4 comments about Contour.

1. I cannot even begin to express how awesome this movie is. If you're a fan of Hong Kong cinema's glory days (commonly referred to as the 80s) then this movie is worth every penny.
   
   The fight scenes and stunts are amazing and it's hard to believe that these guys aren't industry professionals. The action builds until the films 20 MINUTE FINALE which features four fights going at the same time.
   
   The acting isn't exactly oscar worthy but the performances get the message across. Contour has a generally fun loving tone to it and the comedy ensures that the movie never gets too heavy. It's kinda like a good Jackie Chan movie in that it's exciting but still light and entertaining. There's even an outtake reel that plays after the movie, showing just how much effort went into making this small masterpiece of an actioner.
   
   [...]



2. Does you like soup????? Does you like fight?????
   
   Over the past few years, a category of filmmaking has come about referred to often as 'zero budget filmmaking.' I don't know if there are rules to how much (or little) you can spend and still make this category. I have seen them called 'zero budget' up to about $15k. Drama films have been easy to come by in this category, as they don't have to cost too much to make. And with the introduction of the great movie, Primer (done for $7k), sci fi film had its voice. But no one had tried the action film at a high level.....
   
   Enter the Stunt People. A group of stunt persons and fight choreographers located in California that make short films in their spare time and post them online. Contour represents their first broad release full length movie attempt. And what an attempt it is!!!!
   
   The acting is bad, but has its own charm. The director wrote in part for the actors based on things they do/say in real life. And it comes off funny. There are good laughs, both intentional, and not so intentional. I personally like fighters who can't act, but don't try to hard either. Nothing ruins a film more than to have the lead role who is a great action star look into the camera and say 'we have to save the president!' and not have a clue how he is supposed to act. It ruins it for me.
   
   But the fights..... wow the fights.... largely Hapkido, with some Wushu and Escrima mixed in, the fights are amazing. They are literally beating the crap out of each other. I think they said their philosophy was 'hit at 50%, react to the hit at 200%.' There is a lot of chop shot, but with excellent editing, and three respectable long shots during the film. It's really hard to pick a favorite fight amongst them. It has probably the best fight scene with two guys in suits I have ever seen.
   
   The plot is fairly conventional, and serves to really just connect the fights. Then there's the ending..... well, it's an ending.... the director said he was paying homage to Pink Panther movie endings, and I guess on that level, it works.
   
   In short, even though now this is a little pricier under re-release, it's hard to go wrong. It's an incredible representation of what can be done for little to no money. It puts the blockbusters of the same genre to shame. See if you can't find the original release (blue cover), because it was cheaper. If you like this kind of stuff, check out stuntpeople.com for their shorts, and Kwoon as well. Although, of all I have seen so far, Contour is the pinnacle.
   
   (This review was adapted from my review of the original release).



3. The fighting in Contour is truly amazing. Real contact and blazingly fast choreography. What it lacks in story it more than makes up for in fights. The movie is almost nonstop fighting, and all of the fights are so good it's really hard to choose a favorite. If you are a fan of fight choreography and have not seen this, you need to get it today. No excuses.
   
   4/5
   
   Special features on the Indican DVD are plentiful. There's a 30 minute making of, blooper reel, deleted scene, Tae Pho instructional video, practice videos for the movie, a stunt demo and trailers.



4. Wow! What a cool little flick this is. To call this movie "low-budget" is an understatement, yet it's far more entertaining than most of the billion dollar action epics that come out of Hollywood, and maybe even Hong Kong. This was made by a group of amateurs (not for long) known as the Stunt People, out of San Francisco. Not only is the martial arts fast, fluid, and incredible, but the film has a silly, undeniable charm to it. No, the acting is not that good, but you never get the feeling that they're just "going through the motions". It's got sincerity.
   
   Director Eric Jacobus plays Law, a petty criminal whose failed heist brings him back to his day job as a tour guide. One of the people on his tour is the visiting Prince of Uruvia (Ed Kahana Jr.), who has lost posession of a videotape that has the potential to bring down the monarchy back home. If Law can somehow get it, he can score 2 million smackers. There's a lot more to the plot, but the less you know, the more you'll enjoy it.
   
