Good old MST3K! One of the greatest shows in television history and yet I can never seem to find time to watch the box sets as they come in. This set, Volume 12, is the last set to be released by Rhino. All subsequent volumes are being released by Shout Entertainment. Not to worry, of course as the Shout discs are just as good content-wise and are released in thinpacks and not the nasty Digi-paks that Rhino used.

The Rebel Set: Now here's a movie that sounded good on paper but ultimately falls flat. It has tons of character and television actors but the plot is boring and really makes no sense at times. The riffing is average but not memorable. Honestly it's a below average episode.

Secret Agent Super Dragon: Now here's a fun and crappy spy thriller from the swingin' 60s. Ray Danton stars in this Italian take off of the James Bond super spy film genre. There's modestly hot women and some half decent fights. To quote my brother, "The film would've been good with the actors and the premise had it had a real plot and made by competant people."

The riffing on this one was quite good although no lines stuck in my head afterwards. Certainly not bad for a Joel episode.

The Starfighters: Oh God, please don't ever let the Air Force take me. I have the utmost respect for our service men and women but by George this film was a pain to watch. For some reason I think my cousin who spent 20 years in the Air Force would love this film. At least the host segments are hilarious.

Parts the Clonus Horror: Ugh! I HATE THIS MOVIE! Honestly, there are few MST3K epsisodes I can't watch and this is one of them. The film is disturbing and thus probably met its goal of shocking the audience into an anti-cloning stance. I just mourn for the waste of such talents as Peter Graves and Keenan Wynn. Ironically this film was remade into the Michael Bay crapfest known as "The Island."

At least the host segments are funny.

All in all a good set. There are two more sets after this one that I need to get around to watching soon. As of this writing I already have half of Vol. 13 watched so it may be sooner than I think.

Labels: Comedy, MST3K, TV Shows

Mon Oncle (or My Uncle in English) tells the story of the simple Monsieur Hulot. He's a total idiot with no steady work and spends most of his days goofing off or taking his nephew out for mischief, much to the dismay and disapproval of his sister and brother-in-law.

I chose tonight's film with no prior knowledge of either Jaques Tati or the Monsieur Hulot character. M. Hulot was the main character for four of the films for Tati. He was also quite an influence for Mr. Bean and it's certainly not difficult to believe. Like Mr. Bean Monsier Hulot is mostly mute as are many of the characters around him. He does not have the mean streak that Mr. Bean shows and, outside of his Brother-in-law, seems to not have an enemy in the world.

If Hulot was to have an enemy it would be modern lifestyles. While he lives happily in a poorer part of the city (in a house which looks as if it was made of spare parts) Hulot's sister and her husband live in a decidedly modern and streamlined house. Like Buster Keaton's Electric House the Space Age home is impractical and uncomfortable with the Arpels more owned by their possessions and home than the other way around.

Mon Oncle is a fantastic film. Before today I was ignorant of this film, Jaques Tati and Monsiur Hulot. Honestly I chose this film on a whim from Time Warner's Free Movies on Demand channel. I highly recommend it to all. You'll laugh yourself silly!

On a side note, this is the final film of the 31 Days of Film experiment. Stay tuned for a review and retrospect on the experience as well as what the future brings.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy

Here we have a little silent comedy about a country boy trying to win back the heart of his sweetheart by catching some bootleggers. It stars George K. Arthur as Peter Good, a simple farm boy on a mission that is obviously beyond his knowledge. His girl Amy, played by silent starlet Gertrude Olmstead, seems only interested in the new city boy in town. Rounding out the cast is a young woman out to help round up the bootleggers. She is played by a very young Joan Crawford.

Of course being a relatively short film, it clocks in at just over an hour, the plot isn't all that heavy. Still, while it may be short on plot, it's not short on laughs. If you love silent comedies, this is one you don't want to miss.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy, Silent Films

Today's film is a classic Hong Kong comedy and drama which examines the roles of both the individual and how those roles must change when one gets married. It's the classic liberal vs conservative conflict told only in the way that MP & GI could.

The Bedside Story tells the story of Dingwen and Renmei. After Renmei wins best actress at the Far East Film Festival and Dingwen wins Best Screenwriter and Director the two decide to get married, much to the disagreement of Dingwen's brother, Dingwei.

After the marriage Renmei goes back to her old ways staying out late with her boss and dancing the night away. The two stay in separate rooms and essentially have a paper marriage. It takes a little blackmail and quite a bit of comedy to straighten it all out but as is the case with MP & GI films, everything turns out alright in the end.

MP & GI films are some of the most accessible Hong Kong films to Western Audiences. They derive much of their filmmaking and plots from the Western influence in Hong Hong.

The Bedside Story is a fun little picture and is certainly a film worth watching.

Labels: 31 days of film, Cathay, Classics, Comedy, Hong Kong

I am an unapologetic film fan. As a film fan I try to sample from just about every genre, decade and country I can get my mitts on. Yet when asked to play favorites it almost always comes to the same short list. On that list are a lot of Hollywood films of the late 30s. With that in mind you can understand my eagerness to watch tonight's film, Double Wedding.

Double Wedding is a vehicle for one of the greatest pairings in motion picture history. Sure Tracy and Hepburn claim the title now but in this humble critics opinion they can't hold a candle to William Powell and Myrna Loy. The chemistry between them onscreen is fantastic with the two playing off each other perfectly. They were yin to each other's yang and are truly legends.

The plot centers around Irene and Waldo. They are a young couple in love and yet they are frustrated with the fact that Irene's sister, Margit (Myrna Loy), has fully taken over their lives so much that they are essentially ordered to do everything. Irene tries to get the meek Waldo to stand up for himself and yet he's too much of a mouse to do anything. With the whole situation in a mess the "Hollywood director" friend of the young couple (William Powell) is enlisted to help. Of course along the way he can't help but fall in love with Margit.

