Reviews

One ninja star out of four

Challenge of the Lady Ninja had the potential to be so bad it's good and a fun girl power movie, but was bogged down in sexploitation. The film couldn't even pretend to be about empowerment when it featured ninja mud wrestling.

Wong Siu Wai, a Chinese woman, had trained for 17 years in Japan as a ninja, becoming the only female ninja in the clan. You could tell she was the only woman because she was the only ninja wearing red. Totally blends and keeps her hidden. Her fellow ninja, Koloder was furious because she beat him and is Chinese. She had to go home to Shanghai when her father was killed by her fiancé who turned out to be a traitor. We all have family problems, but girl had more than her share. Upon returning home and meeting up with the resistance she determines to train some women in the art of being a ninja. Her ninja training included a long session of stretching with gratuitous boob and crotch shots and lots of suggestive moaning. I never knew this was essential to ninja training but discovered ninja mud wrestling was part of the experience. Nothing sexist about this at all. Part of the training included one ex-prostitute who could seduce a man by projecting her body in underwear before him and then transporting out. Wong had the same ability.

Lee Tong had four martial arts bodyguard who dressed like aliens, especially the guy with a scorpion tattooed on his bald head. The women work to kill off the bodyguards one by one which entails a vampire poison bite, dealing with a heat seeking boomerang, and an oil or water fight with two women stripping down to their bathing suits hidden under their clothes. Always be prepared! A dude in a Skeletor mask even appeared out of the blue to help them on occasion. I'm not making this up. The final showdown with Koloder was bizarre and had the abrupt ending so many 1970's kung fu movies employed.

Elsa Yang made a serviceable campy ninja, she just wasn't served well by the script. Chen Kuan Tai as her target and ex-fiancé played the debonair traitor always jauntily dressed in suits. The kung fu movie star had one short fight near the end. Robert Tai played the strange bodyguard with tattoos and blue lipstick, leaning into the oddity of the role.

The movie was set during the Japanese occupation, so 1930's or 40's. You would never know that by looking at it. They did work in a few "ye olden times" costumes, but they were interspersed with modern (70's or 80's) clothes and hairstyles, not to mention the many bikini scenes. Modern cars were shown numerous times as well. I laughed out loud when they played Darth Vader's intro music from Star Wars with the traitor's introduction. The rest of the music was of the bow-chicka-bow-wow generic synthetic variety. There are a couple of versions out there, one where the traitor is the female ninja's fiancé, the other where he is her brother. Does not improve the story either way.

The fights were the swish and fall sword fights, most of the others defied the laws of physics. One underground fight was mind bending. Bad wire-fu was often used and plenty of colorful exploding smoke bombs were thrown. The fights really were quite dreadful. Oh, and lots of jedi, I mean ninja mind tricks.

With so many women in the cast I wish that I could recommend this movie. I found it to be hugely disappointing. Instead of being a movie about women ninjas for women to also enjoy, it was a titillating view of how men want to see women ninjas train and fight. Only for a niche crowd, one of whom I'm not.

3/14/23

Leia Mais

Death can also be elegant and dignified, as this movie truly personified

Right off the bat, "Departures" already knew the story it wanted to tell. The opening scene was intriguing, and there was an essence of mystery that made it more interesting, wanting to be unfolded.

Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) returned to his hometown after his orchestra disbanded in Tokyo, accompanied by his wife, Mika (Ryoko Hirosue). I really liked that despite her husband's failure, she was supportive and wanted to go along with him. Now, coming back to Yamagata, his life was about to change.

Personally, I didn't have any background on the stigma surrounding the job that Daigo chose. It was appalling for me at first when his childhood friend, Yamashita (Tetta Sugimoto), avoided him after he knew what his job was.

But despite that, Daigo still chose the job of "assisting departures" under the tutelage of Sasaki (Tsutomo Yamazaki). At first, he was surprised by what the job entailed. But later on, he was able to witness the elegant, almost artistic process of noukan (encoffining). The comfort this process gave to the bereaved families and the appreciation they would give to him after doing it was the catalyst for him to grow on this job and on himself as a person.

What I really admired in this movie is that it tackled the human connection and the well-discussed concept of death. Death is a normal part of the life process; some may be afraid of it, but it makes us appreciate life more. It showed that death is the end of this life but not life itself, since it only serves as a gate for the next. Death isn't something to be afraid of; it is something to be expected. For some, including myself, this might not have hit us at home yet, but this movie opened our eyes to its inevitability and how we can handle and cope with it. 

