5 comments about A Chinese Ghost Story (The Tsui Hark Animation).

1. This movie is for kids, and in that sense, it does a fine job. Not too scary, a little silly/funny, but a moving storyline. There are some oddities that probably resulted from translation, and it may be more compelling in its native language (some of the songs seemed particularly odd), but it was, all in all, an engaging and entertaining movie.



2. I found this quirky little gem at a local video store that specializes in foreign, independent, and classic films. Having exhausted much of the anime and Far East categories, I decided to give this one a chance, even though I had looked over it dozens of times before.
   
   I'm a huge fan of animation in all its forms, so when this piece began, I was bombarded by awkward, bulky CGI images playing as a background to the traditional 2-D approach to animation. Normally, I'd find that sort of thing appalling (hey, if the styles clash, they clash) but at the same time, the odd mixture seemed to work in a very surreal sense and heightened my dedication to the story, which, as it turns out, was about China, ghosts, and a bunch of mystical weirdness that really seemed to draw strength from its bizarre visual scizophrenia.
   
   And then there was the story. Firstly, you've got your underdog who is dense as a rock, but ultimately a good guy, his love interest, who is kind of a retread of that old "bar girl with a heart of gold" character you'd see in old Western movies, three bumbling enemies who start out trying to destroy the underdog's ghost girlfriend but end up mainly fighting each other, and, of course, the vain villainess whose only goal in life (death?) is to hang on to her youth. What kid's flick would have been complete without her, after all? Apparently, kid vehicles in China work much as they do here, in that there was also a cute, anthropomorphic dog sidekick that would drop over or growl or bat his eyelashes comically whenever the situation demanded it. Despite the formula, I found his antics charming, and only ended up liking his character more after I learned that director Tsui Hark provided all his grunts, snarls, and whimpers!
   
   There's definitely something about the idea of a living man and a dead woman being in love--it's that darned Romeo & Juliet star-crossed lovers thing, again!--that stirs the romantic in me, so I found myself really rooting for Ning and SiuSeen's cause when they decided that the best way for them to be together was for them to be reincarnated and try to find one another on earth after their births.
   
   So basically what it comes down to is that it looks weird, feels weird, sounds weird, and that the weirdness is wonderful to experience. I could safely liken it to some of Tim Burton's films, if you really need an American equivalent to get a better idea of what you're in for. But it's still kind of a loose comparison; just check it out for yourself, and I'm sure you'll have more fun with it than you're expecting.



3. It is such a valueless gem produced by Pioneer and Tsui Hark and all the other excellent staff.
   The tune companies every single step of the story and reveal the true feeling between the two lovers.
   Ning is rare for his trueness and loyality and hard to find in reality, who is almost a perfect male for love. And Xiao Cian is just characterised as a super ghost, if more plots and stories added to enrich Xiao Cien that she sacraficed something for Ning, e.g. the scene she grabbing Ning out of "Black Mountian". This story will be perfect. However, this is just an animation for teenagers but not for adults, such a balance between male and female characters is necessary for girls.
   the ending song "Evening Fly" is such a diamond to summarize the "silver-shining" story.
   In all, it just tells you: True love can never be too far away.



4. It starts out extremely lame. that is compared to the rest of the story. This movie is for kids not adults for laughter and not too scary. the animation is good for a 1997 movie. This movie was not made in China but in Japan. I love seeing the ghostbusters having powers.



5. Despite the fact that A Chinese Ghost Story is actually a Chinese production (made in Hong Kong in fact), it's always being classified as an anime everywhere online. If you're still in doubt, you can check the DVD release and see that the only language tracks available are Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Anyhow, I'll be joining the internet bandwagon by placing this review on the anime index.
   
   The first thing I noticed about A Chinese Ghost Story is the youthful look of the characters. Our hero Ning looks like a 10-year old boy (although he's actually older than that) -- being the vertically-challenged and roundish-ly drawn character that he is. It's kind of hard to believe that he has a girlfriend and that they are of marrying age already (but then people did marry young in ancient China). The female characters look slightly older, maybe around their mid-teens. Ning is immediately attracted to the ghost Siu Seen, and Siu Seen in turn gradually falls for Ning... but theirs is a love that's not supposed to be -- and that becomes the main dilemma of this unique story.
   
   Things happen in a frenzied pace, and get a little too chaotic for my taste. In many scenes, the characters run, scream, fight, and jump around all at once. The art and animation are good. Although the character designs are on the cutesy side, vibrantly rendered visuals abound. The Chinese countryside comes alive with backgrounds that are computer generated, reminiscent of video game FMV sequences. The theme songs and music also add a nice touch. They are unmistakably Chinese in style (performed by popular Chinese artists) and tempo, which suits the film perfectly. The English dubbing is pretty decent, albeit in this case the Mandarin track (if watching the DVD) would give you a more authentic experience. A Chinese Ghost Story gives you a brief glimpse of the intricate and interesting world of Chinese mythology. It's a fairly solid title which the whole family can enjoy.

No comments about The Prodigal Son.

1 comments about The Martial Arts Essentials: The Films of Sammo Hung 6 Film Set.

1. INCREDIBLE KUNG FU MASTER (1979)- Steve Tung Wei stars as a young man named Kung Fu Chin. He really wants to be a great kung fu fighter and tries to learn as many styles as he can. The 2 teachers he is learning from have become rivals, and he has also found a 3rd teacher. Sammo Hung plays the 3rd teacher and tells Kung Fu Chin that kung fu is like food, eat all that you can as long as it's good. So while Kung Fu Chin is learning all the kung fu he can, Phillip Ko has a plan to kill the 2 rival teachers. He sends in 2 spies and says they are his sons.
   
