1 comments about War Blade: A Complete Guide to Tactical Knife Fighting.

1. To quote from the War Blade book, "The best way to defeat a knife attacker is to first become a skilled knife fighter." I couldn't agree with that statement more, and I firmly believe that anyone else who agrees with it can do no better than the War Blade program. Sammy's concise, logical and realistic approach completely does away with any notion of the glorified fencing that you see in movies that has no basis in reality. Though I hope I never find myself in a knife fight, if I am ever assaulted with a knife I'm confident that the skills I learned and continue to learn from this program will increase my chances of getting out alive dramatically.

No comments about Street Fighter Alpha.

5 comments about Invincible Shaolin.

1. If you like Chang Cheh films, then this is another "must buy". Another political corruption storyline with Wang Lung Wei provoking a destructive confrontation between Northern and Southern Shaolin to do his work for him. The best fights are in the climax when Philip Kwok (formerly known as Kuo Chiu) and his pals match skills against the other Shaolin team. The DVD picture and sound quality aren't bad. More valuable now since the passing of the legendary Chang Cheh.



2. This movie is one of my favorites.. I have quite a collection and enjoy revisiting Invincible. Won't get into specifics but the fighting matches are awesome.. love the fact that the movie displays a tense and avengeful atmosphere. More importantly, I personally favored the way different styles can be combatted by another this was indeed a Cheh Chang classic. Did I mention the entire 6 venom mob crew are in it !



3. If you have not heard of red sun and don't have an all region player, than this is THE perfect version.
   
   Now first off it wouldn'tplay in my toshiba dvd player, but worked just fine in my crappy audiovox 5-discer. When the movie starts, you will be in absolute heaven seeing a crisp, clear picture of johnny wang(lung fei) who is playing the evil governor or something that wants to set north and south shaolin against eachother. He comes up with this great scheme to kill the 3 south masters after they have fought. Nobody knows how they died, but REVENGE WILL TAKE PLACE. Now I am a huge fan of all old school kung fu flicks, but I have to say that cheng cheh has made better stuff than this. Not much better but this tries to be mre stright up hard core fighting. No comic book deadly venoms style, or people being crippled and get revenge. The story is just non existent. You find out right away pretty much everthing that is going to happen. And I have to say thaty I love lo meng, but you do have to wonder after like showing about 5 minutes of jst close ups of guys chests, is this a gay movie? But then the training and action scenes happen and you forget all about this. The only thing i can explain this as is that it is cheh's vision. He wants to see the most buff, acrobatic dudes he can find to put on the screen. Cheng Cheh has a great appreciation for manly men. And us men are well represented here. The final fight is kind of like the whole movie, unbelievable. But there are enough deaths to keep any cheh fan happy. And the fighting is justy superb. The training is about as grueling as you are gonna get and it is welll worth it for the final fight, done in the same style that five venoms and return of the venoms was. So you can see that Cheng had it in mind for these 6 guys to be the greatest action stars of all time. It is just a shame that Run Run Shaw wouldn't pay these people because he could have made much better movies than these.
   
   The letterboxed red sun version is perfect and sadly only has english dub but has original soundtrack which surprisingly differentiates from the average music they usually just pull off of the shelf. And to go along with the great picture the sound is a pretty good 2-channel output.



4. When I was a kid, I used to watch this one over and over again. Definitely a great story with interesting plot and very talented stars. A must-see!



5. This is a very good movie.. Has a great story line threw the movie..
   And yes some very good fights in it.. This movie has English language audio.. The dvd case lists it on the back as english subtitles but its not.. I have this movie and it is a arse kicking fest so set back and enjoy the butt kicking..
   Thanks, Stephen

No comments about Hung Gar Kung Fu, Vol. 1.

No comments about Owls' Castle - DVD.

5 comments about FMW (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling) - Legend Dawns.

1. I liked this DVD alot, but I hated how some of the matches were clipped. Most it did not bother me, but the Kanemura/Tanaka match was one I REALLY wanted to see. Instead I got a 5 minutes of clips. It looked good too. I LOVED the Gladiator/Hayabusa match (shown in Full) as well as the Gladiator/Ooya vs Hayabusa, and ??. It was full too. The other DVD was much better. I hope all the matches are unedited next time. It was cool how they translated the speech!



2. This tape is great from start to finish! If you are a fan of Hayabusa than you will love this video! It is the best one of all the US commercialy released tapes! If you never heard of FMW this will be a great introduction. Try it!



3. Well, this is the first FMW video ive ever seen, so... Was it good? It was diferent, ill give you that, but it wasn't what I expected. The wrestling was good and all, but the announcers where the weak spot in the thing... They seemed more concerned with comparing the wrestlers to american wrestler, and with talking about which one of them had worse gas..... But don't let that fool you into thinking that this thing is bad... It isn't.. Its a great video.. The DVD version has some great add ons. The Mr. Pogo match would of been awesome, if it wasn't compleatly dark... but hey it was a lights out match (I think). The 'Gladiator' (Mike Awesome) Vs. Hayabusa (Probably spelt wrong) match was awesome (no pun intended). All in all a pretty good DVD.... Good enough that I will probably buy some other FMW ones too...



