Fate [Korea] (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime 3.5 out of 5 is a decent rating for "Fate", all in all. While this film is fairly good, it doesn't seem to break itself away from all the other Korean gangster flicks to come out recently--at least not like I anticipated it too. In the end it became a bit cliché. Good performances though, and the film itself looked amazing (as most Korean stuff does).
Eye For An Eye [2008] (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime Not too bad, but not too great. It just sits somewhere in the middle for me. A pretty straightforward game of cat and mouse between a detective and a thief. Entertaining, more so for fans of the two lead actors (which I am).
All in all, "Eye For An Eye" stands out as good solid addition to the large library of Korean crime flicks, and it excels on a technical standpoint as well as delivering great performances from its main cast.
The Chaser (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime Just plain good! That's all I can say, really. An especially great flick for those with a taste for the more brutal, and darker stuff.
I just hope the Hollywood remake doesn't screw it up.
Devil's Backbone (product link) Drama / Horror While some people have veered towards the negative as far as their opinion on this movie goes, I thought is was a really entertaining little ghost story. And it's good to see a great director like Del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth"/"Hellboy") doing his thing earlier in his career, proving he can entertain with or without all the budget backing him.
While by no means an all out horror-fest, it is still a solid effort in the genre and is sure to entertain Del Toro fans on a creative/technical level.
A Queer Story (product link) Romance / Comedy Not for everybody, but a fairly decent flick, all in all. Plus, I dig anything with Jordan or Francis in it.
My Mighty Princess / Windstruck [2-Disc Set] (product link) Comedy / Romance More romantic-comedy classics from director Kwak Jae-young. This guy knows how to make 'em: fast, fun, energetic, and sad too ("Windstruck"). I've been following this guy ever since he impressed me with "My Sassy Girl", and he never seems to let me down.
So, if you're a fan too, then I highly recommend you pick this double feature up... quick!
The only reason I didn't give this set 5 stars, is because "Windstruck" made me cry so hard, I felt inadequate with myself.
Man, this flick blew me away. Super-violent, super-stylish, and super-cool. I don't quite know why this movie hit-it-home so well for me, but I just dug it. I think it was a number of things really, first and foremost, being the tone. It was very dark (which is typical of most South Korean movies), but I like dark. Especially, the scene where *SPOILER ALERT* one of two twin brothers is shot in the head moments before being reunited with the other long-lost brother, and then dying in his arms. Then the brother takes his dead twin to a hide-out and tries to preserve the dead body in a bathtub full of ice, but fails as the body starts to decompose. Then he tries to wash the decomposition away with the water, before he realizes... he's gone (tragic).
So, he buries his twin, assumes his identity, and thus begins his mission of vengeance with stabbing, after stabbing. I don't know, something about the up-close-and-personal aspect of stabbing someone with knives just seems brutal to me.
It may not be as fast-paced as some would like, but it sucked me in. I would highly recommend this flick to anyone with a fondness for revenge films.
Peace Hotel (product link) Action/Adventure / Drama Wow, I remember this one from back when I was in high school, and now I got it for a great deal thanks to HKFlix.com. GOOD STUFF, from producer John Woo!
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READER COMMENTS
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You know, now that I think about it, this film pre-dates "Asian Westerns" that would follow years later: like Tears of the Black Tiger, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and Sukiyaki Western Django. I'm still waiting for Too Many Ways To Be #1 to his DVD!!
Not the best as far as Johnnie To flicks go, but fun nonetheless. Only good for fans of the tow Laus (Andy and Ching-Wan, aka Sean) and Louis Koo (which I am).
Boogie Boy (product link) Action/Adventure / Thriller As far as Mark Dacascos flicks go, this is one of the better ones, even of it doesn't showcase his martial arts abilities.
Heroes Shed No Tears [1986] (product link) War / Drama Early John Woo! Definitely a good way to see how a legend was born. Great flick, at a great price, thanks to HKFlix.com!!!!
The Great Yokai War [HK SE 2-Disc Set] (product link) Fantasy / Action/Adventure All I can say is that Takashi Miike does it again. This is one entertaining flick. A solid high-fantasy trip with cool special effects. It's a nice glimpse into the culture of Japanese folklore as well.
"Tokai" is also a movie the whole family can enjoy, which is not something you can normally say about Miike's work (minus Zebraman).
