Lively and creative Wuxia spectacle from Tsui Hark's Film Workshop. The Magic Crane itself made an appearance in Tsui's Green Snake the same year and yes, effects-wise it wasn't much of a stunner there either. Neither were the snakes in that picture which didn't stop it from becoming an enchanting experience.

While no great shakes in the visuals department, The Magic Crane goes about its business in efficient ways. Meaning great, big doses of broad comedy, gore and high flying acrobatics all in one. While obviously undercranked to the max, the choreography is great fun and offers plenty of entertaining flying bouts. With solid and endearing performances by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Anita Mui and Rosamund Kwan, The Magic Crane turns out to be a worthy entry in the new wave craze of martial arts cinema in the 90s. Also with Damian Lau, Norman Tsui, Lawrence Ng and Kelvin Wong.

The Magic Crane is available on dvd by Ground Zero Entertainment as part of their "Brooklyn Zu: Double Features" series, alongside Rivals of the Dragon. Considering the track record that Ground Zero has, it comes as a surprise that Benny Chan's film is presented in widescreen, in Cantonese and subtitled into English. The source is most likely the old Laserdisc. The Hong Kong vcd is out of print while a Mandarin language only dvd has been released in Taiwan by Thundermedia.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

Obviously meant to be called Magic Of Spell on the print, this is the sequel to The Child of Peach which was based on the popular character Momotarō from Japanese folklore. Lam Siu-Lau reprises HER role of Peach BOY who gets to fight devils, demons, zombies and wizards at breakneck speed courtesy of director Chiu Chung-Hung (A Heroic Fight). Literally a cartoon come to life not only through the fairly extensive use of animated special effects and over the top design. Director Chiu does dedicate some of the first half to pratfalls and lame slapstick but when proceedings have turned a little somber, the viewer is in for a non-stop ride of Taiwan fantasy madness. Peach Boy teams up with friends Doggy, Chicken and Monkey to fight of a devil in need of youthful power and seeing the various techniques best discovered sans beforehand knowledge in the relentless (and epic) finale is pure, delightful eye-candy. Sure it's lo-fi and not to be considered a full blown movie by any means but much is to be admired in the team that put together this wildly colourful package that when all is said and done makes one easily forget about lagging pace initially.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Why be slow when you can cheaply and frenetically run through your colourful creativity? Sounds deep and scholar-like but still applies to the wild, Taiwan time offered up by Chong Yan-Gin (Revanchist) and Lee Tso-Nam (Shaolin Vs Lama). Dubbed as a second sequel to The Child Of Peach (the other being Magic Of Stell), in fact the only link is female lead Lam Siu-Lau playing another male hero. This time it's Little Flying Dragon and not Peach Boy, who has to protect Golden Boy from the forces of hell. In a story making little sense, nor should it in some odd, logical way, the often infectious blend of animated special effects, wire assisted feats and low-brow comedy (see Lam Siu-Lau turn into a gorilla and Golden Boy offering up piss tea) seems a little downshifted compared to Magic Of Stell but nevertheless is hokey fun. Almost an Wizard Of Oz-like character gallery pops up (including snail- and mushroom spirits), an acid pit turning humans into skeletons in an instant and a terrific finale that definitely sees the crew shift their gears up. Yes, Magic Warriors is a movie with quotable content to the max but despite beans spilled above, there's news around most corners it turns. Alexander Lo appears in dual roles.

TROY'S REVIEW: Well, with Philip Ko in this, one thing is predictable right from the very start... yes, we get a rough sex scene! What the hell is it with IFD films featuring Ko indulging in heavy handed copulation? Answers on a postcard please. In the meantime, lets have a quick ganders at what else is on offer in this entry. The basic plot concerns hit man Ko arriving in Hong Kong after being hired to take out three targets. Matters are shown to be a little on the complex side however when we learn that Ko's brother is in fact a police officer. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot suddenly veers off on an utterly bewildering tangent which frankly defies description. Nonetheless you'll likely find yourself glued to the screen for the duration in morbid fascination at such off the wall sights as a bad guy (John Ladalski) torturing a poor woman on a beach with a combination of body paint and baby turtles, a transvestite assassin and a notable scene featuring vaginal drug smuggling. Would I recommend watching this? Why of course! (Might I also recommend some headache tablets to go with it though).

A Man From Holland was the basis for IFD's re-dub and therefore originally contains a lot of the above insanity.

Joseph Lai's IFD always made sure to make their statement during the company logo preceding any film, via the accompanying music that sounds suspiciously ALMOST like it's taken from a known sci-fi movie series. So Majestic Thunderbolt is indeed another entertaining cut and paste job credited to his boy Godfrey Ho, utilizing what looks like the majority of an average Korean thriller starring Chen Kuan-Tai (brief appearances by Lily Li, Chan Sing and Dai Sai-An suggests more movies were briefly edited in) while inserting not so well incorporated footage with Richard Harrison, Phillip Ko and John Ladalski. Obviously just aimed to be another product to get out on the international market and not a neat hybrid product, the excess and goofiness (thanks to the English dubbing) is what almost always drove these IFD flicks. It's no different with Majestic Thunderbolt. Pitting gang against gang as plot framework but in reality pitting movie against movie, Godfrey's "contributions" consists of a little bit of everything illogical including sex, violence, Phillip Ko as a sadistic Taoist priest that no one really knows what he's doing in this flick and a Ko/Harrison finale that takes time to incorporate some random animal cruelty as well. Chicken lovers, beware. There's shameless fun to be had but the Korean movie gets to shine a little, thanks to its afro villain and snake torture among other things. It has to be said though, IFD cut a way too fantastic trailer for all this nonsense.

