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And the thunder rolls...
Had I Not Seen the Sun P2 continued the story of pain and retribution which began in P1. Questions were answered, monsters were destroyed and created, and justice was once again slow and ineffectual.Li Jen Yao is out of prison and working for Big K as a cleaner amongst other jobs. More than anything he is searching for Chiang Hsiao Tung who has seemingly disappeared. One night he helps a blind woman who has Chiang’s butterfly tattoo on her hand. Is this the girl he has been searching for? How could she look so different? Somehow in this town of over 2 million people other interested parties from the past also bump into the damaged pair.
Sun P2 did some things quite well. The romantic parts sizzled and scored. Chiang’s brokenness, not only from the attack by her rapists but by society’s lurid need for despicable videos, and people’s trained response to blame the victim, resulted in her mind’s answer to an unanswerable question to her problems. Alice Ko may have been too old for her role, but I honestly enjoy her performances and was grateful for her screen time in P2. The drama highlighted how Chiang felt trapped in that one horrific moment, not only her, but the boy who loved her as well.
What didn’t work for me as much: The villains became even more cartoon-like completely going over the top, perhaps to justify their gruesome deaths more. Li sinking into monsterdom wasn’t a shock, we knew from season 1 that he would go on a killing spree, but his bloodlust spilled over onto people who didn’t deserve it. His last murder was almost comical, it felt like the old saying, “In for a penny, in for a pound.” “I’ve murdered this many people so, why not?” While Chiang’s mental state was the focus of her story, it would seem the writers underwrote Li’s. His most monstrous act didn’t seem to faze Chiang which was also problematic for me. Li was always portrayed in a simple binary. There was Chiang, his sun, and everything and everyone else in the darkness with him. While I enjoyed watching the romance blossom, it was at best a female wish fulfillment of a guy who would do anything, anytime, anyway for his girl with few thoughts and desires of his own. Finally, after all the angst and mysteries, the drama took a shortcut in the healing of a truly complex mental illness that was jarring.
There was a public service announcement with a number to call “if you need someone to talk with” at the end of the drama, not how to get justice, which just showcased that rape is a part of life for many women. Women who will never see justice. Women who must deal with a patriarchal society that blames the victim, shames the victim, and oftentimes turns on the victim. With the advent of the internet, their pain can be on full display for seemingly all time with few recourses because the silent monsters in the dark feed on it. There were so many important things this drama touched on, not least of which was how abusive parents cause terrible brokenness in their children and society. I was prepared to give Had I Not Seen the Sun P2 a higher score as I was watching it until Li went completely off the rails. A romanticized monster is still a monster.
13 December 2025
Trigger Warnings: Sexual assaults, slicey and bone crushing murders, self-harm, suicide
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"Everyone has a trigger"
What is the trigger for a person that will cause them to throw away their future for a moment of vengeance wrapped in the cloak of justice? What is the tipping point for a society lured into self-destruction? Trigger challenges the angel on a person’s shoulder to do the hard thing even as the devil on their other whispers for them to do the thing that will feel good in the moment.Due to his violent military past, Officer Lee Do has given up on guns and only carries a taser when on patrol. He seeks to show compassion to victims and enforce the law with criminals. South Korea’s stringent gun and ammo laws are suddenly being flouted by everyday citizens as well as criminals leading to numerous deaths and causing panic to incur in society. Do is determined to discover the source of the weapons and the plans of the dealers before Korea falls headlong into gun culture.
Trigger asked pertinent questions and addressed timely problems. While there were criminal elements getting their hands on guns, the more sinister elements involved the stressed-out citizenry clandestinely led down the path to their own annihilation. Bullied children and adults, the daily slings and arrows of casual cruelty, mental illness, and corporate greed and corruption drove people to their trigger points. When there was no recompense, no justice, no recourse for the downtrodden, desperate people with little to lose turned to vigilante justice with a gun. Trigger asked the audience to contemplate whether guns made people safer or less safe.
