Blade Of The Immortal (2017) - A Review

 

Takashi Miike directs another awesome movie.

Blade Of The Immortal is a samurai/action movie released in Japan in 2017, starring  Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukushi, Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Erika Toda, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Hayato Ichihara. It was directed by Takashi Miike (in what was advertised as his 100th movie), and is based on the manga, Blade Of The Immortal by Hiroaki Samura.

Takuya Kimura as Manji.

In Blade Of The Immortal, Takuya Kimura plays Manji, a swordsman on the run from the government and who is taking care of his mentally ill sister. A group of ronin capture his sister to lure Manji into a battle to collect the bounty on his head. The ronin do not keep their promise (you'll see what I'm talking about), so Manji fights and kills all of them, getting mortally wounded in the process. A mysterious old woman comes to Manji as he is dying, and he asks her to finish him off. Instead, she puts 'blood worms' into his wound, which begin to heal him...

Hana Sugisaki as Rin Asano.

Fifty two years later, a young girl named Rin Asano (played by Hana Sugisaki) witnesses her father being murdered and her mother being attacked and taken by Kagehisa Anotsu (played by Sota Fukushi) and his Ittō-ryū members. Rin promises on her father's grave to get revenge for his death and to find her mother. She eventually decides to hire Manji, who is now immortal, to kill the Ittō-ryū members and to be her bodyguard. Rin reminds Manji of his sister, so he naturally feels protective of her.

As Manji kills off Ittō-ryū members, this captures the attention of Kagehisa and his cohorts. They find out Manji is immortal, which makes him an even bigger target. Kagehisa wants the Ittō-ryū to become part of the shogunate, which their leader agrees to. Meanwhile, Manji and Rin agree to team up with another group to take down Kagehisa and the Ittō-ryū. Betrayals happen, and Rin also decides to take down Kagehisa by herself. An all out battle occurs between Manji, Kagehisa, and other groups! Will Rin finally get revenge?

Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu (middle) with the Ittō-ryū.

Blade Of The Immortal is a pretty faithful adaptation of the manga, though the overall plot (the manga was 30 volumes) had to be condensed to fit into a two hour and twenty minute movie. The manga's author was satisfied with this movie, which says a lot about the director, Takashi Miike, and the quality of this movie. It is a great movie! Interesting plot, interesting characters, and awesome action. Takuya Kimura is excellent as Manji, a disgraced samurai who has been cursed with immortality. Though he is the hero, he is a killer. He does have a moral code, though, and he has justified reasons for killing his opponents. Though there is a darkness to Manji, he is still likable and easy to root for. Hana Sugisaki as Rin Asano is a driven young woman; she is a diligent martial artist who wants to use her skill to kill Kagehisa Anotsu. Even though she is strong, she is still vulnerable. She isn't strong enough to defeat Kagehisa yet, and she is highly emotional when it comes to Manji. Rin and Manji's relationship is interesting to watch unfold. Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu is a complicated villain. You think he is pure evil, but you find out he has reasons for what he is doing. Still, what he did to Rin's parents was inexcusable (in my view), so he gained very little sympathy from me.

There is a lot of action in Blade Of The Immortal, and it is bloody and violent!

  There is a lot of action in Blade Of The Immortal! For some reason, I was not expecting that much action in this, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much action there is. A majority of the action is sword and weapons-based, and it is violent and bloody. There is a lot of blood spraying and limbs flying! The fights are very good, and some fights (especially the end battle) last a good, long time. Though Manji is immortal (he does get limbs cut off in battle), he is not impervious to pain. He suffers through his battles, and he has to recover after them. In his final battle, it does look like he has a chance of dying, so you are on the edge of your seat during that whole sequence. The fight scenes may not have that Hong Kong choreography, but they are still highly entertaining and exciting. Another cool thing about the movie and the fight scenes are that all of the major characters have different weapons that they use. Really adds to the action!

As you can imagine, I highly recommend Blade Of The Immortal. It really is a good movie, with a deeper than it seems plot, interesting characters, and awesome fight scenes. The cinematography is great, as well as the soundtrack (the ending theme is amazing). After watching Blade Of The Immortal, I am very interested in reading the manga! This is a manga-to-live action movie adaptation done right. Takashi Miike is truly a master at his craft.

