I took you that many HOURS??grim_tales wrote:LOL just realised Mark's Leslie Bian joke now
I figured the wink in the first post meant you got it right away.
What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5
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grim_tales
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HungFist
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Porco Rosso (Japan, 1992) – 3,5/5
A pig’s gotta fly. Terrific first half, followed by some softening during the last 40 minutes. The title character is excellent.
Rape (Japan, 1976) – 2,5/5
Yasuharu Hasebe’s jazz tuned opening for the rape film series. There’s a quite decent balance between the compulsory sex and more interesting elements, plus a structure that shows some ambition. Naomi Tani makes a sudden appearance around halfway, and thankfully disappears just as fast.
Raping (Japan, 1978) – 2,5/5
After a series of rape themed pink roughies Hasebe directed this self conscious play on the genre. It may still be hard enough to distract some viewers from the parody aspect, but compared to Hasebe’s earlier work it’s not a very graphic film. The storyline seems intentionally simlified, lacking the character’s transformation process that is usually important in the director’s films. In the lead role Natsuko Yashiro is simply having a historically bad day meeting rapists from all classes of society. Some might consider Hasebe’s films misogynistic entertainment, but then again, exactly what kind of image do these films provide of the male sex? Is there a single male character in Hasebe’s films that isn’t a sleazy rapist and a hypocrite?
A pig’s gotta fly. Terrific first half, followed by some softening during the last 40 minutes. The title character is excellent.
Rape (Japan, 1976) – 2,5/5
Yasuharu Hasebe’s jazz tuned opening for the rape film series. There’s a quite decent balance between the compulsory sex and more interesting elements, plus a structure that shows some ambition. Naomi Tani makes a sudden appearance around halfway, and thankfully disappears just as fast.
Raping (Japan, 1978) – 2,5/5
After a series of rape themed pink roughies Hasebe directed this self conscious play on the genre. It may still be hard enough to distract some viewers from the parody aspect, but compared to Hasebe’s earlier work it’s not a very graphic film. The storyline seems intentionally simlified, lacking the character’s transformation process that is usually important in the director’s films. In the lead role Natsuko Yashiro is simply having a historically bad day meeting rapists from all classes of society. Some might consider Hasebe’s films misogynistic entertainment, but then again, exactly what kind of image do these films provide of the male sex? Is there a single male character in Hasebe’s films that isn’t a sleazy rapist and a hypocrite?
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HungFist
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Scrap Heaven (Japan, 2005) – 3/5
Korean-Japanese director Lee Sang-il goes Fight Club. Ryo Kase and Joe Odagiri play society terrorists who want shake things up a bit. Chiaki Kuriyama join the bunch in a few scenes as bomb building pharmacist. Fun concept, even if unoriginal, and does manage to keep the interest up for the entire 117 min running time. Odagiri’s over-acting is hardly convincing but somehow doesn’t hurt the film. Ryo Kase doesn’t stand out to one direction or another, but the lovable Kuriyama is terribly under-used. She had a few extra scenes that didn’t make it the final cut, but the problem lies in the screenplay. Visually the pic looks very good, although the director has bad habit of mixing in shobby editing tricks and some unsuccesful music choises. Somehow, even with all the flaws, the pic still manages to stay well on the positive side.
Korean-Japanese director Lee Sang-il goes Fight Club. Ryo Kase and Joe Odagiri play society terrorists who want shake things up a bit. Chiaki Kuriyama join the bunch in a few scenes as bomb building pharmacist. Fun concept, even if unoriginal, and does manage to keep the interest up for the entire 117 min running time. Odagiri’s over-acting is hardly convincing but somehow doesn’t hurt the film. Ryo Kase doesn’t stand out to one direction or another, but the lovable Kuriyama is terribly under-used. She had a few extra scenes that didn’t make it the final cut, but the problem lies in the screenplay. Visually the pic looks very good, although the director has bad habit of mixing in shobby editing tricks and some unsuccesful music choises. Somehow, even with all the flaws, the pic still manages to stay well on the positive side.
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HungFist
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Tarao Bannai (Japan, 1978) - 3/5
Tarao Bannai ala Norifumi Suzuki is a dialogue loaded detective film that gets increasingly weird as the case becomes more complicated. Although the tempo is rather slow in the beginning, it will change later. Humour is plenty, and Suzuki has a couple of big surprises in his back pocket, including some Italian genre cinema borrowals. Akira Kobayashi and his numerous disguises play the lead role. Toei’s no. 1 yakuza and karate villains Bin Amatsu and Masashi Ishibashi also appear, among many other stars.