The production values were high and the story kept a stringent pace. That’s not to say you won’t have to suspend disbelief on occasion. I was relieved a drama finally showed the drawback to the first bullet in an officer’s gun being a blank. Most of the acting was excellent. Kim Nam Gil can always be counted on for a strong performance. I prefer him with facial hair and a devil-may-care grin, but we all have to suffer for his art at times. Kim Won Hae gave a nicely balanced performance as Do’s supervisor and father figure. He was utterly heartbreaking in one scene. Kil Hae Yeon played another distraught and vengeful mother, knowing how to hit all the emotional beats. I quite liked the music as it was neither intrusive nor overly wrought. My biggest complaint was the lighting and makeup that showed every pore on people’s faces and often the theatrical makeup itself.
Lessons I learned: 1) Always check your horoscope. 2) When holding a gun on a person, never stand too close. 3) Never bring a boxcutter to a gun fight. 4) It pays to know who your employees are. 5) A sincere apology could save your life. 6) “You can’t justify your actions with some sort of grade school philosophy.” You can, but it might not work out so well.
Guns are like cockroaches. Once a home is infested you are never going to get rid of them even if you burn the place to the ground. When trust is lost and people live in a state of fear, they are capable of abhorrent actions. And at least in Dramaland, if reminded of their humanity and shown compassion, people in a broken and suffering world can choose a path to a brighter future. I found Trigger entertaining, though it did bog down near the end. I only hope these forms of entertainment can help societies make choices that result in their children never having to practice active shooter drills at school.
25 July 2025
Trigger warnings: Numerous shooting deaths even of children. Because when guns are plentiful, the most vulnerable all too often fall victim.
Several comely nekkid buns at a gangster sauna.
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"I don't want their hearts, I only want the kingdom." Are you sure you don't want their heads?
Flying Guillotine 2 was the sequel to the 1975 film Flying Guillotine. Campier, bloodier, but less fun than the original, FG2 had a similar cast with people playing different characters because most of their characters were killed off in the first movie.The Qing emperor Yung Jing is furious that the ex-Flying Guillotine Ma Tang has not been found. Ma is not the only worry Yung has, rebels have been trying to assassinate him. The emperor has continued to have righteous officials and scholars murdered which does not sit too well with the surviving officials or the people. The rebels led by Hero Jin are planning to mass on Hsia Mountain. Before they can leave, the F.G. squad attacks. Most of the rebels survive because Ma Tang arrives with his Iron Umbrella that can defeat the spiraling death caps. Both sides accelerate their arms race in the hopes of defeating the other and being left with their bodies intact.
Ti Lung took over Chen Kuan Tai’s role as Ma Tang. With a huge cast, his time was shortened compared to Ma’s prevalent screen presence in the 1975 film. Shih Szu played Na Lan, the daughter of a minister, with a personal grudge who was determined to kill the emperor. And one of my faves, Ku Feng, brought the authoritarian threat to his role as the emperor. My other favorite, Lo Lieh, was stuck working with Wai Wang who had no idea how to play off another actor. I could see Lo trying to connect with him as Wai looked like he was thinking about what he was going to have for dinner.
There were substantially more and longer fights than in the first film all competently choreographed by Tang Chia. The problem with having such a large cast though is that the stakes were watered down. It was hard to care about 90% of the characters and whether they were separated from their heads. The flying guillotines, even with their upgrades, lost their spiky menace as they decapitated random characters too fast to process. The first film gave weight to the characters and corruption that added suspense and concern.
Flying Guillotine 2 aka Palace Carnage was fast paced with plenty of action, yet it felt strangely hollow with so few characters to connect with on a screen plastered with bodies. It’s worth a watch if you like the actors or the guillotines, if you come into the film with low expectations. As always, I rated it on a kung fu curve, and was probably being generous with a 7.0/10.
24 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Decapitations, of course. Arms chopped off. Two scenes with naked women for no other reason than it was 1978. A bird in flight was skewered with a sword.
