No comments about The Octagon.

5 comments about Billy Jack.

1. I love this movie as much today as I did seeing it growing up. Ok the fact that Tom isn't hard on the eyes is one thing but I love the story line.
   I love watching him kick the crap out of the bad guys! Ok give it a break it's an old movie and the quality is that of that time era...which I would give anything to go back to. The music is good. Coven's version of One Tin Soldier is amazing. The kids in the school ...love it! Love those rebel stand up for what you believe in songs!
   Give me these good old movies over the garbage of today anytime!



2. A silly 70s propaganda film in the vein of Reefer Madness and The Eternal Jew! As a matter of fact, let's just call it Liberal Madness, because that's about all it is. I still have to give it a reasonably good star value because it is so entertaining.
   
   Billy Jack is a Native American vigilante who's only occupation is being the deus-ex-machina character in the little scuffles that a local hippy commune continually gets themselves into. The head of the commune is a homely spinster schoolmarm. Actually homely isn't strong enough, there probably isn't a word strong enough to describe her, so let's just say she looks like her face was carved out of wood with a butter knife.
   
   To fully understand this movie there are some certain rules, laws of the Billy Jack universe you have to understand. The most important rule is that all white people not of Native American descent are pure evil, redneck, axx-holes that have nothing better to do then attack hippies and Native Americans. While Native Americans, and hippies in general, are loving pacifists that merely want to do their own thing.
   
   That's basically the meat of this story, Hippies annoy rednecks, rednecks annoy the hippies back only they do a better job, and Billy Jack comes riding in on a white steed to save the day. The real joy of this movie is watching how crazy the leftist hippies are. All they do is perform weird skits, do drugs, and sing horrible off key sing-a-longs.
   
   Occasionally they go "into town" where they act weird and annoy the normal people until they can't take it anymore. Then the normals do something harmless like dump flour on them to try to coerce them to leave, and what happens? Billy Jack sticks his big nose into things and beats the crap out of them. Then the pacifist hippies cheer because it's ok that someone else used violence just as long as their hands are still clean.
   
   Even though Jesus was a pacifist, the most important pacifist ever actually, the hippies don't mind mocking him in one scene where they are preparing to do a skit about a pregnant girl. "How about the world is really fxxxed up and needs a savior...but this will be a modern one; it doesn't have to be like the old kind...Jesus."
   
   Finally the residents of the town cannot take the hippies causing them trouble all the time and they call a town meeting. This is where things really get funny. Of course if you take this movie too seriously you could become outraged at just how immature and stupid the hippies act, but I assure you, for me it's all laughs. There's actually a lot to be learned here though, as the libs to this day use a lot of these same plays and tactics. For example, when a rude hippy gives a fake name, "OK Coralis" and is chided he responds, "That is my real name! What do you have something against Mexicans? I don't see any on the board!" There's also the classic "famous quote shtick" where you take a patriotic quote out of context and ask who said it, surprise, it's Adolf Hitler or some other dictator.
   
   The ruthless and completely irreverent hippies make more and more noise and personal attacks about the town council showing complete disregard and lack of respect, even though the council is trying their best to listen to them and answer their questions the hippies only grow increasingly hateful and angry. So much for pacifism.
   
   Yadda Yadda Yadda, the tension between the hippies and the normals escalates and a war breaks out, with Billy Jack once again fighting their battles for them.
   
   The acting in this movie is beyond amateurish, it is obvious that a lot of it is just made up on the spot, or read from a cue-card as their lines come off so stiff and emotionless that it is obvious that we are watching the first take of every scene, no need to waste film after all.
   
   The lefties haven't really updated their playbook after all these years so there's a lot to learn from this little time capsule. Pair this up with the complete fools the lefties make themselves look like and you've got a fun campy classic.



