HCF Review - The Key Master

TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008)

Somewhere back in time cyberpunk cinema in Japan, quite appropriately, mutated and branched off from Tetsuo: The Iron Man and into the likes of Meatball Machine. Things became bloodier and slimier in some cases, while in others the swords and guns started to become bigger and more grotesque. Between all of the body horror and technological nightmares it’s no surprise that the film makers in this case decided to throw some action movie clichés into the meat-grinder. But while the basic premise involves a girl trying to live up to her late father’s legacy by joining the police, there’s little else here that will be familiar. The sheer number of odd sequences is certainly a strength in a story that could have perhaps lost twenty minutes here or there. But there are many other intriguing, and disgusting, facets to consider.

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Action Bits - Back-tracking

DRUNKEN MASTER II (1994)

Time for a few sequels even if, in general, I'm not a huge fan of them. When it comes to Hong Kong movies the second chapters are usually a bit lacking, in terms of the pacing and the story-lines. That whole magic lighting in a bottle thing is tough to recapture. But the ones I'm looking at in this case do contain two of the greatest action finales of all time, which is why I always highly anticipate re-watching them. Maybe things will fall into place this time around, things that don't involve the last twenty minutes of stunt work? Maybe if I watch the real version, instead of 'The Legend of Drunken Master' in which all the music and sound effects are wrong, something will click? Let's see how these two entries in Jackie's early 1990s catalogue hold up.

Action Bits - Off The Rails

MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS (1986)

Time for a movie about East meeting West, but not in the usual sense. Instead of a culture clash story this is essentially two ideas; a steam train heist meets a Heroes of the East style action flick. Which means there are in fact plenty of clashes involved. There are Japanese warriors, Russian soldiers, American bandits and lot of familiar Hong Kong faces living on a desert frontier. Making this all a lot less straightforward. Why have some characters migrated from the American West to Asia while others are living in a town that has been transplanted from that setting? Who can say. It's a film which tries its hand at a lot of things in terms of ideas and tonal shifts. Should it have stuck to just two genre ingredients or does all of this all form a coherent adventure?

Scorecard

MARCH

Film of the Month: Dragons Forever ☆☆☆☆