The Strangely Beautiful Character Posters of Nymphomaniac

 

While I might tend to keep this blog largely review focused, rather than cluttering it with news updates and daily musings, it was the release of this latest collection of character posters from the maverick director Lars Van Trier's  latest offering "Nymphomaniac" which filled me with the urge for this post, if only to collect together this curious yet strangely beautiful collection of posters.

 

A saga of flesh and sex in which Charlotte Gainsbourg plays Joe, a young woman recounting her sexual history after being found beaten in an alley, the film is currently be set to be released in both a soft and explicit cut, while also being developed as a two film project in what is certainly one of the more intriguing forthcoming releases, with this new poster only adding to the curiosity.

 

Slated for a curious Christmas Day release in Norway and Denmark, the rumour mill is currently hinting at a XXX release in Cannes. In the meantime though why not enjoy these posters which only further highlight the tantalising mixture of talent involved, so why not let me know which one is your favourite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stoker

Title: Stoker
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Released: 2013
Staring: Mia Wasikowska, Dermot Mulroney, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode

Plot: India Stoker (Wasikowska) solitary and privileged life is thrown into a tailspin by the death of her father Richard (Mulroney). Left with her estranged and mildly unstable mother Evelyn (Kidman), who upon meeting Richard’s charming and charismatic brother Charlie (Goode) at the funeral invites him to stay with them, unaware of the secrets he is hiding.



Review: There is always going to be a certain amount of hesitation whenever  one of the heavy hitters of foreign cinema decides to make a stab at the English speaking market, especially when there is the prospect of their style not translating to a Western audience, let alone the inevitable meddling from studio bosses. A fate which has sadly befallen many a great director with Guillermo del Toro’s  “Mimic” certainly being a prime example of such meddling.  Now Park Chan-Wook throws his directing hat into the international directing ring, after wowing us previously with his Vengeance trilogy, which included the soon to be (unnecessary) remade “Oldboy”, while he also showed us a lighter and more playful side with the sadly overlooked “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK” which he made for his daughter. Both showcased his visual flair with frequent love for unconventional plot points, such as the sign language sex scene in “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance”.  Needless to say I was curious to see how his style would translate, while equally interested to see if his style would be forced to be toned back to suit a western audience. Thankfully Chan-Wook fans can rest assured that he has lost none of his visual flair in the transition from his native Korea, with this Hitchcock influenced tale.

Okay at this point I probably have said too much about this film, as this is certainly one best seen blind. True this is no easy feat these days were information is but a mouse click away. I will also state right now that there is a high chance of spoilers ahead so consider yourself warned.  So save yourself now and go watch what is possibly one of the more original and rewarding releases of this year and then come back to read the rest of this review or potential ruin some of the surprises.

Scripted by Wentworth Miller who is no doubt better known as an actor especially to fans of “Prison Break”, but here he proves himself equally capable as a screenwriter, while equally keen for his work to stand on its own merits rather than due to his star power, as seen by the fact that he submitted the script along with a prequel, "Uncle Charlie" under the pseudonym Ted Foulke stating that

“I just wanted the scripts to sink or swim on their own”.

Despite the obvious assumption from the title to assume that this is yet another vampire movie, thankfully it isn’t despite the intentional nod to the grandfather of vampire fiction, "Stoker" is in fact a psychological thriller with horror undertones, with the title also being a literal indication of the role Charlie’s sudden appearance plays. It is worth noting though that this film is not one for the inpatient movie goer especially seeing how the first half is certainly a slow burn as Chan-Wook slowly moves the pieces into place, before slowly revealing the truth behind the mystery which hangs over the family as paranoia runs high over who Charlie really is. Even more so as he worms his ways further into the family through India’s mother who soon warms to his obvious charms and pretentious cooking skills. Goode really embodies the role and easily carries off the air of mystery which constantly surrounds Charlie, while equally chilling when he reveals his true colours in the second half.  Equally interesting is how the film is almost entirely shot around the family home, with only a handful of scenes being shot outside of this location, ensuring that the viewer’s focus is kept with these three characters only occasionally bringing in a supporting character, when required to drive the story forward or add another angle to their characters. Thankfully they are interesting enough for this strategy to work, while such maintained focus only serves to crank up the tension further, as Chan-Wook teases out his final twist, which is only further highlights that the only thing which has changed with Chan-Wook making this film in the Hollywood studio system is the language his actors are speaking.

