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Okoma is the young conductress on an old, dirty bus. The driver and her friendly colleague is Sonoda. The two love their jobs even as the company they work for is being edged out by a new company that has cleaner, more modern, and faster buses. Their passengers tend to be poor or in need of a largely empty bus. Passengers bring baggage, children, even chickens with them. Okoma comes up with the idea of acting as a tour guide along with her other duties to liven up the ride and draw in more customers. The two bus workers ask a visiting writer that Okoma had helped out to write them a script. Ikawa is more than happy to pay back the favor he owes Okoma and sets to work writing the script and teaching her how to speak like a tour guide.
Takamine Hideko was delightful as the good-hearted conductor. In one scene they stop the bus so she can deliver a gift to her mother who scolds her for spending money. She had no problem sharing her meager earnings on something for her mother yet at this stop she had to trade out her badly worn cloth shoes for her traditional geta. Fujiwara Kamatari played the congenial but slow driver willing to go along with Okoma’s ideas. He took her ideas to the boss as it was unacceptable for Okoma to present them to the toe digging, lemonade drinking, back stabbing leader. Natsukawa Daijiro as Ikawa supplied the two bus workers with creative and legal advice. More educated and cosmopolitan, Ikawa came to their aid when the bus company boss crossed an ethical line and pressured the two to do the same. The trio of comrades were affable and easy to root for.
Naruse made use of the rural scenery as a silent fourth character. Most of the roads appeared to be dirt with the bus kicking up a trail of dust behind it. The opening sequence and jaunty music reminded me of Mr. Thank You (1936), another film dedicated to a bucolic bus route and happy driver. The copy I watched was sadly in need of restoration, like peering through murky water that caused the faces to be badly obscured. I would love to have seen the countryside more clearly as well.
Hideko the Conductor wasn’t deeply profound, nothing exciting happened, yet Naruse once again showed us regular people choosing to make the best of difficult situations. He also provided gentle laughter, friendship, and a twinge of pain on the scenic ride.
5 June 2025
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"Life is what matters, right?"
Older Brother, Younger Sister was another Naruse Mikio family drama, yet where other of his families quietly turned the knife, this family exploded in unexpected violence. Throughout the waves of emotions, the youngest daughter San, tried to keep her life and family steady.San returns home from school to find people giving her the side-eye in the small village her family lives in. Taichi, the boy she’s been romantically interested in, is forbidden to see her. Turns out, her older sister Mon has returned home pregnant and unmarried. Mon has worked in Tokyo to pay for San’s nursing school. San and their mother welcome Mon home, but the father ignores her and the older brother Ino, viciously berates her. Mon packs up and leaves which only creates further gossip and hurt feelings.
This is one of those films I wish I didn’t have to rely on subtitles. Mon didn’t appear to be a prostitute at the beginning of the film though the villagers seemed to imply that she was or at the very least sexually promiscuous. She’d been in love with a university student and the paternity of her child wasn’t questioned which seemed to negate their argument. Mon bemoaned her bad moral state after she lost her child with her brother implying she was working in the oldest profession. Or was she simply a “used” woman no longer with that shiny virgin smell men seemed to think was of great importance. Her churl of a brother was upset and gave her no quarter, letting her know exactly what he thought of her fallen status. Maybe too upset? When he explained how close they’d been even into her teens, it began to sound a bit incestuous. To cap things off, the violent fight between Ino and Mon took an uncomfortably erotic turn.
Regardless of Mon’s profession, she relished her independence and took care of her sister and family. The two sisters were very different yet San wished to follow in her big sister’s footsteps toward independence and was in no hurry to marry. Much like the daughter in Lightning, she wasn’t afraid to tell people what she needed, including her milquetoast love interest. The mother held her own and supported the family with the small shop she ran. The relationship between the two sisters was the backbone of this film given a solid assist from the mother.
The men were not shown in a favorable light. Ino spent what little money he made on “slutty” women, oh, the irony. He was also a thoughtless brute who justified his antagonistic behavior as just being a good brother. The father idled through his days drinking and reliving his past as a prosperous business owner. The noodle maker and the university student both lacked courage and the ability to stand up for what they believed in.
