The Butterfly

Whose got the weed killer and a giant fly swatter?!

Louis Koo and his production company produced Hong Kong's biggest Sci-Fi movie to date. A CGI extravaganza, Warriors of Future pits man against nature in a dystopian future not too far away.

Due to man's greed and technological negligence and nearly endless robot wars, the planet's water and air have become polluted to the point of toxicity. Great domes are being built over the cities to try an give people a healthier environment. All seems to be going well when a meteor hits and a giant plant starts taking over. On the plus side, the plant is cleansing the air. Hong Kong now called section B-16 will be destroyed by the planted dubbed Pandora when the next rain hits. Carina Lau's military character is wanting to drop a bomb on the plant that will kill 160,000 people. In come Louis Koo and Lau Ching Wan to save the day by going into the belly of the plant to set off a bomb with a virus which will make the plant go dormant. No problem, right? Aside from the plants deadly ability to defend itself, it also has a host of giant bugs at its disposal. Throw in a traitorous human's evil doings and the good guys have their hands full. Phillip Keung also appears as a man in need of redemption.

The problem with Warriors of Tomorrow, aside from its obvious lack of an article (at least one "the") in the title, is that it dumps the viewer into the middle of the story. I can only guess that they thought the audience only wants to see the battles. The movie would have benefited from us feeling the relief of the domes being built along with the people and then the devastation of the meteor hitting and the giant plant erupting and destroying cities. We weren't there when the race to find a way to destroy or slow the plant was developed. Instead, we are told this information in flashback along with Koo's brief backstory and thrown right into the battle. There was little ebb and flow, just high speed, high tech fights against other tech and the enormous flora.

Koo, Lau, and Keung all gave emotional, compelling performances. Much of the rest of the cast came across deadpan and stilted. There was little humor to break up the lethal action. The CGI was actually high quality, especially for a Hong Kong film, and it's a good thing because there was a lot of CGI spectacle from beginning to end.

I actually found the movie entertaining, even if the writing let it down. It was obviously highly influenced by other films. I almost found myself quoting those films when the similar scenes popped up on the screen. I wish they'd spent as much time and money on the writing for the film as they had the sets and CGI. This would have been a far better film if they had.

In the end, who doesn't like to watch a bunch of men in metal tech take on an invasive plant species and carnivorous bugs. Anyone who has had to deal with kudzu and/or fire ants might feel the need for such superior hardware themselves. There are better movies in this genre, but for a first try it still managed to be fun.

12/6/22

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First come, first served or first killed, whichever comes first

A shy assassin assigned to guard a yakuza's teenage daughter finds himself in the middle of a revenge fueled war that takes place in a nearly empty school. Undercover as A Janitor, he ends up having to clean up more than empty juice boxes.

Fukima Akira saw his father murdered when he was just a boy. His father's blood brother, Majima Yoshiki, took him in as a son and trained him to be an assassin. Majima's biological son, Honda, grew up to develop his own gang to oppose his father. Eventually, Akira finds out that Yoshiki had his father murdered so that he could take over the gang and honor dictated Akira now had to murder his father figure. Other leaders were involved, including Honda, because everyone wanted to take over Yoshiki's turf. Yui, the daughter, was needed to biometrically open the vaults thus creating the deadly situation at the school with only Akira between her and 9 assassins.

The film bordered on the absurd at times with a baby faced serial killer, two female high school assassins, a geriatric assassin, two bozo bro assassins and one that resembled a terminator. Some of the acting could be over the top. Honda, looked like an IT specialist, but what he specialized in was killing, especially his own men. I kept expecting to hear him say, "have you tried turning it off and turning it on?" This was a kill or be killed free for all, where the only ones who would be paid were the ones who completed the job first. First come, first serve. What the assassins learned the hard way was that the gentle spoken janitor had no intention of letting anyone collect a pay day.

A Janitor (the most commonly used title name) looked like it was cheaply made. The school shots were that blown out blue/gray and white that many Jdramas seem fond of. Scenes with Yui and her father having dinner, steak of course, murderous villains tend to like their rare beef, were tinted red.

Some of the scenes were gratuitous in nature, and fair warning, there were a few random high school kids murdered. At times the fighting seemed brutal and real at others times it could seem ludicrous. Suppressing fire is one thing, wasting bullets shooting at something you can't see when you have limited ammo is something else, something stupid. Speaking of stupid, if you have an amazing hiding place don't crawl out in front of the villains in plain sight.

The acting was all over the place. Fukushi Seiji did a fine job as the conflicted and loyal Akira. Imou Haruka asYui had the tough task of playing the high school girl getting dragged all over the place with little agency of her own. Most of the rest of the cast set their acting on crazy overkill.

