Fuzzy movie poster is not representative of movie quality
Well, it the second week of December, and Kung Fu Christmas continues! Or starts, depending on how you look at it. This is a minor classic which has a man who goes to Hell, bargains with the Devil to return to earth for vengeance, and is given a bunch of demon/vampires helpers who hide as a skull necklace (and lovely matching bracelets!) when not in use.
The demons are a troop of young Chinese acrobats who are given several opportunities during the feature to show off their skill. I must say, they are the cheeriest bunch of blood sucking vampires I have ever seen.
This was originally entitled The Nine Demons, but was retitled to cash in on the popularity of the Shaw Brothers venom films. As a result it is often mistaken for The Five Deadly Venoms, which was an official Shaw Brothers movie and starred the entire venom squad. This does have two members of the famous venom squad, Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng, so it will seem familiar. It also has a lot of the same bright colors and filmography as the Shaw Brothers films. That would be because the director is Chang Cheh, who spent most of his career at the Shaw Brothers directing the venom squad. I would say the big difference is that the Shaw Brothers venom films generally took a stronger grounding in reality over The Nine Venoms, which has flying blood sucking skulls, wild supernatural deaths, and that entire troop of aforementioned young acrobats.
Sadly this is one of the last times you will see Chiang Sheng in any film. I sometimes feel that The Nine Venoms may have been an attempt to bring Chiang Sheng back to filmmaking with a few of his old friends. When the venom group disbanded in 1981, three of the venoms went to form a production company, another went to Hong Kong, and Chiang Sheng chose to remain distant. I am not sure I believe the line about his wife wanting Chiang to not participate in any more projects – I think it was probably Chiang’s drinking issues starting up. Chiang Sheng was in five more films before he was found dead from a heart attack (at the age of 40) in his house in 1991.
We have two more Thursdays before Christmas. Next week, Kung Fu Christmas continues with a stocking full of Kung Fu from Beyond the Grave. Zombies and smirks abound!
After that, we will break our fast from Kung Fu Movies and we will have a very special Glibertarians Holiday Special about hope and the human spirit. The Hebrew Hammer.
Watch! Or Don’t! Everything is Voluntary!
Help! Tubi wants an account to sign in!
No account or sign-in is required to use Tubi. The only advantage to signing in is you can maintain a queue and save your place in movies you are watching. Follow these instructions to bypass the sign in:
After you click the link for the weekly movie, hit the Play button on the movie and you should get the screen shown below. The guest option may require scrolling up to see. Click the circled guest option to watch the film.
(h/t: The Hyperbole)
The demons are a troop of young Chinese acrobats who are given several opportunities during the feature to show off their skill. I must say, they are the cheeriest bunch of blood sucking vampires I have ever seen.
OK… diving in….
Oh yeah… bad dubbing!
Oh fuck!
Someone blanked out the curse words.
Yes, this version is heavily edited. The print looks great though.
That guy finally hit zero hit points.
To Each His Own.
Basically a warmed-over version of Madame X.
Falling into a cavern with trippy lights. Whoa.
More Bloodkake.
If you’re doing The Hebrew Hammer, have you by any chance seen The Passover Plot?
I have not. Hebrew Hammer was a special request which I may double feature with Treevenge. I have to bust a move and get that together. I just added The Passover Plot to my list.
(I haven’t seen it either, but it’s been one I’ve been curious to see since learning of its existence.)
Yessssss. “The Hebrew Hammer” is a great B-movie.
Remember the first taste is free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7FD2xIS1yo
The brothel owners’ laughter reminds me of Beavis and Butthead.
Bigfoot vs. Megalodon just got added. I think that is a must do.
STEVE SMITH NO FIGHT SEA SMITH! THEY FRENS! PLUS, TREATY FORBID!
Today in everybody has a hobby-horse… lame-duck city council cheapens voting even further and every identity group has questions, but the only one that matters at the end of the day – political party – wins out.
That’s crappy.
Is it just me, or does that seem a bit much?
Conservative estimate of around 9 million residents (if you include illegals) means one representative per 176,000+ of us. I don’t know what the ideal is but I don’t think 51 is too many.
