Winners and Sinners (1983) [Film Review]

Winners and Sinners; or, Here Come the Lucky Stars

     From now on, we must stick together.

Winners and Sinners (1983) marks the first instalment in Sammo Hung’s successful Lucky Stars franchise. Hung conceived the idea of a light-hearted comedy with an ensemble cast after watching a TV programme about police officers using specific skills to crack down a case. The end result is an entertaining flick harking back to such classics as The Marx Brothers or The Three Stooges films.
Release Info

Directed by: Sammo Hung Starring: Sammo Hung, Stanley Fung, John Shum, Charlie Chin, Richard Ng,
Jackie Chan, Cherie Chung

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 奇謀妙計五福星 Runtime: 101 min

 

Synopsis

The movie tells the story of five petty criminals who end up together in a jail cell. Teapot (Sammo Hung) is a chubby and clumsy burglar, Curly (John Shum) is a workers’ rights activist, Wind Pipe (Richard Ng) steals car parts, Vaseline (Charlie Chin) specialises in stealing jewellery, Ranks (Stanley Fung) is the eldest member with an unknown past. The cellmates befriend each other and, after their release, they decide to set up Five Stars Cleaning Company. They are joined in their endeavour by Curly’s attractive sister, Shirley (Cherie Chung). Everything goes smoothly until one day someone accidentally throws a suitcase into their van. The Lucky Stars have found themselves in the middle of a financial trade between gangsters. They have to use their wits and fists in order to clean their names. 

 

Five Lucky Stars

Winners and Sinners may be nearly 40 years old, but it is still an enjoyable comedy. I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. Sammo Hung can really make a feel-good actioner and elicit some strong laughs at the same time. I particularly liked the scenes in which Richard Ng’s character tries to learn invisibility or when the team members fumblingly try to seduce Shirley.

 

Apart from recognisable stars in the leading roles, the film is filled with great supporting parts. For instance, Jackie Chan plays a hot-headed cop who always ends up causing trouble for himself. He has an awesome chase sequence halfway through the film and it is a shame that it is not mentioned very often whenever Jackie’s amazing stunts are recapped. Interestingly, Yuen Biao choreographed action for this movie and he has a funny cameo in one of the scenes. Perceptive viewers can also spot cameos from Moon Lee, Mars, and Wu Ma.

The success of Winners and Sinners led to the creation of whopping six(!) sequels. Please refer here for the full list. Unfortunately, Sammo Hung did participate in the making of every film, but he often served either as a director, producer, or actor on the sets. In fact, the only actors from the original cast who appeared in all seven Lucky Stars films were Richard Ng and Stanley Fung. I hope that I will be able to review every entry in the series.

 

Recommendations

If you are in the mood for a light, kung-fu oriented comedy that does not rely on swearing or clichés, then Winners and Sinners is the choice for you. It is a great action comedy flick that will not disappoint you. I wish that Sammo Hung could keep making these even today.

Overall score: 7/10

Ghost in the Shell: Rescored (2020) [Anime Review]

Ghost in the Shell: Rescored (2020)

I know that I already wrote about Mamoru Oshii’s classic anime here and made a video review as well. However, it’s different this time. In this short post, I want to talk about the epic rescored version of Ghost in the Shell (1995) done by Alien Private Eye.

The fan-edit sees the replacement of Kenji Kawai’s original music score, but before you will call for your tachikomas, hear me out. Alien Private Eye composed a very upbeat 80s synthwave sound that feels not only as an homage to action music from that period, but also as a love letter to literally every scene of Ghost in the Shell. Of course, the original version of the film is unbeatable in every aspect, but this fan-edit provides a radically different (and extremely enjoyable) viewing experience. It suggests a what-if scenario: What would happen if Kenji Kawai was not available to compose the score?

 

The style of the new music also influences the pace of the picture. Instead of a cyberpunk existential journey, I felt as if I was watching a Blade Runner-esque adventure. In many scenes, I felt as if Harold Faltermeyer himself was freestylin’ it behind the synthesizer. If you have seen the original Appleseed OVA from 1988, then you know what I’m talking about.

 

To sum up, Ghost in the Shell Rescored is one awesome fan-edit. This is a fan project, so obviously he is not charging any money for this, but you have to have your own copy of the film. You can listen to the score tracks independently on bandcamp and spotify.

Artwork sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

150th Review: Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers (2005)

Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers; or, Believe in Yourself

      When I think of it, feeding my turtle and spy activities have similarities. I get excited about doing spy activities wherever I am. I just want to live as inconspicuously as possible.

Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers what a mouthful of a title! Well, that’s Satoshi Miki and his quirky style for you. I have been meaning to check out more films of this director after seeing his wonderful Adrift in Tokyo (2007). Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers was made just two years before that film, yet it is also a motivational story with a heart-warming message.
Release Info

Directed by: Satoshi Miki Starring: Juri Ueno, Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Fuse

Language: Japanese Original Title: 亀は意外と速く泳ぐ Runtime: 90 min

 

Synopsis

Suzume Katamura (Juri Ueno) is just a simple housewife. Her husband is abroad doing business and she takes care of his turtle. She kills free time by meeting her best friend, Kujaku (Yui Aoi). Oddly enough, nobody ever seems to notice Suzume, almost as if she’s invisible. All of a sudden, Suzume accidentally notices an advertisement for spies. She meets with a man and woman who created the ad. They claim to be spies on the services of a foreign state. After interviewing Suzume, they employ her, giving 5 million yen for mission expenses, and begin her training…

 

What makes us ordinary?

Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers really feels like a story by Haruki Murakami (but he would not have used comedy). Suzume is just a lonely housewife with a turtle, but after meeting a strange couple, she gets an extraordinary job which requires an ultra-high degree of ordinariness. This makes her think about what is the essence of being normal, in contrast to being not normal.

Of course, director Satoshi Miki would not be himself if he had not sprinkled the story with a full array of weird supporting characters. Apart from the spy couple, Suzume also encounters an over-the-top plumber, a retired marksman, bored-to-death cops, and a ramen chef who always makes mediocre ramen. Through these characters, Satoshi Miki questions the notions of individuality and personal uniqueness. Only after understanding ourselves can we reach our full potential and do great things, just like Suzume.

 

With regard to performances, Juri Ueno is basically the queen of weird stuff! (*Swing Girls (2004), Nodame Cantabile (2006) flashbacks*.) She makes everything instantly more awesome just with her appearance. The three actors: Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Fuse, and Yutaka Matsushige, who also appeared in Adrift in Tokyo (2007), were also extremely hilarious as the spies. Azuki Panda-chan scene nails it!

Recommendations

If you liked Adrift in Tokyo, then go ahead and watch Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers. It is a positive, happy-go-lucky film which definitely deserves more love nowadays. As for Satoshi Miki himself, it is a crime that his films are not quite popular internationally. The man is a master of quirky (and touching) comedies focusing on serious themes. I think that I should buy myself some sunglasses and a turtle.

Overall score: 8/10

Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids (2020) [Film Review]

Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids (2020)

     There was a huge explosion. Then we saw a huge-ass fireball shoot out of that village. We decided to check it out, then... we found you.

An indie Filipino production that is actually a horror martial arts film? Needless to say, I was quite surprised when I heard about Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids (2020). When I received the screener, I had fears that it may be just another B-movie, generic, vampire-hunt mash-up. Thankfully, the film surpassed my (initially low) expectations.

Release Info

Directed by: Vincent Soberano Starring: Sarah Chang, Monsour Del Rosario, Vincent Soberano

Language: English Original Title: Blood Hunters Runtime: 70 min

 

Synopsis

The Philippines suffered from an invasion of aswang (a special breed of shape-shifting monsters from the Filipino folklore). In the course of fighting with the aswang, special human/aswang hybrids emerged who are now a threat to humanity. Gabriela Chen (Sarah Chang) is an ex-cop hell-bent on hunting down the hybrids in order to avenge the death of her son and husband. She joins the group of the so-called “Slayers”. The group leader, Monte (Monsour Del Rosario), together with fellow hunters, Max (Ian Ignacio) and Kali (Roxanne Barcelo), as well as a rogue hybrid Bolo (Vincent Soberano), prepare to attack the monsters’ hideout. Their aim is to take down three formidable foes: Naga (Temujin Shirzada), Gundra (Mekael Turner), and Queen Maya (Mayling Ng).

 

Folklore Inspirations and Gruesome Monsters

Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids immediately captures the viewer’s attention by the usage of comic-book form of narration. I very much enjoyed the visual transitions between different subplots as if each scene was a separate comic-art panel. This helped move the story, especially in view of the fact the first 15 minutes of the picture contain heavy exposition.

 

Evidently, some of the supporting actors seemed a bit inexperienced in front of a camera, but I did not mind this in view of the ambitious effort taken up by the director/writer/star of the film, Vincent Soberano. Some of the shots during training/fight scenes look absolutely gorgeous, so my praise goes to Takeyuki Onishi for great cinematography. In addition, the fighting sequences (which basically consume the whole second half of the film) clearly indicate the hard work of the stunt team.

 

Production/costume design (helmed by Fritz Silorio and Mona Silorio) does not look cheap or low-budget at all. I especially liked the Slayers’ costumes, but the monsters looked intimidating as well. Speaking about the main characters, I liked their personalities and motivations. The main cast did a very good job. Sarah Chang was definitely the biggest highlight of the film.

 

With regard to disadvantages, I would only say that the film relies a bit too much on comic-book transitions. Additionally, the runtime of just 70 minutes leaves the viewer wanting to see a bit more. The film ends with a lead-in for a sequel, so here’s hoping that we will get to see more of Blood Hunters.

 

Recommendations

If you like horror and martial arts, then Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids is certainly worth your time. I hope that I will see the cast and crew doing greater things in their future projects. For more information about the film, please refer to the official Facebook page. TriCoast Studios graciously provided me with the screener. The company will distribute the film through their DarkCoast label on digital platforms, on the 17th of March, 2020. See the trailer below.

Overall score: 7/10