Longest Nite, The (1998) Review

Posted on February 24, 2011 by JJ Bona
"The Longest Nite" Theatrical Poster

“The Longest Nite” Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Longest Night
Director: Patrick Yau Tat-Chi
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Lau Ching-Wan, Maggie Siu Mei-Kei, Lung Fong, Mark Cheng
Running Time: 84 min.

By Joe909

I’ve read several articles and interviews where HK actors who have come to Hollywood say that they look forward to working over here, because they’ll be able to do more complex movies. Each of them have said that HK audiences are sometimes not as intelligent as those in the US, and so in HK, movies must be simple and action-packed, whereas in Hollywood (or so these actors, Michelle Yeoh chief among them, claim), films can be a little more complicated. But in all honesty I have no idea what these people are talking about, because normally HK movies are the most complicated, obfuscated films around. The Longest Nite is no exception.

Two bosses with nearly-identical names are about to end a long war, under the order of an older boss, higher up in the chain. But rumor has it that one of these bosses plans to murder the other, regardless, and Tony Leung, bad cop and employee of one of the bosses, must keep this murder from happening. Sounds simple, but the way in which the film unfolds is anything but. Lau Ching-Wan shows up as a tough-looking bald bastard, but he’s sadly underused throughout the film. Instead we mostly see Tony Leung, driving around while Giorgio Moroder-style synths boom on the soundtrack, beating up and torturing whoever he comes across in order to figure out what’s going on.

So, once you let go of trying to follow the story, you can enjoy the scenes of graphic violence. Such as people getting beheaded, getting their fingernails sliced out, or (best yet) getting run over by cars. Tony Leung is savage in this movie, and throughout its first half you hate him. But then suddenly he discovers that he’s being set up, and as he tries to escape the pit he’s been thrown into, we find that we’re actually on his side now, and want to see him get away. A character arc is one of the most powerful tools in storytelling, and it works nicely in the Longest Nite.

Two things that distract from the movie: one, that the warehouse in which Lau Ching Wan and Tony Leung have their final confrontation just happens to be littered with large mirrors, each of them arranged in rows, a la “Enter the Dragon.” And two, it’s never quite satisfactorily revealed why Tony Leung has been tabbed as the fall guy, other than a limp remark that he always thought the main boss was worthless, or something to that effect.

Overall, a very dark film ? it’s “Hong Kong noir” to the max ? and, mostly, a good film, but not the best thing I’ve seen from Milkway. That would still be “A Hero Never Dies.”

Joe909’s Rating: 7/10

By Alexander

I’m not going to pretend, even for a second, that I understood what was going on in the twisted, excessively violent “Longest Nite”. There MIGHT be something in this film resembling a story sandwiched between gratuitous scenes of torture, vomiting, and beheadings but I’m not about to endure the torment of deciphering yet another convoluted, unnecessarily confusing plot featuring a myriad of characters with similar sounding names. Instead, I ignored (as you should) most of the irrelevant dialogue and meaningless subplots and focused entirely on how cool Lau Ching Wan looks as the silent drifter/killer-type and the unexpected brutality of Tony Leung’s corrupt cop.

Lau Ching Wan is the true star of this film despite speaking only a few minutes worth of dialogue. (But as all HK cinema fans know, dialogue [re: inane banter] is often an annoyance serving only to punctuate, comma-like, scenes of violence and mayhem.) In “Longest Nite”, Lau Ching Wan personifies cool much like his forebears Chow Yun Fat (“The Killer”); Michael Madsen (“Reservoir Dogs”); and Bruce Willis (“Last Man Standing”). All are strong, conflicted silent types with hip, timeless wardrobes. Lau is gangsta bald (MENACING!); retro-garbed from head to toe in denim (CASUAL!); totes around a worn Addidas bag as an accessory (SPORTY!) and has a creepy tattoo crawling up the back of his head (so THUG-like!). All the aforementioned add up to a whole lot of C-O-O-L.

Tony Leung is also brilliant as a sadistic policeman who relishes pounding the hell out of hoodlum’s hands with bottles of ketchup and other condiments. When he’s not smashing fingers with blunt objects he’s using other vicious means (think screwdriver) to extract respect from his victims. Leung effectively alternates between Torturer Cop, Corrupt Cop, Deranged Cop and ultimately Desperate, Greedy, Fleeing Cop. His less than savory role as sadist is a refreshing change of pace from his gentler roles as romantic hero.

Of course, with most HK films, there are a bevy of Things That Cannot Be Explained. For example, a woman projectile vomits on a triad boss and gets punched in the nose repeatedly (and realistically) for no apparent reason. There is also a scene where Tony Leung appears with a shaved head in attempt to emulate Lau Ching Wan just minutes, no SECONDS, after a violent shoot-out and a FULL HEAD OF HAIR!

However, despite the mess of a plot, a near mute Lau Ching Wan, and a host of Things That Cannot Be Explained, “Longest Nite” is highly recommended.

NOTE: Don’t miss the outtakes on the DVD version of “Longest Nite”. There are a couple of humorous bungled takes including Lau Ching Wan repeatedly slamming his face into a windshield; Tony Leung repeatedly missing his cue during the rolling head scene; and the vomiting female…well…repeatedly vomiting which is notable not because of the gallons of faux vomit, but for the priceless looks on her face during each mangled attempt to spew the lumpy matter on her co-stars.

Alexander’s Rating: 8/10

By Numskull

Those who revel in the grit of hard-assed HK cinema, especially the crime/cops & robbers genre, will most likely enjoy this harrowing tale of greed and corruption. Those who don’t will probably dismiss it as worthless, needlessly violent trash. Hey, their loss.

Tony Leung stars as Sam, one of the most crooked big screen cops since Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant. He doesn’t wave his penis around, but he does beat up and torture people rather casually, and he seems to be on more than one payroll. The Longest Nite has a convoluted plot by HK standards, and the fact that the three string-pulling masterminds, Mr. K, Mr. Lung, and Mr. Hung (why the hell did they have to have two of the names be so similar?) almost never appear onscreen doesn’t help matters. Mysterious goings-on and pieces of background history are spoken of fleetingly in the dialogue, and then get promptly forgotten or tucked away somewhere, only to come back and haunt us later on. It’s almost as if The Longest Nite is the reedited latter two-thirds of a longer movie.

Lau Ching Wan co-stars as Tony, a shady drifter with a stupid-looking tattoo on the back of his shaven head. Normally, LCW is a considerably skilled actor, but this particular role isn’t a very good showcase for his talents. He doesn’t do much besides repeat himself and walk around with an “I know something you don’t” look on his face. He pulls it off fine (the role, not the face), but I remain to be convinced that any number of other actors couldn’t have done it just as well.

Certain aspects of the film, such as the flinch-inducing “fingernail” scene, really hammer home the fact that the world in which it all takes place is an infernal cesspool and the people you find there easily thrive in such an environment. I would say that that makes this movie admirably realistic, but, alas, there are stupid plot twists and unbelievable coincidences sprinkled throughout its duration that seriously harm its credibility, such as Tony’s bag not getting snatched up off the ground while he’s away, a kitchen fire spreading WAY too quickly, and a car trunk popping neatly open when it gets rammed by another vehicle. There’s one major event even more absurd than any of these near the tail-end of the film, but I shouldn’t give it away. Believe me, you’ll know it when you see it.

Look past its faults, and you’ll find a fairly worthy story here. But don’t use this movie to introduce someone to Hong Kong cinema; there’s just enough wrong with it to turn somebody off to the whole shebang.

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

By Vic Nguyen

Among the best films of 1998, Patrick Yau’s The Longest Nite is one of the bleakest, and one of the best crime films I’ve seen in a long time. The plot is a rich tapestry of betrayal, mystery, and deceit, all handled to perfection by two of Hong Kong’s most accomplished veterans, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Lau Ching-wan (who sports a shaved head). These men give rich, multidimensional performances, and generate so much chemistry on screen together that it is an exhilirating experience on it’s own. Although highly convulated, and sometimes illogical, the film keeps you glued during it’s short 85 minute duration. My only real gripe is the obligatory action sequence, which is interesting enough, but brings the film’s realism and intrigue to a screeching halt. Yet despite this, I wholeheartedly recommend The Longest Nite, a refreshing new masterpiece that is another winner for the Milky Way Image company. (Note- all VHS and VCD copies sport small, nearly unreadable subtitles that is especially evident during Tony Leung and Lau Ching-wan’s tense prison scene (which is filled with bright, glistening lights, making the subs disappear). If you really want to enjoy this great film, I’d suggest you view the DVD, which have large, remastered subs, while retaining the original widescreen scope.)

