Agreement:90% of 167 voters agree with JV47842's reviews Gender: Male Age: 26 Location: United States
Bio: I am 25 yr old man & I love films, I love every genre. My favorite genres are martial arts flicks, action, & film noirs. My background is filipino & I also trained in filipino martial arts which I recieved a black belt. I recently retired from the military. Now, working for a film magazine. I love Bruce Lee, Gordon Liu, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Yuen Wo Ping, Cynthia Khan, Michelle Yeoh, Lo leigh, Wang Yu, Jacky Wu, & Stephen Chow films.
Always: Sunset On Third Street (product link) Drama "Always: Sunset On Third Street" was a wonderful movie, beautifully done. The music was very good, and the direction of the movie was amazing. I loved everything about this film. Every character was sweet and honest. I loved it.
Bullet In The Head (product link) Action/Adventure / War My favorite John Woo film! The bullet ballet still amazes me till this day. "Bullet In The Head" is an action fanatic's dream, you have everything in this movie: wild guns, explosions, Mexican stand-offs, and John Woo's two-gun trademark. Though with all those action scenes and style, the story is very emotional--you're with these characters even when you leave the movie. "Bullet In The Head" is a great movie!
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Not my personal favorite (but high on the list). Certainly Woo's most emotional and dark film. This one grabbed me pretty hard the first time I viewed it. And all-time classic.
many people prefer a Better Tomorrow, The Killer, or Hard Boiled, but this is also my favorite. I could never figure out why it hasn't received a proper release in the U.S.
Space Travelers (product link) Action/Adventure / Comedy What a wonderful find! "Space Travelers" is a funny movie. It's another "bank heist gone wrong" movie. But it has a lot of spunk. The direction has a lot of style to this movie, and the story is a nice mix to all those heist movies. "Space Travelers" is an amazing find!
Triangle [2007] (product link) Mystery / Action/Adventure "Triangle" [is] a gritty crime thriller, but it just seemed to go nowhere. I was looking forward to the film because it was done by three different Hong Kong filmmakers--Tsui Hark does the first half, the second half is Ringo Lam, and the third goes to Johnnie To.
"Triangle" could have been something amazing; sadly the film is a let-down. It has a nice start about three desperate people who need money for different reasons, then leads to a weird thriller middle and then explodes into a capture-the-flag-style ending. I am giving the movie 2 and half stars for the beginning and the ending--Ringo Lam could have done much more with the middle. The capture-the-flag-style ending is worth watching again--though nothing amazing in this picture by three talented Hong Kong action filmmakers.
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I only enjoyed the Johnnie To segment. The others we're all right. Though this film is only for the fans of the directors.
tragic really is what this movie is all about. The director are amazing, but in this sloppy story they mostly just fail. The movie itself was an all right venture, but it's better off for the fans to just watch there other work then going into this film
PTU (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime A brilliant piece of work. Johnnie To has hit the mark again. I have seen this film before when it first came out, and here I am again enjoying this gritty piece of work. PTU is the cop version of The Warriors--a special police group helping a detective to look for his missing stolen gun. The events in the movie take place in one night--it's a chain of events with a lot of oddball characters that only appear in the darkest of nights--from scumbags, gangsters, triad, dirty cops and a whole cast of wild characters. PTU is a fantastic crime thiller. The only thing that drags in this movie is the music--it really does not know what it wants to be. It sounds like rock 'n' roll or some Eric Clapton--not trying to make fun of Clapton but it just does not go in this movie. But it is worth a look for Johnnie To fans and any crime buffs out there.
Blue Spring (product link) Crime / Drama The road to Yakuza is a lonely road with punk rock music and episodes of violence. Blue Spring is a crafty piece of work. An independent film with a lot of style and beautiful direction. The story of kids with a lot of dreams but sadly they don't know how to express them. The movie is a lot like Rebel Without a Cause mixed with Gus Van Sant's Elephant and I could even reference Blackboard Jungle. But Blue Spring proves for Japanese Cinema that you don't always need the shoot 'em up style action flicks or even the sappy chick movies. Blue Spring proves a hard-biting, over the edge, low-budget movie about crime amongst children. The soundtrack of the film fits perfectly with the lonely characters of the story. A wonderful piece of work.
This is a film that has to be seen, and is for everybody. The film is a social commentary about life...a low budget "Battle Royale" which is done better, w/ a nice score.
