Agreement:70% of 140 voters agree with Movie Freak's reviews Gender: Male
Bio: I am a movie fanatic and have always been one since I was a child. I can watch any type of movies and hold no boundaries on what genres I would watch. However, martial arts, action, and horror are still my favorite all the way. I know alot, and probably way too much about films and feel I can offer some very worthy perspectives on films and entertainment. I love to learn more about films and learning overall so my mind never wears out. Hit me up if you have any questions whatsoever.
I thought the film was decent. I was surprised that Jackie Chan decided to be a part of it, since it's a turn-away from action towards doing the more "DeNiro" type of film he wanted to do.
I grew up with his films and was very surprised with how different the tone of this film is compared to his others. The action scenes aren't the typical fights you'd come to expect from Jackie Chan, because this wasn't meant to be a martial arts/action type of movie. It's much more crime/underground based and revolves around harsh reality and the struggles of poverty and immigrants.
Jackie Chan also has sex in the film! I was surprised because of my years of watching his movies I never saw the man engage in any sex scenes, and this movie is what he seemed to refuse to do all of his years until now.
You'll have to see it for yourself, but don't expect an action movie, this is more of a dark crime drama that's fairly decent, with cliches here and there, but it has its moments.
Ong-Bak 2 (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Let me clear something up: this film was made only for die-hard martial arts fans, so quit all of the hating! This movie has all of the cliches of a classic martial arts movie but it comes with all of the goodies too! The fights are classic and show that Tony Jaa is indeed the next legend of action cinema. Now stop reading this and go watch the movie!
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I knocked to 4 1/2 stars but I agree, why is everybody bitching about how bad this movie is? True martial arts fans will like this, who cares what everyone else thinks?
Ichi (product link) Martial Arts / Drama Wonderful take on the classic "Zatoichi" films!!! The story is well paced, the actors do a great job at playing their characters, and though the action scenes are brief they're well executed and shot. If you like samurai films or are fans of Zatoichi, then don't hesitate to see this film because you'll love how much homage it pays to Zatoichi!! You'll get as many nerd spasms as I did.
Painted Skin [2008] (product link) Ghost / Drama I'll get straight to some points. The story is meh (typical Chinese ghost/demon love story), the acting is so so (with Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei delivering the best), and the action is very disappointing, especially with Gordon Chan (the man behind "Fist Of Legend") behind the camera and the legendary Donnie Yen in front of the camera. This movie seems like a high budget TVB drama wrapped up into two hours like the Tai Seng cuts. It's an okay movie to kill time with, but fans of wuxia, action, and Donnie Yen may be disappointed.
JCVD (product link) Drama / Action/Adventure It was quite an entertaining film, not your typical old school Van Damme with tight shorts and overacting or recently bad straight to DVD Van Damme flicks. He scraps a lot of the BS and makes a spoof film about himself and does a good job with acting, revealing many details about his life and his beliefs and such. There are also funny references to other action icons such as Steven Seagal and John Woo. It's a decent film but I believe this movie has been overhyped and fans of Van Damme may be disappointed by its lack of action, but this is a great start for Van Damme trying to make decent flicks again.
Legendary Assassin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I was really hyped up to see this film because I am a fan of Wu Jing and the previews made it seem like a decent action flick. I didn't expect it to be a great movie and maybe just a b-movie but sadly it doesn't deliver.
The story and the characters are poorly developed, with barely any background on any of the characters, and you're left questioning yourself. The action scenes are quite too over-the-top with heavy wirework, giving more reasons why Nicky Li has to stop action directing.
I only gave it a two because the lead actress (who happens to be the daughter of the white guy from "Snake In Eagle's Shadow") carries herself well and the movie has some moments. Once again Wu Jing is underused and will remain unfamous if he makes anymore flicks like this one.
Vacancy (product link) Horror / Thriller Much better than I expected, really. It was very tense and you get into it, but towards the end it got cheesy. Not a bad attempt though for a film no one anticipated.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
You're right, it did start to get a bit crazy towards the end. But overall I was pleasantly surprised, and I think the first half is really strong.
Death Trance (product link) Action/Adventure / Thriller A fun flick, lacks a story but it's a decent ass-kicking film with a lot of action and anime-related themes. Worth a watch.
