Reviews

The first of the three films I watched was The Sex Perils of Paulette, which I understand was Wishman's first movie in her meaner, roughie period, following her more lighthearted nudie cuties.

Here, we get a scene where we cut between the killer raping his wife and him fighting in the ring (although I suppose the movie is right to equate sexual assault to violence), and a series of sexualized torture sequences where the killer chains women in a warehouse.

Having watched three Yuen Woo-Ping movies and a much better Rothrock vehicle within the last few days, it would be hard for me to call this a great action movie, but the fights are directed with a bit more style than I expected, savouring the North American martial arts movie vibe you would expect f...

(I dont know if Id describe the movie as stylish, but the action scenes are directed with undeniable verve, and images like Yen charging at the camera and the atmospheric scene in the darkened tunnel have a palpable visual impact.) I will also note that after seeing Kwan in Prince Charming, where...

And Ill take a moment to give a shout out to Game of Death II, arguably the best Bruceploitation movie, largely thanks to the formidable fight scenes.

But one is simultaneously in awe and likely wincing as they see one crackling, fast paced, painful-looking action scene after another, whether its Biao taking down a group of assassins (which include a Mick Jagger lookalike and a gunman with an accordion), trying to avoid getting flattened in a cra...

In 1990, Laurence Fishburne appeared in King of New York as a volatile enforcer working for Christopher Walkens drug lord and ran away with the movie, threatening to turn any scene into a bloodbath with his mere presence.

The only other thing I have to say after this viewing is that after years of saying I loved the movie but conceding that the ending is kind of dumb, Ive landed firmly on the side that I love the movie and actually the ending kind of owns.

I think thats truer of some of his movies than others, but I did find it interesting that the killer here is revealed to be purely misogynist in his motivations.

I did appreciate that this leaned into this element, offering plenty of wrestling scenes, including a particularly tough match in the climax, although as someone who doesn't watch wrestling and is more familiar with the overtly theatrical modern American version, I cannot say how "good" the wres...