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

[chazgower01]

The Story of Ricky (aka Riki-Oh) (1992, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 2/5
Director Lam Nai-Choi only directed 13 movies in his career, but two of them are among my favorites during the 1985-1995 period of Hong Kong films (Erotic Ghost Story and Seventh Curse), but he also directed this goofy little movie based on a Japanese manga. It's become a cultural oddity, thanks in part to a clip that ran as a part of Craig Kilborn's Daily Show from 1996-1998.

Ricky is a regular dude, but with Super Human Strength, who is imprisoned after killing a drug lord that was responsible for the death of his girlfriend. While in prison he extracts revenge upon the sadistic guards and wardens. The violence is way over the top and almost cartoon like - the special effects are... not exactly the best, but part of what lends them a weird charm. You're not here for the story... you're here to see what outrageous ultra-gory act they'll pull next (punch off half a guys head? rip open the belly of a sumo sized inmate?) and how much blood splatters.

I'm not a super gore fan, or even necessarily an ultra violence fan - it has it's place as its own genre, really - and this is amusing at times, but... really not something I'd spend time watching again.

[grim_tales]

I havent seen this for years - wondering if I should upgrade to BD

[chazgower01]

I havent seen this for years - wondering if I should upgrade to BD

I watched it on Amazon Prime and the picture quality was great.

[chazgower01]

Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998, Hong Kong) DVD 2/5
I enjoy foreign movies in their native language with subtitles because I want to hear the inflection of voices and emotion. I've learned to accept bad dubbing to some degree, because of the cheap way many of these movies are put together, after production. But one thing I STILL can't get used to is bad acting in a movie with enough of a budget to afford otherwise.
Here Jackie plays a member of a covert military team that gets double-crossed and shot down over Africa. He's the only survivor, but is without his memory and ends up cared for by a primitive African tribe (which is somewhat of a strange out of synch part of the movie). Of course, when the CIA finds out he's alive still they want him dead. With the help of a Chinese driving specialist (Japanese actress Yamamoto Mirai) and reporter (Michelle Ferre - a real life CNN reporter, who Jackie gave a starring part in the movie) they try to help Chan gets his memory back without getting killed.
Ferre is cute as a button, but her lack of acting experience is glaring, even in a movie where everyone else is pretty bad, and Mirai isn't any better. And... well, by this point you wonder if Jackie is ever going to deliver English dialogue in a convincing way.
The one aspect that could save the movie, of course, is the action and fighting, but there's probably less of it here than in most of Jackie's movies, and honestly, what there IS of it, I didn't find particularly memorable. Even the rooftop fight against two goons toward the end of the movie is just more of the same - Ron Smoorenburg may be an incredibly impressive kicker - but if Jackie can beat Ken Lo 4 years earlier, he's not going to lose to some pasty-faced Westerner. Still, the fight is a welcome relief in the movie and actually goes on for a bit.
I'd have to say this is the worst of Jackie's pre-USA modern phase movies and I'd probably watch Thunderbolt again before this.

[HungFist]

My laptop went up in smoke, don`t expect to see me much here for the next few weeks.

Anyway, catching up with recent JP Cinema.

Liverlief (ミスミソウ) (Japan, 2018) [DVD] - 2/5
Junior high school kids murdering each other is something that could end up looking ridiculous if not handled with delicasy or stylish excess. That is exactly what happens in this long but hollow revenge drama about a bullied girl going after with her wrongdoers. The problem: her transition is not believable and the hysterical little devils, badly played by idol-like girls, are as convincing as the film's constant GCI snow. Being an Eisuke Naito film, there is excess, with eyes stabbed, mouths slit open, guts hanging out and so on, but few of the gory set pieces are well choreographed. It's only during the last 20 minutes that the film finds cruel beauty in its blood soaked images.

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty (リミット・オブ・スリーピング ビューティ) (Japan, 2017) [DVD] - 3.5/5
One of the few recent Japanese films to grab you by the balls, a wild acid trip into the psyche of a desperate actress in the crossfire of love, dreams, abuse, clown, and psychedelic night club where she part-times as a circus girl. There's a lot of Aronofsky, Iglesia and Tsukamoto in the film, with a bit of Spring Breakers Korine and plenty of director Ken Ninomiya's own approach where music and visuals are inseparable (there's about three album's worth of good music in the film). His energy and that of the cast (especially Yuki Sakurai from Sono's Tag) transcend the budgetary limits that show in lesser image quality than the superb visuals deserve. You can tell Ninomiya never went to film school - or if he did, he skipped the classes - but stayed home watching movies instead. There lies the film's flaw as well: originality is lacking as the influences are too evident. But give him time, this is one of his first films, a remake of his (equally stylish and and similarly flawed) short film of the same title from a few years back.

