Member Drunken Monk Posted May 14, 2020 Member Share Posted May 14, 2020 1 hour ago, DrNgor said: For my thoughts on the film... You definitely made more sense of it than I did! Great review. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 Kidnap in Rome (Hong Kong, 1974: Ng See-Yuen) - The influence of Way of the Dragon on this particular film is obvious, with a Chinese kung fu master working at a restaurant running around Italy beating the holy hell out of uncoordinated Europeans. It's also yet another entry in the pre-Drunken Master kung fu comedy series, with most of the non-fighting segments made up unfunny hijinks from its Caucasian stars. And even some of the fighting is played for laughs, in the sense that watching a diminuitive, prebubescent Meng Hoi spack the snot out grown men twice his age with nunchaku is funny. Unfortunately, the film is practically unwatchable tosh whenever star Bruce Liang is unleashing his patented kicks. And sadly, he doesn't do it enough in this film. The grandchild of a wealthy man is kidnapped and the grandfather is the precursor to Mel Gibson's character in Ransom: he doesn't want to fork over the 10 million smackeroos the kidnappers are demanding. Instead, he hires three men: a Scotland Yard inspector, a French private detective, and an FBI agent to find the boy and bring him back alive. The problem is that these three are complete morons. They end up at a Chinese restaurant complaining at how doomed they are when they see a waiter, Shek Wu (Bruce Liang), sparring with the busboy, Robert (Meng Hoi). They decide that Chinese kung fu is the key to solving the case. Yes, they actually say that. So they convince Shek Wu to join their cause. Lots of stuff happens. Some people are face-kicked multiple times. A false lead in the case leads to a woman bearing her breasts to reporters for no good reason. The movie ends six minutes after the conflict is resolved. I scream "Halleluliah!" The fights are mainly about Bruce Liang unleashing his roundhouse and spinning kicks on European thugs a full head taller than him. He also does a lot of Bruce Lee posturing. A few opponents look like they might know karate, but come across as sloppy. So the movie doesn't give Liang anything resembling a worthy opponent, not too unlike a typical Bruce Lee film. I think he gets about four fights in the movie, five if you count his brief sparring with Meng Hoi. Meng Hoi is a demon with the nunchaku, and watching him beat up a bunch of burly men is entertaining. At one point, one of his attackers says, "Bruce Lee?" when Meng whips out the chaku for the first time. And that ending. So two people involved in the kidnapping include a supporting character's sister and her husband. In the end, Liang spies them giving the kid some cab fare and telling him to take a cab and get to safety. He decides to not kung fu the spit out of them and let them go. Suddenly, the police show up and arrest them. Liang says, "Come with me!" to his cohorts, as if he had a plan to get them off the hook. About five minutes later, after showing the couple get paraded around the police and finally escorted to some boats to be taken in--they're in Venice at this point--the film ends. What the heck? Did we need to see all of that? What was all that for? I thought Liang was going to tell the police that they had helped him bust the lead kidnapper, or that the three investigators were going to do that. But no, they get arrested and we still have to watch them get escorted out of Venice for five minutes before the darn movie ends. Boo, sir! I say Boo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 I started my day with Dragon Lee Fights Again aka Dragon Lee Fights Back aka Big Boss II (on British VHS, I believe). The plot is actually interesting. Dragon Lee and Nick Cheung Lik go undercover to investigate the dastardly moon cult. It’s basically Dragon Lee versus Scientology. However, the version I watched is an utter mess. While it follows the investigation, it splices in various fight scenes from various Dragon Lee movies (including Clones of Bruce Lee). None of this makes any sense whatsoever and I was a bit disappointed as I’d seen all the fights before. There are actual fights in the film and they’re good but there simply aren’t enough of them. Ironically, without the cut and paste fights from other movies, this would be a terribly boring watch. Unless the version I watched had action cut outs I’m honestly not sure. The last ten minutes does give us a final showdown but it isn’t great. Dragon Lee’s fight is actually super dull. I’d honestly say this isn’t worth a watch at all. It’s one of the weakest I’ve seen thus far, despite the interesting plot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 2 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: I’d honestly say this isn’t worth a watch at all. It’s one of the weakest I’ve seen thus far, despite the interesting plot. Are you willing to say that when Dragon Lee does well, he soars higher than Bruce Le, but the converse is also true? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 24 minutes ago, DrNgor said: Are you willing to say that when Dragon Lee does well, he soars higher than Bruce Le, but the converse is also true? Dragon Lee is great and yes, I feel he’s better than Bruce Le (though I do like Le too). However, he has a pretty bad filmography. I’ve abandoned two of his movies so far and I’m about to abandon Enter the Invincible Hero. He has a mixed bag. A few old school style gems like The Dragon’s Snake Fist but he has more than a few old school duds. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 My second Dragon Lee movie of the day is Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger. While I'm recording it in my list of Bruceploitation movies seen, it's not really a Bruceploitation movie. It's just a Dragon Lee movie. While it's rather enjoyable, there's something awfully clunky about this one. I think part of it is the awkward plot that just never seems to come together properly (including random ninjas) and part of it is the occasionally annoying fight choreography. For a 1982 movie, there's a lot of flailing in this one. It's fine...sometimes great. It just gets a bit redundant after a while. I wanted more connection in the fights. Not just dodge, dodge, dodge. It does have its moments though. Especially when it comes to kicks. There are some beautiful slow motion kicks that are like Ong Bak years before that movie came out. I think this is the first time (and last time?) I've seen Hwang Jang Lee in a sex scene. Sucking boobs and all! Speaking of Hwang, things do get about 25% better when he's involved at the end. He brings kicks and more shapes to the mix. Of course, this is where Dragon Lee also pulls out the Bruce Lee movies. Minus screams for once. Good film. I can see how some may even say it's great. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 12 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: My second Dragon Lee movie of the day is Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger. While I'm recording it in my list of Bruceploitation movies seen, it's not really a Bruceploitation movie. It's just a Dragon Lee movie So you didn't make it through Enter the Invincible Hero? But... but...Casanova!!! Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger is a sleazy little companion piece to Ninja in the Dragon's Den. I thought it was weird how the girl-dressed-as-a-man gets her cover blown by an erotic dream that one of the male characters has. And as always, Hwang Jang Lee outfights the entire cast, as usual. And this was the fourth ninja-themed movie I saw in which a fight is determined by a woman suddenly flashing one of the combatants. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 Just now, DrNgor said: So you didn't make it through Enter the Invincible Hero? But... but...Casanova!!! Secret Ninja, Roaring Tiger is a sleazy little companion piece to Ninja in the Dragon's Den. I thought it was weird how the girl-dressed-as-a-man gets her cover blown by an erotic dream that one of the male characters has. And as always, Hwang Jang Lee outfights the entire cast, as usual. And this was the fourth ninja-themed movie I saw in which a fight is determined by a woman suddenly flashing one of the combatants. I love Casanova Wong too but yeesh! That one was a tough one to get through. I might return to it one day. Who knows? I thought the Hwang Jang Lee boob flash thing was weird. Who chooses to do that in TWO movies? Maybe Hwang requested it himself, who knows? And yes, he easily shows more talent than the two leads. It's always a pleasure seeing his kicking abilities. I'm now giving Dragon Lee vs The Fight Brothers a go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 Put simply, Dragon Lee vs The Five Brothers is a wretched film. Slow and vapid with fight scenes that range from visual tranquilizer to "Okay, I guess." That's all I have to say on this one. Avoid. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 6 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: Put simply, Dragon Lee vs The Five Brothers is a wretched film. Slow and vapid with fight scenes that range from visual tranquilizer to "Okay, I guess." That's all I have to say on this one. Avoid. Try watching his other collaborations with Hwang Jang Lee. Five Pattern Dragon Claws has him using the F-bomb, which is funny. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Drunken Monk said: I think this is the first time (and last time?) I've seen Hwang Jang Lee in a sex scene. Sucking boobs and all! He also has sex in Hard Bastard. Hwang you ol' Devil! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 2 minutes ago, DrNgor said: Try watching his other collaborations with Hwang Jang Lee. Five Pattern Dragon Claws has him using the F-bomb, which is funny. I'm watching Martial Monks of Shaolin as I type this. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 If one movie holds the World Record for most amount of fights, it has to be this one. There are SO MANY. Which is a good thing, by the way. I’m not complaining. The plot means nothing. Hwang Jang Lee’s a bad guy. Dragon Lee isn’t. Let’s fight! In some respects, this film exhausted me. Again, a good thing. But wow. The choreography is incredible. Those Koreans sure love their kicks. There’s a mix of all sorts here: kicks, shapes, weapons etc. The only thing there isn’t is a Bruce Lee impersonation. This is Dragon Lee being Dragon Lee. Hwang Jang Lee wears a tiger patch poncho by the way. He also makes Dragon Lee lick his shoes. Bonkers stuff. A great movie. It may not satiate those looking for plot and characters with depth but those looking for fight after fight after fight will be very pleased. Finally, the main female character in this film is called Pinky Poon. I bet she is. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 15, 2020 Member Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) Hong Kong Superman (Hong Kong, 1975: Ting Shan-Hsi) - aka Bruce, Hong Kong Master - I caught this obsure film on Youtube, being dubbed by one Russian guy talking over the English dub. Thankfully, he was always a second off, so I was able to get most of the dialog and know what was going on the whole film. This basically a kung fu version of Death Wish. Hong Kong, 1975: The economy is bad and lots of people are out of work. That has turned Hong Kong into cesspool of muggings and sexual assault, by young men who have nothing better to do, or by drug addicts needing money to buy drugs. Bruce Liang plays the top student at his martial arts school (whose instructor is played by Carter Wong in a brief cameo), who is hired to be the chauffeur and bodyguard of a famous politician, who simultaneously helps the poor and tries to bring back the death penalty. Both men suffer tragedies in their lives when the politician's wife is raped and little son is violently beaten by drunken revelers on Christmas Eve. Then, Bruce's future brother-in-law (Dean Shek) and his wife are assaulted. The wife is kidnapped, repeatedly raped and eventually dies. Dean Shek goes crazy and tries to go all Paul Kersey on the culprits, but is arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm. Bruce reaches his breaking point and decides to take out the trash, kung fu style. Or to quote Cobra: "Crime is the disease, and Bruce Liang is the cure." While the early scenes of muggers running rampant around Hong Kong have the "kung fu fodder" feel to them, the film becomes surprisingly somber in the second half. The first rape sequence, while not explicit, is extremely suspenseful because it feels like Bruce's employer's wife will successfully get away from the hooligans at some point. And even when they catch up to her, Bruce is already on his way to help out. So you keep on rooting for her to hold out for a few more seconds until Liang can dish out the kung fu goodness. He does, but by then, it's too late. The second rape sequence is less suspenseful and just flat-out disturbing, because you know that there's nothing the woman or her husband can do to stop it. Watching Dean Shek lose his marbles and then get arrested and threatened with 10 years in prison for trying to right the wrong committed against him is even more nerve-racking. By then, you want to see those rapists DIE! The last 25 minutes or so is just pure action. Bruce Liangs fights his way from one band of hooligans, thugs, ruffians and hoodlums to the next. As a calling card, he leaves an Ultraman toy in the mouth of one of his targets, thus gaining the nickname "Superman" by the media. The fights aren't anything we haven't seen from Bruce Liang in other films: just a barrage of spin kicks, roundhouse kicks, reverse punches and machine gun punches. Sometimes we even get a jumping hook kick. He even does a Van Damme spinning jump kick in one fight. There's no doubt that the man knew his bootwork, although people wanting less serious fare could get much of the same thing somewhere else. The climax has him finally facing off with the rapists, who are part of a gang of drug dealers led by: Bolo Yeung and Sammo Hung. If you want to see Sammo Hung as a slimy villain pulling the shirt off of a woman strung out on heroin, this is the film for you! It's not a bad film and if you like Bruce Liang's fighting, you'll enjoy his work here. But there are other, less disturbing films to get a dose of his brilliant bootwork out there. Edited May 15, 2020 by DrNgor 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMK Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 On 5/14/2020 at 11:33 AM, massa_yoda said: I don't know if all these WTF moments in your reviews make me want to watch these less or more. I think more... Exactly how I feel. HAHAH!