recent purchases

[jethro]

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!

[jethro]

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.

[Jimbo]

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.

[Jimbo]

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.

[Jimbo]

Million Dollar Baby.

[Jimbo]

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.

[Jimbo]

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.

[Jimbo]

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.

[Jimbo]

Shaolin Mantis.

The David Chiang classic, Shaolin Mantis was one of his better performances. Nice to finally see it remastered. 8/10.

The Lady Hermit (1971).

Cheng Pei-Pei, Shih Szu, Lo Lieh, and Wang Hsieh. One of, if not the, last roles for Cheng Pei-Pei for Shaw Bros. For those who appreciate older wuxia films; the actors were obviously not accomplished MAists, but the strength was in the acting, esp. from Cheng Pei-Pei.
In some of his later films, Lo Lieh showed much improved skills in onscreen fighting, but he needed a great choreographer like Lau Kar-Leung to help him pull it off. And by the mid-to-late 1970s, kung fu choreography would improve tremendously. Of course, the same could be said for many of the HK stars in the late '60s to early '70s period. LH might not appeal to younger audiences accustomed to faster-paced movies, CGI, etc. 6/10.

[Jimbo]

House (1977; director, Nobuhiko Obayashi. Toho Films. DVD released by The Criterion Collection. Japanese w/English subtitles).

Not to be confused with the current TV series House, nor with the '80s horror movie franchise of the same title, House (a.k.a., Hausu) is one of the absolute weirdest movies I've seen, and IMO it's the best piece of bizarre cinema I've ever seen.

House is basically about a group of schoolgirls who visit the aunt of one of them, who lives in a creepy old house on the outskirts of a rural village. Each girl is a different character type: The pretty girl; the scaredy-cat girl; the science nerd; the tough karate girl; the musician; the fat girl, etc. Needless to say, the aunt is creepy, her house is haunted, and the 'terrors' include a demon cat, a spooky doll, a flesh-eating piano(!!), etc., etc.

No, this is definitely NOT the type of "J-Horror" movie that became common after much-later movies like Ringu and Ju-On: The Grudge. House is funnier than and even out-weirds some of the stranger movies by Takashi Miike, such as Happiness of the Katakuris. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi doesn't waste even one second of House; virtually every shot is an example of unique cinematography. He makes full use of 1970s-era, old-school, "low-tech" special effects and camerawork; modern-day CGI effects would definitely NOT have been as effective for this movie. His vision gives this movie a dreamy quality that is at once hilarious and even a little bit nightmarish. Every little nuance has been put there purposely.

If you like movies that are unique (and make no mistake, House is waaay out there), this movie is certainly worth checking out. Of course, YMMV.

10/10.

[Jimbo]

All Men Are Brothers (Shaw Brothers version, directed by Chang Cheh).

This is the sequel to The Water Margin. I pretty much enjoyed it; there were more and generally better fights in AMAB. However, IMO The Water Margin, although slower-paced, was the better-made film by far. Stars David Chiang, Danny Lee, Fan Mei-Sheng, Chen Kuan-Tai, Wang Chung, Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Lily Ho, Betty Chung (best known to U.S. audiences as Lee's contact on Han's island in Enter the Dragon), Bolo Yeung, Zhu Mu, Tang Yen-Tsan, and Tetsuro Tamba.

Action-wise, the best scenes feature Chen Kuan-Tai, Fan Mei-Sheng, and Bolo Yeung. Ti Lung, maybe the most precise MA performer of the lot, hardly has any screen time at all. David Chiang, as Yan Qing, has plenty of opportunities to fight, but IMO he's not so convincing as "the best wrestler in the country" (or whatever the phrase was). He lacked the strength and bulk to convincingly overpower and defeat someone like Bolo Yeung onscreen, which he does. David Chiang would later go on to some very good fighting performances (Shaolin Mantis, The Loot, The Blooded Treasury Fight, and some others), but in the early '70s he still lacked the onscreen technique to make up for his lack of convincing strength and power. Nearly every time Yan Qing appears on-camera, the soundtrack music whispers, "Chicky-chicky chaaawwww!"

6.5/10.

[Jimbo]

The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (Eclipse Series 23) box set.

This set includes 4 of Kurosawa's first films:

Sanshiro Sugata (a.k.a., Judo Saga, 1943)

The Most Beautiful (1944)

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (Judo Saga II, 1945)

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, 1945)

The real finds of this collection are the two Sanshiro Sugata films. The original is a rare find; and part 2, which has never been available in the U.S. before this collection, AFAIK, is even moreso. For his very first feature, Kurosawa did a fine job with Sanshiro Sugata (hereafter referred to as Judo Saga). The original is missing about 20 minutes of footage that was cut in Japan during wartime, and that footage is forever lost. What is left is still enough to tell the story of the early days of judo, starting in 1882. The general plot is the rivalry between jujitsu, which has fallen into decline, and the rising art of judo.

