“World of Desire” Theatrical Poster

Director: Chao Chen-Kuo
Cast: Robert Mak, William Ho, Blackie Ko, Shou-Liang, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Chiang Ta-Chuan, Suen Man, Chen Kuan-Tai, Ng Naam-Yiu, Xie Jian-Wen
Running Time: 74 min.

By Paul Taggart

In these days of boutique labels releasing Asian cinema hits and relative obscurities, there are still those who swim in murky waters where even Godfrey Ho fans wouldn’t swim. It’s a strange place, full of bottomless pits of crappiness, tonal whiplash, fountains of sleaze, geysers of violence and the detritus of cinema. It is the land of the Taiwan exploitation film. Usually rougher round the edges than even the similar Hong Kong movies, but just as worth checking out. Perhaps the best known Taiwan 90s entries into this type would be the gangster squib sleaze sagas of Hunting List or Requital. But they are the peak, and something like World of Desire is far from those lofty heights and lies broken and twisted at the bottom, mumbling to itself incoherently.

You would think World of Desire is a cheapie 74-minute soft-score film from its poster and title, but it’s actually a cheapie gangster film with nudie bits. The plot is pretty basic, concerning three night club hostesses and a hoodlum who end up on the run from a gang after an incident at a hotel involving an old man, one of the women and a pistol. Various shenanigans ensure for the rest of the run-time mostly set around a night club the quartet end up running whilst trying to evade the local mobsters gunning for them.

But what’s so bizarre about World of Desire is it’s cast – William Ho you’d expect in something like this, it was his bread and butter – but not cameos from Blackie Ko, Chen Kuan Tai and Norman Tsui. Norman looks rather dishevelled whenever he appears on screen and it’s rather off-putting to see him squeeze some poor woman’s arse for 40 seconds, but kind of funny at the same time. Thankfully the viewer is spared any extended sex scene with Norman, but he sure makes the most of his bottom fondling opportunity and there’s a shot of him lying on a bed where he seems rather too excited under a towel he is wearing. The rest of the guys mostly escape with their dignity intact.

The lead is Robert Mak who is rather bland but appears in a lot of gangster orientated Taiwan films of this era and in more than one he always seems to end up wearing a black vest for some reason. World of Desire spends a lot of time trying to convince that Bob is Mr. Sex, but he’s more Barnaby Jones than Tom Jones. The actresses aren’t memorable at all, and sadly due to their lack of any characterisation. I had time telling them apart as they mostly appear on screen all together, like a female three stooges but lacking any comedic timing.

World of Desire’s lack of budget is evident, near enough the whole film takes place in garish nightclubs, musty pubs or messy living rooms with far too many shots of mahjong players. At one point William Ho and his gang have a meeting in what looks to be a cramped karaoke booth, diminishing any menace the scene is supposed to portray. The soundtrack seems comprised by wonky keyboard demos, one of which is an annoying machine gun funk synth tune. It’s still kind of fun though, the action is shoddy but there’s plenty of it scattered throughout and the exploitation content is pretty high, heavy on the nasty repetitive lady slapping and one of the women is randomly forced to drink wine out of a shoe at gunpoint. Nudity is ample but kept to brief moments, despite the lurid title, the focus is indeed as a low-rent gangster film, one that wishes to make you believe a household metal bin can be used to deflect machine gun fire.

It’s entertaining crap but William Ho exits too early and leaves a large hole in the film’s collective charisma which it stumbles on past due to it’s relative shortness. Not really one for anyone except lovers of trash, World of Desire is a scuzzy curiosity.

Paul Taggart’s Rating: 4/10

The post World of Desire (1992) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Beach of the War Gods” Theatrical Poster

Director: Jimmy Wang Yu
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Lung Fei, Tin Yau, Sit Hon, Shan Mao, Choi Wang, Kwan Hung, Cheung Yee Kwai, Su Chen Ping, Hsieh Hsing, Cho Kin, Blacky Ko Sau Leung, Jack Long Sai Ga, Lui Jun, Man Man, O Yau Man
Running Time: 97 min.

By Will McGuire

There’s a delightful contradiction between form and content at the heart of Beach of the War Gods: formally the film stands as a love letter to the action cinema of Japan, particularly the work of Akira Kurosawa but all of that love is deployed in a story that is built on the pain and shame of the Japanese occupation during World War 2. It’s as if someone wrote a play in a perfect pastiche of Shakespeare’s blank verse about the Easter Rising.

There’s been a recent reappraisal of Jimmy Wang Yu in the time since I’ve been learning about Eastern cinema. When I began collecting, it was en vogue to highlight his shortcomings and personal warts and praise was handed out sparingly; as if there were a danger should he get too much. Thankfully, things seemed to have swung back in the other direction, and new attention is being paid to his merits, not just as a performer, but as a filmmaker. That’s why it’s so important to really take a deep look at Beach of the War Gods because, and I say this with all due respect to Master of the Flying Guillotine, this film is probably his most impressive work behind the camera.

Foremost, the compositions are masterful. Wang Yu likes to employ multiple layers of depth and focus to create visual interest and really utilize the widescreen format. The first act of this film really illustrates Tarantino’s observation that Wang Yu as a director seems to have gotten the closest of anyone in capturing the feel of the comic book work of the great Jack Kirby and it’s in the framing of objects in the foreground playing against objects in the background while all elements remain in focus. In the first act alone he uses this technique to establish location, to heighten visual tension, and to create a sense of voyeurism in the audience that we later learn is shared by one of the supporting characters.

There’s also a recurring sense of visual irony that feels very Japanese, or almost like a Spaghetti Western: an execution is symbolically rendered as the cutting of a cord by the man who will eventually avenge it, a coffin used as a prop for a massive trap serves its intended use when Wang Yu unceremoniously dumps an enemy commander’s body in it, the blade that kills a samurai early on is revealed to be two blades joined at the side when viewed from another angle.

The story is a condensed version of Kurosawa’s legendary Seven Samurai: a small village located adjacent to the eponymous beach is threatened by a cadre of bloodthirsty Japanese pirates who have sacked the nearest city and are heading this way. By chance, a great swordsman Xiao (Wang Yu), whose uncle was executed in defense of the city, is in the city when the news comes in and must assemble a small team of professional swordsmen to defend the town from the coming onslaught.

Wang Yu dispatches with most of the subplots and almost all the meditation of both the Japanese original and its equally magnificent Hollywood remake for a stripped down and bloody buffet of expert swordplay. Here, Wang Yu’s love for samurai films continues in the framing and editing of the fights. I found, almost immediately, visual references to everything from Throne of Blood to Kobayashi’s Hara-Kiri.

That brings us to the second half of our opening contradiction: the story is set at the height of China’s Imperial power in the early Ming Dynasty. The plot doesn’t really make sense from a historical standpoint– in the 1550’s the Ming were the most powerful state on Earth and Japan was still in the violent throes of the Sengoku civil wars that would end with the installation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This is not a historical plot so much as it is a transposition of 20th century geopolitics into a time period where epic heroism was possible. The selfless heroism of the Chinese and abject ruthlessness of the Japanese is a reference to the Second World War and pulls into focus the martial arts film’s role as a uniquely Chinese national epic for displaced Chinese in the same way that Greek tragedy served as a rallying point for the mythic history of Athens.

Excellent direction, action, and pacing combined with fine storytelling: Beach of the War Gods is a swordplay classic that deserves the premium release its getting on Blu from Eureka. Track this one down.

Will McGuire’s Rating: 8/10

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“Pink Force Commando” Theatrical Poster

Director: Chu Yen Ping 
Cast: Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Elsa Yang Hui-Shan, Sally Yeh Chian-Wen, Hilda Liu Hao-Yi, Blacky Ko Shou-Liang, Alan Liu Te-Kai, Hsu Pu-Liao, Sylvia Peng Hsueh-Fen, Teresa Tsui Jun-Jun, Wang Kuan-Hsiung, Yu Kam-Po
Running Time: 87 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

I may well have swindled myself by watching Pink Force Commando. At the time of writing I’m in the latter stages of a 12-month detox from madcap Taiwanese director Chu Yen-Ping, having had what we’ll call a ‘bad experience’ with King Swindler last year. So when the opportunity to check out a couple of Taiwan’s all-star female ensemble pieces from 1982 – Golden Queen’s Commandos and Pink Force Commando – upon seeing Yen-Ping’s name at the helm of the former, Pink Force Commando it was. According to the Hong Kong Movie Database, Pink Force Commando was the directorial debut by one of Golden Queen’s Commandos writers – Fu Li – however upon digging a little deeper, other sources such as hkcinemagic (and IMDB, but when it comes to Asian cinema, they hardly have a reputation for being reliable) list Yen-Ping as the director. Did I just unintentionally finish my detox early? It’s possible I’ll never know.

Either way, Pink Force Commando brought the 7 leading ladies of their earlier jaunt back together, some of them playing the same role as they did in Golden Queen’s Commandos, others playing different characters. What they do have in common is that the ladies are once more playing a group of bandidas – we get the legendary Brigitte Lin (Handsome Siblings, Deadful Melody), here still very much known as a dramatic actress in Taiwan, and a full 10 years away from her late career roles in various Hong Kong new wave wuxias. She plays the leader of the group, and is joined by Cantopop star Sally Yeh (I Love Maria, The Killer) clocking in only her 3^rd screen appearance, returning as the explosives specialist Dynamite Susie. Also playing the same character is Elsa Yeung (Challenge of the Lady Ninja, A Life of Ninja), only instead of being a bible brandishing glam rocker, she’s now inexplicably decked out in Lycra superhero getup, complete with cape.

Sylvia Peng (Monkey Business, The Wheel of Life) returns as well, this time as a gold costume adorned fencing expert, as does Cheng Hsiu-Ying (Iron Swallow, The Crazy Monk), decked out in a pair of gratuitously high cut denim hot pants. What the ladies have reunited for is more difficult to ascertain, as the plot speeds along like an out-of-control train that already jumped the tracks before the credits began to roll. We meet them holed up in a ramshackle wooden inn in the desert, surrounded by what appear to be Chinese Nazi’s (although don’t quote me on that one). They’re ladened with a haul of gold, and the Nazis want it, which all leads to a bullet riddled shoot out, ending with the ladies driving a machine gun mounted jeep full speed through the front of the inn to escape (we’ll just assume it can go from 0 – 100 in 0.01 seconds). Moments later, the whole place goes up in a ball of flames behind them, and this is just the pre-credits sequence!

Keeping up with the events that follow requires a particularly high level of mental dexterity, and the words “None of this makes sense” are sure to never be far from the mouths of those who sit down to watch Pink Force Commando. Despite this though, the absurdity on display is evenly matched by the energy behind it, backed up by watching some of Taiwan and Hong Kong’s finest femme fatales onscreen together playing against type (in most cases, very against type!). When we meet Sally Yeh’s character she’s being accosted by a shaolin monk and some lackeys, who are quickly disposed of via a stick of dynamite. Like a video game, around the next corner we get a dose of Bruceploitaiton, as a Bruce Lee lookalike busts out the nunchucks with another trio of undesirables (one of whom is literally wearing a bedsheet) who also end up going up in smoke. Ever wanted to see a movie where Bruce Lee gets blown up by dynamite? You’re in the right place! 

What does any of this have to do with the main plot? To answer that question I’d need to be confident in knowing what the main plot actually was. From an opening where it seems to be about a stash of gold, at some point it becomes about a giant diamond called the Oriental Star, then later its somehow transitioned to everyone looking for a map, before finally it becomes a tale of revenge. The narrative seems to be imbued with a level of self-awareness though, one that makes the lack of a coherent plot feel unimportant to the overall enjoyment there’s to be had. The setting is equally mysterious, perhaps best described as a post-apocalyptic western. Sure it opens up with what appears to be a World War II era scene, but then how do you explain Elsa Yeung shooting holes in the wooden canoe that Sally Yeh attempts to escape in, only for Yeh to then jump onto a jet-ski hiding behind some rocks!?

