Reincarnation Review 2005 輪廻 Japan

Happy Halloween!

Since it's approaching Halloween I thought I'd sit down to an Asian horror classic.

This entry to the J-Horror collection is directed by Takashi Shimizu(Ju-On: The Grudge/Marebito). While not quite reaching the heights of Ringu and Ju-On, Reincarnation still holds it's own as a fine supernatural thriller.

When a young actress gets a role in a film based on a series of grisly murders in the 1970s, she begins to experience the killings as if they are happening in front of her. When she discovers an 8mm camera that appears to contain footage of the murders, she decides to develop the film, with terrifying consequences.

Japanese subways are always so crowded

Shimizu is great at creating an eerie atmosphere and tension. This is the real strong point of Reincarnation. Although the film might start off a little slow, it gets more and more tense as the film progresses. By the start of the third act, you'll be on the edge of your seat as the story unravels and plot elements running parallel with each other join up to give a thought provoking and compelling conclusion.

Yuka delivers a stunning performance as Nagisa Sugiura, an actress cast in the lead role of the horror film within the horror film. The film seems to be partly influenced from The Shining with the setting of the hotel, some similar plot points and also her acting style adds to this.

Traditional Japanese head massage

J-Horror isn't for everyone. It is much slower paced than American counterparts. And it doesn't have the constant jump scares, although, Reincarnation is quite creepy and does have a jump scare or two. But it's the story that matters, Reincarnation will have you guessing and questioning throughout the entire film until everything clicks in to place wonderfully at the climatic ending.

If you are looking for a Horror film to watch this Halloween, you could do worse.

7/10

See this if you liked:
The Ring
The Grudge
Dark Water

The Rules of The Game Review 1999 Hong Kong 新家法

Generic Triad movie but it's brilliant cast and dark themes make it entertaining.

Charismatic Louis Koo is David Chow, a small-time businessman whose successful rise in the triad underworld comes in a deliberate means to an end. He's forced to join the triad of Boss Sing (Alex Fong) in order to bail out his buddy (Edmund So). Ann (Kristy Yang), the girl David loves works at a bar and catches the eye of Boss Sing who attempts to win her heart honestly. A clash between David and Sing seems inevitable.

Rules Of The Game is standard Triad affair. You are getting what it says on the tin. Expect lots of bad-ass knifes getting swung around as nameless gang members are getting chopped and stabbed. The story isn't very original and themes and ideas have been borrowed from other HK gangster flicks. But all this isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you like Triad films then you will like this. It really doesn't glamorise Triad lifestyle at all.

The cast all do a great job. Louis Koo is brilliant as David, full of charisma and comes across as a real bad ass. Alex Fong plays the role of Sing with so much conviction he is almost likeable, even though he commits some horrendous crimes. Kristy Yang lights up her role with charm and innocence. The only real let down is Sam Lee, a brilliant actor that has a role where he doesn't get to shine like his usual self.

Some of the music is fantastic in the montages and the others are downright cheesy. A few of the musical queues are extremely questionable and you have to wonder if this melodrama was supposed to gauge more of an emotional reaction in these scenes.

It all comes down to a conclusion which is half exciting and half a let down. Definitely shocking, but a more satisfying ending is expected after everything that unfolds.

Not the best Triad film, but certainly not the worst. See it for the performances, the wacky story, the violence and have a few beers and enjoy.

6.5/10

See this film if you liked:

Young and Dangerous

Colours of The Loyalty

Jiang Hu (Triad Underworld)

Trailer:

Call of Heroes is coming to select UK Cinemas Sep 2nd!

Benny Chan's latest Hong Kong action film Call of Heroes is getting a select UK cinema release on September 2nd. For a full list of cinemas check out the official website here

Set in 1914 following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the film tells the story of a group of villagers standing up to a cruel young warlord.

Here is a collection of reviews:
The Hollywood Reporter
South China Morning Post
Variety

This looks like it will be a very fun film! My tickets are already booked for opening night.

Police Story Lockdown 2013 Review China 警察故事2013

Police Story: Lockdown (aka Police Story 2013)

Although this entrant is probably the weakest of the Police Story series, it is still a decent dramatic thriller with JC getting to execute his acting chops.

Police Captain Zhong Wen (Chan) knows all about sacrifice. He's always been too busy chasing bad guys to be a father to his daughter, Miao. Tonight however, he's seeing her for the first time in years, and meeting her fiance, club owner, Wu Jiang (Liu Ye, Curse of the Golden Flower). But, Wu has a dark side, and a secret score to settle with his soon-to-be father in law, and plans to take Zhong, Miao and the whole club hostage. Only Zhong can avert the carnage, but is he willing to risk everything to stop this night going down in history?

First you need to realise that Jackie was nearly 60 when this was made. Don't go in expecting his fast paced Kung Fu and incredible stunts. Instead you will get a more dramatic story with some small more grounded action scenes.



Jackie has adopted a MMA style in the sparse fight scenes we get in Lockdown. The main fight being a one on one inside a cage which is hard hitting and brutal. This is actually a very well done fight and the newly adopted style takes any humour out of the fight along with adding believability. The bulk of the action is over by that point, and we don't get the usual big action finale like in old school Jackie films. The end fight is more of a tussle, although it is still executed rather excitingly.

