Chocolate - Thailand - Martial Arts
Story: An autistic girl with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.
From the director of Ong Bak, Chocolate is an awful movie for two thirds of its running time. Featuring a slight, mentally challenged girl, implausibly beating up men three times her size, with lame duck choreography and a plot you couldn't even phone in. So why even review it? Well the last fight scene, is a good half an hour of inventive set piece and ass kicking action. Set on the side of a building, think about an apartment block with ledges, it almost makes the movie worthwhile. Okay it doesn't but the scene is good.
Rating: D-
Bodyguards and Assasins - China - Period Martial Arts Drama
Story: In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-Sen visits Hong Kong to discuss plans to overthrow the Qing dynasty. But when they find out that assassins have been sent to kill him, they assemble a group of protectors to prevent any attacks.
Based on real life events (heavily embellished and distorted for entertainiment) Bodyguards and Assasins was a huge deal in China and Hong Kong. Detailing Sun Yat-Sens famous visit to Hong Kong, to drum up support for overthrowing the long line of imperial dynasties. Assembling an all star cast of the industries most well known actors, it's a glossy, star studded, powerful drama.
With ass kicking too.
Rating: A
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Fantasy
Story: The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug.
A touch more serious this time and better for it, this much improved sequel is darker and deeper then the Hobbit part one. You also get to see the dragon this time. Aside from a slight blip where Smaug loses his pinpoint smelling ability -plot hole alert- this is more like the LOTRs movies we know.
Rating: A
Reign of Assassins - China - Wuxia
Story: An assassin tries to return to a normal life after being counseled by a monk. After saving her husband and herself from robbers, she attracts the attention of her former assassin gang.
It seems inevitable that any wuxia film will be compared to the likes of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Starring Michelle Yeoh this was bound to have that comparison. Far less arty, Reign of Assassins is a slick and solid work you won't regret seeing. Yes it's perhaps not as memorable as other wuxia movies, but it's still good.
Rating: B+
Exiled - Hong Kong - Heroic Bloodshed
Story: A quasi-but-not-strictly-speaking sequel to (The Mission). A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him.
They don't make many Heroic Bloodshed genre movies these days (John Woo films) but Johnnie To, the ever dependable Hong Kong director has faithfully and quietly been maintaining the genre over many years now. Exiled is perhaps the best of his creations. Rather than copy John Woos' frenetic gun battles, To uses an almost freeze frame super slow motion to frame shots. Using themes of brotherhood and friendship, Exiled is a great movie.
Rating: A
War of Arrows - Korean - Period Action
Story: Set during the second Manchu invasion of Korea, an archer in Korea, goes up against the Qing Dynasty to save his younger sister who was dragged away by them.
Despite what you may think about a movie involving archery, War of Arrows is very much an action movie. Tense and well paced, War of Arrows rachets up the tension to the very last frame. There's running, lots and lots and lots of running through the woods. Oh and a CGI Tiger.
Rating: A
13 Assassins - Japan - Samurai slice em' up
Story: A group of assassins come together, for a balls to the wall mission to kill an evil lord.
This film is fairly slow going and uninteresing for the majority of its running time - not to say those early moments aren't good, but it's the 40 minute ending that's the real pay off here. It's an absolute bloodbath as 13 take on a couple of hundred. Is it Miikes' best work? Classically speaking perhaps, but for me he's more well known for his more extreme material.
Rating B+
Red Cliff Part 1 and Part 2 (two movies) - China - Period Action
Story: in the final years of the Han Dynasty, the imperial army led by the chancellor Cao Cao embarks on a campaign to eliminate the southern warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the name of eradicating the freedom-fighting rebels.
With an estimated budget of $80 million USD, Red Cliff (referring to the historical battle of red cliff - 3 Kingdoms period) is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date. Released in two parts in the East, in the West some distributors decided to smush both parts (totalling well over 4 hours of content) into a lone 3 hour movie. So if you want to see it properly, make sure you buy or rent the two part edition, directors cut.
