In which an opening credits lion dance against a blazing white backdrop sets the rules of this challenge! Martial Club, courtesy of 88 Films, has arrived! Directed by Lau Kar Leung and featuring Gordon Liu as Wong Fei Hung (again), Martial Club is a film which seems to be forgotten by many ...
No, not the Jet Li film. We aren’t quite there yet, Chop Socky Cretins. This film, produced by Shaw Brothers, assembles a new wave of fighters to assist freedom fighters after the destruction of the Henan monastery. Due to the changing times, we have fan favorites Ti Lung, Wang Chung, and David Chiang playing ...
In which Bryan Leung’s ponytail ruthlessly kills! It’s no secret that director Chang Cheh and wuxia screenwriter I Kuang, who wrote over 300 screenplays for the Shaw Brothers, revolutionized the action films coming out of Hong Kong. Especially for Shaw Brothers, Cheh especially was changing the face of their heroes ...
Capitalizing on the death of Bruce Lee has never been so damn out of control as the Special Branch of Investigations takes brain tissue samples from Bruce Lee, immediately after his death, and hires a mad scientist (Jon T. Benn from Way Of The Dragon and Jet Li’s Fearless) to create three clones of the deceased ...
It’s time to enter the bizarro world, my Chopsocky connoisseurs! This is a world where, in the wake of Bruce Lee’s death, many film companies - including Golden Harvest, the production company that launched Lee into the world’s consciousness with Fist of Fury, The Big Boss, and Way of the Dragon - started ...
It’s a rags-to-riches story by way of the fist! Directed by Chang Cheh and Pao Hsueh Li and featuring a stellar performance from Chen Kuan Tai as Ma Yung Chen, who heads to the big city seeking his own path to fortune and fame, this Hong Kong gangster epic (clocking in at almost 2 and a half ...
In which Jackie Chan takes down a hovercraft trashing the streets of NYC with an antique samurai sword while driving a doorless Lamborghini Countach (with a broken ankle)! For many Americans, Rumble In The Bronx was their first taste of Chan’s explosive style of fighting when it came to his choreography and his stunts, with Chan performing most of them ...
It’s a rags-to-riches story by way of the fist! Directed by Chang Cheh and Pao Hsueh Li and featuring a stellar performance from Chen Kuan Tai as Ma Yung Chen, who heads to the big city seeking his own path to fortune and fame, this Hong Kong gangster epic (clocking in at almost 2 and a half ...
In which some very nimble fingers pluck out a man’s eyeballs from their sockets! King Boxer remains a powerhouse of hard-hitting kung-fu action. It is, at once, a full force blast of cinematic energy that hits you square in the jaw. This iconic movie, released in the early 1970s, takes no prisoners as ...
Okay, okay. So, Dirty Ho is unfortunately titled but that doesn’t stop this kung fu film from being a masteract in comedy and martial arts choreography and, thanks to the usual high production values of Shaw Brothers, it has aged tremendously well. Directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring ...
It’s East vs East in this Martial Arts tournament movie by way of an arranged marriage! Heroes of the East, directed by Lau Kar-Leung and filmed by Arthur Wong, focuses on an arranged marriage between a student of Kung Fu and the Japanese daughter of one of his father’s business ...
The Deadly Venoms return! Bean curds; a dyeing mill; a fighting school. These are the common denominators when fighting off a horde of Ching soldiers in director Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Rescuers, a chopsocky flick from 1979 in which Jason Pai Piao and the one and only Venom ...
In which the white-haired supervillain somehow returns to rain down even more destruction upon the disciples of Shaolin! Also known as Slice Of Death, Shaolin Abbot proves that David Chiang is not to be messed with. Whether he is playing b...
Not the eyes! Not the eyes! Oh, yes, it’s a brutal jab to the eyes which does the trick in Executioners From Shaolin, a multi-generational chop socky revenge tale which is absolutely unforgettable for a number of dynamic filmmaking reasons ...
It’s no stretch of the imagination to state that Director Lau Kar-Leung’s Challenge of the Masters is a revolutionary statement of how martial arts movies ought to be done. The resulting film is an impressive feat, with strong character development for its main character and a training segment which would be tirelessly ...
Clan Of The White Lotus is one of the Shaw Brothers finest efforts in comedy and in kung-fu. It is endlessly entertaining and full of some awesome choreography, thanks to the work of by the one and only Liu Chia-Lian, and a wonderfully strange performance from its director (Lo Lieh) as Pak Mei -The White ...
Opening with a wicked duel to the supposed death between Tuan Changqing (Ti Lung), the Deadly Breaking Sword, and Lian San (Michael Chan), the Throat Piercing Halberd, The Deadly Breaking Sword is a wuxia for the ages. It’s colorful with its strong production values and deadly with the art on display in ...
It is no understatement to suggest that Bruce Lee’s return to Hong Kong, after America refused to make him a star, was the best thing for his career. Lee was pissed off; frustrated by Hollywood’s inherent racism and refusal to put any faith in the idea that an Asian could ever carry a profitable film ...
In which the Shaw Brothers go gonzo for pulp fiction, combining a magical spider whose webs capture foes and then melt their faces right off their skulls! Alongside some limited martial arts mayhem, The Web of Death is an entertaining fantastical journey as choreographers Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-yan ...
