gabegarwick

As my 'unwatched' pile was dwindling I decided to place an order with dddhouse last weekend. Then Trigger alerts me that The Blade (vcd) is on sale for $10HK. So...I had to place another order as my first one had shipped.

Here's what's coming:

-Executioners
-Extreme crisis
-Flying Dagger
-From Beijing With Love
-F***/Off
-Heroic Trio The
-Jackie Chan My Stunts
-The Duel
-King of comedy
-Tiger On Beat (Universe)
-New Legend of Shaolin, The
-Royal Tramp (MegaStar)
-Royal Tramp II (MegaStar)
-Running Out Of Time
-Space Travelers (the non-anime one)
-Victim

-Attack The Gas Station
-The Blade
-Bride With White Hair
-Gonin
-Gohatto
-Island Of Greed
-The Longest Nite

Comments on any of the above appreciated. (I realize that several of these titles have been discussed up/down/sideways already.) Maybe just comments on the not-so-familiar ones?

Thanks,
Gabe

Edit: Doh!! I just realized I forgot to order Legend of Zu again!

Trigger

-Executioners - if you liked heroic trio...
-Extreme crisis - terrible - didn't you see my review of it?
-Flying Dagger - I think you read my review... I liked it.
-From Beijing With Love - It's funny... one of the few Stephen Chow films I keep forgetting to watch again. I didn't catch the last 1/3 of the film.
-F***/Off - I've tried to watch this one twice and have been interrupted both times. Wish I could help. I've heard it was terrible though if that means anything.
-Heroic Trio The - I didn't like it, but many people consider it a classic. If you sit through half of it, you have to stay for the end which almost makes up for the rest of the film. Great ending.
-Jackie Chan My Stunts - I sold mine off cuz I wasn't impressed. Although - the DVD is spectacular. Great sound.
-The Duel - It's ok... better than Man Called Hero
-King of comedy - I love this one - you will too. Stephen Chow is hilarious.
-Tiger On Beat (Universe) - no idea.
-New Legend of Shaolin, The - You know what I think of this
-Royal Tramp (MegaStar) - Great film.
-Royal Tramp II (MegaStar) - Great film.
-Running Out Of Time - Good film... I bought the Tai Seng versions of this film and of The Duel. I had to sell me HK version of The Duel.
-Space Travelers (the non-anime one) - no idea
-Victim - on my list to buy in next order... I'm waiting for La Brassiere to show up on DDDHouse and then I'll place a 20 DVD order.

-Attack The Gas Station - It's great.
-The Blade - One of my all time favorite films.
-Bride With White Hair - Great film - avoid the sequel
-Gonin - no idea
-Gohatto - no idea
-Island Of Greed - no idea
-The Longest Nite - uhh... sounds familiar. I can't even think if I have it or not. Have I seen it?? probably not... ok, no idea.
-Legend of Zu - Not the best film, but an effects extravaganza. You could skip it honestly...

gabegarwick

Wow, fast reply! Thanks! Yes, I read your review of Extreme Crisis Trigger. I'm getting it anyway. :P I'm guessing I'll like it a bit more than you did. (I liked Skyline Cruisers marginally more than you did too)
-Tiger on Beat -CYF (chainsaw fight in it!) nice review here.
-Space Travelers: Takeshi Kaneshiro & Eri Fukatsu (Japanese movie). Actually, I found the movie after looking up Eri Fukatsu on imdb after watching Bayside Shakedown. The cast list on imdb is correct but the picture is for the cartoon movie instead. Asiandvdguide has both listed with a couple reviews. Figured $5US, give it a shot... (if it turns out to be horrible I can just watch it with the sound off just to see Eri Fukatsu...{sigh}. )
-Gonin & Gohatto - Takeshi Kitano in both. No explanation necessary.
-Island of Greed - (Triad movie)
-Longest Nite - Tony Leung and Lau Ching Wan! Woohoo!

As is probably apparent, I chose these mostly because of the actors/actresses in them and for a couple I was on the fence about, the little $$ they cost helped get them in the order.

