Blog Archives

Once Upon a Time in China & America (1997)

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Posted on October 16, 2022 by Andrew

Wong Fei Hung goes west. OK, technically he goes east to get to the American West, but it’s very much Wong Fei Hung in a western genre film. The Once Upon a Time in China film series has always had a historical fiction slant, so the premise of this entry, while more fanciful than those that came before it, is different in degree rather than kind. Once Upon a Time in China & America (OUATICAA) slides into self-parody … (read more)

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Once Upon a Time in China 3 (1993)

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Posted on June 13, 2020 by Andrew

The first two chapters in this telling of the legend of Wong Fei Hung are bona fide classics, so the third has to aim its no-shadow kicks high. While it may not reach those heights, Once Upon in China 3 does a great job of carrying on the story and themes of international influence in China and the interplay between tradition and modernisation. It just goes about this in a different way, which while a little disappointing should still be … (read more)

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Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)

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Posted on May 19, 2019 by Andrew

The Shaolin Temple trio of films left a strong cultural impression. They brought Jet Li to the big screen, as one of several members of the Chinese national wushu team brought on board to execute the impressive choreography. They also featured extensive shooting at the temple itself, lending a real sense of history to proceedings. These combined factors brought about something of a renaissance for the Shaolin temple at the time and its martial arts tradition. The first two films … (read more)

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The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

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Posted on February 8, 2012 by Justin

Remaking Hong Kong cinema’s greatest hits seems to have been all the rage lately. Last year we had Wilson Yip’s swing at remaking A Chinese Ghost Story and Tsui Hark’s second go at King Hu’s classic Dragon Inn. To be fair, Tsui’s Flying Swords of Dragon Gate ended up as more a sequel to New Dragon Gate Inn than a remake, and it was considerably more fun than I was expecting — I’ll write it up when I get … (read more)

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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

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Posted on August 26, 2008 by Justin

The Forbidden Kingdom attracted huge attention from the moment it was rumoured that the world’s two biggest names in martial arts cinema would be working together. The J & J Project, they whispered. Yuen Wo Ping’s choreographing, they typed. There were naysayers, too: It’s American, from Miramax, and from the director of… Stuart Little, of all things. The trailers looked OK, though, with a strong emphasis on the action sequences, and it had Jet Li in … (read more)

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Fong Sai Yuk 2 (1993)

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Posted on May 15, 2008 by Samson

The original Fong Sai Yuk is a highly entertaining film. It features breathtaking action, interesting plotlines, and a lot of chemistry between Sai-Yuk Fong (Jet Li) and Mrs Fong, i.e. his mother (legendary actress Josephine Siao). Combining all these elements successfully is not an easy task, and it is therefore perhaps not surprising that the sequel doesn’t quite deliver the same kind of magic as the first film.

Fong Sai Yuk 2 picks up where the first movie left off. … (read more)

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Once Upon a Time in China 2 (1992)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Yvonne

In light of the Hong Kong box office success of Once Upon a Time in China (which was the 8th highest earner in 1991, making HK$29,672,278.00 over its 56 day run), it was only a matter of course before at least one sequel would get spawned. This being a Film Workshop baby, one could also justly expect the ante to be upped in the second work of what turned out to be a six movie series. The appointment of Yuen … (read more)

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Hero (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Eugene

Well it’s been about two years since I first saw Zhang Yimou’s Hero and, at long last, I am getting around to writing a review. Sure this has to do with finally seeing it on the movie screen and it finally receiving a general release but my point is that I am in no way vain-glorious enough to believe that whatever audience this may very well reach is in anyway exclusive to HC and it is likely that that those … (read more)

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