[chazgower01]

Gorgeous (1999, Hong Kong) DVD 2.5/5
The first thing to remember about watching this movie is that it is NOT a Jackie Chan movie, but a Shu Qi movie put together by Vincent Kok for HER to star. Jackie's world just happens to be added in. But this is a romcom first and foremost, and one Jackie very much wanted to do.
If you like Shu Qi, and she IS adorable here as the poor girl from rural Taiwan who comes to Hong Kong and falls in love with Jackie, it'll help make this movie easier to watch. She really carries the more difficult parts of the movie to watch, with a sweet innocence and beautiful smile, that completely overshadows her Category III past.
Jackie has two lengthy fight scenes to chew up time, both with the short but powerful Bradley James, and it helps, because he's only ok as the business tycoon slowly won over by the girl.
Tony Leung has a role as the guy who Shu Qi originally comes to visit in Hong Kong after finding his message in a bottle - only for him to turn out to be flamboyant homosexual, who then assists her in the quest to fall in love.
Lots of cliches and goofiness, but a DIFFERENT kind of cliche and goofiness than in a normal Jackie Chan movie. It's not so bad. I get more of a 'friend' vibe from the two of them than a 'love' thing though.

[grim_tales]

I remember Gorgeous - Shu Qi is adorable in it and the theme song is cute

The Hand of Death AKA Countdown to Kung Fu (1976): 3/5
Early John Woo period adventure featuring a young Jackie Chan in a supporting role. Pretty good with effective, slightly brutal fight choreography by Sammo Hung. A funky score that could only have made in the 70's adds to the fun.
I noticed When some of the characters die, the score/music cue is the same one used in Fist of Fury in certain places.

[HungFist]

Gorgeous is probably my favourite post Drunken Master 2 Jackie film. Yes, the bar isn`t that high (with most other mid/late 90s ones feeling like DTV films) but it`s a cute and funny film with some good action. Well, that`s my recollection at least. The last time I saw it was the ultra-soft non-anamorphic Hong Kong dvd which I should still own (Universe?).

[chazgower01]

Rush Hour (1998, Hong Kong) DVD 4/5
The reason I like a lot of Hong Kong cinema is because it's different than what I would sometimes EVER expect in an American movie. But from the time Jackie Chan first started to try and break into the American market, there's was a great deal of debate as to HOW that could be put together. Directors kept getting it wrong. And as the misses kept adding up, or victories that did occur happened in small doses, many wondered if it would EVER happen.
Rush Hour did $141 Million at the box office in 1998 - adjusted for inflation that's $217 Million in today's money - or close to the equivalent of what Hugh Jackman's 'Logan' did last year, at about half the budget. Yep, Rush Hour was the #7 movie of 1998, behind, at their box office peak: Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, The Farrelly Bros., a Pixar movie, Armageddon and Saving Private Ryan. It beat Godzilla, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and Jet Li in Lethal Weapon 4. Jackie was a star in the biggest movie market in the world.
But many fans of Asian Cinema have often hated on this movie for various reasons - Jackie needing a co-star, not Asian enough, Chris Tucker for his very existence, etc. But the fact is - this made Jackie a star in the biggest movie market in the world.
I'll always enjoy this movie. It was a treat for me to take my son as he was growing up to the theater to see NEW Jackie Chan movies. He didn't care about any of the back story behind the scenes, or fan bickering - he just enjoyed it because he enjoyed it.
(But as a somewhat purist I LOVE that Ken Lo and Mars had small roles as Jun Tao's henchmen!)
Anyway, I love it. Some hate it. It is what it is.
I'll take this over 'Who Am I?' anyday.

[HungFist]

The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats (まむしの兄弟 傷害恐喝十八犯) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 2/5
Part 4. Sugawara tries to overcome a traumatic experience of getting in bed blindfolded with a girl who turned out to be an old granny. Later he and Kawaji try to settle down in a neighbourhood harassed by businessman yakuza Bin Amatsu. Very little to remember here. Like many of the Abashiri Prison sequels, this series seemed to be running on the fumes of its star power - which the audience did not mind. Four plus one more films were to come.

