Ninja (2009)

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Posted on 7:15 PM | By CroakerBC | In











IMDB

I suppose Ninja suffers from the inevitable comparison to Ninja Assassin. But it would be more appropriate to compare it to Blood and Bone, released earlier this year. In case you don't know, Blood and Bone is an excellent low-budget action flick starring Michael Jai White, who co-starred with Scott Adkins in the awesome Undisputed II: Last man stading.

Ninja has a ridiculous story and nothing in the character development department. But of course that is to be expected in this kind of movie. I seriously doubt the new Ninja Assassin will have a better story and characters, anyway.

The action is pretty good, though. The fights are fast and furious and Scott Adkins delivers some amazing legwork. My favorite scene has him kicking the shit out of a bunch of evil cultists. Another highlight of the movie takes place on a train where our hero and heroine fight some scumbags in cramped quarters. Sadly, the final showdown is very much a letdown, too much fancy effects and not nearly enough martial arts.

Also, the villain has some sort of super ninja suit that allows him to do inhuman things. Maybe some people like this kind of fancy stuff but for me it just takes away the fun. I want hard-hitting action.

After all is said and done, Blood and Bone is a much better action film, though Ninja is still an entertaining watch on its own. Too bad there was no sex between Scott and Tsuyoshi Ihara, who is very cute. I would have loved to see how she fought in bed :D

Get the whole movie at:
http://www.oneddl.com/movies/ninja-2009-dvdrip-xvid-lap/

http://rapidshare.com/files/311261935/Ninja.2009.DVDRip.XviD-LAP.rar

Men from the Monastery aka Disciples of Death (1974) Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan Tai, Chi Kuan Chun,

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Posted on 1:43 PM | By CroakerBC | In , ,









IMDB

Early Chang Cheh and also one of his bests. The action is bit slow compared to later films but is very well handled. Excellent performance from the magnificent trio Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan Tai and Chi Kuan-Chun. All 3 are so good looking and charismatic it's a always a pleasure to watch them fight.

Chang Cheh uses red or monochrome camera filtering to emphasis on the tragic moments, mostly the death of a hero. He uses the same technique again in his later films.

Worth mentioning is Fu Sheng's death which is particularly nasty. Which reminds me of another (possibly) Chang Cheh film in which Ti Lung is cut in half!! Cheh sure knows how to deal out terrible deaths to his heroes.

Megaupload:
Part 1 (100mb)
Part 2 (100mb)
Part 3 (56mb)

Not my rip. Thanks go to SBUnite for this.

File : 256 MB, duration: 0:24:50, type: AVI, 1 audio stream
Video : 239 MB, 1347 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 640*272 (Unknown), XVID
Audio : 16.79 MB, 94 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, MP3, CBR

Invincible Armor (1977) Hwang Jang Lee, John Liu, Phillip Ko Fei, Corey Yuen, Tino Wong Cheung, Yuen Biao,

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Posted on 3:39 PM | By CroakerBC | In , , , , ,







I got you by the balls!! Hehehe!! Hahaha!!

Must...Break....Balls!!!GRRRR!!!!

IMDB

This is vintage martial arts epic right here. I saw this as a kid and it left a big impression on me, mostly because of all the balls-grabbing :)
Now that I am all grown up (and getting old), watching it again is a totally different pleasure, because now I can appreciate the excellent choreography. The story is also above average which is not easy to say for films of this genre. Amazing performances from a stellar cast, too.

Really, if you have the money, buy the remastered dvd, this is a must-have for anyone's collection.

Note that the Invincible armor technique as shown here is extremely similar to the one mastered by Carter Wong in Born Invincible, which is another of my all-time favorites. It has a really great villain.

Buy it from HKFlix.

From Kung Fu Cinema:

After the success of The Secret Rivals 1 and 2, director Ng See-yuen took Tino Wong and his two star superkickers, Hwang Jang-lee and John Liu, and cast them in Invincible Armour, a more ambitious effort. The film boasts more elaborate sets and costumes, a Ming-era historical backdrop, and the expert choreography of Corey Yuen Kwai.
...
The leg fighting is toned down just a little from his previous collaborations with Liu and Jang-lee, but See-yuen maintains the same level of quality in the action. Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao, who both appeared as extras and doubles in The Secret Rivals 2 take over as action directors while making a couple of appearances onscreen along with Yuen Clan members Yuen Shun-yi and Yuen Cheung-yan. Anyone who pays any attention to kung fu movie makers should know that this assemblage of talent represents an all-star crew who has each excelled on their own. Not surprisingly, their combined efforts create a spectacular kung fu movie, made all the better since there is more of a story to house the action.
...
A real highlight is seeing Jang-lee in white beard take on Phillip Ko in white beard. Both of these actors were often individually cast as white-haired villains and seeing them go at each other in the same movie is very nice. While not one of the more distinctive screen fighters, Tino Wong also delivers a strong performance. Special mention should go to Yuen Biao, not for his average character performances, but for his doubling which can be evidenced in the amount of excellent tumbling and flips seen throughout the film.

The most memorable aspect of Invincible Armour must be the multiple grabs for Jang-lee’s privates. No, there isn’t some sick and twisted perversity at work here. (Well, maybe in a humorous way.) Rather, it’s where his weak spot is. Yet he has the ability to draw his testicles in and it’s humorously shown by quickly inserting a reverse shot of two eggs flying up and out of reach of a hand. The penis actually plays a big part in internal kung fu lore. Jang-lee’s character has remained celibate throughout his life which supposedly keeps a martial artist from losing internal power and thus, his Iron Armor is “doubly strong.” Also, kung fu masters supposedly have the ability to reel in their privates, making the traditional weak spot for all men moot. This can be seen in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 when Uma Thurman kicks Gordon Liu as Pai Mei in the crotch to no effect. Yet, there’s always an effective countermove for everything in kung fu movies and Liu and Wong’s efforts to figure this all out makes the final fight in Invincible Armour quite entertaining.

Invincible Armour is an excellent kung fu classic and definitely recommended to even casual fans. Yet I still feel that most of the talent involved has done better work at one point or another, but not by much. Just having this all-star cast and crew involved is a kick. Rock solid kung fu action and the addition of familiar stock music and English-dubbed voices make this a reliable old schooler. It doesn’t push genre boundaries, but it’s always fun to watch.
--Mark Pollard

(read the full review here.)

Megaupload:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LLWAV27S (436mb)

My rip. Big clip because it contains most of the fights in the film.

File : 436 MB, duration: 0:23:27, type: AVI, 1 audio stream
Video : 398 MB, 2378 Kbps, 29.970 fps, 640*304, XVID
Audio : 37 MB, 224 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, AC3, VBR