Mostly known as Code Of Honor and sold as a starring vehicle for Chow Yun-Fat, in actuality Chow's role as the son of O Chun-Hung's gangster boss Ho Chen Tung barely qualifies as a supporting role and the movie is in fact bearing the original title of Brotherhood (not to be confused with Stephen Shin's 1986 movie of the same name, starring Danny Lee who has a cameo in Billy Chan's movie at hand here). A simple, familiar tale of an elder gangster boss wanting out to re-unite with his son but when betrayal hits hard, it's also hard to get out of the triad circle. A hot headed cop played Dick Wei also uses dubious tactics to trap Ho Chen Tung. The friendship between Ho and Han (Lam Wai) seems to be then only intact one and Han, like in the past, is there for Ho too... even violently. The beats are familiar but a combo of an gritty 80s look, familiar faces (Shing Fui-On, Shum Wai, Sunny Fang, Dennis Chan etc), occasionally very graphic triad violence, stunts and brawls makes Brotherhood an easy one to endure. Dramatically it does have some strengths in the interplay between O Chun-Hung and Lam Wai as well that creates a fairly believable friendship.

Less of a Bruceploitation package but nevertheless close to generic. I say close to because Bruce And Shaolin Kung Fu passes time adequately thanks to a few minor positives in James Nam's frame. The stock Chinese vs. Japanese plot takes place mostly in the cold, harsh Korean landscapes, which makes for some cinematic flair. Also adding Bolo Yeung as a gorilla style fighter (hence the German title being Der Gelbe Gorilla) helps a certain excessiveness a generic exercise like this almost MUST achieve, at least in my untrained kung fu mind. An over the top villain, exploitation elements and an almost out of place visual style at times are also pro's for those looking for elements outside of the action to fall for.

Starring Bruce Le, an obviously talented martial artist, he's got the stock Bruce mannerisms down but he has to rely on the fighting scenarios being wild in order to stand out. Thankfully through his bout with Bolo and the fun finale with twin brothers equipped with nifty weaponry makes him end up in the middle of the road critically. As does Bruce And Shaolin Kung Fu as a film when measured out against the crowded genre. Something that should tell you it's simply a little bit more entertaining than most. Co-starring Chan Sing.

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Another one of countless vehicles exploiting the legend of Bruce Lee (hence the term Bruceploitation). While it's shameless for even doing so, thankfully Bruce Lee Against Supermen has no cinematic qualities that can rival the few but classic works that Lee managed to put out. The film sees Bruce Li in Green Hornet mode (but also doning some truly heinous alternate super hero wear late in the film) trying to save his girlfriend and father from thugs on the hunt for a secret formula.

Independent and totally low-budget, one thing director Chia Chun clearly hasn't grasped is the tool of tightening up a film. Instead he stretches the most common things such as walking and driving to ludicrous lengths just to get his film up to 80 minutes and to top it all off, the only potentially saving grace, the fight action, is sluggish and generally sloppy. However, Bruce Lee Against Supermen is a whole lot of fun as it's ripe for tearing apart Mystery Science Theater 3000 style-style. Among the hokey highlights is a female cat fight and the supermen of the piece that are a bunch of lethal, laughing circus clowns. Priceless. Leung Fei (now widely knows as Master Betty from Kung Pow: Enter The Fist) co-stars.

When the filmmakers behind what was reportedly during production called The Stranger realized that they had an inept film and a genuine turkey of a martial arts actioner on their hands, they decided to capitalize on the wave of films featuring Bruce Lee copies (aptly named Bruceploitation). A completely unrelated and illogical opening was shot, featuring Bruce Lee (or a white guy in jeans rather) being resurrected during a thunderstorm and then The Stranger opens, a film not in any way whatsoever related to the shameful phenomenon known as Bruceploitation (the English dubbers now and again reminds us of the fact that we're supposed to think it's a Bruce Lee movie by dubbing in the famous war cries).

Featuring a Korean actor credited as Bruce K. L. Lea, he admittedly got a few nice moves and the movie is hokey fun at certain points. The fun lasts very briefly though and Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave becomes more and more a chore to get through. It still remains entertaining when examining the behind the scenes information alone and that opening is something else in terms of low points.

Trivia note: sources claim Umberto Lenzi (director of Cannibal Ferox and Eaten Alive) directed this, something that probably is difficult to believe yet it hasn't been confirmed either. Even the name Bert Lenzi occasionally appear when researching the film.

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A confident production that puts captions such as "Dragon Films Co. Masterpiece" and "Super Star Bruce Le" in its opening credits, the martial arts/treasure hunt adventure directed by its Bruceploitation star doesn't convince it has the right stuff to escape the genre hole it's deep, deep in. While an international flavour is added via Western and Phillipino actors that takes up more space than Le himself, all this senseless talk and no excess spells doom for this venture. Because Bruce The Super Hero has evidence pretty early on that it shouldn't compete so why not let us have fun by watching Bolo Yeung fight a bull...or something? Luckily for us, he actually does but this requisite behaviour is far too infrequent for the film to be loved by those in the know. The dubbing comes with some hilarious delivery at points though, the yellow track suit makes a random appearance, the worst stock music possible is employed and Kong Do employs snake style fighting at the end by having a snake head appear on his arm but content mentioned is still overall overshadowed by incompetence for even this sub-genre of the genre.

