Love To Kill- 虐之戀 (1993)

LOVE TO KILL (1993)

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Anthony Wong Chau-sang F's things up once again as he don's his early 90's scumbag pants and terrorizes his poor wife in the appropriately inappropriate nasty roughie gem, LOVE TO KILL.  Figured I would post this on Halloween as this is a horror story of a different kind.  No masked men with machetes.  No hopping vampires or ghosts and goblins.  This madman operates in plain sight. 

Wong's socio/psychopathic persona is solidified in this role as a jealous wife beating/raping/torturing piece of shit.  Directed by Wong Jing buddy, Billy Chung Siu-hung, who has had a middling career for the most part but has outlasted his peers and continues to direct at least half way decent efforts to this day.  Watching LOVE TO KILL, you can see that Chung is more than capable a director.  The CAT III flavor of the day is ever present as filth and silliness permeate the film, punching up a bit of pop pathos.

Cop of the town, Danny Lee Sau-yin, dons the badge again as copper with a cool name, Fire Ball Hung.  Bad ass moniker aside, he's a cop with a heart of gold (and maybe some sexy ulterior motives?) as he takes in the tormented Elizabeth Lee Mei-fung, the battered wife of Wong, and their young son.  This doesn't sit well with Mr. Wong and he plans on getting his family back by any means necessary.  CAT III sexpot Julie Lee Wa-yuet also stars and plays Lee's grating girlfriend.

LOVE TO KILL is one of those uneasy/queasy misogynist CAT III films from the salad days.   Kinda lost in the shuffle of nastiness but undeservedly so.  It's real life horror, and all of the rape, torture, and murder aside, there is one particular scene that disgusts me more than the sadism excess that is shown throughout.  Early on in the film, Wong and his missus are eating at a dai pai dong.  Wong thinks that his wife is making eyes at a man across the way and proceeds to violently pinch her leg under the table.  To keep her in line and claim his ownership.  Mark his territory.  I feel that pinch.  And it F's me up every dang time.  Who the F does something like that?  The bloodletting puts the asses in seats and plays well on screen but something so simple yet violent as a pinch is the most shocking image.  For me anyway.   The caveman ideals of Wong's domestic violence is real life horror.  Plain and simple.

Kickboxer's Tears- 新龍爭虎鬥 (1992)

KICKBOXER'S TEARS (1992)

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Ooooohhhhhh!  A CAT III kicker corker this is?  Well CAT III rated yes, but CAT III shenanigans not so much.  But just because there isn't any T&A on display doesn't mean you should trash bin this very fine fist and foot fighting pic.  KICKBOXER'S TEARS is a simple action/revenger starring cutesy Moon Lee Choi-fung, Yukari Oshima, Mark Cheng Ho-nam, Wilson Lam Jun-yin, Shum Wai, Ken Lo Wai-kwong, Gabriel Wong Yat-san, Jimmy Lung Fong, and Billy Chow Bei-lei, who plays his usual asshole character.

Sleazy K and I are planning an upcoming This Week In Sleaze show centered around the shit heel exploits of Billy Chow, namely in the classic films, ROBOTRIX and ESCAPE FROM BROTHEL.  Hopefully that podcast will come out sooner than later.  But the hub-bub of my upcoming nuptials and the fact that I'm too dang lazy to put in any research time probably means later than sooner.  And to further my laziness for ya'll, instead of throwing together  a cheesy little Bullets Over Chinatown video for KICKBOXER'S TEARS, I decided to post some Youtube clips of the film.  Laziness is next to godliness.

Hong Kong VHS Mess

 POSSESSED (1994), QUENCHLESS DESIRE (1993)

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POSSESSED is a 1994 film starring Ken Tong Jan-yip.  I have the film as a DVD-r and if I remember correctly, the databases mislabel it as a CAT II.  Which was a lovely surprise when I watched it!  I have also seen QUENCHLESS DESIRE and have it as a DVD-r as well.  Don't remember a damn thing about it, though.  

