Ah, the Kung Fu movie. No longer an extended series of cheesy karate flips, and poorly timed dubs, the wide-ranging and constantly melding action, thriller, suspense, horror, and even love flicks pouring out of the burgeoning Hong Kong film industry have spawned new legions of Western cinephiles wholly dedicated to these idiosyncratic blood-bath clich�s. Asian Eye provides a good overview for those interested in renting a few flicks but not sure where to start, but it is really for true fans. It documents the ever shifting genre in detail with scores of reviews, interviews and updates on the big names. This issue has a chipper interview with Jackie Chan on set in Vancouver where he was filming Rumble in the Bronx (which I just saw — hilarious mountain back-drops make ‘The Bronx’ look a lot like BC). It also features an article by one Sophia Crawford on how exactly six foot tall blonde women break into the Hong Kong action film biz. However, I reserve my highest praise of the elaborate feature on the Gyonshi, Chinese ghouls who run the gamut from hilarious to horrifying. With explanation, history and scores of HK horror movie reviews this plump well-researched feature (sorry about this) kicks ass.
zine / #2, 92 pages / no publisher / main creator: Colin Geddes / $5 / 253 College Street, #108, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R5