Blog Archives

Clans of Intrigue (1977)

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Posted on January 29, 2006 by Justin

Clans of Intrigue is a later (1977) wuxia/swordplay film from a specialist in this genre, Chu Yuan. And he was a specialist — according to the documentary on the disc, he was generally making seven or eight films at once at any given time for Shaw Brothers, and I can count at least thirty wuxia/swordplay films in his filmography from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. A large number of these were adaptations from the work of novelist Ku Lung, and this … (read more)

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Campus / Girl Next Door (2001)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

Anyone who thinks that Sailor Moon is already halfway to porn will get a bit of a surprise with this one. This is the real hentai deal, complete with close-ups, anatomically correct body parts, and moaning (in your choice of Japanese or English).

Well, I say anatomically correct, but that’s not strictly true: the detail is surprisingly accurate, it’s just the scale that’s off. The girls have the usual helium-balloon breasts that you find in all anime, but these ones … (read more)

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The Master (1980)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Justin

The Master is a later kung-fu flick, made in 1980 by director Lu Chin-Ku. It stars a young actor named Yuen Tak in his first film and several Shaw Brothers veterans, notably Chen Kuan-tai and Johnny Wang Lung-wei. Though the focus is on the action scenes, particularly in the second half of the film, it’s obvious that the director has taken note of the introduction of comedy to the genre — wide-eyed slapstick and sproing-oing-oing noises are rather common until … (read more)

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X: The Series (2001)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

Not that I could ever be accused of writing an unbiased review, but approaching a series that you are so familiar with is an unexpectedly challenging task. After all, it’s not like I can write, “It’s cool!” and you’d be happy, right? So I thought I’d just jot down some of the reasons to like X, and by the time I get my thoughts straight, I reckon I should be able to give you a review.

So what’s to … (read more)

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Invincible Shaolin (1978)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Justin

Invincible Shaolin is one of the first two discs to be released on to the Australian market from the remastered Shaw Brothers catalogue being lovingly restored by Celestial in Hong Kong. For those who don’t know: Shaw Brothers was a powerhouse of a studio operating in HK from the late 50’s to the early 80’s. They made hundreds of films in the kung fu and wu xia genres, and those by this director — Chang Cheh — are amongst the … (read more)

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Duel Of Fists (1971)

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Posted on December 15, 2005 by Angus

Popular Shaw Brothers babes Ti Lung and David Chiang star in yet another Chang Cheh film about fraternal love, Duel of Fists. This came runner up to The Big Boss in the 1971 Hong Kong box office, but it’s much better.

Chang Cheh keeps things very simple in terms of plot, leaving as much room as possible for the action—on his fathers dying wish, Fan Ko (David Chiang) goes to Thailand to find his brother Wen Leih (Ti Lung), … (read more)

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Jin-Roh (1998)

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Posted on December 4, 2005 by Eugene

When I first saw Jin-Roh two years ago at the original Anime festival in Sydney, the producer (I think) introduced the film. In this introduction he mentioned how, when they were making this film, there was a difference of opinion in the overall vision of the film between three key creative members. I believe one wanted a retelling of Red Riding Hood, another wanted something similar with a romantic plot involving the Wolf and Miss Red, and the last one … (read more)

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Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer (1992)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ben Jennings

Tsukamoto Shinya’s Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer is a slightly superior pseudo-sequel to 1988’s Tetsuo, and like that movie, it’s weird, crazy stuff indeed. Logic and rationality quail, run away and quickly die of fright when confronted with a movie like this. While it must be said that it is more narratively comprehensible than the original film, that isn’t saying much.

The story, so far as one can tell, involves a mild mannered businessman (Tomoroh Taguchi) whose son is killed and … (read more)

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