Pretty Maid Cafe (Japan, 2003) – 2,5/5
From the director of Cat Girl Kiki comes another love story, only this time without fantasy elements. Well, without supernatural fantasy at least. A geek falls in love with a maid after a massage session (they provide such services nowadays, too). The humour is good, and the love story cute for the most part, but there’s an unnecessary stalker sub-plot. Unlike in the other two Akihabara films, there’s no special appearance by a former av-star, meaning no skin on display. The lead lady, Kotono Higashi, however takes it to pretty strong gravure line, which should be obvious at latest in the scene where she wears red bikini while exercising. Unfortunately she later slipped into av. A real shame, as her performance here packs a very decent amount of cuteness. You’d think that would’ve been enough to earn her a living in the model market... or as the most popular maid in Tokyo.
Mizu no hana (Japan, 2005) – 3,5/5
Beautifully shot debut from Yusuke Kinoshita. The story is about a junior high school girl (Saki Terashima) who runs from home with her 6 year old half-sister (Himawari Ono). Some of the grounding for the story – drunken father, single mom who doesn’t have time for her daughter – doesn’t sound very delicate, but the director always keeps it very low key. There’s more silence than dialogue. Cinematography and soundtrack work well. Definitely a director to keep an eye on.
Tarao Bannai ala Norifumi Suzuki is a dialogue loaded detective film that gets increasingly weird as the case becomes more complicated. Although the tempo is rather slow in the beginning, it will change later. Humour is plenty, and Suzuki has a couple of big surprises in his back pocket, including some Italian genre cinema borrowals. Akira Kobayashi and his numerous disguises play the lead role. Toei’s no. 1 yakuza and karate villains Bin Amatsu and Masashi Ishibashi also appear, among many other stars.
Pretty Maid Cafe (Japan, 2003) – 2,5/5
From the director of Cat Girl Kiki comes another love story, only this time without fantasy elements. Well, without supernatural fantasy at least. A geek falls in love with a maid after a massage session (they provide such services nowadays, too). The humour is good, and the love story cute for the most part, but there’s an unnecessary stalker sub-plot. Unlike in the other two Akihabara films, there’s no special appearance by a former av-star, meaning no skin on display. The lead lady, Kotono Higashi, however takes it to pretty strong gravure line, which should be obvious at latest in the scene where she wears red bikini while exercising. Unfortunately she later slipped into av. A real shame, as her performance here packs a very decent amount of cuteness. You’d think that would’ve been enough to earn her a living in the model market... or as the most popular maid in Tokyo.
Mizu no hana (Japan, 2005) – 3,5/5
Beautifully shot debut from Yusuke Kinoshita. The story is about a junior high school girl (Saki Terashima) who runs from home with her 6 year old half-sister (Himawari Ono). Some of the grounding for the story – drunken father, single mom who doesn’t have time for her daughter – doesn’t sound very delicate, but the director always keeps it very low key. There’s more silence than dialogue. Cinematography and soundtrack work well. Definitely a director to keep an eye on.
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HungFist
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Delightful Forest (Hong Kong, 1972) – 3/5
Ti Lung is terrific in this Chang Cheh / Pao Hsueh-li film that has little to do with its title (Delightful Forest is restaurant that plays no imporant role in the film). Lung stars a drunken hero who is sent to prison for murder. The officials however find use for his martial arts skills. While the screenplay is a bit weak, Lung’s charisma is not. Even more impressive are the action scenes, especially the ultra violent ending. The soundtract is a ’Best of Ennio Morricone’ collection - at least on the IVL dvd - and works quite well.
Four Riders (Hong Kong, 1972) – 3/5
Testosterone explosion! Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan Tai and Wang Chung are Men with capital M. Example; David Chiang is drinking wine at a night club and ignoring the big boss Yasuaki Kurata. Kurata grabs the glass, breaking it into pieces and leaving Chiang holding nothing but the handle. Neither man even blink an eye. Ching only takes a new bottle and continues drinking as if nothing had happened! And the story? Four Chinese soldiers have fun in the post Korean war Seoul, and manage to anger the local drug trafficers. Refreshing change from the usual China sets. Liu Chia-liang and Tang Chian’s action choreography is excellent once again.
The Drug Connection (Hong Kong, 1976) – 3/5
Supposedly a Coffy remake but I can’t comment on that since I haven’t seen the Pam Grier original. But director Sun Chung’s attempts to deliver HK pinky violence shouldn’t be ignored (he gave the genre another try later the same year with Big Bad Sis). Chen Ping plays a woman whose sister is ruined by drug dealers. She decides to do what the police can’t. And a bit more. Blaxploitation influences show (HK girls with afro?!) and there’s no lack of eye candy. Sometimes it tends to get on the way of storytelling, though. However, 10 minutes before the ending Chen Ping goes shotgun happy and there’s no limits to joy.
