The Wing Kong Exchange (feat. Inferno)

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Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

LOL, thanks man, I thought that line might get some laughs! Not sure if it's my best one ever but it's definitely up there! I'll have to try and top it with my comments in tomorrow's review of the sequel. Thanks for the comments though, I'm glad you enjoy them and as long as at least one person cares enough to comment (and I know how many of you read them but don't and that's ok too :)) I will continue on with them.
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Though I may not comment all the time - recently, you've gone through some movies that either I've never seen or haven't seen in yonks, making it difficult to add much of a worthwhile response - I read your reviews every day and enjoy them immensely, DLP.
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Though I may not comment all the time - recently, you've gone through some movies that either I've never seen or haven't seen in yonks, making it difficult to add much of a worthwhile response - I read your reviews every day and enjoy them immensely, DLP.

I know you do Naitch, its why you remain mi príncipe for ever and always. I pretty much got over the no commenting thing when I realized that views mean just as much if not more, so that's why I brought it up and would never expect people to comment on EVERY review. Except Juice. He has to or I will cry real tears, no I swear it, I will.
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Pressure, I love it. lol
 

Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Conan the Destroyer

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Conan, still grieving over the loss of his love, Valeria, is approached by a Queen in need of assistance. She asks Conan to help her find a magical crystal which would be used to bring Valeria back to life. Conan gladly accepts and sets out on this journey with a rag tag bunch of followers as help. However is all as it seems or is Conan being set up in a deadly trap?


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"For some reason headbands were really popular in 1984."

After the success of 1982’s Conan the Barbarian the eventual sequel HAD to be made right? Of course it did, and while it is not as good as the original by a long shot it is still a mildly entertaining film in its own right. Having the mighty Schwarzenegger return to the role was a big help, and after surrounding him with an eclectic supporting cast things couldn’t have turned out better. In fact, as sequels go, it really isn’t too terrible, which is remarkable considering the famous De Laurentiis family was involved, along with noted schlock director Richard Fleisher. However things did indeed turn out for the best and the sequel is notable for a few things, mainly the ever improving presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a lead actor.


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"Look to the horizon my friend, I believe that's James Cameron calling to make me a success."


Directed by Fleisher (the man who brought us the incredibly bad Amityville 3D as well as the super schlocky Red Sonja, which we will be looking at tomorrow…lucky us!) and written by Roy Thomas (the hilariously awful cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian…yeah, I’m sure you remember it too!), Gerry Conway (perhaps most notable for creating ultra vigilante The Punisher for Marvel Comics) and Stanley Mann (who wrote the excellent Donald Sutherland thriller “Eye of the Needle” as well as the so bad it’s just bad Sean Connery film “Meteor”), the film automatically got a much needed boost of adrenalin as these four were clearly out to top themselves. The end result is at times a schlock masterpiece and at other times a complete and total clusterfuck of monumental proportions. From the opening scenes featuring heads flying through the air we know what we are in store for here, and it’s all good baby!


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"I just gave her the stilt and man is she walkin' funny."

Adding a good supporting cast was the next step and of course Fleisher didn’t disappoint, assembling perhaps one of the most bizarre groups I have ever seen. To begin with, we have former basketball player Wilt Chamberlain (who apparently slept with over 10,000 women…no wonder they called this guy THE STILT, though by my math that would mean he had to sleep with at least one woman a day for more than 27 years so yeah, someone’s fibbing) as bodyguard Bombatta…what a name huh? They added Mako (wizard/narrator from the original and still smarting from getting roundhouse kicked by Chuck Norris) probably just to have him say “high adventure” again because he is so good at it. Tracey Walter (perhaps best known as Bob, the moronic henchman of the Joker in 1989’s Batman who gives the very gun to Nicholson that ends up killing him seconds later, as if we didn’t see THAT one coming!) shows up as Malak, a knife throwing thief. Um, oh yeah, there’s some hotness as well courtesy of Olivia D’Abo (Bergman gave me a stiffy, D'Abo gave me WOOD) as the Princess that Conan is sworn to protect.


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"Hot."

