Arts Movie Reviews

Family movie reviews for "Arts" sorted by average review score:

FMW (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling ) - Crash & Burn

Released in DVD by Tokyo Pop (09 April, 2002)

MPAA Rating: Unrated

Starring: FMW

Welcome to the bizarre and brutal world of Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), where contestants gleefully choking each other with barbed wire is commonplace and it takes flaming torches used as cudgels to get the crowd really excited. These wrestling matches from Japan have a decidedly weird edge to them, with the announcers promising plenty of blood while declaring "this isn't cartoon wrestling, Monday night soap opera wrestling." Watching an unfortunate gladiator with a flaming pant leg hop about in agony as blood streams down his face seems to validate that claim. The announcers provide plenty of toilet humor in English, and even the subtitles (translated from Japanese) are sprinkled with a hefty dose of obscenities. Among the wrestlers are favorites Tanaka, Matsunaga, and "Mr. Pogo," women wrestlers such Sub Miss Sato and "Mother In Law," and a trash-talking American bad guy, Mike Awesome. Some of the wrestlers specialize in acrobatic "flying" moves, but the emphasis is on brutality, as tables, chairs, barbed wire, and--oh boy--flaming torches, are all used as weapons. A lot of the wrestling is fairly graphic, with "juice job" cuts to the head producing a lot of blood in some matches, so this material is inappropriate for children or squeamish adults. But those who want wild and weird action might find this style of ring work appealing. --Robert J. McNamara

Average review score:

Clipping Hurts

FMW has demonstrated a dismaying fondness for clipping huge chunks out of their matches, disrupting the flow and probably depriving the viewer of some great spots. This volume trims a 12-minute barbed wire board and bat match to a little over 4 minutes. The fire death match (the ring ropes are replaced with barbed wire and rows of torches) is also trimmed to less than half its original length. The tape does feature 3 in-their-entirety matches of Japanese superstar Hayabusa, so I'll give it 3 stars. But FMW and Tokyopop should give us fewer matches and deliver them whole. Particularly the gimmick matches, which is FMW's main selling point.

Super Review #9

I have seen FMW in ECW over the years, but not genuine Japanese FMW. ECW fans will love seeing the familiar faces ; Mike Awsome (2 matches) ; Masato Tanaka (2 matches) ; Kanemura (2 matches)and Hayabusa (3 matches). The Tanaka vs. Awsome is another classic, if not as bone crunching as the ECW Awsome vs. Tanaka fights. Hayabusa is as entertaining as ever, providing FMW's equivalent of RVD. There are 2 barb wire matches ; the first with barb wire ropes and flaming torches, the 2nd with barb wire boards in the corners. Now - the badness. The comentators are rubbish and come over as gays, which is not good. The promos, with exception of Awsome's are in Japanese with subtitles. Sum it up? A good example of FMW, but a little boring in places, and not up to the class of ECW.

FMW is EXTREME

FMW is the true Fontier of Japanese Wrestling. Ledgends such as Hayabusa, Mike Awesome and Masato Tanka tear the scene apart in this video. I recommend this video for those who like Hardcore Wrestling and also enjoy learning to speak Japanese. This video is Hardcore and can be replayed over and over again to quench your Hardcore thirst.

Fists of Fury

Released in DVD by Madacy Entertainment (01 April, 1999)

MPAA Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only)

Directors: Wei Lo and Wu Chia Hsiang

Starring: Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee kicked around Hollywood for years looking in vain for an American break when Hong Kong came calling. As Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet he had become an Asian star (the series was renamed for his character when it crossed the Pacific) and ripe for his own vehicle. This raw, low-budget effort, called The Big Boss in its native Hong Kong, is a generic revenge drama enlivened by Lee's intense screen presence and martial arts prowess. He's a country boy who takes a job at a Thailand ice-packing plant and discovers it's a cover for heroin smuggling. Lee is held back through the first half of the film by a promise he made his sweet, gray-haired mom not to brawl (which means you have to wait to see him in action), but his indignation turns to fury as friends and coworkers disappear and the boss sends thugs to take care of the brooding, intense country boy. The final half of the film is a series of violent confrontations, culminating in a marvelously choreographed showdown at the ice plant. Lean, mean Lee, with a physique that looked sculpted in bronze, became an overnight sensation with this film, breaking all Asian box-office records and starting an international kung fu craze, but none of the pretenders ever touched Lee's cool cinematic charisma or his martial arts grace. Lee returned the next year in The Chinese Connection. --Sean Axmaker

Average review score:

Lee's first movie.

