Azumi 2 - Death Or Love (2005)

Picking up from where the original left off, Azumi 2: Death Or Love sees the cute, young assassin and her one surviving colleague, Nagara (Yuma Ishigaki), heading off to slay the final warlord, the last of the troublesome triumvirate, whose death they believe will bring peace to Japan.

Soon, Azumi (Aya Ueto) and Nagara fall in with a Robin Hood-style bandit, Ginkaku (Shun Oguri), who happens to be the spitting image of Nachi, the beloved friend that Azumi was ordered to kill as the final part of her training (this is because Nachi and Ginkaku are played by the same actor).

Also joining their little gang is a zealous neophyte ninja, Kozue, played by the instantly recognisable Chiaki Kuriyama (from the awesome double bill of Kill Bill Volume 1 and Battle Royale).

Azumi's final mission proves to be her toughest as the last warlord, Masayuki Sanada (Toshiya Nagasawa) has gotten into bed - literally - with the head of a ruthless, and warmongering, ninja clan, a superhumanly fast harridan called Kunyo (Reiko Takahashi).

On one level Azumi 2 is more of the same as Azumi, although the blood-letting is considerably more restrained in this second film, but it still delivers a smart plot looking at honour, friendship, blind obedience, betrayal and the lengths some people will go to to see their mission fulfilled.

As before there are numerous glorious set-pieces, beautifully choreographed and shot, with the "poison spider web" in the bamboo forest being the most inventive.

While Chiaki's performance is, as usual, both memorable and menacing, the film - as with the first one - belongs to Aya Ueto, whose Azumi is one tough cookie who could give Buffy a run for her money any day. 

However, the two volumes of Azumi films share certain characteristics with the structure of Quentin Tarantino's two Kill Bill films; both have their largest and most gruesome fights at the climax of the first volume and their heroines have to carve their way through a number of sub-bosses before facing off against the final Big Bad at the end of volume two.

This final confrontation stands out not so much for the actual conflict but for the position Azumi is put in by her own side, when Sanada suggests he would be willing to withdraw his troops from the impending war if Azumi is left to face him in single combat.

Azumi 2: Death Or Love doesn't quite touch the giddy heights of the first movie, but is still a more satisfying conclusion to the tale than Kill Bill Volume 2 was to Kill Bill Volume 1.

The Silent Flute aka Circle Of Iron (1978)

Cord (Jeff Cooper) is a dunderhead barbarian martial artist who "lives by his own rules". It's this attitude that gets him kicked out of a tournament to select the next warrior to go on the quest to find the Book of All Knowledge, which is held by the powerful and mysterious Zetan.

Nevertheless, Cord sets out on the journey anyway and when the actual Chosen One falls at the first challenge, Cord takes up his mantle and faces a series of tests, and lessons, before he is finally prepared to confront Zetan.

Along the way, he teams up with a Blind Flute Player (David Carradine), who also serves as a reluctant mentor to the zealous Cord.

Several of the obstacles Cord faces are also portrayed by Carradine, including the leader of a tribe of Monkeymen, a nomadic leader called Changsha and the personification of Death as a leopard-human hybrid.

This, and the various Zen lessons that Blind Flute Player imparts to Cord highlight the fact that this is not your run-of-the-mill sword and sorcery flick, despite its mystical setting and the strange characters that the protagonist encounters.

The Silent Flute (also known as Circle Of Iron) was a story dreamed up by Bruce Lee with his friend and student James Coburn and Oscar-winning scriptwriter Stirling Silliphant to bring Lee's personal philosophy to the big screen through a mix of mysticism, humour and martial arts.

Jeff Cooper makes a charming, if slightly stupid, lead but as with the protagonist of many Buddhist anecdotes he must take the wrong path first to learn from his mistakes.

He is balanced well by Carradine's Flute Player - whose appearance here is a clear influence on Tarantino's Kill Bill - who gets to deliver great lines like "tie two birds together and they will have four wings, but they cannot fly".

While The Silent Flute has its share of fights and fisticuffs, that isn't the raison d'etre for the movie and the philosophising could frustrate some who've come along to see people get the snot kicked of them.

Those viewers will probably find the ending particularly obtuse as it's possibly not the sort of high-brow noggin-scratchin' they were hoping for from a martial arts flick that boasts both Carradine and Lee in the credits.

Ten "Banned" Exploitation Classics That Tarantino Recommends

It never even entered my mind that this could be called "controversial"!

