Kara Hui, Lau Kar Leung, Johnny Wang (as the villain of course!), and Hsiao Hou battle it out for a will with fists, swords, song, and dance!

The synopsis does not do Kara's character justice. Cheng Tai Nan married an elderly man and second brother in the Yu clan who had taken good care of her and her father. He had made the special request so that she could see to it that his will and property deed went to his brother Yu Jing Chuen (the amazing Lau Kar Leung) and not to his nefarious brother Yu Yun Wei (Johnny Wang). Her husband died soon after their marriage and Tai Nan took the deed to Jing Chuen and was prepared to help him defend this inheritance. Tai Nan had incredible martial arts skills and did not suffer fools lightly, always ready to put the beat down on disrespectful rascals-including her new grandnephew! She represented the old ways as she bumped heads with Hsiao Hou's character and the encroaching modern (cars in a Shaw Brothers movie!) elements and Western influences.

Kara Hui was the gem in this goofy kung fu comedy. Her skills and beauty took center stage until she was sidelined for the final fight. She also won the first ever Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for this role!

Lau Kar Leung wrote, directed, and choreographed this film. It's no secret he's one of my favorites. His fights are always quick and creative. I could almost forgive him for keeping Kara out of the final fight because it meant a showdown between him and Johnny Wang.

Hsiao Hou's performance as Charlie Yu Tao, Jing Chuen's reckless and immature son could be wearing. While an acrobatic martial artist, his acting is usually over the top and devoid of any nuance.

Johnny Wang played the role he's played so many times before, and yet always does a good job. Gordon Liu in a wig showed up as one of Charlie's friends. A long list of supporting and bit characters played by martial artists made my fangirl heart sing.

The sets were the best I've ever seen in a Shaw Brother's movie, none of the obviously cheaply made walls and windows for people to be thrown out of. People were thrown around, just on a higher class set.

For me, the movie ran about 30 minutes too long. There simply wasn't enough story to tell and some of the dance numbers/fights dragged on. Having a very young, great auntie and elder of the clan was a nice gimmick even if it was run into the ground at times.

My Young Auntie is a kung fu classic even if parts of it haven't held up well. For fans of Kara Hui or Lau Kar Leung it's worth watching.

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Predictable? Yes. Entertaining? Also, yes. Donnie Yen's charisma saved what would otherwise have been a standard teacher saves students in trouble story.

Donnie Yen's character, Henry Chen, returned to teach at his old school after serving in the United States military. He was assigned to the worst class in the school. What he found were standard movie fare students---poor students, students with parental problems, misunderstood kids, racism, kids running errands for gangsters, stressed kids, kids with unfulfilled dreams. Chen studied their histories and then stepped in to make things right by unconventional means.

In addition to the teenagers' problems, the school was in danger of being shut down because of underachieving students. Throw in gangsters who intended to develop the area where the school sat, and you've got all you need for conflict. Add in a couple of awesome fights when the plot slowed down or became too serious to keep the audience invested and you've got a winner-it's Donnie Yen, we don't expect him to solve all of his problems in a peaceful way, do we?

Donnie elevated a familiar and at times clichéd story with his star power. He transitioned over to less action and more acting smoothly in this film. The kids were likeable even when doing unlikeable things. One problem with such a large cast, the villains were underdeveloped even though one had a key connection to Chen.

This movie was a combination of social concerns and martial arts displayed in a fairly balanced manner. Some problems may have been solved too easily, but sometimes we need to believe that children can be saved from others and themselves and that someone cares enough to risk stepping in to help them. Big Brother had moments of inspiration and enough action and character development to keep it entertaining. Donnie Yen as Henry Chen didn't just save the children in this story, he saved this movie as well.

