Black Belt (product link) Martial Arts / Drama Bastard Ronin order this picture now, and as everyone else order it too.
"Kuro-obi" aka "Black Belt" is a well made movie about the real karate style fights. The film is so moving, the actors are actually real karate masters.
The movie is amazing, I am astonished every time I turn this picture on. The movie can also be told as a Samurai picture about a man upholiding his code in a wild world. The movie has brilliant shots, and the fights are not off the wall like Tony Jaa but they are still breathtaking nonetheless. The movie is a must-own for anyone that loves a great solid story about martial arts.
I thought you guys might be over-hyping this one, but I got a chance to watch it last night and it blew my freaking mind! This is one of the most powerful martial arts films I've ever seen. Amazing. And totally refreshing from a choreography standpoint.
3 Iron (product link) Drama / Crime This is one of the best modern love stories I have seen in awhile. The movie is unique and the two main characters are utterly brilliant in their silent roles. I absolutely adore this picture and the filmmaking is magnificant. This is a must-have for anyone that wants an original love story or a picture that would make you think about your own personal life.
The Avenging Eagle (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure "The Avenging Eagle" is a great purchase for anyone that loves fu movies or has not seen one before. The film is just amazing!
300 (product link) Action/Adventure / War "300" is a great adaptation of the graphic novel, though some parts were left off. But hey, this is the movie version. The movie is thrilling and it was very awesome.
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the production was very nice, but the real account of this story was not told. This is Hollywood mumbo jumbo.
Kill! (product link) Action/Adventure / Swordplay/Sword(s) Kihachi Okamoto's finest film. I absolutely love that director. He also made "Sword Of Doom".
"Kill!" is an off-beat samurai rebellion picture that refrences Kurosawa movies. The film is also funny. This is a definitely a classic movie.
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I like "Sword of Doom" even more, but this is still a legitimate 5 star film.
I completely agree. This movie is tight. Didn't mean to trip on you so hard but I've been defending "Dragon Tiger Gate" for a while and it sets me kind of sideways when someone calls it a movie for chicks. We're square though.
Faster, Pussycat...Kill! Kill! (product link) Erotica / Action/Adventure This has to be one of the greatest explotation movies I have ever seen. I can see why Tarantino loves this film so much to do a remake. The film is great fun!
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I think this is a 5 star cult classic. But yeah it's an awesome flick.
Cloverfield (product link) Horror / Science Fiction The first tasteful FX movie since the original "King Kong". The reason I say that is because this is our generation's "King Kong". Back in the day everyone was raving about "King Kong's" special effects. "Cloverfield" is our version.
The special effects were amazing, and the no-name actors did a fine job. The movie just amazes me because it was shot on a camcorder. It looks real and it feels real. A very true classic movie.
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Idk if i would go that far and calling it the "King Kong" of our generation. But to me the movie was fun and I think it will become a classic in the future.
War (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts "War" was a messy picture. It did have some nice action, but the whole twist story ending didn't really deliver. The movie is very messy.
The movies that tend to release in late August and early September are always the messy movies that make no sense but have great stars, and usually it will make a dent on sales because it is Labor Day weekend.
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Was is better than a half star? YES! 1 star should suffice! :)
SPL: Sha Po Lang (product link) Crime / Drama "SPL" is awesome! The movie just looks amazing. I love the retro style lighting that Wilson Yip adds, feels like a cop/triad kung fu comic book movie. The last fight is amazing and very ironic.
Brave (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure The movie is all right but nothing really amazing. There is another new fighting talent and it is Mike B. His moves are awesome, like a young Jackie Chan. You have to see it to believe me.
"Brave" is a bad movie. The story goes everywhere, but it does have some nice action sequences. Hopefully Mike B. can show off his awesome moves in a better movie.
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agree Mike B does have some nice moves, but this picture was really messy.