Reviewed by David Williams

Election 2 (2006) - A Review

 

Election 2 is a dark and grim sequel.

Election 2 (also known as Election 2: Harmony Is A Virtue and Triad Election) is a Triad/crime film released in Hong Kong in 2006 starring Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Simon Yam Tat-Wah, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Nick Cheung Ka-Fai, Lam Suet, Andy On Chi-Kit, Jonathan Lee Yat-Sing, and Wong Tin-Lam. Election 2 was directed by Johnnie To Kei-Fung, with action choreographed by Ling Chun-Pong. Election 2 is a direct continuation of Election (2005).

Louis Koo plays Jimmy Lee, a Triad member who wants to be a legitimate businessman.

In Election 2, Lam Lok's (played by Simon Yam Tat-Wah) two-year term as chairman of the Wo Lin Shing triad is almost up, and there are members who want the position: Kun (played by Gordon Lam Ka-Tung), an overtly aggressive triad member who feels he deserves a chance as chairman after going to jail for helping Lam Lok secure his position; Jet (played by Nick Cheung Ka-Fai), an assassin that Lam Lok has promised to make the next chairman; and Jimmy Lee (played by Louis Koo Tin-Lok), a business-savvy triad member who has a business deal going in mainland China, and wants to become a legitimate businessman. Because of his business success and the massive amount of money he is making for himself and the triad, Jimmy is the top choice for chairman.

Jimmy does not want to become chairman; he wants to move to China with his wife and start a family there. Unfortunately, Jimmy finds out that if he wants to do business in China, he will have to become chairman and help the police keep Wo Lin Shing under control. Jimmy accepts the offer, and then does everything he can to become chairman. While this is going on, we find out that Lam Lok does not want to give up his position, and wants to run for re-election (which is against the rules). Lam Lok does whatever he can to maintain control of the situation while also dealing with his son's (played by Jonathan Lee Yat-Sing) growing delinquency. As you can imagine, betrayals, murders, switching allegiances, and breaking of moral codes abound.

Simon Yam as Lam Lok. He does not want to give up his position as chairman.

Election 2 is a much darker and more violent movie than Election. The previous movie is kind of a set up to this movie (obviously). It is not really necessary to have seen the first movie to enjoy this one, but a lot of the things that happen in this movie hit harder if you've seen the first one. The story is very interesting, with a lot of twists and turns throughout. Power has changed Lam Lok, and he is not really the same person he was in the previous movie. Jimmy Lee goes from someone who wants nothing to do with the Triad life, to someone who become very proficient in Triad tactics. Some of the things Jimmy does shocks even the most hardened Triad members. Simon Yam is great in this, as is Louis Koo, who has a heck of a performance as Jimmy. At first you root for Jimmy, but as the movie goes on, you wonder how far he will go to become chairman.

Power and money corrupts...

 This movie has a lot more action than the first one, though there is only one fight scene once again. The fight involves knives and choppers/machetes. It's a pretty good fight, and once again fits the tone of the movie. Andy On, who is a martial artist, has a role in this movie, but he does not have a major action or fight scene. At least he plays one of the more sympathetic characters. Nonetheless, there is a lot more brutal violence in Election 2. A certain character crosses the line, and his actions shock his allies. This is the most disturbing scene in the movie, for sure.

In conclusion, Election 2 is the violent and gritty conclusion to Lam Lok's and Jimmy Lee's path to chairman. I highly recommend watching this movie. It is well made, well paced, with a very interesting story and characters, and some brutal violence as well. The acting is top notch. Simon Yam and Louis Koo kill it in their roles. This movie has a great soundtrack as well. Check it out, and be prepared for some shocking turns of events. This is another movie where you'll be thinking about it long after it's done.

Reviewed by David Williams

Election (2005) - A Review

 

Election, directed by the great Johnnie To.

Election is a Triad/crime movie released in Hong Kong in 2005, starring Simon Yam Tat-Wah, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Nick Cheung Ka-Fai, Lam Suet, Maggie Siu Mei-Kei, and David Chiang Da-Wei. Election was directed by Johnnie To Kei-Fung, with action choreographed by Wong Chi-Wai.

Simon Yam (at the forefront) as Lam Lok.

