Ninja Terminator is the King of Bad 80’s Ninja Movies! Its got it all: Richard Harrison, Bad dubbing, bad dialogue, an insane and senseless plot line, gratuitous violence, and an endless array of black clad, sword wielding Ninjas! As with all the other ninja movies by Godfrey Ho, what we are witness too here is a completely separate and non-ninja related film into which some newly shot ninja footage has been spliced, whilst an illusory link between the two unrelated stories is created and sustained by the over dubbing: Its an old school Ninja Movie mash-up!
It has to be said, that in the vast majority of these cut and splice ninja outings, only the ninja footage usually has any entertainment value. However, in the case of Ninja Terminator, BOTH…ahem…”‘movies”…prove to be highly enjoyable!
In the non-ninja sequences we have one ultra cool dude by the name of Jaguar Wong. A rough and tumble bad ass who gets in more fist fights in this one movie than most professional boxers have in their entire career. Of course with a bad ass name like Jaguar Wong, he is destined to put the smack down on all challengers. Although, he does get a little roughed up during the films climax by the always excellent Hwang Jang Lee.
The ninja sequences are equally as energetic with loads of sword play, acrobatics and people disappearing in plumes of smoke. Best of all Ninjitsu Master Richard Harrison: wearing heavy eye liner and mascara! Yet, after watching this ninja freak fest, I am still left with a few lingering questions:

1. Why does the villain wear a blond woman’s wig?
2. Why would a Ninja attack using several guns, a slingshot and a FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER?
3. What is with the Garfield phone?
4. What’s with the toy robot?
5. Do all Ninja’s wear tennis suits during their morning Ninja workouts?

If you figure any of this out….please let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be meditating on these important questions with more ferver than a Zen Buddhist Monk (Well…okay…maybe not). Enjoy!

This is an absolutely wonderful lost interview with none other than the master himself, Sifu Bruce Lee. This interview was conducted live from Hong Kong by for the Pierre Berton show, which interestingly, was filmed in a different international location each week. Here Bruce talks about everything from his Martial Arts philosophy to his Hollywood friends including Steve McQueen and James Coburn. This is a really great lost interview from the later part of Bruce’s career. This is absolutely great stuff: Bruce is very candid and humble. It’s easy to see why he is still revered and loved today, more than 30 years after his death. Please Enjoy!

As B-movies go, this movie is hilarious and absolutely entertaining. If renegade macho posturing, over-the-top costuming and sound effects and the genuinely comic manners of “flawless kills” can easily coalesce into something transcendent for you; this camp martial arts flick will not be a waste of time.
After this movie, I got the sudden urge to slap on some “Brut” cologne, do squats and hold my breath until laughter prompted release…This is THE Ninja movie. All of the classic elements are here: smoke bombs, climbing claws, shurikens, villainy… you name it, it’s in there.
The movie opens with an excellent trial, where Cole must defeat legions of opposing ninjas (fellow students), then make it back to base and calmly recite the Nine Levels of Power in front of Master Komori. To this day I have a .wav file of the Nine Levels of Power… it is a cool scene.
The bulk of the movie is setting up the rivalry between Hasegawa and Cole. Hasegawa, being the evil, black-clad Ninja that he is, causes as much mayhem as possible, culminating in the killing of Cole’s buddy Frank. Cole, being the good white-clad Ninja, must now (of course) avenge his buddy’s death and face Hasegawa one-on-one.
I won’t tell you the outcome of the final battle, but I will say that it is a classic Ninja battle. You won’t be disappointed. Sure it is a silly movie, but you aren’t watching it for its screenplay, are you? You may never want to see it more than once, but Enter the Ninja is definitely worth seeing.

Yuen Biao plays the pampered son of a wealthy businessman who discovers his Kung Fu training has been a sham. He struggles to learn real Wing Chun Kung Fu from a Chinese opera performer (Lam Ching Ying) and his oddball brother (Sammo Hung). This film is simply one of the best and most accurate displays of the Wing Chun Kung Fu style that has ever graced the cinema. Interesting plot, great action, and also a historical, fictionalized account of Wing Chun Kung Fu as well. Wong Bah Bo (played by Sammo Hung), Leung Yee Tai (played by Ching-Ying Lam) and Leung Jan (played by Yuen Biao) are all emissaries of the Wing Chun style.
Wong Bah Bo and Leung Yee Tai were members of the Red Junk Opera Troupe who taught Leung Jan. Leung Jan was Yip Man’s Sitaigung (Sifu’s Sifu) as Yip Man studied under Chan Wah Sun (Leung Jan’s student). The most intriguing connection in all of this is that Bruce Lee was also a student of Yip Man, whom is considered by many as the modern living grandmaster of Wing Chun. If you like this movie, you might want to check out ‘Wing Chun’ starring Michelle Yeoh. It’s also a historical fictional account of Yim Wing Chun after which the style was named. 5 Stars!

