Friday, June 13, 2008
259 SB SWORDSPLAY '70s : ‘ Death Duel ’
‘ Death Duel ’
Cast : Derek Yee, Candice Yu, Ling Yun, Chen Ping
Director : Chu Yuan
Synopsis
A swordsman vied for supremacy in the martial world, killed several skilful challengers. When he thought he was peerless, a vindictive woman approached him and proclaimed that the top swordsman was ‘Third Master’ who had killed several hundred challengers. Thus he was provoked to challenge ‘Third Master’ in a duel….
A satisfying swordplay epic with the trademarks of director Chu Yuan’s movies: vibrant colors, gorgeous sets and stars-pack cast ( with David Chiang, Ti Lung and Lo Lieh in their cameo roles ).
Rating : 3 stars of 5
258 SB SWORDSPLAY '80s : ‘ Heroes Shed No Tear ‘
‘ Heroes Shed No Tear ‘
Cast : Fu Sheng , Derek Yee , Pai Piao , Yue Hua
Director : Chu Yuan
Synopsis
There was a belief that when a tear appeared on the blade of a legendary sword, there would be massacre in the martial world. Thus, a young swordsman was sent by his master to stop the massacre and he head-started with two renowned clans, which were always at odds with each other….
A typical Chu Yuan fare with dashing performances from all leads especially Derek Yee’s role as a villainous advisor in this Ku Lung’s adaptation.
Rating : 3 stars of 5
257 SB ROMANCE : ‘ Let’s Make Laugh II ‘
‘ Let’s Make Laugh II ‘
Cast : Derek Yee, Joey Wong
Director : Alfred Cheung
Synopsis
A young security guard was assigned to keep a rich man’s son away from his gay pals in a villa. By chance, he met and fell for a pretty loner, a rich merchant’s mistress who stayed next door….
Rating : 2 stars of 5
Thursday, June 12, 2008
256 TAIWAN ROMANCE : ‘ Fly Up With Love ‘
‘ Fly Up With Love ‘
Cast: Chelsia Chan, Chin Hsiang-lin
Director : Chen Yao-qin
Synopsis
A tale about three factory girls, their dreams and romances!
A down-to-earth girl worked hard for money in order to set up her own business. While working in a factory, she fell in love with her handsome colleague but not knowing his true identity and his relationship with the boss’ daughter…
A materialistic girl was desperate for money owing to her poor family . Thus she neglected her poor but faithful lover and befriended a wealthy, flirtatious playboy …
The third was a happy-go-lucky girl whose family arranged her for match-make when she had already a boyfriend....
Adapted from a renowned novel, the movie has a wonderful theme song and a few touching scenes especially with the materialistic girl.
Rating: 3 stars of 5
255 SB DRAMA : ‘Kidnap’
‘Kidnap’
Cast : Lo Lieh , Hu Chin
Director : Cheng Kang
Synopsis
A gas station attendant was humiliated by his boss’ son in a nightclub, thus provoked his anger and plotted to kidnap him.
Lo Lieh excels with his most memorable role in this ‘70s action-drama mega-hit. Director Cheng Kang once again proves his direction flair .
Rating : 4 stars of 5
254 SB DRAMA : ‘ The Kiss Of Death ‘
‘ The Kiss Of Death ‘
Cast : Lo Lieh , Chen Ping
Director : Ho Meng-hua
Synopsis
A tragic tale of a raped victim!
Five hooligans brutally raped a factory worker while she was on her way home one night. The victim discovered that she had contracted a lethal sexually transmitted disease and determined to fight back when she spotted one of the attackers in a nightclub …
Rating : 3 ½ stars of 5
253 SB SWORDSPLAY '70s : ‘ The Protectors ‘
‘ The Protectors ‘
Cast : Lo Lieh, Chang Pei-shang, Yang Ai-hua
Director : Wu Ma
Synopsis
When a security escort discovered his beloved girl fell in love with his fellow colleague, he schemed to set him up by collaborating with a gang of bandits to rob a shipment of silver and made him a scapegoat of the robbery. Then it was up to the righteous knight to protect these silver and single-handedly challenge the treacherous villains …
A classic in terms of the hack-em and slash-em fighting choreography. However, the finale battle seems to end too abruptly and Lo Lieh could be seen using body doubles in a few scenes. The major flaw with this movie is it has only 62 minutes of running time, a very short movie !
Rating : 3 ½ stars of 5
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
252 MUSIC BOX : ' 何日君再来 '
Back in the memory lane ...
... My eyes glisten with tears whenever I hear these songs , for my mum used to sing these very often...