In Election, Simon Yam plays Lam Lok, a crime boss who is in contention for the chairman position of the Wo Lin Shing triad, the oldest triad in Hong Kong. He is a quiet, contemplative man, who has a young son, and the support of many triad members and bosses.  He is even-tempered and shows the qualities of a good leader.

Tony Leung Ka-Fai (in the middle) as Big D.

Tony Leung Ka-Fai plays Big D, the other Triad boss in contention for the chairman position of  Wo Lin Shing. He is flashy, cocky, ambitious, and impetuous. He wants the chairman position, and is willing to do anything to win the election. He also has his supporters for the chairman position.

As you can imagine, two totally different personalities up for the chairman position causes a lot of problems within the Triad brotherhood. Lam Lok ends up being elected for Wo Lin Shing chairman, and Big D is not happy about this. Big D commands his Triad members to find the symbolic baton in China (which the chairman possesses throughout his term) and bring it to him. Lam Lok and his fellow higher ups also instruct their members to find the baton before Big D gets it. A lot of betrayals, violence, and intrigue ensues. All Lam Lok wants is to become chairman and bring prosperity to the organization. Big D tells Lam that if he is not elected, he will start a new society, and that there will be a war between their Triad groups. Wo Lin Shing and the Hong Kong police do not want this to happen.

Things get bloody and violent...

I've heard of Election for years, but I never found a physical copy of it back in the early 2000s, so it isn't until now (2022) that I was able to watch it. Knowing that Johnnie To directed it, one of the best directors in Hong Kong, watching this movie comes with a bit of hype to live up to. It did live up to the hype. This is a very good movie! Truthfully, I do not like movies that glamorize criminals or criminal organizations, so I avoid most Triad/Mob/Yakuza movies, but this movie didn't glamorize the Triad at all. At first, it may seem like it does, but eventually, you'll see being in a Triad is not worth it.

The story is very compelling, with an underlying tension running throughout the movie. You never know how certain characters are going to react to certain situations, and it puts the viewer on edge. The performances from all the actors are top notch. Simon Yam as Lam Lok is cool, calm, and collected. You actually root for him throughout. He seems like a good leader. On the other hand, Tony Leung Ka-Fai as Big D is a gigantic, arrogant, overambitious jerk. You see from his actions and reactions to certain situations that he would be a terrible leader. I really did not like his character. There are many betrayals in this movie, and characters switch sides for the good of the brotherhood.

The descriptions of this movie describe it as action-packed, but it really is not. There are bursts of violence and chase scenes, and there is one fight scene. The fight scene is more of the brutal kind, with knives and choppers/machetes involved. In a movie about Triads, there are no guns involved in this one. Still, that fight scene is pretty good and fits the movie's tone.

So, should you watch Election? I would say yes. It is directed by the excellent Johnnie To, and it is really well made. It will have you on the edge of your seat. Though there is not that much action, what action there is, is good. If you have an interest in the criminal underworld, this movie will give you some idea of how Triads work. Apparently, the Triad rituals portrayed in Election are pretty close to accurate. Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-Fai give excellent performances as well. Branch out and check it out, you may like it! I know I did.

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Dude, Not My Car! (Brandon Lee vs Steven Ebora) Action Comedy Short

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this week's scene comes from the Team Red Pro crew! It stars Brandon Lee, Steven Ebora, and Daniel Son. This scene was directed and choreographed by Joseph Le, with additional choreography by Brandon Lee, Steven Ebora, and Jackie Tran. The action in this one is fast and furious! Check it out!

I Saw The Devil (2010) - A Review

 

An extremely violent masterpiece.

I Saw The Devil is an action/thriller movie released in South Korea in 2010, starring Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Kim Yoon-seo, Chun Ho-jin, and Choi Myung-soo. I Saw The Devil was directed by Kim Jee-woon.

A man obsessed with revenge.

