FALLEN ANGELS (1995) - 5/5 stars

Release: 1995

Director: Wong Kar-Wai

Writer: Wong Kar-Wai

Cast: Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung, Karen Mok, Man-Lei Chan

Soundtrack: Frankie Chan and Roel A. Garcia (original music), Various Artists including Massive Attack, The Flying Pickets, and Marianne Faithfull

Claim to fame: a seminal but oft-overlooked 1995 film from internationally acclaimed writer and director Wong Kar-Wai

Rating: 5/5 stars

Some directors just create a world with their films. A world that you can become lost in, or even an inhabitant of, if you allow yourself. Wong Kar-Wai is one such director.

Along with his frequent collaborator, cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Wong Kar-Wai has created a series of films (including "In the Mood for Love" and "Happy Together") that are as seductive as they are devastating: full of rich colors, exotic fabrics, immaculate interior decorating, and lovesick characters.

It's a Wong Kar-Wai movie so of course everybody smokes

"Fallen Angels" is easily one of his best works. It's the flipside to "Chunking Express," which came just a year earlier in 1994. Whereas that daylight-soaked film focused primarily on the excitement and anticipation of beginning to fall in love, "Fallen Angels" is the perpetual twilight of unrequited love, jealousy, and one night stands. This is what Wong Kar-Wai excels at.

The close-ups of Michelle Reis as she rests against a glowing neon jukebox as though it props her very existence up, cigarette in hand, her dress seeming to undulate on its own, is a master-class on how to convey emotions through images and music alone.

Mood music

The plot follows two seemingly unrelated stories that dovetail nicely by the end of the film. Leon Lai is a detached, emotionless hitman who carries out his job with a ruthless efficiency, largely because he leaves all the decision-making and planning to a young woman with connections to the Chinese Triad, played by Michelle Reis. The duo rarely ever see each other but Reis maintains an intense, unrequited love for her partner.

Elsewhere on the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong, an eccentric mute played by Takeshi Kaneshiro tries to make enough money to take care of his older father and finds himself falling in (and out) of love for the very first time.

There are several motifs that harken back to "Chunking Express": Michelle Reis lets herself into Leon Lai's apartment both to clean it and to deliver information about his upcoming hits; Takeshi Kaneshiro's character has gone mute after eating a can of expired pineapple; and Takeshi's father runs the Chunking Hotel.

Michelle Reis: deadly beauty

While "Fallen Angels" creates a world unto itself, you may truly have to give yourself over to the film to enjoy it as it seems to follow its own internal sense of logic at times. Scenes of Takeshi Kaneshiro smelling Charlie Yeung's hair or pretending to put his arm around her while she stares disinterestedly out a window would probably seem creepy or strange if Takeshi wasn't so handsome.

Likewise, the moments where he breaks into closed down shops and then harasses random passerbys into becoming his patrons will seem unrealistic to some unless you allow yourself to be taken in by the movie (or just chalk it up to cultural differences, this being Hong Kong in the early 90's and all).

I'll have a cup of tea and tell you my dreaming

"Fallen Angels" has some of the best action sequences I've ever witnessed, which is almost hysterical because they're not really action sequences at all. Leon Lai takes out a few targets during the course of the film; each assignment is extremely brief but choreographed down to the micro-detail. Wong Kar-Wai seems to say, "So people love John Woo movies because of his use of slow motion? Then I'm going to use even SLOWER motion."

Sparks fly, bodies are torn apart by bullets, furniture is blasted open…and yet it's not exhilarating like "Hard Boiled." Somehow the action feels more realistic - despite how invincible Leon Lai seems - and as though it's primarily to reveal character. Indeed, these shoot-outs are what I'd call "existential action scenes" more than anything.

