The Leg Fighters (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure The dub [on the US DVD by Tai Seng] is just ridiculous. Two villains who wear bells around their necks are named Ding Dong and Dong Dong. How can anybody take this movie remotely seriously with shoddy dubbing like this? I might have enjoyed this movie more if it were subtitled (correctly).
It's movies like this that give kung fu movies a bad rap. This movie exudes low budget in almost every aspect. Too many comedic elements in this film, plus it's missing that "oomph" to draw you into the film. Tan Tao Liang's kicks are impressive but do little in making it a good movie.
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Tan Tao Liang can be good but this one kinda stinks
The Iron Fisted Monk (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I'd really rate this @ 3.75. The tone in this movie is certainly more serious than most Sammo films. No question the fight choreography from Sammo and Chan Sing are top notch. However, the plot is rather vanilla where the Manchus are the usual bullies trying to take over a territory/factory. I dont think the rape scene everybody talks about is out of place or inappropriate. It's just conveying the hate and desire for revenge much stronger. For Sammo and Chan Sing fans this deserves a view, but I wouldn't consider this a must-have.
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sooooo, how does one make rape scenes subtle? Essh.
The western reaction to Hong Kong cinema's justaposition of rape and light comedy is an ongoing problem. I like this about as much as does Jay Lee, but understand what he feels. Not to be smug, eastern film ethics are sometimes problematic to the west.
I disagree with Jay Lee because the rape scene was not the essense of this film. but it was essential to the storyline with the whole Mongal vs. ming plot. You can not deny the fight scene and I think we should stick to the point only. But I see you Ol'!
This is a must have in my book. And it's not the rape scene as such, it's the rape scene intercut with smarmy comedy that I personally have a problem with. Plus, im not a fan of rape scenes at all, and it could have been done in a more subtle way.
Lone Wolf And Cub 3: Baby Cart To Hades (product link) Action/Adventure / Swordplay/Sword(s) Another good installment in this series. The last scene where Ogami faces a ton of people is something to look forward to. Very gritty and suspenseful. My only gripe with this movie is the use of guns in the baby cart. That was a bit ridiculous in concept, considering the era and the technology needed to pull it off. Anyways, Ogami shows signs that he's not invincible but is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
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found this one slightly lacking but the suicide scene was freakin' awsome.
Lone Wolf And Cub 2: Baby Cart At The River Styx (product link) Action/Adventure / Swordplay/Sword(s) I liked this one much more than the 1st movie. This time Ogami is taking on a group of kunoichi and three bodyguards. I had to rewind the film when he took on the kunoichi by the roadside. Awesome scene. Tough battles from every direction and Daigoro by his side. Pick it up if you liked the first one.
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more bloddy and violent that the first and equally as good!
Lone Wolf And Cub: Sword Of Vengeance (product link) Action/Adventure / Swordplay/Sword(s) I acknowledge its place in the series as it sets the tone for what's to happen later on, but I didn't like this as much as I did with the 2nd or 3rd one. With that said, the film still displays top notch samurai slashing and blood spewing action. Only in Japanese samurai films can an overweight man can reign supreme as a swordsman (which is almost a direct opposite of what you would see in wuxia type films). It's interesting to see the Yagyu Clan frame Ogami in order to attain his rank/position with the shogunate.
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My personal favorite samurai film and for me, it deserves 5 stars.
Shaolin Challenges Ninja (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Excellent movie showcasing China vs. Japan, but in a respectful manner (even though it's obviously more biased towards China). Excellent display of martial arts from both countries and great scenery when Liu and Kurata fight. Although there are some comedic elements (which I typically loathe), they are done in good proportion and flow right with the rest of the movie. Good underlying message in this movie as well (especially for martial arts enthusiasts and practitioners).
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The quality of the martial arts is very high (as one would expect from the stars and director) and the humor is handled much more deftly than is common (particularly by this director). This is a first rate film.
You know, I saw this movie (7/7/09) for the one-hundredth time and I believe that this is the best Shaw Brothers movie to date.. FIVE STARS I TOTALLY AGREE!!!!
The Deadly Duo (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I was bored with this movie. The bridge scene reminded me of an SNL skit where everyone kept on jumping into a polar bear pit despite knowing the consequences. The best scene is David Chiang spearing several guys with his weapon. Other than that this was just a rather average "Rebels vs. Mongols; let's save the kidnapped prince" type movie.
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I generally like Chang Cheh; I almost always like Ti Lung; David Chiang is sometimes endurable: This is just not a well written film. The bridge scene is excessively long and foolish.
