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By the 1980s, the genre of fantasy martial arts had produced some of the best martial arts performances of all time. They present the best of both worlds the action, mythology, and magic of fantasy mixed with the thrill of watching graphic martial arts combat. These films were often set in a fantastical world that allowed martial artists to defy physics and perform gravity-defying stunts. The special effects and the magnetic characters of the 1980s made it a golden age of this hybrid genre. Film-makers have taken the conventions of kung fu and transformed them into something exciting and different.

These movies married martial artists to monsters, magic, and adventure, delivering over-the-top fight scenes and exciting storytelling, bringing with them rich folklore, lore, mythical creatures, and heroes on epic journeys. Films like Shogun Assassin and one of Kurt Russell's best comedy films, Big Trouble In Little China didn't just...

Salor Suit and Machine Gun

A perky high-schooler takes on the mob in “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun”, a one-of-a-kind genre-bender that riffs on the yakuza film, coming-of-age drama and ‘idol movie’, inventively adapted from Jiro Akagawa’s popular novel by director Shinji Somai, a massively influential figure in Japanese cinema whose work has been little seen outside his homeland.

Hoshi Izumi is a young innocent forced to grow up quickly when her father dies and she finds herself next in line as the boss of a moribund yakuza clan. Wrenched from the security of her classroom and thrust into the heart of the criminal underworld, she must come to terms with the fact that her actions hold the key to the life or death of the men under her command as they come under fire from rival gangs.

Presented in both its Original Theatrical and longer Complete versions, and...

Due to the strong impression left on the first film, the same creative crew returned for this brazen and highly-enjoyable follow-up that carries on the sensational adventures of detective Li Koryu. Rushed to theaters three months after the original, this wild and utterly frenzied sequel is now part of the complete Sister Street Fighter Collection released by Arrow Films on March 5 in a 2-disc Blu-Ray set.

After a detective is killed, detective Li Koryu is assigned to look into the case involving the diamond smuggler Kazushige Osone who lives in Japan. After arriving in Yokohama and meeting her sister Li Ban-lan (Tamayo Mitsukawa), Koryu immediately finds herself in the bosses’ crosshairs, as he carries out a scheme involving the smuggling of diamonds from Hong Kong to Japan inside the bodies of prostitutes and then being removed, of which her friend Birei (Hisako Tanaka) is included in. Forced...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

I admit - besides just being a fan of the show and being delighted that another volume has arrived - I’m even more delighted by the release of the Mystery Science Theater Collection: Volume Xvii (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 Srp) than usual because of the bonus features. Which feature, in particular? The “Crow vs. Crow” panel I put together and hosted at last year’s DragonCon,...