The Girl from the Naked Eye (DVD REVIEW)
The Girl from the Naked Eye
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Jason Yee Stars in Grisly Revenge Chopsocky
Jake (Jason Yee) is a guy who let
his gambling debts spiral out of control. Consequently, he’s lucky his bookie
was willing to let him work off his debt by serving as a chauffeur and
bodyguard for a mob-owned escort service run by a pimp named Simon (Ron Yuan)
out of a whorehouse called the Naked Eye.
Over the course of his brief tenure
there, Jake develops feelings for a sweet, 16 year-old runaway (Samantha
Streets), the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold. However, before their
relationship has a chance to blossom, Sandy
turns up dead.
In the wake of the grim discovery,
it becomes clear that nobody’s interested in solving the gruesome murder. So,
Jake decides to take the law into his own hands, and proceeds to leave a bloody
trail in his quest for the truth.
That is the basic plotline of The Girl from the Naked Eye, an ambitious neo-noir by 25 year-old David
Ren, a wunderkind who shot his directorial debut while still a teenager, aka the
romantic comedy Shanghai Kiss (2007). Here, he makes the most of a modest
budget via a visually-captivating whodunit laced with highly-stylized martial
arts action.
The
movie’s play-by-play is narrated pulp fiction-style by the picture’s
revenge-minded protagonist played by Jason Yee. The former World Kick-Boxing
Champ also orchestrated the acrobatic fight sequences, and proves himself far
more adapt at delivering punches than delivering dialogue.
A
compelling chopsocky made in America,
featuring a homegrown matinee idol who might very well blossom into the next
Bruce Lee.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R for violence, sexuality, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity.
Running time: 84 minutes
Distributor: Millennium
Media
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