The Wolves (product link) Crime / Drama A nice surprise for yakuza film fans. I am surprised there is a lack of reviews for this film. It is not breaking any new ground, but it is a solid entry by Hideo Gosha. The settings and landscape are beautiful. Some may feel that the pacing in certain parts is slow/dragged out; but for someone like me who is used to this aspect in Japanese cinema, it was not an issue. Good use of music to set the tone in the scenes. Great cast as well. Gosha did a good job in conveying the double edged sword of loyalty, honor, and respect that is prevalent in all kinds of criminal organizations. Ironically, these ideals are the very thing that can be the downfall of an individual and crime family. The violence in this movie is nothing flashy but gritty and to the point.
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A very good film which has suffered from very poor quality prints for many years. One one adjusts for that, it's very worthwhile. Director and star are dependably good.
I would have liked this a lot more if the comedy and musical element was not present. This is unfortunate for me as I do not like those kind of elements in my kung fu movies and it seemed Lau Kar Leung seemed to dwell in the comedy aspect of his movies post-"36 Chambers"/"Invincible Pole Fighter"/"Legendary Weapons Of China". I must say that Kara Hui is absolutely stunning in this movie. I don't know why, but I never noticed much of her looks before, but she looked incredibly gorgeous in this movie. Also, she really gets to showcase her kung fu moves for a change in this movie as well. This movie has a great cast. As always, I am annoyed with Hsiao Hao's shennanigans. Fans of Gordon Liu will be disappointed as his presence is very limited. Lau Kar Leung is on top of his game as always and Wang Lung Wei plays a perfect villian to a "T". I think Leung did a good job in showing an odd situation of a much younger aunt. However, there were parts in the movie that just seemed to drag on. Again, my only gripe is that the movie loses my attention and enthusiasm when the comedy kicks in.
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The comedy in this film didn't work for me either, and I personally agree that Kara Hui is a stunning beauty and probably my single favorite female martial artist. She doesn't get enough props.
Samurai Fiction (product link) Comedy This is a good ol' samurai parody/satirical movie. The storyline is nothing complex but the pacing is done rather well and keeps you entertained throughout the whole movie. Clearly shows the virtues of honor, respect, love, avoiding killing, and redemption. The only real flaw I can find is developing more of Kazamatsuri's reasoning behind stealing the sword. Granted he does explain his reasons, but I just didn't feel as compelled to sympathize his reasons. It is shot rather well, blending elements of color, black and white, and a red screen. Fans of the chambara/jidaigeki genre will like.
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While the satirical intent is quite obvious, it works reasonably well read straight - and much better with tongue in cheek. Very entertaining.
Legend Of The Bat (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure In my opinion, much better than "Clans of Intrigue". "Clans of Intrigue" didn't get really interesting until the end, and even then, it was a rushed job.
"Legend of the Bat" has some nice sets and introduces an array of characters, as expected in a Chor Yuen movie. Ti Lung's character is much more interesting in this movie than he was in "Clans of Intrigue". It seemed he was much more skilled and cunning in cracking the case. Fans of Chor Yuen will love this movie.
Challenge Of The Masters (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Solid effort by Lau Kar Leung and Gordon Liu. Although this is not an action packed extravaganza, it does focus on the virtues of martial arts and having humility with your opponent. One of the rare times that the English dub has a quote that is worthy to listen to (Chen Kuan Tai's quote to Liu) that isn't bastardized cockney slang or chinglish.
I would give this more of a 3.75 instead of a 3.5 or 4 rating. I'm not in love with the movie but at the same time have respect for the merits of the film. Good to see excellent display of Hung Gar from Gordon Liu and Chen Kuan Tai. The Lau brothers put on an excellent showcase of Hung Gar as well. If you are expecting blood baths or gimmicks to anchor a movie, then avoid. If you want something that's more on a philosophical level, then you will enjoy this.
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While not the most riveting of Lau Kar Leung's films, this is a solid success. As is almost always the case, the martial arts choreography is extraordinary.
Decent movie. I would actually rate this at 3.75. Should have been retitled to "Eighteen Jade Lohans" (not to be confused with Lindsay). The mechanized statue with multiple arms looked ridiculously camp. It looks like something that came off of a 1960s horror film/sci-fi set. Good cast list, although I'm not sure who the main lead is (can anybody verify?).
Not to go too much into the plot, but it involves a good guy that knows the deadly Lohan Palm and travels with Polly Kuan to initially find the 18 Jade Lohans as well as track down Chang Yi's "killer". The plot is all right for the most part, and we even have some cameos from Lo Lieh, Ko Fei, and Lung Fei. In the end we find out the "killer", the reasoning behind the string of events leading up to this confrontation, and then have a very weak climax.