River's Edge (リバーズ・エッジ) (Japan, 2018) [BD] - 3/5
Set in early 90s Japan, ironically soon playing at Tokyo International Film Festival's "Japan Today" series. Bullies, bulimia, secret gay relationships and a slaughtered cat... with its "shocking story", digital image and amateurish "talking to the camera" scenes it feels like a j-dorama director going big screen - something you shouldn't feel with experienced Isao Yukisada. Perhaps this is Japan(ese cinema) Today indeed. That being said, it is captivating with its dramatic story, surprisingly graphic sex, good performances and the always watchable Fumi Nikaido. Oh and did I mention she goes nude in the film? Good for us. Also, shot in 1.37:1. You don't see that often these days.

[HungFist]

The Viper Brothers: Jail - Living for 4 1/2 Years (まむしの兄弟 刑務所暮し四年半) (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 3/5
Part 5. Delightful start with Tatsuo Endo as a nice guy prison guard! How many times have you seen that? He does mention he's a former inmate for having killed 4 men but oh well. The rest of the film isn't half bad either. Kosaku Yamashita, well past his prime by 1973, manages some characterization that reminds of his 60s films and come with surprisingly moving results. Sugawara and Kawaji's chemistry is even more evident here than usual, the storyline is alright if melodramatic, and we got Kyosuke Machida (henchman) with cool beard and the always good Tsunehiko Watase (young hood) on board as well. One of the best films in the series.



Call Boy (娼年) (Japan, 2018) [DVD] - 4/5
This film's got to have the longest, relatively most realistic sex scenes in any mainstream film. It's also another terrific, emotionally brutal and ultra-realistic film by the most interesting director in Japan, Daisuke Miura. The opening alone is great: a handsome university student is picked up by a seductive older lady. When they get to her place, the gist is revealed: he's not to have sex with her but her mute daughter, while she watches. She's also the owner of a call boy service to which he is soon hired. This is an adaptation from Miura's own stage play - a world where he gained notoriety for his abusive directing methods aimed at bringing the best out of the cast, and whether you approve his methods or not, the performance are once again terrific (as they were in his romantic-comedy-gone-punk Boys on the Run and modern-day-Roman-Porno with style and psychological depth to boot Love's Whirlpool). I hesitated seeing Call Boy for its lower tech looking visuals, but the otherwise stylish camera work, New York jazz score and superb character realism overcome it. The realism is partially relative, though, with perhaps a bit too much AV influence to the slick sex scenes (though you could argue that`s exactly what the young Japanese are influenced by in real life) and half of the customers being in the Ami Tomite / Yuki Sakurai / Kokone Sasaki (all Sion Sono actresses, btw) range of burning hot, and the rest including Daiei star Kyoko Enami (!), now in her mid 70s, in an unexpectedly sweet role. All that's quite ok, this IS cinema after all.

[grim_tales]

Vengeance of a Snow Girl (Lo Wei, 1970) - 2/5

Lavish period adventure in which the lovely Li Ching is a young woman out to avenge her parents death (and cure her hypothermia).

Found it quite slow in parts. Mostly it's done in a serious manner too, but later in the film our heroine/hero have to retrieve a magic pearl from a volcano (!) while dressed in tin foil, which certainly reminds you when the film was made There are some OK fights and swordplay stuff for the time.
The ending of the film is quite a sad moment

[chazgower01]

The Accidental Spy (2001, Hong Kong) haiuken.com 3.5/5
Jackie uses a familiar formula - regular guy thrown into chaotic situation/two hot co-stars - but scriptwriter Ivy Ho (Comrades, Almost a Love Story, The Age of Miracles) actually helps give this some suspense and structure. I actually wanted to know what was going to happen next and was interested in the characters. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but it's more watchable than anything he's done as a Modern setting Hong Kong movie since... Crime Story?
Even Eric Tsang played a character that didn't annoy me.
Jackie plays a regular guy who thought he was an orphan his whole life, only to discover an old man who was a spy that MAY be his father. The clues his 'father' gives him before he dies, lead him to an international crime organization in Turkey where he becomes the center of interest between them, a village of Turks, and the CIA.
For his two female co-stars, he again chooses an unknown with no experience, Kim Min-Jeong, a pretty Korean (I'm assuming based on appearance only) who plays a reporter (or so we think) and a former Category III starlet, Vivian Hsu, who is very convincing in her portrayal of the character she plays. Very attractive too - don't think I'm familiar with anything she's been in.
There are some surprises and some twists to this, that makes it more interesting than the same old formula - this isn't joking and having fun Jackie - he's very serious through most of it, lending an air of real danger to when he's attacked - people die - and his character doesn't always make the right decision, and those choices cost him.
I was entertained by this more than anything of Jackie's in the last 8 years out of Hong Kong, and scriptwriter Ivy Ho (who also did the story for Gorgeous) should be... nope. It was the last she'd work with Jackie. In fact, Jackie would be off making two movies with Owen Wilson and wouldn't put out another HK movie until late 2003.


