Bear 1817 Posted February 28, 2015 The Young Master - Jackie Chan's second attempt at direction a film, and a rather successful one as well. He does well behind the camera, the story, also written by Jackie Chan, is good, he's good in front of the camera and the action is top notch. OK, there's a few silly scenes which should've been cut, and there's also times where a few scenes is just cut too early or the film just jumps ahead to another point with no explaination whatsoever, but considering Golder Harvest cut the film from around 3 hours to less than two hours we can hardly blame Jackie Chan for that. Would love to see the full 180 minute version of this film. Anyway, it's a very entertaining film, and the fights are top notch and showcase something I'd say are an early vesion of what would later become his biggest trademark. They are so well choreographed, executed and directed that it's impossible not to enjoy it. Also, one cannot praise the last fight enough. A close-to 20 minute long fight, which goes from bloody serious to silly as the character gets more and more tired, and more and more beaten. It is absolutely tremendous, and a few times it had me in tears. Hilarious, an Jackie Chan is so good during that scene. Top notch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Des 289 Posted March 2, 2015 The Black Swan (1942) This movie won the Academy Award for cinematography back in the day, and it's very clear it was deserved. The color palette is gorgeous and nearly every frame would make a great movie poster or promotional postcard (though one could argue Maureen O'Hara's red lips may have won some folks over). It's short but sweet with a running time of less than 90 minutes and offers a decent mixture of action, drama and intrigue. However, the main characters are quite wooden. Tyrone Power is too abusive and agressive at first and eventually O'Hara fell for his "charms" way too easily (not much of a spoiler, you could feel this was coming from the very beginning). The ending was quite sudden and a bit too cheesy. You might say this movie is escapism in its purest form: it's not complex, surprising or thought provoking, but it's self aware and simply wants to serve you a fun little adventure and it delivers. ★★★☆☆ Il sorpasso (or The Easy Life) (1962) One of the godfathers of road movies, this trip to early 60's Italy is one of the best movie experiences I've had in a long time. Playboy-ish "carpe diem" fellow meets shy and serious law student and takes him on a little ride. The two connect in a way, tell eachother stories, visit eachother's family, etc. We spend a long time in the car (a beautiful Lancia Aurelia convertible for car enthusiasts, worth a heck of a lot of money today) and the story slowly unfolds from an easygoing trip at the movies to a more sophisticated character study... and perhaps you could say it takes a shot at philosophy of life. It is rich in atmosphere with beautiful imagery, numerous memorable scenes and that's all heightened by effective use of early 60's pop music in the soundtrack. In a way it's a perfect time capsule, but it's also a timeless story. One that lingers in your mind for some time after watching. ★★★★★ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 2, 2015 Dragon Lord - Originally called The Young Master in Love, this is some kind of a semi-sequel to The Young Master, but not nearly as good as the first. It's a bit too long and the plot isn't as engaging, but the overall flow is a lot better in this due to it not being cut to death. The fights are very good, especially the final fight which was a massive inspiration for Gareth Evans and his excellent The Raid, but they are a bit more stunt-oriented than the first. Jackie Chan took a couple of steps closer to his trademark stunt-fighting, which I think is cool. A bit disappointing overall, but still very entertaining. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow - A really early Jackie Chan film from 78, and Yuen Woo-ping's directorial debut, and one hell of an impressive debut. Of the Yuen Woo-ping and Jackie Chan films I've seen, I consider this along with Drunken Master to be their best, which says a lot considering the guy has films such as Dance of the Drunk Mantis, Magnificent Butcher, Legend of a Fighter and Iron Monkey in his name. But to be quiet honest I think this might be my favourite Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-ping film. The film follows the same storyline as Drunken Master, is directed by the same guy and has the same cast, but it's a bit more traditional than Drunken Master. It's so fucking good. Well, I can't choose a favourite of the two, as both are brilliant. Yuen Woo-ping and Jackie Chan were some duo, guys. Incredibe! One of the best martial arts flicks ever. Stunning in every way possible! Demolition Man - I grew up watching this film over and over again, and I still love it. A badass Sylvester Stallone, a theatrical, over the top and cool Wesley Snipes and a super cute and sexy Sandra Bullock in her best film ever, doing her best role ever, makes this a fantastic film. Cool plot, cool visual style, cool everything. Underrated 90's action gem! 1 Flame-X reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 4, 2015 Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin - Another early Jackie Chan film, also from 1978. This film starts off like many traditional kung fu films of the time, with the hero showing off his skills and from there you know this is gonna be damn good, because the opening credits are amazing. The story is