It's all very predictable and yet so perfectly hilarious. I often wonder if it's the quality of actors today or just if filmgoers expect different things. Either way, they don't make them as great as this one. Definitely check this one out if you have the chance.

Labels: 31 days of film, Classics, Comedy

Stephen Chow is undoubtedly one of the kings of Cantonese comedy. Like Jackie Chan and to a lesser degree the Hui Brothers, his films have been essential viewing to all those who wish to sample the films of Hong Kong. Fight Back to School doesn't feature the over the top effects of his more recent films such as Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle but it does feature a young and exciting Chow at the start of his super-stardom.

Chow plays a young policeman who is ordered by his superiors to go undercover in what appears to be a high school (though it's identified as a college.) Chow's mission is to find his superior's stolen pistol. He is aided by Chow's regular comedic partner Ng Man Tat who plays another undercover cop posing as Chow's father. Chow also vows to win the heard of the lovely Sharla Cheung who was also a regular in Chow's films of the 90s.

Your enjoyment of this films depends on how well you can take silliness. If you've seen any of Chow's other films then be my guest and go right ahead. If you haven't, I'd say to check out either Shaolin Soccer or, better yet The God of Cookery.

Labels: 31 days of film, Comedy, Hong Kong, Stephen Chow

Who would have ever thought I would have paid cash money for what is routinely given away. Granted, I do this every single time I buy a DVD of a film that will most likely come to Starz and I could just record them but when it's an internet thing you don't have that sort of option. Regardless, it's fantastic!

For those living under a rock for the last 8 years or so, Strong Bad is a some form of Lucha Libre wrestler who has boxing gloves for hands and gets in front of his outdated computers and answers emails from fans who write in, usually belittling them before it leads into a comedic skit. The first few take a while to get going but once the Brothers Chaps got the formula down around 20 or so, there's rarely one you'll feel like skipping.

The content may be free online but the DVDs have enough extras to keep you busy. There are some bonus emails as well as interviews and some weird karaoke things. My brother and I are both big fans of the website and thus had a blast with these. Now we have to watch Discs 4 and 5 (sold separately from the first 100) as well as the Everything Else discs.

If I have any complaints it's that the Easter Eggs work better on the site as opposed to on the DVD.

Labels: Cartoons, Comedy, Internet shows

After the mildly disappointing debut of the Film Crew, this next installment proves that Mike, Bill and Kevin are again at the top of their game.

Peter Graves stars as a rather bland scientist revived by aliens with ping pong eyes so that he can steal nuclear secrets which he has been working on. They need this in able to achieve, what else, world domination! So it's Peter Graves vs. the rest of the world as he is the only one who knows about them and, armed with paper and a slide rule. the only one who can save the day.

The Film Crew does an excellent job with this little turd of a film. There seemed to be less of the toilet humor and more cultural references, which is a welcome change.

I can honestly say that The Film Crew has met all my expectations. No, it's not MST3K and it's something that you have to get used to now that the sight gags, the host segments and all the other non-movie things about MST3K.

Next for the Film Crew is The Wild Women of Wongo, which is currently in my backlog with Giant of Marathon not far behind. For those who want just MST3K Volume 12 is coming soon. Either way, I'm happy.

Labels: Comedy, Film Crew, MST3K

Diving into the backlog is another volume of the incredibly strange movie about some mixed up aliens.

Urusei Yatsura is a show that I'm really unsure of how to take. The show seems to go to great lengths to establish Lum as a likable character and while I do feel for her fruitless attempt to keep Ataru faithful, there are times I wonder why she doesn't just give up.

I have one more disc of this and perhaps if my backlog was zero I'd get some more but for now, the show is continuing to be quite blah.

Labels: Anime, Comedy, Japanese

Space Ghost returns along with his enslaved villain side-kicks Zorak and Moltar for another collection of one of the most brilliant shows in the history of television.

Included here are all the episodes from the fourth season. These episodes are now a full ten years old and yet they are just as fresh and hilarious as ever. Between "Macho Man" Randy Savage portraying Space Ghost's grandfather to Space Ghost breaking into a version of "Dear Old Donegal" the humor goes from completely over the top to educated and back again all within 10 to 15 minutes time.

I definitely recommend this and I really hope more are coming since Volume 4 never (to my knowledge) materialized.

Labels: Animation, Comedy

Every story must have a beginning and Dragon Ball is no exception. Before there were super Saiya-jin level 20 billion and an entire season devoted to five minutes, there was a little comedy story loosely based on A Journey to the West. Here is where we first meet Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Yamucha, Muten Roshi and Chi-Chi in a more comedic and fairy tale-like show that may not please all Dragon Ball Z fans but is quite entertaining on its own.

Since the video rights of the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball are caught in somewhat of a snag in the States, Funimation has not been able to release them uncut. In Austrailia, however, things are a different story. Working on a sublicense through Funimation Madman has released all the FUNI Dragon Ball sets much to the delight of those down under as well as importers worldwide.

The first thing I should mention is that these sets are not an alternative to the US sets. Since Madman licensed these through Funimation, any gripes you have on the American sets are present here plus one. These discs are encoded to fit the dimensions of the PAL video system and thus are incompatible with most American DVD players including those that are Region Free. If you plan on watching these on a computer with region free capabilities, you should be okay, otherwise make sure you have PAL to NTSC conversion as a feature on your region free player before buying this.

Despite all the issues, I still recommend this set. Dragon Ball is a great show which is sadly overshadowed by its sequel series. Yet when given a chance on its own it's a lot of fun.

Labels: Anime, Comedy, Dragon Ball

Lifting up my week is Rhino's newest installment of their MST3K box sets. They are sticking to the standard format of four movies per volume and are still including a few goodies here and there. I always have high hopes on these sets and this one is no exception.