Pom Pom And Hot Hot (product link) Comedy / Action/Adventure A cult classic in American Cinema. Pom Pom and Hot Hot has a lot of flavor for any genre fan, if it is comedy or action they want mixed with a little romantic scenes for the ladies. Though I find this movie falls flat--too flat on everything. There are a lot of things wrong with this flick, mostly dealing with the comedic performances. The laughter runs dry after the couple of jokes, then you find yourself rushing for the alright (I've seen this before in another movie) action ending, an homage to A Better Tomorrow 2 mixed in with the warehouse scene of Hard Boiled. The action ending is the only reason to watch this film, but really you're not missing anything amazing if you've seen any other John Woo film or any other film that involves someone holding two guns. I wish it could have been better, with a unique title and a funny storyline. I wish it could have been better.
The City Of Violence (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime I love this movie! A bloody roar of revenge in Korea. It's an amazing movie about two men who want answers to there friend's death. It takes them on a wild journey filled with insane characters, from gangsters to teenage sports players. "City of Violence" has great direction and an awesome soundtrack, with likeable main characters and an amazing last action scene. The fights are simply amazing.
The fight scene were amazing, I do agree, but it was how the director shot those amazing fight scenes. it seemed to me like the director wanted to show how good he was as a director and not a directing a martial arts movie. Watch this movie again.
Dog Bite Dog (product link) Crime / Drama A movie with realistic fight scenes, but it is not a fighting movie and there are not a lot of fights. "Dog Bite Dog" is a violent film with grittiness but no attitude. A story that resembles a little "Danny the Dog" mixed with another story about a hit man and a cop on revenge for his partner's death. The movie does have an explosive ending which I won't get into for the simple fact it does not make any sense. The stars of the film were really good and talented, but in a movie called "Dog Bite Dog", there should have been more fights and more action, and they should have left the girl at home. Though there is always a girl in the picture.
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Yes! someone actually saw this movie- it's one of those WTF fu films.
Agreed that this is not your typical kung fu fighting movie...this one has a real plot and character development. Of course, to some plot + character development = boring. To others it amounts to a badly needed breath of fresh air for the genre.
Dragon Squad [2005] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Maybe it's supposed to be the Hong Kong version of the "Naked Gun" series. "Dragon Squad" is a waste of time! Is it supposed to be a spoof of Hong Kong cop thrillers because that is how the movie is played---with an ensemble cast and crew including cult icon Micheal Biehn from "Aliens". The blame could go to the writer/director of the flick, Daniel Lee, who also made "Star Runner". "Dragon Squad" is a waste of talent from everybody. There was a lot of action but it's been done before and it has been done better by other movies in this genre, such as "SPL" or even the "Police Story" franchise.
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Daniel Lee is like the Uwe Boll of the Asian cinema
SPL: Sha Po Lang (product link) Crime / Drama A breathtaking movie full of fights and action. "SPL" (or "Kill Zone" in the United States) is an explosive police thriller with amazing fights from Donnie Yen. The picture of the film is beautiful--there's something about neon lights that add a little flavor to it--with great acting and an explosive ending--not to mention Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung fighting it out, what an incredible scene. A great flick!
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i am totally with you on that one donnie vs sammo incredible.
I owe you 10 bucks and retract my previous statement. You are totally right about this movie but I still don't understand how you could deny that "Dragon Tiger Gate" has excellent MA choreography.
Fatal Contact (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure A lot of nice fight scenes do not make a good movie about fighting. "Fatal Contact" is a painful movie to watch because to get to the action scenes you have to sit through poor acting and ridiculous characters and it is not worth it at all. The fight scenes are intense, but the story is horrible, and the ending--if you make it that far--is out of nowhere. The ending and the whole vibe of this movie is like a teen after-school special mixed in with fight scenes. With the title "Fatal Contact" I was thinking it's gonna be good, plus the main star Jacky Wu he's awesome in "Tai Chi 2", "SPL", and "Invisible Target". But sadly his talent is wasted in this poor film about fighting.
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finally someone actually speaks out about this drama fu film.
I must completely disagree. A lot of good fight scenes do make a good movie about fighting. I think that you might be disregarding the purpose of its respective genre. Many great fu flicks are bad films.
Flash Point (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts Donnie Yen is simply amazing in this movie, a no-holds-barred kinda of romp. "Flash Point" is a great film with nice fighting scenes and action.
