A Year of Movies

Week 25: June 18, 2010 to June 24, 2010
Total number of movies watched: 7

A thunderstorm is moving in and I'd rather not be online when it fully hits so this blog post might be a little on the short side...

The movies this week continue along the theme of martial art movies I started near the end of last week. Two of the movies this week I'd seen before--and loved--and the rest were all new to me. Most of them really impressed me.

244. Legend of the Black Scorpion (DVD title) aka: The Banquet (2006) -- This movie draws inspiration from Shakespeare's Hamlet and while it does contain martial arts fighting, I think it tends to be more of a dramatic film rather than pure action. I have no problem with that. While I like action, I was drawn in by the dramatic performances--especially of Ziyi Zhang (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). And like so many of the movies I watched this week, it was visually stunning with impressive costumes and attention to detail. I really love this movie.

245. House of Flying Daggers (2004) -- I've seen this movie a number of times, and I just love it. Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Ziyi Zhang -- this romantic, action-packed, visually stunning, achingly beautiful movie also has a intricate story with crosses, double-crosses and true heroism. If you haven't seen this movie, you've really missed out on an incredibly beautiful film.

246. Battle of the Warriors (DVD title) aka: Battle of Wits (2006) -- Stars Andy Lau as a clever warrior, Ge Li, who uses his wits to win but despite his superior tactics would rather talk about peace and prefers that over war. A bleak look at war. Occasionally the 'special effects' didn't quite work in this movie, but still a good, solid movie with an anti-war message (without being too preachy).

247. An Empress and the Warriors (2008) -- When her father dies, a young woman becomes the Empress of a kingdom constantly at war, but even her ascension is not without peril. Others want control and will do nearly anything to gain it. Amidst all of this trouble, the Empress is injured and tended to by a former warrior with whom she falls in love with. An enjoyable movie overall.

248. Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008) -- Stars Andy Lau, Maggie Q, and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. Parts of this movie I did like, but overall, it just felt disjointed--as if this was the edited down version of a truly epic movie. Just as I was starting to get into the movie, the movie's timeline jumps ahead thirty years and it took me a while to reconnect with the characters/storyline again. After watching other movies earlier this week which I truly love, this one ended up being a little of a disappointment.

249. Hero (2002) -- Stars Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang. I love this movie. I love the use of color to aid in the storytelling. Some scenes look as if they are gorgeous paintings come to life. The action is impressive, but it is the story that I found intriguing. I didn't quite 'get' all of the story the first time I watched this movie, but upon further viewings, I now believe I've pieced it all together. Still, from first viewing to last, I've loved this movie.

250. Ong-bak (2003) -- Stars Tony Jaa. The story and acting are not all that impressive, but the stunts, performed by Tony Jaa (and others) are. No wirework. No stunt doubles. Perhaps because one takes these things for granted (that the stunts aren't 'real' in most of the other movies) it took me a bit before I fully appreciated what Tony Jaa was doing on the screen. He really IS doing all the stunts himself--and the multiple camera angles capture it all for you. (And while that editing style is cool at first, after a while it got a little annoying to see so many of the stunts shown over and over and over again from slightly varied angles). Still, an impressive movie if you like martial arts.

So. 250 movies done as of June 24th. I'm on pace to watch over 500 movies this year. Whew. A couple more martial arts movies will finish up my theme next week.

A lone favorite? In this list? Not happening! Hero and House of Flying Daggers still are among my favorites, but I'd add Legend of the Black Scorpion to those two. All three of these films were just beautiful to watch. If you get a chance, watch them too.