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

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1991 Hong Kong Box Office

WoW! The HK box office REALLY exploded in 1991. Jackie may have broken his own record and made one of the top grossing movies of all time early in the year, but he couldn't beat Stephen Chow's God of Gamblers II from a month earlier.

And by late summer, the new clear king of the Hong Kong Box Office was Stephen Chow. Fight Back to School set yet a new Box Office record (and is still #16 all-time) and the THIRD God of Gamblers movie released in August did, ho hum, another HK $31 Million. Cheaply made and profitable, it was no wonder Jackie got his studio pocketbook reigned in....

Chow Yun Fat had two movies in the Top Ten still, and Amy Yip was a part of her most successful movie with 'To Be Number One' coming in at #4 (though she would also have Sex & Zen at HK $18 Million become the highest grossing Category III movie as well).

1. HK $43,829,449.00 Fight Back to School (Stephen Chow) (#16 ATBO)
2. HK $40,342,758.00 God of Gamblers II (Stephen Chow) (#27? ATBO)
3. HK $39,048,711.00 Armour of God II - Operation Condor (Jackie Chan)
4. HK $38,703,363.00 To Be Number One (Amy Yip)
5. HK $33,397,149.00 Once a Thief (Chow Yun Fat, John Woo)
6. HK $31,388,471.00 Tricky Brains (Andy Lau)
7. HK $31,363,730.00 God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (Stephen Chow)
8. HK $30,694,333.00 Lee Rock (Andy Lau)
9. HK $29,672,278.00 Once Upon A Time in China (Jet Li)
10.HK $24,367,261.00 Prison on Fire II (Chow Yun Fat)

Other notables:
HK $24,245,510.00 Fist of Fury 1991 (Stephen Chow)
HK $23,762,012.00 Legend of the Dragon (Stephen Chow)
HK $23,292,339.00 Casino Raiders II (Andy Lau)
HK $23,135,334.00 Lee Rock II (Andy Lau)
HK $21,921,687.00 The Banquet
HK $20,784,824.00 Chinese Ghost Story II
HK $20,498,920.00 Dances with Dragon (Andy Lau)
HK $20,476,495.00 Savior of the Soul (Andy Lau)

Yet more...
HK $18,424,224.00 Sex & Zen (Amy Yip)
HK $16,548,021.00 Magnificient Scoundrels (Stephen Chow, Amy Yip)
HK $10,956,105.00 Crazy Safari (N!Xau)
HK $11,037,037.00 Erotic Ghost Story II
HK $11,008,210.00 Black Cat (Jade Leung)
HK $9,133,554.00 Gigolo and Whore (Simon Yam)
HK $5,789,984.00 Au Revoir, Mon Amour (Anita Mui)
HK $5,486,008.00 Robotrix (Amy Yip)
HK $2,534,754.00 Holy Virgin vs the Evil Dead
HK $???? Island of Fire (Jackie, Sammo, Andy Lau)

* Once again, my sources of information are limited, so any info on these numbers is appreciated!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Savage Five (1974, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 3/5
A bunch of thug bandits arrive in a small town and start to take over - terrorizing and raping, and taking whatever they want. Eventually, a thief, a blacksmith, a lazy kung fu artist, a woodcutter, and an acrobat band together to go against them.
This Chang Cheh quickie is pretty entertaining, with reliable Ti Lung (young and with hair) and a really young Danny Lee (21 years old) as 2 of the 5 good guys. But this isn't one-guy-beats-all-the-bad-guys-up type of movie, or even 5 guys beat up all the bad guys - it's 5 normal guys in a small town, paralyzed with fear, that finally have enough and HAVE to fight back.
But it STILL isn't that easy. Lessons are learned, sacrifices made.... friends lost... there's a lot more to it than just a simple fight back brawl.
The Amazon Prime version is an English dub, but the quality of it is really great.

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

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Hot Springs Geisha 3 (温泉こんにゃく芸者) (Japan, 1970) [DVD] - 2/5
This is a step back in the wrong direction after the wild and entertaining part 2. Somehow it's a whole lot tamer as well. A small town girl (newcomer Miwako Onaya) becomes a geisha to make money to send home. There are some minor points of interest like Ichiro Araki and street demonstrators, but generally speaking not much interesting or exploitative happens until the great climax where she competes in a three set sex duel. The scene is outrageous, not least because her own (foster) father is there to coach her!

