This Week In Sleaze episode 4: NAKED KILLER SPECIAL

Zzzzziiiippppp! That's the beautiful sound of jeans unzipping in anticipation of our NAKED KILLER episode of This Week In Sleaze! I don't know the sound button-fly jeans make when they are unencumbered so I went with what I know. OK. Lotions at the ready? Check! Gird your buttocks, folks, click on over to Podcast On Fire Central and download this glorious wet stain of a podcast.

Without going into too much detail, Sleazy K and I connected a few dots between the exceptional Shaw Bros. classic, INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN, and it's early 90's CAT III update, BARE NAKED CAKE GOAT aka NAKED KILLER. We will most definitely curl back up with 'INTIMATE CONFESSIONS' as we continue to go back to the future in upcoming podcasts, examining the messy birth of erotica in Hong Kong skinema.

We get on with things by discussing some of the major players that make up this dirty genre classic. Simon Yam tat-wah, Chingmy Yau Suk-ching, Carrie Ng Ka-lai, Yiu Wai, Hui Siu-hung, Sugawara Madoka, Ken Lo Wai-kwong, Clarence Fok yiu-leung, Peter Pau Tak-hai, and the Shlocky King of HK Cinema, Wong Jing, are all given their propers. Sleazy K and I also touch upon a bunch of other movies in this episode, mostly just grazing the tushies of these films, not really digging our fingertips into their cottage cheese-like flesh, as to not leave fingerprints. A few of the flicks we banter about are.....

I'M YOUR BIRTHDAY CAKE, HOLD YOU TIGHT

HER NAME IS CAT, THE BLACK PANTHER WARRIORS

THE FIRST TIME IS THE LAST TIME

REMAINS OF A WOMAN, LEGAL INNOCENCE

THE CYPRUS TIGERS

HIDDEN DESIRE

FULL CONTACT

EVIL INSTINCT

A WILD PARTY

FALSE LADY

DEVIL'S LOVE

As always the case with our sleazy broadcast, we bring up the rear with our 'Last Sleazy Movies Watched'. This go 'round, K bangs about gleefully on the cut and paste HER FATAL WAYS CAT III clone, DEVIL'S LOVE. Way back when I also posted about this enjoyable mish-mash exercise. And Ken and I concur. It's silly, dirty fun! Revisit those posts HERE.

ANOTHER PIECE OF ROMANCE

I go down a different CAT III path as I schmooze about the wonderful oddity that is.....ANOTHER PIECE OF ROMANCE. An appearance by my best friend, Charlie Cho Cha-lee, is only the tip of the peni.....er, iceberg. ANOTHER PIECE OF ROMANCE is a flick that I could babble-on about forever.....and I almost do!

Ahhhh.....the infamous Chingmy Yau/NAKED KILLER promo shot. Taken from behind!!!! Sleazy K relives a little of his youth as he reminisces about this very pic. And another piece of the Sleazy K puzzle falls into place.....

It's a 2 1/2+ hour doozy of a dirty podcast. Download it HERE and let the lovely Mary Palm and her 5 sisters lend you a helping hand as the soothing sounds of This Week In Sleaze carry you off into ecstasy.

*** Special thanks to John Charles, author of the indespensible HK film review manual, The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977-1997: A Reference Guide to 1,100 Films Produced by British Hong Kong Studios. John is a great supporter of the podcast and was able to pass along this gem on Peter Pau Tak-hai and the film, NAKED KILLER, "I had a chance to speak with Peter Pau back in 2000 and asked him (among other things) why he is credited in the trailer for NAKED KILLER. He said he shot the original footage for the spot (which I love) as a favor to Clarence Fok. Pau feels that he would not have a career if not for Fok, who hired Pau to serve as DP on THE GREATEST LOVER at a time when Pau could find no work in the industry and had pretty much given up (he didn't go into details, but I get the impression that shooting THE LEGEND OF WISELY was not a pleasant experience). The film was a hit, prompting Wong Jing to use Pau as DP on GOD OF GAMBLERS and his career was right back on track."

If you don't own John's book....well....then you really aren't a fan of Hong Kong cinema, now, are you? Don't despair, you can order a copy right HERE. Also, check out Johns old HK film website, Hong Kong Digital. It's another wonderful site for referencing HK films. Thanks again, John!

Friday Filler

Some filler for your Friday. Check out Ekin 'Noodle' Cheng's lovely locks in my MEAN STREET STORY poster above. Wu Chien-lien seems to think he's so dreamy. I haven't seen MEAN STREET STORY and it's been in my ever growing stack of films I would like to see. But honestly, even though the lovely Chien-lien is in it, I don't think I will ever be getting around to it. And Speaking of Ms. Wu, another review of INTRUDER has popped up in the blogosphere and it's courtesy of my new favorite blog.....ladies and gents, please add to your blog roll.....THE MILKY WAY WONDERLAND!!!!

