The recipe is clear, the red Ninja outfits and headbands bought so in the name of profit and entertainment, IFD logs another patchwork worthy of crazy/genius/??? status. Having its ninja supremacy plot centered around a movie not even attempting to interact with Godfrey Ho's material more than a smidgen, the white dudes in costumes and emoting lead Stuart Smith are the stars of this show as the original martial arts movie about gangsters terrorizing a village slow down the proceedings even WITH the horrid English dub. But hearing character names such as Steve, Charles and Roger on top of the original film is wonderfully bizarre and the editing technique that uses the mantra "if it's a different scene, it fits" takes The Ultimate Ninja into some form of ultimate IFD incoherence. But I still stand by the fact that Joseph Lai and Ho were after delivering a good, incoherent experience because all this time since couldn't have possibly transformed these ludicrous white dudes ninja-scenes from tuned, serious art to the joy they are today. Laughing at commercial, action cinema isn't necessarily a side effect. A notion that rings true if you're doing your job today too.

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From Clifton Ko and Raymond To's more distinct stage to screen adaptation era, The Umbrella Story (originally starring Tse Kwan-Ho who has a small part here in a different role) has the Leung So Yee umbrella factory and its inhabitants at center. Leading us through the foundation and historical changes over roughly 80 years, Clifton Ko uses Forrest Gump techniques to merge the actors into old films and stock footage as part of his fictional storytelling. This means a whole lot to Hong Kong people and probably precious little to Westerners (although recognizable Bruce Lee footage from his teenage years is incorporated). The gimmick doesn't take center stage (and the effects aren't really state of the art) but the feeling of nostalgia and family values in the confines of these historical eras does make it hard for an outside viewer to connect. The overabundance of characters merely being present also comes with the backlash of you not knowing where to put your focus. A valuable history and family lesson perhaps and it is indeed hard to slam the film when it's not really for you...or rather me. The other streak of films including I Will Wait For You and I Have A Date With Spring (easily the most popular of their films) are more easily digested. Chow Chi-Fai, May Law, Alice Lau, So Yuk Wa, Chui Jun-Fung, Ko Hon Man and Poon Chan Leung stars. I.e. most of the stock group of actors with the team of Clifton Ko and Raymond To.

The Underground Banker remains a rarely mentioned Category III movie from that distinct era that gave us Dr. Lamb and The Untold Story. Anthony Wong stars (of course, it's Cat III!) as Tong, a devoted husband driven to the limits of what one man can take after his wife (Ching Mai) is greatly abused at the hands of ruthless triads (led by Karel Wong and William Ho) who want to cash in on a debt...

Featuring most of what you've come to expect from this era of Category III rated mayhem, including humour of the less classy kind but writer Wong Jing mostly steers away from that and inject some actual wit. All due to the inclusion of the character of Dr. Lamb himself (this time played to great effect by Lawrence Ng), portrayed as a hero! I bet the victims of the real life Lam didn't appreciate that but if you're looking for something very PC, turn elsewhere! Anthony Wong also gets to reference his award winning performance in The Untold Story To praise Wong Jing is dangerous though and as written, the material might as well been flat but debut director Bosco Lam has a knack for getting the wit to the screen, best example being the interior decorating of Lamb's apartment. He's a reformed psycho but still a psycho holding on to his dear tools of killing. Lam continues to log some quite disturbing and emotionally affecting darkness during the latter reels and really gets the audiences to crave revenge and violence in an effective way, making The Underground Banker a standout of its time. Lee Siu-Kei also appears.

Also known as the Long Arm Of The Law IV, in fact it's yet another unrelated entry in the Johnny Mak/Michael Mak enterprise but does focus on Mainland criminals again. However setting it all during the political turmoil of 1989 in China and Hong Kong has the robbers questioning whether they should work for money or democracy. This effect on them comes via the task of escorting student leader Siu Wai (Ng Suet-Man) to safety and the leader of the robbers Bing (Elvis Tsui, who leads well in the acting department) even gets his heart stirred by Siu Wai. For me personally, this scenario is out of range, knowledge-wise and geographically but in intention Underground Express was meant as a production for its close to home audiences anyway so there's no true reason to complain that it doesn't travel. However interest clearly isn't rammed up to elite levels but Michael Mak has the skills to create a very slick frame. Very well shot and orchestrated in the action-stakes, it's something to appreciate when themes of brotherhood and loyalty flashes before only to be followed by acrobatic action so fans internationally Underground Express can gain. It probably wanted something more though. Also with Chan Ging (Long Arm Of The Law).