Zatoichi the Outlaw (座頭市牢破り) (Japan, 1967) [BD] - 4/5
The consequences of dealing death come haunting Zatoichi in this excellent entry. This was the first film produced Katsu's own company as opposed to the more conservative Daiei (still the distributor here). He got the politically minded Satsuo Yamamoto to helm the film with a great character touch. While the film retains all the humour, action and chivalry of the series, it also shows the corrupting effect of power and how the men Zatoichi slays are, in fact, real people. Rentaro Mikuni has an excellent supporting role as a yakuza boss sympathizing poor farmers.

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

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HungFist wrote: 19 Sep 2018, 14:50 Hot Springs Geisha 3 (温泉こんにゃく芸者) (Japan, 1970) [DVD] - 2/5
This is a step back in the wrong direction after the wild and entertaining part 2. Somehow it's a whole lot tamer as well. A small town girl (newcomer Miwako Onaya) becomes a geisha to make money to send home. There are some minor points of interest like Ichiro Araki and street demonstrators, but generally speaking not much interesting or exploitative happens until the great climax where she competes in a three set sex duel. The scene is outrageous, not least because her own (foster) father is there to coach her!
LOL... Yikes!

Have they ever collected this series as a box set?
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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The Generation Gap (1973, Hong Kong) dailymotion 3.5/5
A strange Chang Cheh directed film, where one of his usuals (David Chiang), in his 20's, has a little too close of a friendship with a 16-year-old Agnes Chan. (A popular singer in Hong Kong, she was actually 18 when they shot this, but she looks and plays the part much younger).

The version I watched was original language, so maybe I missed something in the translation, by Chan sings a few songs in English (in a groovy 70's club), including Harry Chapin's 'All My Life's a Circle', and Delaney & Bonnie's 'Never Ending Circle of Love', but later she sings to Chiang:

"You are 21, I am 16, this is the reason enough that we're together."

Of course, her dad is horrified at their behavior (it appears hinted at that he's abusive), and Chiang's own dad tries to talk and sensibly reason with him - but they run off together and get their own crappy little apartment. They're poor but happy.... and sleep in separate rooms.

In fact, they downplay any real hint of a physical relationship but have no problem reminding us that she is... young. At one point he buys her a guitar (she's a singer), and a baby doll! They have no problem hugging and being affectionate, but the one instance where Chan sees a couple kiss and seems to want Chiang to do the same, he simply smiles and pinches her nose.

The second half of the movie is all people trying to break their 'relationship' apart (which they do) and save them from each other. Ti Lung has a minor part as his wealthy nerdy socialite brother with glasses, who tries to help reconcile things, but eventually, they kung-fu fight as he forces Chan back to her parents, which is what leads Chiang to become a criminal.

There are a couple of scenes of fighting - one where Chiang beats up a whole gang of punks that try to mess with him and his 'girl' - one where he whips everyone's butt in the club, but gets hauled off by the police - and another where he gets his revenge against the club after he turns to a life of crime. There's also a finale fight showdown.

Not sure what the message of this film was, but it was strangely entertaining... Chiang's character is obviously confused... late in the movie he makes a move on bad girl Helen Ko, and as he cups her breasts, he suddenly sees Chan's face over hers, and becomes disgusted and withdraws, immediately ending the encounter.

One of the better early 70's Chinese 'youth' social dramas I've seen, the acting and the depth of characters is surprisingly good, and having some fights mixed in is nice.

Note: I just noticed the goofy club waiter is Dean Shek with a shaved head!

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

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chazgower01 wrote: 19 Sep 2018, 17:06 Have they ever collected this series as a box set?
Nope, and knowing Toei, if they had it'd cost more than the individual releases...

Now seen parts 1-5, of which no 2 is my favourite. Part 1 is awful but I have to watch it again because of a Teruo Ishii Abnormal Love article I'm working on...

I guess I should see part 6 as well, though I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a bore.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Police Story 3: Supercop (1992, Hong Kong) haiuken 5/5
It may not be popular to say, but this might be the best overall Jackie Chan movie, and it's not until now that I've ever thought that.
Are the fights as good as some of his others? No, no way.
Are the stunts as good? There are some great ones here.
So...?