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 9.5/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Hero Never Dies, A (1998) Review

Posted on February 24, 2011 by JJ Bona
"A Hero Never Dies" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“A Hero Never Dies” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Johnnie To
Cast: Leon Lai Ming, Lau Ching-Wan, Fiona Leung Ngai-Ling, Yoyo Mung Ka-Wai, Henry Fong Ping, Yam Saikoon, Keiji Sato, Michael Lam Wai-Leung, Yen Shi Kwan, Lam Suet, Yuen Bun, Philip Keung Hiu-Man
Running Time: 98 min.

By Numskull

When are people gonna learn that crime doesn’t pay unless you’re O.J. Simpson?

In this corner, we have Jack, devoted servant of Mr. Yam, a gang lord who consults an elderly fortune teller for advice. And in THIS corner, we have Martin, devoted servant of Mr. Fong, another gang lord who also consults an elderly fortune teller for advice.

Jack and Martin, Martin and Jack. They drink in the same bar, they piss on the same trees, and they share a deep mutual respect and a friendship so twisted it hardly qualifies as “friendship” at all.

The source of the tension, of course, is the fact that they work for opposing gangs. One of these days, they figure, one of them is gonna have to put seventeen and a half bullets in the other. No hard feelings, eh? But when a clash between the two factions leaves Martin crippled and both men abandoned by their bosses, they turn their focus to getting some payback.

All in all, A Hero Never Dies is one of the most emotionally hard-hitting HK movies I’ve come across. Every reaction that the story elicits from the viewer…from the desire to send Fong and Yam (especially Fong) kicking and screaming into Hell to the sad respect for Fiona’s dog-like devotion to the wheelchair-bound Martin to the satisfaction of seeing the cane-wielding, whack-happy fortune teller get shot in the foot…is genuine and understandable, if unrealistic.

The film is also full of some striking images which remain in your mind’s eye after the movie ends. The bottle of wine with Jack’s name on it, waiting patiently (if an inanimate object can be said to do such a thing) on a shelf. Jack’s girlfriend’s scarred face after being burned by a pair of hitmen. Fiona, forced to sell her sex for passage back to Hong Kong. And most of all, Martin’s motionless body slumped in his wheelchair, casually rolling through a heated shootout with havoc being wrought on all sides. This isn’t a movie that you just walk away from, saying “Hey, that was pretty good” or “Hey, that was even better than a blow job” or “Hey, that really sucked, I should have watched some Mad About You reruns instead.”

It can be disarming at first; there’s some humor (half-way decent humor, mind you) near the beginning, but it’s nowhere to be found once the characters are established. Jack and Martin threatening each other over the phone through a tired old man is fun, and the glass-breaking scene in the bar is one of the best. There ain’t much else to laugh at, though, nor should there be. Life’s a bitch and then you die. It’s a fact that this movie conveys pretty well.

The biggest fault that AHND has is its ending, which is a little weak only by comparison to the rest of it. I won’t say it’s “formulaic in the extreme” or “more predictable than a teen slasher flick” but, when the film reaches a certain point, there’s only one direction that the story can credibly take. If you’ve seen more than a small handful of HK films, you’ll no doubt be unsurprised by the finale. That doesn’t make it a bad ending, though.

Good acting all around and a very fitting musical score, as well. Never did I get the impression that any aspect of AHND was rushed or done with half an ass.

Good story, good acting, good music, good movie. Not much else to say. Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

By Equinox21

I don’t know what I was thinking the first time I watched this movie, because I didn’t think much of it. But, when I watched it for the second time a year later it struck me as being a brilliant film and one of Johnny To’s best. It’s a story of rivalry and friendship, betrayal and justice.

Martin (Lau Ching-Wan) and Jack (Leon Lai) share a unique friendship. They don’t necessarily get along, but they seem to have an unspoken respect for one another. Each is their own Triad boss’ right hand man, because they are smart, loyal and as good as it gets doing what they do. When Jack and his gang protect their boss, Mr. Yam, from Martin and his gang, it leaves all but Yam, Jack and Martin deadŠ with the latter two full of bullets and near death. After this bloody confrontation between the two gangs, The General orders the two opposing bosses to go back to the way things were a year before. They agree, and form a new gang, with both bosses in charge. Unfortunately, Jack and Martin are no longer needed, and are ignored and left to rot in the hospital and then on the streets with no jobs, Martin with no legs, and eventually with both their women dead. But, can their friendship be enough to get them the justice they deserve?

The acting on all fronts was quite good. Lau Ching-Wan and Leon Lai were perfectly cast in the leads, each displaying perfect arrogant, steely attitudes. Martin dresses almost like a cowboy/pimp, with a wild cowboy hat and boots. I’m not sure anyone BUT Lau Ching-Wan could have pulled this off without being laughed at. He really is to Johnny To what Chow Yun-Fat is to John Woo.

There were a few scenes that I didn’t care for tremendously. One such scene was a shootout on a dark bridge, and this was because the only lighting in the entire scene came from the headlights of the cars on the bridge. It was just a little too dark to see what was happening. Another was in a bar, which plays an important role in their friendship, where Martin and Jack are shattering each other’s wine glasses with a coin. It was a little far fetched, however the important part was really the back and forth challenging of the two characters which displayed the friendship/rivalry perfectly.

The action scenes were, however, all really well done; lots of shootouts, lots of bullets, lots of bodies. This movie is the epitome of a heroic bloodshed or a bullet ballet movie.

Any fans of good movies about friendship or movies with lots of action should love this one. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Equinox21’s Rating: 9/10

By Alexander

Overrated.

How else to explain the absolutely glowing praise heaped upon this ugly monster of a film by past reviewers on this website?

How else to explain this nugget by James H.: “…very few films…can exude as much style and grace as ‘A Hero Never Dies’.

Or this, from the esteemed MPM: “Johnnie To’s masterpiece.”

And this, from our Ron Jeremy of reviewers, Numskull: “One of the most emotionally hard hitting HK movies I’ve come across.”

From Joe909: “…a classic story along the lines of The Killer.”

From Woody: “…had me on the verge of honest to Gawd tears.”

And finally, Tequila: “Wow.”

The effusive hyperbole spewed by trusted City on Fire reviewers — who also give this film a bloated average rating of 9.3 — is mind-boggling considering A Hero Never Dies is, at best, a mildly entertaining diversion cursed with one of the worst endings EVER. I’m not going to spoil the final act for the handful of people who haven’t seen it, but I would have been less disappointed had a herd of cartoon rabbits been shot out of Lau Ching Wan’s gun and danced across the screen singing “Ice, Ice Baby” in Cantonese.

I’ve seen this film twice, thinking I’d missed something the first time. Unfortunately, the second time around simply afforded me more opportunities to shake my head at ridiculous scenes like the male-bonding-by-pissing-on-tree bit. I WAS initially impressed by the film’s visuals and Johnnie To’s direction. Leon Lai is impressive and proves he’s one of Hong Kong’s most versatile actors (his Comrades, Almost a Love Story shouldn’t be missed). The renowned bar sequence is also enjoyable. BUT, I could not get over…

…Lau Ching Wan’s ridiculous cowboy/low-rent pimp get-up. There is nothing cool about his pencil thin mustache and wide-brimmed hat. If you want to see Lau Ching Wan at his coolest, watch Longest Nite instead. The only thing missing were a white pair of leather chaps and a diamond-encrusted pinky ring.

…”Sukiyaki”. Woody earnestly recited a snippet of this song in his review. That’s cool and all, but it seems as if Hong Kong film fans generally make too big a deal out of hearing a familiar tune in an Asian film (see also Chungking Express). It’s like, “Hey, I can’t understand a word these people are saying and the subtitles are blurry but I DO recognize that song. Cool!”

…the ending. See paragraph one.

…Fiona Leung’s character was once praised on this very site as being an example of a strong female lead with a heart of gold hidden beneath a tough exterior. Bullshit. She spends the first half of the film convincing Yo Yo Mung’s character to be totally subservient to her boyfriend and even gives her tips on how to better please her man.

…the tired male bonding bits ubiquitous to the heroic bloodshed genre.

…the ending. Oops. Said that already.

I’m still confused as to the appeal of the film. Sure, by Hong Kong standards it’s pretty decent, but I don’t think it quite deserves the praise bestowed on it by our reviewers. If you haven’t seen it, give it a shot and let us know what you think. I can’t be the only one who thinks this movie is overhyped and, ultimately, overrated.

Alexander’s Rating: 5.5/10

By Woody

I’ll keep this review short and to the point. See this movie. It is without a doubt one of the best HK action films made in the 90’s. I don’t get all teary eyed over movies…alright, that’s a lie. I always get teary eyed over movies, but that is just because I watch a lot of depressing shit. This, though, had me on the verge of honest to Gawd tears.

