For some its Wizard of Oz. For others it’s Die Hard which brings them Christmas cheer.  Me I’m not one of them, I like my Christmas tales filled with Kung Fu action of the Hong Kong variety.

It was the UK’s Channel 4 that introduced me to Hong Kong Action movies in the 80s with a short session of Chinese Ghost Stories, which featured Sammo Hung’s classic Spooky Encounters.

Since then the Christmas holidays have always been a time to catch up with new releases and discover old classics. Kung Fu Hustle (which I got as Christmas present), a season of Bruce Lee’s films (other than Enter the Dragon), Donnie Yen’s Ip Man films, Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time in China films and John Woo’s fantastic four hour version of Red Cliff, are films that immediately spring to mind.

This christmas holiday I’ll be doing my usual Kung Fu fest, so come join me as I quickly review what I watch over the festive season. There will definitely be some Monkey inspired stuff, Stephen’ Chow’s excellent Journey to the West Conquering Demons is on the watch list and I’m hoping to make a trip to the cinema to see the newly released Surprise: Journey to the West.