Reviews

Fujio and Crew Never Disappoint

LIKES:
CAST: as always our favourite characters are back in action! I loved the new additions.
PLOT: yes this is more of an action and street fighter movie, but the theme of never giving up and friendship, is always prevalent in this series.
PRODUCTION: Some shaky camera moments and some fighting choreography was off, but still well done.
OST: fit the situations and was better than most.
FX: Their fight wounds looked realistic and didn't disappear the next day, like in some dramas and movies.

DISLIKE:
WRITING: the bad guy, wasn't as dark and dangerous as he should've been made. Also a lot of this movie had undertones or even concept taken from Crows Zero (1 & 2). The biggest parallel being Fujio and Crows Zero's Genji.
EDITING: the flashback Fujio has of Murayama, they used a clip that showed lines in it like it came off an old reel movie camera, instead of using the original clip. Also some parts were a bit choppy, like scenes were cut out, that might have originally been in it.
ACTING: some of it wasn't the greatest, but they have improved a lot.

OVERALL:
I loved this and how it was tied to High & Low The Worst. I will be watching this a few times. I like this genre of high school fighting. This goes very well with the whole High & Low Franchise. I do recommend it for everyone (eye candy is everywhere and a guy for any taste). I hope they make more movies or series like this one.

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Warning: Convoluted plot may cause dizziness

Gordon Liu stars in The Drunken Monk (the more common title), which is a misleading title. He's not a monk and rarely practices the drunken fist. If that's confusing, it's okay, because much about this movie is confusing. Perhaps it should have been called Drunken Writer for the dizzying way the story is told.

The story is not told in chronological order so here is the gist of it. Lau Chung was saved from drowning when a gang that had killed his parents threw him into a lake. During his beggar times he discovers a drunk hermit who practices drunken fist kung fu. The hermit teaches Lau the Five Shaolin Animal Styles and Drunken Fist. No one trains like Gordon Liu and Lau uses everything he does to enhance his kung fu. When he's trained and ready for revenge, he kidnaps Ying Ying, the Big Bad's daughter, to draw out his enemy. Things do not go according to plan with Ying Ying or her father. As these things happen, Ying Ying and Lau fall in love with each other and leave her torn between her lover and her duty to her father. A one-handed fighter is also wanting vengeance on Eagle Han's Big Bad Wong Kin Chung in retribution for the loss of his right hand but as much as they might focus on this guy, this is Lau's revenge story.

The story goes back and forth, motivations change, terrible editing makes it hard to follow at times, basically, the story may make you feel like you've been on a bender if you try to make too much sense out of it. The ending may have you going, "what?!" At least it did for me. Usually I'm a fan of Gordon Liu's fighting and he's as fast as ever with this one demonstrating a number of kung fu styles. One scene done in slow-mo was fascinating not in the way they might have intended, as Gordon goes to kick the extra, the extra can be seen jumping backwards before the kick is supposed to land. While his drunken master was more convincing doing drunken kung fu, maybe because he was supposed to always be drunk, Gordon's drunken style wasn't as…drunken. There were moments in his fight with Eagle Han where it almost seemed as if they were kung fu dance posing. I kept waiting for them to cue some disco music. Gordon had some good fights and there's no denying he's fast, these fights just didn't seem to measure up to his usual standard.

The film was shot in Korea with a number of Korean actors and extras. It was interesting seeing the different faces rather than the usual Hong Kong and Taiwanese crews. And the scenery in South Korea was also beautiful. It's a film worth seeking out if you are a Gordon Liu fan, enjoy his training montages, or simply like old martial arts movies, but be forewarned it should come with a label that watching it could make you feel tipsy.

3/4/23

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Flirty Kung Fu Fun!

Win Them All was directed by Kao Pao Shu, one of the very few female directors of kung fu films during this era. Though the main plot was a daughter's revenge, that plot was largely overshadowed by her con artist co-hart's antics which actually made for a campy, silly kung fu movie for three quarters of the screen time. Kurata Yasuaki, a real martial artist, gave the film some fight credibility as the gleeful iron finger killer.

