The Legend is Alive

The Legend is Alive not your normal “kick everyone’s ass” Kung Fu movie. This movie is less a Kung Fu movie and more of a love story, not the typical boy meets girl love story, but a story of unconditional love. The kind of unconditional love shared between mothers and sons. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this movie.

Our story centers around Ly Tieu Long (Justin Nguyen) a mentally challenged man, fresh off the bus with a final destination of America. Funny thing is Long asks bus drivers, cab drivers and almost everyone how to get to America. It takes no time to see that Long is out of his element. Not long after he steps off the bus, Long runs into trouble with two thugs who try to con him out of his cash. At this point we begin unwrapping the onion that is Long’s life. Though suffering from developmental disabilities, Long is a kung Fu master practiced in numerous arts: Jeet Ku Do (created by Bruce Lee) Muay Thai, and Tae Kwan Do. This mastery of Kung Fu comes from his mother’s teachings.

The first half tells Long’s life story. We see Long beginning Kung Fu training, being bullied by students at school and in general trying to make it in the world. During this time we see a mother’s love for her challenged child blossom. She takes extra care to train Long in the disciplines of while instilling in him prime directives of Kung Fu, “Use Kung fu for defense not offense”. Long really lives this, getting his ass kicked and later offering forgiveness to his attackers.

One item I appreciated with this movie was how it reinforced Longs current predicaments with exposition from his past. It’s nice to see the fullness of a character develop in this way.

After leaving home, we find Long searching for America ultimately befriending a 17 year old girl headed off to meet her new boyfriend she met online. The conversations between Long and this girl are highly entertaining. The young lady tries explaining computers, online chat and cell phones to someone who probably has never seen a television. Let’s just say the conversation is cute. The story moves from the country into the city of Da Nang. It’s in Da Nang we find Long helping the young girl with trouble she find herself in.

The cinematography of this film is facinating. I find myself loving the movies coming out of Asia more and more. Especially the ones coming out of China, Hong Kong and now I’ll add Vietnam. The cinematography of these films is remarkable, The Legend is Alive is no exception. We have sweeping landscapes, gritty city scenes and remarkably 40 years later burned out remains of the Vietnam War. I wish American film makers would spend some time watching these films.

If you are looking for a unique Kung Fu love story check out the Legend is Alive.

Solomon Kane

 

Mystical, bloody, sweaty, smoky, scary, gritty, damp, snow covered, and intense. These are the words that bring back memories of either Seattle, WA or the kick ass film I watched last night:  Solomon Kane  

Solomon Kane is writer/director Michael J. Bassett’s story depicting the origins of  Robert E. Howard’s   Solomon Kane (James Purefoy). The film introduces our lead as a rouge marauder full of questionable morals. Kane and his band of thugs lay siege to a castle in hopes of gaining riches from the inhabitants. What they find is a castle full of malevolence. At this point we realize that Kane is a cursed man, owing the devil his soul. Kane battles a lich and then we cut away to a future time where Kane has sworn off evil deeds for a life of peace.

Forced from his home we find Kane at the hands of thieves who take advantage of his new lease on life, almost costing him his. By the graces Kane finds himself in the caring hands of the William Crowthorn (played by (Pete Postlethwaite) family. Kane travels the countryside with the Crowthorns when trouble find Kane and the Crowthorns. A battle ensues and Kane makes realizes he can no longer sit idle while evil triumphs. We can all imagine what happens from here.

This movie works well on a number of levels. Michael Bassett did a great job of providing the back story for Solomon Kane. If you know nothing of Solomon Kane (like your author) you will walk away with a total appreciation of the character wanting more.

One thing I am excited about is the potential for this character. Robert E. Howard wrote a number of different stories describing the adventures of Solomon Kane. I hope to one day more of these stories make it to the screen.

