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"A wise man never endangers himself"
Stanley Kwan’s Lan Yu told the story of a decade long up and down love story of two men in Beijing starting in the late 1980s. Based on an internet book by an anonymous author, Lan Yu won Golden Horse awards for Best Leading Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Audience Choice Award.Chen Han Dong intercepts a college student, Lan Yu, who was intended as a paid date for someone else. The night ends up being kismet for the two men. The older Han Dong may want to keep everything transactional, but Lan Yu has lost his heart. As always, the road to true love never runs smoothly. Through the years, Han Dong makes decisions based on fear of commitment and a desire for a life that is more normal in appearance, all to protect his heart which always ends up breaking Lan Yu’s.
Kwan resisted using outside influences as impediments to the men’s relationship. Family, co-workers, and friends seemed to have no problem with Han Dong and Lan Yu being together. While the two didn’t flaunt their relationship, neither did they carry it on in the dark. Han Dong’s own insecurities and selfishness caused the crises between them.
The film was beautifully shot and framed. You do have to make note of the small comments and changing seasons to determine when the story has shifted forward in time. Kwan kept the script spare, focusing on the high and low points. I wouldn’t have minded more development of the characters, but the director preferred the relationship lean and mean. Liu Ye and Hu Jun had a lovely chemistry with the characters often doing what couples do---talking, eating, or hanging out with friends and family. There was sex as well, but nothing gratuitous, with the exception of early in the movie casually showing full frontal nudity as the two talked. The ending was disappointingly common for the time.
The older and more financially established Han Dong ended up being the character needing the most growth. He could be maddeningly obtuse and unaware of his own feelings frequently expressing himself with his check book. The film wasn’t perfect and the title character could have used more depth, but overall, I enjoyed Lan Yu. Not all relationships work out perfectly, nor are all lovers perfect, even when destiny calls.
20 April 2025
Trigger warnings: Full frontal nudity (only in an early scene) as well as derrieres
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"You think you can attain real power through ideas alone?"
Uprising explored the plight of slaves and peasants around 1589 during a tumultuous time in Joseon history. It was also action packed with revolts and a Japanese invasion. All while the king waxed on about the insignificance of his tax and work base.Cheon Yeong has been a slave due to a legal and moral loophole ever since he was a child. He has reluctantly served the underachieving young master, Yi Jong Ryeo. Through the years they became fast friends until a broken promise and a misunderstanding set them on divergent paths as the Japanese began marching across the country.
The first thing I had to do was age the two main characters upward. When a flashback was labeled “Twelve years ago,” all I could think was that the two young boys did not look 30 years old. This trope of brothers or sworn brothers turned mortal enemies due to a misunderstanding has been done many times before. Poor Cheon didn’t even know there was a problem for seven years. He had his hands full fighting the Japanese with a ragtag assortment of peasants and slaves abandoned by the nobility. Yi served the king who had fled during the crisis. No one really cared what happened to the little people who were often killed or left homeless. Even when the king learned of the small band’s heroic results, he was more interested in how he was going to get a strong enough workforce and money to build a more splendid palace. Apparently, nobility had nothing to do with nobleness and keeping one’s word or administering true justice.
While the story was nothing new, the fights were well choreographed and gruesomely realistic. Swords are sharp and used with great force which meant body parts tended to go flying. Cheon was very disarming with a sword. Though it was the corrupt officials who caused righteous people to lose their heads. The director might have taken a little too much delight in mangled bodies. Kang Dong Won gave a strong performance as the dangerous and shrewd slave, though Cheon naively believed the duplicitous nobility too many times. I didn’t find Yi Jong Ryeo a very sympathetic or interesting character nor very nuanced. I enjoyed Kim Shin Rok’s Beom Dong who had a better insight into the ways of the nobility and a lot of moxie. She also wielded a mean staff.
Uprising kept a good pace throughout though it ran a bit long for me. The historical backdrop was far too complex to wedge into 120 minutes which made it feel like the story fast-forwarded over numerous subplots. The tragic showdown between Cheon and Yi was inevitable but a letdown. Honestly, I was more invested in the confrontations between Cheon “The Blue Robed God” and the “Nose Snatcher” Japanese commander Genshin Kikkawa. The animosity and fighting respect between the two warriors was compelling and thrilling. Going into the movie and knowing slavery continued for 300 more years after the events portrayed here only led to the feeling of pathos for many of the lives sacrificed. Despite some of my reservations, Uprising was an entertaining film and worth trying if you enjoy this genre.