The cast here are all perfectly cast in their roles, with Kidman continuing her love of working with  creative directors, having previously worked with Stanley Kubrick, Lars Von Trier and Baz Luhrmann, it would only make sense that she would eventually make a film with Chan-Wook and while it might be more of a supporting role than you would expect from such a big name actress. Meanwhile Wasikowska continues to mark herself out as an actress to watch, as she perfectly embodies the disconnected nature of India who actively distances herself from her classmates, while perfectly portraying her slow decent into a much darker side, as Charlie’s influence over her and her mother becomes all the more present.

It is worth noting for the establish fans of Chan-Wook’s work that the violence here is actually kept to a minimum, though still maintaining all his usual flair as simple acts like Charlie slowly removing his belt of India icily looking down the sights of her rifle, still showcasing that even when he isn’t shocking us he is still scarily effective at making even the most simplist of moments visually stimulating, especially with his long standing DP Chung-hoon Chung also present here to ensure that his trademark inventiveness behind the camera is present. This visual flair is non the more present than with the scenes between India and Charlie, especially during the more erotically charged scenes such as a duet they share over the piano which positively crackles with (questionable) sexual tension, much like the shots of her masturbating in the shower after despatching of a would be attacker while replaying the event in her head. Like the occasional burst of violence scattered throughout the film, these moments are so sudden and often without warning that the viewer is given no chance to prepare for what they are watching, which only makes them all the more effective.

While perhaps not as good as some of his previous films perhaps due to it being the first film which Chan-Wook hasn't written himself, it is none the less a positive start for his first venture into the English language market, while certainly giving us one of the more interesting films of the year.

Rewind This!

Title: Rewind This!

Director: Josh Johnson
Released: 2013
Starring: Atom Egoyan, Jason Eisener, Frank Henenlotter, Charles Brand, Cassandra Petersen, Mamoru Oshii, Shôko Nakahara

Plot: Charting the cultural and historical impact of VHS, as it changed the way films were not only made but distributed, while at the same time also meeting the fanboys who ensure that the legacy of the format continues to live on. 

 

Review: Previously as part of my review for “Xtro 2: TheSecond Encounter” I talked about my love of old school video shops, which sadly are non-existent here in the UK outside of Blockbuster who continue to fight on, despite pressure from the online rental brands like Lovefilm and Netflix who constantly threaten to take them over. These old school shops, as especially true in the case of my own local “The Video Bug” would rarely get rid of any tapes and instead just build more bookcases or stack them up to the ceiling, in turn providing a wonderland of colourful cases and frequently graphic covers and film stills, which I would spend hours just looking through these covers and imaging the delights which they contained within. Needless to say VHS like Vinyl has always had the kind of presence and strange allure that DVD or Blu-ray has never quite been able to replicate and it’s a love for this now defunct format that this debut documentary from Director Johnson sets out to explore.  

Needless to say this is not going to be a documentary which is for everyone especially as it’s essentially a VHS fans wet dream, providing not only tantising clips of forgotten cult classics like Leslie Nielsen’s “Bad Golf Made Easier”, “Street Trash”, “Black Devil Doll From Hell”, “Crime Hunter” and Bubba Smith’s workout video “Bubba Until It Hurts” to name but a few of the wealth of titles featured here. Like  “Not Quite Hollywood” and “American Grindhouse” this is also a documentary fuelled by the wealth of footage it offers and the untapped enthusiasm from the diverse range of interview subjects from directors like Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case), Mamoru Oshii (Ghost In The Shell) and owner of Full Moon Features and cult cinema legend Charles Brand through to personalities like Cassandra Petersen (Better known as Late Night Horror hostess Elvira) and actress Shôko Nakahara (Visitor Q) who openly sites VHS copies of Jennifer Connelly movies as being the inspiration for her becoming an actress. Elsewhere the film is also rounded out by colourful interviews with collectors and bloggers who are often eager to share their favourite tapes from their collections as part of a subtle game of collector one upmanship.

