If you are able to embrace the absurdness of a hero who is trained first by a girl and then a pot-bellied condor, you might just enjoy this movie. Leslie Cheung is beautiful and vulnerable in this role of a young man who is the son of a traitor and must overcome trials and tribulations to find his way in the world.

I might have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with the source material, Jing Yong's "Return of the Condor Heroes". As it was I could tell that there were characters I should know and story lines left dangling at the end. Even though it seemed there was way too much story to tell in 90 minutes it was an entertaining and intentionally or unintentionally hilarious movie at times. Not to say there wasn't darkness woven through the tale as well. Sexual assault, buckets of blood, people and animals cleaved in half, and someone made a meal out of a family pet.

Cheung as Yang Guo and Yung Jing Jing as the titular Dragon Maiden, had good chemistry together as she taught him to fight and as they fell in love. Lo Lieh shows up briefly as a seemingly crazy kung fu master completely immersed in the Toad style of fighting. Chen Kuan Tai plays the uncle who tries initially to set the young hero on the path of righteousness but ends up unknowingly putting Guo in a sect bent on revenge for the father's actions.

The story rarely slows down with either fighting or training scenes containing lots of wire action and creative weaponry in most scenes. The Big Bad and his minions create havoc as well as other rivals for the Dragon Maiden's affection and Guo gets plenty of practice taking a beating and learning his way through the martial world.

For a 1980's kung fu movie it lived up to expectations and the production values were much higher than most of the 1970's kung fu movies I've seen. Even if the condor looked like a reject from H.R. Pufnstuf.

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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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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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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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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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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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"Refugees are people, too. They live and breathe."

Black Knight didn't add anything new to the dystopian world genre, but it was an engaging and entertaining drama at the perfect length. It was long enough to give the viewer time to care about the characters and also didn't bog down and overstay its welcome. For a world short on oxygen, it knew just how many breaths to take.

Kim Woo Bin as delivery man 5-8, in his oversized coats was perfect as the leader of the delivery people and refugee rebels. Having survived a massacre, he knew exactly what the Cheonmyeong corporation was capable of. The Chairman's son, Ryu Seok, wanted to eradicate the refugees and keep the status quo with the haves having all the oxygen and resources in their underground relative utopia while the refugees gasped for air and dealt with a lack of food, medicine, education, and jobs on the dusty surface.

Kang Yoo Seok as Sa Wol was the cocky young upstart mutant refugee who entered the fight ring in order to become a delivery man. Again, nothing new in the winner takes all fight to the near death or death to gain a dystopian prize, but the scrappy and sympathetic Sa Wol made it easy to care about him. Esom as Seol Ah, was the dutiful soldier who was not afraid to bend the rules by hiding Sa Wol in her house and raising him for a decade. As the story went on, she and 5-8 would have a different reason for going to the mountaintop, each taking their own road in order to bring Ryu down and save the refugees who were marked for death.

Kim Woo Bin did a great job as the delivery man who delivered more than food and oxygen, he delivered hope and justice. Song Seung Heon was elegantly despicable, proving why nepotism is a bad thing. The story had some lapses in logic and could have delved more into certain plot points, but the charismatic performances overrode the plot holes a delivery truck could have driven through.

Black Knight highlighted how the 1% in charge of resources was unwilling to share and capable of almost any atrocity against refugees that they didn't see as holding any value. It was in their best interest to keep the people divided into classes. The company and their lifestyles trumped any good they could have done for the surviving masses. For Ryu, the people were never grateful enough for the oxygen Cheonmyeong allowed them to breathe---those whom they decided were worthy to breathe.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing." (Source debated) The politicians, military, refugees, and delivery people would have to decide what they were willing to do to build a world for all survivors. Black Knight could be dark at times and was unafraid of sacrificing characters in the deadly fights, but it also shone a light on the goodness of people as they fought to create a better world for everyone, not just for some. This might not have been a perfect drama, but it was perfect way to spend a few hours on a rainy day.

5/12/23

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You do not want to catch this rainbow

"Why must humans be so greedy?" Gamera vs Barugon brings that harsh lesson into focus showing how human greed causes as many problems as giant Kaiju.

At the end of the original Gamera, the giant turtle was enclosed in a capsule and launched into space. This movie picks up with a meteor cracking open the ship and Gamera spinning his way home to Earth where he caused some damage feasting on hydroelectric power from a dam.

