2007: The Digital Scrounge

[Mike Thomason]

After a brief Hong Kong diversion, back to business as usual...

...ing (South Korea) (DVD)
Eye In The Sky (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Holiday (South Korea) (DVD)
Love Is A Crazy Thing (South Korea) (DVD)
My Boyfriend Is Type B (South Korea) (DVD)
Spring Bears Love (South Korea) (DVD)
Undercover (Hong Kong) (DVD)

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Thank goodness a new page

Bought :

Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) HK (Dragon Dynasty)
Boxer's Omen (1983) HK (image/celestial)

[Bearserk]

Thank goodness a new page

Bought :

Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) HK (Dragon Dynasty)
Boxer's Omen (1983) HK (image/celestial)

So what you're saying is that I need to purchase more movies and link all their images here on this page to

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

^
hee hee, yes (then I'll have to hit the site with Firefox instead of IE; I tend to do most of my testing with IE and peruse this site occasionally ).

[Mike Thomason]

Is okay -- I can always start up a secondary "digital scrounge" thread for non-Firefox users. I don't see that I should be forced into using software (that I don't like or use) simply because my own isn't compatible with someone else's*...

* and vice versa, of course...

[Mike Thomason]

Escape From New York: Special Edition (United States) (DVD)*
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas (United States) (DVD)*
Innocent Steps (South Korea) (DVD)
Mark Of The Devil (Germany) (DVD)
Marrying The Mafia 2 (South Korea) (DVD)
Mr Cinema (Hong Kong) (DVD)**
Mr & Mrs Smith: Director's Cut (United States) (DVD)
The People Vs. Larry Flynt: Special Edition (United States) (DVD)*
The President's Last Bang (South Korea) (DVD)
Pulp Fiction: Special Edition (United States) (DVD)*
To Catch A Virgin Ghost (South Korea) (DVD)
Vampyres (Great Britain) (DVD)
The Way Home (South Korea) (DVD)
You Are My Sunshine (South Korea) (DVD)*

* making the most of freebies and local sales!
** what d'ya know? A HK movie!

[Brian Thibodeau]

After a self-imposed exile from Asian cinema, partly brought on by Michael Wong overkill in the NEW OPTION series, but mainly so I could clear out a big pile of odds and ends that no one wants to hear about, I visited our downtown Chinatown Festival today, where all the knock-off clothing and stuff from the multi-story shopping plazas is moved out to the street and augmented with food stalls selling treats you can usually find a bit cheaper at the food courts inside! Still, too colourful to miss!

Also gave me a chance to pop into my trusty downtown media shop, the W.Y. Trading Company (ID'd in case any fellow Canuck readers really believe boots are the only way to go around here), one of two places in that neighbourhood that still distribute legitimate VCDs and DVDs only, and the one I've probably helped keep in business the past decade. While I certainly can't consistently get new releases as close to release date as some of you folks, I don't have to wait too long for the W.Y. to lower their prices a bit, which allowed me to get:

KIDNAP (2007, Karena Lam, Rene Liu)
WHISPERS AND MOANS (2007, Athena Chu, Candice Yu)
and
UNDERCOVER (2007, Shawn Yue, Sam Leel. Not in the DB yet, although I'm hardly the first person to buy this one, I'm sure)

And, in a momentary loss of contemporary-ness, I noticed the store now has some older titles priced in my scrounge-happy range!

DVDs (all legit and 3/$20 CDN, probably 'cause no one else wants 'em at this point!)
COP BUSTERS (1985; Wong Ching, Kent Cheng, Fortune Star)
THE WILD GOOSE CHASE (1990; James Wong, Tommy Wong; Fortune Star) Had to get this one after all the mystery surrounding this film, the STOOGES films and JAMES WONG IN JAPAN AND KOREA. Guess I'll keep my expectations low...
CRAZY ROMANCE (1985, Nat Chan, Leslie Cheung, Fortune Star)

VCDs (5/$20)
THE BARREN VIRGIN (1985, Pauline Wan, Cat. II, Mei Ah)
WEAKNESS OF MAN (1991; Cecelia Yip, Carrie Ng, Mei Ah)
HORROR SCHOOL (1990; Mei Ah; curious to hear feedback on this one from the experts. Not much in the database, and I just know I'm not the only one who has this around here... )
AN EYE FOR AN EYE (1990, Joey Wong, Wilson Lam; Mei Ah)
FINGERS ON TRIGGERS (1985, Melvin Wong, Margaret Lee, Fortune Star)

