Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Master: Complete Series

 

The Master was an action-adventure series that aired during the 1984 TV season. It is what you get if you combine any of the 1980's procedural action series like A-Team, Greatest American Hero, Night Rider, etc., with the Cannon Ninja trilogy (which had a big cult following). It never gained traction as a show and was canceled after 13 episodes. I was pretty young when the series first aired, and I loved martial arts and all things ninja. I remember watching some of the episodes when they originally aired. As a kid, it was easy to overlook the cheesy and sometimes downright bad acting and writing. Watching it again as an adult, the horrible acting and writing are far more noticeable. If, however, you were a kid back in the early to mid-1980s, this is a nostalgic blast from the past.

The series starred Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Van Patten, with recurring appearances by the star of the Cannon Ninja trilogy (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination), Sho Kasugi. Van Cleef played John Peter McCallister, an aging Ninja Master returning to the United States to find his daughter. Kasugi plays his former student, Okasa, from Japan, who was out to kill him, and Van Patten plays Max Keller, who becomes his new student after the two meet in the mists of a bar fight. It is basically a story-of-the-week show where Keller and McCalister drive around the country looking for McCallister's daughter and eventually get involved in some local dust-up between (usually) a damsel in distress against the local bad guy(s). 

It does take a lot of suspension of disbelief on many levels to watch the show, including buying that either Van Cleef or Van Patten had anything close to martial arts skill (which you could see during the extreme close-ups during the fight scenes that they did not). Or, buying the fact that the McCallister character, who would walk around as himself in broad daylight beating up the bad guys, would need to change into his ninja uniform at night to beat up the same bad guys, with his same apprentice in tow (who was not in a ninja uniform). And even when he was in uniform he was always pulling his mask down, so there was never any real disguising who he was. And, of course, there was the carrying around tons of illegal weapons.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V transfer is okay but not wonderful. It is about as good a transfer as you would expect for an old 1980s TV show that was canceled halfway through its first season. The only extras included on the set are trailers for a handful of the Westerns that Van Cleef was known for throughout his career, as well as trailers for Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja, the two movies Kasugi had been in at that point.

I think most people who will get this are those who were kids in the 1980s and remember watching it back then. You will definitely not get it because of great writing or acting. Several very recognizable and good character actors and actresses were in the show. Also notable is that a very young Demi Moore had a guest-starring role in the pilot. Still, it was overall a pretty hokey and cheesy show. The pilot episode was even featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The show's silliness is best exemplified by a scene in which one of the characters picks up a piece of uranium and sticks it in his pocket. Ultimately, if you watch it expecting it to be a fun blast from the past, it is enjoyable and even pretty funny. If you are expecting award-winning TV, you will be sorely disappointed.

DVD/Movie Review: Rush Hour 2

 

Rush Hour 2 is the 2001 sequel to the original 1998 movie. It brings back Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan as Carter and Lee and adds Roselyn Sanchez and Zhang Ziyi (who was coming off her role in Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon). The cast is rounded out by John Lone, Alan King, Jeremy Piven, and Harris Yulin. Sharp-eyed viewers will also catch a glimpse of a young Maggie Q (who would later star in the series Nikita and Designated Survivor) in a small role.  The film starts out with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Hong Kong, on the vacation they were going on at the end of the first movie. Chan's character, Lee, does nothing but work on cases, while Carter wants to relax, have fun, and hook up. They end up in the middle of a counterfeit money/money laundering ring that spans from Hong Kong back to the US.

The DVD extras again a director's commentary with Brett Ratner, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew, and the trailers. This movie is one of the few sequels that is better than the original movie. This is in part because the original was not exactly a masterpiece, so all it really had to do was improve on the formula that made the first one work. The two main additions to the case in this movie were Zhang Ziyi, who played one of the main villains of the film, and Roselyn Sanchez, who plays an undercover secret service agent. Both have a dance background which allows them to do really well in the fight scenes they are involved in, and of course, the rather gratuitous shot of Roselyn Sanchez in her underwear about halfway through the movie is not bad either. 

