Reviews written by Kevin Kennedy
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Best & Covers (2CD+DVD)(Hong Kong Version)
Best & Covers (2CD+DVD)(Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$18.49Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:November 5, 2009 Put on your dancing shoesShimatani Hitomi was almost entirely new to me; before buying this collection, I had heard only the first track from the "Cover Best" disc. This, however, is such a generous compilation, offering 26 songs and a DVD of 17 videos, that I figured I would take a chance. And I'm glad I did.
Miss Shimatani has a strong, clear voice and seems comfortable singing in a variety of styles. The sixteen song Original Best disc features lots of catchy, infectious dance tracks. Indeed, it actually overdoes the dance tracks. Of the sixteen songs, fourteen of them are uptempo numbers and, after a while, all those whomping dance beats become quite numbing. I recommend that this disc be played just a few songs at a time for optimal appreciation. The two ballads on this disc are terrific; they left me longing for more of them.
Many of the ten tracks on the Cover Best disc will be familiar to even casual fans of J-Pop. I love this disc! With its great diversity of rhythms, tempos, and arrangements, it really shows off Miss Shimatani's vocal chops. She makes these cover versions just different enough from the originals to make for fascinating listening.
The DVD contains 17 tracks, including all of the songs from the Original Best disc and the cover of the Kiroro song. I really appreciated this DVD -- not just because Miss Shimatani is easy on the eyes, but because watching these videos really helped me to distinguish among all of those dance tracks from the Original best disc. All in all, this is a sweet package at a nice price for all J-Pop otaku.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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The World Sinks Except Japan (Hong Kong Version)
The World Sinks Except Japan (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:November 3, 2009 Silly disaster film parodyIn "The World Sinks Except Japan", seismic shifts cause one continent after another to sink beneath the oceans. Only Japan is left above water and it is to Japan that the world's refugees flock. This disaster film parody has a great premise and takes delight in skewering corrupt politicians, Japanese xenophobia, the pomposity of Hollywood movie stars, and other themes.
Unfortunately, the film suffers from crummy production values and dreadful performances by some of its amateurish cast. Comedy usually requires dialogue to be delivered at breakneck speed. Comic dialogue is like table tennis; the conversational ball needs to be batted back and forth sharply and deftly. Here, however, the dialogue too often is delivered much too slowly, draining the comedic energy from the scenes.
Intermittently amusing, "The World Sinks Except Japan" is worth a look. Its conceptual humor often is hilarious. However, in between the bits that work, there is an awful lot that, through poor execution, simply doesn't work.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Slave Love (AKA: 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Slave Love (AKA: 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:November 1, 2009 Occasionally funny mess of a movie"Slave Love" (or "100 Days with Mr. Arrogant") has a premise which conceivably could be amusing and has committed performances by its two attractive and talented lead actors, but it squanders these assets with a chaotic story and a host of truly disgusting gross-out humor. Disconsolate after breaking up with her boyfriend, Ha Young (Ha Ji Won) kicks a pop can lying on the road; the can then smacks Hyung Joon (Kim Rae Won) on the noggin, causing him to crash his expensive car. He demands repayment for his damages, but high school student Ha Young has no money. Consequently, Hyung Joon seeks repayment in services, forcing Ha Young to become his 'slave' for 100 days. In more skillful hands, this set-up could have been mined for comic gold, but here the story is allowed to stray on pointless tangents that wreck the film's pacing.
My favorite parts of the movie are Ha Young's wildly comic fantasy sequences; Ha Ji Won shows off an impressive gift for physical comedy. Unfortunately, the film-making here is so ham-handed and some of the humor is so tasteless that the movie is unsuitable for children and unlikely to appeal to many adults.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Otoko wa Tsurai yo - Tora-san's Talk-of-the-Town (22nd Story) (DVD) (HD Remastered) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Otoko wa Tsurai yo - Tora-san's Talk-of-the-Town (22nd Story) (DVD) (HD Remastered) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(1)Our Price: US$44.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:November 1, 2009 Solid entry in the Tora-San series"Tora-San's Talk of the Town", the 22nd film in the series, is a prototypical Tora-San movie. The film begins with a funny dream sequence featuring 'Tora Buddha' showering riches and good health on his family. Then, over the title sequence, we once again see Tora walking by the Edogawa causing a ruckus as he returns to his home. Naturally, once he returns home it doesn't take long for him to stir up trouble there. And, of course, Tora will encounter a great beauty and fall head over heels in love with her. We see these elements over and over again in the Tora-San films -- and yet they never lose their charm, they never fail to engage us and cause us, once again, to laugh and cry along with Tora's family.
