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Snoog
Reviews
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
A Classic.
'Dead Man's Shoes' is the fourth full-length feature from Nottingham's Shane Meadows, who in my opinion is one of the best filmmakers in Britain (the world?) today. The film centres on Richard (Considine), a man who has just got out of the army and returned home with his mentally handicapped brother Anthony. Through a series of sketchy flashbacks, it becomes clear that Richard has returned to exact revenge against a band of drug dealing low lives that mistreat his brother while he was away.
During his first night back into town he toys with the gang by stealing their supply of drugs, spray painting their hair whilst they sleep and most comically paints the leader (Gary Strech, who is excellent) up in clown makeup and draws a target on another guys coat with the words "NOB" underneath.
But soon Richard dispenses with the fun and games and his real intentions become clear. As he says in the films memorable and chilling opening line
"God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into heaven
I can't live with that." Destined to become a classic line.
For the first time since the excellent "A Room For Romeo Brass" Meadows once again teams up with old friend Paddy Considine, who puts in a mesmerising and terrifying performance as Richard. Decked out in bell bottoms, his old combat jacket and a gruff beard, coupled with a constant cold look in his eyes; you root for him but at the same time you're scared of him and how far he will go.
During his first confrontation with Herbie, a member of the gang, he simply sits and stares at him whilst he goes about plying pills to two men playing pool. Before suddenly snapping, intimidating Herbie and the viewer.
Herbie: Can I help you mate? Richard: (laid back) Sorry? Herbie: What the f*ck are you looking at? Richard: (Suddenly vicious) You, Ya c**t!
I can't say enough good things about Considine. After seeing "Romeo Brass" he became one of my favourite actors of all time, and with "Dead Man's Shoes" he's secured a position near the top of that list forever.
Toby Kebbel, a relative newcomer, is also superb here. He puts in an amazingly believable performance as Anthony. He plays it just right without going over the top, which is what some would of done, even seasoned pros.
The flashbacks that depict the abuse he suffered at the hands of the gang affected me greatly; how these people take advantage of a mentally handicapped person really does make you feel sick to your stomach. These emotion of these scenes are heightened even more by the use of a scratchy black and white effect, which Meadows said he used because it makes the whole thing seem a bit more like real life, and was inspired after seeing an execution video on the internet that had that same quality.
The soundtrack must get a mention also, comprising of a lot of Warp Records artists (as the film was made with the assistance of Warp-Films) such as Clayhill and Aphex Twin. Also included is a wonderful track from Bonnie Prince Billy, which is in fact the only song he's ever approved for use in a movie. It's a fantastic collection of music, and as Meadows mentions on the films commentary, it all works so well together that it seems more like a score instead of a collection of different artists.
On the whole, this is one of the best movies to come out of Britain in some time (probably since Romero Brass) and it's a pity that our film industry isn't known more for producing films of this style and calibre, instead of being the place that brought you "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones".
Snoog - http://sjcultmovies1.proboards23.com/
The King of the Kickboxers (1990)
Cheesy Martial Arts goodness!
Loren Avedon stars as Jake Donahue
try and guess from the name what his occupation is
yes; correct, he's a cop. Not only that, he's your stereotypical cop on the edge who plays by his own rules, and you can bet that his actions on the streets always have the "mayor up the commissioners a**".
During a visit to Thailand when he was a kid, he witnessed his Kick Boxing champ of a brother get the tar beat out of him by big bad a** Khan (Billy Blanks)
His brother died, and then Jake got a spanking too ("Something to remember me by!" Khan). This event turned Jake into the man he is today
a right p****d off barrel of p**s and vinegar.
After Jake spanks a bit too much a**e whilst undercover, his captain assigns him to investigate a snuff movie racket in Thailand. Whilst viewing a couple of the movies (one of which just so happens to be No Retreat, No Surrender 3 which starred Avedon) he sees Khan, the man who murdered his brother. Goddamn, Donahue really wants this case bad now, the Mother Hubbard has a score to settle
and off to Thailand he goes.
Whilst there he meets Prang (played by good 'ol Keith Cooke) an apparent drunk tramp that once came very close to defeating Khan. And of course, after the usual "No, I will not teach you" tomfoolery, Jake becomes Prangs student to prepare himself for his eventual showdown with Khan in what can only be described as "Kung Fu Thunderdome".
It's all great stuff; you've got all the ingredients for a great b-movie action flick.
Clichéd cop good guy? Yes! Shouty police captain? Yes! Training montage? Yes Cheesy bad guy? Yes! T*t shot? Yes! Swift one liners? Yes! Lots of action & violence? Of course!
