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Thread: recent purchases

  1. #1141
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    Man from Nowhere is a good one. Not quite great, but close. Good brutal action, good acting, decent enough story, dark tone... lots of good things about this one. I wouldn't rush out to get it but it's definitely worth a look.
    "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."

  2. #1142
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    Blood Heat. (6.5/10).

    It's a fairly decent movie. Nothing great. Kane Kosugi, Sho Aikawa, Ken Lo, etc. Kane Kosugi's onscreen MA stunts are excellent. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a lot of onscreen personality to go with the skills. When the fight scenes start, he appears right at home; but when he isn't fighting, he appears a bit lost or uncomfortable.

    Ken Lo is good as an in-ring opponent who is hopped-up on an ability-enhancing drug called 'Blood Heat'. He isn't anywhere near as spectacular as he was in, say, Drunken Master II, which probably means that although he has excellent skills, he needs a top-notch choreographer/cinematographer to really bring out his best on film. Another of his post-Jackie appearances (Steven Seagal's Into The Sun) would confirm this.

    Since this is a somewhat 'old' film (2002), I hope that Kane has had a chance to develop his onscreen presence since Blood Heat. It wasn't there yet when he appeared in DOA; was possibly a bit better in Godzilla: Final Wars; but maybe in the upcoming CLF movie (the one with Yuen Wah, Sammo Hung, etc.) he'll have fully arrived.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 04-25-2011 at 03:30 PM.

  3. #1143
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    Fighter in the Wind.

    Vanquisher,

    Ip Man 2, 2-disc CE.

    The Warlords.

    First off, I could barely get through the first 30 minutes of Vanquisher. It's another Thai film "From the company behind the Ong Bak franchise, The Protector and Born to Fight." That should have been a tip-off right there; that and the fact that there aren't any critics' "comments of praise" on the cover. It's a study in really BAD acting, Bad choreography, BAD cinematography, and HORRIBLE editing/continuity.

    The American CIA man looks like some businessman the filmmakers found in a hotel in Bangkok and is clearly no actor. One Kenyan character actually appears to move his eyes to a cue card repeatedly in one scene. I'm no filmmaker myself, but Vanquisher is a study in how NOT to film a movie, MA/action or otherwise. Needless to say, it cannot compare with the above-mentioned films of the same company.

    It probably isn't fair to write about a movie when you've only watched one-third of it, but it's going to be hard to watch the rest of it.

    Fighter in the Wind is a Korean production based on the life of Kyokushinkai karate founder Masutatsu Oyama, who was actually a Korean who moved to Japan. What's really unique about this film is that it actually has several Japanese actors in it instead of just Koreans playing Japanese; something that's rare in Korean movies. Yang Donggeun plays the lead; Aya Hirayama plays his love interest; Masaya Kato is the main antagonist (he's also the lead villain in Blood Heat); and Jung Taewoo (City of Violence) plays young Oyama's Korean Taekyon teacher.

    The acting is very good. Most of the characters are interesting, with the exception of Mas Oyama's Korean best friend, who's supposed to be funny but is only annoying. The fight scenes aren't outstanding, but they definitely serve the story. At first, young Mas's (I forget his Korean name in the film) fighting style is very much of a Korean style; obviously, as the movie progresses, his style looks more and more Kyokushin. It glaringly omits mentioning that Oyama had also studied both Shotokan and Goju-ryu karate styles prior to formulating Kyokushin style. However, this movie is more about story and not only the fight/MA scenes.

    The movie is also outstanding in that Mas's progression in life is not shown as a linear improvement; his life rises up and spirals back down several times in the film. This portrayal is the epitome of someone who 'eats bitter.' 8/10.

    Ip Man 2 of course is excellent, though I've not watched the DVD yet. I'll comment on The Warlords after I've seen it, too.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 04-27-2011 at 10:28 AM.

  4. #1144
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    was in china town boston this weekend.

    picked up
    legend of the fist return of chen zhen, its alright.

    choyleefut with sammo hung

    and the new shaolin movie.

    havent watched the last 2. all 3 cost me 21 bucks!!!
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  5. #1145
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    Ip Man 2.

