This movie looked like a collection of violent buddy cop movie clichés sewn on top of a Lethal Weapon template. There were Hong Kongers, Filipinos, Americans, and one of the dubbers had an Australian accent.

Were the bad guys drug dealers, counterfeiters or just bad guys in general?

The music ranged from Lethal Weapon rip-off riffs, to organ music from a 1950’s Dracula movie, to music your brother wrote in the basement on his cheap sound effects keyboard, to literally an Anne Murray country song.

The lighting was awful. If Donnie Yen is in a fight scene, the audience should be able to see him at work. At other times, the director kept using shots either super close-up or shots looking up the actors’ noses.

The only redeeming qualities for me were Donnie Yen (always!) and Roy Cheung. Donnie excels at playing the quiet, brooding good guy. Roy Cheung’s charisma came through even this script. Both were way better than the material they were asked to bring to life.

If you are a fan of bad 1990’s cop flicks or a Donnie Yen completist, this movie may be up your alley. For others, you may want to skip this one.

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The Five Venoms is thought by many to be one of the best kung fu movies. What sets the movie apart from the others in the genre? It has a (mostly)coherent plot, decent acting, nice sets, good lighting and use of color and intricate fight choreography. As long as you remember the confines of the genre, it’s an enjoyable ride. I can’t put the crown of best kung fu movie on it because Enter the Dragon has that title for me.

The Five Venoms begins with a mystery that a young ku fighter must resolve for his dying master and the audience watches the story unfold as he does. He must figure out the deadly players involved with little information and also who is using their venom training for selfish motives. There are alliances and betrayals, hidden identities, a secret treasure and real stakes.

The five members of the poison clan each have their own fighting style-scorpion, snake, centipede, lizard/gecko, and toad. The different fighting styles are fun to watch and give a glimpse into the characters’ personalities. Unlike many kung fu movies there is some character development and motivations for their behaviors.

What I didn’t care for as much is that the fights looked too choreographed. I didn’t feel like they flowed smoothly at times, more like dancers counting their steps. At least they kept the camera still and at a distance where the whole scene could be observed instead of just seeing segments of the fight. I have to say I like to have at least one female fighter in the cast, sadly there are almost no women in this movie. I think I saw Mama Hung slumped over where an entire family had been murdered when one of the bad guys was trying to find the treasure map. Little quibbles are I could see the wig tape at times, and the fight sounds were not always synched with the motions. I try not to judge a kung fu movie by what are usually atrocious dubbing choices, but at least it didn’t sound like one guy was doing all the voices.

The Five Venoms and teen sidekick was an entertaining movie. The good guys eventually team up against the bad guys showing that teamwork does pay and evil does not. Like all kung fu movies I’m kinder in grading it, as it was a product of it’s time and for a specific audience.

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I grade Kung Fu movies on a different scale, they were for a specific audience 40-50 years ago. This movie with Billy Chong was entertaining. He's the real deal, not just someone who looks like a fighter. The fights came fast and furious from the opening scenes to the last, more creative and acrobatic than bloody and brutal.

The brief love interest was dropped as the fighting increased. This movie could have used more charismatic characters and even a modicum of character development or insight. As delightful as the fight scenes were it did start to feel like one too many drum solos. If you enjoy kung fu movies this one is worth giving a try to watch Billy show different fighting techniques. He's quick and agile and fun to watch, just don't expect much story to go along with his fighting skills.

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Mary Poppins Kung Fu Fight with a Vengeance!

Black and White Umbrellas is about two rival clans who have had deep enmity between them for years. The premise is pretty simply, one clan dresses in white and carries white umbrellas, the other wears black and carries black umbrellas.

Basic story elements follow-do not read if you are super spoiler sensitive--I like to know a little about the story of these movies before I commit to watching one, thus the sharing of these elements---

After a climatic and deadly battle between the leaders of the clans, peace held for many years until the son of one of the leaders returned for a bloody vengeance. Killing, raping, and dis-arming people until he took over the local fort, there wasn’t much evil he wouldn’t do and he did it all with great glee.

In walks the pacifist hero who had been given instructions by his dying father to stop the hatred and killing. This does not work out well when dealing with a homicidal maniac and the hero ended up at the bottom of a cliff badly wounded. Two women passing by carried him off to safety (apparently women were much stronger in days of yore), while a Mysterious Woman in White showed up to tend to him. The story at this point is largely hers. She spies on the Black Umbrella Man and his minions, fights with them and gives the White Umbrella Man time to heal.

