X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

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X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Perhaps the most underwhelming of the rebooted X-Men prequels so far, this one does little to push the franchise forward apart from providing another weightless apocalyptic showdown for our mutant heroes to don the spandex. Oscar Isaac plays an ancient, all-powerful, god-like mutant called Apocalypse who is cryogenically frozen in ancient Egypt only to resurface in 1983 to form a new army and destroy the world. He plucks out young newbies like Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp) – so we get to see their troublesome origin stories – and also Magneto (Michael Fassbender), who has …

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Extraction (2015)

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Extraction (2015)

This secret agent romp is pretty forgettable, although Simon Rhee and his stunt team do their best to provide an edge to the combat scenes. Gina Carano, who was so thrilling in 2011’s Haywire, is unfortunately sidelined in favour of Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz. He plays a CIA wannabe haunted by the murder of his mother and desperate to impress his stoic meat-headed dad, played by Bruce Willis. Lutz goes rogue with former lover Carano when Willis is kidnapped by Russian criminals eager to get their hands on a super computer which could spark a global technological meltdown. There is a glimmer …

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The Transporter Refueled (2015)

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The Transporter Refueled (2015)

Despite its rather scant premise, Luc Besson‘s Transporter franchise charges on regardless; this time in a rebooted format without its original star, Jason Statham. The Stath’s balletic pugilism and winning presence was probably the most palatable thing about this unremarkable franchise, which essentially centres around a glorified taxi driver resembling James Bond’s thuggish two-dimensional cousin. Ed Skrien adopts an unwavering monotone to take the reigns as the dull ex-mercenary Frank Martin, the chauffeur of choice for Monaco’s most glamorous crooks. Frank and his smart-ass sales rep’ father become embroiled in a plot by a trio of prostitutes to rob and …

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The Bodyguard (2016)

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The Bodyguard (2016)

Gran Torino, Sammo Hung style. The legendary kung fu star returns to direct his first film in almost 20 years. He also takes the lead with an authentic, understated performance in an otherwise confused action comedy. There is a gentleness to the film which is quite becoming, albeit disturbed by moments of brutality. Sammo relishes the opportunity to linger on every bone-breaking take-down in x-ray detail, and there are some quite grisly knife attacks. But it’s the knockabout comedy moments which jar the most, coupled with a redundant narration which adds nothing. Sammo is brilliant as the pitied, aged figure …

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KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 06: Richard Geddes

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KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 06: Richard Geddes

“Sometimes I get frustrated with people’s reluctance to try something they don’t understand, because they might grow because of it.”

We are discussing Asian cinema with film expert Richard Geddes on this episode of the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast. Richard works for the independent UK DVD label Terracotta Distribution, which was borne out of the Terracotta Far East Film Festival, launched by the company’s founder, Joey Leung, in 2008. Through the film festival and its associated on-demand and DVD service, Terracotta aims to promote and distribute the latest titles from the various territories across the Far East, including countries like …

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The Nine Demons (1984)

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The Nine Demons (1984)

Delirious kung fu take on the Faust story from Chang Cheh, reuniting with his Venoms crew for one of his most bonkers productions. Ricky Cheng plays the avenging Zou Qi who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for superior powers. He vows to take revenge for the death of his father and see the house of Gan Yun back in power, therefore averting an all-out war between rival families in the martial world. Zou is positioned as a somewhat sympathetic vessel for a sect of nine blood-thirsty demonic children in blue hula skirts who are summoned at will …

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The Dragon’s Snake Fist (1981)

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The Dragon’s Snake Fist (1981)

A wig-tastic rival schools kung fu movie from the Godfrey Ho school of crazy. Two masters duke it out on a beach, the conclusion of which sees Master Chu – a Crane style practitioner – getting his leg smashed by Master Wai, a Snake Fist exponent. Fast forward 20 years and the conflict has extended to the next generation. Chu’s boy waves around two red footballs and sticks pins in his opponent’s pressure points, as he and his sister (Yuen Qiu) lead the charge in taking down the Snake Fist school. Dragon Lee plays Master Chu’s star pupil who settles …

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Spy (2015)

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Spy (2015)

Action comedy from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, who has become something of a torchbearer in championing a new breed of female-led comedy films in Hollywood. He subverts Melissa McCarthy’s archetypal chubby-best-friend routine to provide the comedian with her first leading role. As humble desk-bound CIA operative Susan Cooper, she’s the subservient PA to a Bond-like secret agent played with gleeful shtick by Jude Law. She is sent into the field when her beloved sidekick is gunned down by Rose Byrne’s arms-dealing daddy’s girl. Susan is assigned undercover identities which conform to her assumed physical and gender stereotypes – a tourist with haemorrhoid …

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The King of Fists and Dollars (1979)

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The King of Fists and Dollars (1979)

Stock, but enjoyable, studio-based kung fu film. “How dare you break in here, you’ll be leaving horizontally,” shouts one of Danny Lee’s henchmen. Lee plays the King of Dollars; a moneyed landowner whose mining operation has taken its toll on the townsfolk, who are severely vexed with their poor treatment and minimal compensation. The King of Fists, Chiu Hung, and his daughter Pearl Cheung put up a heroic resistance, recruiting young country type David Chiang to join their alliance and improve his head-kicking skills. Quite predictably, the King of Fists is killed halfway through, leaving Cheung and Chiang to formulate …

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KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 05: Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2016

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KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 05: Fighting Spirit Film Festival 2016

“The fan base for martial arts films is very loyal… my selfish thing is that I want to see more films, so I need to make sure people are making them and bringing them through.” Soo Cole, co-founder and director of Fighting Spirit Film Festival

Here’s something a little bit different from our usual podcast format, as I sit and talk to some of the best emerging talent on the UK martial arts movie scene, courtesy of the first Fighting Spirit Film Festival. The inaugural event took place on 16 July 2016 at The O2 Cineworld, London, and coincided with the …

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