This is basically a 1998 retread of John Woo’s classic A Better Tomorrow. It’s got the crippled hero, the overwrought (yet ,oh so great) music, the mythic characters, and the performance of a lifetime. In A Better Tomorrow it was Chow Yun Fat. The torch has now been passed on to Lau Ching Wan, whose performance here is not brilliant, but F*CKING brilliant. That big empty void Chow left when he came to the States has now been filled.

Unlike Woo’s film, this thankfully has some strong female characters, too, the strongest being Fiona Leung. Her performance was also really great here, and the image of her whoring herself to get money for a ticket back to Hong Kong for her and Lau is one of the most depressing and memorable I have ever seen.

There are flaws, but who cares? Everything else in the movie more that makes up for that. The ending, the music, the acting…it’s all great. I don’t know how Johnny To does it. Maybe I don’t want to know. Another classic film from Johnny To. Oh yeah…if you like the song “Sukiyaki”, this is the movie for you!

“It’s all because of you, I’m feeling sad and blue You went away, Now my life is just a rainy day and I love you so, How much you’ll never know…You’ve gone away and left me lonely.”

Woody’s Rating: 10/10

By Joe909

I’m sure this movie was produced with the intention that it would be a tribute to the Heroic Bloodshed films of a decade ago. But instead of coming off as a tribute, A Hero Never Dies is just as great and timeless at the films it pays homage to. The plot is recounted in-depth elsewhere, so I will just offer a few comments on what I liked and disliked about the movie.

As for likes: well, basically everything. Acting, directing, writing, action scenes; everything was exceptional. This was the first Leon Lai movie I’ve seen, and he’s one cool bastard throughout. Lau Ching-Wan, of course, is as consistent as ever in his performance. The gunfights are a good mixture of Ringo Lam realism and over-the-top John Wooery. The end setpiece especially smacks of Woo, in which Lai takes more bullets than Toshiro Mifune took arrows in Throne of Blood, and keeps on walking. Johnnie To uses some interesting film tricks, such as glossing color. On certain shots there almost seems to be a fingerprint on the camera lens, smudging the actor’s faces. A filmic trick that some might find distracting, but here it was used in moderation, and only served to heighten the mythic aspect of the characters.

The film isn’t without flaws, though. Something bothered me throughout the movie’s second act, and it wasn’t until after the film was over that I realized what it was. It’s a typical problem in modern-day HK cinema: lack of a good Villain. Heroic bloodshed flicks are so good at giving us anti-heroes that they sometimes fail to give us a villain we really want to see those anti-heroes annihilate: I’d say this is one small area in which Hollywood action movies are superior to Hong Kong’s ? Hollywood is always sure to give us a memorable and hateable villain, who is known (and hated) from the opening act. A Hero Never Dies (like the Blood Rules, etc) suffers from this problem: the Villain is not introduced as a villain until well into the Second Act, and his appearance as such seems forced.

Let me elaborate. Jack protects his boss Yam. Martin protects his boss Fong. In the opening half of the movie, both bosses are portrayed as kind benefactors. Yam doesn’t even really get pissed off at Jack for shooting his fortune teller in the foot! Add to this the fact that Yam comes off as a very nervous, indecisive, snivelling rat, who seems to look up to Jack as his prime guardian. Martin’s boss, Fong, is barely developed at all: he only gets two scenes in the first act, one in which he appeals to Martin to kill Yam (and this scene is robbed of any “evilness” on Fong’s part when he looks eagerly in Martin’s van for the hookers), and another scene where he stumbles into the General’s office and happily makes up with Yam. Then only a few scenes later he’s beating his subordinates, shooting Martin’s girlfriend, and in general being a world-class prick. Same goes for Yam, who apparently sends some heavies to take out Jack in the hospital, and leaves the widows of his dead guardians with nothing but a few small bundles of cash and a good smack to the face.

The problem is, when Yam and Fong betray Jack and Martin and become the villains of the piece, it just comes off to forced, especially when compared with how the bosses were portrayed in the opening. Maybe by having them act a little more cruelly (or at least, in Yam’s case, a little less uncertain), we could buy the whole betrayal bit.

As it is, though, Jack and Martin’s eventual revenge doesn’t lack any power due to this. I’ve always liked the song “Sukiyaki,” and now I’ll never hear it the same way again: I’ll always think of Jack, finally back from Thailand, striding purposefully into the Saxophone bar, or Jack assisting Martin in his final vengeance upon Fong. This is a great film, and certainly a classic along the lines of the Killer and A Better Tomorrow.

Joe909’s Rating: 10/10

By Tequila

A Hero Never Dies. Wow. I’m not going to explain the plot as Numskull did already, I’m just going to give a rundown on how good this film really is and that.

I thought that this was just going to be another run of the mill gun film, and I expected the acting to be great from Lau Ching-Wan and average from Leon Lai, with great cinematography and direction (it’s a Milkyway film) and nothing really to write home about.

Man was I wrong…Comparing this to The Killer or A Better Tomorrow is like comparing hentai to Garfield – they share a genre and that is all. The only ways they are similar is the use of akimbo handguns and sniper rifle scope cams. The gunfights are just so original, like the finale with Lau Ching-Wan offing triads from a wheelchair or Leon Lai shooting through the roof, resulting in blood dripping down through the ceiling and they add a new dimension to the regular gunplay.

The style of AHND is amazing, Lau Ching-Wan is the only man I know who can make a legless, emasculated shell cool – even with the cowboy hat. There are no bad performances; everybody is excellent, my personal favorites were Lau and Fiona Leung as his girlfriend. The opening bar scene was fantastic and totally bizarre.

All in all, AHND is one of my favorite Hong Kong movies, the only thing I can think of that would improve it is Chow Yun Fat instead of Leon Lai, but only because he’s just so much cooler. Lai doesn’t have that ‘look’, Chow would have rocked that opening bar scene.

Tequila’s Rating: 10/10 – Fantastic!

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Revenge DVD (Animeigo)

Posted on February 23, 2011 by JJ Bona
Revenge DVD (Animeigo)

Revenge DVD (Animeigo)

RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2011

A minor quarrel escalates into a duel. A death creates a debt of honor. The demands of honor outweigh the demands of justice, and force friends to spill each other’s blood. And the need for victory requires the sacrifice of honor. One simple argument spawns death, madness, and a final confrontation that will leave the sandy soil soaked with blood. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, and directed by Tadashi Imai!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles |

Bangkok Dangerous | aka Rain (1999) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona
"Bangkok Dangerous" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Bangkok Dangerous” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Rain
Director: Oxide Pang
Co-director: Danny Pang
Cast: Pawalit Mongkolpisit, Premsinee Ratanasopha, Patharawarin Timkul, Pisek Intrakanchit
Running Time: 105 min.

By Woody

I’m really drunk right now, so excuse any glaring grammatical errors. “Bangkok Dangerous” is a really awesome low-budget flick. If you were to take Chow Yun Fat out of “The Killer” and replace him with Takeshi Kaneshiro’s character from “Fallen Angels”, you’d have a pretty shitty movie, right? Uh, not right. That is pretty much the premise of “Bangkok Dangerous” and it kicks ass, man. And it’s directed by the Pang brothers. I wonder if they are twins. If so, they should wear matching flannel suits and sing torch songs in seedy Thai nightclubs where rich American men go looking for underaged girl-boy “yum yum”. Like, when they aren’t directing and stuff. I notice also that one of the brother’s names is Oxide. Sounds like a chemical compound or something. I wonder if that is a common thing amongst the Thai…choosing their kids names at random from a chemistry book. If that is the case, I must on principle steer clear of getting any Thai chicks…I might end up with a strapping young lad named “Sodium Chloride” or “Phosphate” or something along those lines. It would be hard to steer clear of Thai chicks, though, if they all looked like Fon, played by the oh-so-hot Premsinee Ratanasopha. She was a definite highlight.

The movie looks really nice, too, considering the extreme low-budget. There are all kinds of nifty music-video style flourishes and stuff, and yet, it still retains this gritty verite feeling. Even though in the context of a typical shoot-’em-up action movie, “Bangkok Dangerous” really gives a good feel for what Thailand is like. A really, uh, dangerous place. So yeah, “Bangkok Dangerous” is really good. And not because I’m drunk and can’t stop smiling and I’m making my friends laugh. Oh, because…oh yeah, I just watched the movie. But I’m not all, like, into it, because I’m drunk because I’ve seen it already and it was really good. It’s like, a stylish verite low-budget awesome piece of work and I respect the Pang brothers so much for having made such a kickass little movie on such a low budget even if that one dude is named after a chemical compound. I would almost go as far as to call this the “El Mariachi” of Thai cinema, but I’ve only seen a few Thai movies and frankly I don’t want that chemical compound dude and his brother to come over here and direct, like, a “Spy Kids” sequel or anything. I’m so dizzy and I can’t see and it’s all blurry. What a strange feeling. It’s so funny…oh my gaw… dddddddddddddddddd…

Woody’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in Reviews, Thai | Tagged , , |

Beautiful Boxer (2004) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by ningen31
"Beautiful Boxer" International Theatrical Poster

“Beautiful Boxer” International Theatrical Poster

Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham
Cast: Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn-Anong Panyawong, Kyoko Inoue, Yuka Hyodo
Running Time: 114 min.