Cheers,
Gabe

MassaCure

executioners- no where as good as heroic trio, but not a bad movie, probly will not get repeat viewing 6/10

extreme crisis- not bad, kinda of a nothing new here movie 5/10

the herioc tio-very good movie, a classic, nothing spectacular when it comes to the fights, but a cool movie all around 8.5/10

the duel-has some funny parts, with more fight scenes it could have been a great movie, but you will like it if you liked storm riders and a man called hero, even though i prefer both of those over the duel 6/10

tiger on beat-chow yun fat is one of my favorites 7/10

new legend of shaolin- 8.5/10 one of my favorite movies from jet li, it would have been perfect minus some of the bad humour

Running Out Of Time - a johnnie to film with andy lau, good movie 7/10

blade 8/10

the longest night 6.5/10- just saw it the other night, not alot of action, but great story development, not slow, but doesnt keep you on the edge of your seat

gonin-good movie, terrible dvd, i found most of the movie predictable, but thats not saying tis bad, because i find almoust all movies predicatble, this will probly be the worse dvd you will ever own 7/10

Rocky_Raccoon

Executioners- I was so disappointed in this movie. I absolutely loved The Heroic Trio. One of my all time favorites. This movie was such a change in tone from the first movie that it was pretty jarring. The first movie was so much fun. This one was incredibly dark. I would say avoid it but you have already ordered it hehe. It was about as bad as the sequel to The Bride with White Hair.

Extreme Crisis- I found myself really enjoying this one for some reason. Not to say it's a good movie but it reminded me of the kinda movie they used to make in the US in the 80's. You know like Commando where there would be just alot of explosions and mayhem from a machine gun. Not a thinking man's movie in anyway. The english acting is pretty horrendous. If you turn off your brain and just enjoy all the explosions I think you will enjoy it. The stunts and action done by Bruce Law are top notch.

From Beijing With Love- One of my all time favorites. This was my first Stephen Chiau movie so many years ago and it is still probably my personal favorite. Just wait for the magic box sequence. You will be laughing so hard you will have trouble controlling your bladder. If you are a fan of the James Bond films you will really enjoy this one. It picks them apart pretty well. I am a big fan of Anita Yuen as well. She is so funny and their chemistry is outstanding in this movie.

The Heroic Trio- I have stated my feelings on this one before. It would definetly be in my top 10 HK movies list. One of the earliest HK films I saw probably about 8 or 9 years ago now and I can still watch it and enjoy it. This movie started my love affair with Maggie Cheung. Why she had to marry that French fool instead of me I will never know LOL. She is so damn cool in this movie. Anita Mui is very good in this one as well. Michelle Yeoh kicks major butt like she always does. The three women work so well together. I am a huge fan of comic books as I was growing up and this movie felt like a live action comic book. You even have a character called Wonder Woman. One of the few comic book movies that I have really thought worked.

King of Comedy- Another Chiau classic. Just a wonderful movie. It changes tones with ease and makes it look easy. Cecilia Cheung was a revelation in this movie. She is just so damn cute and funny hehe. Karen Mok is great as well. Has some great John Woo paraodies in it. Ng Mat Tat is awesome as always. Has a great story and some crying you are laughing so hard moments in it.

Tiger On Beat- A classic Chow movie. Although probably not the manliest of roles for Yun Fat. The movie just is ok but then kicks into high gear toward the end. The chainsaw battle at the end is one of those jaw dropping only in hk kinda moments. Definetly one of the better HK movie endings.

New Legend of Shaolin- One of my favorite Jet Li films. The little kid totally steals the show in this one and My Father is a Hero ( get this one too if you don't have it , I actually like this one better than New Legend and I loved New Legend ). He is so bad *** and he and Jet work so well together. You would really think they were actually father and son they move so much alike. Typical Wong Jing crazyiness with some crazy humor at the beginning then shifting into a very dramatic movie toward the end. It does the shift well tho and actually has some pretty moving parts toward the end. A classic.

Running Out of Time- Not my favorite of the Milkyway films but it's an enjoyable film. Some great direction from To who is one of my favorites. Lau Ching Wan is great as always. Andy Lau is tolerable as always. I liked the Mission and The Longest Nite better than this one but I really enjoyed this one alot too.

Victim- Haven't watched this one yet but got it in my last order. The trailer looked interesting and I have always liked Ringo Lam.

The Blade- Great Tsui Hark film. Was his answer to Ashes of Time. I think Ashes of Time is the better film but by the tinest of margins. That tells you how great this movie is. A very dark and brutal film. You will be totally exhausted mentally and spiritually at the end. It has a much different tone than Tsui Hark's other films and I wish he would explore his dark side again. ( Other great Tsui movies that I would recommend. Peking Opera Blues ( his masterpiece ), Once Upon A Time in China 1 & 2 ( both outstanding ). Why they haven't released this movie on DVD I will never know.

