KENNETH'S REVIEW: From the director of The Mission and Election, we get gratuitous shots of bums and cleavage? Yes, before Johnnie To was Johnnie To, there was among other things a stint at Cinema City in a flick that feels entirely like Raymond Wong's baby than anything else. Playing husband Willie who is in his 7th year of unregistered marriage with Sylvia (Sylvia Chang) and feeling the titular itch, men around him advocate fooling around. Women around her somehow knows it's a fact men fool around when they've forgotten anniversary's. Well, Willie does after a Singapore set almost adultery adventure with Siu Hung (Nina Li) who is in fact just using Willie for diamond smuggling. The usual complications, grating presence from Eric Tsang as the brother in-law and little charm from anyone involved, Seven Years Itch is business as usual without any positives coming out from the charming-chute. Typical story moral is imbedded in all this including some fairly offensive views on women and the solid presence from Sylvia Chang doesn't even help matters either. Also with Wu Fung and Maggie Cheung literally runs through the frame at one point.

A vicious group of robbers are terrorizing a defenseless village so they try to recruit defenders of their land. A disbanded army unit plus some outside influences, in total seven of them, are assembled to along with the villagers fight back...yes, it does sound familiar doesn't it?

A remake and homage to a little film called Seven Samurai, the Hong Kong crew does use it as an excuse to fire, fight and blow stuff up but as much as it is an excuse, director Terry Tong (Coolie Killer) makes sure respect is somewhere baked into the mix. Not that he can offer up heavy duty dramatic weight and he more than willingly does everything Hong Kong style, including doses of comedy and melodrama. Seven Warriors does however distinguish itself with its parade of recognizable faces and stars in addition to the mayhem that dominates the latter parts of the flick.

Getting more mileage out of Adam Cheng and Mak Mok's characters, also along for the ride comes Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Phillip Kwok, Ben Lam, Lo Lieh, Shing Fui On, Wu Ma, Chia Chiao, Fung Hark On, Shum Wai, Elaine Kam, Teresa Mo, Chen Jing and Sammo Hung (in an excellent fighting cameo). Quite a load of talent at action directors Benz Kong and Tony Poon's disposal and violent gunplay with bursts of well-choreographed swordplay makes Seven Warriors memorable as a Hong Kong flick of that golden era. Not so much as the distinguished remake it wants to be. But that's ok.

In actuality, all attempts at portraying the life of prostitutes wanting life outside of prostitution are flimsy excuses for Wong Jing and director Aman Cheung to feature the usual softcore sex and excess. But it's a step up from the strangely boring yet arguably on paper more crazier Sex & Zen II. As the film progresses more towards another installment of the A Chinese Torture Chamber Story series, the combo on display makes for fine, crazy viewing. Take poor subtitling, advanced sexual techniques taught by Lo Meng's character, grim torture, heck...even some inventive shots and you'll get what is truly expected yet also wildly funny in its expected ways. A verdict coming only from those of us who wants to embrace this type of "cinema". Jane Cheung, Karen Yeung, Dung Yi and Elvis Tsui stars.

As part of the gunplay ending is shown during the opening credits, it's clear Patrick Kong (A Man From Holland) is desperate to make the audiences stay. Fine...if you offered up quality during the very short running time and although the choice to throw us at breakneck speed into the plot about a prostitution ring, it's not only almost totally incoherent but devoid of entertainment that would make one want to sit through this Category III effort. Recognizable faces such as Ben Ng and William Ho only turn up to "act" and even Pauline Chan keeps her clothes on. Instead giving Chan the chance to come off as an action heroine, the stunt doubling is horrendous and Chan totally unappealing in that role. Multiple sex scenes lacking steam but not stock porn score register little and the moments that manage to do doesn't make the whole package worth it. Of note is a torture scene where a prostitute have maggots poured over her and cut material involves even more animals. Not nice but noticeable. One sex scene with Sharon Kwok has her under the influence of aphrodisiac presumably, basically raping men and women, making the film turn wacky all of a sudden! As quickly as it all starts, Sex For Sale also abruptly closes without us caring if that huge explosion at the end at all made sense.