Well, the story is actually interesting - the last hour of the movie is either action or suspense almost non-stop, Michelle Yeoh is the best co-star he's ever had IN THAT she actually CO-STARS and does a few of her best stunts ever - Yuen Wah is great - and... really I can't think of anything about this movie I didn't like.

It's doesn't have that raw feel of a normal Hong Kong movie, but it does still have that HK feel of WTF is going to happen next - especially towards the latter half of the movie when it goes from Jackie hanging on a rope latter from a helicopter as it tries to shake him off, to Yeoh jumping a dirt bike on top of a moving train (she actually performs the stunt), to them fighting on top of the moving train... the stunts they do in this, is almost like the two of them are trying to one up each other - to the benefit of us!
It just has a complete story behind all the action for once.

Jackie is sent undercover in mainland China (where's he's briefed and prepped by Yeoh) to help a drug lord (Wah) escape prison so he can infiltrate their set up and get to the big boss. When his identity is nearly blown because they have to visit his 'cover story' hometown, Yeoh poses as his sister and gets pulled into it as well. Eventually, they cross paths with Jackie's girlfriend (Maggie Cheung, her character again taking some abuse here) and it threatens to expose everything...

Almost all of the juvenile comedy is gone here, and Jackie plays this pretty straight, but it's because of the force of the movie, that pulls his character into it. It's almost like a unique hybrid between a HK production and a Hollywood production (Incidentally the Hollywood edit is NOT as good as the original) and this and the previous Operation Condor were clearly preparing Jackie for one more try at the big show... He'd never do as good of a mix of Western/HK movie world's as good as this again...

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

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1992 Hong Kong Box Office

Stephen Chow just took over the Hong Kong movie audience and it's weird to see him so easily smash every record made. The top 3 movies are all his, grossing a combined HK $118 Million PLUS and still ranking as the #10, 11 and 23rd highest grossing Hong Kong movies of all time.Police Story 3 would finish 7th(!) with Twin Dragons coming in at #6 above it (uh...).
Probably one of the most loved HK movies for Western audiences, 'Hardboiled', didn't even make the Hong Kong Top Ten!

1. HK $49,884,734.00 Justice My Foot (Stephen Chow) #10 ATBO
2. HK $48,992,188.00 All’s Well, Ends Well (Stephen Chow) #11 ATBO
3. HK $40,862,831.00 Royal Tramp (Stephen Chow) #23 ATBO
4. HK $36,475,536.00 Now You See Love… Now You Don’t (Chow Yun Fat)
5. HK $34,462,861.00 Swordsman II (Jet Li)
6. HK $33,225,134.00 Twin Dragons (Jackie Chan)
7. HK $32,609,783.00 Police Story 3 (Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh)
8. HK $30,399,676.00 Once Upon A Time in China II (Jet Li)
9. HK $22,806,044.00 ’92 Legendary La Rose Noire
10.HK $21,505,027.00 Dragon Inn (Tsui Hark)

11.HK $19,711,048.00 Hard Boiled (Chow Yun Fat, John Woo)
12.HK $18,611,389.00 Casino Tycoon (Wong Jing)
13.HK $16,793,011.00 Full Contact (Chow Yun Fat)
14.HK $15,001,734.00 Game Kids (Andy Lau)

Other notables:
HK $11,159,986.00 Moon Warriors (Sammo, Andy Lau)
HK $10,384,155.00 Kid From Tibet (Yuen Biao)
HK $10,479,148.00 Casino Tycoon II (Wong Jing)
HK $09,678,959.00 Naked Killer (Wong Jing)
HK $02,147,778.00 Story of Ricky

* Once again, my sources of information are limited, so any info on these numbers is appreciated!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Crime Story (1993, Hong Kong) haiuken 3.5/5
Somewhat of an anomaly for Jackie, especially during this phase of his career, its a serious crime drama and he's an overworked CID who goes through some realistically intense situations.

Based on a true story, where a wealthy Hong Kong businessman is kidnapped and Jackie and his partner (Kent 'Fatty' Cheng) work against each other to solve it, because Cheng is actually IN ON IT. Very somber in its tone, it didn't do as poorly as some have reported, finishing #6 at the 1993 Hong Kong Box Office at over HK $27 Million. Western audiences have an issue with it I guess because its a very serious Jackie, and involves a lot of police procedure and drama.

