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By Joe Bendel. Fantasy relic quests are a rotten way to choose husbands. They favor the ruthless, like the tyrant, or the deceitful, like the thief. At least, they rule out the stupid, like the dithering royal twit. Still, those three suitors represent some pretty slim pickings for a soon-to-be-betrothed Chinese princess. Nevertheless, she will find a way to pick a white guy in Son of the Dragon, a two-part mini-series that releases today on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment.

The governor of our fair city is not a bad sort and his daughter, Princess Li Wei is both beautiful and dutiful. Unfortunately, his appointed regent Lord Shing is cruel and corrupt. To alleviate the people’s suffering, D.B. (or “Devil Boy”) frequently commits acts of Robin Hood-ish daring. Discovered as a foundling, D.B. learned his thievery craft from Bird, a former mercenary who now raises cast aside orphans in his picturesque sewer retreat to alleviate his guilt.

When the governor announces an ancient reality show-style competition for nobles hoping to win his daughter’s hand in marriage, the thief styles himself “Prince D.B. of the Seven Seas” (I mean seriously, give us a break), in order to gain access to the palace—and its jewels. Much to the disgust of Bird, Devil Boy is rather taken with the Princess, deciding to play for her heart in earnest. This does not sit well with his foster sister Ting Ting, either. She now works as the Princess’s maid and carries an inexplicable torch for D.B. She knows the big dummy is in over his head, especially when he starts antagonizing the brutal Prince of the North.

Directed and edited by the Hong Kong-born, Canadian-naturalized David Wu (known for the Bride with White Hair franchise), Dragon has some impressively large-scale sets (befitting a Halmi production) and a rip-roaring concluding battle. However, despite its riffs on the Thief of Baghdad (there will be the odd flying carpet here and there), the teleplay is burdened with consistently clunky dialogue and an excess of slapsticky shtick.

Of course, there is something fundamentally problematic about an adventure set entirely within ancient China that features three white dudes on its cover. We can grandfather in David Carradine. After all, he was Caine. He walked the earth. Not surprisingly, he fares the best, smirking his way through the mini as the wiser-than-you Bird, until it is time to get busy in his big fight scene with Bird’s old nemesis.

The less said about John Reardon as D.B., the better. However, the casting of the ordinarily quite fine actor Rupert Graves (Lestrade in the Cumberbatch Sherlock) as the Prince of the North (which certainly implies Mongolia through simple geography, as well as by costuming) is pretty darn baffling, especially when Emma Stone would have been so perfectly suited for the role. Still, he glowers rather menacingly. At least Desiree Ann Siahaan looks the part of the Princess and flirts quite coyly. However, only Theresa Lee deserved breakout recognition for the vulnerability and action chops she demonstrates as Ting Ting.

Despite its flaws, you can definitely see plenty of Carradine’s roguishness shine through. It would have been much better if Dragon had tacked a darker course, like Netflix’s Marco Polo, but that probably would not have worked for the Hallmark Channel, where it premiered. Enjoyable at times for some nicely choreographed fights and its goofy mysticism, Son of the Dragon is an old fashioned, light-weight, inconsequential, occasionally groan-inducing time-filler, now available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment.

LFM GRADE: C-

Posted on July 22nd, 2015 at 7:37pm.

By Joe Bendel. This is no David & Lisa story of high school understanding and healing. Ai is definitely a disturbed student, but her art teacher seems to be part of her problem, rather than a solution. Granted, the school nurse is sympathetic, but there is definitely some weird hidden dynamic at work in Mamoru Oshii’s Nowhere Girl, which screens today during the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, following its recent NYAFF North American premiere.

Ai was once the prized pupil of a boarding school for the arts, whose distinguished presence helped drive enrollment. However, something happened causing Ai to severely draw inward. Now she sleepwalks through the school like an entitled zombie, facing no consequences for her irresponsibility. Her classmates resent her privileged status, but they find she is tougher to bully than she looks. On the other hand, the art teacher’s efforts to snap her out of it, or just punish her, ought to be grounds for his dismissal. Regardless, there are dramatic reasons for her compulsive behavior that will be revealed during the third act.

