Nikkatsu is reporting that famed action movie and Japanese New Wave director Seijun Suzuki passed away on February 13th, 2017 at age 93.
Suzuki began his career with Nikkatsu in 1956. He made many pictures each year, filming at a rapid pace. As time went on, he began to experiment more, both visually and otherwise, much to the chagrin of film executives. His 1967 movie Branded to Kill, a Jo Shishido hitman thriller which plays like a dangerous fever dream, was so surreal that it played a part in Nikkatsu ultimately firing Suzuki. The director took his bosses to court and won, but was subsequently blacklisted from all the major studios for a decade, when he made his 1977 return with A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness. Suzuki reached new heights of experimentation with the bizarre Taisho Trilogy, three arthouse films that mixed dark comedy, horror, and mystery to great effect. In 2005, Suzuki directed his final film, a fantasy musical starring Ziyi Zhang titled Princess Raccoon.
Suzuki’s career included other highlights such as Tokyo Drifter, Fighting Elegy, Youth of the Beast, Gate of Flesh, Underworld Beauty, Story of a Prostitute, Voice Without a Shadow, and Everything Goes Wrong. Suzuki also occasionally took on acting roles, with parts in films like Shinji Aoyama’s Embalming and SABU’s Blessing Bell.
Seijun Suzuki was a one of a kind film talent, creating some truly weird and very cool movies over the years. His films influenced the works of Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, Takashi Miike, Jim Jarmusch, and many others.
We here at City on Fire offer our condolences to Suzuki’s family and friends.
“Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Producer: Martin Baum
Cast: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson
Running Time: 112 min.
By Martin Sandison
Sam Peckinpah’s influence as a filmmaker is undoubted, and his run from The Wild Bunch to Cross of Iron is near-untouchable. Misunderstood at the time, his elegiac, revisionist Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid nearly destroyed his reputation in Hollywood, and was cut to shreds by the film’s producers. Peckinpah, shattered by the experience, decided to up camp to Mexico, his spiritual home, to make the film he described as the only one over which he had complete control, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.
While most would call Peckinpah’s movies an acquired taste, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia divides even lovers of his filmography. At turns fiercely nihilistic, darkly funny, beguilingly strange and brimming with his trademark slow motion violence, it’s certainly a wild ride. One that was way ahead of its time and influenced filmmakers all over the world. Arrow video recently released a limited edition 4K remaster of the film on Blu-ray, which is a must for fans.
The most obvious filmmaker that the film influenced is my favourite director, John Woo. Woo has stated the film is one of his favourites, and you can see the influence especially in the lone hero as individualist idea. The opening scene of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is much-talked about; rightly so as it communicates Peckinpah’s greatness as a film maker. A young pregnant girl sits by the side of a lake, to be called in by El Jeffe (Emilio Fernandez, who played Mapache in The Wild Bunch and was a Palme D’or winning filmmaker in the 40’s) and told to vocalise who the father of her child is. The girl, once she is stripped and has her arm broken exclaims “Alfredo Garcia!”, and El Jeffe himself exclaims “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, thus setting in to motion the films plot. The location of Mexico, costumes and filmmaking convey the sense that this IS the Old West, the setting of Peckinpah’s previous films. When the next scene comes with a complete change in all aspects to locate itself firmly as contemporary, it is a shock, even to the viewer, who has knowledge of the film.
Two men attempt to track down Alfredo, and come across a bar wherein Bennie (Warren Oates) is the resident piano player. He doesn’t let on that he recognises the picture that they show him, and in the next scene talks to his prostitute girlfriend Elita (Isela Vega), who was in love with Alfredo. They decide to track him down, and the movie becomes at first a romantic road trip then a descent in to hell.
Those who have seen Peckinpah’s earlier movies will be surprised in the change of scale; the film has a low budget, grimy aesthetic with none of the epic scope of his previous westerns. This creates a world of dark, shadowy strangeness that reflects Bennie’s plight in the second half of the film especially. Warren Oates gives perhaps his greatest performance, communicating Bennie’s at first playful nature then dangerously unhinged state. Many have said that Oates was channeling Peckinpah himself, which adds layers of pathos to an already on-the-edge performance and film. The iconic nature of Oates look (a cool white suit) and depiction of Bennie as a violent but individually moralistic character is wonderful, and the influence on John Woo is clear (especially Chow Yun Fat’s John in The Killer).
Elita is one of Peckinpah’s most interesting female characters, as she holds sway over Bennie and shows her mental toughness in a near-rape scene. That scene features Kris Kristofferson in a cameo role, just after his role as Billy the Kid. One of the greatest songwriters of the 70’s, he became close to Peckinpah and talks candidly about him in the documentary Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron, which is an extra on the Arrow release. In small roles, Gig Young (who appeared in the mess that was Game of Death in 1978) and Robert Webber (a veteran character actor who was in the original series of Ironside and The Dirty Dozen) are superbly ambiguous as the men who hire Bennie.
The violence in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is what you would expect from Peckinpah, but on a much smaller scale than say the shootout at the end of The Wild Bunch. This doesn’t detract from its impact; actually in aesthetic construction some of the action scenes are more viscerally powerful than in some of his other films. The hopelessness of the narrative also gives credence to Bennie’s rampage of violence in the second half of the film, and really makes you root for him despite his failings.
At the time of release, a lot of critics and generally audiences didn’t understand the film and labelled it unworthy, especially in relation to Peckinpah’s earlier films. The film to me is almost as era-defining as the film most agree is his best, The Wild Bunch. However the sheer darkness that descends in the second half of the film is so all-encompassing it can be a disturbing watch, but one that is rewarding in every sense.
Arrow Video’s ever growing catalogue of Asian masterpieces continues with the Blu-ray & DVD for 1975’s Cops vs Thugs, a crime classic directed by Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honor and Humanity).
Considered by many to be director Fukasaku’s greatest single-film achievement in the yakuza genre, Cops vs Thugs was made at the height of popularity of Toei Studios’ jitsuroku boom: realistic, modern crime movies based on true stories taken from contemporary headlines.