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"In this world, the weak are playthings to the strong"
Third Shadow Warrior showed how man’s desire for carnage and power wasted the lives and resources of the land. Whether a farmer dreaming of being a samurai or a samurai lord desiring to rule everyone, the greed sank deep into the hearts of the sword bearing warriors.In 1564 the Hida area within the mountains escaped the large armies’ invasion. That didn’t stop smaller forces from desiring to rule the clans. Lord Yasutaka was winning the battles and close to being the ruler supreme of the Hida. A young farmer named Ninomiya Kyonosuke’s dream of being a samurai appears to be answered when Shinomura Saheita comes down from the castle to hire him. Ninomiya discovers he is to be one of Yasutaka’s three doubles, trained to exactly mimic the lord. Whatever troubles befall Yasutaka, befall the three doubles as well.
The message behind the film was strong. Samurai were not to be admired as they were blood-thirsty fighters who only desired more power and wealth never caring about anyone below them in stature or station. Each of the clans betrayed the other in order to move ahead. Betrayals were also rampant within the clans. Despite making strides forward, Ninomiya’s future burned around him with every step. Never clever nor ruthless enough, the farmer fell victim to others with more power. His own greed spelled his doom.
As much as I appreciated the bleak, disturbing story, the unfolding of the revelations felt perfunctory. I called out each disaster before they occurred. While I felt sorry for Ninomiya losing his identity, his impulsive actions also sealed his fate. His was not the sharpest katana in the drawer. The acting for many of the characters was also overly theatrical as if they were on a stage playing to the back row.
Third Shadow Warrior played out the ridiculous degrees of loyalty some samurai were called upon to enact. Not that the nobility and superiors were required to show the same loyalty, more often than not, those ranked below them suffered terrible consequences. Fate was not kind to those who did not understand their place and the sacrifices mandated upon them. Definitely worth a look if you enjoy anti-samurai or Jidaigeki films.
18 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Loss of eyes, loss of an arm.
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Tange Sazen Kenfu! Hyakuman Ryo no Tsubo
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"See you never!"
Tange Sazen: The Million Pot Ryo is a famous tale. My first encounter with it was from the 1935 film with a similar title. While the 1935 film took a lighthearted approach, 1982’s was much grittier. Not an unexpected turn from director Gosha Hideo and star Nakadai Tatsuya.The “Shadow Shogun,” Gurako, convinces the shogun to have the Yagyu clan pay for the temple’s restoration. A sum of money designed to bankrupt them. Not to worry, the oldest Yagyu member of the clan knows of a treasure kept secret for emergencies, hidden within a vessel in the family vault. What he doesn’t know is that the walls have ears and now more than one interested party heads to find the vessel. When an orphan boy becomes embroiled in the mad chase, a one-eyed, one-armed ronin becomes involved…a problem for everyone seeking the fortune.
Tange Sazen had been unbeatable before the loss of his limb and eye. Even now, no one truly stands a chance against him. As cunning as he is skilled, Sazen manages to resolve the myriad of problems the treasure creates, though not how everyone else might want them solved. At 50-years-old, Nakadai still made for a compelling and fierce warrior. This Sazen was cynical, having been betrayed and maimed by people he trusted. Despite his missing arm and eye driving him back to his samurai life, he was still comfortable among thieves and prostitutes. The thieves Yokichi and Ofuji went from being adversaries to allies.
This made for television movie may not have been the highest quality project either Gosha or Nakadai worked on, but it was above average in entertainment as the different factions killed each other off in search for the treasure with Sazen always one step ahead or into his cups. Whatever he was up to, Nakadai’s Tange Sazen was fascinating to watch and worth a look at this older tv film.