22 October 2024
Trigger warnings: Numerous decapitations and dismemberments-many, many body parts flung around
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Flawed but emotionally engaging drama
The Kidnapping Day is one of those dramas where the main relationship was greater than the sum of its parts but not quite enough to overcome their shortcomings. And that math makes about as much sense as some of the plot holes in this drama about a loving father figure kidnapper and substitute daughter kidnappee.The strength of this drama was the relationship between Myung Joon and Ro Hee. The actors had great chemistry as the bumbling, good-hearted, desperate dad and genius 11-year-old who had never had the chance to form loving human attachments or simply play like the child she was. Once you left their nucleus, the characters and story began to break down with parts becoming repetitive and others lacking in logic. The plot trotted out the well-trod issues of police incompetence (with the exception of the lead detective) along with the requisite corruption issues although they waffled back and forth on the corruption. While I know women make up a small percentage of police officers in Korea it would have been nice to see one of the minor characters be a female officer in this overwhelmingly masculine drama. The bad guy pecking order and allegiances also shifted with similar incompetence issues. The overly dramatic villain left no furniture without his teeth marks as he chewed through the scenery. Class distinctions as they often do played a role in the story. And how far are people willing to go and who has to suffer for the good of all mankind or at least for those who have enough money? The role on which most of the drama ended up hinging was all over the place with motivations and reactions that often made little sense and the final confrontation missed the mark for me.
Despite its narrative flaws, I enjoyed this drama. Yoon Kye Sang gave a captivating performance as the father who would do anything to save his hospitalized biological daughter and the stranger in his care. His fists made up for what he lacked in strategical thinking, leaving the scheming up to the brilliant girl in his charge. Yuna demonstrated why Korea has the best child actors from any country. She portrayed not only the coldly, methodical experiment her character had been trained to be, but also the vulnerable child that needed an adult to protect her. Moments of the two playing, perhaps for the first time in her life, squealing in delight and getting her designer clothes dirty were heartwarming.
The Kidnapping Day may have had plot holes big enough to swallow The White Truck of Doom, but Myung’s devotion to the two little girls who depended on him covered those pitfalls enough to provide for an emotionally compelling drama. Roo Hee’s intellectual dominance might even leave you questioning who had really been kidnapped in this relationship.
10/31/23
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This review may contain spoilers
It's not very often a martial arts movie comes out with strong fight scenes and even stronger acting. Brotherhood of the Blades boasted a quietly competent cast who elevated this movie above standard wuxia fare. Three Imperial Assassins and sworn brothers, though skilled with their swords had to face down death and deception from various factions. The always troublesome eunuch (this time after he was deposed) who shows up in numerous martial arts movies, once again instigated double-crossing schemes, this time imperiling the three loyal assassins.
Chang Chen led the three sworn brothers. His character, Shen Lian, though loyal to his brothers and emperor, was morally ambiguous. Willing to do whatever the situation called for, he set into motion a sword that would hang over all three of the assassins' heads.
The three hearty friends all harbored a need for money. Shen Lian wished to free a courtesan but lacked the power and money to do so. Wang Qian Yuan, as Lu Jian Xing, longed for promotion, only lacking the amount of money needed for bribing officials. Li Dong Xue as Jin Yi Chuan, the third assassin and the youngest, loved a doctor's daughter and had secrets of his own. The eunuch's waning power and wealth still proved perilous and tempting. The loyal allies had no safe quarter with the emperor and his officials. Blades aimed at them from nearly every quarter, even longtime allies proved treacherous.
The fight choreography was quite good, less reliant on wires and Olympic level gymnastics. The fights were fast, brutal, and bloody. They stretched reality in a few scenes, but so do most action movies. If I have one quibble, it's that the action scenes went on too long and were overused. As the story felt thin, perhaps it distracted from the lack of a more complex plot and character development.
The cinematography though dark and dreary fit the mood of the film. Often monochromatic, the shots worked perfectly for the bloody fight scenes. The costumes and sets were well done, befitting the time period. Brotherhood of Blades was stunning to watch without being overdone.
Chang Chen gave a mesmerizing performance, filling in gaps the script lacked. The supporting actors were all strong even though many of their characters were thinly drawn.
Brotherhood of the Blades battered away at the characters through intrigue and loss. Dark and intense, this film balanced its three main characters on the edge of a knife in the midst of hungry wolves. And set this viewer on the edge of her seat wondering who, if any, of the Brotherhood would survive.
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"Keep your enemies closer"
Knight Flower was a funny, entertaining cross between a female Robin Hood and Zorro. The story may not have had any surprises, but in this genre as in most. execution is key and Knight Flower kept the action moving and the long boring monologues by the villains to a minimum.Yeo Hwa never even met her husband who was killed on the way to the wedding and has been a cloistered widow for 15 long years. Stuck in the family shrine most days, never being able to set foot outside of her in-laws’ property she only has her maid Yeon Seon for company as she waits on her older brother to finally return and take her with him. What no one in the household knows except for Seon is that at night Yeo Hwa dresses in black and helps the helpless with her money and martial arts. Everything is going smoothly until she runs into the new Capital Defense officer, Park Su Ho. With lots of push and pull between the upright lawman and the vigilante, as well as the requisite romantic tension, the two find they have much in common as well as common enemies.