It’s 1963 in the southern Japanese city of Kurashima, and tough-as-nails detective Kuno (Sugawara) oversees a detente between the warring Kawade and Ohara gangs. Best friends with Ohara lieutenant Hirotani (Hiroki Matsukata), he understands that there are no clear lines in the underworld, and that everything is colored a different shade of gray. But when random violence interrupts the peace and an ambitious, by-the-books lieutenant (Tatsuo Umemiya) comes to town, Kuno’s fragile alliance begins to crumble. Greedy bosses and politicians alike seize the opportunity to wipe out their enemies, and Kuno faces the painful choice of pledging allegiance to his badge and keeping a promise to his brother.
Echoing the great crime films of Sidney Lumet and Jean-Pierre Melville, in Fukasaku’s world, there’s no honor among thieves or lawmen alike, and the only thing that matters is personal honor and duty among friends. Kasahara’s shattering screenplay and Fukasaku’s dynamic direction support an all-star, ensemble cast to create one of the most exciting, and deeply moving films about cops and criminals ever made.
Extra Features:
High Definition digital transfer
Original uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles
Beyond the Film: Cops vs Thugs, a new video appreciation by Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane
A new visual essay on cops & criminals in Fukasaku’s works by film scholar Tom Mes
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
First Pressing Only: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film
“Dance of the Drunk Mantis” Chinese Theatrical Poster
AKA: Drunken Master 2 Director: Yuen Woo-ping Producer: See Yuen Ng Cast: Siu Tien “Simon” Yuen, Shun Yee “Sunny” Yuen, Hwang Jang Lee, Linda Lin, Corey Yuen, Yen Shi Kwan, Dean Shek, David Wu, Lee Fat-Yuen Running Time: 121 min.
By Chris Hatcher
When Siu Tien “Simon” Yuen first stepped onto the Asian cinema scene in 1947 at age 35, one of his earliest roles was as a thug in director Wu Pang’s The Story of Wong Fei-Hung, which featured Kwan Tak Hing in the legendary title role. Having trained in the traditional Peking Opera, Yuen was credited in more than 300 films spanning 30+ years before his untimely death in 1979. He played a variety of roles, from technical turns as stunt coordinator and fight instructor to bandits, cooks, mentors, and kung fu masters. However, none was more memorable than his late turn as the drunkard Beggar So (aka Sam Seed) in Jackie Chan’s 1978 smash hit comedy Drunken Master… a film that brought Yuen full circle by portraying him as the uncle to, none other than, Wong Fei Hung.
I tie the above preface to my review of Yuen’s final completed picture, Dance of the Drunk Mantis, so I can set the stage for explaining why I really love this film. Otherwise, you run the risk of seeing it and coming away with a mixed impression of an “Old Man Yuen” needing an obvious stunt double to perform 90% of his fight scenes, which is true. My hope is to turn this oft-times negatively regarded aspect into a positively endearing point of view that will help you see this film for what it truly is… a comedic masterpiece, rivaling the humor of Drunken Master and displaying some of the most technical, cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow fight choreography in the genre. Not to mention, standing as an excellent showpiece for the ultra-talented Yuen Clan.
Reprising his role as Sam Seed, Yuen plays the red-nosed champion of southern Chinese drunken boxing made all the more potent by a good rice wine. His counterpart, the northern drunken boxing king Rubber Legs (Hwang Jang Lee, Yuen’s Drunken Master alum and all-around bad ass), has secretly combined his drunken skills with mantis kung fu and is in search of Sam for an old school smackdown. An early encounter with a Sam Seed imposter shows Rubber Legs and his apprentice (Corey Yuen) mean business in challenging Sam for the drunken boxing title.
Meanwhile, the real Sam returns home after several years away on a bender to find his irritable wife (the great Linda Lin, another Drunken Master alum) has adopted an adult son named Foggy (Shun Yee “Sunny” Yuen). He likes to scrap, but his kung fu is lousy as evident by the beating he takes from a shady banker (played by Dean Shek, the creepy King of Kung Fu Comedy). This prompts Ma Seed to suggest Sam teach their son drunken boxing, a proposition Sam cruelly accepts as a way to humiliate Foggy.
Watching Sam make his son fall from stilts or play a one-man game of Twister in the name of “training” is typical old school humor. But in an atypical move, the story takes a brief turn of pathos when Sam berates Foggy for being a stupid kid who can’t hold his liquor. The scene proves effective as Foggy blames himself for Sam’s cruelty and decides to leave home. (For the record, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is the most sentimentally deep old school film I’ve ever seen. And while that entire film is soaked in sorrow with virtually no humor (one of the reasons I absolutely love it), it was nice to see a comedy like DotDM aspire to hit a sentimental note like this.)
When Foggy barely survives an encounter with Rubber Legs and his apprentice after learning Sam is next on their hit list, he returns home to warn his father. This leads to one of the more renowned scenes in old school kung fu cinema… the restaurant showdown between Sam and Rubber Legs. It’s the highlight of DotDM as the duel begins innocently enough with the playful posturing of arm and hand locks over glasses of wine and ends in a full-on drunken brawl to the death (Yuen’s stunt man works overtime as the scene continuously shifts from close-ups of Yuen to fantastically staged fight choreography by his double). Luckily, when Rubber Legs pulls out his deadly drunken mantis fist and overpowers Sam, Foggy steps in to help dear old dad live to fight another day.
And we’re only two-thirds of the way through Dance of the Drunk Mantis by this point, with some of the most dynamic kung fu yet to come when Sam’s brother, Sickness (Yen Shi Kwan), secretly teaches Foggy his sick kung fu during Sam’s recovery. Looking like death warmed over, Uncle Sickness tells Foggy his kung fu can counter Rubber Legs’ mantis fist and the training sequences do not disappoint. They are so good, in fact, as to qualify DotDM with one of the better old school “zero to hero” transformations in Foggy, who displays some serious Chan-like acrobatics during his shift to stud status. He’s great in his rematch with the apprentice and ready for the challenge by the time Rubber Legs arrives to put Sam and Foggy in the ground for good.
The first big positive going for Dance of the Drunk Mantis is its director… the great Yuen Woo Ping, Simon Yuen’s eldest son. Everything he touches is branded with a mark of high quality, and DotDM is no exception. If you only know Yuen Woo Ping for his fight choreography on The Matrix trilogy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the Kill Bill films, you’re truly missing out. His direction is stellar, ranging from modern day martial arts classics like Iron Monkey to classics of the old school era like Dreadnaught, The Magnificent Butcher, and the aforementioned Drunken Master (DotDM was promoted as DM’s unofficial sequel).