Not to be spoilery, but when Ai wrestles with the Macguffin, or whatever, it is pretty spectacular. Frankly, the big twist is not entirely unprecedented, but Oshii still pulls it off rather adroitly. In fact, Nowhere is the sort of film worth revisiting to catch all the sign posts we might have missed the first time around.

Again, it is almost spoilery to note how forceful and physical Nana Seino is during Ai’s action sequences, but her chops deserve props. It often seems like a very “closed-off” sort of performance, but she conveys a clear sense that something tumultuous is going on beneath the surface. Lily (as she is simply billed) is also terrific as the nurse.

You might think you have seen a lot of twisted Japanese school girl films, but Nowhere is something else entirely (yet still a little warped). Anime legend Oshii (director of the original Ghost in the Shell) basically directs in two speeds, eerily dreamlike or blazingly fast, but they are equally effective. The use of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Minor is also quite haunting, while art director Michitoshi Kurokawa’s sets provide the real X-factor edge. Cool and chilling, Nowhere Girl is recommended for fans of mind-benders and school girl genre films at this year’s Fantasia.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on July 22nd, 2015 at 7:37pm.

By Joe Bendel. German Lieder music has taken on a broader meaning through common usage than its strict text book definition. Many now think of it as anything Lotte Lenya might have performed, including jazz standards, rather than just Romantic-style classical music for voice and Spartan piano accompaniment. Nelly Lenz was definitely part of that tradition when she was a popular chanteuse on the Weimar scene. That alone would have caused her plenty of trouble with the National Socialists, but Lenz is also Jewish. After months of hiding, Lenz was discovered and condemned to a concentration camp, perhaps due to her beloved husband’s betrayal. Having somehow survived, Lenz will seek the truth, no matter how painful it will be, in Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, which opens this Friday in New York, at the IFC Center.

Frankly, it is something of a miracle Lenz is still alive. During the war’s waning days, a point-bullet intended to execute her only tore up her face. Miraculously, Lene Winter, an old Weimar friend working for the Jewish Hall of Records, finds the wretch-like Lenz and nurses her back to life. At an exclusive plastic surgery clinic, Lenz is given the choice of any face she wishes, but insists on keeping her formerly famous features. Obviously, the surgery is a rousing success, but due to the extensive damage, she now bears only a vague shadow of her old self.

Despite Winter’s suspicions, Lenz seeks out her former husband and accompanist, Johannes “Johnny” Lenz, currently working as the janitor of the Phoenix jazz club. Having no idea of her true identity, but struck by her superficial resemblance to his presumed late wife, the domineering Johnny starts grooming Lenz to impersonate herself, so he can claim her inheritance. Initially, Lenz plays along hoping to discover whether or not he was the one who tipped off the Gestapo. Yet, against her better judgement and Winter’s protests, Lenz finds herself falling for her husband all over again.

There is no need to mince words here—Phoenix is an absolutely terrific film. Nina Hoss is superb as usual, following up her incomparable work in Petzold’s Barbara with another Oscar worthy performance. She owns the film, but the brutal honesty of Nina Kunzendorf’s work as Winter leaves an indelible impression as well. Again, Petzold shows an exquisitely sensitive touch, while maintaining a taut noir tension. Frankly, genre labels seem inappropriate for Phoenix given its heavy ethical and historical themes, yet it still succeeds quite smashingly on that level.

The way Petzold uses music throughout Phoenix is also nothing less than extraordinary. Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” might be the sort of torch song you never really gave much thought to, but Stefan Wills’ builds an entire soundtrack around it, prominently featuring pizzicato bass. It is an elegantly and eloquently wistful motif that perfectly underscores the dramatic developments, yet it cannot fully prepare us for the power of Hoss’s rendition.