In I Saw The Devil, Lee Byung-hun plays Kim Soo-hyun, a highly skilled agent in the National Intelligence Service. When his fiancee, Jang Joo-yun (played by Oh San-ha) gets a flat tire on a dark road one night, a seemingly helpful school bus driver offers to help her. Unfortunately, Joo-yun is brutally attacked, and then murdered. Soo-hyun vows to find her killer, and make him suffer as much as his fiancee suffered. With the help of his fiancee's father (played by Jeon Gook-hwan) and a co-worker, Soo-hyun exacts brutal revenge on the suspects until he finds the true killer, Jang Kyung-chul (played by Choi Min-sik). Soo-hyun brutally attacks Kyung-chul, but lets him live! Soo-hyun hunts Kyung-chul down and delivers massive amounts of pain every time he finds him. Unfortunately, Soo-hyun will regret letting him live, as things tragically get way out of control!

Evil personified.

I had heard of how great I Saw The Devil was for years, but it isn't until recently that I was able to watch this movie. It definitely lived up to the hype! This movie was incredible. I was not expecting how dark and violent this movie was. Lee Byung-hun and especially Choi Min-sik give great performances. Lee is cold and calculating in his method of revenge, and you feel he is beginning to lose himself in his quest of making Kyung-chul suffer. Choi is absolutely incredible as the demented serial killer, who doesn't have any sort of respect for anyone. Kyung-chul is pure evil, and you enjoy all the pain and suffering he endures throughout the movie.

The cinematography is dark and moody, the soundtrack is great, and the plot (which is basically a revenge story) is good, too. This movie gets really extreme with the violence (and there are some very uncomfortable sexual scenes/assaults) so be prepared for that. The two main characters go to extreme lengths to hurt each other, and it makes you wonder whether revenge is worth it. All together, I Saw The Devil is a dark, modern masterpiece.

I Saw The Devil is bloody, brutal, and violent.

The action in I Saw The Devil is bloody and brutal. There are some gruesome kills in this, as well as some brutal torture scenes. The showdown between Kim Soo-hyun and Jang Kyung-chul is as exciting as it is ferocious. Each encounter between them gets more savage and ruthless. This is a movie where the action scenes may make you feel uncomfortable...

As you can imagine, I highly recommend watching I Saw The Devil. This movie is excellent. I will say, this movie may be too much for some, as women are treated horribly in it, and the violence throughout is extreme. As dark as I Saw The Devil is, there is some humor in it (as dark as the rest of the movie is). This movie will make you think, long after it ends. You will be in awe of Choi Min-sik's performance as one of the most evil characters in movie history. I Saw The Devil is one of the best movies I've seen this year, quite frankly.

Reviewed by David Williams

The Street Fighter (1974) - A Review

 

The Street Fighter is an incredibly violent cult classic martial arts film.

The Street Fighter (also known as Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken and Kung Fu Streetfighter) is a martial arts movie released in Japan in 1974, starring Sonny Chiba, Goichi Yamada, Masashi Ishibashi, Yutaka Nakajima, Etsuko Shihomi, Jirō Yabuki,and Rinichi Yamamoto. The Street Fighter was directed by Shigehiro Ozawa, with fight direction by Tsutomu Harada, Reggy Jones, and Ken Kazama.

Sonny Chiba as Takuma Tsurugi. Do not mess with him!

In The Street Fighter, Sonny Chiba plays Takuma Tsurugi, an assassin for hire who is highly proficient in martial arts. At the start of the movie, Tsurugi uses a martial arts technique to free a prisoner (played by Masashi Ishibashi) on death row. When he gets back home, the brother (played by Jiro Yabuki) and the sister Nachi (played by Etsuko Shihomi) of the prisoner come to Tsurugi's apartment to see their brother and to ask for more time to pay off the fee. Tsurugi informs them that he sent their brother out of the country, and he wants the full payment now. Naturally, they fight, and the brother dies during the altercation. Nachi is sold into prostitution after that.

The Yakuza capture Tsurugi at one point. How he is able to escape has severe repercussions...

Takuma Tsurugi is not a good guy. Later on, he gets a meeting with some shady business people who want to hire him to kidnap Sarai Chuayut-Hammett (played by Yutaka Nakajima), the daughter of a recently deceased billionaire oil tycoon. Tsurugi refuses the assignment once he finds out they are Yakuza. From there, The Yakuza plan to kill Tsurugi and kidnap Sarai themselves.