4. They say first impressions are important. Well this was my first FMW video and I was impressed. The action was great all-around. First it was supposed to be Comat Toyoda AKA "Mother-in- Law" vs. the Bad Nurse Nakamura. Before the match, Sub Miss Saito begged "Mother-In-Law" to let her wrestle the Bad Nurse. So "Mother -in--law" agreed. You will here the two commentators bantering so much they missed "bad Nurse" pinning Sub Miss. There was a female Muta named Megummi Kuddo she is one of the toughest female wrestlers I've ever seen. The announcers spend more time arguing that calling matches. The Gladiator/Hayabusa match was well put togather. Gladiator is Mike Awesome from ECW fame. There was a lights-out death match that would have been better if there was no lights out stip. There was a crazy tag team coffin match with Mr. Pogo and Horace (Hogan) Boulder vs Super Leather and Matsunaga. Matsunaga gets ... whopped all over this tape. This is a great intro to the world of FMW: Hardcore wrestling Made in Japan



5. this had some good matches but i did not like the lights out death match because you could not see anything,hint hint!!!!!
   
   other than that a medium good dvd from fmw.
   
   ps:that was my first fmw dvd and i just orderd yokohama deathmatch that will be very good as the reviews said.

2 comments about Sonny Chiba Samurai.

1. Ok, so people are going to think I'm nuts for giving this 4 stars. Too bad. This movie is part of what I like about older Japanese samurai movies. Cheesy dubbed voices, laughable dialogue cheap special effects, but still interesting none the less. The action is great, Hiroyuki Sanada (Last Samurai), the gorgeous Japanese actor was a surprise extra (actually the star along with Sonny Chiba)I didn't expect. He's about 21 yrs old in this and just beautiful(although I like his older face better). I didn't realize he was such a super athlete - a real revelation!
   The first movie(there's 3)is Shogan's Ninja, a shogun is sent to wipe out the last members of a family. Hiroyuki is the protagonist whose parents were killed. He was sent into exile in China where he learns kung fu. He returns to avenge his family. There's swinging through trees and plenty of good sound effects, lots of intentional and unintentional humor. I really enjoyed it! The second is The Bodyguard where Sonny is an anti-drug vigilante who becomes a bodyguard to a mysterious woman.
   Lots of action but pretty much run of the mill stuff. The third movie is The Legend of the 8 Samurai. About(again)the last survivor of a clan who is being hunted by the undead. The queen of the undead needs Shizu's blood to survive and stay young and beautiful. Lots of fantastical elements, great martial action, black magic and good laughs, also, a tiny little bit of nudity when Lady Tomasuza takes a bath in blood.
   Considering this DVD is only 6 bucks or so, it's a good investment and a great addition if you are interested in the evolution of Samurai movies. Seeing Hiroyuki is a plus, it's really entertaining.



2. Was disappointed that all three films were dubbed in English instead of having subtitles. I feel it's more authentic if you hear the actual voices of the actors. Further, the dubbing was terrible, reminded me of those cheaply made kung-fu movies of the 70's where the actors mouthing of the words are not in sync with what they are supposed to be saying.

No comments about Heavy Bag.

3 comments about Magic Kid.

1. This movie is a very good movie. I watched this sometime ago probably 7-8 years ago. And I just watched it again couple days back. And after I watched it again couple days back, I was like "This really is a good movie". To be just a average movie, nothing big class, its a very good movie. Actually, better than a lot of higher class movies.
   
   This movie is about a kid with some good Martail Arts movies, and I do mean some good ones. Its just like a Karate Kid all over again, but with less training and more action. I really injoyed this movie. Was my 1st movies watching T. J. Roberts in action, and I really liked this upcoming Martial Arts star. But now in 2005, he has done nothing for a long time. And he was a very good star at that, just hated to see him disappear just as quick as he appeared. Would have been a awesome Martail Arts star to this day. He is one hell of a good martail arts kid. Love this movie, and all of his 4 other movies.



2. Ted Jan Roberts a "magic kid" who captivates his viewers with his passion for martial arts. There are good scenes in the movie, but doesn't have a very intricate plot, anyway not for adults. Though, from time to time is nice to watch with the little ones. I wish I could see T.J.R acting, now, in other karate/action movies. My opinion is that this genre of movies is the best. "Viva"- Kung Fu, Aikido, Taiquando...!!!