But it's not JUST crime drama stuff - there's action too, and some pretty creative action at that - including the rooftop/rafters battle/chase/fight scene that has its own enjoyable style - different than what we've seen from Jackie/Sammo directed scenes for the last 15 years... and his fall/escape from a ship when he finally confronts Cheng - leading to a great fight scene vs the gang and then the literally explosive finale.

Not what you'd normally expect from Jackie, but knowing what was to come from late 1995 on in his Hong Kong movies, I'd take this any day.

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

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Twin Dragons (1992, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
Got a little ahead of myself with Crime Story.... In January of 1992, BEFORE Police Story III, Jackie made a benefit movie for the Hong Kong Directors Guild, co-directed by Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. It's the ultimate Jackie Chan vanity project, as he gets to play two characters who each woo a different pretty lady!

Twins (both played by Jackie) who had been separated at birth find their contrasting career paths - Hong Kong auto repair technician mixed up with the mob vs New York City concert pianist - converging, with hilarious (depending on your point of view) results.

The two love interests - Maggie Cheung, who looks prettier than ever here and Nina Li Chi (Jet Li's wife, who is amazingly hot) help make the movie a lot more fun, as they both have a good time with the role. Also helping, if you're a fan of HK cinema, are all of the cameo appearances to try and spot.

It's pretty average (thankfully they mostly phase out Teddy Robin Kwan after the first one third of the movie), and has its moments, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. The finale in the Mitsubishi factory is entertaining.

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

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Be-bop High School (ビー・バップ・ハイスクール) (Japan, 1985) [DVD] - 3.5/5
I had little interest in this series until a guy who owns a movie bar in Tokyo (with a torn up Wolfguy poster on the bathroom door!) told me it's a ton of fun. He was right. This was one of the pinnacles of Japanese 80s pop culture, merging the delinquent boy comic book action popular since the 70s with the 80s idol and high school action formulas (Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, Sukeban Deka etc.). Toru Nakamura and Kojiro Shimizu play hard-fisted high school kids who go against gang leader Hitoshi Ozawa who has turned the school into a yakuza training camp. It's a lot of fun with attitude, cool soundtrack, not-too-silly comedy, hard-punching action and cutie Miho Nakayama (Rebellion League of Girls in Sailor Uniform). Takashi Miike's Crows Zero films were the modern versions of this. Director Hiroyuki Nasu had been making music video influenced Roman Pornos (e.g. The Warriors rip-off Virgin nanka kowakunai, 1984) but this mainstream film finally let him shine. Co-writer Machiko Nasu (who also debuted at Nikkatsu with the excellent A Girl's Pleasure: Man Hunting, 1977), was his wife.

Be-bop High School: Koko yotaro elegy (ビー・バップ・ハイスクール 高校与太郎哀歌) (Japan, 1986) [DVD] - 3.5/5
Not a bad sequel. While there's initially a bit less kick to the action/pop/comic book mix, and it lacks some of the lean story of the first film, it makes up for it with an insanely fun action finale full of crazy stunts and street fighting. There's also a nice addition of ass kicking school girls (both sukeban and more casual variety) that spice up the film. Slightly inferior to the first film, but the fun is still there in plenty.

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

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chazgower01 wrote: 23 Sep 2018, 14:14 Twin Dragons (1992, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
Got a little ahead of myself with Crime Story.... In January of 1992, BEFORE Police Story III, Jackie made a benefit movie for the Hong Kong Directors Guild, co-directed by Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. It's the ultimate Jackie Chan vanity project, as he gets to play two characters who each woo a different pretty lady!

Twins (both played by Jackie) who had been separated at birth find their contrasting career paths - Hong Kong auto repair technician mixed up with the mob vs New York City concert pianist - converging, with hilarious (depending on your point of view) results.

The two love interests - Maggie Cheung, who looks prettier than ever here and Nina Li Chi (Jet Li's wife, who is amazingly hot) help make the movie a lot more fun, as they both have a good time with the role. Also helping, if you're a fan of HK cinema, are all of the cameo appearances to try and spot.

It's pretty average (thankfully they mostly phase out Teddy Robin Kwan after the first one third of the movie), and has its moments, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. The finale in the Mitsubishi factory is entertaining.