Plus a couple of oldies I've been waiting to see since nearly day one of my Hong Kong movie addiction, but refused to see sooner on crummy VHS dupes or whatever it was so many reviewers seemed to be using:

STONER (1974, George Lazenby, Angela Mao Ying, Joy Sales/Fortune Star "Legenday Collection")
A QUEEN'S RANSOM (1976, George Lazenby, Angela Mao Ying, Jimmy Wang Yu, also from the Joy Sales "Legendary Collection")

The store also had several other older (Golden Harvest?) titles that have apparently been released on VCD only (at least for now), including KUNG FU GIRL, THE HURRICANE, TATTOOED DRAGON, SKYHAWK and at least two or three others I can't remember now. Not sure if these are scheduled for DVD, or why they wouldn't release both formats at the same time if that were the case, but as I didn't have enough money on me today, those will have to wait for a while.

Also had the new DVD of THE MAN FROM HONG KONG in my hands for the duration of the time I was there, but in the end, at $20 I just didn't have on me, I had sacrifice it for a future visit. Sob sob etc. etc. Not to mention that great new music DVD from A-Mei

[Mike Thomason]

UNDERCOVER (2007, Shawn Yue, Sam Leel. Not in the DB yet, although I'm hardly the first person to buy this one, I'm sure)

Yes, you are right -- you ARE hardly the first person to buy the film on disc, as my post from 26/07 at the top of the page will attest to...

...ah, no, haven't watched it yet...been off work sick another couple of days and had near zero interest in watching anything Asian much over the last couple of weeks. Watched Whispers & Moans the other day...and thought it was distinctly second-tier average Hong Kong cinema...in fact, the year in general when it comes to the HK movies has been less than stellar; if anything, it's all been rather bland...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Yes, you are right -- you ARE hardly the first person to buy the film on disc, as my post from 26/07 at the top of the page will attest to..

Oh, it was a deliberate reference...


Yeah, most of the new stuff I've been getting doesn't really leap out at me, but I'm duty-bound, as they say, and having likewise spent the last few weeks plowing (sometimes regretfully) through stacks of American and Euro stuff I don't bother listing here just to get the damned monkey off my back (as I mentioned in edits to the previous post), I'm finally nursing a jones for some Hong Kong stuff. Bland or not, new or old, I still look forward to these films more than any others! It's kinda nice not knowing what I'll get with each try , although the recommendations and reviews are always appreciated! Hope you're feeling better.

[Mike Thomason]

Yeah, most of the new stuff I've been getting doesn't really leap out at me...and having likewise spent the last few weeks plowing...through stacks of American and Euro stuff...

Snap! That's pretty much been the same course of viewing I've been following of late; have seen some good stuff, of the likes of Hotel Rwanda, but the mountains of unwatched Hong Kong/Korean/Thai/et al discs I have seldom of late has generated anything much beyond a cursory glance, the occasional sift-through, a few deep sighs, and then general passing over in favour of something else non-Asian in origin.

I thought my wife might get some form of amusement out of Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (in its director's cut variant), but once again I was proven that Chinese humour and Western humour often don't mesh...

[Mike Thomason]

A couple of oldies, and something recent, for a few bucks a piece...

Beyond Borders (United States) (DVD)
Haunted Karaoke (Hong Kong) (DVD)
July 13th (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Rape Trap (Hong Kong) (DVD)

[Brian Thibodeau]

I thought my wife might get some form of amusement out of Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (in its director's cut variant), but once again I was proven that Chinese humour and Western humour often don't mesh...

Yeah, I can see that one being a hard sell to a lot of gals!

Snap! That's pretty much been the same course of viewing I've been following of late; have seen some good stuff, of the likes of Hotel Rwanda, but the mountains of unwatched Hong Kong/Korean/Thai/et al discs I have seldom of late has generated anything much beyond a cursory glance, the occasional sift-through, a few deep sighs, and then general passing over in favour of something else non-Asian in origin.

I like to attribute the occasional downturns to the summer/fall weather. It's just been too nice outside for the past month or two (at least up here) to be stuck indoors, much as a part of me really wants to get down to business with my own mountains of discs! Weird as it sounds, I keep hoping for a rainy, miserable weekend where I can just stay in front of the TV the whole time, but no luck yet, and when the sun's shining, out comes my bike! It used to be easier in my old city, too, because there was a lot less to actually do there on a nice day, so one didn't feel too bad staying in! And of course, there wasn't a Chinatown there tempting me all the time, either!