17 March 2026
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Wong Fei Hung’s friends all train with Master Lin. His father refuses to let him train because his temper is too uncontrolled. During the yearly firecracker contest, Master Pang’s students cheat and fight dirty to defeat Lin’s students. Officer Chuan Wing is hunting a thief and murderer who uses a lethal kick. During one of WFH’s many skirmishes around town he thinks he met the thief who resides at the Pang school. Chuan Wing convinces Master Lu Ah Tsai who had trained WFH’s dad to train the son as well. The cocky new student and teacher travel north to train for two years.
This version of WFH was insufferable. I kept hoping the arrogant toddler would get his butt handed to him over and over. Even with his new sifu he was hot headed and ready to fight at the drop of a hat. Maybe that would have been okay if the fights were good. There were really only two fights. Lau Kar Leung vs Lau Kar Wing and later Lau Kar Leung vs. Gordon Liu. Sadly, both fights were rather short. The two free for alls in the firework contests were just school yard brawls. Even the training sequences with Gordon vs a fortune in dishware were lackluster.
There was no mistaking who the troublemakers were going to be when Chiang Tao and Fung Hak On walked on screen. This WFH was just as bad as those characters at the start until he miraculously, and off screen, turned into a saint that could confer transformation with a look later in the film. Ugh.
Watching Wong Fei Hung throwing hissyfits was not entertaining for me. Watching the Lau brothers fight was. Quick and talented, I needed more of that and less of negative impulse driven characters swaggering around. The complete 180 of WFH and the Pang crew and murderer was unearned and irritatingly bad writing. Rated on a curve.
14 March 2026
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"One man alone can't fight injustice"
Don Wong, John Liu and Hwang Jang Lee all harbor secrets and are deadly Secret Rivals. This was a Hong Kong movie filmed in the RoK and used a number of Korean stuntmen and actors. The scenery was all in Korea as well.John and Don wander into the Prince’s city with different reasons for being there. The Prince is having a contest to hire the best fighter for his bodyguard. The fights are to the death. What the fighters don’t know is that the Prince and the Silver Fox stole a shipment of gold three years ago from the Chinese. They hope to pin the theft and a murder on the new bodyguard. Both John and Don fall for the lovely Ching Chin Chin who is the daughter of the inn’s owner.
The story was thin and the camera work not so great. What was good? If Hwang Jang Lee, Don Wong and John Liu are in a film there will be plenty of high-flying kicks which rarely used wires or undercranking. The Silver Fox had two of the best legs in the business. I didn’t really care much about the story, HJL flying without the use of wires, kicking high, hooking, and twisting, is always fun to watch. Of course, the stuntmen were called upon to do a few flips and somersaults here and there but the fights were largely au naturale.
The film was badly faded with white pock marks and green streaks. The only copy I could find was dubbed in English with grainy tin can sound. It’s the same guy who does all the male voice with a female actor doing all the women’s voices. No subtitles available. I tried to not let any of these things affect my review…too much.
If you like old kung fu flicks with creative kicks, this is one to try. Graded on a curve. Really missed HJL’s mom hair and 70’s stache.
8 March 2026
Trigger warnings: Lots of bodies, but no spewing blood
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"It was a mad flood of frustration storming toward an outlet"
Watching “A Legend or Was It?” aka “Legend of a Duel to the Death” was the emotional equivalent of being dragged over railroad ties by a runaway train. Only eighty-three minutes long, every second rumbled with the pain of injustice, corruption, and mindless mob mentality. A thinly veiled criticism of Japan’s wartime atrocities and the mindset that led to it, this film was not for the faint of heart.The Sonobe family from Tokyo has been evacuated to a small northern village during the summer of 1945. The father and one son are MIA. The eldest, Hideyuki, has been medically released from military service. His sister Kieko is engaged to the mayor’s son, Goichi. When Hideyuki sees Goichi he recognizes him as the soldier he saw killing and raping Chinese women. No way was he going to let his sister marry the monster. Offended at the rejection, Goichi and his father begin framing the Sonobes for stealing and vandalism. The villagers already resent the outsiders and find it easy to blame them for any crime, indeed the failure of the military to succeed as well! When Goichi determines to re-enact his military crimes, the resulting actions cause the simmering village to explode.