Of course the real highlight is the strangely psycho-sexual Grace Jones as Zula, the warrior woman. I am not kidding when I say that I had the major hots for this woman as a child and continue to today (not the way she looks today mind you but I still popped a boner when she appeared on screen when watching this film for review so yeah). I am not sure what it is about this woman but she totally oozes sex appeal from every pore of her body and I am going to stop talking about it now because there aren’t any tissues close by. Plus I hate when they stick to your fingers, I once wrote an entire scene for a screenplay I was doing about that…but I digress. Jones really does a good job playing a crazy warrior woman here and I was very impressed with her acting, though it’s possible she was just being herself because she’s kind of the same as Mayday in the James Bond film “A View to a Kill” from the following year. Either way, she makes a very strong impression from the get go and totally commands your attention throughout the film. Oh, believe it or not, Andre the Giant is in this film as well, though he sadly didn’t get credited. You can spot him easily enough, he’s the huge guy!


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"Just clowning around as always, Arnold and Grace probably had wild sex during the filming of this movie."

So, now that my unrequited love of Grace Jones is out of the way, let’s get back to the film because there is a lot going on here. Of course you know I can’t give away the really cool things like the Grand Vizier in the glass castle or the awesome fight sequence at the end…whoops, just did. Anyhow, the scenes in question are fantastic and just part of the fun to be had here. Fleisher has a really endearing way of schlocking up the events going on here and I really appreciate that. It’s nice to see the sequel not taking itself as serious as the original one did, and perhaps that’s why I find that a lot of it works really well. Obviously going in this direction was a good idea and when comparing this film to other “sword and sorcery” ones, it is clear to me at least that injecting humour and schlock was the right way to go. While it isn’t a sweeping epic like the original one, it still has its own merits and that’s probably the most important thing at the end of the day. Another thing that this film has going for it is a shorter runtime of 103 minutes, something that I think greatly enhances it. I always thought the original went on a little too long, and was happy to see them chop some needless stuff out of this one. Besides, it still ends up totally coherent and never feels like it is dragging, a real issue I had with the original. Poledouris is back to do the score and reworks his original one very well to fit with the new events so that’s another bonus for me.


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"Looking into my crystal I can see this movie bombing bad, but at least I am hot."

Conan the Destroyer didn’t do as well as it’s predecessor, scoring just over $30 million which had to be seen as something of a disappointment considering its $18 million budget. The failure of this film coupled with De Laurentiis’ other flop that year, David Lynch’s insane clusterfuck (second time I got that term into this review…yes) “Dune” almost ruined him, but luckily for us he was able to recover and produce more epic schlock masterpieces for years to come. So it’s not all good, but it’s not all bad either and once again, if you are simply looking for popcorn fare then you could do a lot worse than this film. Plus you get to see Olivia D’Abo in tight fitting clothes, Grace Jones vamp her way through every scene, Arnold Schwarzenegger really starting to develop as an actor and hell, even Wilt Chamberlain is pretty good. He probably nailed Jones and D’Abo…and the girl who was playing an extra in the village…you know, the one to the right of the other one he nailed just before nailing the entire catering crew after he was finished nailing the key grip and THEN he nailed……well you get the idea, he’s a sex machine bay-beh! 6.5/10.


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"The above is maybe the single greatest picture I have ever seen."
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Loved this review. You hit another one out of the park. Although I am a little troubled about your Grace Jones crush. I think we need to sit down and have a talk about that one. I honestly never realized that Andre the Giant was in this. If I did, I forgot. So chalk another one up that I need to watch for one bit scene lol. That last picture is just wow. I thought Arnold was taller than he appears with those two, but then again anyone looks small when you're standing next to two 7+ footers.
 

JakeYourBooty

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Your Grace Jones crush kinda makes me hate u....just saying
 

Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

ROFL, I knew the Grace Jones thing would spark some controversy, but come on Booty, hating me for that? Yeesh, you have too easy a capacity for hate if my love of a model/singer/actress bothers you that much, do you hate the mailman for delivering bills too? Actually I fucking hate my mailman for that, so you know what, I agree with you and I hate me too! Troy, I'll gladly have a talk with you about my strange sexual fantasies, though to be fair nobody ever accused me of being normal or sane. Thanks for the comments guys, glad you enjoyed the review.
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Red Sonja

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In a barbaric world, the evil Queen Gedren wishes nothing more than total power and dominance. To this end she has a sacred talisman stolen and its keepers executed before they can destroy it and bring balance back to the world. Red Sonja, sister of the keeper, sets out on a quest to defeat Gedren and get the talisman back. She does so with the help of Kalidor, master of the talisman, and a young prince and his aide. Can she defeat the evil Queen while remembering her oath never to give herself to any man?


