Uncle NightOwl's Martial Movie Reviews

[NightOwl]

Movie: Iron Monkey (Chinese name: Young Wong Fei Hung: Iron Monkey)

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping

Released: 1993, HONG KONG

Starring: Yu Rongguang, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Tsang Sze Man, Yuen Shun-Yi

Style(s) Showcased: Wushu, Hollywood-do

Trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4tEGez9A5H4

Clip:http://youtube.com/watch?v=s6vvHQZcSP4

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5669/donnieyenzm4.jpg

Artist introduction: Donnie Yen. Born the son of an accomplished martial artist in 1963 China and raised in Boston, Yen studied various martial arts including TKD, before deciding to stick with wushu (he went on to become the first non-PRC chinese accepted onto the Beijin Wushu team). While in Hong Kong, he ran into the acclaimed Yuen Woo-ping, and he got his first role in a the small 1984 movie Xiao Tai Ji before eventually finding widespread fame by starring opposite Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China II. Since then he has gone on to star in and even direct many films, and he is starting to get more recognition in the West by appearing in such movies as Hero. Currently he is married and has 2 children.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8862/ironmonkeyqo1.jpg

Story: Benevolent physician by day, and robin hood like defender of the oppressed poor by night, the Iron Monkey has been the bane of the corrupt governor of Zeijing Province. But when a young Wong Fei Hung (he gets around doesn't he?) and his father come through town, they are arrested under suspicion of being the Iron Monkey when they defeat a group of thugs using expert Kung Fu. When their innocence is shown by the Iron Monkey striking again, the father is given a choice: either help kill the Iron Monkey or never see his son again.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3106/13014jr1.jpg http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1188/13007wm4.jpg http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3595/13015pe4.jpg

Review: To be honest, I was going to give Iron Monkey an overall negative review. While I wouldn't say it was bad...it wasn't good either. But just like when I sneak into Fat Camps selling candy bars at inflated prices, I started to feel pains of guilt...and now to my dismay I find that looking back on the movie it is starting to grow on me. Certainly it was a critical success when it made it to the states, and I will have to agree that it has it's strong points. Very well acted and with a nice mix of fun and humor along with serious situations, it is part of the Wuxia genre but doesn't try to be an epic unlike many others of its ilk (*cough* House of Flying Daggers *cough*). At the same time, it does use wires to the point of making Issac Newton turn in his grave and there are plenty overlong meandering scenes scattered throughout the film to make it where I actually fast-forwarded through some points. This presents me with a dilemma: I hate flying and over-the-top fight fight moves when a movie takes itself seriously, but at the same time this is supposed to be more or less a fantastical romp through a fictional past and not attempting to create a 'real' world. Thus factoring this in with some long 'look at the pretty things!' scenes but at the same time some great acting and humor, I will ultimately give it a recommendation. You win this time Iron Monkey...but I will be back!

Pros-

-Great acting

-A nice mix of humor and seriousness to create a fun 'Robin Hood-esque' adventure story

Cons-

-Don't expect much fighting without plenty of flying and other such nonsense

-The director thought 8 minutes of watching someone cook would be a fascinating use of time

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

SEE THESE MOVIE OR BRING DISHONOR TO YOUR FAMILY:

Ong Bak

Drunken Master

Kung fu Hustle

Samurai Fiction

Once Upon a Time in China II

Project A

Iron Monkey

RENT 'THE NOTEBOOK' FOR A BETTER ACTION FLICK:

The Big Boss

3 Ninjas

Romeo Must Die

[NightOwl]

2 reviews tomorrow:

New review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Encounters of the Spooky Kind

[NightOwl]

Movie: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Directed by: Ang Lee

Released: 2000, HONG KONG

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei-pei

Style(s) showcased: Hollywood-do

Trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=OGcxD3H9KP4

Clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=aPAjwRGu6kM

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4667/crouchingtigerhiddendraaw0.jpg

Artist introduction: This guy is looking for all of the martial artists that didn't show up for the movie (they all must be crouching and hidden)

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/636/b00003cxr301pe92crouchiqj4.jpg

Story: A martial arts master decides to donate a legendary sword to a powerful noble and find inner peace (or something like that...should've gone with ebay really). However when the nobleman's daughter (who just happens to be the student of an EVIL kung fu master) steals the sword to escape from her gilded cage, the good martial artist and his friend must track her down and retrieve what was taken.

