No comments about Sun Dragon.

4 comments about Sixty Second Assassin.

1. This stars one of my favorite actors,Liu Chia Jen.He has starred in such epics as Thundering Mantis and Warriors Two.
   This film is on par with these films.
   Great action throughout,and a good story.
   The DVD is hosted by Shaw Star Philip Ko Fei,who has a great interview and demonstration.The behind the scenes info is terrific.
   Topping things off is a great documentary on the Shaw Studios hosted by David Chiang. See this at all costs!

   A definite addition to the collection.
   See my other reviews.




2. i dont care what no one says the movie probably the most slept on classic that shakes late night and it is definitely in your top 20 and it was an independent classic made in the late 70's. this stars leung kar yan aka the thundering mantis, the legendary wong bros. wong wing san and wong chi sang who most likely did the fight choreography, dean shek tien and underrated villain lung fei. i cant find out the actor who played minute fong but his fighting skills are superb as well. with the speed and grace of these fight scenes this movie was before its time. this dvd contains a documentary of the shaw bros. studio hosted by david chiang who surprisingly speaks english like an american does and an interview with the great philip ko fei. the only flaw is that this movie is in fullscreen but overall one of my favs and you wont be dissappointed.



3. This is a very dark movie. A man named Minute Fong is an assassin who only kills bad people. He reads their crimes outloud so if they are innocent they can present evidence. By the end of the movie it turns out he was just being tricked by his master (Leung Kar Yan), so therefore he wants revenge on his master. Leung Kar Yan is great as the villain. I dont think I have ever seen him look more wicked than this. I would go over how exactly Leung Kar Yan tricks Minute Fong, but I don't want to give away the story because it is actually pretty good.
   
   The fighting is magnificent! I was blown away. The first fight against Wong Chi Sang is good, as is his brother Wong Wing Sang's fight, and then Lung Fei turns it up another notch in his scene. There are 4 more fights before the incredible finale. Minute Fong vs. Leung Kar Yan is one of the best fight scenes I have seen in quite a while.
   
   I don't know the lead actor's name. The only other movie I have seen him in is Kung Fu on Sale where he plays the villain. Although this guy is a nobody, he is one of the best screen fighters I have ever seen.
   
   Most kung fu fans will probably be disappointed by the ending. I won't give it away, but it does correlate with the dark tone that the movie has.
   
   4/5
   
   Picture quality ranges from decent to very bad. The colors change tints throughout the entire movie and the picture blacks out every 3 or 4 minutes. Still, I have seen worse so I didn't have too much of a problem with the picture quality.
   
   Special features include an interview with Mark Houghton and Phillip Ko and and a Shaw Brothers documentary that was aired on British TV in the mid 70's. These are the same special features that are included on many other Videoasia DVDs.



4. One dimensional kungfu flick, with no out of the ordinary scenes that will impress. It is no different from the cheap fighting flicks that you would randomly select at your local video rental. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

No comments about Shaolin Quick Draw/White Lotus Trio.

3 comments about Martial Angels.

1. "Martial Angels" is a pretty obvious rip (or is that "homage"?) of "Charlie's Angels" with obvious bits of "Mission: Impossible 2" and "The Matrix" thrown in for good measure. Which is not to say that it doesn't have its charms. Indeed, how can you go wrong with such lookers as Kelly Lin, Shu Qi, Rosemary Vandenbroucke, and Rachel Ngan, to name a few? Even Sandra Ng looks pretty good as a girl, and pulls off some funny lines. But "go wrong" is exactly what director Clarence Ford does. The "action" scenes in this flick are so bad, and the talking scenes between the women so good, that Ford should have trashed the action script and just made an HK version of "Steel Magnolias." Call it "Titanium Lotuses" and he's in business.