These interview subjects are of course just really a taste, as to list everyone featured would no doubt add an extra page onto this review. The range of subjects though only continued to surprise me as the documentary went on, while certainly hitting a high with the inclusion of the always deliriously enthusiastic Frank Henenlotter who as always is on fine form here, as he proves himself not only a devoted fan but also a great source of insights while also providing many of my favourite moments as he disregards criterion covers as “Boring”, while citing the cover of “The House of Whipcord” as an example of a good cover. Still lets not forget though that he also gave the world the wonderful talking case for “Frankenhooker” which screamed “Want A Date” when you pressed the button on the case, something fondly remembered by several of the interviewees despite none of them including Henenlotter having a copy with a working button, no doubt due to them being burnt out by over enthusiastic film fans years earlier.

Despite Johnson clearly trying to ensure as diverse range of subjects are featured as possible, I couldn’t help but notice the absence of Quentin Tarantino who I felt would have been an obvious choice, especially with his video store background let alone his well-documented love for the films of the VHS era. At the same time critics such as Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob) and Noah Antwiler (The Spoony Experiment), let alone UK critics like Mark Kermode or my own film critic hero Kim Newman though he does include another of my heroes Tom Mes. While it is understandable that to stop the documentary spiralling off into a five hour film by trying to include everyone’s view point there has to be a limit, but despite this Tarantino’s absence is still left a puzzling one.   

Ignoring the traditional and preferred use of voice over to provide a framework, Johnson instead makes the bold choice of allowing his interviewees tell the story of VHS, with their individual stories coming together and frequently complementing each other to provide a rich history for the format, especially with Johnson looking at it from seemingly every conceivable angle, with even a brief look at how VHS took porn out of the XXX theatres by providing the discreet alternative for its clientele while in turn blowing the business into the multi-million dollar industry it has become today.

While this might be a nostalgic look back, Johnson still ends the film looking positivly towards the future as enthusiasts continue hold movie nights celebrating the forgotten films still only available on VHS. It is during this portion of the documentary that we also meet the force of nature which is David “The Rock” Nelson the rabidly independent film maker still shooting on video making ultra-low budget monster movies, earning him the reputation of being the modern day Ed Wood as he cranks out such colourfully titled shorts like “The Devil Ant” and “Dracula vs. Sodom Insane”. A truly unique personality to say the least, his appearance might be a little too much for some viewers and thankfully Johnson doesn’t allow his appearance to overshadow the rest of the documentary or run to the point of irritation, much like so many of the bigger personalities featured here who only come off the stronger thanks to Johnson maintain a strong focus on what’s important to the story he is telling and what is just fan boy over enthusiasm.

Despite being an obvious love letter to VHS, the documentary still remains accessible to the uninitiated who might be curious about what the fuss is all about, while at the same time providing enough insight into the phenomena that there is still plenty of interest to those like myself who still fondly hold onto their VHS, when most folks have already sent theirs to the great landfill in the sky, meaning that numerous titles which never got transferred to DVD could potentially have disappeared for ever, making the role of collectors only all the more vital as the documentary further serves to highlight as archivist Caroline Frick soberly points out while worrying highlighting the potential risk of lost titles should these tapes be left to deteriorate.

True the appeal of this documentary might be limited, but for cult cinema fans and converted VHS enthusiasts I can’t recommend this film enough, as its worthy of a place in your collection, while no doubt giving you a new host of titles to hunt down, which for myself is always the sign of a good movie documentary and while it might not be the most high profile release of the year it is none the less essential and well worth hunting down.

Leprechaun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Leprechaun

Director: Mark Jones

Released: 1993

Starring: Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Gorman, John Sanderford, Shay Duffin

Plot: Daniel O’Grady (Duffin) returns home from a trip to Ireland, having managed to steal a leprechaun’s (Davis) pot of gold. Unbeknownst to him though is that the evil Leprechaun has followed him back to the U.S. Having captured the creature for a second time and sealed him in a crate O’Grady suffers a stroke while trying to burn the crate. Now ten years later J.D. (Sanderford) and his teenage daughter Tory (Aniston) rent the O’Grady farmhouse for the summer were they unwittingly release the imprisoned Leprechaun, who once again sets out to find his pot of gold

Review: While perhaps not as big a franchise as “Friday the 13^th” or “Nightmare on Elm St”; “Leprechaun” like “Critters” has still managed to garner a cult following which in turn has spawned five sequels. Still despite this for one reason or another it has taken me until now to finally get around to watching the first of the series, which is also renown for also being the first movie role for Jennifer Aniston before she shot to fame the following year on  “Friends”, joining the long line of actors who got their first big break in horror and one which includes luminaries such as Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Kevin Bacon (Friday The 13^th) and Tom Hanks (He Knows That Your Alone) to but skim the surface.