Ring of Terror is the first episode on the disc and is the weakest of the bunch. This season 2 episode was unfortunately too dull for my tastes as it's obvious that the gang is still getting the knack of writing the riffing. The real saver here was an episode of the incredibly rediculous Undersea Kingdom serial.

The Indestructible Man has Lon Chaney Jr. in the roll of "the Butcher" who is a killer brought back from the dead thanks to some goofy amateur scientists with a station wagon. The film is total garbage but the riffing is top notch. I also loved the end segment with Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy as cops.

Tormented is actually the best source film of the four. Bert I. Gordon actually wrote a rather interesting little ghost story and despite the lack of budget this film holds up quite well. The only problem that I had with it was that I did not seem to blame the lead as much as the movie seems to have wanted me to and I found myself hating the ghost as much as he did.

This disc also has a great interview with Bert I. Gordon, his daughter (and Tormented actress) Susan Gordon and the guy who played the beatnik sailor. It's quite informative and while there is some back-patting by all throughout the interview I will agree with them that Susan Gordon was quite the child actress and her performance as the cute little sister was first rate.

Finishing out the set was the absolute best episode that Mystery Science Theater 3000 ever did. Horrors of Spider Island was the third to last episode Best Brains did before closing down for good and was one of the few episodes I was able to watch on its first broadcast. Ever since then I have nearly worn out my VHS (and later DVD-R) recordings of it.

The brilliance of this episode is two-fold. First off the film is a total turkey and yet is completely watchable by anyone with a warped sense of humor and a love for Eastern European women showing their breasts (and there are many of you, I'm sure.) Secondly the riffing has some of the greatest lines ever. I find myself quoting the film at times when appropriate or inappropriate for that matter.

If you need a reason to buy the set, then I question your status as a MSTie. Buy this set today!

Highest Recommendation!!

Labels: Comedy, MST3K, TV Shows

Hong Kong cinema is certainly a fun genre and it was never more fun than during the so-called "golden age" of the 80s. During this period it seemed if you had a hit you were guaranteed at least two or three sequels. So does this sequel measure up?

Carol Cheng returns as the adorable and innocent by the book Communist. Instead of her going to Hong Kong it's a Hong Kong cop coming to see her. Coincidentally the cop happens to be the cousin of Tony Leung's character from the first scene as apparently he wasn't available.

Sadly this film tends to fall into the stereotypical stinky sequel model. While the jokes were fun the first time, now they seem stale and the whole bumpkins coming to the country can only be taken so far.

The first one is fun and this isn't the worst thing ever but unless you loved the first one, I can't recommend it.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

There is a saying over at Rifftrax that it is not Mystery Science Theater 3000 2.0. While that may be true of Rifftrax, The Film Crew is certainly MST3k through and through. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett were, in my opinion, the best trio to go through the hallway and into the theater so putting them together to riff movies should be instant comedic gold, right? Well ...

The film is putrid, plain and simple. Like most bad movies MST3K did it appears to be trying to make some sort of story but we never seem to find out what that is. Basically all I could figure out was a guy who sold junk falls for a stripper (who, by the way, is played by Rue McClanahan of TV's The Golden Girls) and he decides to go in on an armored car heist that a guy just offers him out of the blue.

The Film Crew does a decent job with this one given what they had to work with. Their commentary is superb although I did notice that they have now taken to adding in more racy jokes and seem to take advantage of the lack of censorship on DVD.

If I was to give a weakness to this it would be the single host segment. Many of the MST3K movies were so putrid and boring that even with the commentary it was nice to have a break. They include just one segment which, honestly, I didn't find too funny.

So while it's not a revival of Mike and the Bots and there are no Mads they do have a rather silly character via telephone of their boss, Bob Honcho. While people will, rightfully so, compare and contrast it to MST3K, after 8 years it's nice to see some new material and I can't wait for more.

Labels: Bad Movies, Comedy, MST3K

After giving the first disc a less than favorable review two years ago I honestly thought I was done with the series. I eventually changed my mind, however, when RightStuff offered the rest of the show at $4 a disc.

Burn-Up, for those unfamiliar is a franchise of anime that started back in 1991. The original show was fairly standard in terms of comedy, fanservice and action, although later elements like Excess seemed to rely more on the fanservice. With Scramble they decided to take the tried and true characters of the originals and totally reinvent them with a completely different art style. What they ended up with is a sort of Tenchi in Tokyo scenario where fans of the original series may be completely turned off and new fans may not understand the big deal.

The Burn-Up franchise is admittedly something that is not a favorite of mine. While I do own a Burn-Up W laserdisc, I have yet to watch the DVD sitting in my backlog for several years now. I think the problem with a show like Burn-Up was that back when I was in high school I could enjoy just about any anime as long as it had a large supply of busty women. Strangely I suppose I have grown up and the fanservice shows don't seem to interest me as much and Scramble doesn't have enough comedy to keep me that interested.

At $4 a disc, I don't feel too ripped off but I doubt I will rewatch this anytime soon.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Ecchi, Japanese

Plastic Little is an odd little anime that I first picked up a few years ago. Over the years I have tried a few times to actually watch it and yet I was never able to actually finish it. After finally watching the entire movie, I can understand why.

What you have here a basic sci-fi and action anime with hefty doses of fanservice. Despite what should be a winning combination I found myself bored throughout most of the movie due to the rather bland plot. Therefore I can't recommend it although someone out there may find it interesting.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Ecchi, Japanese

There are very few really great cartoon shows of the last twenty years. Growing up in the 80s and 90s most cartoons were created with the intention of selling a boatload of toys. These shows tended to treat kids like mind-numbed robots who were had to be reminded not to run with scissors. While many of these shows have quite a bit of nostalgia for many, they really weren't all that entertaining.

