Today as part of the normal Wednesday Matinee double feature I'm presenting a quadruple feature of Chinese films that I picked up for a buck in the bargain bin in Chinatown.(This of course makes perfect sense on July 14th which is Bastille Day). They are a quartet of films that were worth the time and the dollar I paid for them but none of them were really special. Why present them here at Unseen Films? Because sometimes you need to go even further off the board and try something for just the hell of it. (I should also mention that I think some if not all of these films are not currently listed on IMDB)
White Storm
Chinese action film concerning the drug trade between Viet Nam and China. A Chinese drug lord is using his children to move money and drugs between the two countries. His daughter is developing a reputation as a one of the key players. As the cops hunt for the bad guys the girl gets deeper into the operation of one of their connections. It's a good but very by the numbers little action film (For example- the finale- a huge fight on a moving train seems flat). Its not bad but at the same time if I had paid more than a dollar for the DVD I probably would have been unhappy (more so if I had tried to track this down instead of stumbling on it in a discount bin). Worth a look if you stumble upon it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it.
Blue Lightning
Boy Witnesses the shooting of his mother and her boyfriend by a killer looking for something. He escapes and is forced to live with his dad who is an ex-cop. As the cops try and find the killer the boy is placed into danger. Good action/mystery film with something else, the plight of the child, to keep things interesting. Good action scenes mix with good drama in a story that is actually a nice surprise (sometimes you find good films in the bargain bin).
Distinctive
The Distinctive is the local village god who appears to be wandering the country side as a couple of groups of people all end up at a remote country inn. There are twists of course but its nothing you haven't seen before. Certainly its more watchable than most films that are been there and done that, but at the same time with just a tiny bit more effort this could have been a great little film.
Shivers
Chinese horror film about a woman married to a cop who is shot when her husband gets out of their stopped car to thwart a robbery just outside it. When she regains consciousness she is plagued by horrible visions of nasty crimes that have yet to happen as well as other dark visions. This is an uneven movie with fair performances and a “been there” plot counterbalanced by dark visions and some nice horror sequences. Not a bad movie its just not a particularly remarkable one. I’m sure that had I not had the feeling I’d been down this road before I think I would have enjoyed it more. Worth a look if you’re in a not particularly demanding mood.
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