And it just got diluted another 10%, it sounds like.
Juicy Smollett was found guilty, faces prison time.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/jussie-smollett-guilty-faking-race-baiting-homophobic-attack
I find the difference in coverage interesting. NBC says convicted on 5 of 6 counts of disorderly conduct, will not go to prison because of lack of prior convictions. They did not use the word felony and did not mention a prison term.
Zero hedge also says not likely to get prison, but does mention 3 years in prison as a possible sentence.
Compare and contrast with the not-felony trespassing of Jan 6… No bail, solitary confinement, no trial…. Held for almost a year…. On a misdemeanor. And every story about it breathlessly claims the old lady with a Trump pin was mere moments from killing all of the leadership and overthrowing democracy itself. You know, as she pleasantly chatted with the security guy and took a selfie.
This is pretty trippy.
Yes! I really like the lighting and the fast cuts. A great use of limited resources.
Gotta join a zoom. I will finish this tomorrow.
Thanks RJ!
Thanks!
I’m sorry, but I watch absolutely no Asian TV or films…
Racist
Umm…you mean Lacist
If you liked all the great kung fu tv as a kid allow me to present
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_Fantasy
You’ve got your choice of Chinese or Japanese for dialogue. It was a joint production with a Japanese anime shop and a Taiwanese company. It’s all done with hand puppets and is a very popular format in Taiwan even today. I could skip some of the CGI effects, but despite them it succeeds in capturing all those kung fu shows.
At least for the Japanese voices they cast veteran voice actors and it helps the show immensely. First season is the best so far. Surprised the hell out of me as I thought it would suck.
That looks great. I found a couple other movies with a similar art style recently, let me see if I can find the names. Maybe they all have a common thread.
Naturally can’t find them quickly. One was a movie about a young girl befriending and protecting a sea monster, and the other was some hypno garble about spirals and shapes. Both newer, all very similar art style.
An older film with that art style is Blood Tea and Red String. It’s American, kind of.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FR2zL-qErX8
That appears to be stop motion.
This is what I learned is popular in Taiwan.
https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2018/07/taiwanese-puppetry-continuing-a-rich-tradition/
Makes sense it just took a traditional form and moved it to the TV age.
Ha! Howl from Beyond the Fog is the first movie I was thinking of. Surprisingly it is on Tubi. My incompetence tonight prevents me from finding the other one.
https://tubitv.com/movies/606417/howl-from-beyond-the-fog
Also Blood Tea is a mix of everything, stop motion, puppets, etc… very odd film.
Interesting.
https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Howl_from_Beyond_the_Fog
Japanese, but inspired by Ray Bradbury.
Sorry it’s in Japanese but this will show you the size and scale of the sets.
https://youtu.be/XdhiHwy6vxI
It crazy detailed.
That looks great!
I’m halfway through season 1 of a Netflix series I’m enjoying…and it’s cancelled. Motherfucker.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/see-space-cowboy-netflix-cancels-004838336.html
Did you ever see the real anime?
The Netflix version looks like garbage in comparison.
Here is a link to it:
https://tubitv.com/series/2052/cowboy-bebop-subtitled
I think that’s on Netflix now too.
I’m not a shounen anime person so I never watched it.
But it is a beloved anime here and in Japan. They never should have tried to make a live action version.
Even if it was decent it would have had difficulty meeting the expectations because of the love of the anime.
I’m not a big anime guy, but I have the Blu Ray of it.
The only good thing about the live action is it got me to watch the anime again.
Exactly. Crossover anime are rare outside Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki.
Full Metal Alchemist may be another. That one I did actually watch, but once again I’ve determined shounen anime isn’t my preference.
They got smart here and only made a crappy live action movie of FMA that did miserably.
Define “crossover” I’m unclear what you mean
Appeals to people who wouldn’t watch western animation or anime regularly. Mainstream viewers.
I see.
I can’t tell what normies like.
That seems fast.
I won’t give anything a change without a couple years under its belt these days.
Last time I followed a new show was The Expanse and yeah that worked out but I got burned so many times before that.
