Watch the HK Cut
The answer is Jackie Chan. Who Am I? sees Jackie tackle the amnesiac spy thriller years before the Matt Damon shaky cam series and although a lot of the acting from its supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired (almost to the point of brain dead), the action more than makes up for it. The story feels unnecessarily complex and often messy but makes for an otherwise very compelling mystery (provided you watch the right version) in one of Jackie's more serious turns ala Crime Story. Benny Chan's direction is all pretty solid and Nathan Wang's score is decent if very dated, but seeing it paired with Jackie running around causing mass destruction in the Netherlands all while clad in a pair of clogs was truly a sight to behold. Despite a tepid first half, the film picks up steam with some great action, a fantastic car chase and the usual death-defying stunts in the second, with the rooftop fight easily ranking as one of his best, it's all just as imaginative and energetic as his early works even with Chan's advancing age.Was this review helpful to you?
Another one for the “Toshio Masuda is one of Japans most underrated directors” pile.
There's something strangely perfect about Zero being directed by Toshio Masuda, having been kicked out of the kamikaze in 1944 for being excessively liberal and pacifistic. It's a real treat to finally see another one of his war epics after so many years, this time him and him alone in the chair. Based on a serialized story by Kunio Yanagida, this is the story of the Mitsubishi Zero through the eyes of the engineers who designed the plane and the pilots who flew it.Shoichi Hamada is a pilot flying the Imperial Navy's ace in the hole, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, during the first years of the war the Zero is seemingly unstoppable, shooting down almost every type of plane the allies send at them. Hamada's best friend is Kunio Mizushima, assigned to the ground crew, they are both in love with one girl… but will the ravages of war tear them apart?
Toshio Masuda's direction is simply sublime, taking what worked on Tora! Tora! Tora! over a decade ago and bringing it back tenfold. It is clear Masuda had no love for war and thus directs the film with a dash of gritty realism, unflinching in its portrayal of death, bad decisions and ultimate endeavour for a lost cause. By stark contrast when the film isn't wowing you with its climatic and brutally intense battle sequences, it shines with a glorious use of colour.
The plotting is well done, keeping the story of the Zero first and foremost while framing the story of the young pilot around it. Masuda seemingly backhands the naval authorities for using the pilots as expendable property. In general, the film has no respect for higher authorities, portraying most of them as simply using their soldiers, and not caring about their lives. The story is told in reverse, starting from 1944 and going in reverse to 1937. The pacing is well done, keeping everything at about the same level.
The acting is great on most parts, and even the expats seem to be doing well, it's often noted how poor a lot of them were in Japanese films of the era but here they do a standup job. As for the main characters, they are directed with enthusiasm that goes with their youthfulness. The love triangle is directed well but in a way, it's almost like a precursor to the later Michael Bay shakey-cam fest, Pearl Harbour, ending on that usual "war romance" subversion.
Daijiro Tsutsumi as Hamada brings all sorts of emotions to the table, and by the end, it is clear the Japanese war machine has become him. Kunio Mizushima, played by Jun Hashizume, shows clear concern for his friend as well as a great love for the female love interest, Shizuko Yoshikawa. Shizuko Yoshikawa, herself is a very well-done love interest. She clearly has a mixed bag of emotions for the two leads and loves them both on different levels. Tetsuro Tamba's brief appearance as Isoroku Yamamoto casts him as a very sympathetic man, clearly concerned for the lives of his young pilots despite only appearing for about 5 minutes. Shin Takuma does well as Teruo Tojo, the Zero's financier and Mitsubishi Motors president, showing quite a youthful energy and enthusiasm for his character.
The special effects by later Biollante to Destoroyah Effects Director Koichi Kawakita are very well done, clearly showing off just as much enthusiasm for pyrotechnic effects as his teacher Teruyoshi Nakano. The miniatures look great, and it’s nice to see a few Zero miniatures portrayed accurately as white in the opening 30 minutes. The camera angles during the air battle scenes are daring, and Kawakita makes use of frenetic camera movements during the battle scenes to enhance the combat. There is quite a bit of stock footage in the film, all the way from Storm of the Pacific to Kawakita's own Zero Pilot and to The Imperial Navy, but the original effects all look fantastic and blend very well with Kawakita's efforts.
