Sci-Fighter (2004)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Sci-Fighter (2004)

A turgid, demoralising mess which starts off innocent enough (Don Wilson’s single parenting nightmare with insular kung fu son), then goes a little off track (father and son get themselves stuck in Granddad’s virtual reality simulator), before settling on a succession of lazy, tired fight sequences.

Camacho’s gimmick of an all-star fighting cast (their competitive titles are listed not only on the opening credits but also at the end) greatly overwhelms the procession of battles as each ‘Master’ gets to strut their stuff one after the other. None of them are particularly impressive on screen, lining up to be beaten (somehow) …

Read More

China O’Brien II (1991)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
China O’Brien II (1991)

Sensationally awful sequel to a film which never deserved a follow up. This time China and the boys help out a frightened witness whose evil boss has escaped from prison and vowed to take revenge. This is as cheap and amateur as before, maybe a bit worse.

Read More

China O’Brien (1990)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
China O’Brien (1990)

From the makers of Enter the Dragon (producers Fred Weintraub and Raymond Chow, and director Robert Clouse), one might be right to expect more from this B-movie, but the best is certainly made of a bad situation. Designed as a vehicle for its petite star Cynthia Rothrock (her first fully fledged US offering), the film is enthusiastically handled even if her acting is a little overstretched at times. Her lethal limbs kick up a storm as super-cop China O’Brien, who gives up her LAPD badge and returns to her hometown to find her Sheriff father dead, the Senator an asshole, …

Read More

Profile: Michelle Yeoh Chu-kheng

Posted in Profiles
No Comments
Profile: Michelle Yeoh Chu-kheng

Other names: Michelle Khan

Date of birth: 6 August, 1962 (Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia)

Occupation: Actor, producer, dancer

Style: Ballet

Biography: Born in Malaysia to a Chinese family – a politician and lawyer’s daughter – Michelle Yeoh trained in ballet from the age of four. At 15, she moved to England to attend boarding school, studying ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Achieving a BA in Creative Arts and Drama, she was prevented from a professional career in ballet because of a spinal injury. At 21, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant and went on to take part in the 1983 Miss …

Read More

Millionaire’s Express (1986)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Millionaire’s Express (1986)

Another all-star Sammo Hung adventure, not as well crafted as his other classics yet perfectly pleasing enough. A cast of hundreds make this one a little tricky to follow. It’s a Hong Kong take on the runaway train movie complete with western trademarks – robbers, hookers, even a dusty makeshift town located in the back of beyond (the outtakes show the set’s big budget construction and subsequent demolition).

Comedy sub plots clash as the Millionaire’s Express is grounded on its maiden voyage, causing its passengers of crafty criminals, thieving officials and sword fighting Samurais to seek refuge at the local town, …

Read More

Profile: Cynthia Rothrock

Posted in Profiles
2 Comments
Profile: Cynthia Rothrock

Full name: Cynthia Ann Christine Rothrock

Date of birth: 8 March, 1957 (Wilmington, Delaware)

Chinese name: Law Fu-lok

Occupation: Actor, producer, martial arts instructor

Style: Tang Soo Do, taekwondo, Eagle Claw kung fu, wushu, Northern Shaolin, Pai Lum kung fu, tai chi.

Biography: Regarded as the ‘Queen of Martial Arts Movies’, Rothrock has starred in over 50 films. She is a martial arts instructor, five-time undefeated World Karate Champion in forms and weapons (between 1981 to 1985) and owner of six black belts.

Rothrock began her martial arts training at the age of 13, learning the Korean style of Tang Soo Do in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before learning …

Read More

Yes, Madam! (1985)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Yes, Madam! (1985)

Michelle Yeoh’s starring-role debut sees the former Miss Malaysia play a buttoned-up, straight-laced HK cop in sassy 80s hair and makeup, concealing gun holsters behind high-collar jackets and harem pants. She is soon supported by London’s top agent, Cynthia Rothrock, recruited from Scotland Yard with a remarkable fluency in Cantonese, to help Yeoh crack a case involving cheery criminal James Tien who is in hot pursuit of a microfilm displaying evidence of forged real estate documents. Meanwhile, the film is in the unfortunate possession of three buffoonish petty thieves: Panadol (Tsui Hark), Strepsil (John Sham) and Aspirin (Mang Hoi), whose …

Read More

Interview: Cynthia Rothrock

Posted in Interviews
No Comments
Interview: Cynthia Rothrock

The original ‘blonde fury’ talks about motherhood, martial arts and returning to the movies after an absence of seven years.

After a break of seven years, Cynthia Rothrock is planning her comeback. With a movie in development and two more scheduled for 2012, martial art cinema’s leading femme fatale looks set to resume her head-kicking duties. Now 54, Rothrock has settled into a role of simple, if hectic, Californian domesticity, voluntarily entering a state of semi-retirement to single-handedly raise her daughter and run her own martial arts seminars. “I juggle a lot,” she tells me over email. “Single Mom, movies, seminars, …

Read More

Enter the Fat Dragon (1978)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Enter the Fat Dragon (1978)

Sammo Hung’s heartfelt homage to Bruce Lee is a scatterbrained triumph – as equally absurd as it is endearing and packed with some great fight sequences. Sammo (who worked with Bruce Lee on Enter the Dragon) was more qualified than most to carry on the mantle of the fallen star, rather than the majority of imitators that actually followed – even if Sammo’s burly frame and slapstick persona betrayed an extreme athleticism and skill for Lee-like mimicry. In his second feature as director, Sammo channels his passion for his idol through the humble, childlike and (seemingly) autobiographical character of a …

Read More
« Previous Page