Accompanying  a well crated story, the visuals in this movie are exceptional. The creators of this film did a great job of immersing you into the world of Solomon Kane. The whole movie gives you a sense of the harsh climate that these people lived in. The landscape of this film remind me of a smoldering campfire after a late night camping. The smoke clings to every molecule of your existence, cold creeps under your wool clothes and the elements (copious amounts of rain and snow) add to your misery. These storytellers made you feel like you were there. The only thing missing was the actual smell of rotting flesh.

Complimenting the visuals, the battle scenes were top notch. One of my favorite scenes in “sword movies” is the battle scene at the beginning of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. The brutal depiction of the battle between the Romans and the Germanic Barbarians was a brilliant piece of film making. This movie takes that experience to 11. This movie has numerous battle scenes ranging from epic to up close and personal. You could almost feel the swoosh of the blades and the dripping of sweat on your being.

This movie works well on so many levels. I hope you find yourself in a dark theatre watching this great piece of work.

Thanks,

Rodman

Anvil! The Story of Anvil – Head to Head

Well Ken beat me to the punch and posted a review of the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil. While I don’t think Ken totally liked this movie. I think I liked it less than he did.

This documentary is misstated. It is not the the story of Anvil at all. It is about the continuing delusion of the members of a band called Anvil. The movie spends a very brief segment discussing the early successes of Anvil, including influences they had on bands like Anthrax and Metallica. It also mentions their inclusion in some of the biggest rock tours of the 80′s including Monsters of Rock.

Then the movie moves on to the where are they now segment. They move to the snow covered environs of Canada. To the “normal” work a day lives that these band members have.

The story then moves to exploring the threads of hope that this band still holds on to. The story moves from Canada to a  poorly executed and almost comical (if it wasn’t true) tour of Europe. These fools experience one problem after another, and seem to lack even a shred of common sense. Missed trains , small non existent audiences and a missed performance because they got lost in transit.  This movie has been compared to  This is Spinal Tap. I am as huge a fan of Spinal Tap as any long haired metal head, but comparing this film in any way to Spinal Tap is a disservice to fans of Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap is a comedy and there is a fine line between comedy and tragedy. This movie is all about tragedy. The tragedy of failing to recognize that your dream is over, your shot at the brass ring has gone bye and the eventual realization you need to get on with life. Following around a couple of failed losers who continue to be losers is not worth 2 hours of my time.

This-Is-Anvil!

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) is a documentary about an 80s Canadian heavy metal band that opened for many big name rock bands but never made it successful on tour or with their own albums. In many ways, this documentary is like a true life This is Spinal Tap story. Although it’s not made as a comedy, there are funny parts throughout, even where not indented to be. Most fans of This is Spinal Tap would enjoy this documentary movie, but The Story of Anvil is less about the band’s music and mostly about the two founding band members dealing with life continued effort to pursue their failed dreams.

The primary reason that Anvil never made it big is that the quality of music overall wasn’t high enough to gain the level of success to sell albums or to increase their tours for live performances. They never were able to create one big hit that put them over that success bar. Many early 80s metal bands that were on the harder and faster rock side were influenced by Anvil, but were able to create better songs to gain success where Anvil didn’t. There are only a few live performances in the movie, and never playing through a complete song. I think the biggest flaw of the movie is that fact, and if they would have played more complete songs live in the movie (like This is Spinal Tap), it would have made it more entertaining and done more to promote the bands music to new potential fans. It’s often like a reality TV show, but done well and never boring.

The movie website with trailer and city showtimes is at http://anvilmovie.com. Their official website is http://anvilmovie.com, which is a poorly designed website that also plays the trailer when you visit the page without hitting play. Their website is much like their music, much more heart but lacking in quality. The founding band members Lips and Robb Reiner grow on  you throughout the movie despite heir flaws and failures, and this documentary may end up doing more to create new fans than their music itself.

