A superior Bodyguard
The Bodyguard from Beijing is a bit of lively, unpretentious fun that takes Mick Jackson's The Bodyguard but replaces Kevin Costner with Jet Li and the weird musical numbers with kung fu. Corey Yuen directs with a visceral energy that wouldn't be out of place in a Wong Jing movie and although, the writing is certainly a bit on the hokey side Li's charisma as a real man's man shines through. With plenty of high-energy and varied gunfights to keep you engrossed, a solid musical score and a fantastic final fight to boot elevate what could have otherwise ended up as a rather undercooked and stale riff, yes it's rather generic but there's a heart-beating somewhere underneath its surface.Was this review helpful to you?
Seriously underrated madness
One part ET, another part Indiana Jones but a Wong Jing movie in every other sense, Magic Crystal has everything and the kitchen sink cheesed up to the max, but dosed on adrenalin too. Wong Jing's signature chaotic direction, balls-to-the-wall pace, brutal stunt work, cheesy yet ridiculously charming effects and humour that ranges from childish to outright offensive but it's presented in such a way that it remains hilarious. Topped off by an incredible cast that includes the likes of Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock and an awesomely villainous Richard Norton all of whom commit 100% to the film's stupidity. It's over the top and knows it, delivering endless, ferocious and well-choreographed action all set to a rocking synth score that has become a staple of most 80s Hong Kong movies. Daft, dumb and oh-so-fun, Magic Crystal is one you owe yourself to watch if you are in any way a fan of shlocky excellence. Then again I also gave 5 stars to Future Cops... so you decide.Was this review helpful to you?
Sammo does John Woo
If you only know Sammo Hung for his more happy-go-lucky roles, then Eastern Condors will be a massive shock to the system, going as far as to tread into John Woo's territory of heroic bloodshed. Taking the idea of The Dirty Dozen but setting it in Vietnam, Sammo got serious with this one, even cutting his trademark hair and slimming right down. There are no mincing words about how brutally violent Eastern Condors gets... Hands get chopped off, Vietcong kids play Russian Roulette and people are shot point blank with no hesitation, in the wrong hands it's distasteful stuff, but Sammo treats it all with sincerity, marking this film out as one of his finest accomplishments as an actor, martial artist and director.Although the majority of the action is hyper-intense gun fights occasionally punctuated by a familiar moment seen in Western war films like The Deer Hunter or the Rambo franchise, there is a spectacular final bout of full-contact fisticuffs for the patient ones among you. The cast is populated by plenty of familiar names and faces, although I do wish they got a bit more characterisation outside of their nicknames and who plays them, they all commit often coming away bloody and bruised from the hyper-dangerous stunt work. For better or worse, Eastern Condors has a gritty edge that makes it truly stand out amongst Sammo's filmography often feeling like what Heroes Shed No Tears had originally wanted to be, it's an absolute must-see!
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Exhausting
Exceptionally convoluted and deliriously nihilistic, Genocide is appropriately harrowing and periodically bonkers if a little middling around the second act. The second of only two movies from director Kazui Nihonmatsu, having previously helmed The X from Outer Space, Genocide is all over the place with enough hair-brained ideas to fill two movies let alone a single 84-minute one, primarily the hallucinogenic bees being bred by an insane holocaust survivor. Nihonmatsu handles the film with considerably more skill than his prior effort, there's a wider variety of shots and a better building of suspense thanks in part to the photography of Shizuo Hirase and the passable score from Shunsuke Kikuchi. It's very much an accident of a film, suitably ambitious and apocalyptic in its finality, ultimately hinging on the potential detonation of a hydrogen bomb and the single mother who may have to single-handedly repopulate a country. Genocide is an exhausting yet very rewarding experience, showcasing so pretty damn good filmmaking for its small budget but, as noted before, has too much plot for its own good.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch the HK Cut
The answer is Jackie Chan. Who Am I? sees Jackie tackle the amnesiac spy thriller years before the Matt Damon shaky cam series and although a lot of the acting from its supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired (almost to the point of brain dead), the action more than makes up for it. The story feels unnecessarily complex and often messy but makes for an otherwise very compelling mystery (provided you watch the right version) in one of Jackie's more serious turns ala Crime Story. Benny Chan's direction is all pretty solid and Nathan Wang's score is decent if very dated, but seeing it paired with Jackie running around causing mass destruction in the Netherlands all while clad in a pair of clogs was truly a sight to behold. Despite a tepid first half, the film picks up steam with some great action, a fantastic car chase and the usual death-defying stunts in the second, with the rooftop fight easily ranking as one of his best, it's all just as imaginative and energetic as his early works even with Chan's advancing age.Was this review helpful to you?
