What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[ShaOW!linDude]

Kung Fu Master ---- starring Yuen Biao.

Check Reviews forum in 'My Many MiniReviews'.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Deadly Mantis (1957: Nathan Juran) *½/****:

Not to be confused with the Shaw Brothers’ martial art film with the same name or any actual movie. This sci-fi monster flick might have been something Ed Wood would have made had he been working with Universal that year – heck I think he could have made this even more interesting.

While I’m probably burnt out of sci-fi monster films at this point, something about these overly large (ever changing size; one minute it looks a few hundred feet tall, another it looks forty) bug monsters is so unintentionally hilarious that it is easy to find some fun watching these. Now this is not a good film, it is not well made, the acting and plot is particularly bad and this might even cure insomnia for Tyler Durden. If you are reading this far into my blathering I think you already know what you are getting into (both the writing and the movie).

The best parts of the movie are the massive amounts of stock footage used. A surprisingly huge amount of stock footage is used of everything from airplanes, weather, ice bergs, Arctic, Eskimos, radar sites, airplane controllers and much more. Sometimes it feels that a plot was constructed out of this existing footage with the help of a slow moving giant insect that is about as awkward as a seven-foot octogenarian running a 100 yard dash. The extra exposition filler early in the film discussing the North American radar system was almost as superfluous as the school lesson beginning of Michelangelo in The Agony and The Ecstasy.

The plot definitely takes a bit from Gojira. Here we have a prehistoric insect freed from its icy prison because of the activities on the other side of the Earth and it initially wrecks havoc on the tasty humans by destroying outposts and making people disappear. But it prefers warmer weather and heads towards America after terrorizing and eating Eskimos. Will it be stopped? I think we know that answer, the better question is how it will be stopped. I think they should have constructed a giant boot to step on it.

This film was done for MST3K as well. I find that quite appropriate. While I see some positive statements on IMDB I can’t really think of anyone to recommend this to. The director Nathan Juran has done many better films like 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, First Men in the Moon and The Black Castle (I’m surprised on how many films I have seen that he has directed). He is also known for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman but I have not seen that yet.

Every sci-fi monster film has to have at least one female lead screaming. There needs to be more male screaming, possibly falsetto. There is also the inappropriate forced relationship between the female and one of the male leads.

Now I think it is time to watch a real horror film -- one with monsters yeah that'll work.

[AlbertV]

Jackie Chan: Kung Fu Master - aka Looking for Jackie.

For some reason, I kinda liked it. Reminded me of Sidekicks, the 1993 film that starred the late Jonathan Brandis who wanted to meet his idol Chuck Norris and did it, but of course it was about one teen's quest to do whatever it took to meet Jackie just to learn kung fu. Nice fights between a lady cop and a guy who kidnaps the teen because he thought he was JC's disciple.

Kamen Rider OOO: 1-7

I've watched the 1st seven episodes of the new Kamen Rider series and it's quite fun. I gave a description in the Television section.

[ShaOW!linDude]

This weekend it was:

Ballistic Kiss ----- Donnie Yen

House Of Traps ----- Shaw Bros.

Bangkok Adrenaline

See My Many MiniReviews in Reviews section.

[Fat_Dragon]

Hard Target

Hard Boiled

In The Line Of Duty 4

[IgaNinja]

I rewatched the original The Omen ,some scenes still retain their chill factor.

I also watched a film called Black Death,I quite liked it,enjoyable dark ages romp.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

could not find a thread dedicated to this film so might as well post here:

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003: Kim Ji-woon) Korea ***½/****

I wanted to watch at least one more Asian horror film before the month was out and this film was quite high on my list due to my lack of South Korea watchings. I will probably watch several more horror films this month because I lost over a week due to a cold (I don’t like watching horror when I’m sick, not sure why).

Su-mai and her sister Su-yuen have just came back from a time in a sanitarium after their mother died to a house with a new step-mom and a taciturn dad. However, the step-mom does not seem to want them there and strange things start happening at night.

You could definitely see some scenes that I feel were probably influenced from Ju-on (2002) a film that is quite a bit scarier to me, but nowhere near as coherent with the story and ultimately overdone with the amount of sequels and remakes (and even the first film was based on two shorts) as well as Ringu (1998). I did feel that a few scenes seemed misleading and could have possibly been trimmed.