The actors’ ages were tough to ignore. In real life Yamamoto Reizaburo (Father) and Urabe Kumeko (Mother) were 51, Mori Masayuki (Ino) was 42 and looked every bit of it, Kyo Machiko (Mon) was 29-close to her character's age, and Kugo Yoshiko (San) was an age appropriate 22.
Naruse is one of my favorite directors from the earlier years of Japanese film. Unlike Mizoguchi who seemed to delight a little too much in torturing his heroines and Kurosawa who struggled with female characters, Naruse often showed women acting as independently and courageously as possible within a rather rigid patriarchal society. San and Mon brushed off what the townspeople and their own family said about them and mapped out the best lives they could for themselves. I should also mention that Tanaka Kinuyo was an assistant director, which delighted me to no end. Older Brother, Younger Sister was an odd film about a complex family with no easy answers, but it still left me hopeful that the sisters would keep their ties to each other without losing themselves in the process.
3 June 2025
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"If she was a boy she could help your papa get out of this"
Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng donned a wig, cross-dressing as a man in order to bring down the people who had her father arrested on trumped up charges. She’ll have her hands full taking on two different salt smuggling gangs with her little brother in tow.Smuggler Chiang Piao uses his connections with corrupt government officials to have a policeman framed when the officer tries to bring him in for salt smuggling. Lin Kin tells his young son that it’s too bad his daughter wasn’t a boy, because then she could help him get out of the mess he was in. Lin Jo Nan decides to prove her father wrong and dresses as a man to infiltrate one of the salt smuggling gangs so that she can find a way to exonerate him. She has her little brother dress as a girl and with her kung fu skills soon finds a job with a rival gang.
Polly might not have been as fierce as Angela Mao or as competent as Michelle Yeoh, but on the lower rung of female kung fu stars, she held her own. Perennial bad guy, Kurata Yasuaki, is always fun to watch with his fast fists and even faster kicks. The best fight was between Kurata and the powerful Chin Kang. Addy Sung and Cheng Fu Hung were Piao’s minions who knew their way around fight choreography in fire and mud. Jacky Chen played a salt smuggler henchman with shady loyalties but quick moves both with his fists and in the bedroom. Martial arts directors Leung Siu Chung and Gam Ming created fights that suited Polly’s abilities and also showcased the more talented Kurata and Chin. They even helped little eight-year-old Yeh Hsiao Yee have some good moves.
If the movie hadn’t bogged down badly in the middle, I might have rated it slightly higher as the action was decent and the story adequate. Being a low budget film shot in Taiwan, most of the fights took place outdoors or in a warehouse. The only version I could find was dubbed in English. I don’t take off points for it, but I do dislike the dubbing aspect. While the film is fading at least it wasn’t badly cropped with almost imperceptible subtitles. I have no idea where they came up with the title The Rangers given it was a young woman and a little boy taking on salt smugglers to save their dad but looking for logic in these films is often a futile task. As always, graded on a curve for these films and only for fans of the genre.
18 March 2025
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"Is he fighting or dancing?"
Dance of Death had a thin storyline even for a kung fu movie. What it did have, was one of Angela Mao’s strongest performances. The comedy could be grating at times, but at least this movie gave its star more to do than glare and hand out butt-whoopings. Angela showed she had a flare for comedy and could handle the choreography by Jackie Chan.Fei Fei rescues a man attacked by three “birds” from the 100 Birds School. Turns out he was running from the birds and their master after they killed nearly everyone in his kung fu school. Fei Fei accompanies Ku Cheng Yuan to a safe haven at another school. It doesn’t take long for the birds and a master of the “Upside-down horse” technique to catch up with them. Fei Fei escapes as the school is being obliterated. He (Angela was playing a man) runs across two old masters sparring to see who was best. He talks them into training him so that when he fights the bad guys they will be able to see which technique was better.