Judo Saga, Part Two, continues with most of the main players from part one. Apparently, due to the popularity of part one, Toho Studios leaned on Kurosawa to direct a sequel. While generally not as well-made as part one, it is NOT a bad film, as some reviewers have claimed. In fact, it's very intriguing, because this time, instead of jujitsu fighters, now the villains are an American boxer and two karate experts. Which is historically very inaccurate, since part two takes place around 1887, and 'karate' was not brought to mainland Japan until about 1922.

The scenes with the boxer are a bit reminiscent of some later Chinese movies, including Ip Man 2, although Judo Saga's boxer doesn't look much like a boxer, and this time the fight is to uphold the honor of Japanese martial arts. Part two's end fight is a disappointment, as the 'karate' fighter mostly screams and makes shaking poses.

Parts one and two both show aging, but this collection has done the best to give the highest-quality presentation possible. The subtitles are well-done, too. Both Judo Saga movies are worth owning for any Kurosawa fan, as well as any hard-core MA movie fan, just for their historical significance. Don't expect wall-to-wall fights, fast pacing, or outstanding fight choreography; the main messsage of these films is how the hero learns to conduct himself as a man. Anyone expecting modern-looking fight scenes will probably be disappointed. The star of these films, Susumu Fujita, plays a straight-forward, likable character.

Sanshiro Sugata, 7.5/10.

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two, 7/10.

[Jimbo]

The One-Armed Boxer.
I was surprised at the quality of this DVD. It is, hands-down, the best-quality release from the bootleg company Red Sun. I'm not sure if they were licensed to release One-Armed Boxer (OAB), which was originally released in the U.S. by Media Asia. The DVD itself has no flaws. There are a few slight picture flaws that seem to be from the original film itself.

Everything about OAB screams "campy early-1970s KF flick", including its status as a "basher" film par excellence; its use of the theme from Shaft in the opening credits; the collection of foreign MAists brought in to fight the Chinese hero.

Like the majority of "basher-style" films, the fights and "martial artistry" are nothing to write home about. Most of the "fighters" in the movie, including the star, Jimmy Wang Yu, look very unpolished, skill-wise. It makes the idea of different stylists almost a moot point, because everyone moves more or less the same when they fight; wild and sloppy. In real life, fighting is fighting; but in a KF movie, if you introduce the style vs. style genre, then at least the Muay Thai guys, Taekwondo expert, Okinawan karatemen, Tibeten Lamas, Indian yoga master, judo master, and kung fu fighters should look different when they move, besides how they're dressed or face-painted. The most distinctive-looking character and most powerful of the villains is the main karate master, who sports fangs. His karate chop is so powerful that he 'chops' off Jimmy Wang Yu's arm with it, thus making him into the "OAB".

As a "basher-style" film, I give this movie a 10/10. There are wall-to-wall fights, and while not stylistically pleasing, fans of this type of movie should love it.

As a MA film, I give it a 6.5/10.

[jethro]

10/10 is the correct rating for One armed Boxer Love love love that movie. My favorite Lung Fei performance. Such a fun movie and an epicly intense final fight.

All Men are brothers I would give around an 8.5/10. Great blood drenched badass movie. I totally agree about David Chiang, but he does a good acting job and I liked his character. And the "Chicky-chicky chaaawwww!" is awesome Really good soundtrack overall. Also Fan Mei Sheng is awesome as Black Whirlwind.

I don't have a computer anymore and I very rarely get online anymore. Not having a computer has giving me some free time. I decided to pull out my game systems which I haven't played in about 5 years. I can't stop playing. This is why I packed them up long ago. I started playing again because I found a game called NInja Golf for the Atari 7800 at Cd Tradepost. I couldn't pass it up. I took a risk getting it for $32.99 but to my surprise it's worth it. It wears out it's welcome pretty quick but still a lot of fun and I know I will play it again someday. And I will be showing it to friends as often as I can. I wish they would make another ninja sports game. Speaking of a sports game series that needs to be continued one day, Mutant League Football and Hockey anyone?

Watched G.I. Joe recently. Good action movie with a lead actor I could care less about. Nice to see one of my favorite actors with a big role, Adawale A-.... something. He played Adebisi on Oz and Mr Ecko on Lost. First time I think he's ever been able to use his original British accent in a movie or Tv series. Very cool. Also watched Faster with The Rock. Average movie, I can't say it was good or bad. Pretty good acting from The ROck. Adebisi is also in this but unfortunately a very smalll role.

I'm going to watch the korean Man From Nowhere. Hopefully I'll be able to report on it soon.

[Jimbo]

Hi, Jethro.
Good to see things are OK with you, and will be looking forward to your comments on that film.