Also, what I appreciated deeply was how intricate and greatly detailed this movie imparted about the Japanese death rituals. It was shown as if it is very spontaneous yet accurate and professional, and most especially the amount of respect they give to those who have departed and their grieving families as well. This was very true for the family shown in the first part, where it was very emotional and could've easily turned the ritual into a mess, but they respected the views of the dead. 

The second half might be overly emotional, but being overly emotional was its core, and it was conveyed exceptionally well. The several bereaved families that Daigo and Sasaki helped through the nobility of their utterly stigmatized and disgusted profession were such a huge proof of why they do what they do. And this job greatly helped Daigo and, to some extent, Mika grow as a couple and as individuals. Notice that Daigo now plays his cello with more life and expresses his happiness in a jollier way compared to the beginning. He was now happy at this point.

The one thing that I found lacking, and the reason why I won't give a perfect 10 on an otherwise outstanding film, is because of its rushed execution of forgiveness and reconciliation at the end. I was able to get the message the movie conveyed. The whole duration of this film tugged at my heartstrings, but the last few minutes did not do as much as I wanted them to. It felt like it was just something that they had to finally put a closure on, and that went for the movie as well. But then again, it was just adequate. 

Masahiro Motoki was just a delight with how superb his acting was. At times he was just hilarious, but his portrayal of professionalism and seriousness in his job, despite initially feeling icky about it, was just amazing. The scenes where he played the cello were just outstanding, as if he were a professional cellist. And the music itself just gave more power and flow to the movie. This film did not have any magnificent cinematography, but the music really stood out and helped in conveying the emotions and mood properly, if not exceedingly.

"Departures" really told us that there is more to death than just grief. It can also be an avenue for reconciliation and forgiveness, and at the same time, it gives a deeper understanding and appreciation of what life truly is. Death can also be elegant and dignified, as this movie truly personified.

Leia Mais

Bromance times four!

Shaw Brother classic, The Crippled Avengers, may have had an unfortunate dated title, but it was old school kung fu fun. Director Chang Cheh wasn't too interested in realism instead he gave the audience a spectacle which at times more resembled a circus acrobatic act than it did a martial arts throw down. The Five Venoms (the group of actors, not the characters) teamed up once again, this time to take on a butchering bad guy.

Hero Chen Kuan Tai's Black Tiger came home to find his wife dead and his son's arms cut off. He quickly dispatched the hatchet men and made a 180 into villainy. Through the years he provided his son, Lu Feng (Venom Centipede) with new and improved metal arms and hands, training him in the three Tiger Styles. Anyone who crossed them or spoke a word against them incurred their wrath. Johnny Wang acted as his chief enforcer Wan.

Along came the Venoms. Philip Kwok (Venom Lizard) made the mistake of looking at the son's metal hands and was blinded. Lo Meng (Venom Toad) spoke out against The Black Tiger's cruelty and was made mute and deaf. Sun Chien (Venom Scorpion) bumped into the son and lost his feet. Chiang Sheng (Venom apprentice) confronted the Black Tiger over his ruthlessness and had his skull crushed leaving him brain damaged. The four men made their way to each other and took Chiang home to his master. His master vowed to teach them kung fu styles to overcome their disabilities. For three years they trained before returning to confront their nemesis and his gang.

The training scenes were quite fun to watch as Chiang and Kwok were quick and acrobatic. Any fights with them and/or Lu Feng didn't need wire work because they could jump, flip and tumble with the best of them. Kwok's abilities with the metal pole and rings were fast and amazing to watch. Chiang always looked like gravity didn't apply to him as he tumbled off of and onto furniture. Lo Meng, though trained in martial arts tended to do more kung fu posing. The "Shaolin Hercules" never met a shirt he wanted to wear and liked to show off his muscles. Though one of the main four characters, Sun Chien and his metal legs tended to disappear for long stretches of time showing up just when someone needed a deadly kick. This was not Bruce Lee kung fu, it was kung fun, more theatrical than useful.

Though the main characters were all disabled, there was no humor at their expense. The best part of the whole film was the obvious camaraderie between the men as they relied on each other to survive. It was a buddy movie times four. Lo Meng's Wei and Kwok's Chen, the deaf man and the blind man, were quite heartwarming in their tactile friendship as they protected each other. For a 1970's kung fu movie, it was fairly sensitive, admittedly the bar was set pretty low on that subject, but at least there was some effort in the machismo genre.