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Love does mean saying you are sorry

The synopsis for Romang sounded romantic, bittersweet, and heartwarming. Before I watched this movie I read comment after comment about how it made people ugly cry. This movie made me angrier than it did sad. And I found it more bitter than sweet. More heartbreaking than heartwarming. It might be more apt to say it's about a family that in their response to a tragedy years ago, lost the ability to love and laugh and became locked into a terrible dysfunctional cycle.

The father was a taxi driver who was cold, angry, selfish and unapologetic. The mother worked as a hairdresser out of their home, usually on the roof, and either absent-mindedly or passive-aggressively neglected to do the things her husband expected and demanded. Their son who lived with them along with his wife and daughter couldn't hold down a job. The home bristled with resentment and lost dreams.

When the mother was diagnosed with dementia, the little family initially exploded. By the time the movie caught up with the synopsis, I was beyond caring about any of them. Also, at that point, it stretched credulity in the way dementia was portrayed, or at least compared with the experiences in my extended family. The emotional U-turn of the father nearly gave me whiplash.

A seasoned cast gave admirable performances full of emotion and pathos. The OST was beautiful as well. For me, the uneven writing let me down right to the bitter end. I'm all for a good tear jerker or even a melancholy slice of life, somehow this one managed to miss all the right steps for me by abruptly changing mood and not giving good reasons for characters' changing behaviors unrelated to their diseases And contrary to what Ali MacGraw said in Love Story (1970-"Love means never having to say you are sorry"), love does mean saying you're sorry.

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My Blade, My Life had an enormous cast, full of famous faces, but blink and you would miss most of them. There were endless blink and you'll miss them duals as well.

Pearl Chang Ling starred as Lu Du Shing AKA Lone Traveler Wu, the swords"man" in search of Peerless Swallow, a renowned swordsman. Poor Pearl was dressed in a wooly tunic for the length of the movie. She looked more like a vagabond than a skilled swordswoman. Violent and with a temper to match, she dispatched anyone who crossed swords with her, or just plain crossed her, ruthlessly. As per usual, everyone accepted her as a man until the shocking reveal late in the movie. Pearl did a good job playing the single-minded warrior who wanted to be free of her duty and was willing to slice her way through the kingdom to get there.

The plot was needlessly complicated by varying factions which didn't add anything to the main story. The plot revolved around Wu and Peerless Swallow's family histories and the dire consequences and burdens left to the children of swordsmen. Wu had sacrificed her entire life to become a swordswoman to fulfill her father's wishes. Chained to a sword for ten years, unable to free herself of it unless she fulfilled her mission or died trying. Ling Yun played Peerless Swallow, the object of Wu's scorn. He gave a suitably noble turn as a man who was tired of the swordsman code of endless fighting.

My Blade, My Life was shot in Taiwan. The sets were rudimentary, the costumes outlandishly bright at times. The score was forgettable except for the original Star Trek sci-fi sound effects during fights.

If they'd trimmed this movie to around 90 minutes and cut away much of the useless cast and story, I would have rated this movie higher. As it was, it dragged on too long when Pearl and Ling Yun were the heart of the story.

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Based on "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guangzhong, the movie follows the military life of Zhao Yun from front line infantry to celebrated general .

Produced in China it took me a few minutes to adjust to familiar actors being dubbed. Having watched so many Cdramas I was able to fall into it pretty quickly.

I have only the most cursory of knowledge about this time period and will leave it to others to judge it on it's historical accuracy. As with all movies based on historical characters, I take them with a grain of salt knowing the makers have their own agendas. Fact, myth, and legend are often intertwined to tell a good story. The same goes true with costumes and armor, whether they are accurate or made to be pleasing to the eyes is not for me to decide.

Three Kingdoms was beautifully shot and scored. Costumes, sets, and locales were all well done and chosen. Mountains above the plains made for desolate places of battles.

