H Is For Hard Boiled

Title: Hard Boiled
Director: John Woo
Released: 1992
Staring: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan, Philip Kwok, Anthony Wong,

Plot: Tequila (Yun-Fat) is a detective who it would seem plays solely by his own rules, whom after loosing his partner during a raid on a teahouse is forced to team up with an undercover agent (Leung), when he uncovers a war between two major gun smugglers.




Review: The story goes that after having spent the majority of his career glamorising criminals, John Woo got tired of being criticised and set out to make a film which glamorised the police instead, which I think it’s pretty safe to say he was more than a little successful with this film, which not only glamorises the crime fighting actions of the Police, but also gives us, without question one of the coolest cops to ever grace the screen, even if Tequila’s personal brand of justice is anything close to traditional police procedure.

It might be true that in recent years John Woo, might have seemed to have lost his way especially after suffering several career missteps with some less than brilliant films, he made in the Hollywood studio system, before his storming returning to form with “Red Cliff” (2008) marking his return to the same Hong Kong studio system he made his career with. while this film for myself personally marking the water mark of the early Hong Kong years, which provided his ticket to Hollywood, who at the time were keen to replicate the style and success (read cash in) of the Hong Kong action films, which was unsuprising seeing how it was Woo, who had originally lead the charge with “The Killer” (1989) and now took full advantage of the opportunity especially with Hong Kong audiences changing and audiences craving comedies rather than the bullet ballets that he and directors like Ringo Lam were crafting.
Still for myself this film is the true high water mark of Woo’s career, as not only does it contain all of his trademarks, but pretty much hits the ground running as he opens with some light jazz followed by a shootout in a tea house, all with in the space of the opening ten minuites, setting a brief pace that Woo never once chooses to let up, a the bullets fly and locations are reduced to rubble and all with barely a reload in sight.

The action scenes are were Woo truly comes into his own, for not only does the trailer not even cover half of the action scenes, but he also doubles the length of the average action sequence, while also ensuring that he is not just repeating the same scenes of carnage, but rather trying to top what he has shown the audience already, while still finding the time to include his trademarks such as the Mexican Stand off and Tequila’s dual pistols, which thanks to Woo is now an image frequently associated with Chow Yun-Fat, despite the fact it was only in the movies he made with Woo that he uses such a move. The hospital shootout finale alone is a stunning thirty plus minutes of non stop action, despite being a questionable in terms of tastefulness having been carried across from the original script, which had centred around a plot involving poisoned baby formula which Woo disliked, changing the script to resolve around a gun running operation instead, which was certainly for the best while no doubt giving Woo further excuse to have another shoot out, even turning a tea house into a key smuggling location, which is busted open during the opening raid by Tequila’s team.

Chow Yun-Fat is clearly on the top of his game here, with Woo once again proving to be one of the few directors, who know how to truly utilise his charisma and ability as an action hero, something which it could be argued that perhaps only Ringo Lam came close to replicating, which has over the years lead less education movies goers to question his appeal as an actor, though you’d need only watch this film, to know why he has such a cult like following, for he takes the character of Tequila and ensures that it’s impossible to image the role being played by anyone else and while Woo would struggle to replicate these sorts of characters with other actors in his later films, here the potent combination of this actor / director combo has never been better, with Yun-Fat effortlessly spouting cool one liners, while brandishing his trademark dual pistols, as he takes on the countless triad masses. On the flipside undercover cop Alan, carries severe guilt over every life he is forced to take in the line of his work, living a solitary existence on his boat, surrounded by paper cranes, each of which representing a taken life.

Meanwhile Anthony Wong is on top villain duties as the triad leader Johnny Wong, who is not only ruthless but lacks even a shred of remorse for any of his actions, while ironically running his gun smuggling operation from a hospital basement, which also provides the setting for the spectacular finale, were Woo it would seem not content from having already provided three standout action sequences earlier, somehow manages to top all of them again, while perhaps pushing the boundaries of taste with his choice of location, which provides of the truly memorable moments of the film, in which Tequila is attempting to escape the hospital with a baby, only for the baby to put out the flames on his leg with it’s stream of urine, leading to perhaps one of the greatest lines in Hong Kong cinema ever “Hey Kid, Your piss put out my flames”.

“Hard Boiled” is not a subtle film, but then who really wants a subtle action film? Still whatever John Woo does with his career, he will always be able to rest easy that he crafted not only one of the best action films ever, bet set a pretty high bench mark for the films which followed and one that is yet to truly be beaten, even by the master himself who would go on to make other great films and a few aforementioned duffs, but then I doubt even Woo would find it hard to top this one, with the closest being Woo's Xbox 360 launch title "Stranglehold" which played like a sequel, though despite the rumbling from the rumour mill, it looks like we might have to wait that bit longer, before Tequila hits our screens again, so in the meantime why not just remind yourself why Woo is the legend he is.