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted May 16, 2020 Member Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) My review of DRAGON BRUCE LEE PART 2 AKA Big Boss 2 (only it's not). And yes, I'm confused too! Here's my review of that film - https://cityonfire.com/dragon-bruce-lee-part-ii-aka-dragon-lee-fights-again-1981-review-big-boss-2-jeong-mu-gate-81/ Edited May 16, 2020 by Killer Meteor 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BillyLo Posted May 16, 2020 Member Share Posted May 16, 2020 I watched Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave last night. The film wasn’t intended to be Brucesploitation but the English-dubbed version has an additional scene with Bruce Lee getting out of his grave at the beginning. Oddly enough, they didn’t even bother dubbing the main character as Bruce, so it becomes its own story without any connection to Bruce immediately following the new footage. Just wondering, has anyone watched the original version with Korean audio? I have to admit, I really enjoyed the film. The guy dubbing “Bruce’s” yells made the whole thing even more hilarious. I’d like to see a better quality version if one exists. Mine is a VHS rip. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BillyLo Posted May 16, 2020 Member Share Posted May 16, 2020 Just watched Dragon on Fire. I couldn't resist seeing Bruce Lai in a Game of Death jumpsuit. Overall the film is pretty average but has some good moments. Not surprised Godfrey Ho had some involvement in this one. The English dub was priceless as usual. Had a good laugh! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BillyLo Posted May 17, 2020 Member Share Posted May 17, 2020 I revisited a film I watched a long time ago called The Fists of Bruce Lee. If I remember correctly, this was a directorial debut for Bruce Li. The plot is very James Bond-like about an agent working for Interpol who poses as an electrical engineer to spy on a criminal organisation. Most of the soundtrack is lifted from Enter the Dragon, which plays over and over. As if that wasn't shameless enough, they even use the main James Bond theme and the song, Live and Let Die! It's obvious that this was made on an ultra-low budget. At times, if it wasn't so bad, I feel like this could have been billed as a sequel to Enter the Dragon since Bruce Li is playing a character called Mr. Lee, who also happens to be working undercover. There's a lot of fight scenes but it's difficult to judge the film overall since the print I watched suffers from a very bad pan & scan transfer. Throughout large parts of the film, I wasn't even able to see the actors on the screen, only hear their voices. I would definitely watch this one again if it gets a better release with a proper widescreen transfer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 While this one is not tied to Bruce Lee in any way, shape or form, I am including it as it was still something I visited on my Bruceploitation journey - Five Pattern Dragon Claws. One thing is for sure, the Koreans like their fight scenes! This one is wall to wall scraps and, for the most part, the choreography is excellent. Very kick-focused. Sadly, it is undercranked for 90% of the movie and while it's less blatant than some Hong Kong movies, it's still there and it's still pretty obvious. The plot's overly simple if anything. Hwang Jang Lee's being a dick, kills Dragon Lee's martial brothers and so Dragon Lee has to train to fight back. There are a few more detailed elements of the film but nothing that needs your brain to be turned fully on for. There's lots of hand-work on display from Hwang Jang Lee which I love. While we all know him as a boot master, I honestly think he's underrated as far as his fists (or eagle's claws) go. He's a fantastic all round fighter and the more I see of him, the more he carves out a place in my top three of all time. Dragon Lee doesn't actually have a lot of fights in this one. It's more his friends and teachers than anything. He does turn up for the final six minutes but, even then, he fails to outshine the actor that