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Lik wong (1991)
Pure insanity. Pure entertainment.
RICKY OH or THE STORY OF RICKY is a bonkers, silly but hugely entertaining film.
I first saw clips from this film on late night show OUT-THERE, for years I wondered what this film was, when I finally found it, it was a a very pleasant surprise how entertaining it was.
A 'category 3' film, meaning it had a Hong Kong's version of a X rating is verified through its bucket load of fake gore. Based on the manga, the story is about Ricky, a newly interred prisoner who has to deal with endless troubles from corrupt jailers, wardens and powerful prison leaders. Ricky though, has been trained by his uncle to be almost invincible in combat.
The cast is led by the talented Fan Siu-Wong who has presence and plays the role with a serious comic book-like tone. The awesome Yukari Oshima is sadly underused as one of the gang leaders as her fighting skills is not used much. Great humour is from Fan Mei-sheng and Ho Ka-Ku as the villains.
The gore is silly, very fake but thats part of its charm, a bit like movies BRAINDEAD or SOCIETY, its the execution of these effects over the quality. The film never gets boring and is paced really well, something silly always happens and you smile along with whats happening. Another point is the surprisingly good score by Fei Lit Chan, very well done.
If you want a good retro pure escapism movie, you'll won't be disappointed.
Wolf Creek (2005)
Terrible. Prefers shock value over narrative or point.
Greg McLean is a talented director, the man was behind ROGUE and that is one of my favourite films, well made and structured.
So it does frustrate me when I watched WOLF CREEK, this is a pointless stupid exercise, put together to frustrate and shock the viewer. Being nasty or surprising in a movie is something that not bothers me, I've praised some very cruel work like MARTYRS, INSIDE or PHILOSOPHY OF A KNIFE. But this 'film' is put together for one reason, to say 'gotcha'.
I won't delve too much into the plot because there's barely one. But it is basically the torture and murders of two women, that's it. The film has some of the most ridiculous situations favouring the killer, like out of all the cars that girl went in HE HAPPENS TO BE IN THAT ONE? Also when she successfully drives him off the road and crashes him, he has ENOUGH TIME TO GET HIS GUN AND STOP THE CAR AND KILL HER?! The film follows basic slasher or giallo film clichés and just kills the poor girls at the end just to say they're different.
I gave this two stars only because I do think McLean is a good director, but this film is just a nasty exercise for arrogant reasons.
Sutorîto faitâ II gekijô-ban (1994)
The best video game adaption ever made. Old school anime!
Video games have a really bad track record when it comes to movie adaptions, especially live action, but thankfully anime gives us fans what we want. Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie is what you want in a film about the greatest and most important fighting game ever made.
Following the story of the rivalry and friendship between former fellow students Ryu and Ken and how they've carried on with their lives. Ryu becomes a traveller, seeking to understand and grow as a martial artist. Ken on the other hand becomes a greatly successful champion, with a rich lifestyle but feels unfulfilled. Meanwhile Chun-Li, a Interpol agent teams up with US airforce Captain Guile to seek out and destroy Shadowlaw, an international crime organisation led by the formidable M.Bison, who is creating super soldiers and wishes Ryu to join.
Brilliantly animated, fantastic fight scenes (in particular the Chun-Li vs Vega matchup), superb soundtrack and is as slick and entertaining now as much as in 1994. Whether you're a anime/martial arts/street fighter fan, you're in for a treat. Pure old school anime!
Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidorâ: Daikaijû sôkôgeki (2001)
Godzilla brilliantly brought back to his brutal roots.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack or GMK to fans, is a direct sequel to the original classic 1954 Godzilla, and like that movie it is dark and has brooding themes.
Ignoring all movies besides the original, Godzilla is back as the villain and he is not holding back. Destroying everything in his path, sparing no one and echoes his rampages in 1954. The big G gets a new design making him bulkier, larger and with featureless white eyes. Hinted that he is the creation of spirits of the dead of world war two, this continues the theme of him being a consequence of war. This makes him practically a ghost haunting Japan.
When Godzilla attacks, three 'guardian monsters' come also to do battle and protect the earth: Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah. Having the three headed dragon as a hero makes the movie unique, it is like The Joker teaming up with Robin and Batgirl to defeat a evil Batman, it's that weird to a Godzilla fan. The action is good, varied and entertaining, some dodgy CGI but the film is mostly great practical effects.