After Gamera takes off to parts unknown three men travel to New Guinea to retrieve a giant opal left hidden in a cave from WWII. The natives try to warn them off but they won't hear of it. Death and betrayal follow which is why we can't have nice things. The opal, as any Kaiju fan will have figured out by now, is an egg, not a stone. Next thing you know Barugon is on the loose with his giant tongue (whole new meaning to the term tongue lashing!), glowing tines on his back and a giant rainbow ray of death you do not want to catch. Gamera shows up and takes quite a beating from the new kid in town.

The humans, including a repentant thief and the native girl who came with him to Japan seek to stop Barugon. One of the other thieves cannot except the loss of the jewel and goes on a murder spree. As usual, most of their efforts are thwarted because this is Gamera's movie, not theirs, and it's up to him to have the marquee fight.

Though the movie starts slow, the humans are among the most interesting of any Kaiju movie. Hongo Kojiro made a believable humbled man trying to undo his mistake, knowing it would be impossible to repay the lives lost. Fujiyama Koji played the greedy and villainous thief well. Let's just say his character got the tongue lashing he deserved by human and Kaiju alike.

I didn't care for the original Gamera but his second outing was much more enjoyable and well done. It helped that there wasn't an annoying child talking about turtles non-stop. This Gamera was dark and excluding the usual Kaiju pseudo science, fairly coherently and cohesively written. It was beautifully shot and the fights were well done considering they were guys in cumbersome rubber suits. For a 1966 movie about a big turtle that can fly you couldn't have asked for much more.


(As usual these old niche movies are graded on a curve)

10/20/22

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First come, first served or first killed, whichever comes first

A shy assassin assigned to guard a yakuza's teenage daughter finds himself in the middle of a revenge fueled war that takes place in a nearly empty school. Undercover as A Janitor, he ends up having to clean up more than empty juice boxes.

Fukima Akira saw his father murdered when he was just a boy. His father's blood brother, Majima Yoshiki, took him in as a son and trained him to be an assassin. Majima's biological son, Honda, grew up to develop his own gang to oppose his father. Eventually, Akira finds out that Yoshiki had his father murdered so that he could take over the gang and honor dictated Akira now had to murder his father figure. Other leaders were involved, including Honda, because everyone wanted to take over Yoshiki's turf. Yui, the daughter, was needed to biometrically open the vaults thus creating the deadly situation at the school with only Akira between her and 9 assassins.

The film bordered on the absurd at times with a baby faced serial killer, two female high school assassins, a geriatric assassin, two bozo bro assassins and one that resembled a terminator. Some of the acting could be over the top. Honda, looked like an IT specialist, but what he specialized in was killing, especially his own men. I kept expecting to hear him say, "have you tried turning it off and turning it on?" This was a kill or be killed free for all, where the only ones who would be paid were the ones who completed the job first. First come, first serve. What the assassins learned the hard way was that the gentle spoken janitor had no intention of letting anyone collect a pay day.

A Janitor (the most commonly used title name) looked like it was cheaply made. The school shots were that blown out blue/gray and white that many Jdramas seem fond of. Scenes with Yui and her father having dinner, steak of course, murderous villains tend to like their rare beef, were tinted red.

Some of the scenes were gratuitous in nature, and fair warning, there were a few random high school kids murdered. At times the fighting seemed brutal and real at others times it could seem ludicrous. Suppressing fire is one thing, wasting bullets shooting at something you can't see when you have limited ammo is something else, something stupid. Speaking of stupid, if you have an amazing hiding place don't crawl out in front of the villains in plain sight.

The acting was all over the place. Fukushi Seiji did a fine job as the conflicted and loyal Akira. Imou Haruka asYui had the tough task of playing the high school girl getting dragged all over the place with little agency of her own. Most of the rest of the cast set their acting on crazy overkill.

Despite the limited acting and sets, the movie was entertaining at times. Like a Godzilla movie, the monster didn't show up until 40 minutes into the story, at which point the action began and it became more interesting. Ultimately, a cute assassin wasn't enough for me with the huge gaps in logic though. The film is part of the Baby Assassins world which I know nothing about. So if that franchise is something you enjoyed or you like yakuza assassins pummeling and shooting each other, this might be something to try. It is thankfully as short as much of the logic in the movie, clocking in under 90 minutes.



9/26/22

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This was my first Asian drama and my first true love. If I had chosen one of the other Chinese fantasy dramas to watch on Netflix I would have never watched another one. But TMOPB was my choice and I fell hard.