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5997/crouchingtigerhiddendrazl7.jpg http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6134/crouchingtigerhiddendrazg4.jpg http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7818/crouchingtigerhiddendrahw9.jpg

Review: What to say about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? Universally praised and given/ nominated for almost every film award imaginable, it took the world by storm and brought Chinese cinema in vouge. Critics have called it 'One of the best movies ever made', and it frequently appears on top 100 film lists. But 7 years on, and with the hype having finally died down, it may be time to make a burger out of this sacred cow.

Firstly, as this thread is about films with a strong martial arts element, it is only fair to start off this review by looking at the fight scenes...needless to say, if you are looking for an amazing show of martial skill or even good old fashioned choreography, then you might want to skip this one. This movie to say the least, has some of the worst choreography of any martial art-centric film that I have ever seen, the worst part being the wires. Now I have already made my stance on wires known: most of the time they look horribly fake, and they don't allow for the actor/actress to show any martial skill. When a fight is going down and suddenly someone jumps up 20 feet in the air doing a back flip, it really destroys the suspension of disbelief. Yet the fights in this movie rely almost entirely on wirework to add any sense of excitement to the fight. People run up walls, do impossible jumps, and even stop IN MID AIR on a regular basis. "But Uncle Nightowl," you say, "What about Kung fu Hustle and Iron Monkey?" Well little Timmy, the reason why I gave the green light to the other films is that they are not meant to be realistic and serious, rather they are meant to be a fun and slightly (or very) over the top...and even then I almost didn't give Iron Monkey a positive review. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on the other hand, is supposed to be a super serious epic masterpiece. Also due to the flying, often one character will be hit and be knocked 20+ feet back; this leads to gaps in the action which really slows fights scenes down. The only other thing that can be said is that there is a lot of spinning around...presumably to cover up any lack of substance.

Despite bad action, a good storyline could have saved this movie from the brink, and certainly it is touted as having 'Best Picture' material in this regard. however upon closer look, the story, with its legendary weapons, kung fu masters, and revenge (to name a few), is nothing original in the least. Plenty of these themes have been explored before, and the illusion of creativity is shattered when you look back at Chinese movies and stories that were written before Asian film became widely popular. Another big problem is the heavy usage of lingering shots of scenery and other 'pretty' things that don't do much more than take an hour of your life that you can't get back. If I wanted to look at scenery for that long with no purpose other than to look at it, I'd go for a walk outside. The worst offender however, is a sidetrack 'sub-movie' about the spoiled nobleman's daughter falling in love with a bandit in the desert...trust me, by the time it is over, you will have gnawed though your hands in order to find something more interesting to do. Even the acting isn't anything special; not bad mind you, but nothing super great.

With all of this ragging on the movie, I will give it some brownie points. The production value for this movie is simply phenomenal, and the track is as beautiful as it is haunting. But even the external beauty cannot make up for the inner beast: Horrible fight scenes, stereotypical plot, and terrible pacing all make this film a no-go beyond watching it just for the point of having seen it. This movie has also spawned a flood of wannabes: Hero, House of Flying Daggers, The Banquet, and most recently, Curse of the Golden Flower, each more beautiful and yet more hollow then the last. Please, PLEASE do your patriotic duty and rent Shower or some other film if you want a thoughtful and well done example from our friends in China.