Vivian Hsu

Kim Min-Jeong

[grim_tales]

I enjoyed Accidental Spy, need to watch it again some time Reminded me a bit of 'Who Am I' or the Armour of God films

[chazgower01]

Shanghai Noon (2000, USA) Amazon Prime 2.5/5
I'd never seen this movie from beginning to end, as I always seemed to fall asleep through it. My son loves both of the films in this, but... I just didn't know. Watching it now.... well, I took a nap halfway through it.
Grossing just slightly more than the Tuxedo would, this was one of the lesser successful of Jackie's USA made movies, and I still can't figure out what he needed a $55 million budget (about $80 Million in today's dollars) for some of these movies.
I like Owen Wilson better than Chris Tucker, but Jackie's answer to Once Upon a Time in China and America just isn't all that great. It has some funny moments, but whoever filmed these fight scenes didn't do the film any favors. It lacks the punch of even one of the Rush Hour movies. Many of the action scenes are with an accompaniment of a rock song (AC/DC's Back in Black, ZZ Top's La Grange, etc.)
Jackie plays a Chinese Imperial Guard in 1881 who is sent to America to rescue Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu) who was kidnapped by some bad guys for ransom.
The finale is the best thing about it, as Jackie uses a variety of weapons and they actually use longer stationary shots where we can actually see his abilities at work.
Not terrible, but this is one movie that could've used Jackie's character being a little more humorous.

[Markgway]

Who Am I? >>> Rush Hour

[HungFist]

The Night Comes for Us (Indonesia, 2018) [Netflix] - 2.5/5
Stylish but hollow martial arts gore actioner. Perhaps I'm getting old, but this reached the point where the constant ultra-graphic violence towards both heroes and villains ceased to be enjoyable or hard hitting, and just got nauseating. This feels more like "torture porn action" than the good old "ultra violent action" (anything from Sonny Chiba to Lone Wolf and Cub or Versus) which were relatively clean-cut in their bloody but cartoonish violence. Here the focus is on pain, graphic detail and pieces of flesh being cut off from human bodies. The action itself is quite well filmed, largely lacking the shakycam, CGI overdose and editing issues that you'd find in the Raid films. There are also some exciting bits that rely more on fight choreography than gore, like Julie Estelle`s final fight. You do wish, however, that they had gotten a bit more out of the characters/storyline (esp. Taslim vs. Uwais with its honor/brotherhood tension) as the potential was there. The missed opportunity somewhat reminded me of the director's earlier film Killers, which was very entertaining but largely wasted its psychological potential.

The Flying Guillotine (Hong Kong, 1975) [Netflix] - 3.5/5
Great concept, enjoyable action and one good pair of boobs. What more could you ask for (ok, maybe two pairs of boobs)? A good reminder that one good idea can take you far, and milking that one idea for 90 minutes can bring more memorable results than scratching five on the surface like too many modern (and some old) action films try to do.

[chazgower01]

Who Am I? >>> Rush Hour

What is it you actually liked about 'Who Am I?' Everytime someone spoke a line of dialogue in that movie I winced in pain.

[Markgway]

What is it you actually liked about 'Who Am I?' Everytime someone spoke a line of dialogue in that movie I winced in pain.

Yeah, the acting in WHO is atrocious, but then Rush Hour has Chris Tucker....

I enjoyed the action, stunts, locations, humour, personality.

It's simple stuff, sure, but probably the last Jackie movie that feels like it belongs to the classic era (not that the film itself is a nailed-on classic).

Gorgeous was a pleasant rom com (but not a 'Jackie' film in the traditional sense) and The Accidental Spy (although technically his last Golden Harvest film) didn't have any of the magic; it's passable though, and I bought it more out of completion.

I haven't bought any of Jackie's work between 2001's SPY and 2017's The Foreigner (very good, but again far from a typical 'Jackie' film).

[chazgower01]

What is it you actually liked about 'Who Am I?' Everytime someone spoke a line of dialogue in that movie I winced in pain.

Yeah, the acting in WHO is atrocious, but then Rush Hour has Chris Tucker....