G Is For Godzilla

Title: Godzilla
Director: Ishirô Honda
Released: 1954
Staring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: After several ships sink mysteriously, the authorities first believe this to have been caused by underwater volcanoes or unexploded mines. Soon however it is noticed that the attacks are all close to Oda Island whose inhabitants believe the attacks to have been caused by a mythical creature known to them as “Godzilla” (Nakajima). After the creature comes ashore a team consisting of palaeontologist Professor Yemani (Shimura), his daughter Emiko (Kôchi), the brilliant scientist Doctor Serizawa (Hirata) and Navy diver Hideto (Takarada) who is also involved with Emiko despite her being betrothed to Doctor Serizawa. Soon however the team discover the monster has set a course for Japan and must be stopped at all costs.



Review: I knew right from the start when I set down to compile the list of the films, which would make up this alphabetical jaunt through Asian cinema, that Godzilla would certainly appear at some point and not only were the Godzilla films, responsible for sparking my love affair with Asian cinema, but also as I now sit down to write this latest entry “The Big G” is currently celebrating his 56th birthday, with his popularity having never seemingly waned over the years since he took his first stroll through Tokyo, with Director Ryûhei Kitamura (Versus [2000]), who directed the final Godzilla film “Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004) describing the honour of directing a Godzilla film, to be equal to a British director being asked to direct a James Bond movie, which might seem surprising especially when the general opinion of the Godzilla films, is that they are camp cheesy fun in which giant creatures engage in monster sized smack downs while destroying most of Tokyo in the process, something which certainly became the norm for the majority of the film in the series and certainly a far cry from the sober and occasionally harrowing view of Japan reacting to an attack by a giant monster, which this first film essentially is though if I was going to feature any film from the saga in this list, I knew that the original film would definitely be the one which would be making the list.

It almost seems accidental that “Godzilla” was even made, especially seeing how Producer and "Godzilla Father" Tomoyuki Tanaka, had originally planned a film based on the true life story of a Japanese fishing boat that had become contaminated after sailing into American Nuclear testing waters and only making this film after he was forced to cancel that project. Still this film still contains several ideas, which were carried across and which can be seen mainly in the opening scenes in which we see a fishing boat catch on fire and sink, while a white light glows below. meanwhile the design for Godzilla drew heavily inspiration from “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), even though before the final iconic design was chosen, he was also envisioned as being both a giant octopus aswell as a cross between a whale and a gorilla, ideas which were thankfully scrapped, even though special effects artist and fellow “Godzilla Father” (the other two Godzilla fathers being Director Honda and composer Akira Ifukube) Eiji Tsuburaya would get to use his giant octopus design in later Toho productions, which was affectionately named Oodako and who can be seen in both “King Kong Vs. Godzilla” (1962) and “Baragon Vs. Frankenstein” (1965), while also narrowly missing out on being featured in “Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004) alongside numerous memorable monsters, which had populated the series including bizarrely enough the American Godzilla.

Opening with the raw first attempt of a roar for Godzilla, it is truly a goosebumps moment especially when it is followed quickly by the opening strains of Ifukube’s now legendary “Godzilla March”, before throwing us head first into the action, as we are barely into the film before ships are mysteriously sinking and chaos is erupting the screen, while being denied even a glimpse of the monster, which surprisingly Honda doesn’t keep hidden till the end, showing us the monster pretty early on, but saving all his full length shots till the rampage sequence, which is an interesting move and all the more surprisingly pays off. Still director Honda really proves to be the man responsible for Godzilla spawning such a legacy, as he shoots the film with a serious tone, rather than just creating another fun camp monster film, carefully planning his shots as he keeps the shoots the footage of Godzilla to low shots to help emphasis Godzilla’s size, while showing also showing the Tokyo rampage as being full of confusion and chaos as Tokyo burns, with these scenes also including a particularly harrowing scene of a widow holding her children close to her, while rubble rains down around them and only driving home the sense of destruction further with footage of mass choral chanting from schoolchild praying for the souls of the city residents and field hospitals attending to the masses of injured which is something which would certainly not be seen in later films and which unlike the Collateral Damage loving “Gamera” movies, would even go as far as to show footage of the Tokyo citizens escaping to special monster proof underground bunkers. Honda would continue this respectful way of introducing the Toho monsters, when it came to the debuts of “Mothra” (1961) and “Rodan” (1956), which certainly not as dark in tone as this film, still managed to capture the sheer size of these creations, being famously quoted as saying

"Monsters are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, that is their tragedy,"

These words alone would fully justify Honda's passion for giving each of the creation a personality, rather than letting them become just another monster on the rampage kinds of movie, even if like Godzilla, their later appearances would be on a much lighter note, it's also clear that Honda was not opposed to the films taking on a lighter tone, seeing how he would go on to direct a further eight entries in the series, with his final film as a director being "Terror of Mechagodzilla" (1975) which would also be the final film in the Showa era of films, which amount to over half of the total Godzilla movies made.

