Go out and buy it!

[MightyB]

The DVD Brotherhood of the Wolf goes on sale in the US today.

It looked pretty cool in the promos, but it never made it to a theatre where I live. Has anybody seen it and is it worth buying?

[apoweyn]

yes and yes. :)

i was wondering when this was coming out. definitely worth checking out. i can't guarantee you'll like it as much as i did. so you may want to rent it first. but if you're into kung fu and horror (long live Blade), it's a good pick.


stuart b.

[Chang Style Novice]

"if you're into kung fu and horror "

Spooky Encounters and Spookey Encounters 2!

Also Kwaidan, but not so much kung fu, just some nice atmospheric samurai stuff (no real fighting) but perhaps the best looking movie I've ever seen.

[apoweyn]

chang,

yeah, i've been meaning to check those two out. i've wanted to delve into the hong kong horror genre for a while now. seen 'chinese ghost story' but that's about it.

the clips i've seen of spooky 2 are great though.


stuart b.

[Chang Style Novice]

Well, I'm a big Sammo Hung fan, but if you don't mind a little comedy with your horror, the "Spookys" should be right up your alley.

Ya know, if "Wolfen" had a three section staff vs. twin broadsword duel, it'd be the greatest movie of all time.

[Hau Tien]

Our copy of A Chinese Ghost Story is only in Chinese. The guy who sold it to us said there were English subtitles (VCD), but there were not.

We do have A Chinese Ghost Story 2 and 3, though. I haven't had time to view #2 yet, but 3 rocks.

For Hong Kong horror we also have "A Wicked Ghost". Wasn't too bad... basically some ghost comes to haunt these folks who accidentally call her up during a seance of sorts.

No Kung Fu in that movie, though.

Personally, I didn't like Brotherhood of the Wolf much, although the figth scenes were pretty good. The story left a lot to be desired, though, in my opinion.

A good rental, for sure... I wouldn't buy it, myself:)

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
Well, I'm a big Sammo Hung fan, but if you don't mind a little comedy with your horror, the "Spookys" should be right up your alley.

Ya know, if "Wolfen" had a three section staff vs. twin broadsword duel, it'd be the greatest movie of all time.


i dig samo myself. technically, i think he's more proficient than jackie in some ways. his choreography is off the map.

i don't mind hong kong comedy. it's a bit silly. but then, i like adam sandler, so...

i just like the folk magic ideas in it. a lot is made of wuxia flicks since 'crouching tiger' came out. but throw in some bagua mirrors, a hopping vampire or two, and a few demons and we're good to go.

as for wolfen, i demand that you raise the funds, raise albert finney, and MAKE THAT FILM!

:)



stuart b.

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by Hau Tien
Our copy of A Chinese Ghost Story is only in Chinese. The guy who sold it to us said there were English subtitles (VCD), but there were not.

We do have A Chinese Ghost Story 2 and 3, though. I haven't had time to view #2 yet, but 3 rocks.

For Hong Kong horror we also have "A Wicked Ghost". Wasn't too bad... basically some ghost comes to haunt these folks who accidentally call her up during a seance of sorts.

No Kung Fu in that movie, though.

Personally, I didn't like Brotherhood of the Wolf much, although the figth scenes were pretty good. The story left a lot to be desired, though, in my opinion.

A good rental, for sure... I wouldn't buy it, myself:)

number three is really good, eh? hmm... okay, i'll have to check that out then.

i'm a big fan of dacascos, so i dug BotW. i liked the villain too. vincent... whatever. but movie tastes are obviously very personal. but we agree that it should be a rental first.

:)

more kung fu horror worth catching: big trouble in little china, of course. and who could forget (despite years of trying) legend of the seven golden vampires?!


stuart b.

[MightyB]

So I rented Brotherhood of the Wolf.

It really showcases some of the weaknesses of European films.

European films have a tendancy to look like over stylized car commercials. They have a tendancy to go overly artsy in the edit which Brotherhood displays. The director and editor seemed to never had heard of the concept of the invisible cut resulting in me finding myself looking at the film rather than experiencing it. Every time I'd just start to get into it, it went into a 5 minute David Hasselof type montage that took me right out of the story. The result was a dark story without any suspense.

I couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be an epic, a love story, an adventure, a comedy, a mystery, a farse, or a political statement and neither could the director.

The characters lacked dimension (way too many characters being introduced) and I didn't see any growth in any of them. And, at points, it seemed that the director forgot which direction he wanted the story to go because of conflicting plot lines.

The fight scenes were ok, but, no sword and dagger? Wasn't this a European movie? How come there weren't any European fighting styles used?

I didn't like the over use of gore. I've gutted deer. I've gutted them right after I shot 'em. There isn't that much blood as was depicted in the wolf taxidermy scene. Also, lions and large predators in general do not rip an animal apart to kill it. They strangle their prey by biting and sealing off the windpipe.

All in all, with a better director, it could've been a really good movie because the plot was awesome. Too bad it was a victim of bad direction.