Hsu Feng plays the daughter whose father was murdered by the iron finger method. She's out for revenge and somewhere along the way hooked up with two scam artists, Hu Chin and Chen Hui Lou. Hu Chin fights, flirts and scams greedy men to keep Hsu's mission funded. Tien Feng is the Big Bad as he often was in these old kung fu films, well protected by Kurata's deadly fingers. When the women are confronted by Tien Feng's goons Hu Chin not only manages to beat them, and rob them, but leave them pantless as well! Flirty Fu style! They are soon joined by Wong Yuen San, a rather bland officer from the security bureau. For some reason he's accompanied by his annoying and jealous "sister". After numerous fights with the underlings, it all comes to a head with inevitable fight between Wong and Kurata. Disappointingly, the vengeful daughter has no hand in the final showdown.

Most of the fights were pretty good, especially with Kurata involved. Hu Chin, not a fighter, had tremendous help from the gifted stunt men and actors who flipped, flew, and bounced after taking her "hits". In the grand finale, her character somehow completely forgot how to fight and added nothing to the free for all. Wong had some martial arts skills but the character wasn't very charismatic. Kurata, on the other hand, was an accomplished martial artist and he brought speed and agility to the fights with a frightening malevolence. Some of the kicks obviously missed but I can forgive the missed kicks with these kind of faster fights in old budget films due to safety reasons and not always having the money to do many reshoots. The biggest problem I had was that Kurata's character was skillfully and ruthlessly pummeling Wong's and suddenly Wong defeats him. With all the ridiculous things that had gone on for nearly 90 minutes, that was the most unbelievable. No wonder Hsu wasn't allowed into the final fight, Wong was barely believable fighting Kurata.

As always, I grade these 1970's martial arts films on a curve. Win Them All was a fun, flirty, romp with a dark thread running through it. Kurata brought the danger and was an absolute joy to watch kick and move through the final fight. Hu Chin's character managed to not be completely annoying and brought a feminine energy to a very masculine genre. I wouldn't label it feminist, but for 1973 at least Kao Pao Shu made an attempt at putting competent female characters at the forefront.

3/4/23

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Hear them

This is my first review. I am a disabled Black queer nonbinary woman, but despite the adversities in my life, I have yet to deal with explicit discrimination regarding my sexuality fortunately. But, that might change soon with certain laws as I live in Southern US. This movie spoke to me. It told the stories of Chinese gay men and how they navigate their life and experiences with work, social life, family, and friends due to the highly negative outlook on homosexuality in China. To think that a lot of this happened so recently and that it still occurs on a global scale is disheartening. Knowing that radical homophobia amongst many cultures is primarily due to European colonialization makes this even more impactful. Knowing that historically in China and other non-Western European cultures never had an issue with what we now call queer or LGBTQIA+ and how it was embedded and often celebrated in the culture to where families are broken apart, people are ostracized, their lives are ruined, and can even be killed.

I am just happy that media like this film exist where people can tell their stories. They tell their truth and how they navigate trying to live to their fullest selves despite it. What it showed me is that the real monsters are not those who love who they want to love or who live authentically, but those who go out of their way to try to ruin our lives for it because they've convinced themselves that it is unforgivable and evil. Have they not looked in the mirror?

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The ending was not it and not scary

This was not scary at all but really entertaining, i liked the story about them being stuck in a time loop and they must find the scattered remains of an victim so they an escape the curse and finally see another day.
The ending was really just not it, it did not made any sense and this series is not worth to rewatch.
It was really confusing for me the first time i started watching and really hard to understand but along the way as I looked i started to understood what it was about.
Overall the movie is worth watching if u like these kind of gore movies this would be the one you're looking for!

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Boy not Girl!

The main reason I am rating this lower, Is because the main character Ciel, is played by a female in this movie unlike in the anime where Ciel is played by a male.

There are a couple differences in the movie compared to the anime but besides the main character being a different gender you can overlook them.

Well there is one thing that you can’t overlook that was a main difference in the movie besides the main characters gender and it’s the reason the Aunt was trying to kill Ciel.

Besides these two things, the movie was overall acted very well and parts were played well. the scenes were made in such a way that you were drawn to what was happening in the moment.

The only reason I rated this slightly lower is for the main two reasons overall this is a very good movie and goes well according to first season of the anime.