Whe this film was released here it's title was switched from THE BIG BOSS to FISTS OF FURY, and the movie FISTS OF FURY was re-named THE CHINESE CONNECTION. Got that! Lee plays a nice country guy who works at a ice factory run by a evil gangster called the big boss (Han Ying Chieh). The action scenes are well done and the dubbing is some of the worst.
Note: only buy the BRUCE LEE: THE MASTER COLLECTION dvd from Fox Home Video.

1972. Columbia. ??? MINS.

Rated R (Violence advisory).

BRUCE LEE's BEST! -

He doesn't fight at the beginning because he's taken a vow and he's arrived at his cousins and they work at the ice factory owned by Thai people selling drugs, but the scene when his pendant (the symbol of his promise not to fight) breaks and he takes out the entire enterouge on his own is classic, but that's not it. The movie is brutal, and Lee is actually an excellent actor, what an amazing face, and what amazing expression. Of course the dialogue and stuff sound a little corny because of the translation, but when he gets back to the ice factory later, and he's not just trying to beat people up anymore, but rather leaving people killed with their mouths open, WHAT? Plus there's nudity! (okay, that's not what gives it points, but it doesn't detract). Furthermore, its got a funky soundtrack. The Chinese, unlike Americans, don't need happy endings, and this is one of the most sublime, not just going down in a blaze, he is the hero, but it's futile. Don't sleep on this movie, its amazing. Chinese Connection and Enter the Dragon (the only complete Hollywood film he made, where you get to hear his voice) are also great.

Bruce takes care of business in his first starring role

I'm by no means a martial arts enthusiast, and I know almost nothing about Asian cinema, but there is just nothing better than a Bruce Lee movie. Fists of Fury marks the point in which Bruce finally sheds the silly mask of the Green Hornet's sidekick Kato and becomes a full-fledged star in his own right. Certainly, Fists of Fury is not Bruce's best film, and I don't believe he even choreographed the fight scenes himself, but to me this is a vastly underrated film.

The film opens with Cheng Chao-an (Bruce Lee) arriving wherever it is this story takes place to live and work alongside some of his cousins. His uncle as well as the locket he wears around his neck are constant reminders of the pledge he made to his mother that he would never fight anyone again. I have to tell you, it's pretty hard not to fight in this environment. Before he even gets to his new home, he has to watch a gang of thugs intimidate a poor young lady and kick a little kid around. He holds himself back, but his cousin does not; he takes on all comers and walks away smiling. Cheng's new life is turbulent from the start; the foreman at the ice shipping factory where all the men work is a brute of a man, some guy gives him a knuckle sandwich for no good reason on his first day, and the business itself turns out to be beyond crooked, but the real problem is even more insidious. Cheng's friends and relatives slowly begin disappearing, usually after having a talk with the manager or the nebulous Big Boss. When the men revolt and start an all-out fight at the plant, Cheng hangs back- until, that is, someone cuts him. This marks the first appearance of the Bruce Lee so many of us know and love; the look in Cheng's eyes right after he is slashed foretells the imminent demise of his oath of peace, and the fight ends rather quickly once he joins the fray. He wanders off the path somewhat after this, taken in by a promotion and the frills that come his way as a result, but his destiny is to face the dope-smuggling, preternaturally cruel Big Boss mano a mano.

