Seen any good Kung-Fu flicks of late?

[QualityChimp]

I've seen Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars and re-watched with the Bey Logan commentary over the last few days.

I really enjoyed it, but I was primed for the action to take a back seat to the Canto-comedy. It's only 90 minutes long, but there hadn't been a single punch thrown until 30 minutes in!

There's more bawdy comedy from the Lucky Stars as they go around trying to grope as many women as they can and even repeat a similar over-long sequence from My Lucky Stars when they have a woman stay over and try to get a fondle in.

Even Bey Logan concedes that this sequence drags a bit! There's a lot of innuendo in the pronunciation of a lot of Cantonese words that you can never pick up on in subtitles, so there's even more comedy lost on us Westerners!

Obviously, the action sequences are astounding, though. Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers, Infernal Affairs III) have a great fight at a gang hideout, Richard Ng gets a karate lesson from Michelle Yeoh in her first appearance and Sammo shines in a fight with some Thai ladyboys and in the exceptional finale section.

Firstly, he takes on Richard Norton (Mr. Nice Guy, City Hunter) and then has a brilliant battle with a sai-wielding Yasuaki Kurata using only tennis racquets! I've been avoided watching this fight elsewhere as I knew it'd be something special.

Finally, Yuen has a fight with Chung Fat in his usual acrobatic style. Most of the other martial artists are flipping all over the shop too, including Sammo, who does this awesome flip off a table to avoid a chair being swung at him.

So it's business as usual in a Lucky Stars film where the comedy/action bias is a little bit too much for the former, but it's still enjoyable and the action scenes are astonishingly good.

Dragon From Russia arrived today, so I'm hoping to take that down at the weekend. Maybe you can too, Shinobi and we can compare notes!

[monel]

I need to rewatch Twinlke Twinkle, it's been a long time. I've been meaning to watch Dragon From Russia, I know you like nunchakus, so do I so that's a plus. I've heard mixed opinions about the film, from rave reviews to disgust...lol.

I watched Angry Ranger with a friend today. Last saw it 5 years ago. It's a 1991 film starring Benny Lam, a member of the Jackie Chan stunt team, this is the only time I can remember him playing a goodie, I think the film was made to launch him as a star in his own right. He was the lead baddie in Police Story 2 and was also in Project A 2 and Legend Of The Wolf, also High Risk.

In the film he comes out of prison, having a triad background and although he intends to stay away from trouble he falls in love with a head triad's girlfriend. This, as you can imagine, leads to much trouble. When I first saw the film I thought it was a bit too sad a story but I liked it much more this time. Benny Lam's character seems a bit resigned to a bad fate though, at one point in the film he tells his best friend, 'I grew up here, I'm going to die here.'

The action is brilliant, using that kickboxing kind of choreography Sammo, Biao and Jackie did so well in the 80s, although this film was released in 1991.

I would recommend it to any fan of Benny Lam, I always thought he had the looks and fighting skills to be a star, shame he didn't get more chances.

I watched my old vcd copy but plan on upgrading to the recently released Joy Sales DVD.

[prinnysquad]

Two noobs this weekend:

The Shaolin Temple (1976) - Chang Cheh Shaw Brothers epic, from their top drawer stable. A veritable whos-who of stars, including Fu Sheng, Ti Lung, Shih Szu, David Chiang, Chi Chun Kuan and Lee I Min.

The story is pretty straightforward and based on some of the Shaolin myths/stories. The temple is under threat, as their traditional loyalties clash with the new Qing regime. The head abbot decides to take in outsiders as new pupils, but only if they prove their dedication beforehand. Once inside, they are handed menial tasks for yonks in order to learn skills, develop their agility, and mental and physical strength. Shortly after some of the main cast are admitted, Ming patriot soldiers, fleeing from the Qing, arrive at the temple and sign up too.

Later on, unbeknown to the holy men, among their order is a traitor, who is trying to facilitate the destruction of the temple from within, and plans to literally open the front door to an invading force.