straghtforward with Jackie Chan playing Hsu Yin-Fung, a talented and very arrogant, yet likeable, man in search for a certain man whom he does not know what look like, except for a mole on his shoulder. Lots of cool characters, lots of amazing action and lots of cool actors. I expected something good, but not something as good as this because this film was amazing. Not much more to say really. Have Sword, Will Travel - A classic Chang Cheh and Shaw Brothers wuxia film, and one of the best Chang Cheh and Shaw Brothers films I've seen so far. Which says a lot by the way. The film stars Ti Lung and David Chiang, and both are amazing as always. The characters can jump high, fly through the air and everything that is usual for wuxia films, but what sets this apart from other wuxia films I've seen, especially from around that time, is the dreamy feeling of the film and its bloodshed. There is lots and lots of blood in this film, amazing swordplay in true Chang Cheh fashion, great characters and a very good and engaging, yet straightforward, plot. Also, the opening credits are AMAZING and among the best I have ever seen, if not THE best. Crazy fucking good like! That's actually from the opening credits. Chang Cheh is, despite my limited knowledge of his films, by far one of my all time favourite directors. An artist unlike anyone else, and his way of directing action is unreal and not matched by many. Such a talented guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 7, 2015 Twin Warriors / Tai-Chi Master - Great Woo-ping Yuen film with Jet Li and MichelleYeoh in the leads, and both are wonderful. The lot is fairly standard, and something we've all seen before, but it's more than good enough to keep my attention again and again and the fights are msotly superb. They went a bit over the top in some scenes which feels very much out of place, but other than this it's a very good film. Lots of great, well-choreographed fights, and they are very diverse and well thought-out. Not Yuen's best film, but great nonetheless. Police Story - This film is often considered Jackie Chan's masterpiece, or at least one of his masterpieces, and it's obviously correct. It's a great film with a good plot, amazing choreography and superb stunts. The humor is pretty spot on as well, and all in all it makes it a superb film! Police Story 2 - This is basically more of the same, but it's damn fucking entertaining so I won't complain. Fun, exciting fights, brilliant stunts and all that. The humor is pretty spot on as well, and all in all it makes it a superb film! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 8, 2015 Police Story 3: Super Cop - Jackie Chan stepped down from the directors chair for this one, as well as not writing anything for it and it's easy to see. While this is a very good film and I really like it, it lacks the unique touch of the two first films. Jackie Chan is great as always, the stunts are batshit crazy and Michelle Yeoh is as good as she's beautiful. The most disappointing part of this film is how they've went away from the down to earth plot in the first, and gone way over the top with this one. It just doesn't feel like a proper Police Story film. Good film, but not nearly as good as the two first. Warriors Two - Magnificent Sammo Hung film, who also co-stars, with Casanova Wong (take that for pseudonym, guys! It's so fucking 70's porn, and it's so fucking cool!) in the lead role. This is only Sammo Hung's third film as a director, but his approach to making martial arts films were very unique already from here on. Plot-wise it's pretty standard with our hero being out for revenge and goign through tough training, but the humor feels way different from other martial arts films at the time and the fights are as pure as they get... well, with the exception of a few hilarious Sammo Hung fights. The rest of the fights are intense, beautifully choreographed and stunning in every single way possible. This is one of the best martial arts films I've seen so far. Simple as that! Amazing opening credits btw. A spoiler for one of the last kicks in the film. Look at that for a kick, guys. Immense! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 10, 2015 The Blade - The Blade is Hark Tsui's 1995 remake of Cheh Chang's classic wuxia The One-Armed Swordsman. While this isn't quite as good as The One-Armed Swordsman, it's amazing and it feels really fresh even to this day. This is darker than the original, is very colorful and features a very unique approach to fight scenes. The fights in the film's incredible, especially the last one, and is the highlight of the film for me. One of the reasons for this is how the fights is put together, and both the choreography and execution are top notch, another, even bigger reason for this is Hark Tsui crazy work behind the camera. Great film, and I love how Tsui Hark makes it into his own. It's not just a modernized remake, it's something quite different than the original but without losing the feeling of the original. Well done! The Magic Blade - Fantastic wuxia with a great plot, great characters (especially the hero and the amount of villains, all very diverse and different from eachother) and amazing choreography. There's lots of fights, but they are all short and from what I found out there is 22 fights for a total of 14 minutes and 8 seconds throughout this film. Not much time spent on fighting, but the fights are way more than amazing. The cinematography is amazing as well. Top notch wuxia cvery close to its very best! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 10, 2015 Return of Bastard Swordsman - The first one was as amazing as it was crazy, and in this sequel they've upped everything to be quite honest. This film picks up where the first ended, and from there on it only goes one way. Wuxia in general are chinese fantasy films, but usually the fantasy element are kept to the minimum with just some superhumans flying and doing crazy things. In these films however, the fantasy element are upped to max with humans shooting fucking lazerbeams, some shooting cobweb and people doing shit. The special effects are amazing, albeit batshit crazy as the rest of the film, but fans of the genre should find something enjoyable here. However, I wouldn't exactly recommend this to newcomers, though. This is for the experienced wuxia watchers only. Well, not really but it's so batshit crazy that I imagine it being way too over the top for most. Not quite as good as the first one, but not too far behind. Amazing, loony wuxia madness! Raining in the Mountain - Classic King Hu film. However, to my big surprise this isn't exactly an epic wuxia film. There are many wuxia-elements in the film, but the film itself is a drama with elements of comedy and action. Both the main plot and sub plots are amazing, the characters are good and it's very much a cat & mouse kind of film which makes it exciting. Not King Hu's best, but totally recommended anyway. It's beautifully shot as always! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 10, 2015 The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies - A documentary shot at the very end of cult sexploitation film maker Joe Sarno's life. There's some talk bout his career and his unique films, as well as his wish to make one last film, but at the end of the day this is about his relationship to his wife, Peggy, and how they've survived and experienced their life. A touching and nice little documentary about a very unique film maker. Some interviews with John Waters, Jamie Gillis, Michael Raso and others as well are very fun. Especially the scenes with John Waters. Good stuff. Police Story 4: First Strike - In the fourth and last film of the original Police Story series, Stanley Tong just continues what he started in Supercop and makes an even more James Bond-esque film. Is it good? Well, it's so-so, but is it entertaining? Yes, very much. The worst of the series, but a very fun film with lots of great fights and stunts. I wasn't really aware until 10 minutes into the film, but I have actually seen this a billion times on TV. Didn't know it was this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Des 289 Posted March 10, 2015 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) To resolve serious problems in a matter of minutes. To show murdered innocent citizens and to exploit the silliest comic relief character in the world within mere seconds. To enhance a kitschy feel with odd lighting and an overdose of CGI. I don't think there's anything positive to say. The main attraction of the previous movie, the dragon who got that cliffhanger, gets very little screen time and what's more, none of these dwarves that we have been travelling with for the duration of three movies seem to have any unique personality. All of the dialogue is centered on the plot, which too has little to offer. All the visuals are centered on either those conversations about the next developments in this plot or on silly CGI heavy action sequences. There's not one grain of atmosphere, there isn't even a hint of a sense of adventure. For so much special effects there is little imagination and I suspect even children will get tired of the hackneyed message "greed is bad, m'kay, money divides people" this movie keeps shoving in your face. It's a complete trainwreck, the worst in the series. ★☆☆☆☆ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 11, 2015 New Police Story - Jackie Chan is back, but this film has nothing to do with the four first films of the series. Instead it's somewhat a reboot. It's not as light as the two firt and not as James Bond-esque as the two others. It's more focused on drama, which works well enough. However, I am not too fond of the trendy villains and the sidekick as I think they comes off as a bit forced. I like the concept, but the execution could've been much better. Could've done with much less English as well, because that is a part I find annoying as fuck in this film. On par with First Strike and a very entertaining film, but not close to the three first. Project A - A fantastic martial arts comedy featuring three of the Seven Little Fortunes, Jackie CHan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Fantastic film with amazing martial arts scenes, pirates, a good plot and everything. The slapstick humour works so well here, and the scenes in and outside the clocktower is top fuckong notch. Brilliant! 