Don’t let those colored backgrounds fool you one bit. The cast - or half of it - might stand stoically as the credits roll in the beginning of Life Gamble, but this wuxia feels a bit odd after that. This film’s action is slow to boil, saving the best bits - which involve a parade of flags flying high against the brilliant ...
And so arrives Hong Kong legend Derek Yee. It is here, in the role of the third master as a 20-year-old, where the young actor absolutely delivers a memorable role as the greatest sword master in the world . . . even if he is in disguise as a lowly worker in a whorehouse due to the shame he feels about his ...
Maybe I am getting a bit soft in my old age, but I was completely wrong in my original opinion of this direct-to-video sequel. The Man With The Iron Fists 2 does exactly what it needs to do in continuing the story of Thaddeus, the blacksmith blessed with some deeply mystical martial arts skills. It’s not better than what ...
Maybe I am getting a bit soft in my old age, but I was completely wrong in my original opinion of this direct-to-video sequel. The Man With The Iron Fists 2 does exactly what it needs to do in continuing the story of Thaddeus, the blacksmith blessed with some deeply mystical martial arts skills. It’s not better than what ...
Battles on (and below) bridges! Awesome swordplay in familiar Shaw Brothers’ sets! Nunchuck stabbings! And the fabulous Chen Ping kicking all sorts of ass as The Bloody Hibiscus! The Vengeful Beauty, director Ho Meng-hua’s follow-up after the smashing success of The Flying Guillotine, might ...
In which the Shaw Brothers go gonzo for pulp fiction, combining a magical spider whose webs capture foes and then melt their faces right off their skulls! Alongside some limited martial arts mayhem, The Web of Death is an entertaining fantastical journey as choreographers Tang Chia and Yuen Cheung-yan ...
“In this world of guns and knives, Tang Lung is the one who walks the lonely road.” Mixed with a solid sense of comedy that Jackie Chan would later use in his films, Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon is a non-stop barrage of unarmed fighting as he plays Tang Lung who has traveled from China to Rome to ...
Meteor. Butterfly. Sword. For myself, any interest that I had in Hong Kong cinema began here. Killer Clans is a martial arts masterpiece which remains stunning in its use of the shawscope lens, proving to be both spacious and gorgeous to revisit on 1080p, and, storywise, absolutely obliterates souls with its ...
What do Pam Grier, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’s Gordon Liu, Dave Bautista, and legendary fight choreographer Corey Yuen have in common with the Wu-Tang Clan’s beatmaker the RZA? This film, my Chop Socky Brothers and Sisters, this badass film right here. The Man With The Iron Fists ... ...
Unbeknownst to the Shaw Brothers and acclaimed director Lau Kar-leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin), The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter would be Alexander Fu Sheng’s final performance. Fu Sheng was one of Hong Kong's finest performers in the martial arts genre and his kung-fu films for the Shaw Brothers ...
An even better way to lose your head! That’s right, not content to let other production companies have all the fun with the flying guillotine routine, the Shaw Brothers put forth a copycat effort with yet another flying instrument of ...
BADass SINema Unearthed - Where we dig up blu-rays of the wild, weird, and wonderfully wicked world of classic grindhouse cinema. Celebrates the raw energy and unapologetic style of vintage exploitation films — from the slick swagger of Blaxploitation and the lurid allure of sexploitation to the gnarly thrills of monster mayhem and cosmic horror.
Chop Socky Cinema is your go-to corner for all things martial arts on screen—from high-flying kung fu classics to modern bone-crunching brawlers. We dive into the legends, the hidden gems, and the genre-defining moments that shaped martial arts cinema.
Reel Classics celebrates the golden age of cinema, when shadows danced across silver screens and stories were told in black and white. This section revisits timeless masterpieces, legendary stars, and the directors who shaped film history. From noir thrillers to screwball comedies, Reel Classics explores how these cinematic treasures continue to inspire filmmakers and captivate audiences today.
Kaiju Korner is your ultimate destination for everything colossal and creature-filled. We explore the wild, wonderful world of kaiju cinema—spotlighting both classic monster epics and today’s thrilling new entries. From Godzilla and Gamera to modern reimaginings and global giants, Kaiju Korner dives deep into the history, cultural impact, and sheer spectacle of giant monster films.
Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a curious newcomer, this is where titans clash, cities crumble, and cinematic legends roar to life—one stomp at a time.
Monster Mayhem is your go-to destination for all things monstrous and menacing. We will sink our claws into the world of classic creature features, celebrating the timeless terror of cinema’s most iconic beasts.
From Universal’s legendary monsters to B-movie behemoths and international kaiju, Monster Mayhem explores the history, artistry, and cultural impact of the films that made us fear the dark. Expect deep dives, behind-the-scenes stories, retrospectives, and rankings that resurrect the giants of genre filmmaking.
Welcome to Christmas at the Cinema, where twinkly lights glow a little brighter, cocoa is always implied, and emotional subtlety has politely gone on holiday.
This is our cozy corner for celebrating the sappy, campy, utterly irresistible world of Hallmark-style Christmas movies — where snow falls on cue, careers are abandoned for small towns, and love arrives right on schedule. The season’s sappiest cinematic traditions start here.
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