Banned on arrival, prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, hunted as video nasties. Fight for Your Life. Eaten Alive. Last House on the Left.These are the grindhouse shockers Tarantino keeps recommending, from Leatherface's heat-stroke nightmare to a one-eyed angel of revenge that inspired Tarantino’s own Kill Bill.

Hobo With A Shotgun (2011)

If Camp Blood and Shark Exorcist set a new low in crapness that I will endure on DVD, then Hobo With A Shotgun has become the new benchmark by which all future OTT, Grand Guignol, splatterfests will be judged.

Inspired by a fake trailer from the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse double-bill of Death Proof and Planet Terror, Hobo With A Shotgun  is the charming tale of an ageing vagrant (Rutger Hauer), pushed over the edge by the violence and lawlessness run amok in Hope City, who turns vigilante - with aid of a pawn shop pump-action, 20-gauge shotgun - and delivers "justice one shell at a time".

In a Taxi Driver-esque development, he saves - then teams up - with a young prostitute, Abby (Molly Dunsworth), to take on the city's out-of-control crimelord The Drake (Brian Downey) and his two Tom Cruise-inspired sons Slick (Gregory Smith) and Rip (Nick Bateman).

This is Robocop meets Braindead (Dead Alive for Americans) with all the slick, sick, black humour and ridiculously over-the-top gore you would expect from such a pedigree.

Not for the feint-hearted, closed-minded or humourless, Hobo With A Shotgun is in a class of its own for tongue-in-cheek shocks and taboo-bending casual violence (Torching a packed school bus? A human piñata?) but it's also a straight-up revenge story with a mix of great, quotable, dialogue balanced with deliberately campy dialogue and a brilliant central performance from a grizzled Rutger Hauer.

Hobo is pretty much review-proof. It wears its grindhouse credentials with pride and the chances are you're going into this with a good idea of what kind of entertainment you can expect.

And if any sensitive, serious, cineastes should stray into a screening of a film called Hobo With A Shotgun they're going to get what they deserve.

Clint Eastwood: The Antihero Who Rewrote the West

"Howdy, folks! Welcome if you're new here or returning, ready to take a ride through the wild world of Western films? Today, we’re talking about the man with no name who redefined the genre: Clint Eastwood. From a mysterious gunslinger to a legendary director, Eastwood didn’t just star in Westerns - he reshaped them. So, grab your hat, saddle up, and let’s explore how Clint Eastwood became the ultimate Western icon."

Behind-The-Scenes of Open Range

Open Range is a beautifully made, underrated Western movie directed by and starring Kevin Costner as Charley Waite, alongside Robert Duvall as Boss Spearman.

So this documentary will break down 20 things you probably never knew about Open Range (2003), covering all the most interesting easter eggs, references and behind the scenes stories from the making of this modern western, including the reference to Unforgiven that you missed, how the movie interfered with Quentin Tarantino and why Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall were secretly in a whole lot of pain for most of their scenes.

Spaghetti Westerns Off The Beaten Track

Tired of the same Spaghetti Westerns on every list? In this video, we spotlight 10 hidden Spaghetti Western gems that go beyond Sergio Leone.

These underrated Western movies bring brutal shootouts, morally grey outlaws, and some of the best Italian Western storytelling ever filmed.

From the haunting revenge of Death Rides a Horse to the political grit of A Bullet for the General, these cult classic Westerns pack everything fans love: dusty towns, intense standoffs, and unforgettable anti-heroes.

Perfect for anyone exploring non-Leone Spaghetti Westerns or digging deeper into gritty Western cinema.

Ten Greatest Westerns of All Time, According To The American Film Institute

The American Film Institute named the 10 greatest Westerns ever made — and left out The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. What's on the list instead? A comedy about a drunk cowboy, a freezing shootout no one watches, a brothel run by Warren Beatty, and a John Wayne performance so disturbing even Scorsese couldn't stop watching it.

There's still a few of these films I still haven't seen - including, shockingly, The Searchers, but lists like this are useful for discovering - or being reminded of - titles that I must get round to seeing as soon as possible.

As a bonus, here's a Top 10 from Wrangler of the Famous People YouTube channel, based on online rankings:

Django and Cullen Bohannon Have Moseyed On Up To My Door

Okay, so I treated myself to this swanky blu-ray release of the original Django this week.

According to one of my older review posts I first saw Django when I was at university, but I have absolutely zero recollection of that.

However, I guess, if you squint you can see some traces of influence in the Western movie script I wrote for my degree course.