Eventually, White Umbrella Man heals, decides Black Umbrella Man has to go no matter what dear old departed daddy ordered and he and the Mysterious Woman in White work together.

When watching these old kung fu movies I grade on a different scale. They were shot on the cheap for a specific audience 40-60 years ago. This movie had been cut and re-cut to fit different formats and the subtitles were often cut off at both ends.

The Mysterious Woman in White is expressive and handles her fights well, as does the The Black Umbrella Man. The White Umbrella man's acting is a little stiff though his fighting skills make up for it.

There must be a Buckets of Blood service that supplies these movies and Umbrellas went through it's share. The affinity for shooting in dark places escapes me, fortunately, the FL's fights were often in the light. Taiwanese kung fu movies are usually less well made than the Hong Kong Shaw Brothers made movies, but the Taiwanese movies do often shoot in beautiful outdoor settings. Umbrellas used a waterfall, forest, cave inn (please let that be the name of the place) and mountains as settings for fights and nefarious doings. And of course, the ubiquitous gravel quarry so that the trampoline and wire work can be done, which was fun, especially with the weapons loaded umbrellas scenes.

Umbrellas takes advantage of all sorts of creative weapons and plenty of fights to showcase them. This movie is saved for me because the FL gets a lot of sword time and doesn't back down from a fight even when she's outnumbered.

Not a movie for everyone, only those who get a kick out of old kung fu movies.

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Full disclosure, the eight-year-old in me cannot not watch a Godzilla movie when it comes on. I can always find some entertainment value in these kinds of movies, until today.

I'll start with the good. The miniatures were amazing as always. The houses, cars, trucks, and trains were spot on. Godzilla was a little thin, but not the worst I've seen. Kong finally falls for woman who is not a blonde. Unfortunately, Fumiko spent most of her time unconscious while in Kong's hand. That's it. That's all I've got.

Now the bad. Whoever designed Kong had obviously never seen a gorilla. Or maybe it was a great costume to start with but was accidentally mauled by a pack of dogs and the production company was over budget and didn't have the money for a new one. The crowd overlays made the people look like blue ghosts. Kong can be controlled by a drink made out of the berries indigenous to his island. The locals get him drunk every night until he passes out to keep him under control. mmmmkay. The ending was an ambiguous mess.

Now, the really bad. I know that this movie was a product of it's times (1962) and we cannot retroactively go back and fix it. Having said that, seeing the islanders portrayed by Japanese actors in black face and curly wigs was a horrible sight for my modern eyes. This is not to disparage the Japanese, 1962 was a bad time where I live if you weren't white. Just to throw salt in the wound the company men on the island seeking Kong and the magical berries handed cigarettes out to the islanders to win them over---even the kids!

All of these movies are dated, but this one more than any other that I have seen does not hold up---at all.

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The Assassin breaks out of the standard martial arts mold. If you are looking for a fast paced, bloody, high flying wuxia film, this is not that film. Every shot is a breathtaking painting, lovingly lingered over to give you time to sink into it.

Crickets and birds provide most of the natural soundtrack. The strength of this movie lies in the stunning cinematography and the slow, deliberate pacing.

While the times are complex, the main story arc is deceptively simple. Duty or morality? To kill or not to kill?

Nie Yin Niang (Shu Qi-So Close) has been trained for thirteen years as an assassin and is unmatchable. After refusing to kill an official in front of his son her teacher sends Yin Niang to her home province to kill Tian Ji’an (Chang Chen-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), the military governor, who also happens to be the man she had once been betrothed to before fate and politics changed her plan.

Yin Niang spends much of her time observing from rafters and in dark corners. Is she watching the life that once might have been hers? Or taking the measure of the man and situation to decide whether she can and should kill him?

Dialogue is sparse which can make this movie frustratingly enigmatic for those of us who are not familiar with this ancient tale. Yet I was never bored. Shu Qi gives an understated performance that is complex and compelling in its resolute silence. Yin Niang is no one’s victim and takes history into her own hands.

Fight scenes are often short with no complicated wire work. One scene in particular is beautifully shot among the trees. Yin Niang wields her curved blade confidently and dispassionately against her female opponent before walking off in the forest.

The costumes and sets are lush and a pleasure for the eye. Panoramic scenes of mountains and fields often take center stage. The attention to detail in every frame is captivating.