3. Like many children of the 70's, I was fascinated by this yarn in the day. I saw it several times and dutifully saw "Born Losers" ( a exploitation re-release that features Billy Jack's character, and a far better film) as well as "The Trial of Billy Jack" (the third installment and even worse than this outing). Years later, it's enlightening to realize what we have outgrown from our youth. The acting, directing and production is pretty awful, but forgivable. The ideology spouted in this stinker is a fast food bastardization of the worst "hold hands and sing together" hippie trash.
   Tom Laughlin plays the title role of former Green Beret and reclusive "half-breed" ( their words) protector of a southwestern "Freedom School" where love interest/head schoolmarm Jean (Delores Taylor) and her doltish charges harbor runaways,perform dreadful improv and guerilla theatre and generally get under the skin of redneck cowboy law enforcement in their town.
   When Jean protects the runaway daughter of local lawman, tension come to a head and Billy Jack must step away from the pacifism he and Jean cherish and lay gratuitous Kung Fu beatdowns on local bullies.For martial arts fans, the payoff are far and few, if you enjoy rape scenes ( and I sure hope you do NOT!) there are a couple of man-with-knife-doing-bad-things-to-women scenes that appear as salacious panders to this element.
   
   If watching the Freedom School kids travel around like a Marxist Partidge Family in their stupid hippie bus doesn't make you dread Flower Child nostalgia, you will surely be disgusted by the use of violence to market non-violence, the lecturing moral high ground tone of the films message and the all around insipid style of this useless atrifact.
   
   (NOTE* all martial arts in the film are performed by Laughlins stand-in, the great Master Bong Soo Han, and if you look closely you'll notice a distinct physical disimilarity between Laughlin and the man doing great roundhouse kicks)



4. You don't get/watch this movie for the production values. You don't get this movie for the 70's nostalgia or the flower-power hippie esque themes.
   
   You get this movie because of a very simple thing. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. This movie is about having the courage to do what's right - no matter the cost.
   
   Billy Jack is the archetype of the great protector who turns to violence because sometimes it's the only way. And this movie is the 300 of the seventies.
   
   Ironic how true it all rings when we look at the battles Tom Laughlin had with hollywood and with the government when it came to making and screening the Billy Jack Movies.



5. Some reviewers are lambasting this film as being "pretentious", and otherwise unreal. Well...it IS unreal, it's a MOVIE. If it's politically incorrect, so what??? I watch movies for the entertainment factor, not the reality factor. If you want reality just turn on the 6 o'clock news. As for the karate, it must be a popular thing considering the success of Bruce Lee's films (and now Jet Li). Yeah, it's a movie about an ex Green Beret who defends the school kids because he wants them to live without having to fight the way he does...so that makes him a big brother figure trying to change the future for the kids. Come to think of it, isn't that what our government is always doing...bomb the heck out of somebody so we can live in peace??? Maybe Billy Jack should have run for president! Then he would have had political immunity and not had to go to jail.

1 comments about Dual Flying Kicks.

1. Duo Is sapost to be awsome, simmular to Evangelion which is the best anime scifi series!

No comments about Japanese Weapons: Jo Jitsu.

No comments about Cross Training in the Martial Arts: The Anatomy of Combat.

5 comments about Bloodmoon.

1. this movie was ok. what irritated me was the editing... it was kinda bad. it was confusing the fighting scenes.. but if u like gary daniels... buy this flic



2. Wait, one more stupid line from the movie. "Ken were cops, we don't do this".
   
   First off if you do not like martial arts movies then this will not be worth your time. If you love Jean Claude Van Damme and all the great b-action movies like 'No Retreat, No Surrender' then you will absolutely love this flick and it will become an instant classic for you. It is actually from the same film company that discovered Jean Claude and did all the 'No Retreat, No Surrender' movies. The owner of the Seasonal Film Company(Ng See-Yuen)actually discovered old school stars like Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang Lee and produced their first successful movies. So when I saw Tony Leung Siu Hung and Ng's name on the back of the box, I had to have it. VERY rarely are American martial arts movies good. Sometimes they end up being a great movie but the fight scenes will be limited and only average. 'Bloodmoon' is the exact reverse. It has spectacular fight scenes, it's badly directed, and it's filled with enough cheese to at least laugh at the stupidness of it sometimes. There is even that part where they go to a strip bar and we get to see surgically enhanced women.
   
