Executioners (product link) Fantasy / Girls With Guns An excellent piece of work by Johnnie To and Ching Siu-Tung. A far better movie than the original HEROIC TRIO. Yes, there are fewer fights and less action scenes than the first movie, but overall EXECUTIONERS is more of a complete movie with a better plot, better screenplay, better acting, and quality fights. It was more emotional and dramatic, further solidifying the excellence of Johnnie To. Definitely a recommended movie, but please watch the digitally remastered version (HKL D'agostini)
Contour (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Completely ridiculous plot, but some exceptional fight scenes on a low budget. Some of the comedy was fun, but got tiring and quite annoying. The acting was simply terrible. Eric Jacobus and company rock when it comes to fights. Additional kudos for the extras and behind the scenes stuff. I can only imagine if there was additional funds for a better camera, lights, and a more experienced crew. A definite must-see for the fights!!!!
Project S (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Based on what I had read about this movie, I was not expecting much. I think it's an average action movie with some short and quick fight scenes (except toward the end of the movie where you get to see the better fights). I appreciated the skill and flexibility displayed by Michelle Yeoh. Yu Rong Guang also gave a good performance. The Jackie Chan scene was too short and quite silly. This movie also features Fan Siu Wong (better remembered for Riki-Oh and Righting Wrongs). Overall, worth a rental.
Stroke Of Death (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Totally exciting with a few funny scenes and some top notch choreography and fight scenes. I enjoyed watching this movie and seeing the skillful Ching Siu-Tung show off flexibility, skill, and funny charisma. The only downer to me was the monkey kung fu technique was not emphasized and looked rather average on camera. Overall, a definite kung-fu movie collector's item with a healthy collection of fights.
Interesting movie with odd characters, some unecessary explosions, gritty violence, and some heartwarming scenes along with some unusual comedy. The originality and unpredictable nature of this movie made it interesting to follow. From my experience, it's rare to see a HK movie with a psychotic ringleading rogue Judge, a lunatic nympho Virgin, a fight happy punk wannabe Deano, and a rock n roll biker bouncer Jeff. Let's not forget the Flashdance power dancing Mona and the formerly feeble later deadly silent killing debtor Sam.
Ringo Lam did an excellent job for the most part especially in the action scenes, but what this movie lacks is character depth and a strong musical score to emphasize the seriousness of certain scenes, broaden the graphic detail of sheer violence, and elaborate on the demented nature of Judge (played by Simon Yam). Perhaps this was due to budget restraints, however this in part makes this movie fall short of being in the same level of classics like HARD BOILED, THE KILLER, BULLET IN THE HEAD, and SHIRI. Overall a very good movie, worthy of a rental.
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this is not chow yun fat at his best but it's still a entertaining film.
Police Story (product link) Martial Arts / Comedy Terrific death-defying stunts and a few vicious fights featuring glass destruction with the human body. A very enjoyable movie with minimal gags (which was appreciated) and a few slow spots. I can still watch this movie again and again and never get tired of it.
Drunken Master 2 (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure A sequel better than the original. If you want to see fights and a modern display of the drunken boxing technique, this is for you. It is amazing that this movie has not been digitally remastered in an uncut version. Jackie shows superior skills in this movie. The fight scene with Chan and Lau Kar Leung is up there in terms of classics. Ti Lung got to show some moves as well as the beautiful Anita Mui and the lethal kicking Ken Lo.
It should be noted that the fight concept at the end of the movie was initially portrayed and used in one of Jackie's early classic (in my opinion) "The Young Master." This movie is a keeper and should fit well in any serious Kung Fu collection.
Magic Crystal (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts For a movie in the 80s, the fight choreography is better than average. Very good hand to hand combat fights. The fight scene toward the end of the movie featuring Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock, and Richard Norton was clearly the climax of fight scenes. You can easily tell that Richard and Cynthia are very skilled as they displayed pretty good artform. The comedy was quite outdated, but some scenes were funny for today's standard, and it was quite odd seeing Wong Jing act a fool.