Naked Weapon (product link) Crime / Thriller A movie that I thought would suck actually bit me in the butt, because the movie is insanely good and cheesy. The film stars the beautiful Maggie Q as a woman trained to be an assassin. The film has great action sequences, and I really enjoyed it because it surprised me for being good.
Chop Shop (product link) Drama / Crime This is a great picture. It's raw and emotional. I love this picture so much!
The movie is just great cinema and there has been a lot of hard work into this small picture. To me it's an achievement that it was made and well told. I love this picture.
Le Samourai (product link) Crime / Thriller "Le Samourai" is such a cool movie. The film is thrilling, about a hit man, a witness that saw him kill somebody, and a police chief out for blood. The movie is one big cat and mouse game.
If you have not seen this movie yet, pick it up now! This is Johnnie To's favorite movie ever made. Plus, if you love John Woo's "The Killer" or "A Better Tommorrow" and you want to see what influenced him, well this is the movie that influenced him.
Just do me a favor and buy this film now!
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yep Johnnie To's fave movie. The film is really cool, I love everything about it.
The Killer [1989] (product link) Bullet Ballet / Drama This is a great film, and either cut of the film makes a great purchase. I love John Woo gangster pictures, his movies are great and his biggest refrenece in "The Killer" and "A Better Tommorrow" is a French movie called "Le Samourai".
If you have not seen "The Killer", then get it today. Make sure you pick up "Le Samourai" as well because both movies are great! And it really makes a cool experience.
Dragon Tiger Gate (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure "Dragon Tiger Gate" is not a disaster of a movie. It delievers a fun time, but for me I don't really enjoy watching metrosexual heroes fighting a man with a mask that throws fire.
The movie has great choreography, but what is lacking is that there isn't really anything amazing about it. I enjoyed the fights in the restaurant and on the baseball field, but nothing really amazing.
The movie is fun, but I don't get into the whole metrosexual heroes fighting it off and wearing tight shirts and flexing. This is definitely not a movie for me, but again I was never bored, the movie did go by fast. I guess all I am trying to say is maybe this is a martial arts movie for the girls.
One Nite In Mongkok (product link) Action/Adventure / Thriller This was nominated for a bunch of awards and yet I just don't know why. "One Nite in Mongkok" is a good movie but nowhere near a classic. The movie jumps around a lot from character to character, yet it makes it intriguing. If you are expecting an off-the-wall action film from Hong Kong's golden days, well, sadly this is not that movie. The movie has little action; it's more of a character-driven crime picture.
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It was nominated for a bunch of awards because the Hong Kong film industry has been short on quality in recent years
Shaolin Challenges Ninja (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure No blood, no beheading, no finishing moves. But the film is still intense and still stands up for today's audiences. "Shaolin Challenges Ninja" is a well told story about a young man forced to marry a Japanese girl. The two have little in common, they mostly clash on their cultures.
The movie has impressive fight scenes that are simply breathtaking. I love this movie a lot.
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yes, and also I liked the fact they casted Japanese actors to play Japanese roles! Great film!
Dragon Inn [1992] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Classic movie. It's great that a movie such as this still stands for audiences of today. The movie is very good and has great action scenes. It delivers the goods.
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"...It delivers the goods." I like the way that reads.
PTU (product link) Action/Adventure / Crime The movie is slow, but you really have to be patient in a film like this. Johnnie To directs this movie that takes place in one night. And somehow he makes it look so cool. The detail of the streets and the actors' wardrobes just adds flavor to the coolness. The music is catchy and the action is well shot.
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I agree that the movie unfolds slowly, but to me it was never boring. It's definitely worth watching.
This is not considered one of To's best but it is one I really enjoyed. The pacing of the night's events take time to unfold but it's a good ride to an explosive conclusion.
Immortal [2008] (product link) Martial Arts / Thriller I love The Stunt People. Their films are very odd, but they deliever a great, watchable movie. "Contour" was very weird but had striking action scenes. "Immortal" is also weird but it delivers furious and intense moves. This is a recommended flick.
