If you are a fan of A Chinese Ghost Story, or if you simply enjoy a solid supernatural film, there’s a lot to love in Enchanting Shadow. It’s the sort of elegant, artfully crafted sort of film you don’t see much of any more, with an attention to detail that wouldn’t be matched until Chu Yuan started directed wuxia movies for the same studio. Enchanting Shadow is one of the first significant films in the fledgling Hong Kong horror scene and would be worth seeing for historical importance alone. Luckily, it has a lot more to offer the viewer than a mere film history lesson. It’s a beautifully acted, beautifully crafted, genuinely creepy high point in the long tradition of good old fashioned ghost stories.

.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

The flight-crew and passengers of a commercial airliner are stricken with food poisoning, and the only hope of a safe landing lies in the hands of a former fighter pilot who hasn’t flown in ten years, after a traumatic war-time experience…

.

ZERO HOUR! (1957)

.

The Great Jesse James Raid

Thanks to the continuing resentment in the South after the Civil War, James was hailed not as a common criminal but as a symbol of indomitable South’s-gonna-rise-again spirit and a frontier “Robin Hood,” even though he always left out that “give to the poor” part after robbing the rich. Dime novels filled with fanciful versions of his exploits were popular even when he was still alive, and upon his death he became the subject of a full-fledged martyr’s mythology. Jesse James the murderous bank robber had become in the public mind Jesse James the champion of the oppressed and symbol of the fading frontier. America wouldn’t mythologize its contemporary criminal element to the same degree until the days of Bonnie and Clyde.

In spite of its short running time, the movie is padded about as much as possible. Padded maximally, you might say. Maxi-padded, in fact. Throw in a narrative with irregular flow, and you’ll see why this flick has a not-so-fresh feeling.

But what about essential personnel, like directors or (most importantly) actors with at least a passable amount of star value? In the case of The Shooter, they managed to round up a respectable number of B movie stars: Randy Travis, William Smith, Andrew Stevens, and Robert Quarry. Oh, and Michael Dudikoff as the hero gunfighter. As for the director, they got the infamous Fred Olen Ray. Getting the picture now?

And GALLANTS (2010) does just that

In an industry that doesn’t really feature seniors as anything other than background characters or cheap comic relief (“Oh, look — they’re having Betty White curse again”), and seems to worship at the altar of youth, Gallants never allows it’s older cast to be presented as novelties. Yeah, for long time fans, seeing Bruce Leung, Chen Kuan-tai, Lo Meng, and Siu Yam-yam in action once more is a treat, but the movie would betray its own theme if it allowed itself to simply get by on nostalgia alone. The writing-directing team of Clement Cheng, Kwok Chi-kin, and Frankie Tam don’t have much experience between them, but they work hard to make Gallants heartfelt, honest, and witty, and something much more than a crass exercise in exploiting yesteryear. Like the cast, the crew puts everything into trying to make this movie good. And just like it does for the character sin the movie, that unwillingness to compromise, or to take the easy route, is what makes Gallants such a tremendously enjoyable movie.

BIG MEAT EATER

The problem with this movie is not that it is science fiction, nor that it is horror, nor even that it is a comedy. The problem is that it is also a musical. Its budget is a problem as well. Cub scout troops have bigger budgets than this film.

Review Snippet:
The best part of the film has to be Abdulla alarming a number of stout female customers with his unorthodox meat processing methods as he sings about being the “Big Meat Eater.” I almost got into the movie, and then the women (who are about as attractive as sacks of potatoes wearing granny blouses) all start rubbing their necks and chests.

Damn you, film! What do you want from me? Disgust? You’ve got it! Suffering? Present, in abundance! My blood? You…actually, you cannot have that. I need it

Lesson Learned:
Beef is an adhesive.