Shaolin Challenges Ninja (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Absolutely awesome and one of Lui. A kung-fu movie collection is not complete without this movie. Story line is different and very entertaining. The martial arts and fight choreography is top notch and very engaging. Truly a masterpiece...hey Gordon Liu with hair is quite interesting to see, enjoyable ninja moment with Mr. Kurata, and an amazing directorial work by Lau Kar Leung!!
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Your review pretty much says it all. This belong in every collector's collection and I would say one of the best martial arts movies of all time.
Invisible Target (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts This has been the best HK action movie I have seen all year. Terrific fight scenes, stunts, and action. Wu Jing looked exceptional. Special effects were somewhat good and the glass breaking and brutal fights were top notch. Benny Chan is on top of his game on this project following excellent accomplishments on Jackie Chan's "New Police Story" and "Rob-B-Hood".
The storyline is okay, easy to follow, and the emotional content flows well and properly intertwined with each of the main characters. The action choreography is what we have been praying for and definitely a throwback to the glory HK days of action. I am not sure what more one is looking for in an action movie. Definitely recommended to anyone that likes HK action and an excellent addition to any HK film library.
Dragon Squad [2005] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This movie features some decent action scenes, but I expected a lot more and was not satisfied with the lack of martial arts fight scenes with Sammo Hung. The fight choreography could have been a lot better.
The movie seemed more like a runway shoot for some preppy cute young actors and actresses. There were some action scenes with unnecessary shootings where bullets did not hit intended targets especially with a couple of snipers shooting aimlessly at each other.
Michael Biehn's role as a villian was limited due to language barriers, but he was exceptional. Maggie Q was more of a figure head character without a major role. The drama scenes were good, but overall this was an average movie.
High Voltage / Circus Kids [DOUBLE FEATURE] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure An amazing combination of bad audio and video transfers from Video Asia. This DVD was definitely horrible.
"Circus Kids" did not end. The movie cut off abruptly before getting to the climax of the action scenes. There were a few good fight scenes featuring Yuen Biao, Ken Lo, and Donnie Yen. I was actually surprised to see Bey Logan (perhaps there'll be a Dragon Dynasty release of this movie). The movie also features a very horrible English dub that does not match the pace of the movie.
"High Voltage" is an all-out action movie featuring Donnie Yen. I could not make it past the first 20 minutes as the plot was weak and the action was senseless due to poor job exhibited by Video Asia.
Hopefully there'll be a better print for both movies.
"The 7 Grandmasters": an excellent martial arts movie with very good fight scenes along with good weapon fight display. Extras include: Trailers featuring "Zatoichi", "Samurai Fiction", "Red Shadow", "Sure Death", "Kunoichi", "New Big Boss"; A 2-page paper featuring the movie liner notes; Original movie trailer.
"The Red Wolf": An action movie similar to "Under Siege" and "Die Hard", directed by Yuen Wo Ping, featuring Kenny Ho, Christie Chung, and Elaine Lui. Brilliant fight choreography and hard kicking fights along with brutal gun play. This is a 2-disc version of the movie. The front DVD art design is exactly the same as the HKL version. Extras include: Audio Commentary with Bey Logan and Christy Chung (this is the audio commentary for the Hong Kong Legends version of this movie); Trailers featuring "Blood Heat", "Deadly Outlaw Rekka", "Kunoichi: Deadly Mirage", and "Kamikaze Taxi"; Gallery (featuring several stills from Elaine Lui, a few Bobby Samuel stills, and then movie scene shots); and more...
The special features does not come close to the HKL version (which is platinum status).