This film really is a mixed bag to say the least, most of all because it falls in that tricky place between horror and comedy, with director Jones seemingly never sure what tone he wants for the film, as it frequently switches between the two only without any of the smooth transition that “Gremlins” and “Critters” featured. So while Davis plays the Leprechaun largely for laughs, there are frequent moments throughout the film where he suddenly switches to a much darker side of the character and often with no warning. At the same time the frequently violent and gory attacks which accompany this darker side drag the film back to horror, while generally leaving the viewer confused over what they should be feeling, especially when it is not being played with any of the dark humour that Peter Jackson brought to his early splatterfests like “Bad Taste” or “Braindead” which showed that splatter and laughs could work together without losing any of the potential horror. This however is something which really doesn’t happen here, as everytime I felt a good horror vibe being built, it would suddenly be side lined by some misfire attempt at humour.

Most of these attempts at humour though come from the titular Leprechaun, with director Jones clearly using “Gremlins” as his basis for the film, especially seeing how the Leprechaun seemingly can’t do anything without wheeling out a wacky prop, so hence we are treated to him following the group into town on a tricycle which he is somehow able to ride as fast as a car and making me wonder if he take the same steroids the kids in “E.T.” were obviously taking to outrun the feds on their BMX Bikes. Elsewhere he also manages to kill one minor character using a pogo stick!! Seriously how much does he weigh!?! Still my personal favourite has to be the toy car which once again seems to be faster than other car, aswell as somehow being able to T-bone a car so hard it flips over, as clearly the laws of physics don’t apply here, along with it seems logic and reason.

As frustrating as these misfire attempts at humour or general randomness are, were the film gets really irritating is when the supposed heroes Tory and her father are joined in the fight against the Leprechaun by token love interest Nathan (Olandt), his bratty little brother Alex (Gorman) and their man child friend Ozzie (Holton) who run the painting company “Three Guys Who Paint”. You see what they did there….yeah well that’s the kind of tortured attempts at humour the film specialises in. Still for some reason Jones feels that the relationship between Ozzie and Alex is adorable enough to make it one of the main plotlines, much to the misfortune of the viewer who has to endure their grinding conversations and plans to fix Ozzie’s brain using the gold. Still seemingly these numskulls are Tory’s only hope for surviving the night as she seems frequently helpless on her own with even the most easiest of things over whelming her, after all this is a woman who has to be shown how to paint, when you would have felt it would have been kind of obvious, while her father randomly disappears around the halfway point.

What really surprised me about the film though is how surprisingly gory it was, as the Leprechaun attacks frequently get quite bloody, thanks to his penchant for clawing and biting his victims. The real gooey fun though is kept for the finale, were it turns out that Leprechaun’s tend to die in a similarly slimy fashion as Gremlins. Still for those of you fond of a bout of dwarf bashing, then you may find much to enjoy here, as it turns out that Leprechaun’s are also tough as old leather, especially seeing how over the course of the film he is beaten, shot and frequently clubbed with a variety of blunt objects while still coming back for more, which really saying something when you also consider that he is supposed to be 600 years old, he really is quite the spritely Leprechaun.

While the film has its flaws it is hard to deny the effective Leprechaun make up, which reminded me of how effective old school effects can be, especially in these times were it has been largely made a defunct art form in favour of frequently ropey looking CGI. Credit also has to be given to Davis for bringing this creation to life, even if he never seems to quite nail an Irish accent, he still manages to atleast bring a sense of fun to the character, even when the character choices become increasingly random as the film goes on. Still it would seem something about the character appeals to Davis who has gone on to star in all five sequels showing the sort of devotion to a character that Robert Englund showed for Freddy Krueger.

A flawed film to say the least and one which if more tweaked could have been something special, which sadly this one fails to do, especially when it frequently gives with one hand and takes with the other, as its pro’s and con’s seem to be in constant conflict, something I’ve yet to see if it improves with the sequels. Meanwhile WWE films currently have taken of the series rights with plans of making a prequel and sequel as a vehicle for Hornswoggle their Leprechaun gimmick wrestler / sidekick, which at the time of writing still remains in development hell. In the meantime though I doubt this is the last time I will be seeing him again, even as frequently painful this film was, it still leaves you curious to see more though if these pros are picked up and built upon still remains to be seen.

