10. Arahan

This was a real surprise. After reading some negative reviews I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. A funny and thoroughly entertaining fantasy action comedy telling the tale of an inept cop who may be the only one who can save the world from an unfrozen super villain. An endearing central performance, some laugh out loud moments and a few excellent action sequences (especially the fight in a restaurant) make this an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

9. Danny the Dog (AKA Unleashed)

A perfect vehicle for Jet Li's talents. His brand of naivety, boyish charm and outstanding martial arts skills are put to excellent use and there are also very good performances from the ever dependable Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman. There could have been one more fight scene added to the middle of the film as it does drag a little but this is a minor complaint in, what I believe is Jet's best western film and possibly his best ever.

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8. Casshern

Occasionally confusing and pretentious but also beautiful to look at, exciting and heart wrenching. This is a brilliantly crafted movie and shows that director, Kazuaki Kiriya has a lot of talent. I'll be interested to see what he produces in the future.

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7. Bichunmoo

A fantasy martial arts epic from Korea. A moving love story spanning decades, it features excellent costumes, make up, sets and fine, restrained performances from it's leads. Some may find the heavily edited, MTV-style action (possibly to hide the fact the actors aren't martial artists) frustrating but I found it exciting and stylish.

6. Fighter In The Wind

A loose biography of real-life martial arts legend Mas Oyama, we see his journey from a frightened, weak young man to a battle hardened master. An excellent performance from Yang Dong Guen (as Mas Oyama), powerful and dramatic fight scenes and an engrossing story make this an excellent piece of cinema.

5. Righting Wrongs

I've been a huge fan of the 'three brothers' for a long time. While I've watched a very large amount of Jackie Chan's and Sammo Hung's back catalogues I've, for some reason neglected Yuen Biao's. I started to correct this after watching 'Righting Wrongs', a fantastic action film directed by Corey Yuen and also featuring Cynthia Rothrock. Yuen Biao is excellent as the all action lawyer out to distribute some of his five-knuckle justice on legal system dodging criminals. A thrilling ride that finishes with a huge downer of an ending (if you're watching the Cantonese version) and one of the very best Hong Kong martial arts action films of the 1980's.

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4. Ong Bak

I finally got my hands on a version of 'Ong Bak' with English subtitles when I purchased the Eastern Eye DVD. I was interested to see what difference English subtitles would make and the answer was, not a lot. Then again, the story isn't really the focus of this movie as it's all about showcasing the talents of Tony Jaa which are a mix of Bruce Lee's righteous brutality and Jackie Chan's bounding athleticism. It's a feast for the action fan watching Mr. Jaa dispatching stunt men with various Muay Thai knee and elbow strikes and other assorted ways to pummel people. The Eastern Eye DVD is very good as the picture quality is good and there's a nice selection of extras including various interviews, deleted scenes and some excellent live demonstrations of his talents by Tony Jaa. Also included are two versions of the film - the Luc Besson international cut and the Thai uncut version.

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3. Dragons Forever

This film has been one of my favourites for years and the Hong Kong Legends release does justice to this fine slice of 80's action. A nice, restored print and a host of enjoyable extras are included in the package. Normally I'm not too interested in the extras on a DVD as they tend to feel like filler but in this case I enjoyed all of them. The commentary by Bey Logan is up to his usual high standards and his short 'making of' documentary is also good. The interview with Billy Chow (including highlights of a kickboxing bout involving him) and interviews with Jackie Chan stunt team members and Benny 'the jet' Urquidez are all very interesting. The movie itself is an action spectacular featuring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. It's always a joy to see the 'three brothers' together and the final fight in this is one of the best ever committed to film.

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2. Shaolin Soccer

After watching and enjoying 'Kung Fu Hustle' I wanted to check out more of Stephen Chow's films. I believe this is a superior film to 'Kung Fu Hustle'. Consistently funny and featuring a warm and endearing performance by Stephen Chow, this tale of a bunch of misfit footballers forming a team and entering a  tournament has laugh out loud moments and hugely enjoyable CG enhanced action. Chow surrounds himself with an excellent cast and the movie is pure fun. As the credits rolled I was left with a warm feeling. Excellent escapist cinema.

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1. Infernal Affairs

A very good trilogy but this is the best film out of the three. A tense, stylish thriller packed with superb performances. Anthony Wong as the world weary police captain, Eric Tsang as the deceptively harmless seeming gangland boss, Andy Lau as the ice cool head of internal affairs are superb but Tony Leung Chiu Wai is the pick of the talent on show. His performance is fantastic. He's tortured, melancholic, charming, violent and honourable. It's a magnetic performance and one of the key elements that make this movie so good. 'Infernal Affairs' is stylish but not for styles sake. It's brilliantly paced and has an emotionally charged and gut wrenching ending. This is the kind of film that resonates long after it's finished and that's why it's my favourite film that I watched in 2005.

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Written by Mike Banner