This film is very traditional in its backdrop, but certain areas are superb. The training sequences are facinating; they look gruelling, but with clear dividends. There's a really good spinning wooden men sequence, and a great scene where one of the Ming soldiers eventually gets a good kicking off Fu Sheng, who has trained his tiger claw technique by snapping logs in half with one hand before he throws them into a furnace. This proves to be a turning point in the film, as the traitor monk recruits him under his wing.

The end fight is great. The doors open and hundreds of Qing troops flood in, including some 'bosses' with special techniques. The action keeps cutting between little skirmishes, but never loses track. It's fast and clinical, well-filmed and exciting. It's quite unforgiving with some of the characters you've got used to throughout the film, and all the better for it.

Oh, and this film even has pre-Venoms Venoms in it! Phillip Kwok in particular is great.

[prinnysquad]

Followed by...

Arhats In Fury (1985)

I've scoured the reviews for this and very few rate it as highly as I. I got this after seeing a trailer for it on a Rarescope dvd (I think!). It just looked epic. So I bought the 55th Chamber dvd for a pittance.

The story is VERY confusing to start with. It's another Shaolin film, and set during events that have been largely ignored. It seems to pinpoint the time when shaolin monks ceased to be 'idle, head in the sand' pacifists, and set out to protect the weak and vulnerable. It's got a very clear propaganda undertone running through it, as the viewer is meant to feel anger at the monks' stubborn refusal to act in self-defence and defend the locals, all in the name of religious interpretation and unwillingness to ruffle the feathers of authority.

The story, as I say, is very unclear. A student, ZhiXing, and his master are on the way back from a spiritual cleansing trek, and almost dead through their efforts. The student kills a crow to revive his master, thus committing a sin. He knows that he is in error, and expects repercussions. On the way back they encounter a Jin attack on a local village. Despite his vows of non-violence, the hero can't bear to watch, and leaps into action, brutally attacking the Jin scumbags. His efforts inspire the local militia to help him out, led by a dual-sword-wielding tasty young bint. Around this time there's also a scene of another man in the temple escaping from his imprisonment (presumably for similar 'crimes' of independent thought). It's a confusing scene but I suppose it establishes the more free-thinking context developing in the temple among some of the monks at this time.

The hero gets back to the temple and gets punished for his violence and interference. The Jins arrive and threaten to destroy the temple due to ZhiXing's village antics. ZhiXing appears and beats them up, aided by the Hottie's militia. This lands him in more trouble, as the elders can't bend their old rules for an aggressive monk, no matter how virtuous his actions. The militia rush a confused ZhiXing away, who is caught between loyalty to his Buddhist elders and his conscience.

The villagers hide ZhiXing after he is almost killed by monks and Jin soldiers. He joins the militia and leads a daring attack on the Jin Warlord's camp, setting off the gunpowder supplies. The Jin troops attack Shaolin temple in retribution, killing dozens of monks. The monks realise they must fight back or face extinction, as they are joined by ZhiXing and the militia for the big showdown.

This is an extraordinary film in many ways. The story is a mess until it clears up about half way through. But I thought everything else is terrific. The main actor is superb, and I've never seen him before, or the lass, who span those swords like a catherine wheel. There's some remarkable weapons, huge axes and things. The violence is quite rough, with a leg slowly amputated, throwing knives chucked into heads, and people gettings thrown against, and through, walls. There's a bizarre, slightly unnsettling scene where the hero calls on the aid of hundreds of birds and monkeys to fight alongside him, god knows what happened to those poor sods.

The fighting is fast, probably cranked, but not laughably so. There's some great athleticism, with guys being kicked over hay carts, and really speedy swordwork. It's got a mainland Chinese style totally different to HK and Taiwanese flicks. The skirmishes are nice; nothing compared to the mega-cast 90s/00s epics, but impressive for a little-known 80s film.

The scenery is epic, with lush, sweeping vistas. It was filmed in Szechuan province, which wasn't used very often, so it's a bit of a collector's piece. The dubbing is average, but the performances decent, even though the Jin baddies are a bit pantomine.

The production values, though, with hundreds of brightly-coloured fighters engaging in big battles across lovely settings, and the fast, intense, varied action, makes this a WIN for me. Very happily watch this again.

[megatron]

This looks like it could be fun.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah, that looks fun, Megatron! Donnie Yen looks like Kato in some of those scenes.