The music by Harumi Ibe has a dated late 70s-early 80s quality that actually works for the film, and the score uses a lot of horns as well as 70s-style guitar work that make it clear Ibe was primarily used to the 70s style of composing and hadn't quite made the jump to the 80s sound design yet. Even then it's a great score and the film's theme song, Dawn, is sung beautifully by Yujiro Ishihara. Befitting the film's historic ending scene well.
Overall, I can't recommend Zero enough. It's clear how much Toho bought their A-Game in 1984, between this, The Return of Godzilla and Sayonara Jupiter, their tokusatsu efforts were on top form. If you ever get the chance to see it, do so.
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A perfect companion to Oppenheimer
The Man Who Stole the Sun treads the finest of lines in trying to balance its subject matter and tone, but Kazuhiko Hasegawa's controversial movie about nuclear terrorism is a darkly comedic and thrilling satire on a subject once considered unsatiriseable annihilating any form of genre borders in the process. Holding particular resonance for Japanese audiences, as while the country does use nuclear power, it has long held against amassing a nuclear arsenal due to the devastating effects that ended World War II. The movie doesn't stop dead for any form of long-winded nationalistic or philosophical speeches and instead insists on a conceivable reality with seemingly no motivation.One of only two movies directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa, which in turn feels like a crime in itself, Hasegawa rewards the viewer with some utterly sublime direction and excellent framing, with plenty of thrilling action set pieces to command his viewer's attention at all times (the car chase feels like it was ripped right out of a Ringo Lam movie). It balances the unorthodox nature and tone of the movie exceptionally well, juxtaposing the shifts with unnatural ease. Complimented by funky and often ill-fitting music by Takayuki Inoue to glorious success.
The performances are all excellent, with Kenji Sawada playing the everyman gone rogue with an endless amount of animosity slowly succumbing to the effects of radiation poisoning making him more and more unpredictable as the movie goes on. But it's the award-winning performance from the stoic and hardened Bunta Sugawara that really captivates me as he normally does in his roles, single-minded and exceptionally driven.
Overall, The Man Who Stole the Sun, even at two and a half hours long, never feels overly long or bloated. The film absolutely refuses to limit itself, and that's why it's so entertaining and impressive.
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Fun if uninspired sequel
Takashi Miike's loose and belated sequel to The Great Yokai War, Guardians is much more of the same, so if you liked the previous adventure, you'd like this. It's made for kids so accessibility is a key factor to its appeal, meaning there's not much meat to its story beyond your standard hero's journey, but just because it's more kid-friendly doesn't mean it lacks a lot of wacky, and sometimes downright disturbing, imagery courtesy of the Yokai themselves which are brilliantly realised (both east and west alike). Miike even managed to bring back our great guardian god Daimajin for an extended cameo which put a big smile on my face knowing he was originally lined up to direct a film reboot in the late 2000s. Fox-Faced Woman also was 😳.While there's certainly a lot of love and creativity put into this movie, I can't deny like the previous film, it certainly has its faults. The child-friendly tone does its story no favours, especially in the final act where you'd normally find Miike going hell for leather, it falters. The overreliance on CG like the last, has dated the film extremely quickly although Japan has never really had the best of results with this technology. Regardless, for what it's worth, The Great Yokai War –Guardians– is a fun romp but extremely subdued Miike which is saying a lot.
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Verstility is the name of the game
Original Hong Kong VersionEven with this ancient DVD print full of screen tearing and damaged frames, God of Gamblers showcases one of Chow Yun-Fat's most versatile performances effortlessly switching back and forth between impeccably suave and utterly adorable on a dime. Backed by the ever-amazing Andy Lau, it's really only two extremely questionable moments that hold this film back from being rated any higher. Even then Wong Jing's intense gambling drama is a classic of Hong Kong cinema and one I will definitely pick up on Blu-ray. I do question the sheer number of sequels and spin-offs though with one of them being a time travel story... Nonetheless, sign me up.
