What Asian Films Have You Been Watching Recently?

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Went last night to check out Tsui Hark's latest installment in the DETECTIVE DEE franchise, THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS and it was what I had expected and anticipated. A bigger budget CGI infused version of the other films in the trilogy and you're either a fan of these flicks or you're not. I'm a fan, so I did enjoy the raw visual appeal and the overall kinetic energy even if I did yearn for the he screenplay to focus more on the "Sherlock Holmes" aspect and less on the gaudy visuals but oh well, it is what it is & I readily admit that the white ape vs thousand eyes creature was fantastic looking. While I do miss Andy Lau in the titular role from the first film, I can't deny that Mark Chao brings a certain charm to the character as well.

Also, watched Norihiro Niwatsukino's SUFFERING OF NINKO & the premise seemed quite interesting & it started out promising but ultimately it just falls flat. A period comedy-drama about a devout buddhist monk in training, who is seemingly irresistible to the opposite (as well as same) sex & fighting carnal temptations should have made for some fun ribald parody but the second half turns into some lame kaiden inspired ghost story & just kills any momentum the film had carried thus far. The best parts of the film were the short animated sequences combining mandala Buddhist drawings with ukiyo-e woodblock print techniques. I actually think this film would've worked & flowed better strictly as an animated short.

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Vampire Clay (血を吸う粘土) (Japan, 2016) [VoD] - 1.5/5
There's been anticipation that special effects maestro Soichi Umezawa could be the next Yoshihiro Nishimura. Alas, that was not to be, not yet at least. This low budget idol horror fails to follow up his wild SFX showcase Y is for Youth and psychological body horror short Thorn. On the positive front side there's an almost fanatic avoidance of CGI in favour of practical effects on display here. Unfortunately the tale of desperate art students attacked by blood thirsty clay (yes!) is as boring as it gets. The film is also strangely dull in technical terms: the music is terrible, the video and sound editing lacks any punch and the ending is extended beyond any sense. It's also restrained enough in terms of splatter to have landed a G rating in Japan, though it would still equal to a soft R in the United States.

I was hoping you were being overly harsh on this flick but nope just wishful thinking on my part. I think you were being generous with the 1.5 stars. This shit was bad and that ending was like WTF? What was even purpose of that scene other than to drag this turd out even longer than necessary. The practical effects were really cheesy and amateurish too (that stop motion claymation at the end was hilarious but not in a good way). Maybe even rudimentary CGI would've been improvement here? My print said Monument Releasing in the intro, so guess they have the US rights to this crap. Avoid at all cost.

[Jason C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jason C]

Watched Torakku Yaro 5 (aka Truck Guys, Truck Rascals). It's a ton of fun. The mix of silly comedy, sleaze and action hit me just right for the mood I was in that night. One the things I dig about 70's Japanese flicks is that, as a Westerner, they often have moments that you don't see coming. Based off the tone of this film there were some fairly big WTF moments. Especially for the type of film that takes a break for music number like its some beach movie or Cannonball Run-esque ensemble film. I chose to watch Part 5 of the series just to scratch my Sonny Chiba itch and he didn't disappoint. He's damn good as a hot-headed jerk.

Side note: It caught my attention the characters shout their dialogue at each-other even more than I'm used to for these 70's exploitation films. Which is to say, they yell a lot. I'm assuming there weren't a lot of takes and the actors were exhausted each day.

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Catching up on the fourth installment of the AMAZING DETECTIVE DI RENJIE TV series that aired on CCTV back in 2010. Still includes the core trio of director, Qian Yanqiu and actors Liang Guanhua & Zhang Zijian. Finishing up the first part titled "Gold and Silver Case" and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. My friend turned me onto this as he said it's pretty gory and violent for a TV series. He wasn't kidding as the battle scene in the desert at the end of ep 22 was right out of LW&C -- a lot of hacked limbs, arterial spray, heads lopped off and bodies ripped apart by spears! A mix of CGI and practical effects and resident bad ass General Zhang Zijian and his double are awesome too with the wire & stunt work involved in the battle scene. The beginning was a straight trip also as they showed Tartars infiltrating Han territory and literally carving up the Chinese soldiers with their scimitars (described in the subs as "deboning") and leaving nothing but bloody skeletons in their wake!