I kept waiting to see if Angela’s character was simply cross-dressing and there would be a big reveal at the end, but it never happened. She played a beggar man from beginning to end. Most of her characters through the years were given little emotional range. Angela seemed to be having fun being allowed to do more in this film. It also had to have been extremely demanding as the movie had very little story to it and from beginning to end there were either fight scenes or training scenes. The initial fights were “comedic” and not very good. They looked like kung fu dancing as you could count the cadence of their steps and kicks. Jackie Chan’s fingerprints were all over the fights and used many of his earlier film techniques. His push-pull, rolls, poses, and rhythm under rode all of the fights. The final battles were much faster and far more entertaining than Dean Shek’s seagull and chicken styles. The names were purposely ridiculous as were the “bird” fights. The two masters invented more feminine styles to combat the “Upside-down horse” such as “Mulan pulling her bow”, “Dancing girl”, and “Concubine coming out of her bath.” Whether the Five Forms or Dancing Girl Form, Angela moved agilely through each.
The story and most of the movie were completely forgettable, all save for Angela’s scenes. This movie stretched her acting and martial arts skills. She was delightful to watch as Fei Fei learned to fly.
9 March 2025
Warning: The movie was faded and had white faded subtitles which could be hard to read at times
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"No one can throw away his past"
A heads up for anyone who reads this review, I’ve not read the manga nor watched the anime. I can only review what I saw on the screen with nothing to fill in the story and character gaps that people familiar with the source material would be able to do.Kenshin is hanging out at Kaoru’s dojo committed to his pacifist life. Unfortunately, two blasts from his past with grudges against him and the country want him to come out of retirement. A bandaged baddie named Shishio, with his own army, is ready to turn the country upside down for betraying him. A mysterious stranger is also hunting down Kenshin for reasons hitherto unknown. The government talks Kenshin into facing off with Shishio and given Shishio’s condition, it could mean literally. During his journey, Kenshin is befriended by a group of ninjas. His friends, Kaoru and hot-headed Sanosuke, are not far behind him and determined to help when Kyoto is threatened with an inferno.
Kenshin’s reverse blade is a bit of stretch, given that he was usually fighting gangs of murderous killers. If Batman could do it, then so could Himura Kenshin. Satoh Takeru often missed some of his targets by a mile, but he sold the action as did the stuntmen. The sword fights may have been completely unrealistic but they were well choreographed and entertaining. Where I did have a problem was with Kaoru in this film. At a particularly dangerous moment she showed up yelling at Kenshin to not kill a psychotic killer he was fighting. I really wanted him to say, “Woman, I am getting my butt handed to me and all I have is this broken-ass sword. Every time I knock him down, he bounces back up. I’m trying to not only stay alive but also keep a baby from being cleaved in half. So cut me some slack!” She also told the ninjas who were fighting an army and badly outnumbered to not kill anyone. To go against their training and worry about that would have gotten them killed. I love a badass female fighter and am always happy to see one in martial arts movies, Kaoru just wasn’t written very well. She was also not very convincing or commanding with her bamboo pole, given that she was supposed to be an instructor. Her presence was a liability during the battle and of course she ended up as the damsel in distress.
There were numerous characters to keep track of, both old and new, some more captivating than others. There were characters who played it straight and others who chewed through every piece of scenery in their path. Satoh Takeru is always compelling to watch as the handsome samurai who has taken a vow not to kill and uses a sword with the business end aimed at himself. This middle child film just felt uneven and bloated. I’m looking forward to seeing how they resolve some of those issues in the third installment.
8 March 2025
Warning: Ends on a cliffhanger
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"Everything will be okay after tomorrow"
Infernal Affairs 3 finished the trilogy in an effort to tie up loose ends and weave another story into the two previous films. Honestly, I thought the original film was perfect enough. The prequel didn’t do much for me and this third installment felt like it could have been wrapped up in a few scenes at the end of the original. It was still interesting but far less cohesive than the other two installments.Lau Kin Ming has been cleared of all charges in relation to the events of the original story. He is now on the trail of other moles installed in the police department. His prime suspect is the Security Wing head, Yeung Kam Wing. A new criminal suspect, Shen Ching also enters the picture. Along the way he makes use of Dr. Lee who had seen Chan Wing Yan as a patient. As Ming continues his investigation, reality and hallucinations begin to blur as he sees Yan’s reflection in his mirror.
