Here is a video by Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society's Will comparing Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express and Fallen Angels! A very interesting video, especially if you have already seen these movies. I have only seen Chungking Express so far (it is one of my all-time favorite movies), but I really want to see Fallen Angels! I really need to get that Wong Kar Wai Criterion box set! I am so behind in everything I need to watch (and in effect, buy). Enjoy! If you like his videos, make sure you give it a 'like' and subscribe to his channel!
(I had nothing to do with the creation of this video!)
After close to ten years, I was finally able to watch UHF again! I used to watch it when I was a kid when it came on cable (either HBO or Showtime, I can't remember; never came on basic cable or OTA TV). Let me tell you, I LOVED this movie! It also helps that I am a big Weird Al fan! I also always wanted to run a TV channel. I used to pretend I had a TV channel back then, and whatever I watched or played (either action figures or video games) was what was airing on my channel. I was able to watch it on YouTube, free with ads!
In UHF, George Newman (played by Weird Al) is put in charge of a bankrupt UHF TV station. George is an imaginative person and has many ideas, but he tries to 'play by the book' at first in trying to make the TV station successful. When that doesn't work (and after he finds out the station is days away from being flat broke), he gives his janitor Stanley Spadowski (played by Michael Richards) a shot at hosting his live kids show. The show becomes a hit! This inspires George to put on more weird TV shows, all of which become hits! A rival network TV station boss, R.J. Fletcher (played by Kevin McCarthy) decides to buy his competition after the UHF station becomes number one in the ratings. From there, George has to come up with $75,000 in two days to keep the station on the air!
This movie is full of parodies and wacky humor. The film starts with an Indiana Jones parody! The part I loved the most was the Rambo scene. I always laughed maniacally at that. Of course, I loved the Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies* music video. I always hoped to catch that video on MTV, but I was not disappointed when the original Money For Nothing video aired. Both videos rocked!
The TV shows were a wild mix! Conan The Librarian was a favorite of mine. Ghandi II is just crazy! The animal show with the enthusiastic Latino host is great! Never noticed until this past viewing how crazy that guy is! Fran Drescher plays the station newscaster. Perhaps this is where my crush on her began...
Michael Richards (known to Seinfeld fans as Kramer) plays Stanley Spadowski in such an energetic, pure-hearted manner. You can't help but love the guy. It is great how such a good, pure person becomes beloved in their city. How lucky is he to have such a hit show immediately, without even trying!
This movie is pretty safe for the whole family... to a certain extent. There is no sexual humor, but there is some cartoonish, yet extremely violent scenes. The extremely violent scenes are played for laughs, so hopefully kids will not be scarred for life by watching them! (Do not get me started on Robocop!)
So yeah, I love this movie. Humor is subjective, so I know not everyone will like it or even get it. Also, this movie was made in the late 1980s, so some of the references are dated. I think you should at least give it a chance. If you know what Weird Al is about, then you'll get an idea for what you're in for. If not, I hope you enjoy it just the same!
Ninja is an American martial arts movie released in 2009 directed by Isaac Florentine and starring Scott Adkins, Mika Hijii, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Togo Igawa, and Todd Jensen.
Casey Bowman (played by Adkins) is an American martial artist who lives in and studies martial arts at his sensei's (played by Igawa) dojo. Living there since being placed there as an orphan, Casey has grown close to his sensei and his daughter, fellow martial artist Namiko Takeda (played by Hijii). The top student there, Masazuka (played by Ihara) is jealous of the budding relationship between Casey and Namiko and loses control during a sparring match. Their sensei expels Masazuka, who goes on to become a high-tech ninja for hire by Temple Industries (which runs an underground cult called The Ring). Masazuka goes back to the dojo to claim the title of 'soke' (the headmaster at a Japanese martial arts school), but is denied by his sensei. The sensei sends Casey and Namiko to New York to hide the 'Yoroi Bitsu' (a chest with the apparel and arsenal of an ancient ninja fighter), which he feels Masazuka will go after. From there, things get crazy, violent, and bloody!
This movie is pretty awesome. The plot is pretty simple, but that is forgivable when the action rocks like it does in this movie. The movie is about honor, living up to your responsibilities, and martial arts tradition. Casey (the 'accepted foreigner' who is highly skilled) is the honorable martial artist, Masazuka (the native, top student) is the dishonorable one. They are destined to clash, and clash they do!
I do like how Masazuka is portrayed as a traditional ninja: a covert mercenary. Like the ninjas of the past, he has no honor. He fights in the shadows, he kills mercilessly, and he won't stop until he accomplishes his mission. Masazuka is a formidable fighter, further enhanced by his high-tech ninja suit. He has night vision goggles in his mask! He has the advantage when he fights everyone he comes into contact with, including Casey!
Casey is the more traditional, honorable fighter. He does not kill unless he has to. He fights fair, and he is an incredible fighter. The kicks he can do are amazing! The fight scene in The Ring's hideout is top-notch. Scott Adkins really gets to strut his stuff in that scene. In the end fight, Casey must use traditional tactics to defeat Masazuka's neo-ninja.
As previously mentioned, The Ring hideout fight scene is the stand out. There are also fun fight scenes that take place in a subway car (with one crazy death in it) and on the roof of a building. The final fight scene is great as well. With Isaac Florentine directing, you know you'll be getting well-filmed and edited fight scenes. Akihiro "Yuji" Noguchi is the fight choreographer, and he put together some fantastic fights. If you like fast paced, sometimes gorily violent fight scenes, you'll love this one!