Be warned, Hoss will leave you devastated in the final scene. Lesser films would have tacked on some superfluous talking just to make sure we got its significance, but Petzold recognizes when there is nothing left to say. Brilliant. Guaranteed to be one of the best films of the year, Phoenix is very highly recommended when it opens this Friday (7/24) in New York, at the IFC Center downtown and the Lincoln Plaza uptown.

LFM GRADE: A+

Posted on July 21st, 2015 at 9:15pm.

By Joe Bendel. These puppets can kick the snot out of the Muppets and those annoying Spitting Image tools.  They have mad martial arts skills and they are not even as dramatically wooden as a lot of flesh and blood actors. Creations of the Huangs, Taiwan’s leading puppetry family, they are the undeniable stars of Huang Wen Chang’s fantastical wuxia steampunk epic, Arti: the Adventure Begins, which had its North American premiere at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Sometime during the height of the Silk Road’s geopolitical importance, the wise Zhang Meng invented a wooden mechanical robot known as ARTI-C. Unfortunately, his promethean creation was used to stoke fear and paranoia. In a resulting riot, Zhang was killed, but his son Zhang Mo and his daughter Zhang Tong survived to preserve his legacy: ARTI-C.

However, ARTI-C is powered by a dwindling reserve of a mystic energy called the Origin. It is sort of like the “Force,” but more colorful and tangible. To keep ARTI-C in proper fighting condition, they must find a way to recharge his Origin cell. That quest will take them to the Nouveau Riche city of Loulan, which is currently locked in a cold war with the Lop Tribe and the Dune-like sandworms that apparently do their bidding. Unfortunately, when Zhang Tong is spirited away by the Elvish Lop people, she quickly surmises the shadowy Loulan regent has badly misrepresented the nature of the conflict to her gullible brother.

The mind-blowing truth is some of the best cinematic martial arts produced this year is performed by puppets. Some of their moves are just awesome. Yet, it is important to remember the greater artistry they represent. There is nothing campy about the figures Huang and his team bring to life on screen. Dispel any thoughts of Gerry Anderson’s marionettes. Aside from the occasional comic relief provided by Cheeky Ducky, the film’s only wholly animated character, Huang’s characters are entirely serious and their wuxia business is pretty darned spectacular and suitably tragic.

Granted, the story is just sort of okay, but the sets and backdrops are richly detailed and utterly lifelike. If ever a film with puppets deserved to win awards for best costuming, it would be Arti, hands down. This is incredible world building—literally built to scale.

It is gratifying to know Chinese puppetry traditions not only continue but move forward in Taiwan, thanks to artists like the Huangs. Reportedly, Arti is the most expensive pure puppetry film ever produced—and it is easy to believe it based on what is up there on the screen. Very highly recommended for fans of wuxia and puppet theater, Arti: the Adventure Begins is such an accomplished work of craftsmanship it must be destined for a long festival life and a devoted cult following, after its recent Fantasia premiere. Look for it, hope for it.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 21st, 2015 at 9:15pm.

By Joe Bendel. This might just be the dark fantasy pest control film we have all been waiting for. Woo-ryong is an itinerant musician who gets side-tracked in a suspicious village with a pronounced rat infestation problem. If you are picking up shades of Hamelin, hold that thought. Kim Gwang-tae will make good on them with his feature debut, The Piper, which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Soon after the Korean War armistice, Woo-ryong sets out with his son Young-nam on a cross-country trek to Seoul, where the U.S. Army hospital will treat his ailing lungs. Unfortunately, they stumble across a formerly hidden hamlet tightly controlled by their village headman. It is the sort of tightly knit community that could easily hold an annual stoning lottery. In exchange for food and a night’s lodging, the civic strongman makes Woo-ryong promise to keep the end of the war secret. He agrees, even though it gives him bad vibes.

Still, he cannot help noticing the village has rat issues. Evidently, they started showing up one fateful night. Nobody will talk about it, but it must have been pretty bad. However, Woo-ryong can do something about the here-and-now. All manner of beasts respond to his pipe. Unfortunately, when Mi-sook, the newly revealed village shaman develops feelings for Woo-ryong and Young-nam, the headman considers them threats to his well-structured order and starts plotting against them accordingly.