"The New Big Boss": This movie only comes in English Dubbed which is quite horrible and takes away from the movie. The fight scenes were overall poorly choreographed and too fast paced with bad camera angles and dark scenes. An obvious low budget movie, however Donnie Yen still shines in a few fight scenes. I would actually give this movie another chance by seeking the Cantonese version. I would also recommend seeing "Ballistic Kiss". Extras include Trailers, featuring original theatrical trailer, "Reborn From Hell II", "Bio-Zombie", "Zeiram 2", and "Riki-Oh".
Returner (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction This movie had some pretty good action scenes reminiscent of "The Matrix". Very good acting from Takeshi Kaneshiro. Definitely enjoyed the plot and storyline as well as the lesson on the implication caused by greed leading to destruction.
So Close (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts An interesting movie with a few slow spots and some unnecessary dialogue. There are a few nifty special effects and some that were quite over the top. Definitely not a very serious movie, but it had a few good fight scenes. The highlight was the exceptional fight scene between Yasuaki Kurata and Vicky Zhao Wei/Karen Mok which had to be seen over again. Kurata is definitely a legend in terms of fighting and his body of work. There could have been some more better fights and action scenes, thus this movie would be ideal for a good rental.
The One Armed Swordsman (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure An interesting movie. The fight scenes are rather dated, but such is expected from a movie released in the 60s. There is not much action in this movie, the storyline is good and flows well for the most part, but there are a few slow spots. The moral of the story is clearly emphasized by the director, Cheh.
Film Facts:
First movie to gross $1 million in Hong Kong
Liu Chia-Liang (Lau Kar-Leung) and Jia Tang were the two stunt coordinators for this movie
Lau Kar-leung played Ba Shuang, a disciple of "Long Armed Devil"
The Last Hurrah For Chivalry (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Martial Arts This movie has a brilliant, unorthodox plot, definitely not one of those movies where you can predict the storyline, thus making it more enjoyable. The fight choreography is somewhat outdated, but the use of weapons is awesome for a movie produced in the late 70s. Commendable work by John Woo, Fung Hak-On (Pray), Wei Pai (Chang), Damian Lau(Ling Ysi aka Green) and Lee Hoi-San (Pai).
House Of Fury (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts An enjoyable fun family type movie. Exceptional fight scenes and good choreography, but the wire-fu was definitely unnecessary. Wu Ma can still make one laugh. Good music score.
Righting Wrongs (product link) Girls With Guns / Martial Arts Wow, the fight scenes in this movie were pretty serious and fierce especially the acrobatic kick unleashed by Yuen Biao in the final showdown against Melvin Wong. You definitely have to see it in slow mo several times.
When I first saw this movie back in the 80s, it was one of my favorite HK flix, but after seeing it again, it's down on my list due to poor editing and some stupid plots. Melvin Wong did a fantastic job as the villain.
I enjoyed fight scenes between Biao and Peter Sugarfoot Cunningham (which could have been more elaborate and longer) as well as the duel between Cynthia Rothrock and Karen Shephard...and lets not forget the Biao and Rothrock fight.
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i agree with you theres some really cool action scenes in this flick.
This movie was very impressive. In my opinion, it's been the best Jackie Chan movie since "Drunken Master 2". Yes there were few fight scenes, but this was a complete movie. No slow spots, wonderful plot and good story line. Combines drama, action, comedy, sorrow, and morals. The beauty of this movie resides in the issues surrounding the main characters: Thongs (Jackie Chan), Landlord (Michael Hui) and Octopus (Louis Koo). Thongs has a gambling problem along with a hefty debt and a strained relationship with his family; Landlord has a wife with mental problems; and Octopus is a womanizer that spends all his money painting a false image of a rich person who is also a terrible husband. Combine all these issues around the kidnapping of a child and how it affects these three characters. Not to forget to mention that Yuen Biao plays a police officer in this movie.
Wonderful directing by Benny Chan. Exceptional dramatic acting by Jackie Chan. I saw the 134 min extended version and was engaged from the beginning to the end and I was like wow, 2 hours passed rather quickly.
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