I am upset about the loss of Alex.
I should probably mention I’m a couple seasons behind so SPOILERS.
CATCH UP!
Seriously, S5 was a great example of “show, not tell that the character is a badass.”
Thot Thursday after dark.
https://archive.md/Vo7Aa
NSFW.
I’m good with number 1
I can see why.
RJ, your movie choices rock.
Mine, on the other hand, suck ass.
Kong vs. Godzilla (2021), is unwatchably bad.
In fact, I’d rather punch myself in the taint than watch that again.
That being said, it was still better than Ordinary People.
I apologize to RJ for not being able to First on this post.
yo Im hammered yo
I dont know if this Covid thing is going to be “I Just cruised through like it was a cold” or “Oh, just wait, it takes a couple days and the shit hits.”
Stop being a pussy.
Take your horse paste, dummy.
drink whisky
New York Ninja – https://youtu.be/5jPtkjxU5jg
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/dont-come-cant-guarantee-safety-los-angeles-pd-union-chief-gives-ominous-warning-americans-thinking-visiting-crime-ravaged-city-holidays-video/
L O L
He should run the tourism board.
Morning all.
That is not the first time or city to have a PD advise people that their city is too dangerous to visit. Of course the Dems are telling people to not believe their lying eyes.
Mornin’
Good morning. I’m pretty sure there have several advisories to disregard New Orleans over the past 3 decades.
https://www.nj.com/education/2021/12/nj-kids-must-keep-wearing-masks-at-school-judge-says-parents-vow-to-keep-fighting.html
“Rational”
We have different dictionaries.
My 2nd grader son who, much like me, is hyperactive and has trouble paying attention in the best of times, has been getting terrible headaches during the day and the school nurse had the temerity to ask me if we getting enough hydration at home. Are you serious? The problem is clearly that he is forced to be muzzled and breath in his own CO2 all school-day. I fully support a violent backlash that ends with some sort of Servile War/Appian Way resolution.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/50-firearms-recovered-following-arrest-of-man-who-pointed-gun-at-woman-during-confrontation-over-parking-spot/
Meh. Pictures don’t show 50 and that’s a pathetic amount of ammo.
Wait, so a young fella with a felony conviction did something criminal (and stupid) with a firearm, so they arrest him and then confiscate all of his father’s firearms?
“Don’t live in a communist shithole. ”
-My advice for the day.
That guy was getting in trouble no matter where he lived.
https://www.startribune.com/53-migrants-dead-54-injured-in-truck-crash-in-south-mexico/600125558/
Joe Biden’s fault.
Needz moar infrastructure:
Good Morning Early glibs.
Nice weather today, maybe i can get something done outside.
Our governor Hochul is going to announce new guidelines to fight the surge today. Please leave the gyms alone im not working out with a mask again and its cold outside.
I will not comply.
Filled up at the local BP station yesterday. The pumps had not just the scraped remains of Joe Biden “I did that” stickers, but also 3 or 4 brand new stickers on each pump. Mostly the classic “I did that” pointing Biden, but also some rather understated “Let’s Go Brandon” style featuring “LGB” in the old STP fuel additive script.
The entire democratic field is populated with ‘the worst possible candidate imaginable’, each and every one of them in their own way. We will see who they trot out in 2024. I don’t believe for one second that Trump lost the last race fair and square. I dont dare make any predictions of an R sweep because…Creepy Joe ‘won’. Really?
They should put “LGB” on little rainbow flags.
Morning, Glibs
Good morning, U, Suthen, l0, Jermy, ‘bodru, hayek, & Sean! How is everyone today?
…and good afternoon to you, Pie!
‘sup
I have to cover for Reliable Co-worker today, which isn’t tough, as he’s great about doing the big stuff before he takes time off. It’ll give me something to do besides wait around for less reliable co-workers to turn in year-end forms.
that is if it is the kind of work where big stuff does not turn up suddenly the person who deals with it takes time off
Well, there IS one such possibility…but it would only happen if someone else makes a mistake. I do so hope no one makes such a mistake – the process of correcting it is a bit complicated, and I don’t have enough practice fixing it.