   Nothing much happens in this movie, it is just your standard kung fu flick where a kid gets picked on, learns kung fu, and then takes revenge. The training sequences are some of the best I have ever seen. Tung Wei can do things with his body that made me cringe. I only wish I was a tenth as flexible as him.
   
   The final 25 minutes is non-stop action. It is missing the intensity, but the choreography is certainly there. It's a shame they didn't put much into the fighting unil the last few fights. At least it was a nice surprise to see so many good fights after so many average ones. Sammo looks brilliant, Phillip Ko looks as good as he always does, and Lee Hoi San and Steve Tung Wei also do great work. Lee Hoi San's performance comes close to matching his work in Magnificent Butcher. Austin Tin Chi Wai has a good cameo where he fights Sammo, but still, the kung fu is just lightweight. Only in Phillip Ko's fight did I get the feeling that someone may actually die. If you are looking for hardcore kung fu action with Tung Wei, then check out Killer Wears White (AKA Shadow Ninja) which can be found in the Martial Arts 50-Pack. Killer Wears White is fast, furious, and downright brutal. Incredible Kung Fu Master is just a walk in the park. This is a kung fu movie that the kids can watch.
   
   I reviewed this movie before on this site, and I gave it a 3/5. But after so many viewings I feel that it should get a 3.5/5. I'm just a sucker for good kung fu fights.
   
   Picture quality is decent and it's partly widescreen. Sound is a bit low.
   
   
   
   GAMBLING GHOST (1991)- Sammo has 3 roles in this movie. He plays a parking attendant who loves to gamble. Sammo is known for playing the common man, and it doesn't get much more common than this. Sammo also plays the man's father, and grandfather. His grandfather is dead, but his ghost comes back and wants Sammo to revenge for him. This movie is not very good, but enjoyable. Some decent jokes and some good action at the end. Bobby Samuels and Billy Chow show up, so you know it's worth a watch. 3/5
   
   Picture quality is pretty good, and it's widescreen. Sound is hard to hear at times.
   
   
   
   BURGER COP aka DON'T GIVE A DAMN (1995)- Sammo and Yuen Biao star in this buddy cop movie. Takeshi Kaneshiro also stars, but doesn't add much. The story has them tryin to stop a drug trade, and there really isn't much more to it. I found the entire movie pretty bad. None of the fights interested me much, except the finale. The finale has all kinds of fights going on, including a 1 on 1 on 1 fight between Collin Chou, Sammo, and Bobby Samuels. And be sure to look for cameos from Chin Siu Ho, Leung Kar Yan, Lau Kar Wing, and countless other recognizable actors. 2.5/5
   
   Picture quality is decent and it's widescreen. Subititles are easy to read for the most part. Only problem is that there are 2 audio tracks playing at the same time and it's really annoying.
   
   
   
   MANDARIN MAGICIAN (1974)- This is a bad movie about Larry Lee going to Thailand to help some old guy. It's really boring, but there is some decent action. The Muay Thai fights in the ring are ok, and the basher action outside of the ring is a little above average, especially the finale. Larry Lee truly is a magician with those nunchukas.
   
   This is the only movie in the 6-pack where Sammo doesn't have much of a role. He plays a thug and has a couple of fights, but they aren't worth talking about. Lam Ching Ying has a decent Thai boxing fight, and you can also spot Mars, Chan Lung, Yuen Wah and Billy Chan in the cast. 2.5/5
   
   Picture is letterboxed and the print is in pretty decent shape. English dubbed.
   
   
   
   RETURN OF THE FAT DRAGON aka KING SWINDLER (1993)- Sammo stars as a drunken gamboholic in this kids movie. He goes to jail because of his gambing, and when he comes out he wants to go straight. I guess by going straight you fight in underground boxing matches. The movie is really bad and full of stupid humor, and unfortunately the fights are nothing special. But, there is one fight scene that makes the movie worth watching. Sammo is in a bar and gets in a fight with a bunch of people and uses drunken style. It's not a great fight or anything, but not bad.
   
   So the movie is bad, but I have to admit that the little kid had me cracking up. He does some acting that I didn't think a 3 or a 4 year old was capable of doing. 2/5
   
   Picture quality is decent and it's full screen. It seems to be in its original language and all of the subtitles are easy to read.
   
   
   
   HIDDEN ENFORCERS (2002)- This is about as bad as it gets. Sammo raised a group of kids and is their Godfather. He has them kill people for him. So the real heart of the story that were left with is the interractions between this group of 20 year olds. Prepare to be bored out of your mind. I watched this with a friend and we had the sound down at the end and were doing our own dubbed voices. We had to do something, because the movie is unwatchable. Sammo gets some brief action at the beginning and end, but other than that the movie is a complete waste of time. 1/5
   
   Picture quality is very good and it's widescreen. Subtitles are easy to read.

1 comments about Chop Socky - Cinema Hong Kong.

1. I remember back inthe 80s, saturday afternoon kung fu movies on TV, the Kung Fu triple feature matinees at the local downtown theater. These old school films remain some of the most entertaining and thrilling movie experiences to date(even inspite of all that CGI!).
   