I enjoyed this movie more than the Five Venoms and thought the fights were more original and at least some of them were quicker. The story wasn't afraid to embrace the ridiculous with things like a character having bionic arms who could shoot darts out of them. But it was the more human aspects of the movie that made it memorable. The friendships that developed between the main characters and the characters' growth were unusual for this genre where relationships often took a back seat to fighting. I found those aspects of the movie refreshing. For anyone who enjoys old kung fu movies, this is definitely one to give a try, even with the horrible title.

3/14/23

Leia Mais

Romantic Love Story ❤️

Korea is famous for romantic movies so it becomes really hard to geniuenly love a story when there are so many. Felt like I'm watching something which is worth my time. It has a realistic feel to it along with a little bit of magic✨
Kim Go-eun did a really good job, when I watch her movies I just feel connected and obviously handsome Jung Hae-in also did a fabulous job, their chemistry is really something.
Overall, the story is good and the concept of them getting apart again and again and only meeting by coincidence and then finally realizing their feelings works really well in the movie. The music is also really really good, soothing as well as romantic.???

Leia Mais

A Beautiful Experience

So I am an interfan from USA with no ability to speak or understand Japanese, so I went for the vibes and merch.

I think it’s great when I can see something on a big screen and I haven’t seen a bl on a movie screen since Gameboys the movie in 2021.

Loved hearing the soundtrack on the big screen. Kiyoi’s theme is absolutely one of my favorite bl tracks and each time I heard it on the surround sound was magic.

The special edit - all 6 episodes of season 1 were put into one going. The intro only played in the episode 1 spot. There was no outros and a lot/most of the intro/outro dialogue was removed.

The “new” scenes were some extended scenes. The two most noticeable ones for me were in episode 3/the contest episode - we see Hira bring Kiyoi ginger ale during the house prep session and we see Kiyoi turn to look back down the hallways after he loses the contest and we see him walk away.

Some of the scenes played a little differently and I think the dialogue was different but I can’t confirm that. There was more water sounds and some of the music was different at time. When Hira and Kiyoi re-meet after the Koyama birthday show, they don’t play the outro music.

A few season 1 scenes were omitted or moved. We don’t see Kiyoi practicing saying “I like you” at the stream bank and we don’t see the flashback of Kiyoi seeing Hira taking the picture of captain duck.

The montage/flashbacks felt different/longer.

There was a send off from Riku and Yusei after the movie and a new scene teaser from Utsukushii Kare Eternal. I begged/bribed a friend to come with me to see the special edit and asked him to translate/give me the gist of the movie trailer and he said - Kiyoi comes home and Hira has cooked a lot of food and Kiyoi asks why Hira made so much and Hira was evasive. They have a playful fight and Kiyoi accuses Hira of cheating on him and pounces on him and pulls back to punch him while Hira continues being cagey.



I have seen the special edit twice, once alone and the second time with my friend for assisting with translating the movie scene. I love seeing projects I like on a big screen with great sound system and seeing Utsukushii Kare was no exception.

I have no idea if MBS will ever make the special edit available commercially or internationally so I might try and see it one more time before the week is over so to melt in the sounds and sights in full movie theater glory.

Leia Mais

Annoying!

After the trailer, I was really looking forward to the movie. But when I watched the movie, I had the impression of seeing a completely different movie. The trailer looked cool and like a good sci-fi movie. The movie then turned out to be totally silly. A movie basically consists of a story, not a string of scenes. If a screenwriter, and here there were two writers involved, doesn't know that, then he's not a good screenwriter and should look for something else to do.
The movie owes many of its good reviews to the well-known and popular actors. How would the audience judge the movie without these familiar faces? I know the actors of the protagonists from other movies and series and I regret to say that their performance was far below their potential. Kim Woo Bin in particular delivered an over-the-top, inappropriate, and very shallow performance. I was sad to see Kim Tae Ri in this nonsense.
If I wanted to list all the negative things I noticed in this movie, I would have to write a very thick book. But the movie is not worth that time! The film is not even worth the time you have to spend to watch it!
So I say to all those who have not seen it yet: Don't watch it! I can't recommend it!
Oh yes, and I will definitely not watch the second part, it would be a pity to waste the time!

Leia Mais

Blood for Blood

Ti Lung played a dual role in The Revenger, a film that covered twenty years. The title was a misnomer because in neither the father role nor the son role did he truly play a vengeful character. That's not to say there wasn't plenty of revenge to go around, but at least for the title character, revenge was not his defining characteristic.

