Storm Riders

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: Fung wan: Hung ba tin ha Release Date: 1998 Director: Wai-keung Lau Netflix Link IMDb Link

Storm Riders is yet another dazzling display of CGI technology, except it’s not so dazzling. It tries very hard to be cutting edge and yet, it’s not. Instead, it comes off looking dated. It actually makes you realize how far special effects have progressed in 10 years. Some alright wire-fu and a decent cast make it almost worthwhile. Almost. The plot is entirely fantasy with people flying through the air shooting fireballs at each other, but it’s basically a far-fetched love story wrapped in the guise of a take down the evil bad guy type of plot. Strangely, Sonny Chiba plays the evil bad guy in Cantonese and he’s one of the best parts of the film even though it’s not his native tongue. I wouldn’t really recommend this one unless you’re really, really into Hong Kong cinema.

Sure Death Revenge

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Hissatsu 4: Urami harashimasu Release Date: 1987 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Netflix Link IMDb Link

Sure Death Revenge is number four in a five-part series. It is Japanese exploitation at its finest if, by fine, you actually mean pretty terrible. However, in addition to being helmed by my favorite Japanese exploitation director, it also has Sonny Chiba sporting a 70′s mustache. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the story is actually fairly badass and quite unusual for the genre. It’s a murder mystery, whodunnit jidaigeki (period film) that was actually pretty enjoyable, with a lot of slo-mo sword-fighting scenes with curious weapons and gushing blood. But other than the ridiculous forms of awesome that I just described, it does look like a made-for-TV movie, Chiba’s lack of sword-fighting ability is plain as day in slow motion, and it is overly long at two hours, which is why I’d only recommended for fans of the genre. For a Fukasaku film, it’s below par, but even a sub-par Fukasaku film is better than most.

The Bushido Blade

	Rating: 2 out of 5 Release Date: 1981 Director: Tsugunobu Kotani Netflix Link IMDb Link

Let me preface this by saying that the only reason to watch this film is for Sonny Chiba and Toshiro Mifune. And I do mean ONLY. As far as I know, there are no other films that have an American perspective on Commodore Perry’s black ship expeditions to Japan and the interaction therein. So, I thought maybe, just maybe, this might be an interesting watch. Not only is it historically inaccurate, but it turns out that the premise is merely backdrop for this made-for-television-esque melodrama surrounding the retrieval of a missing sword. Mifune’s part is very small and Chiba, as usual, upstages everyone with some alright sword fighting sequences even though swordplay is not his strong suit. The rest of the movie follows arrogant Americans seducing natives and acting a fool. I’d have a hard time recommending this to anyone since it was a struggle to make it all the way through.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Gincho nagaremono mesuneko bakuchi Release Date: 1972 Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Netflix Link IMDb Link

Typical of sequels, the second installment of the Wandering Ginza Butterfly films isn’t quite as good as the first, but it makes up for it somewhat by adding the always charming Sonny Chiba to the fray. This time around, our cool-as-ice heroine accidentally intertwines with characters that lead her to a face to face encounter with the man who killed her father. There are a few characters in this film whose sole purpose seems to be bumbling and unnecessary comic relief. But, no matter, there are some very bad, bad guys, sword-fighting, violence and everything else you can expect in a Toei Studio’s film from this era. Wandering Ginza 2 is not as good as the original, but still entirely worth a watch.

Shogun’s Samurai

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Yagyû ichizoku no inbô Release Date: 1978 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Netflix Link IMDb Link

Shogun’s Samurai is not the best historical drama out there. In fact, Toei rarely produced the best of anything, but that’s fine. Toei films have their place. Shogun’s Samurai, a.k.a. Yagyu Clan Conspiracy, is an historical epic set in 17th century Japan full of intrigue, double-crosses and a whole bunch of morally-gray characters. It is as entertaining a film as you will find in the chanbara (samurai action) genre. With a spectacular, star-studded supporting cast including Sonny Chiba, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Harada and Etsuko Shihomi, and directed by none other than Kinji Fukasaku, you can’t do much better. The ethical incertitude of the story and its characters leaves you unsure as to whom to root for. The only certainty is that Chiba takes his comparatively small part in this film and runs with it. If it weren’t for his brooding, tough guy character making an appearance now and then, Shogun’s Samurai wouldn’t be half as enjoyable. For another movie where Chiba plays Jubei Yagyu, also directed by Fukasaku, watch Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation.