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Ok.  So most of you readers know my situation.  'Broke' and having a heck of a time looking for a place to live before I get married in a few months.  Money is precious, more than ever before, and needs to be horded away.  I can't afford to spend money in the coming months and have Ms. Mail Lady pay me her usual visits.  This coming X-mas is figuring to be lean but exactly 2 months away from Santa's visit, it's beginning to look a lot like X-mas past around here.   I'm running the risk of interrogation by Wei if she were to see this post and believe that this is a brand spankin' new batch of movies.  Luckily, she rarely visits the blog these days.  But just in case she does.....Hi babe.  These aren't new movies.  I've been diligently saving my money like a good little boy.  =)  So, with that preface, I will let you decide if this is a new batch of VHS from Ms. Mail Lady.  *cough* *wink* *smiley tongue out winky face*

 FORBIDDEN LOVE (1993) , THE TANGLES LOVE (1992)

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I have seen FORBIDDEN LOVE before, once again as a DVD-r, and once again, I remember nada.  THE TANGLES LOVE I was lucky enough to find during my big laser disc haul.  So this copy is just icing on an an awesome CAT III cake.

 HONG KONG VALENTINO (1993) , PROSTITUTE (1992)

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I have HONG KONG VALENTINO on laser disc.  It is a trifle thin but so are most CAT III sex romps.  And that's not a bad thing.  When Lee Chung-ling is in the cast, it's worthy of a once over.  PROSTITUTE is a fairly fun CAT III comedy from 1992 directed by Lam Yee-hung.  A director no stranger to filming boobies, gosh love him.  PROSTITUTE stars one of my faves, Cindy Yip Sin-yi, and she gives us what we want.  A fine performance, of course.  And check out the great cover art.  I am just so enamored with Tai Seng cover art from the early to mid 90's.  Always so brightly colorful and inviting.  As well they should be.  Upon seeing the cover of  PROSTITUTE I had flashbacks to my virgin HK cinema days and discovering a video store that had Tai Seng VHS as far as the eye could see.  These VHS covers just do it for me. I would have sex with these VHS sleeves if possible.  Is it possible?  I'll let ya'll know.

 HIDDEN DESIRE (1991), THE NEVER ENDING LOVE STORY (1994)

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HIDDEN DESIRE is a fun little diddy starring our bosomy beloved Veronica Yip Yuk-hing and directed by soft core erotic-meister, Ho Fan.  Also appearing are CAT III sex pot Rena Murakami and CAT III cocksman, the one, the only, Charlie Cho Cha-lee.  THE NEVER ENDING LOVE STORY is a dramatic CAT III potboiler starring Vincent Lam Wai and Michael Wong Man-tak as friends who vie for the affections of nutso hottie.   Are there any other kind?  And, Yes!   It's THAT Michael Wong Man-tak.

 DEVIL SEX LOVE ( 1993) , PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL RAPIST (1994)

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I've reviewed DEVIL, SEX, LOVE before.  You can find that fun HERE.  PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL RAPIST is a Danny Lee Sau-yin shot on video Magnum opus that decently jumps on the CAT III train and rides it as far as a shot on video production can go.  Which is not far.  Still, it has enough dirtiness for the fans.  It's mostly available unsubbed, as is this VHS. I also have the DVD and VCD.  Because I'm cool.

 EVIL INSTINCT (1996) , CRAZY EMPEROR (1993)

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EVIL INSTINCT is a mostly lame adult film starring Carrie Ng Ka-li and 'Mystical Breasts' Diana Pang Dan.  I don't remember much about the film except for a decent Pang Dan shower scene.  Alas, Mystical breasts took her cues from Amy Yip and hides the fun parts.  CRAZY EMPEROR is kinda rare, I suppose.  That being said, I also have the VCD and laser disc.  So, maybe it isn't so rare?  It is a heavily cut adult film that does provide some period piece nakedness.