   Chop Socky explains the story of how Chinese cinema was born with emphisis on the martial arts movies. It offers a good ecapsulated overview. Taking you through the early 1920s up to the present day. My only gripe is that it was too short. Not enough in the special features. There also should have been more on the Shaw Bros Studios. After all... they WERE fung fu theater during the 70s and 80s! Despite that, this is a must to own if you call yourself a fan of the genra.

5 comments about Bruce Lee: The Legend.

1. This product was in great condition and arrived earlier that I had expected. Thank you.



2. Amazon has great customer service. The Bruce Lee Collection was new- still in its original packaging and still at a great price.



3. This is easily one of the best investments to my collection, I mean 4/5 of bruce lee's movies, and a documentary.
   
   Now fisrt of all, all of these movies are the original dub and very watchable picture.
   
   Fist of fury(Big Boss)----- very fun movie with bruce beating up a lot of people. The end fight is prettygood because it was so authentic. Pai ying is the man, he is also the action coordinator on this.
   
   Chinese Connection(Fist Of Fury)------ One of the best movies of all time. Great fight scenes(check it out when he takes on the whole gym), great score, great acting, hell, even Lo wei is an actor in this movie, and he is pretty freaking good.
   
   Return of the dragon(enter the dragon) directed by bruce lee, action directed by bruce lee, and starrign bruce lee. Come on bruce, you could have put your name as composer too. This movie kicks ass, better than big boss, but not as good as chinese connection. Everyone knows this is the one where bruce fights chuck norris at the end. And it is everythign it is made out to be, certainly not the best though.
   
   Game of death---this is your classic case of fastforwarding kungfu cinema. The fight scenes are pretty good, but a VERY FORGETTABLE story.
   
   Documentary-------very good doc. that talks a lot about what bruce was planning for game of death(sounds sweet), and what other characters he wa experimenting with for hsi future movies. Can you believe he had a blind swordsman idea in mind for himself. There is a lot of other important info also. 5/5 for the documentary, good for any bruce fan.
   
   So I have seen this at cd tradepost for 14.99, and 19.99 at Best buy, so I don't know where the hell that $38 price comes from.



4. i bought this set at a used dvd store for $15.00 and was very happy to find it. watching it i was struck by how much talent and energy this man had! had he lived he would have one of the most bankable stars in the world.to be sure these are low buget action movies, but mr. lee brought a style to them that no other actor could have brought, his every move was a graceful and well thought out move,even just walking down the street. these are all the films he made(except for enter the dragon which he made for warner bros.) and he shines in them all,(game of death the movie he was making when he died is very weak and only comes alive when they use the footage of him that was shot) and if you love lee or good kung-fu movies this is one to own



5. This is a fine collection of Bruce Lee classics!
   
   It's not the best thing since sliced bread...but it's close.

2 comments about Wing Chun: The Complete Series.

1. First let's be real, this is a television drama so the pace is very slow. Out of say 1600 minutes of film is practically only 120 minutes of fighting scaterred throughout. That said it is truly a Martial Arts Movie Collector's must-have if only to see Gordon Liu perform the rarely seen Dragon Fist portion of Hung Ga. But rest assured that's not all! The combat version of Pa Gua Chuan is on display here as well as the title's Yong Chun (Wing Chun). Sammo Hung's son Sammy does an excellent job both acing and fighting. Now, for the other drawback. The subtitles are really quite bad. First if there are more than 2 lines written the yellow type gets lost in the picture. Second the translation of the honorary titles are just flat wrong in many places where "teacher" and "master" are translated as "Mr." and even in some places "Dr." Third, while I don't speak Cantonese, this leads me to suspect that so much of what is being said is also either wrongly or badly translated. Enough so that Tai Seng should issue an apology to the producers of the series. I understand that translators have to decide whether or not to translate the words or the meaning of what is being said but even my poor understanding of Cantonese caught some flat wrong translations in dialog. Yet for the eyes this is still going to be one of my "strongly reccommended" movies.



2. Good series and filmed well. My reason for giving 3 stars instead of 5 are:
   
   Though title is Wing Chun, the series only contains about 25%, maybe even less, directly realted to Wing Chun or Martial Arts in general. The rest is like a soap opera drama. Though interesting series, if you are expecting all Martial Arts this is not for you.
   
   Also, it is too long. Just goes on and on and on. They could have condensed this series into about half the length and it would have been much better.
   
   
   Good sets and takes you back in time to 1920s China, though how historically accurate I do not know.
   
   Again, would be a great series to watch if it was much shorter in length.

2 comments about The Martial Arts Essentials: The Films of Yuen Wo Ping.

1. There are some really good movies in this 6-pack. It is a must have for any fan of old school kung fu. Or if you are new to this genre and are looking for some good movies, this 6-pack is a good place to start. I won't give a full review on these movies, because that would be one of the longest reviews Amazon has ever seen. Instead, I will just go over them briefly.
   
   
   
   DANCE OF THE DRUNKEN MANTIS (1979)- this is a spinoff of Drunken Master (1978). No Jackie Chan, but that doesn't matter. Simon Yuen (Yuen Woo Ping's real life father) is back as Sam the Seed, and Hwang Jang Lee is back as the villain, this time playing a white haired drunken mantis fighter. Also back is Linda Lin, and she gets to show off her amazing leg work much more than she did in Drunken Master. Yuen Shun Yi plays the hero and does a fine job replacing Jackie Chan. Simon Yuen tries to teach him the drunken style, but the movie takes an odd turn and Shun Yi ends up learning the sickness style from Yen Shi Kwan (Jet Li's opponent in Once Upon a Time in China). The story and comedy are good, and the fights are SPECTACULAR. The drunken fight between Hwang Jang Lee and Simon Yuen (and his stunt double) is one of my top 20 favorite fight scenes of all time. I know I am in the minority here, but I actually enjoyed this movie even more than Drunken Master.
   
