2 comments about King of the Cage - Greatest Hits.

1. Great dvd, it shows some new talent coming up in the ranks of MMA, before they went to the ufc, and pride. They put together great matches, and put a great show. A must have dvd for any collection.



2. This DVD should, in fact, be called KOTC Greatest Fights. It is not, as the title would imply, a collection of great knockouts. Rather, it is a set of 11 fights from King of the Cage events that they considered to be their "greatest hits". Some of the fights are good, but there are actually only a couple of knockouts on the DVD, just so that no one is thrown off by the title.
   
   KOTC was a fairly big deal in the world of MMA and many now household names got their start in the yellow-matted octagon. On this DVD, mother-flippin' Don "The Dragon" Wilson does pre-fight interviews and fight commentary. There is also commentary from Eddie Bravo (who now lends his commentary to the UFC), Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.
   
   The fights are pretty entertaining. Ricco Rodriguez dominates MMA veteran Travis Fulton and Vernon "Tiger" White demolishes Todd Medina very quickly. Marvin Eastman takes on Quinton Jackson in his KOTC debut. Jackson would go on to "fame" in Pride Fighting, while Easatman, who won this fight, went on to get his forehead split open by Vitor Belfort. Duane Ludwig gives perhaps the best fighting performance on this DVD. Ludwig totally picks his opponent apart. Strikes to all areas of the body - it is truly a devastating beating. Fabiano Iha quickly submits his opponent and Jerry Bohlander makes his MMA comeback. He had taken a 2-year break from the UFC and he comes out and immediately gets rocked. He composes himself and eventually submits his opponent. Pete Williams has the quickest KO of the DVD. His fight literally lasts 3 seconds.
   
   There is some good action and this DVD gives you a chance to see some current MMA stars and standouts in their earlier fighting days. It's a good DVD to add to your MMA collection.

5 comments about The Heroic Trio.

1. Forget Batman, this is the way a super-hero movie should be done. Incredible imagery (some shots will take your breath away) prevails in a film genre that traditionally should not look as good as this does. There is also a plot (underground demon lord stealing babies to find an heir) and Anita Mui sings, too... what more could want? A warning the film is gritty violent, and contains a scene with an infant that may disturbing to sensitive viewers.



2. That's all I needed to see to make this a classic movie. Some very good fight scenes, but you have to be pretty hard-core into these movies to really like this. Also some very weird fight scenes. The final fight I have never made it through to the end, not cause it was too sick, just because I did't like it. But I did like the whole movie up to that point. It is great to see Iron robe yim from OUATIC playing a REAL baddie.
   
   The dubbing is a different story, this would have easily get a 4/5 if I could get my hands on the original language version. Seriously, this movie is like 86 minutes long, that is just a horribly done dvd, they remaster the picture to perfection, but can't give any type of other feature on this, how freaking hard is it to pu the original language on these.



3. Some fairly good martial arts action does not excuse a nonsensical plot and frivolous acting.



4. There was nothing of note about this movie. I honestly don't see how anyone could watch this and feel satisfied that they saw a worthwhile fim. Avoid at all cost. I like the actressess involved, but the film was bad. very bad.



5. what more can be said. Low-brow stuff...gotta love Maggie Cheung as the little pyro "Happy New Year Everybody!" as she blows up the sewers.

5 comments about Tokyo Raiders.

1. starring Tony Leung, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chan , Cecilia Cheung Toru Nakamura, Hiroshi Abe, Kumiko Endo, Maiju Ozawa, Minami Sirakawa, Yuko Moriyama, Pauline Yam and directed by Jingle Ma

   Tony Leung stars as Lam, the toughest private eye in Tokyo. Despite his small stature and broken Japanese, he owns the Tokyo streets with his suave charisma and fighting skills. He falls in with Macy (Kelly Chan), who arrives in Tokyo chasing her groom Takahashi. Follwing her is interior designer Yung (Ekin Cheng), who's after Takashi to settle a debt. Soon their paths cross and becomes a chaos.

   comedy is allright, action is over the top, and characters are silly to the max.Tony Leung showed off his skills by doing most of his stunt. Too bad i cant say the same about HoNam...Kelly Chan looked great as usual, and Cecilia Cheung was just cute.

   This movie is enjoyable, but if you are looking for Godfather quality, watch Blow, or The Goodfellas




2. I am a big fan of Ekin Cheng, and this was an excellent movie, with a well developed plot and memorable characters.

   Tony Leung stars as a Tokyo private investigator, trying to track down a gangland boss. Tagging along are Macy, (Kelly Chen) and John, (Ekin Cheng)a Kung Fu master, (who also happens to be an interior decorator, LOL).

   Together, the trio tries to solve the mystery of Macy's missing fiancée, but run into trouble from the CIA, rival gang lords and local police. A romance develops between Macy and John, and is exacerbated by distrust on both sides.