Another one for the “Toshio Masuda is one of Japans most underrated directors” pile.
There's something strangely perfect about Zero being directed by Toshio Masuda, having been kicked out of the kamikaze in 1944 for being excessively liberal and pacifistic. It's a real treat to finally see another one of his war epics after so many years, this time him and him alone in the chair. Based on a serialized story by Kunio Yanagida, this is the story of the Mitsubishi Zero through the eyes of the engineers who designed the plane and the pilots who flew it.Shoichi Hamada is a pilot flying the Imperial Navy's ace in the hole, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, during the first years of the war the Zero is seemingly unstoppable, shooting down almost every type of plane the allies send at them. Hamada's best friend is Kunio Mizushima, assigned to the ground crew, they are both in love with one girl… but will the ravages of war tear them apart?
Toshio Masuda's direction is simply sublime, taking what worked on Tora! Tora! Tora! over a decade ago and bringing it back tenfold. It is clear Masuda had no love for war and thus directs the film with a dash of gritty realism, unflinching in its portrayal of death, bad decisions and ultimate endeavour for a lost cause. By stark contrast when the film isn't wowing you with its climatic and brutally intense battle sequences, it shines with a glorious use of colour.
The plotting is well done, keeping the story of the Zero first and foremost while framing the story of the young pilot around it. Masuda seemingly backhands the naval authorities for using the pilots as expendable property. In general, the film has no respect for higher authorities, portraying most of them as simply using their soldiers, and not caring about their lives. The story is told in reverse, starting from 1944 and going in reverse to 1937. The pacing is well done, keeping everything at about the same level.
The acting is great on most parts, and even the expats seem to be doing well, it's often noted how poor a lot of them were in Japanese films of the era but here they do a standup job. As for the main characters, they are directed with enthusiasm that goes with their youthfulness. The love triangle is directed well but in a way, it's almost like a precursor to the later Michael Bay shakey-cam fest, Pearl Harbour, ending on that usual "war romance" subversion.
Daijiro Tsutsumi as Hamada brings all sorts of emotions to the table, and by the end, it is clear the Japanese war machine has become him. Kunio Mizushima, played by Jun Hashizume, shows clear concern for his friend as well as a great love for the female love interest, Shizuko Yoshikawa. Shizuko Yoshikawa, herself is a very well-done love interest. She clearly has a mixed bag of emotions for the two leads and loves them both on different levels. Tetsuro Tamba's brief appearance as Isoroku Yamamoto casts him as a very sympathetic man, clearly concerned for the lives of his young pilots despite only appearing for about 5 minutes. Shin Takuma does well as Teruo Tojo, the Zero's financier and Mitsubishi Motors president, showing quite a youthful energy and enthusiasm for his character.
The special effects by later Biollante to Destoroyah Effects Director Koichi Kawakita are very well done, clearly showing off just as much enthusiasm for pyrotechnic effects as his teacher Teruyoshi Nakano. The miniatures look great, and it’s nice to see a few Zero miniatures portrayed accurately as white in the opening 30 minutes. The camera angles during the air battle scenes are daring, and Kawakita makes use of frenetic camera movements during the battle scenes to enhance the combat. There is quite a bit of stock footage in the film, all the way from Storm of the Pacific to Kawakita's own Zero Pilot and to The Imperial Navy, but the original effects all look fantastic and blend very well with Kawakita's efforts.