The second positive is the excellent mix of humor and martial arts skill… some of the best in the old school era. Some scenes sprinkle bits of excellent kung fu amidst a piece of great comedy, like the contentious “welcome home” match between Sam and his wife. The humor takes center stage as Sam dodges an assortment of slaps, kicks, broom strikes, and verbal jabs in a routine reminiscent of a Three Stooges skit. A scene like this could have come off as corny, but Yuen’s sad clown expressions and big toothy grins add an endearing quality to the whole thing. Seeing Yuen barely able to duck a kick in one scene followed by an immediate cut to his stunt double skillfully flipping out of harm’s way only adds to the charm. And there are several other equally funny scenes like this throughout the film.
Other scenes, such as the climactic battle between Foggy and Rubber Legs, showdowns between Ma Seed/Foggy and apprentice, and the ever-excellent restaurant brawl flip the formula and add touches of great comedy to masterful fight sequences. You’ll fully understand this notion when, in the midst of some amazing choreography, Rubber Legs’ mantis fist rips the pants off Sam and a bout of “sexy hips” kung fu takes place! Trust me when I say you’ll want to replay the restaurant scene multiple times just to admire how it builds from verbal grandstanding to technical showmanship to one of the all-time great duels of the genre. And no amount of stunt doubling can detract from it!
Then there’s Sunny Yuen, Corey Yuen, Linda Lin, Yen Shi Kwan, and the amazing Hwang Jang Lee… players who make Dance of the Drunk Mantis shine as a kung fu powerhouse from start to finish. Sunny, one of Yuen’s middle sons, does some of his best work in this one, as does Corey (who isn’t actually one of the Yuen family members); Lin is always skillful with some of the straightest leg kicks in the business; Kwan is a technical master in his handful of scenes; and Lee, who looks great as a Pai Mei archetype, delivers his signature crazy-leg kicks with an added mantis stance that looks wicked as hell!
And, finally, there’s Simon Yuen, who couldn’t have made it through DotDM without the aid of a very special Yuen Clan member… one of his youngest sons, Brandy, who we initially see as the Sam Seed imposter, but who we don’t “see” as his father’s dynamic stunt double. The notion of a son literally working in his aging father’s footsteps ups the endearment factor by tenfold, and helps eradicate any talk about his over-use hindering the film. In fact, Brandy Yuen was a highly regarded stunt coordinator/stunt man in Hong Kong back in his day, and it’s his skill that allows Dance of the Drunk Mantis to soar when other films under similar circumstances would have likely crashed and burned.
Sadly enough, Brandy’s completed work on the silver screen would go unseen by his father, who died of a heart attack five months prior to DotDM’s release while filming The Magnificent Butcher. Simon Yuen reprised his role as Sam Seed for the Yuen Woo Ping vehicle, which required reshoots of his scenes upon his death. He was replaced by Fan Mei Sheng, but the name “Sam Seed” was not used out of respect for the character Yuen had made famous. If for no other reason, see Dance of the Drunk Mantis and know you’re watching a performance by an actor who gave everything to his craft… right to the very end. You may just experience the same affection for the film’s excellent qualities as I did and love it!
Grab your red “Thriller” jacket and get ready for Plan B, an upcoming martial arts flick fused with comedy and nostalgic pop culture. The film’s cast and crew consists of stuntmen and martial artists from the German film crew, Reel Deal Action.
In Plan B, three martial arts experts (Can Aydin, Cha-Lee Yoon and Phong Giang) embark upon a search for a treasure that will allow them to save a friend from the clutches of a scrupulous gangster. They will soon find themselves immersed in a complex conspiracy that’s aimed at putting an end to the boss of Berlin’s underworld. A bash ‘em up comedy that pays tribute to the eighties and nineties American action flicks.
Plan B is directed by Ufuk Genc and Michael Popescu, and written by Rafael Alberto Garciolo. The film also stars U-Gin Boateng, Henry Meyer, Julia Dietze, Florian Kleine, Laurent Daniels, Gedeon Burkhardt, K1 fighter Aristote Luis and Heidi Moneymaker.
20th Century Fox is releasing the film in Germany on June 8th. A North American release date is still pending. Until then, check out the film’s Trailer below (via FCS):
Judge Dredd emains one of the most perennially underrated action heroes in comic books, particularly when it comes to the United States. The “street judge” is one of the most hard-boiled characters in the world of British comics but has never quite found the recognition he deserves. But thanks to some potential new developments from the character’s parent company, we might be seeing a lot more of him in the near future.
It seemed like things might be changing for the better with the 2012 film, Dredd. The action-packed bullet-fest felt like a comic-book version of Gareth Evans’ 2011 masterpiece, The Raid: Redemption but failed to make an impact at the box office. It was a shame because Dredd has gone on to become something of a cult favorite. Fans have long been clamoring for a potential sequel, but until recently it seemed as though any hopes were dead in the water. That all changed when Rebellion Developments (the owners of the character) hinted strongly toward an announcement later this year for what could be a streaming TV series.
Rebellion, which typically specializes in video games, bought 2000 AD comics back in 2000 and have since worked to develop its cast of characters into a number of games. The company is perhaps best known for the Sniper Elite series and has been receiving a fair amount of praise for the latest game, Sniper Elite 4. Of course, all the time spent on Sniper Elite hasn’t left much for anything else. This is a large reason for the dearth of Judge Dredd games lately.
One of the few games based on the character that you’ve been able to find in the past several years has been a browser-based title that brought the dystopia of Mega-City One to life as the backdrop for an online slot reel. The Judge Dredd game is one of many casino titles licensing popular characters and franchises that are available at a variety of platforms on the web. What these games often lack in gameplay they tend to make up for by bringing the sights and sounds of some of the most popular properties to the slots. Still, it’s a far cry from the kind of hard-hitting action title that fans have been looking for.
Thankfully, that all might be changing soon also. Rebellion is opening up Dredd and the rest of the 2000AD stable to other developers for licensing purposes and that could mean a whole lot more Dredd games. In addition to Judge Dredd this could also potentially lead to games based on other properties like Strontium Dog, The Helltrekkers, and more.
