Six Strong Guys (2004)

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Posted on September 13, 2004 by Eugene

How exactly does one start reflections about a film titled Six Strong Guys when there with only really four main characters? Should one start with the rationalisation that there are two supporting men to make up the half dozen? Or perhaps conclude that they couldn’t make the other two interesting (or short) enough to fit into the movie?

Well the fact of the matter is Six Strong Guys basically the story of four men so self absorbed that they consider … (read more)

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Dhoom (2004)

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Posted on August 28, 2004 by Eugene

What is it about Bollywood films that keeps on drawing me back to go watch them?

Oh, that’s right, the fact I have to review them.

Well, Dhoom is the latest Bollywood action flick to arrive upon our southern shores aaannd… ? Well, I have to say Indians certainly know how to put together a really decent stage show.

For a film, well, I’m sure I’m missing something because it really just doesn’t click as a wholly memorable cinematic experience. … (read more)

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Dead End Run (2003)

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Posted on August 19, 2004 by Alison

Ishii Sogo is what I would call a Rorschach director: he makes films that are often as incomprehensible as those ink blots used in psychological testing, but which can tell a great deal about you by your reaction to them. It follows that Ishii’s films are not enjoyed by everyone, and can be lauded as ‘excellent fun’ or condemned as ‘weird and boring’.

As described in the synopsis, each sequence begins with a chase down an alley. After a little … (read more)

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Three of a Kind (2004)

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Posted on August 12, 2004 by Alison

Three actors, four stories, no continuity.

How could they do this?!?

What were they thinking?!?

It starts well, at least enough to dull suspicion. Devoted aide (Yeung) secretly in love with playboy boss (Lau). Cantankerous, writers-blocked father (Hui) who hasn’t written a book in ten years. Assorted minor characters of a humorous bent. Then it all goes to hell, complete with handbasket. Or, in the case of Hui, complete with sword and straw veiled hat.

About every twenty minutes, the … (read more)

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High Risk (1995)

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Posted on August 12, 2004 by Mark Morrison

Wong Jing launches a not-thinly-veiled-at-all satiric broadside at Jackie Chan in this amusing action movie. Frankie (Jacky Cheung) is a womanising alcoholic action superstar who no longer does his own stunts; Kit (Jet Li) is a member of his stunt team, and habitually takes the fall for him. Kit is also an ex-cop; he left the force after he failed to save his wife, child and a busload of schoolchildren from a mad bomber. Lo and behold, the self-same mad … (read more)

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Dragon Head (2003)

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Posted on August 7, 2004 by Alison

For the first fifteen minutes of this film, Teru falls over. A lot. Really. Granted, he does have reason: he’s one of three survivors of a huge (and very fast: they don’t call them bullet trains for their size) train smash. He’s stumbling over the rubble and the corpses, looking for others and a way out. But you’ll soon be clenching the arms of your seat and urging the boy to just walk, dammit!

He does recover his motor skills, … (read more)

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Bright Future (2003)

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Posted on July 28, 2004 by Alison

Everyone needs a goal in life, and that of Mamoru (played by the very tasty Asano Tadanobu) is to adapt his red medusa jellyfish to fresh water and set it free. A lovely goal, except for the fact that the things are highly poisonous, and he wants to liberate his in the waterways of Tokyo.

But despite what the director says, this is not a monster film. There are no giant red jellyfish lurching out of the canals to menace … (read more)

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He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994)

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Posted on July 17, 2004 by Ching Yee

He’s A Woman, She’s A Man is a classic. 8 years ago, I saw this in a packed session at the Mercury Cinema in Adelaide [back when they used to show the latest HK movies], and grandmas and rutgrats were jostling each other to get a seat. I tried jostling too but they were too tough for me those venerable grandmothers and tenacious kids.

Upon my second viewing last night without the need for jostling or extended family audience, I … (read more)

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