America
Is Sinking
(2024/Asylum DVD)/Lady
Assassin
(1983/88 Films Blu-ray*)/Legend
Of The Eight Samurai
(1983/Eureka! Blu-ray*)/Running
On Karma
(2003/Eureka! Blu-ray/*all MVD)/Weekend
In Taipei
(2024/Ketchup Blu-ray)
Picture:
C/B/B/B/B Sound: C+/B-/B-/B-/B Extras: C-/C+/B-/C+/C-
Films: C-/B-/C/C/C-
Now
for a group of genre releases that are often unusual, though one is a
minor classic...
Mario
N. Bonassin's America
Is Sinking
(2024) looks at first like it might be a documentary from the cover,
like some TV shows that have pointed out that some cities are not
built on the best foundation. This turns out to be an action film
with a touch of natural disaster film, doing neither well. Of
course, since this has not happened in real life, you know the
outcome unless the script pretends this takes place in an alternate
world. The script sure plays like one.
So
we get Johnny Pacar, Michael Pare and Lindsey Marie Wilson (Pare is a
musician who has also been a character actor for decades) taking on
the crisis, which is really a series of cliches, but I give them all
credit for pretending this is all really happening as it is one of
the most preposterous premises of any such release in its genre and
you will either be bored to death or be laughing for all the wrong
reasons for its LONG 90 minutes running time. Yes, it is really bad,
but also in a Mystery
Science Theater 300
way, if not as constantly amusing. Too bad that crew did not have an
alternate soundtrack here. See it if you are REALLY interested, or
just skip it.
Extras
only include a trailers.
Tony
Lou's Lady
Assassin
(1983) is the surprise here, an attempt by The Shaw Brothers to do
here what they did with Five
Fingers Of Death
a decade earlier, launch a new era of more aggressive, action-packed
martial arts with even more violence, blood, gore and impact than
before and launch a more serious new cycle of such films in the face
of the whole genre going too much for comedy. And not just because
of the rise of Jackie Chan.
Trying
to evoke Lady
Snowblood
and suggesting some ideas for Lady
Vengeance
a while later, Leanna Lau is the title character hired to get rid of
one successor to the throne of the aging Emperor Ching as another
wants it
just as bad. Easier said than done, Tony Liu (The Fourth Prince) and
Max Mok (aka Mok Siu-Chung as The Fourteenth Prince) are good as the
rivals, but it is the fight scenes and their amazing combination of
action, impact, choreography, graphicness and surprising (this has
fantasy elements despite being based on a real life historic incident
centuries ago) consistency make it one of the best fantasy martial
arts films still to this day.
When
the fantasy epics finally returned, they were often lighter and often
repetitive, but with a smaller budget, Lady
Assassin
remains at the top of the list as at least a minor classic and now,
you can see how good it really plays restored and reissued in such a
solid Blu-ray release. All serious film fans, especially of this
genre, should see this one at least once.
Extras
include a double-sided poster, while the disc adds...
From
Child Actor to Fight Coordinator:
An Interview with Poon Kin-Kwan
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Stills
Gallery
and
a reversible sleeve featuring original art.
Kinji
Fukasaku's
Legend
Of The Eight Samurai
(1983) has been showing up on home video for decades and the
combination of its unusual production as a fantasy piece trying to be
like a Hollywood battle epic of the time and being a curio with
another early Sonny Chiba performance, it has finally
received a more serous restoration. I still applaud those issuing it
prior in any copy they could get out there, like this one on DVD I
covered decades ago that will tell you all about the film:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/152/Legend+Of+Eight+Samurai
I
still think it is a mess, but I can at least now see how this
apparently was more ambitious production-wise, though still bad. In
fairness, may of its Hollywood and Hong Kong counterparts were just
as bad, so in that respect, it fits right in. Now you can see for
yourself thanks to Eureka! Video going out of their way to get the
film restored and saved. Otherwise, it if only for the very curio
and Chiba fans. Note that Director Fukasaku
later directed Battle
Royale
and had just finished the infamous Star
Wars-wanna
be Message
From Space
before making this one.
