What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

Post by chazgower01 »

Markgway wrote: 04 Jul 2018, 13:31 Cinema of Vengeance excerpt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff2z0MMxq-8

Hard Copy excerpt about Sophia and her stalker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdeFIhPQakc
That Cinema of Vengeance clip brings back memories. I need to watch that again.

And she does look great as a brunette!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Escape From Brothel (1992, Hong Kong) youtube 3.5/5
This is how you make exploitation.
Good actors and actresses with interesting situations that make you want to know what happens next. Add a heaping amount of nudity and violence, some good fighting, and at least one or two scenes that beg to be remembered as classics. This one has a few.

The Sophia Crawford Naked Kung Fu fight was obviously inspired by one of the great scenes of Japanese Exploitation - Reiko Ike in Sex & Fury (and maybe even Alice Tseng in Ninja: The Final Duel!), but holds it's own as an exploitation staple that's been copied but really hasn't been matched since. (Though nothing compares to the style and creativity of Ike's scene - just exploitation ART at it's finest from director Norifumi Suzuki - just wanted to give props to a few that have followed it).

But this movie is more than just memorable exploitation scenes - the baseball bat - the rape/electrocution - the finale - it's quality performers doing what they do best - Pauline Chan (who made 20 movies over 1992-93!) and Rena Murakami (looking amazing!) playing two prostitutes who lament their lives under the shady guidance of 'mama', Billy Chow as the tough ass evil bad guy, Alex Fong as the guy in the wrong place who can't do right no matter how hard he tries, Stuart Ong as a wealthy cruel and perverted businessman - one f'ed up scene leads to the next until...

The finale. I normally don't like movies that end this way, but... it just seems to fit here. With the people, the scenes, everything involved... if this came on TV tomorrow, I'd watch it again. It's a fun, dark ride.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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1/3 Lover (1993, Hong Kong) internet 2/5
With a Laser Disc cover like that, I wasn't expecting much in the way of a story, but... it actually starts out ok - a young woman is chased and raped by a bad guy who she shoots and kills. Turns out she's living with an old guy who is dying, and she hopes to benefit from him financially when he does, but everyone else is more interested in HER. The crooked police chief, the grown adopted son, spying maids and pretty female cousins...
It just all doesn't play out as interesting as it starts, and for some reason the music during the sex scenes (and there are quite a few) I found to be incredibly annoying.
Rena Murakami, who we've seen take some abuse in her nude roles so far, had already been 'entered' via a flute, and a baseball bat, so this one starts with a gun, and later a toe...is still hot in the role, and can actually act, but the material here just isn't better than mediocre.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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All Over The World (1993, Hong Kong) internet 1/5
A writer is sent to Taiwan, Japan, France, and Macau to write a story on the red light districts. Lots of random T&A and situations that are neither funny or all that sexy, despite the full nudity.
Rena Murakami has a short, fully clothed cameo (showing edited adult clips) that can only be seen as an obviously false lure to watch the movie. 25 years after it came out and I still fell for it!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Invincible Obsessed Fighter (1982)

Very much rock bottom for the genre - a dreary bore starring some poor chap named Elton Chong.

2/10
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Bruce's Deadly Fingers (1976)

Hysterical Bruceploitation with Bruce Le and Lo Lieh (and Chan Wei-Man and Cheung Nick) fighting to recover Bruce Lee's prized fighting manual. This is not the then contempoary bestseller Tao of Jeet Kune Do, but rather the Ching Wu Fighting Manual, or as the dub would call it "Kung Fu Finger Book", resulting in many hilariously awkward lines such as "All you ever think about is Finger Kung Fu...you don't care about me!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg77kp4zUwQ


Goofy in the extreme and lots of fun, with some decent fight scenes, Nora Miao hotter than ever, real life Wing Chun (or Ving Tsan as the sign on his school reads!) master Wang Sun-Liang playing himself, and a truly awkward tortune scene involving a snake going in a most unmentionable place!

The Blu-Ray just released in the States finally restores the ending missing from the DVD, and has a great commentary and bonus trailers

6/10
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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I'll never forget the name 'Kung Fu Finger Book.'

And just this Nora Miao scene alone might warrant a blu-ray purchase...
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Gambler (博徒) (Japan, 1964) [TV] - 2.5/5
Noble boss Koji Tsuruta takes in young hothead Hiroki Matsukata who is in love with prostitute Junko Fuji. Tatsuo Endo and Shigeru Amachi are the rotten bad guys who have forgotten jingi. This early ninkyo film shows some of the most detailed yakuza ceremonies I've seen. It's a shame the storyline doesn't reach the same depth. There's a shortage of complex duty/honour conflicts and, ironically, gambling compared to some of the later, finer ninkyo films.

New Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (新女囚さそり 701号) (Japan, 1976) [DVD] - 2.5/5
Toei was quick to reboot the series with Yumi Takigawa in Meiko Kaji’s role. This one is a loose remake of the 1972 original. Director Yutaka Kohira helms passable WIP entertainment, but his visual eye and political awareness is no match for that of Shunya Ito. There are moments where the film really takes off, such as Nami’s final revenge mission, but most of it is fairly routine. Takigawa is a pretty girl, and she did well in School of the Holy Beast, but she lacks the kind of charisma and strong screen presence this role requires. She comes across about as threatening as a wet kitten. The film is also surprisingly light on exploitation with very little in terms of sex and nudity. All of this probably comes down to director Kohira who was no master with the ladies. His bitter words about actresses "being difficult" when asking them to go nude may reveal a thing or two about his talent, and why the film got stuck somewhere between the empowerment and exploitation of females without doing either one very well.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 07 Jul 2018, 17:35 All Over The World (1993, Hong Kong) internet 1/5
A writer is sent to Taiwan, Japan, France, and Macau to write a story on the red light districts. Lots of random T&A and situations that are neither funny or all that sexy, despite the full nudity.
Rena Murakami has a short, fully clothed cameo (showing edited adult clips) that can only be seen as an obviously false lure to watch the movie. 25 years after it came out and I still fell for it!
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One of those pseudo-documentaries, right?

These were popular for a while in Hong Kong.

A mix of real situations and phoney set-ups.

Not sure I've seen this particular one, though it doesn't sound like I'm missing anything.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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High Risk aka Meltdown (1995, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 3/5
I have every reason to not like this movie - Wong Jing directed it, the vastly overrated Chingmy Yau is in it, Jet Li does very little martial arts, there are all of kinds of implausible things that happen and the action movie cliches are endless.
And yet, it's almost as if this movie is an unintentional parody of action movies (in particular Die Hard and Die Hard 2), or maybe even an ACTUAL parody of action movies - either way, it works for me. I've always enjoyed Jacky Cheung's over the top satirical portrayal of the 'Jackie Chan-like' character he plays in this and despite the lack of martial arts - there's a LOT of shit blowing up, bullets flying everywhere, and crazy-ass violence to make up for it (to some degree).
And you have Billy Chow (with long hair, almost unrecognizable) and Valerie Chow as additional villains, so that helps.
It's not great, it probably...no, it FOR SURE doesn't deserve a 3 out of 5, and yet, I've watched this movie maybe 7 or 8 times over the years. :dontknow:
After throwing Frankie's (Jackie Chan character) director/manager (Charlie Cho - also in heavy makeup, basically playing Willie Chan) out the window, the bad guy says, "His films were insipid and lacked cinematic merit." Wong Jing could've actually been making fun of his OWN image, but this is one of his films I actually enjoy.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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I didn't care for High Risk.

One of Jet's poorest movies from this era.

Disagree about Chingmy Yau though.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Vampire Clay (血を吸う粘土) (Japan, 2016) [VoD] - 1.5/5
There's been anticipation that special effects maestro Soichi Umezawa could be the next Yoshihiro Nishimura. Alas, that was not to be, not yet at least. This low budget idol horror fails to follow up his wild SFX showcase Y is for Youth and psychological body horror short Thorn. On the positive front side there's an almost fanatic avoidance of CGI in favour of practical effects on display here. Unfortunately the tale of desperate art students attacked by blood thirsty clay (yes!) is as boring as it gets. The film is also strangely dull in technical terms: the music is terrible, the video and sound editing lacks any punch and the ending is extended beyond any sense. It's also restrained enough in terms of splatter to have landed a G rating in Japan, though it would still equal to a soft R in the United States.

