has permission from the heads of the YAKUZA to rid the world of Euguchi and Steelhead                                            

So how does this film wrap up well i will leave it to you to find out but one thing is for sure this is a landmark film for Jackie Chan in that he gives a performance of a life time in this ,even though he has done more series films before like Crime Story and New police story was not really that light heart' ed and along with a brilliant cast including Ken Lo ,Daniel Wu,Yasuaki Kurata ,and Naoto Takenaka what you have here is a film that will grab hold of you and not let go till the end and then it stays in your head for ages .

Along with that this is the two disc edition which comes with a making of feature and trailers and deleted scenes,so all in all a class package of a first rate film that everyone should see.It may not be martial art orientated but the battles that feature are gritty and stunt laden which you can expect from Jackie Chan,but on top of that Jackie's character portrays him trying to be a better person in life against high odds,and in a way it portrays his own beliefs as to how you should be or how he really is.  This is truly a fine film.The Snake                                                                                                                                                                                              Score out of Ten = 9                

Check out Jackie's other serious crime thriller from 1993

Copyright©Media asia films/Morgan and Chan films/China film group corporation 2007

 Warlords a film by Peter Ho Sun Chan based on the Qing dynasty when the land was ravaged by war and corruption by a decade long civil war,out of this time this film is based on three heroes who unite to crush the opposing armies,but at the cost loyalty,friendship and honor.

Starring three of the biggest names in Asian action cinema it starts with Jet Li playing General Pang who has just been defeated in battle by the Taiping army and had lost all his troops and was the only survivor because of an alliance with the Ho army that went sour when the Ho army looked on whilst Jet Li's Ching army was slaughtered .Coming round after the battle as he played dead to survive.

After collapsing he is helped by a young woman who helps him take refuge in a deserted house and keeps him warm with soup and other means.The next day he is spotted by a group of bandits led by Takeshi Kaneshiro who enters in to a fight with him ,because he wants his boots when this proves difficult for Takeshi's character so he decides to be his friend and take him to the bandits village to meet his brother Er Hu .Now Er-Hu is a bandit and leader of the village and his a hero to the locals and does not openly welcome Pang as he is a soldier from the Ching army and has a another agenda.He welcomes him to eat and stay the night but leave in the morning.Now being bandits they steal food and supplies from various army factions and wherever to survive but when the Ho army arrive that night to take back food and supplies that Er-Hu had stole to feed his people they are left without anything and face starvation.

Pang promises that if they come with him to join the Ching Army their people will never go Hungary again.With much thought Er-Hu agrees but not without losing part of his group who don't like Pang.On top of this the woman who helped Pang happens to be Er-Hu's woman so a Love Triangle is also in the making.Now the only way to get the Ching Army to accept them ,Pang decides they must capture a Taiping supply convoy and bring gifts to the Ching who are fighting a losing battle.Together the three men unite and vow to stand by each other as brothers in battle.On taking the supply convoy in a victorious manner they head to the Ching to offer there services and Pang to apologize for losing his army in battle and going AWOL for two months.

  Now with apprehension the Ching accept these warriors and offer support in the form of another generals army but only as a visible presence.They are only 800 strong and the visible presence is 1500 strong ,but they must engage in battle with the Taiping rebels who are 5000 in force.At the leadership of Pang they attack the Taiping rebels at a cost of there own men who must sacrifice so they can charge the front line of Taiping rebels who have rifles .

What ensues seems to be  a losing battle but through passion and brotherhood they smash there way in to the Taiping 5000 strong army with just 800 men and this proves to much for the General who is there to offer a visible force who in turn engage his Unit of 1500 men to help.This proves victorious for Pang and he is summoned to the Ching Head quarters and is given control of 3 units and the help of other generals.if he can seize the Taiping Stronghold of Suzhou.

 What follows is a long battle as they are unable to penetrate the city of Suzhou and lay up in there trenches losing men for many months on end.

