5 comments about Shaolin Drunken Monk.

1. Gordon is one of my favorite kung fu stars but he got stuck in some really awful movies after Shaw Brothers closed. This is one of them and the DVD ain't too hot either.



2. I'm surprised more people don't know about this notorious B-grade Gordon Liu classic.
   Where to begin? The English dubbing is atrocious, with most of the Limey actors who did the job sounding like they're either bored, drunk, or both. The plot is of the cliched, predictable kind that's been done in other kung fu B-movies countless times (i.e., hero gets revenge on bad guys for death of father). Most of the fight scenes are badly choreographed, plus you can see the wires in some shots. The treatment of women is awful (in one part of the movie, Gordon Liu kidnaps the daughter of the enemy who killed his father; he then ties her to a wooden pole in his hideout and then leaves her to pee in her pants). What I can't believe is that I don't hate this crap. In fact, I freakin' love it! This flick would probably be great to watch while you were fried or drunk too, especially when the bad guys do the "Dr. Evil" laugh.



3. This movie is pretty good but half of Gordon Luis Kung Fu seans seem slow and the moves are not that great. The other half are pretty good. I dont know if he just had a couple of off days filming or if he just had bad directing.



4. If your a kung fu movie collector, this is a must have. There are many Drunken Monk kung fu movies, but this is the best.



5. The plot doesn't make very much sense in this movie, but then again it doesn't try to. With that being said, I will go ahead and give you the reasons you should watch this and then the reasons why not.
   
   Reasons why-great iron whip vs. gordon fight, great fight with gordon and guy with iron with without his whip, final fight scene.
   
   This is not a great movie my ANY means, but the jungfu is fun to watch and the commentary means you will watch it at least twice.

1 comments about A Chinese Tall Story.

1. Hmmm...
   
   This movie was definiely not up to my expectations. There was such a lot of hype about it and from the many trailers that I watched, I already had a, you know, a sort of opinion of what I was going to get from the movie and so you can say that I got a surprise. Which was no good.
   
   A friend of mine who also watched this show said that the plot was moving too fast and he is right. I got confused at some point of the show. Before you know it, there is so much blasting up of stuff.
   
   Some might say that the show is funny but it is not really.
   
   This show has really good scenery. Halfway, when I was supposed to be concentrating on the show , I found myself saying, "Darn, that is a nice pic" which I am not that sure makes for a fantastic plot.
   
   The good parts of the show is Charlene Choi's character MeiYan. The transformation n the end battle was really something so was her love for Tripitaka. It was very satisfying in that sense.Near the end, the scene in the Heavenly Court was good. There was a lot of effort put into this show and it shows. And the ending was really quite well done.
   
   I am giving it 4 stars becoz it is really pretty good. If it helps, it is below Dragon Inn (actors: maggie Cheung, Tony Leung and Bridgitte Lin) but higher than Dragon Tiger Gate (donnie yen and another nic tse movie). For those wanting quite a good movie, this is it. Don't expect to be swept of your feet becoz this won't do it but the very well-done visual effects should really be appreciated. Don't expect too much. But for someone who is looking for a reasonably good movie, with a cantonese twist, this is it. Hope that helps.

5 comments about Fist of Legend.

1. This movie contains two of my favorite fights of all time: Jet Li vs. Chin Siu Ho, and Chin Siu Ho and company vs. a buttload of Japanese fighters. Just astonishing. The film is a remake of Bruce Lee's "Chinese Connection" about Chen Zhen, the fictitious student of the real Huo Yuan Jia, who Jet Li would later portray in "Fearless". This movie differs from Lee's in that some of the Japanese characters are sympathetic to the Chinese, plus the addition of a complicated romance and the school's internal conflict.
   
   The Japanese have set up shop in mainland China. Jet is studying in Japan when he learns of his master's death back in Shanghai, from a match with the master of a rival Japanese school. He comes home and immediately sets about getting his school's reputation back and letting the Japanese know who the best really is. The trouble is that Master Huo's son (Chin Siu Ho) is now in charge but everyone wants to follow and learn from Chen Zhen. Complicating things further is a plot to implicate Chen in the death of the instructor who killed his master, and a Japanese woman who is in love with Chen and sacrifices her life in Japan for him.
   
   This may be Yuen Woo Ping's best choreography, though it is not completely flawless. Too often props are broken rather ridiculously, and some scenes are a little too heavily edited. It's a minor complaint though and you won't care until you're on about the 22nd or 23rd viewing. If you don't already own it, BUY THIS. English dubbed only. 4.5/5
   
   1994



2. This is the best kung fu movie ever. Don't watch it! If you do, you will be disappointed with every other movie. And not just other kung fu movies, ALL MOVIES.



3. One of the best martial arts movies ever.The stuff tony jaa is doing now that people are making such a big fuss about was done here...
   There's even some muay thai clinching!.I saw elements of wing chun,chin na,jujustsu,muay thai boxing,aikido and of course kung fu in this.
   actually an educational film as well as a brutal,hard hitting martial arts movie.The dubbing and acting are above par for this sort of thing.The best thing jet li has ever done by far.



