Legend of the Demon Cat is a colourful Sino-Japanese fantasy movie. It follows a former Chinese government official and poet who teams up with a Japanese monk to investigate strange events at court leading to injuries, illnesses and deaths. The dynamic youngster and the calm intellectual soon realize that all those events are related to a vengeful cat. They need to figure out the secret behind the mysterious animal in order to stop further catastrophes.

This movie convinces on several levels. The costumes are colourful and eye-catching. The locations look diversified and elegant. The two different lead characters complete each other in a balanced way. The first half of the movie sets a mysterious tone but also has solid pace.

Things get worse in the dragging and disjointed second half. The second hour mostly consists of lengthy flashbacks and the two intriguing main characters simply become listeners or spectators. The story also becomes more predictable and one would have hoped for a more spectacular outcome.

In the end, this movie should please to fans of colourful fantasy movies and those interested in traditional Asian culture. The mysterious parts of the story vanish in the second half, the dramatic elements become predictable and the crime elements are replaced by complicated flashbacks. It's regrettable that a movie that showed much promise in its first half changes so drastically in its second half. The director and scriptwriter tried to experiment and innovate but a fluid pace and clearer structure would have been the better options in this case.

Battle of Jangsari is the second part in a loose trilogy about the Korean War that started with the brilliant Operation Chromite three years before this film. It tells the story of a group of students who only had a few days of military training that must participate in a diversionary manoeuvre on the West Coast of the Korean peninsula. The movie follows different characters such as a native North Korean who has to confront his own cousin, a protective brother and his disguised sister who participates in the battle under a false identity and an ambitious soldier who is seen as the family's black sheep and wants to make them proud. The young soldiers successfully manage to storm the beach under difficult circumstances and surprise the North Korean Army but the enemy is soon sending massive reinforcements while the South Korean soldiers don't get their expected support and realize that they are on a suicide mission.

This movie convinces on almost all levels. The story is tense and gripping from start to finish, analyzes a historical battle appropriately and criticizes some actions by the South Korean and American commanders. The characters are intriguing, diversified and authentic as viewers will care about their fates. The fight scenes are realistic, intense and brutal as they bring the horrors of war to life. The locations look splendid from stormy oceans over poor villages to heavily fortified outposts. The outcome of the different characters' fates remains unpredictable and will keep your eyes glued to the screen until the heartbreaking conclusion.

The only element that was unnecessary were the few scenes involving Megan Fox as war correspondent and George Eads as tough general. The two characters have a handful of conversations that always sound exactly the same. Megan Fox's character cares about the lives of the teenage soldiers while George Eads' character claims that there is nothing that can be done to save them. It seems that these two American actors are only in the film to attract international viewers but they are by far the worst actors and characters in the entire movie. The film should have either cut this entire story line or worked out a more detailed side story with more dedicated actors.

Despite that one major letdown, the rest of the movie is excellent. This action-drama is intense from start to finish and tells a story few people have heard about. Paying tribute to these inexperienced teenage soldiers is essential. Battle of Jangsari isn't as intense as Operation Chromite but comes quite close and can be considered the best war movie of the year along with critically acclaimed 1917. The third and final part of this already outstanding trilogy can't come soon enough.

Kung Fu League is a quirky Hong Kong action-comedy movie that goes back to the genre's golden era in the late eighties and early nineties. You will only fully appreciate this film if you are familiar with those movies as the four characters from the past who help the protagonist are obviously inspired by historical figures but also popular movies such as the Once Upon a Time in China and Ip Man franchises.

The story itself is rather nonsensical. A shy comic book artist has a romantic interest in a cute colleague and former school pal but their head manager also has an eye on her and humiliates the artist quite often. The depressed protagonist summons four legendary martial arts masters from his stories to help him. They arrive in present-day Hong Kong and are quite confused by contemporary customs. Upon meeting the shy artist, they want to help him participate in a martial arts tournament to face off against his bully and impress his love interest. The bully however has no intention to give his opponent a chance and turns out being even nastier than expected as he attempts to reach his goals by any means necessary. Things also start getting complicated among the four martial arts masters as three of them have a relationship with the same woman while the other one is an untalented impostor.

This movie convinces with excellent situation comedy and numerous quirky allusions to Hong Kong cinema classics. The fight sequences are intriguing and especially the final duels are truly intense. The clumsy protagonist and his innocent love interest are sympathetic and it's easy to root for them to get together.