Now with out giving to much away what we have here is a masterful film which showcases Jet Li's acting ability (something you don't see in his American flicks) his portrayal of Pang the General is brilliant and at times downright nasty,couple this with Andy Lau Tak Wah's portrayal of Er-Hu and Takeshi as the the younger brother and you have a winning formula.Now there's not many films starring these people that could have you changing your views of the main characters so much .Pang is a nasty piece of work who in the end is out for self glorification by the looks of it and Er-Hu is a man that fights for peace and to help people but at the beginning of the film you would not think this.Peter Ho-Sun Chan has done a top job with this film and why it has passed me by for so long ,i don't know.

I did find my self routing for Er-Hu towards the end as Andy Lau is just perfect as Er-Hu and i always enjoy his films .Takeshi is good as always but does not get to shine in the  same way as he did in House of the Flying Daggers or The Returner.but his Part is crucial as it's told slightly through his eyes and narration.And even though Jet has excelled him self here Andy Lau stole the show for me.                  A top film that blew me away.Score out of Ten = 9 .The Snake

The version i watched was the one from Metrodome on region 2 pal and was the 2 disc collectors edition ,with special features on a separate disc ,which include a production journal -deleted scenes-Trailers- A history of the Warlords and more.The film was anamorphic and carried both Dolby Digital and the DTS soundtracks.But did find the subtitles a bit dodgy at times ,well at least on my copy.But i did find it cheap  online. But maybe i wished i had purchased the original Region 3 release from Hong Kong.  

                                                                     Copyright©Golden Scene 2008

 Wushu a film produced by Jackie Chan and John Sham and starring the legendary Sammo Hung Kam Bo ,You would think would be the be all and end all of Wushu films .

The thing is this film is here to showcase the talents of some fresh martial art talent in the form of it's new young stars namely Wang Wenjie and Wang Yachao who play two students of Sammo Hungs character Li Hui who also happens to to be one,the Wushu teacher at there school and two their father.This film is about patriotism as much about Wushu and how proud the sons want to make there father by winning the national championships.

               The film follows a group of children at the school as they grow up to from the team to enter the championships (as is the case in China they are enrolled at young age as it is an honor to be part of the team).Most of the film focuses around their later years as teenagers but there is a brilliant scene as you see the young boys and girls flip and roll and kick and as they do when they land they are their older selves.

Sammo plays the calm and focused teacher who is looking out for his sons and does not get to do to much during the film.But it all goes wrong when a renegade student from the past who is trafficking in children decides to kidnap two of the younger students and tricks one of the older ones to help him.Allin all it means that the team must try and save the young students at the risk of the championship .

This gives good cause for the fresh new stars to let rip some beautiful Wushu but in the end it is Sammo that gives it large and saves the day.All in all this is good viewing but done on a budget but is by no means a bad film it is a nice showcase of talent that won't offend anyone but at the same time won't have you on the edge of your seat.A good film and one i enjoyed but don't go thinking this is up to the like's of IP MAN which Sammo action directed by the way.            Score out Ten = 6.5  The Snake

Donnie Yen 'i hope most Martial fans have heard of him ,but i do find quite a few people have not 'which is a shame as Donnie is a a martial artist of of the highest caliber and has made countless films in Hong Kong.Born  in China but from age  11 lived in the states fortunately his mother was a Wushu and Tai chi master 'Bow Sim Mark' so having a world class martial arts teacher as your mother is handy if you want to break in to martial arts films. I will feature more on Donnie's films in the legends page as this is where he belongs 'so now on with his latest film Ip Man.    

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Ip Man was the Wing Chun expert who brought Wing Chun out of the mystic and in to the real world and was also the fellow that taught Bruce Lee 'So this is a biopic of his life and from viewing this film 'it was a exciting and dangerous one at that.

Now Ip Man was born in Foshan in China in 1893 ,he started training in Wing Chun at the age of 13 under his teacher Chan Wah -Shun ,but as his teacher was very old most of his training was under his masters disciple Ng Chung-Sok ,three years into his training Chan Wah-Shun  died but his dying wish was for Ng Chung-Sok to continue training Ip.this film starts when Ip Man is older and an established martial artist living back in Foshan after being on travels and living in Hong Kong.