The fight scenes are really top notch when compared to other American b-movie fare of the time, they're pretty speedy and intricate
OK so they're not 15 minute long epics, and the 3 foot tall Chinese guy that doubles for Avedon's more acrobatic moves sticks out like a sore thumb, but they're still entertaining. It's just a shame that Keith Cooke doesn't get more to do, but what he does do is fantastic. During his main fight scene he shows off his trademark kicking skills with lightning fast accuracy with no signs of under cranking. As Robert Clouse once said, "Cooke is a fast with his feet as Bruce Lee was with his hands," I certainly wouldn't argue with that.
Avedon is someone I've always thought was a great on screen fighter, and very underrated too. He's fast and looks very powerful, although his occasional screams of fury and taunts can be a little on the Edam side of things, but ah, it just adds to the charm of the movie in my opinion
if I wanted top quality acting I would be watching something else wouldn't I?
Of course we can't leave out Mr Tae Bo Billy Blanks, yes before he made his fortune with his work out videos he was starring in movies like this. He's great in the movie, sneering constantly, speaking like a robot and kicking plenty a**e. He's a big fella and apart from some occasional cheese, he can be quite intimidating at certain points of the movie.
I can heartily recommend this, depending on your preferences you'll either be grinning from ear to ear or cringing and frowning till your face looks like an anus.
(Taken from my forum - http://sjcultmovies1.proboards23.com)
Hong chang fei long (1990)
Great fun...
From 'Naked Killer' director Clarence Fok, comes this adaptation of the famous/infamous 'Crying Freeman' Manga. Although, this isn't a 100% accurate adaptation, unlike Christopher Gans 'Crying Freeman' movie, which I thought was pretty spot on.
The basic premise is here
man gets kidnapped by assassins, gets brainwashed and turned into a precise and deadly assassin
who sheds a tear for his victims (well, here he only does it once but whatever) But Fok has added his own touches to his take on the story, like the "Master Of The Dead" character (who I don't think was in the Anime/Manga
all I remember was some crusty old woman), the change of the girlfriend instead of a stranger being the catalyst for Freeman's rebellion, and bouts of comedy.
Ah, the comedy aspects, do they work or not? In moderation, yes, but for me, there was too much comedy here. This kind of story really commands a serious tone, but when you've got Sam Hui being dragged around by his feet every ten minutes and the Master Of The Dead looking like the Wicked Witch Of The West...and sounding like her too, it kind of ruins it a bit
for me anyway.
But, this is really a small complaint because what is the main attraction here is the action, which is top notch indeed. Choreographed by Yuen Tak (who plays the Master Of The Dead and Hui's assistant) the fights are fast, furious and damn fun to watch. It's not all kung fu, there are some car chases and the odd shoot out to behold too.
The cast all perform very well, from Hui as Yao Lung, the eponymous "Dragon From Russia", to the ever great Maggie Chueng as his long suffering girlfriend. Fan favourite Dean "have some more water now ya bastid" Shek turns up at the start of the film to set up the kidnapping of Lung. It's always nice to see Sir Shek.
Also Yuen Wah makes a brief but satisfying appearance as the masked variant of the 'Master Of The Dead' during the scenes in Russia
why the character is played by two people I don't know, I'll have to check the audio commentary, but it's always nice to see Yuen Wah kick some arse.
Fans of 'Crying Freeman' (if they haven't already seen this) will be happy to see a number of scenes wonderfully recreated, for example...Freeman's first job outside of the hotel, the assassination of the Japanese boss after the conference, and said Boss's wife getting it on with the cop
although, it's not as rampant as it was in the anime, and there's no 'erection/comedic gulp' moment
which was a shame.
I did enjoy this quite a bit, although I did find the plot a bit messy and hard to follow at times, as things happen quite fast it's hard to keep track. It's not a masterpiece, but it's damn fun. Worth getting ahold of just for the fight scenes alone...
(Taken from my forum - http://sjcultmovies1.proboards23.com)
San ging chaat goo si (2004)
A return to form for Mr Chan.
It was quite exciting when the news hit that Jackie Chan's next Hong Kong vehicle had "police story" in the title, fans like myself were hoping for a journey back to the classic days of Chan. Well, we don't quite get that, but what we do get is the best Hong Kong made film that Chan has put his name to since Drunken Master 2.