Contrast that with Animaniacs. Animaniacs was for me, along with Tiny Toon Adventures was perhaps the most revolutionary cartoon series of my childhood. Watching it as a child I laughed at the sheer craziness of everything. The difference with watching them now however, is that there is a whole new lineup of jokes that I never understood as a child including references to the Jackie Gleason show and Gilbert & Sullivan musicals.

Animaniacs is definitely up there with my favorite cartoon shows and I have been enjoying these sets and introducing them to my brother who never watched them on their original broadcasts.

Of note, this disc also contains the rather controversial cartoon "Moon Over Minerva" which was reportedly edited for TV broadcast, although according to Wikipedia it is presented here uncut. This means no more airbrushed cleavage and no innuendos edited out.

The extras here are limited to some trailers for other dvd sets and some interviews with the writers and producers. This is quite fascinating although I definitely felt it was way too short and much more could have been said. That said, I don't know of another series in my collection, save for perhaps some of the Disney Treasures sets, that I would recommend more.

Labels: Cartoons, Comedy

Disc 1 Review: 6/6/07 - 6:16PM

Here's a show that's been on my shelf for a few years which for one reason or another I never made an effort to watch. Feeling I was in the mood for watching something different I gave it a shot.

Jubei Chan is about a young girl named Jiyo Nanohana. Not only is she the most adorable girl in her 8th grade class (not to mention the bustiest) but there is more to this bubbly girl than her bra size. It turns out she is the reincarnation of the legendary swordsman, Yagyu Jubei. With an eyepatch shaped like a heart she transforms and gets all of the power of the real Jubei. Of course, the funny thing is Jiyo doesn't want anything to do with this power much to the disapproval of most everyone else.

The show is quite amusing and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

Disc 2 Review: 6/26/07 7:52PM

Jiyu is now Jubei whether she likes it or not, and in fact she hates it. The episodes on this disc, while comical, take us away from the "monster of the week" feel of the first disc with a central plot emerging and more emphasis being placed on the emotions of Jiyu as she deals with having this curse of power.

One thing that so far has impressed me with the show is how

Note: This show was originally released in singles but the content appears to be the same, down to the extras. I am not 100% sure about the newest complete collection but I assume it is just a new pressing with a different cover.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy

Doki Doki School Hours: 5th Hour

Finishing up the show are the last four episodes which seem to be quite mixed. The first two have more of a fantasy element which plays with the characters in different ways. While these episodes were good it's nice to know that the show ends on a more serious note with Mika-sensei going through the arranged marriage route and she and her students contemplate what it would mean if she was to get married.

Doki Doki School Hours is an odd show. The comparisons to Azumanga Daioh will be apparent to fans of that show but that the Doki Doki manga predates Azu by two years. Still, it is a fun show and is quite entertaining in its own right.

Give the show a shot. It's cheap at Rightstuf right now.

Labels: Anime, Comedy

Bottle Fairy - Vol. 1: Spring and Summer

Taking a break from the action and adventure of most everything else I was watching, I decided to give Bottle Fairy a try. I anticipated that this would be a cute show made for little kids yet as I watched the show I began to question whether this was made for more for the otaku crowd.

The show jumps right in without an origin explanation or any real introduction to the characters. What I was able to figure out is that they are, as the title suggests, Bottle Fairies and they are searching for a way to become human. They do this by reading up on various subjects such as school and marriage and misinterpreting them to the ridiculously cute degree. Realizing their mistakes they get their help from the girl next door, Tama, who seems to get the girls even more confused. Usually it's up to Sensei-san (who doesn't appear to have a real name) to sort things out at the end.

The show is totally contrived of cuteness yet at the same time I've heard it is a good show for western fans to watch to understand a little about Japanese culture and festivals. I can also see this being a good tool for students as well and perhaps introducing children to various aspects of another culture.

Labels: Anime, Comedy

Hyper Police - Vol. 6

Natsuki and Co. continue with the adventures of the dome from the last disc and expand upon it with time travel as well as coming to terms with the mingling of the beast world and the human world. Natsuki is given the chance to live in the human world where beasts never coexisted with humans which leads to perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the show with Natsuki shown as an ordinary teenage schoolgirl.

If I was to have any complaints about the disc it would be the ending. Personally I would've either have liked to see something more conclusive or more episodes of the show.

I saw Hyper Police not long after I started getting into anime seriously. While I had been buying anime dubbed back in 1997 or so, it wasn't really until 1999 that I was seriously buying fansubbed VHS tapes. One of the first shows for me to get my filthy mitts on was Hyper Police which I watched to death back in the day. For that reason it, along with my other early fansub finds Saint Tail and Wedding Peach hold a special place for me in my collection.

Hyper Police is an easy show to recommend as it is a nice blend of comedy, action, catgirls and fanservice yet not being too overly ambitious in one area over another and still maintaining a decent plot. The discs are fairly cheap so pick them up if you can!

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Japanese

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. #1:

This show begins with a strange story shown in the form of a grainy student film apparantly made by our main characters. It is certainly interesting, especially after seeing many such "fan films" myself over the years and the fanservice wasn't so bad, either.

Haruhi Suzumiya should be a normal high school girl. She excels in sports, gets good grades and is quite easy on the eyes. However it seems she is determined to find aliens, time travelers, espers and other such supernatural things. She drags a poor first year student, Kyon, who sits in front of her in class into her little club. What comes next is a series of misadventures with poor Kyon caught up in a world of insanity that unfolds around him.

It's not very often that I buy new releases of anime but for some reason Haruhi seemed to catch my eye. Perhaps it was the box or maybe the massive Haruhi dance at Anime Boston.