Despite the limited acting and sets, the movie was entertaining at times. Like a Godzilla movie, the monster didn't show up until 40 minutes into the story, at which point the action began and it became more interesting. Ultimately, a cute assassin wasn't enough for me with the huge gaps in logic though. The film is part of the Baby Assassins world which I know nothing about. So if that franchise is something you enjoyed or you like yakuza assassins pummeling and shooting each other, this might be something to try. It is thankfully as short as much of the logic in the movie, clocking in under 90 minutes.



9/26/22

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I'll have the house salad, hold the radish please

Monster Hunt was a messy quilt made of a variety of genres hurriedly sewn into one piece. Though childish in nature, it had enough disturbing scenes, one should think carefully before letting small children watch it.

The lack of clear and consistent narrative troubled me about the movie. A bad monster takes over the monster world and is hunting down the good monsters. When the pregnant ex-queen and her attendants escape, the hunt is on. Monsters are hunting monsters. Humans hunt monsters. It's rough being a squishy tentacled being in this movie.

Jing Bo Ran is Song Tian Yu, the de facto mayor of a backwater town, left in charge when his monster hunting father disappears. In a reversal of gender roles, Tian Yu is meek, a seamstress, and cook. His senile aggressive grandmother scarcely remembers who is and when she does is disappointed in what she sees. Along comes the pregnant hunted queen and her two attendants in human suits. Following them is Bai Bai He as Huo Xiao Lan, a low level monster hunter. When Tian Yu becomes pregnant, hilarity ensues. Eventually, the two humans are left with the baby monster king and have to decide what to do with the little bloodsucker all the while being chased by humans and monsters.

The movie is energetic, bordering on frenetic. Some of the martial arts fights, especially with CGI monsters are creative and captivating. Creatures break into song on occasion. A romance comes out of nowhere. Monsters eat humans and humans eat monsters, it's a dog eat dog world. There are bad monsters and bad humans. While I liked the moral complexity, too often it felt like someone throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. The baby monster, which I did not find adorable, seemed to be used to try to manipulate the audience emotionally into caring about it and it's human caretakers. I don't mind cutesy cartoon characters, but this one bordered on nauseatingly saccharine. And aside from him being the true heir, we're never really told much about the baby king's importance or place in the world. Like Chekhov's gun on the mantle, a rusty sword foreshadows the limping, docile hero will overtake the heroic female warrior protecting him. I cannot overstate how tired I am of this trope.

I enjoyed parts of this movie. Jing Bo Ran and Bai Bai He were affable and had a nice chemistry together. They were believable when dealing with green screen images something not all actors can do. Jiang Wu as a conflicted bounty hunter was fun to watch as he battled monster and human alike. I was particularly happy seeing Elaine Jin/Kam, Sandra Ng, and Tang Wei make appearances. The theme of seeing creatures and humans for who they are and not what they look like always appeals to me even when I had to sort through a lot of other themes in the movie to latch onto this one.

A brain burrowing bug and open air exotic meat markets may not be for everyone. The movie doesn't shy away from death and oddity.

For those who like lots of random action and a plethora of strange creatures, this will be right up their alley. As much as I enjoy CGI children's movies, this one felt too much like a fever dream hopped up on sugar for me. I left it staggering from the sweetness and weirdness overload.




8/6/22

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The Korean peninsula hangs in the balance when a volcano on the Chinese border threatens to blow everything sky high! Luckily, for both Koreas, Ha Jung Woo and Lee Byung Hun are on the job!

Ashfall is an entertaining disaster and spy thriller flick that doesn't try to take itself too seriously. It has all the characters one would expect in a catastrophic volcano movie. Ha Jung Woo plays The Hero who is supposed to be retiring from his EOD squad (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), instead he's leading a group into North Korea to steal a nuclear bomb to stop the volcano from making rubble out of Korea. Along the way, he has to pick up a North Korean agent/double agent/triple agent?, the always cagey Lee Byung Hun, as The Anti-Hero, who has been jailed in a NK prison. Easy peasy, right? Back home giving them support is, Ma Dong Seok, going against type as The Scientist Who Warned Them All and Jeon Hye Jin as the Politico Who Gets It. Bae Suzy also throws in with the scientist as The Hero's Resourceful Pregnant Wife.

Ashfall actually feels more like a spy thriller film with a cranky volcano in the background. Our plucky band has to deal with betrayals and comes under fire from various political powers that don't want them getting their hands on a nuclear bomb for ANY reason and disturbing the power balances regardless of the fact that both North and South Korea are about to be wiped off the map.

The action is non-stop, almost from the first frame and never lets up whether it's fire from the sky or fire fights. As with most disaster movies, you have to let go of reality and just enjoy the ride as nearly everything that happens is implausible.

The heart of the movie is the bromance that develops between The Hero and The Anti-Hero. Lee Byung Hun's character development and the friendship he grudgingly develops with Ha Jung Woo's character brings out the humanity this movie needed as everyone is moving at breakneck speed.

If you are expecting a rational approach to a cataclysmic tragedy in the making, not only for the Korean Peninsula but having an effect worldwide with scientists and world leaders joining hands and acting altruistically and quickly, you're going to be disappointed. If you are expecting vehicles, people, and the starring volcano to obey the rules of nature, you might want to skip this. This is an entertaining, if at times ridiculous, thriller disaster movie set on high drive with a little bit of heart to make it not instantly forgettable.

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I would not be overstating it to say that Only Cloud Knows is overly sentimental and manipulative. I would also not be overstating it to say, if you like romantic movies that it works.

The story begins with a man who had lost his wife revisiting places she loved with her ashes. Throughout the movie as he met people, he told them about different parts of their relationship in sweeping flashback. There was nothing extraordinary about this devoted couple, but it was their devotion to each other through the years that made it meaningful.

Both characters, originally from Beijing, met in New Zealand and worked to find their way in their new country. They assimilated fairly easily, making good friends and starting their own business. However, Luo Yun, the wife, quietly struggled with their idyllic life in a remote town where they ran a small restaurant. Sui Dong Feng, the husband, was the practical sort who found the best in whatever situation he was in. Yang Cai Yu and Huang Xuan had a gentle chemistry that made something magical out of their characters' ordinary existence.

New Zealand should have been listed as a character as there were many shots of its gorgeous scenery, whether green bucolic fields, panoramic mountains, the Southern Lights or oceanic whale watching shots.

The OST was also saccharinely emotional, but fit the mood perfectly. The cinematography bestowed lush, warm shots, nestling us into the embrace of Yun and Dong Feng's life. I could almost feel the director pushing me toward tears, something I usually fight off. Instead of rolling my eyes, I found myself reaching for a tissue at several key moments. If the story was predictable, it also felt sincere in the lavish telling of this couple's love story.

Though dealing with the death of a loved one, Only Cloud Knows avoided melodrama and became a celebration of life and love instead.

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Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse team up again for what would be director Benny Chan's last movie. Raging Fire is an old school good cop versus bad cop revenge extravaganza.

The story is really nothing new, though it does try to show the difficulties Hong Kong's police face with pressure from varying groups. It also asks the question, what does it take to push a good cop over the edge? I was able to call out the major plot points and turning points without reading the synopsis in that it strays very little from stories done before. What Raging Fire has going for it is over the top, frenetic action sequences. Whether with fists, knives, guns, or cars, the action choreography is graphic and breath-taking.

Raging Fire's other strength is its two stars. Donnie Yen as Bong, the tough, honest cop gives a captivating performance as a man struggling to survive in a system that does not reward integrity and sacrifice. Nicholas Tse's Ngo chewed up the scenery and his opponents in a mesmerizing performance of a wronged cop out for revenge. One of the strongest scenes is a quiet, tense conversation between the two men who used to be friends, taut with anger as they play cat and mouse, not knowing for sure who the predator is. Yen and Tse have amazing chemistry.

The rest of the cast, including Qin Lan, who plays Bong's wife, have very little time or moments to stand out. The good cop team and the bad cop team characters are not very memorable.

Raging Fire's explosive action sequences propelled by its two stars' energy tumbles headlong to the climax everyone will know is coming, providing enough entertainment to make this a movie worth watching. Hold on for the ride because the action is non-stop.

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Godzilla: Final Wars was the 50th Anniversary for Godzilla and a retirement for Big G from that era. Despite the improved CGI in other areas of the movie we were still treated to guys in rubber suits stomping around and grappling each other.

This was almost non-stop Kaiju battles as monsters from the previous 50 years showed up to do battle with Godzilla, including the abomination from the US Godzilla (1998). A who’s who of monsters from the Godzillaverse---Hedorah, Rodan, Kamacuras, King Ghidorah, Manda, the aforementioned Zilla and many others. Mothra even showed up to bat clean-up with Gigan.

There was a lot to love in this movie. The humans were the most interesting of any of the Godzilla movies I’ve watched. It had aliens and mutant humans and futuristic weapons. Kitamura Kazuki as a bad alien with even badder guyliner was over the top. He looked like he was having as much fun making the movie as I had watching it. Don’t expect Oscar worthy performances, it’s not that kind of movie.