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I'm a glutton for punishment as even though I felt the first in the Joshi Gakuen series was very mediocre to terrible, against my better judgement I decided to catch the sequel, GIRL'S JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL: TROUBLE AT GRADUATION. This one was even worse if that's possible. More of the same from the first film which made for a tiring watch. The continuing theme in this series is to show the hypocrisy of the establishment (school + police) and authoritarian society in terms of how they view youth culture and sexual mores but it's so lame that the message is lost among the juvenile hijinks and corny ass humor. This one is strictly for Junko Natsu fans. Also, Jiro Okazaki in his recurring role as a two bit yakuza father figure to the girls is the most annoying & useless character in this trilogy -- he's so bad that I began to fast forward his scenes. There was one scene where he breaks the fourth wall and sheepishly edits out a steamy sex scene during the sex ed class which was slightly humorous though but I'm loathe to give him any credit for it.

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I'm not familiar with this show, nor Japanese TV in general really, other than some Toei action shows. But yeah, Japanese TV used to be very liberal and kind of kicked ass from the 60s to the late 80s. In the 80's especially when Japanese action cinema was dead, TV often offered a better platform for action and cop shows.

Some day I really need to find time to sit through all of Seibu keisatsu.

Sadly, that's all the past. Nowadays all you have is crappy soap operas, and you can't even show breasts on TV anymore.

I just saw this cool little segment uploaded on YT about the cool cars from that show sponsored by Nissan. Like the droptop Gazelle, Skylines and of course the famous Super Z!

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Just came back from checking out Kim Yong-hwa's ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS and will have more to say about this sequel to the hit from last year later. I was pleasantly surprised that my showing (mid-afternoon) was still jam packed and nary an empty seat in the theater. word of mouth and fans of the first film must've attracted quite a buzz about this one. While I was checking out the lobby posters, I noticed Erik Matti's BUYBUST is going to showing next week. I'm eagerly anticipating that one will definitely be checking it out (on its opening if possible).

Anyway, the last flick I caught at home was Zhenzao Lin's THE UNITY OF HEROES starring Vince Zhao reprising his role of Wong Fei Hung yet again. Wasn't great or even good & quite cheesy in parts but enjoyable on some levels. All the usual tropes are present such as Wong Fei-hung as the paragon of righteous traditional Chinese values, Po Chi Lam clinic, Siu-kwan (13th Auntie), rival martial arts school, evil gweilos, goofy sidekicks and students of Wong Fei Hung, etc and this flick is kind of trip down memory lane (as far back as the 90s at least) with all the nostalgia and throwback vibe. The actual kung fu action is the usual wire assisted stuff that is synonymous with the 90s flicks and it's nothing special in this regard but I've grown fond of Vincent Zhao as an onscreen fighter. No one is going to confuse him for Jet Li but his martial arts background & knowledge are readily apparent in the way he handles himself.

The actual plot is ludicrous involving a mad scientist (British without the accent?) who is using the guise of his opium rehab clinic as a laboratory to produce zombie like fighters and whitey (Western influence in general) is portrayed in stark terms as evil and corrupting of traditional Chinese values. Not sure who the actress is playing the 13th auntie (siu kwan character) but she looks like a Uyghur. It's funny how the Han Chinese are allegedly oppressing the Uyghur population but they sure like their women and their Eurasian features and you see more and more of them in mainstream Chinese films.

[ropo1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ropo1]

Nun Story: Frustration in Black 7/10
A slightly different take on the nunsploitation genre throwing in the cult angle. With that said, do expect the usual traits (& treats) and even some funny sound design that involves cows (I only spotted horses) when the nuns are working in the field. Best of the recent Impulse releases imo, but I guess it will be bothersome to the next generation film-goer as the image transfer isn't the best.