On the negative side, the movie overuses special effects from time to time which gets particularly obvious in the final duels. A more natural approach to those scenes would have made them even more energetic. Not all the slapstick jokes work particularly well as some scenes are rather silly but the film's steady pace makes you forget those minor inconveniences rather quickly.

Invite your friends, switch your brain off and enjoy this nostalgic but energetic Hong Kong action-comedy movie to the fullest. It might not win any awards for creativity but it's thoroughly entertaining. Kung Fu League is a feast for genre fans and much better than its negative reputation.

Enter the Fat Dragon is obviously a pun on the famous Bruce Lee film but completely unrelated to it. It's also unrelated to the movie of the same title starring Sammo Hung. This movie here is however a quirky return to Hong Kong action-comedy cinema of the late eighties and early nineties. The story follows a cop who destroys half his city while trying to arrest a group of robbers and gets transferred to a static desk job. His overambitious fiancée also leaves him and attempts to become a popular actress despite an obvious lack of talent. The protagonist starts feeling depressed and gaining lots of weight in the process. Many years later, he gets a chance to redeem himself as he is asked to escort a criminal to Japan. Things quickly spiral out of control when the criminal escapes during a rest stop. The protagonist gets some help from Chinese emigrants in Japan to fix the problem but he soon realizes that influential groups and even police force are in on the coup. Things take a turn for the worse, when his former girlfriend, who happens to be in Japan for a publicity stunt, gets kidnapped. The chubby cop must fight his powerful opponents with his grit of yore.

This movie obviously has a rather nonsensical plot with a few too many exaggerated coincidences. The idea to make fun of overweight people also seems somewhat old-fashioned these days. Despite those minor flaws, Enter the Fat Dragon is however a highly entertaining action-comedy revival film. The characters are unique, quirky and diversified. The plot has numerous unexpected twists and turns. The locations are splendid and especially the Japanese Chinatown has been crafted with much detail in the studio. The humorous elements are over the top. The action scenes are dynamic and find the right balance between amusing and gritty components. The fact that this action-comedy movie includes dramatic, romantic and suspenseful elements makes for a wild ride.

If you are craving for Hong Kong action-comedy cinema of the late eighties and early nineties with Jackie Chan and the likes, Enter the Fat Dragon will bring that golden era back to life in a nostalgic but quirky way. The movie won't win any awards for creativity but is entertaining from start to finish and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Invite your friends, grab your popcorn, pour a few drinks and enjoy this movie to the fullest over and over again.

First Love goes back to Takashi Miike's brutal V-Cinema Yakuza movies between the mid-nineties and the early years of the new millennium. It tells the story of a lonesome boxer who has just learned that he has an incurable brain tumor who meets a drug-addicted prostitute who suffers from hallucinations of her violent father. Over the course of one single night, the two desperate youngsters get caught up in a violent conflict between Chinese and Japanese organized crime clans as well as local police force. The prostitute is suspected of having killed a gang member and stolen a handbag full of drugs. The boxer knocks out a crooked police officer who planned on framing her and is now on the run as well. The relationship between the prostitute and the boxer slowly intensifies but their biggest challenge remains to survive the eventful night.

This movie is a feast for Takashi Miike fans. The characters are diversified, eccentric and unique enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen. The flashy locations are gorgeous to watch. The action scenes are intense and especially the lengthy fight sequences in a warehouse mix gore elements with black slapstick humour in a typically Japanese way. The movie is also filled with tension and this thriller comes around with a few interesting twists and turns. The film also has some strong dramatic elements as it follows two lonesome outsiders who have suffered throughout their lives and are simply looking for peace of mind. The movie's pace is overall frantic and entertaining. The idea to let the film take place over the course of only a few days with the most important events unfolding in one single night, makes First Love a quite dynamic, focused and intense experience.

The film still has a few minor flaws however. The opening quarter is a little bit dragging and slightly overstays its welcome. The story is somewhat predictable if you're familiar with other Yakuza movies. The relationship between the two protagonists never really takes off as they don't have much chemistry. The title First Love is slightly misguiding in that regard and something like Crazy Night would have been more appropriate.

Still, First Love is an entertaining Yakuza movie that goes back to the genre's golden era in the mid-nineties. It features action, drama and thriller elements and is explicitly brutal, darkly humorous and gloomily nihilistic. Mainstream audiences might have trouble digesting this exciting potpourri but genre fans will get exactly what they like.