3. Why oh why didn't this kid become the next big martial arts movie star? It's beyond me, but he clearly SHOULD have. I watched Magic Kid for the first time in 1999 and I absolutely loved it's simply themed premise and lighthearted plot. It was perfect for what it was: a movie about a kid who happens to be a black belt fighter with moves to baffle everyone around him. Though this movie doesn't show his true talent to the degree that A Dangerous Place does, it is a movie with a lot of heart and just-sit-with-the-kids-on-a-saturday-afternoon-and-enjoy a better-movie-than-the-traditional-kids-section-fodder kind of mentality to it. If you want an intricate story, look elsewhere, but if you want to see a boy with some true talent in a movie that doesn't insult kids' intelligence, see Magic Kid. 3.75 stars

5 comments about War of the Shaolin Temple.

1. This DVD is done in the older fight choreography style, where the fighters throw a punch or kick and pause before throwing the next attack. So instead of a series of attacks being done in a 123456 style, it was done as 1-2-3-4-5-6. This is a common older choreography style for low budget kung fu flicks. Some of the non-fighting action is extremely good though, watch for the drunken shaolin monk. The wire work is very subtle for the most part, which is a nice change from the typical movie of this caliber and period.

   The plot is very loose, and the characterization changes rapidly and without any obvious reasons. However, nobody really watches these types of films for plot or storyline, and the action is good enough to keep you interested.




2. This movies fight scenes are done in a common older form of choreography. Instead of a constant stream of punches and blocks, each attack is performed and then a pause occurs before the next attack begins. The Jackie Chan sequence of punches and kicks could be described as being 123456. This movie could be described more as 1-2-3-4-5-6. However the non-fighting action scenes are tremendous at times, watch for the drunken shaolin monk. The shots are long and drawn out, not a lot of jumping and cutting going on in this film, so at least the actors knew what they were doing when it came to the action. The wire work was very subtle for this film, which is a nice change from the more typically wire-heavy genre of the time.

   The plot is there, although it had some jumps that were completely odd and out of place. The characterization is the most frustrating thing, you could hardly tell what type of person the main character was, he went from stalwart hero to blustering overconfident youth, to whiny wimp, etc. Even for a film like this, you didn't get much of a sense of the character.

   Overall the action was fine, with a few outstanding moments, and the soft elements (plot, storyline, characterization, etc) were good enough for this genre of film.




3. I wasn't sure what to expect when i bought this movie but i surprised i picked up a classic movie filled with awesome fight
   scenes great choerography wicked flipping and the ending fight scene is a showstopper the picture is very good for a old movie
   and sound is great no complaints at all so pick this movie up
   you will be thanking me later trust me i know good kung fu movies
   i have been watching them for over 15 years know.



4. This is a pretty standard kung fu movie. The plot is your basic political intrigue mixed with monks and fighting. Nothing special there, and it isn't particularly well delivered to boot. There are a lot of holes and inconsistencies in this movie.

   The action is good, but not great. The wire work was not obvious, nor was there a great deal of undercranking. The stunts and action were frequent and well done, just nothing to write home about.

   This movie is wide screen anamorphic, but the video quality is not great. I guess it is as good or better than what I would expect from this period (mid 80's). The dubbing is decent, but maybe not enough crazy voices for my liking.

   It was pretty easy to tell the good guys from the bad - the bad ones all wear funny hats with 2 foot raccoon tails hanging from either side. The good guys were mostly monks in white, blue, or orange. At least it was easy to follow.

   The only memorable scene from the movie is the kung fu bartending done by the crazy old monk in the cave.

   Overall a good movie, but you can do better.




5. While 2 totally seperate movies, 'Shaolin Temple Strikes Back' and 'War of the Shaolin Temple' are similiar in many ways in the storyline and have the same leading star. I don't know his name, but he gets a lot more screen time in this movie. Mark Long has played the senior type monk in a few movies I have seen, but this is probably his most serious role. He doesn't do too much fighting, but really shows off with his limited screen time. Chia Kai is the real star, even though his part in the movie is too brief. You may recognize him as the kung fu teacher in 'Of Cooks and Kung Fu' and 'Seven Steps of Kung Fu'. He is amazing to watch and this may be his best role ever as the drunken monk bartender teacher. His character is very similiar to Mark Long's role in 'Five Fighters From Shaolin', but I liked Chia Kai a lot more.
   
   The story is basically about a kid on the run from an evil warlord and his army after he retrieves the Emperor's seal. Things are kind of slow going, that is until Chia Kai shows up doing his drunken bartending. Alan Chui is VERY good as the villain and the final fight is outstanding. The story has no possible chance of grabbing the attention of someone who is new to the genre, but good kung fu is all I look for. The lead star of the movie is very skilled but just doesn't look very fierce. Luckily, Mark Long and Alan Chui's screen presence make up for that. Also look for cameos by Chiang Sheng and Ricky Tien.
   
   The sets have to be mentioned for how horrible some of them are. Some of the backrounds are really worn out but the grainy picture quality makes this a little less obvious. Plus it does add to the campiness.
   
   3/5
   
   Picture quality on the Tai Seng DVD is watchable. It is full screened which really hurts it, especially during the final fight.