This is a psychological tragedy with horror elements in it. While several scenes are indeed frightening after finishing the movie I found myself more depressed than anything else. I feel the film is effective in what it is trying to accomplish by using a slower paced, mood and dramatic oriented plot mixed with a non-linear timeline. This movie is partially open-ended and partially not. It overdoes the mixture of subjective and objective views making it hard to decipher. The overlying story of what happened to the two sisters is known, but many of the smaller pieces can have multiple meanings. A second viewing is probably essential to understand more of the potential meanings or expose more of the plot issues.

It is a beautifully directed film (not sure of Kim Ji-woon’s cinematography approach to his later film The Good, The Bad, The Weird) with a haunting soundtrack from Lee Byung-woo. The acting is particularly good with a stoic performance from Kim Kap-su as the father. This is based on a Korean folk story (Janghwa, Hongreyon-jon) and it was remade (which I did not know until know) in the States as The Uninvited (2009).

--- spoilers below

I always hate when reviewers state an analogy or reference to another film and do not explain the two. The scenes most like Juon in this film include the crawling around of the “black” ghost as well as the closest scene with the slithering “black” creature (this was also somewhat reminiscent to some scenes in Ringu) and that same ghost in Juon had a broken neck just the same as in this film. The kid under the sink had the same feel as several scenes in Juon as well (though having a third party see the kid when she was having a seizure was just interesting and scary as well). Though I do not think the director was directly influenced by the film (though it is possible he saw the two V releases) since the film came out after this one in South Korea.

The most effective scary scene in this movie was the neck broken creature (we later find out it is the mother) who moves like a puppet to the bed of the younger sister (I believe it is the younger sister Su-Yeon who sees this, but of course she is dead, so it is probably Su-Mi who thinks she is Su-Yeon who sees this).

Is there a sadder way of dying than what happened to Su-Yeon. I normally think that even in the sad situation she was in to be covered by her mother’s corpse trapped in the closet that has overturned would not kill her. But the emotional torment of that happening would certainly take its toll. This is main plot point that we are sure has happened and help explain what goes on earlier in the film. The grief that Su-Mi will have for not checking up on that noise will of course haunt her for the rest of her life as well as leave her completely alone. She could accept the death of her mother, but she could not accept the death of her sister.

[kungfuandcoffee]

I tried to watch another Jacques Tati film, "Trafic." I don't get it! This guy is ranked in the top 50 of all directors. It's certainly all busy and intricately designed. I don't find it funny. I've always thought of myself as having a very broad sense of humor, from high-class subtle things to low, obvious things. But Tati - I don't get it!!!

-------------------

Lance Burton / www.youtube.com/kungfuandcoffee / Humorous Kung Fu reviews from a non-expert's perspective / Twitter, Facebook, Email, Pony Express

[masterofoneinchpunch]

I tried to watch another Jacques Tati film, "Trafic." I don't get it! This guy is ranked in the top 50 of all directors. It's certainly all busy and intricately designed. I don't find it funny. I've always thought of myself as having a very broad sense of humor, from high-class subtle things to low, obvious things. But Tati - I don't get it!!!

-------------------

Lance Burton / www.youtube.com/kungfuandcoffee / Humorous Kung Fu reviews from a non-expert's perspective / Twitter, Facebook, Email, Pony Express

Well to be fair to Tati that is often considered his worst film (I do like it, but in construction of gags he has better films).

Tati's most intricate film is PLAYTIME though that film is extremely busy with much of the jokes happening at the same time and he takes advantage of deep focus as well.

My favorite film of his M HULUT'S HOLIDAY which was highly influential to many comedians from Terry Gilliam to Peter Sellers. But MON ONCLE is quite good as well with his mixture of social satire and elaborate set design.

I don't think you should dismiss his work. You might want to get back to him in a few years or if you have the Criterion versions of these films take a look at the extras (or check out the critic writing of his films from Jonathan Rosenbaum or Roger Ebert who are big fans of his work). His cinema I find more interesting and quirky than down and out funny, but the interesting factor is what makes his work easy to watch many times.

[kngfu]

rewatching FACE OFF for the first time since it came out on laser disc. Not as good as I remembered it to be. Too many bad movies for travolta and Cage since it was released have tainted my viewing of this once classic.

[ShaOW!linDude]

This weekend I watched..........

An Empress and The Warriors

Dragon Fist

Stuck my thoughts in 'My Many Minireveiws'.

[AlbertV]

The Accidental Spy - Watched it for the first time in 8 years. For some reason, I kind of liked it. I thought this fight scne in Turkey in the market was a complete riot (for those who have seen it, I will not spoil it). I did find Scott Adkins in the film. He is towards the finale as one of the villain's bodyguards.