plays the Shaolin monk (I'm unaware of his name). All in all, a very good film. The final thirty minutes deserve classic status. The shapes on display are bonkers. It may lack the Bruce Lee angle, but this is one of Dragon Lee's best. This is my 46th Bruceploitation movie in 31 days. By the end of the week I hope to get to 50 and, after that, I'm putting the sub genre down and moving onto other classics I may have missed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 21 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: There's lots of hand-work on display from Hwang Jang Lee which I love. While we all know him as a boot master, I honestly think he's underrated as far as his fists (or eagle's claws) go. He's a fantastic all round fighter and the more I see of him, the more he carves out a place in my top three of all time. Oh yeah, unlike John Liu and Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, Hwang was extremely versatile and could convince with the handwork and weapons as much as he could with his feet. I feel the same way about why he occupies so high a place among the greats. 22 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: It's more his friends and teachers than anything. He does turn up for the final six minutes but, even then, he fails to outshine the actor that plays the Shaolin monk (I'm unaware of his name). I find it an interesting example of the difference between Eastern and Western cultures the blasé attitude the monk has for a major character's suicide. "If you feel remorse, sometimes that's what you gotta do." A Judeo-Christian spiritual leader would never, ever say something like that with regards to suicide. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 I watched The real Bruce Lee this afternoon. As I think that it was the first time that I saw Dragon Lee with short hair à la Bruce Lee, I hadn't realizes how much he looked like Bruce Lee ! And frankly, the way he mimics him and he shouts makes me laugh each time ! Honestly, when I first heard Bruce Lee shouting this way, and even after several viewing of his movies, these shouts annoyed me a lot, but now, I laugh too, specially when he adds a little bit of humour in his fights with his shouts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 This afternoon I watched The Last Fist of Fury, a rather tepid "Chinese versus Japanese" movie with unnecessarily undercranked fight scenes and a shitload of ninja masks. Despite it being fairly run of the mill and lacking pizzazz, I will say that, at times, Dragon Lee looked really close to Bruce here. If he'd have slimmed down a bit, he really could have been the perfect clone. Nothing egregious here but nothing great either. Some interesting wire-work not often found in Bruceploitation (the ones that I've seen anyway) and a very solid bout of nunchaku action at the end but it's all just very...blah. I felt like it started off strongly too. I do find it funny that the Chinese, hellbent on practicing Chinese kung fu, wear Karate gi while training. This one won't upset anyone but it certainly won't garner any super fans either. It's, once again, all been seen before. This might be my final Dragon Lee movie unless I try to watch Dragon, the Young Master. But I've got four more Bruceploitation movies to watch! Maybe New Fist of Fury with Jackie Chan? Oh and I'm refusing to watch Tower of Death again until the Criterion Bruce Lee set is released. Time to dig deeper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DrNgor Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 17 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said: This might be my final Dragon Lee movie unless I try to watch Dragon, the Young Master. I'd recommend that one. It's loopy, but has a lot of fights and Yuen Qiu. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted May 18, 2020 Member Share Posted May 18, 2020 Sadly, I strayed too far from my path this afternoon and watched The Black Dragon’s Revenge. I didn’t enjoy this one. Mainly because the entire movie lacked charisma. It felt like everyone had just munched a Xanax or two. And it wasn’t just the dub track. The body language was sleepy too. Van Clief is a better on screen fighter than I expected but when everything else is this dull, a few nifty kicks isn’t going to save your movie. I’m glad I’ve seen it since it’s a little outside my usual zone, but I didn’t find an awful lot to enjoy. A hollow film. Good, sometimes great action but bland as hell everything else. Are Jim Kelly’s movies any better? I haven’t seen those either. Though Jim didn’t technically do Bruceploitation, right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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