   I've come to expect (and enjoy) a certain amount of cheese from Ford, but "MA" is the cheesiest. The continuity flaws are numerous and obvious, and the "technology" so primitive and illogical, that you might wonder just how stupid Ford thinks his audience is. I expected much more from the guy who gave the world "Naked Killer." If you're a die-hard fan of any of the cast or crew, it's worth a look; but lower your expectations first.




2. In short - this movie is just painfully bad. A few pretty girls, a nonsensical poorly executed plot, and some of the worst acting on the planet! I would be suprised, but then again it is a Hong Kong movie. It seems that the only interesting "Chinese" movies being made these days are coming out of the Mainland and Taiwan. What is wrong with HK? They just don't have an excuse!



3. You know somewhere deep inside this muddled action flick lies a much better film. Sadly, however, you will not see that better one. All you can see is one unoriginal caper, two poorly-done gun actions, and so-so eye-candy images of seven lovely women walking and talking like Charles' Angels.
   
   Shu Qi plays Cat, a retired thief whose ex-boyfriend is taken hostage by Russian gangsters. They order her to steal an anti computer-virus software (but they never think about just buying it with the money they have spent on the helicopter and so many weapons) Anyway, Cat's former partners re-group for her to rescue the poor man, but things do not go as they originally planned, and so on and on.
   
   The names of these characters -- Qi Shu as Cat, Kelly Lin as Octopus, Sandra Ng as Monkey, Teresa Mak as Goldfish, Rachel Ngan as Pigeon, Rosemary Vandebrouck as Peacock, and Amanda Strang as Spider - need a bit of refinement, but at least they all look lovely and sexy. The joyful interactions between these females are the best thing in the film, really fun to see, especially the relations between Qi Shu's Cat and Kelly Lin's Octopus, which suggests an untold story with a sexual nuance, like the amusing shower room scene in `So Close' (where Qi Shu was seen opposite Vicki Zhao).
   
   Except for Sandra Ng, who provides some precious comic scenes, there is little I can recommend in the film. The actions are not great with two feebly-done shoot-out sequences (one in the deserted factory, one of the most tired cliché of the genre). The caper scenes lack originality and excitement, and the film's most incredible and stupid sub-plot requires the presence of a sexual deviant (Terence Yin who should have known better) who is also a safecracker! The results are just awful and embarrassing, nothing that you want to even think about after watching it.
   
   In short, my advice is, forget it. Don't even think about it. This is a caper film, but without the caper it could have been much better.

No comments about Flag of Iron.

4 comments about Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu.

1. This dvd (and others from the same manufacturer) will not play in any of my DVD players. They will play in my computer, which tells me that this is not a region 1 DVD.



2. A poorly filmed, poorly produced, poorly transferred, hard to make sense of, and deceptively billed feature. Gordon Liu, who plays an evil ruler, is given top billing, but appears in no more than 10 minutes of the movie, with barely 4 of those 10 minutes engaged in kung fu. The title, Raiders of Buddhist Kung Fu, seems to have no bearing at all on what happens in the storyline. It's apparent that Gordon Liu owed someone a favor, or desparately needed rent money that week. . .
   
   This movie definitely bears the imprint of Godfrey Ho, who directed it. Fight scenes are not well choreographed, with telegraphed punches and kicks, people beginning to fall before blows are even administered, choppy camera work and see-sawing battles where each party absorbs dozens of lethal blows, but shows no signs of their effect. Then there's that "goy-yoy-yoing" sound that accompanies the really telling blows. It's not until Gordon Liu fights, in the last few minutes of the movie, that a battle scene takes on any grace or realism--man, the guy was good! His ultimate demise is (literally) "for the birds," since it is glaringly obvious that the evil Liu is more than the match for the triumphing, good-guy/hero of the film.
   
   The dubbing offers ample comic relief, and in most cases carries the film along through its dry and redundant course. Most memorable line by Gordon Liu: "You're all a bunch of idiots!"
   
   The deceptive lure of Gordon Liu's name was the only thing that prompted me to purchase this film. His four-minute "cameo" probably wasn't worth the $3 I paid for the DVD, but at least I got another glimpse--brief as it was--of the inimitable Gordon Liu.