Driving Miss Wealthy, a funny film reuniting Lau Ching-Wan and Gigi Leung (who co-starred in La Brassiere and Mighty Baby). Gigi played a spoiled brat who loves to spend spend spend and Lau was her personal bodyguard disguised as her Filipino driver. Gig's father wants to teach her a lesson so he fakes a heart attack and has her kicked out of the house. With the help of the bodyguard, she slowly begins to be a better person but not without the require comic mishaps.

Legend of the Fist: Chen Zhen was a mixed bag, but I mentioned that in the Modern Martial Arts Cinema thread.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - I read the book and there were a lot of changes in the movie from the book, but still a pretty decent family film. Now that Harry Potter is going to end, I'm guessing they are looking for a new franchise aside from the superhero films.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Spies Like Us (1985: John Landis): ***½/****

Here is a film I have seen many times but have not seen on DVD (the DVD quality is not better than the VHS). Now that I find that the blu-ray actually has a widescreen copy along with Funny Farm (though I have read that there have been quality problems with that release) well I can still probably watch it again. The difference between watching a film that you know by heart after years of watching much cinema is well really only noticing that several directors played roles in this film . I was wondering to myself how I could not notice Terry Gilliam or Sam Raimi or Joel Coen when I last watched this about a decade or so ago (though I think it is understandable that I did not know who Costa-Gavras then). What I did find hilarious that after looking through the credits Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) had a non-speaking role in this movie. I had to go back and view the training scenes to see him in the background in several scenes. I wonder if he was in any deleted scenes.

Have you even seen a film too many times that you feel it is impossible to give any real subjective criticism? This certainly is a film I adore and is one that I had probably seen too many times on VHS and TV (so much so that I know which scenes were normally cut during the broadcast; this is almost as bad as the first several seasons of The Simpsons where I knew which scenes had been cut out of the syndicated versions). I certainly like it more than the average rating at IMDB.

This was the first pairing of Dan Aykroyd (who co-wrote this) and Chevy Chase as a couple of perceived idiots Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume and (well Dan is perceived, Chevy is) who are recruited as GLG20 superclass spies. Of course since they were caught cheating their quick rise is actually a ruse unknown to them. Their “basic training” is still my favorite part of the film. Of course it is complete nonsense, but what nonsense. It is the type of training where you really do not have to do anything except survive.

They are a throwaway decoy for the real team. However, since them dying right away would end the film too quickly they are successful in evading capture by a couple of overly preppie Russian counteragents with one of them making the mistake by wearing the wrong wristwatch (though I thought the Russian writing gave it away) which Austin was able to deduce that it was of Russian origin. This allows them to continue on with their mission much to the chagrin of those who thought they would have captured or killed at this point – though it does allow the “real” unit to still proceed without any heat.

I thought the ending lacked the hilarity of the earlier scenes though and the real team was characteristically weak, but it did allow Chase to pair up with Donna Dixon. She is about as convincing as a spy as DJ Qualls as a weightlifter but it is forgiven. While The Blues Brothers is still my favorite John Landis film, I still enjoy this one.

Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor …

[ShaOW!linDude]

...........and doctor.

[ShaOW!linDude]

The 5 Deadly Venoms

Fearless Hyena

Check 'My Many Minireviews'.

[redinsanemetroid]

Just watched Kick-Ass after being recommended by several friends and it was surprisingly good. Nicholas Cage actually did a decent job in it although I usually despise most of the films he's in.

[redinsanemetroid]

I recently saw Kick Ass also, and I think it was ok. I thought it was a little too cute for me, but I'll probably still check out the sequel.

wow, didn't realize there's gonna be a sequel.....

the other film I've watched recently is the anime movie paprika, it looked really boring from the cover but turned out to be pretty decent

[Shaolin Chamber 36]

The last good movie I watched, which was last week, was the 2009 French Zombie-Horror movie, The Horde.

For zombie fans, I highly recommend this movie. It is out on blu-ray also, in Uncut version. It is pretty bloody, gory, and violent.

You can check out the trailer here.

6kbXTOOFOxU

I did watch it in French with English subs, There is a dub version out as well.

[Michael L.]

Huh; might have to check that out. It's a good thing there has been an influx of gory zombie movies to counteract the recent shiny, emo vampire stuff!

[ShaOW!linDude]

Amen, and pass the steaming pile of innards.

[AlbertV]

Watched:

PRODIGAL - D.A. Jackson's independent Christian martial arts action film

REVIEW HERE

THE LAST AIRBENDER - had a Free Rental code from Redbox, so I figured let me see this and all I need to say is...what the hell was M. Night Shyamalan thinking? It had potential, but it could have been done way better.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Watched:

DRAGON FROM RUSSIA

MERANTAU (WARRIOR)

See 'My Many MiniReviews'.

