Tag Archives: Martial Arts

Review in Brief: The Night Comes for Us (2018)

Posted on December 19, 2018 by

I never thought I’d say this about any martial arts movie, but THE NIGHT COMES FOR US makes THE RAID films look tame. It’s not just the lead who’s a mostly unstoppable killing machine but his friends as well. The … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Manhunt (2017/18)

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

Surprise, surprise, John Woo’s latest is very John Woo. MANHUNT’s action may take a while to really ramp up, but once it does you’ve got more people flying through the air, sliding along surfaces and rapidly expending and replacing guns … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Blade of the Immortal (2017)

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL is one-man filmmaking army Takashi Miike’s 100th feature and arguably his largest scale project to date. I doubt the man who makes Ridley Scott look sluggish even broke a sweat (only a film a year, Ridders? … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Villainess (2017)

Posted on October 5, 2017 by

Creative fight choreography and full-on violence is one thing, but what really blew me away about THE VILLAINESS was the cinematography. I can’t even begin to imagine how they achieved some of these impossible shots. For once a POV action … Continue reading →

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Review: The Raid (2011)

Posted on May 10, 2017 by

THE RAID, or: the Fine Art of Ultraviolence, as it really should be subtitled (subtitled REDEMPTION in the USA, which is sort-of a spoiler) was the finest martial arts film for a decade when it was rolled out over 2011-12 … Continue reading →

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Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)

Posted on March 13, 2016 by

In 2000 audiences and critics across the world were blown away by CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. The product of international co-operation between studios and directed by Ang Lee, an auteur celebrated both in his native Taiwan and China and in … Continue reading →

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Review: The Raid 2 (2014)

Posted on April 29, 2014 by

Sometimes bigger is indeed better. Whereas Gareth Evans’ breakout film THE RAID astounded audiences and critics alike by giving them a visceral and pulse-pounding experience that made up for its modest budget with ingenious filming techniques and clever scripting. THE … Continue reading →

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Jakarta Calling…

Posted on November 6, 2013 by

Today saw the debut of the teaser trailer for THE RAID 2: BERANDAL. If you never saw Gareth Evans’ first slice of martial arty Indonesian awesomeness, then why the hell not? It was stunning. The trailer doesn’t reveal much, it’s … Continue reading →

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