I think he is definitely the measuring stick to people's feelings on that movie. I didn't mind him, I thought he teamed with Jackie well. But I can see how some people aren't keen on him.

I enjoyed the action, stunts, locations, humour, personality.

It's simple stuff, sure, but probably the last Jackie movie that feels like it belongs to the classic era (not that the film itself is a nailed-on classic).

Interesting... yeah I can see how it'd be the last of the era. I find the action, stunts, humour, etc. to be indiscernible from any of the others though.

Gorgeous was a pleasant rom com (but not a 'Jackie' film in the traditional sense) and The Accidental Spy (although technically his last Golden Harvest film) didn't have any of the magic; it's passable though, and I bought it more out of completion.

Watching all of these in a row made me happy to see him change up his style of movie from the traditional sense, but it had to surprise people at the time, for sure.

I haven't bought any of Jackie's work between 2001's SPY and 2017's The Foreigner (very good, but again far from a typical 'Jackie' film).

I'm a bit worried about what I have coming up... haven't really seen but parts of most of these later movies...

[HungFist]

The Decoy (脱獄囚) (Japan, 1957) [35mm] - 3/5　
Small scale, widescreen Toho thriller about a detective (Ryo Ikebe) whose wife is being targeted by an escaped prisoner (Makoto Sato). The detective decides to go with it and use his wife as a decoy. Although slightly hampered by the usual hostage clichés (the ladies in peril bungle up every escape attempt), it's a solid film and the second half is quite good with Sato invading the neighbor's house, taking them as hostage and stalking his target from distance. Ikebe makes a good old school lead, a bit too handsome for the role but the unshaven beard compensates.

New Abashiri Prison Story - Vagrant Comes to a Port Town (新網走番外地 さいはての流れ者) (Japan, 1969) [DVD] - 2/5
Part 3 in the “New” series. There comes a point in the Abashiri Prison series where you start wondering just how many times the audiences were be willing to pay ticket price just to hear Takakura's theme song and enjoy his charisma in otherwise mediocre pictures. It's also a reminder that these weren't cult cinema or anything like that, they were mainstream in the purest. This film is the same affair as the rest, with a fisherman theme this time. Takakura's theme song and the chilly white landscapes are the assets, the story and characters are not.

[chazgower01]

The Medallion (2003, Hong Kong) Amazon Prime 1.5/5
I'm honestly at a loss to explain this movie - for some reason, I thought throughout that it was an American made film and thus, understood how poorly it underused Jackie's abilities... but the truth is... Jackie officially got old, and in the course of making a movie clearly aimed at KIDS, he came up with something even less entertaining.
There's more wire work, poor fighting, bad humor - it's not even bad humor, it's just not funny or amusing - all of it is worse than anything Jackie had done up to this point. This makes me appreciate the Lucky Stars characters, or Fantasy Mission Force and even 'Who Am I?'. It's that lame. It earned a whopping $22 Million in it's U.S. release and got an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Yikes.
Christy Chung is wasted in her role, but is smoking hot for the 10 minutes or so she's on the screen, and Claire Forlani is somewhat amusing to watch doing martial arts and giving Jackie those 'fuck me' eyes throughout the entire movie. She either was completely infatuated by him, or she's an incredible actress. Uh, yeah.
Ok, then. THAT's everything good about the movie.
As per Jackie's current state of films, you either LIKE his male bonding co-star (who he never really bonds with in this, despite some of the 'gay' jokes) or you don't and personally, I'm not a big fan of Lee Evans. I don't DISLIKE him or anything, he's just not funny in this at all, or useful, or entertaining. Julian Sands as the bad guy is... well he's Julian Sands. You've seen him play this part numerous times throughout his career.
It says Sammo Hung was the Action Director on this and I pray that there isn't anyone who's only shot they gave to watching a Jackie Chan movie was THIS, and decided, "Well that Sammo guy can't direct an action scene to save his life!"
A complete waste.

[grim_tales]

The Medallion was the US version of Highbinders right? Maybe that's better? I don't think I've seen it (or don't remember).

[chazgower01]

The Medallion was the US version of Highbinders right? Maybe that's better? I don't think I've seen it (or don't remember).

From what I understand there is an additional 20 minutes to the movie.

[Markgway]

The 'Highbinders' cut never got released.
Some of the deleted scenes are on the DVD, IIRC.

Not a good film, but surprisingly I didn't hate it.
It's hard to hate even Jackie's poorer films.

Only time I've liked Evans in a film was in a little seen thriller called Freeze Frame.
And I wish Claire would look at me like that...