“Drive” is a film that should have got a lot more attention because it contains some of the finest martial arts action of the 90s. It reminded me a lot of buddy cop movies such as “Lethal Weapon” and “Rush Hour”. Looking at some of the choreography, there is clearly a lot inspired by the films of Jackie Chan (“Police Story”) and Jet Li (“Fist Of Legend”).

Mark Dacascos (“Only The Strong”, “Brotherhood of the Wolf”) stars as Toby Wong, a man with an experimental bio-device installed in his chest. He’s trying to escape from Chinese authorities (and the many goons they have hired). He ends up dragging barfly Malik Brody (Kadeem Hardison “White Men Can’t Jump”). The two men face explosive danger at every turn.

Dacascos is a seriously underrated martial arts action star. He has a decent amount of personality too so it’s a shame that he’s gone under the radar for most people. Some of the moves that Dacascos pulls off are as impressive as anything done by Jet Li. Kadeem Hardison is decent as Malik. The two have some chemistry and again, I was reminded of “Lethal Weapon” and “Rush Hour”. The villains are reasonable but not great.

The non-stop action in this movie is just terrific. There are fistfights, some spectacular flips and jumps and there is even some carnage involving cars and motorcycles. This is a splendid martial arts movie and I was reminded a lot of the frantic action of Jackie Chan’s “Twin Dragons”. The plot in “Drive” was perfectly fine for this sort of movie and some of the humour was pretty good too. I really hope that more people check this film out because it is very impressive and deserves more love and attention. This movie should have had a theatrical release too because it looks as good as any big screen martial arts movie of the era.

A decade after the poor critical reception of the 2001 remake of “Planet of the Apes”, the franchise was rebooted with “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. A lot of people really seem to like this movie but it just didn’t do anything for me.

A scientist (James Franco “Spider-Man”, “This Is The End”) is developing a potential cure for Alzheimer’s disease as he raises a chimp by the name of Caesar (Andy Serkis “King Kong”, “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”). Caesar’s mother was given the newly developed drug and she passed its effects onto Caesar, giving him superintelligence and the ability to lead an ape uprising.

If you have seen the “Lord of the Rings” films or 2005’s “King Kong” then you will be familiar with Andy Serkis’ work. Don’t get me wrong, the effects for Caesar and the other apes are not bad but I couldn’t help but just feel like I was watching something made in a computer. Due to this, I found it difficult to empathise with the creature; I’m surprised by this as I felt the effects in “King Kong” made it easier to forget I was watching a computer’s work. I didn’t care about any of the human characters any more than I did the apes.

Although it has nods to the older films here and there, I found the experience of this movie to be so far removed from the original that it was almost as if it was just using the name “Planet of the Apes” for marketing reasons. Maybe I am being a little too harsh but I just didn’t see what most people claim to have seen. I like the some of the earlier “Planet of the Apes” films but I can see why many will find them outdated and cheesy so perhaps this is the version that would appeal most to those people.

Horror movies are a dime a dozen and some are definitely better than others. Here is a list of horror movies since 2000 that I feel get too much praise.

5. Insidious

Pretty much a loose remake of “Poltergeist”, “Insidious” got both good reviews and managed to launch a franchise. It’s just a generic ghost movie and for some reason, one of the ghosts looks suspiciously like Darth Maul from “Star Wars”.

4. The Babadook

This Australian psychological horror flick gained a real reputation among horror fans. It just failed to scare me and I found it ridiculous at times. The creature itself is only seen briefly and looks rather lousy.

3. Green Room

“Green Room” received rave reviews from many critics. It’s a rather bleak and violent picture about fascist thugs. It’s maybe more of a thriller than a straight up horror picture but it’s certainly as gory as any slasher movie. I thought this was merely a nasty and mean piece of work with weak characters. It’s a shame Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: Nemesis”) is in this mess.

2. The Purge

In all fairness, “The Purge” did not receive the best reviews but it’s led to a ton of sequels. I just found the movie to be really dull and some of the acting was terrible. While some of the ideas about lawlessness and society’s need for violence may be interesting, the execution is just abysmal.

1. The Conjuring

Allegedly based on a true story, “The Conjuring” than “The Amityville Horror” with some newer special effects. While it’s by no means the worst film on this list, people have been talking about it like it’s one of the best horror movies of the last few decades. It’s not only spawned sequels but a whole film universe with spin-offs including “Anabelle” and “The Nun”.

“Insidious” feels an awful lot like “Poltergeist”. Both films are ghost stories where young children are taken into a ghostly dimension while eccentric old women try to bring them back. “Insidious” was directed by James Wan, who previously did “Saw” and would go on to do “The Conjuring”. This is not quite as clever as the first “Saw” but I found it more tolerable than “The Conjuring”.