Wong Kar-Wai wrote this unwatchable, irresponsible mess that stars producer/director Frankie Chan as Robert, an apprentice of his Taoist Priest uncle (Stanley Fung). But enough is enough and Robert applies for a job at a company producing commercials. Getting into conflict with the manager Cho (Charlie Cho) early when he acts AS the manager but mainly later as they both fight for the love of Cleo (Joyce Ngai), Robert manages to let loose a fox spirit taking the form of Cleo. So let shenanigans begin and some lessons between human and fox about love, how not to be judgmental etc...

Irresponsible because Chan commits the sin of creating himself an unlikeable, unfunny character. Disrespecting his elders and authority, the main problem with Frankie is that he thinks he's suitable for any kind of mood Hong kong cinema can provide. A romantic lead and part of wacky supernatural hijinxs, it's in fact an embarrassingly bad fit in Unforgettable Fantasy (and most other flicks of his not involving action). Attempting a big frame too as Robert and the Fox Spirit duke it out during their first nightly encounter, no energy is provided as Chan escalates the number of obstacles thrown at Robert. When dealing with the moral of the story and life lessons in the later half, it's further (and definite) proof of the lack of control and skill Chan has over the material. Also with Wong Wan-Si.

An entry fitting in against the group of many embarrassingly low-budget, late 90s gangster dramas and it fits in the huge group that are huge stinkers as well. Black Hair and White Hair grow up together as brothers, are torn apart as adults when Black (Anthony Wong) trains to be a cop and White (Michael Tiu) aspires to rise within the ranks in the triads. Black is by no means a perfect cop as he has gambling debts, buys prostitutes and convinces himself this is the way to control the world. A new cop (Edward Mok) attempts to clean up matters efficiently and by the book though...

Serious in intent but Francis Nam doesn't provide any dramatic punch with the back story vs. the present day segments. Shot on location (and with actors surely bringing their own wardrobe), it's the sole positive aspect of Ungrateful Tink that its shady surroundings come off as that on film. But any well developed thoughts a la Beast Cops (which this shares similarities with) we don't ever get and we knew beforehand that would be the case when the English title barely makes sense. Also with Nelson Cheung and Simon Loui.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: The sports movie is fairly uncommon in Hong Kong cinema but who needs formulaic genre vehicles without any basic or personal flair. Kent Cheng did one and it's indeed a forgettable one from the directorial part of his filmography. The team of athlete girls who are ignorant, annoying and not so united goes through a hard training reign under Olivia Cheng's character and over time da Chinese spirit is raised. A unification takes place, several slow-motion montages of progress and a little personal sap is thrown into the mix. Also lacking any real sport-drama finale punch. Director Cheng appears in a small, comedic role. Lisa Chiao and Billy Lau also appear.

From 1990, Stephen Chow's breakthrough year, comes this action-comedy where we see little evidence of the new King of Hong Kong comedy as All For The Winner hadn't come out yet. Admittedly a few select gags and mannerisms sees Chow doing what would become his trademark deadpan humour but this production primarily employed Stephen Chow the actor. One of Danny Lee's core group of actors, Parkman Wong (Law With Two Phases, Organized Crime & Triad Bureau) directs this story of cop Lon (Chow) going undercover, once again, to nail a triad boss (Michael Chan) suspected to have performed a diamond heist.

Frankly reeking of ordinary and unremarkable (and "borrowing" more than just a few storyelements from City On Fire), Parkman Wong's ambitions doesn't seem to go beyond point and shoot. The pairing of Michael Chan and Stephen Chow works reasonably well but when attempting high drama, The Unmatchable Match registers zero. A few shoot-outs and staple actor of the genre Shing Fui On livens up but the film today is a mere curiosity to see Chow during these early stages. Danny Lee briefly appears and he was one to use Chow in various actioners during this time so we should be thankful to Hong Kong cinema's most frequent movie cop. Also with Vivian Chow and Kwan Hoi-San.

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Opening credits claim "adapted from a true story" but the people creating the end credits were apparently not of the same opinion (or just used the standard "these events are fictional"-disclaimer). Regardless, director Herman Yau and Danny Lee return to a minor franchise that they started at the height of the true crime Category III craze in the early 90s, this time adapting to a lower rating and showcasing knowledge of what works that they didn't have before.