Power-of-Sleeper-Movies

A sleeper movie is a term generally used for a quality movie that was rarely seen, either due to lack of marketing or when blockbusters were released at the same time. The movie Power (1986) directed by legendary Sidney Lumet is one of the best sleeper movies of the 80s. Most people haven’t seen it, and most people can’t answer the movie trivia question: What 80s movie stars Richard Gere, Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Julie Christie, Kate Capshaw, J.T. Walsh, E.G Marshell, Beatrice Straight, and directed by Sidney Lumet?

The essence of the movie is about high paid political consultants, the experts behind the political campaigns who help get governors and senators elected. The twist that adds suspense to this this drama is a corrupt politician client influenced by middle eastern oil company lobbyists, and illegal activity plus moral judgment that is injected into the life of the campaign consultant. While the movie is over 20 years old, it applies extremely well to politics and campaigning today. This well directed movie includes excellent acting, great cast, and smart dialog.

Some of the best lines of the movie apply well to politics in any era: “If you want to win the undecided votes, you need to remain undecided on the issues” and “People generally vote for who they like.”  And if you end up a fan of this movie, then check out an older one with Robert Redford that is a drama and nearly a comedy called The Candidate (1972).

Let the Right One In

 

Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden) tells  the story of  Oskar and Eli. Two school age children who fall in love for the first time.  Oskar is a skinny blond weakling who is constantly picked on by schoolyard bullies. Eli is a dark haired gypsy looking girl who happens to be a vampire. 

The story begins with Oskar practicing with a knife against an imaginary enemy. It’s at this time we meet Eli who moves into Oskar’s apartment building with her grandfather. It has all the appearances of love at first sight.

As the story progresses we learn more of Oskar and Eli’s relationship.  Conversations are had, candy shared and affections grow. During this time we also learn more of Eli’s condition. Her thirst for blood, her aversion to sunlight and her natural vampiric abilities,  tendencies and weaknesses.   The filmmakers did a great job of unveiling Eli’s conditions slowly throughout the movie. Things you expect to happen don’t, at least on the schedule you might have in your movie going mind.

Along with a wonderful story the visuals of this movie are well shot.This beauty of this film is its capture of the essence of a long cold Stockholm winter: People sip schnapps in local pubs, students practice swimming in huge indoor aquatic centers and frozen rivers dot the landscape accompanied by huge snow drifts.

The strong point of this movie is the believable relationship between Eli and Oskar. I found myself wanting the relationship to flourish while also finding myself concerned that the relationship couldn’t possibly last.

This flick should be put right on top of your Friday Night Flick queue.

Repo!-The-Genetic-Opera-(2008)

 

The pitch for Repo! The Genetic Opera had to be strange. “The future is bleak; the world’s population suffers from organ failure and in steps GeneCo with its proven organ transplant technology. Consumers now have the power to purchase their own organ transplants. These organ transplants are expensive but once again GeneCo provides a convenient solution:  payment plans. These payment plans come with a catch: if you don’t pay we send the Repo Man.  Oh wait one more thing:  this movie is going to be an opera set to heavy metal music!”

Last night I had the privilege of witnessing a rock opera that had elements of some of my favorite films. The external world look combined elements of   City of Lost Children, Blade Runner , Brazil and Stardust . The stage opera world reminded me a lot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show  and Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime .     And the characters and actions of Repo reminded me a lot of   Hostel .

The acting in the movie was fairly comic bookish. Paul Sorvino  does a fair job as Rotti Largo (founder and owner of GeneCo). I don’t think this role was a real stretch for him but I was impressed that he sang his own operatics. The person I thought was cast the best was Paris Hilton in the Role of Amber Sweet. Amber sweet is Largo’s self obsessed daughter who is fixed on with her own organ transplants. She did a good job in this role.

This is a picture worth seeing if you are into genre films.  Don’t go in expecting to see Academy Award presentations but just to have a good 2 hour self indulgent experience.

Just Another Love Story (Denmark 2007)

Today’s movie fare was Danish movie Just Another Love Story . This movie is a warped/twisted (and much better) version of the movie  While You Were Sleeping.