   The movie stars out by ripping off 'Beverly Hills Cop' with an Eddie Murphy clone playing the cop. The only thing that makes this character different from Eddie Murphy is that he loves kung fu. This is a down point of the movie since he is certainly not the worst actor but the script could not get any worse. The really good thing though is that he can seriously fight. I thought it was a stunt double at first glance since his first fight is in the dark, but even in the light this guy was doing some amazingly tough choreographed fight scenes. One is a 3 on 1 fight with the killer. If they did double for him at all they fooled me. Then there is a woman fighter who is very good and you will for sure notice the stunt doubling for her. You have to watch for when Rob Van Damme(a wrestler) gets thrown through a window, they show a close up of his double for about 5 seconds. Personally, it was my favorite part of the movie. So Gary Daniels joins this unfunny Eddie Murphy type of cop to find a killer. This guy goes around killing a bunch of tough people. Luckily he doesn't just kill quickly but challenges them and we get these amazing fights scenes. The first fight was awesome but when he stuck his fingers into the guys chest to kill him, I thought for sure this movie would end up being a waste of time. Then you have that one part where the killer posts his murders on the internet and they try to track him down. Of course now the computer geek is saying "OK, he's in Bejing, wait, he's in Berlin, no, he's in Moscow". This may sound like a bad movie and it is but the amount of fights and the quality of them is what makes it good. All great fights and most of them are extended going 5 minutes or so. For a die-hard martial arts movie fan like me it just does not get better than this. The fights are brutal and I have to say that they are some of the best I have seen in a while. There is unfortunately a bit of wirework with the wires clearly seen but that is to be expected from a movie of this type of budget.
   
   Now like all great martial arts movies every actor needs to be somebody who actually looks good fighting on screen and the villian needs to standout as the baddest mother on the block. Darren Shahlavi gets the job done nicely and his steel tipped boots are a nice touch. There is actually metal on the whole bottom of his boots and up the whole heel. He really gets to show off his sklls and how many great kicks he has.
   
   Now I will say it once more so people don't get confused by my 4 star rating. This movie is a cheesy cop drama with a few good comic moments and it has some truly great fight scenes. So it is not for everyone and I warn you all that this movie has one of the stupidest endings of all time. "Ha ha ha ha, this is the endgame Ken". No not the ending sequence fights and Gary Daniel's race to save his family, that was bad, but the very last moment of the movie. It is the finest of cheese that you will ever find in a film.
   
   I have to once again mention how great the fighting was and how great of a job that director/action director Tony Leung Siu Hung did. His choreography and editing of the fights is about as good as it gets. Now I just have to see the other American martial arts movie he directed which is called 'Superfights' and my life will be complete. Seriously, the movie is called Superfights.
   
   I will warn you right now that this DVD from the Weinstein Company is sub-standard. Big surprise huh? Well of course it is not a surprise. These are the same people that edited down every Jet Li and Jackie Chan movie and not only cut it up but never offered their DVD's in the original Asian language. So luckily this is actually an American movie and we don't have to bother with the bad dubbing, just the bad acting. The DVD is presented in full screen and the picture quality is average. The first 2 fights were a bit blurry but it seems to clear up from there. Good sound quality.
   
   There are no special features except filmographies.
   
   One more bad line-"Don't worry honey, daddy's gonna save us".
   
   Just one more line I promise. It does not have anything to do with the movie but you'd think that it would-"Did you notice there's blood on the moon tonight?" the masked killer asks in a dark voice as he has his leg extended in the air showing off his devastating martial arts skills.



3. blood moon is a martail arts film pact with all kinds of action
   lots of martail arts moves most of the chacters are national champions
   in different compiations in wwe/ecw superstar rob van dam makes an
   aperances as a tough man champion named dutch.



4. From the same guys that brought you the super-cheesefest "Superfights" comes another low-budget, high cheese quality martial arts action flick - Bloodmoon. This time around, Gary Daniels is onboard and so are some incredible fight scenes that make this a pleasant improvement.
   