The blog, still in it's infancy (only a few days old, actually) is the brain child of David Lam, or, Dr. Lamb, if you prefer. The good Dr. has been a great supporter of Bullets Over Chinatown and the This Week In Sleaze podcast and has shared some very kind words with myself and Sleazy K. Please check out his blog as I fully believe he has a unique thing going on over there. His photo headers are damn wonderful and he's quite the artiste. Check out some of his awesome 'doodles' below. i might have to put one on a t-shirt? Maybe a future tattoo???

Wong Jing and his tiny, dangling CAT III symbol

This one is for, AHND!

Above, Kent Cheng Jak-si gives This Week In Sleaze the thumbs up! This doodle of good ol' Fatty Cheng was sent over to Sleazy K with a few kind words attached. Below, was a doodle sent to me, again, along with some kind words. The one....the only.......the Category III Super-Duperman himself......Mr. Charlie Cho Cha-lee! I fell in love with this drawing upon first site. It just made my day. Heck, it's still making my day a few days later! Great big thanks once again to the very talented David Lam. If you don't check out his blog, don't bother coming back to this one. Be gone! No...seriously. Oh. And about that INTRUDER review......

Charlie is ready to play 'Tune in Tsimshatsui'

I came across this rare Eric Tsang Chi-wai film a few weeks back. It's one I have never heard of. I found it under the title, XIN A LI BA BA. The 'Ali Baba' reference in the title points to something Arabian I suppose? And, indeed, by the look of the film, it appears to be a Aladdinesque comedy/fantasy. A true oddity for sure. I haven't watch the film fully, but as I skipped through the film to see it's quality, I came across this scene and just busted out laughing. It's apropos for the blog. What the heck is Eric doing with those donkey's????

Ip Man 1 + 2 posters

IP MAN (2008)

IP MAN 2 (2010)

Lazy filler post here. Nothing special to report. Just two crappily folded poster that I found in Chinatown. Is rolling a poster so damn hard?

New York Asian Film Festival 10th Anniversary News

Alrighty then. This past Thursday the fine folks over at Subway Cinema, who run the NYAFF, made a little announcement about this years 10th Anniversary edition of the festival. As far as Hong Kong films at the festival this year, a small time director will be in house for a retrospective of a few of his classic films. Tsui Hark's in the house!!!! And, along with a screening or two of DETECTIVE DEE, a few other pics are being scheduled as we speak, including THE BLADE. Tsui will be headlining the fests retrospect, "Wu Xia: Hong Kong's Flying Swordsmen." Can you say 'Tsui Hark?" I know you can!

Also on the docket is Taiwanese genre helmer, Su Chao-pin. Chao-pin co-directed a small movie this past year called, REIGN OF ASSASSINS. Maybe you have heard of it? His co-directing partner in this crime of a film (not using Michelle Yeoh's voice irked the shit out of me. But I get that it was integral to the story. BAH!) was a one Mr. John Woo. He will be presenting said film as well as a few of his classic films like BETTER THAN SEX.

My tighty whities have been juicy since the news dribbled out late last week and, though the fest schedule is not yet stone, it runs from July 1st through July 14th. I already requested opening weekend off from work. The entire cast has not been set yet so there will possibly be more surprises in store? I spoke to one of the festival folk who said that there is a very slim chance that SEX AND ZEN 3D could make an appearance, though I was told to not hold my breath. A young scamp can dream, can't he? Will I make a fool out of my self this year with some of the festivals famous? Stay tuned to find out!? I'm sure if I put my mind to it, I can!

Also, some cool news for NY'ers this week. At the same theater that holds the NYAFF, The Walter Reade Theater @ Lincoln Center, is the Taiwanese Cinema retrospective; Taiwan Stories: Classic and Contemporary Film From Taiwan. This goodie runs from May 6th through the 19th.

I was planning on attending two films this coming Friday, the King Hu (my blogger namesake) classic, A TOUCH OF ZEN and Doze Niu's cool contempo gangster pic, MONGA. Though I have the DVD and VHS of A TOUCH OF ZEN, I still have yet to see it. I also have the DVD of MONGA, a gift I was given straight from Taiwan. It's a movie I really dug and seeing it on the big screen would be pretty sweet. Seeing BOTH films on the big screen would be pretty sweet. Alas, it's most likely not meant to be. I'm not sure I'm feeling the train ride into NYC this weekend. Plus, there's a three hour lag between films where I will be left to stand around with my thumb up my bum. And I can always do that in the comfort of my own home. So, I'm leaning towards saving some money and just watching the films at home. Home. A true lazy film fans paradise.