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I also thought Maggie was incredibly pretty, with her peaked cap and overall look :)
When I first saw Crime Story, I didnt like it much, as I wasnt used to "serious" Jackie at all and it was dubbed. When I saw it in Cantonese I liked it more.
Police Story III... now there's a great movie. Must see that again someday. Hope it comes to BD in a good edition soon
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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HungFist wrote: 25 Sep 2018, 15:16 Be-bop High School (ビー・バップ・ハイスクール) (Japan, 1985) [DVD] - 3.5/5

Be-bop High School: Koko yotaro elegy (ビー・バップ・ハイスクール 高校与太郎哀歌) (Japan, 1986) [DVD] - 3.5/5
I need to add these to my list!
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Project S (aka Super Cop 2) (1993, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
A sequel of sorts to Super Cop 3 (you certainly don't need to see one to see the other), it stars Michelle Yeoh, once again as Captain 'Jessica' Yang, a tough people's army cop... but who isn't too tough to fall in love. Yeah, there's a love story here as well, but it works out in a different way. I had forgotten about Yeoh's passionate tongue kiss with her boyfriend in this - the usually reserved actress' character is quite smitten by this guy.

Many of the usual suspects are here - Stanley Tong would come back to direct, Bill Tung as the Inspector, Dick Wei naturally as a bad guy (he's especially evil here), Mars (with a Moe Howard haircut) has a cameo, and they even have Oshima Yukari in a cameo as one of the bank robbers in the opening scene. And of course, there's Jackie Chan and Eric Tsang's cameo in drag during a bank robbery, where Jackie saves the day and while talking to his boss says, "You're sending me to America? Not again!"

Essentially this movie is the opposite of SC3, in that the mainland cop (Yeoh) has to come to Hong Kong to help with a case. It's clearly made as a movie for her, but whereas she was the added ingredient to make SC3 better, here she has to carry it all on her own, and the movie just isn't good enough to support that. When she fights, it's good - her battle with the giant dude in the finale is a highlight. When she does a stunt it's good - taking a 20+ foot jump from a rooftop, and landing on her feet. There's just not enough of it to make up for the slow parts. Still worth seeing for her, just not as great as it could've been.

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

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I found the ending of this movie really quite touching and sad :(
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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grim_tales wrote: 27 Sep 2018, 07:08 I found the ending of this movie really quite touching and sad :(
Yeah, I guess it's kind of an interesting angle considering who he is...and Yeoh's reaction is quite well done.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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City Hunter (1993, Hong Kong) haiuken 2/5
Jackie Chan plays Japanese Manga Detective Ryo Saeba in a (it had to happen sooner or later) Wong Jing (Written and) Directed 'City Hunter'. City Hunter is quite the ladies man as well, so he's surrounded by lots of lovely ladies - there's skinny Joey Wong as his secretary, 19-year-old Japanese model Gotoh Kumiko, Wong Jing regular Chingmy Yau, and surprisingly voluptuous for a Chinese actress Carol Wan.

Jackie helps to try and keep things interesting, but this is a Wong Jing movie through and through, maybe even MORESO than usual. It's one bad joke after another (though I did notice only one AIDS joke), and I wouldn't even call it sophomoric humor, but rather grade school humor. And just when you think it can't get any more stupid, it does. On top of that - a lot of people get killed in it - I'll be the last person to complain about imaginary movie violence - but here it just seems out of place.

And of course, there's the well known 'Street Fighter' scene with Gary Daniels as 'Ken' and Jackie as 'E. Honda' - which DOES make me smile each time I see it, but then Jackie becomes Chun Li and it just gets weird. As eye candy, this movie is slightly amusing - as a comedy, it's purely dumb - and as an action movie it's the lamest thing he's done yet in his 'modern period'. I've purposely not watched this in 20+ years. The finale fight with Richard Norton is one of the few highlights.

Notes: *After 1993, Joey Wong wouldn't make another movie until 2001. *Michael Wong has a short cameo at the beginning as City Hunter's deceased partner and best friend. *This is one of only 3 movies Richard Norton did with JC (I'm counting TTLS), though it seems like there was more. *Reportedly, Jackie disowned this movie and him and Wong Jing apparently butted heads on the set - Wong Jing's silly 'High Risk' was a blatant spoof of Jackie Chan as an action star.