Chan plays Wing, a down and out alcoholic cop who blames himself for the death of his team a few years earlier. He drinks constantly, and is having trouble keeping things together with his girlfriend. In steps little Nicholas Tse as Fung, apparently Wings new partner...But of course, being the miserable drunk that Wing is he doesn't really take an instant liking to Fung.
Fung and Wing are assigned to take down a group of young terrorists, the same group that killed Chan's team. The group (Led by Daniel Wu) are a bunch of rich kids who rob and kill their way around Hong Kong, not because they have to, but just out of sheer hatred for adults and authority.
Chan, for the first time since 'Crime Story', plays a character that isn't just a mirror image of himself for a change. The opening scene has him getting s**t-faced in a bar, staggering home and puking his guts out in a back alley. Not really something you could imagine Ka Kui of the original Police Story series doing. In fact, it's rare that you ever see Chan near alcohol in his movies (with the exception of Drunken Master of course); I think once or twice I saw him sip a beer.
I think that finally Chan is taking chances with his acting, and not worrying what his fan base will think of him. I mean he's in his 50's now; it's about time he took a bit of a chance and branched out. As much as I love Chan, it does get a bit annoying when almost all of his movies has him as some happy go lucky nice guy. Go on son, you go drink whiskey and vomit! Yes! The rest of the cast is rather good too; Nicholas Tse is someone I'm becoming a fan of. Yes true, he's one of those pretty boy actors, but he can actually pull off a decent performance, but he does get annoying when he keeps saying "Yo that's my man"
could of done without that.
Charlie Yueng, who I didn't even recognise at first, is also good as Wings long suffering girlfriend. I say I didn't recognise her because I'm so used to her as the crazy, dread locked, jilted girl friend, who's always screaming and shouting in Wong Kar Wai's 'Fallen Angels'. I had to actually double check to see if it was the same Charlie Yueng.
Daniel Wu, is someone I have always been 50/50 about, sometimes he's cool and menacing but other times he just chews the scenery like it's covered in custard. The man speaks very good English, but I think when he tries to act in English he comes off as very cheesy and OTT. He was the same way in 'Gen-X Cops'. But I will say his performance in the penultimate scene was spot on.
Director Benny Chan, who previously directed 'Who Am I?' starring Jackie and the Jackie Chan produced 'Gen X Cops' starring Tse and Wu, does a fine job here. Giving the film a sharp modern look, but keeping things a little gritty when it comes to the action or drunken Chan chucking up his whiskey in an alley.
Now then, action, what is the action like? Well there's nothing here that's as groundbreaking as the mall fight in the original Police Story, but this isn't trying to be a rehash of the original, it is it's own movie. There are plenty of great stunts to be had, like a long chase scene that goes all over Hong Kong; there's a bus crashing all over the place (something that does sort of link back/pay homage to PS 1+2) people roller blading off of buildings, plenty of carnage.
The flashback to the demise of Chan's team is a great sequence, with Chan going toe to toe with one of the gang in order to save his teams life. A great little fight, with some nifty wire work thrown in now and then. Don't worry though, it's not OTT in the wire department, it's basically used to make kicks seem a little more powerful. Then there's the rematch in the finale, which takes place in a Lego showroom of all places. These are not 15 minute long knock down, drag out affairs, but more sharp and short bursts of Kung Fu action, more than enough to keep you happy though.
I really like 'New Police Story'; it is definitely a nice return to form for Chan after recent let downs like 'The Medallion' and 'Shanghai Knights'. It has a few problems, but nothing too major. And for those fans of the 'Lucky Stars' movies, keep an eye out for John Sham near the beginning of the movie in a small cameo.
(Taken from my forum - http://sjcultmovies1.proboards23.com)
The Voice Inside (2001)
If you start hearing voices like this, take my advice and listen to them....
This extremely impressive short movie is one of the darkest and disturbing shorts i've seen in a long time.
Shot in wonderfully crisp black and white, it tells the story of a young man and the voice inside his head, which torments him and refuses to be repressed with medication. And when our protagonist speaks up against the voice and talks back to it...well, the voice isn't too happy....to say the least, and goes about teaching him a lesson in a sort of extremely cruel and sadistic "respect your elders" kinda way hehe.
What follows is really quite shocking, but also darkly comic (like blacker than black dark)
Certainly worth watching if you're a fan of extreme cinema, and especially if you're a fan of films like Eraserhead and Tetsuo: The Iron Man, as the dark subject matter and black and white cinematography tend to remind you of them. (The reason i saw it in the first place is because I'm a big Tetsuo fan, and heard that this film had been compared to it in the past)
Enjoy....