Seems there are still a few nice films around for Mr. He thinks he knows it all
[quote=“ENNIOO, post:567, topic:368”]VLC player does not play MKV files then ?
I have converted MKV files to standard dvd Vob format in the past but takes for ever on my computer.[/quote]
VLC plays MKV files fine. Just viewed one, using VLC.
[quote=“scherpschutter, post:581, topic:368”]Seems there are still a few nice films around for Mr. He thinks he knows it all[/quote]Who’s that Sherp?
Watched THE TOURNAMENT (1974), I quite enjoyed this, it took 35 minutes or so to kick in but when it did the fights came thick and fast.
Well worth a watch, great cast too. Angela Mao, Carter Huang, Sammo Hung, Whang In Sik and a load of other recognisable faces including a very young looking Yuen Biao.
Just watched Fist of Legend. I think I’ll buy the blu-ray. Great movie!
Watched [B]THREE AGAINST THE WORLD[/B] starring Andy Lau who plays the role of “Charlie Chan” who’s job it is to protect a rare religious antique which obviously isn’t easy as all and sundry try to get their hands on it, including Rosamund Kwan who looks stunning in this enjoyable enough production from 1988 which contained quite a lot more action than i thought it would.
It’s already been hailed as a modern kung-fu classic. I wouldn’t go that far but Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen, certainly doesn’t disappoint.
It’s a reverential biopic, albeit with many facts distorted or omitted, of legendary wing chun master Ip Man, tutor of Bruce Lee. (There are echoes of Fist of Fury here, as well as Jet Li’s Fist of Legend and the recent Fearless.) The story begins in 1935 in Fo Shan province, a hotbed of Chinese martial arts, where Ip Man is not only the finest fighter but also the most dignified, respected citizen, seeing off a succession of braggarts and bullies with effortless grace. (Sammo Hung choreographs the fight scenes and they are excellent, alternating speed of movement with bone-crunching brutality.)
The film then progresses through the dark years of Japanese occupation, with Ip Man reduced to shovelling coal while the Japs - depicted, as always, as thoroughly reprehensible - brutalise the locals and drain the country’s resources. When a Japanese general organises a series of martial arts bouts between his fighters and the best that Fo Shan has to offer, Ip Man, inevitably, takes up the challenge on behalf of his nation. Guess who wins when he takes on the general himself.
This is very much Yen’s movie. There’s none of the preening of his other recent roles (I’m thinking of the modern action movies SPL and Flash Point, in particular); instead, he’s a model of gravitas, which makes his fight scenes all the more forceful, especially when he vents his anger on 10 of the general’s top fighters at the same time.
No doubt the character has been romanticised to a degree, but I was surprised to learn that this is the first time his story has been filmed, at least directly. A sequel has already been released and is receiving equally rave reviews.
Watched THE HURRICANE directed by Lo Wei, I enjoyed it but thought some of the fights here and there were a bit pedestrian.
None But the Brave (Kung Fu Girl) 1973
Really enjoyed this Cheng Pei Pei flick made at Golden Harvest.
Our heroine is a revolutionary fighting the (who else) Japanese and the corrupt Chinese using them to take power. She poses as an officer’s long lost sister in order to infiltrate the government forces and sets about assisting the insurgents and generally kicking some butt.
Good story, well played. I usually prefer Pei Pei wielding a weapon of some sort. Here she is just a bare hand kung fu girl but it is no matter. The fight scenes are good, especially her one with Ou Wei who turns in an impressive acting display as the supposed brother/head of security.
This one also features the mighty Joe Shishido as the wicked Japanese bigwig and (I think) a brief appearance from a young Jackie Chan as one of the Japanese bully boys.
Recommended.
[url]http://img693.imageshack.us/i/vlcsnap2010061911h27m25.jpg/[/url] [size=12pt]When Taekwondo Strikes[/size]
![http://img693.imageshack.us/i/vlcsnap2010061911h27m25.jpg/[/url]](http://img693.imageshack.us/i/vlcsnap2010061911h27m25.jpg/%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
Excellent martial arts pasta, not much story, superb action, involving some of the most charismatic martial artists in the business, Angela Mao, Carter Wong, Jhoon Rhee (the father of American Taewondo says Wikipedia, he’s a standout, even in this company) and Kenji Kazama.
The ‘story’ is set in occupied China, occupied by the Japanese of course, who are once again depicted as the incarnation of evil. A French Priest has given shelter to the leader of the Korean underground (Rhee) and therefore both men are captured and tortured by the Japanese. The priest’s niece and a Chinese immigrant girl (guess who) join forces to save their lives.
More an exhibition of virtuoso techniques than a real movie, but what an exhibition!
Recommended (the torrent on cinemageddon is of good quality)
The niece is played by a very charming (but deadly) young woman called Anne Winton, whose only performance in a martial arts movie this is (according to IMBD). Maybe some of the experts know a little more about her.
On the screenshot from left to right: Anne Winton, Jhoon Ree, Carter Wong, Angela Mao, (lying) Kenji Kazama
Still on my girl kick arse gig but this time it’s the turn of Angela Mao in Lady Whirlwind (Deep Thrust) 1971.
Story is pretty thin in this one (you get the feeling it was thrown together at the last minute) as the fighting takes centre stage throughout. And Angie does the business in fine style. Chang Yi represents the boys pretty well too but this is Mao’s show. A better story would have made it a better film but plenty of fun never the less.
