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subatomicsteve
Reviews
Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001)
An excellent film
The people who beat me to reviewing this movie here mostly seem to have forgotten the original film, "Zu, Warriors of Mystic Mountain." Anybody who has seen that film knows how confusing it was, yet a few viewings later you can figure it all out. This movie is the sequel to that film and it's a sprawling multi-character film with too much plot to easily decypher, but pay attention and you'll get it.
The film is beautifully shot, with wild special effects that make you wonder why US films can't do super-hero movies. While short on real kung fu, the action sequences are fantastic, fun, and constantly confounding your expectations. Aside from generally knowing that Good will overcome Evil, the movie is impossible to predict.
The movie is available on DVD now, so pick it up. It's much better than "Stormriders" or "A Man Called Hero" and ten times more fun as well.
Dobermann (1997)
Highly stylized, gratuitous, awesome!
Don't let them fool you, Dobermann is a rockin' violent film in the tradition of Fantomas, updated for the 90's. Films with anti-hero protagonists are often dismissed as lacking in morality, but that view is short sighted and culturally prejudiced. The protagonists in this film have a certain code of behavior, ethics, and style, and it is their rigid adherence to these that define them as heroes. The cops in the film are portrayed as bumblers, or worse, corrupt, violating their code of behavior, ethics and style. So instead of being merely good vs. evil, the story is reframed as two alternate ethical frames of reference in conflict. This makes the film hard to accept in a real world sense, but does present a challenge to the viewer, i.e.: Who does one root for? In the end the director decides for you. We are rooting for the robbers in this one. The robbers are bloodthirsty murderers, but not cruel or capricious. Murder is simply a means to an end. The film is stylish in a Sam Raimi/Ringo Lam sense, quick cuts, swerving cameras, and an "in the action" feel. The cast is superb, but acting in a
film with a directoral sense as strong as this is sometimes not easy, as the actors can become merely manipulated props. Still, there is scenery chewed, and many memorable performances. Top notch.