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Well, this was mildly interesting. A movie that leaves you with more questions than answers, but since I never took it seriously, I don’t even mind.

Mike Angelo’s face was the best part, not gonna lie. The whole cast did a decent job, the writing at times has been just too messy to follow. Who is related to whom? How do these people know each other? What are their goals? Why is it that no one uses their brain?

The biggest surprise for me was the good CGI. I have seen a fair share of monster flicks, and most are pitiful in that aspect. Seeing some decent effects and design for the creature was refreshing.

Overall, I was not bored, but I was not as entertained as I hoped I would be.

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An okay attempt at something bigger

This film has a-lot A-LOT of potential. On the surface it's quite cheesy, I think it's something that anyone could make if I'm being honest. The concept itself, I think is very relevant and if thought about more could've turned out to be a great social commentary on the use of cell phones and our privacy, but it falls short. Parts of the story are often rushed, characters like more than one trait, and overall not really add much to the film (I hate the detective) The videography does carry the film, it's very beautiful and at times is the main thing that turns up the eeriness of scenes. (Editing was 10/10) I think that tied with our ML's acting, which was pulled off great as he really does do a good job of creating an uncomfortable environment with his two-sidedness. However, that is just not enough to make this film good, and I don't have any urge to rewatch it.

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Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain!

Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally had the chance to team up in 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom. The movie felt like a mixture of Journey to the West and The Wizard of Oz making for an uneven story and one that won't hold many surprises for anyone. There were shout outs to old kung fu movies which will be fun for fans, but a bland American in a fish out of water trope may be more taxing to deal with.

Jason Tripitikas (JTTW reference) is a teenager obsessed with old kung fu movies. He frequents Old Hop's (Jackie Chan) shop to buy bootlegged movies like early Shaw Brothers films. One night during a robbery a wounded Old Hop gives him a staff and tells him he has to return it to its owner. Soon Jason is transported back to China in ye olden times. He meets up with drunken beggar Lu Yan (Chan again) and soon he, Lu, and Sparrow (Crystal Liu-her character named after Cheng Pei Pei's famous Come Drink with Me character who also appeared in other Shaw movies, the Golden Sparrow) are being chased by the Jade Warlord's thugs who want the staff, which it turns out belongs to the rock encased Monkey King. Along the way they pick up a monk (Jet Li-who played a lot of Shaolin monks early in his career) and head for the Five Elements Mountain to return the staff to the Monkey King.

Jason is completely inadequate in a fight so Lu and the monk begin to teach him kung fu like two tigers on a mountain. Before you can say "wax on, wax off", Jason is proficient enough to hold his own in a fight. Li Bing Bing plays a White Haired Witch looking to snag the staff so that she can obtain the immortal elixir from the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou in a delightfully campy performance). The movie follows a formula right to the end, even for the female warriors, much to my chagrin.

The cinematography and scenery were gorgeous. Yuen Woo Ping who has choreographed fights for both Jet and Jackie amongst a plethora of other films made the best use of two aging action stars. There were also some humorous fights using the young disciple. The fights incorporated wire-fu and CGI given the characters' super kung fu powers which wasn't unexpected in a kingdom with magical beings. The fight between Jet and Jackie was entertaining and felt like two skilled friends fighting. Jet as the Monkey King was the most relaxed and genuinely playful I've ever seen him.

Due to Jason having to deal with humiliations and set-backs, he didn't come across like a white savior--too much. Jet, Jackie, and the other Asian actors were the people who were proficient and confident and somehow magically speaking English in ye olden times as well as Mandarin. I would have preferred a slightly different ending to the final fight but this was a story to appeal to teenage males. And of course, Jason learned his valuable lessons and took them home to deal with his problems there.

The Forbidden Kingdom could be cheesy and predictable, but is worth watching if you like the stars and want to watch Jet Li and Jackie Chan fight each other and a whole army of people. The fish out of water trope wasn't too annoying and gave the film a message about global friendship and cooperation to solve dangerous problems, something we really need right now in the world.

3/3/23

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Yakuza Respect

Recommend the film, finished watching it now.