With hints of a big announcement for a new Judge Dredd project on the horizon and the news that more people will be able to work with 2000 AD, it could be a great time for some post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Now we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that developers will make the most of the opportunity.
Director: Park Chan-wook Novel By: Sarah Waters Cast: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Tae-ri, Lee Yong-Nyeo, Yoo Min-Chae Running Time: 144 min.
By Kyle Warner
After making his English language debut in 2013 with Stoker, Park Chan-wook returned to South Korea for his next feature film, The Handmaiden. And while obviously a Park Chan-wook film, I feel that The Handmaiden has more of a western-style than Stoker did. Stoker was Park bringing his Korean dark revenge thriller sensibilities to the west. The Handmaiden is based on a Sarah Waters’ British novel, Fingersmith, and though Park transplants the story to 1930’s Korea and gives it his own particular style, the western storytelling is always there, making this an interesting addition to Park’s filmography.
Set in Japan-occupied Korea, The Handmaiden follows the con artist Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) as she seeks to slip into the life and home of the reclusive Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) with aims to claim her vast fortune. Sook-hee will be Lady Hideko’s new handmaiden and closest confidant. Lady Hideko is a hopelessly naïve young woman who’s set to marry her intimidating Uncle Kouzuki (Jo Jin-woong), who she shares her estate with. Sook-hee’s intention is to entice Lady Hideko to marry her conman comrade (Ha Jung-woo) who is posing as the well-to-do Count Fujiwara. However, though Sook-hee pushes Lady Hideko towards the count, it’s the two women who begin an attraction to one another, further complicating the plan to steal Hideko’s millions.
The Handmaiden is closer to a ‘book club’ sort of drama than any Park film that came before it, but that’s not to say that it’s lacking in chills, thrills, or a healthy dose of weirdness. The film works on a three act structure. Part 1 tells us Sook-hee’s story and we see the film from her point of view. After a shocking twist, Part 2 presents us with Lady Hideko’s story told from her point of view. Part 3 takes what we learned so far and throws it together with an extra dash of wickedness. It’s a sly film, one that keeps its secrets close, and I will divulge as little as possible in my review.
The source novel was made into a BBC miniseries in 2005 starring Sally Hawkins as the handmaiden character. And though I’ve never seen the miniseries (nor have I read the book), I’m willing to bet Park’s film is the more, ahem, mature adaptation. The Handmaiden is a sexy film. The film’s cinematography is gorgeous, the actresses are beautiful, and Park does not shy away from the lesbian sex. I feel tempted to call the film tasteful in its depiction of such scenes because, while obviously explicit, it does not feel exploitational. But the film does have a bit of a pervy streak to it.
At her uncle’s behest, Lady Hideko reads rare, literary pornography for a small gathering of upper-class gentlemen. Lady Hideko’s readings are more like performances. She acts out certain sections of the books with exaggerated performances and even saddles a wooden puppet at one point. It serves a point in the story, showing both the uncle’s perversions and Hideko’s comfort with sex and her power over men. But it’s more than just a subplot for the film. As the gentlemen watch, enthralled by tales of lust and domination, they inch to the edges of their seats in excitement. One man puts a hat over his crotch. Another keeps dabbing the sweat off his brow. The camera does not judge them harshly; it leaves the judgment to the audience. What’s interesting is that the men in the film’s audience (myself included) find themselves in a similar situation while watching the lurid love story. There is no camera to judge us, but one can sense what Park was trying to do. Among many other things, The Handmaiden is a film about voyeur thrills, and we filmgoers are counted among those who vicariously get their kicks through observing feminine sexuality.
The cast is excellent. Kim Min-hee (No Tears for the Dead) has the most complex character and her performance is nothing short of amazing. Newcomer Kim Tae-ri is also excellent, here playing the role which the audience must relate to in order to navigate the world of the film. As Count Fujiwara, Ha Jung-woo (The Yellow Sea) is really good because, like the egotistical Count himself, you believe he’s the smartest character in the room right up until the film throws a twist our way. And as Uncle Kouzuki, Jo Jin-Woong (The Admiral) is that disquieting blend of elitism and sleaze.
The Handmaiden may be a different, more mannered film for bad boy Park Chan-wook, but I take that as a good thing. The film shows the director trying new things, taking risks, and yet managing to maintain his own particular style in the process. By the end, it is impossible to imagine the film being made by anybody else. The Handmaiden is a triple layer labyrinth of sex, secrets, and lies that I consider to be one of the best films of 2016.
A fresh Steven Seagal (Above the Law, Contract to Kill) project, titled Paid on Death, has popped up on the radar. This upcoming actioner will team Seagal with director Shawn Sourgose (Blood of Redemption) and producer Kevin Carraway (Chain of Command).
Here’s what you can expect from the plot (via TE): A man known by his alias, ‘Assassin,’ (we’re guessing Seagal) works as a hired killer for the U.S. government, terminating individuals deemed too dangerous for society. When he becomes a target, he must discover who placed a hit on him before it’s too late…
Paid on Death is most likely in early stages of pre-production, so we expect to hear more about it later this year – but honestly – judging from the track record of Seagal films listed as “in development,” we wouldn’t be surprised if this one becomes vaporware (i.e. Cypher).
Here’s one nobody saw coming. Mel Gibson is in talks with Warner Bros. to direct a sequel to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. According to THR, Gibson is familiarizing himself with the material. But the studio is not being passive and is also looking at other directors, Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) among them.
Ironically, Gibson has been vocally against doing these types of films. While promoting Hacksaw Ridge, Gibson spoke to The Washington Post about the type of action in current blockbuster films, especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying they were “violence without conscience.”
Gibson added the following about Batman V Superman: “I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different. I don’t know. Maybe they do cost that much. I don’t know. It seems to me that you could do it for less. If you’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the taxman gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors… What did they spend on ‘Batman V Superman’ that they’re admitting to? And it’s a piece of sh*t.” (via CB)
But hey, everyone has the right to change their mind, right? Whatever Gibson decides, Warner courting him for a blockbuster film like Suicide Squad 2 is proof that he is no longer blacklisted in mainstream Hollywood, probably thanks to Hacksaw Ridge receiving numerous awards and nominations, including six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards. Welcome back Mr. Gibson.
