Returning to Hong Kong after failing to break into the US market with The Big Brawl (1980), Jackie Chan’s period movies The Young Master (1980) and Dragon Lord (1982) both underperformed at the box office, but that didn’t stop him trying again with Project A.

The film’s obscure title was intentional, as it was common practice for rivals to steal ideas based on announced titles back then, so Chan wanted to avoid calling the movie Pirate Patrol for fear his…

Apparently, the Japanese Emperor so enjoyed Project A that Jackie Chan felt obliged to make a sequel, following on from the huge success of Police Story (1985) and Armour of God (1986). The Project A duology feel like 19th-century Police Story films, even sharing the same mix of pros and cons.

Project A Part II is better made and more ambitious, but as with Police Story 2 (which follow in ’88) it feels like Jackie Chan focuses too much on…

Sorry, but this doesn't deserve the acclaim festooned upon it. 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, I see. Amazing.

TONI ERDMANN is a German drama miss-sold as a comedy (the lead actress even agrees), about an eccentric father with a love of disguises, who pays his estranged career-minded daughter a surprise visit, and proceeds to cause her great embarrassment.

Good idea. FUNNY idea. They're going to remake this with Kristen Wiig and Jack Nicholson. So someone clearly thinks it's a comedy in…