Some do it better than others (The Devil springs to mind) but the black magic genre brings the fireworks in a better way when we get a lead character who's truly an ass and deserves a bit of Thailand Black Death Magic. In this case, taxi driver Alan (Newton Lai) is haunted by the spirits of a couple not buried together so he does the nice thing by bringing their bones to Thailand to set things right. Then he cheats on his wife as he is on a holiday after all (when in Thailand...). Cue problems caused by his mistress in Thailand when he doesn't return.

In fact, we know by the opening moments Alan is dead so hoorah, let's wait and anticipate just how brutal sorcery can be. Passable but disappointing and same can be said for this entry in its particular horror genre. Much thanks to a low budget that can't produce many gruesome sights and I suspect the English dubbed Ocean Shores version I watched wasn't particularly intact either. Still the odd dip into contractual obligatory sights of maggots, maggots being vomited by the cursed, animated devils (who are the creations of our good natured Thai priest employed later in the film) are amusing and Fong Yau yet again playing an evil priest gets to pour maggots on himself and really chew scenery so despite there being little for US to chew on, it's an acceptable time provided by Pang Ling (Curse). Also with genre regular Kwan Hoi-San.

Hsiao Hai (Mang Hoi) saves a Ching Priest (Hwang Jang-Lee) from assassination. Given riches and influence, it quickly gets to Hsiao Hei's head. It turns out he's being played for a fool and being used as leverage in a conflict between once united fighters now turned opponents. Hsiao Hei ends up taking the advice of crazy beggar San Lu (Chin Yuet-Sang) and learns the Buddha style to counter the Prince's Lo Han style (that includes sleeping!)...

A terrific little piece out of the martial arts genre, although it's clear Mang Hoi was never going to break out into stardom akin to Jackie Chan or anyone. He's got the innocence, acrobatic skill, fighting chops but not much of leading man charisma. However it doesn't stop The Buddha Assassinator from being perhaps THE showcase for him. Director Dung Gam-Woo keeps matters efficient and restricted on the comedy side of things to instead focus on some genuinely intriguing and creative choreography by Corey Yuen and co-star Chin Yuet-Sang. The flow and intricacy is jaw dropping and with expert presence from Hwang Jang-Lee and Chin Yuet-Sang, this entry is a home run on all fronts. Also with Lung Fei, Hau Pak-Wai and Corey Yuen appears in the fight intro.

Based on a real incident in 1945 about American soldier James Wood's (John X.Heart) time as a slave for one of the clans of the Yi people. After another solider crash lands his plane near the village of one of the clans, Wood is one of the personnel sent in to retrieve him. As the man didn't survive the crash, the Americans are invited to get a taste of a culture they didn't know exist. Wood in particular takes a liking to a piece of jewelry that he trades for but when wanting a guide to get to him to a larger well of this jewelry, him and another solider are kidnapped. One doesn't survive the trip into the mountains and Wood is initiated into his new role. While he didn't see a future back home after the war, it's indeed more than he bargained for to be de-humanized. But Yim Ho (The Day The Sun Turned Cold, Red Dust) directs Hung Leung's affecting script into areas where we come to realize Wood is probably on a correct path for himself. As he is immersed into the village life and used in the armed conflicts between the clans, he's upgraded to a beloved slave almost and meeting fellow slave Niu Niu (Zhang Lu-Tong) sparks feelings of love. The slow tricks of Yim Ho aren't overly breathtaking even come ending time but he does well with his basic beats, especially Wood's established comfort in life (especially after slavery is made criminal offense) and the question of being totally lost, soulless sans the slave-stamp is an intriguing thought. Immersing Western actor John X. Heart is a good anchor, politics are suitably brought forth as he represent a character in a conflict rife with politics and it's this very exact thing that may create heartbreak. Towards the quite abrupt end, we feel all the things we should and need, for better or worse and that's a sign of true viewer engagement.

A zany cast of characters comes and goes in Yuen Woo-Ping's recognizable genre piece but outstanding kung-fu overall erases some of the pitfalls The Buddhist Fist experiences along the way. Starring Yuen-Shun-Yi as Ah Shang who searches for his missing godfather (Cheung Hei) but stumbles upon a stock plot, Yuen Woo-Ping had 4 seminal and extremely noteworthy films under his belt at this point. It's still the casting of Shun-Yi that prevents the film from reaching the heights Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and The Magnificent Butcher did. He is sincere and a likeable enough hero for the film (and less annoying compared to Dance Of The Drunk Mantis) but the film can't gain as much status in the light of Jackie and Sammo's presences in said films. It's perhaps a trifle unfair to compare but many other parts of The Buddhist Fist are hugely enjoyable despite. Your tolerance for mugging and low-brow comedy will be put to the test here and Yuen Woo-Ping for our pleasure populates the film with perverts, stuttering men with birdcages, police conducting animal court, pale faced hunchback assassins and more. All colliding quite jarringly with some slightly more serious tones later in the piece. It all foreshadows the full on insanity of The Miracle Fighters and Shaolin Drunkard and these are fun times to go along with the tragic ones.

As far as choreography goes, the Yuen's can't make all of the choreography within the skits work as smoothly as the subsequent Dreadnaught showed it can but largely Yuen Shun-Yi and Tsui Siu-Ming lead the frame with awesome skill. Performing the direction with the utmost clarity and speed, their double act is classic with a capital C and shows Yuen Woo-Ping's magic at its very best. Fan Mei-Sheng, Simon Yuen (in a variation of the Sleeping Wizard character Chin Yuet-Sang made popular in Last Hurrah For Chivalry), Peter Chan Lung, Yuen Cheung-Yan and Lee Hoi Sang also appear. Tai Seng's dvd includes multiple Chinese tracks and an English dub but omits any kind of subtitles.

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