We’ll keep you updated on this story as we learn more.
Director: Lee Il-hyeong Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Gang Dong-Won, Lee Sung-Min, Park Sung-Woong, Kim Eung-Soo, Joo Jin-Mo, Kim Won-Hae, Jeon Bae-Su, Shin So-Yul, Park Jong-Hwan, Kim Hong-Fa, Lee Suk-Joon, Kim Byung-Ok Running Time: 126 min.
By Paul Bramhall
More than any other film industry in the world, it’s the Korean one that arguably reflects its countries current tumultuous state. 2016 delivered a president that’s pending impeachment, shady religious figures exerting their influence from behind closed doors, and the upper ranks of companies such as Samsung being investigated for corruption. Understandably, public trust for those in authority is at an all-time low. The current social climate has seen a slew recent titles take aim at those in power, productions that have used such subject matter as an outlet for cinema going audiences to see their frustrations vented onscreen. From political thrillers like Inside Men and Master, to disaster flicks such as Tunnel, to social commentary disguised as a zombie movie with Train to Busan. All of them paint an ugly picture of those in positions of authority.
The theme continues with A Violent Prosecutor, the directorial debut of Lee Il-hyeong, who’s also working from his own script. While it may be his first time going solo in the director’s chair, Il-hyeong is no stranger to working in the field, having served as an assistant director on the likes of 2007’s The Moonlight of Seoul, and 2014’s Kundo: Age of the Rampant. The shoes of the violent prosecutor in question are filled by Hwang Jeong-min, who has steadily worked his way up to be one of Korea’s A-list stars. To some degree I feel that Jeong-min has almost been over-exposed, as in 2014 – 2016 alone he’s headlined 6 movies. From the ridiculously sappy Ode to My Father, through to the energetic action flick Veteran, he’s an actor who rarely puts in a bad performance, although he could perhaps pace himself a little better.
For those not paying attention, many could likely mistake A Violent Prosecutor as a thematic sequel to Veteran, à la the Public Enemy series. Jeong-min plays a veteran prosecutor who always gets the bad guys, even if it involves occasionally having to beat seven bells out of them, but his intentions are good. Basically, the same character as Veteran, but a prosecutor in court instead of a detective on the streets. Thankfully the similarities stop there, with his violent streak being brought to an abrupt end, when a suspect being kept in his custody is found dead the next morning. With his reputation for dishing out beatings, and the suspect being unsupervised at the time, Jeong-min finds himself being made an example of, and is handed a 15-year sentence for murder.
Of course, something fishy is afoot. The suspect had a serious case of asthma, although an inhaler was never retrieved as evidence, and although Jeong-min’s boss (who has aspirations of moving into politics) asks him to plead guilty with the promise of an early release, once the verdict is announced he’s left high and dry. From here on in, the title could be more suitably switched to The Heavily Beaten Ex-Prosecutor, as he gets regularly brutalized by those inmates he was responsible for sending to prison in the first place. However Il-hyeong has clearly watched The Shawshank Redemption, and after an overheard discussion that has one of the prison officers mentioning their legal trouble, soon Jeong-min has himself positioned as the go-to guy for legal advice.
It’s an interesting switch, as the script does an about turn on the titles implication of A Violent Prosecutor, and instead sees Jeong-min resort to his brains in order to make his seemingly inescapable predicament tolerable. Skip forward 5 years, and we’re introduced to a new inmate played by Gang Dong-won (who’s worked together with Il-hyeong before, as the villain in Kundo: Age of the Rampant, and started off 2016 with a role in The Priests). It’s when Jeong-min overhears Dong-won regurgitate word for word the same ecological spiel that the dead suspect had told him 5 years before, that his infamous temper is reignited once more, and he embarks on a mission to prove his innocence from behind bars.
Dong-won’s appearance is a welcome one, having been briefly glimpsed taking selfies as a disguised activist in one of the initial scenes, his supposedly Pennsylvania educated conman steers the movie into prison buddy comedy flick territory (that notably the productions marketing material sold it as). It may seem like a jarring shift after the poker faced opening 30 minutes, but the transition is handled well, with Dong-won’s frequently outlandish outbursts in accented English delivering the desired laughs, regardless of how cheap they may be. Il-hyeong’s script also makes the wise decision of switching the focus to Dong-won, whose character feels like a breath of fresh air compared to Jeong-min’s archetypal Korean tough guy. With an almost effeminate air of confidence, even from behind bars he continues to swindle the clueless rich girls who come to visit him, targeted due to none of them being the brightest tools in the box.
The unlikely pairing of a framed prosecutor and an unrepentant swindler is a winning one, and Jeong-min and Dong-won have a likeable chemistry together, one which carries the movie along at a brisk pace. When Jeong-min figures out he can easily get Dong-won released thanks to a legal loophole, the agreement is made that Dong-won will essentially act as Jeong-min’s avatar on the outside, gathering enough evidence to prove that he was setup. In case it isn’t clear already, A Violent Prosecutor covers a lot of ground, both with its plot but also with its genres. From crime thriller, to buddy comedy, to by the time Dong-won is wining and dining with Seoul’s elite as a lawyer in disguise, it almost feels like we could be watching a caper flick by The Thieves director Choi Dong-hoon.
Thankfully, it all works, with the structural setup deriving a sense of underlying tension thanks to the interaction between the pair. Jeong-min may have everything planned out in his head, but in the hands of someone that’s a compulsive liar, the margin for things to go wrong is a wide one. Of course, said margin is what results in the tension being cranked up to suitably high levels of danger in the 2nd half of A Violent Prosecutor, as the bigger the lie Dong-won has to tell the higher the stakes become. Like any Korean movie that covers this genre ground, the comedic proceedings are sometime offset by sudden outbursts of violence, and Il-hyeong shows that he’s not one to break the trend. In one particular scene a character gets hit across the face with a steel kettle which has just boiled, and in another a character is beaten within an inch of his life. If there’s one thing that Korean’s know how to do well, its violence.
