The House [2005] (product link) Horror / Thriller This film is very derivative of the Japanese haunted film "Dark Water". We have a mother and her daughter in a decaying, abandoned apartment building, which is haunted by the ghost of a child. And maybe more.
Definitely has some creepy moments. No gore. And a "diabolus ex machina" ending.
The Beast (product link) Fantasy / Erotica The comedy falls flat and I can't make sense out of the plotline, but the delirious dream sequences made this a worthwhile purchase regardless.
Samurai Commando Mission 1549 (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction I'm not sure I could call it a "remake" of Sonny Chiba's "G.I. Samurai", but it's basically the same idea. Modern Japanese SDF dudes go back in time and face off against medieval Japanese warriors.
I really liked this film. It is packed with action. The best thing for me was that the medieval Japanese aren't portrayed as idiots, which is so common among such time travel dramas. In fact they react very sensibly and intelligently when confronted by modern weapons. In several scenes you're almost rooting for the medieval villains as they confront heroic odds in overcoming the good guys' technological edge.
Seeding Of A Ghost (product link) Erotica / Horror Like many such films, it takes a while to get started--I guess HK filmmakers want you to see the bad guys being REALLY bad first. So they deserve it or something.
The special effects are kind of quaint. There is no real plot--just the ghost-killing bad guys 'till it uses them up.
So why did I rate it four stars? Because it was gory, goofy, and moralistic. Pretty much everything I love in a Hong Kong horror flick!
Hellevator: The Bottled Fools (product link) Horror / Science Fiction An interesting science fiction movie set in what is obviously a very claustrophobic place. I think they did a good job with no budget to pull off a whole weird culture of alienated and disaffected people.
Garuda (product link) Science Fiction / Fantasy Man they tried so hard to make this a cool giant monster movie that I really REALLY wanted to give it a better rating.
Why Garuda Ruled:
It had an unusual and spectacular monster.
The setting grew on me after a while.
Why Garuda Drooled
we didn't see enough of the monster. I guess they couldn't afford too much CGI.
Devil Species (product link) Horror / Thriller This is a lame monster movie, with a particularly goofy monster. There are no real twists, the acting is passable at best, and the action heroes are very unconvincing.
Sadly, I adore lame monster movies. If you do, too, this might be for you as it was for me.
Crazy Lips (product link) Horror / Science Fiction I was kind of torn on what rating to give this one. It's such a peculiar film. They tried way too hard to make it a "cult" movie, in my opinion, instead of just letting the movie stand on its own two legs.
Also the number of twists that started popping up as the film went on got pretty funny after a time. But maybe it was supposed to be. It's hard to tell.
In the end I was entertained by the film and was glad I'd bought it. It is NOT a feel-good "bring your girlfriend" type of movie, however.
Dark Tales Of Japan (product link) Horror / Thriller This omnibus feature is kind of oddly-organized. It starts off great, and gets worse as it goes along. But I can't complain - the first two episodes are terrific, and well worth the money.
Wild Zero (product link) Horror / Thriller I loaned this film to a buddy of mine, and he came back to me and said with a sincere heart, "This is the best [expletive deleted] movie ever made in the history of the Earth." He then became a fan of the band Guitar Wolf and went to see them when they visited Austin, Texas a few years back. (Sadly I hear that Drum Wolf has since passed away.)
Everyone I know who's seen "Wild Zero" raves about it. How can you go wrong with aliens, rock-and-roll, zombies, and large caliber handguns. This movie aims to please, and unlike some other attempts to do so, it holds up to a second or third viewing. Every time I see it I like the nightclub owner even more. He is so perfectly annoying.
The Water Margin [1972] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Man i wanted to like this more than I did. I am immensely curious about the whole Water Margin thing, but information about it is hard to get in English. The movie had about a billion eccentric characters, most of whom do nothing but look cool. Wow I wanted to see that awesome priest with the super-staff get into action but no dice.
It's still a good action movie with plenty of fun kung fu, but I'm no wiser about the Water Margin than before. Alas.
If you like kaiju movies at all this is an absolutely required film. It contains shout-outs to almost all the old films; some great ... some not so great. Gigan makes a major appearance for instance.
Its only real flaw for me was that most of the monster fights were way too short and simple. Killing Hedorah with a single blast of fire certainly seems over-easy.
Some commentators have objected to the parallel storyline in which humans are struggling with aliens on a small level. Yeah, most of that stuff is corny but after all it is a Godzilla movie. It's not like previous Godzilla movies shorted you in the corn category! I and my sons enjoyed every second, particularly trying to figure out which monster would show up next.
If you have never seen a kaiju movie before, then this isn't the one to start with. Have a copy of original Godzilla or Gamera 1992 sent to your security bubble.
Returner (product link) Action/Adventure / Science Fiction This is a terrific action movie as well as an excellent time-travel plot. The villains and heroes alike are interesting characters, and the plot is spellbinding.
It bears some over-obvious similarities to "Terminator" but there is actually more going on here than in Schwarzenegger's film. I wish it had had a high enough budget to show more of the absolutely cool aliens, but I guess it is what it is. If you like science fiction action this is a first-rate example of it. If only Hollywood had half the brains of the guys who did this.
The Grudge [DTS] (product link) Horror / Thriller If you're going to buy this, do yourself a favor. Do you own the Japanese TV version of "Ju-On" ("The Grudge"), yet? If not, go buy it first.
Then, if you want to see more of this kind of thing (I did), go buy "Ju-On 2", or the Japanese film version.
Only then, if you are STILL addicted to the story concept (like I was), then go ahead and get this American version of "The Grudge". But please consider starting with the source first.
Cursed (product link) Horror / Thriller This is a terrific little gem of a horror film, at least for the first hour or more. It starts off with a bang and keeps getting creepier. The ending is a little flaccid, but you are set up for such a payoff it's hard to see how they could pull it off.
Dead Waves (product link) Horror / Thriller I'm a big fan of Japanese horror, and this had some moments, but just not enough. It was almost scary enough, almost gory enough, and almost evocative enough. I guess it was a whole bucket of "almosts". That said, it was very nearly there. Worth a look or two, but probably not three, if that makes any sense.
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