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Reviews
Geung see sin sang (1985)
Praise for sublime Chinese daftness
I was introduced to the wonders of Chinese horror cinema many moons ago, when Channel 4 made the inspired decision to show some one Christmas. We taped them because they were shown late at night, and hung on to these gems.
Mr Vampire is one of the finest. Dignified, beautifully-dressed Chinese vampires, hopping after their victims ! Comedy and fantastic martial arts work. I got 'Mr Vampire' recently, beautifully restored on DVD, and three of us watched it last night. It was every bit as enjoyable and OTT as we remembered. For one stunt, a character crashes through railings and falls 15 feet onto a solid floor. "That's gotta hurt", Iain said.
Hong Kong horror/comedy cinema combines daftness, amazing action and downright surrealism in a way I've never seen elsewhere. Highly recommended to anyone who likes films with a 'What where they on ?' attitude.
Le big-Bang (1987)
Praise for truly bizarre x-rated animation
'The Big Bang' is from the people who brought you 'Jungle Burger'. It's certainly not for the prudish, but it's not pornography. I haven't seen it in many years, but I remember it as very funny and extremely strange. It is a post-Apocalypse story with mutant, multliple-breasted women firing bullets from their nipples. Ballerinas leap gracefully through the air, and the edges of their skirts cut heads off. This is set brilliantly to classical music. I also seem to remember the men retaliating with penis-shaped rockets.
It sounds crude and nasty, but it isn't. The sexual imagery isn't meant to titillate or even be funny in the same way as 'Flesh Gordon'. The images are surreal, menacing; this is about nuclear war and mutants, not orgies. It's the dead opposite of 'Yellow Submarine' in tone and accessibility, but alike in its fantastic visual playfulness. 'The Big Bang' certainly isn't for everyone, but it is good.
The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)
Magnificently silly 'Alien' spoof
I love this movie. It has something of a chaotic, irrelevant 'Dark Star' feel to it. There's lovely little references to other sci-fi movies; the tones of the doctor's door keypad are the five tones from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. The monster sings 'I Want To Eat your Face', and dances for the crew ! The cast deliver wonderfully straight performances, which makes the silliness all the better. Bad Science abounds, the best bit being the line when the crew are approaching the planet where they find the monster, and the science officer declares "Their oxygen is compatible with ours". I haven't seen it for over ten years, but I'm determined to buy it on DVD. It isn't available in England, so I'll have to get it from the German Amazon website. I'll get my friends round and force them to watch it, and they'll laugh themselves silly. If you like surreal, daft, "what were they on ?" movies, this is for you.
Huo shao dao (1990)
A movie that works a lot better than it should
Although Jackie Chan is usually billed as the star, he's actually playing a supporting role here. If you don't expect a typical JC flick, but want a darker, more moving film, you could be unexpectedly pleased.
There are four major stars in Prison on Fire, so the main plot keeps getting put aside so each one can have a story line and screen time. Some of the prison sequences owe a lot to 'Cool Hand Luke' and there's even a character called Lucas (at least in the dubbed version).
In spite of being disjointed, the acting and drama carry the film well, especially Samo Hung's moving turn as a man desparate to see his son. There's a real air of danger for the characters, even Jackie Chan, who you never really believe will be killed off in his own films.
The plot threads are more or less pulled together to give a big shoot-out ending to please the audience, but it isn't a happy one. In spite of the flaws, I was far more impressed with this than I expected. Be prepared for something different and you might be moved too.
Ngo si seoi (1998)
Praise of seamless blend of action, drama and comedy.
This just goes to show that Jackie can still cut it as an action hero with the best of them, even though his American produced movies are a little tame by his own standards. With no need to worry about insurance, Jackie takes his adventures literally to the edge. Who Am I ? has all the stunts, car chases and action you could wish for, all in Jackie Chan's unique style, faster, more exciting and wittier than anyone else's. This time the action is complemented by better acting and personal drama than usual. The hero is chased and manipulated by several factions, all of whom know more than he does. In fact, all Jackie wants is to find out who he is but he never knows who to believe. It's a shame that this went straight to cable/video, because it's a better and more substantial film than either Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon, much as I enjoyed both of those. Highly recommended