However the constant swaying from extreme violence to comedic hijinks is certainly not something that’s new to Asian cinema, as anyone who’s seen a Sammo Hung movie from the 70’s or 80’s can attest to, but somehow A Violent Prosecutor finds the right balance. Korea has certainly come a long way since the likes of similar productions which attempted to balance violence and comedy, such as 2001’s My Wife is a Gangster, which saw such scenes as a cat being given mouth to mouth resuscitation next to a female being repeatedly kicked in the chest. While such setups left a bad taste in the mouth, the violence here is integrated into the story, serving to move it along, and as a result in never feels as jarring as it perhaps does when being described on paper.
While A Violent Prosecutor certainly doesn’t break any new ground, it succeeds largely in part to both Jeong-min and Dong-won’s pairing, and the genre hopping nature that the plot steers us through. By the time proceedings round off in the form of a courtroom drama, it’s easy to forget that Jeong-min and Dong-won have in fact spent most of the movie apart. With a brisk pace and a welcome sense of humour, Il-hyeong certainly doesn’t feel like a first time director. Whether that’s largely down to the winning chemistry between its leads, or indicative of a new talent that’ll be worth keeping an eye on, time will tell. But for now, I’d like to say it’s both, and for fans of Korean cinema A Violent Prosecutor delivers the expected high production values backed up by an engaging plot and characters. My only hope is that we get slightly more breathing space before the next Hwang Jeong-min flick comes along.
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Black Society Trilogy | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Ichiro Ryu Cast: Show Aikawa, Samuel Pop Aning, Takeshi Caesar, Yukie Itou, Michisuke Kashiwaya,Kazuki Kitamura, Dan Li, Ryuushi Mizukami, Ren Osugi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Naoto Takenaka, Koji Tsukamoto, Hua Rong Weng Running Time: 105 min.
ByKelly Warner
Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy kicked off with a lurid and offensive bang in 1995 with Shinjuku Triad Society. He followed that up with Rainy Dog in 1997, a quieter, more reserved crime drama. (That’s not to say that Rainy Dog is a tame film—it is violent and shows no pity for childhood innocence—but compared to the sexual violence and seedy darkness of the first film, Rainy Dog feels almost elegant by comparison.) 1999’s Ley Lines, the final film of the trilogy, is something of a blend of the two previous films. Miike pushes the extremes like he did in Shinjuku Triad Society, but the interest he showed in cinema as an art in Rainy Dogcontinues to grow.
We enter the film with a hyper stylized glimpse of our main character’s childhood in the country, when he was bullied by Japanese kids for his Chinese heritage. The stylization of this scene—the upper half of the frame is crimson and the lower half is green—returns to the film at a few key points, and serves to signify the almost supernatural bond between our main character Ryuichi (Kazuki Kitamura) and his younger brother Shunrei (Michisuke Kashiwaya) when the one of the two is in distress. Fast forward to the present and Ryuichi is a punk with priors who’s desperately hoping to escape his country town and move to Brazil. That dream is put on hold when he’s denied a passport. So, Ryuichi decides to flee to Tokyo instead, taking with him his dimwitted friend Chang (Tomorowo Taguchi), with little bro Shunrei unexpectedly following close behind.
Once in Tokyo, the rough but naïve Ryuichi ends up getting pickpocketed, so they must work at selling toluene on the streets for a drug dealer (Sho Aikawa). With hope for an official passport dashed, the Chinese trio plans to buy forged passports, which in turn puts them in the sights of another Chinese immigrant, the loan shark with a short fuse Mr. Wong (Naoto Takenaka). All of these competing interests—money, drugs, revenge, and childhood dreams—build slowly before ending up on a collision course in a tense and unpredictable final act.
Until that action-driven finale, Ley Lines is a peculiar character drama with an ensemble cast. There are some things I personally would’ve cut (the Chinese prostitute Anita meeting up with a pervert comes to mind), but nothing necessarily feels out of place in Miike’s film. His vision of Tokyo in Ley Lines is one where outsiders are stepped on, women are used, and the powerful do as they please. Ley Lines goes off the rails at times, ignoring the central plot in order to explore perversions, bizarre character quirks, and minor revelations, but even these strange, side alley deviations serve to enhance the character development.
Ley Lines is a sad film. In the director’s career, and especially in this trilogy, Miike tries to tell the stories of the immigrants and outsiders. Shinjuku Triad Societywas about Taiwanese Triads in Japan. Rainy Dog was about a Japanese hitman in Taiwan. And Ley Lines is about Taiwanese youth trying to escape Japan. Miike regular Kazuki Kitamura (Killers) plays the bigger brother Ryuichi as a young man lashing out at all that would hope to confine him. And as younger brother Shunrei, Michisuke Kashiwaya (Kids Return) plays the more innocent of the two, one who doesn’t like how things are but is hesitant to go to the extremes in order to change his plight. Even the villain Wong played by Naoto Takeneka (Tokyo Fist) is a sad character. Though he claims to think that Japan is the land of opportunity, Wong forces women from his hometown of Shanghai to tell him old Chinese folk stories in order to find some kind of peace.
Ley Lines also has a fun (and dark) sense of humor, though. Tomorowo Taguchi, who played the coldblooded villain in Shinjuku Triad Society and a different, wild dog sort of bad guy in Rainy Dog, is nearly unrecognizable as Ryuichi’s goofy buddy Chang. Watch the trilogy and admire the actor’s range. And Rainy Dog’s Sho Aikawa has a fun role as the drug dealer who thinks that he could make the world a better place if everyone had a sample of his toluene.
It’s not important to watch the Black Society Trilogy in order of release, as the films are only connected in theme, but if you do so you can clearly see Miike improve as a filmmaker. Shinjuku Triad Society has rough, poorly lit visuals, and no off switch. Rainy Dog shows Miike exploring more artistic qualities and a more leisured pace. And Ley Lines has Miike coming into his own as a visualist, setting scenes with creative shots or extreme colors.
In addition to Miike’s larger cinematic interest in the outsider and the immigrant, Ley Lines has much in common with one of the director’s other most common reoccurring themes, that of the dangerous youth. Miike has repeatedly told coming of age tales, often doing so with a flair for violence. Ley Lines feels like a not-so distant relative to the director’s other violent youth pics like The Way to Fight, Osaka Tough Guys, Crows Zero, and his two Young Thugs films. Fans of those films may be interested in Ley Lines, and vice versa.