The first episode felt slow to me, but it picked up the pace as it went along and never slowed down again until the last episode. Given the prison-like existence of the widows and pressure to commit suicide for the family honor, it was a whimsical release to have the heroine running over rooftops and rescuing the male lead on occasion. Of course, only women were held to these standards. Widowers were free to go about and even encouraged to remarry. Repression reconfigured to look like honor.
I enjoyed the story, but stumbled some with the casting, or perhaps the writing. Full disclosure, I enjoy a good noona romance so that wasn't an issue . Nor do I have a problem with an older woman being an action hero, much older men do it all the time. Lee Ha Nee is a beautiful woman but at 40 she did not look 32 nor very athletic. Her character was someone skilled with living a double life for years, but Yeo Hwa could not manage a poker face when needed. Yeo Hwa was quick to act but often slow to catch on to the bad guys’ plans. Lee Jong Won looked like a sweet puppy who adored Yeo Hwa, but added little depth to his character. A quick glance at the cast list and it was easy to pick out who the baddies were going to be. When one used his kind grandpa voice instead of putting a character at ease, chills should have been running down their back. And Jo Jae Yoon can always be counted on to chew up the scenery maniacally.
Knight Flower, aside from bringing up the appalling way widows were treated, was for the most part a romantic action comedy. While there were some fights, they weren’t bloody or deadly. Most of the deaths occurred 15 years prior to the current story. The one murder in the present story actually felt quite deserved. So, if you like your historical dramas light and funny, with a little romance and a little action, this might be a good fit.
21 February 2024
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"It never ends until we're all dead!" That's the spirit!
Mercy for None wasn’t an extraordinary drama but it did what it set out to do-show mercy for none. As far as Korean revenge entertainment goes it succeeded for the most part. For those familiar with the genre there were no real surprises, but they never let the plot or action slow down. During Nam Gi Jun's lengthy revenge rampage they kept the “hero’s” plot armor to a minimum until the last two episodes. If nothing else, it was good to see So Ji Sub in a drama once again.Normally, I’d give a mini-plot summary about now, but this was a revenge drama so despite the twists and turns it was quite simple. Retired gangster Nam Gi Jun is called back into action when his brother is murdered. Nam Gi Seok was slated to be the JuWoon successor so there were plenty of people with an ax to grind. And grind and slash numerous characters did with axes, knives, bats, iron bars, with plenty of old school action. Gi Jun discovers how deep the treachery runs as he pounds through the bodies with his mighty fists. He could have given One Punch Man a run for his money.
So Ji Sub didn’t have to give an emotionally nuanced performance. He did what he needed to do, look fierce and bloody as he fought gangs of men. Mercy for None was a who’s who of ahjussis and harabeojis. The old boys gave a master class in acting. Sadly, there were younger actors who lacked the gravitas and menace required for their roles. With the exception of a female lawyer with a couple of quick scenes there were no women in this world, no molls, no nurses, no mobster mothers, this was all testosterone all the time.
The fights were well choreographed, especially for a drama. They contained more gore than your average Kdrama so if you are squeamish be prepared. This drama was an 8.5 for me until the end of episode four and then the “twists” and “surprises” began to weigh it down. Gi Jun’s fearsome abilities tread over into the supernatural as the drama wore on which took away from it. Despite only being 7 episodes long, it could have been cut to 5 or 6 at the most.
I desperately wanted to hold a class for these career gangsters. Things Every Bad Guy Needs to Know: 1) Round-house kicks are pretty but useless in a fight. 2) Never bring just your fists to a machete/gun/bat fight. 3) Never leave your weapon behind---there will always be another fight. 4) When using a gun, never let your enemy get too close. 5) Never trust someone who works for the enemy no matter how much you used to like them. 6) Be nice to the hired help. It could save your life. 7) Never turn your back on your enemy. Never. Ever. Like ever.
If you are looking for character development or innovative storytelling this is not that drama. If you are wanting to get an action and revenge fix with an easy on the eyes protagonist, you might want to give this drama a try.
