"The Shallows" seems to be an attempt to forge a marriage between critic friendly drama ("Open Water"?) and plebeian friendly entertainment ("Shark Night"?), although the relationship ends up being somewhat turbulent, if passionate.
I had liked "Lady Snowblood" during my initial viewing, but I think I only enjoyed it on a superficial level, believing it to be exploitation packaged as art. I was paying so much attention to the violence, sex and style that I overlooked the depth to be found within the story, characters and visuals.
"Operation Condor" was made during the perfect time period, as Jackie Chan had enough experience as a director, his star power allowed for massive budgets and he was still young enough to defy God and gravity with his jaw dropping stunts. It was the perfect storm for greatness.