Sweeping, epic and heartfelt Red Cliff 1 and 2 is perhaps John Woos' masterwork. Using his familiar themes on the bonds of brotherhood, the rebels are caught back to the wall, hundreds versus thousands as the reigning armies of Cao Cao rain down on them. Only marred by some sub-par action choreography in part one and a slightly confusing beginning, Red Cliff 1 and 2 may be long - but in the same way that LOTR is long but still enjoyable almost throughout the entirety of its running time.
Rating: A+ overall
But part 1 is notably worse than part 2
The Killer - Hong Kong - Heroic Bloodshed (1989) Action
Story: A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
Not quite as good as Hard Boiled, The Killer is still a frenetic blood soaked ballet of violence in it's own right. Up there with 13 Assassins, the body count is tremendous and the white suit soon becomes very, very red. But note, this is an 80s movie so be prepared for 80s suits, slick backed hair and other 80s tropes.
Rating: A
The Great Magician - Hong Kong - Magic - Comedy Drama
Story: A magician, puts on a magic show to kidnap a warlord holding a girl hostage.
There aren't that many successful magic based films. Certainly better than the road accident "Now You See Me" The Great Magician isn't built on holograms, specials effects and light shows. This period piece is about deft of hand, cleverness and whimsy. If you can appreciate silliness, whimsy and charm, this movie has buckets of it, with a lot of laughs and is highly pleasing, if a touch too long.
Rating: A
You are the flip side of Foolz, stop watching so many movie, play games.
Dvader said:You are the flip side of Foolz, stop watching so many movie, play games.
These are all films I watched years ago, it's not like I sit around watching movie after movie. 
The Message - China - Spy Drama
Story: 1942, Nanjing. Following a series of assassination attempts on officials of the Japanese-controlled puppet government, the Japanese spy chief gathers a group of suspects in a mansion house for questioning. A tense game of "cat and mouse" ensues as the Chinese code-breaker attempts to send out a crucial message while protecting his/her own identity.
For me, The Message is one of the most criminally unknown, really good Asian movies. Set during the Japanese occupation of Nanjing (China) an asshole Japanese intelligence officer gathers together the Chinese collaboraters who work for them and weeds them all out, trying to work out who is the traitor in the group. To do this he locks them up in a castle, not an ornate Chinese style Pagoda but a European style brick and mortar one. There, he plays mind games and with torture too, rachets up the tension. The Message is a tense, thought provoking and emotional film, a very classy movie on all fronts.
Rating: A
Tai Chi Zero - China - Steampunk Martial Arts
Story: Yang, a man with tremendous uncontrollable power that is killing him, travels to Chen Village to learn a powerful form of Tai Chi. Though villagers are forbidden from teaching outsiders, Yang becomes their best hope for survival when a man arrives with a plan to build a railroad through the village.
Steampunk, if only because it features a large steampunk style vehicle, Tai Chi Zero is more a martial arts comedy but not an outright one. The director does some very interesting (annoying to some) things with overlays and writing in the movie, accenting various aspects. Although obviously made with a sequel in mind (a sequel that exists and has already been released) Tai Chi Zero is a pleasent popcorn entertainment movie. And the sequel's not half bad either.
Rating: B+
Dvader said:You are the flip side of Foolz, stop watching so many movie, play games.
The only game I've been playing is because I am obligated to review it, and if I was not obligated to play the next one I will play I probably wouldn't. 
Foolz said:The only game I've been playing is because I am obligated to review it, and if I was not obligated to play the next one I will play I probably wouldn't.
Give it to me, I'll review it for you.
Dvader said:Foolz said:The only game I've been playing is because I am obligated to review it, and if I was not obligated to play the next one I will play I probably wouldn't.
Give it to me, I'll review it for you.
If it wouldn't run on my PC, I actually had someone lined up to do that. 
Amelie - France - Comedy/Drama
Story: Amelie Poulain grew up as a homebody, and stayed one. Housed with her father, but living in her imagination, she gets inspired to help those around her with their daily lives in what little way she can.
Amelie fulfills a woefully forgotten character archetype of merely a quiet introvert, and not being saddled with the related stereotypes of bookishness or social awkwardness. The simple storytelling ranges from silly to heartfelt and is inspiring and lovable from start to finish.
Rating: A+
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile^ I feel that the poster is more famous than the movie.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile
I haven't seen most of these films in years/months, it doesn't have to be only for new films.