Tora's uncle is bothered by back pains. The family decides to ease his burden by hiring someone to help out at Toraya and do the delivery work. They are stunned when Sanae (Ohara Reiko), a pretty, professional-looking young woman, shows up to apply for the job. She is hired and is embraced by the entire family. But Sanae harbors a secret. She is married, but she is separated from her husband, who she acknowledges to be a decent man, and is seeking a divorce. Tora's family is shocked. (One wishes the story might have explored Japanese perceptions of the morality of this nice woman divorcing a good man.) Tora, naturally, falls in love with Sanae. And she turns Tora's world upside-down when she tells him that she likes him. But Tora is not the only man smitten by Sanae's charms; her cousin has loved her since they were children and now hopes that he may have a chance with her.
During his travels, Tora encounters Hiroshi's father. This odd couple always is a source for comic gold, as the dour, bookish old man is bemused by Tora's pleasure-seeking. Tora seeks (and inevitably misunderstands) the wisdom the old man imparts, wisdom around which Tora seeks to shape his life ... until he encounters the next pretty face. "Tora-San's Talk of the Town" is a slight, but very enjoyable, film. The Shochiku remastered DVD is a joy, delivering clear, crisp images. The inexpensive Panorama DVD is adequate, although its picture has a yellowish hue. I actually prefer the looser, less formal translation found in the Panorama disk's English subtitles.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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28 Days Later (Widescreen; Lenticular) (US Version)
28 Days Later (Widescreen; Lenticular) (US Version) DVD Region 1
(1)Our Price: US$14.98Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:November 1, 2009 A good one to watch on HalloweenDanny Boyle, the director of "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire", here manages to create a very creepy and scary tale on a very small budget. The movie begins with a group of animal rights activists who break into a primate research center to free a group of chimpanzee's who have been subjected to horrific testing. A researcher begs them not to release the chimps; they have been infected with "rage" and, if released, will spread this terrible virus. But the activists disregard the researcher's pleas.
Twenty-eight days later, in a hospital in London, Jim (Cillian Murphy) emerges from a long coma to find the hospital entirely empty. He stumbles onto the streets of London to find them equally empty. He strays into a church and their encounters a priest who appears to have lost his mind and is bent on savagely attacking him. He bashes the priest and flees, finally encountering two normal people who take him in and explain what has happened -- people infected with "rage" have destroyed society. The remaining handful of healthy people are in an unending battle for their lives. The receive a radio broadcast from Manchester promising sanctuary, so they head for that destination ... but what they encounter there may be even more disturbing.
"28 Days Later" is wonderfully tense and atmospheric and takes the time to develop characters about which the viewer comes to care. I had two quibbles with the film. First, while the few survivors necessarily are quite a cagey crew, on a couple occasions they do something very stupid and the viewer knows that they are about to be attacked by "the infected". It strained credulity to think that they would behave so foolishly. Second, the screenwriters littered the script with f-bombs. Its always "f***ing" this and "f***ing" that. All the swearing becomes very, very tiresome. Nonetheless, I can recommend "28 Days Later" to a mature audience; it is a truly frightening film that is much more than merely manipulative.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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My Life as McDull (Movie Version) (DVD) (New Version) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
My Life as McDull (Movie Version) (DVD) (New Version) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 30, 2009 Enchanting animated tale"My Life as McDull" is one of the funniest, most heart-breaking, and most heart-warming animated films I've ever seen. Not particularly bright, not particularly handsome, and not particularly lucky, McDull is your average, everyday Hong Kong kid (or, in this case, piglet). He loves his mom, loves his school, and loves his school friends, although he sometimes struggles with all of the above. He wants to make his mark on the world, but, given his lack of special talents, it is not clear how he can make it happen. And he dreams of traveling to the Maldives, but his mother has no money for such a trip. Somehow, out of these unprepossessing circumstances, the filmmakers craft a loose-limbed tale filled with laughter, optimism, and genuine affection.