3. I was extremely dissapointed in this Gordon Liu flick,,,infact I still can't figure out why he accepted or even played the roll he did,,an evil ruler. It did not fit him what so ever and he played it very poorly!!! Also,,,bad picture quality, bad story line and the fights were nothing special. Yeah,,in the end he did a few things,,but like I said nothing special. I would not recommend this flick what so ever!! I'm gald I only paid $3.89 Canadian!!



4. Please do not get this movie, you will be so depressed. It hurt so much to watch it. I honestly thought I was gonna throw up a couple of times. By fast forwarding A LOT I made it to the final fight and it was even more dreadful than the movie itself. Gordon Liu is in this but I beg you not to watch it. I don't know if Gordon was drugged and then forced to show up for a day on the set or what. He plays an emperor or something and then he shows up in the final fight in rags??? So if you make it through this thing, you may not leave the house for a while due to internal injuries sustained from this horrid viewing. Call 911 if you are hurt badly.

No comments about the magnificent kung fu warriors.

4 comments about Pride FC 7 - From the Yokohama Arena.

1. I would say the DVD is worth getting for the Vovchanchyn VS Kerr match. This was the beginning of Kerr's fall from grace, before this everyone thought him untouchable.



2. Pride 7 was held on September 12, 1999 at the Yokohama Arena

   The first match is between Pride veteran Daijiro Matsui against Cage Fight tournament veteran Bob Schrijber. Good match with an ending that may leave you mad.

   The second match is between Pride veteran Carl Malenko and in his Pride debut International Vale Tudo and UFC veteran Vanderlei Silva. Another good match.

   The third fight is between UFC 13, Shooto and Japan Vale Tudo veteran Enson Inoue and in his MMA debut Tuli Kulihaapai. One sided match but it is good.

   The fourth match is between former Extreme Fighting and UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith against Pride and K1 veteran Branco Citivic. This was one strange match.

   The fifth match is between Lumax Cup and Pride veteran Akira Shoji and Extreme Challenge, Super Brawl and Bas Rutten Invitational veteran Larry Parker. A really good fight.

   The sixth match is between UFC Japan tournament winner and Pride veteran Kazushi Sakuraba against UFC and IFC veteran Anthony Macias. Another good fight.

   The Nobuhiko Takada vs. Alexander Otsuka match is not on the DVD.

   The main event is between WVC 3 tournament winner, UFC 14 & 15 heavyweight tournament winner and Pride veteran Mark Kerr and IFC Kiev tournament winner, WVC 5 tournament winner, AFC 3 tournament winner and Pride veteran Igor Vovchanchyn. This was a great fight, but with a controversial ending.

   I recommend this for any people who like Pride and Mixed Martial Arts.




3. Overall this was a good tournament. Pride FC is a mixed martial arts tournament held in Japan. It is held in a ring with ropes, and there are some rules such as no grabbing the ropes, no kicking a downed fighter on all fours, no eye gouging, and no groin punching. Besides that, pretty much anything goes. You will see some great submission, grappling and striking in the tournament.
   1) Matsui vs. Schrijver - This is Matsui's 4th Pride appearance coming in with a record of 1-0-2. This was a good fight, but you'll see why they call Schrijver, "Dirty Bob".
   2) Malenko vs. Silva - Surprisingly, Silva took this fight to the ground and looked a bit tired. He is known for his striking ability, but remained in the mounted position for most of the fight.
   3) Inoue vs Kulihaapai - This was an interesting fight to see Inoue fight with his gui, but this was a total mismatch.
   4) Cikatic vs. Smith - Smith was coming off some impressive wins, one over Mark Coleman in UFC. This started out with plenty of action, but ended on a low point. One of the fighers submitted to an easily defendable move.
   5) Shoji vs. Parker - This started out good with both fighers excahnging punches and wrestling on the ground, but by the end of the fight, it became routine for Parker to just lie on his back and wait for Shoji to jump in. The last round, there was a lot of action and exchanges of strikes.
   6) Sakuraba vs. Macias - As always, Sakuraba is fun to watch. Macias also made quite a show of it. This was my favorite fight just to watch what techniques Sak would come up with. He is truly a master of submissions.
   7) Kerr vs. Vovchanchyn - Very dissapointing ending. This started out great with fighters exchanging strikes, but ended on a low note. One of the fighters was clearly breaking the rules and did not get called for it. Kind of a bummer because he won by breaking the rules.