One of Pink Force Commando’s greatest assets outside of the cast is its cartoon levels of violence. In the opening we discover Brigitte Lin betrays her gang, having fallen in love with the Nazi commander, played by Alan Liu (Heroine of Tribulation, Evil Hits Evil). They run off with the gold and build an entire town – hilariously called Sin City – which contains “a casino, a whore house, massage, and dancing girls.” When her former comrades catch up with her she asks for forgiveness, and agrees to follow the code of anyone who betrays the gang, chopping off her own arm. Liu isn’t too interested in having a one-armed wife, so he defaults back to being the bad guy (ok, it’s debatable that he was ever anything else), and Lin ends up meeting up with The Heartbroken Man, played by Wang Kuan-Hsiung (Shaolin Kung Fu Master, The Golden Mask).

Over 25 years before the Japanese splatter classic The Machine Girl, the Lee Van Cleef channelling Kuan-Hsiung assists Lin by fitting her out with a detachable machine gun arm. Am I the only one who thinks about what the first movie was to feature a character have their arm being replaced by a machine gun? Normal film logic would dictate that Lin and her newly re-friended bandidas then team up take revenge on the Nazis, however this is Pink Force Commando, so as they say on home shopping channels – “But wait, there’s more!” On top of the Nazis they also have to deal with Japanese ninjas led by a returning Hilda Liu Hao-Yi (A Fist Full of Talons, Taoism Drunkard), a dirt bike riding Blacky Ko (Master Killers, Mahjong Dragon) channelling Marlon Brando in The Wild One, the Ku Klux Klan (yep, those guys), and various foreign armies who come together to form an evil super-army.

It all results in the ladies making a bullet riddled, sword slashing last stand in Sin City as the few attempt to take on the hundreds. Stuff is blown up, heads roll, and at the end of it you’ll either be smiling or hoping that there’s no lasting brain damage. Possibly even both. At least for myself, I fell into the former category, and couldn’t help but enjoy the zaniness on display while watching the likes of Brigitte Lin and Sally Yeh hamming it up minus any sense of irony or knowing winks. Pink Force Commando also holds the dubious honour of being the movie which Joseph Lai pulled a scene from to create his IFD Films logo. At one point an Arabian Princess (don’t ask) played by an also returning Teresa Tsui (Island Warriors, The War Dogs) holds the rock sized Oriental Star diamond, arm outstretched above her head on top of a mountain as light gleams off its surface. I admit it was unusual to witness the scene without the IFD Films logo suddenly appearing over it.

My gut tells me it was likely Chu Yen-Ping was in the director’s seat for this one. Fu Li would stick mainly to writing and composing for the rest of his career, only stepping into the directors chair a handful more times, none of which resemble anything like Pink Force Commando. Yen-Ping on the other hand would continue his own inimitable style the following year by working with Brigitte Lin on the likes of The Four Sheepish Dummies, Big Surprise of 1938, and what some may consider his crowning achievement – Fantasy Mission Force. Striking just the right balance between zany antics, action, and dismemberment, Pink Force Commando is a heap of fun that restrains itself from descending into an abyss of grating juvenile humour that so much of Yen-Ping’s work suffers from (just ignore the mercifully short prison cell musical number). I guess if the detox is done and dusted, it may be time to give Golden Queen’s Commandos a shot.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10 

The post Pink Force Commando (1982) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Runaway Blues” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: David Lai Dai-Wai
Cast: Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Shirley Lui Sau-Ling, Ngok Ling, Sunny Fang Kang, Blacky Ko Shou-Liang, Kelvin Wong Siu, Tanny Tien Ni, Chang Shih, Chan Ging-Cheung
Running Time: 91 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Say what you want about how in modern Hong Kong cinema Louis Koo is in just about everything, still nothing can compare to the omni-presence of Andy Lau in the mid to late eighties. In the 5 years spanning 1985 – 1989 Lau clocked in over 30 screen appearances, and the majority of them were either starring or co-starring roles. During this time Lau’s onscreen persona came to be defined as the archetypal triad youth with a moral code, one which continued well into the 90’s, with titles like The Dragon Family, Bloody Brotherhood, and Casino Raiders all being classic examples of the role. The downside of Lau’s casting during this era, is that often it’s lumped together whenever brought up, and as a result titles like Runaway Blues can fly under the radar.

Sure it ticks all the boxes that define Lau’s output of the time – Playing a troubled triad youth, check! Inevitably heading to a tragic ending, check! Provides ammunition for those who think Lau should have stayed a popstar, check! However to take any of these into consideration and conclude that the rarely mentioned title is safe to skip would be doing yourself an epic disservice. Made in the middle of Lau’s busiest period from 1988 – 1989, Runaway Blues would mark the 2^nd collaboration with director David Lai, after he starred in Sworn Brothers the year prior (in which yes, he plays a triad youth). The pairing of director and star would continue, with further collaborations on Saviour of the Soul and its sequel in ’91 and ’92 respectively, and Tian Di in 1994.

Indeed Lai as a director may be most well known amongst fans of HK action as the guy that introduced Korean superkicker Won Jin to the world in 1992’s Operation Scorpio (and subsequently 1993’s Women on the Run), however his career was a varied one across multiple genres. From female driven youth dramas like 1982’s Lonely Fifteen and 1986’s Midnight Girls, to supernatural horror like 1983’s Possessed and its sequel, to erotic thrillers like 1983’s The Body is Willing. In fact until Lai collaborated with Andy Lau on 1987’s Sworn Brothers (which was choreographed by Sammo Hung’s Stuntmen’s Association), his filmography never gave any indication that he’d become a director associated with the action genre at all.

Although a mild success at the box office, Sworn Brothers was enough for Lau and Lai to team-up once more, and a year later we had Runaway Blues. Despite being first and foremost a triad flick, Lai’s fondness for drama is also present in a surprisingly multi-layered plot. Proceedings start off simple enough, with Lau as a headstrong Taiwanese triad who challenges rival triad Blackie Ko to a scooter race, one which involves them being chained together with their girlfriends riding pillion. In true HK movie style, everything goes to hell barely 10 minutes in – Ko’s girlfriend gets her neck wrapped in the chain and ends up accidentally being hung, Lau panics and shoots Ko dead, then while in hiding Ko’s acquaintances turn up seeking revenge, and end up hacking Lau’s girlfriends back to pieces while she attempts to give him time to escape. Thankfully (at least for him) he does, taking a boat to Hong Kong to start a new life, hence the title Runaway Blues.

It’s in Hong Kong that the crux of the plot emerges, as Lau meets up with an elderly triad boss thanks to his connections in Taiwan. Played by Chan Ging-Cheung (Rich and Famous, Widow Warriors), he asks his mistress to put Lau up in her apartments spare room. Played by Shirley Lui (Devil Fetus, Kickboxer), her character is a single mother, and the reluctant steady girlfriend of Ging-Cheung’s righthand man, hatefully played by the pock faced Sunny Fang (Thunder Cops 2, Her Fatal Ways). One of the initial deals Lau witnesses is between Fang and a Mainlander played by Kelvin Wong (The Moon Warriors, High Risk), however Fang takes off with the goods (a bag full of Rolexes!) himself, leaving Lau high and dry. Throw in a persistent haemorrhoids suffering detective played by Robert Zajac (Casino Raiders, Triads – The Inside Story) and the unexpected return of Lau’s girlfriend from Taiwan, you’re left with a lot going on!

Essentially Runaway Blues can be looked at as being about the impact Lau’s arrival has on the dynamics of those he enters the lives of. Lui, unsurprisingly, finds herself falling for him. Zajac knows Ging-Cheung is the real criminal mastermind, and pressures Lau to be his informer, but when it becomes clear Ging-Cheung is untouchable he realises he can just as easily pin everything on Lau to get promoted. Wong assumes Lau is in with Fang so was a part of the deal to double-cross him, but ultimately the pair develop a bond as mutual outsiders, one from Taiwan and the other from the Mainland. While Fang has the most transparent relationship – he hates Lau and would rather he be done away with – its Ging-Cheung who holds the most powerful cards, and also keeps them closest to his chest, keeping us guessing as to how he’ll use them.

Despite the various moving parts, Lai shows an assured directorial hand, and the various relationship dynamics play out in a way that feels natural and unforced. Complimenting the solid plot and characters, are frequent bursts of action from Blackie Ko. A solid old-school choreographer and master of vehicular stunt work, Ko would frequently appear on screen as the 80’s progressed to perform motorcycle-based stunt work, as seen in the likes of Pink Force Commando and Wheels on Meals. Here as the rival biker he makes the most of his limited screentime, in a race chained to Lau and incorporating a number of other riders who enthusiastically crash for our entertainment (I swear one of them is thrown off and hits the ground face first). It’s the kind of scene that lesser productions would be proud to have as their finale, but here it’s the opener!

The rest of the movie incorporates a mix of high impact stunt work, gritty fight action, and one gratuitously shot kung fu shapes face off between Lau and Wong (see if you can spot the Taiwan and Mainland imagery subtly incorporated into this scene). Wong, who left us far too early at just 42 in 2004, deserves a special mention for the stunt that sees him smashing through a window, onto the top of a double decker bus, and almost being mowed over by a car when he hits the tarmac. I’ll put it out there, every Hong Kong stunt involving a double decker bus is always awesome (yes, even the one in China Strike Force). Shirley Lui is also incredibly game for being willing to take a few knocks and bruises, taking a particularly high fall through the roof of a makeshift shed, and being thrown down an escalator for good measure. Not to be outdone, Lau and Fang eventually face off in a particularly nasty throwdown in a room full of rabid dogs!

The uncompromising violence in Runaway Blues really helps to set it apart from other genre efforts at the time, with the balletic violence from the likes of John Woo here stripped down to its basest core. Bodies are thrown around, shot at, stabbed, and slashed, and virtually every character looks substantially beaten and bruised by the time the credits roll. It’s also this commitment to realism that permeates through the ending, with no big bombastic action scene to close things out, but instead a different type of violent ending that draws everything to a fitting conclusion. In fact Lai throws in one final scene that I wasn’t expecting, which abruptly throws Runaway Blues into the realm of the surreal and absurd, but it would be a spoiler to mention it here. Needless to say, once watched, it’ll be remembered!

Overall Lau and Lai’s sophomore collaboration may tick all the boxes that audiences expect from a late 80’s Andy Lau flick, but it also ticks a whole bunch of others as well. From the solid story and characterisation, through to the bombastically brutal stunt work and frantic fight scenes, there’s a lot here to enjoy, and Runaway Blues certainly deserves to be brought up in any discussion involving HK’s best triad flicks. 

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10

The post Runaway Blues (1989) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Master Killers” Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Master Avenger
Director: Wong Hung Cheung
Cast: Casanova Wong, Blacky Ko, Philip Ko Fei, Bolo Yeung, Chiang Kam, Suen Kwok Ming
Running Time: 92 min.

By Paul Bramhall

There’s an old romantic cliché that goes something along the lines of everyone has that someone out there who’s ‘the one’, and what a tragedy it would be if they never realize it. Comparatively, for a kung fu fan like myself, I always thought what an amazing movie it would be if two of my favorite stars of the old-school era, Casanova Wong and Philip Ko Fei, got to face off against each other. For some inexplicable reason, for the longest time I’d thought there was no such movie, until someone guided me towards the direction of a little known title by the name of Master Killers. Like the protagonist of a love story finding ‘the one’ that they never realize existed, for me stumbling across this slice of old school goodness was the kung fu movie fan equivalent.

Not to be confused with Master Killer, the widely popular international title for Lau Kar Leung’s 1978 classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Master Killers is one of the many productions made in the wake of 1978’s Drunken Master. The movie, which put Jackie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping, and their unique blend of kung fu comedy on the map, spawned countless clones which were churned out with an almost reckless abandon in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and there’s no mistaking that Master Killers is one such imitation.

Blackie Ko is on Jackie Chan clone duty as the main character, playing a country bumpkin looking to seek revenge for the death of his father 20 years ago. Ko, who sadly passed away in 2003, is perhaps most well remembered for becoming an action director who specialized in vehicle stunts, as well as directing such Hong Kong movies as Curry and Pepper and Invincible. However before gaining the nickname of the ‘Evel Knievel of Asia’, Ko could bust out the old school shapes choreography with the best of them, and Master Killers is a rare chance to see him in the lead of a kung fu movie.