Yin Niang’s teacher says her heart lacks resolve because the way of the sword is pitiless. This assassin has plenty of resolve, she simply chooses what she wishes to fight for.

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Cynthia and Itami are young lovers in the pre-Sino Japanese war time in Shanghai. Itami is called home to Japan for military service, leaving Cynthia behind in her homeland. After Cynthia's brother is killed by a pro-Japanese protestor she joins the Purple Butterfly resistance movement. As time passes she is again reunited with Itami, but this time they are on opposite sides. She is assigned to help kill his boss. He is hunting down the Purple Butterfly members.

This movie utilizes tight shots often through blue lenses. More often than not the scenes are smoky or rainy, shot with a shaky hand. There is a scarcity of dialogue. The scenes will either feel intimate or claustrophobic, and sometimes they can feel both. Purple Butterfly can be maddeningly hard to follow at times as the story bounces back and forth in time and between characters, but buried under the pretty wrapping are solid performances by Zhang Ziyi, Nakamura Toru, and Feng Yuan Zheng. The sadness and inevitability of the war to come lingers over the story like the smoke and rain enveloping each scene.

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Butterfly and Flowers is a heartwarming coming of age story. Huyan is a young Muslim teen struggling with poverty. His mother died and his father is a laborer. He’s an excellent student and popular with the other students. When his father chooses to pay for a school fee instead of buying rice for the family Huyan decides to drop out of school. Selling popsicles on the street he hopes to earn enough money to send his siblings to school. When an accident pushes the impoverished family closer to the edge he feels he has no other choice than to go to work for the rice smugglers so that they can survive. The question he keeps asking of himself is, “what does it take to be a good person?”

The young rice smugglers hide bags of rice on trains and try to avoid the conductor checking for tickets by riding on the top of the trains. The work is dangerous and the risk of getting hurt or arrested looms over the boys every day. Far from being a gloomy story, Huyan makes friends and provides for his family. A sweet romance develops between him and Minpee, a girl he knew from school who loves flowers and butterflies.

Huyan will ultimately have to make decisions for his family’s future and his future with Minpee. Whether those decisions will lead to him being a good person of course is always the question.

The acting in this movie is very natural. I was quickly drawn into Huyan’s life and desire to take care of his family. There are no villains, only people trying to feed themselves and their families. Much of the action and conversations take place on trains. Are they moving toward something better or something worse?

Huyan’s goal for himself is familiar to many people---how to be a good person? “It’s tricky.”

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This one hour entry in the HBO Asia Folklore anthology was gripping. A family’s story and murderous secrets erupt when a son returns home for his father’s funeral.

Kitamura Kazuki gives a stellar performance as a deaf crime scene writer. He conveys a myriad of emotions without ever saying a word as his character is forced to finally confront the horror hidden in his past and the horror facing him in the present. Kanno Misuzu plays the mother who becomes unhinged as those memories arise. The third main character in this episode is the tatami mat in a deserted room that has secrets to reveal, memories to revive and vengeance to repay.

“Tatami” was the most polished of the anthology episodes I’ve watched. Far from perfect but definitely worth watching Kitamura and Kanno play off of each other. The story is tight using every minute to develop the characters and tell the story in the present and through flashbacks. The scariest elements to this story are not ghosts or the supernatural but the human greed and depravity buried within the layers of the tatami mat.

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While scrolling through Amazon Prime I came upon a series titled Samurai Cat. Two disparate words juxtaposed is like catnip to me. I had to check it out.

I wasn’t expecting much. In fact, I expected it to be so bad that it would be laughable. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case.

Kitamura Kazuki was delightful as Madarame Kyutaro the unemployed samurai living away from his wife and daughter while he tries to find a job. Nearly destitute and unable to pay his rent he is approached by the servant of a wealthy man who hires him to kill the man’s cat. The servant tells him it’s a monster cat stealing his master’s energy. Madarame finds the cat and in the last instant is unable to kill her and takes her home to his small room instead. This begins his revolutionary change from hardened, self-center warrior into a compassionate human being. He was once described as the man with the face of a devil and the heart of an angel. He let his better angels win in this drama. By slowly bonding with the cat and learning to care for her he learns more about himself and how to take care of and care for other people.

There were two moments in the drama I had to hit the pause button because I was laughing so hard. There are truly heart-warming moments and very funny ones as well.