In “Insidious”, a family have moved into a new home when strange stuff starts happening. The young Dalton (Ty Simpkins “Iron Man 3”, “Jurassic World”) goes into a coma and doctors are unable to provide any answers about the cause. The mother (Rose Byrne “Spy”, “Bridesmaids”) begins to see ghostly entities in the house. Eventually, an expert (Lin Shaye “There’s Something About Mary”) is brought in to try and tackle the problems tearing the family apart.

The family is not particularly interesting. Rose Byrne is okay as Renai. Patrick Wilson (“Watchmen”) is completely forgettable as Josh. A lot of the characters make really dumb decisions throughout the whole film. The ghosts in this movie are meant to be scary but they just look ridiculous. One of them even looks like Darth Maul from “Star Wars”. It’s so hard to be shocked by the haunting when you see Darth Maul is the one doing it. Seriously, did the filmmakers not realise how dumb this was?

“Insidious” is not terrible but it’s just so generic. Although it was silly, the original “Poltergeist” had some impressive special effects for its time. I suppose the twist at the end of “Insidious” would be somewhat unsettling and interesting but by that time, the script has abandoned any sense of logic. If you were scared by “The Conjuring”, you’ll probably be equally scared by this. However, I just think Wan is wasting his time with ghost movies.

“Man Of Tai Chi” is a criminally underrated martial arts movie. It completely bombed at the box-office and seems to even get ignored by many martial arts film fans. Few films feature fight scenes as intense and spectacular as this.

Tiger Chen (“Triple Threat”) plays a Tai Chi student determined to show that his abilities can be applied to fighting and not just exercise. His impressive performance at a public competition gets the attention of the shady Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves “The Matrix”, “Speed”). Now, Chen is offered substantial money to take part in underground fighting where there are no rules. He’s initially reluctant but when his temple his threatened with closure, he’ll do whatever it takes. As he continues to fight, his discipline and ideals begin to drift away.

Tiger Chen is simply spectacular. He’s likeable and his martial arts abilities are just great. He actually looks an awful lot like Stephen Chow in “Kung Fu Hustle” here; I wouldn’t be surprised if that was intentional. Reeves does appear in the movie but don’t expect him to see tons of him. This movie is actually the first film directed by Reeves. He’s smart enough to know that Chen can carry the movie without the need for Reeves to dominate. Reeves is good here as the villain. The other fighters include Iko Uwais (“The Raid”).

“Man Of Tai Chi” features some truly brutal fight sequences and while it’s story is simplistic, it is engaging. Reeves clearly understands and loves martial arts cinema and the mysticism and philosophy of the Far East. Chen worked as a choreographer on “The Matrix” films and is friends with Reeves. I’m just so impressed with the action that I’m reminded of other great martial arts movies such as “Ip Man” and “Fist Of Legend”. This movie offers plenty of action and surprisingly good drama. If you like fighting movies, you simply have to see this.

“Rise of the Footsoldier” is a British crime film that shows you just how tough some of Britain’s thugs are. It starts off as a hooligan flick like “The Football Factory” and “Green Street” and then briefly dips into some “Road House” territory before becoming a full-blown gangster movie. It’s based on the life of real gangsters from the Essex area.

Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett “28 Days Later”) starts off as West Ham hooligan in the late 70s and early 80s before becoming a nightclub bouncer. He soon moves on to drug dealing and quickly becomes a major British gangster in the 80s and 90s until the Rettendon murders in 1995.

The characters in this movie are absolutely vile. They do drugs, commit adultery, swear like it’s a sport, beat their wives, destroy property, hit people with metal bars, torture people, threaten to kill and/or rape the families of their enemies and stab people with knives. Ricci Harnett does a really good job as Carlton Leach yet it’s Craig Fairbrass (“Cliffhanger”) as Pat Tate that steals the show. Pretty much every character in this film is a thug and if they are not, they are victims of thugs. The performances from most of the cast members perfectly suit the style of the film.

I must warn people that this is an extremely violent film. There are graphic torture scenes, close-up shots of faces that have been blasted with shotguns and many other disturbing images. The movie also features lots of drugs and nudity. This movie is a lot more intense than American gangster films such as “Goodfellas”, “The Godfather” and “The Departed”. From what I have read, I believe this film is also a lot more accurate than other films about the Rettendon murders such as “Essex Boys”. This is a great gritty flick from Britain that belongs in the same league as “Bronson”.

I was left disappointed by “The Ring” so I went into this Japanese original with mixed expectations. I was surprised to find that this one is a lot better. I felt the American remake tried a little too hard in some respects but “Ringu” is a much subtler movie and therefore a more effective one.

In “Ringu”, Reiko is an investigative reporter (Nanako Matsushima), who delves into the origins of a cursed videotape. Viewers of the tape are rumoured to die exactly seven days after watching it. Reiko must now try to find a way to lift the curse if she and her son are going to live.

I found the acting in the American version to often be a little over the top and it made the film more laughable than anything else. The cast in the Japanese version are less annoying and their performances do not detract from the tension. Some viewers may recognise actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who went on to have a successful Hollywood career with roles in films including “The Wolverine” and “Sunshine”. He gives a pretty good performance. The whole idea of the ghostly girl creature in the tape is silly but I think in this version, it is handled much better.