Extras
for this Limited Edition (2,000 copies) includes:
Limited
edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Chris Malbon
New
audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Joe Hickinbottom
Always
Looking for the New:
New interview with Kinji Fukasaku's son, filmmaker Kenta Fukasaku
The
Trials of the Eight Samurai:
New video essay by film historian and critic Stuart Galbraith IV
Japanese
Original
Theatrical Trailer
and
limited collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Tom Mes,
co-founder of Midnight
Eye
(2,000 copies).
Johnnie
To & Wai Ka-fai's Running
On Karma
(2003) has Andy Lau (Infernal
Affairs)
as a former Buddhist who has left that life to become a bodybuilder
(in a special muscle suit that all the actors pretend is his real
body in the film!) with the twist that he has the ability to see the
past and future. This comes in handy when a police investigator
(Cecilia Cheung) asks his help in solving a murder. Of course, he'll
get more involved than expected as they get to know each other.
You
might enjoy this more if you can get pas the variant on 'the fat
suit' or the 'sumo wrestler suit' but I though the script fell flat
even if I could put that aside, which I did to some extent to see if
this worked for me in any way. It hardly did, but at least they
tried something different. Guess it would have taken too long for
Lau to go into bodybuilding training for the film? That still would
not have helped the screenplay. That leaves us with yet another
curio, but at least it has been saved and restored well enough. Only
see it if you are REALLY
interested.
Extras
in this great
slipcase packaging include a collector's booklet featuring a new
essay by David West of NEO
Magazine,
while this Limited Edition of 2,000 copies also offers a Limited
Edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow, new
audio commentary by East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian
Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto, Reap
the Whirlwind:
new interview with Gary Bettinson, editor-in-chief of Asian
Cinema
journal, an archival ''making of...'' featurette and an Original
Theatrical Trailer.
George
Huang's Weekend
In Taipei
(2024) has Luke Evans (one of the supporting cast of the
ever-dwindling-in-quality Fast
& Furious
franchise) showing he can do at least as well on his own in the
occasionally interesting actioner penned by the usually overrated Luc
Besson playing a DEA Agent back together with a former lover who is
also an informant and transport driver (Lun-Mei Gewi) who has married
a drug kingpin. John (Evans) wants to bring him down.
Well,
once you put the cliches and predictability aside, there are only the
locales, actors (who are not awful) and some of the action sequences
left and they can be more watchable than expected, but it cannot keep
this up for 100 minutes and really work.. Also, the Besson style is
long played out and nothing new here has been added. Guess Evans can
at least keep trying, but cannot recommend this one.
Extras
only include a trailers.
Now
for playback performance....
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Lady
Assassin
looks really good and is the best transfer of all transfers here,
with fine color, detail and depth to complement the editing and
action. The Cantonese PCM 2.0 Mono has been very well restored and
is as good as this film will ever sound, which is helpful to how good
it looks.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Legend
Of The Eight Samurai
comes from a new 4K restoration that was much needed and way overdue,
even if you land up not liking the film. The practical effects and
wacky set design can now be seen with its unique ideas of costumes
throughout without looking cheap from bad prints and bad transfers.
Color benefits the most, even if it is not always great. The Japanese
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix and original
Japanese PCM 2.0 Stereo audio options are authentic and the 5.1 is as
good as this film will ever sound, but the English dub PCM 2.0 Stereo
is weak, not great and is not as convincing down to sound effects
placement.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Running
On Karma
looks really good from a new 2K restoration that has some good
detail, depth and color, making it the most competent of the newer
three releases, while the Cantonese PCM 2.0 Stereo is not bad and as
good as this film will ever sound.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Weekend
In Taipei
is an all-digital shoot that looks a little better than it should,
but has some warmth and fullness in the color unlike some other films
in its genre, though expect softness here and there. The DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is good and some might debate some
choices, but I thought the approach was just fine and the soundfield
is consistent.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on America
Is Sinking
is softer than is should be throughout, partly from all of the so-so
CGI visual effects, while the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix is a
little better and the default highly of the release outside of the
unintended laughs.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
