Breathing Fire (1991):

Breathing Fire (1991):

“A Vietnam veteran with two kids leads a bank heist that ends up killing one of his war comrades, leaving him to protect the murdered man’s daughter.”

Never did I think a family comedy/martial arts movie would revolve around plastic pizza. Like, toy pizza. Anyway, some bank robbers put some keys to a vault containing Vietnam War gold inside pieces of plastic pizza. Meanwhile, some kids, Tony and Charlie, are training for a state karate tournament.

Well, Charlie's dad gets murdered by the mob after being mailed toy pizza. So, the kids go to live with their Uncle David. He teaches them martial arts, and they try to impress his murdered brother's daughter. Except wait, weren't they already in a karate tournament? None of the karate should be unfamiliar.

Meanwhile, they get made fun of at a dance club, and some mafia guys attack them, where they learn that Tony's dad was part of that mob, and one of his goons was the bully. Also, the dwarf bartenders attack them. I'm not joking! So, then they go to the bully's house, where he's EATING WITH HIS MOM and beat the snot out of him.

Then, he agrees to call the police on the mob. They find the mob boss Angelo, and beat him up, but then decide it's just easier to give him the toy pizza. But, they beat him up, so...they win? You just made it easier for the bad guys to get the gold. Honestly, it all comes back to a kid calling the police. The karate and the crime drama feel really disconnected. None of the karate scenes actually do anything to advance the plot. Also, don't be fooled by the poster: Bolo Yeung is not the main character.

Look, I know someone wanted to follow that Karate Kid money. But, none of the karate here (While fun to watch.) matters. We know they've already trained, but then Uncle David trains them again anyway. It's like they forget that part, just so that we can have more training scenes! They already won a karate tournament! And the pizza plot is just...strange. Who puts keys in toy pizza? I guess it was supposed to be funny.

Overall, I don't think this movie has good enough action to be a good action movie, or good enough comedy to be a good comedy. The plot makes very little sense, and could've easily been a crime drama instead of forcing it into a Karate Kid-type family movie narrative. Definitely skip this one. You aren't missing much. Unless you like pizza jokes, I guess?

NINJA KNIGHT THUNDER FOX (1988):

NINJA KNIGHT THUNDER FOX (1988):

“A private detective uses her considerable martial arts skills to seek revenge after an organized crime syndicate murders her beloved sister.”

Another kung fu B-Movie that's only good if you have a good sense of humor. There's clearly two movies spliced together here. That's why our main characters never meet. One character is a detective named Brad. He has his office decorated in Coca-Cola signs and Sylvester Stallone posters to give you the impression he's in America, and not Hong Kong. His mission is to collect evidence that Bonnie's sister was kidnapped.

Now, Bonnie just kicks butt. Her sister was kidnapped, and she goes out to a bar, beats up all the goons with huge meat-slapping effects, and finds out where their base is. She then takes a motorbike and a harpoon, and just tears up the place. She even wears a Rambo-type headband. Though she has a hilarious habit of choking bad guys right after she demands: “Answer my questions! Where is she?”

You'd think that Bonnie would be the one to get magic ninja powers with all her skills. But, you'd be wrong. They gave the ninja magic to Brad. Who's on a completely different mission. Twice he transforms himself into a ninja, and starts backflipping and catching bullets. It's good stuff, if they could ever decide what weapons Brad actually uses. Some shots he has a sword, then a gun, then nothing.

Overall, it's pretty good for a cut-and-paste kung fu film. If anything, it's unintentionally funny. Bonnie's scenes are legitimately action-packed. Brad scenes have Halloween store ninja costumes and magic. It's free on Tubi, so I recommend it. Give it a watch if you can.

Iron Mask (2020):

Iron Mask (2020):

“Early 1700: Cartographer Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) from Viy (2014) is back to map the Russian Far East. He's forced on to China, where he confronts the Dragon Master et al. The iron masked Russian Czar escapes the Tower of London to a Russian ship.”