4. Read the other reviews but this movie rocks beyond imagination.
   
   Questions we have for Jet Li might be
   
   1. How come your other movies don't have such wonderful martial artistry, presumably the terrible "The Forbidden Kingdom" where it looks like you and Jackie are flailing arms rather than doing art.
   
   2. I'm sleepie but this'll do.
   
   The movie rocks!



5. This movie is amazing in every way, but you should probably wait for the dragon dynasty release. They do an excellent job with their Martial Arts movie releases.

No comments about 18 Weapons of Kung Fu.

1 comments about Shaolin vs. Evil Dead - Ultimate Power.

1. I was pleasantly surprised the vampirical look on the DVD cover was not run into the ground with mindless neckbiting. Definate story told from beginning to end with a bit more meat than can be usual for martial arts films. I'll have to watch it a second time to fully capture all the nuance. The jumping zombies are a bit much but different enough from the normal leg dragging gouls we are used to that it seemed to work okay. I'm sure this is a movie I will rewatch from time to time.

No comments about The Big Box of Kung Fu, Vol. 2.

5 comments about Big Jim Mclain.

1. Big Jim McLain is an interesting movie that is a result of the times it was made in, and that has to be considered when watching it. John Wayne is Jim McLain, an agent for the Un-American Committee searching for communists living in the United States. McLain, along with his partner Mal Baxter, are sent to Hawaii to find out who the Communist party leader there is as well as the ten secret party cells hiding out in the islands. Also, McLain falls in love with a woman he meets during the course of his investigation. This is a movie that is hard to explain; it needs to be seen to understand why. It was made in 1952, which is evident throughout. It might as well be a propaganda movie because of the stances taken, but don't get me wrong, that's why I'm recommending it. Big Jim McLain is entertaining, campy fun that is sometimes unintentionally funny. As well, the movie was filmed in Hawaii which looks gorgeous. So for a very entertaining look at a different time in American culture, check out Big Jim McLain.
   
   In the title role, John Wayne plays government agent Jim McLain, a driven, dedicated man who stops at nothing in pursuit of his job. But at the same time, he's frustrated that the people he's trying to get to are protected by the US government and Constitution. Nancy Olson plays Nancy Vallon, a secretary who falls in love with McLain during his investigation and eventually get engaged. Their relationship provide some of the movie's lighter moments and surprisingly works pretty well. In one of his first bigger roles, James Arness plays Mal Baxter, McLain's partner who is as driven as Jim to stop communism because what happened to him fighting in Korea as a Marine. Much of the rest of the cast is an ensemble who McLain and Baxter come across while searching for the Communist party members in Hawaii. One that stands out is Veda Ann Borg as Madge, a woman who has involvement with the Communists and takes a liking to McLain.
   
   The recently released DVD, in conjunction with the Duke's 100th birthday, features a good-looking standard presentation in B & W, two Warner Bros. cartoons "So You Want to Enjoy Life" and "The Super Snooper", and a theatrical trailer. So for an entertaining movie, if somewhat dated, but remember the time it was made, check out Big Jim McLain. It's a different sort of movie for the Duke, but don't let that scare you. And watch out for those Commies, they're cold blooded!



2. Big Jim McClain
   The Movie
   Here we have John Wayne in a propaganda film about why you should hate communists. He plays and agent of homeland security bent on breaking the communist groups of America. It comes off as a hate film to be honest and as a fan of the Duke I don't like this side of him at all. It is easy to see why they took so long to release this film to DVD. Its one not a very good movie and two full of stereo types that in its day I guess was necessary.
   
   The Video
   It's presented in Full Frame Black and white. It has a lot of blips and a little flicker in the picture they did not put anything into correcting the films need for restorations. It is a very poor transfer.
   
   The Audio
   1.0 mono which is just as well cause it's not that great to listen to anyhow.
   
   The Extras
   So You Want To Enjoy Life
   This is a Story of a guy who wants to die because he only has 30 days to live. Well it's on the DVD why I have no clue its really not that funny. It's like one long joke that runs about 15 minutes...lol it's actually better than the movie though.
   
   The Super Snooper
   A classic Daffy Duck as a private eye we have all seen a million times good one to have.
   
   Theatrical Trailer
   Just what the movie is about shows they weren't as good as today. For the life of me I don't understand why they include um if they aren't going to clean them up.