By Ningen

An arthouse alternative to Ong Bak, Beautiful Boxer is a powerful, emotional, and riveting saga of an ordinary person named Nong Toom who takes up Muy Thai in order to fight in tournaments and get the money needed for a sex change operation. Raised in a poor nomadic family, Toom discovers his fascination with wearing make-up and women’s clothing at a young age. His family grudgingly accepts his new lifestyle, but they learn to love and appreciate him again when he helps them during their financial hardships. And through his family, Toom discovers his untapped potential at Muy Thai.

Despite his initial abhorrence of the violence in the sport, certain graceful movements which can only be taught to pros motivate him to continue the program. In fact, the make-up eventually becomes an asset, instead of a liability, because his trainer needs a gimmick to enter the top Muy Thai tournament in Thailand, and so he hypes Toom’s feminine ensemble. Ironically, however, Toom’s formidable skill is downplayed by audiences disgusted by his choice of fashion; and he’s ridiculed and ostracized by his own countrymen for his appearance. With nowhere else to go, he’s eventually forced to duke it out in Japan, where the women consider him a hot item. But by then, he’s burned out from fighting.

While Beautiful Boxer could’ve been just an ordinary boxing biopic, it actually does more than that by exploring sexual values and roles in Thai culture. In addition, you get a detailed insider’s view into the world of Muy Thai combined with gorgeous costumes and lush settings. ( Even a run-down shack looks glorious against a serene but majestic backdrop. Eat your heart out, Peter Pau!) But the performances are what really make it come together. Full of energy and realism, it’s easy to connect with the actors through the emotions that come with the triumphs and tragedies experienced by the protagonists. (In fact, I almost got teary-eyed in a few key scenes which would be Oscar bait if BB could compete.)

The only reason I didn’t give Beautiful Boxer a 10 is that I don’t feel the filmmakers delve deep enough into Toom’s childhood, and some of the fights go by too fast to catch, but neither issue affects the narrative. So unlike a certain American boxing movie featuring a chick with an overbite who can’t really box, but which cops out by making her kill herself, Beautiful Boxer delivers. It’s a shame it’s already two years old, because it deserves to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. It’s that good.

Ningen’s Rating: 9.5/10

Posted in Reviews, Thai | Tagged |

Crippled Avengers | aka Mortal Combat (1978) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona
"Crippled Avengers" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Crippled Avengers” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Crippled Heroes
Director: Chang Cheh
Cast: Chen Kuan Tai, Lu Feng, Philip Kwok, Johnny Wang, Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien, Dick Wei, Jamie Luk Kim Ming, Cheng Miu, Helen Poon Bing Seung, Chan Hung, Chow Kin Ping, Chui Tai Ping, Ha Kwok Wing
Running Time: 99 min.

By Joe909

This is often considered the Venoms’ best movie, though I prefer a few others to it. It has action, cool characters, crazy special effects, and intricate choreography, but it just seems to be missing something, if you’ll pardon the pun. Or maybe it’s just that I don’t like movies where the main characters are maimed and crippled within the first twenty minutes. But then again, if they weren’t, then this would be a very different movie.

The plot is the usual Shaw Brothers simple, which is to say, perfect. When I’m watching a kung-fu movie, I don’t want Shakespeare. I want blood and vengeance, and no one delivered it better than the Shaws. The opening of the movie lets you know what you’re in for: directly after the credits, Chen Kuan-Tai’s wife gets her legs cut off (and immediately dies, no doubt, of shock) and his young son gets his hands lopped off. This would make you think that Chen and his son are the heroes of the movie, and they’ll get revenge. But no, it turns out that Chen goes bad, and he raises his son to become a heartless machine with really cool metal hands. Lu Feng (portraying Chen’s grown up son) is the coolest thing about this movie. He’s like a kung-fu Darth Vader, with his Mazinger hands that shoot darts. Chen and Feng rule their village with an (wait for it) iron grip. First Feng cold-bloodedly cripples the sons of the men who cut off his arms. Then father and son go on to blind a journeyman (Kuo Choi), render a blacksmith (Lo Meng) deaf and mute, cut off the legs of some guy who just got fired from his job (Sun Chien), and crush a kung-fu warrior’s skull until he becomes an idiot (Chiang Sheng).

The crippled guys become friends, and decide to take Chiang Sheng back to his teacher, as they feel it’s their fault that he was made into an idiot; Chang had went to Chen’s place to get revenge for the way he treated our crippled heroes. So they haul themselves off to the old man’s secluded school, where he teaches them forms of kung-fu that improve their lot in life: Kuo Choi learns how to use his ears better than he ever used his eyes; Sun Chien is given iron feet with which he can shatter anything; Lo Meng learns how to use his sight to compensate for his lack of hearing; and Chiang Sheng basically becomes a better martial artist than ever: he just has the mental capacity of a two year-old.

What’s great about Shaw Brothers movies is how fast time flies, literally. We see a few minutes of training, and then the teacher says “You’ve been here for three years.” The teacher’s done his work; in a cool shot, we see Sun Chien, Kuo Choi, and Lo Meng walk proudly out of his school, complete men once again. What follows is fight scene after fight scene, most of which are unnecessary, but nevertheless amazing. Kuo Choi or Lo Meng will corner Chen Kuan-Tai’s first lieutenant, beat his ass around, and then he’ll run away. What it all boils down to is that Chen’s birthday is coming up, and this guy doesn’t want Kuo Choi et al to interfere with the festivities. So he hires a few thugs to take them down, and we get to watch the Crippled Avengers handle them, biding their time until they can get to Chen Kuan-Tai and Lu Feng.

And when they do, we get a phenomenal final battle that incorporates pole fighting, sword fighting, lots of flips, some incredible hoop work, and the usual martial arts fortitude displayed by the Venoms, with Chen Kuan-Tai proving their equal. If I had to level one criticism, it would be that this fight is a bit too choreographed; many times as Kuo Choi, Lu Feng, and Chiang Sheng are flipping and leaping around, it doesn’t even look like they’re trying to hit each other, more like they’re just showing off. The finale features the usual sacrifice as favored by Chang Cheh, but, shockingly enough, the heroes actually live through this movie (save for one, of course). In fact, this is one of the few movies in which Lo Meng survives.

It’s really hard for me to pick a favorite Venoms movie. Five Venoms had the tighter story, but didn’t give the Venoms a chance to strut their stuff. Crippled Avengers does for sure, but the story loses focuses in the last half, so that the action may prevail. That being said, the fight scenes are great, as is the costuming and set design. And Lu Feng’s just too cool in this one, giving us one of the greatest villains in old school kung-fu. So even though it might not be my favorite Venoms movie, I can see why it is for so many others. And as a final enticement, the DVD release is actually uncut and letterboxed, but supposedly Celestial will release a remastered version on DVD in Fall 2004.

Joe909’s Rating: 9.5/10

By Numskull

I quote Kool-Aid Man: “Oh yeeeaaahhhhh!!!”

This is a very solid old school martial arts movie that entertains on a very visceral level but also boasts a fair amount of ingenuity. It’s about four guys who run afoul of a local tyrant (Chen Kuan-Tai) and his equally heavy-handed (terrible joke) son (Lu Feng). For daring to stand against them and their bullying servants, each of them is violently maimed or handicapped in some way; one is blinded (Kuo Choi/Philip Kwok), another is rendered both deaf and mute (Lo Meng), another’s legs are severed below the knee (Sun Chien), and the noble-hearted wandering warrior (Cheng Shiang) who tries to set things right gets brain damaged thanks to a head-squeezing torture device. This last one is returned to his martial arts teacher by the other three, and they begin training with him to overcome their physical limitations and get some much-deserved payback. Kuo Choi learns to rely on his ears far more than a normal man, Lo Meng develops heightened awareness of his surroundings (and a habit of carrying mirrors) to compensate for his deafness, and Sun Chien gets fitted with a pair of iron feet.