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Juvenile 2.0
Ghost Book feels deeply reminiscent of Yamazaki's debut film, Juvenile (hell, even the adorable little Tetra makes a cameo appearance), a lighthearted family romp often dealing with some relatively difficult themes for its target audience. There's an element of Pokémon thrown into the narrative with the film's characters tasked with "catching them all", benefiting this narrative hook is the lovely monster design, stellar voice work by legendary voice actors such as Akio Otsuka and Rie Kugimiya; and their impressive realisation capturing the essence of Etsuyoshi Miyamoto's original illustrations brilliantly. Unfortunately, the characters are all exceptionally one note, despite the cast's rather heartwarming performances they are probably the most laid-back group of ghostbusters ever, often characterised by very limited personalities (I swear Kudo is just a few steps away from being a full blow serial killer) or singular traits. There's no urgency with this film, it just kind of chugs along at its own pace, often leaving room for a nice family dinner despite the race to get home. That being said, Ghost Book operates on a level of childish fun, obvious in its sentiment and simplistic in its messages. However, it makes up for its narrative wateriness with a wholesome vibe you can't bring yourself to hate.Was this review helpful to you?
Understands the cost of violence and isn't afraid to sit with it
Filled with an ominous mixture of brotherhood and pessimism, The Avenging Eagle treats guilt and identity not as passing motivations, but as burdens that shape every decision we make. The well-worn narrative hooks of a killer seeking redemption are treated in a compact and free-spirited way, with a persistent sense of inevitability, almost fatalistic, hanging over the proceedings, but equally jumping from the present to the past with an energetic free spirit. Sun Chung is a director fully in control of the action, with a beauty in his scale and framing. It's definitely one of the prettiest Shaw Brothers productions around, thanks to its exquisite colour palette and extensive use of actual locations, rather than the more studio-bound productions. The action is certainly sharp and purposeful, never feeling gratuitous, with some relatively impressive flow and choreography. However, it can be exceptionally gimmicky with its overuse of choppy slow-motion and unintentionally hilarious freeze frames to emphasise moments of tension. However, this can be easily overlooked thanks to the dynamic performances of the three main cast members, Ti Lung and Alexander Fu Sheng command the screen as consummate warriors united in tragedy, while Ku Feng provides a suitably wicked foe for the pair; they certainly give the lyrical script a lease of life. Offering a careful balance of melancholic, reflective and occasionally bleak storytelling, The Avenging Eagle understands the cost of violence and isn't afraid to sit with it, a lean, mean story of vengeance and redemption that offers a dark and punchy treat.Was this review helpful to you?
Gripping from its vertigo-triggering beginning to heart-stopping end
For a film that won three Japanese Academy Awards and helmed by the man who finally killed Godzilla, Abduction sure has fallen into almost complete obscurity, one that I've been after for a very long time. Taking the classic crime thrillers that dominated 60s Japan and filtering them through a deeply melancholic yet utterly gripping 90s lens, the film excels in its quiet desperation of people caught in a crisis, no surprise given director Takao Okawara's impressive line-up of Godzilla films to his name. It's the only one of his directorial efforts not to feature heavy special effects work, no guys in monster suits, no miniature cities being levelled; instead, there's a visceral urgency to the action, with plenty of slick images and an atmosphere rich with tension. Though the story seems simple enough, there's more to the titular abduction than meets the eye, consistently twisting and turning, all coming together in a beautifully executed narrative, confidently guided by Okawara's hand, often leaving us with a gnawing hunger to find out what happens next. The pacing is steady, sometimes even dry, but deliberately so, mirroring the slow, frustrating reality of an investigation where leads don't pan out and time is always slipping away. Everything about its production is so thoroughly absorbing, from its razor-sharp editing to its sumptuous photography. Even the musical score by Takayuki Hattori, despite having never been a huge fan of his work, especially his Godzilla scores, delivers some absolutely enchanting cues, all rounded out by truly exceptional performances from its cast, headed by the Tokyo Drifter himself, Tetsuya Watari. Being Okawara's penultimate film, Abduction is truly amazing, gripping from its vertigo-triggering beginning to heart-stopping end, a real shame that he has remained absent from the director's chair ever since the turn of the millennium.Was this review helpful to you?