Despite “Godzilla” having the titular role, he really is pushed to the background for the majority of the film, much like the shark in "Jaws" (1975) as Honda like Spielberg instead chooses to create a more character driven film, as the authorities argue between themselves as they attempt to find the best way of protecting Tokyo from this new dangerous threat, with the most interesting of these characters being the tormented eye patch wearing scientist Serizawa, who having created the oxygen destroyer is now racked with guilt over it’s creation, knowing how easily it could be used as a weapon of mass destruction, refusing to revel it’s existence even though it is the one weapon that could stop Godzilla. Surprisingly the lack of city stomping action does not take away from the film and although the roles would be reversed in later films, as the stories became more far fetched and the focus shifted from the cast, who would usually be caught up in some increasingly random situation, usually involving aliens of some description, while audiences turned out to see the latest monster smack down, with the films generally taking on a lighter tone.

“Godzilla” is still without a doubt still an important film, for not only the sequels it spawned, or the imitators which followed in it’s wake, but for proving that you could infact make a giant monster movie and keep a serious tone and although I love the more campy entries, this film still stands as a fantastic piece of cinema, which far exceeds the expectations of what a giant monster movie could be.

F Is For Fulltime Killer

Title: Fulltime Killer
Director: Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai
Released: 2003
Staring: Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Cherrie Ying, Suet Lam

Plot: O (Sorimachi) for many years has been the number one Assassin, living an isolated life and caring only for his work. However his life is soon thrown into turmoil by the appearance of the flamboyant Tok (Lau), who is keen to take O’s place as the number one assassin.



Review: After the watching the subtle “Election”, it’s hard to really imagine that the same director, could also have directed this film, which is essentially the polar opposite with Director To teaming up with Wai to create a very traditional Hong Kong style action movie, meaning that countless rounds are fired without a single reload taking place, while every attempt is being made to emphasise the action taking place, as bullet holes create huge crimson splatters and even kneecaps explode in one glorious bullet strewn ballet of violence, while also in many ways coming across as almost like an homage to Hollywood action movies, with the numerous nods it contains, including an extremely obvious one to “Point Break” (1991) during one of Tok’s showboating styled assassinations, yet at the same time it still retains the charm and style of an Hong Kong action film, which at the same time it bares so many of the trademarks of, especially the more overblown the action scenes become.

Complete opposites of each other the two assassins are each interesting to watch as they go about their chosen career, with O the unanimous king of killers going about his work with a cold disregard for human life, as especially highlighted during the opening sequence when he is forced to kill an old school friend, after they witness him carrying out a hit, which he calmly disregards any feelings of guilt, seeing it as just another aspect of his work, while only truly showing any emotion, when it comes to his ongoing obsession with his housekeeper Chin (Lin) whose friend was O’s previous housekeeper, whom he'd failed to save after she was caught up in a murder plot against O, somthing which continues to haunt him as he now lives in minimalist apartment across from what he potrays to be his real apartment, spending his evening spying on Chin as she carries out her housekeeping chores.
Meanwhile Tok on the other hand gets much more of a kick out his work, drawing inspiration for his hits from the action movies he adores, while also dropping constant references in the conversations he has, including comparing Chin to Emu from “Crying Freeman” (1988), which is honestly a pretty accurate description, seeing how she is the typical good girl attracted to the mysterious bad man, as Tok charms her while questionably hanging around the video store she works in wearing a variety of rubber president masks, yet for some unexplained reason this random seduction technique pays off, rather than her doing the more rationale and realistic thing of calling the cops on his wacky ass. Still Lau certainly seems to have fun playing a more theatrical character than he usually associated with playing, sporting a red leather jacket and a manical grin as he carries out his movie inspired hits, all while caring little for anything resembling subtlty.

Meanwhile on the side of the so called good guys we have the Interpol Agent Lee (Yam), who has become obsessed with capturing the two assassins, which only grows the more intense the rivalry between O and Tok becomes, yet the questionable shift in focus onto his character towards the end is slightly questionable, though Yam is still on great form here, for what is essentially a supporting role to add some sense of morality to proceedings and generally fill in the gaps to O and Tok’s personal histories, in particular highlighting an unusual weakness in Tok who suffers from epilepsy and something that To uses to great effect during several key sequences and certainly brings something original to the film, much like the action sequences which are all exciting and visually stunning to watch, which each one seemingly aiming to top the last as it builds to the climatic firework factory showdown.

While it might come off as all flash and little character development, it still makes for a fun time, with the only characterisation really proving filler for the next action scene, while characters are given enough depth to rise above being simple cut outs, while To avoids going into any real depth with any of his characters, preferring it would seem to focus more on the action and keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace, which might not sit with the more snobbish of movie goers and true the plot of assassin versus assassin and the woman that comes between them, has been seen numerous times before, but it still makes for a great companion piece to the other great films of John Woo and Ringo Lam, whose work this film rightfully deserve a place amongst.