The opening prologue was filmed in color displaying a beautiful mountainous area with friendly people laughing and helping each other out. In minutes, the color drained away and the narrator foretold, “Not a single person talks about what happened…these mountains still glow red under sunset clouds…Their souls feel quiet over the nightmares of bygone days.” Tragedy was creeping toward the Sonome family for no other reason than they were outsiders. That and the Takamori family ruled over the village like dictatorial medieval samurai lords. One did not tell them “no.” As events spiraled out of control, a gun wielding mob was enflamed by Takamori who burned down the rule of law and all reason.
The villagers had not had access to true war news and were fed what the government decided so when they heard how close Japan was to losing the war they were devastated. All the sacrifices in money, food, and sons, had been for nothing. Frustration, fear, and deep-rooted anger needed an outlet and more importantly…someone to blame. The alien Sonobe family was the perfect scapegoat for their hopelessness. “…the Japanese people woke up from the nightmare…They swore silence to their souls and would not speak of it.” Rather than justice or introspection, the villagers’ peace had been built on the blood of the innocent. All they had to do was shove the harsh truths down and pretend nothing happened. “One day, it will be told as a legend of a mountain demon.” After all, they were incapable of rape and murder and senseless actions. I’d say the film overexaggerated the mob mentality, but I’ve lived too long and know how it can crop up anywhere when sacrificial offerings are needed to calm the demons of fear and greed. Don’t think, don’t ask questions, just grab your weapon and kill the other. “A Legend or Was It?” was 83 tension filled minutes that were about as comfortable as a hair shirt, but also an important lesson. The loss of justice, reason, and compassion can cause people to carry out heinous actions against not only ‘the other’ but their own neighbors as well.
26 February 2026
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, though nothing too graphic was shown.
Musical note: The film made use of a mouth harp during especially tense moments and it was quite effective.
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"What the future holds can't be known"
Flowing was a 1956 Naruse Mikio film with an all-star female cast. Centered on a failing geisha house and the women who worked there, it showcased their personal problems, debts, and loyalty.Otsuta is an aging geisha (39 IRL) whose house is diminishing. Once there were 7 geishas working there, now only 2 remain (one of whom is 50-years-old) and her bills are stacking up. Her daughter, Katsuyo, only lasted six months as a geisha and is now looking for work to supplement the family income. Otsuta’s lazy sister and young daughter reside in the house ever since she and her husband broke up. Rounding out the family connections, Otsuta’s step-sister helped her finance the house after Otsuta mortgaged it to give her lover money. The lover promptly left her after receiving the cash. Now she is saddled with heavy debt and a nagging, condescending sister. Into this mix walks in Rika, an older widow (45-years-old) who needs a job and is hired as the maid. Otsuta scrambles to obtain financing to keep her house open and also must confront an extortionist ex-employee. Life as a geisha is never easy.
To clarify, this was not one of those geisha films where the women slept with their customers, these geishas were for entertainment purposes only. The whole career field was languishing in light of modern amusements. Otsuta also wasn’t the most astute businesswoman or ethical. She had a habit of skimming the girls’ profits. Katsuyo felt like she was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as the daughter of a geisha. She would feel “too small” if she married into another family and what man would marry into hers? Job opportunities for women were few and far between, with long lines around the temporary employment agencies. Rika provided the warmth of the film as she cared for the women calmly, insightfully, and nearly always with a smile. The film was based on a book written by a woman who had been a maid in a geisha house. Currently Tanaka Kinuyo is listed as supporting but she was every bit a main character and our avatar into this world.