2 Flame-X and beni reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 12, 2015 Project A 2 - Jackie Chan is back as Dragon Ma is this sequel, but sadly this film doesn't live up to the first one. It's by no means a bad one. The fights are good, the slapstick humour is good, the stunts are good and so on, but the plot isn't as engaging as the first one, the villains isn't as cool as it lacks Sammo Hung and Yen Biao, and especially Sammo Hung is a big loss for the film and its comedy. But it's a good film, and Jackie Chan is his usual self - fucking god! And Maggie Cheung is amazing. She's an underrated angel. Legend of a Fighter - A classic early 80's martial arts film, and one of many to be based on the story of Chinese hero Huo Yuanjia. Fantastic film with a great plot and even better fights. Last Hurrah for Chivalry - An early John Woo film, from before he started with his heroic bloodshed films, slo-mo-doves and all that. I have to admit that I was surprised by the quality of this film. John Woo has god masterpieces like A Better Tomorrow I & II, The Killer, Bullet in the Head, Hard Boiled, Red Cliff: Part I & II and Face/Off to his name, but this is by far the best film I've seen from him. The whole film feels like John Woo's tribute to Shaw Brothers Studio, and especially Chang Cheh, because he's realy close ot nail the Chang Cheh feeling with this film. Lovely, likeable heroes, amazing villains, a good plot and lots and lots of amazing swordplay. Amazing film and by far the best I've seen from John Woo. Close to perfect! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 13, 2015 Duel to the Death - Shaolin monks, samurai and ninja in one and the same film. How cool is that? It's very cool, I'll tell you that. Very cool wuxia that feels a bit original compared to what I've seen from before. It's quite short, so the film is fast-paced and there's almost something happening every second of the film. Despite all the fights throughout the film, you don't see the fights themself too often because of the style of directorial (at the time) debutant Siu-Tung Ching. Everything happens very fast and the fights are mostly rapid cut, which makes them seem very chaotic and less choreographed than most other martial arts films of the time. But it works really well, and it always ends up looking cool as fuck. The ninja in this film, though. Flying ninja, surf ninja, sand ninja, giant ninja, naked ninja and so on. It's got all types of ninja you can imagine. Cool? Yes, very cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 14, 2015 Ashes of Time Redux - I really enjoy this film and consider it Wong Kar Wai's best film, but not for its plot or narrative, because neither plays a big part of the film. I enjoy this for it's fantastic imagery, atmosphere and haunting feeling of vastness. Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time Redux sure isn't for everybody, and for a lot it'll be like watching paint dry, but for me it's a beautiful masterpiece. The Swordsman - Beautiful wuxia masterpiece by God King Hu (who left halfway), and a directorial team put together by Tsui Hark. The plot is great, the action scenes are magnificent and the cast are top notch. Everything works in this film, and I love how powerful the fights are. Love the costumes too, esecially for the Sun Moon Sect. Looks stunning! Well, everything looks stunning. An absolute masterpiece of a film! Sharla Cheung and Fennie Yuen might be the pretties girls I've ever seen on screen. 1 Des reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted March 15, 2015 The Swordsman II - The Swordsman IIcontinues the story of Ling Wu Chung and Kiddo, but with a whole new set of actors, Ling is played by Jet Li and Kiddo by Michelle Reis, and the always amazing Brigitte Lin stars as Asia the Invincible, a man who is willing to go very far to become invincible. Most people consider this to be the superior film in the series, and I can see why, but I think it's equal to the first part. Amazing film, amazing characters, amazing, powerful fights. Well, fuck this. Everything's amazing! The Swordsman III: The East Is Red - Brigitte Lin returns to this sequel, but the film is a mess. Amazing fights, amazing Brigitte Lin as Asia the Invincible and it is visually stunning, just like the two first, but the plot is a mess. A huge fucking mess. I was really entertained by the film, but it got nothing on the two first films. It's very weird, very bizarre and messy. But if you like camp, like I do, you'll find something to enjoy here. Because the film is by no means awful. Just not amazing, and not very good. 1 Des reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xriko 165 Posted March 15, 2015 Watched " EXISTS " yesterday Not so bad, a little fear movie. Nice real, will give a 6.5/10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xriko 165 Posted March 15, 2015 OPEN GRAVE Yeaye! good movie ! 9/10 couldn't get an eye out during the movie, didn't took my phone or anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xriko 165 Posted March 15, 2015 LOOPER fine, fine... ok, not so bad 7/10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xriko 165 Posted March 17, 2015 SPACE STATION 76 Nope, and nope again. Don't need to watch this movie, no issue at the end. Good real. 4/10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Des 289 Posted March 17, 2015 couldn't get an eye out during the movie, didn't took my phone or anything. You know human attention spans have reached an all-time low when it is now considered an accomplishment to not look at a phone during a movie. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry or to shrug it off. Paranoia (1967) Rather unknown Dutch movie about a young man who, shortly after the war, starts to believe he is an ex-SS'er on the run from the police and in his paranoia he hides in his attic, neglecting his caring girlfriend and eventually becoming a danger to others. Adapted from a story by W.F. Hermans. Though not very eventful, it is an interesting portrait of a man slowly losing his mind, becoming antisocial even if there are people who care for him. The girlfriend, played by Pamela 'Rose' (or Pamela Koevoets) was just as fascinating and there were hints of the film exploring her struggles and her unconditional love more but unfortunately the film's focus is the man. It's almost as if the filmmakers were neglecting the girl as much as the main character was! Woah, it's like... poetry. I enjoyed it but feel they could've done more. ★★★☆☆ Interstellar (2014) Little simplistic in its first half, little too unnecessarily 'intellectual' in the second half. It was not difficult to follow at any point, but they took it a bit too far in the second half when the main character played by Matthew McConaughey comes to several strange conclusions no one would logically come to. The director wants to embrace us in mystery and wonder, but destroys it when the main character feeds you all the thoughts you are supposed to think. Some conflicting goals there? I don't know. Visually stunning, well-acted and overall well directed but a bit too manipulative towards to ending, leaving little room for your own imagination. There was also this Matt Damon character who started messing things up quite clumsily, not really contributing anything of interest to the plot. Like an unnecessary barrier in a race course, adding little to the excitement and is just... kind of there. Overall it was an entertaining blockbuster that is less rollercoaster-y than most, and, for once, has some really great pictures to show us that are not too crowded. "Less is more" seems to be the idea of many scenes in this movie and I can appreciate that a lot. ★★★☆☆ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yukidogzombie 101 Posted March 17, 2015 Stand By Me Doraemon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted March 19, 2015 Horns (2014): I was really excited to see this since the trailers made it look like a dark, sarcastic comedy, but really it was so much fluff and bad acting that by the end I didn't even care what happened to the lead characters. The make-up and sets where nice, but Daniel Radcliffe didn't impress me and I wouldn't look into him as the lead in another comedy again any time soon. I would like to read the book this film was based on because the premise actually seems interesting, but I wanted less sugar-coated, horrible, generation Twilight supernatural love story and more horror-comedy. Felt like a total bait-and-switch. :/ 2 Des and beni reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beni 2149 Posted March 19, 2015 Horns (2014): I was really excited to see this since the trailers made it look like a dark, sarcastic comedy, but really it was so much fluff and bad acting that by the end I didn't even care what happened to the lead characters. The make-up and sets where nice, but Daniel Radcliffe didn't impress me and I wouldn't look into him as the lead in another comedy again any time soon. I would like to read the book this film was based on because the premise actually seems interesting, but I wanted less sugar-coated, horrible, generation Twilight supernatural love story and more horror-comedy. Felt like a total bait-and-switch. :/ I have a rather weird love and interest in anything containing horns because of its symbolism and tie into what it's in, so I wanted to give this a watch for a while but I always kept forgetting. So thanks for the reminded and for the lil review. I still want to check it out just because of the horns but the fact that the acting you said is bad and it's starring Radcliffe I can't be surprised at lol. 'The Woman In Black' is so bad just because it's him acting to me aha. Anyway, I expected it like the trailers too so I guess I'm going in this like I'll be doing with 'Tusk.' Dat movie, LOL. New Police Story - Jackie Chan is back, but this film has nothing to do with the four first films of the series. Instead it's somewhat a reboot. It's not as light as the two firt and not as James Bond-esque as the two others. It's more focused on drama, which works well enough. However, I am not too fond of the trendy villains and the sidekick as I think they comes off as a bit forced. I like the concept, but the execution could've been much better. Could've done with much less English as well, because that is a part I find annoying as fuck in this film. On par with First Strike and a very entertaining film, but not close to the three first. I ADORE this movie! I must check out all the Chan movies you've watched and spoken of, he's so important, I need more. X'D 1 doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted March 19, 2015 I have a rather weird love and interest in anything containing horns because of its symbolism and tie into what it's in, so I wanted to give this a watch for a while but I always kept forgetting. So thanks for the reminded and for the lil review. I still want to check it out just because of the horns but the fact that the acting you said is bad and it's starring Radcliffe I can't be surprised at lol. 'The Woman In Black' is so bad just because it's him acting to me aha. Anyway, I expected it like the trailers too so I guess I'm going in this like I'll be doing with 'Tusk.' Dat movie, LOL. Yeah, the imagery gets me too, I love stuff like this. Radcliffe is so problematic for me because I didn't even like him in the HP films (I still love the films overall, though), but he's just so familiar because of them I feel inclined to keep up with his work out of some strange loyalty? I have no idea haha. I wanted to watch The Woman in Black at some point, so I appreciate the warning! XD But yeah, not everything about Horns is bad and maybe it'll connect with you on a different level than me. So go for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