Fist Of Legend (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is a classic movie and I think the best remake of a movie ever made. The action is incredible. "Fist Of Legend" is a blast and it delivers the goods.
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yea man I totally AGREE the tops . Fantasic in everyway and thats Entertainment -YO !
Mad Detective (product link) Drama / Crime The movie is short but still it has a lot going on in it. This is classic Johnnie To production. The music was haunting and mixed really well with the actors. I really enjoyed this picture a lot.
Invincible Pole Fighter (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure There is no doubt about it, this is Gordon Lui and Shaw Brothers at their best. The film is simply amazing and very thrilling.
If you haven't seen this film yet, then don't bother. It goes nowhere. The director of the movie, Dennis Lew, just can't make a good picture. He just copies something from a better movie and passes it off as his own movie. "Fatal Contact" was a disaster, a movie for women and women only, with bonus fight scenes for the men so they won't feel left out.
"Fatal Move" is another disaster. He just took the "Infernal Affairs" movies, added some "Election" stuff and called it "Fatal Move". The movie is a nightmare. We have great actors playing bad and being very bad-ass, though the story and acting just do not mix well. The action is also bad. Nothing really amazing in this picture. The last fight is out of nowhere too. The whole time I was saying in my head, WTF is this film all about?
I am going to be simple: the film is basically about nothing but of bunch of men trying and acting hardcore gangster, but it fails because it is not believeable.
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I wouldn't give this zero but I don't like Dennis Lew films ither.
Return Of The Deadly Blade (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure 5-star movie all the way! If you haven't seen this yet please buy a copy today. The movie is just amazing. There is a lot of replay value in this film.
This movie sucks hards too. the only thing that this movie is worth watching was the beginning only with Hwang Jung Lee, otherwise, you are on serious narcotics.
Philosophy Of A Knife (product link) Documentary / Horror This movie is not for the weak. Trust me on that. I liked the movie a lot when I saw it at the festival. The crowd and I were really shocked about the images onscreen. If you haven't seen this film yet, then pick it up, but watch it with people because if you watch it by yourself then that's weird.
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this is the most in human film ever made, if you want some really sick stuff, than pick this up, what's more friehten is, that everything in this film actually happend, but any way, it did not scared me a bit!
"The Forbidden Kingdom" is a martial arts disaster. The story is everywhere and actually goes nowhere. In the movie we follow a kid obsessed with martial arts movies to a forbidden place. The movie does not know what crowd is it attracting too--is it kids or adults? And why is it PG-13? Because it felt like a Disney movie.
Martial arts films have been getting better over the years. With the international release of "Flash Point" and "SPL", people have forgotten all about flying heroes and CGI magic. What the real fu fans want is something real. We've seen a lot of flying people and magic in Chinese films such as King Hu movies and even the Zhang Yimou films and the Ang Lee film. "The Forbidden Kingdom" does the same thing as the other movies. I have seen it before and it was done better.
I admit I only saw the film for the fight between Jackie and Jet, but as soon as that scene was done I just felt the magic was gone. The fight could have been better with less wires and CGI crap.
I am giving the film 1 star for its fight scene, but other than that it's really not a movie for the true martial arts fans. It squashes everything that a fu fan loves and makes into crap. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is a disaster. And what is Jet doing with all that make-up?
This movie is not for martial arts fans, it's just for people that do not know anything about martial arts cinema. The movie is written by the guy who made "Young Guns". I'm not squashing "Young Guns", but what does this guy know about Chinese culture? And he is trying to remake "The Seven Samurai"? Give me a break. The director made the movie "Stuart Little". If you liked this movie even a little bit you really need to buy more kung fu movies then.
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It had some good times but I agree that it did feel as if it was trying to attract the mainstream audience.
True, it's not a movie for a serious martial arts fan. But that doesn't make it totally worthless. You complain about Jet Li having make-up? He's playing a classic character from Chinese folklore. Come on, lighten up a bit.
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