palace_master Reviews

18 Fingers of Death! (2006 Video)

Good Low budget movie

[9/10 · 20 April 2006]

I would only recommend seeing this show if you have a liking for kung-fu movies. The point is that it makes fun of low budget, classic kung fu shows. If you don't laugh and enjoy the bad acting and cheapness of martial arts movies, you won't enjoy this show. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, I was starting to wonder about where James Lew was going with this show, and if he could pull it off successfully. Once you figure out his style of humour, it's enjoyable. Maybe it's just because I have a big kung fu movie collection and I'm of Chinese descent... If you're a true martial arts movie lover, rent this movie.

Out for a Kill (2003 Video)

As good as his movies of the late 80's early 90's

[6/10 · 22 April 2005]

I've noticed that most people are giving this a terrible rating. The movie is really not that bad. I really enjoyed it. I own a lot of kung fu movies and I think that this movie is as good as a lot of quality kung fu shows. Action fighting movies never have top rate acting; we see them to enjoy the fighting and action. If you enjoy his older (early 90's) movies, you'll enjoy this one. My only negative comment is that he's getting older and it really shows in this one. Also, the monkey fighter is awesome, but the wire work could be smoother. Compared to what someone else thinks, I think that the 5.1 sound mix is well done. If you like martial arts movies, rent this one.

Mang quan gui shou (1979)

good traditional style kung fu movie

[7/10 · 20 April 2005]

I believe that this show deserves a higher rating than the 4.4 that it has right now, I give it a 7. I collect kung fu movies and have seen a lot of them. I enjoyed this Bruce Li movie because it was of the traditional kung fu storyline that is set sometime in the past in a village - along the lines of Fists of Fury, etc. It has solid fighting action and an awesome long lasting fight at the end when Bruce and his blind kung fu master kill the bad guy. Personally, I enjoy the silly jokes and gags that are in kung fu movies. I notice that a lot of western people complain about Chinese humour and bad acting in kung fu movies, but I never have a problem with it. This movie kept my attention all the way through - and that's a good thing. Here in Canada, there's a company that stamps legitimate copies of this movie and they sell for only $2. It's definitely worth your toonie, but there is no dolby sound in the soundtrack; so all of the monoural sound comes out of your centre channel speaker.

Moving Targets (2004)

awesome movie

[9/10 · 3 March 2005]

Awesome Asian action/suspense flick. I'd give it a 9/10 as far as Asian action movies go. You won't find this movie at your video store, but you can visit a movie shop in your local Chinatown and grab it there; that's where I got this copy. You have to read the sub-titles, but that's the best way to see a Chinese movie so that you can catch the jokes that and subtle meanings that get lost in voice dub-in. OK, so this is a police movie, but it is full of twists. The fighting is so realistic and the make-up is superb. The hero of the show, Fit, really appears to be getting the s&*t beat out of him. I'll give you the basic outline of what happens in this movie, because the other poster's summary is confusing. The story revolves around two buddies named Kit and Fit. They are young cops and have are in a team of about 4 or 5 other cops. Kit's mother tells him that Kit's father shot her with his revolver when Kit was a child. Kit father disappears and Kit hates his father. Kit's father is a police sergeant and takes on Kit, Fit, and their buddies as his undercover team. To make the story short, the police team are trying to bust the biggest drug lord in Hong Kong. Fit gets set up by the drug lord and has to work for the drug lord and gets fired by the police. (sounds cheesy, but I'm summarizing the story) Kit joins the Internal Investigations division of the police because he falls in love with a girl who works there. Kit has to follow and investigate his buddy, Fit. I won't bother to explain the story any further, but as you can imagine, there's lots of shooting, death, kung-fu, etcetera. There's a couple of sub-plots running through the show too. The cinematography is well done and the acting is of much higher quality than the average Chinese show. It doesn't have the usual overacting like Bruce Lee's villains or Jet Li's villains. If you can find this show, please rent it/ buy it.

The New Legend of Shaolin (1994)

Worth seeing if you like Jet Li's Chinese films

[8 December 2004]

Definitely a movie worthy of watching. I have a complete set of all Jet Li's movies (Chinese and American made) and feel that it deserves a higher rating than others have given it. Reviewers must realize that kung fu movies are fun movies with lots of action and a weak plot. You can't compare them to Hollywood's finest productions, because people have to realize that they were meant to be released in Asia only and that they are to be compared to other Asian fighting shows. Now that I've finished ranting about other's reviews let's get back to talking about the show. Jet Li plays a different character than the usual Master Wong or Master Fong. Jet usually plays the master of the kung fu club or society, but in this case him and his son are rebel outcasts of the main society. I'm not going to spoil the movie for you, but it's the usual plot of a kung fu movie - he fights the true bad guys, picks up a sexy girl who falls in love with Jet, and he fathers and trains his son. By the way, I only watch the Chinese original movies because I'd rather read the sub titles and hear the original music and read the proper meaning of the show. I understand that influences my reviews because others may be seeing badly translated dubs with stupid voices in them.Rent or buy the proper versions if you can. The theme song for Fong Sai Yuk (Jet's character in the 'Once Upon a Time in China' series is an awesome instrumental song) If you're picky about production quality, quality of plot, etc. etc. then don't watch Chinese produced Jet Li movies. Some of my other favourite Jet Li movies are 'Last Hero in China' and 'Hitman'