Horror
Rod Lott
Hong Kong has a serious housing problem. As "Dream Home" informs us, owning property is a near-impossibility for today's generation of working youth, because asking prices have bloated for up to $3,200 per square foot. Yes, that's in American dollars.

Action
Rod Lott
I can't think of the last time a straight-up martial arts film got a wide theatrical release. Ten, 15 years ago, it used to happen all the time after Jackie Chan burst through with "Rumble in the Bronx." Not every Hong Kong actioner is worth importing these days, of course, but "True Legend" s widespread love that one hopes it will find on Blu-ray and DVD.

Comedy
Rod Lott
Cock! Snake! Pig!

Thriller
Rod Lott
Asian film enthusiasts swear by "The Stool Pigeon," a critically acclaimed Hong Kong hit from last year. While I've now watched Well Go USA's Blu-ray release of it three times now, it strikes me as not spectacular, but certainly a more-than-serviceable exercise in action and suspense.

Action
Rod Lott
Part costume drama, part fantasy, part mystery, part action and all imaginative, "Detective Dee & The Mystery of the Phantom Flame" marks a return to form for master director Tsui Hark, who helped popularize Hong Kong films in the Western hemisphere in the 1990s with the likes of the "Once Upon a Time in China" series and the Jackie Chan vehicle "Twin Dragons," but has weathered a string of more recent misses in "Zu Warriors," "Black Mask 2" and collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Action
Rod Lott
"Queen of Triads" is a more accurate title for "King of Triads," but to quibble about such things over a thoroughly mediocre Hong Kong actioner is a waste of time and energy.

Action
Rod Lott
Opening the disc for "Yakuza Weapon" is the trailer for Donnie Yen's "Flash Point," which looks incredible. In. Cred. Ible. Sadly, it’s nearly the high point of the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, after the feature’s Colorforms-esque closing credits.

Thriller
Rod Lott
A slaughtered pig hangs in the middle of a room, at which Inspector Bun (Lau Ching Wan, “Black Mask”) stabs. Then he zips himself up in a suitcase and asks a colleague to push him down a stairwell. Then he cuts off his own ear as a going-away present for his boss.

Action
Rod Lott
Jumping back and forth between Brazil and Hong Kong, The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch serves as an origin story of its title hero (German-born Tomer Sisley, The Nativity Story), secret adopted heir to self-made gazillionaire Neiro Winch (Miki Manojlovic, Europe's equivalent to our Philip Baker Hall) and the world's fifth-largest fortune.