 

 THE SPIRITUAL LOVE (1992) , A WILD PARTY (1993)

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THE SPIRITUAL LOVE is a rather laboring erotic ghost story starring Emily Chu Bo-yee.  Boy, did Emily's film career take a certain nosedive after appearing in ROUGE in 1988.  from A list films like A BETTER TOMORROW and MILLIONAIRE'S EXPRESS to B grade films like this one and ANGEL OR WHORE.  Ain't nothing wrong with that!    A WILD PARTY completes my superfecta.  I now have this CAT III crapfest starring the late great Pauline Chan Bo-lin in all 4 formats.  VHS, DVD, VCD, and laser disc.  Lucky me. 

Here's a really fun book for us HK film nerds.  'Film Pilgrimage' shuttles us on a movie tour of the Big Lychee taking snapshots of various film locations. Kinda like what I have been doing HERE and HERE.  The book is not English friendly though and, as you can see in the picture below, is entirely in Chinese.  Thankfully for global fans, all locations are labeled with the film title in English.  Another drawback is that the pictures are kinda small.  Also, there are no comparative pictures.  Meaning there are no pictures from the location as seen in the movie placed up against the actual updated picture of the location.  I'm sure this was most definitely thought about but getting rights to use a picture from each film was most likely too costly. It's easier to yoink pics from films and post in blog form.

Minor flaws aside, this is a worthy book entry for HK film fans/snobs.  There is also a great forward by HKCinemagic webmaster, Thomas Podvin.  Visit Thomas' indispensable site HERE for more info on the book as well as how to order.  It's surefire toilet bowl reading.  And for me, that's the highest rating I can give a book.  That being said, if you ever visit my home, don't touch my HK film books.  They have been 'red flagged' and accompany me to the throne daily.

Podcast On Fire 97 - CITY ON FIRE special!

Still no THIS WEEK IN SLEAZE in sight but Sleazy K and I got together once again for a regular Podcast On Fire Episode 97.  But those looking for CAT III hijinx, don't fret.  I have a potty mouth and I use it!  It's our POF-COF show where we bs about the awesomeness that is CITY ON FIRE.  Nooooooo.  Not THAT CITY ON FIRE.  There's no Chow Yun-fat or Danny Lee in this episode.  But you will get talk-talk about Taiwanese Black Movies, Hwang Jang Lee and the wondrous IFD,  and the debut of the 'Hot Seat' where K puts me on the spot and grills me with life or death questions. 

Also debuting on this episode is Kingwho's? Clip of the Week.  You see, if you are cool and one of my Facebook chums, you would get to see all of the neato little clips I post.  I inundate your news feed with my silly nonsense and you have no damn choice but to like it!  Anyway, this week's clip is from the sorely underrated and mostly forgotten about action-comedy, BOGUS COPS from 1993.  Directed by and starring Beardy Kar-yan, this film also sports Eric Tsang Chi-wai acting like a horse's ass, AIDS humor (because AIDS is funny, don't ya know?) and the gosh dang drop dead gorgeous Veronica Yip Yuk-hing giving us a panty peek all the while vibrating as she sprays and prays with a big bad machine gun.  There's something for everyone!  Enjoy a little peek of BOGUS COPS, and Ronnie's panties, below.  See.  I keep it CAT III for you guys.  Listen to the goodness over @ the Podcast On Fire network.

Visible Secret- 幽靈人間 (2001)

 VISIBLE SECRET (2001)

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Below, check out this review I wrote once upon a time and posted over at my old stomping grounds,  CityOnFire.Com.  And when you're done snickering at my amateur writing, click on over to Podcast Without Honor and Humanity and check out the mellifluous voice of the podcast-o-sphere's one man gang, Jake 'The Snake', as he yakety yaks (and no one talks back) about Ann Hui's 2001 moody horror piece, and topic of this post, VISIBLE SECRET.  Oh, and take a gander at my mini poster as well!