All of the actors did a good job of portraying their characters, though most had very little time on screen. The great Ti Lung barely had any lines as one of the Five Tigers. Vanness Wu was in and out almost before I recognized him. Yueh Hua as the warlord and later emperor Liu Bei showed up long enough to make a small impact. The focus of the movie was on Andy Lau's Zhao Yun and Sammo Hung's Luo Pingan. The two were war buddies with Zhao's story told through Sammo's eyes and jealousy. Maggie Q also had a significant role as Cao Ying, the leader of the of the opposing forces in the final battle. Resourceful and ruthless, she made an excellent adversary for Zhao.

Three Kingdoms downfall for me was that there was no development of characters, no reason why they were continually at war, nothing much to hang onto. It was a series of violent battles over three decades bound by a thread of characterization between the two friends. The movie ended with me knowing little more than Zhao Yun was a tiger in battle and his friend envied his success. Andy and Sammo managed to imbue their characters with more than what they were given to play, a testament to their acting abilities and chemistry.

The short, creative battles are worth watching the movie for, as well as the pairing of Andy Lau and Sammo Hung. As long as you aren't expecting much more it's entertaining.

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True love rarely goes smoothly, especially when it happens during a politically tumultuous time and both lovers are framed for different murders.

The no-name female lead was a Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. A brilliant fighter, she looked after her group of people and helped protect their small, somewhat peaceful island within a sea of deceit and battles. The new leader of the Wu Dang tribe stumbled across her on his way to deliver the curative red pills to the emperor. He promised to give her a name worthy of her beauty and skills. Along the way he was framed for murder, she was framed for murder and everyone ended up in the mountain fortress. As often happens, they fell in love and he gave her a name.

Trying to keep up with all of the plots and traitorous groups was difficult at best. Most of the time I was a bit lost as to who was supposed to be the bad guys. Except for Wu Dang and the mountain fort, the rest were duplicitous murderers. When the story stayed with the lovers, I found it to be engaging. Elsewhere, it tended to lose it's way, especially near the end.

The heart of this movie was the love story with all of the betrayals swirling around them for external conflict and to test their love and trust. The actors certainly looked earnest enough, though I wasn't completely sold on their chemistry. I'm really not sure why it was titled, The White Haired Witch. Zhuo Yi Hang had substantially more time on screen and development than Lian Nishang (the name he gave her). I was disappointed that she was given less time and character development for what could have been a much more interesting character. The titular character shouldn't be relegated to practically a supporting role in her own film.

The cinematography and costumes were beautiful and the natural scenery made for alluring settings. The movie did not disappoint in these areas. The CGI was disappointing when it came to people leaping around the mountains.

I thought many of the fight scenes were good. Most were fairly short and brutal. It was a wuxia which meant there was some flying around and special powers. None of that bothered me in the least. The only problem I had was when huge armies clashed with the view narrowed down to a few people making the battles small in scope.

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom had great potential, it was beautiful to look at but was let down by the muddled political plots and lack of meaningful evolution for the main character.

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If you are inspired to watch this movie because you saw Andy Lau's and Ekin Cheng's names and picture on the title---don't bother. Ekin and Andy had very little screen time.
If you are inspired to watch this because you saw a badass swordswoman on a poster like I was---seriously don't bother.
If you thought A Man Called Hero and The Storm Riders were masterpieces---this movie is for you. It comes from much of the same team and might serve your viewing needs.

If you are looking for grand sword fights or kung fu, you won't find it here. The few sword fights were hindered by posing and sped up action and enhanced by terrible CGI. My grandmother would have looked like a martial arts master the way they filmed these blurry fights.

The women were portrayed as vapid, lovesick, airheads. Unless the translation was wrong on the copy I watched, one of them fell in love with her half-brother. Eww.

The star of this comedic marvel was Nick Cheung as an ancient James Bond wanna be, Dragon 009. He knew all the criminals, was a master of deduction and loved hitting on women and making innuendos about his 8 1/2 inch third leg. Charming. He made a mildly amusing lecherous investigator though his actions are quite dated now. For the most part, the movie was a dull murder mystery. I'm sure Wong Jing and Manfred Wong, the writers, thought the big twist at the end was brilliant but I saw it coming from a mile away. The duel in the title came at the end and was quite anti-climatic.

