Cat In The Brain (1990)

Dr. Lucio Fulci is a director of splatterfilms. He stages a gestapo-orgy like it was any other movie scene. But he is influenced by these things more than he likes. He is hunted by bloody visions day by day. Is Fulci still normal? He asks a psychatrist. He doesn't know that the psychatrist has much bigger problems than Fulci himself. The psychatrist uses Fulci's visions for brutal murders in real life -  Matthias Luehr IMDB

Are you ready for a cavalcade of craziness and chaos?  Just one insane scene after another?  This is the film for you then dear friend.  Lucio Fulci plays himself and after years of making horror movies, he thinks he's going insane.  Basically he starts seeing the craziest shit you can imagine. He goes and sees a shrink who hypnotizes him into thinking he's committing terrible murders when in fact it's the doctor that's getting off on butchering people.  That's the film.  It's as if Fulci decided that he was going to take every crazy death scene he had stored in his mind and somehow get them in a film.  He did....it's just one violent sequence after another and it's very entertaining.  Don't get me wrong....it's a mess.....but an entertaining mess. 

 Fulci throws an insane amount of violence into this film and it surpasses any other film he's ever made.  Just some fun decapitation, child murder, cannibalism and some heads getting chainsawed off.  Oh did I mention the Nazi Orgy. But in reality, I think this was a personal statement film for Fulci and was an attack against censorship. 

The acting in the film is awful.  Fulci is no actor himself but he's actually the best one in the film.  The budget is of course almost non existent but as usual Lucio works around that and creates his demented artistry.  Also after seeing the movie, I don't think it's a stretch to say that Wes Craven stole this idea of a "film within a film within a film" for "New Nightmare".   Granted, I think Craven's film is much better overall...but hey...Fulci deserves some credit for the idea at least.

The shrink needs a fucking shrink.

This is a Fulci film.  If you're a fan....you'll love it.  If you're not...you will think it's trash.  I like Fulci and I approve this message.  The film is way underrated by most horror fans. 

Kevin Booker

Bitch, I said cook dinner.....

Trivia:

This film was refused a video classification in 1999 by the British Board of Film Classification, but was finally passed uncut with an '18' rating in mid-2003.

Many events in the film are based on Lucio Fulci's experiences as a filmmaker. 

The original script was 49 pages long and contained no dialogue. It consisted of descriptions of bodily mutilations/imagery and sound effects that would compliment them on screen.

How about a little Nazi Orgy fun?

A Girl Called Tigress (1973)

Right off the top let me say that Polly Shang Kuan may be the best female fighter in Kung Fu cinema. If not the best, she's certainly in the top 5. Major ass is kicked in this film. She did not get training from the Peking Opera like many of the other female martial arts stars but over the years she got a black belt in taekwando, karate and judo. Kuan could play both a silly female role or a serious role.  In this film she was a serious ass kicker.

Kuan plays a spunky girl looking for her sister. (Also played by Kuan)  She gets into numerous fights with the minions of the local crime boss and makes a friend with a guy (Kam Kong) and when he realizes she's a little short on cash, he puts her up in the local hotel. She eventually finds her sister who is shacking up with the crime boss and they pull a switch since they're twins. The boss discovers the switch and the fighting commences.

I'll whip your ass boy.

The fighting in this film is very good.  It seems to be more karate instead of Chinese Kung Fu.  Kuan has good kicks and an excellent presence whenever she's onscreen...with both her acting and fighting.  Kam is rather weak in the film and wasn't nearly as impressive fighting or kicking. His moves are sometimes clumsy and seem to be lacking in power.  But the best fighter is villain Yasuaki Kurata.  The only problem is he doesn't fight enough. But it's obvious in his fights that he has the better technique and is much more graceful than the rest of the cast.  The blame for some of the short comings could probably be blamed on the action director.  They can easily make or break a martial arts film.

These gentleman are about to get their ass kicked by a woman.

 One surprise for me was Pink Floyd being ripped off and used in the soundtrack.  The chances that they were paid royalties are zero to none.  Sort of strange to see ass kicking and Pink Floyd popping up in the same vehicle.

Overall, this is an average martial arts film but it is an enjoyable experience if you're a fan of the genre. It's a treat to see Polly Kuan kicking so much ass and there are worse ways to spend 80 minutes.

Kevin Booker

Know your role woman...