The film's animation is superficially crude, but its imagery and effects create a fully-realized world. Indeed, that world -- the city and culture of Hong Kong -- is captured so vividly and exquisitely that it becomes almost a character of its own in the movie's tale. The film's story is told in anything but a linear fashion; it goes off on tangents and flights of fancy that can seem baffling at first, but which add wealth of richness to the characters and the setting.
While "My Life as McDull" certainly will appeal to children, I don't regard it as truly a children's movie. Lots of the story will go way over the heads of small children, but will leave adults in stitches (and, in some cases, in tears). In short, this is a movie that will appeal to viewers of all ages. "My Life as McDull" is a delight!Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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Hwayobi - The Gold
Hwayobi - The Gold
(1)Our Price: US$12.99List: US$18.99Save: US$6.00 (32%)Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:October 29, 2009 A superb career retrospective"The Gold", Park Hwayobi's career-spanning, fifteen-song compilation album, blew me away. As soon as I received it, I played it straight through, then played it again. What an amazing singer! Hwayobi's voice sounds quite similar to Baek Ji Young's; both have a velvety, smoky tone. Perhaps it is no coincidence that in recent years both have needed surgery on their vocal cords. Hwayobi, however, has a greater vocal range than Miss Baek and, to my ears, sings with a greater emotional intensity. Her range truly is breathtaking; in a single song she can go from her steamy, sultry lower register to soaring in her clear, pitch-perfect upper register.
The songs primarily consist of lushly-orchestrated love songs and ballads, but there is a little jazz, Latin, and mid-tempo pop mixed in. And make sure you listen all the way through to the end because the fifteenth track is among the album's best. "The Gold" is a gem and so is Park Hwayobi. If you love K-pop ballads, don't miss this collection.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Under the Sky of Seoul (DVD) (Korea Version)
Under the Sky of Seoul (DVD) (Korea Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$16.99List: US$20.99Save: US$4.00 (19%)Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:October 28, 2009 Father knows best???"Under the Sky of Seoul" is unusual in its balance of melodrama and comedy. Set after the end of the Korean War, it stars Kim Seung Ho as Kim Hak Gyu, a curmudgeonly doctor of traditional medicine who wages unending war against modernization. The film begins as melodrama as we meet Kim, his long-suffering wife (Han Eun Jin), his war-widow daughter Hyon Ok (Choi Eun Hee), and his unemployed college graduate son Hyun Gu (Shin Young Kyun). The daughter is wooed by Dr. Choi, a young doctor practicing Western medicine across the street from Hak Gyu; Hak Gyu hates Dr. Choi with a passion, viewing him as a rival and an interloper. He forbids any communication between Hyon Ok and Dr. Choi, a futile ban that serves only to make his daughter feel guilty. For their son, Hak Gyu and his wife seek an arranged marriage to the homely daughter of a wealthy family; Hyun Gu has other ideas. He has fallen in love with (and impregnated) the pretty daughter of a saloon-keeper in the neighborhood. All of these tensions threaten to blow the Kim family apart.
Having set the stage for melodrama in its first 25 minutes, the film shifts tone to comedy drawn from the interaction among the bumptious Hak Gyu and his friends and patients. The film then alternates between development of the dramatic storylines of the conflicts between Hak Gyu and his offspring, as they attempt to carve out lives independent of the demands of their overbearing father, and what are essentially set comic bits, usually involving schemes by Hak Gyu and his friends to make money. It testifies to first-time director Lee Hyung Pyo's skill at juggling drama and comedy that, until very near the end, it is impossible to tell whether the movie will conclude with a happy ending or with the destruction of Hak Gyu's family.
The story is brought to its culmination when Hak Gyu learns that Dr. Choi is running for a seat on Seoul's City Council. Unwilling to let Dr. Choi have any victory, Hak Gyu decides that he, too, will run for the Council. This decision proves to be fateful and leads to ... a very satisfying conclusion to the film. "Under the Sky of Seoul" offers a very wise and entertaining glimpse of life as it really was lived on the streets of Seoul. This DVD of the film clearly was assembled from an assortment of prints; its image quality varies from clear and crisp in some scenes to very dark and murky in others. The film has a timeless quality that should appeal to a wide audience.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Great Pretenders (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Great Pretenders (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:October 27, 2009 A downmarket "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"The "Great Pretenders" are a gang of swindlers who come up with complex schemes to cheat rich people out of their dough. Comprised of Wong Seung Chin (Raymond Wong, who wrote the screenplay for the movie), Snake Wai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), Yip Mei Mei (Amy Yip), and Yam Sai Sung (Simon Yam), the swindlers first set their sights on a the lovely Susan So (Lok Wai), a young woman from Singapore with an inherited fortune. However, Susan is more wily than she appears and she sees through the complicated swindle. The gang then recruits Susan to help them swindle the ruthless loan shark Lung Choi Tan (Leung Tin); for this task, they also need to call in the greatest swindler of all, Mr. Giant (Teddy Robin).