I fell in love with the beautiful people, sets, costumes, music, and story. Like a first love I was reckless and slept very little, unable to tear myself away.

It had everything I wanted in a first love-passion, true love, unrequited love, revenge, danger, obstacles to overcome, character growth, monsters, and magic. My first love had some flaws but through the eyes of love I overlooked them.

The actors brought the characters to life and pulled me into another world.

The music enhanced the story without distracting from it, a romantic mix-tape for an epic love story.

The next few dramas I watched were unworthy of my love and left my heart cold, but because TMOPB had taught me how to love I kept my heart open and kept searching. I have only truly loved one other time but I have loved and liked many others.

I have revisited this love many times, unable to completely let go. All other loves are measured against this one. I am so thankful for the worlds this drama opened up for me.

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"We were already happy"

In 1999 television and the internet became legal in Bhutan ushering in a new era to the small country sandwiched between China and India. In an even greater societal shakeup in 2006, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced his intention to step down and have the country transition to a constitutional monarchy. The people in the village of Ura faced a steep learning curve as they struggled to balance their long-held traditions with the encroaching modernization. And what could be a bigger example of polar opposites colliding than seeing a peaceful monk carrying a gun through fields of flowers in The Monk and the Gun.

An election official comes to Ura to register voters and stage a mock election to prepare the people for the real thing. The beloved Buddhist lama hears the news and tells his young monk to bring him two guns. “Things need to be made right.” In a country where many people had never even seen a gun, Tashi had a daunting task. The obedient monk didn’t know why the guns were needed but proceeded to go house to house in search of one. Someone else was also looking for a gun. An American gun dealer and collector, Ron Coleman, along with his guide, Benji, sought to make a deal with a local villager who was in possession of a rare American Civil War rifle.

The election official had her hands full trying to register the villagers as some had no idea when their exact birthdate was. They also weren’t exactly sure what the election was all about and why their king was abdicating. Was all this change really worth it? “Democracy will be the pinnacle of Gross National Happiness.” “We were already happy.” People began fighting about candidates, especially one family where a son-in-law bucked tradition by refusing to back the elder’s choice. The gun collector was led on a merry chase for his prize unaware that the police were chasing him. The collision was priceless.

Brilliant fields of flowers, emerald green hills---the cinematography had a lot to work with and made the most of a beautiful setting. The acting was mostly natural but unexceptional. A wife torn between her husband and mother revealed the conflict between tradition and modernization. All she wanted was for her family to be happy. The tenacious election official was determined to have the villagers prepared for when the real election took place. And the young monk who thought the name of the election was a pig disease just kept putting one foot in front of the other in order to comply with his master. The American was just as clueless about what was going on because despite most of the characters being uninterested in money, both his treasure and significant sums of money kept slipping through his fingers.

The Monk and the Gun was a gentle, humorous, and insightful examination of a society transitioning and wanting the changes to be meaningful and not negatively impact their way of life. The lama stood ready to help the villagers focus on eliminating hatred and conflict as they learned to embrace a say in their own government. People were also beginning to understand that being able to choose didn’t always mean the choices were great. “I can’t believe this idiot represents the ‘freedom and equality party.’” Welcome to democracy.

16 September 2024

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Don't buy our cars!

It’s Me Here, Bellett was composed of three car commercials written and directed by Oshima Nagisa. Ozu Yasujiro was a script consultant/creative consultant but these three films bore no resemblance to any of his films. Nakamura Hachidai provided the score which ranged from a typical 1960’s jazz background to dark noir trumpets. Each of the segments were unique and none of them would make you want to buy the Isuzu Bellett sedan.

Segment 1-A young guy who dotes on a red Bellett that may not be his picks up his girl for a night of lovin’ by the sea. Things do not go as planned when she takes offense at his overly fastidious obsession with the car.

Segment 2-A darker noir story featuring an actor in love with the female producer he works for, complete with the narration such films had. He uses his apartment money to buy a car he can’t afford to show her he’s a serious actor. When he has the opportunity to give her a ride, just as in the first segment, things do not go as planned.

Segment 3-A boss who is having an affair with a beautiful subordinate calls things off when he buys a car to show his commitment to his wife. His lover takes exception to this and steals his car while he and his wife are on vacation.