Recently and once again caught up on all roman pornos availible to non-japanese speakers - other fairly recent watched highlights from the fansubbers Female Delinquent: A Docu-Drama, Assault!, High School Girl's Fake Diary and to a lesser extent Delicate Skillful Fingers (uneven to me with some amateur scenes, but it gets progressively better so I guess it was shot in continuation mostly)

Attack of the Joyful Goddess 4/10
Chang Che goes chinese opera murder mystery with a splice of kung fu. Opening/ending scene is the highlights, whats inbetween is plain and boring.

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I caught Herman Yau's latest release the joint HK/Malaysian production, THE LEAKERS - a corporate espionage/viral outbreak crime thriller with Yau adding a hacker angle to make things interesting but it fails to deliver. Just a rehash and retread of much better films and the whole ridiculous premise is just played out. The only cool thing for me was seeing Francis Ng and Kent Cheng still around (so many good memories of that pair during the heyday of HK films) especially Ng who is sporting a cool looking perm and attired in 90s grunge wear throughout. This onscreen action consists of a few car chase scenes, explosions and some gunplay but it just feels like filler due to the story having very little substance and the imbroglio revolving around Kent Cheng as the scion of a pharmaceutical empire with its various twists and turns feels like a soap opera. Not recommended except for hardcore Yau fans.

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Went to a late night showing of actor Huang Bo's directorial debut, THE ISLAND. Been a fan of Bo's movies as an actor, so I had some expectations going in to this one. Imagine Gilligan's Island meets Lord of the Flies with a dash of rom-com sensibilities. Yeah, it's all over the place and therefore tends to lose focus -- not to mention, it's at least an half hour too long. The pacing really bogs down about a third of the way in which hampers the storytelling. Not a horrible debut effort from Bo but just never gets out of second gear. Just when you think it's finally going to in an interesting direction or a totally offbeat path but it reverts back to more of the same old. Huang Bo is reunited with co-star, Wang Baoqiang from their hit LOST IN THAILAND & they have their moments (especially the near slapstick scene revolving around Wang's "mental illness") but the anticipated chemistry between Bo and Wang just isn't there. I've never been a fan of Shu Qi and she's more of the same here as Bo's unrequited office love interest & don't let the thumbnail of the trailer video fool you, it's beyond plausibility that Qi can maintain to look like a model after being stranded on a deserted island for more than a couple months but nary a hair out of of place and her made up lips are always so moist and scrumptious looking. Strictly rental fare. Watch once and forget.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Three Lakes Prison: Widespread Brutality (三池監獄 兇悪犯) (Japan, 1973) [TV] - 3/5
Try to beat this opening: dirty prisoners working in a coal mine dig a tunnel to the neighbouring mine... a tunnel full of sweaty topless girls in physical labour. Someone's tipped off the guards though, and as they return every man is shot (3-15 times). A 1973 Toei film by Shigehiro Ozawa, this initially seems like a male version of WiP movies, complete with bare-assed men marching the corridors, naked guys in tiny cages, a silent protagonist, and at least one third of the inmate population being gay. How odd. Unfortunately the film then tones it down considerably to become a socially aware, violent drama about Meiji Era Japan which was exploiting prisoners to finance their war with Russia. The jitsuroku influence is obvious. The film's weak link is Koji Tsuruta, the venerable samurai and ninkyo star who is obviously disgusted to be in this movie, and would quit Toei very soon after. Co-stars Joe Shishido, Goro Ibuki and Minoru Oki give more passionate performances. Uneven but interesting film, and peculiar for its coal mine setting. Note: misspelled by IMDb and Chris D.'s as "San ike kangoku", the correct reading is "Miike kangoku: Kyoakuhan".

