Dragon Princess (Hissatsu onna kenshi) (Japan, 1976) - 4/5
Japanese martial arts at it’s best. Etsuko Shihomi kicks major ass, Yasuaki Kurata is as cool as ever, as Chiba is such a badass he makes his chinese colleagues pale in comparison (and not only because of the poor UK transfers…). The opening fight scene at the old church is especially memorable with the wind blowing through the front door and raising dust when Chiba fights the three assassins (see screencapture).
In the Line of Duty IV (Hong-Kong, 1989)
Watching this movie felt like re-discovering all the goodness from classic Hong-Kong Action Cinema. Feeling like a kid again, pure, unfiltered excitement like watching a Martial-Arts movie for the first time. After “Hard boiled” and “Angel Terminators” I though I’ve seen everything there is possible, but then I get to witness beautiful Cynthia Khan kicking and punching on top of a driving ambulance car, Donnie Yen on a motorcycle being chased by another motorized villain carrying an axe, and everything before, in between and afterwards is just Action and more Action, featuring most terrific Crime-Fu Choreographies by Yuen Wo-Ping. Well, Donnie Yen in a police-uniform looked a bit gay and all, but that’s it for the downside.
Sukeban Boy (Japan, 2006) - 1,5/5
Is this where sukeban films have come to? I certainly hope not. A no budget mix of some decent jokes and several truly bad ones. Most of the characters are annoying although the main character’s dad and his friends dressed as school girls (undercover mission) is a sight worth seeing. There’s some other good ideas too, but it’s all ultimately ruined with unsympathetic characters and appalling visual look. Reviewed here: <LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.tarantino.info/forum/index.p … 23.60.html”>http://www.tarantino.info/forum/index.php/topic,6323.60.html</LINK_TEXT>
Tonda Couple (Japan, 1980) - 3,5/5
Shinji Somai’s directorial debyt. The second half doesn’t hold up quite as well as it should, but the first 60 minutes is excellent and comes with a high purity factor. Somai’s trademark long takes are plenty and as lovely as ever. Speaking of lovely, the 16 year old Hiroko Yakushimaru does great job here, as does the equally charming Shingo Tsurumi. Also features a surprising appearance by Hiroyku Sanada. Fully reviewed here: <LINK_TEXT text=“Bullets 'n' Babes - Index page … php?t=3388”>Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (review, comparison etc.)+ 4K BD - Bullets 'n' Babes</LINK_TEXT>
Election (Hong-Kong, 2005)
I’ve always been a little skeptic with this movie. Thought it’d be a long and boring Talking-Heads flick full of static interior takes, dude, I was wrong. “Election” is a highly fascinating and thoroughly captivating thriller-drama, taking a deep and realistic view behind the origins of Triads-Rituals. Characters are constantly on the move, and although as a viewer you kinda always remain an outsider, it’s still possible to feel the suspense coming from certain decisions and ambitions of the characters. Furthermore Johnnie To succeeds in creating some truly opulent images due to meticulously composed lighting and atmospheric light-shadow contrasts. Although there’s hardly any action, the ending is still shocking in it’s ruthless depicting of brutality. Cool movie that deserves more attention, and I came to like the minimalistic acoustic guitar score quite a bit.
Curse of the Golden Flower (Hong Kong, 2006) - 3/5
Zhang Yimou thinks big of himself nowadays. The film sure is colourful (a bit more than the HK dvd can handle), huge and epic, but what about the story and the characters? It’s weird to see a director known for his intimate character dramas doing an epic as one dimentional as this. The story is predictable and lacks any kind of nuances. Maybe he was aiming at a classic tragedy… but that would’ve required a more poetic execution to truly work. But the scale, the scale… The huge fight scenes at the end make LotR look like small scale. More than 1000 extras was used, and apparently the rest was created using CGI. Speaking of CGI, the failing point is Yimou’s recent effors, it’s less distractive this time. It’s used more wisely and the GCI shots are not as underlined as before. The actual set ups are jaw dropping, especially the king’s palace. The actors are alright but mostly act with their charisma and costumes instead of actual skill. Single standout scenes like the ninja attack to the village remain highly impressive.