[kngfu]

DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME

I thought this movie was really good. It had action and a pretty cool story. Andy Lau was great and I hope to see more Dee films .

FIST OF THE NORTH STAR Not as cool as I remembered it to be, but still kinda fun. Gary Daniels is good in everything he does.

[joyhood]

I think everyone might be watching other than Kung Fu were:

Lost Souls - this bulldog of a flick is better the 2nd time!

The Lark - those old tunes echo in my head for days!

Tiger Killer - Man, Li Han Hsiang doesn't get any better than this.

Death Valley - 2nd spin; Angie Yu Chien, Chen Hung Lieh & Lo Wei score the old-school way! Many are watching Reality shows also like Dreams Of Eroticism. A group of top Shaw directors banded together and managed to get Shirley Yu, Terry Liu, Yang Pan Pan and other Shaw starlets to bare all for the cameras in episodic flick.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Center Stage (1992: Stanley Kwan: Hong Kong) ***½/**** (possibly ****; will determine on next watch)

“Malicious Gossip”

Retired Film Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum considers this film to be the best movie he has seen out of Hong Kong and at one point he has had this in his top 100 films. That is mighty high praise from the sometimes choleric critic. I had seen a previous film from Stanley Kwan called Rouge starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. I had found Anita outstanding in it, but was not completely happy with the film as a whole and felt it is overrated by many Hong Kong critics. However, Center Stage (aka Actress aka Centre Stage) is a gargantuan step forward in filmmaking with Kwan putting in 18 months of research. I understand why Rosenbaum praises it very highly.

Center Stage is about the most famous of Chinese’s silent actresses Ruan Ling-yu (this film helped make her famous with the later generations) whose life was the envy of many, but was plagued by a multitude of thin relationships and a capricious press. She committed suicide at the age of 25. Originally Anita Mui, who looks quite a bit like Ruan Ling-Yu, was supposed to be the lead (she backed out of the project because she did not want to film in Shanghai because of the Tian An Men Square incident). Knowing her acting style I think she would have done well as the lead in this film as well, she can bring an ethereal melancholy to her roles (and is surprisingly good in comedy, she is missed). However, Maggie Cheung is extraordinary in this role (though those who say this is her breakout dramatic performance are completely forgetting her in Days of Being Wild (1990)). She is so dominant in this film that with the exception of Tony Leung Ka-Fai’s portrayal of director Tsai Chu-sheng most of the male acting appears milquetoast.

Stanley Kwan eschews a normal biopic for a multilayered approach that inserts old footage from extant films from Ruan, the actors themselves discussing her career and dramatic recreation of scenes from her life. This film focuses on her acting days and her known relationships during that time both platonic and romantic. While the actors speculate what was going through her mind, the film does well in showing the inner turmoil but does not over speculate as to why she killed herself – though most think it has to do with the tabloids (Hong Kong critic Paul Foronoff thinks it might have had to do with the upcoming transition to sound for Chinese cinema and the fact that her Mandarin was not that good).

The cinematography from Poon Hang-sang (Peking Opera Blues (1986), Kung Fu Hustle (2004)) is beautiful. The Shanghai location does help in the authenticity, but the costumes, the settings and the look of the film is exquisite. This is a film to have someone watch who thinks Hong Kong cinema is only Wong Kar-wai and action films.

Ruan was most famous for her 1930s performances including The Goddess (1934) and only 8 of her films (possibly 9) are extant. I have been recommended the paperback/DVD Ruan Ling-Yu: The goddess of Shanghai (which contains a copy of The Goddess) from the Soft Film 軟性電影 curator. While I knew several directors mentioned like Fei Mu (director of what often is considered the best Chinese film of all time Spring in a Small Town (1948)), there are so many characters that I would like to learn more about. I have only watched a few films from 1930s Shanghai like Twin Sisters (1934) and Street Angel (1937) – Street Angel is quite good and apparently a remake of the Frank Borzage film Street Angel (1928).

Only get the remastered R0/NTSC Fortune Star/Joy Sales release. It has the full length director’s cut (at 154 minutes) and is currently the best looking DVD on this film out there. This release includes two interviews both in Cantonese with removable English subs (and two Chinese subs), one with director Stanley Kwan (11.37m) and one with Hong Kong critic Paul Foronoff (13m). Both are excellent for their short time period though Paul has the most insane grin throughout his.