Tai Chi Chuan (aka Secret of Tai Chi)

                                                               1982
                                                  Director: Chick I Hung
                                   Starring: Xian Gao, Liang Guo, Hoi Yin Lee
                             
                                                  
One of my earliest exposures to Mainland China martial arts cinema, thanks to a timely vhs release by Ocean Shores.

An evil general orders an attack on a small clan that had been opposing him. The matriach is killed and only a few survive. These include an ex General and his two sons... who naturally swear revenge. Wrecklessly attacking the a portion of the General's army, the sons watch their father get mortally wounded, but are saved by a Shaolin monk. As he dies, the father explains to one of his sons that he was adopted and that his real father was also a General who was offed by the same baddie. They  swear double revenge, but now are wise enough to go into hiding. They retreat to a secret cave where they can plot and plan. One day while gathering food, the two heroes witness two woman "dancing". Attempting to get a closer look, they are found out. The ladies explain that they are practicing Tai Chi. Their father explains that he too is an ousted General (alot of that going around) and agrees to teach the two vistors this unusual martial art and help prepare to get revenge.

The story is simple and predictable, a little too much so for this fan. But this is how it was for these early Mainland China epics. There was really no originality to speak of. Any fan of the genre has seen this story dozens of times (if not more so) in various Hong Kong and Taiwan lensed features. What does set this (and other Mainland films) apart from it's city dwelling brethren are the breathtaking country side settings and amazing (and plentiful) martial arts sequences, performed by actual lifelong practitioners (as opposed to Hong Kong where many of it's biggest stars where taught expressly for feature films). Although it's flowery Tai Chi and Wushu movements may take a little getting used to at first, ultimately it makes for terrific viewing. Of course as I mentioned in my review of 'Undaunted Wudang', there is a tradeoff of sorts as the very things that make these fighters so impressive also make them less personable. What you'll come away with here is remembering the action scenery, but not so much any one actor (no Fu Sheng or Chen Kwan Tai to be found here) and certainly not the dime a dozen plot (which truth to tell, I needed to rewatch just to remember what the story here was actually about).

Ultimately, "Tai Chi Chuan' will appeal to hard core martial arts film fans and perhaps to actual Tai Chi practicioners as the film is as much a Tai Chi lesson as it is a story bound film. Casual action fans may not be as into it, but for kung fu addicts, it easily serves it's purpose.

                                                                   Rating: 5/10

Empire on Fire

                                                               1988
                                               Director:Maman Firmansyah
                             Starring: Mike Abbott, Atut Augustinato, Nina Anwar
                                              
                                                         
When it comes to perverse action films, few countries can match Indonesia for sheer outrageousness. This entry, 'Empire on Fire' may not feature as much over the top action and gore as say the Jaka Sembung series, but it makes up for it (depending on your taste, that is) with an eyebrow raising display of sexual violence and general bad behavior.

Once again, The Dutch are the enemy as nasty invader, Bogart (Mike Abbott, who made a career out of playing American bad guys in many Hong Kong movies of the '80s including 'Fatal Termination', 'City Hunter' and 'A Better Tomorrow 2' as well as a fair share of Godfrey Ho cut and paste pics) invading the Indonesian countryside with (oddly) his army of local villains. As per the usual pillaging, they kill all the men and rape the women (as one particular shot so graphically demonstrates, showing one soldier leaving a burning hut while fixing his uniform. The following shot shows a woman stumbling from the hut bleeding down her legs!). It climaxes with the beheading of the local leader in front of his surviving people. After the siege, Bogart claims himself king of the land and sells off the survivors as human slaves (what a guy!). Fast forward a few years and the son and wife of the slain village leader break up one particular slave auction in order to rescue one named Mira. They believe that she is the one who can bring down the evil Bogart (exactly why she is the chosen one is not made clear, to me anyway). To 'train' her for this, she is put through all manner of sexual tortures in order to toughen her up so she can withstand Bogart's violent rape sessions. These include laying her on a red hot slab of rock and then pounding her vagina with a slab of wood until she looses feeling in it (I'm not kidding)! After more plot contrivances including another Dutch General whom Mira has had a previous encounter with and secretly wants to kill even more than Bogart, the nasty baddies all get their comeuppance in appropriately bloody and gory fashion.