It would be difficult to gather a stronger female cast---Tanaka, Yamada Isuzu, Takamine Hideko, Okada Mariko, and Sugimura Haruko to name but a few. It did create a few issues with the ages of the characters. Yamada at 39 was four years older than “older” sister Kahara Natsuko (35). Takamine was just 7 years younger (32) than her film mom! I was actually shocked to find the sisters were only in their 30s. Age discrimination was also shown as poor Rika had been turned away from other jobs for being too old at 45--well, clutch my pearls! And oddly Otsuta found the name Rika to be too complicated and foreign to say so she nicknamed her Oharu, the movie character Tanaka played in “Oharu” (1952).
Much like a river, Flowing, carried these women downstream in their lives, inexorably pulled by age, societal changes, and a need for love and acceptance. Loneliness was bred into their lifestyle despite spending their days entertaining men with song and shamisen. Relationships, like money, flowed in and out of their lives. Stability was a hard boulder to cling to as life rushed around them. I loved the cast and idea behind this film, yet I also found it overly long and repetitive. This is one of those films I desperately wished to enjoy more than I did. It was not a loss, for how could spending two hours with women displaying their polished craft ever be a waste? Even when my mind wandered, I was grateful to take a ride on the river of time with them.
19 February 2026
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"I wish I could paint myself over again"
Kurosawa Akira wrote the script for The Portrait and to quote Sally’s shocked line in When Harry Met Sally, “Well, that's just so optimistic of you, Harry”. Kurosawa wasn’t known for movies about women or stories this positive and heartwarming. The film was deftly directed by Kinoshita Keisuke with strong performances by the cast.Kaneko and Tamai agree to purchase a house together for 200,000 yen and then flip it for 400,000 splitting the profits. The only problem is that there are tenants living in it. Kaneko decides to move his young mistress into the upper room which the family doesn’t fight. Midori is temperamental and not pleased with the move. The family occupying the house is poor but happy. The father, Nomura, is a painter of some renown but not terribly successful. The family automatically assumes that Midori is Kaneko’s daughter and treat her as a treasured guest. Midori isn’t used to positive affirmation and her guilt is made worse when Nomura asks her to sit for him. The woman revealed in the portrait is not who she believes she is.
Nomura with his magical artist’s eye saw deep into Midori, who she really was. This vision stood in stark contrast to who Midori believed she has become in order to survive after the war. The cognitive dissonance finally erupted as the young woman had to decide the person she would choose to be. Could she really paint herself all over again?
The family was almost too good to be true even seeing blackouts as a gift to dance in the moonlight. The one member who grasped that Midori was not Kaneka’s daughter cast no judgment, offering only acceptance. Kurosawa’s social commentary was muted but the blackouts were a bit of reality creeping in as well as the young women resorting to sleeping with old men to make a living. Nomura’s oldest son had been missing since the war with no word, as they hopefully awaited his return. Then of course, there were the realty vultures hoping to turn quick profits as they turned tenants out of their homes. The Nomura family’s impenetrable loving-kindness shield the only detriment to the current flippers’ plans.
The Portrait was a lovely little film showing a family’s and a young woman’s resiliency in the face of social upheaval and financial strain. Each person had to decide who they were and who they wanted to become, even when their options were few. And the greatest mystery of all, would Chiba the cat return home? An easy recommendation for people who enjoy these old films.
13 February 2026
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"Don't blame me---I have to kill someone!
Every once in a while a low budget, terrible CGI movie can surprise you. Monster was not a great movie, but for its little film niche it performed surprisingly well.A bus full of people wake up to find that they are in the middle of a desert with no memories of who they are. Nearly everyone panics and runs away only to be obliterated by a literal monster sand storm. Five men and one little girl survive on the bus. The desert reveals other horrors when the motley crew is attacked by roaming sand demon dogs. The little girl calls all the men daddy, naming them after characters from the Monkey King. Who were they before this happened and can they find the way home?