[url]http://img15.imageshack.us/i/yipman111.jpg/[/url][size=14pt][b] Ip Man[/b][/size]
![http://img15.imageshack.us/i/yipman111.jpg/[/url][size=14pt][b]](http://img15.imageshack.us/i/yipman111.jpg/%5B/url%5D%5Bsize=14pt%5D%5Bb%5D){kind=link}
I agree with most of what Starblack said about it:
[quote=“Starblack, post:588, topic:368”]It’s already been hailed as a modern kung-fu classic. I wouldn’t go that far but Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen, certainly doesn’t disappoint.
It’s a reverential biopic, albeit with many facts distorted or omitted, of legendary wing chun master Ip Man, tutor of Bruce Lee. (There are echoes of Fist of Fury here, as well as Jet Li’s Fist of Legend and the recent Fearless.) The story begins in 1935 in Fo Shan province, a hotbed of Chinese martial arts, where Ip Man is not only the finest fighter but also the most dignified, respected citizen, seeing off a succession of braggarts and bullies with effortless grace. (Sammo Hung choreographs the fight scenes and they are excellent, alternating speed of movement with bone-crunching brutality.)
The film then progresses through the dark years of Japanese occupation, with Ip Man reduced to shovelling coal while the Japs - depicted, as always, as thoroughly reprehensible - brutalise the locals and drain the country’s resources. When a Japanese general organises a series of martial arts bouts between his fighters and the best that Fo Shan has to offer, Ip Man, inevitably, takes up the challenge on behalf of his nation. Guess who wins when he takes on the general himself.
This is very much Yen’s movie. There’s none of the preening of his other recent roles (I’m thinking of the modern action movies SPL and Flash Point, in particular); instead, he’s a model of gravitas, which makes his fight scenes all the more forceful, especially when he vents his anger on 10 of the general’s top fighters at the same time.
No doubt the character has been romanticised to a degree, but I was surprised to learn that this is the first time his story has been filmed, at least directly. A sequel has already been released and is receiving equally rave reviews.[/quote]
I thought it lost some its bite in the last thirty minutes
The fight with the Japanese officer isn’t the climax most people must have been waiting for, and they could have done a bit more with this character of the officer; he seemed the only Jap who had some consideration with the Chinese, so I thought sooner of later there would be some kind of rudimentary understanding between the Ip Man and him, but no: Ip man concludes prior to the final rumble that a Jap will never be able to understand anything of Chinese culture, because he is not worthy of it, which is of course nonsense.
Still a mustsee for all fans of Kung Fu and Bruce Lee
I’m totally with Scherp and Starblack on IP MAN. Looking forward to seeing the follow up which is making the rounds of film festivals here in the States, right now. I am pretty sure that I will have to wait until a DVD is available in order to see it, though.
Some more Angela Mao for me today with Hapkido 1972.
This one’s an action bonanza as Angie, Carter Wong and Sammo Hung introduce a new Korean style of Martial Art to China and lock antlers (inevitably) with a rival school run by the evil Japanese. The fight scenes in this flick are terrific and everyone show’s off their prowess in maximum style. It was particularly interesting to see Real life Hapkido master Ji Han Jae giving a demonstration of the art early on. Ing Sik Whang also looked very good although not used as much as I’d like. He obviously had some excellent skill.
Probably my favourite Angela Mao film so far. She never looked better, or meaner and dished it out to those pesky Japanese in style. The killer pony tail was a nice touch too. ;D
[quote=“Phil H, post:595, topic:368”]Probably my favourite Angela Mao film so far.[/quote]Likewise.
The fight in the school reminds me of Fist of Fury.
Just watched INVINCIBLE, really enjoyed this, Li (Danny Lee) is a hitman who gets caught and put behind bars, he asks Wong Kit to collect his fee from Beardy and his brother but they belittle him, on a night out Beardy’s brother makes advances to Kits girlfriend (Who is the sister of Li), when it all kicks off Kit ends up killing him so flees to France with his girl, the find out where he is in France and he runs off to join the foreign legion where he gets some harsh training and ends up going on a mission to save some Kuwait royals, then back to H.K. to exact revenge on Beardy and co who have now killed Li and his pregnant girlfriend but Beardy has paid his Foreign legion comrades to go to war against him.
This cat iii action flick is definately worth a viewing.
Thought I’d check out another female kick arse queen so watched Lady Whirlwind Against the Rangers today starring Polly Shang Kwan. Very much a mixed bag of a film. Shang Kwan delivers in the fight scenes but lets herself down in the acting department. Far too much pouting and over reacting. The film also includes far too much ‘humour’ for my liking and features an annoying kid who never gets killed off. Never mind. The action is pretty good and costars Kam Kong and Yasuaki Kurata bring some good stuff to the table. Shang Kwan is good value but by this example was no Angela Mao, despite the Lady Whirlwind tag attempt in the English language release. I’ll certainly try out a few more of her flicks though.
[quote=“Yodlaf Peterson, post:597, topic:368”]Just watched INVINCIBLE, really enjoyed this, Li (Danny Lee) is a hitman who gets caught and put behind bars, he asks Wong Kit to collect his fee from Beardy and his brother but they belittle him, on a night out Beardy’s brother makes advances to Kits girlfriend (Who is the sister of Li), when it all kicks off Kit ends up killing him so flees to France with his girl, the find out where he is in France and he runs off to join the foreign legion where he gets some harsh training and ends up going on a mission to save some Kuwait royals, then back to H.K. to exact revenge on Beardy and co who have now killed Li and his pregnant girlfriend but Beardy has paid his Foreign legion comrades to go to war against him.
This cat iii action flick is definately worth a viewing.
[/quote]
Thanks, amigo!
I have never seen this one. I kept seeing it available on various DVD sites; but, didn’t know much about it.
After reading your post, I am sure this is one I need to get!
[quote=“Phil H, post:598, topic:368”]Lady Whirlwind Against the Rangers[/quote]Where did you get this one Phil?