The Great Gordon Liu stars in this Shaw Brothers classic! Not as polished as later films by Chia-Liang Liu, “Challenge of the Masters” is still a pretty slick accomplishment when gauged against other contemporary Hong Kong films. Shot in 1976, 2 years before Mr. Liu would rise to seminal greatness in “36 Chambers”, there’s little doubt in watching this film that Gordon Liu is a star in the making. As always, his physical presence is arresting, his technical skills second-to-none, and heck, he’s just plain likable! His mentor Chia-Liang Liu does a reasonable job with the direction, but the high velocity fight choreography really shines here. Gordon Liu’s one-on-one fight with his protege Chia Hui Liu in the bamboo forest stands out as a high point and may seem familiar as it has been ripped off many times over.
The plot is pretty straight forward: When the son of a Kung Fu master proves himself in a competition, he receives a new tutor as his prize. The youth’s new association leads him to do battle to avenge a friend’s death and protect his family honor. There are some interesting twists and the recurring theme of fraternity amongst martial artists is a rarity for these films. This is a classic and a must see for any fan of the genre, particularly fans of Gordon Liu. Enjoy!

Countdown of the 10 deadliest weapons in the Kung Fu combat arsenal. This video is slightly off topic, but contains some absolutely amazing footage of Martial Arts weaponry and techniques. If you love Kung Fu, then you will really appreciate this documentary. I found the footage extremely interesting and very informative. It contains a wealth of well researched content on dynasty era Chinese military ground strategies and common infantry armament. Everything from swords and spears to the sleeve arrow and flying guillotine. Featured are several modern Kung Fu masters and weapons specialists. They perform some brief Kata and mock fighting at lightning fast speeds with a high level of agility. Very insightful, I give it a 5/5. Enjoy!

“Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave” is a very misleading title from legendary grind-house distributor Aquarius. Run by the late Australian-born exploitation genius Terry Levene, Aquarius, renowned for their lowest-of-low budget Martial Arts Movies and Sonny Chiba re-edits, hobbled together this low budget gem with an extremely mild Bruce Lee impersonation for as yet another entry into the sub genre known as ‘Bruceploitation’. This was not Aquarius’s first foray into the murky pool of Bruceploitation films, Mr. Levene is also responsible for the film ‘Fist Of Fear, Touch Of Death (1980)’, a mash up of Bruce Lee films spliced and diced into an entirely fictitious documentary. Aquarius also released the Italian zombie cannibal shocker Zombie Holocaust as ‘Doctor Butcher MD (1980)’ which included a mock surgery performed on the back of a truck racing through the streets of New York City….excellent!
Levene’s poster for ‘Bruce Lee Fights Back’ promises a zombie Bruce Lee in a supernatural smack down with the Black Angel of Death. The credits even feature someone suspiciously Bruce-like leaping out of a polystyrene tomb like he was ready to kick the ass of every malevolent creep unlucky enough to cross his path.
We then cut to a film that has NO Bruce, NO Angel of Death, and is in fact a 3rd rate anesthetized Kung Fu filler starring someone claiming to be Bruce K.L. Lea. “Rip off,” Did you say? You may well feel so, but WAIT a moment, it turns out that this movie is a Bad B Movie Kung Fu classic!
“Bruce” plays Wong Han, a Korean immigrant who comes to LA to visit his dear old friend Go Hok Khan, whom he discovers has committed “suicide” and is now being cremated in the basement. Heartbroken, “Bruce” starts to wander the streets of LA at random, carrying his friend’s bones and a glossy 8×10 of him in a sling around his neck. Through a bizarre chain of coincidences he rescues a girl called Susan from a shirtless rapist who worked for Go Hok Khan, and remembers with photo-like clarity, the five strangers who visited Go Hok Khan right before his death: A black guy, a cowboy, a Mexican and a (insert your favorite member of the village people here). A piss-and-vinegar-filled Bruce decides to slay his way through the rest of the film Kill Bill style.
Bruce Lee Fights Back… is a real schizophrenic mess, filmed in America but dubbed in Hong Kong, with everyone voiced in the same petulant monotone. You can almost feel sorry for the American actors forced to exaggerate every motion, so that picking up the phone becomes a three-act Greek tragedy. The filmmakers break the cardinal Kung Fu Film rule by speeding up a fight in a wrecking yard into a Benny Hill-esque chase spectacular, but best of all is the howling, yelping, whimpering and robot noises in EVERY fight scene.
For years, horror fans thought it was a Kung Fu anti-classic directed by Italian cannibal maestro Umberto Lenzi purely because Levene switched credits with a Euro cop thriller and was too cheap to change the poster. Well, there’s no cannibals, no zombie Bruce Lee, just the sounds of R2D2 having a heart attack and the click clack of Go Hok Khan’s bones in a sack worn by none other than Mr. Bruce K.L. Lea as he chops a path through this funky ass Kung Fu Movie. Enjoy!

