Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
Synopsis
Vampire slayer Reeve takes on a new partner in a young woman named Gypsy. As Reevetrains Gypsy in the art of killing the undead (of which there seems to be a constant plague),Reeve’s sister Helen is starting up a new relationship with Kazef, who just happens to be theFifth Prince of Vampires. Kazef is a nice enough sort, however, limiting himself to bottled blood,and genuinely in love with Helen. Unfortunately, the Duke, a European vampire, is killing offthe other royal families, g...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 18th, 2003
Synopsis
Jackie Chan and partner Yuen Biao are in Tokyo, tracking down a bent Hong Kong cop. Thisvillain has teamed up with a Yakuza boss and his army of Ninjas, and Biao is captured. Indesperation, Chan gets hold of his superior officer and asks him to assemble his childhoodfriends. As these losers are all petty criminals, Chan reasons that they’ll be able to get close to theYakuza without being suspected.
If the above logic sounds a little shaky, it is. The storylin...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 15th, 2003
Synopsis
Shu Qi and Zhao Wei are sisters who, after the murder of their parents, have become a top-of-the-line assassination-for-hire team, combining martial arts and weapons expertise with acomputer program that allows them to tap into any closed-circuit camera anywhere on Earth.Karen Wok is the tough-as-nails detective who is on their trail. All three women run afoul of acorrupt businessman who wants them dead.
The Charlie’s Angels can only wish they were thi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 15th, 2003
Synopsis
The year is 1976, and the Vietnam war has just ended. In a Dirty Dozen-style plotdevelopment, ten military prisoners are recruited to be flown into Vietnam to blow up a depotof missiles abandoned by the US army. Heading up the motley crew is the unjustly convictedSammo Hung. In-country, then hook up with female Cambodian guerillas. No one, other thanthe colonel leading the mission, knows precisely what their orders are.
What follows is a stirring serie...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 14th, 2003
Synopsis
Jackie Chan is a police officer. His girlfriend wants him to commit, but he wants to becomea sailor. The real complication in his life is his brother, Sammo Hung, who, though almost 30,has the mind of a small child. Chan must put his dreams on hold in order to look after hisbrother, and his resentment grows. His loyalty is put to the test, however, when Hunginadvertently runs afoul of the both the mob and the police.
If you’re hoping for another Jackie Chan a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2003
Synopsis
Every ten years, the best swordsmen from China and Japan meet at the House of the HolySword for a duel to the death. This time around, the champions are Ching Wan (Damian Lau)and Hashimoto (Tsui Siu Keung). The circumstances around the duel are as deadly as the duelitself, however, because the Japanese have sent an army of ninjas. Their mission: kidnap all ofChina’s best fighters and steal China’s kung fu secrets, thus paving the way for conquest.
Though init...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Detectives Cynthia Khan and Donnie Yen are trying to break up a drug ring. The actionbegins in Seattle, where a bust goes wrong and Yen’s partner is killed by a CIA agent. Witness tothis is a dock worker, who becomes a prime suspect in the killing, and flees to Hong Kong. Khanand Yen follow, not yet realizing that they have a traitor in their midst.
I have no idea if the plot actually makes any sense, and frankly, I don’t care. It serves itspurpose, which is ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 14th, 2003
Quite possibly the worst Jackie Chan film ever … strike that … quite possibly one of the worst films ever, City Hunter is a live-action film based off of the Japanese anime of the same name. Here, Chan plays private detective Ryu Saeba, who, along with his partner, Kaori (Joey Wong), are hired to track down the missing daughter of a wealthy Japanese publishing tycoon.
Ryu is quite the ladies man and his initial thoughts of turning the job down vanish once he sees a picture of the magnate’s beautiful ru...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 7th, 2003
Synopsis
Kitty (Chingmy Yau) and Tinam (Simon Yam) have just met and are falling in love. Theirrelationship faces a few obstacles, however: he’s a cop so traumatized by his role in theaccidental shooting of his brother that he can no longer draw his gun without throwing up; shehas an explosive temper, and has already stabbed her unpleasant hair stylist in the groin. They areseparated after their first date: Kitty’s father is killed, and she takes revenge by shooting up theoffice of ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 7th, 2003
Synopsis
The plot is an almost completely disconnected series of set pieces, and so defies easysynopsis. Essentially, a group of vampire hunters track a vampire king to the home of a richeccentric. Many battles ensue, and they are the main reason for watching this. The comedy islame, and the characterization non-existent. So many things happen, but for so little reason andwith so little relation to each other, that the story manages to be both frenzied and meandering.Apart from a fe...