So, there's basically two films going on here. One is a basic supernatural wushu (historical Chinese fairytale.) and the other is the action movie between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan that American audiences were sold. Well, they fight for five minutes. They aren't even the main characters.

In this world, tea is actually the healing tears of a mystical dragon. An evil witch kidnaps and replaces the Russian czar with an imposter, while Johnathan Green is trying to map China. Are you following? Good. Of all people, Arnold plays a British guard. There are some funny moments, but ultimately it pivots to being just another wushu film, with some line about how the lead actress is Jackie Chan's daughter, the rightful empress who has to fight the witch, and reclaim the throne.

By itself, it's an alright movie. I just feel it's a bit bait-and-switch. It feels like two movies. Arnold and Jackie come back to end the film. Jackie explains to Arnold that the dragon is everywhere. Usually, I like wushu films for their effects. But, I think here they just ran out of money to show the dragon again. I would recommend this film. But, just bear in mind, it's a little convoluted.

Kung Fury (2015):

Kung Fury (2015):

"In 1985, Kung Fury, the toughest martial artist cop in Miami, goes back in time to kill the worst criminal of all time - Kung Führer, a.k.a. Adolf Hitler."

In this action comedy set in the 1980s, a martial arts expert named Kung Fury/cop time travels to kill Hitler. He resurrected himself with kung fu and shot up a police station through a phone. With the help of his friend Hackerman (played by Swedish musician Mitch Murder), he hacks through time to stop Hitler from becoming a supreme kung fu expert.

But, first he travels to far back in time, and meets Thor. The Norse God and his Valkyries join the fight against the kung fu Nazis. This is a fun little tribute/parody to the scifi action films of the 1980s. Pure fun action. It's the ultimate Good vs Evil battle! It's not too long. Give it a watch when you have time.

Fist of the North Star (1986):

Fist of the North Star (1986):

"A practitioner of the deadly martial art "Hokuto Shinken" allies with two children and an expert in "Nanto Suicho-Ken" to fight against the rivals who kidnapped his lover and threaten the prosperity of mankind."

Popular, but strange! In a nuclear wasteland, you have Kenshiro, who can make people's heads explode by punching them. You have his brother, who can cut through people with his fingers and stole Ken's girlfriend. Then, there's King Rao, who's raising an army across the wasteland to stop some kids from planting seeds. On top of all this bonkers fighting, there's some classic memes here too. Watch it if you can.

Night Hunter (1996):

Night Hunter (1996):

"Vampire hunter Jack Cutter must fulfill his destiny and destroy the last of the bloodsucking creatures of the night before an unholy disaster strikes."

Jack Cutter is the last in long line of vampire hunters. After killing a few vampires in one L.A. restaurant, he is chased both by police and by other vampires. Free on Tubi!

KUNG POW!: ENTER THE FIST (2002):

KUNG POW!: ENTER THE FIST (2002):

"Writer-director Steve Oedekerk acquired the little known 1976 Hong Kong karate flick "Savage Killers," then seamlessly blended portions of the film with new material he has directed to create a wild, off-the-wall, comedy feature film."

Where to begin!? Not only is this film weird, it's funny! Steve Oedekerk inserted himself into a kung fu flick and changed the plot to where he has a magical tongue, and fights his nemesis Master Pain aka Betty! "Beware his song about big butts...he beats you up when he plays it!" Hilarious. Watch any way you can.

This Girl is Badass (2011):

This Girl is Badass (2011):

"A bike messenger (JeeJa Yanin) becomes caught between competing mob bosses. She confronts the gangs in a battle of bullets, face kicks and punches."

Pretty good movie from Thailand. Insane stuntwork and improv'd weapons. Free on Tubi. Watch it!

Journey To The West (2014):

Journey To The West (2014):

"A story centered on Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist trying to protect a village from three demons, his emerging feelings for Miss Duan, the demon hunter who helps him repeatedly, and Sanzang's transformative encounter with the Monkey King."