New Female Prisoner Scorpion: Special Cellblock X (新女囚さそり 特殊房X) (Japan, 1977) [DVD] - 3/5
Director Kohira seems to have learned something from his mistakes. Here he doesn't even attempt a feminine revenge tale but goes for a masculine action picture instead. This time Nami (Yoko Natsu, a model turned actress with the charisma of a mannequin) causes a power struggle between the new warden (karate villain Masashi Ishibashi) who can't get a hold of the women, a more experienced young guard (Nikkatsu's excellent youth/action star Takeo Chii) and the warden's trusted, rifle wielding hothead (rock star gone unexpectedly good youth/rebel actor Hiroshi Tachi). It's an excellent male cast that gives the film a very masculine identity. There are some dull prison clichés in first reel and Kohira still doesn't have a clue how to do surrealism (Nami getting raped by a bunch of cat men is a tragicomic example) but once the focus shifts to prison control dynamics and escape action the film delivers alright. At odds with the series identity it may be, but better this than screwing up another entry.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Markgway wrote: 10 Jul 2018, 11:30 I didn't care for High Risk.

One of Jet's poorest movies from this era.

Disagree about Chingmy Yau though.
Believe me, I can't figure out why I like it either. Compared to Fist of Legend or Fong Sai Yuk it doesn't even rate. And yet... :dontknow:
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Gigolo & Whore 2 (1992, Hong Kong) internet 2/5
Veronica Yip plays a gigolo pimp with Simon Yam as her main money maker. Rosamund Kwan is a rich lesbian woman (!) who takes over a company. Simon is eventually tasked with having to convince her to give up the company. Finally his kiss unlesbians her!
Veronica Yip has an unflattering hairstyle throughout but turns in her requisite two nude scenes. Rosamund Kwan and Ng Suet-Man (Raped By an Angel) do some light kissing and touching, which really surprised me, but they get interrupted before it turns into an actual love scene.
Pretty unremarkable movie considering the talent involved, but mostly watchable.
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Cash On Delivery (1992, Hong Kong) internet 2.5/5
Sandra Ng plays a frigid lawyer who falls for gigolo Simon Yam. Veronica Yip hires Simon Yam for a 3 day vacation to get her pregnant. She falls in love with Simon. But Simon falls in love with Sandra Ng. Uh, yeah. Two movies in a row where Simon Yam is a gigolo who rejects Veronica Yip.
Light fluff comedy that turns into a creepy violent stalker revenge movie in the last 20 minutes. Category III only for some light nudity, sex talk, and the little bit of violence at the end.
Veronica Yip has a nude scene. Sandra Ng thankfully doesn't.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Greatest Post-War Gambler (戦後最大の賭場) (Japan, 1969) [DVD] - 3/5
With all the criticism on remakes and reboots these days, it's good to remember that back in the 60s and 70s it was ok to remake a movie a mere 12 months after its release. This is a modern day re-imagining of director Kosaku Yamashita's own Big Time Gambling Boss (1968), which was a Shakespearian ninkyo yakuza tale about conflicting duties and honour. Koji Tsuruta stars again as the noble hero, Tomisaburo Wakayama is out and Ken Takakura plays the role that roughly corresponds to Wakayama's hot headed character whose friendship with Tsuruta is tested when conflicts arise. Chris D. named this as one of his favourite ninkyo films; I found the first half a bit too slow and preferred Big Time Gambling Boss, though this is decidedly more low key and quite good towards the end.

Saburai: Way of the Bohachi (忘八武士道 さ無頼) (Japan, 1974) [TV] - 2.5/5
Disappointing follow-up to Teruo Ishii's chanbara masterpiece Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1973). Ishii mentioned in an interview that he didn't even know Toei had made a sequel. This is a blatant re-telling of the original, with Goro Ibuki playing Tetsuro Tamba's role, although it's not clear whether this supposed to be a remake or a sequel. The storyline is almost the same with many scenes playing out exactly the same way! And this came out less than a year after Ishii's film! Someone ought to ask writer Sadao Nakajima what on earth was going on in the pre-production? It still has its own trashy appeal with just as much sex and violence as Ishii's film, but it is also incoherent in characterization and lacks the style, pace, originality and superb action of Ishii's film. Aside from a couple of fun new additions (Reiko Ike as a woman dealer and Takuzo Kawatani as her abused servant in a gloriously misandric role, for once!) the film feels like a copy by a lesser filmmaker, that man being the mediocre Takashi Harada. Ibuki and Harada, however, teamed up for a better ninja sexploitation the following year, Shitakari Hanjirô: (Maruhi) kannon wo sagase, which, like this film, was based on a Kazuo Koike comic book.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote: 16 Jul 2018, 10:22
Saburai: Way of the Bohachi (忘八武士道 さ無頼) (Japan, 1974) [TV] - 2.5/5
Was this on regular Japanese TV??? Uncut?
Man, I swear, one of these days I'm going to Japan for a few months and just to record unavailable movies off of their television!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 16 Jul 2018, 21:07
HungFist wrote: 16 Jul 2018, 10:22
Saburai: Way of the Bohachi (忘八武士道 さ無頼) (Japan, 1974) [TV] - 2.5/5
Was this on regular Japanese TV??? Uncut?
Man, I swear, one of these days I'm going to Japan for a few months and just to record unavailable movies off of their television!
Toei Channel. Uncut of course.

