This is a classic Sammo Hung flick back when he was deep in his Kung Fu horror comedy period. It's goofy with that pre-mo lei tau humor, and Sammo was a master of that genre. Plus he was just under 40 then, still in his fighting prime, and as always, gets the crap beaten out of his face yet delivers some spectacular fight sequences and fall stunts. 

Sammo plays 3 roles here: a ne'redowell gambling son who is always running (or trying to run) scams, a stern yet loving father, and a dead grandfather with a hairy facial mole - the titular gambling ghost. The father reminds me of one of my Lam Kwoon Kung Fu brothers, something I'd never tell him because Sammo bears the brunt of many fat jokes here (this is true in almost every Sammo film - he owns his fatness). this was recommended by another Lam Kwoon brother, and he came to the same conclusion. I'm curious if the craneflies will arrive at the same conclusion if they ever watch this.

Also in the cast is Meng Hoi, who I frequently mistake for Yuen Biao, as son Sammo's accomplice. Nina Li Chi is the hottie, another scammer, and the wife of Jet Li IRL. There's several appearances by other noted actors in Sammo's circle - Wu Ma, Corey Yuen, Richard Ng, James Tien. The best cameo is from Mr. Vampire himself, Lam Ching-Ying, playing an exorcist because that's just what he does. 

This film was in the wake of Chow Yun-Fat's God of Gamblers, and parodies that blockbuster on many levels. It takes a while to build up momentum with some sophomoric Hong Kong humor, but once it gets going, it's fairly amusing. The final fight is Sammo and Meng doing what they do best with some solid HK fight choreo. It's a big fight in a shipyard full of containers (always a good battleground) where everyone is coming for Sammo but he's got some cartoonish super powers lent to him by his grandfather's ghost including the ability to catch bazooka shells and throw them back at his attackers. 

Good stuff. D00M recommended but only if you're familiar with the Kung Fu horror comedy genre already. If not, there are other films I'd recommend first. 

Seen on YouTube here:

What the heck? Why am I here?
I musta taken a few wrong turns…
I knew I shoulda taken that left at Albuquerque.

This is odd. I've been suspended on threads for going against their community standards. That's odd. I barely post. I mostly comment and even then it's one or two comments a day. I'm curious who I ran afoul.

Jia Zhangke is one of China’s leading directors, a darling of Cannes, and I’ve been meaning to check out his work for years. This one stars Wang Baoqiang, one of my fav actors who trained at Shaolin as a kid and has delivered great action & comedy. This is neither. This is a gut punch, four gut punches, that will haunt me.

It’s four very loosely connect vignettes all based on true stories. Each is brutal, oppressive and packed with existential dread. Harsh. Sanguineous. Unforgiving. Warning - there’s some hard animal violence - a horse getting beaten (which was right when Stacy peeked in of course) and a duck getting bled out. Not for the squeamish. Plus there’s some hyper-realistic shotgun blasts - one to the face that is disturbingly convincing. And that’s just the first vignette.

But where Jia is brilliant is his sense of atmosphere. He catches modern China so well - its hardships, squalor, drabness, clutter, and also its beauty, monstrous architecture, impacted landscapes… I could feel his locations. I could almost smell them. His style is magnificent, filled with detailed compositions that diminish the human condition in the face of such urban chaos. He sees the surreal aspect of real China with dazzling clarity, setting up scenes that are so gritty yet so ethereal. 

And he moves his story arcs with such poetry. I longed for the rhythm and rhyme of it, eager to see how it all fit together. Ultimately the ties that bind the four threads are threadbare, and yet somehow, it still works. Impressively resonate for me having been to China so many times. The film captures what bewitches and horrifies me about China, what I love and hate about it. And it does so without judgement. It’s just keen observations by Jia, both in tone and vibe.

I will explore more. Criterion has a collection. But his work is not to be taken lightly. I must be in the right mindset for the next one. I read where this film is one of his bloodiest. He sets up the violence so it’s shocking when it happens, as it should be. One shotgun scene actually made me jump even though I knew what was going to happen. 

Only D00M recommended for film buffs and sinophiles. Let me watch a few more and cherry pick something that’s a little less harsh to recommend.

