Agreement:84% of 19 voters agree with Jeffrey Frawley's reviews Gender: Male Age: 49 Location: Potomac, Maryland, USA Lists:WISH LIST (7) / OWNED LIST (115)
Bio: I love Asian film far more than is good for me. While I am very fond of much from Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers films hold a special attraction, particularly the work of Chang Cheh, with Ti Lung or the Venoms, and Liu Chia-liang, with or without his brothers. I am learning more about South Korean film, but don't yet feel all that well-informed about it. Thai film is entertaining, to say the least, but I do not yet have the critical apparatus to go beyond "That elbow strike was cool!"
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The Vengeance Trilogy [UK 6-Disc Black Box] (product link) Drama / Crime These are great films. I am most partial to "OldBoy," but the others are up to Park Chan-wook's very high standards. He says he is not really interested in violence and revenge, but these three fine movies belie that: He has found his bloody muse.
These are violent, bloody films, and anyone offended by depiction of violence, hatred and cruelty should look to another auteur and genre.
My Father Is A Hero (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts It's not Jet Li at his very best, but this is an entertaining adventure which calls on him to display more acting chops than his previous films. He's not yet 100% ready for the acting demands, but doesn't embarrass himself.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Lau Kar Leung/Liu Chia Liang presents his most impressive martial artist---Lau Kar Leung/Liu Chia Liang! He and Hsiao Hou give spirited and physically astounded performances of Monkey-inspired Hung Gar in this riveting tale of justified revenge. The story is good, but the real reason to watch this is to see Master Lau show his stuff.
Amazing Masters / Shaolin Traitor [DOUBLE FEATURE] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure "Amazing Masters" is a poorly written, terribly narrated collection of clips from kung fu films, concentrating heavily on Carter Wong--presumably because they had access to his work, rather than for any aesthetic reason.
"Shaolin Traitor," on the flip side of the disc, is probably a third rate effort--with the execrable dubbing and very poor transfer to DVD it's hard to judge.
Fist Of Legend (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is a very fine film, capturing Jet Li and fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping at or near their personal bests. As great as the original "Fist of Fury"/"Chinese Connection" was, this is much better written and placed in the real world, i.e., SOME Japanese are subhuman creatures, rather than ALL. Yasuaki Kurata gives a well-modulated role as an honorable Japanese of considerable martial arts ability.
Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion Collection [3-Disc Set] (product link) Crime / Thriller These are not high art, but Meiko Kaji is a magnetic presence, and the abuse heaped on her character is more than sufficient to justify her violent revenge. This series made the women-in-prison genre very popular in Japan for several years, but few if any of its imitators were either so extreme or so entertaining.
The Brave Archer Collection (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This series is plot-heavy and demanding of close attention, but it is very much worth the effort.
Opium And The Kung-Fu Master (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Ti Lung demonstrates (again) that he is the finest fighter among Shaw Brothers' non-real martial artists--or perhaps the finest actor among its fighters. This film is prophetic of the direction Ti Lung's career would take as he grew older: the nobly suffering flawed hero, rather than the beefcake superfighter of his youth.
Tom Yum Goong (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Tony Jaa is by far the most entertaining cinematic martial artist of the present day. Those who were impressed by "Ong-Bak" will be mesmerized by the more innovative fight choreography and hugely superior cinematography of this excellent film.
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I couldn't agree more. A lot of creativity and skill were required for this achievement.
Godzilla: Final Wars (product link) Science Fiction / Thriller A mediocre film from a usually more exciting director. I first saw this without subtitles and was able to get a general idea of what was going on. When I saw it with fairly competent subtitles, it gained only marginally in comprehensibility. The special effects are adequate but not much more than that.
Spirited Killer (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Some may come to this film seeking an early performance by Tony Jaa, and they may be disappointed by the brevity of his role. They should keep an open mind and recognize that this is a vehicle for Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa's mentor and trainer. He made dozens of low budget, minimally scripted films from the late '70s into the '90s. Many are so amateurishly plotted and acted as to be of little interest, but Rittikrai's athleticism, physical courage, and entertaining choreography are usually worthwhile.