One Missed Call Final (product link) Horror / Thriller Cheesy and very stupid. The first two were good but this one is ridiculous. It's like a Korean drama combined with a bad CGI horror movie. The movie's very weak and I wasted two hours of my life on this. I'm giving it half a star because the women are pretty. =D
Red Cliff (product link) Drama / Historical This was a great movie and it's great to see John Woo back doing Chinese films again--well actually, it's great to see him doing films again period. This movie has very few action pieces, but goddamn it's epic. The battles aren't there just for show, and the story and script make the action scenes so truly grand. The brotherhood and honor themes from many of Woo's films are in here; and even though the movie goes past two hours, it didn't bore me for one minute. The characters are great to watch, the story is great, the action isn't what you'd expect--and it's great because it's not there just to be there. Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to the second part due out this winter.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
John Woo is back with a vengence with this thrilling character period film. I am also looking forward for the second part. Plus I agree that the movie is long but it's not boring one bit.
The Sword Stained With Royal Blood [1981] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I loved this film, one of my favorite Shaw Brothers movies ever! Everything is great, such as the production (as expected), the story, the characters, the actors and actresses, the action, and so on. Definitely a classic, it deserves multiple viewings.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
This is also one of my favorite shaw films too. The movie is awesome.
Shamo (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime I saw this flick a few nights ago and it's actually better than I expected. I heard about this movie some time ago but didn't have any interest in it. What amazed me with this film is the visuals--it looked anime as hell and the action was pretty well done. Shawn Yue is okay as the lead, but you probably won't like him because he plays a knucklehead in the film, and when you don't like the lead character in a movie, it's hard to like the movie at all. Francis Ng plays the badass karate master here and Bruce Leung plays the leader of the fighting tournament and gets to show that he's still got his stuff. The movie is very violent and is not for those who like light hearted happy films. Overall, it's better than most would expect due to decent action and visuals, but the annoying lead character and weak script kept this film from being better.
Legend Of The Wolf (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts This was a great Donnie Yen flick due to the brutal and fast action and great story. I'll admit though, the only complaints with the film are the ones made over and over again with the bad angles and sped-up action; but it is bad ass. The story is not what you'd expect, and if Donnie came up with it, the man has a much softer side than his films make him look. Overall, I liked it, but try getting a widescreen version, the full screen versions seem to kill all the fun.
What Price Survival (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure My god this movie is horrible. It's almost unwatchable because the angles are all off and the film is shot with nothing but dark colors. Daniel Lee always sucked at making action films because of his shaky camerawork and bad editing, but my god this is the worst he's ever done. He manages to get some famous actors, but the lead character has no charisma and everyone gives a half-assed performance. The actors are great but they can't do much with the bleak characters they're given. This film is like a two-hour wastefest of what could've been a decent film. No wonder the film wasn't even well known. Bad. Just bad.
The Eye 10 (product link) Horror / Thriller When I heard that they were doing another Eye film, I just stopped caring, because by that time these Asian horror movies were being played out. But then I heard about the premise about seeing ghosts with 10 different methods and thought to myself, this could be good. WRONG! This movie tries and tries real hard to scare you in the begginning and fails miserably, then it turns into a comedy film? The Pang Brothers seemed to stop caring during production and just made a mixed up and stupid movie. The plot could've been something, but too bad. It's garbage, just pure garbage.
Wing Chun (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Another great 90's martial arts flick from the legendary Yuen Wo Ping. Michelle Yeoh is excellent and charming as Wing Chun, but Donnie Yen plays a very unusual role compared to his other films. For one, he's more clumsy and doesn't get to show any of his stuff at all in this film, except for one jump kick maybe. Our lead villain, Norman Tsui, is awesome as ever and does a great job as the intimidating bad ass. The action scenes are classic and will recieve multiple viewings. A great film overall and worth owning.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
Ridiculous wirework and, as usual, Donnie Yen doesn't do much more than preen like a schoolgirl in front of the camera.
Tai Chi 2 (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure A decent debut from Wu Jing, but the film was more silly than good and that's what brought it down. Our hero looks like a 12 year old who's pretty good with wushu, and many of the fight scenes look like poor reenactments of "Once Upon A Time In China". A decent wire fu film but nothing memorable.
Taegukgi (product link) Action/Adventure / War Everyone involved with this movie deserves a damn Oscar, because this is one of the greatest war movies ever made. The actors do a great job and the audience will laugh and cry with them until the credits start rolling. The film is long, but there's nothing in here that should ever be cut because every single scene matters. The script, the production, the music, the casting, everything is as close as movie perfection can get. A classic and cetainly unforgettable for the times to come.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
This should have been called Saving Private Jin as this film is a derivative rip-off. Totally overrated, as is Shiri.
I wouldn't go that far w/ Oscar talk & all, it's just South Korea's "Saving Private Ryan". The movie is def. well done, the action is incredible. The cast was perfect. Hey check out the director's other film "Shiri" it's a great pic too.