Like the first movie, this one is a pretty formulaic buddy cop movie. The main story involves the two main characters becoming closer friends but with a somewhat cliched bit of tension thrown in. The movie does not really take itself too seriously and does a good job of balancing the big fight scenes that Chan's films are known for and Chris Tucker's comedy. Ultimately, it is a very enjoyable sequel with a good blend of action and comedy. If you liked or loved the first movie, you will probably like this one too.  On the other hand, if the first movie did not do anything for you this one will not either.

DVD/Movie Review: Rush Hour

 

Rush Hour is a 1998 action/comedy starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson, and Tzi Ma. At its core, Rush Hour is really a more current (at the time) spin on the various 1980s buddy cop movies. As even the director Brett Ratner admits in the commentaries, the script was pretty basic, not all that great, and formulaic. But what he really wanted to do was to blend Jackie Chan's action with Chris Tucker's comedic skill, and what resulted was a very funny movie that probably blew away everyone's expectations.

The storyline is pretty basic. The daughter of the Japanese counsel in America is kidnapped. The FBI takes the case, but the counsel wants a cop he trusts from Hong Kong (Chan) to help work the case. The FBI gets the L.A.P.D. to assign a cop (Tucker) to babysit Jackie Chan's character, and hilarity ensues. The thing that makes the movie work is the Chemistry between Tucker and Chan, and the fact that they both got what they really wanted to do reigned in a bit. Tucker could not go over the top with improvising lines because of Chan's language barrier, and Chan could not have a movie that was essentially one long fight scene. So what resulted was a movie that really did appeal to a broader American audience than, say, Rumble in the Bronx did. It made good use of the character actors that were cast in supporting roles. It has the great action that any fan of Jackie Chan would expect, just not as much of it as in his Chinese films, and Tucker was at the height of his comedic gold status, being just a couple years removed from his roles in Friday and The Fifth Element.

To me, the highlight of the DVD is actually the extras, from the behind-the-scenes features and the director's commentary track on the movie. You really get a sense of what it takes to get Jackie Chan to agree to do a movie (he basically has to approve everything) and some of the obstacles that they faced during the filming. The extras also include deleted scenes, cast and crew biographies, the music video for How Deep is Your Love, and the theatrical trailer. For those who like going through bonus material, it is quite good. While it is probably not going to be something that everyone likes, if you are a fan of action movies (especially martial arts movies) and/or buddy-cop comedies, it is quite enjoyable and worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Enter the Ninja

 

Enter the Ninja is the first of the Cannon Films' Ninja Trilogy which consists of Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. It is really only considered a trilogy because the same production company made all of the films, and real ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi appeared in each of the movies (although he played completely different roles in each movie).

The basic plot of Enter the Ninja is that a mercenary named Cole, played by Franco Nero, is trained as a ninja in Japan. The movie opens at the completion of his ninja training in a great action sequence. One of his fellow students, Hasegawa, played by Sho Kosugi, resented having an American trained as a ninja, which sets up the end of the movie. The main part of the story starts when Cole goes to visit his war buddy Frank Landers (played by Alex Courtney) and his newlywed wife Mary Ann Landers (played by Susan George), who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by a local land baron, Charles Venarius, the wealthy CEO of Venarius Industries, in order to get them to sell their property because, unbeknownst to them, a large oil deposit is located beneath their land. Most of the middle portion of the movie involves Cole beating up the local henchmen Venarius has hired to bully and coerce the Landers. At the end of the movie, we get the classic ninja-versus-ninja battle between Cole and Hasegawa.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is good, but not great. It is much better quality than the picture and sound on the VHS, which is how many of us in our mid-forties or older saw the movie when we were kids. But, it did not get a high-quality restoration and transfer given that it was an independent 1980s martial arts film. There are no extras on the blu-ray aside from the trailer for the movie.