In trying to build suspense and weave or rather jackhammer, a new story to fit into the other two films, IA3 copiously made use of flashbacks, dreams, and delusions. The back and forth, up and down, constant traveling through time and alternate realities was whiplash inducing. It began to feel less like an engrossing story and more a lament about killing off one of the most interesting characters. The overuse of Dr. Lee, one of the least captivating characters of the three films didn’t help. A few minor mysteries were answered, yet IA3 created a bigger one. Where was Yan’s “Broken Sword” (Hero 2002) facial hair in the flashbacks? Tony Leung’s face was conspicuously smooth.
Leon Lai’s enigmatic Yeung and Chen Dao Ming’s (another Hero alum!) too cool for school and shadowy Shen Ching were compelling, if unnecessary additions to the continuation of Yan’s story. The production values were still on point, but the point of the writing exercise eluded me. The original Infernal Affairs is still one of the best Triad vs Police films out there and like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way. These other films trying to pad the stories with extraneous characters and motivations didn’t make the story any deeper or better. While they were entertaining in their own way, the original was strong enough to stand on its own.
16 February 2025
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"Retribution takes its own sweet time"
Infernal Affairs II was a prequel to the successful Infernal Affairs, this time without Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Anthony Wong and Francis Ng carried much of the movie on their veteran shoulders. There were few surprises and less suspense given that after watching IA we already know the fates of all of the primary characters.Chan Wing Yan is shown on his path to becoming a mole in the triads while Lau Kin Ming straddles making his work life balance with answering to the triad and his police boss. Yan must deal with illicit family ties and Ming courts death with his crush on the wife of his dangerous triad supervisor. Their stories often linger in the background. Officer Wong Chi Shing takes center stage as a cop who plays outside the rules in his efforts to bring the triads under control. When Ngai Wing Hau’s father is assassinated, he takes over the reins of the crime family. Smooth and soft spoken, his distinguished exterior belies his ruthless interior. Hon Sam is merely a flunky whose wife is the brains behind his actions.
Much as Infernal Affairs forced the main characters to answer the question, “Who am I?”, Wong’s actions propelled him head long into criminal activities for the greater good. At some point his conscience began to question those actions. Hau had no such qualms. He had anyone who stood in his way or betrayed him brutally eliminated. Hon Sam used whoever was around him to stay alive and move up the deadly ladder until one fateful decision causes him to burn the ladder down.
IA2 had the same high production values as IA. The acting was more mixed in this one relying on weaker actors and characters. Wong and Ng anchored the film with strong performances, though Wong was hampered by one over-zealous scene. The story was interesting but didn’t neatly align with its predecessor. The first film was so well made it was hard to take a step back to see how minor and supporting characters found their places in the scheme of things. I can see the allure of wanting to further flesh out the characters and make more money off the original, it just didn’t add anything to my enjoyment overall of Yan and Ming’s destructive journeys.
16 February 2025
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"You choose your own destiny"
Infernal Affairs was a gripping case of cat and mouse accentuated by both main characters having existential crises over their paths in life. Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Andy Lau in their prime, they took a tight cerebral script and made it shine.Chan Wing Yan and Lau Kin Ming are both cadets at the police academy. Yan is kicked out and seemingly turns to a life of crime. Ming seemingly becomes an upright police officer. Turns out both stories are false. Yan goes deep undercover for 10 years fighting his way into Hon Sam’s triad while Ming under orders from the crime boss climbs the ladder becoming an Internal Affairs officer. Each seeks to sabotage their employers until it becomes abundantly clear to both organizations that they have a mole amongst their midst. The men are assigned to discover the mole, knowing they are the mole their bosses are looking for, and also discovering the opposing mole. Yan and Ming circle ever closer and closer to the identity of their cunning counterpart.
Infernal Affairs would have been a fine cops and robbers film as it was. What set it apart were the motivations and yearnings of the main characters. Yan was tired of being seen by society as a bad guy regardless of the suffering he endured to help the police and that same society. He wanted out, but events blew up making that dream unlikely. Ming seemed to have no such qualms for much of the film about his dirty dealings until confronted with who he truly was, and secretly desiring to be the good guy he portrayed to others. The honorable cop was disguised as a bad guy while the bad guy was disguised as an honorable cop. The emotional and mental gymnastics each went through attempting to determine who they truly were set both men on a collision course not only with each other but also their true selves.