E Is For Election

Title: Election
Director: Johnnie To
Released: 2005
Staring: Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung, Ka Tung Lam, Siu-Fai Cheung, Suet Lam, Tian-lin Wang, Ping-Man Tam, Maggie Siu, David Chiang

Plot: With the two year term having passed for the chairman of the Wo Shing Society, the elders have now narrowed the running down to two candidates Lok (Yam) and Big D (Leung). When Lok is elected Big D is infuriated and plots to take the sacred dragon headed baton of leadership for himself, throwing the society into chaos as the battle lines are quickly drawn between the supporters of Lok and Big D



Review: In the crime movie world the Triads have always lacked having a decent movie to represent them, the Mafia have countless great movies, including some pretty notable editions to cinema history such as “Goodfellas” (1990) and “The Godfather” (1972) and even the Yakuza have great movies like “Tokyo Drifter” (1966) and “Brother” (2000), though for some reason I’ve always failed to find one movie which could represent the Triads solely in the way that the aforementioned films represented their chosen crime families. That was until I saw “Election” and I knew that finally they had found the movie to represent their (certainly morally questionable) cause.

Unlike so many other triad movies, Director To brings a sense of class and order finally to the Triads, who were traditionally seen in other films as street gangs and more frequently seen without any sense of honour, both of which he has brought back, by establishing the Triads as families deeply grounded in ancient tradition, with the elders ensuring that these traditions are followed by the younger members who form the lower ranks. Meanwhile the police are seen as maintaining a delicate balance with the Triads, with Chief Superintendant Hui (Chiang) clearly knowing, how beneficial maintaining this balance is, if only to prevent all out war erupting amongst the members of the society, as he sets about arresting the key senior triad members in a bid to aid the election process, even allowing meetings to still be held while he has key members in custody.

Another noteworthy point is that for a gangster film the violence is actually pretty restrained with not a single gunshot fired. Still this is not to say that it is completely void of violence, as we are barely into the film, before we have not only witnessed the young and hot-headed Triad member Jet (Ka Fai) eating a porcelain bowl, after disgracing himself in front of Big D, but also another two senior members being nailed into wooden crates and rolled down a hill repeatedly, for their part in Big D losing out on the position of chairman, with To’s sole violent extravagance coming in the form of a Machete street fight. Still despite these occasional moment of violence To prefers to let his characters talk things out, rather than using to brute force and blind violence, something which only further emphasises his vision of a civilised Triad society, something that he sets the scene with right from the beginning as we watch the elders or Uncles as they are better know discussing civilly the candidates for the new chairman, showing like Coppla did with “The Godfather” that crime can indeed be civilised and make for an interesting contrast to the two diffrent styles of leadership between the two men, with Big D who’d much rather bully his way into the position of chairman, threatening and torturing those who stand in his way or refuse to accept his bribes and it's this quick to violence nature of Big D makes for great comparisons in leadership styles for Lok is essentially the complete opposite, with Lok using his calm nature and negotiation skills to get what he wants, something that truly plays to his advantage during the second half of the film, as the two men seek out the baton, which has been hidden away somewhere in China, yet its these powers of negotiation that also lead to one of the more darkly comic moments of the film, as we watch one gang member pummelling another almost to death with a log, only for the two men to then discover that they are both working for Lok.

Even though there are numerous colourful characters in this society it is still essentially a two man show with Yam, skilfully bringing the quiet and almost lifeless Lok alive and far from the potential dull character he could have been, saving his true colour for the truly chilling finale, while Leung busily chews up the scenery and despite the fact that he is so quick to violence, there is still a line being drawn between his desire for power and being a pure psycho, as Big D clearly feels the position of chairman should have been his, using his loyalty to the society and money which he has earned them as the justification for this thinking, even after he realises the legitimacy of the election. Still such extreme opposites, is something To is especially keen to emphasise, while painting the larger picture of the society as the differences between the two candidates soon begins to effect the society as a whole, as the Uncles are shown bickering at each other about the pro’s for each man, while lower members battle amongst themselves, blindly following the orders of the candidate they have aligned themselves to, with the society times looking more like a dysfunctional family than a tradition bound Triad society. Still To is keen to emphasise the tradition side of the society, with scenes of the baton passing ceremony and brothers swearing loyalty to the brotherhood, though in the end this is essentially just tradition being followed and in no way, seems to affect any of their actions which is far more controlled by things such as money, power and personal loyalties.

To with this film takes, what has until now been a largely throwaway sub-genre of Hong Kong cinema and finally gives the Triads, the crime masterpiece they have been sorely lacking. While it might be much subtler than other Triad movies, it still manages to pack a punch and while the sequel might be lacking the charm of this film, it still stands well on its own and is probably best viewed as such, especially as the sequel only really takes away from the original, which is not only intelligent and exciting film making, but also a thrilling ride through the Triad underworld, which proves that you don’t need to drown the screen in claret and foul language to make a great crime movie.