There is lots of over-the-top slapstick humor (mostly provided by Tony Leung, who appears willing to do just about anything for a laugh, and Simon Yam, doing an outrageous homosexual schtick), lots of Amy Yip's cleavage, and lots of mahjong, dominoes, and poker. The English subtitles are remarkably bad, making some of the dialogue impenetrable to those who don't speak Cantonese. "The Great Pretenders" strives only to be a wacky diversion and that's what it provides. If your expectations are modest, you may find it an amusing throw-away comedy.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Tokyo Sonata (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Tokyo Sonata (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$15.49Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 26, 2009 Finding a reason to hope"Tokyo Sonata" is an artful and moving existential drama about a family in crisis. The head of the family, Ryuhei (Kagawa Teruyuki) is the administrative manager at a sizeable Tokyo company who loses his job when the company shifts its back-office operations to China. Ryuhei quickly learns that finding a comparable position is impossible for a man in his mid-forties. Ashamed of his fate and filled with a suppressed rage, he conceals his unemployment from his family.
Eldest son Takashi (Koyanagi Yu) meanwhile leads a directionless life; against his parents' wishes, he seeks some purpose for his life by joining the US Army. Younger son Kenji (Inowaki Kai) rebels against his regimented school life and yearns to express himself through learning to play piano, but, when his father learns that he has been sneaking piano lessons, he forbids it and demands that his son concentrate on his schoolwork. Housewife Megumi (Koizumi Kyoko) quietly despairs at her lonely and unappreciated life. Each of the family members rebels against their own private hells -- and their rebellions lead them variously to the gutter, to jail, to war, and to the empty edge of the world.
On a lonely beach, Megumi has an epiphany: "You're the only person who can be you. That's all we have to hold onto." With this existentialist cul-de-sac, Megumi latches onto the only empty solace that remains when one embraces a God-less worldview. The movie ends on a more hopeful note, a hope that suggests the possibility of transcendence. Graced with skillful filmmaking and honest performances, "Tokyo Sonata" should appeal to lovers of arthouse cinema.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Sex Film (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
The Sex Film (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 26, 2009 A behind-the-scenes look at Korean porn"The Sex Film" appears to be Korea's answer to Derek Yee's "Viva Erotica". However, while "Viva Erotica" ultimately proved to be a warmly human tale, "The Sex Film" takes a much more clinical look at the world of blue films. Arthouse filmmaker Jin Gyu (Cho Jae Wan) can't get financing for his latest film concept. With bills to pay and no income with which to pay them, he takes a job as an assistant director for a company that cranks out cheap blue movies like McDonald's cranks out hamburgers. These are movies that place a premium on nudity and simulated copulation, movies in which plausible stories and high quality production values take a backseat.
Jin Gyu's days become a blur of production scheduling, hurried rehearsals, and haphazard filming, with Jin Gyu all the while chafing at the inattention to artistry. However, when a friend stabs him in the back on a legit film project, Jin Gyu reconciles himself to trying his best to make something of the blue films on which he works. After a night of heavy drinking with cast and crew, he winds up in bed with his company's primary starlet (Jeong So Jin), a dalliance Jin Gyu immediately regrets. The viewer suspects that Jin Gyu's empty dalliance with this porn starlet is representative of director Kong Ja Kwan's dalliance in the porn world. (One wishes we could have learned more about the starlet, who seems a lonely soul yearning for escape from her exploitative world.)
