Movie review - "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986) ****1/2 (re-watching)

 Fun. So Howard Hawks. Wonderful teams. Engaging. Can't believe it wasn't a hit. Kim Catrall so funny. Ditto Kurt Russell. Everyone.

Movie review - "The World of Suzie Wong" (1960) **1/2

 Big hit for William Holden - and actually I think it was his last one until The Wild Bunch. He scored with interracial romance in Love is a Many Splendored Thing only here the race is a genuine non white actor, Nancy Kwan, stepping in for Frances Nyen.

It's glossy, in colour, widescreen, location filming in Hong Kong. The sexiness was, at the time for a Hollywood film, cutting edge although apparently reduced from the play. It helped that it was set in Hong Kong - not too confronting, what goes on tour etc. 

The piece struck a chord as a novel, play and film. There's a fantasy I think of running off to the Orient, painting and having a hot Asian hooker fall in love with you. And the girl is such a child like idiot maybe she's  not too threatening to white female audiences. That's just a theory - but I know some women who enjoy this film. Feels mean to kill her baby at the end. It gives the piece some emotional kick I suppose but strewth.

There's some racist Poms for Holden to be superior to - and some nice Poms so the British market doesn't get too upset. Michael Wilding is quite funny as a businessman who visits the brothels (Ron Randell played this role on Broadway). Sylvia Syms copes well in a thankless part as Woman in love with Holden. She just kind of hangs around and is encouraging. 

Nancy Kwan does have charisma. Holden was starting to look old but he's got X factor too. Weird to imagine a young William Shatner played that role on Broadway - a young person would've given it a totally different dimension.

It drags in places but there's enough nice photography and colour. I have nostalgic affection for these pieces they remind me of Saturday night movies from Bill Collins.

Movie review - "Tai Pan" (1986) *

 Looks gorgeous. Beautiful photography. Never seems real. Misses the point of the book - the battle for Hong Kong to be taken seriously. We never access Struan's dream, or get his love for May May or his rivalry with Brock. Bits from the book are there but they feel like filmed bits rather than something coherent. Bryan Brown is miscast as a Scot - physically he's fine, he's got the intelligence, just is silly with that accent. John Stanton isn't good. Janice Turner is lovely. Kyra Sedgwick is Brock's daughter. Joan Chen is gorgeous but dubbed - why? Promising young faces. The older actors aren't good eg the guy who plays Quance. George MacDonald Fraser's script was a lot better.

Movie review - "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986) ****1/2

Many filmmakers tried to copy Hawks this comes closer - the camraderie, sense of adventure, ensemble feel, the quips. It's not a white saviour movie at all - Kurt Russell is more a trickster character like Captain Jack Sparrow. The real hero is Dennis Dunn.

A lovely motley crew of characters - Kim Cattrall's wisecracking lawyer, Kate Burton's wisecracking journo, that random other Chinese guy, Victor Wong. Great line up of villains.

Action, humour, silliness, fun. When I was 13 I thought it was perfect and it's still a mystery why it didn't make money.

Movie review - "Stoner" (1974) **

The movie George Lazenby made in Hong Kong instead of one with Bruce Lee (which would have been Game of Death). It is of some interest especially as he plays an Australian (well, we meet him driving over the Harbour Bridge) who goes to Hong Kong to investigate the death of his sister in a weird sex cult - the reverse of Man from Hong Kong. Only this film doesn't have any of that film's culture clash.

It's an odd movie - feels made up as it went along. In addition to Lazenby investigating there's also Angela Mao investigating (her part is as big as Lazenby's but they rarely cross) and the cult gives it a Fu Manchu feeling. Lazenby beds a few babes and shaves his moustache off half way through. He was a good on screen fighter but it doesn't quite feel realistic that he can beat off these kung fu henchmen who attack him. Samo Hung is in it.

Still, it's definitely of interest, particularly as it offers Lazenby a rare lead role, even if he does have to share it with Angelo Mao.

Movie review - "Forced Vengeance" (1982) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

A letter known Chuck Norris film from his heyday despite being made by a major studio, MGM, and having a quasi-well known director, James Fargo. It's not that bad - a simple story of revenge with Norris as a debt collector who avenges the death of his mentor.

It's set in Hong Kong which makes for consistently interesting visuals - crowds, skyscrapers, trips on yachts, etc. There's a solid amount of action, most of it kung fu orientated.

It lacks the moments of high camp we remember from classic Chuck films - it's too sensible - though there is some silly flashback stuff and narration which is introduced and then forgotten.

There's also an unpleasant rape scene - Norris' girlfriend (Mary Louise Weller) is raped and killed, and the scene where she's raped is dragged out (she struggles and slaps the guy for a bit)... and when we see her corpse she's nude, and it's just depressing. There's also an attempted rape of Camilla Griggs, a beautiful talent whose part should have been bigger. There's a third female role, a hooker who gives Norris some information - three women is a lot for a Chuck Norris film.

Although set in Hong Kong half the cast is white. There's a bizarre scene where Norris attacks a sleeping baddy in bed - he's in bed with his boyfriend, Norris suffocates the boyfriend in order to get the baddy to talk, but is careful to say "the best man I ever know was homosexual". I guess that's progressive...? In a way?

