Hansan features plenty rousing naval action, but also drags in its first half and too baldly leans on a propagandist view of history to establish…
The Other One is an overcomplicated affair, but also a hyper-stylized and thrillingly violent one, and further proof that American blockbuster cinema is lagging. Released…
Hell Hath No Fury is something of a departure for Jesse V. Johnson, but the director once again delivers a tough, kinetic actioner, here aided…
Raging Fire is fairly staid as a cop-film actioner, but it proves that Donnie Yen, even as he approaches 60, can still deliver. When credits…
Escape from Mogadishu is an utterly regressive film that exploits real-life tragedy and trades in offensive screen signifiers. Action movie maestro Ryoo Seung-wan’s latest film,…
Deliver Us from Evil fails in both its attempts at severe drama and action spectacle, proving an equal opportunity offender in the process. If the…
The Paper Tigers doesn’t pull it all together dramatically or narratively, but its genre reverence is a steadying force. Reverence looms large in Quoc Bao…
Here Are the Young Men fixates on its most histrionic narrative beats and hypermasculine conflicts at the expense of its greater strengths. Set in…
The Swordsman is hamstrung by weak direction that has no idea how to shoot its otherwise well-choreographed action set pieces. The disgraced and retired warrior…
Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 is a one-man spectacle that is hampered by repetitive filmmaking technique and some sloppy editing. Expectations for Crazy Samurai 400…
Max Cloud is an utter waste of underground action star Scott Adkins’ talents, and curious DTV aficionados should look elsewhere for their genre thrills. For…
Synchronic does many things well but ultimately fails to must the creative energy its directors typically bring. In Synchronic, the new film from directors Justin…
Peninsula is admittedly better than most recent zombie fare, but is reflective of an overall cinematic failure to innovate the genre. The zombie film is,…
A director in tune with the material, and one willing to upset coming-of-age tropes, makes House of Hummingbird a surprising find. The feature directorial…
Samurai Marathon, NYAFF’s opening night film, is a rather odd bird. It’s a Japanese jidaigeki period-piece from British director Bernard Rose (Candyman, Immortal Beloved)…
Like numerous other films from Mainland China this year, Derek Tsang’s Better Days has traveled a troubled path from production to the screen: It…
Takashi Miike has never been one to play it safe. With over 100 films under his belt in a little over 28 years, you…
Ostensibly a return to the populist wuxia films of Chinese director Zhang Yimou‘s mid-2000s hayday, Shadow instead feels more like an exercise in extended…