Well, Tuesday night I got a swift and powerful kick in the ass from one Mr. Stephen Chow in the form of his hella rad, wicked awesome, goddamn joy of a movie Kung-Fu Hustle (thanks to Netflix no less). Five minutes into this movie, once the Axe Gang does their little victory dance,
I had an ear to ear grin on my face that didn’t let up even as we were leaving the theater. This is an amazing achievement of a movie. Now, I never got around to seeing Shaolin Soccer, the only other Stephen Chow movie to my knowledge to get any kind of proper release here in the states. From what I heard the movie got pretty well butchered by Miramax before it was delivered and many were crying bloody murder and, well, it’s on my queue now at any rate. So this was my first Chow experience, and I can’t remember the last time I was so happy sitting in a theater watching a movie. Probably Shaun of the Dead…
It’s like the man took a Looney Tunes cartoon, an old 70s kung-fu flick, some Chaplin, a little Busby Berkley, mixed it all together and at the last minute decided to toss in a few winks to his favorite American movies. In 30 seconds or less – the Axe Gang has taken over as the controlling gang in town, the gangs have left the community of Pig Sty alone, as it’s the poorest part of town, until Stephen Chow and his sidekick try to get free haircuts there posing as Axe Gang members and accidentally cause a bit of a rumble between the Pig Sty residents and the real gang. We find out that some of the residents are retired kung-fu masters and the rest of the movie is the Axe Gang trying to take over Pig Sty to save face.
I don’t want to spoil much for you by getting into details but I have to give praise to the Landlady and her husband –
I want to be 9 years old and have action figures of these two in their on-the-town outfits with a destructable casino playset so I can recreate their fight with The Beast. This couple is so much fun to watch…
Anyway, this movie is making it’s way to a theater near you in the next couple weeks and I implore you to grab your honey, your pal, your imaginary friend, and check it out. You’ll have to have a withered up old Grinch heart not to find enjoyment in this movie. I’m certain it’s going to become a dorm room staple in the years to come—as it should.
Another one I caught this week was Sin City. I’d gone in having read two Sin City books – A Dame To Kill For and The Big Fat Kill, both great little stories. A Dame didn’t make the final cut, and hopefully will make the dvd, but anyway I knew what to expect in terms of the mood and level of ultra-violence involved. It’s another one that is definitely bound to become a bit of a cult-classic – it’s unlike anything that’s been put on the screen before, and if you have the stomach for it, it’s a pretty fun ride.
But there was definitely something lacking… What it is exactly I still haven’t put my finger on. My first thought was that the slavish frame-for-frame duplication of the books was both an asset and a hindrance. There isn’t much movement going on in this movie and I think it tends to slow the pace down a bit. But when it the camera does move around in this grimy shadow world they’ve re-created you definitely are wowed and it’s quite dazzling. I can definitely understand why they chose to cut out A Dame as it clocks in at just over 2 hours as it is. And when you come out of the movie you feel like you’ve just gone through a once over from Marv himself.
Speaking of Marv, Mickey Rourke definitely comes away stealing the show. He doesn’t appear to be something that is part of our world but rather an organic being strictly to belong in Sin City. They guy simply kicks ass. A wonder to behold that you can’t take your eyes off of.
I have to recommend this one, though not nearly as much as Kung-Fu Hustle. But Sin City does its job thoroughly. Fans of the books are going to leave satisfied, but I think those who aren’t sure what to expect may come away a bit more pleased as its one of those movies that will have so many unexpected turns and surprises that the experience can be a bit more fulfilling. And I expect this one will be a huge dvd seller.
Lastly I wanted to share this funny bit of news regarding Hunter S. Thompson – did anyone think the man would stay silent after death?
3 comments:
Mickey Rourke should get the Oscar.
And his performance made me think he should definitely be The Comedian.
I really do think he's perfect for it. There's been a lot of talk about the movie lately due to Paramount having a big leadership change recently, and CHUD had a great two part interview with the director a short while back. It seems the budget has taken a hit. But I don't really see any big paycheck actors fitting into this besides maybe Jude Law for Ozy... Anyway, hopefully they'll nail down one or two actors shortly and see where this things going--it seems to be in a very long gestation period and the constant speculating on the message boards is getting really tiresome.
Jude Law would be good for Ozy. I hadn't really considered him before.
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