Kick'em In The Ghoulies

On a high note  I'm sure all martial art fans will wish Chuck Norris a Happy Birthday on March 10th 2021 when he turns 81 .So tomorrow is Chuck's day and we wish him all the best at Kick'em in the Ghoulies.  With all the recent misfortune it's good to see the legendary Martial artist and Actor break the 80 mark.

And we wish him many more. 

Another sad post as we report that Veteran Hong Kong Actor Ng Man Tat has passed away at the age of 71, Ng Man Tat had become a stalwart of the Hong Kong film industry starring in more then a hundred films and television series.

For Western Viewers he's most famous for playing Golden Leg Fung in Shaolin Soccer with Stephen Chow. Though this was the last time the two had worked together they had a long partnership where Ng Man Tat would co-star opposite Stephen Chow in many films including Fight Back to School  , Royal Tramp , Tricky Brains and King of Beggers among others. 

Tat was also a frequent co-star to Chow Yun Fat in the past as well. . Tat's big break proably came with the late Benny Chan's Moment of Romance where Tat won the Best surporting actor award opposite Andy Lau in 1990 , a film role recommended for him by Chow Yun Fat , even though the two had fallen out at the time due to Tat's gambling problems. 

Tat also starred in the late Brandon Lee's debut film ,Legacy of Rage.. Tat was so versatile from Comedy to high intense drama that he kept getting the work, He crops up in many classic films from God of Gamblers ,Portland Street Blues,Gangland Odyssey and Overheard 3. 

Ng Man Tat had been ill since 2014 after suffering a heart attack , and even though he recuperated,  viral infections later took hold which resulted in Liver Cancer. , He miraculously continued to work in to 2020 but was looking very frail.

Ng Man Tat passed away in his sleep on February 27th 2021 in Tai Wai hospital in Hong Kong. 

A memorial servcie was arranged and was attended by old friends Stephen Cow, Chow Yun Fat and others with many floral tributes being sent from many other stars of the industry like Jackie Chan.

RIP Richard Ng Man Tat - The True God of Gamblers

On a lighter note , those wishing to watch Jackie Chan's new film VANGUARD on DVD / Bluray can import the film on December 15th 2020. Of course you must have a Region free DVD or Bluray Player to watch the film . 

The Region 3 DVD can be bought for around £12 - £14 depending on sites and the Bluray which is Region A is around £23.00 on some sites .

We hope to be picking up the DVD for view but won't probably have it arrive before Christmas i doubt. 

I find it much more reasonable to pick up the DVD on import and usually buy the Bluray when it gets released in my own region at a much lower price. Plus we don't possess a Region Free Bluray Player here at Kick'em in the Ghoulies . It's also nice to have the different versions as they often have alternate content on disc .

Will you be importing VANGUARD?

Sertes Nake

It seems each time I post here in 2020 that it's all sad news , on December 11th South Korean Director Kim Ki Duk ( Moebius) passed away in Latvia from complications after contracting COVID 19 . The Director whose films and life have been surrounded by controversy was one of the New age Directors of South Korea and directed a vast array of films , Many of which with quite distressing stories and ''scenes that have caused controversy from Animal mutilation to violent scenes that many would find nearing the mark of good entertainment.

But this is why his films have done so well and why he made a name for him self through out his career as a one of the pioneers of Korean cinema .

Kim Ki Duk went to Latvia in November 2020 to house hunt as he was making a new film in the region and planned to live there while the film he was making was produced. After buying a house on December 5th the director became impossible to reach and died under going treatment for Chronic Covid 19 symptoms in the region and sadly passed away on December 11th 2020 at the age of 59 , Just days before his 60th birthday.

Another sad day for the film Industry , and with still three weeks left of 2020 we hope that everyone can stay safe, as there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Sertes Nake 

2020 definetly has been a tough and sad year for many. And the sad news continues to arrive. After our last post about he death of Benny Chan I did not think my very next post would be about another death .

Japanese Actress Sei Ashina star of various Film and TV productions has been found dead at her apartment in Tokyo .

Police are currently investigating . Her Family became worried when she failed to answer phone calls or messages .

Her body was found on September 14th 2020 , Sad News indeed and even more so when Police suspect apparent Suicide .

Sei Ashina was the third Japanese Celebrity death since May with the other two also contributed to Suicide.

Sei Ashina came to fame in the turn of the Millenium when she starred in Kamen Rider Hibiki in film and TV .

Other Notable roles where in 2007 film 'Silk' and  Kamui Gaiden 2009 .

Sad News indeed

Sertes Nake 

With a site covering so much it's sometimes hard to know who to cover and when. Articles take time to write and compile as does watching the various films and reviewing them.. It's the reason why we often review films from many years ago that are not classics but stand out in todays flooded market.

We don't have a endless supply of new releases incoming all the time, so sometimes going back and finding a small collection of films that have made us sit up and take notice often make for a good article. 

