#godfrey ho

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Honor and Glory (Ho, 1993)

“What tape? Who the hell are you? What are you talking about?” This is a line from a supporting character in the last act of the movie, and he might as well be speaking for the audience. I realize that most of the Godfrey Ho movies I’ve seen have not been the cut and paste efforts he Frankensteined together from existing movies and new ninja footage, but all new original movies purely by his hand. And let me tell ya, for the most part the plots do not seem to hang together any better.

This one has something to do with an evil finance bro who embezzled a billion dollars from his own company and is now trying to get ahold of a nuclear trigger stolen from the Soviets, despite this being made in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. If you’re wondering how the particulars tie together into the plot, they don’t. So don’t worry your pretty little heads about it. What you do need to know is that there are a lot of scenes where the finance bro, played by an extremely hammy John Miller, deals with his business troubles, and its pretty funny how much Ho commits to this despite it barely hanging together.

Anyway, Miller is terrible, but he has a lot of scenes with Chuck Jeffreys, who is probably the best thing about this. In part, it’s because he looks better as an actor thanks to Miller hamming it up, but it’s also because he has the closest thing to an arc here, thanks to his regrets about being a hired goon for Miller and eventually turning against him. He also has some pretty good chemistry with Donna Jason, who plays a reporter, not that her profession has any bearing on the plot. Jeffreys kinda looks like Eddie Murphy and Jason kinda looks like Rene Russo, so you can pretend you’re watching them instead if you get bored.

You also have Cynthia Rothrock as an FBI agent and Robin Shou as her Hong Kong cop boyfriend (?), and maybe the four of them should go on a double date. Despite Rothrock being on the poster, she’s not in this for that much and disappears for large chunks of the movie. If you’re looking for a Ho-directed Rothrock showcase, Undefeatable is probably a better bet. It’s the sleazier A-side to this one’s goofier B-side, and has a positive anti-gang message to boot.

Anyway, it sounds like I’m ragging on the movie pretty hard, but despite its impossible to follow plot, it hits the spot if you’re hankering to watch people punch and kick each other. That happens with great frequency and with the smallest provocation, and is performed and captured with a reasonable level of skill. (Exhibit A: Jason gets interrupted during a news report by a woman angry that Jason ruined the reputation of her senator father. They fight, and despite the woman pulling out a knife, Jason bests her easily. The woman is never seen again.) At its best, this presents a utopian vision where every single person you run into knows martial arts, and a fight can break out at any moment.

[theactioneer]

Iron Angels IV (Godfrey Ho, 1989)

[seanleelevin]

Checking out this documentary on the Bruceploitation genre, which had actors imitating (and even playing!) Bruce Lee in cash-in martial arts films following his passing in 1973. Among the interviewees are four of the major film stars, Bruce Li, Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, and Bruce Leung (shockingly, not their real names), as well as Sammo Hung, Godfrey Ho, Joseph Lai, Angela Mao Ying, Lo Meng, Ron Van Clief, Lee Tso-Nam, and more!

[hystpod]

Tim saves Jen’s bacon by explaining a Frankenstein’s monster of a thriller brought to you by cut-and-paste filmmaker Godfrey Ho. Hear the whole episode at our Patreon!

The movie Crocodile Fury is available on YouTube, and we honestly can't recommend it highly enough.

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[subjectivecuriosities]

My ★★½ review of Robo Vampire (1988) on @letterboxd: https://boxd.it/6BBEf1

[trash-fuckyou]

Ninja Operation 7: Royal Warriors aka Hands of Death, 1988

[astralbondpro]

Ninja Terminator (1986) // Dir. Godfrey Ho

[videoreligion]

Ninja Terminator (1986)

[mabelsguidetolife]

finding out what alternate titles belong to which godfrey ho movies is harder than calculus

[badflicks]

Crocodile Fury (1988) 🍕🍕🍕🍕

Equal parts jaws, dawn of the dead, teenage mutant ninja turtles, mortal kombat. What’s not to like.

[ksantillus]

Yuffie has to reform the ninja empire

[theactioneer]

Ninja Terminator (Godfrey Ho, 1985)

[davealmost]

Counter Destroyer

[negaversebuffet]

B U S I N E S S

clip from Clash of the Ninja

[randomdeinonychus]

The Garfield phone is probably not even the silliest element of NINJA TERMINATOR, but it's up there.