Oily Maniac (Hong Kong, 1976) – 3/5
A bullied cripple turns himself into a slimy monster and takes revenge on those who have wronged him. Other morally corrupt persons also get to taste his anger. Danny Lee gives a career defining performance in this exceptionally well done and genuinely scary horror drama. Only the ending is a bit disappointing with its compelling sub-context.
Five Deadly Venoms (Hong Kong, 1978) – 3,5/5
A rare treat: a venoms film with an interesting storyline. Of course the later popularity of the performers has pretty much removed the surprise element (who’s hiding behind the mask, and who’s only playing dumb?) but the script works nevertheless. Also positive is the lower than usual amount of martial arts, although the final fight once again is a bit too long. The different fighting styles play an important part in the story, instead of just being there simply for the sake of variety (which of course isn’t a very bad reason either).
Rebel Intruders (Hong Kong, 1980) – 2/5
Chang Cheh / The Venoms collaboration loaded with entertaining fight scenes. Unfortunately the rather charisma free stunt bunch achieves little else. Characters lack characteristics, and the storyline would be better off without politics. Also, the studio settings stand out in a bad way, for a chance
Bloody Parrot (Hong Kong, 1981) – 1/5
Caves, cannibals and magic in Super Inframan director Hua Shan’s wuxia film. Machine gun screenwriter I Kuang is responsible for the incomprehensible storyline that possibly starts making minor sense 10 minutes before the film ends. It’s hard to say, really, since it’s impossible to find motivation to fully concentrate on a mess like this that only attempts to be as weird as possible. Occasional full frontal nudity is the most interesting element, which should say something about the overall quality.
Portrait in Crystal (Hong Kong, 1983) – 1,5/5
Crystal killer turns the martial world upside down in another Hua Shan’s wuxia fantasy. The utterly insane film entertains first, but then the lack of any coherence becomes a burden. The whole film feels like it plays in fast motion, and even at below 80 minutes if feels too long. The last 60 seconds leave a decent aftertaste, though.
Ti Lung is terrific in this Chang Cheh / Pao Hsueh-li film that has little to do with its title (Delightful Forest is restaurant that plays no imporant role in the film). Lung stars a drunken hero who is sent to prison for murder. The officials however find use for his martial arts skills. While the screenplay is a bit weak, Lung’s charisma is not. Even more impressive are the action scenes, especially the ultra violent ending. The soundtract is a ’Best of Ennio Morricone’ collection - at least on the IVL dvd - and works quite well.
Four Riders (Hong Kong, 1972) – 3/5
Testosterone explosion! Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan Tai and Wang Chung are Men with capital M. Example; David Chiang is drinking wine at a night club and ignoring the big boss Yasuaki Kurata. Kurata grabs the glass, breaking it into pieces and leaving Chiang holding nothing but the handle. Neither man even blink an eye. Ching only takes a new bottle and continues drinking as if nothing had happened! And the story? Four Chinese soldiers have fun in the post Korean war Seoul, and manage to anger the local drug trafficers. Refreshing change from the usual China sets. Liu Chia-liang and Tang Chian’s action choreography is excellent once again.
The Drug Connection (Hong Kong, 1976) – 3/5
Supposedly a Coffy remake but I can’t comment on that since I haven’t seen the Pam Grier original. But director Sun Chung’s attempts to deliver HK pinky violence shouldn’t be ignored (he gave the genre another try later the same year with Big Bad Sis). Chen Ping plays a woman whose sister is ruined by drug dealers. She decides to do what the police can’t. And a bit more. Blaxploitation influences show (HK girls with afro?!) and there’s no lack of eye candy. Sometimes it tends to get on the way of storytelling, though. However, 10 minutes before the ending Chen Ping goes shotgun happy and there’s no limits to joy.
Oily Maniac (Hong Kong, 1976) – 3/5
A bullied cripple turns himself into a slimy monster and takes revenge on those who have wronged him. Other morally corrupt persons also get to taste his anger. Danny Lee gives a career defining performance in this exceptionally well done and genuinely scary horror drama. Only the ending is a bit disappointing with its compelling sub-context.
Five Deadly Venoms (Hong Kong, 1978) – 3,5/5
A rare treat: a venoms film with an interesting storyline. Of course the later popularity of the performers has pretty much removed the surprise element (who’s hiding behind the mask, and who’s only playing dumb?) but the script works nevertheless. Also positive is the lower than usual amount of martial arts, although the final fight once again is a bit too long. The different fighting styles play an important part in the story, instead of just being there simply for the sake of variety (which of course isn’t a very bad reason either).