Lu Xuechang (Cala, My Dog!), part of the 6th generation of Mainland Chinese filmmakers (Zhang Yimou was in the 5th) debuted with this interesting coming of age story, using Mainland cinematic sensibilities far removed from what one comes to expect when hearing the words "coming of age". The Making Of Steel is in fact the title of a Russian novel found by main character Zhou Qing (played in young adult version by Zhu Hongmao who also scored the film) who finds out there's no steel content in the book but that it's a parallel to how you must shape into an individual with an iron will. Definitions are contrasting when speaking of that, something Lu acknowledges. Good and bad values surfaces, life facets fades in and out and so does the characters you so desperately wants to praise as having an impact on you. Complex in its own right but usually very clear in its intentions, cinematic language is suitably non-stylized with only select, smooth camera moves to accompany scenes. A compelling editing choice takes place many times during the first half as director Lu clearly is no fan of lingering on events more than necessary and instead favours trusting his audience being with the narrative. Second half gets a bit more stale and unclear but whenever Lu reminds us of the central theme of the film and the meaning of steel for Zhou Qing, The Making Of Steel regains its interesting status. Destined for rewatch status as well in my book.

The current print as presented on vcd by Ocean Shores is often so dark that this gangster-cops actioner becomes utterly incomprehensible. Then again I'm certain that if all was crystal clear, A Man From Holland would still rank as an uninteresting exercise anyway. Aside from some fine tension at the very end (a confrontation between Michael Chan and Phillip Ko), director Kong relies on stock genre scenes and exploitation elements. For instance, John Ladalski is a drug dealer that later appears in a beach scene where he's tied a woman down and is painting her with either brushes or tortoises. Phillip Ko turns up just before he John unleashes an eel on her! There's a also a transvestite killer in this mix. Is Kong trying to get a point across? Then it surely is that he's incapable of dealing with the genre. Ray Lui and Kwan Hoi-San co-stars.

IFD released and dubbed the film into English under the title Magnum Thunderbolt. There are differences between the prints with each missing and containing the scenes the other one doesn't have. Considering the track record of Ocean Shores, the versions might as well have matched up when comparing a tape or laserdisc release of theirs prior to the vcd.

Buy the VCD at:
Yesasia.com

Ray Lui stepped into the shoes of Limpy Ho for To Be Number One and the acclaim garnered from that real life dramatization lead to a number of bigger vehicles, always with at least Stephen Shiu lurking in the background. In Man Of The Times, I'm not certain Lui's character Chan Chi Chiu's rise from cadet to corrupt prick of the police force gets its truths from real life but it certainly tries to present a political view of issues of reality. Now that doesn't sound totally uninteresting but in the hands of director Taylor Wong, it all sinks like a rock. Trying to portray our man and his times in broad, comedic (Ng Man-Tat is a whirlwind of annoyance in this once) and to an extent, straight faced ways while looking at corruption of the times, neither mood gels and rather shows a large degree of hack behaviour from a hack director. But the feeling is definitely that of had Wong gone with making one movie, he still would've bored us to tears. Now the contrasts are just there to annoy us to the extent that we happen to finish the flick in the process. Kent Cheng, Veronica Yip (largely wasted despite being a dramatic element), Ben Ng, Bowie Lam, Deannie Yip, Kelvin Wong, Louis Roth and Kwan Hoi-San also appear.

Buy the VCD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

Alex Cheung followed up his terrific debut Cops And Robbers with yet another gritty drama, focusing on the turmoil rookie cop Chiu (Eddie Chan) goes through when he takes on the task of infiltrating a triad gang...

Writing, directing and photographing Man On The Brink, Cheung can't possibly have been the first kid on the block to attempt this story that later cropped up to great effect in City On Fire. But watching Chiu's descent shaped by the seedy world around him is quite engaging, much more so during the latter stages of the film when Cheung easily plants that sinking feeling in viewer's stomachs. Meaning that the proceedings are heading towards a sad end statement as Cheung takes us on a continuation of the social commentary from his debut. His view on the Hong Kong citizens first may be seen as unified but as it turns out, it's a unified, lawless group. Finely tuned is also his portrayal of triads that clearly have a tough shell that's easily cracked in the face of blood and violence. Cheung shoots mostly gritty, documentary style but has an eye for whenever to use slow motion to exhilarating effect. Some misplaced comedy and a really sappy montage disrupts his social commentary for a bit however. Nevertheless, Man On The Brink rises well-above any familiar goals this particular story possesses, complemented by an immersing performance by Eddie Chan who would go on to make an impact in He Lives By Night and Law With Two Phases.