Bride with White Hair- Another one of my favorites that would probably be in my top 10 list. I saw this one way back probably around the same time I saw The Heroic Trio. Yet again I found myself falling in love with an actress. Brigette Lin is this movie. She is one of my all time favorite actresses and I am so sad that she has retired. HK cinema hasn't really been the same since she left. A very moving story with great performances from Leslie Cheung and Lin. I am a great fan of Ronny Yu's directing. The music is great as well. A wonderful dark and atmospheric movie.

Gonin- It has been so long since I have since this one. Was the first movie that I saw Beat Takeshi in and he really made an impression. When Rolling Thunder released Sonatine on video a few years later it started a Beat obsession that hasn't let me go yet hehe. Another very dark movie. It's a Japanese film which I find are very different from HK cinema. They tend to be more about characters than action in some cases. They usually are alot slower paced as well. They sometimes are alot more disturbing in some cases tho. This one will totally confuse you for the first part of the film but will become clearer as you go along. A very dark and violent film from what I can remember. This one is going to be in my next order as well. I have only seen it on a bootleg video so I would like to see a little better presentation of it.

The Longest Nite- One of my favorite Milkyway films. Really reminded me of the US movie The Usual Suspects. It's more of a suspense film than an action movie. You really need to pay attention to this one because the story is very complex. Outstanding performaces by Lau Ching Wan and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Two of my favorite actors and they really work well together. Another dark and brooding movie. I am seeing a trend here. I really love dark movies LOL.

Haven't seen the other films in your list but I plan to see some of them in the future. Hope this helped you and enjoy your movies Gabe .

Clint ( sorry for the long post I tend to not be stopped when talking about HK cinema hehe. Very passionate about it )

MassaCure

i 4got about a bride with white hair- thats is a great movie as well, i actually didnt think part 2 was bad, i liked that one too, but not nearly as much as the orginal, brigette lin is my favorite hk actress, so i like all her movies

Trigger

I'd agree with you except for East is Red and BWWH2 - I didn't like where they took the story in the sequel and I didn't like the turn her character took in Bride 2. East Is Red was just a political mess... Dragon Inn (which is much of the same crew and pretty much the same themes represented politically in the subtext) was much better. Bride 2 I guess isn't a total waste - I ended up selling it, but the first Bride With White Hair is one of my favorites... I can't exactly remember what turned me off so much about it... I do remember that the story didn't go the way I thought it should have - but I didn't write it, I just watched it. I recorded it to VHS before selling it just in case I wanted to remind myself why I sold it... maybe I'll pop it in and check. Other than those two films, I think Brigette Lin is fantastic and I love pretty much everything else she's done.

benedict

<small></small>Absolutely nothing wrong with long, on-topic, informative posts, Clint: that kind of thing is always welcome, IMO.

Rocky_Raccoon

Thanks benedict.

I placed another order with DDD after my first post. Got 16 DVD's and 1 VCD. I need help or a better paying job hehe.

I also just finished watching Victim. Wow what an awesome movie. Ringo Lam's direction is great. Lau Ching Wan gave a bravura performace. Of his movies which I have seen , I think his performance in Victim might be my favorite. Tony Leung Ka Fai also turned in a great performance. Don't go into this movie expecting a action packed film. It is a suspense thriller. The story was very interesting with lots of twists and turns. The movie never bored me. The dvd was pretty good for a Mei Ah dvd as well. Really no complaints about this one.

Clint

gabegarwick

Thanks for all the comments guys! I'm really looking forward to seeing these.

Cheers,
Gabe

MassaCure

trigger where pretty much ont he same page, i only liked bride 2 because lin was in it, its not one of my favorite movies she is in, and doesnt get repeat viewing, sort of like handsome siblings, it has some nice fight scenes, but overall the movie isnt that great, i like fire dragon alot, swordsman 2, and deadful meaolody. fire dragon might have some of the best fight scenes out of all her movies

Beeeil

Island of Greed is based loosely on dark side of Taiwanese politics (thus "island"). Many of the incidents in the film actually happened, such as the Taxi riot and the fake twin monk. You would probably appreciate it more if you're famililar with Taiwanese politics.

Beeeil