    I got the 2-disc collector's edition, and this sequel has better sound quality than the first Ip Man movie. Part one's sound is one of those where the music and some other things are loud, but the people's voices are sometimes barely audible. I had a similar issue with my Inception DVD. Ip Man 2's audio seems perfect. I also liked it better than I did when I saw it at the theater. I now feel it's a better movie than part one (I had originally felt the opposite).

  6. #1146
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    I watched Ip Man 2 this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt the over racist boxer was a bit over the top but the action was very good. I enjoyed the story in part 1 better and would have no problem with watching these two again.

  7. #1147
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    fist of legend return of chen zhen was meh.

    new choyleefut was meh.

    not looking good for new shaolin.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  8. #1148
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    The Man From Nowhere.

    Thanks for the heads-up on this one, Jethro. I actually think this is a top-notch crime thriller; in fact, it's now my favorite Korean movie, along with The Good, the Bad, the Weird. IMO, it's superior to Taken, which in itself is a good film.

    The acting is good. Normally, when there's a leading character who rarely speaks or emotes, that character can become wooden. Not the case with this movie. The lead communicates a lot with seemingly little. And the action scenes, when they do roll around, are excellent. The cover exclaims it has the best cinematic knife fight in years. Not only is this true; I feel it's the best cinematic knife fight, period. Certainly the best I've seen. The villain uses a karambit knife, and the leading man seems to switch knives during the final battle scenes; either a fixed dagger or switchblade, and then what appears to be a tactical folder. As long as someone doesn't go into this movie with the expectation of a "martial arts movie" and takes it for what it is; a very good crime film with brutal action scenes sprinkled in, you may enjoy it a lot.

    9.5 to 10/10.

  9. #1149
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    new shaolin was awesome. loved it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  10. #1150
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    I Saw the Devil.

    This film is directed by Kim Jee-Woon (The Good, the Bad, the Weird; A Tale of Two Sisters); and stars Lee Byung-Hun (the villain of Good, Bad, Weird); and Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy).

    Lee plays special agent Soo-Hyun, whose pregnant wife is murdered by a serial killer, Kyung-Chul, played by Choi. When his wife's body is found, Soo-Hyun hunts down Kyung-Chul in a 'game' of revenge. However, the movie is not so simple as that. There are some surprising twists.

    It turns out that Kyung-Chul is one of the most deviant, resilient, and resourceful movie villains of all time. Choi Min-Sik can play very intense characters, and this is no exception. He portrays this character masterfully. Lee Byung-Hun's portrayal of Soo-Hyun has intensity, but IMO his character never develops as well as the villain. As a special agent, Soo-Hyun does appear to have MA training, and some of his moves resemble Hapkido.

    Not wanting to spoil this movie for anyone, I'll simply say that this is a superb suspense film with elements of both action and horror. It's definitely not for the squeamish. However, it's not a mere "slasher" flick," but a quality study in character. Before, I was not much of a fan of Korean films except for Oldboy, but recently I've had the pleasure of watching some very entertaining ones, this one included. Kim Jee-Woon directs a completely different movie from his The Good, the Bad, the Weird, and creates another masterpiece. This isn't a mere straight-up revenge flick; instead, it shows some of the consequences when vengeance is taken too far. 9/10.

  11. #1151
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    Onimasa, A Japanese Godfather.

    Kung Fu Dunk.

    The Martial Arts Essentials Vol. 4.

    Gargoyles (1972).

  12. #1152
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    Iron Bodyguard.
    The latest remastered Shaw Brothers release from Tokyo Shock. Directed by Chang Cheh & Pao Hsueh-Li. Starring Chen Kuan-Tai, Yueh Hua, Danny Lee, Lily Li, Betty Pei-Ti, Chiang Tao, etc. Martial arts choreography by Lau Kar-Leung and Tang Chia.

