Bio: My name is Lee, I'm 25 years old, currently 6 years into my dad's clothing business. And I'm a martial arts cinema fan!!!
We can take it from there! :-)
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Legend Of The Wolf (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts Oh man this was bad well not to bad but one of Donnie Yens worst films I've ever seen.
The choreography is bad most of is just one hit punches or kicks whenever he gets into big brawls which happens a few times.
Other times the camera either moves to fast or is to close up to really see the fighting. Others times its to dark like the start of the film.
There is one cool scene where he takes on this guy who uses a chain but its short. They tried to make this movie look violent but didn't pull it off well.
The movie gets very boring for about 15-20mins near the middle close to the end. Bad camera work, poor choreography which was ruined due to the camera work, average acting. A bigger budget could have helped this movie also the editing work.
See this if your a die hard Donnie Yen if not there's plenty of other Donnie Yen movies that are better then this.
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There may be good fighting going on, but the camera doesn't pick it up.
yes you're right i would class myself a big donnie yen fan but this film sucks the choreography in this film is the worst i have ever seen from donnie yen.
Ideas makes movies successful, not necessarily $! Yen had an idea and made it work, telling a great story. And just so you know, the action was an awesome show of rising standards for Donnie Yen in his later career. What the hell movie were you watching?
Spirited Killer (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I saw all these crappy, trendy-ass, snobby reviews and I had to say something about it. A lot of folks have been crapping on this movie because of the deceptive packaging and not enough Tony or they bitch about the directing or acting. First off, only a flaky tool would even think that quality acting or directing is a reason movies like this are watched. Genre, kids. We watch this crap for the quality violence and the graceful destructiveness as well as the artistic expression and all that good shit. What these snots are failing to mention is that this is a very fun and energetic martial arts flick that captures the feeling and pace of those old school kung fu flicks that were made on shoe string budgets yet still featured break-neck precision choreography that made you want to go out and jump kick something. This movie rocks--it's the reviewers that suck.
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"Genre" is no excuse for suckiness. There are many great films in each genre (or should be, anyway. I am not aware of any great transsexual dwarf musicals, but it could be done). I saw this, found some quality, but was not highly impressed.
Did you actually watch this campy thai low budget fu movie? The movie is horrible, the style of film making was repeative & annoying, each fight scene was a disappointment. This is a huge disgrace for any viewer to review this film 4 stars.
You know something? I haven't seen the movie yet. But given what I just read in your review, I think you might have a point. Some people watch certain films, often for tedious and stupid reasons. I think I'll give this one a chance someday soon :-)
Shadow: Dead Riot (product link) Action/Adventure / Horror Complete crap. Avoid altogether if possible. Chock-full of the poorest quality everything. Bad acting, mild and less than generic fight scenes and the most gratuitous nudity of some of the ugliest girls that you would probably avoid at even last call. I gave it a half a star for it's concept-zombies, martial arts, nude women in prison-you know, sounds like a plan. Unfortunately the ridiculous execution of said idea made for one of the lamest things anyone would attempt to resell. Don't waste your time or money.
Casshern (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction This has to be, without a doubt, the most boring japanese film I have ever had the displeasure of viewing. Calling the plot convoluted is an understatement akin to calling the planet Jupiter big. I own literally hundreds of Japanese films on DVD, and this is the worst of the bunch. I found myself looking at my watch to find out how much longer this piece of dreck was going to last. The pacing of this film is so languid, it makes Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" look like a Jason Statham film by comparison.
If you are impressed solely by visuals, put a shiny ribbon on a turd instead. You will know what its like to watch this film and you will save yourself money and 2.5 hours of time you can never get back. I am giving it zero stars because I can think of absolutely nothing to recommend it. Avoid this at all costs.
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When one is incredibly brilliant, ribbons on turds lose their charm. Although a substandard film, "Casshern" has more to offer: plot, acting and action.
I guess one would have to understand Japanese to truly appreciate this film. However, I'm not, and I enjoyed this movie very much. The music and the imagery is beautiful, as is the message of the film in its entirety, OH! And the visuals were kick-ass!!!