As you may ascertain from the above plot rundown, 'Empire on Fire' is not a film that's recommended to children... or adults with scruples for that matter. It's depiction of rape (and the heroine's training to withstand it) is so outrageously matter of fact that my brain eventually became numb to it, much like Mira's vagina (yeah I went there... I don't care anymore). What makes the proceedings even odder is the way everything is portrayed. The action (which includes a fair amount of entertaining martial arts battles) are as gory as one may expect, yet the 'violent rape' sequences (there is no nudity in this film, btw) are portrayed as little more than flowery romantic encounters worthy of a love story!

Though the plot gets overly complicated in the second half with at least a couple of characters too many, 'Empire on Fire' still adds up to bizarre, action filled and head shakingly wrongminded entertainment. When it comes to culture shock for this New Jersey native, Indonesian exploitation films can 'shock' like few others can.

                                                                5/10

I Love Maria (aka Roboforce)

                                                               1988
                                           Director: David Chung, Tsui Hark
        Starring: Sally Yeh, John Shum, Tsui Hark, Tony Leung Chui Wai, Lam Ching Ying

                                                    
Producer/Director/Actor Tsui Hark at the peak of his creative output, tackles this oddly lighthearted variation of Paul Verhoven's much darker 'Robocop' with a nod to Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' (which also featured a robot duplicate of a female character named Maria).

The film follows the ironically named Hero Gang, a villianous organization that threatens to send it's giant transformer robot out to reek havoc on Hong Kong if the city doesn't fork over a ton of cash. With the police helpless, a trio of bumbling heroes go into action. They are an eccentric inventor (John Shum), a newspaper reporter (Tony Leung Chui Wai) and an ex-gang member determined to right his ex-mates wrongs (Tsui Hark). The Hero Gang in the meantime have created another decidedly different robot. This one is patterned after female gang member, Maria (Sally Yeh). This robot is sent after our goofy protags, but it malfunctions and is reprogrammed to go after it's creators instead.

'I Love Maria' is a film with a particularly troubled production history. How troubled? Well the film was originally to be produced by Tsui Hark and directed by David Chung. However at some point near the end of filmmaking, meddling Tsui took over director's reigns and reshot chunks of footage. Exactly how much is uncertain, but it must have been extensive as in the original cut, Tsui's character is not in it! That's right, a major character is wriiten into a film just as it was near completion, yikes! That this is scarcely noticeable in the final cut is admittedly a tribute to Tsui as a director, but it begs the question as to why this was done in the first place. Was the original film that bad or was this yet another case of Tsui the producer forcing his will on one his young director's works (a common theme for Tsui at this stage of his career which for better or worse, must have been utterly maddening for whichever director he placed his stamp on). The end result, is (as would be expected) a pretty uneven affair. The early portions of the film are dedicated to our mismatched heroes through a series of subdued 'Lucky Stars' like misadventures. As usual, I could have done without much of this, but at least the three leads are charismatic enough to make it watchable. Things pick up in the second half however and feature some impressive action setpieces and fun low tech special effects. There is also a good natured feel to the overall film (belying it's problematic production) and this helps make it very rewatchable.

Of the cast, the film belongs to Sally Yeh who turns in a incredible dual performace, possibly the best of her career. Utterly and wonderfully ruthless as the female gang member, she is completely charming and believable as the reprogrammed fembot. (and looking extremely chic as both). She also gets to briefly show off some great martial arts moves which made me realize that she could have had a successful career in the 'Girls With Guns' subgenre if she had chosen to go that route. It also makes me lamment further that her standout martial arts battle sequence in 'Peking Opera Blues' was mysteriously cut out (it can be glimpsed over the end credits).

Overall, 'I Love Maria' is far from perfect. As a comedic robot adventure, it isn't as much fun as 'Aces Go Places 2' and as a superhero adventure, it falls short of 'Super Inframan'. Still it is an enjoyable little sci fi action comedy, just one that feels like it could have been even more. I'll take it as is, though I'll admit that I'm very curious to see David Chung's original cut. But that's unlikely ever to surface.