   Honestly, I think I would've liked this even if it didn't have any fight scenes. I don't remember too many "laugh out loud" scenes, but I also don't remember any point during the film where I wasn't grinning from ear to ear, either. Any movie that makes up a style (Tae Pho) that teaches you self-defense while eating soup can't possibly be bad, or at least not bad in a bad way. The acting is actually better than I expected. Ed Kahana's prince is the most annoying, but he stays in character, and grows on you as the film develops.
   
   The DVD from Indican is loaded with special features, including a Tae Pho instructional video, several interviews and "making of" segments. If you are a fan of fight films, this needs to be seen. This movie is to action films what "Clerks" was to comedies. Highly Recommended.
   
   2006

1 comments about Image of Bruce Lee (1978).

1. The infamous Bruce Li stars in this Bruceploitation mess as an undercover cop searching for international forgers. Li begins to investigate in bars, hotels etc. the issue with this movie is not the story itself it's how it was developed. It's just to damn confusing and boring, and like most of these B- Kung fu movies they tend to have incoherency and randomness. such as the beginning which made very little sense; it involves a man attempting suicide when out of nowhere Li comes into save him like Spiderman (seriously) he climbs up the wall wearing the infamous yellow track suit from Game Of Death.
   
   Besides this the movie does offer some good moments which are usually the fight scenes. One awesome fight scene involves Li and a whole karate school; it is actually decent and well choreographed. The director even manages to put some nice angles to improve the fights. the movie also has some reoccurring actors famous for appearing in other real Bruce Lee classics. Such as Yin- Chieh Han who played the main villain in the big boss (AKA: Fists of Fury) and Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon.
   
   As for the picture quality, this and many other Kung fu films come in poor picture and sound quality. This DVD is average; it comes in Full screen 1:33:1 and stereo sound.
   
   MY PERSONAL RATING: 2 OUT OF 5

5 comments about For Your Height Only.

1. If you watch the academy awards...chances are this won't be your cup of tea. If you like watching mini super agents blast their way through any action packed obstacle they face...chances are this film will leave you in a comatose of excitement. I laughed so hard through this that I couldn't move my jaw for a day. Prepare to be rocked!



2. For your height only is an entertaining movie filmed in Philippines. The main actor Weng Weng ( very tiny in size ) is the Agent 00 that clashes with the mysterious terrorist Mr. Giant, who wants to conquer the world. Little Weng uses sophisticated gadgets like James Bond and of course nice women feel attracted to him, besides he is skilful, agile and versatile and never gets his hair messed up in the fights. At times he seems Rambo attacking the enemy lines or as actor Terence Hill he slaps the opponent and claps at the same time. Small Weng is a torero, a bullfighter, when he points his sword at his rival before killing him, he becomes a parachutist only with the help of a big umbrella. Near the end, he flies as Superman with a small rocket machine on his back and reaches an island, the hideout of Mr. Giant, the evil boss of drug dealers and kidnappers, but the surprise is: Mr. Giant is a dwarf too!!.
   If you like karate or boxing films do not miss this one because is unique.
   
   Challenge of the tiger is a karate action film, played by known actors as Bruce Le, Nadiuska ( Spanish exotic actress ), Richard Harrison and Brad Harris, two old stars of sword&sandle. The last one a bodybuilder.
   A gang of criminals have killed a doctor, the inventor of a secret formula and have stolen it, so the CIA authorities call the secret agents, Bruce and Richard to track the murderers and get the formula back.
   So karate, kung fu and boxing combats are everywhere, first in Spain later in Hong Kong. Scenes of love with sexy women and agent Richard, who is the film Casanova here. His colleague Bruce Le, producer and director of the movie, hits the bad guys as a machine gun. A lot of fun. All these films thanks to "mondomacabrodvd".



3. This is an incredible double feature. The first and more entertaining film is "For Your Height Only," a Bond imitation starring a Filipino midget named Weng Weng as Agent 00. Weng Weng dresses like a cross between Tattoo from "Fantasy Island" and John Travolta from "Saturday Night Fever." He's smooth with the ladies, has lots of ludicrous gadgets (a ring that detects all poisons, a belt buckle that slices steel bars, x-ray glasses allowing him to gawk at shapely secretaries, etc.,) and is a karate impresario.
   