Normal TV hardly even broadcasts movies these days. And just family friendly stuff. Not like in the 80s when every other TV show was full of boobs...
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Three Summers (1992, Taiwan) - Wasn't able to find this, but the trailers appear to show a straight drama, and I'm curious to see an early acting opportunity for Veronica Yip.

Summer Lovers (1992, Hong Kong) internet 2.5/5
Alfred Cheung plays a lonely guy who is obsessed with Liza (Vivian Chow). But after a pretty girl from a laserdisc magically appears from out of the TV (it's Veronica Yip) to help him, things get kind of strange. Of course, he could bang Veronica anytime, as she tries and tries, but he is committed to making Vivian his girl. Based on a Japanese manga, Yip shows some cleavage and wears some green wig, but keeps herself fully clothed, while Vivian Chow does her usual act. Loletta Lee also shows up later and provides the only real sexual energy in the whole movie.
And Alfred Cheung isn't a very likable lead though I guess he was popular with the Chinese as he had quite a long career. Moderately entertaining fluff.
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Rose (1992, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
Maggie Cheung very much stars in this triad melodrama centered more on relationships than machismo. She's an insurance agent who gets involved with a young triad boss (Roy Cheung), after a falling out with her businessman boyfriend.
Maggie, of course, carries the film and it knows this, placing her at the center of nearly every scene so that even when it meanders, it's watchable. When it has moments of violence, it's really violent, but mostly it's about feelings or whatever, and the primarily straightforward direction makes it easy to watch.
Veronica Yip has a secondary role about her own messed up love life, and she even drunkenly sings in a local bar, looking as sexy as she ever has, without taking off any clothing.
It's a doomed romance movie, so the ending is inevitable, but in this instance, actually a bit more interesting. Maggie's character realizes THAT world is different from hers and makes the conscious decision to NOT intervene when the time comes, driven to that realization by the cowardice of onlookers who refuse to even call the police... it's as if she is suddenly accepting that the inevitable is unchangeable and that getting involved will pull her INTO that world. And she decides that the romanticized memory of what was, is more important than risking her life! Thinking like an insurance agent!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Call Girl '92 (1992, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5
Veronica Yip in one year had successfully gone from being butt ass naked in a Category III movie (Pretty Woman) to being in a Cat II movie and not removing a stitch of clothing (Rose). Here she plays a prostitute, but being it's also a Category II movie, there's no nudity required. No 'Yiptease' necessary - she had done what Amy Yip couldn't - she had transcended her boobs. And despite having to play what few role types are available to hot women in Hong Kong movies, at least she didn't seem to have to show her naked ass everytime she wanted to work.
Still, seeing her, Carrie Ng, Cheung Man, and Cecilia Yip dressed in their classy spaghetti strapped, high cut, sexy outfits is somewhat entertaining in itself. And even though there's no new ground tread here in the 'behind the scenes lives of hookers' type movie, the eye candy is nice, and there's just enough story and acting to sit through a whole movie. Once.
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The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
Another thing that Veronica Yip did was to assimilate into the Hong Kong regulars as an accepted part of them. (This was something that Amy Yip, for whatever reason, couldn't ever seem to do - though some would claim a certain standoffishness, and a desire to be the constant center of attention - that certainly was a big a part of it I suppose, but it was also difficult for other actors to be upstaged by those breasts of hers. Veronica may have been large breasted for an Asian woman, but compared to Amy, she wasn't even in the same league - especially when it came to breast size in comparison to waist size, a big part of what made Amy seem like such a freak of nature.)

Anyway, here Veronica has a nice part in an all star cast of Hong Kong actors and actresses, taking part in a wuxia parody, as a side project to Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time (he was the producer for this film). It's almost two hours straight of non-stop goofiness, mugged with glee by the likes of Maggie Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, both Tony Leungs, Brigette Lin, Joey Wong, Carina Yau, and many more. I can't say I'm the world's biggest wuxia fan - I DID read as I followed along to the unsubbed 1986 ATV series September Eagles for my Amy Yip book - but here I think even if you DON'T know that much about it, you can still appreciate some of the jokes and antics of this movie.