The plot is as simple as it comes, and is hardly even worth mentioning. But to give it the one line summary – Casanova Wong turns out to be Ko’s long lost brother, and they team up to take down Philip Ko Fei who killed their father 20 years ago. The end. Such finer details like exactly how they became separated, the reasons why Ko Fei killed their father, and an almost endless list of other questions you’ll ask yourself while watching, are never answered. But let’s face it, when you have the talent on board like you do here, even the most jaded old-school movie fan should be willing to overlook the lack of cohesive storytelling.

Master Killers was made in a year that produced a ridiculous amount of top level kung fu movies. Even without looking outside of the cast it’s easy to reel off several – Philip Ko Fei also starred in The Loot, Tiger Over Wall, and Snake Deadly Act. Casanova Wong was in The Master Strikes and Two Toothless Tigers. And everyone’s favorite lump of muscle, Bolo, was in Challenge of the Tiger. When you then consider that people like Jackie Chan were making The Young Master, and Sammo Hung was directing classics like The Victim and Encounters of the Spooky Kind, it’s easy to see why 1980 is viewed as one of the best years for the old-school kung fu movie genre.

So the question is, does Master Killers stand up alongside those other classics that were made in the same year? Perhaps the movie most comparable to Master Killers is one that Casanova Wong starred in during the same year, The Master Strikes. Apart from sharing a similar title (really, how many kung fu movie are there that have the word ‘master’ in the title!?), they both share the element of being comedy heavy for the bulk of their run times, and it’s not a good heavy. It’s the type of heavy which puts you at risk of a heart attack and comes with a severe health warning.

After a fantastic red backdrop opening, a staple of many kung fu movies of the era, which has Blackie Ko strutting his stuff in an amazing display of shapes and acrobatics, things quickly devolve into what amounts to 40 minutes of gurning, pratfalls, and high pitched cockney whining. My personal pet hate even makes an appearance – the child urination joke. Nothing seems to say kung fu cheapie like the arrival of a scene when a child urinates over someone! People getting hit so hard that it causes them to turn around and slowly walk into a tree also seems to qualify as comedy gold here, so it perhaps goes without saying that a certain level of patience and hope is required to get through these scenes.

Even with the arrival of Casanova Wong, and some unintentionally humorous nonsense about the ‘6.5 method pole fighting’ technique, things don’t really look any brighter. An initial misunderstanding which results in a fight between Wong and Ko is uninspired and almost sloppy, with several of the hits clearly not making any contact. However at the 40 minute mark, a strange thing happens. Wong finds himself in a situation which results in him facing off first against Bolo, and then – the moment I was waiting for – against Ko Fei, and suddenly you’ll find yourself sitting bolt upright to pay attention. Ko Fei is also the fight choreographer, and it’s almost as if he spent the first few days of the shoot asleep, having needed his own lengthy fight scene to wake him up. Either that, or it was one of Wong’s kicks.

Wong is convincingly laid waste to by Ko, and left for dead, which sees him disappear from the movie until the finale. However this isn’t such a bad thing. After watching the triple threat of Bolo, Wong, and Ko in action, all of which is fast and fluid, Master Killers builds up sufficient momentum to ensure your attention is maintained. Soon Ko is being trained by Sam Seed (another shameless nod to Drunken Master) in what is, to be fair, an imaginatively put together training sequence that has Ko suspended in the air by a series of rope pulleys, which he has to use to perform pushups. Most importantly, he’s taught the secrets of Empress Kung Fu, which is basically a rip-off of the feminine drunken boxing that Jackie Chan utilizes to defeat Hwang Jang Lee in the finale of Drunken Master.

Master Killers really comes into its own though in its final reel, as from the 1:10 mark it becomes a non-stop fight fest, and every one of them is certified excellence. Starting with Blackie Ko vs. Bolo and his henchman, this fight is fun to watch just to see Bolo’s unique fighting style. While Bolo’s ability to perform choreography doesn’t always get to shine in many of the movies he’s in, that’s not the case here, even throwing in some impressive kicks. What’s so unique about him though is that he doesn’t look at his opponent during the fight, almost like he’s memorized the choreography to the point that he simply focuses on performing it, and trusts the other person to do what they’re supposed to do. It makes for entertaining viewing.

However the real reason to watch Master Killers is the epic 12-minute final fight which pits Ko and Wong against Ko Fei. The fight is almost like a mini-movie in itself, as over the course of the 12 minutes it builds up in both complexity and intensity. Ko Fei is absolutely on fire, and makes it look perfectly believable that he’s capable of taking out both Wong and Ko. At the same time, you kind of feel sorry for him, while Wong opts to go shirtless, and Ko adorned in a thin white t-shirt, Ko Fei performs the whole fight in a traditional long sleeved Chinese shirt and pants. Within the first minute his back and armpits are completely saturated with sweat, redefining what our perceptions of a sweat patch should look like, but he still looks nothing less than a boss.

All three performers get their time to shine during the fight, with the battle constantly segueing from two-on-one attacks to one-on-one beat downs. Ko Fei proves as always why he’s considered to be the king of shaped based choreography, with his fast and powerful movements looking all but unstoppable. Ko proves to be up to the task of matching his choreography, performing some intricate exchanges which take place over satisfyingly long takes. Thankfully Wong lives up to his name of being the Human Tornado, with at least a couple of his kicks being pulled so fast that if Ko Fei had got his timing even a split second off, he probably wouldn’t have a head on his shoulders. Slow motion is also used sparingly throughout the fight to great effect, particularly to highlight Wong when he starts going airborne with his kicks.

In a world where fights like the finale of Master Killers have become as extinct as the dinosaurs, on reflection, sitting through the painful first half of comedic tomfoolery is a small price to pay to witness some jaw dropping displays of kung fu excellence. Just remember to check your armpits for sweat patches once it’s finished.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10

The post Master Killers | aka The Master Avenger (1980) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Rainy Dog” DVD Cover

Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Seigo Inoue
Cast: Show Aikawa, Blackie Ko, Xianmei Chen, Zhang Shi, Jianqin He, Tomorowo Taguchi
Running Time: 95 min.

By Martin Sandison

Part of director Takashi Miike’s Triad society trilogy, Rainy Dog is a revelation; a quiet, slow moving meditation on innocence and the consequences of violence. Miike is of course synonymous with extreme cinema, especially his masterpieces Ichi The Killer and Audition. As much as I love those movies, Rainy Dog proves his ability to work on a serious level with real clarity and attention to detail. Shot in Taiwan with mostly a Taiwanese cast and crew, Miike does not speak Mandarin meaning that he was not able to communicate directly with either of them, but still manages to elicit wonderful performances.

Sho Aikawa stars as an ex-Yakuza hitman who has relocated to Taiwan, and lives in a modest apartment. One day a girl he slept with arrives with his supposed son, saying he has to look after the child. He takes on a job he shouldn’t have, and is pursued by Yakuza. He falls in with a prostitute and the three of them hideout from the gangsters. Despite a slight plotline everything falls in to place beautifully, and even minor characters are memorable. Tomorowo Taguchi has a small part, playing a strange guy that sleeps rough and wears a sharp suit who is obsessive in his pursuit of Aikawa, despite his motives never being explained. This was one of the many movies Taguchi appeared in that year, and he is one of the best character actors ever to come out of Japan. One of his first roles was in Tetsuo: The Iron Man, one of the greatest Cyberpunk horror movies ever made. I first watched that movie at the age of about 14, and its insane visuals made a huge impression on me. A couple of years ago I managed to catch it on the big screen in the Edinburgh Film Festival, and its impression was just as vital. Anyone that knows their Hong Kong cinema will notice Blackie Ko appearing as a brothel owner very briefly in Rainy Dog. Aikawa puts in perhaps his strongest performance in a Miike film, coming just before his deranged turn in Dead or Alive, another Miike classic that couldn’t be more different in tone from Rainy Dog.

The shooting style of the film is a marked departure for Miike; maybe this is partly due to the crew being Taiwanese, who mainly worked on the films of Hou Hsiao- Hsien, the maverick arthouse director. There are a lot of static shots in Rainy Dog, with characters framed through the pouring rain. The aesthetic is a lot more low key and quietly observed, with a slowly burning atmosphere. The films influences are a lot more plain to see than in other Miike films also. Wong Kar Wai’s films of the time such as Fallen Angels (one of my all-time favourites) with their late night ambience inform Rainy Dog, with even use of the stop printing technique so synonymous with Wong used in one scene. John Woo’s The Killer with Chow Yun Fat as the hitman with a heart of gold and dark city feel is echoed and incorporated with a much more grimy style. The violence is filmed in short bursts with one or two angles, worlds away from Woo’s elaborate dance. Aikawa’s monosyllabic performance and other characters recall classic Westerns, such as Sergio Leone’s masterful Dollars Trilogy. The blues slide guitar soundtrack reinforces this, and reminds me of Jim Jarmusch’s brilliant revisionist Western Dead Man that has a soundtrack by the genius Neil Young, my favourite musician. The look and feel of Takeshi Kitano’s gangster films, especially Sonatine, are reference points also, with their deliberately slow and symbolic style. All of these film makers inform the style of Rainy Dog, but Miike manages to rise above them and deliver a film very much his own.

In terms of pure film making Rainy Dog is definitely one of Miike’s best; every aspect combines to create an immersive experience and leave a lasting impression. The cinematography is clean and concise with no intrusive angles, and there are some beautiful tracking shots especially at the end of the film. The look is consistent and even in tone, no matter the location.

The characters in the film are incredibly well drawn and you really care for them, and Aikawa’s character really develops as he goes on from a violent, drug-taking loner to a man full of heart. Jianqin He as Aikawa’s supposed son Chen is a really hear wrenching character, and communicates complex emotions despite being a mute. Some of the scenes with He are particularly touching, one being when he is sleeping rough outside of Aikawa’s apartment and befriends a stray dog.

There are some minor problems with the picture overall, such as the lack of gunfights that would satisfy the action fan and an air of detachment in the first half. Also the persistent rain creates an aesthetic that can at times be over cooked. However those seeking a different kind of film from Miike will not be disappointed with Rainy Dog.

Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8/10

The post Rainy Dog (1997) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“The Legend of Wisely” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Legend of the Golden Pearl
Director: Teddy Robin Kwan
Cast: Sam Hui, Ti Lung, Joey Wong, Teddy Robin Kwan, Bruce Baron, Blacky Ko, Heidi Makinen, Alan Kuo Yau Lun, Alan Lee, Kim Fan
Running Time: 86 min.

By Matthew Le-feuvre

With an unambiguous career spanning back to the infant days of Golden Harvest, Sam Hui – younger brother of Michael and Ricky – is probably better known internationally for his lengthy partnership with fellow comedy director, Karl Maka. Indeed the outrageous thought of combining these unique, yet converse, talents resulted in an ambitious celebration which doubly furnished south-east (Asians) and trans Atlantic cine-patrons with the popular (and very funny!) Aces Goes Places movies that, throughout the eighties, playfully lampoon the likes of Mission: Impossible, Cannonball Run and James Bond; even the mechanical innovations of (pre-Hollywood) Transformers was not exempt from parody. Still, the wacky capers of King Kong and Kodiak became a box office force to be reckoned with, until, sadly, an inevitable downward spiral.

Singing accolades; a hit television sketch show in unison with his brother, Michael; and the opportunity of socializing/instruction by the late maestro himself, Bruce Lee; weren’t enough for Hui to penetrate the highly competitive ‘kung fu’ market in the manner Samo Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao, who were all able to collectively reinvent with kinetic realism, originality and passion.

Although he appeared in a support capacity for a couple of Lo Wei films –  Back Alley Princess (1972), starring Angela Mao Ying, and the Jimmy Wang Yu potboiler Tattooed Dragon (1974) – before achieving monumental acclaim as a novice gumshoe investigator in Private Eyes (1976), Hui was never really a skilled on-screen fighter (wire-work, minimal techniques and carefully paced editing were his secret methodology) unlike his contemporaries; whom often committed themselves to surreal acrobatic displays or complex stuntwork. Alternatively, he downplayed the traditional martial arts formats, and concentrated very hard on ‘promoting’ as well as ‘sustaining’ his comedic persona of the quintessential ladies’ man or a charming rogue. However, he never quite inherited or matched his elder brothers’ flare for deadpan delivery or wry expressionism.

