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by Yann Benarrous

Is it really worthwhile for me to comment further? Just imagine throwing into a defective Thermomix in no particular order Bruce Lee's early classics, (not-the-best) Blaxploitation undercover stories, few OSS177 and other cheap cold war spy fictions with just a drop of Nunsploitation to spice it up. Tempting, isn't it? No surprise to see the B-movies undisputed ruler Quentin Tarantino resurrecting this underground piece for an interview to the Straight Times while promoting “Kill Bill”.

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Obviously, the name Cleopatra Wong is directly inspired form Jack Starrett's “Cleopatra Jones” (1973), just like the introductive “They call her… “ is a common pattern of the Exploitation scene, the most famous probably being the Spaghetti Western “They Call Me Trinity” (1970). Moreover seeing the coming-from-nowhere-soon-returning-to-nowhere leading actress Doris Young getting renamed Marrie Lee is certainly making her a sibling of King Bruce,...

Cleopatra Wong, a kick-ass Interpol agent known to have influenced some of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, is to be revived in an upcoming Asian TV series.

The female action hero was created by The Philippines’ Bobby Suarez (aka George Richardson) and featured in three movies – “They Call Her Cleopatra Wong,” “Dynamite Johnson” and “Devil’s Angels” (aka “Mean Business”) – produced in the late 1970s by Bas Film Productions. Her name is a reference to Blaxploitation character Cleopatra Jones, albeit melded with Bruce Lee action and early James Bond cool. Marrie Lee (aka Doris Young) starred in all three movies.

‘Dynamite Johnson’ poster courtesy of Everett Collection.

Tarantino has said that Wong was an inspiration for Uma Thurman’s central character in his “Kill Bill” movies. The “They Call Her…” title was also used for a succession of unrelated exploitation films in the U.S., Europe and The Philippines.

Wong is...

I will admit that I am at a bit of a loss when it comes to Marrie Lee and her film They Call Her Cleopatra Wong but after watching the clips below I feel that I have been missing out on something grand. But there are enough fans of her out there in the rest of the world that she is being honored during the Paris Cinema International Film Festival with the Actions Queens Honorary Award. Legendary Singapore actress, Marrie Lee (real name Doris Young) to receive the Action Queens Honorary Award during Paris Cinema International Film FestivalParis Cinema International Film Festival (July 2 to 13,2011) will host two screenings of the film They Call Her Cleopatra Wong (Singapore-Philippines, 1978, directed by Bobby Suarez) on...

Every week, dozens of movies are dumped onto DVD. But some weeks are special. Why? Because every once in a blue moon, the stars align in a way that an embarrassment of schlocky riches comes out all at once. This week, my friends, is one of those weeks. So if you find yourself with some time on your hands this weekend and you have a craving for cheese, why not check out some of these new releases…

*A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) If you missed this franchise reboot back in the spring, here are two reasons worth catching up with...