   The film starts with an American scientist being kidnapped for his "N-bomb" formula. Who could be responsible, you may ask? Mr. Giant (of course...) who is contacted via an illuminated two way mirror. There is abundant midget karate sprinkled throughout, and the implausibility factor is very, very high. Weng Weng has some very deft fight moves you probably wouldn't come up with on your own, such as running between opponents legs and hiding out on a moving Ferris wheel during a shootout. Mr. Giant is hiding a drug smuggling operation in a bakery ("there's a lot of dough in this dough.") The clever Weng Weng pits the mobsters against each other in a food fight and gets teamed up with the lovely spy, Irma. Weng Weng, who is described as "petite like a potato" (don't ask me) at one point actually stops in the middle of a fight for love before using his remote control hat for destruction and parachuting via umbrella back to his beloved Irma. (He is even brazen enough to introduce himself by saying "I'm Secret Agent Double Zero," and the women swoon.) Irma gets kidnapped at the disco and has her communication pendant used against her (as previously seen in "The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman") and is threatened by Mr. Giant with death in his shark tank along with the American scientist (remember him?) but fortunately Weng Weng uses his rocket backpack to fly to "Hidden Island," Mr.' Giant's home, which has the ugliest decor ever filmed.
   
   Once on Hidden Island, mayhem reigns and another karate midget challenges Weng Weng's skills. Not to fear: an entirely new group of good guys arrive by helicopter to assist the hostage situation. The ensuing gunplay seems to last years: the only casualty is Irma who dies on the beach in Weng Weng's arms. She salutes him and says "mission accomplished" then croaks in a performance that is totally out of Shatner's league, even at his hammiest.
   
   This film is utterly perfect for a lover of cinematic badness: it is ridiculous and poorly executed in every possible dimension, thus enshrining it in the B-movie hall of fame. Be sure to catch the extra features including "Weng Weng: An Appreciation."
   
   The second film stars Bruce Le (no, not Bruce Lee) in a ludicrous kung fu extravaganza about Le (and fellow CIA operative Richard Harrison) using their fists of fury to defeat both the mob and Viet Cong for possession of a formula for a new spermicide (I am not joking) that terrorists have seized from two scientists in a bloody laboratory coup. This movie is fairly painful and frequently features a lot of karate and kung fu involving multiple parties making it very difficult to figure out what is going on, and even harder to care. The film has subplots that vary all over the map: morally questionable tennis matches; bullfighting; motorcycle duels on a temple's steps (especially silly); and admittance to the communist party for stealing maps: without question my favorite scene in the film is when Le does kung fu on a bull.
   You will be pleased to know that there's a special guest appearance by "Miss Spain of 1982," a somewhat chunky and unattractive enemy agent with no acting skills of any sort. In general the film features more padding than a Posturepedic mattress, and is relentless in it's boringness. After a big diversion at a convention celebrating Macau with Sousa marches and horse racing the finale erupts in a three way kung fu battle and car chase, which concludes with the spermicide formula being incinerated in an automotive inferno.
   
   "Challenge of the Tiger" is a vaguely amusing, multifaceted rip-off, but really could use a little Weng Weng.



4. There are three Secret Agent 00 movies starring Weng Weng, so you'd think any double feature package that contained the first, FOR YOUR HEIGHT ONLY, would be sure to include either the sequel, THE IMPOSSIBLE KID, or the final entry in the series, WILD WILD WENG, wouldn't you? Of course you would, and you'd be absolutely right to expect it -- it's a no-brainer! But not so with *this* DVD set, which inexplicably adds a throwaway martial arts film that has nothing to do with Weng Weng or FOR YOUR HEIGHT ONLY, for that matter. An unfortunate example of careless, thoughtless product development that is extra disappointing because it could have been SO AWESOME if all three films had been collected on one sourcem or AT LEAST if the double feature had been back-to-back Weng Weng, as it so obviously should have been. Tsk, tsk. Two-star demerit for annoying me no end.
   
   Hey, Mondo Macabre! Release this as it SHOULD Be released, and my rating jumps up to 5+ lickety-split!



5. FOR YOUR HEIGHT ONLY (1981)-
   
   3-foot tall Filipino action star Weng Weng is back as Agent 00. The evil Mr Giant has plans to take over the world, and there's only one man that can stop him.
   
   To be honest, this movie is nothing special, but Weng Weng's fight scenes and the hilarious dubbing make it worth watching. Once you've seen Weng Weng in action, you will have the urge to see more of him. trust me.
   
   Now if you like this, then you have to see The Impossible Kid, which can be found in the martial arts 50-pack. I found it to be much better than For Your Height Only. Long live Weng Weng, my hero.
   
   2.5/5
   
   Picture quality is kinda faded, but still pretty good. Full screen and English dubbed.
   
   
   
   
   CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER (1980)-
   
   Man oh man, this really had the potential to be great. The movie starts off with Richard Harrison playing tennis with topless women. And there's plenty of other nudity scattered throughout the rest of the movie. And for the kung fu fans, there's Hwang Jang Lee, Bolo Yeung, Kong Do and Bruce "Le". So how did this movie fail to achieve greatness? Well, that's an easy question to answer. It all has to do with Bruce Le. I swear that every single one of his fights has the exact same choreography. He is just a terrible kung fu actor. Bad fighting skills, and really bad acting skills. It's not that Le is a bad martial artist, it's that he doesn't look good on screen. I actually like Dragon Lee moer than Bruce Le. A lot more. Luckily, Hwang and Bolo get to show their stuff properly. Bolo gets shorted, but looks good in his limited action, and to me Hwang Jang Lee is the star of the movie. I could watch this guy kick all day.
   
   So all in all, this is a decent movie, but it could have been so much better. Only worth watching for about 3 or 4 fight scenes.
   
   2/5
   
   I was amazed at the picture quality. Widescreen and the print is in very good condition. English dubbed.
   
   
   
   
   Special features include excellent biographies on Richard Harrison, Bruce Le and Weng Weng. Sad story Weng Weng. He is greatly missed.

No comments about Shaolin Three-section Staff.

2 comments about Little Superman.

1. Bruce liang is known for his strong physical stamina... In this movie Liang works his leg and fist on the Japenese and chinese traitors......explosive sound effects that keeps the echo in your head....Check his other well known movie " Bruce, Hong Kong Master"... Do not miss it...



2. Bruce Leung Siu Lung is seriously spring loaded and he is on fire in this movie. His jumping kicks are the best I have ever seen. Let me talk about the story real quick and then I will talk more about the action.
   
   James Nam plays a Japanese Colonel who is after a secret Chinese document. Wong Yuen San plays an officer of the law who hires Bruce Leung to keep the document safe. That is really all you need to know. Han Kwok Choi, Meng Hoi and others help Bruce Leung out. Meng Hoi looks like he is about 13 years old. And John Chang has a nice small role and gets to take James nam on 1 on 1. This movie is from 1975 and there are a lot of recognizable actors playing the villains. Lee Ka Ting, Chan Lau and Chan Lung all get plenty of screen time. The action never lets up and it gets more and more intense as it goes along. There is a good 40 minutes of fighting and it is all VERY good. The final fight is about 10 minutes long. It is truly one of the best fights I have ever seen. Not recommended if you are prone to seizures, because it is INSANE. There is a lot of screaming, a lot of kicking, and it gets pretty bloody. PURE hate right here. Saying it's intense doesn't even begin to describe it. It's a very brutal fight, and I have never seen anything like it before.
   
   Rating- 5/5
   
   As a movie, this only gets like a 3/5, but the fighting gets a 100/100. EASILY one of the best kung fu movies I have ever seen.
   
   I have the Videoasia version under the title Kung Fu Superman and the picture quality is decent enough. And best of all it seems to be uncut. Unfortunately, the disc only works on some DVD players. You just have to hope your DVD player will play it.

1 comments about Mantis vs. Falcon Claws/Dragon vs. Needles of Death.

