Mayhem, Mandarin Movie Style!
Apr. 25th, 2005 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaosvizierLike a choir of angels from heaven, I bring tidings of great movie joy to you. Hallelujah!
Right... it's nothing like that. Not even close. But hey, more movie reviews, because you need to know what's out there. And believe me, this movie is WAY OUT THERE.
Kung Fu Hustle
I'm going to skip my usual rambling and get right to the point. This movie was all about complete random comedy, slapstick, kung foolery, and more shenanigans. Story and plot were words that barely entered the script except perhaps as an afterthought. The martial arts were (obviously) loaded up with wirework and special effects. The dramatic moments were not. The touching moments were not. The satirical attack on other films using martial arts (including The Matrix) were subtle, but well-done. Ultimately, this was a delivery of goofy comedic randomness on crack and speed. And if you go for that purpose, you will not be disappointed.
I do like a good serious dramatic kung fu-class movie now and again. Jet Li's Once Upon A Time In China series is outstanding material for that purpose- historically interesting, good story, and still awesome martial arts. Likewise, a good pseudo-dramatic comedy, or hyper-exaggerated martial arts tale, both attract my attention. Again using Jet Li for inspiration, The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk, The Swordsman II, and New Legend Of Shaolin all stand out for their wild ways. But this movie goes way beyond that, sacrificing any semblance of drama and going gung-ho on insanity.
Some people don't like subtitles. This movie has them. Some people don't like the wire-fu style with flying fights and so on- I contend that, in this context where it's all about the comedy and not the seriousness like Crouching Tiger or Hero, the flying kung fu is more than appropriate. Some people don't like random humor. Well... that's this all over.
The plot: I shit you not, there wasn't one.
The pros: Funny, funny, funny. I have not left a movie with tears of laughter in my eyes in a long time. It probably did not help that the third name listed in the credits was one "Poon Hang Sang". Again, I shit you not. The martial arts sequences were well choreographed, thanks to Yuen Woo Ping; one does not have to look hard to find the Matrix parodies contained within. The plot is really just an escalation of over-the-top fight sequences (not unlike Mortal Kombat, only with better fighting) leading to the obvious supercombat against the supervillain. I will go out on a limb here and say that, for once, Lo Pan was not needed to enhance a film.
The cons: Really, there is no plot or cohesive storyline. I can't stress that enough. The characters are not really personable; they're just people who fight, or arrange for fighting. As with any foreign film, the problem with translation is that it never conveys 100% what needs to be conveyed; I prefer subtitles to dubbing simply because it's usually better translation and you can still hear and feel the emotions in the actors' voices, even if you can't understand what they're saying. But some folks get distracted by subtitle text and prefer dubbing. This movie opts for subtitles. Again, there is no drama, no high concept, no deep meaning. It is fighting. Lots of it. And not very serious stuff either- all comedic conflict. Exaggeration and hyperbole.
The verdict: I admit, I loved this movie. It appealed to my sense of random humor and martial arts wackiness. But this movie is not for everyone. If you like rational or even semi-rational thought to guest star in films you watch, spare yourself the horror.
Disclaimer:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vulgarbarbarian's Law Of Bad Movies states that movies with the word "Cyber", "Ninja", or "Zombie" in the title are automatically BAD. This movie has none of the above, although it did feature Ninja Zombies. 'Struth. Had they been mechanized, it would have been the perfect circumvention of Bad Movie Mojo.
Disclaimer: I think the cat scene was worth the $9 admission fee in and of itself.
Right... it's nothing like that. Not even close. But hey, more movie reviews, because you need to know what's out there. And believe me, this movie is WAY OUT THERE.
Kung Fu Hustle
I'm going to skip my usual rambling and get right to the point. This movie was all about complete random comedy, slapstick, kung foolery, and more shenanigans. Story and plot were words that barely entered the script except perhaps as an afterthought. The martial arts were (obviously) loaded up with wirework and special effects. The dramatic moments were not. The touching moments were not. The satirical attack on other films using martial arts (including The Matrix) were subtle, but well-done. Ultimately, this was a delivery of goofy comedic randomness on crack and speed. And if you go for that purpose, you will not be disappointed.
