QTKM (青铜狂魔)(1994)

QTKM (青铜狂魔)

Dir: Gu Jing
Cast: Chu Zhibo, Dongfang Fangwen, Liu Zhibing
Plot:What`s the reason behind the transformation of a psychopathic archaeologist into a serial killer? An old relic could be the answer,along with an ancient myth..

Year: 1994

Country: Mainland China 

Notes: The movie has been released on vcd (gzbeauty) in Mainland China, it doesn't carry any english subs.QTKM stands for 青铜狂魔 (Qingtong Kuang Mo),which letteraly means Crazy Bronze Demon.

Personal opinion: Even though we didn't actually watch the movie, after read the plot and then watched a brief clip on the internet, we sure want to see what this movie can offer. The plot seems interesting and really different from other mainland's flicks since it involves a demon and an ancient myth, something that you don't see very often in old chinese movie. We think this QTKM would be worth our and your time.

Some snapshots (source: vcd):

 

Adventures of the Little Monks (少林好小子)(1994)

Adventures of the Little Monks (少林好小子)

Dir: Yuan Fang, Yuan Yingming
Cast: Li Meng, Zhu Yin, Guo Jinan, Li li li
Plot: Invited by the Americans, Shaolin martial artists and their Shifu , on the way to their destination forgot at the hotel the kiddo...and the research begins..

Year: 1994

Country: Mainland China 

Intro (Editing by us, Source Material: Television):  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT6mYaakhG0

Notes: This movie has been released on vcd (gzbeauty) and dvd (boing!) in Mainland China, both of them doesn't carry any english subs.

Personal opinion: Have you ever watched a movie called "龍在少林"? A really bad HK-TW co-production features Yuan Biao, also known as Dragon from shaolin (1996)? Well, this 少林好小子 is more or less the same genre.. lots of fights, lots of shaolin monks, lots of kids, lots of humor... If you hated 龍在少林 as much as we did, you might give 少林好小子 a chance.
Some snapshots (source: cctv6):

The Magic Braid (神鞭)(1986)

The Magic Braid (神鞭)

Dir: Zien Zhang
Cast: Baoguo Chen , Yawei Wang, Shouli Xu , Yan Zhang , Xing Zheng
Plot: During the late Qing Dynasty, thanks to his skills with his long braid Sha'er is a well known fighter all over the country. He will have to fight against the foreigners in order to defend his own country, China..

Year: 1986

Country: Mainland China 

Trailer (Editing by us, Source Material: Original Mainland Dvd):  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtH8d35e5PE

Notes: This movie is based on the novel by Ping Ji Cai (冯骥才). It's one of the few flick where you can see how to use a braid to defeat the opponents. It's set during the boxer rebellion. The poster above is from our personal collection. The movie is available on dvd from China (official release) with english subtitles.

Personal opinion: We must admit that the movie has some flaws such as a lot of dead moments. On the other hand it shows some really outstanding martial arts scenes, especially thanks to the skill of Yawei Wang.
When the movie arrives to the battle between the Chinese and the foreigners, the boredom arises. It's really way too long, we think that if they have shorted it a little bit ,the result would be much better. The only thing we appreciated of that was the music played as background.
Before the battle, there is a meeting/martial arts exhibition where you can see a guy that perform as the monkey king, just great!
Although with its flaws, the movie is worth your time both for the historical issue and for the martial art sequences that are top-notch.

Some snapshots (source: official mainland dvd):

 

Little Heroes (自古英雄出少年)(1983)

Little Heroes (自古英雄出少年)

Dir: Tun Fei Mou
Cast: Yong Hao, Hsiao Yen Chang, Yong Zhang, Changgui Xiong, etc
Plot: During the Qing dinasty, an anti-Qing group, called  天地会 (Heaven & Earth) settled in remote mountain village got attacked by the Qing guards...

Year: 1983
Country: Mainland China 

Notes: Tun Fei Mou famous for the movie called Men Behind The Sun, in his early career made this movie for the mainland audience. It is said that the movie was supposed to be as violent as Chang Cheh's movies, but the mainland censorship didn't allow so. For more info about the director and his movies,we suggest you to check a documentary that will be released by Stuntman Jules of Kung Fu Cinema Forums ( Kung Fu Cinema Forum dedicated thread ).

Personal opinion: One of the best kung fu movie ever, not just because of the outstanding performances, but also duo to the magnificient scenary where the film was filmed. Although it's not turned out to be as the director wanted, we think that this fairy tale is just gorgeous in every details. Maybe the violence would have ruined the movie, in our opinion...

Some snapshots (source: official mainland Dvd):

Personal Opinion

Some guys on two different forums told us that we should write something about our personal opinion on the movies...well,here we are...

Codename Cougar (代号美洲豹) (1988)

Codename Cougar (代号美洲豹) 

Dir: Yimou Zhang, Fengliang Yang
Cast: You Ge, Li Gong, Xiaoning Liu, Rongguang Yu, Xueqi Wang, Yazhou Yang
Plot: A plain, loaded with taiwanese businessmen has been hijacked by terrorists, landed in mainland China. An anti-terrorism squad is formed to save the hostages with the cooperation of Mainland China and Taiwan...

Year: 1988
Country: Mainland China 

Notes: It was screened in Japan in the 11/11/1989, and most of the critics thought that this Code Name: Cugar is one of the worst movie ever made by Zhang Yimou. At the end, this little known Chinese flick seemes to pay a tribute to the American movie called Apocalypse Now. Furthermore, this movie provides a kinda of  HK's bullet ballet feeling because of the amount of gun fights and killing involved.
Personal opinion: To tell the truth, we agree with the critics..the movie actually is not that good. It's not because of the actors or the plot theirselves but the whole thing just doesn't provides anything more than a blend bulletballet/terrorist movie. It's not a really soft movie either, there is some kind of politics issue in it ( duo to some sentences that You Ge (cant remember the name of the character on the movie) screams against the chinese (mainlanders) ) that gives you the feeling that this movie is not properly a mainland flick,but still..it is. Either you watch it or not,it won't change you life..
Some snapshots (source: official mainland Dvd):

Yamaha Fish Stall (雅马哈鱼档)(1984)

Yamaha Fish Stall  (雅马哈鱼档)

Dir: Liang Zhang
Cast: Tianxi Zhang, Zhijian Li, Liyi Yang, Ruiping Xu, Jian Shi, Jinshang Huang
Plot: The movie tells the story of 3 fellows who are trying to make a living in the early 80s. These guys who are not that good at business try their best in order to achive something from their life...but they are not alone..

Year: 1984
Country: Mainland China 

Notes: A movie about everyday life in GuangZhou that doesn't differ to much from the same genre films from HK, where people could relate with the characters of the flick. Yamaha Fish Stall won ,at the 5th China Golden Rooster Award, the Best Art Award.
Personal opinion: We have the dvd (official mainland) but to tell the truth we still have to watch it, so we just can tell you from what we saw that the movie genre is kinda of "everyday life" . As soon as we watch the movie, we will add a better opinion
Some stills: