Tsai Chin Archives

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)

Rating: ★★★½

Jul 5, 2002Super-Villain

The first and best of the series of films featuring Christopher Lee at his ice cold best as the Chinese super-villain Fu Manchu. This was made at the height of the Anglo-horror cycle and employs the production values to superlative regard.

Director: Don Sharp

Actors: Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Joachim Fuchsberger, Howard Marion Crawford, …

Category: Science Fiction

5 July 200214 September 2021 by Roog

The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)

Rating: ★★★

Jan 8, 2001Super-Villain

The second film with Christopher Lee as the Chinese super-villain Fu Manchu. Not quite up with its predecessor The Face of Fu Manchu but still an exciting blend of pulp melodrama, super-science and Yellow Peril

Director: Don Sharp

Actors: Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Howard Marion Crawford, Tsai Chin, …

Category: Science Fiction

8 January 200128 December 2025 by Roog

Invasion (1966)

Rating: ★★½

Jan 30, 2014British Alien Invasion Film

Minor British alien invasion effort that creates some atmosphere as a village is trapped in a forcefield by a mystery man pursued by two alien women where both parties claim to be alien cops and the other their prisoners

Director: Alan Bridges

Actors: Edward Judd, Yoko Tani, Eric Young, Tsai Chin, Barrie Ingham, …

Category: Science Fiction

30 January 20143 June 2026 by Roog

The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967)

Rating: ★★

Apr 19, 1999Super-Villain

The third of the fifilms with Christopher Lee as the Chinese super-villain Fu Manchu and generally the point the series started to go downhill

Director: Jeremy Summers

Actors: Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Howard Marion Crawford, Tsai Chin, …

Category: Science Fiction

19 April 199923 April 2024 by Roog

The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)

Rating: ★★

Mar 13, 2011Super-Villain

The fourth of the Christopher Lee-starring Fu Manchu films and the point the series was handed over to exploitation director Jess Franco and started to go badly downhill

Director: Jess Franco

Actors: Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Howard Marion Crawford, Maria Rohm, …

Category: Science Fiction

13 March 201124 April 2024 by Roog

The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)

Rating: ★

Feb 12, 2015Super-Villain

The fifth and final of the Fu Manchu films with Christopher Lee as the super-villain Fu Manchu. The last two were made by exploitation director Jess Franco and only worth watching for Lee's icily autocratic presence

Director: Jess Franco

Actors: Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Tsai Chin, Howard Marion Crawford, …

Category: Science Fiction

12 February 201511 February 2026 by Roog

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003)

Rating: ★★½

May 5, 2007Malevolent House

TV movie prequel to the Stephen King tv mini-series Rose Red that tells the story of the building of the house. A lesser work but not without moments of interest

Director: Craig R. Baxley

Actors: Lisa Brenner, Steven Brand, Tsidii Le Loka, Kate Burton, …

Category: Horror

5 May 200716 October 2025 by Roog

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006)

Rating: ★

May 4, 2008Teenage Girl Martial Arts Warrior

Disney Channel film where a modern teenager finds she is the reincarnation of a martial arts warrior

Director: John Laing

Actors: Brenda Song, Justin Chon, Tsai Chin, Andy Fischer-Price, …

Category: Fantasy

4 May 20088 June 2025 by Roog

Abominable (2019)

Rating: ★★

Dec 8, 2019Animation/Cute Yeti

Animated film in which a girl befriends a Yeti. Essentially a rewrite of E.T. that never much rises out of banal formula. On the other hand, I do have an issue with a children's film pushing blatant political propaganda

Director: Jill Culton

Actors: Chloe Bennet, Sarah Paulson, Eddie Izzard, Tsai Chin, …

Category: Fantasy

8 December 201929 October 2024 by Roog

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Rating: ★★½

Nov 20, 2021Marvel Comics Martial Arts Superhero

The Marvel onslaught continues with this resurrection of a martial artist superhero character from the 1970s. Amid the mostly ho-hum MCU offerings of the 2020s, this becomes an energised action vehicle

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Actors: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Ben Kingsley, …

Category: Fantasy

20 November 202127 February 2026 by Roog