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‘Legendary Couple’ (1995)
I stumbled across this, past midnight, on a Hong Kong movie channel. Missing the first portion, it took me a little while to figure out what was happening, but it’s too long. Still, the image of Simon Yam strapping a baby to his body and starting a crime spree with Chingmy Yau by his side […]
‘Royal Warriors’ (1986)
Glorious! Michelle Yeoh, at the age of 23, stars along with Michael Wong and Henry Sanada as law enforcement officers fighting a nasty group of criminals. The action starts on the streets of Hong Kong, lifts into the sky as a hijacking is foiled through a mid-air gun battle / martial arts confrontation, continues through […]
‘Mad Detective’ Review
I’m glad to see that Johnny To has become a recognizable, marketable name on the international film festival circuit. His trio of excellent and stylish films in 2006 (ELECTION, ELECTION 2, EXILED) generated considerable enthusiasm beyond the niche of loyal, hardcore Hong Kong film fans. Even more exciting for me, though, was the prospect of […]
‘Dog Bite Dog’ Review
Grabs you by the back of the neck and body slams you into the mud. Before you can catch your breath, your face is scraped along a broken concrete highway, leaving a long, bloody trail. All that’s left is for a speeding truck to crush your head like a grape. Read my entire review at Twitch.
Love for Adults Only
One more DVD release for the week that I missed on Tuesday: ArtsMagic DVD presents the latest in its “pink” line. Love – Zero = Infinity “One of the infamous ‘Four Devils’ of the Japanese pink movie scene, who dominated the erotic cinema of the 1980s and 90s, Hisayasu Sato delivers his own unique take […]
A cello, electric shadows, and other DVDs
Perusing the wonderfully useful Twitch DVD Release Calendar, here are my picks of the Asian films to be released this week in Region 1. Cello “A cellist is haunted by strange events after a car wreck.” 2005. South Korea. 92 minutes. Tartan Video Directed by Lee Woo-cheol Featuring Jeong Ho-bin, Jeong Yu-mi, Park Da-an, Seong […]
‘The Concrete Revolution’ Review
A friend of mine recently returned from a week-long business trip to Beijing. He talked about the tremendous size of the city, the ten traffic loops that surround it, the incredible cleanliness (people mopping the roads), and the complete absence of birds (as far as he could tell). He also noted that bulldozers were busy […]
New Jackie Chan; Miike is Missed
Jackie Chan revived his Police Story franchise by slapping New in the title and making it more dramatic — his squad is killed in front of his helpless eyes and he becomes an alcoholic until a young cop gets him back in the game. If I were to rate the series, I’d put this fifth […]
Yes, it is Late Spring
Dig deep into your pockets, folks, it’s time to fork over two twenties for another Criterion release. Here’s the sales pitch in their own words: “One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu‘s family portraits, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent […]
A Better Tomorrow 