My rating is on the actual art of the commercials which was excellent. The cinematography and different moods evoked by lighting, acting, story, and music were excellent. But they were the most anti-ads I’ve ever seen. If I had to grade by how much they created a desire in me to purchase a Bellett my rating would be a zero. All of the owners were either jerks or oddballs which became strangely humorous by the end. The acting ranged from sufficient to proficient. The acting by the young actors in the first segment was supposed to be comic which didn’t work for me as well. In the darker second segment, Oshima’s wife, Koyama Akiko, played the producer who had an unusual ride with an actor. Segment three threw the actors straight into a melodrama.

Watashi wa Beret aka It’s Me Here, Bellett is only 27 minutes long, but a fascinating anti-car commercial made for television to sell cars by several well-known directors aside from the ones mentioned such as Yamamoto Kajiro, Chiba Yasuki, Gosho Heinosuke, Nakahira Ko, Hideo Sekigawa, Tanaka Shigeo, and Nomura Yoshitaro. Worth your time if you enjoy films from the past and windows into a different world and don’t mind the short format.

10 September 2024

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Bittersweet coming of age film

In Between Days was a low budget, independent film that brilliantly portrayed a teenage girl’s awkward friendship with a boy and difficulty in assimilating to her new life in Canada. Loosely based on director Kim So Young’s own experience moving from Busan, Korea to California, USA at the age of 12 and the difficulties she faced trying to fit in. The budget for the film was $60,000 so there were few sets and much of the teens’ conversations took place in the icy winter outdoors, apartments, or buses in Toronto.

Aimie and Tran are best friends, but Aimie has developed a serious crush on her buddy. Tran says he just wants to be friends, but by that he seems to mean, friends with benefits. Aimie isn’t comfortable with the sexual experimentation but is also curious about it. Unable to voice their true feelings and wants to each other, they alternately withdraw and show attention to others which only causes more problems for them.

Aimie’s mother works long hours and is emotionally remote from her. The mom has no idea what Aimie is doing or how she is feeling. Aimie’s father left them, and she misses him terribly while also being upset with him. She also misses her extended family, made worse by her mother not being available most of the time as well.

Most of the conversations between Aimie and Tran were in Korean. Whether in English or Korean, Aimie and Tran had trouble communicating with each other and often used jealousy to get the other’s attention or to hurt the other. Teenage years can be awkward and isolating for anyone, but transplanting to a new world only intensified those feelings. Both Aimie and Tran struggled with their emotions, so much was new and they were unsure of how to handle the uncomfortable spaces between them. When she and Tran spent less time together, the frozen winter felt especially cold and lonely.

Director Kim kept the camera tight on Aimie and Tran’s faces, never letting the audience escape the painful, embarrassing, and disconcerting moments. Like most teens grappling and fumbling with unfamiliar emotions and biological urges, they were afraid of being rejected. Both had a sense of needing to belong, made worse by a limited community. Aimie and Tran didn’t want to lose what they had but also maybe wanted something more. This film was the first job for both actors and their performances were natural. Jiseon Kim was able to convey complex emotions quite well. Andy Kang acted like a typical teenage boy unwilling to show his emotions for fear of giving too much away.

In Between Days was a bittersweet coming of age film with all of the euphoria, bumbling efforts, and heartache that entails. Like so many films in this genre, there was no true ending, just a step toward another chapter for a girl seeking to find her place in the world and coming to terms with her own feelings and desires.

19 June 2024

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Dorian “Flash Legs” Tan starred as a high kicker in Hand of Death. John Woo was the writer/director for it as well as taking a supporting role as an imperiled scholar. Jackie Chan played a supporting role as a younger brother seeking revenge in this Hong Kong movie filmed in Taiwan and South Korea.

The Manchus decided the Shaolin temples had too much power and too many trained fighters. They found students willing to betray their brothers for money and soon the loyal shaolin students who remained alive were on the run. Commander Shih and his sidekicks Du Qing and Smiling Fox rule their little empire with iron fists or more accurately, Killing Crane fists. Faithful shaolin student Yung Fei has been chosen by the rebels to escort a scholar with a secret list to safety and also to kill Commander Shih. No easy feat, as Shih is protected by 8 Tiger Generals who work as his bodyguards. After failing in his endeavor to kill Shih, Yung Fei convinces two fighters to help him---The Master Sword, a wandering swordsman with a score to settle, and Little Tan, a blacksmith and delivery boy whose brother was killed by Shih and his men. Even with the extra help, it will take a miracle for the men to keep the scholar alive and to take the life of Shih.