Given its truncated 71 minute running length, "The Sex Film" lacks time for character development or big messages. Like porn films themselves, the emphasis here is on the nuts-and-bolts, the gritty details of making naughty movies.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Inspector Wear Skirts (DVD) (Joy Sales Version) (Hong Kong Version)
The Inspector Wear Skirts (DVD) (Joy Sales Version) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:October 26, 2009 Solid entertainment"The Inspector Wears Skirts" succeeds in spite of itself. Its story is crudely conceived; its script is cliched; its performances never rise above the rudimentary; and its production values are drearily cheap. Compounding those problems is the grainy, unremastered print that Joy Sales has released. And yet ... "The Inspector Wears Skirts" still manages to be irresistibly likeable.
The Hong Kong police force is assembling an elite group of female police officers to work in coordination with their elite male Tiger Squad. Sibelle Hu is placed in charge of the female crew and tasked with molding the rather raw recruits into a tightly-knit, effective undercover fighting force. After some intial problems in their training, she brings in Cynthia Rothrock to help whip the recruits into fighting trim. When the ladies aren't squabbling amidst their training, they are fending off (or encouraging) the advances of the testosterone-driven Tiger Squad. But all the rivalry and tomfoolery is put behind them when both squads are put to the test to prevent a jewelry heist.
It is a treat to see all the familiar faces in the film. In addition to Rothrock and Hu, the cast includes Kara Hui, Ellen Chan, Ann Bridgewater, the inevitable Bill Tung as the police commissioner, Alex To, Stanley Fung, Sandra Ng, and in minor roles Ricky Hui and Shing Fui On. Rothrock, Kara Hui, and some of the male cast members put on some impressive displays of martial arts and Jackie Chan's stunt crew performs eye-popping feats. It all adds up to good cheesy, action-packed fun.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
On His Majesty's Secret Service (DVD) (US Version)
On His Majesty's Secret Service (DVD) (US Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$13.99List: US$15.99Save: US$2.00 (13%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 26, 2009 Relentless comic chaosIn "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", Louis Koo stars as Royal Dog, one of the elite troops task with guarding the Emperor and Empress. Royal Dog, however, has no martial arts skills to speak of; instead, he is an inventor of wacky contraptions employed in the defense of the royal family. His overeager fiancee Faithful (Barbie Hsu) grows impatient with her absent-minded beau; she then goes ga-ga over a cross-dressing undercover assassin (Liu Yang) whom all the women in the palace find irresistible. Throw in the evil schemes of eunuch Lord Unicorn (Fan Siu Wong) to overthrow the emperor, an absurd contest to win the hand of Princess Rainbow (Song Jia), and the comic chaos generated by the goofy emperor (Liu Yiwei) and the abrasive empress (Sandra Ng) and you have all of the makings of a hilarious Stephen Chow movie from the 1990s.
Louis Koo is no Stephen Chow. He seems to labor over comic bits that Chow could toss off with ease. But Koo does his level best and is ably supported by a solid cast and some genuinely funny sight gags. The costuming and set design are lavish and the martial arts on display here are sometimes spectacular. For better or worse, this is a Wong Jing movie. Its story is a bit chaotic, it doesn't really add up to much, and at least half of the jokes fall flat. Nonetheless, the movie's non-stop comic mayhem yields enough laughs to make "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" worth watching.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Ghost Story (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
The Ghost Story (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$15.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:October 26, 2009 Demons and the men they seduceIf you have seen director Gordon Chan's excellent 2008 film "Painted Skin" and you are curious about how the great Li Han Hsiang might tackle that same story from Pu Songliang's classic "Tales from Liaozhai Studio", then look no further than "The Ghost Story". "The Ghost Story" combines director Li's wit and style with all of the sumptuous details we expect of a Shaw Brothers classic to produce a thoroughly enjoyable and ghoulish confection. The film actually depicts two of the classic Liaozhai tales. In the first (which runs for 25 minutes), a righteous general quarters his troops at a country inn, where the three lovely proprietresses have a cunning scheme to increase their herds of livestock. The righteous general suspects foul play when his soldiers begin to disappear and manages to turn the tables on the three vixens.
In the second story (which runs about 115 minutes), a randy scholar seeks to take advantage of a damsel in distress that turns up on his doorstep. But there is more to this damsel than meets the eye and soon the scholar's family is at risk in a battle against supernatural forces. Hu Chin gives fine performances, first as the eldest proprietress of the country inn, then as the damsel in distress with a dark secret. Ngok Wah is suitably righteous in the first story and dissolute in the second.