Some of the sets were nice although I've seen more opulent throne rooms in web dramas. Must have been a very poor emperor.

There were a few funny moments and interesting fights. This movie might hit the target with fans of the other two Andrew Lau/Ekin Cheng movies, but it missed the mark with me.

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A teenage Jet Li made his acting debut in Shaolin Temple. Though young, his on-screen charisma was already coming through.

The plot is typical of a lot of kung fu movies. The father was killed by an evil warlord. The wounded son ended up at the Shaolin temple. He learned martial arts so that he could enact revenge. Killing was against the Shaolin way leading to conflict with the warlord and the monks. Anyone who watches old kung fu movies already knows this plot by heart.

If you are looking for a captivating story or character development you won't find it here. What you will find is a movie filled with real martial artists, including some champions instead of actors, meaning the fights were fast and used real moves with almost no wire work.

Disappointingly the martial artists did their own choreography with mixed results. Some of it was very good, other times it was awkward with people in the background jumping up and down with spears, interacting with no one. Jet Li was fast and furious and light on his feet, no complaints about his skills. Yu Hai, a real life Master, showed off a little of his Mantis form. The dialogue was kept to a minimum for the most part. With the exception of Jet Li's and Yu Hai's characters I wasn't emotionally invested in any of the rest as none of them were differentiated.

Fair warning there were several instances of animals being killed on screen and in another a family pet was "hilariously" accidentally killed and eaten. China could really use PETA.

The real temple and scenery around it were beautiful. The story was loosely based on an event in the temple's history. The movie started and ended with shots of the temple and surrounding area and bits about it's history from a narrator. At first I thought I was watching the wrong movie until the story obviously began. Though nice to hear about the history it was a strange way to begin a movie.

Shaolin Temple was enjoyable for me just to watch Jet Li when he was young. One particular set up of him training through the seasons sealed my score for this movie because I liked it so much. Most of the fights were engaging and creative if in need of an overlying guiding hand. If nothing else, Shaolin Temple is worth it for martial arts movie enthusiasts to seek out to see Jet Li launch his movie career.

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Master Wong Fei Hung wants to live a simple life but instead becomes embroiled in a national emergency when The White Lotus clan attacks, the Japanese are knocking at the doorstep, and duplicitous officials turn traitorous.

The story is fairly weak despite the aforementioned conflicts. Most of the intrigue introduced is an excuse to set up another fight scene. The movie's strength lies in it's numerous fight scenes. Summo wrestlers, ninjas, and your garden variety assassins show up from time to time to battle WFH and his merry band of kung fu warriors. Vincent Zhao does a good job as the high flying and noble Wong Fei Hung. His subordinates can be more of a detriment than an asset at times, both the characters and actors. The bad guys, even the femme fatale don't seem particularly menacing or much of a threat to WFH.

Warriors of the Nation is a perfectly enjoyable kung fu movie if you enjoy kung fu fights, don't mind a little wire-fu, and don't expect any character development or a cohesive storyline.

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This movie was filled with pretty people who for the most part couldn't act. It had the obvious Chosen One story line. Lots of garishly bright colors filled the screen. Of course, there was an evil queen who was evil because a loved one betrayed her causing her to take it out on the people, especially men. To call it trite would give trite a bad name.

Honestly, this movie annoyed me so much it's hard to write a review. I may never get Charlene Choi's screaming out of my head.

The basic plot is that an evil queen ruled the land with an iron fist. It's fantasy kung fu land where people can shape shift and use special powers. Donnie Yen showed up in a small role to find The Chosen One and also to find Excalibur so that the rightful male king could kill the queen and rule as was proper. He didn't have much to do with the exception of one big CGI enhanced fight with Jackie Chan in an even smaller role. What was the name of the character Donnie play? Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Again with the complete lack of originality.