Dorian Tan is always fun to watch with his quick, high kicks. His film career ended for the most part around 1985, but he went on to teach Taekwondo in Korea and the United States. This was the fourth film a very young John Woo directed. It was interesting seeing the larger than life director as the fearful scholar depending on others to protect him. Jackie Chan was almost unrecognizable in the role of Little Tan until he started moving and some early Chan mannerisms showed through. James Tien made for a believable villain if not fighter, with poor Sammo wearing prosthetic teeth as his #1. Never one to avoid hitting the ground or anything else, Sammo put his body through the mill during his fight with Dorian in the latter part of the film. Korean actor Kim Ki Ju made for a smarmy and dangerous #2. Yuen Wah played one of the 8 Bodyguards and was unable to hide his quick moves even in this small role. The overall fight choreography for the movie was adequate, oftentimes stilted but avoided kung fu posing. Some fights were better than other, some faster than others. You could tell a number of kicks didn’t really land, but that’s one of the safety concerns with fast, powerful kickers. Ask Jackie Chan about the tooth he lost when filming with “Thunder Leg” Hwang Jang Lee. Even at that, one stunt did go wrong involving a cable with Chan being knocked out.

Like so many kung fu movies filmed in Taiwan and Korea, most of the settings were outdoors in nature. John Woo didn’t break the mold with his story or directing, but as a young director with little experience he did an admirable job of taking a stock story and not overcomplicating it or making it a sieve of plot holes. I only wish they'd sprung for some better wigs. These hairpieces looked like they'd been shoved into a box, stored for ten years, brought out and plopped down on the actors' heads without even brushing them out.

The story was standard. There was a secret list and an almost invincible bad guy. The good guys had to train to improve their skills and weapons or be destroyed. The actors were able to lift the characters slightly above the page, but this was still average at best. The final fight was exciting because by that time, through the little band of fighters’ skills and sacrifices I’d become invested in Shih being taken down…hard. But most of all, I wanted Dorian to flash those legs of his which he kindly obliged to do. As always, graded on a curve.

3 June 2024

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"There's a man who keeps his duty separate from his love at least once a day"

Lo Lieh directed and starred as an agent in Deadly Roulette, a movie about two Interpol agents who sought to bring down a Triad leader who had been killing people using the lethal Finger Bullets style of kung fu. Bobby Kim brought the kicks and lovin’ as the agent whose ex-girlfriend lived in Hong Kong, complicating his actions on the case.

Interpol agent Bobby is brought onto a weapons smuggling case in Hong Kong when officers are found dead with finger holes in them. He asks to work with Darion who obligingly signs on. While in Hong Kong he meets up with his ex-flame Kyeong Hee who is still angry about being used in his last investigation and then abandoned. That anger does not stop her from hooking up with him again. As Bobby digs further into the case, he discovers how dangerous the gang is as they supply grenade launchers, missiles, and rifles to terrorists. It doesn’t take long before the agents and officers working on the case ascertain they have a mole in their unit as their every move is preemptively countered.

If you’ve ever wondered what 1970’s Hong Kong looked like, there were many scenes of characters driving around. This was a fairly common practice in movies 50 years ago. The shots established the setting and showed characters’ movement from scene to scene, but it feels dated now days. The music was also classically 1970’s bow chicka bow bow. The Beatles’ song “I'm Happy Just to Dance with You” (1964) was used but I’m betting no royalties were paid. Dog fights were shown in two different scenes early in the film, which was quite disconcerting for me. I’d rather see the men pummel each other instead of innocent animals being abused.

The movie made use of the Interpol trope in order to justify a foreign actor starring in a film set in Hong Kong. I would have preferred Hwang Jang Lee as the Korean agent. Lo Lieh is one of my favorite old kung fu stars and the only reason I watched Deadly Roulette. The film was badly faded and the story had numerous plot holes and inconsistencies. Usually, plot holes weren’t a big issue in these types of films because there were enough fights to distract the viewer. Unfortunately, there weren’t many quality fights and the big finale was a big letdown. South Korean actor Bobby Kim was proficient in taekwondo and it showed with his excellent kicks, even though many of them obviously never landed.

Deadly Roulette had a semblance of a story and was watchable…barely. And watchable only if you enjoy old kung fu films, especially one with a largely Korean cast. As always, I grade these cheap, niche movies before 1990 on a curve.

1 June 2024

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