Donnie Yen

A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father – Disney continue their live-action remakes of classic tales with MULAN directed by Whale Rider’s Niki Caro : Although I was looking forward to watching this at the cinema (possibly on IMAX) Disney had other idea’s and have just released Mulan on their Disney+ Streaming Service : Luckily for me my home cinema is not too shabby so watching my own TV fill up with magical color, jaw-dropping backdrops & visuals that stun you sideways my movie date for the evening truly was a quite magical experience : The movie itself is an improvment over the 1998 animated film allowing it’s director Niki Caro & the Aussie Cinematographer Mandy Walker to really show us, the audience the true scale of the sets & breathtaking action scenes in this live-action version : Of course Mulan has a truly legendary cast including Jason Scott Lee (who’s really good playing Bori Khan), the sublime & beautiful Gong Li, and veteran’s Tzi Ma, Jet Li & Donnie Yen but the real heart of the movie belongs to the energy weilding “Fairy Sister” Liu Yifei who has a screen presence that shines brighter than Mulan’s Phoenix, the scene’s that involve Liu and Gong Li’s characters were spectacular and amongst my favorites in the movie & I believe that Liu Yifei did most of her own stunt work and fight movements : Overall: I really enjoyed Disney’s MULAN it’s a gorgeous film about honor, family & friendship that works equally on the small screen as it would have on the big : Highly Recommended 精彩 ★★★★½

If you take D’J Caruso’s latest movie with a pinch of salt (remember when 80s action was cool?) then I guarantee two things you will have shit loads of fun & you will leave the cinema with a nice big smile…

This is the third movie in the spy franchise xXx: Return of Xander Cage “After returning from a self-imposed exile, Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) must recover an evil known only as Pandora’s Box before the bad guys uses this weapon for mass destruction “ – Alongside action star Vin Diesel the films mind blowingly awesome cast also includes Donnie Yen, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette, Ruby Rose, Deppika Padukone and Samuel L Jackson….

You know what I really dug about this movie?…. the insane amount of action, high octane totally bonkers fight scenes and the films ability not to take itself too serious – it’s all about entertainment and from that stance it most certainly succeeds – I mean come on how on earth can you not enjoy watching Xander Cage ski down a hillside weaving through trees and shit followed by some incredible skate boarding whilst shooting bad guys? that incredible moment when Xander faces off against Donnie Yen’s Xiang in a “holy shit that just happened” wave tunnel? the many hand to hand combat scenes mostly too epic to discuss? the return of an old friend in a great warehouse shootout and so many more delicious, breathless, relentless moments that fulfill the movies ultimate quest in giving it’s audience such an unbelievable cinematic buzz….

OK so listen up – xXx: Return of Xander Cage is not going to sweep the Oscars anytime soon, it’s not even gonna reinvent the genre, and it’s script won’t be compared to Schindler’s List or the like so if that’s what your expecting when buying a ticket at the box office then please be warned this slice of action pie is not for you – going to see this movie is like attending a party you will be expected to have fun right, enjoy oneself and remember regardless of what Bond style shit goes down this is only a movie – along with it’s crazy action madness watching Vampire Diaries’s Nina Dobrev playing a ditzy “Q” type character with a sense of humor and that damn fine Aussie Ruby Rose hanging from a tree shooting bad guys didn’t half raise the pulse, two ladies having so much fun & both so bloody good in their respective roles….

xXx: Return of Xander Cage is movie escapism at it’s finest, a COOL as f@ck action movie that made me smile from the opening 5 minutes to it’s end credits – D’J Caruso should sign up for a fourth movie so let’s make it happen and the sooner the better…. ★★★★