I watched Django again, for the first time, the other week and was entranced by the violence and mud so prevalent in this once-banned spaghetti Western classic.

At the time, on Facebook, I wrote: "Oh, this was so good! [It] took a couple of unexpected turns along the way".

I'll probably write a full review of the legendary 1966 film when I see it next, now courtesy of this new blu-ray rather than Prime Video streaming. 

What I particularly love about this release is the inclusion of a Quentin Tarantino documentary - almost as long as the main attraction - in which the director sings the praises of Sergio Corbucci and explains elements and inspirations he drew from this work for his own.

On the gaming front, Django (complete with coffin) is available from Wargames Illustrated as one of its 28mm Giants In Miniature figures. Mine is off with Matt the painter at present, but I look forward to sharing him with you in due course.

Django - A Giant In Miniature figure

The blu-ray box set of the first season of Hell on Wheels arrived the other day.

My plan is, once I’ve finished my latest rewatch of Deadwood, to follow that up with Brisco County Jnr then start Hell on Wheels - which I haven’t seen since it first aired on TV.

I'm nearly at the end of Deadwood's second season - taking a break to watch other things when I finish each disc of the collection - so then it'll be the final season followed by the movie.

When it comes to 1993's The Adventures of Brisco County Jnr, the Bruce Campbell-fronted steampunky comedy-western, I'm not even sure I've actually seen the whole 27-episode season of that show before.

I'm looking forward to that as I seem to remember that while it lacks the horror elements there's a distinct Deadlands-style liberty taken with history (kinda giving it a Xena-like feel, but in the Old West).

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Sometime after the end of the American Civil War, a stagecoach is hurtling through snow-covered Wyoming, trying to keep ahead of a blizzard. On board are grizzled bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his valuable prisoner, the murderous Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

On their journey they encounter a couple of men, seeking rescue from the cold, fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson), and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), the new sheriff of Red Rock - the coach's ultimate destination.

Unable to outpace the storm, the coach stops at Minnie's Haberdashery, an isolated waystation in the mountains, where they meet a number of other strangers (Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Demián Bichir) - but, suspiciously, not the station's owner or her partner.

Then the storm hits and they are stuck there until it passes.

The Hateful Eight is another Western masterpiece from Quentin Tarantino, who draws on a number of familiar techniques (chapters, non-sequential storytelling, historical liberties etc) to mesmerise his audience for two-and-three-quarter hours.

As might be expected from a Tarantino movie, as well as excessive harsh language (and a heap of racial slurs), the scenario eventually builds to a very bloody - and protracted - climax.

Because of the 19th Century setting, the absence of pop culture riffs in the dialogue means it isn't as riddled with quotable lines as some of his movies, yet it still resonates. However, The Hateful Eight relies primarily on atmosphere and tension to hold the audience's attention for such a long runtime.

It's been almost nine years since I last saw this, so not only had I forgotten all the magnificent twists and reveals in this epic, dark, character-driven drama, but I had no problem being carried along by Tarantino's mastery of pacing.

With the long middle act of the film, and much of the final act, taking place in a single - albeit large - room, The Hateful Eight can feel like a play at times, which, again, isn't necessarily a bad thing and highlights Tarantino's willingness to experiment with film-making styles.

Both this, and the sweeping scenery the coach travels through in the opening act of the film, make majestic use of widescreen. I hate to think how crushed, or cut, this beautiful-looking work of art would appear in full-screen or on an old-style TV set.

In a number of ways, The Hateful Eight took me back to Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, hitting many similar beats.

The plot is similarly straight-forward, while the story is complicated by the many strong characters and their individual, and often hidden, goals.

Every character the audience is introduced to along the way is, in some way, a bad person and one of the film's themes is the value of reputation (generally regarded as a key element of the old west, or, at least, Westerns).

Ruth knows the financial worth of his prisoner, and fears others might be out to steal her from him for the cash reward or to simply set her free. His paranoia is infectious and we quickly become suspicious of everyone, doubting what they saying, looking for double-meanings, or clues to who wants what.

And Tarantino is in no hurry to get to the big reveal, ratcheting up the tension as tightly - and slowly - as he can. This isn't a film for someone looking for a quick fix. The Hateful Eight requires investment.

Django Unchained (2012)

 

While it may not be replete with quotable dialogue and obvious pop culture references, Quentin Tarantino's bloody revenge Western Django Unchained is his best work since the glory days of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

Two years before the American Civil War, dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees enslaved Django (Jamie Foxx) to help him identify a trio of outlaws he is after.