1. MANTIS VS. FALCON CLAWS- This is your typical Godfrey Ho movie. It doesn't make much sense, the ending is horrible, and it's only 77 minutes long.
   
   The kung fu is above average at times. One of the henchman is a really good acrobat and Chia Kai's fight with the villain is the highlight of the movie. Chia Kai plays the drunken master teacher in this and is amazing in every movie he is in. He owns 'Dance of Death' playing the white haired villain and plays the kung fu teacher in 'Seven Steps of Kung Fu' and 'Of Cooks and Kung Fu'. Unfortunately, he only has that one fight scene in this. The rest of the movie is very bad but saved by some good cheesiness. It's a fun movie to watch for bad movie lovers.
   
   1.5/5
   
   DRAGON VS. NEEDLES OF DEATH- I can't even begin to describe how bad this is. Some kid who can throw nails is always getting bullied. He teams up with some guy he works with and they go around fighting people. The story is one of the most dreadful things I have ever sat through. There is some quality basher action, but the final fight goes on for about ten minutes too long! I won't spoil the ending, but it is beyond stupid and I didn't even get a laugh out of it.
   
   0.5/5
   
   
   Both movies have bad but watchable picture quality.

1 comments about Little Godfather.

1. I mean bruce liang, yasuaki kuratu, and director/producer ng see-yuen and you should have a great movie. Wow did this one fail. I love ng but he should have never made another movie again after this. I mean the camp is there. The movie is certainly better than those ninja spliced up godfrey ho movies. But sadly I have seen like 1 or 2 godfrey ho movies that were better than this. And if you were to tell me today that you know of another godfrey movie that I haven't seen that is better than this, then bring it on. But this movie is truly one that you should not watch unless you wanna see the dumbest freaking movie there is. Let's just say that if you really liked the story in game of death, then there is like a 3% chance you will like this. The action takes up around 7 minutes of the 86 minute running time. And only 2-3 minutes are good. Now if you don't know of bruce liang, and you love godfrey ho movies, then I take everything back that I ever said of this and have to say that you weird people will be in for a rela treat. But seriously, liang can kick with ANYBODY. Only a selective bunch I would put ahead of him. Hwang lee, john liu, and jet li. But he is right up there with them. I would even put him slightly above dorian tan. Barely though, just barely.
   
   So teh movie freaking sucks big you know whats, btu the final fight is pretty good. It involves a lot of running and only lasts like 4 minutes max, btu kuratu and liang go at it HARD. Well, I guess I enjoyed the movie for like at least 2 minutes. Seriously, that's it.
   
   The special features are a copuple of music videos. There is a special feature called inside the young master, it didn't play. i have a few other dvd plaeyrs I can try but I was kind of pissed. I mean it could have been like an interview with Bruce liagn himself, who you may also know as the Beast from Kung fu hustle. And there are 2 trailers including a long one from ten tigers of shaolin. It looks AWESOME. I would buy it but the trailer they show looks REALLY distorded, decent picture quality, but you it just looks like it is impossible to watch the movie.
   
   So a godawful movie and really no action, i just can't think of any reasons to recommend this unless you want to see some white guy have yusuaki kuratu as a son, and not even come close to cleverly lure the little godfather into a movie he wants to make???

5 comments about Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin.

1. This is, hands down the best Jackie kung-fu movie ever made! It has some of the best fight scenes ever filmed and the story is actually very good and has somewhat of a twist ending. By far, this is the ULTIMATE JACKIE WUP-[rear]S movie! This film was done before Jackie found a sence of humor, and he lets loose on all who oppose him, even the chicks(they are awesome kung-fu in their own right). All the action leads up to my favorite fight scene at the end.... DO NOT PASS UP THIS MOVIE!!!!! If you are thinking, don't! Just buy it!



2. this movie's plot is weak and steriotypical, the dubbing is [bad] and Jackie barely smiles, but the kung fu, which is what I bought it for in the first place, is excellent.

   I study both the snake and the crane styles of shaolin and I must say, aside form all the cartwheels and usuall razzle dazzle of movie kung fu, the coreography, (which Chan was highly involved in) was excellent and mostly true to the real styles of shaolin.