Last week I received a support request for something implemented by a colleague the first day he was away… we sort of know enough of each others stuff for basic support but that was beyond me… It was from the tool that I knew least about
My coworker took this week off and on Monday the release he did at the end of the day Friday took the system down.
I love when that happens.
I barely got any sleep.
I did get to the grocery store when they opened to grab the last few bottles of my chosen caffiene. Now I’m eating breakfast.
let me guess. Toast and water.
Not quite.
I’m sorry about your sleeplessness. ?
What are you having? My breakfast – not ’til after I get to work – will be a little Greek yogurt.
Roast beef, salami, and swiss sandwich.
add a fried egg to be more breakfasty
No.
yes. extra runny yolk
If you yolk is running, you haven’t finished cooking it.
or it was cooked to the point it became a chicken
Pie has a point.
***SIGH!!!*** That sounds delicious.
Hmmm… If I left early enough, I could hit the Tim Horton’s drive-through…
But then you’d have a repair bill for the car and probably the drive through too.
?
“I barely got any sleep.”
Sorry to hear that. I keep a few terrible books handy to deal with insomnia. 15 minutes of Dan Brown and I’m out.
suh’ fam
yo whats goody
Mornin’, Tres. Woke up on the right side of the dirt, all good.
How are YOU feeling, homey??
No fever as evidenced by the pic I just sent you.
Im either mildly flu-y or hungover. Or both.
My back, particularly my lower back & ribs feels like Ive been hit with a 2×4 or baseball bat.
Im going to guess its pulmonary edema and my lungs are full of clots waiting to bust loose and clog my heart. Hence the treatment of Bayer® aspirin and plenty of beer.
Blood-thinners.
Additionally, Ive been told I feel really good.
“I feel really good”
Glad to hear it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U5TqIdff_DQ
Moisturizing makes a yuuuge difference.
Mornin’ all! 19 down, 14 to go until blessed two days off. I’m going to drink more heavily on the morning of December 24th and sleep the clock around. Back in the saddle on the 26th with a wee break on New Years Eve. Back at it until at least mid-January. Hey, I volunteered for this… Hope everyone has the best sort of day available!
Hang in there, Fes!
Damn, you are killing it! That schedule would have been tough for youthful me, never mind old man me.
I am stubborn. I won’t stop. Thanks, Friends!
Is that in real days? Or metric ones?
The days are short but the nights are long – https://youtu.be/lvV0d0SddJ8
Good morning. I’ve been sleeping poorly because of running through the repairs in my head every night. Got it finished yesterday, ran ten wafers through it flawlessly, and the night crew is claiming it’s failing now in impossible ways.
Plus self-evals due today.
Plus it’s supposed to warm up thirty degrees by tomorrow noon, and then crash another 30 degrees in six hours tomorrow night, so iceapolooza.
Seriously, it’s mid-December, we’re supposed to be securely frozen in for the season. Fuck you, global warming!
“self-evals due today.”
Ah, performance review time, a great way to kill the holiday spirit. Just got done nominating my three peer reviewers, with self eval to follow shortly. Yuck.
Our are in April thank the gods.
Self-eval: I’m awesome.
Boss-eval: You’ve done a great job. Here’s a bonus. (like two weeks ago.)
On anime:
Was it Samurai Champloo where the Glorious Nipponese sent Commodore Perry packing by beating them at basubol?
I saw that but do not remember
Yes.
In sadder tidings, some poor schmuck took out the bridge railings on the way to work yesterday. I don’t know if he hit the drink or got hung up but the damage was severe. Like twisted out over the water bad. Can’t find any updates on local news just yet but it’s about a 100 foot drop into a freezing cold major river. When I passed the scene they were just moving Jersey blocks into place. Must have took out about 30 feet of steel railing. Hope that he got lucky!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/health/covid-fat-obesity.html
“…who was not involved in the research.”
Pretty much all I needed to read.
Bear vs. reindeer.
We’ll eat like kings!
*Ralph Wiggum voice* “Go Banana!”
Heh.
LOL!