The interesting aspect of "Forbidden City" is its mix of Italian and Chinese to tell a story mostly set in Rome. The action optimizing Elisa Wong (known for the live action "Mulan") is fast and furious when it happens and yet the film is also balanced by the more cathartic Italian form of storytelling combined with a gangster picture. Written and directed by Gabriele Mainetti, it is an interesting mix since it moves different than a normal kung fu action film. There is a slickness and some Italian humor and yet retains a bit of the melodrama familiar in certain Far East cinema.

"Blades Of The Guardians" is an interesting epic, big in scope and aware of itself through and through. Directed by action legend Yeun Woo-Ping, the film follows the story of a disavowed soldier of the Emperor's Guard that becomes a mercenary. He cares for a young boy whom we learn more about throughout the film. Primarily though this is the story of Dao Ma (Wu Jing), a man staying under the radar and making money. Woo-Ping has gathered together some of the best martial artists (including many known to the West) but these are covered in beards and make up so it allows the audience to sink into the characters without wondering who they are.

The tenets of South Korean horror are usually good in using a setting or object to create a mythology. "Ghost Train" uses that in a similar way. What does work well is the build of this one to almost tell a Twilight Zone nature of a couple different people who have been affected by the train. It is not so much about the train itself but the station it inhabits which has its own past.

Creating an epic that can balance mythical and a sense of traditionalism, especially out of the Chinese market without falling into melodrama is a specific balance. This of course has to do with the nature of translation but when a sense of visual style and storytelling find a balance, it can really work.

The aspect of remote horror combined with mythology can sometimes be played to good effect but only specifically if it has a reveal with a texture of exposition. With "The Tank" directed by Scott Walker, the basis of what transpires has the realm of creature feature but with a small amount more, there would have been a much bigger world for it to inhabit.