All of my own views these past couple of weeks have been confined to the late night hours and have consisted of several giallos I've been winning on ebay over the past few months (only keeping about three of eight, but since they each cost me less than two bucks, I figure I can get the money back on resale), and a few box sets of old horror movies (Universal's Inner Sanctum series and Warner's Classics of Horror box among them; great stuff all of it), plus odds and ends people loaned me ages ago and I've yet to return

------------

Incidentally, I almost forgot I did toss an Asian film into the mix. Watched that Thai "horror" movie CURSE OF THE SUN. Fairly weak, as Mike mentioned, not that I was expecting much anyways based on my own experiences with Thai cinema. Thank god I won that one for only 99¢ If I resell it for two dollars, I've doubled my investment. Usually I don't mind movies that reference American films, but there's such a thin line between clever homage and copying-the-surface-without-invention, and CURSE crosses it. I can't say the film references any particular U.S. movies so much as it simply borrows the most basic elements of action and suspense scene construction but confuses their proper implementation and marries them to a story that isn't worth 90 minutes, and I generally dislike that in any cinema. There's a car chase in this movie that epitomizes what I'm trying to say; it's composed and cut very much like every run-of-the-mill car chase you've ever seen in mid-tier Hollywood product of the past decade or more, and yet there's almost no momentum to the chase because you can clearly see the cars aren't going very fast (we shouldn't be counting the white road lines in a properly executed action sequence). Perhaps a few insert shots from cameras mounted near the wheel wells closer to the road would have helped sell it, but I'm not sure the director was experienced enough to know the value of those. Worse, the cars chasing the hero in the scene are all "kit car" Ferraris, and as such, they're a major distraction (particularly if you're a car buff) because they just don't look quite...right, despite being reasonably well constructed (meaning they've got shiny red paint jobs and decals ). Perhaps it's the fact that body panels on real Ferraris don't wobble at high speed. I'm sure they had a low budget to work with as per Thai convention, but there are still many ways to rise above that creatively, but trying to ape the intricate, expensive action setpieces of American movies probably isn't the way to do it. Oh yeah, and the acting is pretty weak across the board, which doesn't help. So many beautiful people, so little actual presence.

A couple of oldies for a few bucks...

Haunted Karaoke (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Assuming this is just a re-buy based on your fairly completist notations of films watched in other threads, but I'm interested in your thoughts on this one (and everyone else's of course). I remember popping it in with some skepticism based largely on the title, the silly looking poster art and the film's "inspiration" in a real-life incident. Maybe it was the lowered expectations, but I was rather surprised how well done it was, in that midnight-movie kinda way, even as it wallows in Hong Kong horror tropes (green lights, Helena Law Lan, etc.). Still, it treads a fine line, though perhaps all these years later some of the context is gone, which might make it easier to watch. Thought the naming of Lee Siu-kei's cop character "Jesus" (in both English and Cantonese) was clever

[cal42]

Weird as it sounds, I keep hoping for a rainy, miserable weekend where I can just stay in front of the TV the whole time

Move to England. Problem solved .

[Brian Thibodeau]

Move to England. Problem solved .

But...but...but I just started to get a tan this summer! I'd so hate to lose it.

[Brian Thibodeau]

And before I forget, and for no real reason , I thought some folks might be interested in this little business-card sized advertisement for Slimclub Health & Beauty Creative Centre that appears to have been inserted into random "Legendary Collection" VCDs and probably others. This one was in QUEEN'S RANSOM. The model is none other than the highly underrated and underutilized Emily Kwan.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Just bought:

Vengeance Is Mine Japan 1979 (Criterion)
Crime Story HK 1993 (Dragon Dynasty)

[Mike Thomason]

Well, there's nothing on the Hong Kong/Seoul front that is particularly piquing my interest at present (Hooked On You and Wonder Women are a week away from HK release on DVD; and it's nearly impossible to find [good] reviews of new Korean films on the 'net these days), so I figured it's time to play catch-up on some of last century's movies again...

Black Cat In Jail (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Don't Look Back...Or You'll Be Sorry (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Fascination Amour (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Gigolo Of Chinese Hollywood (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Mirror (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Mission (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Never Compromise (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Teacher Without Chalk (Hong Kong) (DVD)
What Is A Good Teacher (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Wishful Milenio (Hong Kong) (DVD)

[Brian Thibodeau]

...so I figured it's time to play catch-up on some of last century's movies again...

