Change Your Image
flyingchimpanzee
Reviews
House of the Dead (2003)
Rent don't buy
A lighthearted and violence-happy tone is given to this video game turned feature by darkside-loving German director Uwe Boll. Lacking in original dialog and story the film relies instead on the now tired idea of sending up hackneyed slasher film plots. A group of clueless, self indulgent, over-sexed teens have a rave on a deserted island. And guess what? The island is crawling with low budget zombies. These zombies however move incredibly quickly and there's an overwhelming swarm of them. The film is peppered with naked beauties, bullet ballets, a pounding electronic score and some fairly decent martial arts by a cute Asian character named Liberty. And there's one brilliant sequence showing one character's rapidly cut remembrance of the entire evening's happenings. However none of this is enough to completely cover for the lazy script, substandard acting and the not so special effects.
The Final Edition (1932)
I do recommend Final Edition
Mae Clarke plays rookie reporter Anne Woodman who's determined to get respect as both a reporter and a girlfriend from condescending editor Sam Bradshaw (Pat O'Brien). Through feminine wiles and an obvious talent for sleuthing Anne manages to gain access to the criminal gang involved in an important murder investigation.
Loads of newspaperman flash is used to enliven this standard story of a female reporter trying to prove her worth, solve the case and win her man. Fast talking editors, bustling, sleep-deprived reporters, dozens of urgently ringing telephones and spinning newspaper overlays are just a few of the fancy tricks used to dazzle the viewers eyes and ears. I do recommend Final Edition however some slightly wooden acting, stilted dialog and a weak climax keep this from being a better effort.
Mekurano Oichi midaregasa (1969)
Pretty fine
I saw a Mandarin dubbed English subtitled version of this film intended for Chinese audiences christened LADY TIGER AND SWORD.
Sister Oichi is a blind swordswoman hired to carry an important scroll of unknown contents, (since she can't see them), to a local scientist. On the journey she helps a pair of homeless teenage siblings and is challenged by a great number of swordsmen who try to take the scroll from her. We eventually learn that the scroll contains a formula for a powerful bomb. A wicked government general has sent an army to attain the scroll against the 13 year old emperor's wishes for the bomb not to be used as a military weapon.
This is another of the many, and understandably, post Hiroshima `big bombs are bad' film plots. CRIMSON BAT may be a poor man's ZATOICHI but Yoko Matsuyama's portrayal of Sister Oichi is pretty fine. Okay so she's no Junko Fuji (Red Peony Gambler) but she has a sweet motherly face which adds an unusual element to her bloody fights. The action & pacing are decent and the setting and costumes are quite lovely.
Garakuta (1964)
Powerful
The version I saw was dubbed into Mandarin by Shaw Brothers studio to show in U.S. Chinatown theaters with English subtitles.
It's the story of a desperately poor but brawny young man who sells himself to a rich family as an indentured servant. The family has two marriageable daughters,(one sweet and one greedy), who are being courted by several unseemly suitors. The sweet daughter takes a liking to the new servant who is considered the servants' dog and is the butt of many pranks. She entrusts the care of her beloved pet parrot to the newcomer and has him accompany the party when they're invited to vacation on a friend's island. But there's a terrible storm on the journey and the ship wrecks stranding family, friends, crew and servants on a tiny, barren, deserted island. Immediately a LORD OF THE FLIES scenario begins as everyone's true nature surfaces and the caste system is staunchly challenged as the servants' dog becomes the group's leader and champion.
Unfortunately I just don't have the skills to properly comment on this wonderful film. I've only seen one other film by Inagaki, (CHUSHINGURA), and THE RABBLE is nowhere near as ambitious in scope. However Inagaki tackles some very powerful subjects here and the film is extremely effective. I particularly liked a scene where the castaways are forced to steal eggs from an enormous flock of migratory birds. When the birds turn and attack the scene looks and sounds very much like the gas station scene from Hitchcock's THE BIRDS filmed one year earlier. I wonder if this harrowing scene was actually real as the film's budget didn't seem big enough to include any special effects. The film is marred only by the limitations of it's small budget and a bit of character confusion during the island portion.
Ying xiong ben se (1973)
Over the top fun!
A minute into the movie and you know you're in for some fun. A groovy 60's soundtrack blares as the scene opens onto several young men in martial arts training. A trainee jumps high into the air and just as he busts his kung-fu move the film freezes on the image and a credit appears in Chinese characters. The opening continues this way, (high jump kicks syncopated to the funky beat), until the credit sequence is over.
We learn that these trainees are three Japanese brothers, (one is of course played by Yasuaki Kurata), and their squat & sturdy auntie is teaching them tough killer kung-fu to avenge the death of their parents. Their father committed hari-kari from the shame of losing a war prisoner during a prison break and now the harsh midget auntie, (Tse Gam Guk), works to poison the boys with hatred and revenge.