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

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1993 Hong Kong Box Office

The money in the Top Ten went down over HK $65 Million from the year before, as Stephen Chow seemed to cool, Jackie Chan made two of his least 'Jackie Chan-like' movies, Chow Yun Fat went on hiatus and John Woo left for America.
That helped Jet Li, who's Fong Sai Yuk became his highest charting movie with his Once Upon a Time in China III finishing at #5, though he would have a string of much less successful films in 1993 as well.
Two surprises at #2 'All’s Well End’s Well Too' and #3 'C’est La Vie Mon Cheri' in a list usually dominated by a handful of stars.
The return of Michelle Yeoh seemed to have a bigger impression on Western audiences than in Hong Kong as her 5 movies combined would gross just enough to out-gross Stephen Chow's #1 'Flirting Scholar'.

1993

1. HK $40,171,804.00 Flirting Scholar (Stephen Chow)
2. HK $35,481,480.00 All’s Well End’s Well Too
3. HK $31,149,673.00 C’est La Vie Mon Cheri
4. HK $30,762,782.00 City Hunter (Jackie Chan)
5. HK $30,666,842.00 Fong Sai Yuk (Jet Li)
6. HK $27,540,561.00 Once Upon A Time in China III (Jet Li)
7. HK $27,439,331.00 Crime Story (Jackie Chan)
8. HK $25,776,004.00 Fight Back to School III (Stephen Chow)
9. HK $23,463,120.00 Eagle Shooting Heroes
10. HK $23,013,797.00 Fong Sai Yuk II (Jet Li)

HK $21,929,420.00 Rose Rose I Love You (Veronica Yip)
HK $21,562,580.00 The Mad Monk (Stephen Chow)
HK $19,874,595.00 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father
HK $19,869,359.00 Bride With White Hair
HK $18,294,196.00 Future Cops (Andy Lau)
HK $18,178,129.00 Last Hero in China (Jet Li)
HK $15,763,018.00 Untold Story (Anthony Wong)

HK $12,564,442.00 Tai Chi Master (Jet Li)
HK $11,301,790.00 Once Upon A Time in China IV
HK $10,437,757.00 Kung Fu Cult Master (Jet Li)
HK $9,817,166.00 Holy Weapon (Michelle Yeoh)
HK $9,507,475.00 Heroic Trio (Michelle Yeoh)
HK $9,337,853.00 Project S (Michelle Yeoh)
HK $09,167,960.00 Butterfly and Sword (Michelle Yeoh)
HK $05,229,134.00 Heroic Trio 2: Executioners (Michelle Yeoh)
HK $2,934,838.00 3 Days of a Blind Girl (Veronica Yip)
HK $??? Raped By An Angel (Wong Jing)
HK $??? Run and Kill (Simon Yam)


* Once again, my sources of information are limited, so any info on these numbers is appreciated!
Last edited by chazgower01 on 29 Sep 2018, 04:37, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Jet Li isn't in Once Upon A Time In China IV

Iron Monkey only made 6 million according to HKMDB!
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chazgower01
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Ivan Drago wrote: 28 Sep 2018, 12:07 Jet Li isn't in Once Upon A Time In China IV

Iron Monkey only made 6 million according to HKMDB!
Whoops! Thank you!

Yeah, I'm surprised by some of the movies and what they did at the HK box office vs the Western perspective of them. Jackie Chan's highest grossing film is Police Story 4: First Strike!
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HungFist
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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New Abashiri Prison Story (新網走番外地) (Japan, 1968) [DVD] - 2.5/5
Part 1 in the reboot series. This initially looks like it's going to break new ground with Takakura sent not to Abashiri Prison but a US/JP joint military prison camp in snowy Abashiri, governed by American guards and packing international prisoners like Osman Yusuf! Unfortunately the segment only runs 20 minutes after which it's sunshine and standard yakuza plotting in Honshu for the rest of the pic. There is a cool ending though with Takakura raiding the villain headquarters with hand grenades and sword, earning himself a ticket to you know where.