Labels: Anime, Comedy, Japanese, sci-fi

Hanaukyo Maid Team La Verite - Vol. 2: Lost in Kamakura:

Harem Shows are a dime a dozen and this show is no exception. While I will admit to enjoying the show as a time waster, it really brought nothing new to the anime table and, sadly, doesn't seem to add anything new over the original series. In fact I'd go so far as to say the original show in its 15 minute format was more appropriate for this light fluff.

What the show does deliver is a lot of silly fanservice. If that's what you're in the mood for you can certainly do a lot worse. Besides, maids are pretty hot.

Labels: Anime, Comedy, Ecchi

Wandaba Style: Vol 3: Idol Invasion!

So the girls of Mix Juice finally get to land on the moon. Of course, now the real question is "How to get back?" Even though he lost to his mother in the moon race, it's Tsukumo to the rescue again. Then when the girls come back to Earth there are more problems with their newly gained fame of performing on the Moon.

Wandaba Style is at the surface just another silly and disposable anime series. Digging deeper than that you see that indeed that is all that it is. There are some fun songs along with some rather silly moments that make for a good waste of time.

This show gets my half-hearted recommendation to buy it cheap and enjoy.

Labels: Anime, Comedy

Front Page:

Of the great comedy teams in film history one of my absolute favorites would have to be the Hui Brothers. Sam, Michael and Ricky made some great films back in the 70s and 80s and then went their separate film ways. While two brothers, usually Michael and Ricky, would appear together at times it was not until 1990, nine years after their last film together, that all three reunited.

The film has the usual premise of a Hui brother film with Michael playing the boss and Sam being the smart ladies' man and Ricky being the stuttering guy who always appears to be crying. This time they work at a tabloid gossip magazine whose sales are so bad that people are using them to wrap food in. This leads to a change in the office and typical Hui episodic misadventures take place while they search for the big scoop.

I will admit that while I wasn't expecting something as great as say The Private Eyes but I have to admit that as a fan of their earlier films this one was sort of a letdown. The other major letdown was that the print was washed out and cropped. I may as well have been watching a VCD.

Still, if you're a Hui fan, pick it up.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

Wandaba Style - Vol. 2: Warp Speed!

Boy genius Dexter Dr. Tsukumo continues his plans to get to the Moon by any means necessary. This of course means putting Mix Juice through many more trials, tribulations and experiments. It also gives us a chance to see a bit of his backstory and learn about his family and why he must get to the moon before his mother does.

The show is incredibly comical and while it does have its perverted moments with the occasional bra and panty shot, the show is mostly fitting of its PG rating.

As I said before, the show is decent enough but not really worth paying full price over. I stand by my recommendation to get the collection instead.

Labels: Anime, Comedy

My Dream Girl:

Here is a movie I had heard about for a few years as being exceptionally terrible and should be avoided. For some masochistic reason when people tell me these things I want to seek out that film just to see how awful it is. This was the case with Protégé de la Rose Noire and was the case here. However unlike that film which was so inept that nothing could save it, this film was more boring than anything else.

What was cool was seeing Richard Ng again. His minor role in My Wife is 18 seemed in many ways like a tease of his former glory and while he doesn't play the zany guy he once did during his Lucky Star days, he did handle his role quite well and I would really like to see him do more.

Labels: Bad Movies, Comedy, Hong Kong, Romance

Ai Yori Aoshi Vol. 4: Truly Yours: Today I sat down and watched five more episodes of Ai Yori Aoshi. This above average harem show does take some getting into but at the same time it seems to have a charm that others seem to lack.

In this disc we are introduced to the last member of the harem, Chika. She is Taeko's cousin and seems to think that Kaoru is just perfect for Taeko. Thus she seems to try and push them together a lot leading to some rather amusing scenes and situations.

The disc was quite enjoyable and I know I'll have to take some screenshots of Tina as a tiger gal and Taeko as a cow girl (but not in the Dale Evans model unfortunately) and just the general cuteness of the show.

If you liked the others, no reason to stop here.

Labels: Anime, Comedy, Japanese

June Bride: The stars of Cathay are out in full force in this upbeat musical drama which shows in a muted way some of the ways that Western culture mixed with Chinese to create something quite different.

The very lovely and talented Grace Cheng plays Wang Tanlin who has traveled with her father for many years. She has in her travels picked up a suitor and dance partner much to her refusal. Her only love is Tung Chifang, a man she hasn't seen in over two years. However traditional she seems, she resents that her father seems to be using the marriage as nothing but a business proposal and when a third suitor, a salior played by the always wonderful Roy Chaio, comes into play Tanlin is so confused she leaves the groom in the lurch. Of course being a Cathay film you are guaranteed a happy ending.

If there was ever a film studio so devoted to happy and upbeat "slice of life" films it was the glorious and wonderful Cathay studios otherwise referred to as M.P. & G.I. As I have documented in the past the sheer amiability of everyone in the film from Grace Cheng to Roy Chaio to the portly Liu Enjia, Cathay always seemed to deliver a film worth watching. They seemed to take a topic so simple as buying a car, being a stewardess or just about dancing the Mambo, Cathay could make a 100 minute film about it and make it interesting.

Sad that those days of simple movies are gone but thanks to DVD a whole new generation can see them. I can pretty much guarantee that no one at M.P. & G.I. ever thought their films would be watched 50 years later by a white guy on the East Coast of the US but in this age of DVD, it can be done!



I definitely recommend this one just as I recommend every Cathay film.

Labels: Cathay, Comedy, Hong Kong, Musical, Romance

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Vista Series: Finally off the backlog is a film I preordered a few years ago. Roger Rabbit comes in a great two disc set chocked full of extras. Strange that it takes me so long to watch certain things.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit came to theaters in 1988. I was a normal five and a half year old when one day my dad decided to take my brother (then aged 9) and myself to the local movie theater to see the new cartoon / live action film all the kids were talking about, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. My dad seemed to think I could handle it and while I did do remember laughing at some parts, I was scared to death at the climax.