As with most Hong Kong actors, Hui hankered for more effective control over his projects, especially in areas of production, finance, and casting. For direct advice he turned to his old friend, Maka – then, also – an active board member of Cinema City, the same company which invested in the Aces pictures.

Before long, inspiration came in the form of writers: Philip Cheng, Calvin Poon and Gerald Lin for an unusual script – by Hong Kong standards – entitled The Legend of Wisely (aka Legend of the Golden Pearl), a modern day action-fantasy; though, in essence integrates the panoply of science fiction by way of Chinese/Tibetan mythology. Ostensibly, the writers have modeled their concepts on a variety of stimulus: from Indiana Jones to The Golden Child to Jackie Chan’s own jet setting adventurer The Armor of God. In fact, one could say an eclectic stew of cultural references. Still, Hui was not dissuaded at all with the intended scope, quality or Hollywood comparisons of the screenplay which, in some instances, more or less acts like an expensive travelogue, than a studio-based production reliant on intricate set designs or blue screen technology.

Directed with neo-influenced zeal by Teddy Robin (who incidentally co-stars). Externally, The Legend of Wisely is a tightly packaged affair offering exquisite vistas of both the Himalayas and Egypt (specifically the pyramids), adrenalin-paced visuals, pyrotechnic extravaganzas and top notch choreography from Blackie Ho, whose dynamic arrangements equalize with the likes of Yuen Woo Ping and Ching Siu Tsung (A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy). The downside is the plotting, marred by formulaic dialogue and an editing continuity that flits between artistic grandeur and schizophrenia. However, the film’s core premise objectively concerns itself with the myth (or reality?!) of a magical pearl said to contain properties that expands human conciousness, senses and telepathy.

Enter Howard Hope (the late Bruce Baron), an enigmatic businessman who approaches novelist/playboy, Wisely – pronounced in Cantonese as “Wei-Say-Li” (Sam Hui) – with an inducement of tracking down his missing archeologist friend, David Ko (Teddy Robin); he declines. Out of interest, Wisely travels to the splendor of Nepal, Ko’s last known whereabouts. There, he discovers Ko has stolen the legendary pearl from its Tibetan keepers. It also transpires that Ko was secretly employed by a crime overlord named Pak Kei Wei (Ti Lung), who desires the pearl for himself.

After promising the Tibetans to recover the pearl for them, Wisely returns to Hong Kong and once more, Howard Hope reappears expressing an interest in Wisely’s findings, as well as those who actually retain the pearl. Following further confrontations – both physical and vehicular – Wisely persuades Pak Kei Wei’s sister, Sue Pak (Joey Wong), to unite with him and rescue Ko in perilous quest to solve the mystery of the golden pearl. Their journey ultimately takes the trio back to Nepal, via Egypt, with Pak Kei Wei in hot pursuit. Hidden agendas, concealed identities and labyrinth temple passages all await; but the biggest question remains: who is exactly Howard Hope? And what are his real intentions?!

Verdict: In addition to minor inconsistencies (to reveal more would inconvenience potential audiences into a conjectural debate over the complexity of the storyline which, to a point, coalesces with an almost elaborate formality), there are several loose ends that, despite fostering a need for clarity, never quite resolves itself. And to assert “a twist ending” would somehow advertise an intellectual falsity. Clever it is not! Intriguing, yes! But it’s all about spectacle before all else.

Matthew Le-feuvre’s Rating: 7.5/10

The post Legend of Wisely, The (1987) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Easy Money” Theatrical Poster

Director: Stephen Shin
Cast: George Lam Chi-Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Kent Cheng Jak-Si, Ku Feng, Dennis Chan Kwok-San, Chan Ging, Blacky Ko Shou-Liang, Lo Hung
Running Time: 92 min. 

By Numskull

Easy Money is a lot of things. It’s the 6th film in which Michelle Yeoh appeared, and the 4th in which she had the lead role. It’s the last film she made before marrying producer Dickson Poon (whom she divorced five years later). It’s a big departure from the ass-kicking image she cultivated over the space of just a few previous films. It’s a combination of light-hearted drama, romance, and a little bit of comedy. And, last but certainly not least, it’s also… pretty boring.

After swiping a fortune to complement the one she already has (you can tell she’s rich because this is an ’80s movie and she carries a “portable” phone the size of a cinder block), Ling Young (Yeoh) treats herself to a tour of Europe, visiting London, Switzerland, and France, for starters. Between those locations and the snobby side of Hong Kong, there’s an abundance of lip-flapping gwailos to be found. I’d say “I see white people… all the time” in a scared little boy voice, but there’s some sitcom about black guys living in the suburbs that already did that.

For such a high-profile crime, you’d think they would assign some competent law enforcement officials to the case. Not so. Inspector Cheng has a gambling problem and flies off the handle without apology, and private dick Lam becomes infatuated with the very woman he is supposed to be helping to bring to justice. He knows what she’s done, and once they’ve spent some time together, it’s clear that she knows that he knows, too. He hopes to persuade her to give in to her guilty conscience (she’s far from heartless, as her facial expression indicates when Lam gets beaten up by police as a result of her childish games) and return the money to its rightful owners.

Most of the film isn’t quite so Leave-It-To-Beaver-ish, but it’s still pretty sappy. Whether or not you foolishly associate Hong Kong cinema exclusively with violence is irrelevant; half way through this thing, you’ll be aching for some bloodshed to liven things up. Easy Money is reasonably well-made, but it’s just not much fun to watch. In fact, I won’t even spoil the ending for you… because you shouldn’t care anyway.

Numskull’s Rating: 4/10

The post Easy Money (1987) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Hero of Tomorrow” Chinese DVD Cover

Director: Poon Man Kit
Writer: Clarence Yip Wai Chung
Cast: Michael Miu, Max Mok, William Ho, Cheung Wing Jing, Gam Siu Mooi, Joan Tong, Lung Ming Yan, Fong Ming Git, Ku Feng, Chan Chung Yung, Mak Wai Cheung, Jackson Ng, Sham Chin Bo, Sin Ho Ying, Wang Yao, Philip Chan, Chen Jing, Ho Pak Kwong, Blacky Ko, Philip Kwok, Lam Chung, James Tien, Tommy Wong
Running Time: 86 min.

By HKFanatic

When a genre proved to be successful during the Hong Kong New Wave, producers moved fast to turn into a cottage industry. Hence the surplus of ‘heroic bloodshed’ films that arrived around the 1986 success of John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” – nicknamed ‘heroic bloodshed’ since most of these films ended with the protagonist riddled with bullets and barely standing, clothes soaked through with blood.

“Hero of Tomorrow” is one such movie and it’s not a title that any casual HK cinema fan is likely to stumble upon unless, like me, you’re slowly making your way through the ‘heroic bloodshed’ genre itself. Director Poon Man Kit would later score a hit with 1991’s “To Be Number One” but has since faded into obscurity, his last film arriving in 2004. Although the few reviews I managed to find online were incredibly lukewarm on this film, I can say that “Hero of Tomorrow” is definitely worth a watch for action fans if only for its bravado ending sequence, which features a lengthy and beautifully choreographed shoot-out on the streets of Hong Kong.

“Hero of Tomorrow” is the story of two men. Michael Miu plays a hardened Triad assassin who’s fresh out of prison. Upon his release, he wastes no time in tracking down the men responsible for his imprisonment and planting a hatchet in their neck. Soon afterwards, he flees to Taiwan to lay low with the blessing of his Triad boss. It’s there that he hooks up with a local gangster, played by the always slimy William Ho (“The Dragon Family“). Only trouble is, after a lifetime of killing, Michael Miu wants out of the game. Miu longs for the peaceful life of a fisherman but fate continues to conspire against him in the form of Max Mok.

Mok plays the same wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky kid that he always played in these late 80’s revenge movies. He’s a young pup who works a street vendor outside William Ho’s place, ever eager to find a way to get in Ho’s good graces and become a player in the Triads. His chance comes when leaps to the rescue during an attack on Ho’s life, even going so far as to take the police rap for the guy. As a result, Mok quickly works his way up the ranks in Ho’s gang with Michael Miu serving as his big bro. However, the duo learn too late that William Ho is not worthy of their trust. Even as Miu falls in love with Mok’s sister, it’s clear there won’t be a happy ending for anyone involved. This is, after all, a heroic bloodshed flick!

My only real previous exposure to Michael Miu was in the “Lucky Stars” films, where he always played a youthful womanizer, so “Hero of Tomorrow” came as something of a shock. In this film Miu wears close-cropped hair and is given the Chow Yun Fat role: the world-weary bad-ass in a long coat who’s good with dual pistols. Although the part doesn’t require much acting of him beyond looking cool, Miu dives into the role with gusto and comes across as an able action star. Too bad the script borders on the schizophrenic and is seemingly unable to decide who the main character is. Expect the film to divvy up screentime to Miu and Max Mok in uneven doses.

Mok’s character is equally as rote for the Triad genre; he’s the innocent kid who you just know is going to get tramped on as he makes his descent into the criminal underworld. Mok is best in supporting roles like in “Dragon Family”; he’s not necessarily an actor you can revolve an entire movie around. Every scene he has with Michael Miu just reminds you of how much more bad-ass Miu is.

The lack of a clear protagonist definitely hurts the script, as does the amount of time devoted to Mok and his girlfriend pining for a better life. And it doesn’t help that the female characters in this movie exist solely as pretty-faced cannon fodder to motivate the heroes for revenge. Although the actress who plays Mok’s sister, Gam Siu, has striking features, she is given precious little to do. The subtitles actually translate Mok’s girlfriend’s name as “Naive,” which should tell you everything right there. There were plenty of Hong Kong movies during the 80’s and 90’s that featured women characters who were just as empowered and ass-kicking as the men; this is not one of them. The threat of rape is constantly hovered the head of Joan Tong’s character during the last thirty minutes of the movie. I could have done without that, as well as the scene featuring a realistic-looking dog fight. Animal lovers will cringe during this sequence in which it is very difficult to tell if the pitbulls were hurt or not. Hong Kong cinema didn’t exactly have the best track record for animal safety during the 80’s.

During the final act, Max Mok commits a face-palm inducing mistake that sets things up for one hell of a finale. The ending of “Hero of Tomorrow” features a classic Hong Kong-style shootout, expertly choreographed by by action directors Wong Shu Tong and Mak Wai Cheung (the latter an action director on Donnie Yen’s “Ballistic Kiss” and “Legend of the Wolf“). The shootout unfolds on the crowded streets of Hong Kong with some fantastic action beats, great camera angles, fluid editing, and incredibly loud gunshot effects. No joke, I had to rewind and rewatch this sequence at least three times. I agree that there are far too many mediocre Triad movies saved by a clincher of an ending but “Hero of Tomorrow” really cements itself as a must-see for ‘heroic bloodshed’ fans during the last ten minutes. If you’ve explored the depths of John Woo’s or Ringo Lam’s filmographies and you’re looking for where to arrive next, “Dragon Family” and this film are two great options.

HKFanatic’s Rating: 7/10

The post Hero of Tomorrow (1988) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“My Father is a Hero” Theatrical Poster

AKA: Letter to Daddy
Director: Corey Yuen
Writer: Wong Jing
Cast: Jet Li, Anita Mui, Tse Miu, Blacky Ko, Bonnie Fu Yuk Jing, Yu Rong Guang, Ken Lo, Damian Lau, Thorsten Nickel, Paul Rapovski, Henry Fong Ping, Corey Yuen
Running Time: 100/105 min.

By Numskull

You know, for someone whose fame is based on his martial arts skills, I’m not seeing a whole lot of martial arts in Jet Li’s movies. I don’t deny that he has legitimate talent, but the Jet Li films I’ve seen have averaged one solid fight scene each. Maybe I’m just watching all the wrong ones. I hope so.

