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It sounds like Tough Guy must be the same movie I saw decades ago with the title Kung Fu The Headcrusher. I remembered Chen Sing and Shan Kuai at the end fighting forever in the mud. Didn't Cheung Nick also do the nunchaku against a bunch of attackers? I also remembered the Once Upon a Time in the West soundtrack music in it.
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Yeah that's the one. Kung Fu Headcrusher sounds like the real title. Weird that title isn't listed on hkmdb.
The fights are all very intense, but there's a scene at the end that had some unintentional humor I think. Chen Sing graps San Kuai's head to crush it, and Kuai has a pot hidden under the hat he is wearing. He says "that won't work on me!" And Chen Sing looks at the pot in his hand and has this confused look on his face. So funny.
Last edited by jethro; 01-17-2011 at 12:35 PM.
"For someone who's a Shaolin monk, your kung fu's really lousy!"
"What, you're dead? You die easy!"
"Hold on now. I said I would forget your doings, but I didn't promise to spare your life. Take his head."
“I don’t usually smoke this brand, but I’ll do it for you.”
"When all this is over, Tan Hai Chi, I will kick your head off and put it on my brother's grave!
"I regard hardships as part of my training. I don't need to relax."
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Good Bad and Weird. Holy cow. This movie has enough action for 10 movies. I’m not a big fan of Korean cinema, but this movie is awesome. Thanks for recommending this Jimbo. I thought for sure I was going to be disappointed, but I was not!
"For someone who's a Shaolin monk, your kung fu's really lousy!"
"What, you're dead? You die easy!"
"Hold on now. I said I would forget your doings, but I didn't promise to spare your life. Take his head."
“I don’t usually smoke this brand, but I’ll do it for you.”
"When all this is over, Tan Hai Chi, I will kick your head off and put it on my brother's grave!
"I regard hardships as part of my training. I don't need to relax."
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Just watched Revenge of the Ninja for the first time. Tons of fun. I loved it.
I got it at Best Buy for $5 in a 3 pack with Rage of Honor and American Ninja. All widescreen. I hear American Ninja is good so I'm going to watch that next.
"For someone who's a Shaolin monk, your kung fu's really lousy!"
"What, you're dead? You die easy!"
"Hold on now. I said I would forget your doings, but I didn't promise to spare your life. Take his head."
“I don’t usually smoke this brand, but I’ll do it for you.”
"When all this is over, Tan Hai Chi, I will kick your head off and put it on my brother's grave!
"I regard hardships as part of my training. I don't need to relax."
Registered User
Glad you liked Good, Bad and Weird, Jethro. It's my favorite Korean film. Although I've liked some Korean films, including Oldboy and, unlike a lot of people, City of Violence, I too am not a really big fan of Korean cinema, either. But GBW is one of the most fun movies I'd watched in a while.
Another one of the Sho Kosugi ninja films of that period was Ninja III: The Domination. It's a weird film, like a mixture of Flashdance, The Exorcist and the ninja genre. Not as good as Revenge of the Ninja, though.
Not a MA film, but I bought The Midnight Meat Train (MMT), and IMO it's a good film. And no, in spite of the title, it isn't a porn flick.It's based on the short horror story by Clive Barker, and is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi, Versus, Skyhigh, Aragami, and Godzilla: Final Wars). MMT is regarded as the best Clive Barker movie adaptation since the original Hellraiser film, and it definitely is. This is different from anything that Kitamura has directed before; it's his first American movie; yet the story's twist is very much in line with some of Kitamura's Japanese works. It's also one of the only films based on his own work that Clive Barker is actually happy with, and he was justifiably P.O.d that Lionsgate did very little to promote it.
MMT is a horror film, but is more intelligent than a lot of what passes for American horror films. In a nutshell, the story involves a professional photographer who wants to capture the seedier aspects of the city late at night. He eventually crosses paths with a serial killer named Mahogany, played by Vinnie Jones. Mahogany rides the subway late at night, preying on late passengers, butchering and 'disappearing' them. The photographer becomes obsessed with secretly following Mahogany and getting to the bottom of the killings.
Some of the violence is clearly CGI, but there is one scene a bit late in the film that is particularly gruesome and is not CGI. MMT is definitely NOT a film for the squeamish. I'm not a gorehound and usually don't like really graphic horror, but I found MMT very entertaining, and for me it's leagues above gross-out gore films like Hostel, Cabin Fever, The Ruins (all of which I disliked). But there are interesting characters in MMT, esp. Vinnie Jones' Mahogany. Without speaking a word until near the end, Mahogany is truly menacing, as is the sinister train driver. Making guest appearances are Brooke Shields and "Rampage" Jackson. Besides the threat of extreme carnage, MMT depends heavily on a creepy atmosphere, like all good horror movies. If you're okay with some gore, supported by good acting, you may like this. But YMMV. 7.5/10.
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Sword of Swords.
I liked this Jimmy Wang Yu film. I still like his One-Armed Swordsman and Master of the Flying Guillotine better, but SOS is great, and Tien Feng plays an especially dirty villain. 7/10.
The Supreme Swordsman.
Another good, late-period Shaw flick starring Derek Yee. Some of the fights, esp. the sword fights, are sped up, which was probably not necessary. I had forgotten I'd seen this movie years ago, until the end fight. 7.5/10.
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Million Dollar Baby.
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Ong Bak 3.
I've been reading a lot of negatives about this movie, but after finally seeing it, I have a few comments, pro and con.
***If you haven't seen it yet, contains some spoilers below***
Ong Bak 3 delves very deeply into the mystical/supernatural and finally spiritual aspects, even more so than the martial aspects. One thing I will give credit to Tony Jaa for, is that his character does undergo extreme changes, not only to his mentality, but also to his martial style. In part 2, he combines several arts like Muay Thai, Hung Gar, Kenjutsu, Jujutsu(?)/grappling, various weapons systems, etc. In part 3, he eventually forsakes all of that in favor of a more spiritually-based style gleaned from dance and meditation, which also served as his character's physical/mental/spiritual therapy. During his subsequent fights, the movements bare a slight resemblance, perhaps, to a type of Bagua or Taiji.
On the other hand, like part 2, part 3 is a very bleak movie. Perhaps that more accurately captures ancient times than most period films. And after the big build-up, I felt kind of let down. And the way it's edited can be confusing. After watching parts 2 and 3, I've come to the conclusion that Tony Jaa is better suited to films set in the modern era than to period films. OB2 and 3 do probably have better overall cinematography and budget than Ong Bak 1 and Tom Yum Goong; if he can combine that positive with future modern-day films, and improve his storylines and editing, he should continue in popularity for many years. So far, he hasn't shown the charismatic personality that helped stars like Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung keep audiences for so many decades. Only time will tell.
6/10.
Last edited by Jimbo; 02-09-2011 at 12:06 AM.
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The Jade Tiger.
A fairly decent Chu Yuan-directed wuxia pian, though somewhat convoluted and nothing spectacular. Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Lo Lieh, Lily Li, Shih Szu, Yueh Hua, Wang Hsieh, Derek Yee, Hsu Hsiao-Chiang, Ku Kuan-Chung.
6/10.
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The Empress and the Warriors.
Starring Kelly Chen, Leon Lai, and Donnie Yen. I liked this movie better than I expected. It's directed by Ching Siu-Tung, who has been among my least favorite action choreographers, but here he keeps the action pretty much grounded, and some of the battle scenes are nicely done. If the film had any weaknesses, it would be some of the semi-comedic scenes with Kelly Chen and Leon Lai, in which she (as the empress) acts way out of character, and much of the romantic dialogue comes off as sappy.
6.5 to 7/10.
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