One of the main leads was Jackie's son, Jaycee Chan, who was as interesting to watch as a wet blanket. Wilson Chen played his buddy, Blockhead. Don't laugh, Jaycee's character's name was Charcoal Head. One of these two doofuses was future royalty, if I'd been Donnie I would have had to reevaluate how bad the queen really was. Jillian Chung played the cold Blue Bird, it would only take a man to warm her heart. The aforementioned Charlene Choi played the Dumbell/male slave seller out to make money. The women were supposed to be skilled in martial arts, but at the first sign of trouble screamed and hid behind the men. A feminist's dream this movie was not, ultimately if any good came out of a situation it was because a man handled the problem.

The four main characters simply could not carry this movie due to the actors' limited skills. It reminded me of cheaply made fantasy television show where all the actors had to do was look pretty and wait for the stuntmen/stuntwomen to jump in and do the heavy lifting for the fight scenes. The scenery and sets were beautiful and you could tell the producers had sunk some cash into them. CGI and wire work were used extensively in the fight scenes with mixed results. In 2004 the CGI should have been better.

I'm sure I wasn't in the age demographic this movie was aimed at which may explain why it was so irritating to me. Your experience may vary depending on how many Chosen One stories you've seen and whether you find the leads attractive or likeable. For me the only scene that I found remotely entertaining was the fight between Donnie and Jackie and five minutes out of 105 hardly made it worth it.

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Scaffolding Kung Fu vs Bench Kung Fu!

Mantis, Tiger, Drunken, and Monkey kung fu…just when you think Lau Kar Leung might have run out of kung fu forms for choreographing martial arts scenes, he’s given the dream combo of Scaffolding kung fu vs Bench kung fu!

Gordon Liu returned in this sort of sequel to The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The third movie, Disciples of the 36th Chamber was actually a direct sequel to the original movie. This time he played a conman, Chao Jen Cheh, masquerading as Monk San Te in order to intimidate the new violent Manchurian overlords of the local cloth and dye factory. The Manchurians in charge bullied and beat their employees as well as reduced their worker’s pay to pad their own pockets. The only problem was, Chao didn’t know any kung fu and was soon found out which made the situation even worse for the workers. The people who had talked him into helping them begged him to go to the real Shaolin temple and learn kung fu so that he could come back and protect them.

Chao managed to maneuver his way into the Shaolin Temple but the real San Te saw through him instantly. After comic segments which went on too long for me, San Te put Chao to work building a scaffolding around the temple. Chao watched and learned from the monks as he practiced the drills while building the scaffolding, subconsciously developing his own form of kung fu. Three years later, he left the temple thinking he was a failure until he returned home. It turned out San Te’s covert method had taught him all he needed to know to handle the bullies. Admittedly his training smacked a little of Karate Kid’s “wax on, wax off” style of kung fu training but the final fights were entertaining enough to stretch my disbelief. It was only at this point that I started to enjoy the film. The fights were among some of the most creative, fun, and least deadly that I’ve seen. It was worth sitting through the rest of the film to watch Gordon Liu and Johnny Wang show their stuff.

I thought Gordon Liu showed a greater range of acting in this film. Chao not only learned kung fu, he also received the character development this unlikeable guy needed. Gordon Liu’s martial arts skills and moves were spectacular as always. I wait in anticipation for when he tears his shirt off and gets down to business. The less said about Hsiao Hou’s fake teeth and giant mole, the better. Johnny Wang only needed to look grim until it was time to fight, like a wrestler waiting to be tagged in.

Lau Kar Leung rarely disappoints with his direction and who would have thought bamboo ties could make such an effective kung fu weapon! Chao was faster than an elf wrapping packages for Christmas with his tying technique. While the great final act raised the score for me, it couldn’t completely erase the first half of the movie which dragged on too long for my taste. If you enjoy kung fu comedy you might enjoy this movie from beginning to end. If not, the last third of the film makes it worth watching.