Overall, this movie is a blast from the past for those of us who saw it as kids. Chances are, if you were into martial arts at all in the late 70s through the early to mid-80s, you probably loved this movie when the horrible acting and cheesy fight sequences (and Nero's 70s porn stache) were easily ignored. It is kind of hilarious to watch Nero in the fight scenes in which he is not in the ninja costume because it is clear he had zero martial arts training or skill. But, when the stunt guy is in the costume and fighting with Kosugi, those are good fight sequences. Kosugi was still pretty green as an actor (not that he was ever a great actor), but he could pull off the menacing bad guy very well. It does have one sex scene (which is pretty tame) and a lot of violence (but even that is tame by today's standards), as well as its fair share of stupid comedy (including a guy with a hook for a hand). You definitely have to take this movie for what it is, and as long as you do not expect more from it than being a cheesy action movie with ninjas, it is enjoyable. If you are looking for an academy award winner, this is definitely not something you will be interested in.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a surprise hit and award winner back in the early 2000s. It was a surprise hit in America (although not a box-office smash) because it was entirely in Chinese and subtitled in English (which I think worked a lot better than bad overdubbing would have). It starred Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and newcomer Zhang Ziyi, and was directed by Ang Lee. It is, in part, a love story, in part a quasi-supernatural martial arts movie, in part a revenge story. It centers around a stolen sword of destiny which is protected by Chow Yun Fat's character. He suspects there is more to the thief than meets the eye and tries, along with Yeoh's character to catch the thief.

The movie is set in the present (which is still really ancient China) and then interspersed with flashbacks telling the love story part of the movie. And, there are amazing action sequences interspersed that include a lot of high-flying wirework. It definitely helped that all of the actors playing the main characters has at least some martial arts training and ability.

The movie has been released several times, first, of course, on DVD, then on blu-ray, and it has been released on 4k UHD, although the transfer is apparently not that great in the latter. I have the blu-ray version of the film and it looks wonderful in that format, especially if you have a large screen to watch it on. The cinematography of the movie is top-notch and is right up there in quality with the action sequences.

The blu-ray extras include two commentary tracks on the move, a conversation with Michelle Yeoh, a making-of featurette, a photo gallery, trailers, and some BD-Live features (which can be accessed if your player can access the internet). So, a decent amount of material for people who like to go through the extras. 

Overall, it is a wonderful movie, especially for those who are into martial-arts action films. But, it is so much more than just that, so even if you are not a fan of the old Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan movies, which are what most people think of when they hear Chinese martial arts movies, you may still enjoy this one. I definitely recommend it.

Workout Update: Power 90 Day 2; Sweat 1-2 and ab-ripper 100

 Yesterday I did the first cardio workout in Power 90, sweat 1-2, followed by the ab-ripper 100 workout. Sweat 1-2 starts out with a few minutes of stretching, a lot of which will be familiar to anyone who has done p90x. Then there is about 4 minutes worth of yoga. Basically working through a couple of modified asanas (plank, push up, upward dog, down dog, crescent, and warrior 1/2). Then you get into the cardio portion. It starts out with a knee lift series (three moves each for 30 seconds, then repeat). Then, there is a jumping jack, run in place, and run lunges (the same run lunges from the p90x warm-up sequences) combo, again each for 30 seconds, and then repeating without any rest. Then there is what Tony calls "x work" which uses a taped "X" on the floor (but it is really a cross-shape that creates 4 boxes to step/hop in). There is a series of hop steps in all four boxes, then you run in place for about 3 seconds in each box moving counter-clockwise, then you do hops diagonally from one of the front boxes into the rear box located diagonally from it, and repeat). 

Once you get through that portion you get a short water break, then go on to do a martial arts sequence. First, you do kicks, front kicks, knee kicks (which are just a modified knee thrust), and then what Tony calls side kicks but which are really front kicks in a back stance. Basically, they do not do any pivoting so no "real" roundhouse kicks or side kicks as you would do in Taekwondo or Karate. Then there is a punching sequence in which you do jab-cross and then hook-uppercut then do kind of a body blow (short punches that would be to a midsection). 

That ends the cardio portion of the workout. Then there is a short cool-down and stretch. Then you go into ab-ripper 100, which is a series of 10 ab moves (again some of which appear in a slightly different form in ab-ripper x in p90x). 

I found myself able to keep up in the cardio portion of the workout pretty well. I never had to take any unscheduled breaks, but I did have to slow down a couple of times and modify some of the jumping moves for a few reps. The harder part was the ab-ripper workout. Toward the end of the ab workout I could not finish all 10 reps on some of the exercises. But, I think I can make enough progress that I can move on to the 3-4 workouts after 30 or 45 days (at the latest). 