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The possible proof of Visible Secret's existence is the box office success of The Sixth Sense. The later film lends more than just a ghost story to it's HK counterpart. While there isn't a blond haired, blue-eyed kid freaking people out, there's Shu Qi. She takes over as the creepy mortal with a link to the afterlife. Popular female art-house director Ann Hui returns to haunted territory; she also directed The Secret (1979) and The Spooky Bunch (1980), and gorgeously saturates the proceedings with the genres spooky green and blue hues. As the story is told, Eason Chan plays Peter, an out of work hair stylist who meets the enigmatic June, Shu Qi, in a nightclub. Their encounter is more than kismet. June is a free 'spirit' haunted by a memory from the past. With her she brings the tormented baggage of a 15 year old malignant spirit, bent on revenge, into Peter's life. This culminates in the death of Peter's father. June's mysterious character is as unsettling as the atmosphere that permeates the film. All sorts of ghastly goings on turn the ghost story into the arcane, and Hui's arty background prevents the film from becoming too exploitative. Exploitation, though, might have been in order. The film doesn't illicit much edge of your seat chills for the genre it employs. The film becomes a head scratcher and nothing is offered in the way of explanation until the final frames,a surprise ending nod to The Sixth Sense, which in itself is ponderous. Lending support to the two leads are Wayne Lai, Sam Lee, Cheung Tat-ming, and an unforgettable, albeit brief, appearance by Anthony Wong. The eerie milieu of Visible Secret is one of the most beautiful sights I've seen in a HK film in recent memory.  From it's beautiful deep hue of color, to it's creepy deserted nighttime landscapes, to it's characters and story steeped in spiritual Chinese lore. As complicated as the film turns out, the satisfaction of watching a film worthy of it's superstitious convictions is as rich as it's haunting cinematography.

Stooges in Tokyo- 不文小丈夫之銀座嬉春 (1991)

 STOOGES IN TOKYO (1991)

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Recently, I was in a bit of a randy head space (this is a common feeling, of course) and decided to double-bill two James Wong Jim docu/mocku travelogues about sexual shenanigans in and around the Fragrant Harbor.  KEY TO FORTUNE and UNDER THE ROSE both plant tongue firmly between cheeks as we tour along the seedier side of HK with our trusted guide Uncle Jim. 

Uncle Jim was somewhat of a Renaissance man in the HK entertainment industry.  While it was not uncommon to have actors moonlight as recording artist and vice versa, Uncle Jimmy was also an accomplished film composer.  Among the 50 or so films James scored were PEKING OPERA BLUES, A CHINESE GHOST STORY, DRAGONS FOREVER, SWORDSMAN, BULLET IN THE HEAD, and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA. 

So, along with being an actor, composer, writer, director, and talk show host, James was HK's resident dirty uncle.  A tried and true perv and a reliable source for helping you acquiring an STD.  Other films that gave us sex the Wong Jim way were THE WILD GOOSE CHASE, JAMES WONG IN JAPAN AND KOREA, SCREWBALL '94, STOOGES IN HONG KONG, and it's companion film, for which I have this awesome scroll-like poster, STOOGES IN TOKYO.

If your lookin' for a fun and dirty good time, turn on to any of the aforementioned Uncle Jim flicks and let this scamp lead you through the fray of HK naughtiness so you can sow your wild oats.  Just make sure your HMO covers a shot of penicillin.  You'll be needing one.

Podcast On Fire + This Week In Sleaze = Commentary On Fire: RED TO KILL DVD COMMENTARY!

 RED TO KILL (1994)

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Is there a dirtier film in HK cinema that RED TO KILL?  Well, there might be something more sleazier out there starring Charlie Cho Cha-lee or Stuart Ong, but nothing matches the warped sensibilities of this Billy Tang Sing-hin's brutal rape-revenger from 1994. So, with that in mind, a DVD commentary was born.  RED TO KILL, though tough to look at, is very accessible and ripe for a cursory once over.  Joining Sleazy K and I is the Podcast On Fire Network's master squawker, Stoo, a newbie to films of this ilk.  Stoo was a RED TO KILL virgin as we started recording and afterwards made a beeline for the showers, hacking at his dirty pubes like Lily Chung Suk-wai and muttering to himself, "Dirty.  My parts are dirty.  Dirty.  Dirty.  Dirty."

