Reviews

Im not a fan of war films as a rule, Full Metal Jacket I liked a lot, and platoon, and for different reasons Apocalypse Now and Casualties of War, but I wouldnt necessarily label the last two as war movies, it was more that they had a wartime setting. The same I guess can be said of Tigerland, its not a war film, literally because its actually set in a boot camp, but more so its a tale of bravery and belief, of individuality, kindness and human spirit. Which is not to say thats its in any way sentimental or nice, its as gritty as they come.

There is no glitzy photography here, no soldiers on their knees arms in the air as bullets pass through them or lush forests torn apart by human savagery. Just grainy camera work, sometimes moving so fast or in lighting so dark its hard to keep up with, raw powerfull acting from a cast of generally unknown young men and a kind of documentary feel to it.

Joel Schumacher breaks all the rules he laid down in his previous movies and gives us something totally different, brutally honest in its damnation of the army and the way it tries to dehumanize its soldiers, very real feeling, and thought provoking and lacking completely in special effects. Its often a very funny movie, but in the kind of dark humour often associated with such macabre subject matter.

Although It does bring up a lot of interesting ideas and really gets you questioning the morality of war - the main character outstandingly played by Farrel is an anti-war young draft who seems intent on breaking rank, pulling crazy stunts and generally upsetting every senior official in boot camp in protest at the war, more importantly Bozz just wants to stay alive.. not in the physical sense but the spiritual, he is determined not to become desensitized and machine-like as the rest of his platoon, and the story shows how Bozz's thirst for freedom and his belief in the human spirit affects those around him.

Its hard to ignore also that its just as good a piece of entertainment because it never gets boring or drawn out with set pieces and loud bangs as movies about vietnam often are. So dont go assuming its one for the intellectuals and see it as a piece of entertainment as i did and even if it doesn't really impress and suprise you as it did me, you wont have lost anything in seeing it.

The soundtrack is haunting in the way that these kind of movies always are, and as ever its fitting. The photography is very good and really does give it that raw and real feel as i mentioned previously.

Where this movie really comes into its own is in the storyline and the acting. A very strong script, and suprisingly in a done to death genre very original helps but the young actors really do give it their all too. Colin Farrel is a name to watch out for his performance here is outstanding. Matthew Davies is also very good and Shea Whigham gives a plausible if not quite Brando performance as the platoon psychopath, driven mad with jealousy and rage before the war even begins.

I think this is another part of the story that provokes idea, we never actually see the recruits during the war, and somehow we know as bad as things are, theyre going to get even worse, and thats a very clever anti-war message wether intentional or not, because if the viewer is even remotely turned off by the idea of being dragged into war by their country by the end of the movie then the thought of what they havent seen and what is still to come will terrify them.

I recognise that a lot of films set out to make you think, and I believe thats a good thing, but when a film becomes too pretentious and second year college kids are talking about the hidden meaning and beauty of it all it kinda ruins the effect, (i know i know ive been saying how meaningfull this movie is, but this is just a review and i dont intend to base my life on it and i dont intend to try and impress people talking about it, im just going to tell them it was excellent :P). Thankfully this movie isnt like that at all. Wether your looking for an intelligent social commentary or just plain good old fashioned entertainment without being too preachy or pretentious then this movie is excellent and I urge you to give it a view.

Its witty, exciting, intelligent and theres just enough sh*t being blown up to please everyone ;)

10/10

Its hard and sad to believe this film will never be truly appreciated, even after the success of crouching tiger there wont be too many people interested in viewing this. Its a very sad day for movies when a film like this is so limited in reaching an audience.

The cinematography is so simple sometimes that its breath-taking. The early scene of the young swordsman against a backdrop of a golden sky slicing through falling pink petals beneath a molting tree is perfection on the eye, just stunning, and never i dont think has a woman looked more beautiul than bridgitte lin as the mysterious witch bathing in a cavernous pool.