Overall, this is a very good, but scaled-down workout. The cardio portion combines the warm-up from p90x with a little bit of the Kenpo-x program mixed in. It is mostly low-impact, but does have a bit of jumping. The good thing is that Tony shows modifications that you can do if you need to. It is perfect for anyone who is starting out or, like myself, who has gotten out of shape and wants to get back in shape before tackling one of the more intense programs like p90x, Insanity, Body Beast, or the like. And, if you are wanting to go on and do p90x it introduces you to a lot of the moves you will see there. The one drawback I will point out is that, the two "helpers" that Tony has with him in this video sometimes have horrendous form, especially during the kicks and punching portions. They were very likely models who were cast because they were in good shape and looked good, but unlike later programs that used a test group and had many of those people in the workout videos so there were people who knew what they were doing, that is definitely not always the case in Power 90. But, if you watch what Tony is doing, you should be good.

Movie/Blu-Ray Review: Revenge of the Ninja

 

This is the second movie in the well-known (at least if you were into martial arts in the 1980s) trilogy of ninja movies released by the Cannon Group/Golan Globus productions that starred real-life ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi. It was a trilogy in name only as none of the movies were interconnected, and Kosugi played different characters in each.

In this one, he plays a Japanese immigrant to America. At the beginning of the movie, his family (save for his mother and newborn son) are killed by a ninja hit squad. He movies to the US opening a gallery that imports Japanese dolls, with the help of an American partner, who turns out to be an evil mask-wearing ninja.

This is definitely an 80s B-movie and has that feel, including the racist stereotypes (basically the over-the-top Italian mobsters and the hatchet-wielding Indian), the hot damsel in distress, and some nudity. What passed for the local gang hanging out in the park was downright hilarious though. They looked more like the Village People than a threatening gang. 

The movie has been around long enough that it has been released on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray (in 2015). The blu-ray version had some extras including a commentary track with the director and stunt coordinator, the trailer, an intro by the director, and a stills gallery.

Overall, the movie is enjoyable if you take it for what it is. A B-level, totally unrealistic action movie. It does have some very good action/fight sequences. Kosugi was a very accomplished martial artist. Arthur Roberts, who played the evil ninja, not so much. But during the action scenes, he was mostly replaced by a stunt performer, which worked since he wore a mask (in addition to the ninja mask). If you do not expect award-winning acting or writing and want to watch a decent, but now out of date, action film, this is a good choice.

Movie/Blu-Ray Review: Ninja III: The Domination

 

Ninja III is the third in the trilogy of ninja movies put out in the 1980s by the Cannon Group/ Golan Globus production company starring real-life ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi. Interestingly enough, this was the same production group that would try, and astonishingly fail to produce Superman IV a few years after this was made  The "ninja trilogy" is only called a trilogy because there were three movies, Enter The Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III, but they are not a trilogy in the way people typically think of. The plotlines are not connected in any way, and Kosugi plays different characters in each one. 

Ninja III starts out with a major action sequence in which an evil ninja assassinates some high-ranking and seemingly well-protected individual on a golf course. The ninja ends up being chased by and shot multiple times by an entire police force. As he escapes he transfers his essence to a telephone company worker, played by Lucinda Dickey, and she then proceeds to take revenge on all of the cops. Kosugi enters the picture about a third of the way into the movie as the good ninja trying to stop her. 

Chances are if you were a kid in the 1980s and were in any way into martial arts you loved this movie and watched it anytime it was on TV.  It used to be a Saturday or Sunday afternoon staple on the local stations that played old TV shows in syndication, but I have not seen it on TV in years. So, if you are a fan of the movie this is really the only way to see it anymore. 

There have been many different versions of the movie after the years on physical media. I am old enough to have owned it on VHS, then picked up the 2013 blu-ray version. That one has a few special features including the trailer and a commentary track from the director and the stunt coordinator. It is a good listen if you like listening to commentary tracks and gives a lot of insight into how the movie was made with all practical stunts, and how the director used the movie Poltergeist as an inspiration. There is also a 2018 collectors edition on blu-ray that has a much-upgraded video transfer and interviews with main cast members Lucinda Dickey and Jordan Bennet. 

You definitely have to suspend your disbelief when watching the movie and accept that it is not an award winner. It is definitely a B-Level movie, and is, as many 1980s B movies are, very cheesy. It does not really try to be more than it is, and at right around an hour and a half, is not too long.  But, as an action movie, it holds up fairly well, as long as you accept it for what it is.