The Black Society Trilogy hits Blu-ray in the US and the UK from the good folks at Arrow Video. The first two films share Disc 1 and the majority of the special features join Ley Lines on Disc 2. New features include commentaries on all three films from Tom Mes, an interview with Sho Aikawa, and a 45 minute interview with Takashi Miike. All the new features are excellent and are recommended for fans looking to learn more about the movies and their stars. Also included is a booklet with essays on the films from Samm Deighan, Tony Rayns, and Stephen Sarrazin. The Black Society Trilogy movies were never the sort of movies that film collectors dreamed of seeing in high definition. But even so, the Blu-rays are a noticeable upgrade over the old DVDs. It’s a really good release, full of nice extra features for fans of the films and Takashi Miike in general.
When I first saw Ley Lines years back, I remember thinking that it was the weakest film of the trilogy. No longer. Now I think it’s second best, ranking below Rainy Dog and a step above Shinjuku Triad Society. It’s an interesting blend of the themes and the attitudes of the first two films. And though occasionally I found it tested my patience, the final 20-30 minutes of Ley Lines are fantastic at playing with your emotions and defying your expectations, so I’m giving it an extra .5 in my rating. Plus: that final shot. I’m still thinking about it. The final shot of Ley Lines remains one of the most memorable images of Takashi Miike’s prolific career.
Whether you loved or hated it (read our review), there’s a strong possibility that a sequel to Kung Fu Yoga is on its way. Not only is the film dominating box office charts in China, but Indian film star Sonu Sood (Arundhati), who plays the movie’s lead villain, had this to say (via TTOI):
“I would love to take the venture forward. I remember that I was talking to my director Stanley Tong in China and he was very happy”. “He said, ‘We are planning to have ‘Kung Fu Yoga 2‘. I agreed with him.”
Kung Fu Yoga, which was was recently released by Well Go USA this past January, is noted for reuniting Jackie Chan with Tong (the two created magic in films like Rumble in the Bronx, Police Story 3and Police Story 4).
In Kung Fu Yoga, Chan plays a world-renowned archaeology professor on a mission to locate the lost ancient Indian treasure of Magadha when they are ambushed by a team of mercenaries and left for dead. The film also stars Lay Zhang (of the K-pop group EXO), Miya Muqi (Tomb Robber), Aarif Rahman (Bruce Lee, My Brother) and and Ileana D’Cruz (Happy Ending).
Director: Chad Stahelski Writer: Derek Kolstad Cast: Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Reddick, Thomas Sadoski, David Patrick Kelly, Peter Stormare, Franco Nero Running Time: 122 min.
By Paul Bramhall
As a stuntman, it’s not every day the opportunity comes along to direct the actor who you’ve been doubling for the last 20 years, but that’s exactly what happened to Chad Stahelski, when he took the directorial reigns for the 2014 Keanu Reeves action vehicle John Wick. Stahelski first doubled for Reeves on 1991’s Point Break, and has continued to be his stunt double ever since, featuring in the likes of The Matrix trilogy, The Replacements, and Constantine. The pair have maintained a close working relationship, so when Stahelski founded the 87Eleven Action Design group (along with David Leitch, who co-directed John Wick) after his experience of working under Yuen Woo Ping on The Matrix, Reeves was the obvious choice for the leading man of their directorial debut.
In a market saturated by action movies intent on resorting to how many pixels can be destroyed onscreen, John Wick was a revelation, a lean and mean production that relied on bullets to the head and bones being broken rather than CGI spectacle, with Reeves delivering admirably. It wasn’t without its faults though, the brain numbing repetition of the Marilyn Manson track ‘Killing Strangers’ over an original score, and a rather limp finale, both made it fall short of being a certifiable classic in my opinion. But what it certainly did do, is give audiences an appetite to see more of John Wick, and in 2017, their wish has been granted.
Sequels are always a tricky proposition, and considering the originals wafer thin plot, which revolved around Wick seeking revenge for his murdered (is that the correct phrase?) dog, stretching the story of a retired hitman for a second instalment has plenty of room for error. Should the filmmakers go for (a) the Taken approach – have another one of his pets killed and have him seek revenge, or (b) go the Tom Yum Goong approach, and simply have the gangsters kill the dog he adopted at the end of the original, and recycle exactly the same story. Thankfully both Stahelski (this time minus Leitch) and original writer Derek Kolstad are back on board for Chapter 2, and while the plot is still flimsy, it does its duty perfectly well.
Essentially it can be boiled down to this – it’s revealed that when Wick left the hitman world behind, he did so with the help of a mafia boss (played by Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio), and as per the hitman code of honour, he owes Scamarcio a marker – basically an IOU. What this event was and when it took place is never revealed, however when Scamarcio visits Wick out of the blue to claim his favour, Wick’s stubborn refusal to adhere to the rules quickly sees him in a world of pain. After a visit to the Continental, the hotel from the original which acts as a luxurious refuge for the hitmen of the world, the hotel manager (played by a returning Ian McShane) talks him around. It’s the code of honour after all. So Reeves sees himself on a plane to Rome, on a mission to fulfil his obligation – to assassinate Scamarcio’s sister.
Before we get to any of that though, John Wick: Chapter 2 gets straight down to business in a blistering initial scene, taking place even before the opening credits have rolled. In a sequence that fits in more action than Steven Seagal’s whole post-2000 filmography, Reeves lays waste to an endless stream of attackers in an old warehouse, breaking bones and cracking skulls like they’re going out of fashion. Reeves is beaten, knocked around, hit by a car, thrown out of his own car (which is the purpose of the scene by the way, to retrieve his stolen 1969 Mustang) and generally ends up on the receiving end of impacts that would put the average human in hospital for the rest of the year. But Stahelski uses the scene to put his cards on the table early on, much like the route that The Transporter 2 (successfully) took, Chapter 2 is going to give us super-John Wick. The action is going to be more exaggerated, more bloody, more brutal, and more lengthy. Take it or leave it.