I was not particularly scared by “Ringu” but I do respect the fact this movie has been made with real skill. It looks cheaper and relies less on special effects than its American counterpart but these things are not hinderances. I found the tape in this movie to be much more chilling than the ridiculous one from the remake and the famous scene where the creature comes out of the television is done better here too. I’m going to give this film a weak recommendation. However, it is still nevertheless a recommendation. If you want a better Japanese horror flick then try “Ju-On: The Grudge”.

“Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky” is a ludicrous martial arts prison film from Hong Kong and it is supposedly based on a manga (Japanese comic). It’s not a good film but I did at least get the sense that the filmmakers were really having fun making this absurd picture. It’s an incredibly gory film but it is so cheesy that you will be laughing at a lot of it.

Ricky (Siu-Wong Fan “Ip Man”) is a young man with superhuman strength that is placed behind bars in a privatised prison that is rife with corruption. Every few scenes pit Ricky up against a villain where eyes, brains and intestines will be ripped out until finally Ricky makes it to the prison’s warden.

Ricky is one of the most overpowered characters that I have ever seen in a martial arts film. He’s more like a superhero than anything else as we see him literally punch through people. As you probably guessed, the characters are not exactly deep in a movie such as this. Most of them are just there to be ripped to shreds in some hilarious way. The warden even turns into a monster that looks like something made by Dr. Frankenstein at the end.

The fight scenes are truly a spectacle but the rest of the movie is barebones (no pun intended). The plot is almost non-existent and the characters are hardly riveting. The movie does at least give us a lot of action scenes but it really does feel like that is all that is really on offer with “Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky”. Although I’m sure film buffs and particularly those that enjoy their cheesy martial arts films will want to see it, I cannot imagine the average person wanting to sit through it. The highlight of the film is probably seeing one man pull out his own guts and try to throttle Ricky with them.

Vin Diesel (“xXx”, “Babylon A.D.”) once again plays Riddick in a film simply titled “Riddick”. While not as a good as “The Chronicles of Riddick”, I still enjoyed this one. If you like movies where a tough guy takes on hordes of weird monsters then I imagine you will want to watch “Riddick”.

Left for dead on a particularly inhospitable planet, Riddick must battle against lethal alien creatures that inhabit the world. When he finds a deserted outpost, he activate an emergency beacon and this leads to the arrival of a team of mercenaries and a group led by a man that wants some answers from Riddick.

As I have said before, Vin Diesel is far from being one of my favourite action stars. However, the movie only requires him to look tough as he fights big monsters so I think he is a great choice for this type of movie. The other characters are okay and I think it was a good decision to cast Dave Bautista (“Spectre”) as one of the mercenaries because he looks big and strong like Diesel. Some of the aliens look pretty good and it is pretty fun to watch Riddick slice his way through a lot of them.

The second film in the series really seemed to expand the universe as we saw Riddick visit several different planets so maybe this one seems less impressive because like “Pitch Black”, it only takes place on one world. However, I think what is on offer here is still worth checking out. Some of the action scenes are pretty entertaining and there is just something fun about watching Vin Diesel and a band of other rough and tough individuals battling a lot of monsters. I’m still confused as to why they called this one just “Riddick”. It’s the type of move that will only confuse moviegoers about what movie they are watching.

“Revenge of the Ninja” is an irresistibly goofy action movie that delivers a lot of exciting moments. It’s clearly not the height of cinema as an art form but it is very entertaining. The movie is the second in the “Ninja” trilogy starring Shô Kosugi (“Enter The Ninja”) yet it has nothing to with the other films in the series besides starring Kosugi and being about ninjas.

After his family is murdered by ninjas, Cho (Kosugi) leaves Japan for America with his young son (Kane Kosugi “DOA: Dead Or Alive”). He starts his own gallery but becomes an unwitting pawn by heroin smugglers. When his son is kidnapped, he will have no choice but to don his ninja costume and wield his sword one last time.

Shô Kosugi might not be a very good actor but he sure knows how to fight, which is unsurprising when you learn that he was All Japan Karate Champion. He’s not quite as impressive to watch as Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”) or Jet Li (“Fearless”) but he’s still very entertaining. Kane Kosugi is also a pretty good fighter here despite only being a child. I also like Cho’s mother as the character also gets to fight. This allows us to see an old lady (or at least their stunt double) flipping all over. The villains are a little dull and the thugs in the park are dressed like the Village People for some reason.

“Revenge of the Ninja” features some great action sequences that more than make up for the weak performances. The movie was directed by Sam Firstenberg, who went on to direct “America Ninja”. I can safely say that this movie is significantly better than “American Ninja” because Shô Kosugi can actually fight unlike Michael Dudikoff. “Revenge of the Ninja” is definitely one of the better ninja movies out there and worth checking out for fans of 80s action movies.