After some very spiffy training sequences, it’s time for some equally spiffy fight scenes. The skill and physical prowess of the performers will make you curse the day that “martial arts” movies decided to depend more on pretty faces, wires, and camera tricks than on genuine talent. After we’ve seen our heroes develop great chemistry together, helping one another overcome their respective disabilities, we see them fight together in much the same manner, especially Kuo Choi and Lo Meng, who receive more spotlight than their companions in the film’s second half. This, to me, is the most irritating aspect of Crippled Avengers; I wanted to see all four of them fighting side by side and in more equal measure.

Though “Crippled Avengers” is the most sensible of this film’s numerous titles, the version I watched was the “Return of the Five Deadly Venoms” DVD from Crash Cinema; English dubbed (of course) and letterboxed. That title is rather misleading since this is in no way a sequel to Five Deadly Venoms; it merely uses the same actors in the leading roles. Such is the case with other films proudly bearing the “Venoms” label. And, once again, no female characters of any significance (unless you count Chen Kuan-Tai’s wife, who dies about two minutes into the film…so we won’t).

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

Generation Gap, The (1973) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona
"The Generation Gap" Chinese Theatrical Poster

"The Generation Gap" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Chang Cheh
Producer: Runme Shaw
Writer: Chang Cheh
Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Agnes Chan, Kong Ling, Lo Dik, Yen Shi Kwan, Dean Shek Tien, Alexander Fu Sheng, Fung Hak On, Ricky Hui Kun Ying, Kong Do
Running Time: 113 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

Generation Gap is about one man’s (David Chiang) long and winding journey to find happiness and freedom-of-choice in a world full of assholes, cunts and dick-heads. In other words: society.

Judging from the time this movie was made and where it takes place, it’s the same bullshit no matter what age or country we’re living in. People telling us how to live, what steps to take in our future, and who we choose to be with. We’ve all been there – constantly being compared to our more successful peers; and parental figures questioning our ability to do the same. Generation Gap pushes the boundaries on these issues and leave us with the question: who’s right, youth or adult?

Generation Gap is definitely a change of pace for a Chang Cheh title. Don’t expect lots of brawls and blood, because you’ll be disappointed. It’s more of a drama, which shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise considering the film’s title (but then again, IVL’s box-art seems to market it as a martial arts movie). However, don’t let this scare you away from having a good time. It has a fair amount of violence for the harder-nosed viewers. If anything, fans of Chang Cheh’s lighter action movies – such as Delinquent – should be happy.

The more I see David Chiang perform, the more I think he was the prime candidate for the Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (Chungking Express) of his time. To better say it, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is the David Chiang of today. In fact, they bare an odd resemblance, both in appearance and mannerisms. Ti Lung, who’s just as charismatic, also appears, but only in an extended cameo.

One thing’s for sure: Generation Gap is bell-bottom fury at its finest. In fact, this movie feels more like the 70’s than the 70’s itself. The songs that play in the movie, which are performed by the film’s costar (real-life singing sensation, Agnes Chan), will make any AM Gold hit seem timeless. The wardrobe, props and film sets are colorful, tacky and wickedly surreal. If you’re a fan of retro culture in any type of films, then Generation Gap is your visual bible.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 7/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

House of Traps (1981) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona
"House of Traps" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“House of Traps” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Shaolin House of Traps
Director: Chang Cheh
Cast: Philip Kwok, Chin Siu Ho, Sun Chien, Ngaai Fei, Lu Feng, Lung Tien Hsiang, Chiang Sheng, Cheng Tien Chi, Wong Lik, Siao Yuk, Cheung Kwok Keung, Chu Ko, Chui Tai Ping, Lau Fong Sai, Ngai Tim Choi, Shum Lo
Running Time: 91 min.

By Joe909

There’s a lot of interest on the Web over House of Traps, as it was the last Shaw Brothers movie to feature the Venoms line-up (save for muscleman Lo Meng, who’d already flown the Venoms coup). Apparently House of Traps was also never released in the US or UK, and I’ve read conflicting reports on if it was even dubbed into English. All I know is that my copy is in Mandarin, with tiny English subtitles that crop off of the left and right of the screen, leaving 80% of the movie unintelligible. This seems to be the only version of the movie afloat: low quality video and audio, badly subtitled, and in Mandarin.

What makes the botched subtitles such a shame is that the majority of this film is dialog. It has less action than most Venoms movies, though not as little as their earlier film Sword Stained with Royal Blood. And much like that film, the Venoms are mostly underused, save for Kuo Choi and Lu Feng. Sun Chien, one of the greatest kickers in film history, doesn’t even lift a leg in this, as he plays a judge. Chiang Sheng shows up an hour into the movie, pretending to be a traveling magician alongside the sadly-underused Cheng Tien-Chi (who went on to star in one of my favorite movies ever, Five Element Ninja, AKA Chinese Super Ninjas). Only Kuo Choi, who plays the hero Black Fox, and Lu Feng, as the villainous Butterfly Chua, get to spar throughout the movie.

Speaking of Cheng Tien-Chi, I’ve always liked the guy, even though this and Five Element Ninja are the only movies I’ve seen him in. I wish he’d gone on to greater success. For the viewers out there who love Five Element Ninja as much as me, be on the lookout for familiar faces in House of Traps. Just about every actor who appeared in Five Element shows up in this film. Being that House of Traps was the last Venoms film, it almost comes off as a changing of the guard.

The movie starts off with a bang, as Lu Feng wastes a dude and escapes with a jade horse type of thing. From what I gather, he’s working for corrupt government officials, and they’re weeding out the rebels. Kuo Choi flits through the film’s first half, disguising himself behind a ninja-like mask. Sun Chien apparently is a judge caught in the middle, who employs a swordfighter who makes an assault on the House midway through. Finally Chiang Sheng shows up with Cheng Tien-Chi, and the two of them hook up with Kuo Choi and some other heroes, and enter the House. Lots of bloody deaths ensue. The ending is especially bizarre, with one of the heroes hacking open a corpse, to root out the contents of its stomach.

One thing that harms the movie is that Chang Cheh’s fetish is just way overboard. You know what I mean. Not only are there no women in sight, but every guy wears a chest-baring, tight-fitting, sequined costume that would make the Village People proud. I know this is the case in most other Chang Cheh movies, but House of Traps takes it to the extreme. Add to this that Lu Feng looks like Little Red Riding Hood, wearing (for some reason) a knit cap that covers his ears. Kuo Choi wears one, as well. Actually, now that I think of it, Kuo and Lu are the only ones who look goofy, and it’s mostly due to the stupid caps they’re stuck with.

The House itself is great, though the set used for it is minimal. The bottom level has spikes that come out of the floor, and a steel staircase that will clamp shut and chop off feet. Spear-tipped nets ensnare those who make it high enough, trapping them while guys on the bottom floor come out and shoot up at them with arrows. The set-up is interesting enough, and we’re given a few tantalizing glimpses of the place throughout the movie, leading up to the final assault at the end. The choreography is good for the most part, though it’s mostly swordfighting instead of the usual acrobatics. The heroes also tend to take on traps or fight inferior, yellow-outfitted guards, instead of matching their skills against equally-talented enemies.

As usual for a Venoms movie, the weapons are interesting. One guy fights with a pole that has a metal claw at one end. Another fights with jagged hoops. Cheng Tien-Chi uses an umbrella that hides blades. Kuo Choi and Lu Feng use regular swords, and do most of the killing. The film is pretty bloody, but not Five Element Ninja level. The tone is significantly dark, and I’m anticipating a Celestial remaster to clear up several things. As a final note, animal rights activists beware: you see a live chicken actually get dropped onto a bed of nails!

Joe909’s Rating: 7/10 (this will surely improve once I see a copy with legible subs)

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Female Convict Scorpion DVD (Tokyo Shock)

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona

RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2011

In the wake of a shocking crime, an ordinary worman is transformed into a fighting machine in this action-drama straight from Japan. Matsu, known to the prisoners as Scorpion, is locked away in the bowels of the prison as revenge for her disfiguring attack on the warden. Granted a one-day reprieve, she attacks the warden again, which leads to more brutal punishment and humiliation. But her punishment provides an opportunity to escape, along with six other prisoners. Their surreal flight from prison pits the convicts against the guards, the warden, and each other.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Drug Addict, The (1973) Review

Posted on February 22, 2011 by JJ Bona
"The Drug Addicts" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Drug Addicts” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Drug Addicts
Director: David Chiang
Cast: Ti Lung, Wong Chung (Wang Chung), Louise Lee (Si Kei), Paul Chun Pui (Paul Chin Pei), David Chiang, Lo Dik, Kong Do, Lee Hoi Sang, Tino Wong Cheung
Running Time: 94 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

So why were Chang Cheh, David Chiang and Ti Lung given the pseudonym “The Iron Triangle”?