Rebel Intruders (Hong Kong, 1980) – 2/5
Chang Cheh / The Venoms collaboration loaded with entertaining fight scenes. Unfortunately the rather charisma free stunt bunch achieves little else. Characters lack characteristics, and the storyline would be better off without politics. Also, the studio settings stand out in a bad way, for a chance
Bloody Parrot (Hong Kong, 1981) – 1/5
Caves, cannibals and magic in Super Inframan director Hua Shan’s wuxia film. Machine gun screenwriter I Kuang is responsible for the incomprehensible storyline that possibly starts making minor sense 10 minutes before the film ends. It’s hard to say, really, since it’s impossible to find motivation to fully concentrate on a mess like this that only attempts to be as weird as possible. Occasional full frontal nudity is the most interesting element, which should say something about the overall quality.
Portrait in Crystal (Hong Kong, 1983) – 1,5/5
Crystal killer turns the martial world upside down in another Hua Shan’s wuxia fantasy. The utterly insane film entertains first, but then the lack of any coherence becomes a burden. The whole film feels like it plays in fast motion, and even at below 80 minutes if feels too long. The last 60 seconds leave a decent aftertaste, though.
Last edited by HungFist on 22 Oct 2008, 06:21, edited 1 time in total.
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grim_tales
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Knetan
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Knetan
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Yi-Long
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5 Venoms was just ok-ish. At least a somewhat original story, a bit of a 'who's who!?' and all that... but cant say I was all that impressed with the rest of it. The martial arts performed and the choreography is pretty close to 'piss-poor', and in the end I also didnt really care for any of the cast.
Truly overrated.
Truly overrated.
I was there, the big BNB blackout of november, 2008. We lost many that day...
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Knetan
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Killer Meteor
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Killer Meteor
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No, that's the non Shaw Secret Rivals (1976) or Invinsible Armour (1977). They don't actually have Pak Mei, but Hwang Jang-lee is playing that sort of character in both. Pak Mei is in the Venoms' Shaolin RescuersYi-Long wrote:Kid with the golden arm: is that the one with a 'white-eyebrow' (Pak Mei) villain, and Tan Tao Liang's student!?
bradavon wrote:
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
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HungFist
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Night Visions: Maximum Halloween 3008. Reviews lazily taken from the full festival report, with quick editing here and there. May include references to text not visible here. I'm too lazy to read the whole thing again... Non-asian films reviewed in their own thread
Tokyo Gore Police (Japan, 2008) 2,5/5
I’m always dubious about modern Japanese exploitation, but Tokyo Gore Police (2008) was a title wouldn’t want to miss on a midnight film festival. That’s the way it’s meant to be seen - on big screen and with people as strange or stranger than yourself. Well, that’s what I thought before entering the screening at least. Very soon it became obvious that special effects man Yoshihiro Nishimura is not one of the most talented directors working in the exploitation market. The cinematography for example lacks almost all imaginable merits, with the camera just pointing approximately to the direction of action. And who was it that said fast motion could compensate for poor show? The person deserves a chainsaw into his forehead. The same could be said about the one who thought the combination of frenzy editing and maniacal characters would result into something more than terribly pretentious coolness.
What TGP has, however, is energy. It’s pure trash – not just the content but the execution also. Seeing something like every once in a while this can be a very refreshing experience. Some of the special effects are quite brilliant, and you can’t deny the ingeniousness of many scenes (such as the ”handgun” battle at the end of the film). The Paul Verhoeven esque commercials seen during the film are also terrific, with the ”Suicide is Kawaii!!!” spot being the most memorable of them. Also, as expected, the blood comes in world record amounts. A disturbing film TGP is not, though. The film-makers are in such a hurry to get into splatter that it leaves no room whatsoever for any kind of emotional impact. The violence doesn’t hurt the audience. In fact, there isn’t really that much in-depth gore, its mostly just surface.
There is a story, too, sort of. Eihi Shiina plays a future cop whose job is to hunt down engineers, mutants that have an ability to replace any damaged limb with a deadly weapon. An engineer can only be killed by destroying or separating a key organ that could be located anywhere in the body. In other words, the only sure way to achieve a kill is to dislocate all limbs, and a bit more. Some ordinary people also get their share of the ”cure” when the over-anxious police fore decides to play sure. Overall, quite passable digi-video garbage when enjoyed in the right mood of mind, but a far cry from the stylish Gore Blade Runner I was hoping for.
