Disqus - Latest Comments for gimpusmons

Re: REVIEW: White Vengeance (2011)

Mark Pollard — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:05:06 -0000

I would imagine having a solid understanding of the historical context of the story would help in appreciating the film more. Having studied European military history extensively, that's how I feel when watching historical movies on that subject.

Re: Teaser for Wong Kar-Wai’s ‘The Grandmasters’

Mark Pollard — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:51:06 -0000

Interesting theory, though I'm doubtful Wong would want the action in his film to be intentionally misrepresented from the start. Still, it's possible we're missing some context here that could make this sequence look less like a superhero movie.

Re: NYAFF schedule and ticket giveaway

Mark Pollard — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:55:56 -0000

If there is, I'm not aware of it.

Re: REVIEW: True Legend (2010)

Mark Pollard — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:47:33 -0000

Actually, these films do sometimes receive the Asian equivalent of Oscar awards and nominations in the form of Taiwan's Golden Horse Award and the Hong Kong Film Award. Mainstream Western media, and some Asian critics, tend to dismiss kung fu movies as genre fluff. After 10 years of critically analyzing hundreds of martial arts movies, I try to take the genre more seriously which invariably leads to more nitpicking than perhaps the average viewer would do.

Re: REVIEW: Hapkido (1972)

Mark Pollard — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:57:02 -0000

I removed the original suggestion in my final summary that HAPKIDO is forgettable or no better than any other copycat of FIST OF FURY. That was an overly dismissive statement that I regret making as it didn't adequately reflect my feeling that the film is still pretty damn good despite being unoriginal in its theme.

Re: Preview of Mill Creek’s ‘Fists of Vengeance’ collection

Mark Pollard — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:38:08 -0000

You're right. Still, it's getting re-released at Amazon and we haven't featured it here before.

Re: REVIEW: Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)

Mark Pollard — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:12:37 -0000

No disrespect was intended towards Stovall and I agree that more could have been said to give him proper credit. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with his past work but I'm pleased to see he has more coordinator credits on upcoming projects. I'm certain we'll be writing more about Stovall in the future.

Re: REVIEW: ‘Return to the 36th Chamber’ (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)

Mark Pollard — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:32:24 -0000

if you're content with the audio, stick with the IVL print. I'm not an expert on video transfers but in comparing the two versions side by side they appear identical to me. I was going to post a few comparison screenshots but I couldn't tell them apart so it would have been pointless.

Re: REVIEW: ‘Return to the 36th Chamber’ (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)

Mark Pollard — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:28:43 -0000

Nostalgia is a big part of it. I grew up watching kung fu dubbed by this same group of voice actors. Yes, the dubbing is corny but it's entertaining in the same way that a campy B-movie can be. I actually enjoy both the dubbing and the subtitles and can watch either. Thats why I really like to see both options in one release.

Re: 49 Action Movie Previews – March, 2010

Mark Pollard — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:13:27 -0000

For those wondering, I've added BANGKOK ADRENALINE to the list. It's due out March 22 in the U.K. on DVD from Optimum Home Entertainment.

Re: Jackie Chan near last in ‘most trustworthy’ poll

Mark Pollard — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:56:00 -0000

No bias was intended in this article but I understand why some may feel otherwise. I've made some clarifications that hopefully clear up any confusion.

Re: Trailer for ‘Zatoichi the Last’

Mark Pollard — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:41:29 -0000

What do you mean? Both videos should be loading properly.

Re: REVIEW: Black Dynamite (2009)

Mark Pollard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:51:31 -0000

Great news. If Sony is still as enthusiastic about the first film and its returns as they were when they bought it, White might end up with studio backing and a bigger budget, which I would love to see.

Re: REVIEW: Storm Warriors, The (2009)

Mark Pollard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:48:05 -0000

I'm really hoping THE LAST AIRBENDER is more substantial, at least in terms of how the fantasy action is presented.

Re: 49 Action Movie Previews – March, 2010

Mark Pollard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:27:57 -0000

I agree entirely. He should be a much bigger star than he is today, given his talents.

Re: REVIEW: Storm Warriors, The (2009)

Mark Pollard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:13:58 -0000

I really hope the two people suggesting this movie requires viewers to be Asian for it to be appreciated are not being serious. In 10 years of reviewing Asian action cinema dating from the 1920s to the present, I'd like to think I "get it," whether we're talking about highly entertaining fantasy-wuxia films like BUDDHA'S PALM, ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN and A CHINESE ODYSSEY (Parts 1 and 2) or lousy ones like KILLER OF SNAKE FOX OF SHAOLIN, THE PROMISE and THE STORM WARRIORS. I've watched a lot of great Asian fantasy films and my opinion is that this isn't one of them.

Re: Optimum brings ‘Bangkok Adrenaline’ to U.K.

Mark Pollard — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:47:44 -0000

No, it's not a joke. Optimum issued a press release.

Re: Set pics for Benny Chan’s ‘Shaolin’

Mark Pollard — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:11:30 -0000

"Gordon" was a unintended mistake and has been corrected. I checked on the unidentified person as Albert Yeung and as far as I can tell, your identification is correct. Thank you.

Re: 38 Action Movie Previews – February 2010

Mark Pollard — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:41:51 -0000

It does. I wasn't sure whether or not to add that film to the list but since you mentioned it I have.

Re: REVIEW: Charlie Valentine (2009)

Mark Pollard — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:11:51 -0000

Johnson it is. At least I didn't write "Jesse McCartney."

Re: 10 images from ‘Tekken’

Mark Pollard — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:33:01 -0000

I don't mind costumes matching their video game counterparts so long as the costumes match the tone of the film. MORTAL KOMBAT was a modest success in this regard.

Re: REVIEW: Wushu (DVD – Lionsgate)

Mark Pollard — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:06:22 -0000

Running time on the Lionsgate version is 98 minutes, six minutes shorter than the length listed on IMDb. I do not have another version for comparison to check if that discrepancy is a result of cuts or encode conversions.

Re: Third trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’

Mark Pollard — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:04:04 -0000

I've added a couple extra reply layers. I won't be able to add more until I figure out how to adjust the style setting that's causing the indent on replies.

Re: REVIEW: Universal Soldier – The Return (1999)

Mark Pollard — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:48:46 -0000

My problem with the end fight comes from having watched all three UNIVERSAL SOLDIER films (including REGENERATION) back-to-back. I noticed that the way in which action in THE RETURN is shot is vastly inferior to the other two films. But I'll concede that end fight is the best thing in the movie. It's not saying much though.

Re: AC/DC plus ‘Iron Man 2′ equals awesome

Mark Pollard — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:02:40 -0000

Thanks.