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SCMP Reporter

Beverly Hills Ninja

Pearl, 9.35pm

Chris Farley (above) was one funny man. From his days as a stand-up, through to his stint on the wildly popular Saturday Night Live, Farley won over a legion of fans with his knock-about brand of physical comedy. But just why he could never translate this into decent film work remains a mystery. Farley, who died of a heart attack in 1997 at the age of 33, made a series of clunkers that have to be seen to be believed. And Beverly Hills Ninja is a prime example of how his talents went to waste.

Farley stars here as Haru, orphaned as a boy and raised by a village of ninjas in Japan. Haru is hired by an American babe to protect her from a bunch of bad guys. The joke, of course, is that Farley is fat and ninjas are supposed to be fit. And that's about as funny as Beverly Hills Ninja ever gets. Farley tries his best and his agility for a man his size is quite remarkable, but not even his considerable bag of tricks can save this from disaster. (1997)

Mathew Scott

Man's Heritage:

Bloody Suckers

Pearl, 8.30pm

Yuk, yuk, yuk. It's the stuff of Hollywood nightmares - Count Dracula with fresh blood glistening on his fangs. Then with a swish of his cape he transforms into a bat and flies off through the graveyard.

Blood is the universal currency of life and death, so perhaps this explains our gruesome fascination with the mythology of demons that crave our blood.

Bloody Suckers is a film about the creatures, such as the mosquito (above) who have become dependent not only on their own blood but also on that of others.

Temptation Island

Star World, 9pm

Interesting, if arguably exploitative concept, taking four couples to a paradise island, sending the girls to one end of the isle and the boys to the other and then surrounding them with a whole army of the opposite sex to see if they are tempted. If that wasn't bad enough, the bait set to tempt them is charming and outrageously good-looking and they have to date a different person of the opposite sex most nights. Their partner then gets to see snippets of the date soon after which is often edited to look like a full-scale orgy. More often than not some form of retaliation occurs and the hurt partner goes off to find some solace in the arms of one of the waiting and willing members of the bait pool on their side of the island and so it goes on. The couples taking part do grate on your nerves after a while and you can't imagine they were ever serious about each other in the first place. But as it is all reality TV, it is compulsive viewing and caused a storm when it was first shown in the United States.

Golf: Asia Open

Star Sports, 3pm

This afternoon's action at the Ta Shee Country Club in Taoyuan County, Taiwan, could decide who becomes Asia's No 1 golfer. Korea's Charlie Wi leads the Asian PGA-run Tour but Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee poses a strong challenge with this and just one more event to play. Teeing off among the region's finest golfers in a 130-strong field are Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, Fiji's Vijay Singh, New Zealand's Michael Campbell and Italian veteran Costantino Rocca.

William Wadsworth



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