Yes, this film includes some nudity and the kind of simulated groping and grinding associated with blue films from the 1970s, but the emphasis here is on engaging storytelling and no one does that better than Li Han Hsiang. Highly recommended for a mature audience.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Happy Trio (Hong Kong Version)
The Happy Trio (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(3)Our Price: US$14.49Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:October 23, 2009 Yeh Feng steals the show!Wide-eyed and acid-tongued country bumpkin Ah Qiao (Li Jing) comes to Hong Kong to build a better life. However, when she discovers that her aunt -- with whom she expected to live -- has moved and left no forwarding address, Ah Qiao has nowhere to stay. She wanders to a public park and winds up on a bench sitting next to dim-witted but companionable Blockhead (Yeh Feng). Blockhead takes the country girl under his wing and into his home and soon they and Blockhead's pal Uncle (Wang Sha) are making a humble living as street musicians.
One day a music impresario hears Ah Qiao singing on the street and he soon persuades the ambitious girl to let him build her a career as a pop star. After undergoing some Eliza Doolittle-like training, Ah Qiao bursts upon the Hong Kong music scene and creates a sensation. Blockhead and Uncle are left behind and Blockhead pines for his former friend. But soon Ah Qiao's mentor makes demands she is unwilling to meet and she has only one person to whom she can turn for help...
While the story of "The Happy Trio" is driven by events in Ah Qiao's life, the movie really belongs to Yeh Feng, who is compelling and believable as the simple-minded, pure-hearted Blockhead. "The Happy Trio" provides a colorful look at Hong Kong's impoverished underside circa 1970. I recommend it highly. (How did Shaw Brothers get away with simply stealing music from "Shaft" and from Emerson, Lake & Palmer for this film's soundtrack?)Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Red Shoes (Hong Kong Version)
The Red Shoes (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:October 23, 2009 Fire your agent, Kim Hye Su!First things first. The shoes are pink, folks, not red! But I guess "The Pink Shoes" isn't much of a title for a horror movie. I bought this movie for one reason: To watch Kim Hye Su, one of my favorite actresses. But watching her in this movie just made me feel sorry for her. The real horror here is how such a fine actress got stuck in such a bomb of a movie.
As the movie opens we see a girl waiting for a subway train. Inexplicably, she finds on the subway platform a pair of pink pumps. Go figure. She tries them on and likes them, but then her schoolmate arrives and steals them from her. The schoolmate walks away down a long, creepy hallway ... heading for a terrible fate. Those darn shoes! Next Sun Jae (Kim Hye Su) finds the dreaded pink pumps on a subway train. Being a shoe fetishist, she can't resist them and brings them home ... but then things begin to go seriously wrong in her life. Sun Jae tries to get rid of the horrible heels, but, like a bad penny, they just keep turning up.
Naturally, these shoes have their own background story involving a fateful love triangle in 1940s occupation-era Korea. And, of course, there's a creepy old lady in the basement. And, assuredly, all of the lighting fixtures flicker on and off at strategically appropriate times. (Gee, that's original.) Inevitably poor Miss Kim is reduced to playing an interminable mad scene. Don't worry, Kim Hye Su -- I won't hold this dud against you!Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Private Eye (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Private Eye (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$25.99List: US$33.99Save: US$8.00 (24%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 21, 2009 Gripping tale of detectionHwang Jung Min stars as Jin Ho in "Private Eye" and the film succeeds largely due to Hwang's swaggering, cocky performance. Jin Ho is a downmarket private detective in 1910 Seoul, skulking in alleys to sneak photos of cheating spouses. He strives to save money to journey to America where he hopes to strike it rich. One day medical student Kwang Su (Ryu Deok Hwan) seeks Jin Ho's services and promises to provide Jin Ho a big enough payday that he will be able to passage to America. But Kwang Su's problems are much greater than just a cheating spouse.
In order to learn human anatomy, Kwang Su has been carving up a corpse that he stumbled upon in the woods. He is stunned to learn that the body he's been dissecting is that of the son of a high-ranking government poobah. Kwang Su decides that his only hope of escaping blame for the son's death is to find the murderer ... and he wants Jin Ho to help him find the miscreant. Tracking the killer leads down a path filled with corrupt cops, opium addicts, overbearing Japanese colonists, child abusers, and, strangest of all, knife-throwing circus performers.
