- Mon Jul 05, 2021 1:11 pm
#141671
I haven't had too much time for movies over the last few weeks but I managed to squeeze a few in this weekend. And I'm hoping to get a few more in this week before my insanely busy weekend
Vicious Fun. Dir by Cody Calahan
This was very far from fun. In fact this is one of the worst movies I've watched in a while. It was incredibly boring, once the "reveal" happens about 15 minutes into the film it plays out as completely typical as you can imagine. The films biggest issue is it's completely unlikeable main character. The main female character carries the entire film on her shoulders. So many over the top weird and obnoxious choices. A score that feels like it's trying it's hardest to ape Carpenter Brut & Stranger Things to the worst degree. I recommend not watching this one.
Fear Street 1994. Dir by Leigh Janiak
And here's a film that I expected to hate and really just had a ton of fun while watching. It does a nice job playing with common tropes. It's a 80's slasher set in the 90's with supernatural/witch through line for the story. A great little cast that has some characters that at face value seem super annoying but you actually are bummed when they do end up dying. Some nice gore gags. I am excited to see where it goes with the next part which takes place in late 70s summer camp.
Erotic Ghost Story. Dir by Ngai Choi Lam
Cat III erotic horror film directed by the guy responsible for Riki-Oh? Sign me right up. I picked the new special edition bluray of this from 88 Films. A beautiful package for a slow softcore porn with a fantastic final 15 minutes. This is not on the same level as Riki Oh or The Seventh Curse. But it's an interesting film that has it's moments and was at least entertaining to see what they were pushing sexually, stuff that you don't see in US films that's for sure. If you're into Cat III films and want to see one that rightfully deserves that rating, give this one a go.
Island of Fire. Dir by Kevin Chu
This film stars Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Sammo Hung and Andy Lau. I knew it wasn't a Jackie vehicle as you rarely see it discussed in his film work and there's a reason for that, Jackie has essentially 3 main scenes. Sammo has about 4 or 5 scenes. Tony is probably who I would call the main character but the way the film is structured it feels like they only had 2 or 3 days where all the actors were on set the same day. Basically Tony's character is a cop, he witnesses the murder of his father in law, as the killer is escaping their car explodes. He discovers he's an ex prisoner and goes undercover at the prison to find out what is going on. Sammo is currently in jail, he meets him there, Jackie get's sent to jail for accidentally killing some one at a casino. So much happens in this film but it all feels like little vignettes. We focus on Tony's character then he gets put in solitary, then Sammo and then he goes to solitary, then Jackie and solitary and it keeps repeating until the final 15-20 minute scene. The film feels much longer than it is, has minimal action scenes. It's a mediocre film but I'm glad I watched it. I am curious I just read the Taiwanese version has 29 more minutes of footage, which would probably flesh out some of the stuff that just felt out of the blue. Maybe in a few years I'll revisit and watch that version.
Vicious Fun. Dir by Cody Calahan
This was very far from fun. In fact this is one of the worst movies I've watched in a while. It was incredibly boring, once the "reveal" happens about 15 minutes into the film it plays out as completely typical as you can imagine. The films biggest issue is it's completely unlikeable main character. The main female character carries the entire film on her shoulders. So many over the top weird and obnoxious choices. A score that feels like it's trying it's hardest to ape Carpenter Brut & Stranger Things to the worst degree. I recommend not watching this one.
Fear Street 1994. Dir by Leigh Janiak
And here's a film that I expected to hate and really just had a ton of fun while watching. It does a nice job playing with common tropes. It's a 80's slasher set in the 90's with supernatural/witch through line for the story. A great little cast that has some characters that at face value seem super annoying but you actually are bummed when they do end up dying. Some nice gore gags. I am excited to see where it goes with the next part which takes place in late 70s summer camp.
Erotic Ghost Story. Dir by Ngai Choi Lam
Cat III erotic horror film directed by the guy responsible for Riki-Oh? Sign me right up. I picked the new special edition bluray of this from 88 Films. A beautiful package for a slow softcore porn with a fantastic final 15 minutes. This is not on the same level as Riki Oh or The Seventh Curse. But it's an interesting film that has it's moments and was at least entertaining to see what they were pushing sexually, stuff that you don't see in US films that's for sure. If you're into Cat III films and want to see one that rightfully deserves that rating, give this one a go.
Island of Fire. Dir by Kevin Chu
This film stars Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Sammo Hung and Andy Lau. I knew it wasn't a Jackie vehicle as you rarely see it discussed in his film work and there's a reason for that, Jackie has essentially 3 main scenes. Sammo has about 4 or 5 scenes. Tony is probably who I would call the main character but the way the film is structured it feels like they only had 2 or 3 days where all the actors were on set the same day. Basically Tony's character is a cop, he witnesses the murder of his father in law, as the killer is escaping their car explodes. He discovers he's an ex prisoner and goes undercover at the prison to find out what is going on. Sammo is currently in jail, he meets him there, Jackie get's sent to jail for accidentally killing some one at a casino. So much happens in this film but it all feels like little vignettes. We focus on Tony's character then he gets put in solitary, then Sammo and then he goes to solitary, then Jackie and solitary and it keeps repeating until the final 15-20 minute scene. The film feels much longer than it is, has minimal action scenes. It's a mediocre film but I'm glad I watched it. I am curious I just read the Taiwanese version has 29 more minutes of footage, which would probably flesh out some of the stuff that just felt out of the blue. Maybe in a few years I'll revisit and watch that version.