The writing, cinematography, music, and sets were all stellar. Tony Leung and Andy Lau had great chemistry with each other and their co-stars. Even though there were internal conflicts, that didn’t mean there was no violence or gun play. The thrilling hide and seek was balanced with action and life or death consequences. Too many gangster films overly rely on revenge, double-crosses and gruesome body counts. Infernal Affairs excelled in bringing two compelling characters to life who struggled to stay alive and keep their identities secret while never letting the story drag. Each man became entrenched in his own hell with very little hope of escaping. Infernal Affairs delivered from beginning to gut punching end.
15 February 2025
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No, just no
At first, I thought The Groin aka Between the Navel and Knees was another remake of Dangerous Liaisons, only in the how can we make it even more disturbing way. Still not sure if this was inspired by it or not. There’s not much information to be found on this movie, most likely because it was awful and didn’t make much sense.Jang Won and Choi Min make a bet regarding who can be the first man to take the chaste Widow Yoo to bed. The stakes? If Choi Min loses, he must give Jang Won everything he owns, including his “wife.” If Jang Won loses, he forfeits his life. Both men begin their subterfuges in order to worm their way into Yoo’s life.
Fair warning, there were many, many sexual scenes. Most were not filmed or acted well. Apparently, in polite Joseon society, people had sex outside or in front of open doors incessantly. There was also a terrible sexual assault and flashbacks to it as if the first time wasn't enough for audiences. Several scenes featured bare breasts if nudeness offends you. Most of this film offended me by how poorly it was made. The acting was very amateurish, which did not help with two unlikeable male leads. The writer(s) chose rather awkward leaps in logic which made little sense. The production values were also rock bottom.
For the most part, it felt like the writer(s) had watched one of the many versions of Dangerous Liaisons and decided to f*ck around and find out how they could make a classic erotic story of betrayal and love worse, so much worse.
31 January 2025
Trigger Warnings-nudity, sexual content, sexual assault, and suicide
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What I liked:
I enjoyed the cast from main characters to bit players. They took great care in picking people for even small roles. The actors certainly gave it their all and most of the characters were interesting.
Much of the storyline was generic, but the trip to the past stocked with sorcerers gave it a unique twist. If only they’d tightened the writing.
The female lead was competent if in need of rescuing on numerous occasions.
What didn’t work for me:
Much of the movie involved chase scenes going nowhere to fill the time.
Another childhood connection story showing two characters were fated to be together. This trope can’t be escaped even in separate timelines.
Overall, the CGI and acting were decent even though it looked like a drama instead of a feature film. This was not an epic story, it was quite simplistic as complex as they tried to make it appear. For me, they simply didn’t have enough story to tell and spent much of the time going in circles and flashing back and forth in time. Two hours was too long for something that could have been accomplished in less than an hour. I would have enjoyed Alienoid/Alienoid 2 more if they’d shortened them to one concise film or extended them for a (very) limited drama filling out the characters whose stories were shorthanded and straightened out some of the messy writing.
6 January 2025
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"I'm surrounded by enemies"
I recently watched The Throne, a film about King Young Jo and Crown Prince Sado’s unhealthy relationship. The Fatal Encounter told the story of Sado’s son, Jung Jo, who inherited the throne when Young Jo died. “I’m surrounded by enemies.” That was a gross understatement. Jung Jo suffered numerous assassination attempts, including the one this film covered.King Jung Jo has only one person in the world that he trusts, his clerk Gap Soo. The Queen Dowager is seeking to kill him along with the Noron party and their many tentacles. His enemies have hired an assassin, #220/Eul Soo as well as enlisting the powerful military leader, General Goo Sun Bok. Over the period of a day, alliances are tested as Jung Jo is set up to be murdered. So much for the heavenly mandate and divine right to rule.
The film started at the end and then traveled back almost 21 hours in time. The power alliances were revealed as well as the shady group that imprisoned and trained children to be assassins. Several of the children had been imbedded within the palace as sleepers and informants.
Hyun Bin gave a strong performance as the entangled king seeking to find a way to stay alive and to protect his people. Jung Jae Young played eunuch and clerk Gap Soo in an understated manner befitting a king’s servant. Jo Jung Suk took a nuanced approach to his assassin #220. Eul Soo wanted to quit and run off with the woman he loved but the king of the assassins wasn’t ready to let him go. The other performances were all a pleasure to watch as well.