I do like a good serious dramatic kung fu-class movie now and again. Jet Li's Once Upon A Time In China series is outstanding material for that purpose- historically interesting, good story, and still awesome martial arts. Likewise, a good pseudo-dramatic comedy, or hyper-exaggerated martial arts tale, both attract my attention. Again using Jet Li for inspiration, The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk, The Swordsman II, and New Legend Of Shaolin all stand out for their wild ways. But this movie goes way beyond that, sacrificing any semblance of drama and going gung-ho on insanity.
Some people don't like subtitles. This movie has them. Some people don't like the wire-fu style with flying fights and so on- I contend that, in this context where it's all about the comedy and not the seriousness like Crouching Tiger or Hero, the flying kung fu is more than appropriate. Some people don't like random humor. Well... that's this all over.
The plot: I shit you not, there wasn't one.
The pros: Funny, funny, funny. I have not left a movie with tears of laughter in my eyes in a long time. It probably did not help that the third name listed in the credits was one "Poon Hang Sang". Again, I shit you not. The martial arts sequences were well choreographed, thanks to Yuen Woo Ping; one does not have to look hard to find the Matrix parodies contained within. The plot is really just an escalation of over-the-top fight sequences (not unlike Mortal Kombat, only with better fighting) leading to the obvious supercombat against the supervillain. I will go out on a limb here and say that, for once, Lo Pan was not needed to enhance a film.
The cons: Really, there is no plot or cohesive storyline. I can't stress that enough. The characters are not really personable; they're just people who fight, or arrange for fighting. As with any foreign film, the problem with translation is that it never conveys 100% what needs to be conveyed; I prefer subtitles to dubbing simply because it's usually better translation and you can still hear and feel the emotions in the actors' voices, even if you can't understand what they're saying. But some folks get distracted by subtitle text and prefer dubbing. This movie opts for subtitles. Again, there is no drama, no high concept, no deep meaning. It is fighting. Lots of it. And not very serious stuff either- all comedic conflict. Exaggeration and hyperbole.
The verdict: I admit, I loved this movie. It appealed to my sense of random humor and martial arts wackiness. But this movie is not for everyone. If you like rational or even semi-rational thought to guest star in films you watch, spare yourself the horror.
Disclaimer:
vulgarbarbarian's Law Of Bad Movies states that movies with the word "Cyber", "Ninja", or "Zombie" in the title are automatically BAD. This movie has none of the above, although it did feature Ninja Zombies. 'Struth. Had they been mechanized, it would have been the perfect circumvention of Bad Movie Mojo.Disclaimer: I think the cat scene was worth the $9 admission fee in and of itself.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 07:23 pm (UTC)Question
Date: 2005-04-25 08:17 pm (UTC)By the way, speaking of martial arts flicks and wire-fu, have you seen "House of Flying Daggers"? Not as much flying through the air as Hero, though there is some. It's also the best Zhang Ziyi role I've seen so far. And yes, I do mean her acting, but that's not all I mean. She looks damn fine. She can fry my rice any day.
Re: Question
Date: 2005-04-25 08:40 pm (UTC)Seriously, I was dying with laughter and amazement at how brazen they were at making fun of movies they've worked on in the past. Plus, THE CAT!
Re: Question
Date: 2005-04-25 08:47 pm (UTC)Shaolin Soccer vs. this movie... well, soccer had a plot of sorts, and a point, and a goal and resolution, and all that. With this movie, really, it's only if you are comforatble with going to a film solely to watch over-the-top kung-fu action combined with some goofy slapstick moments, parodies, and senselessness. That sort of thing works for me. I know that you actually have a discerning palate when it comes to film, unlike myself. Therefore, unless you turned off some of your higher logical brain functions, you might not be too into this movie.
I liked this better than soccer, but perhaps because I'm a monkey and couldn't really get into the (albeit loose) soccer-based theme of the other one. This one had no theme, so I didn't have to think too hard. And I like that.
Re: Question
Date: 2005-04-25 08:58 pm (UTC)Dude... I loved Orgazmo for fuck's sake! I just don't like it when a movie tries to be something it's not. Shaolin Soccer tried to pass itself off as a movie with a plot, but the plot was so fucking lame, it shouldn't have even been there. I think I liked Ladybugs better than Shaolin Soccer. But Kung Fu Hustle might be worth checking out.
Re: Question
Date: 2005-04-25 09:23 pm (UTC)Hustle passes itself off as nothing. Accept that, and you've got it made.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 11:47 pm (UTC)It's the best video ever.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 02:00 am (UTC)