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"Winner doesn't have to sit through this movie."

1985’s Red Sonja marks the end of our quick jaunt into the “sword and sorceryâ€￾ genre, and a more fitting end could not be had. While it is not as good as either of the films that it succeeded, actually to be quite honest it is incredibly bad on many levels, it still has an interesting and unique charm all it’s own while also being one of the ultimate examples of director Richard Fleisher’s schlock style. Attempting to top himself after the previous year’s “Conan the Destroyerâ€￾ would prove futile, however the entertainment factor was still there (though that’s not always in a good way) and perhaps that is more important than simple star ratings or box office returns. It serves as an ominous warning that going to the well once too often indeed results in failure, though to be fair nobody should have been expecting much from it. This film also marked the end of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s foray into the fantasy genre and was really the final step for him before becoming the “Americanâ€￾ action here that he would become best known for starting with the same year’s “Commandoâ€￾.


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"Hey, I can't act, I guess that makes me the perfect female lead for a Fleisher film."

Directed by Fleisher (who was probably grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of making this after having so much fun on Conan the year before) and written by Clive Exton (most known for writing the incredibly bad “The Awakeningâ€￾, the film that basically killed Charlton Heston’s career) and George MacDonald Fraser (wrote the James Bond film “Octopussyâ€￾, so you can pretty much tell his feelings on women and their roles in film right off the bat!), the idea was for producer Dino De Laurentiis to make a quick profit off of the modest returns that “Conan the Destroyerâ€￾ had and try to milk one last dollar out of a genre that was already suffering greatly. Of course this didn’t work out quite as well as he planned and once again he almost went bankrupt, you’ve GOT to love this guy’s perseverance though. Securing Schwarzenegger for the role of Kalidor was a very important step in legitimizing the film and maybe if they had actually made it more about him than the title character it would have done better. When Arnold is clearly the best actor you have in a film (and the year is 1985) chances are good that you are in trouble from the get go. Speaking of the title character, Sonja is played with gusto by one Brigitte Nielsen (former wife of Sylvester Stallone and current complete mess of a human being who sleeps with Flavor Flav!) and she does a terrible job in the lead role, her wooden acting only matched by her total lack of sense when it comes to delivery.


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"If only the roles had been reversed."

Sandahl Bergam (even as an evil bitch of a character she is still severely screw worthy) pops up as the evil Queen Gedren here, and does a nice job bitching it up whenever she is on-screen. Sadly she was supposed to play the title character (and I really think the film would have been way better if she had) but she turned the role down to avoid getting typecast. Really? Because appearing in the first Conan film, the movie “Sheâ€￾ and this one didn’t do that already? Oh well, she always had that prime role in 1986’s “Stewardess Schoolâ€￾ to look forward to I guess. Anyhow, she is decent in THIS film and as I say, I wonder how things would have worked out if she had played Sonja instead. Regardless we are never going to know so it’s better just to let that go and watch her be the wonderful mega-bitch ruthless evil Queen here. She is good at it and I totally forget how honourable a character she was in “Conan the Barbarianâ€￾, so she certainly did her job well. A lot of this films detractors point to her performance as being bad but honestly, when comparing her to the wooden and stilted performance of Nielsen in the lead, Bergman should have been nominated for an Oscar.


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"Chances are high that this is one of the most annoying characters ever, but man is his little kung fu cute."

Of course there has to be the standard rag-tag followers in any of these films, and boy do we have a couple of winners here. It’s like Fleisher just couldn’t help himself and decided, “hey, screw it, let’s just go so completely over the top that people will be blown away by our insanityâ€￾. To this end he succeeded, because the casting of Ernie Reyes Jr. (The Last Dragon) as Prince Tarn and Paul L. Smith (from the previous year’s flop “Duneâ€￾, maybe De Laurentiis should have realized this guy wasn’t helping him) as his aide Falkon is as inspired a choice as any madman of the cinema could ever hope to achieve. Seriously, these two are dynamite and really enhance what is a pretty pedestrian film, even by the limiting standards of the genre itself. I love watching Sonja spank the young prince and I love the little kung fu moves he busts out even more. In fact, kids doing kung fu is pretty much always for the win where I am concerned, it just looks so damn cute. Reyes would of course go on to star in the classic “Surf Ninjasâ€￾ so it’s nice to see those skills put to good use. He also kicked The Rock’s ass in the movie “The Rundownâ€￾ so yeah, he’s pretty cool in my book.