Spooky Encounters (product link) Ghost / Martial Arts This and "Mr. Vampire" are probably the greatest kung fu zombie flicks ever made. This one delievers the action, the comedy, and charm that make it a classic up there with "Mr. Vampire".
Spirit Of Jeet Kune Do: Once Upon A Time In High School (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts The movie started off pretty good, with the whole Bruce Lee thing going on. The characters were very interesting too and I was actually intending to finish the film; but then the movie's pacing seemed to slow down and focus more on our leading man and the girl that he and his colleague both like, and I felt that this was way too shallow and boring, eating up way too much time. The trailers also tried to market this as an action homage to Bruce Lee when it's more of a drama. A lame movie and I say skip it.
Shutter [2004] (product link) Horror / Thriller One of the very few pale-chick-with-long-black-hair horror movies that managed to leave me unsettled in the dark for quite some time. When I thought that those j-horror rip-off flicks wouldn't scare me anymore, this movie proved my ass wrong big time. There's a hell of a twist in the end, and the story is an unexpected mystery that actually keeps you watching. A classic in its own right, so screw the horrible remake and watch this one.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
Just like every other mediocre J-Horror ripoff, this movie is terrible.
The original is always the best. I agree this flick is def. a classic. The ending was brutal, and this film gave me chills. The remake was horrible, Hollywood will never understand.
The Postman Fights Back [Dutch Special Edition] (product link) Action/Adventure / Drama I don't know how to describe this film because it felt so different from the many Chinese films I've seen from the era. To be honest, I don't even know how to tell you how good and weird this movie is, so I suggest that you just watch it for yourself. Trust me, there are some random things that pop out of the blue in this film.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
The film is very good, and also weird, but I enjoyed it.
Once A Thief (product link) Crime / Action/Adventure Another great John Woo flick, but this time this one has less stylized gun action and is more story and character driven. All of the actors do a wonderful job and the action is well put together by our legendary Shaw Brothers Venom Philip Kwok.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
It's a zany but brutal Woo movie. "Once A Thief" always pops up in my head, I love everything about this film. It's a Caper flick with slow-mo action sequences and that is brilliant.
Odd Couple (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy A classic film that was considered being remade by Hong Kong studios. You get to see some of the most amazing fight scenes from our legendary martial arts actors Sammo Hung, Lau Kar Wing, and Lau Kar Yan. Trust me, this film will have you stunned by how well these guys fight. The story is typical but the characters are fun, and it's also fun to see Sammo and Lau Kar Wing play two roles. I love this film and hope that people will enjoy it as well.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
This is one of my all time favorites. Sammo and Lau Kar Wing do some amazing stuff in this one. This should be required viewing.
Ninja In The Dragon's Den (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is a good ninja kung fu flick that was cheesy, but not as cheesy as many other flicks that came out around its time. Conan Lee however is obviously a Jackie Chan rip-off but delivers his fight scenes really well. Henry Sanada, Sonny Chiba's protege, is also great, and I've always been a fan of his films. The fights in this film are well put together, but there are too many moments that become too weird and cheesy. Basically "Ninja In The Dragon's Den" is an underrated and rare ninja kung fu flick that delivers the goods.
New Police Story (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts A great performance from Jackie Chan and a visit back to his roots make this film great in many aspects. Even though I like this movie, I was expecting more action since this is a Jackie Chan film, but then again, he's well near his 60's now so there's no use expecting something over the top from our legendary actor anymore. Overall, I found this movie very good and a new route for Jackie Chan to establish an acting name for himself that he's never really been credited for.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
I enjoyed this film a lot, it was dark at times, but the action in the film was great.
Naked Weapon (product link) Crime / Thriller I'd give this movie a lower rating but those chicks are so damn sexy I couldnt take my eyes off of the film, and it was great to see the legendary Cheng Pei Pei in the movie. The action is way too corny in this film, especially in the scene where Maggie Qiu jumps on the Japanese guy's head--it looks badly edited and I just wasn't diggin' the movie overall. The only thing that'll keep you watching this badly made film is the sexy ladies, but then if you don't like women then too bad for you.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
It was better than a two-however the chicks were a big part of the movie
Naked Killer (product link) Drama / Action/Adventure The movie felt very unbalanced and is your typical Hong Kong chicks-with-guns flick. The ladies are as sexy as ever, but the story seems to go all over the place. Then, just to mix things up, Simon Yam and Chingmy Yau start developing a love relationship that just doesn't catch your interest. The film had some good action in it and I didn't regret watching it, so if you've got some time to kill, check this one out.