The sets and cinematography all helped to pull me into King Jung Jo’s world. The fight choreography was among the best I’ve seen in Korean cinema. Though the king needed to have better trained guards. Eul Soo cut through them like warm butter. Something I learned, it’s best to bring archers during a rainstorm, old style guns were all but useless. #2-Hyun Bin had some marvelous abs showcased in an early scene. Thank you director-nim.
The Fatal Encounter had flashbacks within flashbacks but was still easy to follow. The pacing kept the story moving, never slowing down or dragging. Starring some of the most famous Korean actors and actresses, the performances were a treat to watch. I enjoyed the deadly triangle, square, pentagon…let’s just say deadly polygon that played out over 135 minutes.
“Do your utmost in trivial things. From that you can attain sincerity…It is only those with complete sincerity who can transform everything.”
17 December 2024
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The story itself is universal. A son calls his mom and says he’s coming over. The mother lights up and though physically disabled hobbles to the store in order to purchase ingredients to make a quick meal for him. Mothers everywhere with children at any age want to make sure that they are well fed and happy. Any time they can see their child as they grow older is a gift.
The director's reflection was shown in the mirror while shooting the film when his mother is in the grocery store. My Mother was a sweet short film about the tenacity and generosity of a mother’s love, even for a problematic child.
15 December 2024
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Nothing good happens after midnight
The Woman in the Taxi is the extended version of the short film 3:00 AM. Where 3:00 AM showed the ending of the grisly film, this film tells what actions led to the culmination.A young woman is dressed up and standing at a bus stop seemingly in the middle of nowhere at around midnight. She is talking to her younger sister on a walkie talkie. A taxi stops near her which causes her to take a picture of the tag. Another man in a mask and heavy coat lurks in the shadows near a tree. In the typical fashion of someone who doesn’t want to overreact, she makes mistake after mistake.
As I said in my review for 3:00 AM, I'm not a connoisseur of horror films so I’m not sure how this matches up against other short horror films. A Woman in the Taxi appeared to be a lesson in human paralysis and denial in the face of danger. Or human stupidity often prevalent in horror films. If you enjoy true horror films this might be something you’d like although it was nothing original.
15 December 2024
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I'm not a connoisseur of horror films so I’m not sure how this matches up against other short horror films. This film felt more like an exploitation film by excluding all of the story leading up to the incident which was the ending of the longer film. Better to just watch The Woman in the Taxi to see a lesson in human paralysis and denial in the face of danger. Or human stupidity.
15 December 2024
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"Stay broken, that's normal for you"
A Man of Reason had a strong cast that was dragged down by a generic story filled with coincidences and tropes. Jung Woo Sung and Kim Nam Gil endeavored to breathe life into the bland script with mixed results.Soo Hyuk is finally out of prison after 10 years. He has no desire to return to his criminal life, especially after he discovers he has a daughter. Chairman Park Eung Kook isn’t ready to let go of one of his best men and sends his minion Kang to observe him. Kang takes matters into his own hands and hires “The Washer” to take Soo Hyuk out. Things don’t go as planned when Soo Hyuk’s daughter is kidnapped.
The biggest problem with this film was that director and writer Jung Woo Sung employed tropes that were stale by the year 2000. Execution is all important when treading over old ground. It felt like he attempted to integrate elements from The Joker by having a psychotic killer and his even crazier moll stir things up. The overuse of explosives and an amusement park hideout were a little too on the nose. In the end, none of the characters were developed enough to care about.
Jung and his deep voice made for a believable reformed criminal if not a particularly menacing one. Kim Nam Gil brought the crazy as the sinister “Washer.” He also provided much needed comic relief. Disappointingly, Park Sung Woong and his long-haired wig only dropped by for a small supporting role. The Big Bad ended up being a whiny, incompetent, and jealous assistant. Kim Joon Han didn’t have the screen presence to pull off this poorly drawn character.
A Man of Reason had well-choreographed fights and car chases even when they veered into incredulity. Fans of Jung Woo Sung and Kim Nam Gil may enjoy watching these two spar and banter. Unfortunately, that’s about all Jung’s directorial effort offered.
27 November 2024
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