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"Well that certainly looks realistic!"

So what about the film itself? There is a lot packed into it’s 89 minute runtime, but again I don’t want to get into all of it here, since you probably want to check it out for yourself JUST for the above-mentioned kung fu skills. However if you are into other sorts of entertainment I can say that the script, while admittedly horrible, does do a decent job of keeping the viewer entertained with it’s mild (and sometimes major) stupidity. In fact, at one point Sonja leaves some characters behind only for them to magically end up ahead of her in short order! Huh?!? Fleisher of course is up to the task of making this seem like perhaps the most insane film he has ever directed (and that’s saying a lot considering the guy directed “Mandingoâ€￾ AND “Amityville 3Dâ€￾) and he really does a good job to that end. From a battle with one of the fakest monsters ever to a really overt lesbian subplot (never a bad thing), there is a lot of cheesy entertainment to be had here for sure. Plus you get the ever popular “hero has to win the heart of the woman who doesn’t want him but eventually will because that’s how things work out in the movie world too fucking bad that’s not realityâ€￾ cliché that is a wonderful standard in these types of films. Actually, to be quite honest, the lesbian subplot is really annoying in the sense that it makes lesbians seem to be a bad thing. Hello! What are you talking about? When the hell are lesbians a bad thing? Never as far as I’m concerned, and maybe if they had realized the positive benefits of that subplot (you know like making out and all that stuff) they might have had a better film on their hands. As it stands, it’s not the worst thing I have ever seen, but then again I’ve seen most of Fleisher’s other films, so I am kind of biased.


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"Thank goodness Commando is just around the corner..."


Red Sonja did a laughable $6.9 million dollars on a budget of almost $18 million, so to say it bombed would be the understatement of the year. While Leonard Maltin found joy in determining who the worse actor was in the film, Schwarzenegger himself said it was the worst film he has ever made. In fact he went on to say the following, which I actually find funnier than anything in the film. “Now, when my kids get out of line, they’re sent to their room and forced to watch Red Sonja ten times. I never have too much trouble with them.â€￾ Of course there’s no word on whether he used this form of punishment with all of his illegitimate children, but that’s a story for another day. By the way, for all you trivia buffs out there, this film was nominated for a few Razzie awards, but only took home one, that being Worst New Actress for Nielsen, who won for both this and her hideous performance in Rocky IV. So yeah, not as shining a review as I’d hoped for but I still think cine-trash fans everywhere would do well to check this one out. If you want a good movie, go pop in “Conan the Barbarianâ€￾ or even “Hawk the Slayerâ€￾ (ask me about that one sometime and I’ll give you a huge laugh) but if you want schlock of the highest order give “Red Sonjaâ€￾ a chance, it won’t be the worst thing you ever see. 4.5/10.
 

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

On an Arnold kick huh? I don't think I have ever watched this movie, and if I have, I don't remember it. I think I am going to pick this up on DVD later when I go out as it sounds decent, even if you didn't rate it very high. Maybe one of those so bad it is watchable kind of movies?
 

Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Oh yeah, it's watchable alright, you'll find yourself laughing at all the wrong moments and besides, there's hot women in it so how bad can it be? I mean it's not as good as the other two Conan movies but the complete mess of what is going on in it makes it a real charmer where I'm concerned. As you know the number rating is meant to reflect the overall opinion of the movie for the masses, but I think you know me well enough to know that if I recommend this movie to you, you should enjoy it. Let me know what you think dude, and thanks for the comments. Arnold kick over, Spaghetti Western's coming up....
 

Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

A Fistful of Dollars

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An anonymous man rides into an old western town. He is immediately challenged by some local hoods, whom he dispatches with ease. Recognizing him to be a violent gunfighter, the local gangs vie for his services. However this man with no name is smarter than they think, and he begins to play both gangs off of each other for his own profit. However not everyone is as foolish as he thinks, and soon he will find himself in a world of trouble.


