Lee Leaves

 

 (kungfufandom.com)

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO, SAI FUNG?-1999-Short docu-drama about Bruce Lee’s last days in Hong Kong before leaving for his temporary stay in the US. It stars Stephen Au who also produced, wrote and directed it and has become a big item in Asia. One story says Lee's estate stopped it from being release. It's also been announced that Au was working on a re-tooled DVD release.

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Martial Arts Soccer

 

 (imdb)

SHAOLIN SOCCER-2001-A crippled soccer player Golden Leg Fung (Man-Tat Ng) and Mighty Steel Leg Sing (co-writer/director Stephen Chow) who want to promote Shaolin Kung Fu and idolize Bruce Lee form a Shaolin soccer team with his 5 Shaolin brothers. They come up against Fung's ex-employer (Hung Yin Tse) and his Team Evil. 

Zany, anything goes, sometimes out of control comedy. Chow returned a few years later with KUNG-FU HUSTLE (2004).

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Chi

 

 (wikipedia)

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE 10 RINGS-2021-Watch this unintentionally funny talk fest at your risk. Shang-Chi (Simu Liu, a Canadian actor born in China) is reunited with his estranged father Wenwu (Tony Leung) and his bug up her ass sister Xialing (Menger Zhang). Dad wants to find the land of Ta Lo where his wife is. Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery (The Mandarin in IRON MAN 3) acts like he just stepped out of a Monty Python skit. Shang has an annoying female friend Katy (Awkwafina) who provides gravel voiced bon mots (not). The actress who used to look like Michelle Yeoh is his aunt, the guardian of Ta Lo. 

Much of it seems to be an apology for having Asian stereotypes in other films. The director Destin Daniel Cretton (from Hawaii) must have known what he was doing as this was a colossal hit. He's said to be filming a new Spider-Man movie at the time of this writing.

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Where's My Piranha?

 

 (imdb)

PIRANHA-1972-Art (TV actor Tom Simcox) & Terry (Ahna Capri; had a role in ENTER THE DRAGON the next year), brother and sister photographers go to the Amazon with an American guide Pendrake (Peter Brown). She doesn't like guns even after Pendrake saves her life killing an attacking snake. After riding around and semi-exploring they meet a guy named Caribe (William Smith) at a bar. For some reason, Brown challenges Caribe to a motorcycle race. This takes up a good portion of the movie and still no PIRANHA! Then they all go to a diamond mine. Then an endless scene of people panning for gold. Then a sloth climbs a tree. We learn a lot about the characters background but not much about piranha. Not much happens until Caribe shows his true colors and rapes Terry. The killer fish do make an appearance in the finale. 

AKA “Piranha, Piranha”, it was filmed in Venezuela by someone named Bill Gibson. Smith and Brown had co-starred together on the “Laredo” TV series and had been in CROME AND HOT LEATHER the year before.

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Shatner & Spiders

 

KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS-1977-Rancher Colby (Woody Strode) has sick cattle. His prize calf dies. Dr. Rack Hansen (William Shatner) takes some blood samples. Entomologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) says the calf died of a spider bite. After Colby’s dog is found dead, he and his wife (Altovise Davis) show Rack & Diane a huge mound made by the spiders. They burn the mound but that doesn't seem to make the ants go away. While Rack & Diane are out horseback riding with his niece, Linda (Natasha Ryan), Colby is killed by the spiders. The mayor (Roy Engel) decides to crop dust the area with a deadly poison but the spiders make the plane crash. Linda's mom is also done in by the arachnids. Soon they are all over town and mass hysteria takes over. The survivors hole up in a cabin, where the next day seemingly forgotten by the outside world, the entire valley is one giant spider web. Also with Hoke Howell. 

Former actor John “Bud” Cardos (THE DARK (1979) directed this pretty decent low budget horror movie that's fairly creepy at times (especially the final scene). For years there was talk of a sequel form various sources but nothing ever panned out.

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Silent Western

 

 (youtube)

THE INVADERS-1912-Ancient western about a broken treaty between ranchers and the Sioux. Sometimes considered the “first great western”, its typical cowboys vs. Indians plot was probably pretty new in 1912. Star Francis Ford (younger brother John) co-directed it with Thomas Ince. Ford directed many short silent films and also acted into the 1950's.

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Mabuse Is Back

 

 (imdb)

THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE-1933-A counterfeit calls Capt. Lohman (Jim Gerald) to tell him he knows who's behind the ring but he goes insane before he can say who the leader is. Then a college professor gives a lecture on the history of the evil mastermind Dr. Mabuse, who's now in an insane asylum scribbling incoherent notes. 

Lehman investigates. At the asylum the man in charge sees an apparition while visiting Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge). Later, his assistant suggests that the doctor may not be crazy and using hypnotism to commit crimes. On his way to the police, he's killed. There's also Lilli (Monique Rolland) & Tom (Gustav Diessl) who are lovers. But ex-con Tom is torn between his love for Lilli and his criminal activities. When Mabuse dies, it seems his plans are still being carried out. Is he really dead? 

This followed Lang's first Mabuse movie DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER (1922), a gigantic 4 hour epic that had to be shown in 2 parts! It wouldn't be until 1960, 27 years later, that Lang would return with another sequel. The Mabuse character was created by German author Norbert Jacques in 1921.

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