4. This was the first Pride event I saw. I feel that the Mark Kerr vs. Igor Vovchanchyn fight is worth the purchase of this dvd. Kerr looked like a monster next to Vovchanchyn (Kerr 6'3" 265lbs Vovchanchyn 5'9" 235). I had not heard of Vovchanchyn before I saw this fight, but after watching him fight Kerr I won't forget that name. I could not believe the striking power this guy had at his disposal. The win was controversial because of the old Pride rules, which were a disadvantage to the striking type fighter, the rules have since been changed to allow the type of strikes that Vovchanchyn used to finish off Kerr.

5 comments about Shaolin Challenges Ninja.

1. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite Gordon Liu films, as well as one of my favorite kung fu films of all time. Like another reviewer, I have watched his movie several times without tiring of it in the least.

   The beginning is full of the comedy of differences and humorous rivalry between a young Chinese man (Liu), who is proficient in Chinese boxing, and his new Japanese bride, who is proficient in Japanese fighting; along with the misdeeds of a meddlesome servant who manages to incite even more difficulty between the spouses.

   The rivalry turns into a formal challenge, as a cadre of Japanese fighters: experts in--among other things--Bushido, Karate, Ju-Jitsu and Ninjitsu, visit the character portrayed by Liu, to defend the wounded pride of his wife, which translates to their own pride in the (alledged superiority of) Japanese martial arts.

   Liu then faces off against each of seven Japanese fighters in a series of very entertaining matches. Liu carefully chooses the appropriate Chinese weaponry and/or fighting style prior to meeting each of the challenges (the ju-jitsu match has its own surprises, though!), then engages. Good, clean (and informative) fun! No blind revenge, no death matches or victims coughing up blood, just a wholly enjoyable look at two competing styles within the context of 7 challenges, each of which affording the contestants new insight, appreciation and respect for each other: the elegant, diverse repertoire of Chinese martial arts styles pitted against the powerful, efficient styles of the Japanese.

   And in the meantime, the marriage relations get better!

   Top-shelf, top-of-the-list entertainment for every devotee of "old-school" kung fu films.




2. Hey, now this is the Gordon Liu I'm talking about!
   
   This is a great kung fu flick. Gordon has to lay down the law to his wife when she tries (in so many ways) to convince him that the Japanese style is better than the Chinese style in fighting. After Gordon made her look like a fool, she leaves and goes back to Japan until she feels she can become a match for him. Gordon then sends a letter challenging her to face him (a ploy to get her to come home), but it was intercepted by one of the greatest fighters in Japan (his wife's childhood friend). The letter was later showed to other top fighters of Japan who viewed it as a personal threat/challenge. They later challenge Gordon to a duel to settle the matter of which style is the best. Now the fight is on. Gordon must now defend his honor by fighting each one of these Japenese fighters.
   
   The fighting scenes were great and you will see the moves that Gordon is famous for. Man, he is no joke! This is a must see for all old-school kung fu fans. Surely one of my top 5%.



3. If you have not heard of red sun and do not have an all-region dvd player, then red sun is the best company going for classic kung fu. If you look up red sun under the amazon search engine, you will see I have plenty of reviews for this distribitor, that's because I have bought most of these and have managed to find some of the best movies in the history of cinema. And the LETTERBOXED widesceening job is so perfect I would be ahppy if this was the only dvd I had, ever.
   