   If you like alot of action, blood and childish swear words dubbed in to movie then buy this.

   It's excellent




3. THis film is boring but the kung fu is brilliant! 8 kung fu masters get together to write a book which contains secrets of each of their styles. When they are murdered somehow Jackie ends up with the book. Everyone tries to steal the book from Jackie but ofcourse they have to fight my hero (Jackie) first!



4. If you want UNCUT ORIGINAL version, ALWAYS look for ORIGINAL LICENSED Production. NOT US Release. Its a foreign film, it should not be US version to begin with~! HELLO!!!?? Why settle for LESS with US Version where they edit and cut so many excellent scenes especially with Jackie's Fighting Scenes. And US Release ruins the speed and sound as well. I have been collecting Jackie Chan's movies both HK and US Release Version for quite some time now. I found HK Version to be MUCH MORE in enjoyable, and HIGHER in Quality. American Market always like to "Americanize" and "Control". Regional Code Regulation thing is one of the example to CONTROL the Market. Why not let everyone enjoy the same HK Original Release move the same way ENTIRE WORLD enjoys it ?? No one makes Hollywood American movies to "French version" or "Chinese Version" ~! This what Americans are doing~! Well, enjoy the cheap "American version" then~! LOL



5. Love this movie Jackie Chan at his best before the nose job. You see he is the Martial Art Instructor for the movie. And you see he does all the stunt in the movie, and the way they shoot the scenes is classic Hong Kong Cinema, where you actually see all the technics. But the copy is horrible, I saw the original in the theater and I swear it's the same move just copied to DVD, had same 35mm scratch lines in it, I thought they would try to remaster it, but it isn't a Criterian version and I should have known better. And I was ripped off with the price I paid ($65). I see the price has dropped quite a bit now.

5 comments about Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee.

1. Wow!Finally,a no holds barred account of how Bruce Lee REALLY died!
   The documentary is the best I've seen to date,and the rare footage is amazing.Bruce as Jerry Lewis and James Dean is priceless(clips from his childhood films).Some awesome demos by Bruce and lots of photos.
   Bonus materials are plentiful.Loads of extra and extended interviews,and a killer audio commentary.
   Very good work on the whole.



2. At long last, Death by Misadventure gets a U.S. DVD release! Starring Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee! Check out the other Bruce Lee movies in the collection:
   FIST OF UNICORN (1972)
   BRUCE LEE - TRUE STORY (1976)
   YOUNG BRUCE LEE: THE LITTLE DRAGON (1982)



3. This is not for real Bruce Lee fans as we have all seen the childhood footages, imitators, and movie documentaries many times. The so called "never before seen footages" can also be seen in other Bruce Lee documentaries and demonstration tapes. What is most upsetting is the use of Bruce bio movie clips when talking about Bruce's movies. Why weren't actual Bruce Lee movie clips used to better describe his movies and martial arts ability. The only part that were worth paying for are the interviews and demonstrations.



4. Now the last reviewer may not have been a bruce lee fan, but I am. I found this documentary absolutely fascinating. Is is not spectacular, but very well done.
   
   The documantary itself is truly one of the better investigation movies about his death.
   
   And the commentary is very good. Though terrible audio quality, still worth listening too a couple of times. The doctor that first looked at Bruce, Dr. Don Langford was in like half of the documentary and then is on about 30 minutes of the commentary! It is so insightful that I have alreadsy listened to it twice. It is very interesting.
   
   Now the audio is fine on the movie itself, but like I said is just really bad on the commentary. Still, worth turning up the volume and checking this out if you are a Bruce Lee fan.



5. [...]They have done Bruce Lee right with this documentary. The actual on hand account of the Doctor's report is amazing. And the information given in this DVD is simply the best ever. If you ever wanted to know what actually happened to the King of Martial Arts-Bruce Lee then this is the best story on DVD ever compiled, and this is the one you want to get hand over fist! CHING! Respects to you on this one Video Asia.
   
   Sifu Monroe

No comments about Elasticsteel Grappler - Strength and Flexibility for Grapplers.