The music was okay. The best music was when Madarame was singing his own theme song to himself and adding verses to it as he performed different tasks. Of course, it always ended with kill it or slay, slay, slay! Many episodes included him reciting a haiku or poem. With the translations it was hard for me to tell what the counts were.

The cinematography was unexpectedly beautiful. It’s rare for older dramas to have such gorgeous shots.

The only drawback to this drama was that these were some of the worst wigs I have seen in any drama. You can see the netting. Thankfully, Madarame’s wig looked great on him.

All the actors played their roles well so I have no complaints there either.

I hope I have purr-suaded you to give this meow-nificant drama a try.

I leave you with the words of the Samurai Cat.

Living in Edo
I have no money and I have no job
But I take a nap under the sunshine
What a perfect day for a cat.

εїз

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This outdoor variety show was entertaining mainly because of the cooking element. Lee Seo Jin and Eric Mun are quite adept at cooking outdoors and making a variety of dishes-chicken, fish, octopus, pizza, pasta, soups, breads. I was amazed at what they were able to put together over a wood fire and in a brick oven. They made side dishes and sauces on the fly out of what they had on hand or what was in the garden. This is not a show to watch when you are hungry.

Yoon Gyun Sang was cute as the mostly clueless helper. I enjoyed the different guests they had visit. Some were better in the "kitchen" than others.

Now to what didn't work as well for me. I thought the episodes were too long. An hour would have been enough time for me. There was an awful lot of filler. If I never see someone scooping up goat dung again it will be too soon. A lot of time was spent taking care of the goats, traveling, watching the cats frolic, and watching the guys fishing or playing out on the water. There were other times when practical jokes went on for nearly 20 minutes. There were also episodes where there wasn't any scintillating conversation taking place, just a lot of standing or sitting around with little conversation. These guys have been in the business for awhile and must have some interesting stories to tell. I wish they had opened up more and told us some. There was one conversation with Lee Jong Suk that that I thought was revealing but those moments were brief. If it wasn't for the pop-ups this show might not have been as entertaining. I could have also used less dirty bare feet close-ups when someone was preparing food on the floor.

Had it not been for all the filler moments that completely lost my attention I would have rated this variety show an 8.0 or 8.5 The cooking aspect of this show inspires me to look at food and flavor combinations in a new way. Spoiler! Although for a Pizza Margherita I'm still putting the basil on as it comes out of the oven so that the basil doesn't scorch like theirs did by putting it on before baking.

I can definitely recommend this show for the cooking scenes, they were very interesting. And if you like to watch goats doing goat things or cats trying to escape their room this may be just the ticket for you.

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This is my first Filipino movie and I really enjoyed it. It's the story of a family that drifted apart after the mother died years ago.

The story begins with the father of four grown children spending his birthday alone because his children are too focused on their own lives and problems to visit. On the day of his unattended party his receives news that he has cancer and only 7 weeks to live. He sends a text to his children to inform them of the news.

The eldest son took over the family store and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The second son became wealthy and successful but believes his family only likes him for his money. The daughter has three children with a philandering husband. The youngest child felt abandoned after the mother died and his siblings moved away and is now in legal trouble.

The children decide to come together on a Sunday and throw him a surprise birthday party, but old wounds flare up and arguments explode. After learning of their father's distress over their squabbles, the children agree to get along for his sake and to meet every Sunday at his house. Each Sunday the family comes together on various adventures and learn about each other in the process.

There are ups and downs in the story as wounds and secrets are revealed and healed.

I don't want to spoil the secrets, but I will say that this is not a downer or tragedy. This movie is the definition of heart-warming.

I can recommend this movie with a happy heart.

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This was one cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs little drama, but it was entertaining.

At the Aino Mating Agency the ringmaster of this circus is a former ethologist who dresses in outrageous suits and breaks into song and dance at least twice an episode. Every move is exaggerated for dramatic effect. On the plus side he has a nice voice, unfortunately the rest of the cast that often join him doesn’t.

His assistant is a Catholic nun because...well, why not? As she falls in love with every client I don’t think she will be one for long.

The agency has a 100% success rate of relationships leading to marriage. Aino Shingo repeatedly says there isn’t a more wicked emotion than love and that love is data so he tries to take that variable out of two people getting to know each other. The couple isn’t allowed to meet in person until they agree to marry.