BASTARD RONIN'S FINAL REVIEW: IT'S A CELEBRATION, BITCHES: Well it's been a fun ride, kids (mostly). When I originally started writing on this site it was to share my feelings about things that I love with like-minded folks and grow as a writer. That was a little over two years ago and in the time since this awesome site has grown vastly more popular. Unfortunately, there seem to be too many fangirls and fanboys on this site now that fail to acknowledge points when they are made due to fickle, uneducated or flat out trendy reasoning. My original mission statement was to inform and entertain. As many people are now failing to grasp or percieve many of the points or insights that I provide I have failed in my mission statement. Time to move on. There are a bunch of you old school cats that I will miss--and to those of you who stuck by me and helped me to grow as a writer: thank you very much. I am kind of sad to see this site start to become flooded with girls and fools, but, it is no longer my problem. You folks gotta' understand that I have been practicing and researching martial arts for 22 years and collecting movies for about just as long. On my own time I have researched philosophy, psychology and theology to get a better grasp on the human condition so I could draw more from the books I read and the movies that I watch. So when some simpleton that can't comprehend my reasoning tells me that I missed the point of a movie it just makes me feel sorry for parents everywhere. I also can't help but find it interesting that these same short bus riders seem compelled to keep reading my shit even though they clearly have a problem with it. Odd. Sad. Odd and sad. It should probably also go without saying that if "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix" are the centerpieces of your martial arts library then your collection blows and you need more real fu. But, enough of that let's do this.
This was one of those movies that wound up being a pain in the ass for me to acquire so everyone got to see it before me. It was worth the wait though. Thanks to one of my cats on this site I found out that the American title of this flick is "The Challenge" and that information alone made it easier to obtain. The plot, setting and fight frequency of this film are kind of like a combination of "Fist of the North Star" and "Fist of Legend". Very comic book like, in fact the US version is released by Dark Horse. The martial arts choreography was very enjoyable. German fu, I had to see it to believe it. Very sweet. Hell, I think it's cool any time that one of the main characters' trademark moves is a 720. The post-apocalyptic setting was a nice touch for the atmosphere of the film and, combined with the excellent kung fu (with some decent stick and staff combat included), a central message that is based in honor and duty, and a couple very beautiful women to behold this movie is quite the treat for the senses. I would recommend it to the very few of you left who haven't seen it yet and the even fewer of you folks who still trust my judgment.
Well that about does it, campers. 81 reviews, over 150 comments and I got to talk all the shit that I wanted to. It's been real. Thank you to many of you that have read and followed my stuff. F*** you to those of you who didn't or just didn't get it. I hope that all of you find what you are searching for in life. To Jay Lee, JV, Choco and others that I failed to mention--thanks a lot. You guys were awesome. Keep your blades sharp, players. Well, I said my piece. I'm out. BASTARD RONIN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING.
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The film was poorly made, I understand it was a low budget movie for his friends & family. But still the movie is a disaster because the fighting was unoriginal & the story didn't not go anywhere.
i honestly didnt like this film, it started off really well then the rest of the movie became unengaging and you were just waiting for the next fight scenes. the fights were well choreographed but the acting and story were dull
No doubt this film is entertaining compared to "Dragon Tiger Gate"- the actors in this film don't look at the camera & wink at the audience. That's all I was trying to say.
Hey Ronin, thanks for your positive reflections on a few of my reviews. I never got to know you, but you're very cool. Feel free to check out my weblog, I could definitely use your company every now and then. good luck man!
This film is awesome, did ya know the director made this film only for his friends & family. it's a great German Fu film, or the only German Fu film. Agree with everything you wrote.
CONTROVERSIAL REVIEW WARNING: The following review deviates from the popular established opinion of this film and is not meant to anger or annoy Jet Li and wuxia fanatics...but it will. And it may cause shrinkage.
Let me start off delicately so I don't infuriate the children. This movie ain't sh**. An overhyped bowl of average soup always tastes the same: salty. Everyone seems to talk about the extraordinary action and martial arts choreography being of the highest caliber. What a bunch of bull. I can't speak for you folks, but personally I like my wire fu with more fu than wire, not the other way around. The action is ludicrous, gravity defying, irrational slop. Yuen Wo Ping has put together a bunch of brilliant art in his day, but this is not of that grouping. Three expert martial artists/thespians (Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Michelle Yeoh) are completely wasted and are used as yo-yo's instead of the skilled athletes they are. The story and characters are very typical and there is nothing truly exceptional about this film.