Well one such group of films has done just that, and they all star former MUAY Thai and MMA fighter Gina Carano.

And now is a good time to focus on Gina Carano as she is co-starring in the new Disney Web series  Star Wars The Mandarlorian .

So watch this space as we delve into compiling a special on Gina Carano - coming shortly to kickemintheghoulies

Yes it's another Mini review for you all. Here we look at a film from 1997 which harks back to a time of the heyday of B-movie action films.

MINI REVIEW - BLAST - 1997

Starring Linden Ashby / Andrew Divoff / Rutger Hauer 

BLAST  is a budget action film starring Actor / Martial Artist Linden Ashby , for those unfamiliar with him , FYI he played Johnny Cage in the live action Mortal Kombat film alongside Robin Shou and Chistoper Lambert

Blast plays like your usual one guy against a army of bad guys , inspired by the lkes of Die Hard no doubt.

Linden plays Jack Bryant a ex competiing martial artist who got badly injured and had to give up on his career , he fell on hard times and now works as a Janitor .

But Jack just happens to be  a Janitor at the forthcoming Atlanta games . And just happens to be on duty at the Swimming halls while the USA team are going for their practice , And lo- and behold his ex wife just happens to be the coach of the team.

At this very time a group of terroists infiltrate the Swimming halls, plant bombs and hold the team hostage. 

They are led by a crazed terroist played by Andrew Divoff. 

Only one man can stop them and it's Jack , Atlanta is in  lockdown as the terroists have planted bombs across the city , Plus their goal is one of deception as their main objective is march larger. 

But have no fear Jack has help at the end of a phone , a adversary of of the terrorist  who was presumed dead  , it's Leo who has no legs and long colouful drealocks  and goes around in motorised wheelchair. . All is not lost.

And yes Leo is played by the late Rutger Hauer.

Blast is a film that's OK to watch while you eat your dinner , it's no showcase for martial arts and compared to other films in the genre around the same time looks baron . They really needed some more extra's to fill out the scenes. 

Linden Ashby rarely gets to show his ability in martial arts , even though he is versed in Taekwondo,Karate and Kung Fu. There's a few nice little moves as he runs around avoiding terrorists and taking them out one by one. There's no real fight scene that offers any substance and the final is a letdown 

If you took Jean Claude Van Damme's Sudden Death , took out all the crowds , and left just a few people in a empty building , for go any of the bigger combat scenes  and add  Rutger Hauer's quite comic style character to the proceedings then your have this film. 

Here at Kick'em in the Ghoulies we watched this on our Amazon Prime subscription , whatever you do don't spend money on this because it really is just fodder for lunch.

Review by Sertes Nake

MINI REVIEW

Yes mini reviews are here , Not all films we view really warrent a full on site feature, some dont really fit into the sites criteria.

The only time we will feature a comedy or romcom film in a site feature is if we are attending a film event and are covering many films.

So now we have these small snippet of film reviews where we get to grips with some casual viewing .

Our first film is a 2017 Comedy from China by Dayan Eng who directed and produced., it's a bit of a indie film and when released in the summer of 2017 it placed third at the Chinese box office and it had stiff competion.

MINI REVIEW - WISHED-2017

Wished stars Xia Yu , Yan Ni and Victoria Song. It also has cameos by Daniel Wu and David Wu ( two stars well known for there action roles in Hong Kong action films).

Xia Yu plays a Insurance slaeman who just can't catch a break, he has a job he's not fond of and has low expectaions and ditches his girlfriend to save her a life of misery.

But when all hope is lost he meets a young woman who claims to be a goddess and will grant him 19 wishes from his past life. Unfortunatly he is unable to choose these wishes and they are based on wishes he has made over his life .

Of course he just thinks this woman is a crank but when strange things start happening he starts to wonder , Also this goddess of wishes shows up in his aprtment who he shares with his friend.

Without spoiling the crazy fun in this film , think of something you wished for as a child and then it comes true right now. It so funny in places .

Of course as the film goes on hs wishes come from his later life so there a bit more sensible ,or at least you might think. 

There are some great nods to old school Hong Kong movies and Hollywood ones to. 

For a Indie title it featured a fun story and good special effects for the $5 million dollar budget.

Wished went on to appear in the USA and won awards to. 

Wished is available to view on Amazon Prime video Now , or can be got on Region 3 DVD or Bluray as well. 

For a relaxing film to have a laugh at Wished was good watch that exceeded my expectations as i expected i might end up turnng it off, but it grabbed me and i stuck with it.

Though the subtitles loose something in translation Wished is a fun watch.

Sertes Nake 

March 2020

The weekend of July 15th -17th sees the Hyper Japan Festival return to Olympia in London's Kensington. Three days of live acts, Music,culture and games for all the family .

Show opens on the Friday at 12pm , visit the site for more info and tickets..

Visit the Hyper Japan site Here!