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Choi (Elvis Tsui) finds what he thinks is an illegal immigrant on the steps of his bar. In fact the girl Fong (referred to as Shit Fong in the subtitles and played by Nomoto Miho) is half human, half snake and has been hunted out of her underground lair after her laid eggs were destroyed. Shacking up with Choi who killed his wife in a drunk driving accident cements a connection but Fong primarily needs to be impregnated so the indecisive Choi isn't a good candidate. She turns to his cousin Marco (Vincent Wan) instead who along with scientist Grace (Carrie Ng) is looking for funding for a revolutionary insecticide after experimenting on snakes and spiders. Grace detects something is odd with Fong while Marco has debts with the triads to take care of...

From the usually empty wallets at My Way Film Company, Sex Medusa doesn't change any of that and the rough video image transferred to film on dvd borderline detracts. But the mish mash of storylines and moods reveals amusing charm at points. It takes a while before director Law realizes he needs to get the film (running a way too long 90+ minutes) out of talky territory and into a teasing supernatural one instead. Cue cheap CGI sights related to the snake Fong is including a view from behind a screen of her pregnancy in motion, snakes crawling in her hair and her particular way of devouring chickens. Oddly enough, timid Choi (who is also deadly afraid of cats... a notion called back later in the flick) makes little fuss over this as it's all about new female company in his life. A thread that scores unexpectedly high because at its core, the film is a little tragedy as well where ultimately the most evil out of human and snake may be the former. Oh it's not depth that is actually good but credit director Law for the 20 minutes of momentum he has when combining wild cheese and the sensitive. Anyone would and should recommend Phantom Of Snake for a more kooky, low budget look at the snakes in human form but Sex Medusa deserves space. Beware of images of real animal cruelty towards snakes and spiders.

A Chinese teenage ghost story with as much complexity and depth that you would expect from the age group it features and for what crowd it's aimed for (again, teenagers). Despite, Lo Kim-Wah (Sunshine Cops) and producer Wong Jing seems persistent to make a dramatic mark here as attempts are made to inject pathos and somber moods into the fluffy romance. An admirable choice but one that can not escape the limited character drama that an effort like this works with. The instincts are correct however but should've been put to use in a story of more mature nature. Then perhaps the adult crowd would've reacted as well.

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One starring vehicle was all Chen Wo-Fu logged before his suicide at 24 and while The Shadow Boxer makes it clear we weren't dealing with a fully grown star, there was charisma in the real life Tai Chi champion. As part of the very proper martial arts values and morals of the film, there is occasional dramatic strength Chen is part of (dealing with tolerance within the Tai Chi style taught to him) but director Pau Hsieh-Li (co-director of Boxer From Shantung) merely churns out Shaw Brother's standards here. Attentive viewers may even draw parallels to the similar structure between this film and The Big Boss (Chen even had a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee). Yuen Woo-Ping co-directed the largely unspectacular action.

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a.k.a. The Spiritual Boxer Part II, a sequel in name only to Lau Kar Leung's groundbreaking directorial debut. It set the stage for the kung-fu comedy while also blending in elements of spirit boxing but ultimately in itself was an uneven effort. By 1979, when The Shadow Boxing came out, Snake In The Eagle's Shadow had firmly ignited the combination of comedy and martial arts and Lau Kar Leung's answer to all that definitely resonates better in movies like Mad Monkey Kung Fu and My Young Auntie. However, the hopping vampires makes their big entrance in Hong Kong cinema here in this a middle effort from Lau. It still means decently entertaining and Lau brings in familiar faces and elements from The Spiritual Boxer to an ever so slightly better comedic effect (such as the female sidekick, this time played by Wong Hang-Sau, who serves up the film's best comedy sequence when she's first familiarizing herself in the role as a corpse herder). As the drunken master, Lau Kar Wing's more substantial presence, compared to Chiang Yang's similar and disappointingly minor role in the The Spiritual Boxer, is welcome. Gordon Lau is also fun as the human masquerading as a vampire and most of Lau's regular players such as Lee Hoi Sang and Wilson Tong appear as well.

Lau's action directing, while accomplished obviously, never truly ignites and Wang Yu's Vampire Fist technique is more of a neat idea on paper rather than an exciting on screen fighting style. The Shadow Boxing and The Spiritual Boxer should be among your low priorities while exploring Lau Kar Leung's tremendous filmography as director and even he is allowed low-points.

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