Exiled [2006] (product link) Bullet Ballet / Crime 5 stars to this awesome gun ballet movie. Legendary director Johnnie To is in top form on this flick. The action scenes are amazing. "Exiled" reminds me of the Hong Kong version of "Four Brothers", because the story is about friendship and brotherhood, and how far one is willing to go for a friend. That was the question I was asking myself. The gun battles in this movie also reminded me of old Hong Kong action flicks like those of John Woo or Ringo Lam. There's a lot of action and there is a great story with it. I love this movie!
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My favorite in the To collection. Too much to say about this. Just a perfect piece of filmmaking.
Hard Boiled (product link) Action/Adventure / Bullet Ballet An action lover's dream! I saw "Hard Boiled" when it first came out in the 90's, but wow, it has not lost its touch. The action scenes are breathtaking and the direction is great--slow motion, two guns, amazing in-your-face action scenes. That is why John Woo is amazing. The actors are very good in their roles and the story is thrilling from its opening action scene to its insane hospital battle. This is what an over-the-top action film should be. A truly amazing piece of work.
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Set the standard for everything that has come since.
Eastern Condors (product link) Action/Adventure / War A kung fu "Dirty Dozen" in Vietnam, "Eastern Condors" is an awesome piece of work. This is what you get when you add a suicide mission war flick mixed with incredible fighting scenes: a great movie.
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this is a very entertaining movie sammo hung and yuen biao give great performances this is a must have movie.
Arahan (product link) Action/Adventure / Comedy "Arahan" is a funny film with great wire-fu scenes. This movie is a joy to watch. You can compare this to Korea's version of "Kung Fu Hustle" or even the first "Matrix" movie, or you can also call it a superhero film. "Arahan" has a lot of humor to it. You'll find yourself laughing a lot in this flick, and it also has great action scenes. A very good movie!
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Love it. Just watched it again today. Still a great watch after multiple viewings.
Tattooed Life (product link) Crime / Thriller The life of a yakuza is dangerous. "Tattooed Life" is an great movie. It's a violent picture, and the amazing hack and slash ending is brutal but beautifully done. The story is great and the music was nicely done. The direction of the film was also great. A very well made picture.
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INCREDIBLE piece of work. This is amazing and it needs to be seen by more people.
Being a warlord amongst your blood brothers is a tough line of business. "The Warlords" is an epic movie, epic in scope, sound, set design and cast. The film is also a remake of a Shaw Brothers classic movie "Blood Brothers". Why remake that? Anyways, "The Warlords" is another epic war/costume flick--I've seen so many of these films, now with "The Warlords" it just looks like all the other war movies we've seen in the past. This film really does not showcase the war, there are only about three action scenes and they were not exciting. You'll also find the sappy emotional war music that we've all heard before. This movie is not about the war, it's about the characters. The cast is simply perfect for this movie, but if you're expecting a violent style action war epic you're in the wrong movie. Watch the flick for the acting, because it's another period piece. But then again we've seen films like this before.
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This film is not just like every war film. I can't agree with any of the snide negative comments.How much more freaking violence is required? Some people have no clue.
Agree- we've seen this all before but in better films, people only like this film because they have a crush on Jet Li, but this film is same old same old-nothing original in it.
will since you so picky, why don't you make a film like that? we never get enough of jet li, that's the reason we see this film, if you are better than him, why don't you proof it????
The Five Man Army (product link) Western / Action/Adventure An awesome spaghetti western, I love this film. It's every genre I love. If you like spaghetti westerns mixed in with a nice caper movie and add a samurai in the mix, you'll love this movie. It's amazing! From its stagging of the caper to the heist, it's just amazing.
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Awesome, I hope Hollywood never remakes this picture. I love it too!
Dragon Forever (product link) Action/Adventure / Comedy All I have to say is that the fight scenes are some of the best I have ever seen in my life A classic movie with great likeable stars.
Shiri (product link) Action/Adventure / Romance "Shiri" is a great action flick from Korea. Korean cinema borrows a lot from American films, and you can see it in this flick, a slam-bang thriller for the men and the ladies. Trust me guys, watch it 'till the end, and maybe that song could make your girlfriend cry. The story is also impressive in this tale. "Shiri" is a great movie for all those action junkies out there.
Yong Chun (product link) TV Shows/Movies / Martial Arts "Yong Chun" is a well-made kung fu television mini-flick. The kung fu was great. It had no wires, which I liked, but then again it's a television flick. It's good for what it is.
The God Of Cookery [CN] (product link) Comedy / Drama An insane and wild film, a very funny movie. Stephen Chow's "The God Of Cookery" is a classic flick about a chef in a competition that is a whole lot like the "Iron Chef" competitions. The whole gag of this movie is pure fun and goofiness, which I love. A great find.