Pros:

Outstanding production value

Helped usher in acceptance of Asian film

Soundtrack

Cons-

Terrible choreography

Yawn inducing story

Two words to describe the pacing of this movie: Arthritic Sloth

+++++++++++++++++++++

SEE THESE MOVIE OR BRING DISHONOR TO YOUR FAMILY:

Ong Bak

Drunken Master

Kung fu Hustle

Samurai Fiction

Once Upon a Time in China II

Project A

Iron Monkey

RENT 'THE NOTEBOOK' FOR A BETTER ACTION FLICK:

The Big Boss

3 Ninjas

Romeo Must Die

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

[NightOwl]

Movie: (Close) Encounters of the Spooky Kind

Directed by: Sammo Hung

Released: 1980, HONG KONG

Starring: Sammo Hung, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Biao, Chung Fa, Peter Lung

Style(s) showcased: None in particular for awhile, then some nice Northern Shaolin, Monkey, and Wushu kung fu

Trailer:http://www.amazon.com/Spooky-Encounters/dp/B000I8ENWA/ref=sr_1_2/002-3361703-1872047?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1175940332&sr=8-2

Clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=f4QL2yKBrwU

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/8626/esk4xe7.jpg

Side note: This movie was so popular, that it spawned its own sub-kung fu genre! You can read a little more about the 'hopping corpse' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopping_corpse

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4033/b00005ow2f02aa240sclzzzfs3.jpg

Plot: When 'Courageous' Chung (Hung) starts to get the suspicion that his wife is cheating on him, her lover (who is a powerful official) starts to get nervous. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before he is caught, he hires an evil taoist priest to bump Chung off by making a bet that he isn't brave enough to spend the night in a haunted temple. But unfortunately for the undead that lurk there, Chung just so happens to know Kung fu...

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/599/spooky5hl8.jpg http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5791/spooky4po8.jpg

Review: Many of the MMA generation complain that all of the flashy movie stuff doesn't work...but when was the last time that Ortiz beat a vampire? Yeah, that's right...never. That's where Sammo comes in to clean up house in this Kung-fu/horror/comedy film that became an instant hit in Hong Kong and set up the stage for a whole sub-genre in kung-fu cinema. Be mindful however, that the actually kung fu doesn't come into play until later on in the movie, not really until almost halfway through. But by no means is the buildup a chore to watch, rather it is a fun and bizarre Abbot and Costello-esque romp with Chinese superstition and physical comedy mixed in with plenty of hopping vampires. Certainly this is not a movie which can be accused of being uncreative: long armed ghosts, beheaded chickens, and dueling taoists don't really fall into that category. However this movie is not for everyone, and the lack in martial art fighting until late in the movie may be a turn off for some. But regardless, this is a great popcorn kung-fu flick with a spooky twist and great choreography, that I highly recommend if you want a Hong Kong classic that's a bit off the beaten path.

(Note: I recommend the Hong Kong legends or Golden Harvest dvd version of this film)

Pros:

Great Choreography

Bizarre but very amusing plot

Martial arts and vampires...what more could one ask for?

Cons:

Chicken scene is kind of gross

Ending

================================

SEE THESE MOVIE OR BRING DISHONOR TO YOUR FAMILY:

Ong Bak

Drunken Master

Kung fu Hustle

Samurai Fiction

Once Upon a Time in China II

Project A

Iron Monkey

Encounters of the Spooky Kind

RENT 'THE NOTEBOOK' FOR A BETTER ACTION FLICK:

The Big Boss

3 Ninjas

Romeo Must Die

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

[NightOwl]

Reviews coming soon:

Fearless

The Karate Kid

[Karateka_latino]

Thanks for take time to do this reviews. I've seen plenty of films myself but i guess im too lazy to review them one by one. lol

[NightOwl]

Late as usual, but as always fashionably so...right?

