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Known primarily for their work in The Five Deadly Venoms, a group of five martial arts actors starred in a slew of entertaining kung fu flicks. Martial arts movies have a tendency to recreate actor pairings that studio already know can lead to success. Jackie Chan's Three Dragons movies with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung are a perfect example of this. Also worth mentioning are the various partnerships between Ti Lung and David Chiang in classic Shaw Brothers movies, as well as the films that boast Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins as co-stars.

The vast majority of these actor team-ups are duos and trios, but that's not the case for the Venom Mob. Taking their name from their Five Deadly Venoms movie from 1977, the Venom Mob consisted of five actors, all of whom being talented martial artists. A long list of great kung fu movies managed to pack...

Ip Man 5 with Donnie Yen is confirmed and may rectify Master Law's past defeats in the franchise. Lo Mang, a former martial arts star, deserves a huge win in Ip Man 5 to honor his legacy. The film should pay homage to Lo Mang's Shaw Brothers movies by showcasing his unique fighting style.

An insult to a kung fu movie legend can finally be rectified if one supporting character returns for Ip Man 5. The martial arts movie franchise appeared to reach a conclusion with Ip Man 4: The Finale's ending, but it's since become apparent that even the death of the titular character hasn't killed the series. Somehow, though, Ip Man 5 is happening regardless.

As it stands, very little is known about the plans for Ip Man 5. That said, the project has been confirmed to be in development, with Donnie Yen returning to reprise his...

When is a cult movie cult? It’s a question asked many a time with no real defining answer as everyone will have their own opinion. Does that also mean that a movie studio can be considered cult too? For all the box office success it had in its heyday, Shaw Brothers now is less known to the mainstream and is instead firmly in the hearts of those movie fanatics that quite probably read these pages. With their studio bound sets, buckets of fake blood and sheer theatricality, the movies had a distinctive look but by the time “The Kid with the Golden Arm” was released times were already moving on an. So how does it fare now over 40 years later?

“The Kid with the Golden Arm” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival

Yang Hu Yun (Sun Chien) is asked to escort a valuable cargo. Aware that the Chi...

When is a cult movie cult? It’s a question asked many a time with no real defining answer as everyone will have their own opinion. Does that also mean that a movie studio can be considered cult too? For all the box office success it had in its heyday, Shaw Brothers now is less known to the mainstream and is instead firmly in the hearts of those movie fanatics that quite probably read these pages. With their studio bound sets, buckets of fake blood and sheer theatricality, the movies had a distinctive look but by the time “The Kid with the Golden Arm” was released times were already moving on an. So how does it fare now over 40 years later?

Yang Hu Yun (Sun Chien) is asked to escort a valuable cargo. Aware that the Chi Sha gang headed by Golden Arm (Lo Mang) seeks to rob them,...

One of the most venerated titles in their filmography, the Shaw Brothers studios hit a pop-culture high with this engaging kung-fu masterpiece. Featuring director Chang Cheh at the top of his game and introducing several soon-to-be stars from their lauded cache of talent, ‘Five Deadly Venoms’ emerged as one of the most important works in the genre even though it’s a case of the later impact superseding the final product.

About to finally die, the master instructs his final student Yang Tieh to check on the activities of his former pupils, each of whom knows a unique and specific style of kung-fu. Finding each student, the Scorpion-style master Kao Chin, Lizard-style master Meng Tien-hsia, Toad-style master Liang Shen, the Snake-style master Chi Tung and the Centipede-style master Chang Hsiao-tien each living in complete isolation from everyone else, he goes about trying to follow his mission when...

When I was a kid, my family and I would wake up early on Saturday mornings to watch terribly dubbed versions of Chinese martial arts films.

Afterwards, my brothers and I would challenge one another, trying our best to imitate what we’d just seen. It was an amazing time in my life. It was also my first encounter with the infamous Venom Mob.

If you’re not familiar with the Venom Mob, I dare say that your martial arts movie life is incomplete.

The Venom Mob was a hardcore team of actors and actresses with real martial arts skills who happened to join forces with a couple of movie directors named the Shaw Brothers. These guys are absolute legends in the Chinese and Asian film industry.

The Shaw Brother movies and the Venom Mob triggered an insatiable famine within me for epic fight scenes, gruesomely over exaggerated death scenes...

If only director Sion Sono can keep up the current pace he’s working at, this universe may very well still be worth saving.

After a handful of gorgeous and criticially beloved features like Love Exposure, Sono blew the doors off of 2014’s year of cinema with his brilliant and in many ways definitive Why Don’t You Play In Hell?. Well, he’s back once again with what may very well be his most anarchic and revelatory achievement to date.

Entitled Tokyo Tribe, Sono takes to the world of gangsters in what is ostensibly a Tokyo sometime in the near-ish future. For all intents and purposes an action film in the body of a musical, Sono’s latest is based on the manga series Tokyo Tribe 2 from Santa Inoue, and melds Shaw Brothers-esque clan battles with a futuristic setting and rap music. Think The Kid With The Golden Arm...

El Rey Network will celebrate Father’s Day with a Kung Fu marathon dedicated to the most prolific director Shaw Brothers’ history and the Father of Kung Fu Cinema, Chang Cheh. Starting Saturday, June 20th at 6am Et, El Rey Network will be playing 10 of his most action packed fan favorites including: The Five Deadly Venoms, Disciples of Shaolin, and One-Armed Swordsman. Join El Rey Network in celebrating the unique action-packed style of this master of Kung Fu cinema. Saturday, June 20th (all times Et) “The Assassin” 6:00am and 6:00pm “The Boxer from Shantung” 8:30am and 8:30pm “The Heroic Ones” 11:15am and 11:15pm “Disciples of Shaolin” 1:45pm and 1:45am “The Kid with the Golden Arm” 4:00pm Sunday, June 21th (all times Et) “Masked Avengers” 4:00am and 5:15 “The Kid with the Golden Arm...

Every day, more and more films are added to the various streaming services out there, ranging from Netflix to YouTube, and are hitting the airwaves via movie-centric networks like TCM. Therefore, sifting through all of these pictures can be a tedious and often times confounding or difficult ordeal. But, that’s why we’re here. Every week, Joshua brings you five films to put at the top of your queue, add to your playlist, or grab off of VOD to make your weekend a little more eventful. Here is this week’s top five, in this week’s Armchair Vacation.

5. Forbidden Empire (VOD)

While fantasy narratives, period costuming and CGI effects are often left for either the studio Oscar bait season or the occasional Hollywood blockbuster, lower and lower budget indie releases are getting access to higher and higher quality below-the-line craft work. Take Oleg Stepchenko’s Forbidden Empire for example.