How could I not love a Godzilla movie that included my second favorite niche genre-kung fu in it?

Yes, the story could be a bit of a mess, but was easy to follow. The director unashamedly included a lot of the science fiction fads from previous years, the Matrix, Star Wars, Independence Day, Alien, and Jules Verne, among others. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. No doubt there were moments of pure cheese. They also must have spent most of their money on the monsters, sets, and CGI because the music sounded like some guy hitting random notes on a synthesizer. The non-stop action from beginning to end could be draining and there were times when Godzilla was absent during a lot of the action with other monsters and the aliens. However, when Godzilla did appear, he showed why he was a force to be reckoned with.

Godzilla: Final Wars features guys in rubber suits and miniaturized cities and vehicles, just as the Godzilla Genie intended them to be from this era. On Godzilla’s 50th anniversary and retirement, it was appropriate. Final Wars was a monster mash that was fun and entertaining from beginning to end.

April 12, 2021

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"I look forward to teaching you a lesson"

Teach You a Lesson took on the South Korean school universe leveling criticism on both sides of the podium and both sides of the front door. When it came to incompetent and/or corrupt teachers, ineffectual and/or harmful laws, bullies-both child and parental---Na Hwa Jin and his team were primed to slap people awake or into shape.

Education Minister Choi Gang Seok, former special forces officer Na Hwa Jin, Na’s former subordinate Im Han Rim, and IT specialist Bong Geun Dae comprise the Educational Rights Protection Bureau team. The ERPB has immunity and special privileges when it comes to teaching students, teachers, school admin, and parents a lesson. The team hopes to decrease student and teacher suicides…and murders. They seek to make bullies understand how it feels to be bullied, show them the consequences of their actions and hold them accountable. Na takes a very hands-on approach with physical bullies. The team also deals with those bullied by social media, false police reports, or corrupt teachers gaming the system to line their wallets. Na and his crew use their special skill sets to bring justice for the innocent and punishment to the guilty, always with the desire to help the students and teachers do their best.

The drama sought to highlight a separate danger to students, teachers, and the school system in each episode. I quite liked the episodic quality as it kept certain stories from dragging on too long. In the first two episodes Na used restrained physical force which was a bit jarring, but I’m sure also cathartic for the students around the world who have been brutally bullied with no recourse. The cure might not have been realistic, but the disease unfortunately was and is. I also didn’t mind that the bad guys were often easily vanquished. Opposition to the bureau was shown but Minister Choi always kept his cool and refused to back down from protecting the innocent.

Due to the varied nature of the stories, different episodes will appeal more to different people. There were darker episodes where the bullies drove students to suicide. One episode left me laughing to the point of tears as the tables were turned on an adult bully. The drama was never subtle in their accusations as there wasn’t time to delicately beat around the bush. It also didn’t pretend that what the team did in the schools would resolve all the problems. Physical and emotional violence are complex social issues that require complex solutions. The weak job market and crushing pressure to be accepted into a good university put the students and parents through an emotional wringer for years. Even when laws had been enacted to protect students, both student and adult bullies used them as weapons against the innocent or to escape punishment. Students, teachers, admin, parents, and politicians were told they would have to be responsible for taking the next steps to improving the learning and life experience for all involved.

There were only a few things that truly bothered me. The age discrepancies while obvious are just a part of the genre going back to Grease or Steve Buscemi going undercover in 30 Rock, “How do you do, fellow kids?” Im was brought on to meet crazy with crazy but her screaming caused my eardrums to bleed. The total immunity clause was truly problematic for a country that not that long ago dealt with secret police who tortured and disappeared dissident students all in the name of national security. The immunity issue could very quickly lead down a disastrous path and was a huge red flag for me. And the story regarding the murdered teacher ended up making her look unbearably naïve at best and idiotic at worst. Her actions could have been interpreted as stalking or sexual harassment. When she was presented with evidence of a crime, she didn’t report it and confronted the person in an isolated area. Instead of the angelic representation, she looked like a walking, talking billboard for how to not handle the situation.

While Teach You a Lesson sought to highlight very serious problems in the school system it was also laugh out loud funny on numerous occasions. Most people know someone who was mercilessly bullied and the justice meted out was cathartic to see bullies finally get their due. The fight scenes were well choreographed and Kim Mu Yeol was believable as the Man in Black with the send the perp flying slap. Much like Taxi Driver or Leverage, TYaL was wish fulfillment, that a team could come in and easily right wrongs, stand up against the wealthy and powerful, and bring peace to students who had enough stress studying as it was. Maybe not a role model, but an entertaining drama with a world where the shameless were held accountable for their actions.