Not seen a full film, but I whipped through the best scenes of City of Violence and Dragon Tiger Gate. Both are good fun if you've not seen them.

[QualityChimp]

I tried watching Blood: The Last Vampire, but I ended up just fast-forwarding though it.

The first scene had some impressive CGI and then it went downhill. The blood effects were really ropey and just didn't look right. Some of the GCI Vampires were lit completely wrong and it was really off-putting. In one scene it was too light for the setting as if the contrast was up on only the vampire and then a second later, it's standing by fire and it's too dark!

However, the biggest crime was that the Stunt Co-ordinator was Corey Yuen but all of the action scenes were edited by somebody with ADHD and there was a cut about 3 times per second.

Such a shame as Director Chris Nahon and Corey Yuen were brilliant when they worked together on Kiss of the Dragon.

Here, have a look at what I'm on about:

[megatron]

I tried watching Blood: The Last Vampire, but I ended up just fast-forwarding though it.

Yeah it was a bit of a chore. I did only watch it for Gianna (sic) Jun in a school uniform though.

[prinnysquad]

Can't understand why anyone would ruin Corey Yuen's work. Let the guy do his magic and piss off!

Watched a truly remarkable film on Friday called Drunken Dragon (aka Exciting Dragon). Starring Ko Fei and Beardy, it had more crazy gadgets, insane stunts, madcap comedy and brutality than one could possibly handle in one sitting. Just crazy idea after crazy idea, with some great martial arts too, even though they used obvious wirework and undercranking, it seemed to add to the ludicrous insanity of it all. Oh, and it featured Beardy reading a kung fu training manual to a bloke, through improvised earphones, in his sleep, which turned out to be a nookie book, giving the hero a night-biffer. Just ... mad, and handled by one of Yuen Wo-Ping's disciples. Watch this on the wrong night and you'll despise it, watch it on the right night and you'll love it.

Check this out: Ko Fei and his two henchmen - Candle-head and Buzzsaw Guy - taking on the Boat Monk. Note: features comedy limb removal.

[^Katsu]

Can't understand why anyone would ruin Corey Yuen's work. Let the guy do his magic and piss off!

Watched a truly remarkable film on Friday called Drunken Dragon (aka Exciting Dragon). Starring Ko Fei and Beardy, it had more crazy gadgets, insane stunts, madcap comedy and brutality than one could possibly handle in one sitting. Just crazy idea after crazy idea, with some great martial arts too, even though they used obvious wirework and undercranking, it seemed to add to the ludicrous insanity of it all. Oh, and it featured Beardy reading a kung fu training manual to a bloke, through improvised earphones, in his sleep, which turned out to be a nookie book, giving the hero a night-biffer. Just ... mad, and handled by one of Yuen Wo-Ping's disciples. Watch this on the wrong night and you'll despise it, watch it on the right night and you'll love it.

Check this out: Ko Fei and his two henchmen - Candle-head and Buzzsaw Guy - taking on the Boat Monk. Note: features comedy limb removal.

Pure WIN One of the bad dudes still is clearly Bolo Yeung! But definately is not? The second I get a job I am buying this film purely because of the mentalist insanity, I love films with that edge.

[Finsbury Girl]

Wow that Donnie Yen flick looks the biz...notice the little Fist of Fury bit at the end? Awesome!

[QualityChimp]

Yeah! It totally didn't click until I read this month's Impact magazine that Yen is reprising the role that Lee played in Fist of Fury!

"set seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher?s death in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss.

That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese."

['Press Start']

I found one of my kung fu dvds hiding in my attic:-

The Victim with Sammo and Beardy


Go to 4:15 to start. I forgot what a great film this is!

[prinnysquad]

I've got two copies of that mofo, but haven't watched either. What a ****bag.

Beardy never fails to disappoint. Still can't believe he had no formal training!

['Press Start']

Oooo and this:

Invincible pole fighter/8 diagram pole fighter. Love this



mad skills kick off at 2:10

I'll get a list together when I have gone through them all, there is not as many as I thought and some are VHS like Mysery of chess boxing and 36 chambers of shaolin.