New Abashiri Prison Story: Harbour Duel (新網走番外地 流人岬の血斗) (Japan, 1969) [DVD] - 2/5
Part 2. Weak summer-set entry with a handful interesting scenes, including strange opening with Toru Yuri breaking the fourth wall and introducing the film and cast. Later we get bare-assed Takakura in a bath fight - I'm not sure how many girls got their kicks out of it, but nice to see it wasn't just the ladies who had to strip. Finally, there's a beautiful, poignant closing scene. Not very much for a severely over-long (typical to director Furuhata) 109 minute film. One additional note: Takakura's character is worse behaving, a bit less chivalrous than usual here.

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

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HungFist wrote: 30 Sep 2018, 13:59 New Abashiri Prison Story (新網走番外地) (Japan, 1968) [DVD] - 2.5/5
New Abashiri Prison Story: Harbour Duel (新網走番外地 流人岬の血斗) (Japan, 1969) [DVD] - 2/5
It's amazing how much mileage they got out of this idea. How many total movies did they make within the 'Abashiri Prison' concept?
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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chazgower01 wrote: 30 Sep 2018, 15:55
HungFist wrote: 30 Sep 2018, 13:59 New Abashiri Prison Story (新網走番外地) (Japan, 1968) [DVD] - 2.5/5
New Abashiri Prison Story: Harbour Duel (新網走番外地 流人岬の血斗) (Japan, 1969) [DVD] - 2/5
It's amazing how much mileage they got out of this idea. How many total movies did they make within the 'Abashiri Prison' concept?
10+8. Ishii directed the original 10 (1965-1967), then there were 8 "New" films (1968-1972) by other directors, mainly Yasuo Furuhata. In the "New" films Takakura played different character, technically speaking. In practice it could've been the same character just as well.

It's funny how some of the films don't even feature the Abashiri Prison, nor are set in Abashiri... That's what you get when the studio has you deliver up to 4 films a year (1966) and you run out of ideas...

There's also a 1959 Nikkatsu adaptation of the original novel. The Toei films reportedly had very little to do with the novel.
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chazgower01
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Re: What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

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Drunken Master 2 (1994, Hong Kong) DVD 4.5/5
Other than a continuity hiccup, mainly due to Jackie's clash with original director Liu Chia-Liang (of Shaw Brothers fame), this is easily Jackie's best fight movie of the second half of his career.
And not just in the last 20 minutes.
His initial fight with director Liu Chia-Liang (the one onscreen!) - the fight in town where his mom (Anita Mui) throws him bottles - the tea house scene where Liu and Jackie take on 50 people coming at them from all angles - and of course the finale.
Along the way we get Mui as his mom, who's comedy steals every scene she's in, Ti Lung as his stern father, and of course, Jackie as the mischevious Wong Fei-Hung. This is all the reasons we love a Jackie Chan movie.
But it's the fights ultimately. And it had been 6 years since we saw Jackie fight like this. One of his best.

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

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Angel (aka Iron Angels) (1987, Hong Kong) youtube 3/5
When a crime boss (deliciously sadistic Yukari Oshima) has her drug fields burned by local authorities, she starts having cops killed in revenge. Enter (long time Shaw Brothers actor) David Chiang who puts together a team including Japanese Pop Star Saijo Hideki, cute as a button Moon Lee, and too cool to be there Elaine Lui, to try and get to the bottom of it.

Sometimes this movie is so 80's it hurts, but having lived through this time period there's sort of a weird charm to it - the music, the fashion, the cliches... It doesn't however, make up for how long it takes to actually kick into action - though there's some hyper-violence here and there to try and keep you amused, it's mostly the three of them sneaking around breaking into offices. Though the 32-year-old Hideki DOES get to make out with the 22-year-old Moon Lee to keep from blowing their cover - starting an ah-shucks romance (ugh) in the middle of an action movie.

We finally see Yukari give us a taste at about the 50-minute mark, which leads into an assault on her mansion (to save Alex Wong), which is a nice bullet-riddled shoot out rescue escape. However, Alex Wong gets captured AGAIN and this time Yukari tortures him to death, leading to the final...nope - then there's an armored car heist and a bunch of talking... until FINALLY we see Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima square off in what is easily the highlight of the film.

That final fight is BRUTAL, though it's quite a bit shorter than what it needed to be. This was really the starting point for the pairing up of these two, and even though it only did HK $8 Million at the box office, it has a cult following to rival anything out of Hong Kong from this period.

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Last edited by chazgower01 on 02 Jul 2019, 10:00, edited 1 time in total.
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