Movie Review: The Final Master

When I approached watching The Final Master, I was unsure of what to expect. Based on the trailer I saw the action was going to feature weapons and be primarily based on Wing Chun. It also boasted being from the writer of The Grandmaster. The film also appeared to be set in a similar time frame of The Grandmaster and the Ip Man films. It is true, The Final Master is set in the 1930’s, just prior to the start of World War II. I was excited to see the action, however, that was tempered by my expectation of period based drama. You see, those are not particular favorites of mine, period dramas. I have found the martial arts ones, in particular, tend to lose me along the way as I wait for the next fight.

Movie Review: Ru lai shen zhang (1982)

As I stumbled from the theater into the early hours of the night, I was stunned, dumbfounded, confused, and delighted. Reeling from the events that had just been witnessed by mine own eyes. Not in recent memory do I recall being privy to such an excursion into fantasy-fu as this. Swirling colors, blinding lights, costumed dragon things, acid spitting tumors, spinning knives and more intricate familial relations than you can shake a sword at. This movie is like nothing I have been ever asked to comprehend before. I am sure I will cross paths with it or its kind again, I can only hope that I am a little more prepared for it then. Of course, there is no way I could have been prepared for this.

Blu-ray Review: Tai Chi Zero

Billed as steampunk kung fu, Tai Chi Zero looks to shake up the standard martial arts flick by spicing up some of the visual style in a genre mash up. Unfortunately, while the movie proves to be modestly entertaining, the idea of bringing the steampunk aesthetic to the world of martial arts fails to truly come together. Tai Chi Zero is a tale of style over substance. Style wins, but it is not for a lack of trying. Director Stephen Fung (House of Fury) throws everything but the kitchen sink at the screen.

Blu-ray Review: The Viral Factor

There are some movies that I enjoy but are not really all that good movies. I am thinking that The Viral Factor is one of them. It is a flashy action movie in the vein of Michael Bay and firmly entrenched in the Hollywood tradition. However, while it is explosive in the way the budget is thrown around the screen, the story is on the thin side, built on coincidence and faux melodrama.

Blu-ray Review: White Vengeance

Directed and written by Daniel Lee (Black Mask, Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dagon), White Vengeance is a sprawling epic. It is a visual feast that must have been a joy for the director of photography, Tony Cheung. However, for as pretty as it looks and how expertly staged the action is, despite it being based on actual Chinese history, I found the movie to be more than a little on the dry side and awfully difficult to connect with. Clocking in at well over two hours, it became a bit of an endurance test.