Drive Angry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Drive Angry

Director: Patrick Lussier
Released: 2011
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Bill Burke, David Morse, Todd Farmer

Plot: Undead criminal John Milton (Cage) breaks out hell when he finds out that his daughter and her husband have been killed by Satanic cult leader Jonah King (Burke) who has also kidnapped Milton’s granddaughter who he plans to sacrifice as part of a Satanic ritual. Meanwhile an operative of Satan known as The Accountant (Fichtner) has been dispatched to bring Milton back.
 

Review: If you ever wanted to know how to automatically give me a lesser opinion of your film, release a trailer essentially consisting of grinning loons who got to see your film no doubt for free, while forcing them shout out sound bites of how much they supposedly love your film, while generally making claims that they have seen the “BEST FILM EVER!! No I didn’t just slip on the caps lock, but it’s probably the only way to capture on the page the grating enthusiasm for these comments that they see to bizarrely have for frequently awful films…but then perhaps this is the only film these folks have seen...you know ever! Alas this was the situation I found myself in as I entered into this film (see it wasn’t just random ranting) especially when all I could remember about this film was those awful adverts and the handful of intriguing snippets of action it contained.

Still no doubt the sheer sight of Nicolas Cage’s involvement in this film, will have most folks giving it a skip anyway, especially with Cage working his way out of his tax troubles and other debts by seemingly appearing in every film currently being made. True this has resulted in him taking on some of his more questionable roles, but it is hard to deny that when he does take on a role he digs he really is still an incredible actor, as “Kick-Ass” or “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” are only further testament to. Sadly though this was not to be one of his better efforts, as he largely sleepwalks his way through this film while never seeming fully committed to the role, yet thanks to a largely no name cast his performance does give the illusion of being better than it is.

The cast director Lussier has assembled here as I mentioned are largely no name, with only half a dozen recognisable faces being drafted for the more dramatically involved parts I.E the ones not requiring you to run around randomly or just being kill count fodder. Sadly for some reason though he also skimped on the casting of the films big evil, as Burke never once feels threatening, despite Lussier frequently showcasing him doing various hideous acts, he still ends up coming off like a henchman than any real kind of threat to Milton. Thankfully the evil quota is partially saved by a scene chewing Fichtner who not only gives a performance with undertones of Christopher Walken but also seems to be having a blast as the relentless henchman of Satan “The Accountant” who is not only invincible but also rocks a sharp suit to boot, while also processing a penchant for coin tosses like Chigurh in “No Country For Old Men” for who both share a relentless devotion to their work. It’s just a shame that more wasn’t made of his role, rather than generally using him as another obstacle for Milton to overcome on the quest to rescue his Grandchild.

On equally strong form is Heard as he waitress Piper who unwittingly becomes Milton’s sidekick. Piper’s character though suffers like so many other aspects of the film from some clumsy characterisation which see’s her character randomly switching back and forth from helpless damsel in distress to ass kicking firecracker on a whim, which is frequently frustrating when you have scenes of her catching her cheating fiancé in bed with another woman who she proceeds to beat the hell out of, as she tosses her out of her trailer, only to then suddenly fall apart when it comes to facing off against her fiancé suddenly losing any of her awesome fighting skills she had only moments earlier, with the only reason being seemingly so that Milton can come and rescue her like a knight in grungy leathers.

As with Lussier’s previous film, the enjoyable remake of “My Bloody Valentine” this film was also released originally in 3D, which as with his previous film I never saw in 3D but rather the 2D conversion which does mean that the once 3D moments now stand out looking like cheap CGI. This of course is a minor issue and one generally covered by the fact that I don’t own a HD TV. Where the real issue is though is that Lussier uses the 3D format in what is very much an old school style in that it is more about the spectacle (and generally seeing what he can throw at the audience). On the plus side this lust for spectacle does occasionally play in the films favour, as it opens with Milton driving a muscle car out of hell, with finale seing Milton and Piper take on King’s army of redneck Satanists in an epic shootout, which includes also includes such highlights members of such as the random naked machine gun welding chick and cultists ablaze and still frenziedly shooting shotguns. Sadly for a film whose title and trailer which sells itself as being high on car smash excitement, feels largely sterile thanks to Lussier largely favouring green screen or over car rigs, which considering that he has a gearhead like Cage on the film seems like a wasted opportunity to have done more like “Gone In Sixty Seconds” for which Cage his own driving still stands a strong testament to his skills behind the wheel.     