Piper goes to some murky, sinister places. Let’s just say it is not kidding around about its Hamelin references. When it comes time for payback, things get downright Biblical. Not to be spoilery, but viewers who are afraid of rats will be profoundly creeped out by the third act. In all honesty, The Piper wears its archetypes so conspicuously on its sleeve, we largely know where it is going after about twenty minutes. Yet, Kim’s execution is so tight and taut, he keeps the audience focused-in and perched on their seat’s edge nonetheless.

Although he frequently plays heavies, Ryoo Seung-ryong’s haggard everyman look and intense aura of pathos are perfect for Woo-ryong. Young Goo Seung-hyun also deserves tons of credit for his convincing work as the bespectacled Young-nam, belying his precious appearance. Portraying a master manipulator beyond his years, Lee Sung-min’s headman supplies the film’s dark, malicious heart. It is a great piece of big screen villainy. Chun Woo-hee’s slow burning presence also grabs eyeballs, but her character, Mi-sook, is not adequately established.

The Piper taps into some deep primal themes, reaching back to Medieval Saxony while evoking the dysfunctional dynamics of charismatic leaders and their cult-like followers. It is a remarkably well-put-together production that might just be the “feel bad” film of the summer. Recommended rather highly for those who enjoy dark, slightly fantastical thrillers, The Piper opens this Friday (7/24) in Los Angeles, at the CGV Cinemas.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 21st, 2015 at 9:14pm.

By Joe Bendel. Ever wondered how Cher and Dionne first met, before the events of Clueless (marking its 20 year anniversary this year)? If Amy Heckerling made an animated prequel, she could still use the voices of Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone. She would be following the example of Shunji Iwai, who revisited the characters of his more impressionistic indie Hana and Alice (going on eleven years) in anime form. Junior high is a strange place, but when the two girls join forces they just might make some sense of it all in Iwai’s The Case of Hana & Alice, which screens today during the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Thanks to divorce and family drama, Tetsuko “Alice” Arisugawa has a new home, a new name, and a new school. She now attends Ishinomori Middle School, but the strange hikikomorish girl across the street does not, even though they are roughly the same age. Of course, that would be Hana Arai.

Initially, Arisugawa faces some attempted bullying, but she puts a stop to that pretty quick. Bizarrely, some of it comes from where she sits in class. According to the school legend, a senior named Judas sat there the previous year, but he was murdered by his four “wives.” It makes little sense to her. Nevertheless, her classmates shun her desk like the Amityville Horror house. Eventually, Arisugawa learns she is also living in the previous home of Yuda (a.k.a. Judas). Creeped out by her proximity to so much presumed tragedy, she confronts Arai for information.

For a coming of age drama, Case has considerably more genre elements than you would ever expect, but that is a good thing for Fantasia audiences. The explanation behind the Judas legend is quite clever and darned satisfying. Along the way, Iwai creates some wonderfully compassionate moments, especially Arisugawa’s scenes with the elderly man she mistakes for Yuda’s father. There is indeed a good deal of heart in the film.

The downside is the CGI and roto-scoped animated is just okay, but it never distracts from the elegantly mysterious narrative. Fans of the original Hana and Alice will be delighted to hear Yu Aoi and Anne Suzuki giving voice to their beloved characters. Aoi is particularly expressive and energizing as Arisugawa, while the introverted Arai mostly requires husky mumbling from Suzuki.

Case is thoroughly enjoyable, even for viewers who have not seen the first live action film. In terms of pacing and tone, they are apples and oranges, but both remind you of what it was like to be a kid in school. Great fun throughout, with a sly sense of irony, The Case of Hana and Alice is highly recommended for animation fans and anyone who enjoys a good student drama when it screens today (7/19) as part of this year’s Fantasia.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 19th, 2015 at 6:25pm.