While my dad was usually a good parent, he made a bad decision taking me to a film I wasn't ready for (one I didn't let him repeat two years later with Dick Tracy.) I was actually so scared that this film traumatized me to a point where I would not watch the VHS copy we had of this film at all and never saw the film again until I decided to give it a second chance when it was the Sunday afternoon movie in High School.

Now I love the film and it's no surprise given the lush recreation of post war Hollywood and the scores of classic cartoon characters from various studios interacting. Plus Mel Blanc, Mae Questel et all were still alive at the time to provide the voices for their respective characters. Sadly, all have passed on since 1988.

The film is great but take my advice and really know your kids before showing it to them.

Labels: Cartoons, Comedy, Disney

The Absent-Minded Professor: Here we have perhaps the greatest live-action movie Disney ever made.

Fred MacMurray plays Professor Brainard. He's the typical college professor who is so involved in his research that he neglects to attend his own wedding, three times! Of course all was not in vain as he missed it while discovering a great new source of energy: flubber!

The rest of the story plays out just as one would expect a Disney movie to do. There's the usual family friendly situations coupled with quite a few

This is definitely recommended. Just be sure to skip the colorized version as well as the incredibly terrible remake starring Robin Williams.

Labels: Classics, Comedy, Disney

Wandaba Style - Vol. 1: Rocket to Stardom!: When the ADV sale hit a few weeks ago, I got the chance to pick up some anime I normally would have passed by. One of those releases I never knew existed was Wandaba Style. Since it was $5 a disc, I decided to give it a try and while my satisfaction is somewhat mixed I'm not sorry.

Four cute idols of various genres are put together by their afro sporting manager, Michael Hanagata. Included are a child star singer, Sakura Haruno; Ayame Akimo, a folk singer who claims to see fairies; Himawai Natsuma the enka balladeer and Yuri Fuyude, a tough rock star. Mixed together they become Mix Juice and play the lowest venues such as advertising for a supermarket.

Desperate to make the girls stars again their manager signs them up for a new project: to be the first band to give a concert from the moon. They attempt to accomplish this by participating in the experiments of the eccentric boy genius, Dr. Tsukumo who plans to send them to the moon using hair brained schemes such as using the power of a giant seltzer bottle or a giant slingshot.

In the end this ends up being one of those predictable shows that I probably would have eaten up about five to ten years ago when anime wasn't so common. I did, however, laugh at parts and I do feel it was worth the $5 I paid for it, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

If you can get it cheap, by all means buy it. Otherwise, I think buying the complete collection might be a better idea.

Labels: Anime, Comedy

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 10: At last I am able to see this sadly out of print set of MST3K goodness.

Godzilla vs. Megalon: Hailing from season 2 is this film which many consider to be Godzilla's weakest entry. Joel and the Bots have fun with this one and the commentary is good but it just doesn't have the polish that later episodes would have. The real weakness happens to be in the host segments, most specifically the rather mean one aimed at Orville Redenbacher and his grandson. Sadly, this was the episode which made the set go out of print as Rhino was acting under the assumption that the film was still public domain. They weren't the first to make that mistake and I'm sure not the last.

Swamp Diamonds: Now here's a movie that certainly banks more on star power than on content. The sad part is their stars really weren't A-list, at least not yet. Mike Conners (billed as "Touch Conners" ) goes into the bayou with his girlfriend only to meet up with a couple of escaped female prisoners (and one undercover cop) looking for some diamonds their ex boyfriends stashed before getting the electric chair.

This episode is decent with Joel and the Bots doing a good job at riffing a really terrible movie. The real gems here, if you pardon the pun, are the fact that the girls are pretty hot. Of course, Beverly Garland was always nice to look at and it's somewhat interesting to see her as a tough killer, even after watching the putrid episode, Gunslinger.

Of course what else is good is that the episode features one of my favorite shorts (MST'ed and plain) What to Do on a Date.

Teenage Strangler: Another terrible movie that equates to one of the best Comedy Central episodes I've ever seen. In this film Jimmy, a local teenager, gets blamed for some horrific strangling that is going on. Don't give away the bland and boring ending of "Teenage Strangler."

Also on this episode is the normally hilarious short, "Is This Love?" where a crazy gal decides to elope with her "football player" boyfriend much to the disapproval of her parents and all good sense. I used to laugh at this episode a lot but when you see someone make the same mistake at home, it becomes harder to laugh at.

Rounding out disc three is Poopie volume 2. This was a collection of outtakes originally sold through the old info club but now is here for all the world to see. Or at least those fortunate to get Vol. 10.

The Giant Spider Invasion: The last disc takes us to the Sci-Fi years with one of the most putrid movies to ever be released to theaters. Starring a cast of "has-beens" and set in Wisconsin this film is about some alien spiders who crash land and start attacking cattle. There's also a lot of putrid looking rednecks being attacked in some rather unpleasant surroundings.

I don't know if this film accurately portrays Wisconsin, or at least parts of Wisconsin. I know that after watching this film I no longer wish to visit it. Of course, Step by Step was set in Wisconsin so if TV is to be believed, they may have cleaned up a bit since then.

Rounding out the set is another fantastic extra in the form of the MST3K video Jukebox. Included are videos of many of the songs done by the gang over the years. While they did not have the Gamera songs, like I had hoped, it was still a nice compilation.

Seeing MST3K Box 10 out of print is nothing short of a tragedy. I know there are a lot of MST3K fans, like myself, who had to pay through the nose for this after it became impossible to find. Perhaps Rhino could rerelease it as a three disc set in the future.

Either way, I can't wait for box 11 which is slated for release sometime this summer. This time I won't goof around and it will be preordered.

Labels: Comedy, TV Shows

Frugal Game: Take two average unemployed Hong Kong families. Give them each HK$500 to last them a week and see how they fare. This is the concept behind the new reality TV show called Frugal Game.