The Untold Story III follows an on and off flashback structure concerning a gang of punks (led by Sam Lee) hustling money from a rookie loan shark (Ken Lo). When they can't pay him back, they turn to murder instead. A missing persons report is filed and soon thereafter the kids are brought in for questioning. Lee Sir (Danny Lee...who else?) and his pipe headlines the investigation.

First thing you're greeted to is a hugely inexpensive look that is likely to turn off viewers instantly. Herman Yau hasn't armed himself with budget constantly throughout his career but have been able to generate surprising results every other 3-4 movies despite. The Untold Story III represents one such effort. Far from the bloodshed and goofiness of the past, the familiar Cat III structure is maintained but Yau injects a fair amount of actual wit and chills throughout. The cops are shown as bumbling idiots but only occasionally which is a breakthrough in itself and the sly wit of Yau's plays out with satisfying low-key results. Fact of the matter, it's the parts in the present concerning the interrogations that remains the most compelling and that never happened in a Cat III picture of the same structure before!

Turning his attention to the past story, pacing becomes an issue and the youth characters aren't exactly the most thrilling bunch to follow. Thanks to engaging performances by Sam Lee and Ken Lo though (the latter playing against type as a nice guy making friends with the wrong people and forcing a tough guy act to the surface), going through some stumbling sections becomes less of an hassle but towards the final act, Yau logs his best work. A section akin to Taxi Hunter showcases a commendable amount of human comedy as our youths are planning their attack on Lo's character, all well-edited together with the events in the present. Some social commentary sneaks in and out quietly and like most Herman Yau movies, The Untold Story III isn't overly special Hong Kong cinema. It's worth acknowledging though because Yau once again proves that he can inject creativity in an inexpensive frame. Chin Ka-Lok, Emily Kwan, Jude Poyer, Monica Chan and Lo Lieh also appear.

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TROY'S REVIEW: Yep, it's cut & paste time yet again! Here we have the story of the dastardly KGB General Karpov, who intends to build a Russian missile base in the middle of a small Indonesian village. Why? Well, apparently it's a good location. Needless to say the local villagers are none too impressed with this proposal though and set up a rebellion movement calling themselves The Untouchables to oppose said plans. To aid them, they also enlist the help of American Special Forces agent Brian O'Riley who is charged to take care of Karpov and his henchmen who go by such names as Hugo, Samson and Nero. To complete the team, Brian's fellow martial arts expert friend, The White Tiger joins the fray. To be quite frank the main body of this film, an Indonesian crime flick of sorts, is pretty much an interminable affair throughout. However all is not lost, for the newly edited in scenes featuring Brian and Tiger taking on Karnov's cronies are luckily hugely entertaining stuff! In one such sequence Brian takes on Hugo in one to one combat and after giving him a sound pasting dryly comments, 'What a useless guy.' Yes, tremendous script writing there I'm sure you'll agree. All in all, aside from not nearly enough scenes featuring O'Riley and his absurd commando antics, this is typically sound (demented) IFD fun. Also known as American Force 2: Untouchable Glory and Ninja Untouchables.

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When you for once get the picture and ALMOST keep track of all the characters in this Wuxia dealing with power struggles, it's a shame that it's such a weak package. From what I can gather, princes and brothers Zhao Guang Yi (Chiu Gwok) and De Zhao (Max Mok) desire the throne but it's the former who's willing to go the lengths of assassinating his brother... had it not been for an agreement that says it can't be done at the hand of Guang Yi because the throne won't simply be his then. Into this mix comes skilled master Chen Bo (Lung Tien-Hsiang) who hovers between different loyalties and renegade fighter Li Lang (Lau Wing - Human Lanterns) who wants someone good at the throne and is willing to fight for it.

Reasonably interesting power struggles and an unexpectedly intriguing portrayal of Chen Bo by Lung Tien-Hsiang, Inframan-director Hua Shan would've definitely had something if his short running time and lighting fast pace didn't infect the action scenes. There's wonderful Wuxia-style techniques such as one ending with blood heavily spurting out from various parts of an opponents body and a traps-sequence where a horse gets horribly skewered. But excessive undercranking and tight editing (in an otherwise accomplished Shaw Brother's movie as shot) leaves us wondering what wonderful concepts are in there to complement the rather plotting. At the very tail end, there is effective imagery connecting to the dark facets of power but Hua Shan doesn't turn his movie around despite.

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