In each episode Aino practices a strange alchemy of ethology observation techniques and logic, insight, and a little magic to match two seemingly disparate personalities. He then guides them on their way through various obstacles to marriage. The fun is in figuring out how two people fit and what threatens to keep them apart.

The Aino Mating Agency is a zany, feel good comedy, often bordering on the ridiculous. If you are feeling blue this singing and dancing ethologist and matchmaker with his nun sidekick just might lift your spirits.

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An affair tells the story of a married woman in her late thirties drowning in a gray world of mediocrity and what happens when she is confronted by passion and desire.

Seo Hyeon’s reserved life is comfortable but devoid of color and dreams. She is married to a man she has never been in love with. Her uninspired life is reflected by the traffic report station her car radio is set on.

U-in returns to Korea to start a new job and prepare for his marriage to Seo Hyeon’s sister. He is a young man bound by his father’s expectations. He falls in love with Seo Hyeon at first sight despite their age difference. Slowly and deliberately he pursues her. She tries to take refuge in familial duty but succumbs to his advances.

Seo Hyeon’s time with him is awash in colors, feelings, and dreams. He exchanges her traffic station for romantic guitar music and her predictable existence for one of excitement. For the first time in her life she falls deeply in love.

Ultimately she has three choices:
Choose to destroy her family and leave for a new life with U-in.
Maintain her duty to her family and stay with a man she has never loved.
Take a chance on herself and leave the gray world that has enveloped her.

Each choice has consequences involving loss. The question is which choice can she best live with?

The loves scenes are sensual in this movie and a bit of a shock after watching the guppy kisses of Kdramas. There is a sense of intimacy even in the scenes where they don’t touch as well.

The movie never seeks to excuse their relationship, more to understand her need for a lifeline out of the dark ok-ness she has settled for.

Lee Mi Sook and Lee Jung Jae bring these characters to life, their passion, love, and guilt.

The musical was okay, but not particularly memorable.

As far as rewatch value goes-just like U-in’s love for Seo Hyeon, An Affair is highly addictive.

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The two biggest complaints I’ve read about this drama are regarding the age difference and lack of external conflict. Normally, I’d be right up in the stands blowing raspberries with those people, but not this time. I watched the one episode that had been English subbed on YouTube and it hit all the pleasure centers in my brain. Being new to the Kdrama world I couldn’t find it on-line and ended up buying it on Amazon. I don’t regret one penny spent on it.

Story
I didn’t have a problem with the age difference. The ML is 939 years old. Anyone under 800 wouldn’t have anything in common with him. But seriously, the ML and FL have been touched and in their eyes cursed by the supernatural, so these are not two ordinary people. Most importantly, she is the Goblin’s bride, not wife. She has one job and I won’t spoil it here but it is not to warm his bed. He never comes across as some old geezer trying to seduce her. Even by Kdrama standards, this one is chaste.

The Goblin knows what her job is, anticipates and accepts it. But the moment she brings hope and light into his life the conflict within him and the story explodes. As he watches her and feels his heart begin to beat again the poetry that springs forth from him was so beautiful it gave my brain a little orgasm.

The conflicts in this story are mostly internal but the stakes are high.

I usually skim the secondary characters’ stories because too often they seem like filler and distract from the main storyline. Not this time. The Reaper’s and Sunny’s stories were seamlessly interwoven and integral to the main story.

The bromance between the Goblin and Reaper is legendary so I won’t go into it.

I watched every minute of this drama, savoring each one. Forgiveness plays a big role in this story. Our characters find it is not easily earned or given, whether it be for the self, others, or The Powers That Be.

Acting
This was my first time for all these actors and I wouldn’t make a single casting change.

Gong Yoo did an amazing job as ruthless warrior, tragic guardian angel and Oscar to the Reaper’s Felix.

Kim Go Eun did a good job as the girl both afflicted and blessed by her special case.

The secondary characters were all spot on and Lee Dong Wook has to be one of the most beautiful criers in the business.

OST
I don’t normally pay attention to the music unless I love it or despise it. The music in Goblin enhanced the story without distracting from it, a difficult task. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The cinematography was stunning. I had to shush my photographer husband who kept commenting on it. Which brings me to the rewatch value.

Rewatch Value
My husband who has only watched a few scattered episodes of Asian dramas sat down and watched this with me on my second go around. We laughed and cried together (damn allergies!). I will watch it again. And again.

This story of love, family, friendship, redemption, and forgiveness is definitely worth a try.

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