Tokyo Mafia: Wrath Of The Yakuza (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime A pretty decent series considering its budget limitations. Another fine example that you don't need a butt-load of money to make an entertaining flick. And once again Riki Takeuchi kicks some serious ass and serves it up Yakuza style.
The series, while taking a different turn, actually manages to get better towards the end too.
Tokyo Mafia: Yakuza Blood (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime This is a fairly decent series that sorta brings back the feel of the glory days of the "Young and Dangerous" series, but Yakuza style.
While made on a fairly low budget, I found all the installments in this series to be very entertaining. If you are a Riki Takeuchi fan (which I am) and you wanna see him doin' what he does best, then pick them up.
Clean My Name, Mr. Coroner! (product link) Crime / Triad I did expect a little more out of this one, but it was a pretty decent flick all in all, but still lacking in some areas. I bought this title for obvious reasons, like the cast for one. I'm a huge Francis Ng and Nick Cheung fan, but weirdly enough they were both cast in roles you won't come to expect from either actor, but that is acting (it's good to switch it up). Also the director James Yuen had done an amazing job on another film called "Crazy n' the City", which I really enjoyed. But this was one of James' earlier one's, and he is growing rapidly as a filmmaker. So let's see where he takes us next...
Mean Street Story (product link) Triad / Drama Not quite as good as it could have been, considering Andrew Lau and Ekin Cheng teamed on this one. They never let me down before (the "Young and Dangerous" series), but this one fell short of my expectations.
A War Named Desire (product link) Drama More than anything, I was curious to see what Alan Mak (co-director of "Infernal Affairs") could pull off, without the assistance of a great director like Andrew Lau; but unfortunately, I was a bit let down in some areas. But all in all it was a pretty decent flick nonetheless.
I do feel I got my money's worth though. The action was a bit few and far apart, but when it did come about, it shined. And once again, another awesome performance by the great Francis Ng.
If you're a fan of the genre and the cast and crew, then I would recommend. Other than that, it's a bit on the average side.
Lifeline (product link) Drama / Action/Adventure Basically, it seems at times that this movie is an Asian attempt at a remake of "Backdraft". While not as spetacular as "Backdraft", Lifeline's director Johnnie To does manage to pull off some pretty amazing fire sequences. All the actors do an amazing job with their roles, as well.
If you're a fan of To's work then I would highly recommend this flick (espesially for discount the price that HKFlix sold it for).
Young And Dangerous 3 (product link) Triad / Drama What can I say, except this is an amazing installment to an amazing series! Buy the whole series if you haven't already. I'm sure that you won't be dissapointed.
The Fourth Angel (product link) Thriller / Drama A pretty decent revenge flick. All the performances were what you'd expect from such an amazing cast, and pretty solid directing from John Irvin (Hamburger Hill/Raw Deal) too.
Plus, it was a helluva deal for price that HKFlix sold it to me for.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend you to run out and buy it immidiatly, but if you're a fan of the cast and would like to see Jeremy Irons in a less then typical role(and you have a buck to spare), then why not?
God Of Gamblers 3: The Early Stage (product link) Action/Adventure / Drama This movie was actually a hell of a lot better then I had anticipated it to be. Once again, all around amazing performances by Leon Lai, Jordan Chan and Francis Ng.
I would highly recommend this flick to any fan of the "God of Gamblers" series.
The Legendary Tai Fei (product link) Triad This is definitely not the best spin-off from the "Young and Dangerous" series, but if you're a die-hard fan of the series (like me), then you will probably pick it up.
If you want some really good "Young and Dangerous" character spin-offs, then check out "Portland Street Blues" and "Those Were the Days", both Ekin Cheng and Anthony Wong reprise their original roles in some cameo scenes.
Oh yeah, the "Young and Dangerous: The Prequel" is awesome as well.
A Gambler's Story (product link) Drama At times, it was a little on the slow side, but some scenes were very good. Like the scene where a man attempt's to rape Francis and Lam Suet. It was hilarious. And some scene's were fairly emotional as well. Too bad that the ending was abit on the depressing side, but that is usually typical of most Hong Kong films. Unlike American movies were every ending has to be a happy one. Sometimes I perfer a downer of an ending (that's real life).
Besides the negative points I stated above, I thought that this was a pretty good flick (especially for the price). But then again, I tend to love everything that Francis Ng does.
The only other sore spot in this movie, was that Sam Lee wasn't in it more.
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