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.

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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