Deep, heavy and meaningful story, I didn't know the yakuza suffered like that back in days, late in 90s till now, I think I knew nothing about them, I feel like I understand more about the yakuza life. Appreciate the hard work, I didn't skip any part.

The ending was unpredictable, how he did that to him, why to blame him, it's not his fault, I feel so bad for him, Yamamoto.
I think a lot of yakuza ppl suffered to be accepted, suffered to have a life, to be part of the community, imagine how awful their life was from seeing all who around yakuza members got abandoned just because they don't want to be mentioned as a friend of them, it's obvious when Yamamoto got out of ..... even him was surprised how everyone and everything had changed..

I remember that yakuza was the reason of Japanese ppl and Japan to be existed and strong like now...

atch it if you like reality and not the happy ending type .

I don't know why I still feel unease....

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Better than expected ( I wanted to fight too :(((( )

I have been a fan of HIGH & LOW for a long time.

They all seem like friends I can rely on for the rest of my life, for real.

The plot was relatively simple and straightforward, with bits of info on the new characters' backstories. The movie had thrilling battles, the power of friendship, and moments where all you could do was clap and root for them, just like in every High &Low film. I believed that High & Low The Worst had one of the best fights, but here - damn, the action was even better.

The actors are spot on. I purposefully did not have high expectations for Yuta's acting, because I did not want to disappoint myself (don't get me wrong, I adore Yuta), but it was better than expected because he fits those kinds of movies pretty well. He has that piercing gaze that school heads always have before a major fight or when they are extremely angry, and it wassss mmmmwaaah chiefs kiss. His acting - perfect, his backstory - super cool, and just, just everything was great. As his acting debut, I think this role could possibly open big doors for him in this area. I cannot wait to watch his upcoming movie and see him in another light.

Overall, the movie was great. The visuals, the OST, the actors, the fights - everything amazing.
If you like those kinds of movies, just watch it without giving it much thought; however, if you want a movie with a solid plot and explanations, you might... consider it before clicking the play button. I'm just saying, because when I watched one of the movies with a friend, they said that, to someone who has no idea what the movie is about, it appears to have no plot and only random fights.

So, an advice, if you want to watch this because of Yuta, go ahead. If you just found it and you want to watch some fights - enjoy. However, if you expect to have a solid plot and a better understanding of why they are the way they are, why they constantly fight, why schools, why there is so much hatred/friendships, and so on, you might consider starting with the first films/series.

But as a fan of them, I absolutely loved this movie!

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Warning!-This movie might give you indigestion

Kung Fu Chefs was undercooked with no one behind the camera knowing what they were doughing. That's right. This movie was so bad I kneaded to resort to using puns.

Sammo, still a delight at 57, played the skilled chef Wong Bing Yi, who was run out of his village when his nephew had the meal Yi had prepared for Ku Feng's birthday a-salted with poison instead of salt and everyone became sickened. The nephew hated Yi because he'd taken the Dragon knife, the family's heirloom, while his dad was drunk and raving which also led to the father being hurt and leaving town. The dad was played by old kung fu actor Bruce Leung. Yi eventually ends up at the restaurant where Bruce had learned his skills and takes over as the chef after besting the current one in a challenge. The restaurant is run by the late master's two daughters, Sam Ching and Sam Ying. The eldest daughter is thrilled to have Yi take over because she is having trouble making ends meat. Vanness Wu as chef Kenichi, coincidentally ap-pears at the same restaurant and begins to study under Yi. The nephew stirs up trouble and Sammo has to put a beet down on him and his henchmen.

What was good--The cooking and the food competitions were actually fun to watch. If you are a vegan/vegetarian you may want to skip this movie as there were a lot of fish and meat prep scenes. Sammo and his stunt double had some very good fight scenes. He was 57 when this film came out and he still had some skillets left. I would like to have seen more of Bruce Leung as well because those two were a recipe for exciting action.

What was not so good—The little sister played by Kago Ai was unrelentingly annoying in what I'm sure was supposed to be a spunky and endearing way. Sexy Vanness Wu ended up having to be the goofy doofus younger cook. Much of the story was focused on these younger people. They simply weren't as ap-peeling to watch as Sammo. Cherrie Ying as the older sister looked like she was thinking that at least she was getting a paycheck. The story was half-baked and not very interoasting.

