2003, Action
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Aya Ueto, Joe Odagiri, and Naoto Takenaka

Azumi (Aya Ueto) is the only female among a group of 10 people who have been trained since childhood to be assassins in their mountainous region. When warlords are vying for power, threatening the nation and trying to stir up some troubles, Master decides that it is time for them to leave the mountain and assassinate three warlords before the war breaks.

Azumi is based on the manga of the same title. I have never read the series so I don’t know how accurate it is. But this is what the action film is supposed to be.  It is definitely super cool from the beginning to the end. And yes, action is the main character of the film but the story isn’t constructed it like a lot of recent action films. You get to know enough about each character and their blaze of glory moment couldn’t be more memorable. I won’t get into any specific action scenes because words will not do any justice.

Ryuhei Kitamura knows exactly what he is doing.  He declined an offer from Hollywood to make this film. And I am glad he did. Those freaks of Hollywood wouldn’t know what to do with him. What’s interesting and most impressive about this film is that they choreographed all of the action scenes the day they were shot. And having this J-pop girl to perform almost all the action. 

In the making-of features, Ryuhei mentioned that he didn’t want to just use her on close ups and have a stunt double do the action. Insteady, he wanted to have her perform all the action even though she isn’t physically up trained for it and may not look good and realistic. Folks, that truly paid off. Aya looks so great every time she slices someone and gives the pose.

This is the flashiest, the coolest, and the most entertaining samurai film since Lone Wolf And A Cub.  It is just like Versus. After two hours of watching, you will want more.

Shogo is an award-award winning filmmaker currently hard at work on a new project. Asian Fever is his weekly column devoted to Asian cinema and related topics.

2003, Romance
Director: Carol Lai
Starring: Karena Lam, Ekin Cheng, Liu Ye

Maan (Karena Lam) visits the city of Qingdao in search of a landscape sketched by her dead boyfriend Sam (Ekin Cheng). She moves into a guesthouse with one of Sam’s relatives. She soon meets a local postman Lit (Liu Ye) who decides to help her find the place. Of course he starts falling for her who doesn’t seem to share his affection.

This is one of the best films I have seen in 2003. I absolutely loved it. I truly adore it. Thinking about this film puts a smile on my face. Sure the story is nothing new. The girl thinking about her ex, and meeting another man. It is quite simple. Simplicity of the story and complexity of emotion are what elevate this film to top level and separate from ones of this genre. I must give it to director Carol Lai for not falling into the pit and not creating mandatory romantic film. The rhythm of the film is quite slow as Maan’s emotion unfolds. Beautifully photographed images are there to help creating mood for Maan lingering to the past. And once again Karena Lam carries the weight of the film entirely. She delivers genuine performance, most natural, most charming, most realistic performance to date. There are so many silent moments in the film. She doesn’t try to make her feelings obvious at all. She always manages to express very subtle emotions.

This film is not for everyone. Simplicity of the story, slow paced, and lots of silent moments may not convince you to watch it all the way. But if you are out searching for realistic romantic film, search no more.

Shogo is an award-award winning filmmaker currently hard at work on a new project. Asian Fever is his weekly column devoted to Asian cinema and related topics.

2002, Romance
Director: Dante Lam
Starring: Karena Lam, Nicholas Tse, Candy Lo

Fung (Nic) is a postal delivery boy with loss of hearing.  Jane (Karena) is a dancer whose group has been accepted in a grand dance competition. They encounter each other four times in a day. But unfortunate fate (***censored***!) fell upon them. She was hit by a car and is no longer here on earth. Luckily he can see her for the reason that both of them were thinking about each other when an accident happened. Now she is allowed seven days to walk the earth as a spirit. Together they set out to win the dance competition.

It is a cute romantic film.  At least it feels like one. As much as I enjoyed the film I must say that there are things that sometimes just don’t make any sense at all. It has “logical problems” (the whole afterlife thing revolves and works for whatever makes things either better or worse for Jane and Fung). Also there are things in the film that sound and look so thematic but really have no purpose whatsoever. And it sure does have clichés from this genre. But you know what? I liked it.

Sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy for what it is. If you are man/woman enough to do so it gives you total satisfaction.  After all this is a fantasy film targeted for those seeking the kind of true romance that can only happen in a film like this.