Time Slip a.k.a. G.I. Samurai

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: Sengoku Jieitai Release Date: 1979 Director: Kôsei Saitô Netflix Link IMDb Link

G.I. Samurai a.k.a. Time Slip might have been a good movie but for the preposterous premise and the shocking lack of martial arts on the part of Chiba. Complete with bad 70′s effects, a squad of peacetime soldiers is mysteriously thrown back in time to the warring clans era. They soon formulate a plan to start a war of their own in order to shock the gods of history so much that they will send them back to their own time. Honestly, I’m not making this up. It also has an overwhelmingly loud and goofy soundtrack that flares up at the most inconvenient times just to remind you how terrible this movie really is. But, in its defense, it does have some spectacular action sequences with lots and lots of gushing blood that occasionally distract you from the plot. It also has excellent picture quality and good English subtitles. Unfortunately, time travel movies have a tendency to be just plain silly and Time Slip is no exception.

Soul of Bruce Lee

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Gekisatsu! Jadô ken Release Date: 1977 Director: Yukio Noda Netflix Link IMDb Link

Based on the fact that this is a new release, I was hoping that the transfer would be pretty clean and the audio wouldn’t sound like it was recorded in a barrel. Alas, my expectations may have been too high. Soul of Bruce Lee also has some choppy editing sequences as if they are missing some frames here and there. Regarding the film itself, a young Sonny Chiba is out to get his former brother for killing their master in order to take over the master’s underground drug trade. Chiba hooks up with a narcotics officer whose long-lost brother is also a drug mule from Hong Kong. Admittedly, the plot is a little bewildering. Meanwhile, Chiba has fixed himself up a self-electrocution outfit (it’s on the cover of the dvd) to try to make himself a stronger martial arts master. Full of wire stunts, slow motion fighting sequences, a cast rounded out by Etsuko Shihomi, the enormous Bolo Yeung and even some fighters who take on the spirit of the monkey, Soul of Bruce Lee at least has some good martial arts. Despite the fuzzy print, poor sound quality and incomprehensible title, Soul of Bruce Lee is an unintentionally entertaining piece of kung fu cinema history.

Sister Street Fighter

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Onna hissatsu ken Release Date: 1974 Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Netflix Link IMDb Link

Everyone knows karate in Sister Street Fighter, even the ballerinas. An evil mastermind who smuggles heroin-soaked wigs into the country is keeping a Shorinji Kempo master hostage. Meanwhile, his sister, Sister Street Fighter herself, is hell-bent on rescuing him. But the drug lord keeps a stable of martial arts masters like a stamp collection, including Hammerhead with his gaggle of bucket-headed goons, a blowgun-wielding madman complete with mohawk, cape and shield, and the female Thai boxing group, Amazon Seven. With the help of the house of Shorinji, including Sonny Chiba, can Sister Street Fighter rescue her brother in time? The plot is just as silly on film as it sounds on paper, if not sillier. The whole film plays out like a Saturday morning cartoon come to life, only with a lot more gushing blood and exposed entrails courtesy of Chiba. Off-kilter camera angles, pulsating lights and groovy music add to the heavy 1970′s atmosphere. I just wish it wasn’t dubbed.

Samurai Reincarnation: Makai Tensho

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Makai Tensho Release Date: 1981 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Netflix Link IMDb Link

For an 80′s chambara film, Samurai Reincarnation is among the best. It features two of Japan’s greatest historical figures, Jubei Yagyu and Musashi Miyamoto, with plenty of historical inaccuracies and a supernatural plot. The film was based on the novel Makai Tensho (Resurrection From Hell) which is fiction based on fact. Directed by the great Kinji Fukasaku and starring the incomparable Sonny Chiba, Samurai Reincarnation has lots of action, a great cast and some goofy special effects to top it all off. If you’re expecting a Kurosawa-grade film, watch Kurosawa. This film is by no means a factual historical drama or jidaigeki. But, if you like Japanese exploitation films, Samurai Reincarnation is pure entertainment. For another film where Chiba plays Yagyu, watch Shogun’s Samurai also directed by Fukasaku.

The Executioner

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Chokugeki! Jigoku-ken (Transl.: Direct Hit! Hell Fist) Release Date: 1974 Director: Teruo Ishii Netflix Link IMDb Link

The Executioner is a rarity among Sonny Chiba films as it seems to be intentionally funny rather than just accidentally ending up that way. The Executioner is full of typically brutal Chiba fighting sequences, a hazy plot, plenty of naked women, and some almost funny one-liners and physical comedy. The copy that I have may win a prize for worst transfer ever. It’s like they dug a reel out of a grimy basement, threw it on a projector without dusting it off and filmed it with a camera phone. And, to top it off, it’s also dubbed into English. Hopefully, if it is ever re-released on DVD, it will be a better, cleaner transfer with the option of subtitles.