"Fallen Angels" contains some of the best shoot-outs I've ever seen,

even if they fall under the "blink and you'll miss them" category

I really cannot praise Christopher Doyle's cinematography enough. There is perhaps no one else working in film who knows how to photography women quite like he does. Michelle Reis is an attractive gal in real life but in "Fallen Angels" she looks as beautiful as I've ever seen anyone look; the kind of instantly striking visual appeal that harkens back to the silent era. And KINO Video's recent blu-ray edition reveals just how stunning the photography in "Fallen Angels" is.

It's worth noting that, much like "Chunking Express," the atmosphere in this film is erotically charged. In "Chunking Express," the intimate moments were about the joy of exploring a partner's body for the first time; here, they're used to communicate the character's isolation and loneliness. And yes, there's a famous scene of Michelle Reis writhing herself into ecstasy on Leon Lai's bed while he's away (and while she's wearing fishnet stockings, no less). It's a pleasant change of pace considering that most Hong Kong movies are devoid of sexuality outside of Category III exploitation.

Oh my...

Granted, the film isn't perfect. As I mentioned, it tends to follow its own logic and whims so you have to choose to go along for the ride or potentially be pulled out of the film. I've never been a fan of actress Karen Mok but I have to say that she's especially annoying here: her character seems perpetually drunk or just plain crazy, it's hard to tell, but I have difficulty imagining that any sensible man would pick her over the smoldering good-looks of Michelle Reis.

Quibbles aside, I'm genuinely surprised by how divided the reviews for "Fallen Angels" are at Netflix, with several 1-star ratings and one reviewer describing the first 15 minutes as nothing but "shots of wide hallways, narrow corridors, and escalators." Some may find "Fallen Angels" to be self-consciously "cool," but it's just as easy to interpret that sense of style as parody. All the elements of your standard Hong Kong flick are here: the distant hitman, bloody shoot-outs, the femme fatale, and extreme emotions. However, Wong Kar-Wai skews the genre tropes just enough that you could easily see this as a parody or a deconstruction.

Takeshi Kaneshiro's performance is broadly physical, given that he

can't talk, and it's one of the best roles of his career

What Wong Kar-Wai was expertly able to capture with both "Fallen Angels" and "Chunking Express," and part of what makes his work so compelling, is the paradoxical feeling of isolation that comes from living in a bustling city - finding yourself reduced to but one among many (millions in the case of Hong Kong) - tempered with the hope and promise that, just when you find yourself at your lowest, you could brush elbows with someone who might save your life.

Young hearts be free

THE KILLER (1989) - 5/5 stars

Release: 1989

Director: John Woo

Writer: John Woo

Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu, Kenneth Tsang, Fui-On Shing, Wing-Cho Yip, Fan Wei Yee, Barry Wong, Parkman Wong

Soundtrack: Lowell Lo

Claim to fame: perhaps John Woo's most famous and influential film; one of the standouts of the heroic bloodshed genre; and a botched blu-ray release from Dragon Dynasty

Rating: 5/5 stars

"The Killer" will never have the emotional resonance or genuine pathos that it had for me at 17. But that's life, right? As an angst-ridden high school outsider, this film's ridiculously high body count and doomed love story hit me like a revelation.

John Woo truly created his own little pocket universe here: a place where honorable assassins and rogue cops could leak gallons of blood and still go on fighting, and the most meaningful sign of friendship was tossing your buddy an ammo clip in the midst of battle.

A friendship tested by bulletfire

Rewatching the film years later, I can realize that for every four shots of action that are masterfully composed, there's one or two that feel sloppily put together (it's almost like these bad guys love running right towards our heroes just to get shot); and the central love story of the film relies heavily on Hong Kong movie cliches, like Cantopop songs playing over the soundtrack just as tragedy strikes.

I had to laugh when the Chow Yun Fat visits the lounge-singing object of affections and she asks, "Want to listen to some music?" and then proceeds to play one of her own songs over her apartment stereo.

Aw, $#%*& yeah

But arguably none of this takes away from the power of "The Killer." It's one of these films, like "Scarface," that is utterly steeped in the style of its era - the 80's. You can say that makes it dated, or choose to embrace its neon lighting, excessive (but still expert) use of slow motion, frequent religious symbolism, and nihilistic suckerpunch of an ending.