Bruce Lee's acting talents are easily apparent in this first of his feature films. Starting as a country bumpkin of sorts, Cheng's shyness and feelings for the lovely lass Chow Mei (Maria Yi) are expressed both subtly and convincingly. His face also bears clearly the inner turmoil he feels early on as his oath keeps him from joining a fight that is morally justified. His expressions when the decision to fight is basically made for him are priceless, but he really comes into his own during the fight scenes. No one will ever come close to matching Lee's fighting performances, and while the fights in Fists of Fury aren't as elaborate as those of later films, they are plenty impressive to me. Who else but Bruce Lee could take on the ultimate bad guy and his minions while purposefully eating a bag of crackers?

Fists of Fury is a dark film; let there be no mistake about that. You won't come away from this movie feeling happy or light of heart. It has a pretty high body count, and while none of the deaths are shown in gruesome detail, there can be little doubt about the levels of blood and pain that surely coincide with a good many final breaths. Evil and cruelty run rampant on the streets, and even the brotherhood of the good guys is greatly diminished at one critical juncture of the story. I doubt that the American public had ever really seen a movie such as this Hong Kong production back in 1971, but two things are certain: Fists of Fury played a very important part in making Bruce Lee the super-human legend he is and always will be, and it also helped make martial arts films a hearty new staple to be enjoyed by untold numbers of people across America and much of the rest of the non-Asian world.

Fists of Fury/Chinese Connection

Released in DVD by Madacy Entertainment (01 April, 1999)

MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Director: Wei Lo

Starring: Bruce Lee and Nora Miao

Average review score:

Great Movies - HORRIBLE QUALITY

This is the worst quality DVD I have ever seen! I wrote a complaint to "Madacy entertainment Group" complaining about the quality and never got a response. Buy the Twentieth Century Fox version instead.

A disgrace.

I bet Bruce Lee is spinning in his grave as we speak over this dvd. Everyone in Chinese Connection sounds like George the Animal Steel and do not get me started on the picture quality of both films. I would rather pay the money to get my head bashed in than trying to figure out what the characters are saying and make out the action going on during the films. I implore you to save the money and buy the Bruce Lee box set or another Bruce Lee dvd other than this one. Believe me, You would be happy and Bruce Lee would be happy.

bruce lee is the man!!!!!

while i agree the transfer is not as good as some dvds, it's really not all that bad people, and you get 2 movies for the price of one dvd. i thought this was worth my ten dollars, and you can't deny how good these classics really are. they're not as good as enter the dragon, but they are awesome movies.

Fists of Fury/Chinese Connection

Released in DVD by Madacy Entertainment (01 April, 1999)

MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Director: Wei Lo

Starring: Bruce Lee and Nora Miao

Average review score:

not worth a nickel

i found this on sale for $..., what a deal i thought....
i went home and tried very hard to watch these dvds. they were by far the poorest quality dvds i have ever had the displeasure of watching in my life. the sound is awful,, you can actually hear tv commercials being played in the background,, i know it sounds weird, but its true. the picture constantly gets fuzzy, and the color gets weird,,,,, well anyway,, take a vhs and beat the hell out of it then stick it in your vcr and you will have better quality than this dvd.

It is ashame

When I purchased my DVD player this Bruce Lee film set was one of my first DVD purchases. What a disappointing waste! I am glad this DVD set wasn't my first exposure to Bruce Lee or his films. If it were, I never would have become as big a fan as I feel that I am. The sound is ludicrous -I mean it is insulting. The picture quality was so bad that at first viewing, I kept cleaning my glasses in dis-belief. I simply couldn't watch this #@*`! Don't waste your money like I did; then again it is your money. And some people don't believe #@*` stinks until they smell it. If you wish to see these truly exciting films I would suggest you try some other format or producer (which ever comes first). I threw this set away -after I vented my disappointment on it with a pair of scissors.

Very poor quality

I usually keep every DVD I buy regardless if the movie is good or not, this one was so bad that I promptly returned it the same day i bought it. I couldn't wathch more than 5 minutes. Sound and Picture quality are horrible.