The music by Harumi Ibe has a dated late 70s-early 80s quality that actually works for the film, and the score uses a lot of horns as well as 70s-style guitar work that make it clear Ibe was primarily used to the 70s style of composing and hadn't quite made the jump to the 80s sound design yet. Even then it's a great score and the film's theme song, Dawn, is sung beautifully by Yujiro Ishihara. Befitting the film's historic ending scene well.
Overall, I can't recommend Zero enough. It's clear how much Toho bought their A-Game in 1984, between this, The Return of Godzilla and Sayonara Jupiter, their tokusatsu efforts were on top form. If you ever get the chance to see it, do so.
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A perfect companion to Oppenheimer
The Man Who Stole the Sun treads the finest of lines in trying to balance its subject matter and tone, but Kazuhiko Hasegawa's controversial movie about nuclear terrorism is a darkly comedic and thrilling satire on a subject once considered unsatiriseable annihilating any form of genre borders in the process. Holding particular resonance for Japanese audiences, as while the country does use nuclear power, it has long held against amassing a nuclear arsenal due to the devastating effects that ended World War II. The movie doesn't stop dead for any form of long-winded nationalistic or philosophical speeches and instead insists on a conceivable reality with seemingly no motivation.One of only two movies directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa, which in turn feels like a crime in itself, Hasegawa rewards the viewer with some utterly sublime direction and excellent framing, with plenty of thrilling action set pieces to command his viewer's attention at all times (the car chase feels like it was ripped right out of a Ringo Lam movie). It balances the unorthodox nature and tone of the movie exceptionally well, juxtaposing the shifts with unnatural ease. Complimented by funky and often ill-fitting music by Takayuki Inoue to glorious success.
The performances are all excellent, with Kenji Sawada playing the everyman gone rogue with an endless amount of animosity slowly succumbing to the effects of radiation poisoning making him more and more unpredictable as the movie goes on. But it's the award-winning performance from the stoic and hardened Bunta Sugawara that really captivates me as he normally does in his roles, single-minded and exceptionally driven.
Overall, The Man Who Stole the Sun, even at two and a half hours long, never feels overly long or bloated. The film absolutely refuses to limit itself, and that's why it's so entertaining and impressive.
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Fun if uninspired sequel
Takashi Miike's loose and belated sequel to The Great Yokai War, Guardians is much more of the same, so if you liked the previous adventure, you'd like this. It's made for kids so accessibility is a key factor to its appeal, meaning there's not much meat to its story beyond your standard hero's journey, but just because it's more kid-friendly doesn't mean it lacks a lot of wacky, and sometimes downright disturbing, imagery courtesy of the Yokai themselves which are brilliantly realised (both east and west alike). Miike even managed to bring back our great guardian god Daimajin for an extended cameo which put a big smile on my face knowing he was originally lined up to direct a film reboot in the late 2000s. Fox-Faced Woman also was 😳.While there's certainly a lot of love and creativity put into this movie, I can't deny like the previous film, it certainly has its faults. The child-friendly tone does its story no favours, especially in the final act where you'd normally find Miike going hell for leather, it falters. The overreliance on CG like the last, has dated the film extremely quickly although Japan has never really had the best of results with this technology. Regardless, for what it's worth, The Great Yokai War –Guardians– is a fun romp but extremely subdued Miike which is saying a lot.
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Verstility is the name of the game
Original Hong Kong VersionEven with this ancient DVD print full of screen tearing and damaged frames, God of Gamblers showcases one of Chow Yun-Fat's most versatile performances effortlessly switching back and forth between impeccably suave and utterly adorable on a dime. Backed by the ever-amazing Andy Lau, it's really only two extremely questionable moments that hold this film back from being rated any higher. Even then Wong Jing's intense gambling drama is a classic of Hong Kong cinema and one I will definitely pick up on Blu-ray. I do question the sheer number of sequels and spin-offs though with one of them being a time travel story... Nonetheless, sign me up.
