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The Imposter
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Attack of the B Movies
The Imposter
Rated R
2001, Dimension
The Master
Rated R
1990, Dimension
Bullets of Love
Unrated
2001, Tai Seng
Another summer season of blockbusters is over, and I have to ask: Whatever happened to B movies? Elaborate digital effects give pulpy films like Reign of Fire, a tale of fire-breathing dragons in future London, and Eight-Legged Freaks, about a small southwestern town attacked by giant spiders, a sheen of unwarranted respectability. The star power of Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames removes the exploitative punch from Walter Hill's recent prison drama, Undisputed.
I remember watching horror movies 15 years ago like The Evil Dead and The Howling in an aging theater in Chicago's Loop. Today's multiplexes have little use for low-budget horror, kung fu and science fiction movies. A genre movie like director Gary Fleder's The Imposter has its best shot at finding audiences in the home video arena.
In the film, Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13) maintains a serious expression as government agent Spencer Olham, accused of being an alien spy. The Imposter, based on writer Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story, is comic-book storytelling, but Sinise delivers his performance earnestly. Fleder wisely keeps the special effects to a minimum. As a result, The Imposter's vision of 2079 looks more shadowy than slick. Vincent D'Onofrio makes the most of his supporting role, playing the government investigator intent on uncovering Olham's true identity. If The Imposter has a fault, it lies in Fleder's desire to ditch the film as a pulpy alien invaders tale and remake it as a serious, psychological drama. Sinese's deadpan expression aside, The Imposter works best as lowbrow fun.
Action star Jet Li's fast-paced kung fu acrobatics are the saving grace of veteran Hong Kong director Tsui Hark's The Master. The film tells a story that resembles the Bruce Lee legend. Li plays a young man who travels to San Francisco to help his old Master who's under attack by an ex-student. Recently, Li has made the transition to Hollywood with large-budget films like The One and Romeo Must Die. By comparison, The Master, made in 1990, is a simply-told action movie that unashamedly emphasizes Li's action heroics over its one-dimensional plot. The Master is chop-socky entertainment, and proud of it.
Director Andrew Lau's edgy crime drama Bullets of Love is more ambitious than most recent Hong Kong actioners. Trained as a cinematographer, Lau boosts the film with plenty of visual razzle-dazzle. Still, its taut storytelling and unexpected romance turn out to be the best things in the film.
Japanese soap opera star Asaka Seto plays dual roles, Ann, a prosecutor murdered by assassins and You, a Japanese girl who could pass as Ann's identical twin. Leon Lai simmers with intensity as Sam, the Hong Kong cop who was Ann's fiancé. Sam's love affair with the mysterious You helps him recover from his grief over Ann's death. That is, until a revelation looks to destroy Sam's life a second time.
Bullets of Love packs less action than Jet Li's The Master, but its suspenseful tale, strong lead performances and stylish camerawork generate their own thrills.
The Imposter grade: C
The Master grade: C
Bullets of Love grade: B
And the rest
Long-time fans of the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, where a hapless astronaut and his two wise-cracking robots poke fun at old B movies, will enjoy these DVD releases of past episodes that poke fun at The Hellcats and The Crawling Hand. For those who take The Crawling Hand seriously, you can also watch the movie without the wisecracking robots.
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