Sadly this is far from the neo-grindhouse experience I was hoping for, especially when this is a film were whenever it manages to give the viewer something special I couldn’t help but feel that I had seen it done better before, leaving me with an ultimately hollow viewing experience with a prime example being its shootout during sex which honestly was done better in the underrated “Shoot em-up”, while the dialogue frequently comes off like someone doing a poor Tarantino impersonation. Maybe with the right setting this film could have been a more fun experience, but from this viewing I was left ultimately cold and largely irritated. As such I advise it as one to approach with caution even for Nicolas Cage completists like myself.

The Sexy Killer AKA The Drug Connection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: The Sexy Killer / The Drug Connection

Director: Chung Sun
Released: 1976
Starring: Chen Ping, Yueh Hua, Szu Wei, Tien Ching, Chaing Yang, Chan Shen, Lin Feng, Li Peng-fei

Plot: When nurse Wan Fei’s (Ping) sister is hooked on heroin and abused by local drug dealers, she takes justice into her own hands as she sets out to take on the Hong Kong crime syndicates responsible.

Review: With such a provocative title it’s more than obvious what caught my attention about this little seen exploitation movie from the legendry Shaw Brothers Studios who unknown to most people including myself until lately, didn’t just make the Kung Fu movies they are probebly best known for, but also dabbled in a number of other genres such as this exploitation cheapie.

Essentially a Hong Kong remake of Pam Grier classic “Coffy”, while the plotting here is paper thin and more of an excuse to show what frequently felt like a stream of nudity, soft-core sex and of course being the Shaw Brothers a healthy dose of Kung Fu action. This of course is the standard fodder for Ping who like Grier specialised in playing tough feisty ladies, while at the same time not adverse to the occasional  shedding her clothes, as we not only see here, but in the handful of sexploitation movies she did over the course of her career. True she might not be as strong an actress as Grier which it is hard to not draw comparisons to especially with the plotlines being so similar, let alone both ladies affection for a shotgun.

 

Opening with a particularly sleazy scene of Wan Fei’s sister being drugged and subsequently used by a couple of sleazy gangsters, the film essentially establishes the tone within the opening minutes, while Wan Fei sets out on her quest for revenge with a strangely confident stance which sees her not only being able to weld a mean shotgun but also infiltrate gangs disguised as a prostitute with little trouble despite from all apperences having any kind of training of any kind to assist her other than pure guts and grit it would seem. Okay perhaps the plot in this respect should be taken with a pinch of salt, especially when the plotting is as paper thin as it is, while Ping has enough presence on the screen to pull of the role even if Grier does it better.

Director Chung seems to relish the sleazy atmosphere he creates here, especially when he frequently seems to be finding new ways to add to the films already high sleaze quota including a drug baron who likes introducing prostitutes to his home torture chamber and while Chung occasionally pushes these more risqué moments, there is ultimately nothing too shocking almost as if he was keen to not lose the film amongst the ranks of the numerous Pink movies being produced during this era. Still with such focus on the exploitation elements.

Despite the care free attitude towards nudity it is pretty surprising how largely restrained the violence is here and never exceeds what we have to come to expect from the Kung Fu output of the Shaw Brothers. Still despite being more restrained with the violence, the action scenes are not hampered as a result with Wan Fei proving herself rather handy with her shotgun, aswell as her dagger bracelet. Needless to say Wan Fei does kick a lot of ass while the ending while perhaps more subtle than you expect from this kind of movie is none the less satisfying which includes an exploding waterbed none the less, as she proves not for the first time that hell truly hath no fury like a scorned Wan Fei.

While its true that other similar films may have done this better such as “Sex and the Fury” or the “Sister Street Fighter” trilogy, but there is fun to be had here none the less, even if it is disposable at best. Ideally watch this as a warm up in a double bill as on its own will no doubt leave you wanting something alittle more satisfying.

Six Truly WTF? Moments

So many times I have been left astounded by some of the choices made by directors on just what they expect and audience to buy into, even more so when these moments leave you no choice but to question what the f**k? you have just seen? So to celebrate these shall we say questionable directing choices here are my personal top 6.