A Fist Full Of Talons (1983)

Qing I-ming (Billy Chong) joins up with Ding Wei-zhong (Pai Yin) to ward off a final rebellion against the newly-established Chinese Republic. Ding is carrying highly important documents to the government when he is attacked by two men in league with the counterrevolutionaries. When Ding's stolen horse ends up on the block in the marketplace, Qing I-ming notices the animal and assumes that Ding is in trouble. Inspired by his new girlfriend Eagle Woman Ma (Liu Hao-i), Qing is ready for action.

Billy Chong....he was supposed to be the next big action star.  But alas, it never happened.  This however, was easily his best film. When he first appears on screen, he's washing a horse and comments on the horse's huge cock.  Needless to say, I wasn't sure what direction this film was going in at that point. Is this a martial arts film or gay horse porn?  Thankfully there were no more comments on horse genitalia throughout the rest of the movie.

Talons was directed by Sun Chung, who previously had worked with Shaw Brothers Studios.  He has several well known films in the kung fu genre, "Avenging Eagle" and "Human Lanterns".  It also has the legendary Robert Tai orchestrating wire-assisted fight sequences and the fighting mastery of "5 Deadly Venoms" action director Robert Tai.  Even though most releases of this film on DVD absolutely blow in picture quality, this is a pretty damn good kung fu flick.

When I get this coat off, I'm whipping your ass son.

Hwang In-shik’s performance as the lead villain (Ni Sin) is disappointing.  He had masterful performances in "Hapkido" and "When TaeKwondo Strikes", but doesn't really show up in this film until the final climatic fight.  This was also his last major film appearance.

The film has several unusual characters such as a crazy mother fucker called "Little Bandit". Mr. Bandit ends up getting his ass handed to him by the Manchus and somehow makes it back to warn Ding and Yi Min.  Ding then proclaims what a great hero Little Bandit was and gives a mind numbing speech about it. The film copies Sergio Leone's A Fist Full of Dollars in title but it is in fact also a reference to Eagle Woman Ma and her pet eagles.  Chong's character at one point is set up in an arranged marriage with her and when he jets out, she chases after him the whole movie. She even aids in his battle in the climactic fight by sending her eagles to peck out the eyes of the villain.  And in the final shot, which is unforgettable, her eagle is ripped in half by Ni Sin just as Yi Min gives him a kick to the skull.  It's one of those "Holy Shit" moments.

The Climax of the film....not the horse.

 Overall this film has plenty of fights and cool stunt work. The actors are all good fighters and fans of old school kung fu movies will enjoy it. And once again...when he rips that eagle in half....Holy Shit.

Kevin Booker

The 36 Crazy Fists (1977)

A young man decides to learn Kung Fu to avenge the death of his father, a peaceful shopkeeper who was murdered by Manchurian gangsters for not paying protection money. At first he is rejected by his teachers because he is weak, but through persistence, and some help from other students and a mysterious drunk, he learns the skills he needs to avenge his father. - page8701 - IMDB

First off let me tell you right up front....you may see Jackie Chan's name blasted all over the DVD covers for this film but he's not in it. According to Jackie, he was furious about them using his name, but there was little he could do at the time.  He was instead the stunt coordinator. The prints of this film are awful. I'm not sure if there's a remastered version out there somewhere...but most of the releases in the USA are poor quality and look there were recorded right off a TV.  It's also known as : "Bloodpact," & "The Master and the Boxer,"  It is not the fault of director Hua Chen that his movie was pirated and deviously marketed.  The film actually is not that bad.

Leung Siu Hung stars as a young man who is trying to learn kung fu for revenge.  He not only has one teacher...home boy has two.  He must be a super quick learner because he masters shit in a week's time. It has some of the typical marital arts themes....old drunk master, bumbling sidekicks and the girl who sticks her nose into everything. Although the girl does get topless which is not common in such films.

I came here to drink wine and kick ass....and I'm all out of wine

The film has a few good fights such as Fung Hak-on using a chain rope and the climax fight against the white haired villain.  When a guy has white hair in a martial arts film he can kick major ass. It also has a lot of comedy.  Personally, I'm not a big fan of the comical martial arts films. I'm usually rolling my eyes and not laughing very much.  On the other hand, if you're a fan of these older martial arts films then you will probably enjoy it.  As a professional student of kung fu films, I say it's only average.  If I could see a remastered, uncut film I could be persuaded to change my mind.  But this version didn't have me kicking for joy.

Kevin Booker

Jackie coordinating with what appears to be a cigarette in his mouth...now that's bad ass.