Archive for the 'Philosophical' Category

Jet Li’s Fearless

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 31, 2007
in Action, Drama, History, Martial Arts and Philosophical
. 0 Comments

I should probably start off by saying I’m a big fan of the Kung Fu/Samurai film genre. I’m not well-versed in the genres, but I’ve been trying to watch some of the classics.

I think martial arts for many in the US is all about taking a name and kicking an ass. Seriously. I see kids all the time kicking and punching and screaming like a character from Mortal Kombat. I have to admit that I too was one of those kids, however, I was impersonating the Karate Kid. I’m also not an expert on Asian culture or their martial arts forms, but I do know that the philosophy behind it is not about beating somebody up, but more about bettering oneself in mind, body and spirit. So the better fighter will actually defend himself instead of taking the opportunity to severely injure their opponent. I’m sure this blows some minds out there, but please keep reading.

Bruce Lee - one of the premiere martial artists to bring kung fu to America was constantly denied adding philosophy to his movies. All people really wanted to see was his famous one-inch-punch and those numchucks hitting somebody in the head. I have to admit I really enjoyed seeing people fly off screen after making the mistake of making contact with Bruce’s limbs of fury, but now that I’m a little older I appreciate some of the other aspects.

In Jet Li’s Fearless, Jet Li does just that. He brings the true philosophy into his last martial arts film. Some other good films I would suggest in this genre are Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Kung Fu Hustle and Unleashed. I can’t deny that there aren’t awesome and amazing fight scenes in this movie, but they aren’t the main focus or theme throughout.

This movie is really about redemption. You have a man who becomes famous and reckless in all aspects of his life. He thinks he is on top, but he really still has a lot to learn. Due to some misunderstandings, he makes the worst mistake of his life and loses everything. Years later though, he gets a second chance and is able to make a difference.

If you can’t tell already, I loved this film and highly suggest it to everyone. Other than violence, there really isn’t any other objectionable material in the film to make someone want to avoid it. So please go out and rent this one and tell me what you think.

Kung Fu Hustle

Published
by
Chalupa
on November 11, 2005
in Action, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Foreign, Independent, Martial Arts, Philosophical and War
. 0 Comments

I never really knew what to think of this movie when I saw previews for it and when it was in the theater. A couple friends of mine said it was really good, but I sorta forgot about it. Well I put in on my Netflix list and low and behold, I gave it a 5/5 rating.

The only way I can describe this movie is to say it combines some of the surrealness of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers with some of the martial arts of The Matrix, Hero and previous movies, along with a touch of the hilarity I’ve come to know as the one and only, Jack Black along with a dash of Looney Tunes. Confusing? I hope so. I’m trying to entice you to go out and actually watch this.

This movie starts off innocent enough with an all well too familiar story of a gang oppressing the poor and helpless. However, it’s the way that the silent heroes unmask themselves and save the day that makes this movie unique and oh so cool. What starts out as a small grudge between one gang and a small community soon turns into something much bigger as long retired masters step up to the plate and a long-ago locked away criminal is brought out as a trump card. Yes, this certain aspect is a lot like Boondock Saints.

Even though this movie is full of revenge, violence, grudges, and the poor and weak being trampled upon, there is still redemption. True Kung Fu is not about big muscles and kicking the crap out of people. In fact it has so much more to do with balance, continuity, peace and not having to fight. This goes so much against our high school gotta-impress-the-ladies and prove our alpha-maleness mentality.

The special effects in here were awesome. A lot of wire-acrobatics were employed along with blue screens and CGI. All of it seemed very appropriate to me. None of it came off as cheesy and over the top. There was even a very obvious reference to Bruce Lee’s greatness when the heads of the Axe Gang are being warned to step off. I loved it!

One other thing I’d like to highlight is the use of Chinese music in this film. So many foreign films these days use Western music when it just doesn’t seem to fit. Kung Fu Hustle uses only Chinese music played on the traditional instruments. It just fits so well with everything.

If you haven’t been able to guess already, I highly recommend this film. So get out and watch it if you haven’t seen it already.

Broken Flowers

Published
by
Chalupa
on October 16, 2005
in Comedy, Coming of age, Drama and Philosophical
. 0 Comments

Went to a double header at Castleton last weekend. Saw this and Junebug back to back. That, to me, is a great way to spend a Friday night.

This was acclaimed as an even better role for Bill Murray than Lost in Translation. I’d have to agree he did a pretty good job in here. The basic plot is that Bill Murray is a bit of a Don Juan and suddenly gets a mysterious letter. It lacks a return address, readable postmark and signature of sender. This letter informs him he has an 18-19 year old son that might be out looking for him. Don and his neighbor Winston, Jeffrey Wright, decide to do a little detective work to find out just who this person is. So Don figures out who all of his girlfriends were from 20 years back or so and they go to work. Don decides to go visit these women and try to figure out if they’re the one.

Some clues Don is looking for include a typewriter, pink items - especially stationary, and a red ink pen. Unfortunately everyone he visits seems to have one or more of the clues. I think my favorite had to have been when he visited Laura and Lolita. Lolita is a bit of a ‘tart’, but we soon find out she is just closely mimicking her mother. One of the best lines has to be when Don says, “So Lolita…that was some outfit you weren’t wearing earlier.” I won’t explain…you just have to watch.

After returning home, Don starts seeing different young men loosely matching the description of a possible son and starts assuming/fantasizing it might be “him”. We never really find out what happens in the end, but it’s not like you’re left hanging or feeling let down either. This is definitely one of those “artsy” and “independent” films. So if you’re not into them steer clear of this one. I’d say this is worth a watch, but I’d be surprised if it makes it to my top 10 list for the year.