Yamakasi (product link) Crime / Drama I like Luc Besson movies. I thought "District B-13" was amazing, and "Leon" is one of my favorite films. But in "Yamakasi" there are a lot of things wrong, mostly dealing with the story. If you're gonna' showcase a movie about Parkour, why are you going to make it a sappy Robin Hood kind of story? I want to see people jumping off buildings and landing on other buildings, or even an amazing rooftop chase across the Paris skyline. Not in this movie. You get a sick kid and a group of suckers that want to save the kid, because they blame themselves for his accident. I just didn't buy that. It did have some nice stunts, but not enough.
The Great Challenge (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts A sequel to a bad movie called "Yamakasi", but in "The Great Challenge" the group moves from Paris to Thailand--to do what? Help freaking kids again, give me a break. What is up with this gang and kids? Anyway, we find the gang in Thailand to help build a gym for the kids over there, but they get into trouble with three men dressed like they are from India. The action scenes are a big miss in this film, They are not good at all. A terrible movie for anyone that wants to know what Parkour is all about, and a terrible movie for all.
Guns And Talks (product link) Action/Adventure / Dark Comedy What a wonderful movie about a family of hit men. It's one of the best hit man movies. The film has a lot of humor that I loved, and it has an excellent action ending that's thrilling and funny. I love this film.
Election (product link) Triad / Crime Johnnie To creates another masterpiece in this tale of secret triad rituals. What a journey this film takes us on just to get a statue from one place to another. A grim and dark movie but well made and the score and acting is terrific.
Election 2 (product link) Triad / Crime Wow, one of the best sequels ever made. "Election" blew me away with its dark triad vibe. Then comes "Election 2"... The story is intense from beginning to end. I really love this movie.
So Close (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts What "Charlie's Angels" should have been! Corey Yuen, the director, does a good job in this movie. It's a good picture with a lot of great action scenes--the car chase was pretty awesome and the bullet ballet was nice.
Eye In The Sky (product link) Thriller / Drama I am a sucker for cops and robbers movies--I like all of them. "Eye In The Sky" is a fast paced thriller with great visuals and a nice soundtrack. The movie was non-stop action full of silent chase scenes. If you're a fan Micheal Mann crime thrillers such as "Heat" or "Thief" then you'll like this one too. And if you like "The French Connection", you're in the right genre. Everything in this film is same old, same old, but it has a lot of style to it. A nice job.
Throw Down [Director Signature Edition] (product link) Martial Arts / Drama I'll call this the Asian version of "Rocky"; but it's unlike "Rocky" because it's about judo. Johnnie To does a wonderful job in this cheerful flick about an underdog. This is one of those films that you can just pop in if you're feeling down. A really wonderful film.
Running Out Of Time (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime A clever movie! Another amazing achievement from director Johnnie To--"Running Out Of Time" is a true masterpiece about a clever criminal and a hard boiled cop playing a game of cat and mouse. I first saw this film in 1999 and wow does this film still hold up--everything about it still stands. The movie has it all, from great action scenes to drama, plus a lot of laughs, the two leads are tremendous. 5 stars to this classic flick. I love this film!
Mad Detective (product link) Drama / Crime "Mad Detective" is a fantastic piece of work from Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai. Though this is a detective movie, there is no mystery in this flick. But what is notable in this movie is the mad detective, played extremely well by Lau Ching-Wan. He definitely sets the mood in the picture from creepy to pleasantly funny. "Mad Detective" is an enjoyable picture from beginning to end, the pacing was fast and to the point. Though there were no huge gigantic action pieces, it was still a blast to watch a crazy detective.
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Lau is so good at what he does. Great to see him really get to show his chops in a character piece like this.
The Escapist (product link) Thriller / Crime "The Escapist" is a thrilling tale of revenge with a twist--the 91 minute flick just blew me away. The premise of the movie is truly amazing, a guy kills pregnant wife, husband wants revenge but in order to get it, he has to go to prison to kill him. Johnny Lee Miller did an outstanding job as the man with vegence and Andy Serkis from LOTR and King Kong fame just wow! "The Escapist" is a great revenge thriller.
Atonement (product link) Drama / Romance "Atonement" is a beautiful film, but this is not your grandmother's love story--I don't know if I would even go so far as to call it a love story. Anyway, the movie is gorgeous, every scene is breathtaking, and the 4.5 tracking shot on the beach is worth the price alone.
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