Eric Tsang plays Wai, a single father of two. It turns out his wife left him and he is recently unemployed so he hangs out at the local fast food place all day with other unemployed people. One day, however, his old boss (Carol Cheng) comes to him with a proposition: enter the "Frugal Game" and all of their debts will be paid off. At first Wai refuses but eventually gives in to the idea.

While this looks to be standard setup for Hong Kong silliness, it actually works. Instead of over the top craziness for 100 minutes, we actually get some good and believable drama with a smile now and then. I think this is due, mostly, to the fantastic cast. While I am more used to Tsang as the bumbling idiot of his earlier films, he comes off as a sensitive and caring guy. Miriam Yeung comes off surprisingly calm and level-headed which is a nice change from the usual over the top bubbly girl we've come to know and love. Carol Cheng also makes a nice return to screens as a more mature but still pleasing actress.

By the way, the DVD itself was just HK$23 or around $3 here in the states. Not a bad price.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

From Beijing with Love: Starting the night out I decided to check out Stephen Chow's parody of James Bond films. Chow plays the Bond-like hero out to save the day and find a missing dinosaur skull. Anita Yuen shows up as his partner in Hong Kong and of course, she's working for the enemy. Several Bond villains are parodied and the whole movie degenerates into typical Chow silliness that people paid to see.

While I am normally a Stephen Chow fan, I have to admit that a lot of this film left me more smirking that laughing. Somehow this movie just didn't excite me the way it should have. Perhaps it was the amount of blood in this film or just the fact that I never seemed to have any idea what was going on.

I would have to say if you want a Chow film you can do better but you may as well pick this one up for completion's sake.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

Drink, Drank, Drunk: Miriam Yeung and Love Undercover costar Daniel Wu team up again for this romantic comedy about a girl who can't get drunk and a traveler who gets intoxicated very easily.

The plot of a romantic comedy is really never very important. They are usually about a boy meeting a girl and then losing her and then winning her back in the end. With that said Ive decided really to forgo any real description of the plot and just give an opinion.

Drink, Drank, Drunk is enjoyable as far as romantic comedies go. Miriam Yeung, as always, plays her role of the somewhat scatterbrained and somewhat naive girl that she plays is just about every movie she's been in. For those of us who love watching Miriam, and I will include myself in this group, will certainly enjoy her in Drink, Drank, Drunk.

I think the real drawback to the film is that the movie just doesn't have the fun that some of Miriam Yeung's other films have. She's such a bouncy girl and, in my opinion, she works best in silly roles. Still, if you want to watch a romantic comedy with your girlfriend, you could do a lot worse.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong, Romance

My Lucky Star: It's a Feng Shui battle of the ages with Tony Leung and Miriam Yeung battling a numerologist, Chapman To and Teresa Caprio in a battle of luck vs. luck. This movie also generated another battle for me, namely to stay awake.

Miriam Yeung stars as a girl with extraordinary bad luck. This is, as the amusing prologue tells us, due to the breaking of her family luck by one of the ancestors of Tony Leung. Tony plays a feng shui expert who gets large amounts of money for his services and decides to help Miriam. It turns out, however, that her bad luck is not solely due to her family history but it is aided by a grudge that her stepmother has even enlisted the services of a numerologist. It all gets weird from there and there's not much that I can figure out.

This film was supposed to be silly and fluffy. It ended up rather stupid and annoying. Pass on this one if you can.

Labels: Bad Movies, Comedy, Hong Kong

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure: There are some DVDs on my backlog I pass up for no good reason. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is a good example of this. I bought it just before Christmas 2002 in the $5.00 bin (which later became the $5.50 bin.) It has stayed on my shelf unwatched, save for the extras, for four years. Why would I do such a thing? I think the fact is that the film is on cable enough that I tend to catch bits and pieces of it now and then, plus I have seen the film more times than I can count. Oh well, one more time for a DVD review shouldn't hurt!

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is basically the story of a man and his bike. In short, Pee-Wee's bike is stolen and he travels across the country to find it. There isn't much else one needs to remember outside the fact that this is quite a cult movie. I admit when growing up parts of the film such as the "Large Marge" and of course the "Clown Hospital" sequences scared me quite a bit, now I can see their humor in their total absurdity.

For the extras, the best I would have to say would be the deleted scenes. Every single one of them is left out for good reason but for curiosity's sake they are interesting to watch. I did enjoy the western scene on the backlog with Hugo Montenegro's cover of "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" although I understand it would have broken the mood of the chase scene.

If it's still in print and you like the film, get it.

Labels: Comedy, Cult Films

The Attractive One: Here we have a romantic comedy starring some bankable stars from Hong Kong to basically look cute and say some cute things and then we all walk away happy. It should be standard fluff from Hong Kong where I expect mediocrity and accept it with open arms. Somehow in the normal scheme of things, something went awry in that we have one of the most boring pictures in a while.

Instead of concentrating on the terrible I feel it my duty to at least point out some of the merits of this film and I suppose eye candy is the first I should mention. Joey Yung Tso-Yi is cute enough although Yumiko Cheng Hei-Yi is perhaps a bit more desirable to the eyes. Also Lau Ching Wan is at least fun to watch although he is nowhere near his usual entertaining self.

So yeah, this film might entertain someone but that person probably enjoys a lot
of other activities too boring for the average person.

Labels: Bad Movies, Comedy, Hong Kong, Romance

Good Eats with Alton Brown: More Super Sweets, Family Favorites, Say Cheese: Here we have three more discs of episodes of the best cooking show currently on TV. I really don't know what exactly there is to say about Good Eats that I didn't cover on the other two sets I have. Basically Alton Brown is the Bill Nye of cooking shows and he lends his humor and knowledge of cooking science to make food interesting.