D Is For Dumplings

Title: Dumplings
Director: Fruit Chan
Released: 2004
Staring: Bai Ling, Miriam Yeung Pauline Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fei, Meme Tian

Plot: Aunt Mei (Ling) is reknown for her home-made rejuvenation dumplings, which contain a mysterious secret ingredient. Former TV Starlet Mrs Li (Yeung Chin Wah) is brought to Aunt Mei’s home restaurant, after hearing of her special dumplings in an attempt to recover her fading looks, as well as part of a bid to keep her cheating husband (Leung Ka Fai)

Review: Originally released as a short film, as part of “Three Extremes” (2004) alongside Takashi Miike’s underrated (like so much of his more subtle work) “Box” and Park Chan-Wook’s “Cut” all of which worked well together as a collection, though it was on the strength of Fruit Chan’s short, that he was given the budget to create a feature length version, which easily could have turned into a bloated mess, which thankfully it hasn't, instead standing testament to how a skilled editor can truly make or break a film, seeing how the film is just as effective either as a short or in it’s full length as seen here.
Despite being extended, Chan has skilfully managed to expand on the existing footage, adding not only more depth to his characters, but at the same time only taking us further into an increasingly dark world, especially with the additional of a much more darker and far less open ended conclusion, which again enables both short and full length feature to co-exsist without one domineering the other, for which could be considered to be the true vision for the story.

The performances thoughout are all very much against type with Ling, savouring an opportunity to finally step into a decent non gimicky role, after seemingly spending a lifetime playing supporting characters, so to see her in a more central role is certainly a refreshing change, as Chan not only strips away her usual glam look and provides her with a quirky wardrobe, but her performance is fully believable as the seemingly immortal Aunt Mei, happily going about her work and entertaining guests to her kitchen restaurant with song, as she prepares her dumpling, providing an almost Geisha esq style dining experience, to each serving of dumplings that Mrs Li chows down on, with Yeung also playing against type as the aging starlet, having spent the better part of her career in romantic comedies, she easily changes gears to give a more dramatic and ruthless performance as Mrs Li, with the uneasy relationship between these two characters, coming across extremely believable, even when portraying the more fantastical elements of the plot, while between them certainly making the audience puzzle over, which of these two characters is truly the more monstrous with their actions, as the Ling’s Hollywood style of acting blends perfectly with the more traditional Asian style that Yeung brings to her performance, which feels a complete polar opposite to anything that I have seen her in previously.

Effects wise it is kept simplistic and effective with Chan aging Ling and slowly removing the layers, to portray the effect of the years being stripped away, with Chan’s direction only making the effects of the dumplings seem only all the more believable, as he skilfully manages to play with the audiences imagination, while the soundtrack of hightened crunches and gulps, only becomes all the more chilling once the secret of the dumplings is revealed, which although unveiled early on still manages to hold it’s shock for the remainder of the film, which again is pure mastery on Chan’s part, as he finds increasingly new and inventive ways to ensure that initial shock remains.

The secret of the dumplings is handled in a very sterile and occasionally curious way, rather than a more traditional gratuitous and voyeuristic style which I honestly was expecting, with gross out effects all but absent, with the real horror coming from the relationship which slowly develops between Aunt Mei and Mrs Li, with Aunt Mei showing little emotion about the means used to obtain her secret ingredient, no doubt as a result of her past as an abortion doctor, which no doubt having long since caused her grow immune to the psychological effects of the more gooey aspects of life, in much the same way that Mrs Li is quick to get over her initial shock upon discovering exactly what is in the dumplings, she is so eager to chow down on, especially the more youthful she becomes, with this whole aspect of the plot being a definite nod towards the increasingly extreme ways, society is willing to go in a bid to retain it’s looks, wether by using any number of the expansive brand name cosmetics or by going under the surgeon scalpel or Botox needle.

“Dumplings” is a refreshing change of scene for the Asian horror scene, as it nixes the usual supernatural creepiness and instead relies on the real horror of everyday life and the unrelenting and obsessional pursuit of personal perfection, and while the mystery meat idea has been played around with numorous times before, this film still feels like a rejuivinal shot in the arm for the Asian horror genre.

C Is For The Calamari Wrestler

Title: The Calamari Wrestler
Director: Minoru Kawasaki
Released: 2004
Staring: Kana Ishida, Osamu Nishimura, Miho Shiraishi, Yoshihiro Takayama

Plot: After winning the championship title in hard fought match Koji Taguchi (Akira) is shocked to suddenly have the belt snatched from him, by a giant squid who it turns out is the reincarnated former wrestling legend Kanichi Iwata (Nishimura), who was also formerly dating Koji’s fiancé Miyako (Ishida). Kanichi now in his squid form is now faced with the battle to regain the respect he earned in the ring, while facing a series of increasingly bizarre opponents.