   There are several great fight scenes. My favorite involved Ekin Chen and the vacuum cleaner, and the fight upon the car transport truck! This had a lot of really original material, and just enough romance to also appeal to female fans.

   Great movie!! Where's the sequal?




3. Depart from the popular Jackie Chan fare and take a look into popular Hong Kong kung fu cinema. It's a silly tale of spies, lies, and lovers but not obnoxiously stupid as has been the trend for HK flicks of late. Kelly Chen is Macy whose Japanese boyfriend is a no-show at their Vegas wedding. She jets back to HK to find him but instead bumps heads with Yung, played by a perfectly coiffed Ekin Cheng, a smooth interior designer who has yet to be paid for fixing up their pad. The two knock out some baddies, who just happen to show up at the house, and they end up in Japan, whereupon Lam, Tony Leung's shady private detective, proceeds to get all up into their business. The rest of the plot is, how shall we say, confusing, and secondary; basically everyone's after Macy and the girl just wants to find her fiancée. Let's all admit that we're not really watching this movie for profound insight and agree that the narrative stays on track in it's own disjointed way, which means it doesn't always make sense. The important thing is that every character is hiding something so no one really knows what's going on.

   Despite big names and beautiful faces in this Lunar New Year production, the acting doesn't really stand out, except for Tony Leung Chiu-Wai's performance. He continues to demonstrate why he's one of the best actors, ever. Though he won't be grabbing anything at Cannes for this one, he ups the charm factor a few notches and plays the spy who I wished loved me. Since the key word here is "cool," the bland script matters less than sleek sets, suave spy fashion, and fluid fight sequences. All this movie asks of you is a handful of brain cells and the willingness to indulge in a nonsensical spy caper.




4. Making its stars look cool seems to be the main purpose of this film. The plot is pure contrived nonsense: the CIA is somehow trying to devalue the Japanese yen through counterfeiting and working with a Japanese mobster; somehow, as part of this scheme, a CIA agent is assigned to marry a Hong Kong banker's daughter (in Las Vegas!); instead, the agent elopes with the Japanese mobster's wife and has a car accident in which the moster's wife dies; the CIA agent is hospitalized and he misses the wedding with the banker's daughter; the banker's daughter goes to Japan to look for him; the mobster, the CIA, and the Japanese secrete service then all try to use the banker's daughter to find the CIA agent, while the banker hires a kung-fu expert disguised as an interior decorator to protect his daughter. All of this convoluted plot is explained through about one minute of fast dialog. I had to rewind and listen to the dialog twice to understand what was going on. The MTV-style editing during the fight sequences is effective in hiding the stars' lack of kung-fu skills. This movie could have been great if only it had a more comprehensible and better developed plot. The stars are pleasing to the eye and the action sequences are fun. Unfortunately, it degenerates into style without substance.



5. `Tokyo Raiders' is not a great film, but is certainly very entertaining. Three handsome and sexy stars are all attractive, and the location of the modern city of Tokyo (where most of the film was shot) is another asset for the film, which lacks originality in the storyline.
   
   The film starts with a bit comical fighting scene in Shinjuku, Tokyo, with Tony Leung and Japanese thugs in suits (one of them apparently ex-sumo wrestler) following him from behind. Leung's character Lin with affable smile fights back deftly using an umbrella and some 007-like gadgets in the well-choreographed sequences, shot in the street of Kabukicho, Shinjuku, one of the night life district in Tokyo. (Incidentally this place is very close to the hotel where Bill Murray's character stayed in `Lost in Translation.') The scenes are no Jackie Chan action, not intense as Jet Li, but still amusing in its own way.
   
   Then we meet beautiful Macy (Kelly Chen, `Infernal Affair') in Las Vegas. She is waiting for her bridegroom (who is Japanese) who would not show up at the church. Impatient and dismayed, Macy flies to Japan, with a handsome guy from Hong Kong named Yung (Ekin Cheng), who claims that he needs his money back from Macy's fiancé. In Tokyo, both of them soon get involved with a case of stolen secret information, CIA, yakuza, etc. Plenty of actions and a bit of romance ensue.
   
   Actually, though the story constantly attempts to surprise us with twists and turns, it is not the most important part of the film, which is made virtually for the three stars Leung, Chen, and Cheng. These three likable players from Hong Kong, all charming and delightful, perfectly fit the light-heated mood of the film, where people fight fiercely, but not get killed, and even the yakuza (Japanese gangsters) look like gentlemen compared with the fearful gangsters in `Kill Bill Vol. 1.'
   
   Among the actors from Japanese side, Toru Nakamura (`Purple Butterfly') would be the most famous, but his role is sadly a very small one. Equally small are the roles of cute Japanese idol turned actor Kumiko Endo and actor Hiroshi Abe with his trademark eccentric acting. That is simply disappointing for the Japanese viewers like me. Cecilia Cheung also appears briefly, and her role is not a big one either.
   