Cut to Taiwan and Jimmy Wang Yu is a taxi driver who lives with his father, little brother and sexy blind sister. Jimmy's a righteous man with a quick fist who tends to get into fights. Unfortunately after every fight Jimmy must pay for his victim's medical bills by dipping into a fund for his sister's operation. Still Jimmy's quite a guy, stopping the `sneak thieves' by chasing them in a loader from an empty shipyard and saving his supermarket clerk girlfriend from lecherous advances.
It turns out that Jimmy's dad helped sneak the war hero out of the Japanese prison and now the vengeful brother's have arrived in Taiwan to make him and his family pay. The story is just a set up for the audience to view innumerable fight sequences between the killer brothers and various family members but especially with Wang Yu. The film is purposely gimmicky using silly sound effects, jump cuts, freeze frames, motorcycle gangs, supermarkets (a novelty in Hong Kong at the time?) and real life stunt woman Tse Gam Guk to perform several of her outrageous stunts in the film. It's obvious that this movie was just slapped together but there are more than enough fun and outlandish moments to find Knight Errant entertaining.
Addendum: The term Knight Errant is a common translation for the traditional Chinese hero character seen in many ancient Wu Xia fables. Wang Yu is obviously playing a modern version of this traditional character in the film.
Wang ming ren zhe (1983)
Unintentionally one of the funniest movies.
Starts off with a soft-core ninja training sequence that includes barely clad girls: mud wrestling, being dipped into ice water, having their bodies forced into contortions and learning the arts of seduction. Meanwhile an unscrupulous businessman who is hated by everyone, including his angry drunken wife and his hot-headed fight expert sister in-law, is being targeted by killer ninjas. The police are having no luck at catching the clever, secretive ninjas and ask for help from a Kendo teacher who gets romantically involved with the sister-in-law. Lots of great fight scenes including the end fight between the ninja leader (Yasuaki Kurata) and the Kendo teacher (Chen Kuan Tai). Some of the laughs come from: the use of cheap camera tricks showing the quickness of the ninjas, the female ninjas using their naked breasts to `relax' their foe and the ridiculous ghoul-face deaths induced by the poison the ninjas use to kill their victims.
Varuh meje (2002)
An interesting journey
Three `big city' college beauties use their summer vacation to go on a backwoods canoe trip down the Kolpa river which divides off limits Croatia from Slovenia. Overtly ominous background music and `Peeping Tom' camera angles warn us of the wild dangers this world has to offer. Yet what appears at first to be a Slovinian `Blair Witch Project' develops instead into a slightly murky exploration of political, cultural and religious constraints. Fearless lesbian, Zana, is looking for love and acceptance and tries to get it from her friend Alja. Simona wants to be seduced and begins to imagine the local xenophobic traditionalist as her Prince Charming. Alja seeks independence from her cloying boyfriend, overbearing father, judgmental roommate Simona and now her new lover Zana. In addition to confronting their own demons on the journey the girls are confronted with homophobia, racism, nationalism, traditionalism, sexism and terrorism. Unfortunately much of the film's impact gets lost towards the end as it oscillates too wildly between fantasy and reality. This film does however provide high production values, fine acting, an intriguing concept, sophisticated humor, gorgeous locals and a delightful Slovenian pop soundtrack.
Xing fu shi guang (2000)
Perfect.
Another winner from director Zhang Yimou. This scaled down production follows a blind, headstrong young woman and the one kind person in her life, (a penniless stranger with grand, idealistic schemes to improve her life). Charming and very funny with the usual outstanding performances. Highly recommended.
Chuen zik saat sau (2001)
Wow.
A fun filled Johnnie To bullet extravaganza. Andy Lau plays a stylish, over-the-top, film loving, movie scene reproducing assassin with a compulsion to be the number one hit man. His only problem is that another chic antihero already has that title. So an outrageous game of cat and mouse is played out with lots of humor and film related in-jokes as well as unique gun battles done with sexy cinematographic elan.
Gaichû (2001)
Patriarchy at it's finest.
The cute Japanese school-girl's dangerous world is shown in all it's menacing glory. Societies' lack of concern for these young women comes off as even more frightening than the actual predators. Because of this cultural acceptance the victims seem quite resigned to their fate. Written with subtlety and well acted but slowly paced.
Nabi (2001)
Highly recommended.
Mesmerizing trip into the lives of three strangers who are all in pain. Gorgeous cinematography, (even though shot on Digital Video), perfect score and outstanding performances took me deep into the painful lives of these characters. Nice metaphors and a really unique, gritty Sci-Fi premise. Highly recommended.
Jan Dara (2001)
A very sad, well crafted film.
Sad coming of age story about a boy, Jan Dara, and the effect that his father's abuse and sexual depravity eventually has on him. Well written and acted. Beautifully filmed with an exquisite musical score. Very high production values for a Thai film.
Ai ni ai wo (2001)
Hip, humorous and melodramatic.
Charming story of a young couple trying to make it in the big city on their own terms. However big cities like Taipei have a tendency to eat their young. Hip, humorous and melodramatic. The acting is top notch and we get a bonus one song concert from pop star, lead Sinje.