                                                                      Rating: 6/10

Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman (aka Zatoichi Meets His Equal)

                                                               1971
                                              Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
                                         Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Wang Yu

                                                      
The twenty six films that compliled the original Zatoichi film series which starred Shintaro Katsu were among the best samurai films ever made which means they were some of the best in world cinema, period. Filled with action, biting satire and a dash of warmth when applicable, these short (by Chanbara cinema standards) epics are some of the most re watchable in the entire genre. Viewing several in a row gives off the feeling that you are watching choice pieces of an even greater whole (and of course, they are plenty enjoyable on an individual basis as well). Yet despite the greatness of nearly every entry, when it came time to team Blind Ichi with another famous sword character, I felt they came up comparitively short. The first of these, 'Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo' should have been great fun (at the very least). Instead while not a bad pic, it was arguably the weakest entry in either franchise. The second, 'Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire' was better, but still felt like a forced way to reprise Tatsuya Nakadai's 'Sword of Doom' character. Again a good film (and a bloody one, too), but I wouldn't call it one of the great ones (there are some who disagree, though). The third attempt however, was the charm as 'Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman just may be the best film in the entire series.

Directed by genre vet  Kimiyoshi Yasuda, this effort imported Hong Kong's top action star Wang Yu and his very popular one armed character, Fang Kang and told a dark tale of  eventual spiritual and emotional 'blindness'. At the start, we see Fang Kang (here renamed Wang Kang, perhaps due to an ongoing dispute between Wang Yu and at the time parent company Shaw Brothers who owned the rights to his films and characters) tired of a life of constant violence and bloodshed, deciding to visit a friend in Japan. On his way to a temple, he encounters and befriends a Chinese couple and young son who happen to live their as foreigners. Things almost immediately go bad when the group happen upon a local samurai procession. Not understanding the customs, the boy does something to offend the Japanese lord. Shockingly, they are about to kill the small boy right then and there, but for Fang's intervention. After cutting down the advancing samurai, Fang and his new found friends come under siege. The parents are killed and Fang and the boy both flee. Happening upon the scene is Blind Ichi who wisks the boy away while Fang awaits at the Temple for their return. Both the blind swordsman and one-armed swordsman find their individual paths dogged and through a combination of outsider treachery and a terrible misunderstanding (language barrier) our two heroes find themselves in a tragic faceoff where only one will survive.

At it's heart, this film is about cultural and language barriers and the terrible consequences that can be caused from a simple misunderstanding. It is a powerful film, perhaps the most powerful of any Zatoichi film and easily the deepest of the One-Armed series (as would be expected being a Japanese production). Katsu's blindman is at his most world weary as he pieces together the situation, only to wind up being confronted by the very man he so desperately tried to help. Wang Yu's one armed man may not seem like exactly the same character as he did in his own series, but this is likely due to an attempt to acclimate Fang Kang into a new setting. Some Shaw purists scoffed at his character's treatment here, but I think Yasuda showed a good deal of respect. The scenes with Fang are extremely well handled as it's obvious the film crew had studied the Chinese films closely what with his trademark impossibly high leaps and 'Basher' style martial arts moves well represented. Indeed there is abundant action featuring both stars and watching their distinct styles together is a real treat. If there is a disappointment to found, it's that our near supernatural duo do not fight side by side at any point. Also, Hong Kong film fans were understandably distraught over Fang ultimately dying at Ichi's hands (note: there is apparently an alternate Chinese language cut which has yet to surface that features additional Wang Yu footage that puts his character more to the forefront and shows him winning the climatic battle). Being a fan of Wang Yu and Kung Fu movies in general, I can understand this. But taken as a one-off type deal, this movie is a masterpiece. It's as good as Asian Action Cinema gets.

                                                              
                                                                       Rating: 10/10

Angel Terminators

1992

Director: Wai Lit

Starring: Yeung Pan Pan, Carrie Ng, Kenneth Tsang, Hui Ying Hung

 Here's a sadly neglected late entry in the 'Girls With Guns' cycle.