Richard Norton pops up in a small role. There's some stylish-ish moments like a kung fu fight shot in shadow against a giant neon sign.

Movie review - "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1968) **

Harry Alan Towers had success with some Fu Manchi movies made in the late 60s - looking for a follow up his eyes lit on another super villain created by Sax Rohmer, Sumuru. While Fu Manchu was the yellow peril Sumuru was the female peril - created by Rohmer when publishers started finding his work just too racist.

The film is sexist - Sumuru is determined to rule the world but is undermined by females who can't help resisting men - but the impact of that is limited by the film's sloppiness and stupidity.

The camp factor is extremely, extremely high here. George Nader, a famous Hollywood gay, is the he-man hero who women find irresistible. George was getting on a bit - he takes his shirt off a lot and is in good shape but the years were starting to tell. And I don't mean to be the sort of person who reads in gay things into films because of an actor's sexual orientation but it honestly does seem like Nader is sending it up and mocking heterosexuality in his performance.

Shirley Eaton from Goldfinger is fun as Sumuru, having a great old time. I have affection for Frankie Avalon with his helmet hair and goofy nature - the sexist nature of some of his character's comments are unfortunate. Wilfred Hyde White dodders through and Klaus Kinski has a high old time as a prince.

There's some very attractive women in the film as well as location shooting in Hong Kong (Terry Bourke, Australian director, was production manager). The film is a mess - you can't say it's a good movie, it's confusing - but it has fun things.

Movie review - "Red Dragon" (1965) **

Following his divorce from Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger hot footed it to Europe and made a bunch of movies of, um, varying quality. This fell into the "less good" category, a Eurospy thriller whose main attraction is some really impressive Hong Kong location photography - in particular there's lots of scenes shot on the harbour involving the junks, which look terrific

Granger plays an FBI agent investigating the death of two agents who were looking into a smuggling ring. Rosanna Schiaffino is another agent who helps him out.

There's a lot of running around and people kidnapping each other and pointing guns at each other. Granger looks in great shape despite the gray hair and kicks a bit of butt. This wasn't a great movie but it got better as it went along particularly as it focused more on action instead of the dopey plot.

Movie review - "Bloodsport" (1989) **

The film that launched Jean Claude Van Damme as a star and he's the best thing about it - in addition to the standard fighting hero stuff (quick with fists, good build), he has fresh faced, innocent good looks, and a naive quality that is appealing, even if his acting is limited; the accent is part of the charm.

This has an odd sort of plot: he plays an army guy who goes AWOL in order to compete in a mysterious underground fight tournament in Hong Kong. A pretty journalist wants to know about this tournament, so sleeps with Jean Claude; two special agents (one of them Forest Whittaker!) want to track him down and bring him back to the army for no really good reason; Jean Claude is doing it for the honour of his teacher... who is still alive (is it that important?). He fights the main baddy to get revenge for crippling his friend (Orgre from Revenge of the Nerds) - but he only just met Ogre and Ogre kind of deserved it anyway because he gloated when the fight was still going on. And it's based on a true story.

Location filming in Hong Kong helps, and there are some decent fight scenes. It's got late 80s charm too, such as the Cannon Group logo, rock soundtrack, wisecracking Chinese sidekick, the hair of the girl; there's also a flashback to Jean Claude as a kid, meeting his sensei - the young actor has a weird accent and everything.

Movie review - "The Man from Hong Kong" (1975) ***1/2

I have a massive soft spot for this film from watching it as a kid - I still remember the joy of watching a real action film that was Australian. WIth as much objectivity as I can bring to it though (which isn't much) this is still a joyously fun film, full of energy and verve. It's got one of the greatest opening sequences in Australian cinema: a montage of shots as the sun comes up over Uluru, a glorious over the top action sequence involving a drug exchange, kung fu fighting on the rock, a helicopter chase, an exploding car... then segueing into 'Sky High' by Jigsaw as a hang-glider flies over Hong Kong. I always love the bit where the credits end and you think that's it but then the song starts up again and there's this whole extra bit - it's like finding extra chips at the bottom of the pack.

I'll go over the flaws first - this goes for too long (the car chase towards the end was when I was becoming a bit tired), some of the dialogue is very corny, the script could have done with a little more complexity, George Lazenby and Hugh Keays Byrne could have done with more to do, a few of the bit part players are just silly (e.g. the cop who supports Roger Ward at the beginning).

But now we've gotten that out of the way now for the praise - how good is this film? Jimmy Wang Yu's skinniness, Roger Ward doing kung fu, Hugh Keays Byrne and Frank Thring being marvellously flamboyant, George Lazenby is great just being George Lazenby, Rebecca Gilling was then one of the most beautiful women in cinema (and she's nude), there are some tremendous stunts and action, Brian Trenchard Smith moves it along at a tremendous clip. This was a quite popular film, especially internationally, but it didn't lead to many imitators in the period film happy late 70s - a great shame, since Australians have liked action films set here (e.g. bushranger movies). It's lived on and it remains great fun.