Brothers Five, directed by Lo Wei, is a definite early high water mark for the Shaw Brothers as the production design is absolutely through the roof and the locations are far and wide, making this violent story a beautiful canvas for a whole lot of bloodletting which is Wei’s specialty ...
Get those fists ready! It’s time for some hand-to-hand combat as one family is absolutely brought to its knees due to an Emperor’s secret mission. Shaolin Mantis, distributed from 88 Films, opens with David Chiang shadow fighting against ...
Lady of Steel features one of my favorite fight sequences as its co-headlining stars - Cheng Pei-Pei and Yueh Hua - “fight” each other to determine just where their allegiances lie. The set design of this village is cool. From balancing on the top of a bridge to running on water and flying to rooftops ...
Snake pits! Swordplay! Cheng Pei-pei having great fun with a secret clan of deadly women! Also featuring a lively song and dance number from Pei-pei herself, one would think The Golden Sword would constantly be one of the most energetic Shaw Brothers productions out there. It’s not. In fact ...
The Flying Dagger, written and directed by Chang Cheh, takes its homage to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa quite seriously and opens with a monochrome romp in the reed fields as two lovers take some time to enjoy each other. It’s tastefully done, but - because this is a wuxia film - is interrupted ...
Jumping right into the 20-year drama of this family saga, Dragon Swamp opens with an attack from a group of angry monks who want the Jade Dragon Sword returned to their monastery. To say they are annoyed by the thieving ways of The White-Faced General, Tang Dachuan (Huang Chung-Hsin) ...
In which, a watermelon becomes a dangerous weapon! Or at least its seeds do! All joking aside, The Invincible Fist is a wonderfully realized wuxia flick that deserves to be recognized. If not for the incredible use of leafy, green reed fields, then for the fight choreography which has Lo Lieh battling it out ...
A female-led wuxia film is nothing new. I know a lot of people want to give that credit to Ang Lee, but history suggests otherwise. Just because popular American cinema failed to notice what Asian cinema was doing (for a long time!!!) doesn’t mean that it wasn’t happening. Just look at 1966’s Come ...
Opening with a gloriously brutal raid on a village, Killer Dart sets the stage for this multi-layered revenge story with gusto. It is bold with its drama, dynamic with its action sequences, and strong with its characters. And it is no wonder why, especially when you consider just who is behind the camera ...
And, just like that, the coin-targeting trickshot is introduced! Now, a lot of people have complained and bellyached about what you have to sit through in order to get to the brutal killing in The Sword of Swords, but - come on, now - the bloodletting begins early on and it never stops, splashing gallons ...
The blood spatter! The fearless faces of the warriors! The sparks as the swords slam together! The brilliant choreography! Fighting on top of trees! The Jade Raksha, directed by Ho Meng-Hua (Killer Darts) has it all! And, quite honestly, it makes Crouching Tiger, Hidden ...
Chang Wei Fu (Chang Yi) never should have given Yang Kang (Ku Feng), Ying Tien (Tien Sheng), and Chief Tao Ching Lung (Lam Kau) the directions they needed. Fu is a simple woodcutter. He lives by nature’s rules with his family in an isolated location, outside of the nearest ...
Golden Swallow (Cheng Pei-pei) is just not having it when a mysterious agent from her past returns and starts framing her for some serious heinous activity! She’s ready to take matters into her own hands in 1968’s Golden Swallow (aka The Girl With The Thunderbolt Kick) ...
Meet the meanest and most lethal karate master ever to rule the streets. He's Sonny Chiba, one of the greatest martial arts actors to ignite the screen. In The Street Fighter, Chiba stars as Terry Tsurugi, a mercenary who has been hired by both the yakuza and the mafia to kidnap a wealthy ...
She’s a one woman army! There are a lot of differing opinions on The Thundering Sword. Released by The Shaw Brothers in 1967, this martial arts classic (as its Cheng Pei Pei’s first starring role!) flips the script on the whole sword-killing machismo that was dominant in the martial arts ...
Cop 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.
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.
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