The storytelling is so grand, so innocent, so perfect that all hollywood "epics" pale in significance, and the acting is of a high quality to match.

Essentially its a martial arts/swordplay/fantasy/love story but in such a refreshing way it almost fails to fall into any of these genres. Rich in history and traditionalism yet something entirely fresh - remember this is 1993, before Ang Lee brought flying Wudan warriors and epic swordplay to the attention of the public. It should be noted that this has been part of chinese cinema for over a decade, but Bride With The White Hair puts it in an entirely different context to the likes of the Tsui Hark Directed Once Upon A Time In China series.

Not to give too much away but by the end even the hardest of hearts will break and at the very least some of the imagery will stay with you for a long long time - i never thought something visualised on a screen could be so beautiful as everyday sights, but somehow its managed - i have no hesitation in saying this is the best cinematography i have ever seen, and any student of camera work or direction should watch it as a piece of art, or more, a work of art. But please judge it on its merits to touch, involve and entertain the audience too, because it does all these things effortlessly

Outstanding

5/5

I was a little wary before watching this movie, because generally i find comic books do not fare well in the transition to the screen, usually they tend to lack something on film. I gave it a try though mainly because i had confidence in the ability of Ekin Cheng having enjoyed him in the Young And Dangerous series.

All I can say is I should have never feared, everything about this movie is awesome. Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok were born to play the roles of "Wind" and "Cloud" and Cinema Legend Sonny Chiba is nothing less than perfect as the evil Conqueror, even the beautiful Shi Qu has a part! With a budget bigger than anything seen in Hong Kong previous, a comic book as the basis for the plot and a subject matter steeped so deeply in fantasy that you must check your beliefs in at the door it could have been so easy to make a mess of this movie.

Fortunately, it avoided all the common mistakes, maybe a little too special effects heavy, but that criticism also comes with an acknowledgement that it would have been difficult to make it anything but, considering the subject. Filled with a thrilling and moving love triangle, monsters and wizards, sword, sorcery, dragons, kung fu and special fighting skills straight out of street fighter this has enough diversity to satisfy fans of any number of genres. The cinematography is excellent and the special effects would even put a lot of hollywood budgets to shame.

The story briefly concerns two orphans, "Wind" and "Cloud" who are abducted by the evil Conqueror to fulfil a long written prophecy that the two would help his unparalleled powers to an even greater plateau. Training them in the martial arts The Conqueror uses the two heroes to enforce his domination and his plans to rule the world. A problem though comes when both men fall for the Conqueror's daughter, Charity. The only way the two rivals in love can stop the Conqueror's plans and avenge their families is to become one and fulfil a prophecy in which the students defeat their master.

The film is breathtaking as the fantasy unfolds bringing to the screen an epic that hollywood could only dream of. Excellent

PLEASE NOTE: The international version of this movie, running at 90 mins while still very good misses much of the plotline from the movie, it is very heavily edited and thus becomes in parts confusing, also the dubbing of the movie loses dialogue and sentence structure of the subtitled cut. If at all possible see the Original version, or even better still, the Directors Cut which runs 40 mins longer at 130 mins and develops everything much better and has a run time that ties things up nicely and befits such an epic production. I was lucky enough to find the Collectors Edition 2 disc dvd featuring both the Directors Cut and International Version, you should be able to pick it up on Region 2 DVD from Amazon.co.uk or Blockbuster.co.uk. RATING: Directors Cut- 9.5/10 International Version- 8/10 (marked so because it lacks the continuity and depth)

Bruce Lee will probably always be remembered and referred to as the greatest Screen martial artist of all time, and his most famous movie probably The Chinese Connection AKA Fist Of Fury, the movie that Fist Of Legend remakes, or the story at least. I would love to have had the chance to see Bruce and Jet square off because im not sure the outcome would be so clear. In this remake Jet surpasses even the Dragon himself, and i say this in all respect to Bruce.