 In it, 70's kung fu faves Yeung Pan Pan and Hui Ying Hung play a pair of Dirty Harriet detectives who will go to any extreme to solve a case or bust whatever lowlife scum they happen upon. When Hui is called away, Yeung sets her sites on a mob kingpin (played by Kenneth Tsang) who is returning from Thailand to reclaim his empire, bringing with him some international sleezeballs in the form of genre faves Michiko Nishiwaki (who cuts off her pinkie Yakuza style after a blown mission) and Mark Houghton (who has made a career out of such parts). A subplot involves Tsang's former mistress (Carrie Ng) who has left him to marry another man... who just happens to be a young up and coming policeman.

Having been lensed in 1992, 'Angel Terminators' offers a particularly rough and ready melding of both the 'Girls With Guns' and 'Heroic Bloodshed'  genres. Along with the expected bloody shootouts that dominated the post John Woo scene, it features many terrific fight sequences among it's more than capable cast as well as some of the most insanely dangerous looking stunts I have ever seen (yes, EVER), highlighted by a climatic jump from rooftop to telephone line some thirty feet off the ground (all in one medium angle shot that appears to have been done without a safety net) that is the pinnacle of death defying filmmaking. The low budget and poor editing do the pic no service, but can't detract from the mind roasting action on display.

The cast truly give it their all here. Yeung Pan Pan started out in period martial arts films like 'Two Wondorous Tigers' in the late 70s before moving on to the modern day action that would dominate the HK movie scene. This is one of her few starring roles and it's really a shame that she wasn't given more opportunities to take center stage as she was definitely up to the challenge in every respect. A martial artist since the age of 4, Yeung's fighting skills and fearlessness regarding stuntwork are absolutely second to none. She also displays some strong acting skills as late in the film, she is captured and drugged and is forced to go through cold turkey ala Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle in 'French Connection 2'. Hui Ying Hung made her claim to fame by being featured in Liu Chia Liang's classic Shaw Brothers films like 'My Young Auntie' and 'The Lady is the Boss'. She was never able to replicate her Shaw success in these later films, but her supreme martial arts skills and natural charisma elevate anything she appears in. Kenneth Tsang is perhaps best known for playing the owner of the taxi cab company in Woo's 'Better Tomorrow' films. He plays a memorably slimy villian here, seemingly under control through much of it only to ultimately reveal his inner rage It's a thoroughly hissable perf. Carrie Ng's glamorous beauty serves her well here as the doomed love interest and she proves to be... let's say, a good sport as the target of Tsang's frustrations. Bad guy supreme Dick Wei shows up at the end to offer a brief, but welcome high energy scuffle as he takes on both Yeung and Hui.

 'Angel Terminators' is truly a hidden gem. It isn't perfect, but it's a real blast of modern Hong Kong action that no self respecting fan of the genre should miss. It comes highly recommended.

*** / ****

Lionman (Kilic Aslan)

                                                              1975
                                                 Director: Natuk Baytan
                          Starring: Cuneyt Arkin, Bahar Erdeniz, Yildirim Gencer

                                                 
I only recently started taking notice of just how many period pieces Cuneyt Arkin appeard in throughout the '60s and '70s. And from the ones I've viewed, they all seem to be lensed around the same wooded area and utilize the same castle. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Afterall, I've seen countless Hong Kong Shaw Bros. films and have seen the same indoor sets I don't know how many times. This type of thing when it's visually pleasing (and in both cases, they are) can give off a feeling of comfortable familiarity. I've come to really enjoy Arkin's 70s period escapades, be it rumbling in the jungle or stormin' the castle. Of the many that I've so far seen, Lionman is the wildest and possibly the best.

The story: The King is murdered by a rival who assumes the throne himself. He also kidnaps the murdered majesty's child and unbeknownst to the kid, raises him to be his own son whilst keeping the mother locked away. A twin child however is led away to safety... into the jungle. There, he is essentially raised by lions until adulthood. Filled with superhuman beast-like strength (he literally roars) and discovering through a band of rebels his true heritage, our Lionman storms the castle and discovers his twin brother who in turn learns of HIS heritage from their captive mother (who is quickly 'silenced' permanently). The reunited brothers go after the illegitamte king (and murderer of both of their parents). During the fracas, the faux king douses the lionman's hands with acid. Barely managing to escape, our hero and his rebel friends make it back to their fort where the lionman gets a makeover from the local blacksmith; a pair of razor sharp, iron 'lion claws'. Now fully 'armed', our heroes return to the castle to settle some unfinished business with the faux king.