It's also the time when war has broke out and The Japanese have invaded China and placed it under Imperial Rule.Now Foshan is a bereft with Martial art schools and is famous for it's arts and people come to Challenge these masters all the time .

Ip Man does not run a school and lives a quite life with his wife and child and teaches his kUNG Fu to just a few friends .But when a upstart martial artist Jin( here played by Fan Siu Wong) and his gang roam in to town and start beating up all the local school masters and proclaiming they are the best ,one local replies they have not fought any one of any worth ,fight Ip Man and you will see the force of Foshan Kung Fu.

Well the gang storm Ip Man's house and challenge him,where he refuses at first which only angers his Aggressors .but after his wife is verbally abused she tells Ip Man not to break the Furniture .You know at this point you are going to be amazed as Donnie as Ip Man unleashes his Wing Chun in defense of the Jin's attack.This fight sets you up for a film and  story that will grip you and hold tight till the end. 

Upon beating Jin Ip Man is a hero to the town and much admiration comes his way,But now it is 1937 and The Japanese have arrived and Confiscated property all over Foshan including Ip Man's house who is forced to live in a derelict hut ,and being a proud man won't accept charity even though his good friend Zhou here played by A firm favorite of mine Simon Yam who runs a cotton mill.He finds work working the coal mines instead of getting help from Zhou where he meets up with old friends and martial artists ,one named Lin who tells Ip of his brothers disappearance .

Now when a general arrives who is a fanatical martial artist and recruits fighters from the mines for matches to be held within his own training ground .Basically you fight if you win you get a bag of rice for your family.But when Lin does not return from a match Ip starts to ask questions about his being from fellow Foshan police officer Li Zhao who is now a interpreter fro the Japanese,he gets a blank and the only way to find out is to fight in the ring ,prior to entering Ip finds out Lin is dead which enrages him and when he is summoned to fight ,Ip requests to fight Ten Men from the Generals fighters,Which he dispatches quickly and with no remorse .                                                          

It's from here that you start to understand Ip Man's story as a hero of the Chinese people and Donnies' portrayal of him is Top notch along with his showcase of Wing Chun.Upon leaving the ring  Ip Man refuses his rice and takes with him the blood splatted rice bag of a earlier competitor and a piece of potato he carried.     

The General asks Ip to return via Li Zhao interpretation but what Ip says is not relayed back to the General as such and when Ip does not return The general sends people looking for him which results in Ip assaulting some Japanese guards in defense of his wife and son,so now he has to hide from them and takes refuge with Li Zhao's help .Meanwhile his friend at the cotton mill has trouble with Jin and Ip agrees to teach the work force Wing Chun.This results in trouble with Jin and the Japanese finding Ip who has to face the General .I won't go to far in to this as if you have not seen the film it's not fair .  

    From a film point of view this is a class production that captures Ip Man's life at this time , as you would have heard this film only takes you up to before Ip goes to Hong Kong ,another film is in the works.The fighting is to such a high caliber and the sets give a good view of the hardships he went through along with all the other Chinese people and praise must go to Yip Wai Shun the director for his vision as with his previous films SPL and Dragon Tiger Gate..I can honestly say i sat there after the film film had finished for ten minutes in awe of it all .                                         Score out of Ten = 9  

Wu Jing you may not know him by name but the chances are you have seen him in a film .Now he came to fame some years ago as Jacky Wu-Jing when he starred in a kind of sequel to Tai-Chi master with Jet Li aptly named Tai Chi 2.                                      Now Wu Jing born in 1974 is  a National Wushu Champion from Jet Li's school,and so is a master martial artist ,so what you see is all him.He has made several Hong Kong action movies to good acclaim and has starred opposite Sammo Hung Kam Bo a couple of times.

copyright©Gold Typhoon Entertainment 2008

 So Wu plays Bruce who goes to an island of  Hong Kong ,he goes there to confront and kill a triad leader and behead him.Why this is not apparent and when he is unable to leave the island because of extreme weather conditions he looks for a place to stay ,meanwhile the members of the Triad that have found there leaders body minus his head are out to track the killer and recover their bosses head at request from his wife ,who is also a cold blooded gangland boss.But all they can say is the man that took his head was carrying a bag come holdall.                                        