14 June 2026

Trigger warnings: Suicide and attempted suicide. Drug usage. Gambling. There was also a bone crunching fight scene with non-students.

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"The only way to grab a beast is to become a scarier beast"

That I am a Woo Do Hwan fan is not a closely guarded secret, but I will say I came into Bloodhounds Season 2 trepidatiously. The pacing and unevenness of season 1 was shored up, but replaced with a lather, rinse, repeat cycle. It was 7 rounds of good vs evil. Someone ring the bell—ding! ding!

Kim Geon Woo and Hong Woo Jin are living the dream life in the suburbs with Kim’s mom. They train in the mornings and work for the mom afterwards, happy and content. Kim wins the World Title match and even makes friends with his nasty competitor. Now firmly in the spotlight, he draws the wrong kind of attention. An illegal fight and gambling den (on-line on the dark web of course, this is 2026 after all) boss determines that he needs Kim to be his next fight in order to gain financing and expand his lucrative enterprise. Our Kim may have lethal fists, but he is sweet and pure of heart. “Dirty money always comes with a price,” his mom warns. When evil Baek Jeong is involved, everything comes with a price.

The first thing that has to be said, is that Kim and Hong were the sweetest of puppies, and just about as bright. They had tons of unearned confidence from last season and believed they could handle Baek and his syndicate on their own. It didn’t take long for them to realize that they were going to have to put at least part of the band back together if their loved ones were to survive. These gentle souls cried every episode and required daily pep talks and numerous group hugs. That’s not to say there weren’t deaths and injuries. The stakes for Kim’s Scooby gang were high as several members found out.

The bad guys were completely evil, no vacillating there, especially Rain’s Baek Jeong. He was also the most penny pinching, cheap villain I ever remember seeing. A few of the good guys crossed the line making their moral compass spin. There were faces from last season that joined the fight and some new faces with nebulous motivations. There was a never-ending cycle of threat, rally, retaliate, trying to kidnap mom, threat, rally, retaliate, trying to kidnap mom…which began to get old, along with the episodic weeping pep talks.

I haven’t been able to locate the fight coordinator, but I thought the fights were well done. Fast, vicious, uncompromising, and at times a thing of beauty as bodies danced around the ring. If you are squeamish you will need to look away for a few of the more brutal scenes. Having said that, much like superheroes, their powers came and went depending on the scenario.

I enjoyed Bloodhounds S2 more than the first season mainly because it was consistent, where the cast change last time was jarring (RIP KSR). The boys may not have been strategic geniuses, but they were devoted to each other and their oddly made family. They cared more about each other than hitting people, which was saying something. S2 ended with a couple of scenes to leave the door open for S3. It’s Netflix so you never know.

3 April 2026
Trigger warnings: All sorts of horrific deaths and one ear torn off. Knives, and other pointy weapons used.

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And the goat said "Loser!"

Handsome Guys was a comedy horror, a particular class of films I don’t usually have much luck with as I’m not crazy about slapstick. Tonight my luck turned for the better. I found this film starring two of my favorite ahjussis to be hilarious.

Kang Jae Pil and Park Sang Gu are brothers from different mothers and very close. They’ve saved up for years as construction workers to buy a house in a rural area. Jae Pil with his mullet and hillbilly clothing choices looks dangerous yet his bark is worse than his bite. Sang Gu is broad shouldered and muscular, also with unique wardrobe tastes and is a real sweetheart. However, everyone who bumps into them acts like they are mass murderers escaped from prison. Mi Na has been invited by the wealthy college golfer she has a crush on to his family’s vacation house in the same area. Four of Lee Seong Bin’s snobbish friends are there as well and all know that Seong is only using Mi Na. On the way to the house, they hit a black goat in the road and leave it there. Jae Pil and Sang Gu come across the goat and take it home to bury. Fate plays chingu matchmaker when Mi Na later ends up being saved by the brothers and learns there is more to them than meets the eye. The same could be said of the house (and goat!) as people start meeting violent tragic ends!

Handsome Guys was adapted from the 2010 film, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, which I haven’t seen. This film had ridiculously silly and coincidental deaths. Normally, I would roll my eyes and check my watch, but I literally laughed out loud on numerous occasions at the absurdity of the different characters’ actions and the bizarre untimely demises. There were a few scary moments, but those didn’t last for long before a nail gun or chainsaw was administered. The spoiled entitled college kids were just about as bright as horror kids should be and met their ends in fitting fashions.