3. As one of John Wayne earlier movies I found it very slow moving a long.



4. Not singling out any fellow reviewer (or naming names, as it were), but if we as well-intentioned movie-watchers can't look past the politics motivating a particular flick (pro or con), then we ought to recuse ourselves from rating it. It only serves to muddy the waters for folks who want to know by objective standards if a film is worth checking out. In the case of 'Big Jim McLain,' I'm afraid, as gung-ho a fan of the Duke's as I am-- and ardently anti-pinko-- there isn't much to recommend here. It's a cold-war hash with elements of police procedural, espionage thriller and action-romance that has little in terms of dramatic flesh to sink your teeth into. In fact, aside from Wayne's leading-man charm, which is ever-present and estimable, there's not much holding this potboiler together at all. Perhaps the only memorable scenes come in the form of comic asides featuring, respectively, floozy extraordinaire Madge played by Veda Ann Borg and mental patient Mr. Henried (Hans Conried). For those of us who believe in traditional American ideals, it's quaint and refreshing to hear much of the patriotic dialogue and narration, but as entertainment 'Big Jim' simply doesn't make the cut.



5. An interesting film envolving John Wayne and James Arness. A must buy for fans of the american legend.

1 comments about Legendary Weapons Of Kung Fu.

1. OK. Those of you who've had to suffer with inferior full-screen, washed-out, grainy, etc. versions and didn't have a region-free DVD player to watch the remastered versions by Celestial Pictures, you can now rejoice. The Red Sun version is very close in remastered quality to the ones by Celetial Pictures. Gone are the scratches and bland colors. What you get are very rich colors, so much so it's almost like watching it for the very first time. In fact, the movie looks brand new and in wonderful widescreen. Though the Celestial version is great, it's major flaw is that they changed some of the fighting sound effects...that most purists agree trashed the whole feeling of the fights. We all wondered why the sounds were changed anyway since these were supposed to be just remastered. In a way, this is analagous to how George Lucas "improved" the original Star Wars trilogy by adding and/or changing things. There were no shortage of critics with those also. Anyway, everyone pulling their hair out from the Celestial version can get some joy from the Red Sun version. Not only is the quality close, but the original sound effects and English dubs are pretty much intact. This is close to the experience of watching it in the theater years and years ago. One thing that might be noticable is that Red Sun seemed to be mixing the English and remastered audio back and forth depending on what was appropriate. This also allowed for some out-of-sync sequences where some sound effects would be slightly delayed after the movements have occurred. Also, some sounds like fighting grunts and exhalations especially in the final battles are missing...with only the weapons sounds effects audible. If you've seen the original, then you'll notice how "hollow" and empty the fight sequences feel. These slight flaws aside, the Red Sun version is All Region where as the Celestial version is Region 3 only. This means the Red Sun version can be played in any DVD player.

5 comments about 36th Chamber.

1. First of all the DVD inside is not the famous "36th Chamber of Shaolin". It is "Return to the 36th Chamber", sequel to the original movie.
   
   The Video quality is so poor that I think it is a pirated copy.
   
   I cannot believe Amazon can sell such item.



2. I have two reviews for this movie. the first is the film itself and the second is on the actually copy.
   
   This movie is a great Kung fu classic. The title I am more familiar with is "Return to the 36th chamber" aka "Return of the Master Killer"
   36 chambers usually refers to the first one. Aka "the master killer of Shaolin. or just "master killer"
   That being said I do really like this movie and feel that everyone should own it... just not this copy.
   
   Now for the copy being sold here...
   the image is so poor it is difficult to watch. it is very grainy the color is off and the cropping is horrible.
   My recomedation for anyone really into classic kung fu movies is to pick up a region free player and buy the Hong Kong remastered versions by Celestial released by Intercontinental Video Limited
   or Deltamac



3. Just received the DVD and watched the opening scenes. That was enough for me. First off, I blame myself for thinking the "36th Chamber" was the original classic "Master Killer." Simply put, the video quality is totally unacceptable. Its the same or worse than recording at the slowest speed on a VCR.



4. So, the only way that I can suggest to get this movie, is as long as you don't spend more than ten dollars, it's a good buy.
   
   THIS IS NOT THE 36TH CHAMBER BUT RATHER THE RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER.
   
   Now that I have that clear I wanted to agree with past reviews that the picture quality is pretty bad, but this dvd was the first time I saw movie and it instantly became my favorite movie ever(at least favorite final fight scene)
   
   And the dvd is not lying in saying it is the full uncut version.
   
   Now if you really like this movie like me I would refer you to look for the red sun version. It has the SB logo on it and it says it is part of the shaolin collection. Also it is called return of the master killer. This dvd has absolutely crystal clear picture, dual languages, and subs, though the subs are missing a few lines that were not translated.
   
   So if you can find this version cheap, then get it, but for a couple more bucks you can get the ultimate version that I have, WHICH IS EITHER ALL REGION OR REGION1, I don't have it in front of me.
   
   So



5. I waited to receive this copy from the US,and when I checked it out it was very bad quality.Thick of the worst video you have,and I think you can understand.I certainly won't be buying anything off this studio again.I do recommend dvds from Red Sun,Hong Kong Legends and Vengeance Video are ok.
   The film is a masterpiece of classic kung fu,but the quality is dire.I hope Red Sun release it.

No comments about Shaolin Martial Arts.