As for me, this audio commentary was a first.  I am not one to listen to audio commentaries on special edition discs because, frankly speaking, I don't give a damn.  STOP TALKING OVER THE MOVIE YOU SELF IMPORTANT TURD!!!  Well, that is how I generally feel, and I went into the commentary with reservations.  Especially while choosing such a visually visceral film as RED TO KILL.  I didn't want to ruin the film while yakking over it.  To me it was the equivalent of an asshole in a movie theater whisper-shouting his commentary on every scene.  I want to punch that douche in the face and now, I was that douche!  But, I soldiered on and gave it a go and, for the most part, personally speaking, it went pretty well.  The commentary itself is solid.  But, more than once you can find me mumbling and bumbling like a fool as I was caught just watching the film (for the umpteenth time) and not giving the majority of my attention to the commentary banter.  It was a good time regardless and I would definitely be up for another one. 

You can listen to the commentary HERE, or if you are more adventurous, you can download the film + commentary HERE (It's an avi. file via Megaupload).  If you dig commentaries, check out the other babblers in the Podcast On Fire Networks audio commentary section HERE.   Commentaries include THE SEVENTH CURSE, KING OF COMEDY, MR. VAMPIRE 2, ISLAND ON FIRE, SCARED STIFF, EASTERN CONDORS, ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, and MISMATCHED COUPLES.  Enjoy and any feedback will be much appreciated.

Go ahead.  Give it a listen.  Or else Donnie will breakdance.

Body Lover- 貼身情人 (1993)

BODY LOVER (1993)

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One of my favorite posters here for the cheesy chic low budget booby-actioner, BODY LOVER, directed by Jeng Kin-ping.  The poster was a huge surprise in a great care package given to me by a buddy a few months back.   I love it oodles.  Kin-ping is only listed on the databases as having directed only 3 films; the beautiful nasty SUBURB MURDER, the excellent low class crime rump shaker, HONG KONG EVA, and it's kinda sequel, BODY LOVER.  Kin-ping has scored the perfect trifecta of heyday CAT III sleaze worthy of any rainy Sunday afternoon (or any other day for that matter) bullets and boobies HK film marathon.  In wonderful meager budget fashion, the first 5 or so minutes of BODY LOVER is the finale of HONG KONG EVA.  The stories and characters forwarded in BODY LOVER appear to be completely different than those from HONG KONG EVA, though a few of the same actors return.  All three of Kin-ping's opuses are fast, cheap, and outta control.  Seek them out and love them.  I posted about BODY LOVER once before.  Check that post out here.  Also, enjoy this silly overstated action scene featuring Julie Lee Wa-yuet as a fatal femme kicking some booty.  And she is fully clothed for a change!

Touch and Go- 一觸即發 (1991)

TOUCH AND GO aka POINT OF NO RETURN (1991)

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Poster for the underwhelming, from what I remember (which isn't much), Sammo Hung Kam-bo-Teresa Mo Sun-kwan action film, TOUCH AND GO.  The usual mad dog style director Ringo Lam tries to compromise his style with that of the rotund one and the outcome is a somewhat entertaining mix of excitement and guffaws.  While not quite near the top of either man's best vehicles, Ringo and Sammo are a fair match made in HK cinema heaven and Ringo is still able to imbue the film with an edge while letting Sammo do what he does best, be chunky and chuckle inducing. Far from a classic but a solid watch.

Magic Cop- 驅魔警察 (1990)

 MAGIC COP- (1990)

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Pretty good lookin' poster for MAGIC COP, a well done black magic fun film circa 1990 and directed by the great actor/action director, Stephen Tung Wai.  No one eyebrowed Taoist priest this go-round for the wonderful Lam Ching-ying but a similar typecast role none the less as he plays a two eyebrowed Taoist priest/cop.  We get all of the Taoist spooks and spells associated with the best Lam Ching-ying efforts and some fun comedy provided by Michael Miu Kiu-wai and Wilson Lam Jun-yin as non believer buddy cops.  A bad ass Michiko Nishiwaki and Billy Chow Bei-lei tandem round out the cast as the freaky foils in this swift and entertaining heyday hocus pocus actioner.