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The year was 1964, and Italian director Sergio Leone, already famous in his home country for working on the critically acclaimed film “Ladri di biciclette” (The Bicycle Thieves) wanted to do something to revitalize the dying Western film genre. He understood that there was still a huge market for Western films in Europe and hoped to exploit it as best he could. To this end he set about creating a new take on the classic genre, one full of colourful characters, a visual style of direction and hyper-violence. After being unable to secure several stars of the day for his lead character (including Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and James Coburn), he settled on a young but hungry actor named Clint Eastwood to play his lead and enlisted the help of friend Ennio Morricone to score the film. The end result sparked a resurgence in the popularity of the Western film and created a sub-genre all unto itself, that of the “Spaghetti Western”. While it is not the best of these films, “A Fistful of Dollars” is the first, and it sets the tone for all the great films that would follow it.

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"They're all dead, they just don't know it yet."

Written and directed by Leone (who had just finished up the ultra-campy classic “The Colossus of Rhodes”) along with no less than 10 other writers including Eastwood himself (Leone’s films tended to have several writers working at one time or another on dialogue), the intent was to create a new style of Western film to make some quick money in the European markets. Of course he knew that he would have to tackle a newer form of subject matter than the standard “Marshall (insert name here) gets the bad guys out of town and rides off into the sunset” plot device used in most Westerns of the day. He therefore turned to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa for inspiration, lifting the basic premise of his film “Yojimbo” and reworking parts of it to fit a Western motif. After getting the script in place he went into casting, and after an arduous journey he ended up settling on Clint Eastwood, a man he liked because he apparently had two expressions, “one with the hat and one without it.” Eastwood, who was well known in the US for his role on the show “Rawhide” had yet to break through in the film industry despite some bit parts here and there. That was all about to change, as his role in these Western films brought his name to the world and indeed helped make him a star. He also learned a lot about direction from Leone, something that would obviously become important later in his career.


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"It ain't very funny you laughin', though I can see why when you take a look at this facial expression."

In this film however, he is quite simply playing his standard Western character albeit a little more understated than normal. His cool and quiet delivery really makes you listen to him, and the fact that he can back up his talk with his gun makes him all the more dangerous. From his introductory scene where he demands an apology from some local hooligans for insulting his horse, you know that you are in for something a little different than the standard Western fare, and by the time he has blown away the four men in a matter of a split second, you know that you are watching something special unfold. The supporting cast plays off of Eastwood well, particularly Jose Calvo as his friend Silvanito, and the trio of Rojo Brothers, played by Antonio Prieto, Sieghardt Rupp and Gian Maria Volonte (who went on to play lead villain Indio in the follow up to this film). There is a special sort of chemistry between these characters that is really unique considering all of them spoke different languages on set and were dubbed later in post-production. That Leone could somehow handle all of these different dialects and prevent the film from turning into a mess is a testament to his directorial skills and the skills of the actors involved. I would like to also make special mention of the beautiful Marianne Koch, who plays the main love interest Marisol so well. She barely has any dialogue but her facial expressions convey her sadness perfectly and she is a real highlight of this film.


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"I am sure he'd like to give her his gun."

One would expect the plot for this film to be a tad flimsy considering its subject matter; however it is woven together quite well. Eastwood’s manipulation of the gangs is very well played out and explained perfectly. A sub-plot involving a massacre is also well realized and adds more drama to the story. By the time we get to the inevitable conclusion we have come to realize that this was a much better film than it had any right to be, again a testament to all who were involved. The violence is cartoonish at times, but it never goes overboard and always plays an important part in the overall story. In other words, there is no killing just for the sake of killing, each and every character killed in this film is killed for a reason and there are no such things as random acts of violence to be had here. Some of the great things here include the above-mentioned massacre, an extended beating of Eastwood that actually gets tough to watch, an emotionally charged subplot involving Marisol, her young son and their exiled husband/father and of course the grand finale with more bullets than you can shake the old stick at.


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"Bwahahaha, I am a psycho!!"

Another thing that sets this film apart from its contemporaries is the fabulous soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and the opening titles by the sadly uncredited Eugenio Lardani. These titles are absolutely amazing and a real treat to watch, as violent images are shot in white set against a red background, surely a sign of the bloody affair to come. As Morricone’s whistling-based theme plays (and of course he would continue variations on this theme in the following two films) we are instantly engaged in what is going on, even before an actual person appears on-screen. The music in many other sections is excellent as well, particularly the main title (a variation of which has been used by The Rza for the Kill Bill Volume II soundtrack) and the theme for Ramon (an excellent precursor to John Williams work on the Star Wars films, particularly when listening to the comparisons between it and Vader’s themes). Finally, the music itself just serves to capture the mood perfectly and one could not imagine this film without the excellent accompaniments throughout.