I mean, this movie is part of a genre that's been nicknamed "heroic bloodshed" and "pistol opera," and for good reason. Every emotion is at its most extreme, whether it's love or sorrow, and concepts like brotherhood and honor are treated as codes to live and die by. The over the top nature of the entire film, and John Woo's filmmaking style in general, only help to emphasize the plot's underlying themes.

Rest assured, Chow Yun Fat is filmed from every conceivable angle

while holding a weapon in this movie

There are certain people in cinema history that were just born to do things. Fred Astaire was born to dance, Bruce Lee was born to practice martial arts, and Chow Yun Fat was born to dual wield pistols and fire away like there was no tomorrow.

Chow is amazing here: his expression is constantly shifting between icy, straight-faced cool and completely tormented. He's always dressed to the nines and moves with a balletic grace as he mows down wave after wave of bad guys with whatever weapon is on hand.

Chow Yun Fat: born to kill

Danny Lee is in similarly fine form; in fact, this is probably his greatest hour as an actor. The man played a cop so many times during his career that the Hong Kong Police Force actually gave him an honorary award.

He's the perfect foil for Chow Yun Fat's assassin because Lee is utterly committed to his job, which involves catching hitmen like Fat, but ultimately his own personal sense of justice means that he has to side with Fat's crusade.

You engage in Mexican stand-offs with your friends now and then, don't you?

Both men give themselves over to loftier ideals - like friendship, honor - and are willing to sacrifice their very lives for them, which leads to the final showdown in a Catholic church. Once a statue of the Virgin Mary is exploded by the villain's shotgun blast, it becomes clear that the characters no longer have any chance at redemption.

It's then that their battle becomes not about getting out alive and starting a new life, but making sure you take down the bad guys before you spit out your last breath.

A symbolic turning point in the film (and NO, we're not gonna

criticize it for being too obvious or over the top, just shut up,

it's John-friggin'-Woo!)

While "Hard Boiled" may feature more outstanding, technically proficient action, it has none of the heart of "The Killer." This film is the complete, unfiltered creative expression of John Woo - the man's many passions and vast cinematic abilities are plastered all over the screen during every minute of the movie's runtime. Chances are you'll either love it or find it to be totally ridiculous.

Sure, the English translation on the subtitles certainly leaves something to be desired. But if you've never seen a movie where the good guys stand back to back, reloading their guns while their clothes are soaked through with their own blood and the enemy is pouring in from all sides, then "The Killer" might just make am impact on you like it did for me many years ago…and you might wonder if Hollywood has completely forgotten - or ever really knew - about that kind of old-fashioned heroism.

I swear, guys, I'm not crying...it's just something in my eye...sniff.

POST-NOTE: Not to end the review on a downer note, but Dragon Dynasty (the new Asian film label from the Weinstein Brothers) really botched the blu-ray release of "The Killer." The disc is only a 1080i encode and it hardly looks better than an upscaled DVD. The picture is soft and only a few select shots have the level of detail you'd expect from high-definition.

Even worse, the soundtrack sounds totally flat and mono. I realize that the film is old but for 1989 it shouldn't look or sound THIS bad. If you already own this film on DVD then there's no reason to upgrade to the blu-ray because it'd most likely be more of a downgrade. We'll have to keep waiting for the definitive version of this film to hit the hi-def format.

Chow and Danny are left smugly unimpressed by Dragon Dynasty's treatment

of their most excellent action movie

FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (1982) - 5/5 stars

AKA "Chinese Super Ninjas"

Release: 1982

Director: Cheh Chang

Writer: Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni

Cast: Tien-chi Cheng, Tien Hsiang Lung, Meng Lo, Wai-Man Chan, Chen Hei Psi, Wang Lieh, Ke Chu

Soundtrack: Chin Yung Shing, Chun Hau So

Claim to fame: largely considered one of the greatest - or at least the most fun - Shaw Brothers films

Rating: 5/5 stars

When a movie actually lets the title cards interrupt what is presumably a painstakingly-choreographed, life-or-death battle, then I kind of assume that it's going to be filled to the brim with action and that the filmmakers don't need to show their hand right away. "Five Element Ninjas" does not disappoint in this regard.