Tsurugi goes to the martial arts dojo Sarai's uncle runs to offer his services to protect Sarai. After fighting the martial arts students there and the master, we learn a little about Takuma Tsurugi's origins and why he fights the way he does. The uncle agrees to hire Tsurugi, and from there Tsurugi and his partner Rakuda (played by Goichi Yamada), have several run ins with Yakuza assassins while trying to protect Sarai. The prisoner who Tsurugi got out of prison also has a part in all of this. Can Tsurugi protect Sarai from the Yakuza, and avoid being killed himself?

You back a wild dog into a corner, he gon' bite.

The Street Fighter is a cult classic martial arts movie that has left a lasting legacy. When it got released in the United States, it got an X rating for the violence in it! Reading/hearing about some of the things that happens in this movie made me avoid it like the plague whenever I saw it for sale at the specialty video stores I used to go to. I am not against extreme violence, it's just not something I seek out (unless it was pro wrestling back in the day). The first time I was able to watch The Street Fighter (or at least part of it) was on broadcast TV about ten years ago! They blurred one particularly graphic (and famous) scene. Seeing what The Street Fighter was like for myself, I finally put it on my list of 'Need To Watch Movies'.

The plot, as I summarized it above, may seem a bit thin, but there is actually some depth to it. There's more to the story than I summarized, and it goes to some unexpected places. To me, the plot was very shonen manga-like, in a good way. I could actually imagine The Street Fighter as a manga or an anime. In some ways, Takuma Tsurugi reminds me of Kenshiro from Fist Of The North Star. Sonny Chiba is amazing in this movie. Takuma Tsurugi is an antihero with principles. He really does not tolerate organized crime syndicates. He does what he does for money, and he is loyal (if you show loyalty to him). The way Tsurugi fights is wild. He fights to maim, to kill, and to destroy. He has a simmering rage inside, and that helps him in his line of work. Sonny Chiba was the perfect guy to play Tsurugi. If anyone else played him the way Chiba played him, I don't think The Street Fighter would be taken as seriously as it is (to martial arts movie fans, at least). Also very cool that Etsuko Shihomi has a part in this. She plays a strong woman who gets beaten down by men in her life, both literally and figuratively. Her self sacrifice is admirable. Masashi Ishibashi as the freed prisoner is great as the tortured enigma who is completely focused on revenge.

Seek and destroy seems to be Takuma Tsurugi's motto.

The action in The Street Fighter is extreme! Sonny Chiba fights like a wild animal; punching, kicking, gouging, and tearing out whatever he can to win the fight. Sonny Chiba is a snarling, spitting beast as he fights. Blood spurts out frequently in this movie. Sonny Chiba even tears out body parts of his opponents to win. There is the famous scene of him giving a rapist what he deserves, and another famous scene that shows the X-ray effect of punching a man's skull, then the bloody aftermath. I'm trying not to go into too much detail, as these scenes come out of nowhere and are quite shocking if you aren't expecting them. Really, the violent bloodiness reminds me of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies (and of the American edited version of it, Shogun Assassin). The fight scenes are...okay. They aren't intricately choreographed like in Hong Kong martial arts movies, but the fight scenes are still fun.

In conclusion, I highly recommend watching The Street Fighter. If you want extreme violence with your fight scenes, this is the movie for you! Sonny Chiba's performance is amazing, and totally memorable. The plot is interesting, and even has a few twists. The music in this is great as well, with the main theme almost sounding like it's from the the soundtrack of Shaft! Check out this classic movie and be amazed! And hey, you can say you watched an X-rated movie and not feel like a perv for admitting to it!

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] NO PLAN NO GAIN (Action Comedy Short Film)

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this week's scene is a crazy one from Godefroy Ryckewaert and his crew. The simple synopsis: Two friends are going to rob a truck, but their plan isn't so efficient. All I can say is: How in the world did they pull this off without a huge budget! This is just craziness! I was holding my breath during a lot of it. Imagine the outtakes, though... Awesome stuff! Check it out!

 

[Multimedia Monday] November 14th Haul

 

Welcome to the first Multimedia Monday™! On Mondays I will show the latest media I've bought, and give my thoughts about them. I am hoping to do unboxings in the future, so look out for that! Truthfully, I'm broke right now, so I cannot get all those awesome Hong Kong Blu-Rays that are coming out, but trust me, they are on the list! Since I am broke right now, this won't be a weekly post. When I get more financially secure, Multimedia Monday™ will become a weekly event!

