Fiends and queens and tentacled beings, may I present ... Kung Fu Fighter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAvcV2Uhk8AMade in China, it's an oddly written and directed action movie that hearkens back to the glory days of 80's HK cinema. But not necessarily in a good way. It follows the story of a poor stuntman who dreams of making it big and marrying his sweetheart. He fights his way into a movie deal and increasing fame and suffers from every action movie cliche along the way.
The actors are all second stringers or, appropriately, up and comings who seem weirdly ill suited to their roles. It's like they wanted to get particular actors or types and had to settle for their lookalikes.
It is one of the most inadvertantly funny movies I've seen in a while. The usual Caucasian bad guy turns up - they must have wanted Darren Shalavi but got his anorexic brother instead. The initial villain or nemesis should have been Cung Le. They got his Twinkie-stuffing cousin as a substitute. The girlfriend is a pretty, wholesome type who should have been Barbie Hsu; they got Barbie Hsu's makeup artist instead. If you watch, you'll see what I mean.
You can see the whole movie here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Nfo5L-JncThe action isn't bad, although not as well directed or edited as the more experienced HK fare. The usual bonecrunching stunts are employed, but not at the same level of realism as, say, The Raid.
If you're a fan of martial arts movies and have fond memories of the 80's HK movies starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, Kung Fu Fighter may appeal to you.