13 June 2025
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"A tear darkens all the world"
Farewell My Concubine tumbled through Chinese history during the tumultuous years from 1922-1977 shown through the experiences of a Peking opera troupe. Dou Zi and Shitou endured the brutal opera training in the warlord period, rose to fame, and then dealt with the cruel destruction of the art form during the Cultural Revolution.Dou Zi’s mother can no longer raise him in the brothel and leaves the child at an opera training facility run by physically abusive teachers. The boys are beaten whether they make mistakes or excel. Young Shitou is trained to do male roles while Dou Zi, against his wishes, is forced to train for female characters. The two boys form an unbreakable bond that lasts into adulthood where they find success as the King and his Concubine. Their ties are strained when Shitou becomes engaged to the prostitute Ju Xian. Dou Zi reluctantly begins a relationship with their patron, Master Yuan. Everyone’s mettle is tested during the Japanese occupation. It won’t be the last political and sociological upheaval the trio will have to face.
Leslie Cheung as Dou Zi/Die Yi radiated as the vulnerable, manipulative, and talented “concubine”. His character became steadily more isolated through dramatic changes that blurred the lines between reality and performance. Honestly, the film already clocked in at nearly three hours which didn’t feel that long. I could have used additional plumbing of Dou Zi’s emotions as he was the most fascinating character and Leslie owned the role. Though Dou Zi was gay his affectations were trained into him from childhood, something he had zero say in. It was heavily implied that he and Shitou were more than friends. The tenderness with which Dou Zi applied Shitou’s makeup was quite moving. This being 1993 and China, sadly the film never openly explored that aspect of their relationship resorting to subtext. For anyone old enough, think Xena and Gabrielle. Shitou/Duan Xiao Lou’s loyalty slowly unraveled as he and Ju Xian became increasingly enmeshed and the political parties grew more adversarial to their craft. Gong Li elevated her character by the sheer power of her performance. Ju Xian seemed to be created to keep the men apart and be an antagonist to Dou Zi.
Despite not being a fan of Peking Opera, I quite enjoyed this film. The gorgeous costumes, makeup, and commitment, it was hard to not like what Die Yi and Xiao Lou were selling. The opera and its actors swung between being adored, being used by political parties, and/or vilified. Revolutions and rampant mob mentality were terrifying. One day a person was basking in their good graces the next they were marched down the street to be shot. What was okay yesterday could be a death sentence tomorrow. Nuance was not a virtue. Though there were many strong performances, Leslie Cheung and Gong Li dominated the screen whenever they were on it, whether you were rooting for them or wishing they’d fall off a balcony. Rarely does a thirty-three-year-old film hold up this well, Farewell My Concubine was a compelling story and a feast for the eyes.
8 November 2026
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault. Bare bottoms. Child abuse. A turtle being butchered and bled. Multiple suicides. Drug use.
Déjà vu Note: This film was reminiscent of 1994’s To Live which Gong Li and Ge You also starred in. Instead of Peking Opera it focused on shadow puppets. They were another pair who struggled during the political upheavals of the formative modern decades. Art and artists are always a target for authoritarian regimes.
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"Blow wind, blow, and crack your cheeks!"
Full disclosure, I cannot always be counted on to be dispassionate and objective where Yakusho Koji is concerned. He is one of my favorite actors from any country. I was concerned when I saw the slapstick style poster for the drama that he was truly going to test my love for him. I should have had more faith. Did Someone Happen to Mention Me? turned out to be exactly my kind of drama—a moving redemption story. An actor faced his worst nightmare; he and his work were completely forgotten. He thought he needed to reclaim his life, his vocation, and his fame. When confronted with who that man was and the pain he’d inflicted on others, the path forward wasn’t as simple as he thought it might be.Renowned Japanese stage actor Takasegawa Gen is reveling in his performance in London as King Lear. He’d moved to the UK for the chance to perform on stage and also to escape his latest scandal. Married, divorced, married, and caught with his latest mistress, he asked for people to forget him and he left the country. After two years, he’s ready to go home but his return is delayed due to a horrific pandemic. When he finally arrives in Japan he is hit with every actor’s worst fear—he’s been completely forgotten. Not just by the public, but by family as well. His on-line and financial presence is scrubbed. For a time, he is the King living on the streets until he finally lands a part-time job at a sauna with a feisty Korean speaking manager and an actor playwright. Gen determines to get his old life back, but as he stumbles about on his journey, he realizes his old life wasn’t so great.
Did Someone Happen to Mention Me? is similar to It’s a Wonderful Life, if George Bailey had been a jerk that most people had come to hate. Gen gets a glimpse of how he treated people and the path of destruction he left. By walking in the shoes of extras, stage hands, and others associated with dramas and films he began to experience empathy and humility. His acting skills also expanded as he learned to be “normal” from the invisible extras on set he had disdained in his prior life. As he grew, he still craved validation and appreciation, but more so from people he loved and admired than from strangers. He was no longer glued to his phone searching for any mention of his name. Through the eyes of people who knew his father he gained a better understanding of the man whose shadow he walked in.