   First off, you will be sure that this is not a shaw's movie right away by the music. It sounds like authentic japanese, and overall provides an awesome score. It is really nice to get away from that stock music. And with origianl language, this goes both ways. The japanese are well worth hearing their voices, and there are a lot of japanese.
   
   The movie has an odd start, no fancy MA display for the credits. it goes right to the story. Gordon Liu's family have set up a marriage for him long ago. But he doesn't really like this. So his friend(who you will certainly recogzine if you have seen any fu) comes in and tells him that the japanese girl has arrived. He goes on to describe her top and her bottom. Gordon gets all excited and runs out to meet her. But she comes in and lives in gordon's family's house and has absolutely no respect. Now gordon doesn't handle this the best way and since he is obviouusly better at the MA's, he beats her at everything. So this leads her to keep on breaking things and starting fights with him, to the point that she just completely leaves and goes home to japan. But when gordon sends a letter saying how far superior chinese is to japanese martial arts, her masters get pretty mad.
   
   So all the japanese masters come over to challenge gordon. He sees his wife and rejoices but then sees like 8 dudes and one of them is like a giant. Now the second half of this thing begins. I still can't decide if I like the first or second half better. It is truly one of the best in the genre first half, but then the second half rivals any fu movie ever and manages to top most of them. The woman playing gordon's wife plays it perfectly. The first battle is superb, japanese against chinese sword, and more importantly, 2 techniques against eachother. The second the director comes up with an excuse to show that he is also a true drunken master, not just the yuen's and jackie. He plays the same drunk as most, and gordon has to learn his technique. This happens in too short amount of time, but works for the movie. And norman chu as another one of gordon's friend is great. No martial arts from him though. The weapons scenes are wonderful as they always match up chi and jap weapons. There is a spear scene, a 3 section staff against a 2 section and a sword, sai's against knives, and a match against a monster of a man, which I still think gordon cheated no matter what way they explain it. And the final one is prbably the best, true ninja scene(movie wise at least). So simon yuen has a good appearence hear as gordon's teacher and he keeps figuring out ways to beat all the japanese master that have come to challenge him.
   
   But the main drawing point this movie is the real japanese actors. I am sure they are not real actors, but they worked just fine. The guy with the sai's may have no been japanese. And the master of all these master doesn's appear japanese but he doesn't fight, so that's cool. And Kuratu gets the well deserving lead role among them.
   
   SO THIS RED SUN VERSION HAS 2 LANGUAGE TRACKS!!!!!! LETTERBOXED, CRYSTAL CLEAR PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!! AND 5.1 BOOMING SOUND.
   
   Now, what more could you ask for.



4. i watched the movie - it was what i remembered - interracial marriage - Japanese woman to Chinese man, marital strife, battle of the fighters -
   it was dubbed english, but an actual translation was also displaying along the bottom of the screen - which was neat - Asian languages seldom can be translated into the same video space of Western languages
   writing/story was weak, but was expected - it came from era of Asian fighting movies like the westerns of america -
   some of the translations were strange - something keeps getting translated as a 'flying guillotine', but it seems to be different things in different movies -
   i do not even think it was originally called 'Shaolin vs Ninja' - 'Heroes of the West' displayed at the beginning - at least that was what the translation displayed - credits looked unusual as if asian movies do not display director, producer and all like the west -



5. Simple and plain: This movie is what quality Kung-Fu movies are all about. Well done action, well done choreography, wicked fights and awesome weaponry. Gordon-Liu was one of the best, and this is him in his prime. The Shaw Brothers by far were the best Kung-Fu movie production team. (Just ask Quentin Tarantino! He based the Kill Bill series on Shaw Brothers movies.)
   If you like kung-fu movies and quality ninja-action (where ninja are more than just face-less fighter drones)...GET THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!

No comments about Martial Arts of Shaolin.