Enter Celina Jade who lives on the island and happens to be a police woman is off duty and trying to retrieve her cat from a tree and she falls of 'she is Miraculously caught by Bruce and saved but not with out ripping his clothes .A good excuse to go back to her place and on for a bite to eat.                                                          

Unfortunately whilst eating she spots three criminals who are eating at the same place and try's to confront them but when she is nearly killed Bruce steps in to save her and we are treated to what Wu Jing does best 'Fight like Mad'.                                         

From this Bruce is taken to the police station  were he is to give a statement and be hailed a hero not forgetting to pick up his holdall before they set off.When asked whats in the holdall 'he replies ,a Bowling ball.and nothing more is asked.apart from one cop who is jealous of Bruce as he has feelings for the Celina,so he is badgered throughout by this nosy cop who is not sop sure about him.But everyone else thinks he's great.

So from now the police are his friends 'the gangsters are looking for him .

Mean while answering a call Celina and her fellow police officer stumble across the place were the triad leaders body is minus head and fight it out with the triads but to no avail and end up being saved by a mysterious character.

So now the bodys in the police station ,the mainland police have been notified and will arrive when the storm clears and the triads launch a plan to get the body back. What happens next i will leave for you all to find out ,but one thing  i will say this is a film to set you up for some shouting at the screen as Wu Jing fights his way throughout the film with brilliance and what follows is pure adreneline as he kicks and flips and punches and breaks bones .so a film to watch for sure .    The Snake                                                                        

                Score out of Ten  = 8

Now i don't know of or have heard of any Vietnamese films but i had heard of Johnny Nguyen because of Tom Yun Goong ,he fought Tony Jaa in the Hotel scene and mighty fine a fight it was too.

      So when i heard of this Vietnamese martial flick starring him and Dustin Nguyen i had to track it down ,Now i had seen it advertised  as a forthcoming DVD from Dragon Dynasty but was not out yet and some of the other versions are not available as the film was made in 2006/7 ,Any way  i found a seller on eBay selling a version i think made for the Spanish market as all their films have spanish subs ,So it arrives and it has both Vietnamese and English  Soundtracks (a bonus).

The Story evolves around the the 1920's French Coloniel ruling in Vietnam and the anti French Rebellions .So the Rebels want to disrupt the French and the French employ Vietnamese agents to track down and break up the rebels plans ,Johnny Nguyen plays one such agent(Le Van Cuong) and when a rebel attack is ambushed by Le and his fellow agents and the daughter of the rebel leader is captured( Vo Thanh Thuy) and tortured Le starts to feel his loyalties changing, and helps her escape but not before the agent leader Sy finds out and tracks them down to Coung's house (Sy is played by Dustin Hguyen) here a fight breaks out and Coung and Thuy go on the run as Sy try's to track them ,they escape by hiding on a French vehicle that ends up taking them to the French mining camps ( not a good place to hide )

But i think this was to emphasis how the French treated the Vietnamese at this time .After escaping from the mines but not before dishing out some justice they head for rebels villages .    

  I wont spoil the film to much as when i review i like to not give it all away The thing is what happens on the way to the villages and there after will blow you away .  

                                                     From a production point of view this is a brilliant film and from the first five minutes you know your watching quality film making ,A lot better then many Thai films you might see purely because of the interesting story and passion that comes from this and the good acting .    

                                                                                  Now i watched this in both Vietnamese with English subs and in the Dubbed track and both were a joy to watch ,so without doubt this is one top film that has fights so well put together there as good as any Hong Kong movie and even though there not as frequent as some films when they happen they are worth the wait .

All in all a top film ,that i will be watching again.and i can't wait till the next film from these people and the wait won't be to long as Dustin Nguyen is putting the finishing touches to his latest film Huyen Thoai Bat Tu (The Legend is Alive )were Dustin plays a mentally handicapped person who happens to be a good fighter .The film is said to be gritter in the fight stakes then the Rebel ,less flamboyant style.I am waiting.The Snake                                                  

  Score out of Ten = 8                                                                  

               There is a video of The Rebel on the video page Enjoy