The story is pretty damn unique. It spends a good deal of the first act laying out the Chinese Martial Arts Alliance (basically a kung fu school) as being the toughest, most skilled fighters in all of China. You know they're the good guys because their costumes are white as the driven snow.

The Martial Arts Alliance wears these tiny little half-capes,

which is cool except they're ALWAYS pausing to untie them before a fight

Just when you think that these guys are the ultimate bad-asses, the school is promptly decimated by a clan of Japanese ninjas.

The ninjas, who are not afraid to fight cheap and dirty, employ various elemental tactics to win: blinding their opponent's eyes with metal hats, hiding inside hollowed out trees, striking from underwater, etc.

If we've learned anything from "The Octagon," it's that ninjas have no honor

The rest of the film then becomes about how the few surviving Chinese martial artists are going to learn to strike back at an opponent who is seemingly invincible and without honor.

The American title of the movie, "Chinese Super Ninjas," is arguably more appropriate since although there are five elemental ninja *techniques* in this film, only four Chinese heroes are left standing for the finale - and they do truly become super ninjas once their training is complete.

What commences is a beautiful and gory display of patented Shaw Brothers martial arts choreography. The fight scenes are abundant, and the fact that the sets look so unnatural and studio-built only lends to the fantasy, comic book-y feel of the film.

I sincerely love these kind of serene landscapes

that are completely manufactured in a film studio

I could have done without the romantic subplot, which seemed out of place, in favor of more sequences detailing the heroes' ninja training - there's the briefest training montage imaginable and then all of a sudden they know how to beat the ultra-stealthy ninjas - but I suppose that would have taken away from the surprise of the ending battles.

Despite being made in 1982, "Five Elemental Ninjas" looks culled from the late 70's and features the kind of limb-pulling gore that wouldn't be out of a place in Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive."

It's certainly one of the most epic, delightfully silly, and just plain fun kung fu flicks I've ever witnessed. Highly recommended for all you Shaw Brothers junkies and ninja lovers.

Expect a lot of fatal bleeding in "Five Element Ninjas," thankfully

the DVD print is rather pristine and makes the color red pop

CHINA HEAT (1992) - 3/5 stars

Release: 1992
Director: William Chang, Yang Yang
Writer: William Cheung Kei, Goo Siu-Yin, Naam Fung
Cast: Sibelle Hu, Alan Lan, Sherry Han, Cindy Mong, Michael Despasquale Jr., Sophia Crawford, Mark Houghton, Meredith MacRae, Roosevelt Jackson
Soundtrack: ?
Claim to fame: it's safe to say that this film is so obscure it has no claim to fame, at least not in America; though it could be said it fits into the "girls-with-guns" subgenre of Hong Kong action movies
Rating: 3/5 stars

"China Heat" is an early 90's Hong Kong action flick, featuring copious girls-with-guns, martial arts fighting, and pratfall stunts. But it's staged with such low-budget incompetence that it ends up less like the works John Woo and Jackie Chan, and more like something you'd see on Mystery Science Theater 3000. And you know what? That's okay with me.

I was in the mood for a bad movie the other night and "China Heat" more than fit the bill. The plot is ridiculous: remember how in the Van Damme "Street Fight" movie, the good guys were a generic UN-style peacekeeping force that actually went around the world, kicking butt and firing guns? "China Heat" is just like that, except the task force is comprised entirely of women (okay, there's ONE guy in the group).

They travel around the globe, fighting terrorists and drug dealers. And their idea of "negotiating" with terrorists is a bullet to the head, while dope smugglers are best handled with a swift karate kick.