The drama revealed the darker side of making films and dramas highlighting the overworked, underpaid people who bring entertainment to life. I was surprised to find that extras are often not paid for their work which is usually not the case in Hollywood. Gen was not alone in feeling alone and anxious. Famous actors, extras, and those behind the camera felt the same way.
Yakusho Koji was perfect for the role of a man with 1000 faces both onscreen and off. Gen reinvented himself, failed, learned, made real human connections, shone, fell on his face, dusted himself off and tried again. And along the way he attempted to atone for his earlier actions. At nearly 70 years old, he demonstrated that it’s never too late to open your heart and mind to the people and world around you. It’s never too late to be the best version of yourself that you can be.
3 November 2026
I did have one criticism which I’ll note below in a spoiler.
****
Both of Gen’s kids at the end said they didn’t care about his affairs that tore apart their parents’ marriages. They just wanted him to excel as an actor. I’m going to call BS on that. It hurt them before, now that he was famous again it didn’t bother them? He’d betrayed and abandoned both families. Forgive him, sure, but laughing it off? Probably not. It was strange how both ex-wives became instantly more amenable toward him once he became famous. He was a celebrity before he left for London and they had no problem disliking him then. He was a better man, but that was whiplash inducing changes in attitudes. I almost dropped my score to an 8.5 and may still, but I really loved Koji’s performance and the story overall.
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"I can no longer pretend not to see what's in front of me"
Retribution starring Yakusho Koji wasn’t terrifying but it was unnerving. If you’re looking for jump scares and horrifying ghosts and creatures, this isn’t it. The retribution felt more like rage aimed at society rather than anything targeting a group of trespassers or individuals.Detective Yoshioka is assigned to the murder of a woman in a red dress who was drown in a puddle of salt water. Small clues point to him, but no one, not even he believes it. Other murders occur with similar modes of death leading the police to consider a serial killer is on the loose. Yoshioka is visited by a ghost in a red dress prompting him to visit the police psychologist. The psychologist tells him that ghosts in dreams are revealing a truth the individual knows but doesn’t want to face. Yoshioka vacillates between wanting to run away or digging deeper to discover the truth behind the murders and the lady in red.
This film felt very enigmatic and atmospheric to me. Perhaps a deeper cultural understanding of Tokyo’s real estate development and destruction might have clued me in more. Much was made of an area where Yoshioka lived that was in flux between demolition and development. Important things and people were abandoned and left to deteriorate. Forgotten, crumbling in plain sight, though rarely seen. Earthquakes symbolized deadly transitions.
There were times the viewer was let in close to Yoshioka and his own deteriorating state. Other times I felt like a specter floating on the ceiling. The police department appeared to be a giant poorly lit warehouse with dark corners, often shot from above. Murder scenes occurred in reclaimed regions resembling bombed out buildings. The psychologist’s office might as well have been a haunted building for all the warmth and comfort it offered. It’s never a good sign when your mental health is so disturbing the psychologist closes your case and boots you out. Was Yoshioka mad or was he truly being haunted? Threads with the intrinsic substance of a whisper bound the suspects together.
Retribution had no gore and no ghoulish phantoms. Aside from her tornado siren shriek, the lady in red wasn’t that spooky. The truth she hid and perhaps perpetrated was the most sinister element to her. Yakusho Koji once again gave a stellar performance, one that kept the audience engaged yet at a distance and guessing, as his guilt and fate had to be uncovered like a stain on the wall.
31 October 2026
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"Let's chant"
A Chinese Ghost Story 3 was the final film in the trilogy and took place 100 years after the original. Gone were Leslie Cheung and Wu Ma with Tony Leung, Lau Shun, and Jacky Cheung taking their places. Joey Wong returned as a ghost working for the Tree Demon played once again by Lau Siu Ming. If the set up sounds familiar it was.Monk Fong and his master are carrying a gold Buddha statue to the Imperial Temple. In a rough and tumble town, clownish Swordsman Yin accidentally reveals the statue to a group of thieves. Attempting to stay dry during a downpour the two Buddhists take shelter in the haunted Orchid Temple with the miscreants in close pursuit. While the golden Buddha will protect the monks, the thieves find themselves in the clutches of beautiful ghosts. When Fong’s master goes into the forest to expose the demon within, Fong loses the statue. A beautiful ghost uses this time to tempt the young monk with numerous erotic games.