Pretty good, pretty weird action comedy by Stephen Chow. Look it up if you wanna watch something funny and unique, with a weird spin on Chinese legend. Check it out if you can.

Bruce Lee, Wise Man of Kung Fu by Beth Kelly: Guest Blog

Happy Turkey Day! It's also Bruce Lee's birthday! So, in honor of this, I have a guest blogger today! Asian Film Fan, blogger, and ESL teacher Beth Kelly is going to tell us all about Bruce Lee's impact...outside of his fists! Beth Kelly deserves all credit. I didn't write this!

A Look Back at Bruce Lee, Wise Man of Kung Fu

The only thing faster than Bruce Lee’s fist was his influence. He was a slight man at 5-foot-7-inches and 135 pounds with a childlike bowl haircut. Yet he would marry Chinese nationalism with Hollywood effects with grand effect, looming large in films such as Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon. The latter of which will be airing on November 27th in honor of what would have been Lee’s 74th birthday on the El Rey Network as part of their Thanksgiving “Way of the Turkey” marathon that will also celebrate Lee’s legacy (the channel is available through some providers like DirecTV).

Lee Jun-Fan was born November 27, 1940 at the Jackson Street Hospital in Chinatown, San Francisco, not more than an hour’s walk from Fisherman’s Wharf. The supervising physician, Dr. Mary Glover, asked to christen the boy with an English name. Bruce, she suggested. Agreed, said Mrs. Grace Lee.

Three months later, the family returned to Hong Kong. Little did they know that 18 years later, fearing repercussion from a Triad gang member whose son Bruce had bloodied in a fistfight, they would mail him back to America in a third-class ship bunk.

Young Bruce had the nickname “Mo Si Tung,” meaning never sits still. He was a hot headed youth. His status as a child film star and member of the privileged Ho-Tung clan guaranteed him some social immunity. He was privately taught by Wing Chen grandmaster Yip Man. He became a Hong Kong cha-cha dance champion. In short, he was on the fast track.

That ended when Bruce arrived in America with $100, a pair of glasses, and the plan to become a dentist. After flitting between jobs, siblings and cities, he landed as a drama student at the University of Washington in Seattle. There, Lee opened his first martial arts school, the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. A few years later in 1963, Lee would publish, Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense, explaining the Taoist philosophy upon which he would later base his martial discipline, Jeet Kune Do, meaning Way of the Intercepting Fist.

In 1964, Bruce married Linda Emery, dropped out of college, moved to Oakland, California, and was invited to the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships. He demonstrated the two-finger push-up and the one-inch punch, landing a solid hit on volunteer Bob Baker, who later said, “I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable.”

First exposed to Hollywood via the Karate Championships, Lee snagged his first role as Kato, sidekick of The Green Hornet. After a few years as a support actor, Lee returned to Hong Kong and obtained his first leading role in The Big Boss. All of Asia fell in love with Cheng, the furious factory worker fighting against Hsiao Mi, boss of a narcotics smuggling operation. The release became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong.

That is, until Bruce Lee’s next film: Fists of Fury (also released as The Iron Hand and The Chinese Connection) which showcased Lee as a martial artist retaliating against Japanese racism in Shanghai. Ever since Asians first came to America as exploited laborers on the transcontinental railroad, male Asian-Americans were often pigeonholed as stolid, nerdish and watered-down. All that changed with Lee’s bared teeth and flying sidekicks.

For Way of the Dragon, Lee’s third major film, he was writer, director, actor and choreographer of all fight scenes. The story pitted Chinese restaurant owners in Rome against the local mafia, starring Lee as the underdog martial artist, Tang Lung. It was also the big break for Chuck Norris.

Lee’s fourth film, Game of Death, was never finished. He halted production to star in Warner Bros. Enter the Dragon as a shaolin martial artist working undercover on behalf of British Intelligence to expose a narcotics trafficking operation. The movie smashed records. It launched a Kung Fu craze in the 1970s, spawned the film career of Jackie Chan, and cemented Bruce Lee as an all-time great.