This is within the opening 5 minutes of the movie

Yup, she's really riding a motorcycle on top of a plane

And as sillily-staged as much of it is - the bad guys stand there in sweat pants, legs braced, firing their guns like they actually want to be killed - it's a lot of fun, especially on an insomniac night while you're waiting for sleeping pills to kick in.

Talk about cannon fodder

Every actress in this movie is convincingly fast and knows how to to throw a punch or take a fall. Meanwhile, Michael Despasquale Jr. kinda looks like a low-rent, caveman version of David Duchovny from Brookyln.

Despasquale Jr. - a poor man's Duchovny, or Duchovny with a black belt?

I'll let you decide. I just like that his last name sounds like an Italian dish.

This screencap speaks for itself

For all of its ineptitude, "China Heat" will occasionally surprise you with a bravado moment: like when an undercover cop's head literally explodes from a gunshot wound

I bet you'd think a tiny gun like that wouldn't do much damage...

Whoa! Okay, holy shit, that seems a little overboard...

or the amazing camera POV from the passenger seat of Despasquale's car as he reverses down a line of bad guys and fires on them like he's at a shooting gallery.

First-person shooter

It also helps the film that lead actress Sibelle Hu has genuine cred in the Hong Kong industry: she starred in the popular "Inspectors Wear Skirts" series, as well as in several Jackie Chan flicks like "My Lucky Stars."

Sibelle Hu has developed a cult following

of people who love to watch tiny Chinese women kick ass

The entire movie is in Mandarin with easy-to-read English subtitles, and seeing New York cops speak in Mandarin certainly lends to the fever dream quality of the entire production.

"China Heat" moves at a fast clip and rarely do ten minutes go by without another action scene. If you're anything like me and you enjoy a "good" bad movie, especially ones with ridiculous 90's fashion, then you'll devour "China Heat."

"Of all the dojos in the world, she had to walk into mine..."

DRUNKEN MASTER (1978) - 4/5 stars

Release: 1978

Director: Yuen Woo-ping

Writer: Lung Hsiao, Ng See-Yuen, Yuen Woo-ping

Cast: Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu Tien, Hwang Jang Lee, Fung Ging Man, Hsu Hsia, Linda Lin, Dean Shek, Shun-Yee Yuen

Soundtrack: Chow Fu-Liang

Claim to fame: this is one of Jackie Chan's first successful films and one of his most enduring among fans, introduced 'drunken boxing' to a legion of kung fu movie fans

Rating: 4/5 stars

Good Lord, there is so much kung-fu fighting in this movie that I very nearly felt fatigued by the end of it! You gotta love these 70's kung fu flicks where a well-choreographed fight sequence breaks out just because some guy won't pay his dinner tab.

Jackie was really in the best shape of his life for "Drunken Master"

For fans of Jackie Chan's more recent works, in which he's known for his implementation of props and dangerous stunts, this film might be a bit of an adjustment. Most of "Drunken Master" is comprised of dudes sparring in the middle of sunny fields with the camera set up perfectly to capture every move.

So instead of "What prop can Jackie use next?", it becomes about the athleticism, the choreography, the almost dance-like performance of the two combatants.

Centered shot composition means we get to see every move

Needless to say, I spent the entire runtime of "Drunken Master" utterly impressed by what Jackie and his co-stars were accomplishing. Jackie is so damn fit here and he seems to never stop moving, finding some new way to contort his body or dodge his opponent's blows.

Holy $#%&!

Did I mention that "Drunken Master" is also friggin' hilarious? It was fun to see Jackie play a well-meaning but ultimately selfish SOB who causes trouble for others at every turn. Bonus points for the scene where Jackie calls a middle-aged lady a bitch, only to have her kick his ass with her elite fighting skills...only to have him find out later that she's the aunt he hasn't seen in 10 years!

You gotta love 70's kung fu movie hijinks

"Drunken Master" plays out like a classic Shaw Brothers movie, only injected with a healthy dose of comedy and even more impressive physicality on the part of the actors involved. This is a must-see movie for Jackie Chan fans and anybody who can appreciate 111 minutes of nearly nonstop martial arts action.

