I’ve been writing about martial arts movies for 31 years and have seen 10,000+ films (collected 7000+), and the one thing I’ve discovered is that every film has its moments. Though a movie might not be a game-crashing carnival, if there’s a few instances of glorious genius, then that film is a worthy watch just […]
Action
Silat Warriors: Deed of Death – One Fight Away From Being a Collector’s Item
Their bodies move like snakes, monkeys, bleloks (South East Asian wading birds) and tigers; supple, mischievous, preening and ripping. I’m referring to the heroes of the Areel Abu Bakar directed Silat Warriors: Deed of Death (aka Geran), brother Ali (Khoharullah Majid) and sister Fatimah (Faiyna Tajudin) who live with their father Nayan. The siblings are […]
F9: THE FAST SAGA – From Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Shaw Brothers to Car Fu
When The Fast and the Furious (2001) sped into the psyche’s of illegal street racing enthusiasts, with a penchant for danger and the psychotic insanity of arrant automotive adventure, the brusque bearish, quasi-hero rebel, Dominic “Dom” Toretto was caustic yet salvationally portrayed with the power of a train using a Vin Diesel engine. Justin Lin’s […]
The Wrath of Man: Good Ire, Error Actor
Guy Ritchie’s The Wrath of Man, which plays like a knock off of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (story presentation wise; 1994) starring Mick Jagger as the dancing hitman ala John Wick 3 (villains all dressed in bulletproof armor; 2019) starring Dustin Hoffman as the assassin extraordinaire, came up way short of what could have been a […]
MADE IN CHINATOWN: Finding Love, Culture and Heritage
What’s crazier than sending your horse to audition for The Godfather, wackier than two parrots saying, “Are you talking to me?” in a Mexican pet shop that are on sale for two deniros and wilder than when after Oz’s Scarecrow introduced Toto to the Wizard by stating, “Say hello to my little friend,” he become […]
NE ZHA: Worthy of Disney/DreamWorks Animation, Yet Distinctly Chinese with Impassioned Chinese Style Action
With a beautifully constructed allegory mirroring William Ernest Henley’s 1875 poem Invictus that asserts, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul,” the record breaking Chinese 3-D animated feature Ne Zha, which is loosely based on a Chinese mythological martial arts legend drawn from the Ming Dynasty novel The […]