D.E.B.S (2003-2004) Movie Review

D.E.B.S is a 2004 action spy comedy movie written and directed by Angela Robinson and based on her short film from 2003. The film stars Sara Foster, Jordana Brewster, Meagan Good, Devon Aoki, Jill Ritchie, Michael Clarke Duncan and Jessica Cauffiel. Robinson began the project as a comic book, doing the art herself during college. POWER UP then gave her $20,000 in order to do a short film and pitch the idea to a studio. The original 2003 film was a short subject filled with color, very frenetic and action-packed, it was also shot on film, something that was ditched when moving onto the feature film department, opting to go for a digital look instead. While the film did badly at the box office and got a less than stellar reception it became a cult hit among queer audiences as the years went by.

A secret test recruits female students for the D.E.B.S. (Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength) organization, this paramilitary academy takes care of dangerous spy missions. We follow four D.E.B.S, Max, Janet, Dominique and Amy, as they foil the plans of a villainess known as Lucy Diamond, this supercriminal accidentally begins a relationship with Amy after a failed date. Now Amy must choose between her loyalty to D.E.B.S and her love for Lucy.

I gotta give it to this movie because it takes very refreshing and new twists that you won't really expect out of a movie like this. Usually a movie like this would be an origin story as the protagonist gets into the D.E.B.S program, maybe reluctantly, and gets introduced to the spy world while having to carry a mission and save the world. Maybe there's a romantic interest in the form of a tech guy who is handsome or something. That's typically how it would go, it's a template that exists. However, this movie is nothing like that. You are thrown into a strange but likable universe where everything has already been established and the initial exposition scenes explaining the concept of D.E.B.S is all you get in the form of context in order to follow the narrative that follows, which is a lighthearted lesbian relationship building itself among two girls in the middle of two antagonistic forces, the bad girl falls in love with the girl from the good side. Nothing groundbreaking but there's charm to the fact that it's not only a mainstream movie but also because of how it plays with the genre.

What could be a problem is just how bold it is by dropping you in the middle of this world without proper guidance, the information that you need is there, but you don't really get to connect with any character immediately because everything goes by so fast and the characters themselves aren't given much to stand out aside from some small character quirks that don't really flesh them out but simply give you a vague impression of who these girls could be. Further rewatches diminish these flaws though. A couple of the DEBS girls escape this as the main conflict progresses but for the most part they are one note. Another thing is that the villainess assassin doesn't immediately look the part, so it can catch you off guard just how average she looks and how pedestrian this spy and assassin world comes off as.

With this being one of the first major films shot on digital cameras you kind of get some rather unpolished or TV-level images, the quality isn't really terrible but the resolution and the frame rate will make it look slightly more cheap and poor when compared to movies shot on film. The technology wasn't quite there and this was one of the early entries in that category so it's excusable that a few shots maybe aren't up to par, especially whenever a green screen is involved. Other than that, it's not a badly composed or shot film, the director manages to organize everything inside the frame in a stylish way and the way the action sequences are shot do have some momentum and rhythm, there's a lot of energy behind them and they don't rely too heavily on CGI at this point. I gotta say that there's a limited amount of shootouts and fights, so don't expect any kind of astounding spectacle. It's nothing as explosive as the 2000's Charlie's Angels movies but it's also not as clunky as some of the bottom of the barrel stuff could be.

When it comes to the execution of the material this one has an interesting perspective since the director mostly plays it like a very earnest relationship film with innovative gender and sexual dynamics that just happens to have both spy film elements and romcom elements. It could have been seen as exploitative with the girls in schoolgirl uniforms and such but the quirky humor and the fact that it never sexualizes the girls kind of keep it from feeling dirty or sleazy. Aside from some adult conversations this could have been a Disney Channel movie to be honest.

A highly recommended piece of 2000’s camp that will surely be a comfort film for many. 

Royal Warriors (1986) Movie Review

Royal Warriors (Wong ga jin si, Ultra Force, In the Line of Duty, In the Line of Duty II, Police Assassin) is a 1986 Hong Kong action martial arts film directed by David Chung (Magnificent Warriors, I Love Maria), a well known cinematographer in his homeland, and it starts Michelle Yeoh in her second lead role after the success of Yes, Madam! (1985), as well as Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Wong, Ying Bai and Wai Lam. This is considered to be the second film in the In the Line of Duty series, added retroactively to the franchise after the release of Yes, Madam. Although, sometimes it is mentioned as In the Line of Duty I.

Michelle Yip (Yeoh) is a police officer and kung-fu expert who stops the hijacking of a plane coming from Japan by a group of terrorists. The murder of two terrorists sets in motion a search for revenge by the organization behind the criminal act, ending the life of many innocents and provoking the stalking of the people involved, which include Michelle, flight security agent Michael, and Yamamoto, a Japanese Interpol agent.

As it is the case with many typical Hong Kong films the fighting is pretty dynamic, favoring quick cuts in movement, highly unlikely and impractical but cool-looking flips or rolls and very fast-moving violence. The style of the best of the Hong Kong action movies is present here and you will see a lot of what you are looking for if you have tasted the genre before. Yeoh and some of the actors really show off their stunts and martial arts talent in some of the best sequences (there's an incredible chainsaw fight, a daring building scuffle, destructive car crashes and some wonderful shootouts), especially the ones that open and close the movie, as you can imagine.