I like this movie a lot! Some may not like it because of the simplistic plot, or that it has a direct to video feel to it, or whatever. If you like ninjas, if you like martial arts movies with awesome fight scenes, and if you like seeing an honorable good guy do the right thing, then Ninja is the movie for you!
Cover of the Blu-Ray I watched.
Back cover of the Blu-Ray I watched.
The Blu-Ray disc I watched. This movie is available to stream for free on Tubi, as well!
Ebola Syndrome has been released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray by Vinegar Syndrome! This is a rather infamous Category III horror film from Hong Kong. I am not a horror film fan, but I have to get this release! I want to watch it at least once, and I think it would be a nice Blu-Ray to have in my collection.
Other Blu-Rays recently released by Vinegar Syndrome is the Tiger Claws series, starring Cynthia Rothrock & Bolo Yeung! I am a huge Cynthia Rothrock fan, so I have to get those as well!
Here is a video by Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society with all the details!
(I had nothing to do with the creation of this video)
'The Big Boss' (formerly known as 'Fists Of Fury' in America) is Bruce Lee's first major movie where he has the lead role, and it catapulted him into super stardom. The movie had quite the effect on the Hong Kong film industry! In his autobiography 'I Am Jackie Chan', Jackie talks about his experience first watching the movie with Sammo Hung and his fellow friends/stuntmen, and how Sammo said about the fight scenes, "That is real! That is how it should be done." (paraphrased by me, of course). This movie made Bruce Lee a superstar, but his next movie made him a hero in Hong Kong...
'The Big Boss' is about Cheng Chao-an (played by Bruce Lee), a young man from China who has moved to Thailand to work at an ice factory. He has made a promise to his mother to never fight again, with a jade necklace worn around his neck to remind him of this. He ends up living with his cousins and experiences some of the negative parts of life in Thailand. This all eventually leads to Cheng getting involved in fighting against the Big Boss's son and henchmen and the drug smuggling racket the Big Boss is running. Cheng faces the Big Boss, and justice prevails, though it is not exactly a happy ending.
For a long time, 'The Big Boss' was my favorite Bruce Lee movie. That has changed over the years, but I still really like this movie. The fight scenes are a bit 'primitive' compared to current Hong Kong movies, or to even Bruce Lee's next movie, but they are still enjoyable. It's always great to see Bruce use his Wing Chun skills in the final fight scene. The fights are violent, bloody, but not gruesome. I do wonder how the handsaw scene looked in action, though. My favorite fight scenes are Cheng vs. the henchmen then the Big Boss's son at the ice factory and the final fight scene against the Big Boss himself.
Growing up, I watched the Fox VHS version of 'The Big Boss' called 'Fists of Fury'. This version had an incredible English dub and soundtrack. The music in this version was composed by Peter Thomas, a German music composer. All I can say is, the music he composed for this movie is genius, incredible, and fitting. The soundtrack, besides Bruce Lee himself, is what I love the most about this movie. The music helps drive the anticipation of the fight scenes coming up, and helps heighten the emotion in more serious scenes. Peter Thomas should have won an Oscar and the Nobel Prize for this soundtrack!
I mean, listen to that opening theme song! How could you not be pumped to watch The Big Boss?
(I eventually got the Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra soundtrack for the Big Boss, but it was missing the song I loved the most: the song when Bruce defeats the Big Boss's son. That song actually makes me all emotional. It's so awesome and fits the scene so well. I NEED THIS SONG!)
Since this was Bruce Lee's first major movie, his influence over his character or the movie itself was minimal. We don't see his philosophy so much in this movie. Even so, Bruce Lee plays Cheng Chao-on with understated humility and grace, but is totally a hero you can believe in. He is a conflicted hero, but he rises to the challenge. The other great performance belongs to Li Kun, who plays Ah Kun. He plays his character with such enthusiasm and believability. When his character turns on Cheng Chao-on, he makes you feel anger and resentment toward how he is treating Cheng. He has a few comedic scenes, too!
The version I watched for this blog post.
Later on, I got 'The Big Boss' on DVD in the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection. The picture quality is great! The sound is great on very version except the English dub. It has the dub I grew up with (with and extended scene that uses the more stereotypical 'kung fu movie dub-type voice for Cheng Chao-an), but the soundtrack and sound effects are ruined! It has the Peter Thomas Orchestra soundtrack, but it has added music that doesn't go with the movie at all! There is no quiet anticipation anymore. There is a scene where Bruce Lee is running, and they added go-go dancing type music to it, so it seems like Bruce is dance running to his destination. Just terrible! They also added those horrible American sound effects that sound like a guy hitting a thawed turkey with a bat. So crappy. (If you've seen the Hong Kong martial arts movies ruined by Miramax/Dimension/New Line Cinema, then you know how those sound effects sound).
Criterion Collection has released a Bruce Lee box set containing 'The Big Boss'. It apparently has the English dub with the Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra soundtrack, but without the added terrible music. I NEED to get this box set! I will write my thoughts about it when I get it, for sure!
A star was born in 'The Big Boss', and that star rose into mega stardom with each movie he made. Bruce Lee's influence began here and has lasted ever since then!