Just curious, are these purchases or movies you recently watched? (I ask largely because most of 'em have been out for awhile, so I kinda figured a completist like yourself would have seen them ages ago )? I'm interested in opinions as I have all of them, but have only watched three: DON'T LOOK BACK, THE MIRROR and, of course, THE MISSION. The others are sort of buried in the pile, but I tend to move titles up (so to speak) on good recommendations. I actually thought DON'T LOOK BACK had real potential in the first half as a topical comedy dealing with parents living with their children, but the ghost stuff was very familiar. THE MIRROR didn't do much for me, either. Thought the basic set-up of a haunted dressing table was kinda weak, and the stories it tied together weren't very scary. Any chance some of the others in this bunch might be better?

[Mike Thomason]

...so I figured it's time to play catch-up on some of last century's movies again...

Just curious, are these purchases or movies you recently watched?

Believe it or not, new purchases!

Yes, I know...the shame, the shame...I've never seen THE MISSION!

Btw, thanks for the piccie of Emily Kwan! Its-a nice...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Believe it or not, new purchases!

Yes, I know...the shame, the shame...I've never seen THE MISSION!

Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. As long as you share your thoughts on a few of these some day, of course!

Btw, thanks for the piccie of Emily Kwan! Its-a nice...

Now if only more people would put her in good movies! Not that Forbidden Wet Tales didn't have it's moments, but really...

[Mike Thomason]

Let's try that again (after a hefty motor vehicle expense today):

Creep (Great Britain) (DVD)
The Devil Rides Out (Great Britain) (DVD)
Hooked On You (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Prehistoric Women (Great Britain) (DVD)
The Witches (Great Britain) (DVD)
Wonder Women (Hong Kong) (DVD)

[Brian Thibodeau]

Creep (Great Britain) (DVD)

Just got this last week, actually. Blockbuster finally knocked it into their 4/$20 used price range. Worth that much, at least.

------------

And just to keep this thread from becoming a big ol' list, I also picked up the Canadian film EVE & THE FIREHORSE as part of that batch (which included a couple of American movies that don't really fit here). This is the kind of film I wish everybody here could see (and the kind of movie I wish I hadn't waited so long to see), but as far as I know, it's only available on DVD in this country, but has played festivals in others and will likely turn up sooner of later.

Surprisingly, it doesn't wear it's "Canadian-ness" on it's sleeve like a lot of works from this country: take out a few references and it could be set in just about any country/city with an immigrant Chinese community, and that's a big credit to it's Chinese-Canadian director Julia Kwan, who's proven she's got the technical chops to work in big league dramas. This deeply-personal yet subtly and endearingly comic feature-debut marks her feature debut, and it's one of the finest cinematic illustrations of growing up as a culturally- and religiously-confused pre-teen "second-gen" in an ethnic diaspora (in this case Chinese) that I've ever seen (and there have been others, particularly docs and short films, including Kwan's earlier pieces).

It's also nice to see a movie set in the 70's (1975 to be precise) that doesn't wallow in kitsch that constantly draws attention to the fact that it's set in the 70's: it's subtle here, from the cars to the costuming to the soundtrack, which makes good use of "Magic" by Pilot in a key sequence (parts of which can be seen in the trailer linked below—they involve a big black Cadillac), then largely avoids larding the soundtrack with further signifiers that we're watching a movie set 30-some years in the past.

Kwan's definitely a talent to watch out for, provided Hollywood isn't afraid to let her behind a camera on a big-budget picture. Personally, though, if this is what she can do for a first shot, I'd almost like to see her stay here! Our film industry needs more people like her.

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4TsNYYrGRQ

Making Of (from a TV entertainment show up here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0Z3yYX_GQ

Couple of reviews with plot outlines:
http://www.cinematical.com/2006/01/21/s ... firehorse/
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117928363.html



.

[dleedlee]

I found some old articles I posted on Julia Kwan's Eve and the Fire Horse last year.

Here's one that didn't expire yet.
http://www.nwasianweekly.com/20062428/horse20062428.htm
One from the Cochran Times archives
http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id ... xid=259828

And a DVD review
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php ... 88&___rd=1

[Brian Thibodeau]

Many thanks! I've been looking for more stuff on the film. Figures I should've searched here first! D'oh!



.

[Mike Thomason]

Creep (Great Britain) (DVD)

Just got this last week, actually. Blockbuster finally knocked it into their 4/$20 used price range. Worth that much, at least.