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"If I aim a little bit lower he'll be walking funny for the rest of his life."

The film was released to praise in Europe (and became the highest grossing film ever in Italy at that time) but did not make it to the US until 3 years later. When all was said and done, A Fistful of Dollars had grossed more than $14.5 million on a budget of less than $200,000, quite remarkable for a Western made in Italy with mostly European actors. Leone, buoyed by the response in his own country, immediately set about making a sequel, which he released the following year (a film that we will be looking at tomorrow). This would be the second part in a trilogy that would culminate with one of the greatest films of all time, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. A Fistful of Dollars can be considered an important film for many reasons but most important of all is the fact that it injected a much needed shot of adrenalin into a dying genre and provided the springboard for a whole wave of new-style Westerns, some of which are extremely well made films. While it is not perfect, it is fairly close, and its few flaws can be hidden by all that is right and good with the film. If you like Westerns, and you haven’t seen this, please do yourself a favour and get to it, you won’t regret it. 8/10.
 
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Hammer

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Commenting on Red Sonja and will be back for Fist full of dollars (which has to be win since it is Clint, which means there is a good chance he made the movie as well)

Great review of Red Sonja. To me it is a classic from my child hood and from the era of larger than anyone you know action stars. Your bit on the kung-fu prince and his lackey was dead on. such a terrible idea that you just have to love. By the way I think the lackey or the queen are actually the best actors in the movie and not Arnold.

Last thing I have to say is if we are talking about terrible looking fake monsters, let never forget the clay-mation form the "Sinbad" movies.

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Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

Thanks dude, appreciate the comments and can't wait to hear what you think of AFOD. The lackey is definitely the best actor in the film, I was going for a more sarcastic tone when referring to Arnold as the best. In fact, the kid pretty much out-acts Arnold here, as well as the fake monster, though to his credit Arnold does give it a good try considering he was probably just a little tired of these films by this point. Either way it is a good movie for perhaps the wrong reasons, but hey, whatever makes you happy right? Oh and nice call on the stop-motion rock monster there, I like the skeleton warriors in the original Clash of the Titans too. Ray Harryhausen's special effects were groundbreaking, but they DO look pretty cheesy these days :lol:
 

Fuji Vice

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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange

For a Few Dollars More

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In the old west, two bounty hunters are at the top of the food chain. Col. Douglas Mortimer is one, while the other is a strange one known only as Manco. There isn’t a man alive that can outrun these two, and they soon find themselves unwilling allies in the pursuit of El Indio, a ruthless yet intelligent bank robber. While the pair pool their resources to find him they have to wonder whether they are after him for the same reasons.


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Sergio Leone’s film “A Fistful of Dollars” was a success, which led to a sequel of sorts, 1965’s “For a Few Dollars More”. Leone felt that it would be both wise and profitable to switch the story up from the previous films, this time going for a revenge theme instead. While he did this he also concentrated more on the motivations of his characters, and found a new style of writing from their perspectives, something that would definitely come into full effect on his next film. Featuring less violence than the previous film, the emphasis here was clearly on story and it works to great effect. While there is a lot of style here to be sure, there is an equal if not greater amount of substance, and that cannot be praised enough. “For a Few Dollars More” marks a perfect second chapter in the “Dollars” trilogy as it is fondly known, as it serves as a perfect segue between the first and last films, and does it brilliantly.


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"Holy crap, Alfred E. Neuman is a REAL person!"

Leone once again wrote and directed but this time he called on associate Luciano Vincenzoni (a well known screenwriter in Italy) to help him flesh out his idea of a revenge themed film. To this end the pair created a script that played to the strengths of the leads that were chosen for the individual main characters. Clint Eastwood returns as the famous “Man with no Name” and though he has a name here it is not meant to be his. The term “manco” means “one-armed” in Spanish, and indeed his character performs almost all of his actions in this film with his left arm, so as to keep his right one free for drawing his incredibly fast gun. Eastwood of course brings his ever-improving style to the character, playing the calm yet deadly killer with a real sense of subtlety. His interactions with the supporting cast are a highlight of the film, particularly in a scene where he strikes a match off the neck of a gang member, played by noted German psycho-actor Klaus Kinski. The scene itself is gripping and just one of the many memorable moments Eastwood himself brings to this film.