The Four Roughnecks (あばよダチ公) (Japan, 1974) [DVD] - 3.5/5
Four young slackers (three incels and one Yusaku Matsuda) with total disregard for honesty and other people's property retreat to a isolate, riverside hut with a girl (Sayoko Kato) who hooks up with them. This 70s neo-taiyozoku film is stacked with constant cheap sex jokes (Gajiro Sato groping anything that moves, and even trying to rape a goat) but the cast is so good and director Yukihiro Sawada helms with such energetic swing that the film easily wins over. There's surprisingly much sex and nudity, as if Sawada forgot the Roman Porno gear on (this was one of Nikkatsu's few non-Roman Porno films of the 70s) but it's all cheerful and fun rather than pervy and dull.



Song of Ossan of Kawachi (河内のオッサンの唄) (Japan, 1976) [DVD] - 2/5
Takuzo Kawatani, Toei's loud mouth punk bit player and comic relief, somehow landed starring a role in this short running series. This first film is a countryside drama/comedy with a yakuza undercurrent. Kawatani is fun to watch as good hearted village ossan (middle aged man) with no patience at all for anything, but the film doesn't utilize his talent for loud mouthing and tragicomedy as much as it should. There's too much non-eventful drama with supporting characters (young trucker guy Koichi Iwaki, his gal Emi Shimizu, and even a grumpy grandma) in what is a family friendly affair on top of all (light violence and brief boobs only). The film only becomes genuinely entertaining when Kawatani goes against Tokyo yakuza Kenji Imai at the end... largely because in spite of his overly optimistic attempts he nearly always gets his own ass kicked.

Song of Ossan of Kawachi: Yokita no ware (河内のオッサンの唄　よう来たのワ㠃¬) (Japan, 1976) - 3.5/5
Now we're talking! This is the Takuzo Kawatani show the first film should've been! The ossan runs into a sympathetic conman (excellent Kunie Tanaka) whom he mistakes as a gambling genius. He agrees to shelter his gal (spunky Hiroko Isayama) which sends all kinds of sparks flying with his wife, the other piranhas and gangsters. And then there's Hideo Murota taking the piss out of Kawatani at every turn! This is a very enjoyable sequel that omits the dull drama of the first film and replaces it with fast pace and likeable characters. Also included is a cool soundtrack, a gambling duel that makes most proper gambler movies pale in comparison, and lots of hilarious moments with the short tempered Kawatani haunted by objects that are destined to land on his face. For a comparison especially apt for this film, Kawatani was the Donald Duck of Toei!



Piranha Corps (ピラニア軍団　ダボシャツの天) (Japan, 1977) [DVD] - 2/5
The third and final mid 70s Takuzo Kawatani starring vehicle, unrelated to the two Ossan of Kawachi films. Kawatani is a small time Osaka thug hanging out with his scarred aniki Isao Natsuyagi. There's a wonderfully pathetic fight at the end with Kawatani and fellow piranha just scratching each other's faces and crying their eyes out, but other than that there's not much truly outrageous stuff in the film, nor as much piranhas as the title would have you expect. The film is neither very funny nor too violent, which was perhaps to be expected from director Kosaku Yamashita. In the 60s his name served as automatic recommendation for any film he made. In the 70s he somehow lost his touch, perhaps not keen on the modern yakuza mayhem, and his films became lifeless. Note: this was a standalone film with no follow-ups. The other Piranha Corps film listed by Chris D. and IMDb does not exist.

A Pool Without Water (水のないプール) (Japan, 1982) [DVD] - 4.5/5
An absolutely astonishing, almost hypnotic dive into the psyche of a man who becomes a morally corrupted but not downright evil rapist. Yuya Uchida, a rock star turned absolutely fearless actor, is excellent as bored, sexually frustrated family man who discovers he can take advantage of women during their sleep without getting caught using chloroform. Feeling quilt, he actually prepares breakfast and does the house cleaning for his regular victim. It is for its refusal to outright condemn its protagonist that the film is so unique, challenging and thought provoking, tied to Japanese society and its film history of sympathizing otaku, and frankly couldn't exist in almost any other country. It is also darkly humoristic, but strictly labelling it as black comedy would be an attempt to avoid facing the film as what it is. One of Koji Wakamatsu's best films, greatly aided by Katsuo Ono's stunning score and Uchida's amazing performance. He gave fantastic performances in films like Erotic Liaisons (1978), Rolling on the Road (1981) and No More Comics (1986), playing a fallen detective, asshole rock star, and paparazzi, not afraid to show himself in a negative light or sympathize low lives.