    IB was a transition movie for Chang Cheh as he was preparing to enter his "Shaolin cycle" of movies. The quality of the empty-hand fight scenes began to take on more importance than they did in his earlier works.

    The plot, briefly: Wang Wu (Chen Kuan-Tai), a hero and head of a security escort bureau, befriends a government official (Yueh Hua) who plans to reform the government towards the end of the Ching (Qing) Dynasty. However, the empress orders all reformists to be arrested and executed. Wang Wu and his men must attempt to rescue the reformists before they reach the execution ground.

    Like virtually all of Chang Cheh's films, esp. of this period (early-mid 1970s), the heroes are ill-fated, but will go down in a blaze of glory. The male bonding, heroism, and 'glorious deaths' of Chang's films were a major influence on John Woo's later works. The final fight between Wang Wu, an old arch-nemesis, and a traitorous weasel is exceptionally well-done and a fine example of this transition period to a more 'kung fu'-style of screen choreography (as opposed to general punch/kick/stab, etc.). The DVD is good quality, but there is some slight blurring in the early part of the movie. 8.5/10.

    Kung Fu Dunk.
    I thought this was just ok. Not as impressed with Jay Chou here as I was with his appearance in True Legend. Although it's compared to Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Dunk can't quite approach it. The fights aren't overly impressive, probably because they're choreographed by Ching Siu-Tung (same as in Shaolin Soccer). Not bad, but nothing to write home about. It's a basketball fantasy-comedy, so the main emphasis is on gravity-defying wirework, CGI, and floaty strikes. Even the appearances of old-school kung fu stars Eddie Ko and Leung Kar-Yan, though welcome, don't really add much; it was actually a bit sad to see LKY taking such a BIG backseat to Jay Chou. Another old-school HK actor, Eric Tsang, is good as a homeless man who sets himself up as Chou's slick agent.

    The DVD quality is very good. My main beef with the movie is the pop song that plays a few times during the movie, something about tofu. I'm certain it's a Jay Chou song, but I felt a bit embarrassed by it and turned the volume way down every time it came on. But since Jay Chou is so popular, I'm sure the song was probably also very popular among young people in Taiwan, China, etc. 5.5/10.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 06-16-2011 at 07:55 PM.

  13. #1153
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    Jay Chou's problem is that he isn't a martial arts actor. He's an R&B singer-slash-actor who keeps getting cast in martial arts movies for some inexplicable reason.

    When the SFX budget can carry his performance (Green Hornet, True Legend) he does alright because the boy can act at least a bit. But when, as in that cinematic disaster, the Curse of the Golden Flower, he can't fall back on CGI he comes across as clumsy and awkward.
    Simon McNeil
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    Be on the lookout for the Black Trillium, a post-apocalyptic wuxia novel released by Brain Lag Publishing available in all major online booksellers now.
    Visit me at Simon McNeil - the Blog for thoughts on books and stuff.

  14. #1154
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    Oh yeah, I forgot I saw him in Curse of the Golden Flower.

    It's unfortunate that there's no new generation coming along to take the place of the old-school KF movie people. And back in the day, even someone who was admittedly NOT a martial artist, like Leung Kar-Yan, made himself look very credible onscreen. Lo Lieh wasn't a MAist either, but under the right direction he played a good villain who looked like he knew what he was doing. Better, more complex and more unique than what Joy Chou can do today. It's becoming a lost art, and when the last old-school guys eventually retire for good (Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, etc.), it'll be difficult if not impossible to replicate the pool of talent (performance skill, choreography, etc.) that came before in HK, Taiwan, China, etc.

  15. #1155
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    Hopefully there are enough people left in China who want their kung fu movies to have well-done kung fu in them to encourage casting directors to at least track down a few wushu guys who can act.
    Simon McNeil
    ___________________________________________

    Be on the lookout for the Black Trillium, a post-apocalyptic wuxia novel released by Brain Lag Publishing available in all major online booksellers now.
    Visit me at Simon McNeil - the Blog for thoughts on books and stuff.

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