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"Yeah, pretty much the second baddest man on the planet behind Eastwood."

The other two leads are expertly filled out by Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonte, and it is their acting skills that make this film work to the level that it does. Van Cleef was no stranger to the cinema, yet normally played bad guys (for good reason, check out those evil eyes) and of course would go on to play one of the great villains in cinematic history the following year. Volonte had just come off playing the main bad guy Ramon in the previous film and clearly seems comfortable in the role of a villain. Volonte does a great job here, particularly when he has his “flashback episodes” and in relating a story of a carpenter he met in prison. Meanwhile, Van Cleef simply disarms the audience with his brilliantly understated performance as Mortimer. While he is a cold and calculating killer, we learn there is reasoning behind what he does, and when we do it is a revelation. He also has one of the coolest stares I have ever seen from any character; his eyes just destroy any confidence you may have in yourself, as seen in an early moment when he forces a train to stop at a destination it was not meant to. Clearly Mortimer is a guy that you absolutely do not want to mess with, in fact all the leads are, and their eventual meeting is nothing short of awesome in every sense of the word.


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"Cold, ruthless, calculating...you can't get a much better villain than this."

The relationship between the two bounty hunters and their different motivations is at the core of the themes here, along with the above-mentioned revenge motif. Eastwood’s character is simply interested in making as much money as quickly as possible so as to get out of the “business” as he puts it and retire. Van Cleef’s Mortimer has much more personal reasons, particularly when they relate to Indio, and as we find out, his motivations are simple revenge; money means nothing to him. The begrudging respect that these two men have for each other is put across quite well in a great scene with almost no dialogue where the two first screw around with a Chinese servant (and why are they ALWAYS Chinese in these movies?) before engaging in a little gunplay involving a hat. The scene is shot so well and really helps to tell the story better than any dialogue between the two could ever hope to. After it is done we understand that these two characters, for better or worse, will be able to get along and work together, something that gives them a clear advantage when pursuing a gang of deadly robbers. Conversely, Indio and his gang are constantly bickering and filled with paranoia, nobody can trust anybody else and of course it eventually leads to their downfall.


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"Keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me, for sure, that's what friends are for...BANG!!"

There is again a lot going on in this film, and its 132 minutes run by so fast you’d swear that it was a 90 minute film. From the opening sequence, showing the unique skills of both bounty hunters as well as Indio’s escape from prison, to the showdown between the three at the end of the film, we are pretty much strapped in and along for a great ride. In between we are treated to some really inventive camera work, some more awesome Ennio Morricone music and more intensity than you could imagine for a film of this type. The use of Indio’s pocket-watch and its chimes becomes more and more interesting throughout the film and of course plays a part in the end. There is another brutal beat down scene here, this time of both Van Cleef and Eastwood, and again it becomes difficult to watch. I was also really impressed with how intelligent Indio comes across as the main villain, something that Volonte gets over very well. This is definitely a guy you’d want to be in business with if you were a bad guy, but at the same time you’d be watching your back constantly to make sure that he didn’t stick a knife in it. I think the fact that the guy has no problem executing the wife and newborn child of a man who had previously wronged him speaks volumes about the character and when we finally see him get what is coming to him the revenge is very satisfying. Perhaps that is what works best here. We as the audience are as emotionally invested as Mortimer is, and we feel what he feels. This is a very difficult thing for a filmmaker to achieve and clearly Leone was at the top of his game or was just about to be at any rate.


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"Someone's about to get dead here, but it'll look awesome."


While it was again not released until 1967 in the US, the film nevertheless managed to gross over $15 million on a budget of just $600,000 and was met with critical acclaim as well. The change in tone from over-the-top violence to a more serious story worked very well for Leone and it appeared that he was really getting the hang of these Western films. After the success of “For a Few Dollars More”, he convinced Eastwood and Van Cleef to help him on his next project, an idea that he had been putting together with Vincenzoni while working on this film. He envisioned an epic in every sense of the word, and once he had the backing of these two the sky was the limit. However that will have to wait until tomorrow, since we are talking about “For a Few Dollars More” today. It is a great film and again a must see if you are a fan of the genre. The story is superb and the acting (which was almost entirely done silent and then over-dubbed later!) is great as are the characters themselves. This film sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, being the middle-child and all, but it is still one that is head and shoulders above many of its contemporaries and one that is well worth seeking out. 8.5/10.