Japan is in serious turmoil: Demons have infested Edo, taking possession of earthly forms and bending them to their unholy will. On top of that, the rebirth of Ashura, Queen of the demons, is nigh. The only thing that stands against this grave threat are the Demon Wardens, a fearsome group of warriors, who might just be as bad and as malodorous as the demons themselves.
Izumo is a retired Demon Warden, who five years ago, took up theater instead of Demon Slaying after accidentally killing a innocent child (In a battle that’s strangely reminiscent of the bar scene from Dusk till Dawn). One night by a chance encounter he meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman named Tsubaki. Their fortunes intertwine (literally) and they are bound by fate to be lovers and enemies.
If you think this sounds like your typical Japanese Fantasy/Swordplay epic, you’d be wrong. In fact, there’s nothing typical about Ashura. It is a hodge-podge of many different genre’s of film. Those just mentioned, as well as a comedy, drama, and romance. Director Yojiro Takita juggles the genre’s with a fair amount of respect (although, the comedy seems forced in some scenes) and the end result is a ridiculous, but really fun popcorn munching martial arts mash-up!
To be sure, there are flaws in the film. Some of the humor seems contrived or out of place. And the acting isn’t the greatest. But seriously, do you watch Fantasy/Swordplay/Horror/Comedy films for the great acting performances? No, of course not! You watch them for the action and the crazy CG visuals, all of which Ashura has in Spades. Not to be misleading, the film is not all non-stop Martial Arts Action, but it is spaced out generously enough with lots of swordplay and buckets of green blood to keep the average viewer more than happy.
Bottom line; the films has it’s flaws and is no martial arts epic like ‘36 Chambers’, but it doesn’t try to be and it features interesting visuals and a great mix of Kung Fu swordplay. The reason the film worked for me is that it never takes itself too seriously and if the viewer does the same, they’re sure to be delighted by this cool blend of genres. Enjoy!

Season 1 Episode 2:  Zatoichi befriends a young boy named Tarokichi, who is the son of a wealthy merchant. Zatoichi generously agrees to take the boy to his father after learning that that the boy’s mother has died. Zatoichi and the boy soon find themselves being pursued by greedy Yakuza who aim to steal the boy and claim a reward for his return. The martial arts in this series, is really some of the best ever dne for a television series. The stories are creative and rich in character developement and plot detail. Its is masterfully directed and never takes you out of the moment. Great stuff and well worth your time. In many ways the TV show is better than the original movie. Please Enjoy!

Season 1, Episode 1: While traveling, Zatoichi meets a kindly stranger named Tatsuso. They travel together to Ashido Village, home to a copper mine, where corrupt government officials and a ruthless Yakuza boss named Yasaburo terrorize the locals and slowly run them out of their businesses.  Zatoichi learns that his traveling companion was once known as Tatsuso the Sword-Thrower and together they help a young woman named Oshin to protect her business.
This classic Japanese Television series is the product of Daiei studios that made some 25+ Zatoichi movies before bringing a condensed version of the Zatoichi stories to television. One may wonder if the quality of the series dropped off with a smaller budget, hour long episodes, and the demand for a new story each week. And amazingly, the Zatoichi television series is just as good as the film series that preceded it. In fact many may prefer the television series.
Since each episode is reduced from 85 to 55 minutes, you get to the climatic fight a lot sooner. Also since the plot has to be simplified to accommodate less characters, the films are easier to follow. Zatoichi movies usually have several plot lines that converge at the climax while the television shows usually have only one. And with exception to the absence of fountains of blood pouring out of Ichi’s victims [ something only seen in the later movies ] the production quality is every bit as good as the movies. There are some episodes that reuse plots from the movies, but by the last few Toho films they were already recycling some of the earlier film plots. The series lasted for 100 episodes before the character was retired. This is a wonderful series, I’ll soon be posting more of these. Enjoy!