   Rating- perfect 5/5
   
   The picture quality is VERY good. I was amazed. And it is partly widescreen. The last version I had (from Groundzero) is almost completely unwatchable.
   
   
   
   
   THE INVINCIBLE ARMOR (1977)- after Ng See Yuen had so much success with Secret Rivals parts 1 and 2, he decided to make a movie with a higher budget. John Liu once again plays the hero, and he teams up with his costar from Secret Rivals 2, Tino Wong. I have way too much to say about this movie, so I will make this as brief as I can. Hwang Jang Lee plays the villain and he is my second favorite martial arts actor of all time, but I was a bit disappointed with his role as the master of the Iron Skin technique. He plays the role as well as he can, but there are many actors who would have done better. But this is a small complaint. Super kicker John Liu gives one heck of a performance, and this is the best performance I have ever seen from Tino Wong. The movie also has fights from Lee Hoi San, Yuen Biao, Yuen Shun Yi, Corey Yuen and Phillip Ko Fei. The fight scenes are not among the best I have ever seen, but still good.
   
   4/5
   
   The picture quality is almost as good as the pic quality for DANCE OF THE DRUNKEN MANTIS. It is widescreen, but not quite all the way.
   
   
   
   
   KUNG FU MASSACRE (1974)- this is an awesome old school punch and block movie, better known as a basher. Charles Heung (from Goose Boxer) is the lead actor and gives a solid performance, but the costar of the movie is the real star. His name is a Jin fu Wan and he is a good actor and an awesome fighter. His kicks are some of the best I have seen. There are lots of good fights in this movie, and the story is decent. The story is about revenge and deception, and of course it all leads to a big showdown at the end. Other than Charles Heung, I don't know too much about the other lead actors, but I did spot Yuen Woo Ping, Yuen Shun Yi and Corey Yuen as thugs, but they don't actually have roles in the movie. I enjoyed this movie very much. It is one of the best bashers I have ever seen.
   
   4/5
   
   Picture quality is good for a movie from 1974. Full screen, but it only bothered me a few times.
   
   And just to give you some info on Charles Heung, he is an interesting man. He used to be in old school kung fu movies, usually as the lead actor, but for the past 20 years he has been producing movies (including the new 2008 movie Fatal Move starring Sammo Hung and Wu Jing), and he is also listed as the "presenter" of 73 movies. He is known to have Triad connections, but I heard that he is a nice Triad, whatever that means.
   
   
   
   
   TAOISM DRUNKARD (1984)- this is without a doubt one of the craziest movies you will ever see. Yuen Shun Yi plays Master Ruthless and is after a secret document. He is one of the most unstoppable and meanest villains ever to hit the screen. The story moves along too fast and you may have trouble keeping up, but this is a movie you will watch over and over again. And watch out for that Watermelon monster. The Yuen Clan had to be on drugs when they created this masterpiece of crazy cinema.
   
   3.5/5
   
   Picture quality is full screen and looks fine. Pretty much all of the action can be seen.
   
   
   
   
   BORN INVINCIBLE (1978)- if you are a fan of Joseph Kou (the director of 7 Grandmasters), then you know his style. He is not the greatest storyteller, but his movies have fight after fight. This is the story of an Iron Skin stylist played by Carter Wong, and he is very evil. There is a lot less training scenes than most Joseph Kuo movies, but there are a ton of fights. There are fight scenes from Carter Wong, Yuen Shun Yi, Corey Yuen, Lo Lieh, Lung Fei, Alan Chiu (aka Alan Hsu, the guy who played the villain in 7 Grandmasters), Jack Long and Mark Long (he played Ghostfaced Killer in Mystery of Chessboxing). Don't expect it to be a great movie, but it is a great movie if you are just looking for a lot of fun fight scenes.
   
   3/5
   
   The picture quality is fine. Full screen, but the action is not affected too much. No complaints from me about the picture quality.
   
   
   
   
   AWAKEN PUNCH (1973)- this is your typical old school basher movie. Henry Yu Yeung is the star, and the villains include Fung Hak-on, San Kwai, Fong Yeh and Tien Feng (Bruce Lee's master in Chinese Connection). This movie bored me to death. Some of the action is good, but most of it is shot too close up and there is a lot of editing.
   
   2/5
   
   Picture quality is full screen, but looks decent enough.
   
   
   
   Yuen Woo Ping and his brothers (The Yuen Clan) had a hand in directing the action in all of these movies, except for THE INVINCIBLE ARMOR. Yuen Biao and Corey Yuen Kwai directed the action for that, but I imagine Yuen Shun Yi and other people also helped out. And just so you know, Yuen Biao and Corey Yuen are not part of the Yuen Clan, they just happen to have the same name. They went to the same school as Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, and they took the name of their teacher, Yu Jim Yuen.



2. Brought to you by the same people who gave us Grindhouse Experience volume 1 & 2, The Martial Arts Essentials features great kung fu titles but the DVD transfers are among the worst you have ever seen. SLP mode VHS with picture rolls and shaky picture. Such a shame...

5 comments about The Avenging Fist.

1. Ugh. My friend bought this on dvd the other day at a used video store. Why did he buy it? I have no idea. I knew it was gonna be bad news. So anyways, after playing some video games we decided to pop it in and give it a shot. I will regret that moment forever.
   This is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I used to talk about how much crap there is in American cinema, but after watching a few Hong Kong movies, there'e quite a bit of crap there too. This movie was plain AWFUL. Glossed over special effects which were ridiculous and pointless, stupid fight scenes, idiotic camera tricks, and a plot that was made up by a 4-year old. Don't buy this. Don't watch it. Stop reading this review and find something better to do.



2. Being a fan of Hong Kong cinema, I must admit I bought this dvd with a certain amount of trepidation. This is because it broke new territory - and I must admit the special effects are really impressive. However, the most serious flaw is that the movie never seemed to combine the special effects with the kung-fu action, which I was screaming for all the way through. What a wasted opportunity! There is too much boy meets girl type nonsense going on for my liking. Maybe if they had a Jet li or a Donnie Yen on board they could have done something with this, but I doubt it. Perhaps in a few years time they might get the combination just about right. Until then its The Story of Ricky for me!



3. If you like Hong Kong movies, if you like cute guys, if you lilke fighting, and if you like feature movies. Then this is one you don't want to miss out. Not too much actions like some others, a little love story, exciting movies.



4. First time I watched this was on a bootleg poorly made, and I thought the film was awful. Second time was years later on the regular DVD sold here, and I really enjoyed it this time. The reasons for both reactions were the same: very B-movie with sensless fights with no real martial arts at all-only computer graphics and lots of blue screen scenes. However, if you think about it- not much difference in the non-motive fights same sort of reasons as in the old kung fu movies, and those fights were no more realistic since they were so afraid of hurting each other. Lack of good story-line, same thing. So what to enjoy? The general campiness and weirdness of it all, and the strong element of fun. No single element of this movie is very good, but all combined it is great entertainment and has lots of original ideas-not just repeats of older movies like most do. Sammo Hung has a great minor role in this. So does Yuen Biao, but he is not given any good lines or action, so not too good a role for him. The kids are the main focus, and they do exactly what they are supposed to. Not a bad science fiction theme also. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes good camp and science fiction.



5. 
   When I heard that "Avenging Fist" was going to be out on DVD, I had this grin on my face because of the "Tekken" hype surrounding the movie.
   
   I finished watching "Avenging Fist" starring Ekin Cheng, Gigi Leung, Lee Hom Wang, Kristy Yeung, Sammo Hung, Stephen Fung and more.
   
   Anyway, this movie has a lot of people you may have seen from many HK movies and a few big names which adds to the allure of the film. Also, the special effects are pretty cool and the futuristic look ala "Blade Runner" was very nice.
   
   This movie is definitely not "Tekken", it's more like "Tekken", "Street Fighter 2" and "Dragon Ball Z" mixed together.
   
   The only thing that "Tekken" has to do with this film is that it's a fighting movie (ala videogame like fighting movie) and the main character (Leehom Wang, the guy who played Aaron Kwok's partner on China Strike Force) has hair like Kazuya which is pretty cool. The only thing that "Street Fighter 2" has to do with it is the fighting characters and Combat-21 (think M. Bison, or if you are in East Asia think Vega). The only thing that "DBZ" has to do with this is the ending segment which is reminiscent of how DBZ ended with Goku's battle with Boo.
   
   Anyway, the plot is humans can only use 10% of their brain. What would happen if humans can tap into the other 90% which is called the "Forbidden Zone". Anyway in the past: Thunder was a guy who perfect the martial art of the "Avenging Fist". As a police officer, he and two others - Dark and Combat 21 were chosen to test the power glove which would allow police officers to tap into the 90% but something goes wrong. Now it's twenty years later and Thunder's twins: Nova (Wang) and Belle (She was the female partner in "For Bad Boys Only") are twins that have special talents. Nova for fighting and learning his dead father's "Avenging Fist" and Belle with her power for producing heat. Nova never knew what happened to his father, his mother is not saying anything. Nova's goal is to have a "Power Glove" for himself, not knowing what it's for...just knowing that police officer's use it to kick butt. The day of his birthday, his mom has a surprise but Nova and Belle are in for a surprise when their father Thunder reappears.
   
   If anything, people who love video games especially fighting video games or anime will love this movie. As for the DVD, it only comes with a trailer. No special features which sucks. But this is the first time I seen a DVD featuring DTS 6.1 and Digital Dolby EX on a HK DVD. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't feature great surround sound like GEN-X Cops but it's ok.
   
   English subs are good but with the typical typos in HK film.
   
   All in all a great film for those who enjoy video game fighting movies and anime. If you don't enjoy these type of movies, then you may want to pass.

5 comments about The Game of Death II.

1. Whoever thinks the choreography of this film is bad is highly mistaken, it's some of the best stuff ever. Also, Tong Lung's kicks show he's no hack, in fact he probably kicks in this movie more than all of Bruce's films in total.
   
   Just like other Ng See-yuen and Yuen Woo-ping collaborations, this movie is all about TKD practitioners. Essentially, this film is Bruceploitation combined with a typical bootmaster filled Seasonal Films movie.
   
   While bruceploitation is no doubt disrespectful stuff, Yuen Woo-ping's choreography and Yuen Biao's stunts saves this one.
   
   Listen to Eric Jacobus, he knows what he's talking about (just search him up and you'll find out why).



2. except karate tiger 4--ha ha, i know you probly like that.
   
   This is also called game of death 2 and officially is called the last bruce lee movie, even though he's not really in it, that's ok, cause like 5 guys that can rival bruce( hwang lee is the only guy i think would really stand a chance against bruce) are in this.
   
   So I advise you to get the GM 2 version, it has english dub that certainly can't rival the jet li collection in badness, but it does havesome altime classic dubbed lines, also look for the song that tarantino ripped for kill bill, which he improved drastically, but it he went with the same singer
   
   Eevry action scene in this is so freaking sweet(except the ones with the white guy).
   
   The main topic that I want to bring up of this movie is the scene where bruce's brother(in the movie)gives in to a yellow toothed nice bodied woman, and she tries to kill him, he prevents her from doing so but then this guy in a lion costume storms in.
   
   Now I have seen this movie about 5 times, and it seriously gets better every time you see it. The first time I saw it the first fight in the greenhouse REALLY caught my eye, but I didn't really like it. Well I need to start watching all movies sober at least the first time but it's really hard when watching a movie called game of death 2 and i didn't even like the first one.
   
   Anyway back to the lion scene----
   I still can't figure out whether or not this lion was supposed to be a real lion or a man dressed up in a lion costume. i would love other opinions on this because it is truly mystafying. And I don't know how to spell that word but I can't think of another one to describe this truly unique movie experience that this lion gave me.
   
   So please check this movie out if you get a chance.
   You are not going to find this in any 50 pack or something because it is a good, so just go buy it at bestbuy for 7.99 like I did, and I guarantee you will rate this as one of the the best Hwang Lee action films, and it is also my favorite cassanova wong performance ever so enjoy.
   
   Oh yeah, it has aYuen Bioa scene, I think he was fighing with a pole, but that ranked like #14 for fight scenes in this.



3. useing 3 min. worth of bruce lee footage(and not the best of that) doesn't mean bruce lee stars in or would even put his name on this junk. this is just a case of tring to make more money of his name without any care for what he wanted or what he stood for.shame on them for making this mess,and shame on me for buying it.



4. Game of Death II (aka Tower of Death) is a dichotomy of a film. It is a Bruceploitation film (though it is one of the better ones) and it is an exiting revenge flick. Raymond Chow had apparently not made enough money off of the insipid Game of Death and was slowly leaking "newly found" footage of Bruce so it was bound that he would create another film with spliced in footage, redubbed dialog and, of course, Bruce's namesake. A lot of people were using Lee's name to promote their own productions, but Golden Harvest (who Bruce worked for; though technically this was a Seasonal production) was the worst of these offenders.
   
   The first act of the movie is the least interesting and worst part of the film. Bruce Lee stars (posthumously edited in) as Billy Lo (Bruce Lee) who visits his friend Chin Ku (Hwang Jang Lee) who is currently beating up an under-classed challenger. After an reestablishment of friendship between the two (never a good sign in a Kung Fu film), he visits an abbot (Roy Chiao revisiting his role from Enter the Dragon so they can reuse and redub footage) to discuss about his contumacious brother Bobby Lo (Tong Lung who also starred in Game of Death).
   
   Of course, the scenes that compromise the first act are not only exploitative of Bruce Lee they are also poorly done. The most obvious is that the backgrounds do not match between Bruce's footage and the new footage. Also check out the sculpted back muscles of Bruce and compare them to his double. It is not even close. The fight scenes with Bruce (and his double) do not flow well. However, anytime you see a fight scene and that Bruce (or his double) does a difficult move such as a flip you will notice that it is the incomparable Yuen Biao (he even has a small role toward the beginning.)
   Bruce later visits the funeral of his friend Chin Ku and he is prevented from examining the body (this must mean something to the plot.) When the ceremony takes place a helicopter comes by and snags the coffin. For some strange reason, well to dispose of the fake Bruce character, he jumps on the coffin as it is flying away and is hit with a dart and falls to his death. This is absolutely absurd. Though this is not as bad as the 70s clothes at the funeral or the tacky real funeral footage of Bruce Lee that would come next.
   
   Now the movie gets more interesting and less exploitative. Bobby learns of his brother's death from his father who tells him to meet Sherman Lan. Sherman tells him to go to the Palace of Death. Now this is an interesting place. It is owned by Lewis, played by Roy Horan who has been an executive at Seasonal, an actor who also acted in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, a student of Hwang Jang Lee and currently a lecturer at HK Polytechnic University; obviously his life is more interesting than this film. Bobby suspects Lewis as the culprit behind his brother's death. Lewis likes to eat raw meat, is surrounded by lions (who are fed the fighters that he defeats), Killer Peacocks and a one-armed valet (oh my). The one-armed assistant, a monk from the Fan Yu temple) does not seem that he could be of great use to Lewis, but Lewis says that he is faithful and he has known him for a long time (do not dwell on this fact because the absurdity of what happens later is quite hilarious). I really do not trust one-armed people in Hong Kong films unless they are played by Jimmy Wang Yu.
   
   Lewis tells Bobby of a tower built by abbot Hung Kuang. However, it cannot be found above ground. The abbot had it built underground (this is a nice twist until you see how much they spent on the set design and how many levels there actually are). Obviously there is going to be a show down there with Bobby fighting however is behind all of this madness. I will not give it away (or tell what happens at the Palace of Death) but it is fairly obvious who it will be.
   
   The final act of the film leads to some good fighting scenes, obviously with the help of action director Yuen Wo-Ping, as Bobby makes his way down the tower (try to see how many times Yuen Biao is used as a stunt double; hint check every other move Bobby makes). Most of the film is entertaining (not counting the irritating and unnecessary flashbacks). There is always going to be tackiness involved anytime you invoke Bruce Lee's inimitable name; but once the movie gets past that it is fun to watch. In fact it is the best Bruceploitation film out there -- though that does not necessarily mean that much.