"Spirited Killer" is better acted than most of his films--although that is very faint praise--but it is far better plotted and written. While many of Rittikrai's starring films are too amateurish for most Western viewers, this should hold the attention of anyone seeking Tony Jaa's influences and lineage.
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READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
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Completely agree with review. But as for "A Clockwork Orange"- I do not fail to percieve the intent of the film, the film fails to logically manifest a point.Is it possible that you and many others revere that film because you think you are supposed to?
Dark City (product link) Science Fiction / Action/Adventure Often films are re-released in "director's cuts" which do not improve upon the originally screened version and which are nothing but money-making tools. Not so here! This director's cut removes the studio-dictated opening narration, which gave away far too much of the plot, fleshes out several scenes, makes Richard O'Brien's character much more comprehensible, and changes a somewhat baffling, disjointed film into a true masterpiece. For those who are reluctant to buy new DVDs of films they already own, this should be the exception to your rule.
Five Deadly Venoms (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is among my most treasured and re-watched DVDs. It deserves top marks for introducing the team of the Venoms, but it is also very worthy standing on its own merits. Before this film, I think Chang Cheh still had one foot in reality, but with this he began to deliver superheroic fantasy--newly invented styles of kung fu which suspend gravity, physics and belief, and pure spectacle. The Venoms' choreography and abilities were displayed to even greater effect in several of the following films, but this must remain a treasured memory to anyone who loves the Venoms.
Running On Karma (product link) Drama / Dark Comedy I came to this film with extremely high expectations, having read that it was Johnnie To's finest, deepest, most meaningful picture, and Andy Lau's finest acting. It isn't any of that, but it is a very good picture, with good performances by the two leads and surprisingly good prosthetics to transform Lau into "Biggie." Lau has given more nuanced, affecting performances in other roles for To and others, but this is much less smug than many of his performances. Cecilia Cheung is cute, and gives a competent performance, but her character's relationship with Lau isn't really fully developed. When the film is over, it's not clear what Johnnie To meant to convey about the law of karma or the inevitability of fate--questions it seemed he intended to answer.
I liked the picture, and would recommend it, but one's expectations should not be exaggerated.
Shaolin Daredevils (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This film exists for the individual Venoms to show off their agility, tumbling and weapons handling, and it succeeds marvelously. It's refreshing to see Lu Feng (probably one of the handful of great Shaw Brothers villains) as a kind, goodhearted hero. This is a lesser film than the very best from the Venoms--"Flag of Iron" and "Crippled Avengers" set a very high bar--but it is among my favorite DVDs to put back in the machine and play!
The Spiritual Boxer (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is a remarkably high level of accomplishment for Liu Chia Liang/Lau Kar Leung's first film as a director. The cast is very proficient, and the humor transcends language barriers. Wang Yu/Wong Yu/Young Wang Yu was not one of my favorite performers, but he was well cast and gave an engaging performance here.
The Shadow Boxing (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Perhaps I'm humorless, but this film does very little for me. Wang Yu, Liu Chia Ying, Liu Chia Hui and Lee Hoi Sang have all given better martial arts performances in other films by Liu Chia Liang, and the humor may be aimed specifically at a Cantonese or Hong Kongese sensibility. I prefer Liu Chia Liang when he is more serious. All of this being said, this is still much better than a lot of films by lesser directors and casts: this lineup simply encourages much higher expectations.
The Tai Chi Master [1993] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure Jet Li and Chin Siu-Ho are very well cast as (respectively) a noble and an ambitious former Shaolin pupils. There's not quite enough of Michelle Yeoh's acrobatics, but this is Jet Li's show from beginning to end. It may be argued that Li demonstrates his own Beijing wushu rather than Tai Chi, but that's what he knows best, and it's beautiful to watch.
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