Was it because of their long list of badass films that dominated the early 70’s, despite heavy competition with some dude named Bruce?; Was it because they were like an unbreakable bond of blood brothers (no pun intended) who tackled a number of totally different projects, as if they were a bunch of gutsy little school kids?

Whatever it was, the iron was held together tightly from all three directions.

Chang Cheh dug his two boys so much that he jump-started both of their first directorial features. Not only did David Chiang and Ti Lung had a genuine respect for one another, they also looked no further in finding leading men for each of their films. Ti Lung directed David Chiang in The Young Rebel and David Chiang directed Ti Lung in The Drug Addict, with Chang Cheh producing and co-directing both titles under his very own production company. Talk about a group effort.

In The Drug Addict, Kuan Cheng-chun (Ti Lung) is a kung fu teacher turned who turned into a heroin addict while Tseng Chien (Wang Chung) is a drug dealer with a conscious. The film opens with a penniless Ti Lung, strung out on heroin, begging for a free fix from Tseng. Feeling responsible for Kuan’s state, Tseng refuses his request for his own good. Later that day, the two bump heads once again. At this point, Tseng is still feeling bad for him, he decides to make Kuan kick his habit by locking him into an abandoned cabin overnight. After endless hours of hysterical desperation for heroin, Kuan wakes up to a new day to find that he has just been given the favor of a lifetime.

Thankful for Tseng’s help, Kuan is back on top form and training again at his kung fu school. Meanwhile, a cop (Paul Chin Pei) is hot on his trail. Aware of Kuan’s addiction, the cop questions him about his drug transactions with Tseng. Kuan explains that Tseng’s indeed a dealer, but an “different” one that helped him kick his drug habit. The cop assures Kuan that if he helps the system, he’d also be helping Tseng break free from the dangerous cult-like drug ring he’s employed with.

Things start to get ugly when Tseng’s drug bosses (headed be veteran bad guys Lo Dik, Kong Do aka “The Human Testicle,” and Lee Hoi Sang) start to inspect him because of his shady “nice guy” actions. To test his loyalty, they give him an odd job of murdering a certain someone, and that someone is Kuan.

I give David Chiang props for trying something dark and unique with The Drug Addict. However, the movie is just as dull as its title.

The mixture of martial arts action and rat-like heroin addicts is just plain ridiculous. I’m not sure if I can explain my self correctly, but let’s just say the two don’t go together. Maybe if it was more fun-filled (like Jackie Chan’s consumption of alcohol in The Drunken Master) and didn’t take itself so seriously, it could have worked. Watching Ti Lung in dirty clothes, all sweaty and implying that he’d suck dick for drugs just didn’t do anything for me. Thanks to Wang Chung, this portion of the film is tolerable.

The film slightly redeems itself once Ti Lung’s characters gets off the dope. At this point, The Drug Addict turns into a decent action film with some sweet brawls from both Ti Lung and Wang Chung (who sports the exact same long-sleeved shirt we wore in Police Force). However, the earlier, over-dramatic drug-themes have already taken their toll and clouds the possibility of making this a noteworthy flick.

Oh, and by the way, who does Ti Lung think he is, Bruce Lee? The clothes, the sunglasses, the hair and even some of his mannerisms reflect “The Little Dragon.” Should I even mention the “borrowed” snippets of Lalo Schifrin’s Enter The Dragon soundtrack? I mean, it was 1973, Bruce Lee had just died and opportunity was knocking for whoever wanted to try and capture the intensity of Hong Kong’s biggest star. I say this with some tongue and cheek, but The Drug Addict is pretty close to being a Bruceploitation flick.

To sum it all up, The Drug Addict is worth watching just to see David Chiang’s work behind the camera. Technically, he does a fine job, it’s just the story could have used some heavy re-writing. If you want to see a better “Iron Triangle” side-project, check out the remarkable The Young Rebel.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 4/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews, Shaw Brothers | Tagged , , , , |

Psycho Gothic Lolita DVD (Tokyo Shock)

Posted on February 21, 2011 by JJ Bona
Psycho Gothic Lolita DVD (Tokyo Shock)

Psycho Gothic Lolita DVD (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2011

A new Japanese action/gore film “Psycho Gothic Lolita” (aka Gothic & Lolita Psycho) will be released by Tokyo Shock. Directed by Go Ohara (Geisha vs Ninjas) and tarring Rina Akiyama, Ruito Aoyagi, Minami Tsukui, and Yourei Yanagi. Makeup/gore effects were handled by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl).

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles |

Kung Fu Dunk DVD/Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

Posted on February 21, 2011 by JJ Bona
Kung Fu Dunk DVD/Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

Kung Fu Dunk DVD/Blu-ray (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2011

Starring Green Hornet’s Jay Chou, Eric Tsang and Charlene Choi.

Kung Fu Dunk, also known by its former title Slam Dunk, is a 2008 Chinese-language live-action film. It was directed by Taiwanese director Chu Yin-Ping. The film was previously titled Slam Dunk, but later the title has been changed to avoid confusion with the Slam Dunk manga and anime series[1] which it was roughly based on despite the film itself having no association whatsoever. The filming, however, conveyed a strong flavour of Hong Kong films, reminiscent of movies like Shaolin Soccer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles |

Struggle Through Death | aka Dragon Fighter (1979) Review

Posted on February 21, 2011 by JJ Bona
"Struggle Through Death" US DVD Cover

“Struggle Through Death” US DVD Cover

Director: Cheung San Yee
Cast: John Liu (Chung Liang), Ma Chiu-Ku, Wei Ping-Ao, Chui Chung Hei, Ma Cheung, Chin Lung, Yue Hang, Ma Yue Fung, Chai Hau Keung
Running Time: 96 min.

By Joseph Kuby

A classic example of a Chinese Opera-seria. For those not familiar with this term, here is the meaning…

Opera-seria: (esp. 18th-c. Italian) opera on a serious, usually classical or mythological theme.

Thus the classical or mythological theme in this film is how far coarse people withstand (ignore, manipulate or abuse) those with humane qualities.

Granted, there’s no singing but there’s a certain extravagance with the way the film depicts pathos and the action contains a rhythmic sense of motion which, when combined with the score, gives us an alternative kind of Opera where ballet is replaced by combat and singing is replaced by the vocal sounds made when people fight.

I should point out that the title of this 1979 film is more fitting than the typically bland Dragon Fighter. The original title has more depth as it reflects the film’s theme of perseverance. If you were to ask me what’s the film’s most original asset then I would say that the originality in question comes from this being a prison movie set in period China.

The film begins with some nice symbolism that would make John Woo proud (if he directed it, we surely would have been subjected to his juxtaposition techniques). Heck, you could say that the director for Kiss of the Dragon may have been inspired by the film’s opening sequence and with Hong Kong/martial arts cinema being popular in France (Fist of Legend was a huge hit over there), it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.

With the tense and grim atmosphere notwithstanding, there are some nice comic moments to ease the tension.

There are some well-conceived training sequences, unique camera angles, good one-liners, effective music, very good action and John Liu giving a performance which shows that he’s a good actor and not as stiff as some have falsely pointed out.

Unlike a lot of kung fu films, this one had a message and then some. It possessed a sense of warmth and humanity that’s usually not seen in these films. But beware, this film desensitizes you with its scenes of violence almost like a kung fu version of Bullet In The Head i.e. three friends stuck in a prisoner camp that go through endless ordeal.

By the end of it you feel just as abused as they are and the experience is emotionally numbing, optically draining and cerebrally exhausting. Just like in John Woo’s films, the violence is done to show you how meaningless it is and why we should stop it. Struggle Through Death plays like a 15 rated version of Story of Ricky with the prisoners being tortured in various inventive ways.

The acting is solid to the point that the dubbing doesn’t misguide interpretations of an actor’s performance. Although this is a well-crafted kung fu prison movie, you’re not going to mistake it for the Prison on Fire movies made by Ringo Lam. Then again, Lam’s own period martial arts prison movie, Burning Paradise, is fairly dramatized with a stylized take on realism. Struggle Through Death is essentially The Big Boss infused with Papillon. Like The Big Boss, you have to wait for quite a while before you see the protagonist strut his stuff. When he does, it has more impact than if we just see him fight his way through both ends of the running time.

The film strikes a fine thin line between crass and class as, quality-wise, it lies somewhere between Story of Ricky and Shawshank Redemption (or for another analogy: Island of Fire and Stalag 17).

For those who’ve seen the documentary Top Fighter, this was the film where Liu takes on those thugs near that staircase with the girl standing behind him. But unlike the invincible Tae Kwon Do virtuoso he’s portrayed as in that scene, his character is someone who’s invulnerable only in spirit as his character is constantly abused which makes him more human and gives the film a stronger sense of reality. The characterization is fully fleshed out in this film so when a character dies, it has impact unlike in most of these flicks where characters are interchangeable cattle waiting to be slaughtered.

