Tag: simonyam

The Young and Dangerous Series and the people behind it: Young and Dangerous 3 - 1996

There will be spoilers within, so if you haven’t seen Young and Dangerous 3 yet, I would advise watching it before reading this. Coming hot on the heels of Young and Dangerous 2, the third entry in the series turns...

The Young and Dangerous Series and the people behind it: Young and Dangerous 2 - 1996

Coming only two months after the release of the first film in the series, Young and Dangerous 2 actually improves on its predecessor. Young and Dangerous 2 focus more on the complexities of gang life, and is decidedly less comic...

Forgotten Classics: Billy Tang's Run and Kill (1993) and the strange world of Category 3 films

The Category 3 label on Hong Kong films can be somewhat of a poisoned chalice for some films, with the rating alienating the films audience with expectations of graphic violence or pornographic scenes. A lot of the films categorised as...

Exclusive: Deleted KILL ZONE 2 Clip, Just Say No to Drugs, Or You Will Get Kicked in the Face

Easily placing among my top 10 list for the year so far, Kill Zone 2 (aka SPL 2: A Time of Consequences) is a delirious Hong Kong action movie that is fiercely kinetic and features jaw-dropping, jaw-breaking fight scenes that...

SKY ON FIRE: First Teaser For Ringo Lam's Latest

He's set a City On Fire, a School On Fire and a Prison On Fire (twice) and now iconic Hong Kong action director Ringo Lam returns with his latest effort Sky On Fire. Sky On Fire is the latest entry...

Review: KILL ZONE 2, A Delirious, Masterfully Staged Martial Arts Melodrama

Never fear the “2” in the title of Soi Cheang’s deliriously baroque, thrillingly action-packed extravaganza Kill Zone 2, better known in Asia (and to early film festival viewers) as SPL 2: A Time for Consequences.   This is a follow-up,...

Review: PHANTOM OF THE THEATRE, A Movie Plagued By Ghosts

Elegantly mounted and gorgeously shot, Phantom of the Theatre is a stuffy ghost story from China that fails to be as haunting as its premise. Borrowing elements from Phantom of the Opera, the new film is set in Shanghai in...

Exclusive PHANTOM OF THE THEATRE Clip: Mirrors Can Be Spooky

Creepy! Our exclusive clip from Phantom of the Theatre reminds me of Nietzsche's witticism: "If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Or, perhaps more to the point, the warning in Candyman about...

Shaw Brothers Star Kara Hui Returns To Action As Ho Yuhang's MRS K

Iconic Shaw Brothers star Kara Hui - who first starred for the studio in 1976 effort Dirty Ho before launching on to a long and celebrated career - returns to the action genre that made her name with the now-in-production...

Marshy's Favourite Asian Movies Of 2015 Part 1

I'm just going to come out and say it: 2015 has been a really disappointing year for Asian Cinema so far. I didn't get to go to Cannes, so I have yet to see promising offerings from the likes of...

SPL 2 Is Coming To Australian Cinemas!

We have some great news for action fans in Australia: SPL 2: A Time For Consequences, the much anticipated sequel to the 2005 Hong Kong action classic SPL (aka Sha Po Lang or Kill Zone), has been picked up by...

Tony Jaa! Wu Jing! Max Zhang! Simon Yam! Louis Koo! SPL2: A TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES Gets 5 New Character Posters

Soi Cheang's SPL2: A Time For Consequences opens in Hong Kong and mainland China on 18 June, and the PR machine is shifting into high gear. This star-studded, action-packed sequel to Wilson Yip's fantastic 2005 martial arts thriller SPL stars...

SPL2: A TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES: Check Out New Making-Of Featurettes And Posters

Wilson Yip's 2005 action thriller SPL (aka Sha Po Lung, Kill Zone) was the film that relaunched Donnie Yen's career, and saw him ascend to the upper echelons of martial arts stardom. Ten years later, director Soi Cheang (Accident, Motorway, The Monkey King) brings...

SPL2 Gets A Poster, And A Whopping Big Set Of Stills

A few weeks ago we got the teaser trailer to SPL 2, and... well, damn... that looked very promising indeed! Tony Jaa and Wu Jing kicking ass, a brutally melodramatic plot that would get even the most pacifist fighter's blood...

More Tony Jaa Versus Wu Jing In Second SPL 2 Trailer!

While Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa may not have gotten a whole load of screen time in Furious 7 it seems like very nearly the entire population of the globe has seen at least a little bit of him...

Ann Hui's THE GOLDEN ERA Triumphs At Hong Kong Film Awards

The 34th Hong Kong Film Awards have named Ann Hui's epic drama The Golden Era Best Film of the year, with Hui taking the Best Director prize. The film, which stars Tang Wei as famed Chinese writer Xiao Hong, won five...

Hong Kong 2015 Review: TWO THUMBS UP, A Delightfully Gonzo Heist Flick

Long-time screenwriter Lau Ho Leung (Painted Skin, Kung Fu Jungle) makes his directorial debut in this energetic action comedy following a gang of thieves who masquerade as cops to pull off a heist, only to encounter a rival posse with...

OVERHEARD 3 Tops Hong Kong Film Award Nominations

The third installment of Alan Mak and Felix Chong's surveillance thriller series, Overheard 3, scored nominations in 11 categories, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, when the nominations for the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards were announced this...

Fruit Chan's THE MIDNIGHT AFTER Tops Hong Kong Critics Poll

The results of the 21st Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards were announced earlier today, with Fruit Chan's surreal science fiction comedy thriller The Midnight After named as Best Film of 2014. Chan was also named Best Director, while Lau...

Herman Yau Exposes Asian Sex Tourism In First SARA Trailer

Herman Yau has come a long way since the exploitation days of The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome. Recent years have seen him score hits with a pair of ip Man action dramas - The Legend Is Born: Ip Man...