For fans of action of course, this is a dream come true, but there is also an audience out there who won’t appreciate the ramped up action quota. Those same voices that didn’t appreciate Jason Statham having a fight in a free falling plane, probably will be the same ones that don’t appreciate Reeves ability to keep getting back up after being beaten half to death. However, my voice is not one of those, and while John Wick: Chapter 2 is definitely more pulpy than its predecessor, it’s arguably the only direction to go in. Writer Kolstad wisely decides to expand on the idea of having a hotel that caters to hitmen, here revealing it to be an international organization with branches across the globe. The hotel even has its own tailored-to-the-hitman’s-every-need set of facilities, from a gun showroom (where Reeve’s goes for a “tasting”) to a Kevlar lined suit bespoke tailor service.
When I first watched John Wick I’d noted how it was essentially an early Steven Seagal movie for the post-2010 generation. Just like Out for Justice, it even ended with Reeves taking care of a dog, a sign from above if ever there was one. I maintain that statement for Chapter 2. Here Reeves roams around the globe, but no matter where he goes everyone seems to know his name, such is his reputation for being the baddest ass on the planet. The difference of course is that Reeves has the moves to back up the huge respect the characters he bumps into silently bestow upon him. For the second round Reeves also shows the character to be adept in a variety of languages, happily conversing in both Russian and Italian without batting an eyelid. Maybe Seagal doesn’t bat an eyelid either, but it’s hard to tell behind those orange tinted glasses.
The action itself is a joy to behold, and is choreographed by J.J. Perry, another member of Stahelski’s 87Eleven Action Design group, heavily incorporating the use of Judo and Brazilian Jujitsu. Several action sequences show both influences and nods to other action classics, with one particular scene in the catacombs having Reeves plant guns along the way to use later, clearly referencing Chow Yun Fat’s similar scene in A Better Tomorrow. When the weaponry is called upon to be used, there’s an influence of the Scott Adkins one-man rampage in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, as Reeves weaves in and out of the cave like structure, rarely taking his finger off the trigger. Perhaps the most recognizable nod of all though is the finale, which takes place in an art installation that includes a hall of mirrors. As Scamarcio taunts Reeves out of sight, the reference to Bruce Lee stalking Shek Kin in Enter the Dragon is a worthy one.
The supporting cast also provide plenty of action talent, with Reeves having two wonderfully protracted fights with rapper turned actor Common (they also notably played enemies in Street Kings), delivering some wince worthy impacts and falls. Current actress-of-the-moment Ruby Rose also gets a one-on-one against Reeves in a hallway, playing a deaf mute bodyguard to Scamarcio. Yes, Ruby Rose is to John Wick: Chapter 2 what Julie Estelle is to The Raid 2, only fails at coming across as either intimidating or dangerous. Away from the action front, Reeves and Laurence Fishburne reunite for the first time since 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions, meeting on a rooftop to share such lines as “So I guess you have a choice”. The nods to The Matrix may be obvious, but they come across as playful rather than cheap like in The Expendables series. Plus, as the expression goes – when in Rome, cast Franco Nero in an extended cameo.
If there’s any detractor for John Wick: Chapter 2, it’s that Reeves’s acting performance pales in comparison to his action talents. With a remarkable number of his lines relegated to the likes of “yeah” and “sure”, rather than coming across as brooding, he instead feels a little flat. Indeed while we learn a lot about the world John Wick lives in, we don’t actually learn anything new about the character himself. He still watches videos of his wife via his phone and looks sad, and still treats his dog better than anyone else he meets. It would have been nice to add some additional characterisation, but as it is Reeves delivers a performance which mainly feels like filler to bring us to the next action scene. In this case, the action is so good that the wait is always well rewarded, however I do wonder how much it will stand up to re-watches. Minor gripes aside, there’s no doubt Reeves will get to announce “I’m back” for a third instalment, and when it hits, I’ll be there.
AKA: Ferocious
Director: Sergio Grieco
Cast: Helmut Berger, Richard Harrison, Marisa Mell, Marina Giordana, Luigi Bonos, Ezio Marano, Vittorio Duse, Alberto Squillante, Nello Pazzafini
Running Time: 95 min.
By HKFanatic
Beast with a Gun could loosely be associated with the Poliziotteschi genre (Italian police films) since the hero is a cop, but most of the film’s screentime is devoted to actor Helmut Berger’s crazed bad guy and his violent antics. As such, this movie falls more in line with the glut of “kidnapping” films that were popular in the 70’s. These movies tended to feature hapless suburbanites kidnapped and taken on the road by vicious criminals; they asked audiences “What would you do in this situation?” and offered the grindhouse-style titillation of seeing housewives roughed up by convicts. The founding father of Italian horror, Mario Bava, even lent his hand at one of these movies just a few years before Beast with a Gun with 1974’s Rabid Dogs – a much superior film to this, let me tell you.
Helmut Berger was an Austrian-born actor who later found fame doing filmwork in Italy and France. He crackles with a demonic intensity in Beast with a Gun, looking for all the world like a young Kenneth Branagh crossed with a sadistic gang member from Death Wish 3. He seems to relish in his role as a “mad dog killer”: from the opening of the film when he escapes from prison, he never stops lashing out at the world. He beats the crap out of a security guard and some poor gas station attendants; he gets revenge against the man who squealed on his gang, then forces himself on the guy’s wife and takes her along for the rest of his crime spree. Meanwhile, a mustached and rather ineffectual cop tries to pinpoint Helmut’s whereabouts and bring him to justice. The film builds to its inevitable conclusion as these two opposing forces of the law must eventually meet.
Beast with a Gun has a certain sleazy momentum to it, much like Helmut Berger in the lead role, which makes it watchable. But overall I found the film to be a droll and unenjoyable trip into the world of one loathsome human being. For all his posturing and beatdowns, Helmut’s character just seems like a poser – you get the sense that without a gun in his hand or his gang backing him up, he’d shrink from a fight like the coward he is. Italian b-movies are all about providing lurid thrills but sometimes you just have to ask yourself: do we really want to spend 90 minutes with this character? There’s nothing charismatic or compelling about an antisocial lunatic who beats and rapes people because he has a a gun and they don’t.
Beast with a Gun garnered some attention back in the late 90’s due to a cameo appearance in Jackie Brown – it’s the film Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda are seen watching on TV while they get high. Although I typically trust Quentin Tarantino and his innate ability to dig up obscure b-movie gems, this is one mad dog I suggest you put down.
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