   As Bloodmoon begins, so does the cheese. We are introudeced to a goofy villain in a goofy costume, only known as "The Killer". Also introuced, is a ridiculously looking red moon, supposed to be "The Bloodmoon" which The Killer fancies with dialouge "Did you notice there is blood on the moon tonight?" Supposedly it occurs when he is about to destroy one of his victims. Ok, so the cheese is plenty. If you can deal with it, we are also introduced to a smashing good fight at the beginning, only one of very many throughout this film. A fight, like all rest, that goes on for minutes and can compare with the final showdowns in many movies. Each fight throughout the movie gets better and longer. The choreography is amazing, again from the same guy that choreographed Superfights, Tony Leung.
   
   In addition to the great and improving fights, 1/2 way through the film, the story begins to take itself seriously, and finally gets quite interesting till the end. Unfortunately, the end is honestly one of the stupidest finales I have ever seen, and its not the fight I am referring to. The final fight, is around 8 minutes in lenght. For comparison, that is about the length of the roof-top fight in Jackie Chan's "Who Am I?", arguably one of the best fight scenes ever. Though not as entertaining as that scene, this is one of the better fights I have seen. Obviously, the duel is between Gary Daniels and Darren Shahlavi (The Killer). I am not familiar with Darren Shahlavi, but he presents himself in Bloodmoon with excellent martial arts skills as if he had been doing this for quite some time. Gary Daniels, on the other hand, has earned a good repuation with many action films such as Ring of Fire, City Hunter, Rage, Riot, Firepower, and White Tiger to name a few. A Gary Daniels fan will definetly want to add this to their collection.
   
   I honestly have to give a 3-1/2 stars for this film overall. Its the action that holds the spotlight here. The low production of the rest of the film, makes it suffer, but not nearly as bad as Superfights. The actors and story give a lot more effort this time around. Cheese is the name of the game here. Expect it to come, or you will be too distracted to enjoy the wonderful choreography all around it.



5. I first saw this film at a very young age and could never find it in my later years. I finaly found it watched it and it still held my attention. the bad guy has some awsome kicks in this 1980's film. He is a bit of a creep but a great fighter. I liked this because the star, gary daniels took some serious beating along with his co star, that is something you dont normally see in any kind of movie. This is a collectors item

No comments about The 36 self-defence Methods of Practical Xingyi.

5 comments about The Legend of Zu [Region 2].

1. This movie's plot is a bit hard to follow (or pay attention to ) but the action and effects are absolutely incredible! I bought this movie because I absolutely loved Storm Riders and was hoping this would be as good if not better. You are better off renting it if possible.



2. This MOVIE is way ahead of its time. The special effects, or fireworks as some reviewers put it were well in advance of anything I've seen in Matrix, X-men, Hulk, Spiderman and the like. If your looking for a storyline, plot and all that pick up a book instead of watching a MOVIE. For action packed, VISUAL ectsasy this is one of the greats. CGI is the wave of the future for movies my friends. Hell, the CGI Smigel from LOTR almost got an Oscar didn't he?



3. Despite this movie being about 1. magic, 2. kung fu, 3. general weirdness and cheap funny props, 4. lots of flying in colorful outfits, 5. a spattering of cutie Chinese girls who also know magic- all of which attributes people who love kung fu think should/MUST be a really great combo- it was actually so boring to me (a diehard kung fu fan) and hard to follow that i didnt' want to watch anymore of it half way thru.
   
   It looked like a high-budget Chinese kung fu fantasy film from the 70's. Oh wait, it was.
   
   There was NOT a lot of fighting/kung fu, but there was a lot of flying around in funny colorful costumes and strange,convoluted dialogue.
   
   I got the impression they filmmakers were trying for something really epic, an -alien- Chinese mythology that didn't quite have the neatly-packaged-story nature of familiar, Western mythologies. In short, it make no sense and didtn' try to explain itself (nor should it)! It was a good try tho and if I were Chinese and kind of weird and living in the 70s i'd think the movie is like Chinese star wars.
   --
   One more thing:
   They used saran wrap enshrouded with packing tape to depict large broken blocks of ice. I mention this to attest to the early Tsui Hark's innovative set design and creative props. It was a neat although distracting way to cut costs. Also worthy of mention in this regard is the fake, incongruent, drawn cartoon lightning interleaved with fancy acrobatics and disjointed dialogue.