The story is well known, but this remake goes deeper in probing the racial conflict in japanese occupied china. Jet plays folk legend Chen Zen, famously out to avenge the death of his master by seemingly fighting every japanese martial artist in the world, while at the same time battling racism not just from the japanese but his own people.

Yuen Woo Ping is famed for his fight sequences and use of wires, but in this movie wires are used in no more than two or three scenes, while the movie still retains the classic martial arts fights, in barren landscapes and courtyards of kung fu schools. Thus this is probably the greatest showcase yet of the incredible talents of Jet. Without the use of wires jet can move more freely and more realistially and while it cannot be denied that you must have great talent to work a wire to your advantage as jet did in the once upon a time series, this really shows us just what jet is capable of everyday, and boy, what a talent.

The showdown with the japanese karate master in the hills where jet's character comes to live is beautifully choregraphed, packed with skill, gracefull like a deadly ballet and totally natural, the way great martial arts should be, absolutly awe inspiring. The same can be said for every fight sequence in this movie, all left me gasping, all left me full of admiration, not just for jet who i have long believed to be possibly the greatest talent in martial arts today or any other time, but for his opponents.

Great story, amazing fight sequences, fluent direction, smooth cinematography... it might not be as great or as grand in narration as Once Upon a Time in China or Crouching Tiger, but this is one of the greatest martial arts film ever, and accessable to everyone. One of my Jet Li favourites along with OUATIC2 and Tai Chi Master (AKA Twin Warriors)and definetly one of my all time favourites.

Two of the finest martial artists still working in action cinema (Jackie Chan in my opinion lost skill in favor of gimmick in the late 1980's) the always incredible Jet Li and the fantastic Donnie Yen (New Big Boss, Iron Monkey, New Dragon Inn) combine with the director who almost single handedly re-invented the genre Tsui Hark and arguably the greatest action choreographer of all time Yuen Woo Ping (crouching tiger, iron monkey, the matrix)to create a powerhouse of a martial arts movie. What it lacks overall in action it more than makes up for in the fight sequences that do take place. Jet and Donnie is a mouth watering prospect and they do not dissapoint. I dont care if wires were used, it takes someone extremely special to perform like these two guys do and you can do little but watch in awe.

The plot is pretty thin so I wont waste time going into it. I will merely say, see this movie, just to experience and appreciate what Jet Li can really do, before hollywood softens him up even more. The fight with the leader of the White Lotus Cult is almost forgotten between the two showdowns with donnie, but wow, just incredible

Jet Li takes on the much played role of legendary real life martial arts master Wong Fei Hung in this new breed of martial arts movie that launched a thousand clones. Directed by well respected Tsui Hark, its rich with visuals and storyline adding substance to an often empty if entertaining genre. But, fans of action will be in no way disapointed either.

Set in turn of the century China it follows Fei Hung, the beautiful Aunt 13 played by the ever lovely Rosamund Kwan and some lively characters from the local militia Fei Hung trains as they attempt to come to terms with a cultural revolution in a country steeped so deeply in tradition. The Americans, the British, both present new enemies to Fei Hung as they attempt to bring their culture to China and force it upon the people, while sweeping aside anyone who dares oppose. In the middle of it all, a martial arts master with a point to prove decides he must beat Fei Hung to prove himself as the best, setting the scene for an incredible final battle using incredible wirework and a seen to be believed ladder sequence.

Jet Li is devastating in this movie, his skill, his speed, his grace, all put to incredible effect in one amazing fight sequence after another, high flying, high kicking..... some of the stunts took incredible degrees of skill even with wire, it makes the action in crouching tiger look like a pale immitation, which in a way it is, even though its still a great film.

