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Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?
- Thread starter Huntn
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Glad to hear you liked it.
The Delivery (1975) Juicy, OTT triad drug running tale which ultimately pits the sharp dressing cheater Chan Wai Man against the nefarious Charles Heung (both were real triads at the time, but I digress). For someone who isn't much of a fan of crime films*, CWM makes it kind of easy to watch such things especially when he has to fight. With that said, the amusing mano-a-mano at Heung's pad after CWM's low life assassin is found cheating at cards? All kinds of fun. This sets the stage for his character's doom as well. You know there's going to be bad blood between these two especially when the title operation goes way south. As annoying as it is to sit through these once Chan is bumped off, Heung actually made getting through to the end enjoyable with a neat riff on criminals and lawmen (it's a tried and true exit but well done here).
*Outside of a few Italian movies, Sun Chung's Shaws' output and early Hong Kong triad films.
Shaolin Mantis (1978) People adored Lar Kar Leung and his true blue kung fu movies at Shaws and elsewhere. I respect him and think he was a great choreographer who did wonderful things when he got the right story and cast together. This is the rare movie of his I can revisit again and again. David Chiang's scholar is decreed by the evil Emperor to infiltrate a rebel family and procure the list of traitors against his Highness. However, the longer Chiang delays the worse it will become for his parents: 3 months (stripped of their titles, 6 months thrown in jail, a year: execution). So Chiang weasles his way in (this is the kind of character DC was a master at playing, very sly, sneaky and dangerous. You'd never expect this slight, seemingly bookish little fellow to be a proficient fighter and no matter how many times he played that part at Shaws, it never got old) and so DC's scholar winds up marrying the granddaughter of the rebel leader. This doesn't quite sit well with the very cranky patriarch played by LKL's younger brother Lau Kar Wing. Eventually, Chiang barely escapes the family's torturous kung fu circuit (once you go into that house you cannot leave) and invents the title style of martial arts. The training with praying mantis is my most favorite kung fu training sequence ever. It's rather believable given the many animal styles that prevail in Chinese kung fu, I just wish it didn't take 2/3rds of the movie to get to this sequence. Ultimately, Chiang procures the list and wipes out the rebels and I will stop right here. The ending still bums me out, though I understand it and think it's clever.
And the original trailer is very cool, allowing LKL and his cast to show off the various styles and weapons used in the film.
Infini another indi horror SciFi, performs past it's budget, most will either like or loath. If you liked Event Horizon, The Thing, Sunshine etc. likely worth a watch. Just need to settle into the film and focus on the story, stick with it past the first 30 minutes, it then takes a deeper darker tone...
Think Survival Horror in a SciFi setting
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Think Survival Horror in a SciFi setting
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If you've never seen The Club (1981) that's fantastic - very gritty and rather brutal for the time. The Cantonese and English versions are on YouTube. Given my preference for old school kung fu, I lean toward the pre-John Woo "heroic bloodshed" movies more due to the casts and some kung fu still being unleashed. That said, seeing these guys wield their "choppers" is some seriously scary stuff to me: so much more harrowing than guns. Those knife fights make that lifestyle as ugly as it can be and I appreciate some of these older films show the warts and all. But that is me.
I just started Triads The Inside Story (1989) today. That will be slow going as only my work pc can play vcds. You've probably seen many more HK triad films than me, but I can post a list of what I've seen and enjoyed.
Still getting used to vcds playing both Cantonese and Mandarin at the same time (actually I think it's pretty cool). Pretty sure I can tweak that with my work speakers though.
VCD's I always try pick films up on DVD format, then rip the film to HD, have around 70-80 films out of HK & mainland China Randomly
Shifting Gears
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@Queen6 I love the Curse of the Golden Flower. One of my favorite performances by Chow Yun Fat, probably my favorite of Zimou's modern wuxia as well (all of Yimou's wuxia are beautiful), but this one felt like a tragic opera on every level.
I prefer dvd and blu ray too, but some of the HK films I am watching now are either only available on vcd or ripped from a VHS.
I have to pick up Doctor Strange, just debating the format at the moment.
I prefer dvd and blu ray too, but some of the HK films I am watching now are either only available on vcd or ripped from a VHS.
I have to pick up Doctor Strange, just debating the format at the moment.
Agree the Curse of the Golden Flower is very much similar to opera, high drama & tragedy at it's best, all beautifully shot and presented. Agree the early HK films are difficult to find on modern formats.
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Seven Samurai[ (1954): I'm just a big pushover when it comes to Toshiro Mifune, especially when my movie snack is sushi.
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Home again, work is behind me for a month or two, time to watch
Gold one of my all time favourites, simply splendid in 21:9 full screen
Susannah York a piece of woman indeed, however that's another tale
As promised, back to Susannah York Sands of the Kalahari gritty, hard watch once you get into it, very much about threat & premise.
All about the direction & actors, tremendous performance by all...
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I'm watching John Wick tonight so I can go see John Wick 2 at the theatre tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to whatever happens to the puppy.
Torshio Mifune is a great actor. You just made me want to seek out and watch Red Sun (1971) a Charles Bronson western.
Red Sun is terrific. Definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of both of these gentlemen (as I also count myself).
John Wick was just okay. He shot like 200 people and punched like 150 more.
Lots of action and not much story.
Lots of action and not much story.
I think I'm about to buy it right now, got a GP promo for 50% off, so it's 9.99 (I've pretty much gone "all digital").
Masterminds (2016)- Warning, do not spend money on this movie!
I heard a review of The Great Wall (2017) that called it lavishly terrible.
I heard a review of The Great Wall (2017) that called it lavishly terrible.
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For that price, run with it digitally. What does GP stand for please?
@Huntn I will eventually see The Great Wall. I am a fan of Zhang Yimou's wuxia and period movies (he's one of the very few modern Asian filmmakers who gets that genre including it's character-centric and visually colorful stories.) Rumor has it Zhang is working on a version of Three Kingdoms: I would absolutely be beyond delighted if Guan Yu has a central role in one of Zhang's movies. Actually, I think mom wants to see the Great Wall so maybe we will catch it this weekend if she's up to it.
Shivers at seeing a mention of Stuart Whitman...he was so righteously miscast in They Call Him Mr. Shatter (Ti Lung should have been Shatter, even if he was told to ape Bruce Lee by either Shaws or Hammer).
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Sausage Party. I made my wife sit through it with me. It was raunchy. It was juvenile. I laughed pretty regularly. She rolled her eyes a lot.
Many, many F-bombs. Not for the kids.
I wasn't even sure why there was so much swearing, other than "cause we can!"
Sausage Party. I made my wife sit through it with me. It was raunchy. It was juvenile. I laughed pretty regularly. She rolled her eyes a lot.
Many, many F-bombs. Not for the kids.
I wasn't even sure why there was so much swearing, other than "cause we can!"
What did you think of the overall premise? It was like "religion is the opiate of the masses" vibe or something wasn't it?