Lee Sung Min can always be counted on for a solid performance and he did not disappoint. Lee Hee Jun often plays heavier roles, this go round he was a blast of sunshine. He also showed off his dancing skills to Dishwashing Mix Volume 3. Both ahjussis displayed a side of themselves rarely seen. Gong Seung Yeon as Mi Na was able to let loose and have fun as well. And I couldn’t forget one other performance---the goat’s acting was brilliant! “Loser!”

Other than people assuming evil intentions about the brothers due to their appearances, when evil was residing more in the beautiful and rich, this was not a story for heavy contemplation. Handsome Guys was a popcorn movie meant for laughter in its most elemental, nonsensical form and they nailed it.

26 October 2026

Trigger Warnings: Some gore and implied gore. Decapitation. Impalements of a wide variety. ZOMBIES, but only for about five minutes. And though I’m terrified of the walking dead, when they look like they are attempting to moonwalk, they seem less scary.

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"There's a danger in loving somebody too much..." *

Rouge starred the beautiful duo of Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. And that could be my review in a nutshell. Forget plot and cinematography, just focus on these two being in each other’s orbit. But there was more to this film so I will soldier on…

Fleur, a high-priced courtesan, and Chen Chen Ping aka #12, fall in love. Despite their devotion, his wealthy family opposes the marriage. He’s already betrothed to his cousin. When the future appears bleak the two decide to commit suicide together. After Fleur waits in the afterlife for 50 years, she fears Chen has become lost and returns to the land of the living to find him. She enlists the help of Ting and Chu who work for a newspaper. The modern couple uses their journalistic abilities to help Fleur discover where Chen might be.

Rouge was already going to be a melancholy film for me knowing the two stars died young. That knowledge made certain scenes even sadder. Mui and Cheung brought the heartbreak couple to life and afterlife. Anita Mui was mesmerizing as the woman who had waited for her lover for 50 years, fearing he’d become lost somewhere. Alex Man and Emily Chu didn’t have the same charisma as the aforementioned couple but still made the most of their roles as helpers and comedy relief to a very heavy story. Unlike the life or death 1930’s couple Ting and Chu weren’t in a rush to marry. Chu also had the choice to work at a job she wanted.

The past was shown painted with a palette of rich, vibrant colors and filled with passion. The present was drenched in blue and gray where characters were more subdued. While there was definitely a nostalgic view of the past, it wasn’t through rose-colored glasses. Fleur had been sold into prostitution at the age of 16 and had very little agency over her own life. Even if she could have freed herself, there were few options for women at the time. In 1987 the place where her brothel stood was now a kindergarten as Hong Kong continued to evolve and change through the years. Chen may have been great at grand romantic gestures, but he was also weak and neither a great businessman nor actor. The film vacillated between declaring a lovers’ suicide pact as grand passion or unnecessarily tragic.

Rouge was an elegantly shot film for 1987. Stanley Kwan effectively showed how Hong Kong and values had changed over time. I appreciated that Ting had the insight to declare that life was precious and no one should have to die for their love. Unlike other films with specters in them from this era, Fleur’s ghost didn’t do anything horribly ghoulish, what she did was even harder to watch. The ethereal beauty was a devoted woman and spirit who had longingly waited for her lover who might never come back to her.

24 October 2026

Trigger warnings: Drug use. Suicide. Sexual activity though no bits and pieces were showing.

Everybody's Kung Fu Fighting Note: A kung fu movie was shown being filmed with Lau Kar Wing (Legendary Weapons of China) as the director and Kara Hui (My Young Auntie!) as an actress playing a ghost. There was a nice juxtaposition of Fleur in the foreground with Hui floating on wires in the background. And finally, Jackie Chan was the real life producer of Rouge.

*Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough (1992) by Patti Symth

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Low budget monster flick

Desert Monster was a low budget, very low budget, monster flick set during the Republican Era. Presumably so that they could use a few modern amenities, minus telephones, while also wielding knives and bows.

Meng Xi and Xia Xuan are the only survivors of their team sent into a research lab in the desert. Their mission was to bring back the “original virus solution to neutralize a bacterial infection.” The lab had messed around too much with nature and ended up creating a vicious monster from desert lizards. Monsters that could breed like rabbits and hunted by sound and smell. Meng Xi and a wounded Xia Xuan escape to a small village where they accidentally set off a barrage of arrow slinging booby traps. The people who built them live underground and bring the two below to safety. Numerous villagers are suffering from a virus spread by the desert monsters. The only way to create an antidote is to breach the monsters’ lair and capture the queen.

