Cinema Escapist
Explore and connect the world through a cinematic lens
Review: “Air Strike” Is a War Movie Plagued By Tragedy…And Taxes
BY Anthony Kao
Meet the “Sharknado” of Chinese war movies: with US$65M worth of misery... and Bruce Willis.
“Wolf Warrior 2” Shows a New Kind of Chinese Patriotism—That Speaks to Overseas Chinese
BY Richard Yu
"Wolf Warrior 2" breathes new life into the Chinese action genre—and appeals to foreign-born Chinese in the process.
Review: Land of Mine (Denmark/Germany, 2015)
BY Anthony Kao
This Oscar-nominated Danish/German film explores a little-known part of WWII's aftermath.
Review: Stalingrad (Russia, 2013)
BY Jordan Li
A 2013 Russian revisitation of WWII's arguably most important battle, complete with slick production quality and special effects.
Review: Operation Mekong (China, 2016)
BY Anthony Kao
Based on a true 2011 incident, Operation Mekong is China's first major foray into the US-dominated "foreign intervention action epic" genre.
Review: The Eternal Zero (Japan, 2013)
BY Jordan Li
2013 was a good year for Japanese aviation fans. Hayao Miyazaki released his magnum opus The Wind Rises, a fictionalized biopic of Jiro Horikoshi (the...
Review: Heneral Luna (Philippines, 2015)
BY Anthony Kao
It’s always a guilty treat to watch a film in which America is the bad guy. There aren’t that many, probably because most nations that...
Review: My Way (South Korea, 2011)
BY Anthony Kao
During the D-Day landings in 1944, American paratroopers captured an Asian man in Wehrmacht uniform. This man was Yang Kyoungjong, a Korean who had…
Review: The Liberator (Venezuela, 2014)
BY Anthony Kao
The Liberator is a Venezuelan biopic about South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar that is packed with both action and reminders of how Bolivar continues to...
Review: Kajaki (United Kingdom, 2014)
BY Anthony Kao
The independent film Kajaki (titled Kilo Two Bravo for North American distribution) tells the true story of British troops who must contend with the physical...