Polly Kuan out of the blue gets some epiphany on how to beat her opponent. That was done really dumb and showed a real lack of development on the director's part. Following this epiphany, the villain is defeated in what seems like less than a minute.
As mentioned, some night scenes were hard to view, but it didn't detract too much from the movie. I think the mystery element of this movie was better than the action. Granted you can probably figure out the main culprit halfway in. The action comes secondary to me. I am not one of those viewers who has to have nonstop brainless action with a paper thin plot to have some kind of enjoyment. So in short, I would easily say this is a rental but don't know if I would be watching this over and over again.
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I'm undecided whether to go with your star rating or lower, but agree completely with the text of the review.
The Brave Archer (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie, along with the rest in this series, can be summarized with one word: convoluted.
Yes it has action, like the rest in the series, but the direction in this is horrible. It tries too hard to introduce an array of characters and sub plots with no real development. I could essentially cut and paste this review and put it in place for the other movies in this series. Only for Fu Sheng/Venom fans looking to complete their collection
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yes you are right . They should of stopped at the first one. Then they started to bring back characters as other characters. It started to get confusing . I only bought all of them because of Fu Sheng & Venom Mob
Not a bad indie effort. Kind of a shame that nobody really knows the name of the main actor in this movie. Lots of solid action throughout.
A young man is entrusted with the golden seal but is almost killed by the Chings. A family nurses him back to health but then they fall victim to the bad guys and he is off to Shaolin temple to learn kung fu and one day take revenge.
The love story angle is a bit weak (really not even needed) and the bits with the drunk/crazy monk could have been developed alot better. However, it's a solid movie all around. I'm real curious if the editing of this movie was intentional as the beginning has a replaced title card then jumps right into the credit sequence where they name off production people (no cast members). Then at the end it plays what appears to be the credit sequence that should have been done in the beginning, and then we get a THE END. Either way it's a bit strange.
You have unusual taste in kung fu like me. It's a compliment the main evil charcter in this one is the same guy in Shaolin Vs Lama which he was an ultimate bad guy but your right I agree with the stars.
The 7 Grandmasters (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure More like 3.75 for me. There is plenty of good fighting in this one. The storyline is a bit thin on this one. You can pretty much figure out who the bad guy is.
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Agree. The thin ass story sort of made this film too predictible but regardless a good kung fu film! weeee };oP
Invincible One (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not bad at all if you are into the Chang Cheh Shaolin cycle. Chang Cheh's direction is top notch in this movie (which is something I dont say often about Chang Cheh). Obviously, this is a Fu Sheng vehicle, where he plays a country bumpkin trying to make it in the city. Chi Kuan Chun plays the big brother trying to discourage Fu Sheng from using his kung fu. His brother is fully aware of the dangers that come from fame and from working for crooked bosses. Don't want to give too much away but I liked this better than "Shaolin Martial Arts", "Shaolin Avengers", "5 Shaolin Masters",and "Heroes Two".
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I really loved Fu Sheng's performance in this movie. This is probably the best dramatic performance hes given short of " China Town Kid ".
The Heroes [Tai Seng] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not a bad indie effort. Basic premise is Ti Lung goes undercover to kill Chan Wai Man. Unfortunately, his brothers from Shaolin have to suffer the price in getting his mission accomplished. I thought it was rather comical that Chan Wai Man finally understood Ti Lung was up to something near the end when he was secretly training his brothers to fight against the Chings when he was torturing them.
I liked the film for the most part, but it wasn't anything that made me want to hit the rewind button. A worthy rental.
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Agreed, not Ti Lung's best but a very worthy effort.
This movie was a letdown. Classify this into the "if it's an indie/rare it has to be good" overhyped category. Although minor, the music score sucked. Now let's get into the plot/direction. I couldn't make sense of what was going on until halfway into the movie. Basically, you have a friendly fight between the Shaolin monks and the Taoist clan. They reach a stalemate in their fight, so they decide to train students who will carry on their fight (this kind of story has been done before in other movies). The Shaolin monks pick up the "chief" of the beggars as their disciple while the Taoist clan pick up what appears to be a lord's son. Most of the movie shows the Shaolin disciple preparing for the upcoming match with the Taoist disciple. In between, you see the bad guy plotting to steal Shaolin's gold seal or something. Long story short, you get to see some betrayal action and the Shaolin disciple and Taoist disciple play a key role in between. Is there lots of action? Yes, there is. Is the story/plot/direction engaging? No, it's utter crap. This is what plagues a lot of "indie" films in my opinion, because the low budget/lack of direction really shows. The action couldn't save this at all for me. I will say the redeeming factor is that they do try to portray Buddah's teachings throughout the movie and especially in the end. If you like rares and indies for the sake of being on that bandwagon, have a look at this.
