Hard Boiled

Slick, tense and intimate, the 2012 Soi Cheang directed vehicle stalker flick Motorway has a surprising amount of style and feeling for what could have been a flat chase movie.Anthony Wong, as always, brings a warmth and charisma to his close to retirement days-of-yore-badass mentoring and living vicariously through Shawn Yue’s high octane speed freak Chan Cheung – all characters are downplayed to raw perfection making you want to spend more time in their world.Villain Jiang Xin is flawlessly portrayed by Xiaodong Guo who has the perfect mix of simmering danger and frightening talent. Not just a great action film, but a great film, check it out!

This week we revisit 1992’s Hard Boiled, directed by John Woo, part of the Princess Films avalanche of Chow Yun Fat movies coming your way soon on Blu-ray. How does it stack up 30 years later? A cop who won’t take no for an answer, Tequila ends up in the middle of a gangland munitions war. When his investigations reveal an undercover cop, they combine to stop it all from going sky high. Filled with glorious shootouts, explosions and cute babies, this is the most Woo film of them all.

The City of Violence is a 2006 Ryoo Seung-wan directed friendship thriller starring dapper detective Jung Doo-hong’s Tae-Soo.There certainly is violence aplenty in the city, largely perpetrated by our main cast. Friendships form, falter and fall as snake liquor goes wasted.The violence escalates throughout surprising you how far it’s willing to go, and any action film with sub-boss fights is A-ok in our books. Check it out - THE CITY OF VIOLENCE.

In the martial arts world, even your spare change can become a lethal weapon! Enter 'Twelve Deadly Coins', a 1969 Shaw Brothers production starring the excellent Lo Lieh and Ching Li. When your senior disciple isn't as good as you think, who will protect your treasure convoy against bandits? Fighter Qiao Mao (Lo Lieh) can do it all, but he's also acting a little suspiciously. The life of a poor fighter is a hard one! Also file under creepy eyeball villain, red haired axe thug and one armed swordsman!

What’s more deadly than 13 Assassins? Cooler than 7 Samurai? Gorier than 5 Deadly Venoms? Why its Director Kazuya Shiraishi’s 11 Rebels! This 2024 Samurai Epic is 60 years in the making with ascript written back in 1964!

Donnie Yen’s 2025 Dram-action THE PROSECUTOR will have you questioning what you know about legal procedurals with its labyrinthine plot and non stop exposition.If you can stomach Donnie’s soap boxing righteousness for 75% of the film, there’s a really solid 25% of hard hitting martial arts action, including a truly creative and kinetic first person gun/kung fu sequence.Donnie shows no signs of slowing down and is surrounded by an incredible stunt team selling amazing hits and action the way only Hong Kong movies can!

In honour of the recently passed great man, Mr Richard Norton, we celebrate his intersection and elevation of Hong Kong action cinema in Jackie Chan’s 1997 Sammo Hung Directed Mr Nice Guy.Richard Norton is irrepressible, chewing scenery and having a blast as he turns the screws on Jackie’s super chef. It is a film of hijinks amidst the backdrop of Melbournes inner city - home to Mr Norton and another late great star Mr Bradley Allen of the JC stunt team.The film is a testament to the humour, humanity and talent of these fallen warriors and we at the AAC bow to you with gratitude for your contributions to our collective joy. RIP Richard Norton and Brad Allen - gone but not forgotten.

Ever forget who you but somehow have access to special forces training, martial arts and parkour moves and hardcore riz with the ladies? No you’re not Jason Bourne, you’re Jackie Chan in his 1998 Amnesia Thriller, Who Am I?

Beat Takeshi (Kitano) subverts your expectations with one of the best and/or worst (!) most polarising films in recent memory in his 2025 film Broken Rage.Director, Star, Writer and Editor: he hits the major chords with a retired yakuza hitman melody, then riffs into unknown territory with an absurdist parody of the same story.And then came the beats is an apt description of the film which is entertaining, if not bizarre. Also starring Tadanobu Asano, Nakamura Shido II and Jun Akiyama to name but a few - the action is in how your brain violently reacts to what it’s witnessing…

We've all cheered, laughed and been amazed at the phenomenal stunts in Hong Kong action movies over the years: but what about the people behind the stunts? What happens when things go pear shaped?2024's Stuntman shows that sometimes "the good old days'"aren't always that fondly remembered for some and the old adage of "they don't make them like they used to" is probably a good thing.Starring Stephen Tung as an old school star, Terrence Lau as a newcomer eager to please and Philip Ng as a more safety first stunt coordinator.