Leave me alone (Hong-Kong, 2004)
Not too bad Action-Comedy by Danny Pang, starring Ekin Cheng, Ekin Cheng and the always charming Charlene Choi. A homosexual fashion-designer from Hong-Kong (Ekin Cheng) has to close a deal with a Triads-Boss in Thailand, otherwise his twin brother (Ekin Cheng, who after a fatal car-crash lies in a hospital) will lose all his property plus a finger. Yeah, it’s shallow comedy and the CGI during a “Bad Boys 2”-style car chase sucks, but characters come along rather likeable and there are a couple of really good jokes (Homo-Cheng giving styling tips to the sulky father-in-law of his brother), so if you’re equipped with a big forgetting heart and don’t mind Not thinking a lot, you’re in for some pretty amusing 90 minutes. Some (tame) shootouts have the camera concentrating on slow-motion posing, rather than actual bullets flying, and if you look closely, you’ll notice a terrific cross-over-reference to Pang Brothers’ “Ab-normal Beauty”.
Moonlight Whispers (Japan, 1999) (dvd/R2J) - 3/5
“Takuya wants to be Satsuki’s dog. Satsuki likes to see Takuya cry. Love hurts.” A great director could make a great film out of a plot like this. In the wrong hands it could end up something ridiculous… which is what happens here. The film however is not bad. The beginning is very nice despite the weak use of music. Almost hard to watch because this kind of romatic stuff tends to make me jealous. Anyway, once the actual plot kicks off the film becomes both plastic and often hard to take seriously. The last scene for example is totally ridiculous, partly because the film makers obviously believe they’ve achieved something important and poignant. Yet, strangely, and maybe partly because of that, the film never loses its interest. There’s a bit of nice black comedy, although not all of it is intentional. I also much liked the female lead who looks more of a real girl than a movie star. The very last image and the choice of music is wonderful. It’s the 10th drop after the last that turns the film into a mess. But it’s a strangely fascinating and silently fun mess.
Looking at the US press response:
“Moonlight Whisper buzzes with a quietly disturbing resonance that will stick with you for days.” Time Out, New York
“Perfectly deranged…Attains a hospitalized lyricism not seen since Cronenberg’s Crash” Chuck Stephens, San Francisco Bay Guardian.
“An audacious blend of perversion and poignancy” Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle.
“discreetly erotic…[director, Akihiko Shiota is] an original new talent.” Derek Elley, Variety
ha, I knew the critics would be overwhelmed by this.
Born to Defense (Hong-Kong, 1986)
Reactionary Kung-Fu Revenge-Movie, thats quite heavy on the Anti-Americanism. On the one hand you got US-Soldiers racking pregnant women or kicking the crap out of invalid Rikscha-Drivers, on the other hand there’s Jet Li fighting for the Honor of his compatriots. Action features some extremely gritty and bone-breaking choreographies in the best tradition of Tony Jaa. Story is quite emotional, full of unfortunate romantic involvement, good people dying, and kitschy depiction of friendship and affection. In the melodramatic scenes Hate and Pity are taken to the next level of Extremes. The MiramAxe-Version is short on some footage where people are getting peed on; wasn’t too angry about missing that out, though.
The Fearless Hyena (Hong Kong, 1979) - 4/5
I wasn’t holding my breath for this as Jackie’s next directorial effort The Young Master (1981) proved out quite tame. How wrong was I. The Fearless Hyena starts out rather mediocre but gets better and better scene by scene. The last 30 minutes is every bit as good as Drunken Master or Snake on the Eagle’s Shadow. Also very pleasing was Jackie decision to kick ass right from the beginning, instead of getting kicked in the ass as usual. The action scenes are excellent throughout, and the final fight offers the most hysterically amazing fight choreographies Jackie ever pulled out. Jackie using happiness, anger and melancholy (kung fu styles) must be seen to be believed.