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Dyeing to Know You Better

The Bare-Footed Kid started off sweet enough, turning darker with each new pair of shoes the shoeless youth acquired.

Ti Lung played Tuan the noble, skilled fighter living undercover as a supervisor in a cloth dyeing shop. Maggie Cheung, Miss Ho, was the lovely owner of said shop with a secret dyeing technique and the den mother to her workers. These two had an underlying affection for each other that gradually made its way to the surface in a meaningful exchange. Tuan and Miss Ho were the heart of this film and the most compelling characters.

Aaron Kwok played Yuan, the titular character. Bare-foot, broke, and illiterate he came to town looking for his deceased father’s friend, Tuan. Yuan was naïve, but a ridiculously skilled fighter who couldn’t even write his own name which brought up some questions about how he was raised that are never answered. Enter Huang Lien as his love interest who was a teacher in her father’s school. Their budding romance had a rocky start and a rockier ending.

Yuan initially went to work for the kind Miss Ho, making missteps that landed him in the employ of the Big Bad. He earned a pair of stylish shoes, a pocketful of change and soon enough a heart full of regret.

The younger actors’ performances were fine as their characters went through life changes. Aaron Kwok made a sweet country bumpkin who was briefly led astray, his conscience weighing on him as reality sank in. Ti Lung and Maggie Cheung were a couple I never knew I needed as their subtle performances delivered an emotional impact that stayed with me.

Compared to older kung fu movies, the cinematography was excellent with beautiful scenery, lighting and colors. The score could be oddly synthetic at times but it wasn’t anything that distracted me much, I’ve heard much worse in these kinds of movies.

My biggest complaint, and what dropped the rating for me were the fight scenes. Ti Lung is a martial artist, one of those whose movements often needed to be slowed down for the camera. He also had a presence which made you believe he was nearly indestructible. I’m guessing Aaron Kwok’s skills, if he had any, were much more rudimentary, as his fight scenes included a lot of wire-work, possible doubling, speeding up, and blurry camera work, especially the huge concluding fight. One of my favorite martial arts choreographers, Lau Kar Leung, choreographed the fights. Whether he was compensating for the lead’s lack of ability, having an off day, or trying something new, I found the final fight to be hugely disappointing.

The Bare-Footed kid started out with some comedic moments ending as kung fu comedies often do, in heartbreak. Aside from the poor final fight which was brutal, this movie was entertaining. I could recommend it to kung fu enthusiasts with a few reservations.

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Godzilla vs a Giant Rose!

Godzilla’s biggest and most terrifying opponent is---- a giant rose bush? Breaking with the formula of Big G fighting his traditional opponents, the writers took a chance and invented Bolliante, the most creative Kaiju in the Godzillaverse.

The biggest problem for me with this film was that it took a long time to gain any traction. The humans had a lot going on, dominating most of the story. One of the characters, a scientist, had fused Godzilla’s cells from a previous battle with a rose he’d already infused with his dead daughter’s DNA in hopes of keeping her soul alive, thus accidentally creating Bolliante. American terrorists and a Middle Eastern terrorist were running about killing people and trying to steal the Godzilla cells and super secrety secret nuclear energy eating microbes. In the process they free Godzilla from his volcano prison inside Mt. Mihara. Throw in a bunch of politicians who want to use all of the discoveries as weapons against Godzilla and their enemies and it’s a lot to take in. I can't forget the ESP students who can communicate with Godzilla and Bolliante. The young commander of the Super X-2 Godzilla fighting drone seemed superfluous most of the time with all the political maneuvering, scientists, terrorists, ESP folks, and agents running around.

None of the characters of this large cast were developed and the acting was lackluster at best. Without an emotional connection to the characters their deaths and decisions held little meaning. The military walking about and giving monotone orders wasn’t any more interesting than the spies chasing each other around.