Review: Originally I had planned to look at Ringo Lam’s “City on Fire” for my “C” entry in this alphabetical romp through Asian cinema and as though it is still undeniably a great film and I'm sure it would definatly have been fun to go over the whole “Reservoir Dogs” ripped it off argument, but instead I decided to go for something alittle more obscure and fun for this entry, as this film not only combines my love of Wrestling and Kaiju (men in giant monster suits) style brawls, but it is pretty much one of the most random movies I have ever seen, baring all the trademarks of director Kawasaki who for some reason loves to have his main characters portrayed by giant creatures, with this film being his first big hit, while also helping to lay the foundations for the equally insane “Kabuto-O Beetle” (2005) and “Crab Goalkeeper” (2006). Due to this highly unique style of film making, it’s almost impossible to look at this film in any logical terms, seeing how it defies any kind of normal logic and is the kind of film, that could truly only have been made in Japan, especially as under any other studio system it would have been churned out as a high camp romp, while Kawasaki instead chooses to play it almost straight-faced, almost as if it is no big deal to have a giant squid wrestler, let alone the giant Octopus and stag beetle fighters he introduces later and somehow he has managed to make it work, even though he never bothers to explain properly how Kanichi ended up becoming a squid in the first place, especially when Koji shows up to their showdown having turned into a red Octopus, adding to the undertones of Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” which runs throughout, though saying that certainly don’t expect anything too deep from this movie, especially with it’s cheesy effects and Godzilla style brawls, it is only all the more surprising that links “Kaiju Big Battel” haven’t been made, as essentially this is just their antics put on film, which for those of you not familiar with their Kaiju style wrestling shows, here is a quick taster.

Once you get past the fact that your watching a film about a giant wrestling squid, there is still a lot to enjoy here, as Kawasaki makes it more about wacky brawls and even works the love triangle between the Kanichi and his former girlfriend Miyako and her fiancé and Kanichi’s rival Koji, which not only seems plausible (somehow, though still not sure how) but also says all kinds of things about Miyako, who apparently has no problem with her former lover now being a giant squid, but instead seems more about how he will support her financially, especially when combined with the numerous flashes of a naked Miyako frolicking with the Squid form of Kanichi, but hey whatever works for you right?
Still it’s not all random brawls and questionable romances, as Kawasaki includes many simple and effective sequences, such as Calamari meditating, going shopping and generally being a hero of the local towns folk, as his popularity only continues to grow, with these scenes only adding to the human element of the film and despite the fact that he’s a giant squid you still can’t help but feel for his plight, which certainly isn’t the easiest thing to portray, when the costume only allows the minimum amount of movement and an expressionless face, but certainly something that Kawasaki is no stranger to, having started out directing episodes of “Ultraman Tiga” and it’s these early years of his career which really come into play here, as he uses all the tricks he learned there to great effect here, as he sets out to create his own set of equally memorable characters.

Despite some solid strong style wrestling sequences which open the film, Kawasaki soon trades these for wacky oversized creature smack downs, heavily reminisant of the Godzilla movies only on a slightly less city destroying scale and despite having the hindrance of some extremely rubbery costumes, he still manages to make these fight sequences highly entertaining if at the same time an acquired taste, as those of you who are not fans of the brawls seen in the Godzilla films, will no doubt find yourselves more irritated than amused, but then you will no have no have tuned out by the time, the first of these truly random scenes appears. Still despite this you can still feel the love which Kawasaki has for wrestling, while giving nods to the frequently ludicrous and exaggerated nature of the sport.

This film is really a reminder of how fun and imaginative Asian cinema can be, especially when you start looking outside of the main releases and instead look at the ones which fall outside of the popular genres and directors. So if your looking for something truly random, then this film certainly fits the bill, while providing more than a few laughs without overstaying it's welcome with a tight running time, while for those of you still wanting more, I'd highly recommend "Kabuto-O Beetle" for even more wrestling madness.

B Is For Brotherhood: Taegukgi

Title: Brotherhood: Taegukgi
Director: Je-gyu Kang
Released: 2004
Staring: Dong-gun Jang, Bin Won, Min-ho Jang, Eun-ju Lee, Yeong-ran Lee

Plot: In 1950's South Korea, shoe-shiner Jin-tae Lee (Don-gun Jang) and his 18-year-old old student brother Jin-seok Lee (Bin Won), live with their mother, Jin-tae's fiancé Young-shin Kim, and his young sisters. Jin-tae and his mother sacrifice themselves working long hours to send Jin-seok to the university, but when North Korea invades the South the family are forced to escape to a relative's house in the country. Through this journey Jin-seok is forced to join the army, while Jin-tae also enlists wanting to protect his young brother. After discovering that if he is awarded a medal of honour that, he can arrange for the release of his brother, though as the war continues the relationship between the two brothers begins to deteriorate, as Jin-tae only becomes more driven towards wining his brother’s freedom.