My Father Is A Hero is one of the more polished Hong Kong action films I’ve seen, and it’s also a bit longer than most (they usually run between 85 and 100 minutes, in case you hadn’t noticed). Unfortunately, the extra handful of minutes here doesn’t mean more carnage or better character development… it just means slower pacing (something which Corey Yuen’s films definitely do NOT need). The story flows smoothly enough and is not without its moments, but for the most part, it just makes you itch for the next action sequence (they’re few and far between, but not as sparse as in certain other flicks from the same director).

Jet Li plays an undercover cop (unbeknownst to his family) who is intentionally imprisoned, then must escape with his cellmate. The actual getting out of the cell part is ridiculously easy, but he then has to deal with vicious dogs, trigger-happy guards with live ammo, and an electrified barbed wire fence (after his superior simply tells him: “I’ll let you escape.”). Then, for a large chunk of the movie, his character takes a back seat to his dying wife, his confused son, and Anita Mui’s take-charge police woman. It’s safe to assume that body doubles are used in Anita’s action scenes (I’m not a person who scrutinizes every frame looking for this stuff), but there are some shots where it is indeed her doing the beating and dodging and so forth. I don’t recall having seen her in such a physically active role before. For some reason, it doesn’t really seem to suit her. Yu Rong-Guang makes a very unconvincing villain (take those fucking shades off!!!) who does little to add to our desire to see Jet beat the hell out of him.

In typical Corey Yuen fashion, the lion’s share of the action is saved for the end of the movie, where Jet Li and his kid take on the baddies and the kid gets used as a human yo-yo. One would think that this would cause more harm to the kid than to the people he’s fighting, but at this point, the fact that people are actually DOING stuff is reason enough to just enjoy it.

My Father Is A Hero receives higher marks for effort than most Jet Li movies I’ve seen, but I fear that’s not saying a whole lot. At least, for once, a movie featured a child character who DIDN’T annoy the living sh*t out of me.

Numskull’s Rating: 5/10

By James H.

This Jet Li film has been re-released on video in North America as “Jet Li’s The Enforcer”. It is a good thing that this movie went straight to video, because if it went to the theatres, it would not have made any money. I don’t even think it is a good choice to have it released on video here.

Jet Li stars as an undercover cop with a family. His son is a martial arts champion of some sort too. One day Jet is assigned to go undercover in prison, bust out a gang member and infiltrate his gang (a la “Supercop”). The leader of this gang is this big, pseudo-threatening guy who looks like Wesley Snipes in “Blade”. But don’t be fooled by his pseudo-threatening looks, he is a bad ass, y’know, the kind that always wears sun glasses, even at night.

Things get complicated when another cop (Anita Mui) starts following Li’s character around, not knowing he is an undercover cop.

To be honest, the story did not grab my attention at all. It was uninteresting, and the characters aren’t very good or well developed, or even smart for that matter. Example: A gang of criminals is going to sell some passports to Li, no one brings a gun, but one of them has the good sense to bring a hatchet. A hatchet?!?!

Cory Yeun’s directing is nothing special here, and the fight scenes are about average. They seem pretty standard and uneventful, even for a Jet Li movie, with the exception of the final fight between Li, his kid and the baddie. Li ends up using his kid as some sort of human yo-yo, an idea that may have looked go on paper, but ends up looking ridiculous.

James H’s Rating: 4/10

The post My Father is a Hero | aka The Enforcer (1994) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“The Dragon Family” Chinese DVD Cover

Director: Lau Kar Wing
Cast: Alan Tam, Andy Lau, Max Mok Siu Chung, Ken Tong Chun Yip, Norman Chu, Michael Miu Kiu Wai, William Ho Ka Kui, Lisa Chiao Chiao, Stanley Fung, Kent Cheng, Ku Feng, Lau Kar Wing, Shing Fui On, Philip Ko Fei, Wayne Archer, Charlie Cho, Kara Hui Ying Hung, Blacky Ko
Running Time: 88 min.

By HKFanatic

Andy Lau and Alan Tam must have had a good offscreen friendship during the late 80’s or 90’s, or maybe the same agent, since they managed to star in at least three movies together in that period. Thankfully, the two actors made for quite the dynamic duo, especially in action films. Much like in their ’91 collaboration “The Last Blood,” Andy and Alan are two of the only ones left standing for the heroic bloodshed-style finale at the end of “The Dragon Family.”

And what an ending it is: “Dragon Family” features what has to be the one of the earliest instances of gun fu as Alan Tam, Andy Lau, and Max Mok take on a warehouse of evil Triad scum with guns blazing, martial arts fighting, and even some fencing, all choreographed by Lau Kar-leung (“36th Chamber of Shaolin,” “Mad Monkey Kung Fu“). Kar-leung has a small supporting role and the film itself was directed by his younger brother, Lau Kar-wing. Although “Dragon Family” isn’t exactly heralded as a classic, the climax is one of the best Hong Kong shootouts I’ve seen outside of a John Woo movie.

By its release in 1988, “Dragon Family” was probably the 100th retelling of Coppola’s “The Godfather” in a Triad setting but, you know what, it works. The script takes its time setting up the story which means the film moves at a slower pace, but it also means we get to know the characters well enough that we actually care about them when the shit does hit the fan. Ko Chun Hsiung plays the head of the Dragon Family, a true Don Corleone figure if there ever was one. Hsiung is a the most kind and fair Triad leader you could possibly imagine – he even forgives his accountant for losing track of $4 million HK dollars. He’s also a loving father, despite being immersed in the underworld.

Hsiung has only one rule: if you’re part of his Triad family, you can’t deal in drugs. Anyone caught dealing in drugs will be executed, no questions asked. Early in the film we see Alan Tam, one of Hsiung’s surrogate sons and and enforcers, march into a crowded office complex and murder a man in cold blood with the emotional detachment of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first “Terminator.” Turns out the portly fellow, now deceased, had been dealing drugs. Shortly after the killing, Alan Tam is shuttled off to Taiwan to lay low; he’ll be absent for most of the film but come back in a big way during the ending.

Unfortunately, Hsiung’s harsh stance against drugs will be his downfall. The execution of ‘Golden Teeth Shing’ upsets one of the other four leading Brothers in the Dragon Family, played by Ku Feng. Ku Feng teams up with the Family’s accountant (William Ho), a spineless worm of a man, to plot Hsiung’s demise. Once their associate played by Norman Chu returns from the Phillipines, having spent two years there negotiating heroin traffic into Hong Kong, the three men set in motion a dark plan that will lead to the downfall of Hsiung and his sons. Soon the stage is set for a bloody tale of revenge, including a shocking moment at a funeral that has to be seen to be believed.

If there’s a downside to “Dragon Family” besides its slow pace, it’s the fact that the Region 1 DVD’s subtitles are horrendous. I can deal with a faded, scratchy image as long as the aspect ratio is correct; however, half the subtitles don’t make any sense and read like they were translated backwards. You really have to pay attention to be able to follow the story at all. I believe the disc was put out by Tai Seng in 2004; this has to be one of their worst efforts. Hardcore fans might be better off springing for the Hong Kong all-region DVD, just to see if the subtitles on that version are remotely readable.

Performance-wise, “Dragon Family” is excellent. Ko Chun Hsiung is a natural as the honorable patriarch of the Family. Alan Tam may be more popular as a singer than a movie star but he was one of the most charismatic Hong Kong actors of his era. His unconventional good looks are at home in front of the camera and he clearly took to Lau Kar-leung’s action choreography as well, from the scenes of him rolling backwards off crates and diving onto the floor, pistols blazing. Andy Lau was still early in his career here but he manages to give a more subdued and natural performance unlike in “The Last Blood.” During the final battle there’s a shot of him leaning back on the floor, firing away with a pistol in his bandaged hand, that has to be the most bad-ass Andy has ever looked.

At first glance, there’s not much to differentiate “Dragon Family” from the dozens of other Triad flicks from the 80’s. But much like “Tiger on Beat,” also choreographed by Lau Kar-leung, it has a showstopper of an ending that’s worth waiting for. There might not be an ideal way to view “Dragon Family” for English speakers, but for my money it’s worth putting up with gibberish subtitles just to get to the finale. It’s cliche but true: ‘They don’t make ’em like this anymore.’ If you have any passion for heroic bloodshed or ‘bullet ballet’ films, then “Dragon Family” is a must see.

HKFanatic’s Rating: 7.5/10

The post Dragon Family, The (1988) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“God of Gamblers Returns” Chinese Theatrical Poster

AKA: God of Gamblers 2
Director: Wong Jing
Producer: Charles Heung, Wong Jing, Jimmy Heung
Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Jacqueline Wu Chien Lien, Chingmy Yau, Elvis Tsui Kam Kong, Charles Heung, Tse Miu, Blacky Ko Sau Leung, Ken Lo, Baau Hon Lam, Bobby Yip Kin Sang, Yuen Bun
Running Time: 125 min.

By Numskull

Saying that Wong Jing has consistency is like saying “Miramax has integrity” or “Mei Ah has quality control”; a blatant lie. Wong Jing is consistent in only one thing: his inconsistency. As far as I’m concerned, this man is almost single-handedly responsible for the widely-held (and not entirely inaccurate) belief that Hong Kong films often fail to maintain a coherent tone. In this movie’s opening scenes, Ko Chun’s wife gets cut open and his unborn son is removed and placed in a jar like a lab specimen (the delicious irony being that the perpetrator is pissed off about not being given control of a childrens’ charity fund). With her last breath (getting ripped open and losing about half of her blood doesn’t seem to hurt her in the slightest; she just sounds sleepy), she makes her husband promise not to gamble with anyone or to reveal his identity as the God of Gamblers for one year. Why? Alas, she dies before giving any sensible explanation. I’m sure that Wong Jing came up with a very solid and logical reason for this, but decided not to put it in the finished film. I’m also sure that the Loch Ness Monster lives in the apartment above mine and sells rare baseball cards on eBay to earn money to support his glue-sniffing habit.

From there, Ko Chun is thrown into a variety of ridiculous situations ranging from shootouts pilfered from John Woo’s leftovers to ethnocentric comic relief that will go right over the heads of most Westerners (or, perhaps I’m giving it too much credit and it really isn’t funny no matter where you’re from). Ko Chun hooks up with a dead gangster’s kid, his ass-kicking sister (Chingmy Yau at her most boner-inducing), a buffoonish cop, and a pair of con artists. The evil gambler this time is Chau Siu-Chee, who is led to believe that Little Trumpet (Tony Leung Ka Fai’s character) is the real God of Gamblers, but is not the least bit surprised to find himself opposite Chow Yun-Fat when it’s time for the big card game a year after he killed his wife and kid. Oh yeah, and there’s a guy with psychic powers who can read minds, change playing cards, and set peoples’ hats on fire. And, speaking of fire, how about the scene where a building gets blown up, then the cops immediately go in and there’s no fire or smoke or wreckage anywhere in sight?

I think by now you get the idea; this movie is full of holes and is about as even as the number 13. Its predecessor was pretty good (the portions of it that Mei Ah saw fit to let us see, anyway), but, since this IS Wong Jing we’re dealing with here, it comes as no surprise that lightning did not strike twice.

Miramax owns the North American distribution rights for this film. If and when they release it, they will probably replace the image of the preserved fetus with a jar of pickles. “Chau Siu-Chee!”, the guy doing Ko Chun’s voice will say. “You killed my wife and broke the seal on my pickles! I had to eat them all by myself before they went bad! My urine was green for a week! Now I will get my revenge!”

Which would ALMOST be an improvement.