What I liked about this movie---Big G looked good, I really liked this costume. Bolliante was a beautiful giant rose and then turned equally frightening. B was one of the more interesting and sympathetic antagonists for Big G. She was also the biggest and one of the most fearsome he'd ever faced. Historically speaking, Godzilla has had his hands full when facing a female opponent, Mothra for another example. This movie was darker and more violent than many other Godzilla movies. The fights were intimate and fierce, really well made using this technology.

The miniatures and pyrotechnics were spot on emphasizing the size and destructiveness of the great monsters tearing through the city. The music was best when using a few of Ifukube’s familiar Godzilla tunes.

Like a lot of Godzilla movies, this one had a moral to the story. This film focused on the hubris and greed of humanity and how man creates some of his own biggest problems. Godzilla and Bolliante weren’t the true monsters, it was the men and societies who created them. Plus, you’ll think twice the next time you walk into your garden.

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A widower who had worked away from home most of his career comes to find out that his idealized children and their lives are far more complex and complicated than he ever could have dreamed. In his desire to write a memoir based on the letters his wife sent through the years he discovers the distance between himself and his children is further than the kilometers that they live apart.

When none of his children come for the annual summer vacation at the family home after his wife’s death, he goes to surprise each one of them in the different cities where they live. All of their responses are less than enthusiastic for each is hiding a secret life. As the truth is revealed in the separate locales, they all repeat the same mantra they learned from the mother about concealing the truth from him so that he wouldn’t worry.

Most of the acting was very good in this film. Zhang Guo Li as the bewildered father who still sees his sons and daughters as small children in his mind did a superb job going from a rosy world to a more truthful reality. Shawn Dou, as the son who feels he was always the screw-up gave a heartfelt performance as well. The Swan Lake stop with the daughter who danced ballet was particularly poignant.

The only detraction from this movie were a few propaganda moments, especially a disparaging comment about Tibet.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. The father learned the valuable lesson that when someone says they are fine, it usually means they are not, but don’t want to talk about it. The title truly sums up this family’s interactions with their father, but by erasing the façade and coming to terms with the fact that not everyone is fine, it opened the door to healing and closer relationships.

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Polly Ling Feng Shang Kuan was stuck with a ML who was as stiff as the statues he carved in this deadly murder mystery. The mystery gave Polly and Li Lung Hua a reason to traipse over the country side and get into almost continual fights with people. An added complication was that someone kept sending assassins to kill Li as the two searched for the killer.

The story had a nice mystery thread running through it, but the main plot tended to get lost in the weeds in the telling of it. One of the huge problems was that the fight scenes were often shot in the dark or had choppy editing. The director loved to have intense close ups and pull back--repeatedly. Polly and her double kept the action moving and it looked like fists and feet were landing shots. Li's kung fu looked like he was fighting three feet away from his opponents much of the time. Li Lung Hua was only in 8 films and if this film was any indication of his acting and kung fu talent he probably did need to find another career. I have to say, I laughed a lot while watching this movie, though I'm sure the filmmakers didn't intend for the audience to do so.

Lung Fei made a guest appearance as an assassin and a personal favorite, Lo Lieh, played one of the suspects in the murder case. These two helped make the movie more interesting for me, especially Lo Lieh. If Polly seemed overly animated it might have been because she was trying to infuse energy into her scenes with her lethargic co-star. Unfortunately, in the dubbed version I had to watch the voice over actress gave her a whiney voice. I'm pretty sure one voice actor must have voiced all the men and he made some curious choices at times to try and differentiate the characters.

A few of the fight scenes were creative including a contest on large iron balls. There are a couple of twists in the story to make things more interesting. Overall, it wasn't enough. In a kung fu film if the fights are not inspired and the actors are lacking in charisma no amount of jade arhats can save it. Only for fans of Polly or hard core kung fu fans.

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