Review: It seems that nearly every major conflict has that one film, which isn’t just a boys own adventure or a political statement, but instead has been made so that we might have an idea, what those involved actually went through. World War 2 has Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”, Vietnam has Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” and the Korean war thankfully has this film, which I have frequently referred to in the past when recommending it as being the Korean Saving Private Ryan, though even with this clumsy tag, it still doesn’t feel like I am truly doing this film justice, especially when you consider it is one of the most expensive movies made by a Korean Studio, despite the fact it’s 12.8 million dollar budgets pales in comparison to what is typically spent in the Hollywood Studio system, yet to spend this much on a film was unheard of at the time of the films original release and the sole reason it was financed, was thanks largely to the success of Kang’s previous film “Shiri” (1999) which was also the first of the big budget Korean productions, while also proving at the same time that Kang was a director capable of holding his own against some of the bigger names in the Hollywood studio system, especially when given a significant budget to aid him, while this film only furthers his reputation as director, though sadly the gap between this film and any new project has been a painfully long wait, with only the currently in development “My Way” being his only recent activity.

Still it’s hard not to compare this film to “Saving Private Ryan” especially when they have such similar openings with the elderly former solider visiting a memorial site, though Kang at least gives us a chance to get to know the brothers before throwing us straight into the conflict, unlike Spielberg’s memorable dive straight into the D-Day landings. Infact “Brotherhood” is a lot more subtle on this front, saving the true horrors of the trench warfare and claustrophobic cityscapes that the battles are waged in, until the brothers are unwilling drafted and it’s from this moment that we rarely given a break from the dirty and frequently under equipped conditions of the front line, as he builds up to the epic conclusion, which for myself truly captured the blood and snot style of combat which, made up the majority of battles fought in this war, giving the viewer a true sense of what it must have been like to have fought in such wrenched conditions, as countrymen from the north and south of Korea were forced to fight each other in a war based purely on political beliefs.

Like Spielberg and Stone, Kang is not afraid to show the truly horrific side of war, as limbs are frequently blown off in explosions of dirt and mud, as soldiers encounter ambushes and booby traps, leaving you with the impression that any character could die at anytime, while scenes in a field hospital prove especially chilling, when the incompetence of the field medics leaving one wounded solider with a festering, maggot covered stomach wound.
Still the power of these scenes are not cheapened by the soundtrack which despite the film having a fantastic classical score, only adds to key scenes and never becomes threatening enough to overpower the images being shown and giving the audience cues for what they should be feeling at that exact moment, with Kang preferring to let the drama tell the story and leave the audience to their own emotions and it’s a technique used to devastating effect here.
However the trump card Kang has here is clearly with Dong-gun Jang, whose performance here is highly reminisant of the early films of Chow Yun-fat, especially with the levels of charisma and confidence he brings to the role, while truly helping to sell the father like role Jin-tae has taken upon himself, going far beyond being a protective brother, as he is shown being willing to do anything, to ensure that his brother can reach his full potential, all the more clearly shown as he signs up for increasingly suicidal missions, seeking the medal of honour so that he might get his brother off the frontline, even though he has no love for any aspect of the war going on around him. Still I’m sure that if it wasn’t thanks to Jang’s performance here, the film would have none of its emotional power, let alone the believability of the relationship between the two brothers, even as it deteriorates under the battlefield pressures, especially as their own personal beliefs comes constantly under attack, by the things they witness and such is the emotional power of this film, which Kang has managed to capture here, by the time the credits have rolled only the most stony hearted will fail to find themselves moved by what they have just watched.

"Brotherhood: Taegukgi" is a powerful and important film, not only in the respect of Korean cinema but war films on a whole, as it not only gives the viewer a true insight into the harsh realities of war, but also looks at how it changes those involved. In many ways I would place this in a higher respect than "Saving Private Ryan" even though both set out to create a similar viewing experience, but for those of you who like your War films with more of a human element I'd strongly recommend this film.

A Is For Audition

Title: Audition
Director: Takashi Miike
Released: 1999
Staring: Ryo Ishibashi, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Eihi Shiina

Plot: Having lost his wife over seven years, Aoyama (Ishibashi) has spent the years since his wife’s death burying himself in his work and raising his son, who urges him to try and meet someone new. While meeting with his friend and producer Yoshikawa (Kunimura), his is presented with a plan to hold a mock Audition, as a way for Aoyama to meet a suitable new girlfriend, with the girls under the impression they are auditioning for a new film. Through these audition he meets and is immediately drawn to the soft spoken Asami (Shiina) unaware, that she hides more than a few dark secrets of her own.


Audition.1999.Trailer.DrP

Review: Okay I should start by pointing out this film should definatly be watched with only the barest information about the plot, so start reading now and go watch this film, as to read on will essentially only spoil the film…….your still here? Okay well if you havn’t seen this film, then it’s only yourself to blame for any spoilers leaked from this point onwards.