5. For a B movie forgetting the Kung FU fans, but writing it as a B movie comedy.
   You have some left over footage from another movie and a dead star, well the chinese production company decided let us make another movie, so how do you make the plot, so it goes like this:
   
   Bruce Lee's best friend gets killed, so Bruce Lee goes to avenge his death, then Bruce Lee gets killed and then very tacky use of real funeral footage of course being resourceful, so then Bruce Lee's little brother goes out to avenge the death of Bruce Lee who was out avenging the death of Bruce Lee's best friend.
   Now no exploitation movie should be without a 100 Chinese Elvis posers that wear Elvis style Gi and have Elvis style square sun glasses on, this is classic. So in the end and I am giving away the plot here is that Bruce Lee's best friend was not dead, but fights Bruce Lee's little brother to the death, who was trying to avenge Bruce Lee's murder who was out to avenge the death of Bruce Lee's best friend when he died, but who didn't really die.
   So if you like exploitation comedies and are a beer drinker, this was alot of fun for me if you like this type of thing. If you think this is a serious action kung fu movie, then I suggest you drink more beer

5 comments about The Moon Warriors.

1. What a disappointment this film was for me!
   
   Let me say first that I have a terrific fondness for good martial arts films, and many of the Hong Kong films of the genre, while certainly showing and revelling in elements that are cheesy, yet succeed in being extremely entertaining. But this...!
   
   I think it's fairly well understood that the Hong Kong martial arts film genre deliberately utilises many American westerns. It's not exactly unusual to see a tumbleweed go rolling across a deserted plain or through a deserted Chinese village, however silly that may seem. But in the case of this film, it went too far. My willingness to suspend disbelief and criticism came to a crashing halt. It began, I'm afraid, with the very opening scene. As soon as I heard the Chinesified western theme (borrowing heavily from the well-known musical theme that you'll recognise the instant you hear it), I flinched and said, "Oh Lord, please let it improve."
   
   The film's score is just a mishmash of inappropriate melodies and songs. Featuring far too heavily are those frankly appalling songs sung with sugary sweetness by Chinese popstars who moo their way through lyrics of awful saccharine fake emotion. Chinese lyrics and poetry can be so delicate and powerful (exciting our admiration especially when they use miniature to create a sense of space), but the flip side is that they can also be horribly vulgar and overly sentimental. This film showed the flip side.
   
   The story is predictable: displaced prince (Brother Yen) wants to regain his throne after travelling like a nomad through the land for years. His faithful follower, a beautiful Chinese girl, turns out to be hired by his evil brother (who usurped the throne), but switches sides yet again (after failing to kill the prince's betrothed) to fight for the prince in the final showdown. A young fisherman named Fei, with fabulous martial arts skills, defends the prince's party in a surprise ambush, and consequently bonds with the prince, falls in love with the prince's betrothed when he's sent to fetch her, and plays artlessly with a large dolphin called Wei. (There's a truly awful song at this point, by the way - it tries to be a lovely innocent "love the environment" song, but oh dear... oh no... it's one of those moments where one cringes and fast-forwards through the embarrassing music.)
   
   Fei hides the prince's party in an underground tomb accessible only by a path which he knows (but that doesn't stop the evil usurper from finding it without difficulty) and also by sea. The final show-down reveals that: a) an evil usurper can generally fight off as many attackers as need be; b) rightful emperors (aka the prince) can be defeated by said pole-bearing evil usurper without difficulty; c) the girl who doesn't get the guy (aka the girl who joined the prince's forces in order to betray him but ended by loving him, even though his emotions were centred upon the daughter of his old friend General NanNing (I think that's the name)) is sure to be killed by the evil usurper, and to murmur, "Even though I could not live for you, I am happy to die for you, my prince"; d) the general's daughter is of course torn between the prince and Fei, loving both of them, and of course she dies; and e) (this one's the killer) it takes a dolphin to kill an evil usurper. Yes, indeed - I joke not. The finale includes Wei surging through the river that leads to the cave in which the underground tomb is built, LEAPING out of the water to whack the evil usurper in mid-attack, and pulling down the entire tomb structure to kill everyone except Fei who finishes the film by looking at the flower-covered ground below which is the tomb, and making a philosophical comment that harks back to an earlier moment in the film.
   
   The film's not all bad. The actors all look fine, and the swordplay is neither better nor worse than most of these types of film. I did become exasperated with some aspects of the fighting, because too much of it was dancing around attacking each other's weapons rather than each other - a big no-no in martial arts. "Have at you, you foul sword of my enemy! Let me beat you, o most hideous polearm of my foe!"... There's a good idea for a spoof there.
   
   The story is, again, neither better nor worse than many another film of this genre - except for the laughable ending.
   
   The cinematography is only adequate, not wonderful. It certainly isn't a patch on some of the magnificent films in this style which have emerged just recently.
   
   The insistence on having the terrible enemy be undefeatable is a peculiarity one often meets with in Chinese films of this sort. I confess I have never become accustomed to it. Why is the hero not able to defeat his evil foe? They are both mortal. They're both skilled. It's clearly a cultural element that is difficult for non-Chinese to understand.
   
   But by far - BY FAR - the worst thing about this film is the soundtrack.
   