I didn't mind it -- very much like a modern rendition of Gary Sherman's Deathline (aka: Raw Meat). But then, like yourself, I waited until it came down to a low, low price before I grabbed one. $8.00AUD for the Hong Kong version! Fnar fnar fnar!

[Mike Thomason]

...and the continued drift away from Hong Kong movies continues...

Dawn Of The Dead: Director's Cut (2004 version) (United States) (DVD)
Deep Blue Sea (United States) (DVD)
The Hills Have Eyes: Unrated (2006 version)* (United States) (DVD)
Underworld (United States) (DVD)
Underworld: Evolution (United States) (DVD)

* IMO, vastly superior to its originator in just about every way imaginable!

[Brian Thibodeau]

...and the continued drift away from Hong Kong movies continues...

I'm thinking a non-Asian "what have we been watching"-type of thread might be useful around here, perhaps in the Off Topic forum, as that's the only one that seems to be non-Asian or HK related. I've generally avoided talking much about my other purchases (which go far beyond what I post in this Asian thread), but once in a while a title pops up that is worth sharing or soliciting opinions about. Plus, folks who appear to be tiring of Hong Kong cinema could still share their thoughts on the other great movies of the world. Just a thought...

[Mike Thomason]

Plus, folks who appear to be tiring of Hong Kong cinema could still share their thoughts on the other great movies of the world. Just a thought...

Though I can't really say I'm "tiring" of HK cinema per se, I have to admit it's been a pretty bland year on the SAR front so far -- there's maybe two or three films I'd consider have actually stood out from what I feel has been a largely mediocre sea of titles.

But I like the idea of an "other cinema" topic -- who knows, maybe it might inspire the more lazy (ie: me) to write a little more and in turn generate a ounce of enthusiasm to return to "regular" territory? But I'll leave it up to you at this point, Brian, as it's late and I'm off to bed...

[cal42]

...and the continued drift away from Hong Kong movies continues...

I'm thinking a non-Asian "what have we been watching"-type of thread might be useful around here

Good idea. Count me in.

On the scrounge front, though, I've actually acquired a few Asian films for the first time in a while:

Dead and the Deadly (Hong Kong 1984) - Seen this before but not for ages. Probably going to be as disappointing as I remember.

Rica (Japan 1972) - I've not seen this but it looks right up my alley. The cover looks mighty interesting at the very least.

Painted Skin (Hong Kong 1993) - It's a King Hu film so as usual the transfer looks like sh*t. Might struggle with this one.

14 Amazons (Hong Kong 1972) - Well, I've got to have one SB film in there, haven't I?

[Brian Thibodeau]

Though I can't really say I'm "tiring" of HK cinema per se, I have to admit it's been a pretty bland year on the SAR front so far -- there's maybe two or three films I'd consider have actually stood out from what I feel has been a largely mediocre sea of titles.

Still, somebody's gotta wallow through that mediocrity, and I'm thankful there's a few folks here who don't mind the task!

But I like the idea of an "other cinema" topic -- who knows, maybe it might inspire the more lazy (ie: me) to write a little more and in turn generate a ounce of enthusiasm to return to "regular" territory? But I'll leave it up to you at this point, Brian, as it's late and I'm off to bed...

If no one beats me to it, I'll set one up a little later as I'm at work at the moment!

Which is where I listen to audio commentaries.

Which brings up a couple of interesting things I've learned recently.

Apparently, the opening credit sequence in CREEP was a visual homage to Wong Kar-wai. The thought actually crossed my mind when I watched the film last week, but so much of filmmaking is about "borrowing" that it probably won't surprise anyone. The director also addresses the whole DEATHLINE/RAW MEAT comparisons that swirled around the film's theatrical release.

And more curiously, according to Julia Kwan on the audio commentary for EVE AND THE FIRE HORSE, a "famous" Hong Kong dubber was used to provide the Cantonese "voice" of Moses in clips from the TEN COMMANDMENTS that are heard (but not seen) in the film as the lead characters attend a screening of the film in a Vancouver Chinese movie theatre circa 1975. Kwan noted this guy was famous for doing most of the Cantonese dubbing on American pictures for many years, but she didn't name him. So I checked the credits and noticed the name "Ko Fung." Anyone know if this might be Ku Feng (who lists "Kok Fung" as an alias), and was he ever known as a Canto dub artiste back in the day? Thought it would be cool if it was and Kwan just wasn't aware of his long career in front of the camera. Any thoughts?