In the first film Wu Ma’s Swordsman Yin buried the Tree Demon for 100 years. Thus, this story takes place with the Tree Demon having broken free and starting the whole cycle again. The film felt overly redundant. The major difference being that the slapstick comedy level was increased with this film, something I’m not a fan of. While I tolerated Jacky Cheung’s helpful swordsman in the second film, the lecherous, greedy swordsman in this one wasn’t nearly as likeable. Lau Shun was fine as the wise old monk, but I still missed Wu Ma from the first two. Joey Wong playing a similar character in a similar film was too much for me. The Demon Tree having the same actor made sense, but without Leslie, why not recast the alluring ghost as well? If the Demon Tree events were bound to happen again, they needed to shake up the whole story instead of repeating it with different characters doing much the same thing.
The special effects were better in this film, but that’s not saying much. Buddhist and Taoist magic were on full display as well as demonic and ghostly abilities-elongated tongue, fingernails, and hair. Not to say the effects were great, there were places the wires could be seen in the smoke/fog.
I found the first two thirds of the film tedious as much as I wanted to like it. The last third with the full on battle with the Tree Demon and the Lord of the Black Mountain was more entertaining. My chief complaint is if they were determined to essentially do a remake, it needed to be better than the first, not an obvious retread of the source material that was only four years old. Not even Tony Leung could save it for me. If you are a fan of Hong Kong 1990’s slapstick, you will likely enjoy this more than I did. While it had some highlights (a building coming to life!), it didn’t stand a ghost of a chance of being better or even as good as the first two.
29 October 2026
Trigger warnings: SNAKES. Several scenes with numerous snakes. Ick.
Sticky Note: Wardrobe must have used super glue to hold up Joey’s dress in one running scene, no double- sided wig tape could do the job they were requiring to keep the film PG.
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Ning Choi San returns home with a broken heart having lost his ghost love Siu Sin recently. The town is in tatters, run by hooligans and before he knows it, he’s thrown in jail by bounty collectors who aren’t concerned with correctly identifying their targets. In the jail he becomes acquainted with his cellmate who is a prolific and slightly mad writer. On the day of Ning’s execution, Elder Chu gives him his medallion and a book as he shows him the secret tunnel out of the jail. After escaping, Ning runs into a Taoist priest, rebels intent on rescuing a wrongly accused official, a monster ghost, imperial guards, a demon who disguises himself as a giant Buddha, a giant centipede…oh, and Siu Sin’s doppelgänger.
The story was all over the place with different elements competing for the viewer’s attention. Yet, I can’t say that I was ever bored. Leslie Cheung was beautiful as the courageous and vulnerable Ning. Joey Wong was given a stronger role here as the heroine Fu Ching Fung. I liked that despite Fu’s sister also developing a crush on Ning (I mean, who wouldn’t?), the two never fought over him or split up over him. The romance was rushed, but with Leslie and Joey, I was willing to let it slide. I can’t say that I’m a fan of Jacky Cheung but I found him entertaining in this role as the comedic ground burrowing Taoist priest willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Waise Lee had a nice part as Swordsman Hu who came to recognize good from evil even as he tried to fulfill his mission. Wu Ma showed up near the end of the film to once again help save the day as Swordsman Yan in an atrocious wig and beard.
The special effects weren’t very special but it was 1990. If Godzilla’s rubber suit had caught on fire and melted, it would have looked similar to the first monster ghost. There were plenty of sparkly explosions and laser lights. When Wu Ma made his dramatic entrance, I could see the wires. Maybe attention to detail wasn’t terribly important in this film.
Despite the clunky attempt to tie several plot lines and monsters together into a somewhat cohesive story, I enjoyed A Chinese Ghost Story II. It was fun, silly, melodramatic, romantic, and action packed. You just need to put your brain in a time machine to remember or discover an era when special effects were very low tech and focus on how disturbingly charismatic Leslie Cheung was. (RIP)
28 October 2026
Trigger warnings: Snakes in one scene-a lot of them. A body hacked in half. Disemboweled people. A character was dis-armed.
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"Trying to obtain what you lack can cost you everything"
Ghost Train was an anthology of ghost stories set in a subway station, loosely tied together. More eerie than scary, this station taught lessons to passengers unfortunate enough to draw its attention.Kim Da Kyung is a failing “Horror Queen” YouTuber. Her subscribers have dropped from 100,000 to less than 100. She’s in desperate need of material. Gwanglin subway station serves over 7 million people a day and it’s also the place with the most mysterious disappearances and suicides. Da Kyung attempts to interview the reticent station master. He eventually capitulates and the scary stories start coming with her followers dramatically increasing. Despite her success she wants more and continues to ignore the danger signs.
The film had an interesting premise and I enjoy anthologies. The stories were more disquieting than scary, think The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, only with gore. My biggest complaint is that the transitions were unpolished. Da Kyung could go from passed out drunk in one location and wake up in a completely different one. If the ending had said it was all one weird dream I would have believed it. The supporting characters were incredibly ill defined making it hard to care about them.