But rest assured, there’s plenty of martial arts action; though for the first half of the film it’s more of a street brawl variety before becoming “chop-socky” in manner. Liu’s leg holding ability is impressive though it would be more impressive if he could kick just as good with his left leg as he clearly can with his right – it would give the action more variety and thus make it awe-inspiring. His kicking instructor, Dorian Tan Tao Liang, was the opposite to Liu, to the extent that they should have done a film together called Yin and Yang Legs (perhaps with a storyline involving two men who make a partnership after sustaining injuries in one of their legs).

What does impress without fail or flaw is the middle-aged actor called Chui Chung-hei (who plays the sympathetic if punch-drunk foreman) whose displays of kicks and acrobatics seem miraculous considering his initially harmless demeanor.

As a guilty treat, the main villain (or at least the one who runs the whole gold smuggling scheme) looks like James Hong (Chinese actor usually seen in American films like Big Trouble In Little China).

Though to be honest, my motives for purchasing this film weren’t for the morality issues, political parallels or deep symbolism. It was more to do with the cool DVD cover (painted picture) which (besides featuring the likable tagline “He worked in Hell now he must fight like the devil”) exaggerates the prison camp in the film. On the UK DVD cover, it’s shown as a massive fortress on the edge of this canyon whilst John Liu takes on the James Hong lookalike underneath a red sky backdrop where the sun is blazing – playing up the “fighting the devil in hell” factor.

The Chinese translator from Fist of Fury, Paul Wei, is in this too.

On a final note, the translators working on this film thought it would be amusing to translate one of the actor’s names as F*ck.

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 9/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , |

Dragon the Master (2003) Review

Posted on February 21, 2011 by JJ Bona
"Dragon The Master" UK DVD Cover

"Dragon The Master" UK DVD Cover

Director: Ray Woo
Writer: Ray Woo
Producer: Joseph Lai, Ricky Wong, George Lai
Cast: Dragon Sek, Karen Cheung, Roy Cheung, Edward So, Billy Chow Bei-Lei, Lily Chung, Huang Yang
Running Time: 89 min.

By Joseph Kuby

OK but no point!

Just to save you from watching this movie with no obvious preconception of what this movie is about, I’ll tell you the plot in a nutshell.

I know it’s called spoiling the plot but really this is the sort of film in which understanding the plot prior to watching it is essential – not because it’s a martial arts/action movie but because the plot is convoluted junk (not because having a complicated plot is automatically junk but because the film’s plot is convoluted and it’s of the junk variety).

I only read Jeff’s review and the one over at the “Bruceploitation is a crime” site so naturally watching this film didn’t prove to be too taxing (i.e. a chore).

The plot is that this woman called Shelly (played by an actress whose lack of experience as a screen actress {as stated in the DVD extras} shows as she looks at the camera sometimes, though this could be faulted due to the lack of direction and an inproper script than lack of thespian judgement) has invented this computer game which is supported by a fellow colleague called Ko Wei (played by Roy Cheung – who doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself, wishing for better material) though the company would rather bootleg her material than sell it earnestly (perhaps this is a metaphor of the Hong Kong film industry itself and media moguls everywhere to a certain extent).

Her game gets stolen by these two ninjas (supposedly the later mentioned female assassins) and then she enlists the help of her best friend Sherwood (a disco socialite junkie who’s in over her head and a bit ditzy, as well as being something of a clutz) and her brother, Bruce Lee lookalike, Ti Lung (named after the famous martial arts actor who appeared in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow) who, for no other reason other than the fact that this is a Bruceploitation movie, first shows up dressed in a yellow catsuit akin to Bruce Lee from Game Of Death (the suit most people {outside of Asian cinema fan circles} associate with Uma Thurman in Kill Bill).

A sub-plot is introduced (which could have been handled with some depth as it merely alludes to such depth waiting to be explored) which involves a wayward kickboxer who hails from the countryside looking for a way to enter the local tournament (an event which is alluded to in the film but never happens – again, not due to unpredictable storytelling mechanics but due to lack of budget….in case you can’t tell, this isn’t a big budget movie in the Hong Kong sense nor in the general sense).

He gets taken in by the schools of Jackie Cheng and Dragon Sek but is eventually forced to leave both subsequently due to lack of discipline to tolerate the bullying antics of the students. His wife abandoned him due to his martial arts-oriented ways, now he’s looking for her, finds that she’s in hospital and needs a lot of money to save her for a life-threatening operation.

Money which is only partially provided by Ko Wei, who happens to be a long-time friend of the kickboxer and forces him to do stuff in order to get what he wants via emotional blackmail but Billy is so happy to see his friend and so relieved yet distraught to find his wife that he barely notices the seedy undertones of the whole shebang.

Shelly and Dragon’s brother get kidnapped as the game that was being sold to the bootleggers was false so Dragon is coerced to team up with unlikely assistants to get them back whilst Ko Wei constantly threatens Shelly to hand over the format of the game.

Sometimes, Billy Chow’s character is more sympathetic than Dragon Sek’s and this isn’t some kind of cleverly written irony or a three dimensional way to highlight and flesh out characterization as a way of saying everyone is good and bad, but it’s just simply bad screenwriting (i.e. inconsistent character portrayals).

Speaking of characterization, I wasn’t sure as to whether Shelly was a shy character or if it was due to the cluelessness (or shy/embarrassed) appearance of the actress playing her (but again, it’s probably down to the direction and scripting).

The Bruceploitation era ended years ago and they still haven’t improved much with their budgets & overall production finesse, so why did they bother NOW?

It’s an okay film in that it’s technically well made, a mildly competent film if not a good one.

There were continuity errors that I spotted in regards to the way a person looked during a transition from shot to shot. Also, there’s an error I found in which the boyfriend of one of the female protagonists (the female martial artist called Sherwood as played by Karen Cheng) has spotted the two females (who are looking for the bootleggers in this building) and is trying to hide from them yet the positioning of all three could never allow for him to spot them without himself being spotted (especially as he tries to run away).

The fight scenes could have been shot much better which is a shame as the choreography was almost on a Yuen Woo Ping level. At the very worst, the fight scenes are a poor man’s version of the stuff headed by Corey Yuen Kwai’s stunt team. At the very best, the fight scenes feel like Corey had a hand in them.

On the behind the scenes featurette, the fight scenes looked so much better, not just because they’re shot from a stationary camera where you can see the choreography reveal in front of your eyes without lots of close-up camera angles and too much fast editing, but because some of the footage that was shown was taken from the widescreen print of the film making you wish that the Western distributors had released the film in widescreen. Also, the film looks like something from the early 90s (due to quality of print) despite being made in 2003!

The best fight scenes are the ones which involved Dragon taking on the kart-driving assassins and the assassins on the first floor of the pagoda he enters at the very end of the film.

There’s only four other fight scenes which constitute as being the best leaving the others to look slightly average or poor in comparison: the introductory fight to the film which contains a nicely filmed stand-off beween two female opponents (for mainstreamers, this may recall the fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang ZiYi in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), the fight between Dragon Sek and the drunken boxer (unashamedly called Jackie Cheng), the final fight at Dragon’s dojo (which sees Dragon, Karen and Jackie take on a duo of blackly-clad female assassins) and when Jackie takes on one of the main villains outside the pagoda.

In fact, whenever Billy Chow showed up on screen (the kickboxer from the countryside) the screen was set alight and his appearance raises this out of its B movie leanings in the same way Dorian Tan Tao Liang’s and Jim Kelly’s appearances lifted Black Belt Jones 2: The Tattoo Connection out of B movie limbo (Dorian’s presence for artistic reasons and Jim’s presence for commercial reasons); so naturally when Billy shows up the fight scenes are worth their salt.

Critically acclaimed actor Roy Cheung (who was in Johnnie To’s The Mission) was in this movie as well playing the love interest of Dragon’s sister (called Shelly) who originally sticks up for her idea of a computer game but who is really a shady entrepreneur trying to rip her off by selling the computer game to shifty bootleggers.

His appearance also lifts this from its B movie leanings though he’s wasted (like what he said on the behind the scenes featurette, there wasn’t much psychology written for the character).

It could have been left uncut too as there’s a scene featured in the making of documentary (though shot from a behind the scenes perspective) that involves the female martial artist and our Bruce Lee lookalike jogging with the latter’s students.