The story is very compelling with twists and turns along the way which all lead up to the big reveal. Although the reveal is exciting, there is too much exposition. There are a lot of flashbacks to explain what happened which can be a little tiresome. In fact this is prominent throughout most of the film. This ends up being convoluted with the villains main plan being questionable.




Police Story Lockdown looks brilliant and has a great style. Director Ding Sheng(Little Big Soldier) has an eye for detail and delivers stylish productions. This puts it ahead of a lot of mainland China and Hong Kong films just in terms of look and visuals. However, the editing in Lockdown is pretty wild, so many quick cuts can be jarring. The fight scenes could have been filmed in this way as Jackie has aged and can’t go as well as he used to. But it's edited like this throughout, even in slow dialogue scenes. It does seem to become less noticeable and persistent as the film progresses.

The main thing to take away from Lockdown is that Jackie is a superb actor. He really delivers those dramatic scenes so well. His face is always full of emotion to the point were if Jackie is sad, then you are sad. Many people have complained there isn't enough action in this film. But Jackie has gave us so much of his health and body over the years that now he can really do whatever the hell he wants. He is getting older and slowing down, but he is an action star who is aging gracefully.

Worth a watch
7/10

Love In A Puff Review 2010 Hong Kong 志明與春嬌

A Hong Kong comedy set during the government introduction of the indoor smoking ban. The plot revolves around the love story of cosmetics sales girl Cherie(Miriam Yeung) and marketing executive Jimmy(Shawn Yue) who meet at an outdoor smoking area and begin to fall for each other.

Director Pang Ho-cheung is well known for his comedies, and Love In A Puff is one of his funniest. A little more tame and subtle than his other hits like Vulgaria and Men Suddenly In Black, but not any less entertaining. It's a great modern slice of Hong Kong which captures perfectly how the natives really talk to each other and go about their daily lives.

The film doesn't rely on a complex plot, it is more about interactions and situations. Very heavy in dialogue, in which most scenes feature workers standing around smoking and chatting. This is made exciting by witty writing which keeps you entertained as the characters tell each other disgusting, embarrassing or scary stories.

Many of the funniest parts of the films are situations the characters accidentally get themselves in to. Such as Jimmy's friend trying to smoke creatively through a takeaway cup. Or the side-splitting moment were the 2 leads get caught smoking by the police in a banned area and try to get off with it by pretending to be Japanese and Korean tourists.

The heart of the story comes down to the love interest between Shawn and Miriam's character. Although it isn't the deepest or most loving relationship we have seen on screen, there is something charming and somewhat cute about how they fall for each other. Both are fantastic actors, and carry the film well. There is an age difference between the two stars which is addressed as part of the story.

An extremely enjoyable modern and real Hong Kong comedy

7.5/10

Matt Damon and Andy Lau team up to fight monsters in 'The Great Wall'

The trailer for The Great Wall has dropped... And it looks insane!

Directed by legendary director Zhang Yimou(House of Flying Daggers/Hero), starring Matt Damon & Andy Lau and featuring an all star international cast of Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal, Eddie Peng and Jing Tian.

When a mercenary warrior (Damon) is imprisoned within The Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of our world.  As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront this unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

The Great Wall is Zhang Yimou's first English language speaking film and is currently the largest budget Chinese film of all time with a budget of $135 million.

Coming to cinemas on February 17th 2017.

Cops And Robbers Review 1979 Hong Kong 點指兵兵

Hong Kong new wave thriller 'Cops and Robbers' is brutal, exciting and very effective.

Sergeant Chan Lap Kei(Wong Chung) leads his team including fresh faced Pretty Boy(Cheung Kwok Keung) on a mission to bring down a gang of bank robbers. Unfortunately their maniacal leader Biu(Hui Bing Sam) manages to escape and goes on a murderous rampage of revenge against the cops and their unsuspecting families.

Directed by Alex Cheung in 1979, this was actually made before the heroic bloodshed era began and it probably helped inspire the likes of John Woo, Johnnie To and Ringo Lam. While having violent and bloody shootouts, Cops and Robbers also focuses on themes of brotherhood and loyalty.

Each character’s story and relationships are built up effectively so when the time come for them to confront the psychopath Biu, you actually care for them. And when characters start getting killed off, it is a genuine worry. The last half hour is incredibly nail biting as it gets more brutal and violent and literally no one is safe.

Director Cheung often let's the story take a back seat while the action unfolds. From violent in your face shoot outs to great chase scenes, there is plenty of action to enjoy. The heist scenes are extremely tense, gritty and realistic. Another real highlight of the film is an incredible foot chase of the cops hunting Biu through a shanty town which is brought to life wonderfully, an intriguing and exciting edge of the seat scene which shows how great a director Alex Cheung is.

All of the actors deliver a fine job, although their performances aren't what captures your interest. Hui Bing Sam does deserve special credit for his role as Biu. He is genuinely one of the most frightening villains in any Cop thriller. He gets more and more psychotic as the story unfolds to the point were he becomes a complete maniac.

Cops And Robbers may be very dated in some ways. Technically speaking, it doesn't look as polished or stylish as recent Hong Kong thrillers. There are also some scenes which would be omitted if this was made now such as the intro with the kids and the musical numbers. But the story, themes and characters are still very relevant to this day and the film still holds up wonderfully while its 90+ minute running time zooms by. Cops And Robbers is definitely due a remastered release before it is lost for good and we are all robbed of a classic.

A must see part of history for Hong Kong cinephiles.

8/10