Jungle Heat (1988)

aka "Rimba Panas"
89min












Oh boy this was a good one. A little known Indonesian action exploitation from the 80s, this one has it all: gunfights, fistfights, car chases, stunts, gory violence, excessive profanity and very 80s hairstyles. Or rather, one particular hairstyle, can you guess?

Hint: it's also a name of a fish

That's our hero by the way, rocking the Martin Riggs. Peter, an all around tough guy hired to help find a treasure. Of course, the bad guys are also interested in the same treasure, and are getting help from a cannibal tribe. The plot is almost non existent, but it doesn't matter as the action keeps coming almost constantly, and it ranges from hilariously bad to surprisingly competent. Sadly no explosions though. Thrown in are also some gore and a love story as Peter falls in love with a friendly tribeswoman, who happens to be caucasian. 

Peter O'Brian is a great leading guy in trash like this. Line delivery is as shitty as it gets, and the dialogue is full of little gems like: "you dumb fucking cocksucker fuck!". I didn't make that up, this dude swears A LOT. And when he is not talking, he is fighting shirtless and/or grunting and yelling like Vincent Klyn at the end of Cyborg.

And this being an Indonesian flick, there are few surprisingly good stunts here and there. One guy falls through a roof and lands directly on his neck in a stunt that must have at least paralyzed the guy. 

Did I mention the mullet?

Minus points from a bit anti climactic ending, and some animal killings, which always suck ass, and in my opinion, rarely are justified.

But other than that, a great awful action movie for people who like this kind of shit. And I sure do.

#94 Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)

aka "The Founding of a Party"
124 minutes LONG
Notable cast: Andy Lau, John Woo, Chow Yun Fat, Simon Yam, Daniel Wu










Beginning of a Great Revival is a historical epic about the forming of Chinese Communist Party. And as it is funded by China, and made as a present to commemorate the 90th anniversary of CCP, it is no surprise that it portrays CCP in a good light and in parts is quite blatant propaganda. So that's why it's ranked in the bottom 100. That, and the fact that it is FUCKING BORING AS SHIT. Yeah, and confusing too. Good luck trying to follow the "story" as it jumps around like a bunny on acid. If you have no prior knowledge of Chinese history, or don't speak the language, you have no chance of knowing what the shit is going on. Not that you'd care as it is just an endless montage of people giving speeches and addressing crowds.

I haven't seen this much fist-pumping since Top Gun

That, and a ton of political jargon and an insane amount of characters. Literally almost every speaking role is identified with a text on screen, be that character Mao Zedong or some little shit we see for 2 seconds. How the fuck is the viewer supposed to know which name to remember as you obviously can't all of them unless you're the rain man. And in that case why the fuck are you watching this, you probably know this shit already.
To be fair it is in parts historically very accurate and detailed. But on the other hand it never mentions such little facts as, umm I don't know, the death of tens of millions resulting from Mao Zedongs "Great Leap Forward"??

At least they got the hairline right. Not as bad as Nic Cages though.

The movie is beautifully shot and well acted all around, so that shouldn't put the viewers off. With a critical eye and good knowledge and interest in Chinese history this might be a good watch.

I hated it.