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I watched the Bandits from Shantung (1972, Golden Harvest) last weekend. The initial build up is very intriguing, with separate groups of competing bandits, but the tension very quickly peters out. The weapons are boring cutlass-like swords. The hero's did have a serrated hilt guard. I spent the whole movie waiting for his sword to break, leaving him to dispatch an adversary with the saw teeth of the hilt. That never happened. No hints are given as to how the hero became an invincible warrior. It turns out that he has no interest at all in the imperial treasure; he was simply on his way to visit his mom. Some of the fights really drag. DVD was from Fortune Star's Legendary Collection, so it was a good print.

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I watched the Bandits from Shantung (1972, Golden Harvest) last weekend. The initial build up is very intriguing, with separate groups of competing bandits, but the tension very quickly peters out. The weapons are boring cutlass-like swords. The hero's did have a serrated hilt guard. I spent the whole movie waiting for his sword to break, leaving him to dispatch an adversary with the saw teeth of the hilt. That never happened. No hints are given as to how the hero became an invincible warrior. It turns out that he has no interest at all in the imperial treasure; he was simply on his way to visit his mom. Some of the fights really drag. DVD was from Fortune Star's Legendary Collection, so it was a good print.

I also caught this one fairly recently. I was going through my stack of unwatched Joy Sales dvds and this one was on top. Hard to believe that Golden Harvest would surpass Shaw Brothers by the end of the decade judging from these early GH wuxia flicks. Everything from the storyline, production values, and fight choreography paled in comparison to SBs at the time. Good to see Sammo Hung though as one of the bandits and I believe this is the second GH flick he was credited as the fight/action choreographer. His early efforts were a bit rough around the edges but you can see his potential & Wilson Tong is another familiar face that's in this too. Like you mentioned the fight scenes were pretty pedestrian and drag on a bit but there was one laugh out loud moment for me when the hero literally plants Sammo Hung into the ground and later flings the bandits' flag right into Sammo's dome haha.

[Killer Meteor Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Killer Meteor]

yeah, Bandits is very minimalistic and threadbare. GH's early stuff is mostly rather flat, expecting the Bruce Lee films, Hapkido and One Armed Boxer. Mind you, I've heard good things about Comet Strikes.

GH suddenly overtook Shaws in quality with a vengeance in 1978.

[logboy Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close logboy]

A Pool Without Water (水のないプール) (Japan, 1982) [DVD] - 4.5/5
An absolutely astonishing, almost hypnotic dive into the psyche of a man who becomes a morally corrupted but not downright evil rapist. Yuya Uchida, a rock star turned absolutely fearless actor, is excellent as bored, sexually frustrated family man who discovers he can take advantage of women during their sleep without getting caught using chloroform. Feeling quilt, he actually prepares breakfast and does the house cleaning for his regular victim. It is for its refusal to outright condemn its protagonist that the film is so unique, challenging and thought provoking, tied to Japanese society and its film history of sympathizing otaku, and frankly couldn't exist in almost any other country. It is also darkly humoristic, but strictly labelling it as black comedy would be an attempt to avoid facing the film as what it is. One of Koji Wakamatsu's best films, greatly aided by Katsuo Ono's stunning score and Uchida's amazing performance. He gave fantastic performances in films like Erotic Liaisons (1978), Rolling on the Road (1981) and No More Comics (1986), playing a fallen detective, asshole rock star, and paparazzi, not afraid to show himself in a negative light or sympathize low lives.

trailer for the recent issue of this to DVD / digital >

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIn-RGewj0Q

... looks exactly like the kind of thing that attracts me to japanese cinema, but which labels don't really have the imagination to put out stateside.