Chou Tu is a force for good, protecting the abused and downtrodden. This puts him at odds with Mao, a ruthless and underhanded villain. Chou rescues the lovely Shih Szu and ends up taking her as a mate. After being murdered in an explosive ambush, Shih Szu is rescued by two comedic kung fu experts who help her to raise her baby. With Chou Tu gone, Mao fully established his power and destroyed a family who were not loyal to him. The neutral swordsman, Ling Yun, takes the baby daughter to raise while Mao grabs the family's son to raise for vengeful purposes.

Eighteen years later, Shih Szu tells her son, Chou Shu about his father's murder and how his bones are scattered amongst the treacherous villains. Shu is bent on revenge but on her deathbed his mother makes him promise to not seek revenge only to retrieve his father's bones so that she and the man she loved could be buried together. The little girl grew up to be Hsu Feng whose only desire is to destroy those who killed her family while her brother grew up to be Dorian Tan (with no kicking abilities!) who is loyal to the dastardly Mao. It doesn't take long before the new generation is set on a collision course and the bodies around them start to stack up. Though Chou Shu kept his promise there couldn't have been more death in this film had he gone on a purposeful murderous rampage.

The fights used more weapons than actual hand to hand and were more comparable to kung fu dancing than fighting. There was quite a bit of kung fu posing and conversely, sped up fights as well. Why they had Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan play a milquetoast character who only used a whip, I'll never know. His part was extremely small making it seem he might have been filming another movie and only showed up when he had time. Hsu Feng, as the sister, along with her master Ling Yun, were the two most vengeful characters though they didn't have much screen time either. Wong Ching wasn't the most menacing of evil doers and could come across as a sniveling stab you in the back guy instead. Ti Lung as an eighteen-year-old was a stretch but he did give it a good try to distinguish the two characters. Like a less vengeful Inigo Montoya it did become a bit humorous as he kept repeating to each of the numerous villains that he was not there for revenge, only to retrieve his father's bones because no sooner would he utter the words than the bodies would start dropping.

Twenty years' worth of story with numerous characters condensed into 100 minutes made it difficult to emotionally connect to anyone. The second generation had revenge and familial elements that would have made for a more gripping story had they been properly expanded on. It the story is not compelling the fights have to be dynamic and these fights were below average for a 1980 movie. The potential was there, but this was one skeletal script that fell apart.


3/13/23

Leia Mais

Lots of high flying action that doesn't go anywhere

A stolen shipment of government gold, a police chief seeking a pardon, not one but two vengeful daughters, murderous bad guys, and evil monks---sounds like enough plot for an old martial arts film---just barely. Carter Wong and Lo Lieh added kung fu credibility to the blade thin story which required non-stop action to be of interest.

Lo Lieh tricks some petty thieves into gaining him access to the government's gold warehouse and then leaves none alive. Lung Fei, his loyal henchmen, helps him to clean up. Later, an always stoic Carter Wong, enters Lung's gambling establishment and says his name is The North Wind. Lung is so impressed with the way Carter handles a fight he gives him a job. What kind of job and why does he trust him so quickly? Story convenience. Two different women, Nancy Yen, the daughter of two innocent people killed during the robbery and Chi Lan, the daughter of one of the murdered petty thieves, butt heads working against each other for the same goal of avenging their families. James Tien shows up as Lo Lieh's #1 ruthless minion. Miao Tien as one of the Three Tigers works to discover where the gold is with his two buddies. People are pretty touchy and nearly everything results in a fight with everyone either looking for the gold or vengeance.

The fights varied, some were below standard for this time frame, others were better depending on who was fighting. Nancy could almost be seen counting her steps in a couple of fights. Chi Lan, who only made one movie, was more fluid and athletic. Their choreography incorporated too many unnecessary jumps simply to add motion. Generally, if Lung Fei, Carter, Lo, or James were in a fight scene they flowed better. These guys were old pros at fight choreography by this time in their careers. Much of it was the of the strike, block, lock method, some faster than others. The weapon fights used a variety of styles amid wire work. The monks utilized a giant lantern with old UFO sounds which could spin out poisoned darts. Per usual, the finale took place in what looked like a quarry. These old Taiwanese films were the equivalent of a mom telling her rambunctious kids to go play outside. Somehow the final fights always seemed to end up outdoors.

There wasn't much story or character development even for a kung fu flick. What this movie had going for it was almost constant action and a likeable cast. I always enjoy the chance to watch Carter Wong and Lo Lieh square off. Having said that, this film would only be for fans of the actors or the genre as the plot was more lead than gold.