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Juvenile 2.0
Ghost Book feels deeply reminiscent of Yamazaki's debut film, Juvenile (hell, even the adorable little Tetra makes a cameo appearance), a lighthearted family romp often dealing with some relatively difficult themes for its target audience. There's an element of Pokémon thrown into the narrative with the film's characters tasked with "catching them all", benefiting this narrative hook is the lovely monster design, stellar voice work by legendary voice actors such as Akio Otsuka and Rie Kugimiya; and their impressive realisation capturing the essence of Etsuyoshi Miyamoto's original illustrations brilliantly. Unfortunately, the characters are all exceptionally one note, despite the cast's rather heartwarming performances they are probably the most laid-back group of ghostbusters ever, often characterised by very limited personalities (I swear Kudo is just a few steps away from being a full blow serial killer) or singular traits. There's no urgency with this film, it just kind of chugs along at its own pace, often leaving room for a nice family dinner despite the race to get home. That being said, Ghost Book operates on a level of childish fun, obvious in its sentiment and simplistic in its messages. However, it makes up for its narrative wateriness with a wholesome vibe you can't bring yourself to hate.Was this review helpful to you?
A Shaw Bros Spaghetti Western
With the dusty, fatalistic vibe of a spaghetti western disguised as Shaw Brothers swordplay and blessed with an incredible black-and-white opening sequence, you'd be forgiven for thinking that The Flying Dagger would be a rape revenge tale lead by a female swordswoman; what you get instead is Lo Lieh wandering into town like a wuxia Clint Eastwood, throwing knives with absurd accuracy and looking cooler than everyone else in the room. It's certainly an impressive bait-and-switch, opting instead to deal with the internal struggle between good and evil that exists within all of us, where honour and chivalry often carry little weight in the world. Chang Cheh's direction already shows his growing fascination with violence, sacrifice and masculine heroism, hallmarks of his later works. The action is relatively brief but frequent, often punctuated by the deadly precision of thrown knives and colourful villains. Lo Lieh is always a great watch, dominating the screen with his effortlessly charming if not entirely noble persona, Yeung Chi Hung makes for a wonderfully nasty villain, cackling wildly and throwing daggers with absolute precision into his foe's limbs or torso as he sees fit, while Cheng Pei-Pei, who, despite headlining, unfortunately takes a backseat, barely getting a chance to break into action, is shackled to the tortured woman in love stereotype. It means that the third act is bogged down when the romantic sub-plot takes precedence over the film's main drive of loneliness, belonging and redemption. Still, the stylish camerawork and snappy pace mean that The Flying Dagger soon gets back on track, delivering just the right kind of heroic sacrifice and blood-soaked righteousness you'd expect.Was this review helpful to you?
Pure exploitative vindication
Pure exploitative vindication. Possibly one of the worst pieces of shit I've ever had the displeasure of viewing, Bruceploitation was already a subgenre I had a huge discomfort with, but Bruce Lee and I has taken that to a whole different level. An intimate portrait of Betty Ting Pei's illicit love affair with Bruce Lee, told from the perspective of the world's neediest sympathy sponge, it's a downright sickening production. Cheap at every turn, it's a sleazy mix of gossip, melodrama and outright fabrication; every scene is designed to exploit Lee's fame rather than celebrate what made him such a magnetic screen presence in the first place. It's only really worth a vague glance to see Danny Lee as Bruce Lee; other than that, we'd be better off burning every available copy. I feel no sympathy for Betty.Was this review helpful to you?