This week's haul all came from Dollar Tree. That's right, everything I bought was a dollar each. Three bucks for two Blu-Rays and a calendar! Not a bad deal at all!

Dinner For Schmucks is a pretty good comedy, though it's not my favorite Steve Carell or Paul Rudd movie. I already had this on DVD, but I decided to upgrade to Blu-Ray. I mean, it only cost a dollar! Unfortunately, my Blu-Ray player malfunctioned and no longer works, so I couldn't bask in the HD glory. (My Blu-Ray player malfunctioning ruined my plans for this month's reviews, by the way.)

I was really disappointed in my Spooky Movie Marathon© this year, so I have decided I need to look for more horror movies to buy to review. There just wasn't enough variety in what I was watching on streaming sites. It also didn't help that I didn't have enough time to watch movies or to write reviews for the ones I could watch. Anyways, I bought The Boy. Haven't really heard much about this movie. Not sure if it's good, bad, or just average. I guess we'll see next October.

I bought a Power Rangers: Dino Fury 2023 calendar! I am a huge Power Rangers fan, if you didn't know. Since Power Rangers: Dino Fury is being shown exclusively on Netflix, I haven't been able to keep up with the latest season. I liked the first part of the season that was shown on Nickelodeon, though! I'm looking forward to the 30th Anniversary season with all those Rangers coming back. Hopefully that'll be released on Blu-Ray so I can watch it that way!

That was the first Multimedia Monday™! Hope you enjoyed it! As time goes on, I'll hopefully be getting more Asian cinema-related things that I can show you all.

The Victim (1980) - A Review

 

One of the best martial arts movies ever made.

The Victim (also known as Lightning Kung Fu) is a comedy/martial arts movie released in Hong Kong in 1980, starring Sammo Hung, Leung Kar-Yan, Fanny Wang, Chang Yi, Billy Chan Wui-Ngai, Peter Chan Lung, and Wilson Tong Wai-Shing. Sammo Hung was the director of The Victim, as well as the martial arts director, along with Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Billy Chan Wui-Ngai.

Sammo Hung (left) as Chan Wing and Leung Kar-Yan as Chung Yau.

In The Victim, Sammo Hung plays Chan Wing, a young man hoping to learn martial arts from a man who can beat him in a fight. Chan Wing finds the man who can beat him, Leung Chung Yau (played by Leung Kar-Yan), but Chung Yau refuses to teach him. Chan Wing follows Chung Yau wherever he goes, just trying to get accepted as his student, but Chung Yau refuses every time. Chan Wing even goes to Chung Yau's house, where he meets Yuet Yee (played by Fanny Wang), Chung Yau's wife. Yuet Yee is sympathetic to Chan Wing's plight, and it is through her that he finds out why Chung Yau is constantly on the run and avoiding any conflict.

It is a tragic story, but I will reveal that it is Chung Yau's stepbrother, Cho Wing (played by Chang Yi) who has them on the run. Will Chung Yau accept Chan Wing as his student? Will Chan Wing learn the Iron Cross Kung fu style? Will Chung Yau finally face his stepbrother and make him pay for what he's done?

A family in turmoil.

The Victim is one of those movies I always heard/read about, but was never able to find/watch back in the day. It is only within the last year that I've finally been able to watch it, and man it was worth the wait. This movie has some incredible fight scenes. It is a comedy, but it deals with some tragic circumstances. The story is actually very good. It has some nice plot twists (which I was careful to avoid, hence the vague plot summary) as well. Sammo plays the lovable underdog in this, and he plays it perfectly. You want him to be accepted as a student by Chung Yau, and you always root for him in his fights. Leung Kar-Yan as Chung Yau plays the frustrated hero perfectly. You wonder why he's on the run with his wife, why he always avoids fights and conflicts, and you wonder why he won't take Chan Wing as his student. All those questions are answered in the movie, and you see just why he is frustrated. When he finally lets those frustrations out, he becomes a destructive force! It's awesome! Chang Yi as the stepbrother Cho Wing is a complete bastard! I hate this guy! If there's anyone who ever deserved a butt-kicking, it's Cho Wing!

Profile in anger...

