Roger Yuan Movies
The city streets explode into violence when "The Man" kills Black Dynamite's (Michael Jai White) brother in this seamless recreation of the blaxploitation classics of the 1970s. He was the best agent that the CIA ever had, but these days Black Dynamite only answers to one boss -- himself. When "The Man" ices Black Dynamite's brother, starts pumping heroin into the local orphanage, and floods the ghetto with a secret weapon disguised as common malt liquor, the car chases, gunfights, and shirtless brawls that follow prove wild enough to make even Dolemite green with envy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Jai White, Kym E. Whitley, (more)
Kal Ho Naa Ho director Nikhil Advani takes the helm for this tale of mistaken identity concerning a chef who's confused for a dangerous martial arts expert. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, (more)
Vivian Wu stars as an unlikely femme fatale in this suspenseful murder mystery from writer/director Oscar Luis Costo. In the wake of her husband's murder, Mei Li (Wu) takes on a vengeful alter-ego, carrying out hits at the direction of her husband's confidant. Meanwhile, she meets an American man and strikes up a romance, but one or both of the two men in her life may secretly have dubious intentions. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivian Wu, Richard Burgi, (more)
Thanks to her stint as a higher being, during which she relived every atrocity Angelus (David Boreanaz) ever committed, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) now knows that Angel and The Beast (Vladimir Kulich) were once in league with one another. With perpetual night engulfing L.A. in a vampire and demon free-for-all, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) convinces Angel and the others that the only way to defeat The Beast is to consult the evil vampire buried underneath Angel's soul. But as Wes seeks the help of Wo-Pang (Roger Yuan), a sorcerer with the power to remove and store souls, Angel manages the seemingly impossible task of destroying The Beast. He makes amends with estranged son Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) and finally makes love with Cordelia. Then he awakens, mutters the name of a certain vampire slayer, and cackles with the maniacal glee of Angelus. The previous series of unlikely events was nothing but an illusion implanted by Wo-Pang in Angel's mind to give him a moment of true happiness -- the trigger that allows his evil alter ego to emerge. Originally broadcast January 29, 2003, on the WB network, "Awakening" marked season four, episode ten of the supernatural soap opera. The sequence in which Angel and Cordy make love deliberately resembles the night Angel took Buffy's virginity and accidentally unleashed the monster inside himself (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Surprise"). In another strong echo of Angel's parent series, the mystic Wo-Pang appears to be of the same order as the sorcerer who pretended to remove Angel's soul in the Buffy episode "Enemies." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Seeking to locate Angel's soul, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) barges into the lair of Wo-Pang (Roger Yuan), who doesn't have it. The mystic informs Wes that unless the soul remains in its sacred vessel, it will eventually make its way to the afterlife, leaving Angelus (David Boreanaz) permanently in control of Angel's body. Back at the hotel, Lilah (Stephanie Romanov) sneaks in through the sewers and attempts to enlist Angelus' help in crushing The Beast (Vladimir Kulich), whom she loathes. The Angel Investigations team interrupts, but Lilah remains at the hotel, somewhere between a prisoner and a reluctant ally. She tells them that the reason information on The Beast is so scarce is that an enchantment removed all references to him from this dimension. She also reveals the crucial piece of information Wolfram & Hart extracted from the Host (Andy Hallett) -- that The Beast is only the henchman of a far more powerful foe. As the gang digests this disconcerting news, Angelus takes the opportunity to reveal the details of Wes and Lilah's little dalliance. In the midst of all this drama, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) experiences a vision of how to restore Angel's soul. Once again a champion of good, Angel vows to remain locked up until the gang can be sure the spell is permanent. Cordelia, however, convinces him to come out of his cage. He complies, then clocks her and flees, revealing that he's actually still Angelus. As the team heads out into the demon-infested permanent midnight of Los Angeles to find him, he doubles back to the hotel to stalk Cordelia and Lilah. The women find themselves face to face in the same hiding place, at which point Cordy stabs Lilah, calls her a "stupid bitch" and reveals that she herself deliberately let Angelus loose. Originally broadcast February 12, 2003, on the WB network, "Calvary" marked season four, episode 12 of the supernatural soap opera. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