Bruce never witnessed the film’s release. On July 20, 1973, he took the painkiller Equagesic for a headache. After dinner, he napped and never woke up. He would have turned 75 in 2014.

Beth Kelly is a blogger and film fanatic based in Chicago, IL. Working previously as an English teacher in South Korea and Poland, she's now back in the Midwest and feeling better than ever. Follow her woefully neglected Twitter account at @bkelly_88.

The Sorcerer And The White Snake (2013) Review:

White Snake: “Before I saw you I meditated for a thousand years, but those thousand years are worth less than a moment with you.”

The Sorcerer And The White Snake (2013) Review:

    Since I started this blog, it’s taken on a much more international flavor. I like it. So, today’s review comes from a movie done in Hong Kong in Mandarin. A demon falls in love with a human and wants to meet him and make his life better. Jet Li plays a martial arts-type Buddha Monk who tells her that such love is forbidden because they are from different realms. And Jet Li means business. In the opening scene he fights and traps an ice harpy for seducing people.

    But, these demons aren’t all like demons we find so often in Western culture who are inherently evil and seduce people. White Snake is more like Cinderella. She just can’t let her love see her as she truly is, which is a giant white snake. Her love is the herbalist Xu Xian, and she makes his medicine far more powerful. It arouses the suspicion of Master Fahai. (Jet Li!) He knows she’s a demon, but since she is benevolent, he gives her a warning. But, like all fairy tales, the warning is only the beginning. Even though she really loves Xu Xian, the monk shows up and forces her to reveal herself by magic, and of course, fighting. It’s like Cinderella meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon…and is as visually impressive!

     Like most fairy tales, it features cute animals that talk. (I like the turtle. He…talks…slowly…) One such animal is a mouse who tells Xu Xian of an herb so that she can come back to him. But, he is captured by monks, and his memory erased…this makes White Snake angry and she and her demon buddies (Including another snake-woman!) attack the temple to free him. This leads the monk to question if what he’s done is right as the temple is destroyed by an epic kung fu battle with White Snake summoning a tidal wave to smash the temple! The monks erasing Xu Xian’s mind are beset by little rats. Great scene. 

    So, anyway, despite being a fairy tale romance, it’s an action movie too! It was pretty good. Although it never really does lose the fairy tale tone…which I guess is all right, because it is a fairy tale…however it does seem wildly out of place when an epic battle suddenly erupts and there’s…talking mice around, and well…Xu Xian’s wife is a thousand year old Snake Demon fighting off monks for his affection! But, that’s the power of love, I guess!  

   Mainly, I like the film’s fantasy portrayal of the demon world. They’re just like nature spirits, I suppose. And I always enjoy learning the fairy tales of other cultures…so I might be a little more biased on my rating in this one. I could’ve used a little more Jet Li. Apparently, the other actors didn’t have as much training as him, so it leads to a lot of jumping around and using big special effects to end the fights. Which is fine, and flashy! But, I wanted to see a bit more martial arts. I wonder if the original fairy tale had martial arts in it?

     Anyway, it’s a good love story/action movie which shows the lengths people will go to for love. And what they’ll do to stop it when they’re convinced the love is wrong! But, ultimately, the monk decides that he’s caused too much suffering, and lets White Snake see Xu Xian one last time! For a rating, I’ll give it something in the range of B+. Certainly it’s artfully done. Even though it is a little weird to see talking mice and Cinderella with kung fu monks. But, different is good! It was nice to look at, even in the slow-moving romantic parts.

 Basically, if you need a cross between kung fu and the fantasy/action magic of Lord of the Rings, with Jet Li as a Gandalf figure, here’s your ticket! Also, if you specifically want that, you must have very unique interests! But seriously, see this movie. It’s got a little bit of everything with a kung fu movie flavor. Note: I know the movie is from 2011, but the USA DVD was released in 2013!