Dreaming The Reality (1991)

Dreaming The Reality (1991)- * * *

Directed by: Chin-Ku Lu

Starring: Eddy Ko, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, Sibelle Hu, and Ben Lam









While under the care of their foster father named Fok (Eddy Ko), two young girls, Silver Fox, and her Sister (who will later grown up to be Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima, respectively) are trained in the ways of guns, assassinations and killing. Fok is a ruthless gangster boss who thinks nothing of using his daughters to eliminate anyone who he sees fit. But one of them may not be cut out for the life of a covert assassin...which one will it be? 

Meanwhile, a woman named Sister Lan (Hu) and her brother Rocky (Lam) are big boxing fans. Rocky tries his hand at the Thai boxing style and is successful, but falls under the spell of a diabolical promoter named Mr. Chin. When the two killer sisters go to Thailand and end up crossing paths with the other two siblings, the stage is set for an action-packed finale in which true motivations are revealed. Who will be living in the real world and who will be DREAMING THE REALITY?

Dreaming the Reality was another one of those elusive titles that was hard to find in America. The title doesn’t even seem like it would be for an action film. But indeed it is, and it’s a cross between an assassin movie and a boxing movie. 

It was about time someone mashed those two things together. There’s nothing wrong with that, however, and the movie has that early-90’s HK feel we all know and love. There’s more than enough shooting and fighting to satisfy just about anyone, and fans of this genre especially should be pleased. Especially with the trio of Yukari Oshima, Moon Lee and Sibelle Hu at the forefront. This was the height of the Hong Kong “girls with guns” craze, and here is another prime example. Oshima and Lee do look very cool with their sunglasses and trenchcoats. Sibelle Hu is the sort of tomboyish “normal” girl. But the three of them are truly the selling point, along with the action scenes of course.

There are some extended boxing sequences that get kind of repetitive and numbing after a while, which is probably the only real negative we can say about Dreaming the Reality. They tend to slow down the pace of the movie, and at 98 minutes, something could have been trimmed. 

Of course, plotwise, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way, and an action movie from the early 90’s wouldn’t be complete without a sought-after floppy disk. In this particular case it’s orange, which makes for a nice visual change from the usual black.

There’s not much more to say, really...fans of HK action cinema will surely enjoy it, and even non-fans could potentially find something in it for them. It’s a solidly entertaining movie, but it’s hampered somewhat by some pacing problems. If you can find it inexpensively, we say check it out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

A Book Of Heroes (1987)

A Book Of Heroes (1987)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Yen-Ping Chu

Starring: Yasuaki Kurata, Hui San Yang, Yukari Oshima, Kua Hu, and Bin Bin









When a nefarious Japanese crime lord named Yamashita (Kurata) moves in on Hong Kong territory, it sets off a chain of events which lead to a lot of conflicts and confusion. When a shipment of gold bars disappears, Yamashita wants to get his hands on it, but so do a lot of other people. Hu Pai (Kua Hu) is a cop attempting to take down Yamashita and his gang, and along the way he must take Miss Yang (???), who isn’t a licensed police officer, but she wants to be, so she uses her considerable Martial Arts skill to take down the baddies on her own! 

Meanwhile a woman named Shanshan (Hui San Yang) and a mustachioed man named David are also in search of the gold, but that’s secondary to Shanshan’s true goal of getting revenge by trying to kill Yamashita. But Yamashita has an ace in the hole in the form of a talented bodyguard (played by Yukari Oshima). Naturally it all comes to a head in a big final blowout fight. Who will end up in the BOOK OF HEROES?

We were happy to finally track down and see Book of Heroes, because, at least in America, it’s a tough one to get a hold of, making this an under-the-radar Martial Arts extravaganza. Indeed, the fights are amazingly well-choreographed, and a pure pleasure to watch. They have that outrageously fast, kinetic, acrobatic style that the late 80’s-early 90’s HK action films are known for. And if that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed. Of course, the stunts and fights are the main highlights of the movie, but that wacky humor seen in most films from this time and place is here too. Presumably it’s all part of the entertainment package.

The minions of the main baddie are all called “Rats” (as some sort of gang name?), and of course there is the time-honored map to the missing gold, but if there’s one standout scene in the movie, it’s the one with Bin Bin. You might remember Bin Bin as the kid from the previous year’s Magic Crystal (1986), and sadly Book of Heroes is his last credited movie role to date. This young tot plays “Little Fighter” who helps out in his own way during a fight scene, and is never seen again. However, the filmmakers didn’t make much effort to conceal his adult-sized stunt double, which leads to hilarious results. What was it like to have a grown man walking around in knee socks and dressed exactly like Bin Bin in every way (including a colorful cap that just says “1986”) on the set? We may never know...

Some American hit songs can be heard during the movie, such as Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and Heart’s “These Dreams”. Did they get permission to use these? The rules were so much more lax in the old days. Now they would have to pay a bundle for them. In Book of Heroes, they’re just kinda there.  In the end, Book of Heroes is worth seeing. If you’re a fan of this type of movie, it does indeed deliver the goods.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty