Im still waiting to see a copy with good English subtitles to comment on the plot. The action is pretty good. Jija does the moves very well but her power is not believable. She needs to work on delivery of impact but other than that action is pretty good.
Ashes Of Time (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Art I don't think so. I'm sorry, that was rude, let me rephrase that. Piss on this.
Immensely pompous art house regurgitation that may double as a sleep aid. Barely. Any. Fu. This flick lacked a pulse but seems to be pretty popular with complacent drones who would be content with watching paint dry. You can make the movie as "beautiful" as you want, but if the shit is boring the shit is boring. FOR: "people" who like soap operas. NOT FOR: People.
When I first watched it I wanted it to be a thrilling wuxia film, which it is not. It is, instead, a fascinating art film made by an artist with little real interest in swordplay.
Too bad these guys didn't put as much effort actually watching the movie as they did submitting reviews and comments! This movie was obviously much too complex...
I totally agree. I would rather eat a sh**-burger than sit through this horrible movie again. This movie is for people who want others to be impressed by the fact they own it.
The art house Kung Fu flick that every art house buff talks about- Personally I hated this flick w/ a passion-I agree with your review it's for soap oprea fans.
Five Superfighters (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Action was okay. But the story didn't make sense to me. Why did all three lie to their potential masters? And why kill the guy at the end?
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This is a classic, one of the best the Shaw Brothers ever produced,
The DVD cover convinced me to check out this Shaw Brothers 1979 hidden gem. As a fan of Hong Kong cinema since the early 70's, I thought I had seen or at least heard about all of Shaw's classics,but this one was not on the list. I'm glad I took the risk and bought this must-have for the collection!
The movie centers around three martial arts students and their master seeking revenge on a mysterious and very angry kung fu villian, played by Kwan Feng, who enjoys challenging and humiliating local kung fu masters.
The story gets interesting when the three students run away from their sifu after he loses face in a defeat to this traveling master of disaster. The students run away to learn better fighting skills in order to take revenge for their embarrased teacher.
The students eventually find masters to teach them various kung fu skills and now it's revenge time.
Hats off to action director Hsu Hsia and the always flawless Hau Chiu Sing. "Five Superfighters" is a very entertaing kung fu film.
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This is an absolute classic. Ranks up there with Heroes of the East and EIght Diagram Pole Fighter as Shaw's all-time best.
Five Superfighters (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure There's nothing particularly special about this movie, however it is not a bad movie either. It is one of those movies that you get and are happy if it cost under $10. Not a classic, but definitely worth the buy and watch! And probably much better in the original language.
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This movie is a classic, and I would certainly pay more than $10 for it.
Hard Boiled (product link) Action/Adventure / Bullet Ballet The second John Woo film I saw after "The Killer" and my personal favorite! This movie has loads of gun bursting action with a great story! We have drama, loyalty, revenge, and love with a back drop of John Woo's special trademark spectacular stunts! Chow Yun Fat is outstanding as a cop named Tequila, he takes no prisoners. Little Tony Leung is also outstanding as a gun supplier's right hand man! look also for Phillip Kwok (Lizard, "5 Deadly Venoms"), appearing as Anthony Wong's troubleshooter. There is nothing left to say except watch this John Woo classic immediatley!
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There is no finer John Woo gun-fu adventure. He has made more meaningful films, but none with a greater thrill.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Second installment of Bi Mae. A true classic. Find the weak point if you can. Tiger style to go with it but in the end he gets cheated by Wong Yu. A must-have.
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The weak points in this one are almost too numerous to count. What a terrible movie.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Overrated or not, this is a great film. Excellent story with some great fights. Pai Mei rules.
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It is overrated, you are right about that. However the fights are slow and boring.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure A great movie! This movie got me hooked on Chen Kuan Tai and Pei Mei. The fighting scenes are realistic and well choreographed. The viewer really gets an opportunity to root for the good guy then root for his son. A very satidfying movie for great martial arts as well as a plot that keeps you interested. Lo Lieh is awesome as the main villian!!!
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Well, it sure didn't entertain me. I was so bored, I almost slipped into a coma.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not a big favorite of mine, but nonetheless a decent Shaw flick with some great fights and cool training sequences.
I felt it dragged a bit in the early part, with the opera boat and wedding stuff. But picks up again when Chen Kuan Tai starts training for his revenge on master whitebrow. And speaking of... the evil Pai Mei is probably Lo Lieh's best role ever, I always liked him better as a bad guy. And one of the most memorable villains in kung fu cinema.
So, apart from the slow spots and the fact that Wang Yu looks like a girl due to some questionable hair and wardrobe choices, this movie is pretty cool. I do however prefer FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS over this one.
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Not only does it drag in the early part, it drags throughout.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Excellent. One of my top five favorite Lau Kar Leung movies, and that's saying a lot, the man is a genius!
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This is one of Lau Kar Leung's worst, if not the worst movie he ever directed. What a snoozer.
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie probably goes #2 on my top-ten favorite kung fu movies. Lo Lieh playing Pai Mei is my favorite character. I mean, I know you're supposed to cheer for the good guys, but Pai Mei was the shit. I wouldn't even give it a 5 [stars], this movie is a 20.
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You need to see more kung fu movies. This one is horrible,
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Liu Chia-Liang/Lau Kar-Leung depicts the genesis of Hung Gar, using the magnificent Chen Kuan Tai and the amusing Wang Yu. It's a bit of a stretch to believe Wang Yu's character could defeat Lo Lieh's when Chen Kuan Tai's can't--it's a matter of Hung Gar!
Chocolate [2008] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure
Don't hate, appreciate. Why oh why have so many dragged this piece of gold through the dirt? It took me a long while to check this movie out because I was waiting for an all-region version with subtitles so I could evaluate this movie properly. People were dissing the plot before a version with subtitles was even available. I guess a bunch of you folks speak Thai. Though I doubt it.
I honestly don't get where all this animosity for this film comes from. People diss it because the girl is small so many basically sign right here off as weak. Size is a factor in power. That I can't deny, but also so is proper technique. With good technique any sized individual can manifest amazing power beyond their stature. I'd love for you folks to question the power of the small man who taught me Muay Thai. I'm a good sport so I would totally call an ambulance for you after I finished laughing my ass off at what he did to you.
Allow me to be equal parts sexist and scientific. There is a greater need for suspension of disbelief in any movie were a small or average sized chick physically takes out grown men. Because that doesn't happen. Men are bigger, stronger and have higher endurance to physical trauma than women. Don't give me that damn look. I didn't make up physics. Look dat shit up. So basically if you hold any film where a woman is a complete badass in high regard, then on some level you too have disregarded reason in favor of entertainment. Good for you, that is what it's there for.
The martial arts choreography and delivery in this film are exemplary as well as extraordinary. Many critics have touted Jeeji Yanin as the female Tony Jaa, which isn't really fair to her as she does have her own distinct style and flair, though many of the large and daring moves do have that trademark Thai seal of approval like Tony's stuff.
Honestly, folks, why are you dissing the plot of this movie? Yeah, the story is kind of lame, but is that really why you are watching? It is disgraceful for any action junkie to disregard or blast on this movie. Top class fights and stunts keep this in a league of its own, but the yummy violence doesn't stop there. There's some rough and tumble gunplay in full effect. The shootouts don't have the dramatic flair of say a John Woo film, so you won't see any slow-mo, two-gun, dive through the air, exchange fire for five minutes type of jazz. No, the gunplay is more Quentin Tarantino styled--abrupt, gritty, and in your face. No stand-offs. Usually when you see a piece in this flick, cats are in the process of getting shot the fuck up.
Also toward the end there is a balls out, slash 'em up sword battle that gets the blood flowing. That sword battle is raw and intense. If I had it my way, every flick would have to incorporate at least one swordfight or end with a swordplay duel. Hell, I would have actually watched "The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants" if I knew at the end they all kill each other with swords. That I would pay to see. Again, don't give me that damn look.
Some folks also say that the heroine doesn't get to take on a decent challange in the flick. You folks are forgetting about Mr. Adidas: four eyes, short bus, break dancing heavy twitcher. He was wild and very enjoyable to watch with his break dancing Capoiera-fu. How was he not a worthy challenge?
I tried my best not to give up the coveted five star grand prize, but this bad little ass kicker earned it. Is the story groundbreaking and Oscar worthy? Nope. Is it perfect? Not really. But excellence in the desired arena can trump all that garbage. When a movie excels in certain areas to such a phenomenal degree, and it achieves the intended type of entertainment that it was striving for with utmost quality, then all our pretensions and over-analyses become meaningless, because we know we were entertained and that chances are we are going back for second and third helpings. You don't do that with bad or mediocre flicks. You do that with great movies.
In my opinion, this is the best bad ass chick flick, trumping the reigning champs, "Yes, Madam" and "Book Of Heroes". I defy any reviewer here to find or name a better ass kicking chick movie. If you disagree with this review I'm going to expect you to name-drop a better bad-ass chick flick. If you can't think of one and are of the collection of reviewers that clocked on this movie, then I'm going to ask you to reevaluate your feelings on this film and watch it again. You may have missed something. Something great. You know the name and the game's still the same. Keep it real, folks. Peace.
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I think I may have grown tired of the 'Thai style'... cuz I was utterly bored when watching this movie. Might revisit it in the future.
While mildly entertaining, this film is not even close to being in five-star realm. The fights were just more of the same and grew tedious after a while. And though her character is mentally challenged, the performance was just too one-note for me.
Obviously we're in total agreement on this one! But I will always hold a special place in my heart for other badass chix that are separate but equal! Lady Snowblood, Thriller, Hard Candy, all those awesome 80s HK girls with guns flix... It's all so good!
Executioners From Shaolin (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Wanna' pick up and old school kung fu flick but not sure wich one to pick? Don't worry, this flick is slammin'! Definitely some good acting here from Lily Li and others, along with nicely choreographed fight scenes.
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If you are not sure which one to pick, get Fist of the White Lotus instead of this boring junk.
Bow down and show some respect for one of the top ten all time greatest kung fu flicks. Lower. Let me start of by saying that I just really wanted to write a review for this movie but I acknowledge that Jay Lee probably wrote the best review for this movie already. Just giving props to those that are deserving. Now to my insane ramblings of blather that are often misinterpreted and in some cases incomprehensible due to my heavy use of logic and honesty.
This one doubles as not only my favorite Gordon Liu movie but also as my favorite Shaw Brothers movie. I know there are so many to choose from and you think that one is the best and dude over there is all like "what about the '36th Chamber'?" Well, chill, we're talking about my favorites now, not yours. We talk about your favorites in your review, sucka.
Lau Kar Leung crafts this movie and its fight scenes with inspired perfection. Gordon Liu dishes out the goods with the jack-of-all trades fu by demonstrating that old school multiple proficiency that pretty much died in the 90's when everyone could just have a single gimmick and still get by. This movie is not only arguably Gordon Liu's best martial arts performance but also Yasuaki Kurata's as well. You have to wait all the way to the end to see Yasuaki finally get down; but when he does, HOLY SHIT, he's a fuckin' smokin' now! (Maybe, just maybe, there is one "Family Guy" fan out there who got that reference. Probably not.)
Anyhow, this film has got one of the best complilations of variety in martial arts styles and weapons put to use. The Japanese performers and characters are all straight-up bad-asses, and really Japanese, unlike many other Chinese films that used Chinese actors and portrayed the Japanese as bitch-made predatory miscreants. I'm not judging, I'm just sayin'. Well, I guess to truly complete a review for this movie I got to give up my favorite fight. Damn, there are so many to choose from, but if I had to pick one favorite I would cheat and say the entire end fight with Gordon and Yasuaki, which is basically like 3-4 fights in one. I don't mean to beat a dying horse (unless it's called for or I'm bored or something), but Mr. Kurata is so frickin' slick it's unreal. The man handles a ninja-to like he was born holding one, and his crab style is one of the dopest, slickest and most creative things I have ever seen. This movie has everything for martial arts lovers including a tough chick.
I also got to say Buddha bless Dragon Dynasty for releasing these perfectly digitally remastered fu classics with the original subtitles and dubbings while including all kinds of sweet bonuses like interviews with the legends that made these movies possible. Make sure this is in your collection. Essential and severely enjoyable.
If HKFLIX had higher star rating, this movie would be up there. The movie is amazing, it had no blood, & no finishing movies but it entertains. Plus it's a great history lesson too.
The Magic Blade (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Certainly not "The Flying Guillotine". The plot was above average. I did not like the weapon concept. Too much build-up and not enough to follow. If you can get into this weapon, you may like this more than me.
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This movie is far superior to the slow-moving, fight-scene deficient Flying Guillotine. Magic Blade is one of the Shaw Brothers' best from this period.