April 2002: Documentary Month

The Cold Fusioneers

• It’s a Beautiful Film Worth Fighting For
  Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) - Thankfully here, we have what is essentially a very good character-driven period drama. Notice that I say period drama and not period action film. […]
• It’s a Beautiful Film Worth Fighting For
  Rogue Assassin (2007) – Probably worse than the Steven Seagal plot is the Steven Seagal style of action. This is especially unfortunate, considering that the action director was Corey Yuen, who was once one of Hong Kong’s top choreographers. […]
• It’s a Beautiful Film Worth Fighting For
  Born to Defence (1986) - I can understand his desire to denounce China’s practice of favoring the gwailos, but the idea isn’t developed as well as it should on film. The end result is an “Americans: BAD, Chinese: GOOD” type of a film that we so often saw during the early 1970s. [...] […]
• And You Thought It Was Safe(?)
  The X From Outer Space (1967) – Japan’s sixth manned mission to Mars picks up a two hundred foot tall, laser-breathing hitchhiker. Hilarity ensues. […]
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  Death Nurse (1987) – From the team that brought you Crazy Fat Ethel II! […]
• The Gorilla’s Lament
  Dhoom: 2 (2006) – Bigger.  Dumber.  Actionmovier. […]
• MonsterHunter
  Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus (1965) – Before this movie started I didn’t even know what continent Damascus was on! […]
• MonsterHunter
  Giant of the Evil Island (1965) promises us so much. Like a giant. And an evil island. And director Piero Pierotti (Hercules Against Rome) delivers exactly all of it! […]
• The Gorilla’s Lament
  Dhoom (2004) – Dhoom sets out to be a big dumb action movie, and it succeeds completely.  It’s big, it’s an action movie, and it’s dumb. […]
• The Gorilla’s Lament
  Aladin (2009) – Disjointed but entertaining special effects extravaganza, starring Amitabh Bachchan as the Genie of the Lamp. […]