Numskull’s Rating: 4/10

By Vic Nguyen

Hong Kong’s top box office attraction in 1994, Wong Jing’s absurdly uneven sequel to his 1989 hit is nonetheless highly entertaining, and a must for newbies to the gambling flick genre. As per usual with a Wong Jing production, the film reeks of inconsistency, going from violent revenge flick to screwball slapstick at any given time. Chow Yun-fat (in the “fat Elvis” stage of his career) handles these abrupt shifts in tone with relative ease, switching from brooding intensity to charming grin at a moments notice. In addition, the all star cast, including Tony Leung Kar-fai (whenever he and Chow are onscreen together, you can’t help but think of Prison on Fire), Wu Chien-lin (a multi-talented performer; see her demented killer role in Intruder), and Chingmy Yau Suk-ching (star of the highly overrated Naked Killer), handle themselves well amidst the carnival-like atmosphere. With plenty of gunplay, violence, juvenile humor, and gambling, God of Gamblers Return is sure to have something for everyone, and is definitely worth a look.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 7.5/10

The post God of Gamblers Returns (1994) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“The One-Armed Boxer” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Jimmy Wang Yu
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Lung Fei, Blacky Ko Sau Leung, Tin Yau, Sit Hon, Chan San Yat, Wong Wing Sang, To Wai Wo, Hsieh Hsing, Kwan Hung, Cheung Yee Kwai, Choi Wang, Hau Pak Wai, Lui Jun, Ma Chin Ku
Running Time: 89 min.

By T. J. Gushiniere

Warning: The following review may contain spoilers.

Combine the “Dirty Dozen” with the “Magnificent Seven” and you have “The One-Armed Boxer” (retitled “The Chinese Professionals” for its release to western audiences in 1973). A Kung fu Beast, Siamese Devils, Tibetan Tiger Men, The Invincible Yoga Kahn and The One-Armed Boxer — a total of 9 masters of the martial arts to tear the screen apart!

Imagine seeing the coming attractions for this feature at your local theatre, which is exactly what happened to me, as this was my first Jimmy Wang Yu film I ever saw. Jimmy stars in, directs, and wrote the screenplay for “The One-Armed Boxer.”

Liu Ti Lung (Jimmy Wang Yu) is the number one pupil of Teacher Hang Tui. While eating a meal at the local tea house, Liu Ti Lung and his class mates witness the Hook Gang bullying a customer. Liu Ti Lung and friends beat up the bad guys, which leads to a larger fight later in a valley, where several pupils from both sides are injured. Chao, the leader of the Hook Gang, asks his men who started the fight; of course they lie and say Liu Ti Lung did…

Seeds for the old revenge plot begin!

Chao visits Hang Tui’s school demanding that Liu Ti Lung be handed over to him. Hang Tui tries to reason with him, but a fight breaks out in which Chao and his students are beaten. Worried over the Hook Gang’s reputation, Chao hires a group of mercenaries who specialize in other forms of martial arts to gain his revenge.

Enter Lung Fei and his 2 disciples, practitioners of Okinawan Karate; Blacky Ko Sau Leung and his partner, both Thai Kick boxers; Ng Tung Kiu, a Judo expert; Shan Mao, a Tae Kwon Do expert; Pan Lin Chun, who uses a deadly form of Yoga; And Last but not least are Chang Kuei Yi and Su Ping-Jen, as two Tibetan Lamas.

The stage is set and the battle begins at Hang Tui’s school…

The mercenaries challenge the best students in one-on-one duels to the death. Liu Ti Lung shows his skill as he defeats the Tae Kwon Do expert and Lung Fei’s disciple. Lung Fei becomes enraged and chops Liu Ti Lung’s arm off with his bare hands! The school is then destroyed after Lung Fei kills Hang Tui. Liu Ti Lung is the only survivor and is found and nursed back to health by a doctor/herbalist and his daughter.

Bitter that he can not defeat his enemies with one arm, Liu Ti Lung begins to brood, even though the daughter is falling in love with him. It is here that she tells Liu Ti Lung her father can give him the power to get his revenge. All Liu Ti Lung has to do is burn all the nerves out of his remaining hand, and stick it in a jar of special herb medicine that’s been brewing for 30 years!

Liu Ti Lung emerges from this ordeal with a literal iron fist. We when see Liu Ti Lung pick off his foes with Charn Kuen Do, a new fighting art for the handicapped (I kid you not!). Complete with the theme from “Shaft” (which plays in the original language version), Liu Ti Lung will not lose!

Jimmy Wang Yu is not one of the best screen fighters, but his good movies were innovative for the time and full of action and gimmicks that will make you smile. If you can ignore the fact that Jimmy is hiding his arm – as well as suspending your disbelief at the loss of limbs without major amounts of gushing blood – you may enjoy this old school classic!

For me, “The One-Armed Boxer” is one-of-a-kind.

T. J. Gushiniere’s Rating: 7/10

By Perkele

The ultimate Jimmy Wang Yu film! I recommend this totally hilarious attempt to every martial arts and trash cinema fanatics worldwide! Wang Yu offers us another bloody revenge tale filled with intense fight scenes and amusingly stupid… everything! This flick makes you wonder whether Wang Yu and company found out how to make a laughable and fun movie, or are they really just BAD filmmakers? It seems the latter statement is correct because the film tries hard to be dead serious. But I can’t believe that even in Hong Kong, back in 1970 (when the movie was a big hit), the audience could have sat through it not laughing their eyes out; And that’s only a good thing. What’s more, the actual kung fu delivers too. Brutal, entertaining, and sometimes very amusing – it’s a major improvement from Wang Yu’s previous classic “Chinese Boxer”.

The mind-dazzling plot has an evil kung fu master being beaten up by Wang Yu’s teacher and returning later with hired assassins including: Japanese karate experts (what else), tibeatian llamas, thai-boxers, a mystical yoga master and ultimately a big, long-haired karate master (complete with bushy eyebrows and two shiny vampire-like fangs) who chops limbs with his bare hands! He growls like a retard and is one of the best kung fu movie villains having a gloomy death metal-outlook. So this wild buch kills Wang Yu’s teacher and all his fellow students. Wang Yu looses his arm (and the rest of the movie he tries to keep this “cut” arm unvisible under his shirt, with quite hillarious consequences) and by accident is saved by an old man who knows how to make one arm strong as iron (by killing all it’s nerves with hot rocks). What comes next is a series of most wildest training methods ever filmed as Wang Yu trains his arm.

Perkele’s Rating: 6/10

The post One-Armed Boxer, The | aka The Chinese Professionals (1971) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

"Return of the Tiger" US Betamax Cover

Director: Jimmy Shaw
Writer: Wang Cheong, Chang Shun Yee
Producer: Jimmy Shaw, R.P. Shah
Cast: Bruce Li (aka Ho Chung Tao, James Ho), Paul Smith, Chang Yi, Angela Mao, Lung Fei, Hsieh Hsing, Cheng Fu-Hsiung, Hsueh Han, Wu Chia-Hsiang, Wang Yung-Hseng, Wang Fei, Ko Shou-Liang, Cheng Tien Chi
Running Time: 92 min.

By Perkele

This amusing film begins perfecly with a big kung fu brawl, which has Angela Mao challenging a whole martial arts school of male fighters. The Commodores’ “Brick House” bassline accompanies Angela as she throws her beautifully executed kicks to knock fown at least 20 opponents. When a few guys try to throw knives at her, she suddenly jumps high in the air (with very cheesy looking wire trick, only adding to the entertainment) to catch the knives! This is some neat shit (I still can’t believe that the same dude who directed this is responsible for “Fist of Fury II”, the worst HK movie ever!).

The film cuts to a scene, which might be the worse lip-sync ever, where a Chinese dude “sings” Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” at some night club. Meet Bruce Li, a vengeful fighter whose father has been murdered by crime boss, Paul Smith. Li is at his best, looking extremely cool in his 70’s clothes; Actually, he’s dressed pretty much in today’s fashion with his denim jacket, three-striped Adidas shoes & shirt (that goes to Angela, too). What’s more; he isn’t imitating Bruce Lee! That’s right, though he somewhat looks and fights like him, a first-time Bruce Li viewer wouldn’t guess he’s an imitator if it wasn’t for his name!

The first half of the film moves swifly as the plot builds up and Li beats the crap out of Paul Smith’s assistants in a few excellent bouts; When the second half of the movie begins, the pacing slows down. There’s a dull 20 minutes without any action scenes, and the next one (the motorcycle fight) is stupid and unexciting. From then on, we are waiting for the big final showdown, which ends up being a let-down; Mostly due the fact that the main villain, Paul Smith, can’t fight worth a shit; He’s the stupid Goliath-type – big, strong Westerner who doesn’t even notice when someone hits him in the head with a bench.

Another annoying thing is that the martial arts expertise of Chang Yi isn’t showed at all! He has only one very lame fight with that roaring gorilla, Paul Smith. The scenes which DOES NOT include Smith are good, but the actual end-fight is boring. It’s a shame because this flick could’ve really been something!

Perkele’s Rating: 5.5/10

The post Return of the Tiger | aka Silent Killer from Eternity (1979) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Wheels on Meals” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Million Dollar Heiress
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Lola Forner, Benny Urquidez, Keith Vitali, Herb Edelman, Susanna Sentis, Wu Ma, Paul Chang, Blacky Ko, Richard Ng, John Sham, Herb Edelman, Stanley Fung Sui-Fan, Miguel Aniles
Running Time: 104 min.

By Dan-O

First off, I’ve gotta say this: Benny Urkidez is a first class, gold star, collector’s edition ass kicker. He’s the guy who shows Hollywood weekend warriors like Nick Cage how to look like they know what the fuck they’re doing when they throw a punch. And while it pains me to say this, Benny would more than likely take Jackie out in a real fight. He never lost a match is his professional career as a fighter, and that’s like 50 or 60+ pro fights.

Yeah, you’re right… I’m gushing.

Now, whether or not “Inside Kung-Fu” magazine called Benny’s final showdown with Jackie in this movie “The greatest onscreen fight ever” is moot, because I don’t read Inside Kung-Fu, and neither do the majority of you who’re reading this. I know that if you heard that it’s because you saw that anthology “The Deadliest Art”, and not because you read it in the magazine. But if they did print that, then I would have to back that statement up, because I don’t think I’ve yet witnessed a more perfect one-on-one battle scene. Sammo may make the silliest fuckin’ movies in the world, which he does (if you’re doubting that, watch the “Lucky Stars” movies, and then watch “Mr. Nice Guy”, and then we’ll chat), but goddamn if he doesn’t direct a good fight scene.

Well, so far, this ain’t no kinda movie review; it’s just me running off at the mouth about isolated aspects of the movie.

Ok, the movie, as a whole, is patchy (which is typical of a Sammo Hung film). Sammo ain’t no Steven Spielberg when it comes to pacing or characters. However, he IS the Spielberg/Cameron of the fight scene. His fight scenes are always kinetic, intuitive, dynamic, ingenious, and so on and so on, and the fight scenes in ‘Meals’ have all of those qualities, but they’re spaced out a bit too far, save for the end. Specifically, I found the fight with the dork bikers waaaay too damn short, although it was spectacular in that slo-mo crane shot, but I ain’t tellin’ what happens, for those still virgins to this film.

The cornball stuff is cute, but gets a little “too cute” in spots. The female lead here is, as always, a friggin’ knockout, as any less just wouldn’t do in a HK movie. The story, well, I’ve forgotten it already. That’s how involved I was with it. Like I’ve said before, if you want a good story, watch Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”, or the original “Jaws”. This movie is for fans to get their fight fix, maybe a couple of yukyuks, and that’s it.

There’s one thing that confuses the crap outta me…

How the hell did Yeun Biao keep his spine from flying out of his body like a cork in that stunt where, well, if you’ve seen the movie you know what the frak I’m talking about.

Dan-O’s Rating: 7/10 (Benny vs. Jackie finale scene; 10)

By James H.

What we have here is a fun movie. It combines the some great fights with some of Jackie’s funniest moments. Jackie & Yuen run are mobile restaurateurs who know how to kick asses. There is a plot in there, but I won’t bore you with the details. The fights are incredibly fast & furious! The fight between Jackie and Benny “The Jet” is now legendary. There were not too many fights, but the ones at the end are well worth the wait.

Jackie, Sammo & Yuen make a great team. I would love to see them reunite for a kick-ass action/comedy. The jokes are genuinely funny, the three playing off each other like the 3 Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Did anyone else notice that Sammo didn’t get ANY respect from anyone in the movie?

I’m glad Tai Seng is becoming a real video company. I saw the new re-release with excellent subtitles! The only time I had to hit the rewind button was to see Jackie’s moves over & over & over….