“Audition” not only was one of the films along with the likes of "Ringu" (1998) and "Battle Royale" (2000) which lead the charge for the new wave of intrest in asian cinema, which not only broke the traditional ideas of the genre, but pretty much took them outside and gave them a good kicking, while this film in perticular can also in one sense be seen as the film, which marked the beginning of Miike’s attempts to break away from the hyper violent Yakuza movies, which he had carved out a name for himself with, while with “Audition” he began to venture into a more subtle style of film making, which he has since the release of this film done several more times, though sadly these attempts have often been frowned upon by the majority of the fan base, eagerly awaiting the next Miike shock fest only to find something alittle disapointingly more subtle, which is not to say that this film is without it's share of shocks as it certainly has those, it’s just Miike is in a much more subtle mood than usual here, luring his audience into a false sense of security before revealing a truly memorable twist, in much the same way that Hitchcock did in “Psycho” (1960) which used the initial fifteen minutes to convice the audience they were watching a film about the criminal actions of Janet Leigh’s character Marion Crane, only to then revel the true darker nature of the film, somthing which Miike certainly seems to have taken his cues for with this film, dragging out the romantic melodrama of the storyline for over two thirds of the film, only to then shatter Aoyama’s (aswell as the audience) perception of Asami in a confusing fusion of flashbacks and hallucinations, as Asami’s secret is finally revealed in all it’s sustained horror, which is why I tend to recommend that first time viewers go into this film blind, especially seeing how the trailer despite containing some of the iconic imagery does tend to spoil the big revel, which tends to prove only all the more powerful when the audience hasn’t been filled in on the dark delights which Miike has kept in reserve till this final quarter which is truly classic Miike.

It almost seems like a perfect match that the film is adapted from the novel of the same name, by the badboy of Japanese fiction Ryu Murakami, who also wrote the equally fantastic “Coin Locker Babies” which is currently in production at the time of writing this review and the winner of the Yomiri Literature Prize “In The Miso Soup” and seeing how well his writing lends itself to Miike’s directing style it makes only all the more surprising that this is the only adaptation of Murakami’s books that he has worked on. Still this sole jaunt into this world is still a powerfully effective film and certainly one which it would prove more than a little difficult to adapt into an English version, not only for some of the more nauseating scenes, which would no doubt come under a much stricter censoring, even in it’s original form had Miike not been attached, who it seems has the same sort of ability to slip the more shocking images past the censor chopping block, that directors such as Quentin Tarantino have, as his name alone is enough warning for most educated viewers to know what to expect, which is no doubt why the censors are more lenient on his work. Still none of these scenes seem to be placed purely for shock factor, but instead feel like they are being shown to only further add power to the images bombarding the viewer, despite the fact that Miike had originally not wanted to take the final torture scene as far as it goes, only to be told by one of the producers to “be a man and see it through to the end.” Which ultimately turns out to be the right choice, even as shocking as it proves, it still keeps you hooked with a grim fascination, as none of these shots seems to have placed with a voyeuristic intent, even when being shown the kind of scenes which most directors would question including, in particular those involving Asami and the man she keeps in a sack, treating him like some grotesque kind of pet as Miike slowly begins to revel the true terror of his creation.

“Audition” for myself is certainly one the best introductions to the films of Takashi Miike, especially for the more timid viewer daunted by the fountains of gore and violence, which is usually associated with his work, while proving that his films are about more than shock and awe, emphasised here with it’s straightforward plotting and strong characterisation all making for a great starting point for a director who is without a doubt one of the most creative and exciting directors currently working in modern Asian cinema.

Elwood's A-Z of Asian Cinema: Introduction

Finally the house move has been completed, the boxes emptied or more accurately hidden away somewhere I can't see them, in the hope that perhaps they will just sort themselves out, but more importantly, I'm back and ready to head once more into the depths of cult, foreign and obscure cinema, while also looking at anything that falls in between.

So wanting to kick things back off with something special and inspired during a one of the more duller moments at work, which for anyone who has ever worked in a call centre will tell you, is pretty much 99.9% of your day, but it did however inspire the idea of putting together my "A-Z of Asian Cinema" a 26 review jaunt through the genre of cinema, which first sparked my obsession with film and what essentially forms the backbone of this blog and it was this desire to highlight not only key films in the genre, but also create what I hope will be an introduction to some of my readers, to some of the most interesting, exciting and in some case just darn random films out there and far more than just Kung Fu, Giant Monsters and Creepy long haired girls crawling out of TV's, which is not to say that none of the above won't be making an appearance, along with possible even more randomness, but hopfully by the time this latest feature has been finished I will have the basis for a great introduction to newcomers looking for a place to start, aswell as possibly finding one or two titles, which surprised even the grizzled veterans of the genre.

Now to just quick this all off!