Little Daddy quoted Buddhist proverbs, one of which was, “Good people are always protected by the Buddha.” That saying will be tested and provided clues to the men’s backgrounds. Where the survivors were and how they got there was fairly logical given the writers’ world building. The characters could behave stupidly as often happens in these films but less so than in others. The film also brought up the question of how people would behave if they had no memory. Would they be selfless or self-serving? The acting was actually pretty good, I’m used to actors practically sounding out the words off cue cards in some of these low budget creature features. The child actor could be too much at times, but overall, she gave the men a reason to bond together.
The desert was desolate enough to throw fear into anyone. The CGI critters, sandstorms, and other special effects won’t win any awards yet they helped fulfill the Buddhist punishments of wind, water, and fire effectively enough. Not sure how man-eating monsters fit into that philosophy. Much of the film dealt with how people react and act during a crisis and whether they are willing to protect the most vulnerable. To be sure, redemption played a strong role in the story, my own personal butterflynip.
Monster is not a film for everyone. It won’t be terrifying for those looking for jump scares nor quality enough for the majority of movie viewers. If like me, you are the type to wander aimlessly through film sites and randomly pick films to watch, this one might not burn you like others. Truly damning it with faint praise, I know, but I set my bar of expectations low, very low, and came away adequately entertained.
30 October 2025
Trigger warnings: Dismemberment, and creatures attacking and feasting on humans.
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Ichiro and his friends Makoto and Kimi enjoy looking through Ichiro’s telescope. Ichiro’s father is in charge of the Maki Institute and developed a special rocket fuel that will enable interplanetary travel. Makoto and Kimi are the wards of shoe shiner Wakao. One night all television sets are taken over by Dr. Eggman, I mean Ambassador Phantom from Planet Silver who addresses Japan from his spaceship. He declares his imminent arrival, gives the address where he will land, and no one had better get in his way. A contingent of police, scientists, and reporters await him. Oh, and also Ichiro and Makoto. After the aliens vaporize a number of police leaving only their helmets, the Prince of Space arrives and drives the Phantom off. Not to be deterred, Ambassador Phantom devises an evil plan to obtain Dr. Maki’s rocket fuel recipe.
I know it was 1959 and this was a children’s film, albeit with a number of redshirt deaths, but the scientists said that Planet Silver was 305,000km from the moon. The moon is only 385,000 km from the Earth. A planet orbiting so close to Earth sounds like a doomsday film all by itself. Setting that small tidbit aside, if you look at this film from the eyes of children 10 years before the Apollo 11 landing, and in a much less connected world, it’s not that bad. The costumes, special effects, and acting were low budget enough to be hilarious for today’s kids and adults. But this film wasn’t created for us. I found the kids being around dangerous situations unthinkable, but remember equally implausible films/tv shows from my childhood. This film could have benefited from fewer military personnel, reporters, policemen--basically fewer stuffed shirt adults.
Having argued for leniency, Prince of Space wasn’t a measurably good film by any metric, but it was a capsule from a different time before CGI, where a superhero in a baggy costume could point a baton at an alien with a giant beak and utter the words, “Your weapons can’t hurt me!” unironically.
24 October 2025
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Yosaku and his mentor Shigetomo, have trekked into the snow covered mountain forest and find the perfect tree they can use to sculpt a Kannon. When a blizzard hits, they take shelter in an empty hut. That night a figure in white enters and freezes everything including Shigetomo. She spares Yosaku’s life as long as he never mentions having seen her. The day he recounts what he saw to anyone is the day she will kill him. After Yosaku recovers, a young woman named Yuki seeks shelter at his home during a rain storm. His mentor’s wife invites her to stay not knowing the shadow she has let in. Yuki and Yosaku fall in love, but can two lovers from different worlds have a happy ending, especially when human demons lurk in their village?
The Snow Woman was adapted from a tale in Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. The 1964 film Kwaidan contained a well-made short film about the Yuki Onna starring Nakadai Tatsuya and Kishi Keiko. This film expands upon it without losing any tension or the emotional punch of the tragic love story.