House of Fury (Hong-Kong, 2005)
Pacy as hell Kung-Fu-Comedy with “Twins Effect”-like humor, but tighter and funnier in every possible way. If you thought, Wire-Fu can’t be exciting, think again: Yuen Woo-Ping has put together some incredible powerful and extensive choreographies employing wide-ranged techniques, while still giving his actors enough groundwork in order to make them seem believable. Even darling Gillian Chung gets her legs high enough in the air to make a scary opponent for her enemies. Anthony Wong’s roguish imitation of a Bruce Lee-like Fighting-Style had me cracking up in an instant, and that Caucasian kid’s high-velocity handling of the Pole was nothing short of awesome. “House of Fury” is Prime Exampel of how a modern day Kung-Fu-Flick should look like.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (China, 2002) - 3,5/5
This is one of those films that feel like not so captivating art film at first but 60 minutes later you realize you’ve totally fell in love with the characters and don’t want to let go. The film mainly suffers from predictable plot although it’s told without over-dramatizing it which makes it less noticable. The actors are excellent and very likable, the locations are stunning and the film is mostly free from any unnecessary commercialism. Enjoyable and rather pure film.
Black Tight Killers (Japan, 1966) - 3/5
The 60’s, the 60’s, the 60’s… that’s all you can think about watching Black Tight Killers. Haven’t seen a movie so tied to its time since Barbarella… So, it’s time for fancy colors, groovy music and a bunch of sweet little female killers with their kawaii hair styles. Director Yasuharu Hasebe doesn’t quite reach the level of coolness of Seijun Suzuki but the attempt is good. The campy material here is first grade but the execution lacks the last punch, the tightness that would make it something earth shatteringly cool. Now it’s just a lot of fun, no more no less.
La Maison de Himiko (Japan, 2005) - 2,5/5
The first 40 minutes I kept thinking how is it possible that Isshin Inudou, who made the wonderful Jozee just a few years earlier, could come up with something as bad as this. Cheap comedy with elderly gay drag queens… I was feeling sorry for the actors and their families. I guess it’s the downside of never reading plot descriptions, you end up with films like Himiko. And oh, the opening scene is awful, absolutely horrible, nearly forgot to mention that. However, it comes as a pleasant surprise that the last 90 minutes is very much watchable. Nothing very delicate, rather stupid and mainsteam in fact but enjoyable nevertheless. Joe Odagiri, who’s the best thing in the movie right from the beginning, gets more space and the movie turns into a serious drama as everyone expected it to. The rating may feel bit high but I really did enjoy the last 2/3’s so I’ll make an exception in case of this film. Btw, it’s funny that the most charming actor in the film is Joe Odagiri, not Kou Shibasaki. Odagiri looks just so damn handsome in the film that it made me want to imitate his hair style (moms comment: “that punk who looks like a homeless person?”). I love that guy. Would even go for a date with him.
Attention Please (Japan, 2006, 11 episodes) - 4/5
Aya as a cabin attendant. Not one of her best shows but still a great one, and comes with an exceptional amount of Aya cuteness. The series itself is, well, bitter and sweet. At times it’s so manipulative and irritating you want to cry. And 10 minutes later it has turned so unbelievably sweet and wonderful… and you want to cry again. Argh. The pattern is very repeatitive, basically every episode has the same structure. Aya screws up, you feel so bad for her, then she succeeds and it’s the greatest feeling in the world. This show is probably much easier for someone who isn’t a fan of hers. Some supporting characters are incredibly silly (not always in a good way) while others are impossible not to love (Saki Aibu being a lovely example). Makes you wanna become a cabin attendant.