Movie: Fearless

Directed by: Ronny Yu

Released: HONG KONG, 2006

Starring: Jet Li, Nakamura Shido, Collin Chou, Betty Sun

Style(s) Showcased: wushu

Trailer:http://youtube.com/watch?v=42NWMluhlfk

Clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nLwJSvRYowQ

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/855/fearless1bi2.jpg

Plot: When we were kids, we had all sorts of dreams of what we wanted to be when we grew up- a fireman, a doctor, an artist... Huo Yuanjia however, had a dream to pursue a job where he made a daily living on laying the smack down on everyone. Of course this only left him with two viable career choices: Kung fu master or gym teacher, and since the movie isn't called Fearless: Give me a Lap , it is only logical to assume that he choose to become the former (As I dearly wish coach Jenson did). After constantly taking on and defeating challengers, Huo Yuanjia becomes the best fighter for miles around without equal. However this comes at the cost of Huo becoming increasingly arrogant and obsessed with proving that no one is better than him, leading to a series of deaths, including that of his own family. Huo becomes despondent and runs off to find the true meaning of life or some other Hallmark-esque 30 min. of film, and when foreign powers take over China he returns to in an attempt to defend his homeland's honor in a series of tournaments against the world's best fighters...and perhaps finds redemption in the process.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1861/feahrlesshw0.gif http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4844/fearlessqb4.jpg

Review: First things first...this movies two main claims to fame are: THIS IS JET LI'S LAST MARTIAL ARTS FILM and BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Yes, it is 'based' on a true story (ok, it is waaaaay off http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huo_Yuanjia) and no, this is not Jet Li's last martial art film. Actually, he is slated to star in a film that involves Jackie Chan, Jason Statham, and a monkey. I kid you not.

Whew, now that I have that off my chest, maybe it'd be good to actually review the movie. Well as far as action goes, most of the tournament and duel scenes offer it in spades with hulking boxers, cannon fodder kung fu extras, a Japanese swordsman, and more. Particularly nice to see is the inclusion of the rather rare three sectioned staff, along with a sword battle that leaves the swords actually chipped and damaged when they collide as they would in real life. However as with many Jet li flicks, there are plenty of wires (and even CGI-!!!) to be found in impossible flips and jumps...come on Li, you are not as young as you used to be, but theres no reason to haul out the walker and dentures just yet. As far as acting goes, it is actually pretty good, with most of the supporting actors doing well. Nevertheless, I did find Li's character before his 'enlightenment' to be annoying and and obnoxious. Now I realize that he is supposed to be rash and haughty initially, but I found that I found Li's attempts at this to be almost over the top, especially in his smirking grin and voice which doesn't really fit him at all. Also, the long village scene did eventually start to drag...if you really do learn so much from planting rice, then I've really misplaced my tuition (there is a Wushu vs Muay Tai fight scene which can be viewed on the director's cut which helps the pace of this scene however). Regardless, overall despite some dragging, fearless is a very well put together film that brings together great production with good fights and a decent narrative to create a movie that would have been a fine finish to Li's career...but really I'd be more than happy if he continued to make movies.

Pros:

-Good fights with a nice variety of weapons, including a cameo by the three sectioned staff that makes you wish it showed up more often.

-A nice set-up of a different time- kung fu fighters really did fight in open tournaments before MMA was cool

-Great production value that makes it feel epic without ditching actual martial arts (I'm looking at you Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)

-A fitting send-off to a film legend (which may not really be a send-off)

Cons:

-Li character is initially annoying

-Wires AND the even fouler usage of CGI

-Some scenes tend to drag

-Not mentioned in the review but...didn't like the ending

-Jet Li throws up over 6 times in this film (yeah, I actually started counting. They really need to feed this guy some whole grains or something)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SEE THESE MOVIE OR BRING DISHONOR TO YOUR FAMILY:

Ong Bak

Drunken Master

Kung fu Hustle

Samurai Fiction

Once Upon a Time in China II

Project A

Iron Monkey

Fearless

RENT 'THE NOTEBOOK' FOR A BETTER ACTION FLICK:

The Big Boss

3 Ninjas

Romeo Must Die

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

[lordtariel]

In this movie I particularly found the tournament fights interesting because you have gim vs rapier and eastern spear vs weastern spear. Don't know how accurate the western style combat was though.

[NightOwl]

To come....

The Karate Kid

Kung Fu Zombie

Master of the Flying Guillotine

The Prodigal Son

Wheels on Meals

Rocky

[bushido_man96]

In this movie I particularly found the tournament fights interesting because you have gim vs rapier and eastern spear vs weastern spear. Don't know how accurate the western style combat was though.

I don't think either of the styles were accurately depicted; not in a combat sense, anyway.