One thing to watch out for is when Jet Li is fighting at the theatre while the troops working under the command of the foreigners open fire on the audience, not only extremely harrowinng but in the ensuing fight Jet performs a 540 degree spin kick, ending in the splits, done without the use of wires.... one of the most incredible things i've ever seen, this boy is a phenomenal talent, its a shame hollywood is out to ruin him =(

The fact that this had a limited release here in the UK is nothing short of criminal. I can understand that a lot of people wouldnt like this movie, after all with so many of todays films being popcorn entertainment the appeal of a film designed to rock your mind and get you questioning everthing you have seen is limited perhaps. But this is certainly a film you will remember long after you have seen it, there is no short term memory loss in that area. It sucks you in, and just when your comfortable that your beginning to understand and piece together the random pieces of the jigsaw you see on the screen it ties your brain up in knots while you least suspect with one killer twist after another, and while your busy unraveling the knots proceeds to do the same thing again. Even though things apparently start to become clear you soon find out they are not, nothing is as it seems, and you really do thanks to excellent editing get a feel for the kind of condition leonard has. The genius way this film is put together (like i said a huge complex jigsaw) means you see a scene (for example scene A) that has little relevance you think to the plot..... but, nothing is as it seems, and a few minutes later another scene starts (scene C perhaps), but, this scene ends where scene A began earlier. Slowly putting together the pieces. Its difficult to explain and if that confused you i apologise, but thats the way the movie twists and turns along, and this is in no way a criticism. It really is something that has to be seen to be believed because the way it all fits together from fragments of memory is extremely clever and also very fitting to the premise of the movie and cannot be explained by the viewer, quite simply because they struggled to understand it too, and/or question what they saw or percieved to see. AGHHHH im rambling again, do you see what i mean? Forget the matrix, they should have saved the tagline they used there for this movie. Anyone interested in cinema, anyone who likes to have their minds messed with or appreciates first rate storylines/twists, directing and editing should see this movie. Its a shame this movie isnt more mainstream because it deserves the attention, yet the irony of it is the beauty of this movie is the elements which prevent it being such. I very rarely comment on a movie, only when i felt i had to tell people what a fantastic experience it was. So take that as an indication of my thoughts on this movie.

10/10

A few people recommended this movie and i noted the name but never made a big deal of it because i'd never heard of it. Browsing through the late night movies on cable last night i noticed it was showing so decided to check it out... boy am i glad i did. Its absurdly cool, very funny and dripping violent gunplay. Two Irish-American brothers kill two russian mafia henchmen in self defence and find themselves minor celebrities amongst the locals and the police, meeting gay FBI agent Willem Defoe (in a classic role) at the same time. The brothers then find themselves with the equipment and motive to start a crusade to rid the streets of Boston of "evil" men. Joined by a small time mafia "runner" called Rocco (looking suspiciously like a thin Mick Foley ;) )they take down mafia members and lowlifes one by one all the while being pursued by Defoe's FBI agent and hired gun "The Duke" (the awesome Billy Connoly). Their quest for their own brand of justice leads to many very violent scenes, but done in the kind of cool well choreographed way of so many other modern action/criminal films, but somehow managing to seem original and outclassing them all in the cool stakes, but its hard to ignore the humor of this movie too, both in dialog and situation and the breakneck yet laid-back pace of the story (i dont know if that makes sense but it will when u see the movie). Some of Defoe's dialog in particular and the scene with the cat, are very very funny. I guess there are points in the movie i could criticise but right now i cant think of any. One of the best movies i have seen in a long long long time. Personally, i loved it

5/5

this film was ummmm junk yes if you love blood and gore you will not be disappointed theres some sick gruesome twisted stuff in this little puppy however granted it is shot on camcorder with no budget BUT sorry its still crap if this was made with a better budget, decent acting and without the dodgy 80's metal soundtrack, this could be a corker of a film cos the killings are unique and extremely nasty and bloodthirsty in the right hands this could be an awesome, brutal texas chainsaw/psycho crossbreed with a bite like a rabid dog instead its a mess heh at least half the title got it right (oh and theres evidence of there being a first one so i guess its a third of the title =)....) 2/10 (cos the karate dude knew his stuff for a neighbour of the director or whatever he was)

dude this film rocked i bought the uncut version from laserdisc to vhs transfer the whole thing is in mandarin and i never understood a word spoken but the violence and action doesnt hold off long enough to matter and from what i saw of the plot the story was weak anyway but this film is purely for entertainment its sick, violent, brutal and extremely funny watch it with your friends with some beers and laugh yourselves silly and be amazed at some of the over the top fight sequences

