vonvegas Reviews

Rosa (1986)

The actors, some deep belly laughs, kung fu scenes and fast pace keep this one afloat.

[6/10 · 5 March 2000]

Not much of a story. More character development and situational comedy scenes. Several inducing load laughter from this viewer. For example when Yuen is fighting one of the drug dealers and they end up in a deep freeze storage locker. The Kung Fu slows and instead of injuring the opponent....acquiring clothing becomes the focus.

Yuen plays a hand in his superiors demotion and meets future partner Lo by putting his sister in the hospital during a pursuit. Lo meets his girl, an informers ex, when the new partners are assigned the duty of locating him. Both are now working for the newly demoted Inspector.

A cute movie that may be lacking in areas, but not in fun.

Inspector Chocolate (1986)

A good movie with some tremendously funny situational comedy scenes.

[7/10 · 5 March 2000]

The comparison to Inspector Clouseau is way off the mark. Inspector Chu (Chocolate) does not work independently or stumble on clues blindly as Clouseau did. He is the straight man for his two assistants. It's his quick thinking instead of lack of thought that pulls his team through.

One member being a young Anita Mui who doesn't use her high kick or show any of the skills she exhibits in later movies. She is the Superintendent's daughter and is assigned to Inspector Chocolate after his bungling an arrest and demotion to less important assignments. These new duties are commensurate with keeping the daughter out of harms way.

A missing child becomes a kidnapping and it takes Inspector Chocolate's quick thinking to bail out his teams miscues. The movie moves at a good clip keeping one entertained. There are some situational comedy scenes, like during a stake out of the ransom drop, that will cause some belly laughs. Another memorable scene involves Inspector Chocolate trying to save face while being raked over the coals by the Superintendent.

The characters are all likable and blend together well. This is a cop movie without any Kung fu action, unbelievable heroics or unnecessary body count. It's just a fun movie.

Dragon from Shaolin (1996)

An enjoyable movie, with some excellent fight scenes and belly laughs to boot

[7/10 · 14 February 2000]

Four individuals, drawn together by differing circumstances, become bonded in the quest to return an ancient Buddha head to it's rightful place. We have Yuen Biao (always reminds me of a young Errol Flynn) who has acquired the Buddha head with plans of returning it. We have two young (around 12) kung-fu prodigies. The first from the Shaolin Temple, sent by his master to search for Buddha. The second, an overweight street urchin. And of course, the lady in distress (Vivian Hsu).

This was a fun movie and one that won't collect dust before it receives a second viewing. The chubby orphan got on my nerves early on, but was the reason for enough laughs to consider adoption by the time closing credits were rolling. It was a treat watching the Little Dragon fight....similar to action in "My Father is a Hero".

The movie contains at least one scene that would never be put in an American film. It takes place after the two youngsters become friends and are attempting to earn money performing for a street audience. I'm sure if this movie was successfully dubbed (not my choice) it would be a favorite amongst the younger set.

You have to remember this is a HK film and has some minor inconsistencies. The Buddha head is made out of stone, but handled like a piece of Styrofoam. There is a scene where the girl is roughed up earlier in the movie. This fellow shows up later at a completely different local and confronts the girl again. There may have been dozens of other examples, but I missed them as I was enjoying the movie to much to take notice.

Iron Monkey 2 (1996)

Low budget B-movie that has it's moments.

[4/10 · 13 February 2000]

Inspector Cool Head (not my translation), an honest cop who suspects a frame on someone accused of murder. It's the kind of movie you keep telling yourself, I'm just going to watch it for another 5 minutes.....next thing you know the movie is over. At times the DVD picture was clean, but more often than not it seemed I was watching a tape in extended play. I would recommend a rental instead of a purchase.

Legend of the Drunken Tiger (1990)

Why do drunks in film spill more booze than they drink?

[3/10 · 13 February 2000]

Likeable characters make you want to enjoy the film, but the script and costumes makes it difficult. They have some decent fight scenes until the armies of Europe and the U.S. appear. The sight of occupation troops would be enough for anyone to fall off the wagon.....especially the drunken tiger.

Cheong San is opposed to the Ching Dynasty and most of the movie centers on him and his betrothed battling with government officials. For me the film took a dive once the officials fled and Cheong San and his followers were left to face the occupation troops.

I also didn't know that the military forces in 1898 were so skilled in kung-fu. Like often happens in HK films....overkill sets in. This must be a series as the DVD case tells us to collect all three and the ending would indicate a continuation.

It wasn't that bad of a B-movie.....just as long as you don't expect more.

Mr. Vampire (1985)

A well balanced film offering comedy, action and horror.

[10/10 · 9 January 2000]

This is a perfect example of how DVD removes barriers prohibiting wonderful movies, such as Mr. Vampire, from entering my living room. My viewing was enhanced because a friend from Singapore provided added commentary. Believe me, if you enjoy a good laugh, a little slap stick, a completely different view of the undead (vampires) and ghosts, well choreographed kung fu fight scenes and an overall fun movie, you won't need a friend from Singapore.

I hope the mention of slap stick doesn't misled, as the balance is perfect between comedy and seriousness throughout the 94 minutes of this movie. There are movies I've enjoyed watching once....this will be a repeater, many times over.