Meng Xi is one of the typical heroes from these cheap films. He can do anything and nothing bothers him. He dodged a hundred arrows Matrix style without getting a scratch. Villagers might die to accomplish the mission? Sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to save the world. He asked scintillating questions such as, “I wonder why they live underground?” Maybe because there were a thousand of those vicious man-eating monsters above ground? The ones you were running from. Ying, the lead warrior and archer from the village, was a typical poorly written female character. Brave? Yes. She was also emotionally unstable. Every few minutes she cried that it was all her fault. What was? Everything. When someone died, she fell down, pounded the ground, and wailed. Even when there was a monster breathing over her shoulder. “Back off, I’m trying to emote here!” Fallen characters were given touching flashback scenes. Why? They might have had ten minutes of screen time, not sufficient time to bond with the character. There was the requisite rousing speech by the village elder and enough noble sacrifice to fill a fleet.

I was generous with my score because despite the many, many drawbacks, including the hocus pocus science, the film did try to carve out a space for itself in the crowded cheap monster movie genre. It just needed better writing, acting, and AI critters. Not the worst low-budget creature feature I’ve watched, but that’s not saying much. Only if you need to kill a little over an hour and enjoy bargain basement monster movies.

21 October 2026

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Mummies, and ghosts, and jiangshi, oh my!

Encounter of the Spooky Kind 2 starred Sammo Hung and Lam Ching Ying but had nothing to do with the original Encounter of the Spooky Kind. This film dug deeply into the Hong Kong kung fu comedy horror archive and served up hopping vampires (Jiangshi!), ghosts, creepy cockroach filled animated corpses, snake warriors, and mummies! So many trigger warnings!

Abao and his fellow disciple, Little Hoi, study under Master Jiao/Kau. Abao is engaged to Chu Nui though her father is looking for a way to break the engagement. Wealthy jerk, Shi, is determined to win Chu Nui and has hired a black magic priest. Abao and Little Hoi open a congee stall hoping to make enough money to impress Old Chu. Abao’s first and only customer turns out to be a beautiful ghost! When he hunts her down for payment he finds her caring for her blind and very much alive mother. Master and disciples become entangled with the women at the same time Shi and his evil priest begin to attack Abao in earnest.

This film was reminiscent of the Mr. Vampire films with Lam Ching Ying once again playing a kung fu master and Taoist ghost and vampire exterminator/wrangler. This second Spooky film wasn’t filled with as much slapstick as the first one which I much preferred. Abao and Little Hoi were still the ubiquitous inept disciples but not as annoyingly so as many other films. In too many of these films, I’m rooting for the creatures of the night to eat the bothersome disciples, not so here. I also liked Siu Hung, the dutiful ghostly daughter. She ended up being a loyal friend to the human trio and especially Abao.

Magical creatures and spells, oh my! Master Jiao and the evil priest did magical battle on two separate occasions. The special effects were low budget but effective. The evil priest summoned buggy corpses and cockroaches, mummies, giant dogs, and snake men. If you have triggers, beware. There was also ghost possession, jiangshi, and monkey possessed kung fu!

Sammo Hung was in charge of the martial arts choreography and it showed. The fights were hard hitting and falling. He was in his prime, showing off his agility and acrobatics. If an actor was in a Sammo film, they’d better be ready to hit the ground-forcefully. There was wire fu and undercranking on occasion. This wasn’t a primarily kung fu flick so the fights were shorter and took a backseat to the creatures, spells, and talismans.

I enjoyed Encounter of the Spooky Kind 2 more than the original, though I admit to having to close my eyes every now and then. Sammo’s character was likeable and Lam Ching Ying brought the magic to a role he could play in his sleep. If this is a niche genre you enjoy, you liked the original, or you are a Sammo fan, it’s one to try. My cutoff for rating on a curve is 1990 and this one squeaked in under the wire.

Trigger warnings: Snakes, like a lot of them. Cockroaches-a jillion more cockroaches than snakes. Decomposed bodies. Sammo’s nekkid bottom. Attempted sexual assault. Brief bathroom and fellatio humor. Animal deaths. Opium use…by a hopping vampire. You read that right. lol

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"Is there no end to your spite?"

The Ghost Story of Yotsuya was a cautionary tale for men who thought they could murder their way to a more comfortable life. As usual in these old kaidans, never underestimate the power of a vengeful woman, even if, or more aptly if, she’s dead.

Ronin Tamiya Iemon is so determined to wed Iwa that he murders her father and the father of her sister Sode’s fiancé Yomoshichi in a rage. A criminal named Naosuke witnesses the attack and offers to vouch for Iemon and provide a scapegoat. The two men along with Yomoshichi vow to avenge the fathers’ deaths, but Iemon and Naosuke secretly kill Yomoshichi instead. The two men each take a woman and go their separate ways though they keep in contact without the sisters’ knowledge.