There's a sense of unexpected harshness and sometimes even cruelty in these Hong Kong movies. This edge is what puts stuff like Righting Wrongs or Yes, Madam on a whole other league compared to the usual action flick. The best example is when the family of a character is murdered by the criminals in this movie. First of all, usually, it's the agent in the field the one who gets killed and is then avenged by a partner or something (something that also happens here), but they also have a red herring scene that plays with the idea of the agent dying on the job but the opposite happens. Second of all, It's not something you would expect to see, especially so early in the film, because it's kind of shocking to have these types of characters, who often survive the film, or who are used to create tension and as an incentive for the hero to rescue his family, but here they are disposed off quite early since the film is more about revenge and what drives people to commit acts of vengeance, something that's explored in the antagonists as well. 

The main leads are likable enough even if the chemistry is very poor while the acting isn't. Some characters are kind of weak and not well defined but they are redeemed by the fact that the actors do a decent job at injecting some semblance of presence or charisma, even if it's tiny. This is also evident because the art direction and the visuals aren't particularly polished or elaborate, so a lot of the time you can get a somewhat plainly shot sequence that goes on for too long, followed by an action-packed and better shot one that elevates the experience.

With adrenaline-fueled dangerous action choreographies, a script with more meat and emotional resonance, Royal Warriors is a kind of stand out movie that functions as a bold addition to the subgenre. The main problem I have is that Michelle Yeoh's character should have been more active and should have had more protagonism because she isn't as much of a driving force in this as in some other later flicks or even the previous ones she starred in. Either way, she has her cool moments throughout.

Very recommended for Hong Kong action movie buffs and fans of action superstar Michelle Yeoh.

Dirty Pair: Mystery of Norlandia (1985) Anime Review

The success of the original Dirty Pair TV series gave Sunrise the idea to create more material of the franchise, particularly for the home video market. This gave us the first Dirty Pair OVA titled Mystery of Norlandia, but it is also known as Affair of Nolandia. It was directed by Masaharu Okuwaki, who had just come out of Cat’s Eye in 1985 and would direct Reporter Blues (1991), The Twins at St. Clare's (1991) and Girl Detective Club (1986). The OVA was written by Kazunori Itô, who is well known for writing several works in the Ghost in the Shell franchise like the 1995 movie, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Lum (1981-1986), several Patlabor episodes along with the movie and Seijun Suzuki’s Pistol Opera (2001). Itô had also written two episodes of the original TV series, so it made sense to bring him back.

Norlandia is only 57 minutes long and has a somewhat mixed reputation among fans but I consider it a very likable entry in the series.

Kei and Yuri are flying over the planet Ookbar, contracted by a woman named Cony Brighton to protect her daughter, Missnie. However, things get complicated when they witness an odd crash, they have strange visions, their client gets murdered and the girl they are supposed to protect goes missing. 

They are called in by Samara, the chief of security of AJ Development, who doesn't want them in the city because of their reputation. She actually informs them that the missing girl is probably somewhere in the forest of Nolandia. Samara's attitude and actions are very suspicious.

Their ship crashlands in the middle of the forest and the girls inspect the place only to find an empty ship with no child in sight. A weird-looking unicorn appears to them and goes away, leaving the girls with more questions than answers. They also realize the strangeness of the entire ecosystem that surrounds them, they begin to be plagued by nightmares and dreams within dreams, seemingly illusions.

What's causing these abnormalities? Where's the little girl? Who are the villains? The Lovely Angels will have to find out.

While somewhat disjointed in it's plot structure and with an unshakeable feeling that this could have been summarized in a 20 minute block, Mystery of Norlandia is actually a very worthy addition to the Dirty Pair franchise, seemingly trying to stick slightly closer to the original material with allusions, details and changes in design that go back to that vibe. 

Visually, I think it's rather good but not spectacular. The detailed and complex environments and backgrounds work well enough. The animation quality as well as the design and its details increased. All of this elevates the technical elements and the craft enough, but it's never really close to being the best of its breed. It's an OVA after all, it's not a theatrical release. 

Here we have a bit of an average but still captivating plot with a decent mystery to unravel and a very exciting climax. But while the action is mostly reserved for the final stretch, the rest is made up with inventive and original resolutions to the obstacles the  protagonists face, and they solve these issues in very peculiar and idiosyncratic ways that only they could come up with, that's what good writing is all about.

The final battle with Kei fighting a cyborg is a highlight, and even Yuri manages to kick some butt herself during the ending. There's a bit of an edge and more crude or mature aspects seen in this OVA as well, with nudity and blood being more prominent here than in most of the TV show’s episodes.  

I think the themes are refreshing and the hard edge is palpable but it's not as fleshed out as it could have been, the lack of clarity doesn't make me think the abstractions and the somewhat labyrinthic storytelling are put to good use, but rather that it probably needed a more clear link between the girls and the mission in order for the emotional scenes to have more impact. I was never confused but I was intrigued, so the script does it´s job in general terms.  

It’s totally a recommended OVA, you can actually watch it at any time you want since it doesn't really fit into the already loose continuity of the series. If you like strange and creative animation in general then you will most likely enjoy it but don't expect an adrenaline roller coaster.