Heroes Two (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts I was expecting not to like this one but it pleasantly suprised me. It's a decent Shaolin cycle movie. Basic Shaolin vs. Manchu plot. Good action by Fu Sheng and Chen Kuan Tai. Get if you are a fan of both.
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I was not surprised to like this. Cast and director are at their best in this genre. Chen Kuan Tai is quite formidable!
The Heroic Ones (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure An epic movie with a heavy emphasis on story, but with a balance of action. If you are expecting lighting and excessive action, then look elsewhere. The action choreography definitely looks slow/dated, but that's not a problem because the story is engaging. Ti Lung has an awesome scene near the end when defending Ku Feng.
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I need to watch this again. The pacing has been a problem, but the cast and director deserve another chance.
Human Lanterns (product link) Horror / Thriller A decent "horror"/martial arts flick. Solid performances by Lau Wing, Chen Kuan Tai, and Lo Lieh. Lo Lieh steals the show as the evil lantern maker. Even Lo Meng has a cameo as an assassin. Good direction by Sun Chung.
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Yeah I have to give it 4.5 becuase of the two lo's Lo Lieh and Lo Mang. Chen Kun Thai delivered as well. Entertaining add to your collection.
The Flying Guillotine 2 (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure I didn't think much of this movie to be honest. Not even Ti Lung could save this flick. I will say that Ku Feng played his bad guy roll to a "T". There's enough action, but the overall movie is lacking depth.
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I agree with u on the 3 star rating. I also thought it was lacking depth.
Clan Feuds (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Plotwise this is just a disaster. Cramming a novel into 90 minutes is a hard thing to do, and Chu Yuan should have broken this up maybe into two installments. There are a lot of "wtf" moments from the beginning of the movie to the ending revelation. However, there is a redeeming factor and there is plenty of action to keep you occupied. Ti Lung along with an all star cast try to carry this movie through, but it just falls short.
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Probably 3and a half stars for me. Ti Lung and the cast kept this one going. The director however was not Chu yuan but was Chang Peng Yi, he does a credible job here but not like Chu Yuan.
House Of Traps (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Not a bad entry for the Venoms crew. Granted, I don't think this should have been the curtain call for them, but nevertheless I was entertained. "The House of Traps" was a nice concept that could have been utilized more. I agree that Sun Chien could have been utilized more than a scholar, but I guess Chang Cheh had his reasons. Lu Feng and Kuo Choi definitely get the "what the hell is on your ears" award with their headgear. Some people complained that this movie didn't have enough fights, and I disagree. There were plenty peppered throughout and for the finale. You don't always need nonstop action to make a good movie. I only disagree near the ending with Kuo choi's logic, but whatever. Good to see this finally re-released [by Celestial].
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Good call! I guess all thieves have to wear standard issue headgear in the martial arts world.
Shaolin Master Killer (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Excellent movie with Gordon Liu and directed by Lau Kar Leung. This is by far a must-have for all kung fans. Although a common tale of revenge, Gordon Liu owns this performance as a young man who escapes the tyranny of the Manchus and sets out to learn kung fu from the Shaolin Temple so that he can one day get his revenge. Excellent training scenes, plot, and action scenes.
All Men are Brothers is the anticipated sequel to The Water Margin. To be honest with you, I actually enjoyed this movie a lot more than The Water Margin. It has a lot more fighting involved and a more "elaborate" story plot and pacing than The Water Margin. Although, there are certain things in the film that make you go "huh?" (like when the bandits are in the water and dont have the sense to climb over the floatable wooden gate, but instead get owned by the soldiers in the boats). It was good to see Chen Kuan Tai get some on screen action in this movie and he provided a valiant effort to kill off the emperor's army and generals. Blackwhirlwind as always, never follows orders and causes more problems for the Bandits, but as always, he kicks much ass when needed. We also get to see a young Bolo Yeung in the film. The final plan to take over the emperor's castle is action packed. Overall, if you liked The Water Margin, you wont be dissapointed with this movie.
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I agree with everything you said. Some of the things in this movie just don't make sense as you mentioned. I also agree this is better than The Water Margin. I must also mention that this has a truly great cast
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