Veteran director Natuk Baytan keeps the way, way over the top adventure moving at a rapid (or more accurately, rabid) pace, even by normal Turk pop standards. Yet despite the blazing pacing as well as it's low budget and extreme cheeseball factor (the scenes with the our lionman both as child and grownup interacting via splitscreen with his lion kin is an absolute hoot), this film has an undeniably epic feel, no doubt due to it's authentic scenery and castle backdrop (which Baytan puts to great use here, despite the familiarity of it). The result is akin to a fever dream mishmash of period genres, served up in maniacally ridiculous fashion.

At the center of it is one of Cuneyt Arkin's most memorable roles (which is REALLY saying something). Showing no shame whatsoever and holding nothing back (as usual), he attacks the man/beast role with a crazed, over the top vigor (even by HIS standards) that must be seen to be believed. Most actors would shun doing such free spirited pantamime, but not our beloved Cuneyt. And as silly as his facial expressions tend to be, he still lends the part a level of power and authority that only he can. It's a perfomance for the ages (well, one of many from him).

Lionman is a must see for Turk Cult fans as well as action packed period cheese fest enthusiasts. It's easily one of the most entertaining from this genre that I've yet seen and may even displace Battal Gazi Geliyor as the perfect introduction to the insane joys of Turkish Pop Cinema.

                                                                   ***1/2 / ****

People's Hero (aka A Public Hero)

                                                               1987
                                              Director: Tung Shing Yee
Starring: Ti Lung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Elaine Jin, Paul Chun, Wong Ban, Tony Leung Ka Fei

                                                      
With the mega success of A Better Tomorrow, long time star Ti Lung found his floundering career re energized and throughout the second half of the '80s, he was a much in demand actor for all manner of modern crime action/dramas. Though he never overtook fellow ABT co-star Chow Yun Fat in the popularity department, he may have actually recieved the meatier roles during this period, albeit in decidedly smaller films. This one, 'People's Hero' which takes it's inspiration from 'Dog Day Afternoon', is one of the best examples of that.

Tony Leung Chui Wai and Wong Ban play a pair of bumbling would-be bank robbers who out of desperation, attempt a moring heist. It almost immediately goes awry when Wong has an epeliptic fit. With things going south, one of the 'hostages', a notorious ex-con named Sonny Koo (Ti Lung) decides to take over the proceedings and use the situation as a means of negotiating to get his tough girlfriend out of prison (and she wants nothing to do with him). Things are further complicated by infighting between the sympathetic hostage negotiator (Tony Leung Ka Fei) and the cold blooded head detective (Paul Chun) who simply wants Sonny dead.

Clocking in at a lean 82 minutes and shot more or less in real time, 'People's Hero' is a tight and nearly note perfect thriller. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this movie going in as I was underwhelmed by Ringo Lam's highly regarded 'City On Fire' and was reluctant to give another non- John Woo HK crime flick a try (this was around 1990), but this tense, character driven film really did the trick for me. Director Tung Shing Yee is known mostly for his later, flashier, classier productions like 'Full Throttle' and 'C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri', but here he shows a mastery of gritty crime filmmaking that makes me wish he had revisited this genre more frequently (only recently has he returned to his roots with the surprsing 'Shinjuku Incident' starring a much cast against type Jackie Chan). The ensemble acting is all high caliber, led by the towering presence of Ti Lung who may have turned in the best performance of his career here. Initially intimidating, we learn as the film progresses that his Sonny Koo is not the heartless, cold blooded killer that he was portrayed as. It's an extroadinary perf and one that should have furthered his career. But when the film came out, it was up and coming co-star Tony Leung Chiu Wai as the in-over-his-head thief that received all of the accolades. This isn't the first time that Ti Lung found himself somewhat in the shadow of a young up and comer (see 'A Better Tomorrow' for the most notable example).

'People's Hero' is a fine, rare example of '80s Hong Kong action filmmaking that doesn't rely on martial arts battles or slow motion gun fights to draw it's audience in. Recommended..

                                                                  *** / ****