   Comparing this film favourably to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Emperor and the Assassin", "House of Shining Daggers" and "Hero" is unbelievable. The aforesaid films are not just nice-looking - they're gorgeous. The cinematography is superb. In most cases, the plots are good (in the case of "Crouching Tiger", the plot is superb and intricate). In each case for the films I've mentioned, the acting is magnificent and the fight scenes beautifully done. I'm afraid "Moon Warriors" will disappoint those who expect the same standard.
   
   Recommended only for those who want to collect every film in this genre.



2. I watched this recently after a space of about 10 years... the first time i thought it was silly but had great action scenes. Now I think its quite a bit deeper than that. By the way, when Maggie Cheung burns the paper mid-film, I believe they are paper ingots which are burned to give money to the dead in repentence for all the innocent people she's killed...



3. this movie was one of the greatest martial arts flicks i've ever seen. It had every thing one would expect from a kung-fu flick-drama,betrayal,lost love revenge and one of the best swordsplay i've ever seen in a very long time.Kudos to this movie and i highly recommend this movie to any one who craves martial arts as much as I do.



4. Directed by Sammo Hung who has one of the best eyes for action in all of cinema, and overall an unbelievable team of directors that also includes Corey Yuen Kwai. In 1982 Ching Siu Tung made his directorial debut and also choreographed the action for 'Duel To the Death', a movie that broke new ground for wire fu. Since 'Moon Warriors' was made 10 years later, big improvements were expected and he does not disappoint. There are times when 2 actors are fighting for up to a minute not showing eithers face, and it is still totally believable. If anyone has seen 'Death Duel of Kung Fu' with John Liu and Don Wong Tao (and many other movies also), then you know that stunt doubles just aren't filmed correctly sometimes. In 'Moon Warriors', the stunt doubles are the reason the action is so thrilling. Add in Ching Siu Tung's use of trampolines and wires, and the result is pure magic. He is truly a master. Ngai Sing I would have to name star of the movie since you can clearly see his moves when doubling Andy Lau and others. I also spotted Hsiao Hou and I think he doubles Maggie Cheung.
   
   The story is not memorable, but very well done. There is an awesome cast, including a killer whale! The action is definitely the reason to see this. It doesn't get much better than watching Chang Yi think about what to do when 20 or 30 swordsmen are coming at him. So what does he do? Charges right back at them of course!
   
   Old school fans, and I mean really old school fans will recognize Chang Yi from the famous Shaw Brothers swordplay 'Bells of Death' made in 1968. He looks better than ever wielding a sword in this! I wish I knew the secret of not aging. And I had to point out the great Chang Yi since there is literally only a couple of words spoken about him in the commentary.
   
   3.5/5
   
   If you like this movie, it would be best to get the Hong Kong Legends version. There are more special features and most likely it is presented in the proper widescreen format. The Tai Seng release is acceptable, and for a budget release, I loved it.
   
   The back of the DVD case says it's letterboxed, WRONG!!!! It is cropped, but still widescreened good enough. Sound is very good with DTS(it says Cantonese DTS, but I don't have the capability to test it), 5.1 English and Cantonese, and a mono Mandarin track. It also has a mono Cantonese track which I usually prefer, but this doesn't sound like the original.
   
   Special Features include an alternate closing credits that shows Andy Lau training with the killer whale.
   
   Other special feature included is a commentary with Frank Jane and Ric Meyers. I list Frank Jane first because Ric actually lets him talk! The best part about havin Frank Jane helping Ric out is that Ric keeps his incorrect information to a bare minimum. I think it's the first ever commentary where I didn't hear Ric Meyers make any errors! Frank Jane does make an odd comment at the start saying he heard that this film inspired George Lucas to write 'The Phantom Menace'. The problem with Frank's comment is that it's very well known that the action choreography in this movie gave Lucas inspiration, but I have never heard that this is where he got the idea for the story. I am sure a Star Wars fan will rip him to shreds, but maybe not (that is a big maybe though). Other than that, the commentary is very good since they focus on Hong Kong movies. You could call Frank Jane a real Hong Kong fim expert when compared to Ric Meyers. So instead of Ric's solo commentaries, they actually talk about the movie! Frank Jane is similar in at least 1 way to me. I can talk up a storm abotu Asian cinema, but tend to keep my comments on American movies much more brief. Ric Meyers can get very annoying along with his constant habit of ALWAYS making mistakes, but Frank Jane keeps a tight leash on him. Great commentary and plenty of info on the movie and all of the more popular actors.



5. I am a huge Andy Lau fan! I just discovered him a few months ago when I became aware of the excellence of Chinese cinema and music. I have many Andy Lau movies, music videos and cd's. Andy Lau can do absolutely everything and do them perfectly! He can sing beautifully, dance like a professional dancer, play a killer, a romantic hero, a geeky guy, a feudal fighter, kung-fu master and swordsman. He can ride a horse most impressively, make you laugh and cry with his superb acting talent and the list goes on and on. In this movie, he rides a whale! Yes, it's really him and he's really riding, swimming with and hugging a whale! America has no one who comes anywhere close to being his equal when it comes to talent. He's a genius in so many different areas. I sometimes wonder if Chinese directors and movie moguls realize the extent of his greatness or, because he does everything with such ease, they just take his talent for granted? This particular movie is a great adventure/love story. I won't describe the plot, etc. because other reviewers have done that. I just want to bring your attention to the multi-talent genius of Andy Lau. Check out some of his other movies, and you will soon understand why I am such a huge fan.