Story of Ricky (Hong-Kong, 1991)
Couldn’t relax once. Creative dismemberment of human bodies doesn’t automatically achieve a humorous effect. Doggedly told story, no sense for style or truly funny slapstick. Furthermore I felt disappointed that they didn’t make it a real Kung-Fu Movie; instead almost every Fight Scene instantly switches to some ultra-bloody Finishing Move, and the Showdown in the kitchen is nothing but grossed-out Bad Taste. Visually-wise “Story of Ricky” is quite competent, though, some sufficiently “sparkling” images here and there, also prosthetic Splatter-SFX came about as rather convincing. Gore-Afficionados most certainly will find them entertaining to watch. May as well be, that this movie is so Bad it’s almost Good, but after all the Hype the last thing I wanted to see was a bad movie.
The Sinking of Japan (Japan, 2006)
Epic disaster movie, but totally different from Hollywood-Stuff (may be a budget thing, too). It’s more about personal drama and the Big Picture than all-out Smashing Mayhem and people running around, screaming and dying. The actual Sinking of Japan takes place in a few short destruction-sequences throughout the movie and they are superbly executed (for japanese standards), in between it’s all about Love, Hope, and Sorrow in lofty dialog. Kou Shibasaki and her good looks remain the best thing about this movie. One perfect Farewell-Scene is being spoiled by stupid R’nB-Music, the ending had me crying with affection, though, I suck.
Raped by an Angel 4: The Raper’s Union (Hong-Kong, 1999)
Most tasteless entry into the franchise yet, but also exceeding previous sequels in terms of quality entertainment, and I blame Wong Jing for it, because when it comes to CAT-III Sleaze, Jing sure knows the ropes. This movie has some of the most unbelievably hillarious dialog I’ve ever heard, and I’m not talking about obligatory grammatical issues. Don’t miss Anthony Wongs guest-appearance as the “Human Milk Drinking Doctor”, ancestor of all rapists, who watches X-rated movies in order to control his sex-drive, and in his spare-time sells bras on the street. Yeah, I’m not kidding you. The rest is pure gross-out Schlock, bound to offend every second person on this planet with just a hint of Moral Responsibility. One fairly suspenseful domestic Chase Scene reminded me of the movie “Scream”, and the Slasher-like Showdown does conclude with some jaunty Action Set-Pieces. Ah, forget it, I just changed my mind: please try to avoid this movie under any circumstances. You don’t need to watch this. Please. I’m begging you.
A bittersweet Life (Korea, 2005)
It’s the kind of film you get addicted to, if you watch it too much. It’s entirely surface, a shiny, polished, slick surface with barely the hint of anything underneath than what you see, but yet it seems so complete and perfect, it’s unbelievable. “A Bittersweet Life” is more than just a Bloodshed-Drama, it’s a fucking piece of Art at it’s most entertaining form. There’s not a lot of Action, but when it comes down to it, the screen is literally burning.
Battle Royale 2: Revenge (Japan, 2003)
Twenty minutes of additional footage serve the movie well. Imprudently applied Kitsch remains, though, so does Riki Takeuchi’s overacting and that non-subtle Social Message, but now they’re all easier to bear, because of 1) deeper insight into certain character background, 2) extended Afghanistan footage, and 3) more headshots, yay. As crude Sledgehammer-Satire with a brainless Blockbuster-Look I can now co-exist with “Battle Royale 2” rather well. And I love Ai Maeda in her Army-Outfit: with strands of hair boldly hanging into her face, while carrying a huge Assault Rifle, she could’ve escaped right of a Manga Comic Book, which actually fits the tone of the movie quite well; “Starship Troopers without bugs” is also fine. So if you feel like watching “Battle Royale 2”, please forget everything about the first one, exclusively allow the Director’s Cut to enter your DVD-Player, and before hitting the “Play”-Button, it’s imperative to memorize some kind of “Logic in movies sucks”-Mantra. Then, and only then even that conciliatory Ending Solution doesn’t hurt as much anymore.