A monk and a pickpocket become unlikely allies in this action adventure story. Sixty years ago, a nameless monk (Chow Yun-Fat) was appointed the guardian of a mysterious scroll that grants remarkable powers to those who possess it. After six decades of traveling the world to protect the scroll, the monk must find someone new to assume the responsibility, but as fate would have it, the new caretaker turns out to be Kar (Seann William Scott), a scruffy and distinctly non-enlightened petty thief living in San Francisco. As the monk attempts to educate Kar in the powers and responsibilities of the scroll and the ways of a monk's life, they discover they have a rival for the possession of the valuable scroll. As Kar and the monk fend off their mysterious adversary, they are aided by Bad Girl (Jaime King), a beautiful Russian mob affiliate with amazing martial arts skills and a vested interest in keeping the scroll in virtuous hands. Bulletproof Monk was based a comic book series published in 1999; Chow Yun-Fat's frequent collaborators John Woo and Terence Chang produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, (more)
Jackie Chan has often played a fish out of water, but he's rarely found himself so far upstream as in this comic adventure, in which he puts his fighting skills to the test in the Old West of the 1850s. Lo Fong (Roger Yuan), onetime captain of the Chinese Imperial Guard, has traded upholding the law for smuggling opium. Needing some operating capital, Lo Fong kidnaps the Emperor's daughter, Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu), and takes her to America. When the Emperor sends his best men to find her, Chon Wang (Chan), one of the Emperor's less distinguished guards, insists on joining them; he feels at fault for Lo Fong's capturing the Princess, and he wants to make amends. However, while the rescue party scours the West, Chon Wang gets separated from the group and soon becomes lost. When he crosses paths with Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), a bright but arrogant train robber, the two become unlikely allies. While Shanghai Noon was billed as Jackie Chan's follow-up to Rush Hour, his first successful American-made feature, it was actually filmed in Canada, as was Chan's breakthrough film in America, the Hong Kong-backed Rumble in the Bronx. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, (more)
This made-for-television movie spawned several sequels and eventually an adventure TV-series of the same name. Russell Wong and Chi Moui Lo star as brothers Jian-Wa and Wago Chang, respectively, who escape from China's political unrest and take up in the United States. Both try and find new lives in the U.S., with Wago falling in with an organized crime gang and Jian-Wa pursuing a career in music. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
In Rage and Honor, Cynthia Rothrock is featured as a full-time high-school teacher/part-time karate instructor who's out to protect one of her students who innocently witnesses and films a mob drug transaction. He's caught and beaten but keeps the film from the bad guys. Finding and helping him is an Australian foreign-exchange cop who also gets involved in the fracas when he's set up for a murder by some cop cohorts who've gone bad. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, (more)
This taut suspenser juggles perspectives of patriotism, media roles and the relationship between government officials and their economic interests. After a journalist covers a story about a secret military transaction between an American aerospace engineer and a Japanese agent, she continues her investigation with the help of a private eye. Before long, she figures out that she is merely a pawn and nothing around her is as it seems to be--including the people she has trusted. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
After spending his time in jail for manslaughter, a formal world-champion kick boxer B.J. Quinn (John Barrett) is released after doing time and sets out to regain his former stature as a top-notch fighter. Unfortunately he begins his comeback at a drunken party (he's drunk) and he tangles with the current top-dog of kick boxing, Jacques Denard. Denard beats him to a pulp, which sends our hero Quinn into hiding where he teams up with another kick boxer, and together they begin to train for a real-time head-on with the champion Denard. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrett, Keith Vitali, (more)
Director Mark L. Lester modeled this police action drama on the Hong Kong style, guaranteeing plenty of over-the-top action sequences. Dolph Lundgren stars as police detective Chris Kenner, an American raised in Japan. He is given a new partner, Johnny Murata (Brandon Lee, making his Hollywood debut), a Japanese raised in America. The two are made for each other -- Chris doesn't appreciate American culture, while Johnny doesn't much like Japanese culture. One thing they both enjoy are the martial arts, of which they are experts. The two are assigned to L.A.'s Little Tokyo, trying to nab the notorious Yoshida (Carey-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a drug manufacturer using a local brewery as his distribution center. Yoshida, a member of the Yakuza, has brought the residents of Little Tokyo to their knees. But Chris has personal reasons for wanting to get Yoshida -- as a child he witnessed Yoshida murdering his parents. When Yoshida rapes and kidnaps Minako (Tia Carrere), a beautiful lounge singer, it's the last straw and Chris and Johnny set out for Yoshida's heavily guarded home for a big showdown. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, (more)
Featuring plenty of high, hard kicks, and flailing furious fists, this martial arts actioner tells an exciting tale of vengeance as a tough American street fighter stalks the streets of L.A.'s Chinatown in search of the organized criminals responsible for his guardian's death. Movie newcomer Jeff Speakman makes an appealing action hero, with fluid direction from genre veteran Mark DiSalle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Speakman, John Dye, (more)



