So what separates this film from other just like it? Karena Lam. She is the heart of this film. Her unaffected natural charm is enchanting and her genuine performance is intriguing. And she is super cute. And Nic also plays this sympathetic character so convincingly. He proves he isn’t just a pretty boy. Honestly at the end, their chemistry is so fantastic that one can only wish to spend more time with them.

I am not a big fan of Tiramisu but I liked this one. I enjoyed every bit of taste of this while it lasted.

Shogo is an award-award winning filmmaker currently hard at work on a new project. Asian Fever is his weekly column devoted to Asian cinema and related topics.

2003, Comedy
Director: Barbara Wong
Cast: Karena Lam, Candy Lo, Roy Chow

Karena (Karena Lam) is an aspiring writer who has a thing for her editor Jason whom she has never met. Candy (Candy Lo) is a tarot card fortune teller desperate for true love.  Jean (Roy Chow) just wants to make money. These characters along with a few others all live in a flat partying and playing truth or dare. One night at party, the ultimate dare is placed upon them. They must achieve their ultimate goal within a year or eat ***censored*** literally.

It is a very fun film. When American filmmakers try to do something like this (American Pie comes to mind), they absolutely fail. I think it’s due to their concentration of just trying to hit some bullshit punch lines or stupid pay offs.  That’s not a case here. Director Barbara Wong did enough controlling that it doesn’t get too wacky and out of place when it possibly could. Like I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few characters and it is impossible to develop each one completely in a little over 90 mins. Some are more focused than others. Overall it does work. The film is much more concerned about the characters and their situations rather than the overall story. One might not be satisfied because of lack of conclusion or resolution from every characters at the end, but Truth or Dare ends on an uplifting note.

The performances by every cast member are so energetic. You can feel they are having a lot of fun and it shows. In fact, I would not be surprised if they were playing themselves in it. Even at some wacky moments, none of them are annoying. They are very natural and real.

This isn’t anything new. We have seen this before. But it is worth a look. It is something you can throw it in your DVD player as background movie.

Shogo is an award-award winning filmmaker currently hard at work on a new project. Asian Fever is his weekly column devoted to Asian cinema and related topics.

Horror, Rated R
Director: Brian Yuzna
Writer: José Manuel Gómez
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry

H.P. Lovecraft’s demented Dr. Herbert West makes a third house call for Beyond Re-Animator, a sequel that’s right on par with Bride of Re-Animator, resulting in a garish, gory and good-humored (though definitely not good-natured) good time.

Jeffrey Combs returns to his most famous role as West, now imprisoned in the Arkham State Penitentiary after one of his living dead experiments escapes from Miskatonic Asylum and kills a young woman. Several years later, that girl’s little brother – who witnessed her gruesome demise – is the prison’s new doctor, and he’s brought West a present: a syringe full of that familiar glowing
green goo.

The doc (likeable but goofy Jason Barry) wants to use the serum to find ways to help people; West, however, just seems interested in continuing his freak-a-thon, though he has developed a method for restoring life, thanks to some secret research with rodents. At first, they inject a prisoner here, a
smokin’-hot Spanish reporter there, but the second half of the film is an all-out prison riot, Re-Animator-style, with electrocutions, hangings, exploding stomachs, nipple-biting and a wrestling half-torso!

As a fan of the original Re-Animator and its Bride, I will admit I harbored strong reservations about Beyond, although I had wanted a third film for years. Basically, the fact that it was shot in Spain, set in a prison, scripted by a first-timer and had no principals return except Combs combined to portend an idea whose time had long passed. After all, Bride is now 13 years old! Plus, director Brian Yuzna’s efforts of late – Faust: Love of the Damned, anyone? I thought not – didn’t bode well, either. But to my relief, Beyond is a solid third chapter in a B-movie franchise of Grand Guignol that has a lot of life left in it – reanimated or otherwise.

The disc boasts a bilingual making-of documentary, as well as Yuzna’s commentary and the obligatory trailers (for this, Faust and Cabin Fever). And if you thought the Re-Animator trilogy was lacking a techno-dance theme all along, you’ll thrill to the unintentionally hilarious Dr. Re-Animator music video for “Move Your Dead Bones” (sample lyric: “Reanimate your feet!”). And don’t you dare switch it off before the closing credits, lest you want to miss the fight between the rat and the penis.

Rod Lott writes about pop culture, annoying celebrities and life’s other absurdities every day at Hitch Daily and he also publishes the long-running Hitch:The Journal of Pop Culture Absurdity which is actually made out of paper.