Fujimura Shiho was mesmerizing whether playing the ice-cold Snow Woman or warmhearted Yuki. Ishihama Akira’s naïve sculptor Yosaku didn’t have as much to do, nor did his character develop much. Murase Sachiko as the shaman who perceived Yuki’s true form set the scenes she was in on fire. The special effects were limited yet effective. Ifukube Akira (Godzilla) provided his own special brand of music which echoed the characters' moods. While there were outdoor scenes most of the film was indoors and felt almost like a play. The judicious use of lighting added to both the eerie otherworldly elements and the ordinary household setting as a Yuki Onna learned about love and family.
The Snow Woman was a product of its time in terms of acting and film and yet was still captivating largely due to Fujimura’s loving eyes that could grow icy when threatened. If you enjoy older films or you liked Kwaidan, this is one to try.
23 October 2025
Triggers: Attempted sexual assault
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Ah Chi’s opera troupe has been hired to play for a few days by Uncle Ma. Ma invites his nephew, Dick, to watch the opera. He’s hoping Dick and Ah Chi will marry and break the curse her grandfather placed on the Ma family at the time of his death years before. What Uncle Ma doesn’t know is that the real danger lies in a company of soldiers who died due to the bad medicine Ma’s elder had created that killed the soldiers and others in the town.
This film combined low brow comedy, one of the ghosts was named Cat Sh*t, and half haphazard drama. Several characters were possessed and killed by the ghosts, but no one seemed to care. The story wasn’t terribly cohesive and the acting and staging often had the quality of a 6th grade school play. My viewing experience was hampered by a faded copy of the film with almost invisible white subtitles at times. I’m used to old kung fu flicks having this quality and did not grade off for it. In fact, I took the poor quality into consideration and bumped my score up just in case it was affecting my judgement.
If you enjoy old Hong Kong ghost comedies and Cantonese opera to boot, this might be a film to try. Otherwise, it’s skippable.
15 October 2025
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Police officers Lam and 2237 are faced with a bizarre drug mule when they stake out a bar. The problem? She was dead and deadly dangerous. Uncle Feng, a cop stuck out in the sticks is called in to help on the case by Capt. Ma, an old friend and police comrade. Lam doesn’t believe the woman was dead before she was killed (again) and works overtime to drive Feng away. Feng is a supernaturally talented Taoist and supernaturally stubborn. Before long he has used his skills to track down an evil Japanese sorceress and drug trafficker who uses animated corpses to do her bidding.
Lam Ching Ying cannot be beaten as a Taoist ghost and vampire buster. Nearly any scene with Feng and his wild eyebrows was a winner, whether he was taking on a bodybuilder corpse, ticked-off ghost, kung fu bodyguard, or sorceress who was nearly impervious to any assault. Lam also proved in his fight against Billy Chow he could still hold his own with fists and kicks. Nishiwaki Michiko as the sorceress could have used more scenes but nailed her magically bonkers role. The second half of the film was action packed with almost non-stop fights both kung fu and magical.
Where this film let me down was the first half, especially when it centered on the two officers played by Wilson Lam and Michael Miu. I didn’t find their humor funny and Officer Lam’s sexist slapping women on the butt made me hope he’d get eaten. There always seem to be inept sidekicks in these films and these two bordered on grating. They weren’t as bothersome in the last 45 minutes. Feng’s niece was inexplicably thrown into the story as a female presence for the two cops to fight over. Ick. And also for Feng to rescue.
Once the action, magical mirrors, and ropes took hold of the film, it was much more entertaining. The special effects were especially low budget, completely expected and part of the fun. I should be bored of the LCY formula, but I line up to watch him fight the undead every time. I just wish there had been some jiangshi/hopping vampires for him to tackle in this film. As always, rated on a curve against others in the genre/time period.
14 October 2025
Trigger warnings: There was a gross supernatural character for anyone squeamish. I hope there wasn’t but it sure looked like animal abuse of a cat. Officer Lam’s sexist swatting of women was never acceptable, but certainly not in 1990.
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