A few of the ghost stories would have been more compelling if they’d further developed them. Put simply, the victims were “guilty” of various vices-being a garden variety a-hole, greed, vanity, and a zealous need for attention. Each handing out of judgement came in a different manner. Though I’m not sure a high schooler contemplating a nose job warranted a vicious punishment. Young people were the primary targets of the station. Apparently, dying made people cranky and vengeful. The station master warned Da Kyung about using other people’s suffering for entertainment and clicks. Ignoring his advice, she slid headlong down a slippery slope, always focused on her desire to have more and more viewers.
If you are a fan of hardcore horror films, you’ll likely be disappointed with this one. I’m easily scared and while Ghost Train had a few jump scares, it was creepier than terrifying. I don’t regret boarding this train but it was not a memorable trip.
27 October 2026
Trigger warnings: There was gore, but surprisingly (for me-thankfully), the camera cut away before the worst of it. Suicide.
Things that make you go, hmmmm…Note: The film stated that over 7 million people used the subway, yet the cars were nearly always close to empty as well as the train platform.
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"Who would kidnap a poor fool?"
Victim was a film in search of an identity. Was it horror? A psychological thriller? Or a simple crime drama? Pick one of or all three, just don’t expect the story to always make sense. Tony Leung Ka Fai and Lau Ching Wan were the glue that held everything together.After a murder in a parking garage, the police think they know who the prime suspect is. Only problem being he appears to be a victim of kidnapping. The kidnapper tells Ma Manson’s girlfriend Amy Fu that her boyfriend can be found in the abandoned Mountain View Hotel. Detective Pitt Kwan enters the haunted hotel on a dark and stormy night. He discovers Ma hanging upside down where a man had killed his wife and then his son and himself thirty years prior. Ma’s personality drastically changes after the incident upsetting Amy, leading her to wonder if he’s been possessed. Pitt, on the other hand, is suspicious that Ma is putting on an act for some criminally nefarious reason.
The film started off creepily enough with strange goings on in the old hotel. Then it switched gears. After being fired from his job, Ma and Amy had hit hard times with the bank threatening to foreclose on their house. His motivation for criminal behavior seemed reasonable. Lau Ching Wan put on a good show of a man beginning to unravel. Amy Kwok made the most of her devoted girlfriend role. Despite Ma acting irrationally, Amy stayed with Ma when any woman with common sense would have fled the scene with no forwarding address. Tony Leung Ka Fai (Big Tony) twitched his way through workaholic Pit’s relentlessness and chain smoking. All three performances helped paper over the plot holes.
Victim’s supernatural element vanished like a ghost in the morning sun early in the film. What remained was a psychological thriller with villains and victims switching roles when necessary. There was one long car chase that seemed ill-advised and illegal. Pit was going to have a heck of a time explaining the damage to his car to the insurance company. The police vacillated between conducting themselves by the book and loose cannons who didn’t play by the rules. Cops could be overly zealous and brutal, whether questioning a villain or victim. Pit and his partner shot at shadows, going against the number one rule of gun safety-don’t shoot at what you can’t see. That shadow might belong to a friend. Another time, volatile Pit pulled a gun in a public place on a civilian. Everyone was wound tightly, making me wonder if they shouldn’t have been questioning whether Pit and even Amy were possessed.
Despite a number of plot holes, unanswered questions, whiplash inducing changes in genre, Victim was a tense film with entertaining moments. The three leads played a major role in the more successful aspects of the film. Whether they could chalk up their odd behavior to ghostly possession or lack of impulse control was the eerie question. I thought the final scene was a perfect ending for a genre busting film. Instead of group therapy (though they were all in need of it!), maybe Pit, Amy, and Ma should have found a coupon for group exorcising.
25 October 2026
Trigger warnings: Smoking. Big gooey worms. A disgusting vomiting scene. A man being dis-armed. Some gore. A bare male bottom.
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"Would you please shut up"
The Occupant was a romantic comedy with a side of ghostly possession. I tried taking into account the time in which the screenplay was written, but the love triangle did not hold up well. This film might have worked better if they’d ditched the grating third wheel and made it more of a horror tale with a side of romance.Canadian Angie arrives in Hong Kong where she hopes to finish her thesis on "Superstition in China". She has almost no money and can’t afford to stay at the YMCA. Through a “realty” office she meets Hansom Wong and he knows of an apartment for rent that is dirt cheap, likely because it is haunted. He tries every way possible to get her stay with him and makes no bones about wanting to sleep with her. When he tries to seduce aka sexually assault Angie who he thinks is in bed, the ghost teaches him a lesson that he doesn’t learn from. Fortunately, it brings Inspector Valentino Chow into her life. He’s not much better than Hansom but he is more handsome. The three will research Lisa Law, the former and deceased occupant of the apartment who becomes a little too attached to Angie.
