Incredibly Strange Blog That Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Movie Reviews

AKA Ying zhao tie bu shan. Chow Lu Fung (John Liu) is framed for murder by his nemesis, Minister Cheng, who knows the Iron Armor kung fu technique, which makes him virtually invulnerable except for a weak spot somewhere on his body. Chow escapes and hides out in the home of a teenage boy and his older sister. Luckily for Chow, the boy knows the Iron Armor kung fu technique passed on to him from his grandfather, as well as the Iron Finger technique, which can be used against Iron Armor. Chow must defeat Cheng, also a master in Eagle's Claw, all while being pursued by bounty hunters who want his head for the reward. According to IMDB, The music for this film was stolen from the spaghetti Western Days of Anger (1967), and it's very nice for the film.


 

Tagline: [unknown]

Highlights: The fights are very good, fluid, and easy to follow. Teenagers that know kung fu are also cool, even when they pop up unexpectedly. The Iron Armor/Finger concept and the funny dialogue that sometimes surrounds it. The music, although stolen, is perhaps more perfect for kung fu duels than Western ones.

Bruce Brown, the maker of Endless Summer, explains motorcycle sport to the layman in this somewhat dated but still very interesting documentary. The groovy, feel-good soundtrack and the very positive narrator almost make it feel like a film you might have been forced to sit through in middle school, but when the motorcycles start racing, it's hard not to be drawn in. Motorcycling and motorcycle sports are given a complete review, but the film seems to concentrate more on what the enthusiasts like about it, as well as what makes it unique. The massive variation in competitions is very interesting, and there are several stunning stunts as well as crashes. I've never driven a motorcycle, but this took me back to dirtbikes and go-carts and how much fun those could be, even when they were a little dangerous. This isn't Errol Morris-type stuff, but it fulfills its purpose as a documentary without a doubt. Steve McQueen financed the film and also stars; he was a motorcycle enthusiast and respected rider at the time.


 

Tagline: Take a trip at 265 mph.

Highlights: Steve McQueen, of course. The "trials" competitions. The crazy soundtrack.

AKA Road Games. Stacy Keach stars as Quid, a trucker in a pretty barren Australian landscape, delivering some meat to Perth or somewhere like that. He's joined by his dog, and eventually the cast expands with a hitchhiker played by Jamie Lee Curtis and a maniac in a van played by Grant Page. The plot is basically Rear Window on the open road, and director Richard Franklin (Patrick, Psycho II, Cloak & Dagger) is an open Hitchcock fan. In fact, he got the job to direct Psycho II based on this film. The movie pulls off the concept extremely well and manages to be engaging throughout; there are even some moments of genuine suspense. Franklin uses the road, the truck, the dog, and everything available to him to full effect, and it all works very well.

One thing: this film was made after Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train, and just before Halloween II, but it's a straightforward thriller and not one of the scream queen's slasher films (and technically The Fog isn't either).


 

Tagline: The truck driver plays games. The hitchhiker plays games. And the killer is playing the deadliest game of all!

Hightlights: The triple-ending. Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacy Keach do a great job, even though Jamie Lee is really only in one small part of the film. The fact that the finale takes place at the destination rather than still out on the open road.

AKA La Campana del Infierno. First off, this movie was mainly directed by a guy named Claudio Guerin (sometimes called Claudio Guerin Hill). He fell or jumped from the belltower featured in the film on the final day of shooting and was killed. All post-production chores were handled by Juan Antonio Bardem, the uncle of Javier Bardem. Besides the trivia, this film has a lot to offer. Basically, a young man is released from an asylum and returns to his estate, once again meeting his aunt and three female cousins. The aunt and one of the cousins had him committed for reasons that are later explained, and he's back to get his calculated revenge. The film actually enters some philosophical territory about the real vs. the fake and has some questions about morality. It definitely shows how the main guy has lost all sense or morality, but, well, he's not the only one. There's a bunch of real footage from a slaughterhouse (it appears that the main actor killed one cow), some gore (which turns out to be fake), some incest, and even some incestuous rape (which isn't very graphic but that doesn't make it pleasant). The movie is really more of a thriller than a straight-forward revenge movie, and there are plenty of fun twists.


 

Tagline (from Pathfinder DVD): Who will escape the terror?

Highlights: The fake gore involving eyeballs. The aunt when she reemerges after an apparent death. The makeshift slaughterhouse the main guy made in his basement for the girls. The themes running throughout, which were actually pretty interesting.

28 Days Later... (2002) - a virus turns everyone into bloodthirsty creatures, except for a few people. Doesn't involve the entire world, just the U.K., but still very post-apocalyptic in feel. Good, fun flick.
A Boy and His Dog (1975) - Harlan Ellison adaptation where a boy and his dog, in a post-apocalyptic world, find an underground society where the pre-apocalyptic society is preserved as a revealing caricature. Great and involving, especially once the boy reaches the underground.
Damnation Alley (1977) - Survivors of WWIII drive cross-country in search of other survivors. One of those guilty pleasures; great scenes with mutated plants and animals attacking.
Delicatessen (1991) - a post-apocalyptic world where food is the new currency. Entertaining and thought-provoking at once.
Mad Max (1979) - The apocalypse seems to be simply a prevalence of anarchic biker gangs, but the setting is definitely post-apocalyptic. Mel Gibson was really hot back then; you'd be surprised if you haven't seen this one in awhile.






Night of the Comet (1984) - a comet turns everyone except for a few people into either dust or crazy zombie-people; survivors enjoy the material benefits and rue the fact that there's no one to share it with. Great guilty pleasure from childhood; the crazy zombie-people were very scary back then.
The Omega Man (1971) - Richard Matheson adaptation where a plague caused by a war with biological weapons leaves one man alone, save for some psychotic, vampire-like people called "The Family" who hate science and what the last human stands for. Science vs. The Family's values... gotta love it.
Planet of the Apes (1968) - astronauts land on a planet where apes are intelligent and the humans are pre-lingual; to call it post-apocalyptic may give away the end, but I imagine everyone knows it already. Very interesting in some parts; the third of the Apes saga is my fave but takes place mostly in the present day.
The Road Warrior (1981) - sequel to Mad Max that has an even more post-apocalyptic landscape; there's a new biker gang but also new, honest survivors that band together against them. Mel is less hot, but still hot enough; the action and pure testosterone make this one well worth it. I love that one evil biker has a male bitch. Crazy-good film.
Twelve Monkeys (1995) - much of the movie takes place in a future where a virus wiped out most of the human race; a convict is sent back in time to try to stop the apocalypse. Great Terry Gilliam movie that will keep you guessing.