The movie starts with three love story vignettes. The first: a man laying on the concrete describing how the police will soon arrive to chalk his body, the second: a couple making love and finally:  a man wincing at the .357 Magnum being pointed at his head by a lovely young lady.

At the conclusion of “love” stories we begin our movie. The story starts with our protagonist Jonas. Jonas is a forensic photographer leading a rather unremarkable life with a wife, two children and a broken ass piece of shit car.

On the way to drop the kids off at school. Jonas’ car breaks down causing a crash which drastically injures our 2^nd protagonist Julia. Feeling guilty Jonas goes to visit Julia in the hospital taking the role of Julia’s abusive boyfriend Sebastian.  Jonas becomes infatuated with Julia, Julia’s family becomes infat stuated with “Sebastian”, Jonas’ police buddies give him crap for the situation he is in. All the while we gain a better understanding of obsession, abuse, stagnate marriage and the reach for something supposidly better. 

Brilliant performances and a well composed noir script make this a film worth watching.

If you are a fan of Quentin Tarantino’s and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse movie you will definitely love  Zombie Strippers  .  About 5 minutes into this flick I said to myself: “This is the part of Grindhouse house that was missing: The part containing the zombies AND the boobies.” A friend of mine who knows my fine taste in films found a blurb about Zombie Strippers on the web and shot it my way. And it was love at first site.

The two above the line actors in Zombie Strippers are Robert Englund (of Freddy Kreuger fame) and drum roll please….. Jenna Jameson. Who’s “body” of work a lot of people may or may not be familiar with.

The movie starts off in typical zombie movie fashion. Evil military lab dorks release a virus that reanimates dead people. The army arrives to save the day, shoots up a bunch of zombies and one finds himself bitten. He takes off only to find himself in a clandestine strip club owned by Englund and headlined by Jameson.

The bitten soldier boy starts turning into a zombie and bites Jenna. The kicker is the zombie virus doesn’t turn women into brainless zombies. They keep their “senses” about them and rock the strip club like only Zombie Strippers can. This is where the fun ensues.

I won’t go into too much more detail here  as I don’t want to spoil the experience for you… it’s a fun flick and you will laugh when you see it.

One note is that the special effects were actually pretty good. They reminded me much of the Dawn and Day of the Dead which had the best zombie effects I have seen to date

Give it a try. If you are a grindhouser you will like Zombie Strippers.

El Mariachi: Old School Goodness

Last night I watched an iconic film: El Mariachi. A great film: written, produced, edited, partially scored and directed by Robert Rodriguez. El Mariachi tells the story of a simple man dressed in black carrying a guitar case. The Mariachi is looking for work in a small dusty Mexican town. Unbeknown to the Mariachi, a drug dealing thug just broke out of jail and is on the way to the same town carrying a guitar case. The twist revolves around the contents of the two guitar cases. The Mariachi’s case contains A GUITAR. The thug’s case, well it carries a small arsenal of brass knuckles, knives, pistols and a MAC-10 sub machine gun.

Needless to say some people mistake the Mariachi for the thug and vise a versa and a great action movie follows.

I highly recommend you see this film. In an era where movie studios spend millions to make crap films like We Own the Night, El Mariachi is a breath of fresh air. It started with a good story a $7,000 budget and a very talented story teller.

Zombie Nation

OK folks this is my first review. I am going to start off with a movie idea:

Zombie Nation Poster

• Start with a porno movie.
• Remove all sex scenes.
• Keep all the plot lines.
• Add a tit or 2 (Gotta climb the Joe Bob Briggs scale)
• Find an open porno set not being used.
• Hire your german buds and a bunch of c grade actors.
• Go to Ikea to but some lights for your “set”
• Buy a plastic shark’s mouth for a voodoo scene.
• Borrow Britney’s snake from her show in Vegas.
• Buy some mascara to make some zombies.
• And make sure your lead walks from the water at the end so you have a chance for a sequel (when you make your $1,251.00 budget back)

  And you have Zombie Nation