The guy who’s the Bruce Lee lookalike looks like a muscular and taller version of Teddy Robin Kwan (who played Boomer in Jackie Chan’s Twin Dragons) than Bruce Lee. Also, our Jackie Chan wannabe looks more like Manfred Wong (producer/screenwriter of The Duel, of whom can be seen on the UK DVD release of said film) than Jackie Chan (the only similarities are the hair and a big nose) and he’s incredibly dopey looking to boot.

Word has it that Disney wants Yuen Woo Ping to remake Seven Dwarfs & Snow White except with Shaolin monks in the leading roles, so this dopey JC wannabe is a pure candidate for the dopey monk!

It’s interesting how the story reflects Bruce’s original plans (and rewrites) for Game Of Death. Both of these movies (minus the 1978 version of Game Of Death) are about a retired martial arts champion whose sister and brother are kidnapped by the Korean mafia, thus forcing our hero to team up with unlikely assistants to battle opponents associated with a pagoda.

The idea, originally (i.e. before Bruce began shooting) was that on each floor there would be a group of martial artists of a particular style, in the case of the first floor – it is guarded by a group of staff-wielding thugs.

I wonder if these inspirations were intentional (no sarcastic pun intended) though I think with Bruce’s popularity in the East, it’s fair to say that the screenwriters are huge Bruce Lee fans and did their research (either casually as fans or formally as filmmakers looking for ideas).

In fact, I’d go so far to say that the film tries too hard to capture the essence of Bruce Lee’s films that it barely has its own identity (only a select few things from this film make it memorable, but only just); and by this I mean the contrived attempts to reference Bruce Lee’s classics i.e. Way Of The Dragon (the way Dragon dresses at the very end) and Enter The Dragon (the hideously contrived yet hilariously laughable attempt at revisiting Bruce Lee’s battle scars from the showdown of that film, as well as the idea of him fighting in an environment that threatens to overwhelm him).

The ending is really corny with Dragon doing a jump kick to stop the two main villains (who aren’t martial artists) in a slow motion one-take deal – he jumps really high in the air complete with cheesy facial expressions and a typical Bruce Lee-style war cry.

We never really find out if they rescued the siblings or not, though the assumption is that they did (something that could be down to leaving things left to the imagination or simply, yet once more again, lack of budget or lazy screenwriting).

Dragon The Master is really a bad film (regardless of the bad dubbing which makes this movie terrible) but one that remains to be essentially a guilty pleasure.

Needless to say, I had a fun time watching the Bruceploitation genre being revamped for the millennium for mainstream audiences to savour. The movie isn’t so bad that I won’t check out Dragon Sek’s future work as the guy has potential (plus his appearance in Big Boss Untouchable {a shot on video remake of Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss} sounds intriguing and looks cool, so nonetheless I’ll check that out sometime soon) but it’s still bad.

Joseph Kuby’s Rating: 5/10

Posted in Bruceploitation, Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind | aka Don’t Play With Fire (1980) Review

Posted on February 21, 2011 by JJ Bona
"Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Tsui Hark
Cast: Lin Chen Chi, Lo Lieh, Tse Bo-law, Lung Tin-sang, Ray Lui, Bruce Barron, Ronny Yu Yan-Tai
Running Time: 91 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

Okay, I’m not sure what was running through Tsui Hark’s mind when when he made this flick, but it takes a twisted, LCD-induced individual to pump out something so bizarre, yet so entertaining.

The best thing about Don’t Play With Fire is all the characters are pieces of shit:

The main female character (Lin Chen Chi), who apparently gets off on sticking needles through the heads of her pet mice, is a mental case who is very capable of pulling a Columbine. The main cop (Lo Lei), is no Riggs or Murtaugh, unless you can picture those guys slapping a family member around before a stakeout. Another pack of characters consist of trouble-making, nerdy school boys who go about their day after running down a pedestrian.

Mesh all of the above with gangsters, weirdos, mercenaries and Rambo-like killers (they basically look like the white bad guys from a Godfrey Ho ninja flick… wait a minute… one of them actually IS from a Godfrey Ho ninja flick: Bruce Baron!) and what you get is one of the most unexplainable, off the hook, ultra-violent Hong Kong flicks I have ever seen – and every single minute of it is a guilty pleasure that will leave you begging for more. Even the so-bad-it’s-good english dubbing is amusing.

Despite it’s 80’s exterior (an the fact that it looks like it was filmed where they serve fresh Adobo), Dont Play With Fire is ahead of its time in more ways than one. Tsui Hark’s flashy camera work is present; in fact, think of it as Time & Tide, minus the budget, but with more balls, and a lot less late-90’s flash.

The soundtrack, which features original tracks stolen (and I really think Tsui Hark wanted you to think it was stolen) from Fist of Fury, Star Trek: The Movie and some of that moody synth from Dawn of the Dead.

It’s titles like this that put the Hong Kong action film on the map. And believe me, my opinion counts. Back then, I watched them all. It was all about Tsui Hark, John Woo and Don “The Dragon” Wilson.

P.S. I just sent a DVD copy of this movie to peta.org. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the Anamorphic Widescreen.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 8/10

By Vic Nguyen

In the late 1970’s, an aspiring filmmaker named Tsui Hark returned to Hong Kong fresh from his experiences in the United States (from film school in Texas to documentary filmmaking in New York City). After a brief stay in the television industry, Tsui was given the opportunity to direct his first feature film, The Butterfly Murders (a wonderful film which is unfortunately only available in horribly cropped editions on VCD and VHS), which ultimately turned out to be a failure at the box office. His follow up film, the deliciously weird We’re Going to Eat You, was another dud in terms of ticket sales. With his filmmaking future in doubt, Tsui decided to lay it all on the line, and forego any semblance of commercialism for his next film. What would result is Dangerous Encounters, a sick and twisted masterpiece, guaranteed to shock even the most jaded gorehounds.

For those of you who still question Tsui Hark’s abilities as a storyteller/filmmaker, I highly suggest hunting down this unforgettably disturbing piece, which is dark and nihilistic to the utmost extreme. From the horrific opening images (containing a scene of animal cruelty which would undoubtebly incite protests from animal rights activists in the states) to the carnage-filled finale, it is quite obvious that Dangerous Encounters was extracted from the mind of an angry individual.

According to Dangerous Encounters, the world is a festering shithole deprived of any modicum of goodness and humanity. This barren wasteland is clearly represented by the characters of the story, who are distanced from any positive traits whatsoever. The 3 teenagers are foolish creatins who show no regard for anyone but themselves. This is effectively conveyed in a scene in which they casually dismiss a child’s gravestone. The American mercenaries, in the mean time, are blood thirsty savages who are willing to spill buckets of blood in order to get what they want. And let’s not forget the main character (effectively portrayed by cute actress Lin Ching-chi, who is anything but in this film); a mentally disturbed teenage girl who spends her leisure time driving needles into the brains of helpless mice, among other sadistic shortcomings to numerous to detail in a single film review.

With a seemingly unlimited amount of stage blood, Tsui and action director Ching Siu-tung (who collaborated for the first time on this project) utilize experimental camera angles, expert editing, gloomy lighting techniques, and old fashioned ingenuity to craft some impressive action/suspense sequences. The finale, pitting the heavily armed American mercenaries versus the hapless teenagers in a cemetary, is one of the most intense setpieces Tsui has ever committed to film.

Not surprisingly, Dangerous Encounters ran into trouble with the Hong Kong censors (but mostly for political content). After extensive editing, the film was released, and predictably failed at the box office. Tsui Hark followed up Dangerous Encounters with the commercially successful All the Wrong Clues….For the Right Solutions, which is the antithesis of Dangerous Encounters in every sense of the word.

Tsui Hark has built quite a prolific filmography in the years to come, but it is unlikely that he would have the balls to make a film like this ever again.

Notes of interest: Finding a decent copy of Dangerous Encounters can be quite the task. Mei Ah did issue a laserdisc edition a while back, but it is of course out of print and nearly impossible to find. A European VHS edition (the version I saw) is more readily accessible, but it is cropped, dubbed in English, and subtitled in what appears to be German. Although it obviously isn’t an ideal release, the film itself still packs quite a punch. Finally, a letterboxed DVD was released in Japan, but it has no English subtitles.

– Political activist/prolific producer/Lucky Star John Sham Kin-fun has a minor role in the film as a cop. Also worth noting is actor Ray Lui (most famous for his role opposite Chow Yun-fat in the Shanghai Beach (aka The Bund) TV series), who also appears as a cop. Tsui Hark himself makes a brief appearance (still boasting the trademark goatee) as a men’s room attendant.

-The music in Dangerous Encounters consists entirely of cues from stolen sources. According to John Charles in his book, The Hong Kong Filmography (p 203), the music is derived from sources such as Dawn of the Dead and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (!?). In addition, I recognized bits and pieces stolen from the soundtrack to Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 10/10

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , |
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