It's hard initially to differentiate Johnny Wang's gangster actioner from many others of the time but when it starts to live up to its title and the girls take center stage, Wang injects sparks into the film. Featuring a well-choreographed gym fight involving Kara Hui and Michiko Nishiwaki and several instances of brutal violence (not an uncommon trait in Wang's films), Widow Warriors becomes an entertaining time with the genre. The gunplay comes off as less refined while film speeds are not utilized well during one fight, definite negatives in Wang's frame. Tien Niu is watchable as one of the feisty widows who takes the greatest responsibility after the males of the crime family are wiped out. Also starring Elizabeth Lee, Michael Chan, Phillip Chan, Ha Chia Ling, Liu Fan, Ken Lo and Sek Kin.

Wild was Billy Tang's first film after a lengthy break from an acclaimed string of Category III movies and while he's working with a Cat IIb rating here, much is not sacrificed. Wild is just less explicit but the erotica is still steamy enough. No nudity for Francoise Yip though boys but the slick style of Tang's is given a decent vehicle. Yip plays a girl on the run from her Mainland village and hooks up with a gang of thieves (led by Bowie Lam with one of the henchmen played by Simon Loui who also did the score). What follows is a desperate run from police but more importantly, the characters are running from their past in hope for a better future. That's pretty much all that's told in Wild, enveiled in a subdued but more than often fairly appealing visual palette that sustains interest. Even though Tang is not working with regular cinematographer Tony Miu, Cheung Man Po more than adequately collaborates with Tang to bring his ideas to the screen.

Wild undoubtedly is pretty uninteresting since the characters are really in no way sympathetic or appealing but the combination of erotica, visuals and a slight thematic works fine for the fans of Billy Tang even though it's not excess akin to Red To Kill and Run And Kill.

A witch from Nepal (Emily Chu) has finally found her new master as the scriptures have proclaimed. He's a modern day artist named Joe (Chow Yun-Fat) and the relentless devotion the witch has for him threatens to shatter his current relationship. Fate can't be avoided though and our Joe also has to step up to the plate to battle a not as nice witch from nepal (Ng Hong Sang)...

Ching Siu-Tung directs and despite his team of action choreographers being quite large (Alan Chui, Lau Chi Ho and Phillip Kwok), Ching puts a surprising amount of focus on story and characters. He infuses his narrative with a more subdued atmosphere which is truly surprising considering the supernatural elements of the plot. While very basic and unremarkable, he also does follow through on characters and their dilemmas. All this could've been seriously disrupted if Wong Jing had written the script but it becomes serious in a b-movie way and engages decently. Something you rightly can expect from a Ching Siu-Tung helmed production but not that it would come with this tone of filmmaking. Tom Lau (director of The Rape After) also offers up fine cinematography while the action flows and excites well enough. In particular the finale has striking resemblance to the climactic battle between Neo and Mr. Smith in The Matrix Revolutions.

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Produced at Seasonal, Ng See-Yuen co-wrote this social drama detailing the situation of Vietnam refugees trying to make it into Hong Kong or any kind of land. Initially a bit tricky to follow, not only due to the cropped full frame print, but co-directors Keung Chi-Ming & Tung Liu achieves focus very late in their story. There's a plethora of characters featured but in the end there's an actual focus on a very few and that's when the narrative starts to form. The writing allows for some hideously over the top symbolic gestures about how refugees view their fellow man adapting to a higher class lifestyle but a chilling nature comes with the proceedings as well. Not only violence is in your face but the notion of these social destitute's grabbing every opportunity there is results in the more poignant passages. In particular a scene where hordes of people are looting the possessions of a recently diseased. Eventually part of the film takes on the feeling of a pre-cursor to Long Arm Of The Law and the role for the star of that film, Lam Wai, here in Without A Promised Land begins expanding to a fine degree. On the surface seen as corrupting a young boy via his violent ways, it is a preparation for innocence to go out into a form of adulthood at the expense of the death of others, which certainly rings true of realism. Without A Promised Land isn't remarkable or balls-grabbing social commentary but what's said, however minor it is, feels warranted.

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Wu Ma and Henry Yu are conmen that gets in trouble with the local thugs (led by Sek Kin). If your standards are the lowest ever and I mean ever, then Wits To Wits might register favorably for a minute or two. When the only thing caring about is the plethora of familiar faces that comes and goes, Wu Ma definitely doesn't have the audiences in the palm of his hand. Yuen Woo-Ping's action sparkles sporadically during the latter stages only.

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Taiwanese low-budget production directed by and starring Pearl Cheung as our titular character. Having been raised by wolves after the army of the devil killed her parents, she now battles back with a noble swordsman and his annoying sidekick by her side...

Cheung never sets out to provide a classy piece of work, which is fine but these kind of efforts therefore rely on their b-movie charms. Problem simply is that Wolf Devil Woman has none of that and dies a shameful death pretty quickly. Fairly attractive scenery, moderate gore, poor SFX and silly names given to characters through the English dub are merits but very minute ones.

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In 1986, Pat Ha had already made a name for herself as an actress willing to go down daring roads. An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty and My Name Ain't Suzie, both at Shaw Brother's showcased that and this Taiwanese rural drama becomes another bold move but one deserving of acclaim. Ha is Ah-Shih who is married off to a butcher but the relationship is marred by rape and abuse. The fellow women in the village does seem like helpful support throughout all this but a chilling turn of loyalties leaves Ah-Shih all alone in her fight...

Both the original poster and title suggest a thrashy exploitation vehicle but director Zhuang Xiang-Zeng, then a new voice in Taiwanese cinema but one who didn't make anymore films, quickly sets a stage of welcome subtlety. Working from Ang Li's (not to be confused with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director Ang Lee) novel Sha Fu (which is also the Chinese title of the film), the harsh point brought up is that of oppression moving from one force to another. The setting is during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan during World War II and being unable to vent any kind of frustration back at the larger forces, the lowly people take it out on the weak. It's a disturbing portrait but not so much because director Zhuang presents graphic violence in the obvious places (the shots inside the butchery contains the most grisly images) but because of the stance taken by Ah Shieh's fellow villagers, thinking her screams and tears echoing throughout the village are ones of joy. The spiral is obviously going downwards towards some form of violent act therefore and it's easy to understand and respect why director Zhuang chooses not to give us any answers. It's a realistic snapshot of abuse that isn't specific for its time but a valid comment nonetheless. The content is of course questionably compelling but as art, The Woman Of Wrath registers high thanks to a mesmerizing performance by Pat Ha, haunting use of score and cinematography that captures the run down village setting to the utmost effect. As hard as it is on the eyes, Zhuang Xiang-Zeng's The Woman Of Wrath I dare proclaim as some kind of small masterpiece.

Considering it owes Ringo Lam's classic Prison On Fire pretty much everything, David Lam's Women's Prison is a surprisingly passable prison drama. Everything we expect to be present is. You've got the crooked guards to the internal gang fights but thanks to the trio of leading ladies (Pat Ha, Carol Cheng and Fung Bo Bo), the film stands well on its own as a minor engaging triumph within the genre. Prison On Fire still need not to be threatened but Women's Prison has moments of such extreme gritty violence that even Ringo Lam would be impressed by. Mario Cordero co-stars and sings a Cantonese rendering of "House Of The Rising Sun" for the soundtrack. Liu Fan also adds fine support as the menace of the piece while Simon Yam, Tommy Wong and Ha Chia Ling also appear.

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