   But with these three attractive leads, maybe we should not complain. The film is generic in its story, but is greatly helped by the presence of these actors, plus its good (if not great) action sequences and fast-paced direction, `Tokyo Raiders' is an amusing film, forgettable but fairly good entertainment for rainy day afternoon.

No comments about GREATEST JIU-JITSU TECHNIQUES STARRING FABIO GURGEL, 4 VOLUMES ON 2 DVD'S.

No comments about Fusion the Next Evolution in Modern Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Starring Robson Moura, 6 Volume DVD Set.

1 comments about The 18 Bronzemen, Part 2.

1. This is definitely no way to prepare for another sequel! This film would have got five stars but for the fact that the ending was very poor.
   There were plots left undecided and business left unfinished.
   So many questions left unanswered!
   I'd still advise real martial arts fans to see the film simply hoping that there will indeed be a third part to conclude this saga.

No comments about Fists of Dragons.

2 comments about Dragon Fire.

1. Daniel Travanti stars as an ex-green beret trying to make sense of his forgotten flashbacks,making others fell uncomfortable as he becomes a target.It's a good spy flick!!



2. The Memory Hole has a claim upon this feature made for cable television, and more's the pity since it is all that one might reasonably ask from a tale of covert deception between governments, a well-cast production that pleases on most levels, notably due to its competent direction, cinematography and scoring. Daniel J. Travanti plays John Tagget, owner of a large electronics manufacturing firm, who is disabled due to injuries incurred as a tortured prisoner of the North Vietnamese, and suffering from cryptic flashbacks of his P.O.W. experiences that, in combination with what may be attempts by his erstwhile intelligence community peers to murder him, create a situation that Tagget naturally tries to probe, whereupon more complications ensue, some quite deadly. Though Tagget's disability may be psychosomatic, the film's content is uncommon in that its principal character is in fact disabled, and many of his employees (assemblers, etc.) are wheelchair-bound, but this is only one fresh aspect of this work that, with a limited budget, offers generally clever plotting and neatly crafted filmmaking. Even when the continuity is plagued by problems with logic, there are attempts at explanation, whilst the creative lighting and camera skills of cinematographer Billy Dickson, a concinnate score from Michel Colombier, and the taut direction of Richard T. Heffron all intensify the proceedings that also benefit from nifty acting turns by Travanti, William Sadler as a crafty Russian operative, Leon Russom, elegant Guy Doleman, Peter Michael Goetz and Sarah Douglas; a discriminative cineaste will not rue having viewed this motion picture, titled DRAGONFIRE upon its initial release.

4 comments about New Gladiators.

1. Classic footage of Benny Urquidez, Eric Lee, Fumio Demura, all the greatest martial artist all on one DVD.



2. This DVD is a collectors item & a must-have for those interested in the formative years in American karate. But the DVD froze in the same spot each time I tried to watch it (even after a wipe-down w/ a soft cloth). I only saw half.
   
   How do I get an exchange so I can write a complete review?



3. The New Gladiators is a excellent look at the marital arts scene from back in the 70"s. As a long standing martial artist i throughly enjoyed it.But i did feel it was wrong to not have footage of Elvis Presley praticeing Kempo Karate, especialy since this documentary originated as his own project.......Skip.A



4. I remember, as a young karateka, hearing the whispers about a film underwritten by Elvis Presley with a heavey dose of Ed Parker's influence. The rumor was in dojos and martial arts journals, yet, this rumor appeared to be more urban myth than reality until it was once again disocvered, freed from purgatory, and Rising Sun Productions releases this long awaited film (well, long awaited for us martial arts geeks who have been waiting to see this thing for about 30 years).
   
   The initial buzz wasn't really good about this flick, so I waited to buy it. Finally I got it and watched it immediately and the final word is - the movie is not really that good. The film quality is poor, due in part for it not being produced and cared for (it was left in producer Wait's home for most of this time). Further, it severly lacks a well developed script and direction and could have taken its cue from the producers of "Fighting Black Kings" which is a superior karate documentry, or for that matter, "The Warrior Within" which is also a better film that was also produced during 70s.
   
   With the negatives aside, the flim does allow us 40-something and over martial artists to revisit an era with heroes and legends. There is footage of Ed Parker demonstrating Kenpo and providing sparring advice to the US Karate team. We watch Benny Urquidez just before he enters full contact. We observe Steve Sanders coming back to fight in a tournament one more time (this was before he changed his last name). We get to see Roy Kurban take the US championships and we observe other legends who carried the sport karate torch.
   
   For those reasons alone, the DVD, although of very poor quality, is worth the watch and purchase for us 40+something American martial artist. It is a part of history and a part of our American Martial Arts culture, for good and ill, and as such, worth adding to your collection.

No comments about Mastering Judo 10 DVD Box Set.