James H’s Rating: 9.5/10

By Ro

First the plot: Jackie and Yuen Biao are friends who run a mobile food van. They discover that Yuen’s father’s girlfriend’s daughter (got that?) is a pickpocket. Their old friend, Samo Hung, is a P.I. who’s supposed to find her and her mother. There are a gang of bad guys also after the women.

The emphasis in this picture is more on comedy (there are some really old jokes in it) than on fighting and action. The fights are few, far between and FAR too short until the glorious one at the end (more on that later). But have to admit, the comedy worked for me! I thought it was hilarious, mostly because of the incredible chemistry between the 3 ‘brothers’. I guess that kind of rapport only comes after 10 years of training, torture and starvation together. But, man, then they’re hot, they’re hot! The girl is only useful to give them an excuse to fight with each other. (OK, she’s beautiful, but couldn’t they get somebody who has talent other than being able to come out of a shower with full makeup and hair that dries in 5 minutes? She acts like somebody told her that using her face muscles would cause wrinkles!)

Although the fight scenes are short, they’re sweet, and the car chase is awesome! I admit to being prejudiced when it comes to car chases. I think nobody can do them like Hollywood. This one proves me wrong! And the idea of using the facilities of their roach coach as weapons ALA the Batmobile or Bond’s car was just brilliant! The final fight scenes with the 3 brothers all over the castle is wonderful. And of course, the final fight between Benny Urquidez and Jackie is a classic. I have to agree with all the hype – this fight is one of the best I’ve seen yet. And it’s not just because of the incredible power and skill of the two opponents. A lot of the credit has to go to Samo Hung for his direction of the scene. These men don’t just fight, flinging fists and chairs and feet at each other, they take time to size each other up. You can see the intelligence and purpose in their eyes, and you watch them plan their next course of attack. I believe that is what makes this scene so great.

Samo’s sense of pacing, which is noticeably lacking in the rest of the film (the song really has to go!), is spot on in this fight and makes this movie one of Jackie’s best. If you want to buy it, I recommend Tai Seng’s letterbox, subtitled version. It’s good qualities and the subtitles are very clear (I’ve heard there are a lot of bad copies around).

Ro’s Rating: 9.5/10

By Master of the Stick

Well, I finally got around to seeing Wheels on Meals, and it lives up to the hype. Trademark zany comedy, a skateboardin’ Jackie, and a fast-food van car chase are some of the reasons why this movie kicks ass. Unfortunately, the plot sucked, and the only way to make up for that would be with an abundance of fight scenes (like in Drunken Master). Wheels on Meals doesn’t deliver, and it sometimes drags between fights (It didn’t help that the dubbing was awful). The biker gang also sucked, although not nearly as much as the Rumble in the Bronx punks. Any shortcomings will be forgotten, however, when you see the final battle. While Jackie dukes it out in a stellar fight with Benny “the Jet,” Yuen Biao mixes it up with a standard bad guy, and Sammo Hung shows off his swashbuckling skills. All together, it just might be the greatest ending fight scene in kung fu cinema. Watch it!

Master of the Stick’s Rating: 9/10

By Marcia

OK, it’s pretty funny, but I have to disagree with some of the high ratings other folks give this film. For me, the best part of the humor is the (apparently somewhat real) tension between Samo and Yuen Biao/Jackie. They “act” like they’ve grown up annoying each other.

Various points throughout made me laugh quite a bit (e.g., Samo’s comment that elephants don’t climb trees, or his traditional two-sword style against a European fencer), and the fights at the end are some good action, but I’d have to say it’s only average overall.

Marcia’s Rating: 7/10

By Shazbot!

An OK movie that I don’t think lives up to its hype. The fight against the motorcycle gang was too short. Some good comedy and a high-tech van that seemed to repair itself after every crash (must have been inspired by Sheriff Buford T Justice’s regenerating car in Smokey II). While the final fight was OK, I was most impressed with a sequence with Keith Vitali and Yuen Biao. Keith chases Yuen up on a table, Yuen flips off and lands in an overstuffed chair avoiding a sweeping kick, then flips out of the chair over the table, twists, and lands on the couch as Keith does a flying kick where Yuen WAS and lands in the chair. One continuous shot! I replayed this slomo several times in awe. Better than any single JC shot, and worth seeing the movie.

Shazbot!’s Rating: 7/10

By Stockton22

Am I the only one who doesn’t like this movie? A year after the phenomenal Project A, the three brothers return for this surprisingly dull effort. While it is a pretty funny movie (it’s almost like a kung-fu version of “Dumb and Dumber”), I don’t watch Jackie Chan movies exclusively for the comedy. The laughs in a Jackie Chan movie usually serve to lighten up the mood to make the film more enjoyable, not to serve as the basis for the film’s entire entertainment. There’s hardly any action for the first hour of the movie, and the few action sequences that do come were over before I had the chance to sit up. Example, a motorcyle gang goes after Jackie and Yuen. Now, there’s four or five mean lookin’ thugs on choppers, this looks like it’s gonna be totally rad. Then they head for Jackie and Yuen Biao, who both jump and kick the guys as they ride in and knock them to the ground. AND THAT’S IT! THE FREAKIN’ SCENE’S OVER! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME?

There’s finally action in the last half hour, but even that is pretty sporadic until the very end. The much heralded showdown between Jackie and Benny “the Jet” Urquidez is pretty slammin’, especially with all the real blows that ensued during the filming. But I personally don’t find Sammo Hung’s direction very exciting. His fighting scenes are more realistic, but in this movie at least, it seems to come at the expense of the flashy theatrics we’ve come to expect from Jackie. Looking more like real life may be admirable, but it isn’t very thrilling. I live in New York City, if I want to see real fighting, I can just look out the damn window. And speaking of keeping it real, what the hell is Urquidez wearing under his shirt? Foam rubber? Thermal insulation? A LIFE JACKET? No wonder Jackie got mad when Urquidez really kicked him. And while I’m being totally petty, let me bring up the subject of Sammo’s perm. What the hell’s that all about? I kept wondering when he was gonna put on a single glove, do the moonwalk and get the whole Michael Jackson impression over with. Overall, there’s enough action that it’s not a bad movie. But on the whole, it’s a strenuously disappointing snoozerama.

Stockton22’s Rating: 4/10

By Numskull

I like Samo Hung’s humor and I like his fight choreography but by Buddha I hate his sense of pacing! It’s not as bad as in “My Lucky Stars” or “First Mission”, but this movie really has lags in places. It’s mostly for comic relief, but I prefer that in small doses when there are asses to be kicked. The best bit of the humor award goes to the bum taking a shit next to Samo Hung.

The best fight, of course is Jackie vs. Benny Urquidez, if only by contrast to the other stuff going on in the castle at the time. While Chan the man and Benny the Jet are going at it like a couple of mad dogs, Samo is getting slice and diced by the baron and Yuen Biao (wearing chem lab goggles?!?) is running like a madman away from some other guy. My reaction to this was pretty much the same as when Jackie’s hotel room gets broken into by these two Australian guys in “First Strike”, “What the hell are you running away for?!? Fight damnit!”

I didn’t get my mechanical bull for Christmas so now life owes me!! Grab one of them sword thingies and wipe his ass with it!!!! *sigh*… Maybe I’m painting an unfair picture of this movie…right before seeing it I saw John Woo’s “Once a Thief” (The original, not the remake), which surpassed my expectations, while “Wheels on Meals'” fell a little bit short. But that’s no excuse not to see the damn thing people!

Numskull’s Rating: 8/10

The post Wheels on Meals | aka Spartan X (1984) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Black Mask 2: City of Masks” International Theatrical Poster

Director: Tsui Hark
Cast: Andy On, Teresa Maria Herrera, Scott Adkins, Tobin Bell, Sean Marquette, Michael Bailey Smith, Tracy Lords, Blacky Ko Sau Leung, Terence Yin Chi Wai, Rob Van Dam, Silvio Simac, Nicola Berwick, Oris Erhuero
Running Time: 101 min.

By Reefer

While searching for a scientist to help him deal with his own genetically-enhanced condition, Black Mask (Andy On) stumbles upon some more rejects of science that come in the form of WWF wrestlers. Sound dumb? Oh yeah. It is.

Experimented on with animal DNA, the wrestlers sport names related to the creatures they had been infected with. So there is someone so creatively named Iguana, Wolf, and Chameleon. And as imagined, they acquire many of the strengths of those animals and sporadically transform themselves at the will of filmmakers. Yawn. Plus, being the big, dumb lugs that they are, they allow their own mad scientist (Tobin Bell) to give them injections without much explanation. Then they wonder what’s happening to them.

Finally, one of them goes berserk at a wrestling match, killing and maiming the spectators only to be confronted by Black Mask. Some to the make-up and costumes involved in the creature transformations are laughably cheesy. For example, the rubber-looking face and arms of the Iguana’s getup appears so fake that it you wonder if his next venture would be to stomp on Tokyo.

But, curiously, there are also sequences filled with flawless CGI effects, leading me to believe this is Hark trying to get “creative” again. He must have gotten involved in this sequel because he was bored and wanted to desperately to mix a creature feature, martial arts, and comic book stories in some kind of genre blender just to see what would come out. What we get here is unfortunately an incoherent mess.

Look, I like films that are silly and fun too, but the product here is neither. I am not sure that Hark’s style suits the material as much as, say, Corey Yuen’s would. This might be what we would have gotten had Hark been hired to direct X-Men?

Some of the problems begin immediately from a casting standpoint. The man picked to don Jet Li’s mask, Andy On, has all the charisma of a lawn jockey. His acting style seems cue card based. I am not sure what credentials earned him this role, but it surely wasn’t his acting or his martial arts prowess, not that this film features much real kung fu anyway. I would have loved to see Chui Man Cheuk replace Li for the second time since the OUATIC series. The wrestlers. . . well, I probably don’t have to describe their performances in great detail. The word monosyllabic quickly comes to mind. Ex-porn star Traci Lords comes off (pun intended) better than the rest. While her character, Chameleon, is completely computer-generated during her fight scenes, she manages to bring life it during a few dramatic scenes.

Yuen Woo Ping handles the film’s fight choreography. Mostly wires and speed editing, not much here that is fluid or attractive to the eye, just bodies flying and bouncing off stuff, throwing weak kicks and punches. Surprising how unappealing the action is here considering Yuen’s talent and filmography.

Because of this film, I have concocted a theory: Never trust an actor with a preposition for a last name. I have no basis for this theory, mind you, but I will wait eagerly for someone to hire a Willie Of or a Bruce At or Yuen Below or Johnny To (oops… rmind).

Reefer’s Rating: 3/10

The post Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“The Secret Rivals 2” DVD Cover

AKA: Revenge of the Gold Fox
Director: Ng See Yuen
Producer: Ng See Yuen
Cast: Tino Wong Cheung, John Liu (Chung Liang), Hwang Jang Lee, Blacky Ko Sau-Leung, Charlie Chan (Yiu Lam), Corey Yuen Kwai, Hsu Hsia, Chui Chung Hei
Running Time: 88 min.

By Milkcan

Ng See Yuen has somewhat redeemed himself for his sloppy 1976 film The Secret Rivals with this sequel that almost achieves a “recommended” status but unfortunately falls short – except this time the reason is not the fight scenes. Gold Fox, the brother of Silver Fox, is out to avenge Silver’s death and to collect a hidden stash of- yes, you guessed it- silver. John Liu reprises his role as our hero Shao Yi-Fei, and this time around he is partnered with Shen Yin-Wu (Tino Wong Cheung), the brother of Sheng Ying Wei (the Bruce Lee look-alike, Wang Tao, in the first film). Together they must fight to protect not only themselves, but the treasure as well, from the vengeful hands of Gold Fox.

A simple story is once again made abstruse in the hands of director Yuen as he continues to mold cliched ideas and tries to make something deep out of it. Even though he doesn’t drag the story on forever like he did in the anger-inducing Part I, or structure the story in small meaning-less segments as badly, Yuen still isn’t on the level of where he can handle such material. There are several minor instances where improvement seems to be occurring, but the audience is never allowed a moment of relief throughout a good portion of the first half. We’re forced to sit through the usual bad English dubbing, bad dialogue, and bad acting with those goofy, drawn-out evil laughs. It is even possible to say some of the characters here in The Secret Rivals Part II are not as intelligent as those in Part I. Gray Fox is a villain no one is intimidated by- he often forgets his goals, acts and speaks in silly methods, and seems to not want to participate in something he cares so much about.

