Yeaaaaaah... idk about this one, man.
I've been meaning to catch up on Johnny To's filmography for a while now. (Most of his movies weren't available anywhere on streaming, or even Blu-Ray, but this just went up on HBO pretty much out of nowhere). Drug War really blew me away with how it balanced being a Michael Mann procedural and a John Woo bullet ballet, but this is pretty fucking far from being either of those, more along the surreal,…
Another addition to the list of 70s crime thrillers that I wanted to love, but just didn't.
What a beautiful piece of trash! Every bit as sleazy and exploitative as you'd expect a movie about a woman's prison in the seventies to be, and at the same time it's a gripping narrative about the sheer power of unbridled rage. Cool Hand Luke on steroids, when you boil it all down.
Meiko Kaji has, literally overnight, become one of my favorite action stars.
Can't wait to watch the sequels.
Maybe the John Woo-iest movie ever made. I think this has every single one of his signatures. Doves? Check. Showdown in a church? Check. Scene where a guy dives to the side while firing two guns in slow motion? Check. Scene where the two leads point guns at each other's faces and then dry fire? Check. Scene where a lullaby is juxtaposed against a violent gunfight? Check. Sparks when bullets hit metal surfaces? Check. Plotline about a good guy having…