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko, who did the brilliant 90s Gamera trilogy created one of the best Godzilla movies. A great cure for fans after Hollywood's terrible 1998 film, it's only flaws are some silly acting and a bizarre title. If you want to start someone on the king of the monsters, this is not a bad film to start.
Bully (2001)
Brutal honest tale of teenage crime and wasted lives.
BULLY is a film which will split viewers, it isn't a fun or even entertaining watch but certainly a memorable one.
Based on the real life murder of Bobby Kent, the story evolves around a group of teenagers who are dominated by Kent through a series of mental, physical and sexual abuse. They soon transpire to kill him and it is here where the film does really well. Most films deal with murder in such a dismissive way, but BULLY builds it up and shows how difficult and clumsy the act can be.
Sex is a very strong theme throughout the movie, here it is where a lot of the criticism is aimed at. A sex act is performed every few minutes it seems and it is very honest not glamouress to me. This is a film about teenagers; sex, drugs, violence is exposed to many at this stage in life and is unashamed to show it.
I admire a film which also deals with the consequences of crime, the panic and guilt dominating after the act. This is rare and deserves praise.
Great acting, story and direction, it doesn't hold back and looks at you in the face when dealing with crime and the horror it brings and destroys.
Guyver: Dark Hero (1994)
Shows how good b-movies can be!
GUYVER: DARK HERO is a unique movie in its genre. A low budget sequel to the 1991 manga adaption THE GUYVER, it surpasses its predecessor despite the clear struggles of its time.
First big difference is the tone, the first film had two directors: make up effects maestros Steve Wang and Screaming Mad George. They took charge of separate scenes and it shows, it jumps from goofy to serious, cringy to dark all over the run time. But in the sequel Wang takes full charge and goes very dark, showing plenty of gore while shooting in a cool blue cinematography.
The story if hardly groundbreaking but it does have good points, especially the conflict of Sean is having with something he claims to have no control 'IT KILLS' as he says. The film also has a good villain in Crane, its not everyday you get a monster who wants to climb the social ladder.
The final point is probably the best: the action! The best way to describe it is like a violent power rangers, which sounds kind of awesome really. Brilliantly choreographed by Koichi Sakamoto who done great work in films like Drive and Broken Path, truly shows his creativity and brutality with his suit stunt performers.
This is one of the best direct to video films ever made, it does exactly what it sets out to do and is mindlessly entertaining. I recommend the director's cut which is 30 minutes longer, fixes choppy editing and expands the story better. Sit back and enjoy movie which would never be made now.
He qi dao (1972)
Superb undiscovered gem.
I'm not the biggest fan of 70s kung fu movies, much prefer the 80s-90s era. This is because a lot of films from this period do fall into a tired overdone premise like revenge or trafficking etc. Also a lot of the fight scenes have aged poorly when compared to the crisp relentless action of later years.
BUT sometimes a film goes under the radar and impresses me hugely. One of them is HAPKIDO. First the fight scenes are superb, thanks to the likes of a young Sammo Hung who also co-stars in the film. The action is busy, creative and looks like it could've been done today, which is rare. But most praise goes to the queen of martial arts cinema Angela Mao, who is best known as Bruce lee's tragic sister in Enter the Dragon, shows incredible athletism and the camera just loves her. Great support from legends like Carter Wong, Wong In Sik and Ji Han Jae adds depth to the action.
The story is also very good as it centers on students trying to establish a hapkido school during the cruel Japanese oppression. It puts its characters in situations including consequences of being a hero.
HAPKIDO is worth the time of anyone who wishes to watch a great example of how good 70s martial art movies are, to show it was not all about Bruce or Jackie.
Midsommar (2019)
Mixed bag.
This film has good and bad points, it deserves most of its praise but there are parts that hold it back.
The main issue is the pacing, at two and a half hours there has to be substance and a sustainable narrative. Sadly the film stretches a story which should be 45 minutes shorter. There are too many wasteful or drawn out scenes and it more frustrates than intrigues.
There other issue is its unoriginal storyline. The main set up feels like a slasher movie while the theme is very much The Wicker Man, from the surrealism and the ending, it all lifted from the 1973 classic. The predictable 'friends dying one at a time' didn't help either.
I still give this film 7/10 based on the fact that it is entertaining, the performances are very good, looks great and mood is quite unique for a modern horror. It is just a shame it could've been much better.