Throw Down (2004)

Director Johnnie To said in an interview that he “didn’t want any antagonists” in the Hong Kong film, Throw Down (2004). This is intriguing to hear – no antagonists in a neo-noir martial arts movie set in the backstreets, gambling dens and smoky bars of Hong Kong? And that is specifically about the fighting form […]

Security (2017)

Antonio Banderas’ soulful performance in Pain And Glory made me really re-appreciate him as an actor. But also seeing him carry a Direct to Video action movie called Security (2017) was another testament to his presence and talent. Banderas is not sleep walking through this moderately budgeted B-movie Die Hard rip off where he plays […]

Best Of The Best 2 (1993)

Best Of The Best 2 (1993): definitely a title I saw in a video store magazine as a kid and was like, “There was a Best Of The Best 1?” Thanks to a VHS rip on YouTube, I know all about the first movie now, which I did enjoy, a late-1980s martial arts melodrama with […]

Nemesis (1992)

Nemesis (1992) is VHS-era low budget cyperpunk sci-fi action that rides off the energy of France’s ‘cinema du look’ and Hong Kong action cinema. It’s all people in shades firing two weapons at one another as they jump out of windows from abandoned buildings out in the middle of picturesque wastelands. Directed by Albert Pyun, […]

Time And Tide (2000)

After recently enjoying Hong Kong director Tsui Hark’s collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Double Team and Knock Off, for their visual kinetic energy and their “what the fuck” madcap action, it was a welcome surprise to discover his return to Hong Kong action cinema, Time and Tide (2000), was available on Netflix in Australia. Now […]