Fist Of Fury [1972] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure With a better script, better sets and even better performances than "The Big Boss", Bruce Lee blossoms here into a superstar. The trademark Bruce Lee intensity is show here perhaps better than any of his other films. The Japanese in this film may come across cartoonishly villainous, but with how the Japanese have been to the Chinese at this point, some bitterness is appropriate. Lee may sometimes seem over-hyped, but here we get to see where that comes from.
Enter The Eagles (product link) Action/Adventure / Girls With Guns Good plot, plenty of action, good performances and an interesting setting, what more could you want in an action film!
Hard Boiled (product link) Action/Adventure / Bullet Ballet This film probably best defines the term "bullet ballet". The lack of realism in the film is only occasionally distracting but for the most part, you don't care. Good performances by a great cast help with this. This film is action for the love of action. It can stand up to (and frequently bests) any of the over-the-top, big budget action films that come out of Hollywood. Very highly recommended.
The Way Of The Dragon (product link) Martial Arts For a new director, Bruce Lee does a pretty good job here. The one painful thing here is that we get glimpses of how he could have been just as great behind the camera as he was in front of it. An example of this is how he frames some of his shots and doesn't use too many close-ups during the action sequences. The script is o.k. but unremarkable. This doesn't really hurt the film much since it is just a vehicle for Lee and his fighting skills. The showdown between Lee and Chuck Norris is deservedly an icon of martial-arts cinema.
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This movie should be owned by any true martial arts fan for the fight between Lee and Norris alone. I agree that there's no telling how great a director Lee could have become.
The Big Boss (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts A simple, low-budget and violent action film that benefits from good performances and the introduction of Bruce Lee's fighting style that set the world of martial-arts and martial-art films on it's ear. Basically a western with the hero using fighting skills instead of a six-gun against drug dealers instead of corrupt ranchers. This kind of story may be a worn out staple of both westerns and martial-art films, but if it is well done, who cares? Bruce had to leave Hollywood to make this film and Hollywood has had to play catch-up ever since.
Fight Back To School 3 (product link) Comedy / Nonsense Comedy A fun, screw-ball comedy that is half sequel and half parody of "Basic Instinct" (a film that needs to be spoofed, frequently). It has many very funny moments but the script and directing seem uneven or maybe underdeveloped. The film had the feel of American sequels that are often rushed into theatres. Still, like I said, very funny and worth seeing. Even though the main character doesn't go "back to school" in this one, the bit wouldn't really have worked a third time.
A wonderful melodrama, with excellent performances, set during the Japanese takeover of Shanghai during World War II and centered around a lounge singer portrayed by Anita Mui. Well done but there could have been more development of the characters and setting. For example, the need for the Chinese resistance (a critical story element) would be better understood by western audiences and younger viewers if the brutality of the Japanese occupation was explained a little further. Also, the main and supporting characters could have used more fleshed out introductions and it sometimes felt as if I had missed the opening reel of the film. It was made and performed well enough to be able to accept "what" everyone was doing, but I cared enough about the people to want to know more about "why". On the other hand, too much explanation (about the war in particular) would have distracted from the main focus of the story which was the personal drama of the characters. I highly recommend it.
The Musical Singer (product link) Drama / Comedy A nice film but too little comedy or drama to really be either. The blending of both elements in this case seems to weaken both. There were good performances by the whole cast but some of the key characters were a little too simplistic. Also, despite the build up of her character, Anita Mui is used very little. The 80's clothing may look odd to people today but then, I thought they looked odd back in the 80's. I'm sure that most viewers will just see that that is how people dressed then. Still, I did enjoy the film and would recommend it as a rental.
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