 The fight scenes in The Victim are incredible. Top-notch Sammo Hung choreography. These fight scenes are hard-hitting! All the fight scenes are good in this one. Of course, the final fight scene where Chung Yau really unleashes his fury and skill is probably the best fight in the movie. That fight is, as I previously stated, hard-hitting to the max! It's just amazing how the fight is choreographed and filmed. You'd never know Leung Kar-Yan is not a trained martial artist if you watched this fight, because he goes all out in this one. His precision and speed is so good. The final boss (you can guess who it is) is a great fighter as well, and he hits just as hard! It is just a great fight, worth the price of admission. The other fights in the movie are excellent as well. Sammo Hung takes his opponents down with some hard strikes and sweeps, and his awesome combos. Wilson Tong Wai-Shing comes in as one of the top students to take on Chung Yau, and his footwork is awesome in this fight. Chung Yau has to basically counter Wilson's footwork to defeat him. That fight rules! Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Billy Chan Wui-Ngai really outdid themselves with the fight choreography in this movie!

As you can imagine, I highly recommend The Victim! It has a good story, it has some good comedy, it has tragedy, and it has some awesome fight scenes. This movie has somehow become underrated, not only in Sammo Hung's filmography, but in the top martial arts filmography as well. Do not miss out on this one! Hoping against hope that this movie gets remastered some day, it really deserves to be seen in the best way possible. The Victim really is one of the best martial arts movies ever made!

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Johnny Owes - Taekwondo Action Movie | BEST FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY WINNER |

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is a short film done by the Whirlwind Action crew! Micah Brock (the protagonist in this) is a taekwondo black belt, kickboxer, and muay thai fighter in real life. He's done a lot of fight scenes, and did an awesome series called Slug Street Scrappers. A fight scene of his was even "recreated" in one of the DC animated movies. Anyways, I really like his techniques in this short. Check it out!

 

THE GRANDMASTER OF KUNG FU (2022) Trailer

 Check out the trailer for The Grandmaster Of Kung Fu, starring Dennis To as the legendary real life martial artist Huo Yuanjia. You may know of Huo Yuanjia as the master of the Chin Woo Athletic Association, the character Chen Zhen (played by Bruce Lee in Fist Of Fury / The Chinese Connection and Jet Li played in Fist Of Legend) attended when Huo died under mysterious circumstances. Jet Li went on to play Huo Yuanjia in... Huo Yuanjia (2006), also known as Fearless. This time Dennis To is playing him, and it looks like (based on what's seen in the trailer), he's doing him justice. Here's the synopsis:

Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, a renowned Chinese martial artist engages in a life-or-death battle with a feared Japanese military commander in order to prevent Japan’s ultimate goal of seizing martial arts stronghold Tianjin.

The Grandmaster Of Kung Fu is streaming now (as of November 4, 2022) on the HI-YAH! streaming service! Hopefully this gets a Blu-Ray release as well, because I really want to watch this one!

 

Painted Faces (1988) - A Review

 

An important movie to watch if you're interested in 80s Hong Kong cinema.

Painted Faces is a biographical/historical drama released in Hong Kong in 1988 starring Sammo Hung, Lam Ching-Ying, Cheng Pei-Pei, Cheung Man-Lung, Siu Ming-Fui, Chung Gam-Yam, Yeung Yam-Yin, Wong Kim-Wai, Goo Fai, and Alex Law Kai-Yui. Painted Faces was co-written (with Mabel Cheung Yuen-Ting) and directed by Alex Law Kai-Yui, with martial arts directed by Yuen Wah and the Sammo Hung Stuntmen's Association.

Sammo Hung plays his Master, Yu Jim-yuen.

Painted Faces tells the story of Yu Jim-yuen (played by Sammo Hung), the headmaster of the China Drama Academy, one of the main Peking Opera schools in Hong Kong. The main attraction of the China Drama Academy was the Seven Little Fortunes, a group of children who performed plays that used music, acrobatics, acting, and martial arts to tell historical stories real and legend. The Seven Little Fortunes had members who became Hong Kong legends later on: Jackie Chan (called Big Nose in this movie, and played by Siu Ming-Fui as a child and Cheung Man-Lung as a teenager), Sammo Hung (played by Yeung Yam-Yin as a child and Chung Gam-Yam as a teenager), Yuen Biao (played by Goo Fai as a child and Wong Kim-Wai as a teenager), Corey Yuen Kwai, Yuen Wah, and Yuen Qiu among many others.