Let’s see what the film’s assets were: Sally Yeh-check. Chow Yun Fat-double check. A vengeful ghost who died wrongfully-check. Lo Lieh as the spiritual expert-check. A singing ghost with a nice voice-check.
Now for the demerits: Raymond Wong as the sex and Angie obsessed, non-stop talking, ever present third wheel-minus to the 10th power. A female lead pulled and pushed by two strange men and a strange ghost-minus, minus, minus!
Raymond Wong’s Hansom was beyond irritating. This film could be used as a sexual harassment training tool. And while Hansom was overt about wanting to get Angie into bed, Valentino wasn’t much better, he just had the luck of being portrayed by too cool for school Chow Yun Fat. (Another lesson for the real world that being handsome doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.) But this was a romcom so nothing untoward happened, despite the problematic behavior.
Lo Lieh played the expert on all things spiritual which he had some cinematic experience with. In the prior year, he battled ghosts and other creatures in Ghosts Galore and The Enchantress. The supernatural events used old school special effects and watching Wong be tossed out a two-story window multiple times was cathartic.
Aside from the blatant red flag warnings about strange men taking charge of your life and refusing to leave when asked, The Occupant had its entertaining moments. Angie’s final choice being one of them.
20 October 2026
Trigger warnings: Attempted sexual assault. Brief sexual interlude interrupted by a car plowing through the wall.
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The Dragon King freighter is taken over by a mutinous crew who steals the gold cargo aboard. In the process they murder everyone on board including Dr. Nishizato and his wife Yoriko. The five men split the proceeds and go their separate ways. ~3 Years Later~ Yoriko’s twin sister Saeko lives at a seaside church and serves the priest who gave her a home. She’s in love with Mochizuki but can’t commit to marriage. Lately, she feels called by her sister. After she and Mochizuki discover skeletons chained together on the seabed, she becomes further unhinged when the Dragon King appears on a stormy, foggy night.
The film was properly dark and spooky, though sometimes too dark making it hard to see the action. The chained skeletons that appeared on two different occasions should have been creepy, but all I could think about was Disney’s 1929 “The Skeleton Dance” cartoon. Maybe Director Matsuno had it in mind as well! Characters died horrific deaths from the opening scene onward. Who was to blame for some of those deaths became muddled.*
Living Skeleton had a lot going for it. Given the year it broke new horror ground. It also had the stunningly beautiful Matsuoka Kikko in a duel role that required little more than for her to look lovely. However, what hurt the film for me was the confusing storytelling that lacked continuity and logic. I don’t require a lot of either for these old films, but this one really pushed the convoluted envelope at times. If you enjoy older Japanese horror films, this is definitely one to try, if you can keep your expectations low.
17 October 2026
Trigger warning: Attempted sexual assault. Bare breast in one scene. Dog character murdered.
*Spoilery comments and concerns below:
*Some of the more convoluted things that I couldn’t reconcile.
How the heck did Saeko keep getting to and from the Dragon King without a boat? Violent storm waves and she managed to swim back to shore?
Mayumi, the moll, was too weak to climb the ship’s ladder and fell into the ocean, but somehow swam back to the ship in a turbulent sea, climbed the ladder in record time and ended up ahead of the big bads when they boarded the Dragon King?
Did the captain’s log keep adding info even as the mutiny went down?
A chemical that can dissolve a human and metal in seconds but glass isn’t affected?
Every time the Dragon King appeared, fog and storms did as well. Along with the requisite bats. Sea faring bats? If the ship wasn’t a ghost ship, how did no one discover it when it was often just off shore and supposedly missing? It should have run out of fuel, yet always ended up near where Saeko was.
*Very spoilery comments below:
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If Saeko was the murderer, how did she logistically accomplish the murders? Could she magically appear with the bats in people’s houses? How did she appear where the villains decided to go at the last minute and then disappear as well? Could she teleport? Was she possessed and Yoriko willed the deaths to occur? How did she get the dancing skeletons to circle Ono and kill him? I don’t think they thought the writing through on these things.
How the heck did the doctor stay alive for 3 years eating dead bodies, after he’d been shot multiple times? Not even going to consider how he kept Yoriko looking as fresh as a daisy.
Was Saeko really alive at the end? I prefer to think she was a ghost rather than she revived/resurrected, found a way out of the knight’s armor, and then commandeered a motorboat to the freighter. All while arriving before Mochizuki who left before her! There must have been an armada of motorboats around that ship at the end.
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