uncleseven Reviews

Volcano High (2001)

Great movie for certain fans

[30 September 2002]

I really liked this movie... But I also really liked The Story of Riki (Lai wong)... if you did too, then you really should watch this film.

Asian cinema is getting more skilled at using digital special effects, and this movie makes use of them frequently. Fortunately, it doesn't rely on them completely. The thing that really makes this movie fun is the wide assortment of colorful characters. One can tell that the actors had a lot of fun making Whasango.

This movie is not for everyone, but for those of us that like over-acted, inner-force exploding, face-saving, just plain odd Japanese films... this one delivers.

Bio-Zombie (1998)

Simply not a good movie.

[1/10 · 30 September 2002]

I actually purchased this DVD (complete with alternate ending) based upon the other reviews that are listed here. Whoops...

The best way to describe it would be to say that it is like a high school film class production with no scare value and effects that are not very special. I know... I know... the budget must have been very small - at least I can only assume this. However, this doesn't explain the endless amounts of boring dialogue that do nothing to forward the plot and winds up filling space between dull zombie attacks.

There are comparisons listed in this review section that say that this movie is the Hong Kong Return of the Living Dead, or worse, Dawn of the Dead. Not in my opinion. Not even close.

Don't get me wrong. There were some funny parts to this movie, but nothing that would merit it being more than a 20 minute edited version. Sure the lack of a budget may have made makeup effects hard, but not impossible - reference the first Evil Dead movie.

If you are looking for Asian zombie action, you may want to try something like Shiryour gari (Junk.) This one is from Japan, and is not spectacular, but is mindless zombie fun. Unfortunately, Bio-Zombie is just mindless.

The Foul King (2000)

Not as good as others may have you think

[23 February 2002]

I purchased this movie based upon the recommendations of many people from different websites. Most of them claiming that the movie works well because its comedy is cross cultural.

I don't disagree that when the comedic elements are present - they work well. However, and this is a big however, they are few and far between. The movie fails for me because of its pacing. There is nothing really fantastic going on between the comedic moments. It's just filler material that tries to tell a story about the blandness of a man's life, and his interactions with his environment. It succeeds in showing why he would go into wrestling, but also succeeds in putting the viewer to sleep. I watched it once myself, and watched it again with friends. During the second viewing I had multiple requests to fast forward through dull, drawn-out scenes.

Don't get me wrong, I repeat, there are spectacular moments, but they are few and far between. Rent this or just don't even bother.

Parasite Eve (1997)

Better than expected

[12 September 2001]

This is a movie that recently received a release on DVD from ADV Films. The DVD is letterboxed and very high quality, offering subtitling on the original soundtrack. This was originally a made-for-television movie in Japan. It is now getting its US release.

The movie is actually very impressive, especially from a biological standpoint. Many terms and concepts within the storyline are actually workable, at least early in the film. This may seem like a minor point, but after watching numerous films that don't bother to do any research about the subject manner, it was nice to see someone pay attention to some technical details. Now, again, this is only for the first half of the film as the second half delves into some fairly weird biological twists.

If you are looking for a monster movie, this is not it. If you want martial arts, or a bullet-ballet, this isn't that kind of movie. However, if you are interested in seeing a film that has better-than-average acting, a decent, albeit strange, relationship, and a good sci-fi storyline, this one will entertain. The best science fiction has always been based upon concepts that originate from science fact. This script, taken from the novel by Hideaki Sena, understands that idea.

I have never read the novel, nor have I played the video games based upon it, so I cannot say how well they all relate. I have read that the video games are actually sequels to the novel, and that some fans of the video games expecting a similar product in this movie have been disappointed. It has been suggested that the movie's large amount of dialogue plays havoc with those who have a short attention span, but to make the movie a hack-and-slash flick would have been a big mistake.

Audition (1999)

Don't waste your time.

[2 July 2001]

I have seen quite a bit of horror movies (many Asian) and was eagerly awaiting my copy of Audition. Many people have said that this is Miike Takashi's work of art. The copy that I have is a decent one with very good subtitling, but that is where the goodness ends. The film is dark as many reviewers indicate, but all too many people are trying to compare this to a Cronenberg movie and please...please don't insult Cronenberg that way. This movie is rather boring most of the way through without any interesting plot twists or even interesting characters for that matter. Then enters the female lead who gives the movie any and all of the energy that it gets. Unfortunately it isn't enough. It did manage to put many of my friends to sleep - and they are not new to the horror genre. Argento has bored me with some of his early work, but never this much. Any decent director can put grisely gore on the screen and make an audience squirm just due to the unnatural presence of visuals. It takes skill to combine that uneasiness with a good storyline. That is what is missing here. Avoid this movie, or see it for free - but be prepared to fast forward a lot (don't worry, you won't miss much.)

I am still eagerly awaiting a good copy of Dead or Alive. I hear that Mr.Miike Takashi gets a chance to work his magic there, and I hate to only see one movie from any given director.

Crossfire (2000)

Well worth your time

[10 June 2001]

Crossfire, or Pyrokinesis, is a movie made by the person who resurrected the Gamera movies. If you have seen any of those, you know what Shusuke Kaneko can do with old ideas.

This calls to question if Crossfire is a some sort of remake of Firestarter. The answer to this was best given by the director who stated that he was well aware of the movie Firestarter while making Crossfire, but didn't want to do a remake. Instead he was going for more of a mature story focusing on the character emotions to a greater extent, and leaving the pyrokinetics as a secondary aspect. The good news is that he succeeded. Crossfire provides characters that are very complex. Often in asian cinema the hero is not just your average "good person" as in many American movies of this type - instead you have someone walking in a sort of grey zone. This is the case with the lead character Junko. What she does to exemplify this is... well.. watch the movie.

Needless to say, I liked the film a lot (even with difficult to read subtitling - white on white sometimes.) There has been a lot of crap following in the footsteps of The Ring trying to be Japanese horror hits, but Crossfire stands out with its engaging storyline and amazing special effects.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

For those who didn't like the first...

[7/10 · 5 May 2001]

Quick and simple.

The Mummy 1999 - Bad scarab effects(and overused), bad acting (especially the female lead), annoying supporting acting, and a movie that was confused at times if it wanted to be serious or just fun.

The Mummy Returns 2001 - Cameo use of scarabs (darker and higher quality work), the lead actress learned how to act between films, the supporting cast did a much better job, and the movie was just overall more fun than the first. Oh yeah, the fight choreography was much better also.

Don't get me wrong, the sequel had it's problems also (nobody has been able to properly CG a human face yet, but ILM gives a good shot at it here)

What makes the difference between the two films is that the first allowed its problems to detract from it's overall quality, while the second has problems that just add to the "popcorn action film" feel.