3/13/23

Leia Mais

I enjoyed the movie. Very simple introduction to the BDSM subculture. I like how they just wanted to explain it and tried hard to be respectful of something that not everyone will accept.

The 2 leads I haven't seen in anything else but they were both good here. I liked the FLs character. Very fresh and I like how she knew what she wanted and who she was. I loved her interactions with her mother and with the bar owner played brilliantly by Lee El, whom I adore.

The scene at the hotel the first time Jiwoo and Jihoo are together had me in the floor. JiHoo's ex-girlfriend was super obnoxious and I'm glad she was only in a few scenes. I wouldnt watch again but it good enough to watch once.

3/13/23.

Leia Mais

Shinsengumi history summarized

This movie centers around the historical figure Hijikata Toshizo. He can be seen as famous or infamous, depending on which side you're looking. Written and directed by Harada Masato, who also was behind the sengoku period movie Sekigahara, you should expect a lot of information thrown at you throughout the movie, like having a history lesson. Watching it required a lot of concentration but the story and its portrayal was very engaging. The pace of this movie was much better handled, without being incomprehensibly fast, nor extra scenes to skip. I loved the way the narration helped in understanding situation, while giving us a breather after intense scenes. It moved the story smoothly.

Unline Sekigahara, Baragaki engaged me more by focusing on the relationships and interactions of the characters, all of whom are based on actual historical figures. Well almost all, I'm not sure if Oyuki existed. Her relationship with Hijikata isn't central to the plot and her characters does seem to represent many women during that era so it didn't bother me. It didn't aggravate me like the love interest in Sekigahara.

No matter how you view him, Hijikata Toshizo had a hand in affecting history, and changed the lives of most who have known him, be it by his words or swords, therefor a very interesting point to look through. Like many historical settings, this movie did try to emphasize the heroic of its leading character, however this time it was well balanced with other elements of the setting, including the characters representing the most important people in Hijikata's life.

I think the best part of this movie is the casting. I cannot complain with any of the casting, and some of them were so spot on. I never viewed Okada Junichi as a "Hijikata" type of character but he sure convinced me here, especially with his interactions with Suzuki Ryohei. Now they wouldn't have been able to find anyone more suiting than him to play Kondo Isami, in all his strengths and fragility, in the way he lets himself be manipulated or when he wants to follow his beliefs. The rest of the cast did great as well, fitting perfectly in character and setting. On a personal note, I find it funny when Saito Hajime keeps being played by one of my crushes. This time it's by my newest crush Matsushita Kouhei.

Another thing I loved about the movie, where Sekigahara was also successful, is action scenes. In this movie, the choreography for both dance and fighting was enchanting to watch, with a dose of realism.

My review might be all over the place, I wasn't ready for it. I just felt the need to write one since there is no reviews for this movie. I would definitely recommend it to any history lover. Though this movie was made for an audience that have studied the history, I think it can be enjoyed even without history knowledge. I highly recommend this movie to at least be given a chance.

Leia Mais

I was not expecting to be Destroyed by the feels

I went into watching this as a pretty light high school rom-com with some angsty moments but boy I was taken a bit aback.

The story albeit usual, takes you through a visual journey of 1999 and hits all the sweet spots of being nostalgic in the right way. The phone booths, the pagers, the music, everything is an ode to that era. It has its funny moments, I found myself smiling ear to ear on these people and their situation. The pace of this movie is good.

Half-way through the movie, you'd feel there is a twist. The response to it is predictable on all ends and the ending overall is tinged with sadness.

The actors are delightful. Kim Yoo Jung and Beyon Woo Seok are a pleasure to watch. Rooh Yeon Seo is a believable bestie.

The production and cinematography was of high quality with decent music backing it up. It is definitely worth a re-watch.

Leia Mais

Confused.... and a bit dazed

i wasn't sure what to expect (hadn't read other reviews before - which was possibly a good thing....)

This still has it's charm (think that's still down to the the leads and the way it's shot tbf!). So much of the detail is lost and the key plot of "destiny" being missed out completely somewhat overshadows the missing yoyo-ing of emotions or the eccentricities of the series plot lines. As for the plot holes with story continuity errors, the less said about the gaping chasm of the rings ..... the better.
It's worth a watch as it's still a romantic idea just not the romantic ideal and that makes it a poor substitute. But i kinda don't get what the objective was when not re-shooting some of the scenes? Any clues?
As a side note musically, it's still awesome IMO.

Leia Mais