It helps to have Sammo Hung to choreograph the action, which is fast and furious throughout. Storywise none of it makes that much sense, though Swordsman II didn't make much sense to me either, and I still liked that movie. And it didn't have the advantage of backwards pee.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Filmed during a break in filming on Ashes of Time; they should've gone on holiday instead.

I remembering really disliking this piffle.
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Markgway wrote: 19 Jul 2018, 06:23 Filmed during a break in filming on Ashes of Time; they should've gone on holiday instead.

I remembering really disliking this piffle.
Yeah, I see a lot of online hate for this movie but very little in explanation as to why. Not that dislike needs any explanation, some things people are just going to dislike because they do, but.... to me, this is less goofy than the average Wong Jing comedy, has entertaining fights, great costumes, major star power, and it takes the piss out of the overly serious wuxia genre.
Granted, I saw it for FREE.... I didn't pay to go to a theater or rent a video after a long day at work, but still...
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Rose Rose I Love You (1993, Hong Kong) youtube 2/5
I knew nothing about this series when I watched this movie, so you can imagine my surprise when a masked black leotard wearing Veronica Yip leaps into a scene to confront Simon Yam.... only to be followed soon by Carina Lau in the same black leotard (with WHITE mask, belt and gloves). Apparently, they are Black Rose and White Rose, two super heroines who... intervene in crime when it suits them?
This was a huge movie in Hong Kong at the time, pulling HK $21 Million at the box office, but it's pretty well accepted at this point that I do NOT have my finger on the pulse of what is popular and unpopular with Chinese audiences. You would think that with Veronica Yip and Carina Lau, in skin tight leotards - fighting each other - with Simon Yam as one of the male leads - that this would seem like a good recipe for an enjoyable movie.
But I just found the comedy in this to be dull, the action scenes to be dull (with easy to insert stunt doubles), and the story nothing special. A criminal breaks out of jail to get the heist he's hidden with his girlfriend, while the cops rent out the apartment next door to try and find out where it is.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Wilderness (網走番外地 荒野の対決) (Japan, 1966) [DVD] - 2/5
Part 5. A mediocre-at-best entry. The first 15 min is dedicated to Toru Yuri and others goofing around in the prison (typical for the series, and Ishii, unfortunately) before things take a bit more serious turn. Once out of the slammer, Takakura befriends horse breeders harassed by the yakuza. I initially thought this was one of those southern entries with summer setting but it was shot in Hokkaido after all with a bit of spring snow and scenery here and there. There's not much else to write home about, except perhaps the unusual ending which is void of excessive bloodletting.

Abashiri Prison: Challenging the Wicked (網走番外地 悪への挑戦) (Japan, 1967) [DVD] - 3/5
Part 9. A summer set Abashiri Prison film with no scenes set in neither the prison nor Abashiri was usually a bad sign. Not this time, though. This one's got a dynamite opening with credits where Takakura's name explodes on the screen in the biggest red font you've ever seen. The next scene is a hostage situation with armed delinquents. The storyline that follows (Takakura with delinquents) is an unexceptional melodrama but there's a bit of that jazzy touch you find in late 50s and early 60 Ishii films (e.g. the Gang series). The ending is great again with violent action and a great tie up to the next film. Not quite top tier Abashiri (1, 3, 8) but probably the best of the rest.

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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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3 Days of a Blind Girl (1993, Hong Kong) internet 3.5/5
A woman (Veronica Yip) is temporarily blinded for 3 days, which doesn't stop her husband from going out of town during that time, unknowingly leaving her at the hands of a terrorizing psycho (Anthony Wong in his lumberjack outfit).
Trying very hard to be Hitchcock-esque in its presentation, it at times sort of succeeds, but ultimately it's the performances of Yip and Wong (on screen for 90% of the movie) that carry the film through. Of course one of those Hitchcock-esque touches is Yip's shower scene, in many ways the most revealing scene she's ever done, and a showcase for Wong's weirdness.
In fact, he's as menacingly evil and weird as anything HE'S ever done (this came out two weeks after Untold Story), in direct contrast to Yip, who looks more beautiful and dreamlike than ever - on top of a great emotional performance. Really, for Veronica Yip fans, THIS is the movie.
It's not a great film, but it is an excellent, can't-turn-it-off solid Cat III thriller that's a less extreme highlight of the rating (though it has some extreme moments). The finale, though at times a little silly, extracts the proper outcome in the end.
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