Mail bag and *more* HK movie junk

Big ol' box of HK cinema treats came in the post this past weekend. Ms. Mail Lady is now shoveling percoet into her mug to deal with the sciatic pain in her L4 for lugging HK goodies to my door. Sorry, but it's worth it! For me anyway. This box of good stuff came from a blog/podcast friend who owns HARD BOILED RECORDS in Chicago. He's selling off a bunch of HK movie stuffs in anticipation of relocating. So, I just lightened his load a bit. You can find Hard Boiled Records on Ebay here as well as on Amazon. (Don't have a direct link for Amazon. Sorry.) So, go and help a brother out.

Contents of this wonderful present included 42 HK VHS, 12 Hong Kong Film Connection fanzines, and 6 handmade buttons. I have ALL of the films in other formats but I just have a hankering for VHS. They are difficult to resist. Some of the titles: RED WOLF, SHANGHAI FEVER, ROSE, THE INCORRUPTIBLE, IN THE LAP OF GOD, THE UNTOLD STORY III, BURNING AMBITION, OUT OF THE DARK, WHITE LOTUS CULT, PEDICAB DRIVER, SAM THE IRON BRIDGE, MAGIC CRANE, FATAL OBSESSION, SONG OF THE EXILE, and VENDETTA.

Hong Kong Film Connection mags

A few buttons from HERO, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, and the odd man out, COP ON A MISSION

MY WIFE'S LOVER, HER VENGEANCE,GIGOLO AND WHORE II

'Nuff said! My kinda film review!

RETRIBUTION SIGHT UNSEEN, THE LOVE THAT IS WRONG, LABORATORY OF THE DEVIL

THE LAST BLOOD, JAIL IN BURNING ISLAND, MY HEART IS THAT ETERNAL ROSE

Bloody action film. Hard to read subtitles. I'm in love!

Also in the mix was RAPED BY AN ANGEL aka NAKED KILLER 2. Just as a heads up, Sleazy K and I recorder our NAKED KILLER special last weekend and it should be pounding away on your wax laden ear canals soon. The podcast is a whopper and we cover a ton of CAT III filth, oddly enough, leaving out RAPED BY AN ANGEL?! Don't you fret. I think a RAPED BY AN ANGEL special could be in our podcast future. Why wouldn't it be?

Eureka! Or something like that? Isn't that what Ponce De Leon said when he discovered the Mississippi River? Well, anyway, a discovery! My fiance, Wei, was helping her folks clean out their garage and came across some old TVB VHS that her grandmother used to watch. Lightening struck the three of them and in an instant they thought of me. Why throw them out when they know I collect garbage for a living? 20 VHS of the TVB dramas, THE CHANGE OF TIME, from 1992, starring Francis Ng Chun-yu, Frankie Lam Man-lung, Maggie Siu Mei-kei, and Gigi Lai Chi and REMEMBRANCE from 1994, also with Frankie Lam Man-lung and Kenix Kwok Hoh-ying. They are unsubed so there is very little chance I will ever see them so I will just add them to the clutter. Wei and her folks only finished cleaning out half of the garage so I wait with baited breath as to what wonders the other half holds. Can't wait to hit up that attic as well!

And finally. Wei and I spent a few days last weekend in Flushing's C-town. I hit up the usual spots, now over-rife with bootlegs, but was able to wrangle a legit REVENGE: A LOVE STORY. Directed by the pretentious Wong Ching-po, who also crapped out pretty looking emptiness like AH SOU and JIANG HU (Ok, so FU BO was pretty good, from what I recall?), REVENGE: A LOVE STORY almost achieves credibility with it's familiar heyday CAT III elements, characterizations, and a few tough to watch scenes, but ultimately fails because Ching-po thinks he's an important director and needs to inject art house ineptness to what could have been a creepy dark morality genre exercise. Instead, we get an artsy fartsy morality play that chucks an unsatisfying conclusion at you like a pompous punch in the face. Maddening! Japanese AV star Sora Aoi (No. I don't know who she is? I'm not that much of a pervert!) makes her feature film debut but is given little to do but show a bit of skin and act touched in the head. That being said, she does a decent job with what she is given and is a damn site better than her AV counterpart, Maria Ozawa (Ok. Maybe I do know who Ms. Ozawa is?) in the 2009 Taiwanese CAT III slasher pic, INVITATION ONLY. INVITATION ONLY is a turd. Don't step in it.

Disgust with the director aside, I will marginally recommend REVENGE: A LOVE STORY. Dressed down, this is the kind of film that I wouldn't mind seeing more of. Dark yet sleek, reminding me of the Korean thriller, THE CHASER, the film starts off so damn good, mysterious and dirty police procedural style, before descending into conceit. Check it out. But definitely no rush.