The first half of the film provided ample evidence of why Iemon and Naosuke were vile, unsympathetic creatures. Even after Iemon married Iwa, he wasn’t satisfied as they ran out of money quickly. His sights turned toward a wealthy man’s daughter which meant that Iwa and her baby were in mortal danger. The second half of the film was cathartic in the scoundrels’ gradual demise through a gruesome haunting by their victims. A Buddhist temple couldn't even offer refuge from the specters.

This film based on a kabuki play often felt like an elaborate play with small shadowy sets. They gave just the right feel for a claustrophobic tale of men against ghosts. The simple and sparely used percussion-based music provided the perfect eerie atmosphere. Yotusya’s makeup artists outdid themselves in the ghoulish appearances department as the bodies deteriorated and dripped. A snake wrangler had his hands full. Iwa made a point of saying she was born in the Year of the Snake and had a fondness for the legless creatures. If you are sensitive to them, there were numerous scenes with the reptiles, including a bucket overflowing with them. *shudder*

The Ghost Story of Yotsuya was a well made 1959 marriage horror tale. It also demonstrated the point on purpose or not, how dependent women were on men, whether father or husband. They couldn’t simply make decisions or take actions on their own, or even provide for themselves. When a woman wept with joy over the tiniest act of male kindness, she should have known something was up. “The fury of a woman driven mad is truly the greatest horror of all.” Then treat them right and you won’t have to worry about it! If you enjoy old Japanese horror films, this is one to try.

18 October 2026

Trigger warnings: Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes!

You say Iemon, I say lemon note: The capital letter I without the crossbars can be confusing. I thought the ML’s name was Lemon throughout much of the film, until it finally dawned on me it was a capital I. *face palm* lol

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"Who believes in ghosts these days?"

The Bride from Hades is a 1968 film based on the classic ghost story Botan Doro. A kind man from a samurai family finds himself literally entwined with a beautiful ghost. The only problem is that each encounter drains his life force.

Hagiwara Shinzaburo lives away from the comfort of his wealthy and influential samurai family. He has a small hut in the poor section of the village and teaches the children there to read and write, hoping to give them a chance at a better future. He’s appalled at the abusive nature of the upper classes. His family wants him to marry his brother’s widow which he refuses to do. During the lantern festival he assists two women carrying a peony lantern. They follow him home to express their gratitude. The courtesan and her maid recount their tragic story which ended with the lovely Otsuyu being sold into a geisha house. She is being coerced into marrying an old lecherous man. They ask Shinzaburo to privately marry Otsuyu, just during Obon when she is freed from her business responsibilities. Shinzaburo is quite taken with her and agrees. A neighbor catches a glimpse of Shinzaburo and Otsuyu consummating their relationship. To his horror, what he sees is not a beautiful woman, but rather a skeletal ghost!

This story was a study in contradictions. Shinzaburo was compassionate, never failing to help anyone in need. Even the troublemaker Banzo. Lesson learned---no good deed goes unpunished. Shinzaburo’s other neighbors rallied to save him when they realized that the ghosts would eventually kill their friend if they didn’t band together and help protect him during Obon. They exhausted themselves chanting and praying for him through the night. Whatever Shinzaburo needed to survive they were willing to do. Shinzaburo, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be too bothered about death, only caring for the children enough to want to survive. Banzo and his wife Omine, on the other hand, didn’t care about Shinzaburo’s life regardless of all the good he had done for them. They were willing to sell him out in a heartbeat. If this story with a strong Buddhist bent was about karma, I’m not sure everyone got what they deserved. Though some decidedly did.

Bride made good use of 1960’s special effects. Ghosts flew, glided, and disappeared. Their appearance changed depending on who saw them. Poor Shinzaburo’s complexion deteriorated through the application of makeup as the film progressed. The acting was all solid and typical of 1968. While I’m not familiar with director Yamamoto’s work, I’ve watched much of screenwriter Yoda Yoshitaka’s work through his collaborations with Mizoguchi Kenji.

The Bride from Hades was an entertaining if not bittersweet film. It showed the compassionate and generous side of human nature and the greedy, callous side as well. Another lesson I learned from the story was this: If a beautiful woman/man follows you home at night and asks to marry you just for the festival of Obon when the dead walk among us, maybe have a prior commitment until the dead have sauntered off into the sunrise. Just to make sure.

16 October 2026

Trigger warnings: Sexual content though not graphic. Brief glimpse of a nekkid breast in one scene.

Everybody has their kink note: Shinzburo and Otsuyu made love with an audience on more than one occasion.

The most 1960s quote ever: When Omine told Banzo he needed to deal with the female ghosts because, “They won’t trust a woman.” Ahem. One of the reasons why there was a women's rights movement.

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