KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 03: Meredith Lewis

Posted in Podcasts
2 Comments
KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 03: Meredith Lewis

“I love the choreography… it’s really sophisticated stuff. For me, it stands up as much of an art form as any great dance piece.”

For episode three of the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast, I have a nice chat with the Australian blogger Meredith Lewis, who runs the rather excellent kung fu movie blog, Dangerous Meredith’s Fu Thoughts. I managed to spend a bit of time with Meredith over Google Hangouts just before a talk she was doing at a Melbourne festival on the topic of Monkey – the popular Japanese TV show from the 1970s, known to international audiences as …

Read More

Yakuza Apocalypse (2015)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Yakuza Apocalypse (2015)

Where do you start in describing this rollicking, satirical, often brutal and downright weird movie? What begins as a Goodfellas-style Yakuza film about one man’s journey to the top of the criminal fraternity, quickly takes a left turn when the gang’s benevolent boss is revealed to be a bloodthirsty vampire. The Yakuza have become all-powerful in a poverty-stricken, post-apocalyptic town ravished by aftershocks and what looks to be the result of a nuclear fallout (this is clearly a reference the 2011 tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima disaster). But then an English-speaking Japanese Quaker with a giant stun gun and The …

Read More

Stoner (1974)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Stoner (1974)

Former Australian model and James Bond star George Lazenby had already signed a three picture deal with Golden Harvest to star alongside Hong Kong’s biggest action hero, Bruce Lee, when his future co-star was pronounced dead at 32. The first of these films was to be Game of Death, and Lazenby, Lee, Golden Harvest producer Raymond Chow and the actor Betty Ting Pei were all scheduled to discuss the project on the night of Lee’s passing. This film – originally titled The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss – was scheduled to be Lee and Lazenby’s next project together, salvaged by Golden Harvest …

Read More

Bangkok Adrenaline (2009)

Posted in Reviews
No Comments
Bangkok Adrenaline (2009)

Super low budget action comedy about four Bangkok backpackers of various annoyances who decide to kidnap and hold a millionaire’s daughter to ransom to pay back some gambling debts. The film struggles to create any genuine tension and is ultimately hampered by some troublesome acting. However, the film explodes into life during the Tony Jaa-influenced fight scenes, which showcase the extraordinary work of British head-kicker Daniel O’Neill, a stunning discovery from the Jackie Chan school of hard knocks (he dueled with Jackie in The Twins Effect). He’s quite spellbinding during a number of Ong-Bak–style free-running chase scenes through Thailand’s busy street …

Read More

When Taekwondo Strikes (1973)

Posted in Reviews
2 Comments
When Taekwondo Strikes (1973)

Passionate pugilism from the talented team behind Hapkido, which shows director Huang Feng and his star choreographer Sammo Hung tackle another Korean discipline, taekwondo. The action in these early Golden Harvest flicks still looks glorious thanks to Sammo’s unique ability to create realistic, street-style combat rooted in both flair and authenticity. He is also masterful in adapting to his environment. A church-based brawl sees combatants flip and trip over church pews; another shows a sword-wielding group attack in a teahouse where the wooden furniture is used as both cover and punishment. These brawls are all based around Angela Mao (again), …

Read More

Profile: Hwang In-shik

Posted in Profiles
No Comments
Profile: Hwang In-shik

Date of birth: 13 September, 1940 (Sunchon, North Korea)

Other names: Whong In-sik, Whang In-sik, Wong In-sik, Whang Ing-sik, Hwang In-shik, Whong Inn-sik, Wang In-sik, Whang In-shik.

Occuption: Hapkido instructor, actor.

Style: Hapkido, Tang Soo Do.

Biography: Hwang In-shik is one of the world’s most prominent Hapkido instructors and a former star of Hong Kong kung fu films who has worked with the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

Hwang was born in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang, in present-day North Korea. His family moved to Seoul when Hwang was still young. It was in Seoul where Hwang first discovered his passion for …

Read More

KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 02: Mike Fury

Posted in Podcasts
No Comments
KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 02: Mike Fury

“I had a lot of emails and tweets from people saying, ‘[the book Life of Action] has really helped me in my training… it has really motivated me and I want to move myself to the next level’. That’s amazing. I’m very glad it has had a positive effect on people.”

Mike Fury is an author, journalist, choreographer and action movie expert. He is also a great guest to have on the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast. He is the author of Life of Action, a must-have publication for any fan of action movies, featuring interviews with key industry people like the …

Read More

KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 01: Toby Russell

Posted in Podcasts
3 Comments
KFMG Podcast S01 Episode 01: Toby Russell

“I’d still rather watch an old (kung fu) film I haven’t seen than a new one. I’d get more out of it.”

It was awesome to meet with the great Toby Russell for the very first episode of the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast, as Toby is pretty much the perfect guest to have on our debut show.

A writer, director, actor and producer, Toby is the son of legendary British film maker Ken Russell and is probably the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subject of kung fu movies. London-born Toby grew up on his father’s movie sets before …

Read More

Profile: Cengiz Dervis

Posted in Profiles
No Comments
Profile: Cengiz Dervis

Occupation: Actor, producer, writer, director, instructor.

Style: Shen Chi Do, kickboxing, MMA, boxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, Hapkido, Wing Chun, Kuk Sool Won.

Biography: Cengiz Dervis was born in London to an Irish mother and a Turkish Cypriot father. He lived in Fulham until the age of six before moving to north Kensington. At the age of five, Cengiz learnt the style of Shen Chi Do from his uncle, Professor Grand Master Shen. The Korean hybrid style is a combination of Kuk Sool Won, Hapkido and taekwondo. He first started to compete in karate before moving into full-contact kickboxing.

Cengiz is a former three-time …

Read More

Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)

Posted in Reviews
1 Comment
Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)

Boyka returns to break more bones in this super-charged sequel. He turns from zero to hero as he slowly recovers from his leg being snapped by Michael Jai White at the end of the previous movie. Reduced to a hermit-like existence in a Russian jail with no chance of parole, he steps back into the world of organised prison fighting (it’s a thing) and is marched off to Georgia at the behest of some rich fixers who run a high-stakes international fight tournament. Prisoners are recruited from all corners of the globe in shades of Van Damme‘s The Quest, with …

Read More
« Previous Page
Next Page »