Godzilla flies (Godzilla Vs. Hedorah)



Over the years since the Godzilla first took a stroll through Tokyo, there have been a number of questionable moments which have appeared throughout the series, from attempts to give Godzilla a voice (Godzilla Vs. Gigan), lumbering him with a son who strangely resembles grey lumpy mash, let alone the meddling and inserting of random plot devices (let alone reusing Raymound Blurr) which several films saw on the US release. Still what makes this one stand out is the sheer randomness of watching Godzilla use his radioactive fire breath to enable him to fly, a moment so surreal that even the DVD chapter title has it marked as “Something You Don’t See Everyday” though it would be also be something that we never saw again…unlike Minila who continues to frequently blight the series and delight my wife.

Van Damme Vs. Ice Hockey Mascot (Sudden Death)



While Van Damme might not be renown for being the sanest of action heroes and prone the occasional random ramble as a quick glance at his interviews in the past only seem to provide further evidence to, while the films he choose to make towards the latter end of his career are frequently full of WTF?!? moments, though none are perhaps as special as this one. True this isn’t just some random mascot abuse but rather one of the terrorists disguised as the loveable mascot, but this doesn’t make it all the less comical let alone making you wonder how they ever thought that this fight scene would actually work. To his credit Van Damme does is best to try and work with such a clumsy opponent, showcasing a few favourites, but I would be hard pushed to say that you ever feel that he is ever threatened at any point and kind of highlighted the state of his career at this point.

Gamera gymnastics (Gamera vs. Guiron)

 

While Gamera might not be as instantly recognisable as fellow Kajiu legend Godzilla to most folks, there is no denying that the fire breathing space turtle still has his fans, so much so that many Kajiu fans are still holding out for a showdown between the two titans of the genre. Like Godzilla though Gamera has had his own share of random moments like Barugon’s rainbow attack (Gamera vs. Barugon) or the redneck voice over option which is bizarrely included as a bonus feature on the dvd for “Gamera 2: Attack of Legion”. Still the best of these has to be this classic and truly bonkers moment, which is only added to by the random dance Gamera seems to be doing when he gets hit in his paws by Guirons’ ninja star attack, but then it’s moments like this which remind me why I love this genre so much.

The Dead or Alive Opening (Dead or Alive)



It is said that a film needs to capture the attention of its audience and establish its tone with its first fifteen minutes, which its safe to say that director Miike Takashi has no problems doing with the first of his “Dead or Alive” trilogy, which throws more violence and shocking imagery into its opening that most films manage in their run time, as he truly sets the scene for his Triad drama and what is to come, which he does in a stunning montage of sex, violence, drugs, guns and noodles, all while showcasing his highly unique style which made him such a standout name during the revival of interest in Asian cinema. Even more so when western audiences were hit with the double punch of this film and “Audition” and certainly helped pave the way for the likes of Park Chan-Wook’s “Vengeance Trilogy” and the truly random films of Shinya Tsukamoto. True there are a number of more shocking scenes in the film itself which I won't spoil for anyone yet to watch it with the ending also being a contender for this list, but it’s the balls to hit his audience with this memorable and frequently shocking opening sequence, which is so self-contained that you can’t help but wonder what the hell it is that you have just witnessed.

Matrix Cockfight (The City of Lost Souls)



While it might not be one of his better films, this lesser seen film from Takashi Miike might be largely hit and miss, but one thing it does get right is this scene which seems to have been included almost as a random whim by Miike, especially when it seems to only be included for local colour and perhaps feeling that a real cockfight might be alittle extreme even for him, instead puts a fun spin on things in one of the better moments of the film.

Bulletproof huh? How about Rocketproof! (Death Wish 3)



After the original “Death Wish” it’s safe to say the series soon began to let the realism slip, while with part 3 it was just sheer thrown out of the window, as Charles Bronson returned for another round of vigilante justice despite now perhaps being older than he should be for such antics yet apparently not too old to follow it up with another two films. Still watched with a sense of humour there is a lot of fun to be had with film, especially as it escalates to its totally over the top shootout finale, were seemingly every one has a gun as the harassed (and mainly OAP) residents of the apartment block take up arms against the gang members. Director Michael Winner though still manages to top this madness with this jaw dropping WTF? moment which I love to show friends, especially the uninitiated just to see their reaction to this scene, somthing often followed by a need to rewind and watch it again, which I can’t really blame them for as it is such a great ending and the perfect footnote for Winner’s involvement in the series as he handed over the directorial reigns to J. Lee Thompson for part 4.

So there you have my choices, but what would make your own list?