4. The original Hong Kong version really is an incredible piece of work. I enjoyed the heck out of it. However it does require that you view it with a certain frame of mind. Most importantly you have to understand that it is not a character drama. There is little range of depth to any of the characters. They exist only to serve their various roles in the story. Think of it as if it were a legend passed down through the ages (like classic Greek mythology). In such legends you always hear the story told through a series of actions and outcomes. You're never given any insight into what drives the characters and we never see more than one side of them. They just represent these sort of unchanging idealized personas. The stories that come from this are fascinating nevertheless. So in this way The Legend of Zu is literally told in the style of a legend.
   
   That said the story is actually quite awesome. The basic premise is again very, very similar to classic Greek mythology: There is a mythical mountain range in China called Zu. Its highest peak, shrouded in mists, reaches up into the heavens. This place is populated by immortal beings who, in their scattered temples, have devoted themselves to various schools of thought. Across centuries they've honed their skills in the martial arts and have attuned their spirits to the forces of the universe. It is their task to maintain order and balance in the universe so that man can live in harmony with nature. Their actions influence the fates of the mortals below. Trouble arises when an unstoppable entity of pure evil calling itself Insomnia threatens to overthrow the most powerful school in the heavens, the Omei clan, and throw the world into an eternity of discord.
   
   The story is steeped heavily in Chinese lore so some parts are a bit esoteric, granted, but for the most part it's easy to follow if you can just keep up with it. There is a user on imdb who wrote "The most soulful, spiritual film I've ever seen," and I think I might have to agree with him. One of the more interesting aspects of the mythology is that just as the warrior has a spirit, so too does his or her weapon. As the warrior achieves mastery with the weapon their two souls act as one; until finally their sword is no longer a physical object but rather an extension of the warrior's own spirit, capable of unleashing devastating effects and allowing the possessor to fly. The weapons are all so unique in form and function that it makes the battle scenes quite unlike anything you've ever seen before in a martial arts film.
   
   The visuals and CGI effects, while perhaps not up to the level of say Lord of the Rings, are utterly stunning to behold. Every frame is like a painting straight from the mind of a creative genius. Matched to the superlative audio the film is quite a treat for the senses. All of this carried along by an engaging, complex, epic narrative and we have ourselves a little gem of a film! But like I said - you have to be willing and able to both divorce yourself from western conventions and to appreciate the sensibilities and beliefs of a different culture. Step out of yourselves for an hour and fourty minutes and just allow yourselves to enjoy this fun, lighthearted spiritual journey into the world of Chinese legend!



5. ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (XIN SHUSHAN JIANXIA, featuring Bridgette Lin)is a film dating back to the 1980's and is NOT to be mixed up with the much more recent LEGEND OF ZU (SHUSHAN ZHUAN, in which Zhang Ziyi appears), which appeared a couple years back, even though both are directed by Tsui Hark and both are supposed to be (I want to emphasize: SUPPOSED to be) based on a long fantasy novel entitled SHUSHAN JIANXIA (SWORDFIGHTERS OF MT SHU) by Chinese author Huanzhu Louzhu (also named Li Shoumin; 1902 ~ 1961). Many of the reviewers here seem to get mixed up between the two movies. By the way, the novel's not yet translated into English, sorry -- even though I'm perfectly confident it's more than a match for Tolkien's trilogy in terms of content. :p (Certainly the novel has exerted a tremendous influence on later Chinese swordplay fiction, such as the work of Jin Yong or Louis Cha.)
   
   NEITHER movie is true to the original novel (which in my estimate would require at least five long films, serious). The films aren't even condensed versions of the novel. With both movies Tsui Hark has committed the unpardonable sin of whipping together a story with elements and characters selected almost at random from the novel, possibly even adding his own stuff, and naming the resultant hodge-podge after the novel itself. To give a couple examples of how Tsui Hark's movie departs from the novel, in the novel becoming a blood monster is a strictly voluntary matter; you must go through special training :p and can't become one merely by being 'infected' by a blood monster, as happens in the movie. (I don't remember the blood monster forming a coccoon of skulls around itself in the original novel, either.) Also, in the original story the green and violet twin swords were lost treasures discovered by accident by two GIRLS, NOT guarded by a female immortal who then handed them to two BOYS, as in the (earlier) film. And that's just two examples, mate.
   