Definitely one that should have been left in the Shaw Brothers vaults
An almost desperate attempt to stay relevant during Hong Kong's emerging 80s New Wave movement, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a seemingly Frankenstein'd fever dream of sex, sci-fi and ill-advised musical numbers. A serial farce that, even with logic and reason relegated to afterthoughts, the weirdness that shows up here is mystifying in its inanity. It feels like each of the six writers was separately sequestered and asked to write fifteen minutes' worth of material each before being thrown together in a blender; the result is a pretty risible sex comedy with incredibly poor jokes ranging from suicide and impotence to rape and fame, all delivered by a cast of petty, venal, tantrum-prone characters. Granted, there are some interesting enough production values, the special effects scenes are brief, but eye-catching: a giant spaceship made of stars, shuttle bays cribbed from Battlestar Galactica, a Millennium Falcon look-alike swoops across the night sky, while the vast sets are beautifully lit in swathes of orange, blue and gold. Director Alex Cheung was clearly more at home with his crime dramas, because when he turned his hand to the nonsense on display here, which is close to a full-on cinematic disaster, the energy is manic, the cast match it, but the sped-up slapstick quickly wears thin. Despite an amusing pseudo-lightsaber/nunchuck battle against a Darth Vader-clone towards the end, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is undoubtedly one film more geared towards the self-punishing crowd, a truly one-of-a-kind exercise in confusing entertainment. Definitely one that should have been left in the Shaw Brothers vaults because a few more layers of dust wouldn't have made much difference.Was this review helpful to you?
The cinematic equivalent of a coma
The cinematic equivalent of a coma, the story behind Fearless Hyena II is more well-known than the film itself. A patchwork disaster that barely holds together, but how on earth Lo Wei managed to convince Jackie to do a nude scene is truly beyond me. Originally set to be Jackie's first film under a new contract with Wei, the story of how he avoided getting killed by the triads and returned to Hong Kong to become a megastar is the stuff of legends. Ultimately, Lo Wei supervised a reshoot of the uncompleted film, mainly by taking the footage from the 1980 shoot, incorporating some used and unused scenes from Chan's previous films, and hiring a double to bridge the gaps created by his former star's departure; Lo was able to assemble some form of sequel which, to his credit does manage to cover for it's lack of main star until the climax when Chan's absence becomes blatantly obvious. The premise is almost exactly the same as the original film, aside from the awful Jackie Chan lookalikes who play his "relatives" that never existed before, with the most outrageous wigs and fake beards you’ll ever see. The direction is laughable, carrying a definite Lo Wei vibe throughout, which ultimately makes the film feel more like a film from the 60s than one from the 80s, while Austin Wai's protagonist does the film no favours, although to be fair, there is at least some competently staged fights in places. Ultimately, Fearless Hyena II is nothing more than a simple novelty, only really worth the watch to see the smattering of scenes Chan shot prior to his departure, because the film has nothing else going for it… Game of Death was a better-made film than this.Was this review helpful to you?
Jackie punches someone so hard in the balls that he dies.
At its core, The Fearless Hyena is an overly familiar traditional kung fu revenge story, but, being that this is Jackie Chan's directorial debut, you get the added treat of watching him figure himself out in real time. Showcasing his own brand of charm, naivety and bravado in a film that blends traditional martial arts storytelling with the comedic, expressive style that would later define his career. Split pretty much straight down the middle in terms of tone, shifting between slapstick humour and surprisingly brutal violence, it shows Jackie experimenting with a formula he hadn't fully perfected yet. Fight-wise, the choreography is intricate and very well performed, boasting a beautifully inventive chopstick food fight and Jackie defeating the villain by punching him in the balls so hard that he dies, which is worthy of 5 stars all on its own. It helps that the cast is populated with a variety of interesting characters, led by a great turn from James Tien as Chan's elderly master, but, of course, the real star of the show is Chan himself. Unfortunately, it seems he hasn’t fully freed himself from Lo Wei quite yet as there is a lot of Wei's influence still present; as it's clear this wasn't a big-budget or heavily refined production, Wei's writing is more prevalent than Chan's. But there’s definitely a charm in that roughness; it feels scrappy, personal and driven by a creative ambition of expression, so while The Fearless Hyena isn’t Jackie's best film, it is an important one, less about perfection and more about watching the blueprint of something great being built. Capturing him at a turning point, transitioning from a traditional martial arts actor into the genre-defining star he would become.Was this review helpful to you?