Wow! Just no. Please no.

I was going to kill a few minutes when I stumbled upon this. It was directed by Martin Campbell, Bond films, and had Daisey Ridley and Clive Owen. It can't be that bad, can it?

Yes, it can. Using the Die Hard template, eco-terrorists take over a building and hold the people hostage. The terrorists are super-cool and all go for wit. But they aren't here to rob the tower, they are actually terrorists. The only one who can save them is the ex-army officer trapped in the building with them. They probably went to Jason Statham first to see if he would do it. The villains spend a lot of time twirling their mustaches and going on about their clever plan.

Every beat of the story is readily apparent. As soon as they said Ridley's brother, also in the building, was a hacker, you knew what he was going to do.

It was all so very bad.

(04-30-2025, 03:32 PM)Greg Wrote: Deep Cover. June 12

Written by Akira Kurosawa, this is the 2nd film ever directed by Kazuo Mori (who directed many of the Zatoichi film) and it stars much of the cast that went on to be in The Seven Samurai. It opens with a cheesy sword fight with Toshiro Mifune in theatrical makeup cutting down 3 dozen samurai but then quickly shifts to say that was the myth, here’s the real story (this is based on a historic event - the Igagoe vendetta - which is as famous as the 47 ronin tale). Mifune helps a young samurai avenge the murder of his father with two others. The intended target has hired a master spearman, and among his retainers is Mifune’s good friend (played by Takeshi Shimura). The movie starts as the foursome wait to ambush their targets and retells how they got there in flashback.

The film is great at building tension. We discover Mifune’s deep friendship with Shimura from an earlier meeting where they drink and shoot arrows, knowing that their fate will soon pit them against each other. We see Daisuke Kato playing a spy for Mifune as the foursome spend years tracking their target and preparing. We discover that none of them have been in a real sword fight before.

The payout is the fight. It foreshadows one of my all time favorite fights - the finale of Rashomon - where the swordsmen flail wildly, terror struck, and all their skills fall to the wayside. It’s brilliant choreo, what I imagine a real sword fight might've been like. Fantastic work.

Mifune & Shimura show their acting chops as they come face to face in their final fight. The dawning realization of their fate is so poignant and tragic. 

I can see the nascent styles of Kato & Kurosawa throughout the film. It’s rougher, yet well crafted overall, with some scenes that both directors will echo in their later work.

D00M recommended!

This book was a clue in one of Greg's posts: The Galway Series by Ken Bruen

Synge went to the Aran islands c. 1900 and the book is entries from his journal. Because of that, it's in short sections with no linear narrative, jumping between topics. It was an interesting read, full of details of the islanders' way of life, and he includes some stories and songs they told him. Plus there were a few nice illustrations by Jack Yeats (brother of the poet). 

Probably of no interest to any of you except perhaps Greg.

Considered by any to be one of the greatest French noir crime films ever, this has been in my queue for a long time - it’s cited as the inspiration for Travis Bickle to John Wick, a pivotal pioneering classic. 

I dunno man. Sometimes I just don’t get French film. It’s moody, with some brilliant cinematography and composition, but it moves at such a glacial pace. Alain Delton plays Jef Costello, a handsome dapper hitman in a tailored trench and fedora. He methodically sets up alibis for a hit, then gets tracked down by the police who task a ridiculous number of cops to tail him in an absurd police procedural.

There’s ruminating existential philosophy and plenty of cigarettes with a grimy urban Parisian (?) streets. Perhaps this film has been referenced so much by its many successors that it dulls its shine for me. It is ponderously slow, so self absorbed in its own scenery that I checked my phone a lot to stay awake. There’s some great period decor - the cars and telephones are awesome. There’s lots of shots of the streets, the metro, and Jet’s sad apartment with his little pet bird (there’s some artsy metaphors to be made about the bird). I did like its atmosphere and 60s euro vibe. But ultimately I expected more.

Not overly D00M recommended unless you’re an artsy cinemaphile.

I have never been a fan of The Beach Boys. BUT, they do have some great songs and all of the ones I do like are because of Brian Wilson.

I hope it was peaceful at the end.

--tg