   So does that automatically make ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN a bad film? Yes and no. Yes, because it's nothing short of sacrilege to mar a work of literature in this way. No, because the film actually does have a lot of cool and spectacular effects, such as fighting with swords of lightning ;) and the visually impressive and lovely interior of the palace/fort of the 'Ice Queen' (though I doubt these appear in the novel at all), and the film's own plot is not too bad, either (I personally would have much preferred that the 'Ice Queen' could eventually cure the hero who turned into a blood monster, though). Tsui Hark has a very annoying knack, however, for rushing the story so much that all you have to do is blink and you'll miss out on a huge chunk of what's going on. Can't you have at least a few slower and calmer moments, for Heaven's sake? (This gets even worse in LEGEND OF ZU, so much so the plot is in danger of being utterly lost to the viewer.) Also, sometimes the acting just doesn't feel emotionally appropriate. When you learn that your beloved martial arts teacher is in danger of turning into a blood monster and no one can do anything to help, what would you feel? How would you act? The one playing the role of the teacher's disciple in the film acted like a stupid idiot at the point of learning that hard truth. Really. Tsui Hark really should have known better, for goodness' sake. Also, would you not feel at least some sorrow when learning of your teacher's death, even though he has turned into an evil creature? In the film, the idiot apparently didn't. Yeah, he died, now let's move on. Sure, right.
   
   My overall assessment: superb graphics, passable plot, atrocious handling of human emotions. And that's not taking into consideration the violence done to the original novel.

3 comments about Mission of Justice.

1. it's a must-see action packed martial-arts thrill ride!. Jeff wincott does battle with city scum, along with the help of the peacemakers, and his female partner played by karen sheperd(who also kicks some serious butt)!. Brigitte Nielson plays a corrupted politician who will stop at nothing to be elected mayor. you have to check out the scene where jeff wincott must pass through "the Gauntlet". it's some of the best martial arts i've seen in a long time!:-)



2. Jeff Wincott does an excellent protrayal of a cop trying to do the right thing and getting pushed around by the system. He takes matters into his own hands trying to uncover the vicious doings of a politically corrupt Brigette Nielsen. The action is intense and the storyline excellent. I would rent this again, as I would with most Wincott movies.



3. In the genre of B-action movies, Jeff Wincott's are always a bit ahead of the pack in terms of quality. Mission of Justice is one of my favorite Wincott flicks. Lots of great quailty including story, action, charcaters and acting.
   One of the best things about Wincott is that he is a much better actor than most martial artists. That acting tends to rub off in his films on the other actors, because as a whole, everyone does an ok job compared to most B-grade movies. The action is the same - top notch martial arts choreography that looks realistic. The stories are always more interesting in Wincott's movies too, and Mission of Justice is great too, and even carries a bit of suspense with it. The character list is good too - Matthias Hues (Kickboxer 2, No Retreat No Surrender 2, Blackbelt) plays the usual bad guy - one of my favorite martial art film villains. James Lew (Balance of Power, Timecop) is the second bad guy who always delivers some nice skills as well. Also starring Brigette Nielson (as the corrupt politician) and Karen Shepard, who also has some excellent fighting scenes.
   
   Again the action is great. This kind of movie doesn't require too much, for the story carries it well alone. The amount and timing of fight scenes throughout the movie is perfect. Jeff Wincott gets to fight against both James Lew, and finally Matthias Hues in the end, while Karen Shepard kick butt like crazy. But the coolest scene is when Jeff Wincott must pass through "The Gauntlet" to make it into the Mission of Justice" He takes on about 2 dozen fighters. You have to see it to believe it.
   
   Naturally, in comparison to all movies, this is an average film. But in the world of B-grade flicks, Mission of Justice gets a 5 stars for being an all-around action pleaser.

No comments about Enter the Fat Dragon (Dual Audio Edition) DVD.