RA / BRD
The honorable grandmaster of Wing Chun Kung Fu, Ip Man, is the pride of Fo Shan and the man to test your martial arts skills against. Ip Man is based on the true story of the title characters life in Fo Shan and his struggles during the Japanese occupancy of China. As the factories shut down and the population dwindles, starvation sets in and even the most prosperous of citizens are forced into poverty and fighting for their next meal.
Unfortunately no back story is given on the origins of Wing Chun (crosses fingers for Ip Man 2), however that knowledge is not required to immerse yourself in this wonderful Continue reading »
U.S. DVD Release
Its 17th century China and all is not well. The dead are not resting in peace, becoming charged with negative energy they are turning into zombies. Once a zombie tastes human flesh it becomes a virtually unstoppable vampire. Master Mao Shan and his disciples set out on a quest to rid the countryside of these evil vermin.
The first thing you need to do is forget everything you think you know about vampires and zombies, so step away from that machete and the wooden stakes! This is Chinese folklore and these beasties are much tougher than their Western cousins. It takes more than a poke with a pointed stick to conquer the powerful evil that animates these rotting bags of meat. Continue reading »
U.S. DVD Release
Prof. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), world renowned vampire hunter and academic, visits a Chinese University to lecture on vampires and China’s own myth of the 7 Golden Vampires and the possibility that the legend might be true. Unfortunately, his lecture is met with scorn as the other Chinese professors are unable to bring themselves to believe there’s any validity to the stories.
Meanwhile, Van Helsing’s son Leyland (Robin Stewart) is introduced to wealthy socialite Vanessa Buren (Julie Ege) by the British Consul (Robert Hanna) to China. The two hit if off quite well but apparently Leyland isn’t the only one interested in Miss Buren’s liberated delicacies. When Leyland Continue reading »
DVD Release
Now that Po has reached the status of Kung Fu master there is only one task left to complete, one so dangerous, one so deadly it can only be…teaching small children! Faced with a dozen jabbering, kicking, high-strung bunnies, Po must teach them all the wisdom of Kung Fu by revealing to them the secret origins of The Furious Five!
If you enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, you’re going to really enjoy Secrets of the Furious Five! It’s got wonderful animation, some laugh-out-loud moments and butt-kicking galore; just what the doctor ordered, right? It’s all in innocent fun and Black and Hoffman return to the roles they brought so much life to in the first Continue reading »
Shaw Bros. Horror!
A wealthy gentleman interested in beating his most hated rival in the yearly lantern competition hires a long-time enemy to make the most beautiful lantern he’s ever constructed. The lantern maker has other plans though as he sets about ruining the life of his “employer” by constructing a most gruesome lantern that’s sure to shock locals and bring the wealthy man and his rival both to their knees!
Leave it to Shaw Bros. to come up with such a wonderfully warped, macabre Kung Fu film! Human Lanterns has oodles of style and beautiful production design (shot on the Shaw studio set) as well as martial arts, rape and flayed human skin! To be completely honest I was shocked to see some of the sequences I did in this flick as you don’t normally see the kind of gore and rape on display here in Shaw productions. No joke, there was flayed skin, severed human heads, gobs of gooey meat and blood everywhere! Continue reading »
Theatrical Poster
Kung Fu Panda (Theatrical – 2008)
DreamWorks
Directed by: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Written by: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross & Ian McShane
Review by Adam F. Tracey
Po is a big fat panda. He is lazy, spacey, unmotivated and has a penchant for day dreaming. He is also the son of a master noodle maker, who himself is decidedly not a panda. Po is a Kung Fu fanatic and it is his dream to one day fight along side The Furious Five. Prophecy says that the notorious Tai Lung will escape from his prison, it is decided that one of The Furious Five shall open the legendary Dragon Scroll and become the Dragon master who can defeat Tai Lung. On the day of the choosing Po unwittingly bumbles his way into the arena and is selected as the one who shall open the Dragon Scroll. Now Kung Fu master Shifu most battle the urge to get rid of Po and train him to be a Kung Fu master worthy of the scroll. Continue reading »
U.S. DVD Release
A Chinese man named Ah To marries a Japanese woman through an arranged marriage and all hell breaks loose as each spouse attempts to prove which fighting style, Chinese or Japanese, is more effective. After being insulted one too many times, she heads back to Japan, determined to continue training until she’s good enough to beat him. Unfortunately, a letter from Ah To to his wife, mocking her fighting style and challenging her to a fight, falls into the wrong hands and he’s soon forced to fight seven different styles of Japanese martial artists! Will he survive to prove, once and for all, whose Kung Fu is the best?
Man, I love this film. Heroes of the East features Continue reading »
U.S. DVD Release
The Bride With White Hair (1993)
Tai Seng / 1998
Directed by: Ronny Yu
Written by: Kei To Lam
Cast: Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Kit Ying Lam
Review By: Adam Tracey
Cho Yi-Hang is unhappy with his lot in life. As the successor to the Wu Tang clan throne he is interested in a more serene life. He meets Lien Continue reading »
U.S. DVD Release
Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers are most famous for their kung fu flicks, but early on they produced this stylish horror movie about love, lust and greed. Set in the 70’s, Black Magic creates a juxtaposition of ancient beliefs against the backdrop of modern society and technology.
Shan Jianmi is a magician for hire, specializing in black magic. He will cast spells for death, love and more, but the cost is high. We first meet him when a woman comes to request a death spell be cast on her husband and his mistress. Jianmi casts the spell and the lovers are found dead in the morning. Another magician who practices white magic recognizes the spell used, and casts a counter-spell, which almost Continue reading »