Master Yu forcing flexibility into Yuen Biao.

We see some of the tortuous training the students go through, and what a stern master Yu is. Though Yu is very strict and stern with his students, he is totally ill at ease around the woman he is interested in, Master Cheng (played by Cheng Pei-Pei). Throughout this, we also see the students get into mischievous situations, causing Master Yu to brutally punish them. The Peking Opera school kids are picked on by other 'regular' kids, and they get into scuffles. Eventually, we see teenage Jackie's first romance progress at the same time Master Yu's relationship with Master Cheng is developing.

The students at the China Drama Academy.

As the movie goes on, Master Yu begins to worry that he is not preparing his students enough for success for when they leave his school. Master Yu's Opera brother, Uncle Hua (played by Lam Ching-Ying) tells him of his troubles being an older stuntman, but also how lucrative it is for the young men. As the popularity of Peking Opera dies down in Hong Kong, Master Yu has to decide what to do with his school, his students and the rest of his life...

The real Master Yu Jim-yuen.

 Painted Faces is one of those movies I always read about in my research of martial arts movies in the 90s, before I had internet access. Magazines and books would always talk about this movie and about how good it was. It was always on my radar; I looked for it every time I went to the video store on the weekends in my search for everything Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao (their movies were my priority at first, I began to branch out as I learned about other martial arts movies and actors/actresses). I could never find it physically. I eventually watched it online in the early 2000s, but the quality was terrible. The main thing I remember is the dance scene where the Seven Little Fortunes go to a dance party. Also the tragic Uncle Hua scene. I was... underwhelmed at the time.

Watching a better version recently, and my thoughts about it have changed. I liked it a lot this time! It helped that I knew what was going on (the subtitles on the previous version I watched were hard to see). The acting is excellent in this, especially by Sammo Hung, Cheng Pei-Pei, and Lam Ching-Ying. You feel for these characters: For Master Yu, you hope he gets together with Master Cheng, and you hope everything works out for his school. Master Cheng is so nice and elegant, it's hard to imagine Master Yu not falling for her. Uncle Hua is absolutely tragic, and his final scene is a bit disturbing. The kids as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao are great as well, with Jackie as the most mischievous one, and also the one who gets into an awkward romantic relationship. There isn't really a plot to the movie, it just shows the progression of Master Yu's life and the Seven Little Fortunes lives from training, to performing, to becoming stuntmen. There isn't really any martial arts action, it's more brawls (and there are only like two or three), but it would be weird for this type of movie to have that type of action.

The real Seven Little Fortunes.

 As you can guess, I highly recommend watching Painted Faces. It gives us a glimpse of what Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and the other Seven Little Fortunes went through to become the forces they became in the Hong Kong movie industry. I will admit, this movie is not entirely factual. Having read Jackie Chan's autobiography I Am Jackie Chan (which is a must read), and seeing interviews from the other Seven Little Fortunes, the torturous training is actually toned down a lot. The punishments they received (either beatings with reeds or a walking cane; or torturous acrobatic exercises) are toned down as well. Jackie described his master as a very vain and proud man, whereas in the movie he is a bit humbler. Jackie and Sammo's rivalry is only hinted at, and Sammo (not what he was called as a child, he got the name after becoming a successful figure in the movie industry) stays longer in the school than he actually did in real life. Plus the fact that the female students at the China Drama Academy are not shown, and the rest of the Seven Little Fortunes get no focus. Still, this movie is amazing, and it may even make you emotional by the end. Check it out! This movie is a tribute to the man who gave many Hong Kong stars (both in front and behind the camera) the skill to succeed in the movie industry, and become legends in the process. Sammo Hung won the Best Actor award for his performance in this movie, so you've got to see it just for that!

Reviewed by David Williams

[Fight Scene Friday] Red Dragon School (2009)

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is a nice little scene directed and choreographed by Andy Long! The scene was co-choreographed by Gunnar Heiss. A lot of classic music in this one, my favorite being the Game Of Death theme. Check this out, it's very creative!