Now that I have pissed my name in the snow, let me address the flipside of the coin. Don't get it twisted--I don't believe this movie sucks, I just think that it is one of the, if not the, most overly embellished kung fu films around. "The Tai Chi Master" does have many redeeming traits. The story, while standard, was presented well; the characters had pretty good chemistry; and a few of the action sequences did show a spark of character (it was cool to see Jet and Yuen use a Shaolin staff style with brooms). So overall, yes, the film is enjoyable; but it is not a classic and in my opinion should not be regarded as such. Like I insinuated in the beginning of my review, this movie is best for wuxia and Jet Li fanatics.
Don't give me that look. I love wuxia and Jet Li too, but these days for me to get a real thrill I got to go wireless. You have no idea how long I have been holding that in. Please direct all complaints and outbursts to the nearest brick wall.
Funny how you cant differentiate between Yuen Biao and Chin Siu-Ho. I mean look at the cast description for christ sakes. Im not a fan of wire fu either and parts of this movie were definently over the top.
I hear what you're saying, but I disagree. I acknowledge that, when reviewing a 15-year-old movie, it can be tempting to slam it as technically/stylistically inferior. But for its era, and even despite it, I think this one holds up fantastically today.
Contour (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Horrible movie. This movie is a joke. They did not spend a lot of money making this movie. A bunch of stunt actors trying to act. Do not buy.
You must not like martial arts. If so what are you doing watching martial arts movies? More importantly what are you doing reviewing movies that are focused on things that you either don't like or don't understand?
Samourais (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts This is a poorly written and acted attempt at Hong Kong-style martial arts by unathletic and annoying French actors. The sidekick is just as annoying in French as he is in English. They must have looked hard for an English language dubber to match the French actor. The martial arts choreography, by Kuo Chui/Philip Kwok, is quite good, and when the stunt performers take over the action looks good - It just stinks when the stars take over.
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I think it depends on where the director was going with the characters in the first place. Once the story got moving, I didnt mind the silliness, as long as it stuck to the story, with some great fight direction attached to it.
Equilibrium (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction Hey, I like this movie. Yes, it's a low budget "Matrix" rip off, but check out the finale fight when the two characters are doing "Gun-Fu". The combination of gun play while using martial arts at the same time was very original. I haven't seen this done quite this way before, and makes the movie well worth watching for this scene alone...
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I have to agree with both you and aardvarks on this movie. Sure, it's a matrix rip-off of sorts, but the film truly stands out, artistically and stylistically, as one of the coolest action films ever made, despite the bad timing of its theatrical release.
Equilibrium (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction Thus far, the general consensus of this film is this: "Matrix Rip-Off".
Yeah, there are many similarities to "The Matrix", but stylistically it is dissimilar in a photo-negative manner. Where everything in "The Matrix" was dark, everything in this film was light. Both films used some form of drug for enlightenment, in "The Matrix" one had to take a pill to see the world for what it truly is; in this film one had to quit taking their medication to feel. I like the way director Kurt Wimmer used the cross in both the building architecture and interior design, much like he did in his next movie "Ultraviolet" (which I am probably one of the few people who likes that film as well). Of course, the "Gun Fu" is the big drawing point to this film, and it is used with impressive results. It is a good nod for a Western attempt at some bullet-ballet.
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I have to agree with both you and JB5205 on this movie. Sure, it's a matrix rip-off of sorts, but the film truly stands out, artistically and stylistically, as one of the coolest action films ever made, despite the bad timing of its theatrical release.
DOA: Dead Or Alive (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts I'll give this film 1 star at least for featuring sexy girls in skimpy outfits, but this has to be one of the worst movies I have ever watched.
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Eh, the film isn't that bad. It has its moments of glory every now and then. It ain't a masterpiece, for certain. But it's not totally bad. :-/
Shadow: Dead Riot (product link) Action/Adventure / Horror I was very disappointed in this film. It wasn't scary in the least. All the special effects were cheesy and unrealistic looking, and the Martial Arts choreography was very poor. I only give it 1/2 star because of the cool keychain that came with [the special edition DVD I purchased].
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What did the keychain look like? Can I buy it anywhere?...That is.....without having to buy a 2nd copy of the movie? lol
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