My Wife Is A Gangster (product link) Action/Adventure / Girls With Guns This movie was much better than I thought it would be and is actually more goofy too. Just when you think things are going to get serious, something stupid happens and it becomes goofy, making you laugh because it was so unexpected. The characters are a very fun crew and it was a blast watching them.
Mr. Vampire (product link) Horror / Comedy Probably the best Chinese kung fu zombie flick ever made, it's the reason why so many films tried to reproduce what this movie did and is also the reason why Lam Ching Ying became so famous for his kung fu priest roles. To be honest, I thought this film was going to be garbage because I had gotten it [so cheap], but when I watched it, I have to admit I had a great time with it. There's a good amount of humor and the characters are interesting enough to keep the audience watching. There are no fancy fights here, even though Lam Ching Ying and Chin Siu Ho are both in it. But it's a very fun flick to watch. After viewing this film, I can see why so many sequels and rip-offs started to hit the market.
Miracles (product link) Drama / Martial Arts I liked this film and found it to be very entertaining because of its heartwarming story and the great fights we've come to love from Jackie Chan. If you've seen many of Jackie Chan's primetime movies then you already know what to expect from this. It's a great movie and many fans and people will enjoy this.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
This is a great JC treat. It's fun and w/ a positive story, and plus a good offbeat remake of Frank Capra's "Pocketful of Miracles". This is also Chan's favorite film he has ever made.
King Of Beggars (product link) Comedy / Nonsense Comedy One of Stephen Chow's best movies ever!! There are a lot of funny moments in this film that'll have you laughing hysterically, and suprisingly there are even some decent action scenes as a treat. Stephen Chow is great and shows that he can be both funny and serious whenever it is required. I loved this film and I know you'll love it as much as I do.
Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (product link) Horror / Thriller Even if you've seen the remakes, this one is probably the only one Takashi Shimizu didn't actually completely replicate, because the remakes have very few elements borrowed from here. This movie is far more spine chilling than the first, and you'll soil yourself more or less than I did. If you get scared easily, don't watch this because it's effin' creepy and shows why it's one of his greatest works.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
Shimizu is a one-note hack who is about as versatile as Uwe Boll. Another terrible Shimizu film that was the exact same as the last.
Ju-On: The Grudge (product link) Horror / Thriller I nearly crapped myself when I saw this for the first time. If you've seen the remake then you may not like it as much as I did, because it's so similar. But if you havent seen the remake, make sure you didn't have a big meal 'cause you'll literally crap yourself out. This movie is creepy, frightening, and disturbing, so be warned.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
N
This movie is creepily, frighteningly and disturbingly similar to every other horror movie Shimizu directed. If you've seen one, you've seen them all.
Island Of Fire (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure In case you're wondering, this film was also released here in the U.S. as "The Prisoner". To start things off, Jackie Chan is not the lead character but is actually one of the many lead characters. However, many of the actors here don't get as much time as Tony Leung Ka Fai, so fans will get heated. I gave this movie a look because it had a big all-star cast consisting of Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wang Yu, Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and many other recognizable faces. There is a very, very small amount of action in this film, it's actually more of a drama. Each of our lead guys have stories behind them explaining how and why they ended up in prison and how many of them tie in together. This was an interesting concept, and I found it to be very entertaining because the cast delivers. Even though there's a minimal amount of action, it's still a decent movie.
The Iron Fisted Monk (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie is more serious than Sammo Hung's other work that we've come to know him for. It's your typical revenge flick with very little to no humor at all and feels different from Sammo Hung's other leading films. The action is always great, coming from Sammo, and this is an old school action flick so there's not much to say for story and acting. This is a rare and good kung fu flick, so I recommend it.
In The Line Of Duty 4 (product link) Martial Arts / Girls With Guns Donnie Yen is the man! He steals the show from the actors with his charisma and fighting prowess! There's a lot of good action in this flick, along with some funny moments here and there; but then again, we're here for the action and yes it delivers fully.
Hitman [1998] (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts Another great action flick from Jet Li that delivers in many aspects. Eric Tsang is great as ever, and Jet Li is always charismatic. The action scenes are really awesome and this action film actually felt different from other Hong Kong action films, since it seemed to have a heavy Hollywood influence. The only thing about this film is the fact that Jet Li gets no worthy opponent to square off with, but that shouldnt draw you away because there's plenty of action here.
SECURE CREDIT CARD PROCESSING BY VERISIGN.
578 users online right now / 339354 visitors since 11/2/2009 10:31:16 AM All content copyright 2000+ HKFlix.com, not to be used without written permission.