Director Park Dae Min keeps the pace brisk and nicely leavens the chilling facts of the case with occasional doses of humor. Hwang Jung Min sets the perfect tone with his fearless performance and is ably supported by Ryu Deok Hwan and by Uhm Ji Won as Jin Ho's former girlfriend who devotes her free time to science. While some of the feats of detection are a bit of a stretch and the plot becomes overly complex, the movie's interesting period atmosphere, strong characters, and solid performances make for a winning cinematic experience. I recommend "Private Eye" very highly.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
GoJoe: Spirit War Chronicle (US Version)
GoJoe: Spirit War Chronicle (US Version) DVD Region 1
(2)Our Price: US$25.49List: US$29.95Save: US$4.46 (15%)Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:October 20, 2009 Full of sound and fury, signifying ... not muchSet in 12th Century Japan, amidst the long-running wars between the forces of Heike and the forces of Genji, "Gojoe" serves up sword-slinging, blood-spurting violence with over-the-top glee. Benkei (Ryu Daisuke) runs with a band of ruthless outlaw warriors and is so possessed by rage that he inadvertently kills his only son. Horrified by his act, he withdraws from the world and becomes a Buddhist monk. In his absence, the world has changed. Heike has smashed the armies of Genji and now rules Japan. However, at Gojoe Bridge, the Heike troops have met an enemy that they cannot defeat. At night demons cross the bridge and slaughter the forces of Heike.
In response to the slaughter, Sanskrit letters appear on the chest of Benkei, calling him to defeat the demons. He travels to Gojoe Bridge to confront them; there he learns that the 'demons' actually are remnants of the armies of Genji, led by Shanao (Asano Tadanobu), the son of the former Genji ruler. Benkei also learns that his fighting skills are inadequate to defeat Shanao, so he again withdraws from the world to sharpen his skills. In Benkei's absence, Shanao convinces himself that his peerless swordplay is evidence that he is more than a mere mortal; he is a supreme god. He now sets himself against not just the armies of Heike, but also those who serve other gods. When Benkei returns to the fray, it is only a matter of time before he and power-mad Shanao will have their fateful, explosive encounter at the Gojoe Bridge.
The seemingly endless scenes of gory mayhem in "Gojoe" become numbing and its incorporation of supernatural elements never rises above hokum. Nonetheless, the film has a compelling visceral energy and visual flair that kept me watching through its overlong (2 hours and 12 minutes until the final credits roll) running time. Recommended only for fans of the genre.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Loveholics Vol. 1 - In the Air
Loveholics Vol. 1 - In the Air
(1)Our Price: US$12.99List: US$18.99Save: US$6.00 (32%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 19, 2009 Is there life after Ji Sun?With the departure of peerless singer Ji Sun from Loveholic, I've been curious to hear what the band's remaining members might produce next. The answer: An album that sounds very much of a piece with Loveholic's past work. I feared that working with a number of different vocalists might yield a recording that sounded like a compilation album, but that did not happen. Instead, we have an album filled with the tasteful pop-rock playing and songwriting we have come to expect from this group, and vocals which, for the most part, do not present a radical departure from how Ji Sun likely would have performed them (except for the hard rock stylings heard at the open of "Butterfly", the album's last track). Indeed, I would rank the album's first song, "Raining", among the band's best recordings; its heartfelt vocals immediately won me over. If you have been a fan of Loveholic in the past, then you should have no hesitation about buying this album. Trust me -- you'll like it. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Secret Couple (AKA: My Girlfriend is an Agent) (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Secret Couple (AKA: My Girlfriend is an Agent) (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD Region 3
(3)Our Price: US$27.99List: US$35.99Save: US$8.00 (22%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:October 18, 2009 Didn't work for me"Secret Couple" takes a mediocre big-budget American action/romance/comedy ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith") and remakes it as ... a mediocre big-budget Korean action/romance/comedy. Loud and frantic, this slickly-made movie delivers lots of noisy action, lots of attempts at humor (few of which I found amusing), an unconvincing romance (due in part to the fact that Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan spend little time together), and a complicated plot involving Russian gangsters seeking to acquire a secret new weapon. Too much of "Secret Couple" seemed soulless and manufactured. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
United States - English
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