2025 End of Year wrapup and tournament

The Asian Action Cast finishes 2025 in style with the annual tournament to determine the best movie of 2025!We've got plenty of jokes, awards, stats and general tomfoolery for your listening pleasure.Thanks to everyone that has listened this year - look forward to more shenanigans in 2026 and as usual stick around for the remix!

Stroll with the AAC through Johnnie To’s 2004 neon saturated streets of Throw Down, play in a world full of style and character.The action is just the window into the disparate lives of these meandering souls as they help each other find joy and purpose - the satisfaction of a life fulfilled.Johnny imbues this film with honest moments, stringing gorgeous visuals cobbled together to weave a tapestry of emotions. You might dislocate a shoulder watching but you’ll marvel at the technique.

Taking on the INVINCIBLE ARMOUR is no easy feat, but our heroes John Liu and Tino Wong crack the code! Director See-Yuen Ng’s 1977 action romp is a densely packed thriller that goes from fight to fight, it’s thick, fast and deadly.No technique is undefeatable and this movie is a cautionary tale for why it sometimes might be a good idea to wearing a metal chastity belt.

For a Halloween special that's twice as nice, we bring you Black Magic Part 2! Same director, same actors as the first but it's turned into a Scooby Doo style mystery in tropical Singapore! Lo Lieh has channeled his charisma into becoming a black magician who keeps zombies in his dungeon. Our heroic trio of doctors (Ti Lung, Tien Ni and Lin Wei Tu) don't believe in magic, but let's drive a nail into the issue and get to the bottom of this. More gore, special effects and boobies like the first movie!

Asian Action Cast's Spooktober celebrations begin with the Shaw Brothers 1975 exploitation horror fest BLACK MAGIC!Starring a wooden Ti Lung and magnificently creepy yet charismatic Lo Lieh, it tells the cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t roofie someone to get them to love you.With incredibly budget effects and jarring musical pivots, the nudity alone cannot salvage this movie, but it is a fun watch with friends if only to gross them out with worms and maggots!

Shaw Bro.’s 1972 historical war epic 14 Amazons sets the bar for fun campy villains who overshadow the ‘heroes’ of the film.Ivy Ling Po and Lily Ho lead our plucky band of (too many) heroines, but they are up against the forces of Lo Lieh’s fantastic 5th Prince and Bolo Yeungs unnamed barbarian wrestler.A ridiculous human bridge sequence is worth the price of admission but the incredible face mugging, arrogant laughs and expressive eyebrows will keep you amused!

Walk down the Demon Path with us as we gaze into the thousand yard stare of the Lone Wolf and Cub on their last journey before Hell!White Heaven in Hell is the final instalment of the lone wolf and cub movie series starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, and is something of a limbo piece.While much remains unfulfilled, there is action aplenty with moody sets, unsettling action and constant tension. An enjoyable film and worth the nettles from the Demon Path.

Bruce Lee’s 1978 post-mortem movie Game of Death is more than a curiosity, it’s a cultural phenomenon that irreparably bashed its way into modern consciousness.It clearly was damaged by Bruce’s untimely passing, but it remains one of the most wistful and hopeful projects of the silver screen.The small flashes of ‘Real Bruce’ invoke pangs of equal parts admiration, longing and tragedy, with the dreams and dialogue about WHAT IF burning white hot over 60 years after his death. 

The Sequel to Wong Jing’s most serious adaptation to date, his magnum opus, the Asian Action Cast takes on the New Kung Fu Cult Master pt 2!

The hidden 1984 gem Japan-China action collaboration Ninja and Dragons is everything you’d expect, with magic ninjitsu alongside and vs Kung Fu.Starring a plucky ninja Hayate, played by Jun’ya Takagi and his Dragon friend Dong Li, it is a tale of intrigue, vengeance and unsettling villains that will haunt your dreams.Watch it if you can find it, and be dazzled by the colours and wonderful music with decent action in this rollicking thriller.