WOW

thats all i can say i wont give the best scenes away but suffice to say that dude could make millions under Don King with a punch like that!!!!!!

find it, buy it, watch it , love it if you dont like it then hey you just took it too seriously lighten up man

10/10

im not gonna go on and on about the blair witch similarities im not gonna go on about how this is the sickest film ever made hey guess what im not even gonna say how unnecessary the animal killings were instead im gonna tell you the way it is Personally i love this movie even though i have a hard time watching it and even though its a hard movie to watch over and over i guess its a love hate thing with this movie no middle of the road its one extreme or the other wether you feel this movie was sick enough for you or not is a matter of taste but dont degrade it as overhyped violence cos it shouldnt be judged by what you see but the ideas behind it so what if the effects arent realistic enough for you when the native is raped with the rock the idea is shocking enough for it not to have to look real to all you special fx experts so what if you didnt like the message or didnt get the message - if you were looking for it you knew it was there so whats the point its not gonna shock you. the irony of all this is that whether you loved it or hated you all felt strongly enough to comment on it in one extreme or the other in my eyes that makes this a brilliant movie, because whether you thought it was the best of its kind or the worst piece of trash ever, just try to forget it. Thats the power of this movie and i urge everyone to see it

Ok let me point something out first this film is banned to hell in the UK in the US or wherever your local video store may have a copy or be able to get one - but dont bother you can probably get it from european horror specialists but dont bother either. The version i have contains the infamous (amongst people who know about this film) and totally sick twisted and brilliant surgery/amputation without anaesthetic scene and all the other nasty gore stuff its from a malaysian tape and its supposed to be the only uncut print available if you can find this version with a GOOD picture quality (i bought three prints of this version from 3 different companies before i found a good copy) then get it cos the only way to enjoy and appreciate this film is to see it how it was meant to be seen its surreal, weird sometimes a little boring but its a terrifying sick twisted trip into the minds of sadistic people Victor Janos has made a gem of a movie out of nothing, and while the acting or the effects arent oscar material, damn this film doesnt disappoint gorehounds or fans of psychological thrillers (i like both) like i said get the uncut print, i dont know how much more footage is missing from the other prints aside from the surgery thing but thats worth trawling the net for alone it has to be seen to be believed.

9/10

Kevin Smith can do no wrong. Since the hilarious Clerks, I have been a fan of his and especially Jay and Silent Bob. When they returned (however briefly) in this movie it automatically earned at least a five. Having seen the movie though what Smith has produced here is perhaps his finest moment. A love story with a twist and a brain. Some people may take offense at some of the dialogue but no one can deny it is very funny. It is also refreshing to see romance from both a male and female perspective and also not turned into a total girl fest. An intelligent piece of film making to see with your friends or your lover equally, just don't make Ben Affleck's mistake of trying to combine the two!!!

If ever a Movie was made in total bad taste then this is it. Anthony Wong plays a Hong Kong waiter/chef who kills his boss and moves to South Africa. Once there he rapes a native woman infected by the Ebola virus. Our anti-hero is of course 1 in a million, a person who is immune to the disease and instead becomes a carrier. After killing his new boss and his bullying wife, he makes burgers out of their corpses and infects the customers at his restaurant, before moving back to Hong Kong with the daughter of his first boss in tow, seeking revenge for her parents murder years earlier. Wong at first unknowingly, and later on purpose goes on infecting what seems like half the world by sexual intercourse, spitting on them, bleeding on them and sneezing near them. All the while the police are trying to catch him to stop the spread further. This film is a sick, nasty and totally hilarious suspense/comedy/thriller, packed with sex and gore. Brilliant! I loved it.