Robotrix (HK, 1991) – 4/5
The grande finale for the night, Robotrix (1991), a classic Category III title combining sci-fi, sex and kung fu. Amy Yip - delivering her usual Yiptease (the art of jumping around naked without ever really exposing anything) – and Chikako Aoyama – with a bit less restraints in front of the camera - star as female cyborgs after a mechanical villain (Billy Chow). A bunch horny male cops give ”support”. The outrageous film would’ve been great fun even normally, but as the last film of the marathon, watched at 8:45 am, after 6 other cult and horror films, it was a riot. The applauses during (especially when Chow disposes the dead prostitute) and after the film were all well deserved.
Tokyo Gore Police (Japan, 2008) 2,5/5
I’m always dubious about modern Japanese exploitation, but Tokyo Gore Police (2008) was a title wouldn’t want to miss on a midnight film festival. That’s the way it’s meant to be seen - on big screen and with people as strange or stranger than yourself. Well, that’s what I thought before entering the screening at least. Very soon it became obvious that special effects man Yoshihiro Nishimura is not one of the most talented directors working in the exploitation market. The cinematography for example lacks almost all imaginable merits, with the camera just pointing approximately to the direction of action. And who was it that said fast motion could compensate for poor show? The person deserves a chainsaw into his forehead. The same could be said about the one who thought the combination of frenzy editing and maniacal characters would result into something more than terribly pretentious coolness.
What TGP has, however, is energy. It’s pure trash – not just the content but the execution also. Seeing something like every once in a while this can be a very refreshing experience. Some of the special effects are quite brilliant, and you can’t deny the ingeniousness of many scenes (such as the ”handgun” battle at the end of the film). The Paul Verhoeven esque commercials seen during the film are also terrific, with the ”Suicide is Kawaii!!!” spot being the most memorable of them. Also, as expected, the blood comes in world record amounts. A disturbing film TGP is not, though. The film-makers are in such a hurry to get into splatter that it leaves no room whatsoever for any kind of emotional impact. The violence doesn’t hurt the audience. In fact, there isn’t really that much in-depth gore, its mostly just surface.
There is a story, too, sort of. Eihi Shiina plays a future cop whose job is to hunt down engineers, mutants that have an ability to replace any damaged limb with a deadly weapon. An engineer can only be killed by destroying or separating a key organ that could be located anywhere in the body. In other words, the only sure way to achieve a kill is to dislocate all limbs, and a bit more. Some ordinary people also get their share of the ”cure” when the over-anxious police fore decides to play sure. Overall, quite passable digi-video garbage when enjoyed in the right mood of mind, but a far cry from the stylish Gore Blade Runner I was hoping for.
Robotrix (HK, 1991) – 4/5
The grande finale for the night, Robotrix (1991), a classic Category III title combining sci-fi, sex and kung fu. Amy Yip - delivering her usual Yiptease (the art of jumping around naked without ever really exposing anything) – and Chikako Aoyama – with a bit less restraints in front of the camera - star as female cyborgs after a mechanical villain (Billy Chow). A bunch horny male cops give ”support”. The outrageous film would’ve been great fun even normally, but as the last film of the marathon, watched at 8:45 am, after 6 other cult and horror films, it was a riot. The applauses during (especially when Chow disposes the dead prostitute) and after the film were all well deserved.
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DangerousLeeHandsome
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HungFist
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OneChanbara (Japan, 2008) – 1,5/5
3 + 2 = 1,5. Hmm. It’s got a school girl zombie, topples lady zombie, and a zombie eating intestines. It’s also got a katana wielding bikini girl as the main character, and a seifuku cutie as her opponent. Yet it barely works. Gô Ohara’s action design borrows from Versus and Death Trance (in which he also worked) but does everything with notably less success. The director (Yôhei Fukuda) shows little talent, and the actors are so wooden they don’t even do justice to the cardboard characters. CGI is plenty and very bad, but actually works to the benefit of the film. The core idea - swords, girls and zombies - is also fun enough to entertain even if the pic fails on other areas. Oh, and this is a video game adaptation.
3 + 2 = 1,5. Hmm. It’s got a school girl zombie, topples lady zombie, and a zombie eating intestines. It’s also got a katana wielding bikini girl as the main character, and a seifuku cutie as her opponent. Yet it barely works. Gô Ohara’s action design borrows from Versus and Death Trance (in which he also worked) but does everything with notably less success. The director (Yôhei Fukuda) shows little talent, and the actors are so wooden they don’t even do justice to the cardboard characters. CGI is plenty and very bad, but actually works to the benefit of the film. The core idea - swords, girls and zombies - is also fun enough to entertain even if the pic fails on other areas. Oh, and this is a video game adaptation.