If you can get over the British-sounding dub (which isn't as bad as some I've heard), this is also one of director/choreographer Yuen Woo-ping's greatest works.

What kung fu movie would be complete

without some kind of painful and arcane training exercises?

TWIN DRAGONS (1999) - 3/5 stars

Release: 1992 (Hong Kong), 1999 (America)

Director: Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark

Writer: Barry Wong, Tsui Hark, Joe Cheung, Wong Yik

Cast: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Philip Chan, Alfred Cheung, Guy Lai

Soundtrack: Lowell Lo, Barrington Pheloung (rescored for America)

Claim to fame: Jackie Chan's version of the "twins" action movie (see also: Jean Claude Van Damme's "Double Impact")

Rating: 3/5 stars

This is not a shining example of a 90's Jackie Chan flick but bear in mind that the whole reason "Twin Dragons" was made was to benefit the Director's Guild in Hong Kong, with the goal of generating enough money to build a new headquarters...a headquarters which was never actually built, despite the film being a big hit in Hong Kong.

The movie is Jackie's take on the whole action movie subgenre that involves one star posing as twins via splitscreen. "Double Impact" starring Jean Claude Van Damme (and Jean Claude Van Damme?) is probably the most famous. There's also "Dead Ringers" with Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists but...wait, that's not an action movie. Nevermind. Now nobody really likes this kinds of movies but they seemed to be big during the early 90's, which makes sense since the 90's was all about "if something's good, why settle with one?" See also: the Double Mint twins.

"Twin Dragons" seeks to answer the age old question:

are two Jackie's better than one?

Now you'd expect a Jackie Chan movie co-directed by Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam to be utterly mind-blowing, considering that between the two of them they've directed at least a dozen of the best Hong Kong action flicks ("Peking Opera Blues," "Time & Tide" for Hark and "Full Contact," "City on Fire" for Lam). Unfortunately, everybody involved in this production kinda feels on autopilot.

In cases like this, the two directors usually don't work together. Most likely that Hark directed pieces of the movie and then edited those together with the sections Lam directed. Thus, the film it is wildly uneven in tone, transitioning between the hard-hitting Jackie Chan action you'd expect and wacky sex comedy.

Gun to the head vs.

sex farce

I've heard some who are up on their Hong Kong movie trivia claim that "Twin Dragons" was ghost directed by John Woo as well, which I'm inclined to believe given some of the stylistic flourishes here and there. Again that doesn't necessarily translate to the movie being as awesome as you'd hope.

Bear in mind that the movie was cut by at least 11 minutes and redubbed by Dimension Films, with Jackie participating in the dub. Something definitely seems amiss here, as the always beautiful Maggie Cheung receives second billing and yet in the American edit she's barely in the movie at all.

If only the movie were as bad-ass as some of these screengrabs look

There are at least two great action sequences here: an early fight scene at a karaoke bar, with Jackie Chan dodging a plate of glass from a coffee table being swung at his face

Coffee table of death!

and the ending setpiece in a car testing facility. This last scene is unbelievable, with Jackie running atop speeding cars and almost being fried alive in a heat room. It's probably worth the price of admission alone.

If nothing else, the last 20 minutes set in an auto testing facility

will leave a big grin plastered on the faces of martial arts fans

Just be warned that inbetween scattered fight scenes you've got a lot of "twin hijinks," with Jackie as two twin brothers who frequently switch places - and inadvertently switch women.

As such, this is probably not the most kid-friendly Jackie Chan movie out there, considering a lot of the humor during the second half is of a sexual nature. When I first saw this I was about 13 and even I was like, "Jackie, what's with the Austin Powers shtick?" What that in mind, I'd recommend "First Strike" if you're looking to introduce some young'uns to Jackie's filmography.

"Twin Dragons" is for Chan fanatics and completists only.

When it comes to perilous stunts, it's almost always a close call with Jackie