I recommend Good Eats sets even before I watch them so anything else would be saying too much.

Labels: Comedy, Cooking, TV Shows

Her Fatal Ways: What do you get when you mix classic Hong Kong action comedy, the old trick of making up a beautiful woman to look plain with the tired and true buddy cop story? Well you get this film which surprisingly goes from fun to depressing to quite good.

The story is so filled with clichés that it seems almost like any other film and in a way the plot is nothing spectacular. A drug trafficker was picked up in China to be extradited to Hong Kong and manages to escape. His Hong Kong escorts, Sister Cheng (Carol Cheng) and her somewhat daft nephew are asked to help apprehend the criminal alongside one of Hong Kong's finest, played by Tony Leung. Of course the two have different ways and each must adapt to the other's.

There is also a subplot in that Tony's father was one of the counter revolutionaries from Taiwan and Cheng is a very militant communist which at times lead to some hilarious moments like the battle of the uniforms to some rather depressing moments where she talks with some refugees from her home town now living in Hong Kong. They can see eye to eye and all love their home but the Communist party is enough to tear them from the land of their ancestors.

What the theme of the movie does give hints to is that whether from Taiwan, the Mainland or Hong Kong they are all Chinese and that both can work together and get along. Of course this movie doesn't get into the terrible atrocities that Mao Zedong committed and how those refugees fled for their lives from one of the most evil men and regimes in history. This film is not about the past; it's about living together in the future. It's also some good fun if you don't take it too seriously. Still, I had a hard time rooting for someone who would shout their loyalty to Communism but at least the fights were good.

On a side note, this is one of the first releases under the new Joy Sales editions of classic Fortune Star movies. This and many other classic Hong Kong films are part of the Fortune Star library. Many of these movies were released on DVD before by either Deltamac or Universe Laser and Video. The films were never given much respect with shoddy prints, non-anamorphic transfers and subtitles written by an fourth grade dropout. Joy Sales obviously saw there was a market for these films, not just at home but also abroad and promised much better DVDs than we got before.

I have to say that I really wasn't expecting a heck of a lot in terms of picture quality. I have to say that I am impressed. The print was excellent, although not perfect. The transfer itself looked great and sounded great. The real winner for these are the new subtitles. Long gone are the days of misspelled and illiterate subtitles. Now even cultural references are explained to ignorant viewers like myself. Joy Sales did a great job and I plan on trying a lot more Hong Kong films now since they are releasing these.

The backlog, by the way, is now officially 189.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

The God of Cookery: Stephen Chow plays Stephen Chow: The God of Cookery! Having won this prestigious title he becomes a complete arrogant snob critical of the smallest thing that doesn't go his way. His critical ways do not last forever when he is exposed as a fraud and ends up in a shady part of town beaten up for panhandling. Lucky for him he meets up with Turkey who is rather ugly and is brilliantly played by the very beautiful Karen Mok with a lot of makeup on. They end up working together and create a new dish which instantly sweeps Hong Kong and he uses this reacquired fame to challenge the chef who took his God of Cookery title from him.

The inspiration for this film has to be the then new craze of Iron Chef. Chow plays his part masterfully, as always, and you truly hate his guts at the beginning and come to root for him at the end. This one is easy to recommend for fans of Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer.

I am beginning to think that I am watching my DVDs in somewhat the wrong order. Since my order has come in, I am watching all of the stuff I know I will like and leaving some mediocre stuff to stay on my backlog for last. Sometimes I think I should watch the mediocre stuff first to build up to the great stuff, but at least I have enough good stuff to go around.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong, Kung Fu

Kung Fu Hustle: Here's a film that is simply indescribable. Imagine a kung fu movie that puts 100% style over substance along with some of the funniest humor this side of a Buster Keaton film and toss in Stephen Chow and you get Kung Fu Hustle. Well actually what you get is the typical Chow film. While you get par for the Stephen Chow course you get one hell of a ride that, depending on your preferences, you will either love or hate.

Kung Fu Hustle holds a special place for me. While, in terms of Cantonese humor, other comedians such as Jackie Chan and especially Michael Hui stand out more than Chow in my eyes this was the first Hong Kong film I ever saw in my local multiplex that wasn't a dub and cut job. Sadly, I fear that it will be the last Chow film that will make it here in that form. While it broke records across Asia, its American box office wasn't so hot. But who knows what the future will bring.

By the way, the backlog is officially 153. I really should watch at least three more before the others come in and who knows how many I will get for Christmas. I fear that 200 count coming back soon.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong, Kung Fu

Watched "To Spy With Love" The movie was generally dumb but at least Nina Li Chi was hot. This blog will self destruct in 10 seconds ~_^

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

DVD I watched today was "Working Class" with Sam Hui, Teddy Robin, and Tsui Hark. Tsui certainly knew how to make good comedy films (The Fact that its from Cinema City doesn't hurt either) Its really too bad that there isn't more films out there like this. 80's HK Cinema at its best. And there is another cute girl in this one: Joey Wong. More, More, MORE!

In other DVD news my ThinPaks have shipped and I ordered 9 more DVDs from HK (Including another copy of Twins Effect to replace my broken copy) Of course none are in DVDProfiler already so I'll need to hunt down pics and everything. I really need a scanner.

I also picked up "Singing in the Twins Wonderland" VCD. ^_^ Those Twins girls are just so cute ^_^

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong

First Blog Entry: Will update with every DVD I watch(I hope)<^_^; Just finished "Dance with the Dragon" starring Andy Lau and Shara (Sharla?) Cheung (a.k.a. Cheung Man). I bought this DVD by mistake actually and for some reason I ended up enjoying this piece of fluff. BTW I thought Shara looked adorable in those glasses.

In short the film was a simple timewaster.

Labels: Comedy, Hong Kong, Romance, site news