The Asian Connection (2016)

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The Asian Connection (2016)

Generic DTV riff on True Romance starring John Edward Lee as a loveable crook in Cambodia who is forced to undergo a series of bank heists at the behest of the great Thai actor, Sahajak Boonthanakit, who plays a crook doing the dirty on his own boss, played by Steven Seagal. By placing Boonthanakit as the traitor, the conceit allows Seagal to play an evil scumbag without actually having to face any of the consequences. There are mad attempts to draw out his character’s more sensitive side; he is shown sensitively teaching tai chi to very young girls in his …

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Vanguard (2020)

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Vanguard (2020)

Another globe-trotting outing for the Jackie Chan brand. This is less of a garbled mess than his other completely hollow spectacles of recent years. Stanley Tong has clearly always wanted to direct a James Bond film, and this is one of his closest yet, placing his frequent partner-in-crime, Jackie Chan, at the head of an elite Chinese team of well-tailored special agents called ‘Vanguards’. The core members are the babyfaced Yang Yang, who impossibly survives at least three high-falls during the film; the nerdy Ai Lun, nicknamed ‘Captain China’ by his infant son (“Captain China is mightier than Captain America,” …

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The Hunt (2020)

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The Hunt (2020)

Blumhouse Productions – purveyors of subversive social commentaries like Get Out and The Purge films – presents this satirical and at times shocking take on America’s culture wars, taking aim at everyone from left to right; online conspiracy theorists, climate change deniers, right-wing firebrands, insensitive corporate CEOs, bleeding-heart liberals. These are the types of divisions that have been turbocharged in recent times through social media and given extra credence under the presidency of Donald Trump. In another adaption of The Most Dangerous Game, this pits rich elites against so-called ‘deplorables’ at Hilary Swank’s ranch in Croatia. Betty Gilpin (from Netflix …

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Skylines (2020)

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Skylines (2020)

Another wonderful lesson in world-building from director-writer-producer Liam O’Donnell, whose Skyline series of martial arts-monster-mash-ups seems to unexpectedly be going from strength-to-strength. Beyond Skyline was a bonkers delight, and this follow-up – focusing on the daughter of Frank Grillo’s character, only now grown-up as a futuristic badass played brilliantly by Lindsey Morgan – somehow manages to deliver both genuine pathos and subtle social commentary amid giant spaceships, spooky alien planets, weird creatures who know kung fu and a whole heap of gung-ho balls-to-the-wall action. It’s the film’s sense of fun which really resonates – clearly something O’Donnell distills on his sets, …

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Ava (2020)

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Ava (2020)

B-grade fisticuffs with A-movie trimmings. This fight flick suffers greatly from trying to be both a wrought domestic drama and a zippy action yarn, and its good cast and performances are wasted on a forgettable story. Jessica Chastain – who also produces – is no slouch when it comes to gritty action heroes (Zero Dark Thirty, The Huntsman, Dark Phoenix). Here, she brings her effortless Hollywood charm and glamour to Ava, a tough ex-army assassin who returns home to Boston to confront a barrage of existential crises: absent father, sick mother (Geena Davis), angry sister (Jess Weixler) and jilted ex-lover …

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 65: End of Year Show 2020 with Mike Fury

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 65: End of Year Show 2020 with Mike Fury

Put on your face-mask, pour yourself a drink and settle into our annual end-of-year podcast from your friends at the Kung Fu Movie Guide. 2020 has been a particularly strange and challenging year for many of us, but the show must go on! Join your host, Ben Johnson, and the author of Life of Action Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Mike Fury, as they dissect the year’s biggest stories from the world of martial arts movies, exchange a few Christmas presents, read out some of your comments, and share their personal top five films from the year. Did we miss …

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 64: Bruce Lee at 80 – Legacy of the Dragon

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 64: Bruce Lee at 80 – Legacy of the Dragon

“You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. Because, I mean, I don’t want to be like ‘as Confucius say’, but under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different.” Bruce Lee

On 27 November 2020, the martial arts superstar and pop culture icon Bruce Lee would have celebrated his 80th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, we have put together a bonus podcast featuring a range of voices from across our five seasons, exploring the legacy of the ‘Little Dragon’ and the impact he continues to …

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Jiu Jitsu (2020)

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Jiu Jitsu (2020)

Every six years, an alien travels via a comet through a portal to Earth to fight a bunch of humans for martial supremacy (just go with it). A marauding warrior tribe stand guard, preparing for its arrival. It lands in present-day Myanmar (it’s actually Cyprus), where US military intelligence are eager to beat the Chinese in getting hold of weapons-grade plutonium. That subplot gets slightly sidelined as a barrage of fight scenes overwhelm the film, with the alien single-handedly making its way through a star-studded cast of excellent fighting talent.

Producer-writer-director Dimitri Logothetis clearly has a knack for attracting star talent to …

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Mulan (2020)

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Mulan (2020)

A live-action remake of Disney’s 1998 animated, musical adaptation of the popular, fictional Chinese story, The Ballad of Hua Mulan. This was rather unfairly treated as something of a guinea pig to trial the studio’s Premier Access add-on to its Disney+ streaming service, bypassing a theatrical release in most major territories. A victim of huge delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its discreet online release feels like a massive snub for a film clearly designed for the big screen, with a budget of $200m, lavish sets and costumes, rooftop chases and giant battle scenes. The snub feels doubly compounded given the …

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College Kickboxers (1991)

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College Kickboxers (1991)

College student and martial arts devotee James (McLeod) decides to help out a local dojo, run by his friend Carl (Cohen), when developers want it closed to make way for a shopping mall. They enrol in a local martial arts tournament in a bid to win the prize money which could save the school, but also have to face a sifu (Dang Tak-wing) who is reluctant to teach them his kung fu secrets, as well as the threats of a racist gang calling themselves the ‘White Tigers’. For what is mostly light, PG-13 fare, the racism theme seems really out …

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