This film wasn't the wurst, but it could have been much butter. If you like Sammo, cooking, and slapstick humor it might be one to check out. If you don't a-peach-ate any of those things, best to skip it. Oil I can say is thanks for pudding up with my puns.

3/2/23

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"Even before we entered the world we were marked by karma."

Lady Snowblood is the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Yuki's blood spewing revenge is a cautionary tale of feminine vengeance. Splendidly filmed with an impassioned OST, the unique style based on a manga, and the excellent acting make this film one worth seeking out if you enjoy this genre.

Born to a dying mother in a prison on a snowy day, Yuki was charged with her family's vendetta against the villains who murdered her father and brother and viciously raped her mother. She grew up trained by a ruthless master to become the hand of death to the group that had decimated her family. One by one she hunts the villains down, in her lovely kimonos with a deadly umbrella to gracefully slash her way through the people who had inspired this life she'd never asked for. Beneath her beautiful veneer lay a dark and fiery need for payback for her dead family, one she had never known. Tasked with never feeling emotion, Yuki retains shreds of compassion as she interacts with those she comes across in her rampage. Ironically, she opens another cycle of vengeance by her actions.

The film lays the blood spewing on thick, every slash sends the gooey red paint flying everywhere. Puddles of blood enough for a slain army float around the unlucky bodies. As the story begins on a snowy day with a child born pure but commissioned with her first breaths with the bloody job of vengeance, so the ending scene leaves the beautiful assassin with her butterfly kimono covered in blood in the snow wondering if there is life after revenge.

There were some subtle and not so subtle political messages about corruption in the upper echelons of the military and government. And though the plight of the poor was pointed out, it dispelled the myth that the poor are always good hearted. I wish there had been more of an attempt to understand what a woman must feel growing up with brutal training and an unbreakable oath for people she had never met.

As many older martial arts films with swordplay tended to do, this one used the almost dance and slash technique. Best to not think too hard about the fight choreography from a realistic stance but to admire it for the stylistic forms.

Lady Snowblood was in many ways similar to other revenge fueled martial arts movies but elevated by the haunting music, colorful cinematography, and the stellar acting of Kaji Meiko. If eyes were knives, her targets would already be dead with the cold steely glare she honed in on them with. Kaji's expressive face and graceful moves enhanced the tension filled moments of her hunting her prey even when she had to settle for satisfaction instead of revenge.

If you are looking for a modern movie you may be disappointed. This is a film rich in character with old style effects. Revenge is a dish best served cold and Lady Snowblood served it on a silver blade.

"Forgive me! Spare me!"
"I shall do neither."

3/2/23

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A charming and delightful film based on a manga and about manga

BL Metamorphosis is the story of Urara and Yuki (Sunshine and Snow) who build a cross-generational friendship based on their mutual enjoyment of BL manga. Urara (Ashida Mana) is in her second to last year of high school and facing the choice of what college programs to apply for next year. She's working at a local bookstore when a recently widowed calligraphy teacher Yuki (Miyamoto Nobuko) wanders in to escape the summer heat and a finds a popular BL which catches her eye. Urara is an embarrassed secret fan of the genre, and Yuki had no idea such a thing existed but quickly finds that she loves it and seeks out Urara's advice to learn more about it and get her recommendations.

Acting is reacting, and, as ever, Ashida's reactions are on point, expressing all the embarrassment and social awkwardness of a young woman who has not found herself yet. Yes, she has a crush. But he's already dating the tall, popular, beautiful Eri, and what would happen if he or, worse, THEY ever found out she's into BL? Nevertheless, Urara guides Yuki into the world of BL fandom, and Yuki encourages Urara to try making a manga of her own.

The film is quite smart with lovely parallels drawn between the manga that the two are reading, and the other things happening in their lives. The score and song choices help to propel the story along and as whole the film feels much shorter than its two hour runtime.

It is, indeed, rare for a film to center on a friendship between two people with an age difference of over 60 years, and this film does so lovingly and well. Ashida, if she chooses to, will be Japan's breakout star in the coming years and Miyamoto is a good solid veteran actor. Together their scene work provides all the warm-fuzzies you could want.

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