However, the German soon discovers that Django has a knack for bounty hunting and the two team-up.

Django isn't just interested in the money though, he wants to track down - and free - his wife Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington), a fellow slave.

The bounty hunting duo track her to an infamous plantation run by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has a penchant for "mandingo fighting" - brutal, to-the-death, bare-knuckle contests between slaves.

Arriving at the plantation, and posing as a pair of businessmen interested in buying a fighter, the duo arouse the suspicion of Candie's house-slave Stephen (Samuel L Jackson), who senses a connection between Broomhilda and Django.

Reinventing the Spaghetti Western genre for a modern audience, Django Unchained's daunting two hour 50 minute running time shouldn't discourage anyone from watching - it's thoroughly engrossing and while packed to the gills with vile and obnoxious characters, be assured they get their comeuppance. For all its modernity, this is still a classic Western after all.

And there are a lot of foul characters in this movie, as it is depicting a disgraceful time when racial prejudice and slavery was common place and people were treated as property to be disposed of as their owners saw fit.

But this state of affairs is never glorified - it is there to be reviled and, in one laugh-out-loud scene, ridiculed (the lynch mob with their ill-fitting masks is a classic and would not have felt out of place in Blazing Saddles).

Being a Tarantino film - and a Western - there are, of course, gun fights, which become increasingly bloody as the number of participants increase and the Grand Guignol factor is ramped up. While the violence is shocking in parts, much is so over-the-top as to be cartoon-like.

Such a great film, it's almost churlish to highlight its one low-point, but it's a frequent flaw in Tarantino's movies: his cameo.

In the final act of Django Unchained, Tarantino pops up looking like an uncomfortable 21st Century dude in fancy dress - rather than a 19th Century cowboy - with an accent that travels all around the world before you realise he's supposed to be Australian.

Thankfully, his time on screen doesn't last long, but eventually someone needs to sit him down and tell him that while he's a brilliant writer and director, he really can't cut it as an actor.

Seriously, one day, his ego is going to demand he take a more central role in one of his films and he could sink it single-handedly.

Abigail (2024)

A sextet of professional criminals are hired to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman and hold her hostage while their 'go-between' sorts out the $50 million ransom demand.

The criminals are a mixed bag, all unknown to each other and chosen for their special skills: medic Joey (Melissa Barrera, from the recent Scream movies); ex-cop Frank (Dan Stevens, of Legion fame and many other works); hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton, from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania); muscle Peter (Kevin Durand, another genre staple, most recently mo-capping as Proximus in Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes); sniper Rickles (Will Catlett, from the underrated TV series Constellation); and driver Dean (the late Angus Cloud in his last live-action performance).

When they suss out that the 12-year-old ballerina, Abigail (Alisha Weir, from Matilda: The Musical) that they've grabbed is actually the daughter of a legendary underworld bogeyman, the Keyser Söze-like Kristof Lazaar, the hardened villains start to go to pieces.

Matters get worse when they realise that the isolated mansion that their contact, Lambert (The Mandalorian's Giancarolo Esposito), has sent them to seems to be designed to keep them in... rather than keep out anyone sent to rescue Abigail.

Then the gang's problems escalate as they start getting killed off one-by-one and the survivors come to understand that their hostage is actually an extremely dangerous - and old - vampire... not a small child!

And they are her prey.

Directed by horror legends Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (aka Radio Silence), who brought us the last two Scream movies and the wonderful Ready or Not, Abigail is glorious, blood-splattered cocktail mixing Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspects with Dusk Till Dawn.

Crime caper meets creature feature horror, with Grand Guignol results.

Following Tarantino's Dusk Till Dawn formula, the charismatic 'bad guys' pull off their kidnapping cleanly and are then find themselves trapped in a confined space with a monster even more dangerous than their own dark sides.

Extremely violent and gory, humorous, and action-packed, this 109-minute movie is so well-paced that you don't feel its duration in the slightest.

Even with a limited cast to kill off in true 'spam in a cabin' style, and an obvious 'final girl' from the get-go, the Radio Silence duo wring every bit of brilliance out of the script by their frequent collaborator Guy Busick and Stephen Shields.

The only slight slip-up, for me, in the whole production was - during the final sequence - the directors didn't seem able to decide whether it was night or day outside (which, when you're talking vampires, can be quite key). 

However, that minor glitch aside, I absolutely loved this monster movie.

A strong contender for my "film of the year" so far, Abigail also definitely feels like it has great sequel (even maybe a franchise) potential.