I complained that the fight scenes in Part I were not long enough, and that the actors’ skills weren’t properly utilized. Part II corrects these flaws. Whether it be in training sessions (which the characters seem to participate in on more than plenty occasions), or in fight scenes (some involving multiple numbers of people), Yuen and his choreographers have given the audience more of what they were robbed of in the first film. Fights are not broken into short vignettes as much, but instead are allowed longer time periods for business to be taken care of. (Do not fooled though, several short lengthen encounters are still present). Weaponry has been added, and the choreographers make good use of this new concept. And on the subject of martial-arts skills, our heroes must first battle through a cast of grimy characters and groups of deadly fighters until reaching the fast-paced and uplifting finale, which, like the first movie, is the high note of the picture. The action sequences’ only flaw is that they re-use exact ideas from Part I, and this repetition may irritate some viewers.

It must be realized, however, that the best parts of the film only take place within the last 30 minutes of footage. Having said this, The Secret Rivals Part II is only worth a rental when there is nothing else in the video store to rent. It is a step above Part I, and perhaps Part III will be better, but it’s flaws do hinder the film to the level where it cannot be a recommendation (Although, you would be missing out on the return of that bold and grand theme song!).

Milkcan’s Rating: 7/10

The post Secret Rivals 2, The | aka Silver Fox Rivals 2 (1977) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.

“Heart of the Dragon” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Sammo Hung
Producer: Leonard Ho
Cast: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Emily Chu, Lam Ching Ying, Meng Hoi, Peter Chan, Yuen Wah, Chin Kar Lok, Melvin Wong, James Tien, Anthony Chan, Billy Chan, Chan Chuen, Billy Ching, Chow Kong, Chu Chi Ling, Chung Fat, Fung Hak On, Fung King Man, Huang Ha, Teddy Yip, Lee Hoi-Sang
Running Time: 89 min.

By Vic Nguyen

This is the first film that I cried through. Jackie and Samo’s performance’s are astounding. Jackie plays a cop that dreams of sailing around the world, but the only thing that is stopping him is his mentally ill brother, played by Samo. While playing, Samo unintentionally mugs a person, making him drop the persons bag. Little does Samo know that the bag contains stolen jewels. Now Samo is wanted by the police and its up to Jackie to clear his name. I really liked this film, with great dramatic performances by Jackie and Samo. This film has little action, but the performances and the plot make up for that.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 10/10

By James H.

As you most likely already know, “Heart of the Dragon” is not your typical JC fare. It is, however, quite the touching film. Jackie plays a cop who gives up his dream of being a sailor to take care of his mentally challenged brother played by Samo Hung.

The film has a little bit of everything: drama, humour, romance and action. Notice how I put action last? Good, because this is not an action film. It is a drama. Generally, the acting is good, but it’s hard to gauge due to the sub-par dubbing. There are two scenes that prove that Jackie and Samo have the ability to act.

The action scenes were well down, but darker and more hash than those of, say, “Police Story”. It is very rare to see a JC movie where Jackie himself shoots a baddy at point blank range. I really enjoyed the film, especially the ending. It completely took me by surprise. The direction was top notch thanks to Samo. The ending montage was just marvellously put together.

James H’s Rating: 8.5/10

By Jordan

Call me soft, but this movie to me was very sad and depressing. It is the only movie that ever made me cry! There are some funny bits though involving Jackie’s retarded brother (a great performance by Samo Hung, but no action for him) and the fights were pretty impressive, but there weren’t enough of them. In “Jackie Chan: My Story” it shows two of the fights cut from the movie and I must say “Heart Of Dragon” would have been better had they been left in. It is a quality movie but most of it is far too dramatic for my liking.

Jordan’s Rating: 6/10

By Ro

A lot of people liked this movie and I don’t know why. The story line involves a CID detective (Jackie) and his mentally challenged brother (Samo Hung). He really wants to be a merchant marine, but is giving up his dream to take care of his sibling. It’s supposed to be funny, but most of the humor was at the expense of Samo, and I didn’t find it amusing. There’s only one fight, at the end, and it’s bloody. I found the whole movie dark and the end was incredibly depressing! I just couldn’t believe they ended it that way! Maybe it was more realistic, but who wants that much realism anyway? And I found the acting way over the top. I don’t know if it was the direction, the script or the acting, but if you want to see a movie with the same basic plot, see the powerful Dominick and Eugene instead.

Ro’s Rating: 4/10

By The Great Hendu

DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE EXPECTING ACTION! Watch this movie because you want to see a serious drama with a twist of humor and a touch of action. Sammo plays the mentally challenged brother of Jackie. It makes for a few comical scenes and a good drama between Jackie and Sammo. If any movie could be called a tear jerker, this is it. Sammo does a tremendous job in his part. I believed the role he played. And Jackie does equally well as the sympathetic brother. I think it was well written and concieved. I might actually enjoy seeing a sequel sometime. So, was there any fighting? Yes. At the very end of the film, Jackie threw a few kicks and punches. They were good, but not spectacular. I think anything more would have detracted from the art of the film. It was a good blend of all aspects. Definately worth a look.

The Great Hendu’s Rating: 8/10

By Rintor

This was a very sad ‘drama’. When I sat down to watch this movie I was expecting another beat-’em-up-crazy-stunts-with-lots-of-laughs JC flick. However, I got a heart warming drama with the beat-’em-up-crazy-stunts- with-lots-of-laughs mixed together. The product of this was a very good movie. Both Jackie and Sammo played their roles very well. Although it was difficult for me to get the full effect of Sammo’s mental handicap at first with the bad English dubbing. Friends don’t let friend Dub. It doesn’t help the film a whole lot. The fighting was pretty good, and I was surprised to see Jackie put a machete half way through a guy’s neck. The wall flip was impressive too. Shaol!nDrunkMonk, the last time I fought Dick Wei and did a wall flip and killed twenty people was yesterday. I was asleep. So, where’s the toilet bowl full of chunky peanut butter?

Rintor’s Rating: 8.5/10 (9/10 without bad dubbing)

By S!DM

As if being one of the very best, if not THE best, Jackie Chan movies I have ever seen, this one has to top my list as being one of the very best films I’ve ever seen period. This movie is greatness beyond comprehension, action beyond belief, “the chunks of ‘hearty’ peanut in the chunky peanut butter that sticks to the roof of your mouth when you try to scrape it off” type of movie that is so great. Firstly, this one has better acting than I’ve seen in most American movies, and it is this top-notchness that almost brings you into the character and story development. Contrary to what the other reviews say, this is not just a drama movie with no action. While it is true that this is a very sad drama, this one has plenty of action. Jackie and Sammo pull of their roles the best I have ever seen them do, as a younger brother and retarded older brother, respectively. The story moves along very well. Next, the action.

While it is true that this doesn’t have as much action as in his other movies, Jackie is mesmerizing in the final sequence, when he takes out all his anger on the baddies for the years of torment people gave to his older retarded brother. It is kind of like the way he dishes out punishment in Police Story. He just walks in, loses it, and bashes heads in without any hesitation…sweet and to the point. In one scene, a character begins(Keyword-“BEGINS”) to point a gun at Chan’s head, and Jackie doesn’t even show any fear before jacking him up. Now, the last fight scene is cool incarnate. Other people say, “OH MY! This one absolutely is over-rated, MY GOODNESS!”, and other whiny things…well, when was the last time YOU fought Dick Wei and did a wall flip and kill twenty people (if anyone answers this I will make them eat chunky peanut butter from the toilet bowl…)? This fight is short, sweet and to the point…two incredibly guys meet, exchange about two sentences, them beat the sweet cucumber chips out of each other…This is one of the 4-5 movies I would ever give a ten out of ten to… so THERE!

S!DM’s Rating: 10/10

By Dan-O

Now don’t misunderstand me – I like this film. But does anyone else out there notice that the last fight sequence is rediciously sped up? No one I’ve shown this film to ever seems to catch onto this. Seriously, if you own this film, go back and watch the last 20 minutes. Its almost laughable. Jackie IS quick, as are his stunt monkeys, but this is stupid. It doesn’t even make the movie more exiting (which is what they were obviously goin’ for). Another gripe: a couple of the scenes felt scotch-taped on, like that goofy-ass chase scene and the equally goofy-ass military training scene from the beginning. It’s almost as if those scenes came from an altogether different movie. Yes, I know, at it’s heart this is a Jackie Chan film, so I simply dismiss such incongruities with a shrug and a smile and a twinkle in the eye. Other than that, this is a heartwarming, and at times, depressing film, and Sammo gives a superb performance as Jackie’s turnip of a brother. Go see it, buy it, rent it, whatever it takes. You’ve obviously got nothing better to do.

Dan-O’s Rating: 7/10 (would’ve gotten an 8 if not for Sammo’s butt-crack)

By Andrew

This was a fun film, but also needs to be filed away under “Sammo Hung” in the grand scheme of kung fu film history. Do we really have to see Hung’s @$$ while he’s in the bathtub? I’d rather forget that part. The action scenes in this one are pretty fast and furious. One thing that bugs me though is just how mean everyone is to Sammo’s character. I just can’t imagine a bunch of chefs beating the $#!+ out of a guy who can’t pay his bill (although they did the same to Jackie in the first Drunken Master) The best stunt in this flick was done by a supporting character who falls out of a restaurant and lands on the ground instead of the specially prepared car (same problem they had in Police Story). The car chase stuff was good too, but not quite like the ones in Armor of God and Operation Condor. Despite my references to other JC films this one was pretty unique and really not all that bad. See if you can spot the guy who played “Panther” in Supercop. Ok, I’ll stop now.

Andrew’s Rating: 6/10

By Aloho

The thought of Jackie playing a dramatic role propelled me not to buy this surprisely realistic flick. The reason I did buy it though is because I heard all this mumbo-jumbo about the spectacular finale. I got more than expected when viewing this. It keeps you alive through the whole movie because of the plot. Jackie did good playing his part. Sammo did a good job directing. This movie gets your emotions going. In some parts, I just wanted to kill those bastards teasing Sammo’s character. It’s kinda like I wanted to be in the movie and just change matters around and just unleash on the bad guys. Well, that is exactly what Chan did towards the end in a construction site. He does not wait for the enemy to throw a punch or anything, he just gets in there and kicks ass. Jackie knocks out a guy that put a gun to his (Jackie’s) head before that guy could yell out “freeze.”

When Jackie and Dick Wei meet, they don’t exchange looks or blab some corny catch phase, they just duel till death. Chan does a wall flip, those are cool. There is a semi-entertaining chase scene, but it never really picks up. In the beginning, there is a police training thing in a forest. That was just O.K. Some funny parts, like Sammo almost drowned himself in a bathtub claiming he was teaching a toy to swim underwater. Another scene, Jackie holds hands with Sammo giving the appearance they are gay. I got the Taiseng video; the dubbing was awful! Of course most dubbing is said to be bad, but face it, the mouth will never really move in sync with another language. What makes the dub so horrible and much worse than other dub jobs is that mouths move when there is no sound, vice versa. That’s like Godzilla quality. If you see it, buy a subtitled one over a dubbed one. Otherwise, just cope with it.

Aloho’s Rating: 7/10

By Clint

This DRAMA contains a good car/motorcycle chase scene and the spectacular finale. The only scene I found semi-amusing was when JC was holding hands with Samo walking down the street and he had to point out to everyone that they were brothers and not a gay couple. It does entertain you for the entire hour and a half, despite the lack of action or comedy, because you actually feel for the characters. I must say i got a little angry at that guy when he made Samo slither on the ground like a snake. All in all a decent film. You can get this one at Blockbuster too, under the name “Heart of Dragon.”

Clint’s Rating: 6/10

The post Heart of the Dragon | aka The First Mission (1985) Review first appeared on cityonfire.com.