Old-school wuxia comedy with a glossy post-handover makeover
An old-school wuxia comedy with a glossy post-handover makeover, The Duel bounces between political conspiracies, mistaken identities, romance, comedy and increasingly absurd action sequences with enough CGI and star power to light up Victoria Harbour. It's less like a straight martial arts film than a variety show built around the promise of a sword fight that never comes. It's very much a hybrid effort, and the comedy is ill at ease with the heavy drama that occurs later on, but credit to Director Andrew Lau because, for the most part, the film is utterly gorgeous with plenty of soft colour and wonderful scale. The uneven silliness and fluid fight choreography are ultimately a victim of the incomprehensible editing, and unfortunately, it all kind of falls apart when paired with the comedic writings of Wong Jing and the hyper robotic leading performance from Nick Cheung, looking fairly ridiculous with dreadlocks and a pencil moustache. He lacks a well-defined comic persona, coming across as more annoying than entertaining, but here his presence is strangely welcome as it looks like he is at least enjoying lampooning the straight-faced drama. Andy Lau is always a welcome presence, and I kinda love Vicki Zhao, but, for the most part, The Duel is a rather middling but glossy affair. Messy, overstuffed, but reminiscent of other early nineties wuxia comedies.Was this review helpful to you?
Fear, hope and disillusionment
A sequel from an entirely different genre and taking the gritty bleakness of the series into overdrive, Long Arm of the Law IV is cut from a completely different cloth, abandoning the robbery-centred plots of earlier instalments and instead acting as a highly incendiary response to the Tiananmen Square massacre. There's a reason this hasn't seen a re-release since its VCD, one I ultimately imagine is down to a narrative based on Operation Yellowbird, the extremely bold use of footage of the Tiananmen Square protests, and it's far from subtle recreations of the events with a horrifically high body count to boot. Rather than thriving on momentum and carefully orchestrated chaos, Director Michael Mak instead goes for restless, messy but ultimately ambitious storytelling, and I respect him for that. It's an exceptionally bold piece of filmmaking, even if it feels as if they've had to make a compromise to avoid the Category III rating. There's a genuine sense of displacement and uncertainty, portraying characters caught between political realities and the false promise of escape. Hong Kong is no longer the glamorous refuge it might appear to be from across the border; it's another hostile landscape where survival comes at a cost. The action scenes are effective, though they're not the main attraction. What lingers is the atmosphere, the paranoia, the exhaustion and the sense that every character is running toward a future that may not exist. Bolstered by some outstanding performances and Joseph Chan's incredible music, Long Arm of the Law IV remains a highly compelling action thriller, not because it delivers bigger action or higher stakes than its predecessors, but because it captures fear, hope and disillusionment with a brutal honesty, ending the saga on a deeply pessimistic note.Was this review helpful to you?
Commercial action spectacle over gritty realism
The first two Long Arm of the Law films built their reputation on grit and desperation, with their criminals trapped by circumstance. Long Arm of the Law III takes a drastically different route. It's bigger, louder and far more of a star vehicle that certainly plays to Andy Lau's strengths as both a charismatic hero and romantic leading man. Although it loses the vicious edge, it remains a strong piece of engaging melodrama where one moment it’s a tragic romance about displaced migrants chasing a better future; the next it’s a brutal crime thriller packed with betrayals, gunfights and ruthless gangsters. It sits in a sort of unhappy middle ground where it’s too romanticised to be a full-blown neo-noir, not quite a heroic bloodshed and too glossy to be a hard-edged crime thriller. However, returning director Michael Mak still delivers plenty of grit and determination; his action sequences are excellent, with a climactic stretch, in particular, offering a barrage of bullets, double-crosses, and body counts that feel determined to top everything that came before it with a heist final heist that feels straight out of the Michael Mann playbook. The trade-off is that some of the social realism and bleakness of the earlier films gets diluted with the script occasionally relying on coincidence, broad villainy and emotional manipulation. Yet there's something undeniably entertaining about the film’s emotional excesses, an energetic slice of Hong Kong cinema in its heroic-bloodshed prime. Lau's charisma undoubtedly helps sell the film, but equally is his wonderfully goofy relationship with Elizabeth Lee. The rest of the performances are all pretty great, with highlights from Elvis Tsui, Kirk Wong, Max Mok and a pre-Liu Kang Robin Shou. Although it very much feels like the point where the series fully embraced commercial action spectacle over gritty realism, Long Arm of the Law III is a wonderfully messy and violent slice of fun.Was this review helpful to you?