... ' 何日君再来 ' ( fei yu-qing )
--- ' 天上人间 ' ( fei yu-qing )
251 SB SWORDSPLAY '70s : ‘ Heroes Of Sung ’
‘ Heroes Of Sung ’
Cast : Shih Sze, Lo Lieh, Chen Chun
Director : Shen Chiang
Synopsis
When a Sung Dynasty prince was taken captive and guarded by the Chin invaders, he secretly passed his royal seals to two loyal generals, hoping that they could bring the seals to his younger brother to rule the country on his behalf. However, while fighting their way out, the two generals were severely wounded and thus, charged their three disciples with the task to deliver the seals. Then it was up to the three patriots to fight overwhelming odds …
Rating : 3 stars of 5
250 SB KUNG FU : ‘ The Bloody Escape ‘
‘ The Bloody Escape ‘
Cast : Chen Kuan-tai, Shih Sze, Frankie Wei
Director : Sun Chung
Synopsis
A tale about a bandit who rescued a young hostage from the hands of his villainous gang and was later tracked down by them ....
A simple plot with mediocre fighting choreography! . Chen Kuan-tai exudes his charisma again as a bandit with conscience. Shih Sze is refreshing as a damsel-in-distress but not as good as in her Chu Yuan’s movie ‘ The Villains ‘ .
Rating: 2 1/2 stars of 5
249 SB SWORDSPLAY '70s : ‘ The Young Avenger ‘
‘ The Young Avenger ‘
Cast : Shih Sze , Yue Hua
Director : Yueh Feng
Synopsis
While on the way back to her village, an accomplished swordswoman killed several armed villains and got her nickname as ‘ Little Poisonous Dragon ‘. She was back to avenge for her father’s death after his refusal to pass on his famed ‘ Poisonous Dragon Sword ‘ manual to an evil hunchbacked villain…
An intriguing introduction with Shih Sze’s fighting several villains, but the film starts to drag when the evil hunchbacked villain approaches Shih Sze's father for the swordplay manual till young Shih Sze and Yueh Hua seek martial arts training...
Rating : 2 stars of 5
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
248 HK MOVIE '80s : ‘ Hard Boiled ‘
‘ Hard Boiled ‘
Type :
Action
One-word description :
Action-thrills
Stars :
Chow Yun-fat , Tony Leung
Director :
John Woo
About :
While tracking down a triad , an police inspector challenged a conflicted undercover cop. However, the two collaborated to fight a fast and furious battle against their foes…
Main reason to see this movie :
John Woo’s hyper-stylized heroic bloodshed and the two international superstars Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung dashing performances.
Rating :
4 ½ stars of 5
247 SB SWORDSPLAY '60s : ’ Temple Of The Red Lotus ‘
’ Temple Of The Red Lotus ‘
Cast : Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Ping, Lo Lieh, Ling Po
Director : Hsu Cheng-hung
Synopsis
Part I of the 'Red Lotus Temple' Trilogy !
While on the way to his future in-laws’ house, a noble knight witnessed some bandits attacking guards escorting a shipment of gold. He was later wounded by a dart but in the nick of time, a mysterious swordswoman ‘ Scarlet Maid ‘ came to his rescue….
Rating : 3 ½ stars of 5
246 SB SWORDSPLAY '60s : ’ The Twin Swords ‘
’ The Twin Swords ‘
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Ping, Lo Lieh, Ling Po
Director : Hsu Cheng-hung
Synopsis
Part II of ‘ Red Lotus Temple ‘ Trilogy !
In an attempt to rescue some innocents , the sword mates were trapped at the Red Lotus Temple. As they were outnumbered, the husband decided to flee to his in-laws’ family for reinforcements while his wife stayed to battle. Then the mysterious Scarlet Maid re-emerged to aid the heroes ...
Rating : 3 ½ stars of 5
245 SB SWORDSPLAY '60s : ’ The Sword And The Lute ‘
’ The Sword And The Lute ‘
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Ping, Lo Lieh, Ling Po, Yue Hua, Lily Ho, Margaret Hsing Hui
Director : Hsu Cheng-hung
Synopsis
Finale Of 'Red Lotus Temple' Trilogy !
The swords mates were assigned by Scarlet Maid to destroy a deadly lute. However the weapon could only be destroyed by means of his in-laws’ legendary sword, thus they had to return home to accomplish the task. On their way , the weapon was stolen by some villains …
Rating : 3 ½ stars of 5
Monday, June 9, 2008
244 STAR : ' Chang Yi '
(42) ' Chang Yi '
Chang Yi may look gentle and refined in ' The Silent Swordsman ' , but at times he could be aggressive and ferocious as in ' The Crimson Charm '.
With his melancholic look , he played an avenger-in-distress in 'Bells Of Death' ; with his charismatic charm , he played a righteous knight in ' King Cat ' .
Chang Yi , an actor with the 'x-factor' to charm every movie goer in the '60s.
243 SB SWORDSPLAY '60s : ‘ King Cat ‘
‘ King Cat ‘
Cast : Pat Ting Hung, Chiao Chuang, Chang Yi, Lo Lieh, Ching Li
Director : Hsu Cheng-hung
Synopsis
After saving the princess, hero Zhan Zhao was crowned ‘ King Cat ‘ by the emperor. However, his new title had offended the infamous ‘ Five Mice ‘ of the martial world and they were out to mock him by stealing a royal treasure from the palace …
Intriguing plot and great cast with ‘60s swordplay actions !
Rating : 3 1/2 stars of 5
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