Sadly, not an answer to a certain Monty Python sketch
Instead, Bloody Parrot is an eerily atmospheric gross-out sexsploitation wuxia horror with a blood-splattered bird nowhere in sight. A fever dream dressed in silk and shadows; there's a wonderful gothic elegance to the film's aesthetics with plenty of foggy interiors, ornate costumes and lavishly colourful sets that lean fully into confusion as a stylistic choice, crafting a world where illusion and deception are the only constants. Directed by Hua Shan, the film is packed with heroic dollops of nudity, thanks to Jenny Liang, who walks around half-naked, and buckets of gore, including one seriously yucky autopsy scene and a corpse dissolved with acid in a grisly close-up. It’s all ultimately compensating for the plot's tendency to keep adding and dispatching characters on a whim. The narrative twists pile up with such intensity that they stop feeling like twists and start resembling a surreal collage. Shan's wild camerawork and breakneck editing impart an otherworldly atmosphere, and he ensures another brilliantly choreographed swordfight breaks out every five minutes. Even when the story falters, the imagery keeps you hooked. The performances from the cast feel appropriately heightened; they don’t aim for realism so much as operatic intensity. Emotions run hot with a melodramatic edge that amplifies the film’s dreamlike quality, as do the musical cues lifted straight from Mad Max and even Ming's ring sting from Flash Gordon. Although Bloody Parrot never fully edges into the full-on gross-out mode you'd wish it would, it does reveal in its utter chaos and disorder to deliver a brilliantly entertaining time.Was this review helpful to you?
Those more familiar with Cheh’s work are undoubtedly going to get more out of this one
Thriving more on action spectacle than any form of actual cohesion, Shanghai 13 is an ambitious, if terribly under-budgeted slice of chaos. It can be messy, loud and occasionally exhausting, feeling more like a product of 70s Shaw Brothers than an 80s one; a whirlwind of ambushes, betrayals, disguises, and heroic last stands as a parade of iconic fighters squaring off in increasingly dramatic scenarios. A veritable hodgepodge of director Chang Cheh's past cinematic output, the choreography is typical of his usual energetic and relentless style; unfortunately, the rest of the film looks like he fell asleep in his chair, operating more as a string of vignettes that lack any of the polish found in his earlier studio works. Any attempt at character beyond archetypes is stripped down to the barest essentials, the film instead favouring the almost nonstop barrage of action. It ultimately operates as a vehicle for as many stars to appear as possible, with all the big names showing up for one scene before dramatically exiting moments later, rinse and repeat. To be fair, however, all the stars do deliver in their respective roles, be they Jimmy Wang Yu, who doesn’t even throw a punch, Danny Lee as a charismatic sniper or Andy Lau, who comes equipped with a cool white outfit and converse. Extra brownie points have to go to the super funkadelic musical score and banger of an opening theme. As a film that was initially planned to fund Cheh's own retirement, Shanghai 13 operates as a victory lap for the veteran director, delivering a film that's equally brainless and thrilling as it is deadeningly cheesy and undeniably entertaining.Was this review helpful to you?
The legends are true, even the sad ones.
Like a folktale passed down through memory, Moon Warriors is lush, lyrical and ever so slightly untethered from reality. Steeped in the traditions of its genre, it's tragic, yearning and tinged with inevitability, all the while drenched in natural beauty: misty coastlines, windswept forests and moonlit waters that give the film an almost ethereal quality. The craftsmanship is New Wave at its finest, and director Sammo Hung delivers a wonderfully subdued swordswinging adventure, gifting us two of the greatest choreographers ever combining their talents in a film that blends wuxia fantasy, budding romance and aggressively high-flying acrobatics, not to mention an Andy Lau / orca bromance. Sammo beat Warner Brothers to the punch on that fad. The undercranked camerawork really adds an element of dynamism and furious pace to the incredibly choreographed action, mixing wire-fu swordplay and traditional kung fu with a flawless ability; the final duel on the beach is the standout for me. The cast only adds to the film's mesmerising allure; Lau is always a joy to watch, bringing with him a quiet sincerity to his role as our humble, lovestruck hero, and the chemistry he shares with Anita Mui's princess is an absolute treat to watch onscreen all the while Maggie Cheung, in one of her most offbeat roles, gets to stretch her villainous chops as a betrayer who has a thing for the emperor. It might be one of the few times I've ever seen her not smile. Coupled with an utterly joyous musical score and lightning pacing, despite a few bizarre moments that verge on daft, Moon Warriors is an absolute delight. Filled with atmosphere, beauty and a poetic resonance that lingers long after the credits roll while expertly immersing you in feelings of longing, fleeting connections, and lives shaped by forces beyond control. And like the tide it so often frames, it's the sadness that never quite recedes.Was this review helpful to you?
