Robotrix (1991) Movie Review

Robotrix (Woman Robot) is an action/sci-fi film from Hong Kong and directed by Jamie Luk Kin-ming for the prolific production company Golden Harvest. It stars Amy Yip Chi-Mei (She Shoots Straight, Erotic Ghost Story, Inspectors Wear Skirts 2 and 3), Chikako Aoyama, Hui Hiu-Daan and David Wu (In the Line of Duty 5). It's a very typical Robocop rip off with a female android working for the police force and hunting down criminals.

Evil inventor Ryuichi Yamamoto is turned into a psychotic cyborg killer and kidnaps a middle eastern prince. On his way out, he shoots down policewoman Selina Lam, whose brain is put in the body of a female android in order to catch the villain. Yamamoto begins a streak of murders and has to be stopped by two mechanical heroines, created by scientist Dr. Sara.

This delirious and sexy trash flick features a lot of the typical Hong Kong exploitation tropes like sleazy characters, deranged sequences, comedic relief, graphic violence and sexuality that's borderline insensitive and an extravagant scifi (sometimes fantasy) aspect to it. When it's all said and done, I can say that it's somewhat routine.

The fights are hyperbolic and exaggerated to the max, there’s also some nice choreographies with wires and good special effects when it comes to both gore and cyborg prosthetics. There is explicit sexual violence in this movie, it´s mostly crude and shown without subtlety, so be warned because it could clash with the campy tone of the rest of the film. The scifi angle is played quite straight but with some humor regarding the side-characters, the silly cops who are after the killer. 

Aside from some nice art direction, good sets, neat stunts and technically impressive feats here and there, it's not one that's mandatory. I think it's often dumb and dated with its mishandling of this strange mix of harsh subjects and lighthearted science fiction/action tropes. Like Robocop without the consistent tone and more focused on being exploitation.

Recommended for Hong Kong action cinema fans and perhaps those who seek a weirder flick than average. 

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.