Drunken Monkey

Drunken Monkey is that rare oddity of a movie for the aficionado of exotic Chinese martial arts style featuring Monkey Fist and its variation Drunken Monkey Fist.

The story starts with Man Bil (Liu Chia Liang) and his brother Man Pao leading an escort of valuable goods. They both work for the Chun Yuen Escort Agency run by Master Yui Hoi Yeung (Chi Kuan Chun). Unknown to Bil, his brother is in cahoots with Master Yui to smuggle opium into the provinces. One night while they were resting in an inn during an escort Bil saw his brother behaving suspiciously and a stranger and accepting a parcel. As Bil was approaching Man Pao to question him, a stranger appeared suddenly and they  fought briefly before the stranger identified himself as Inspector Hung Yat Fu (Gordon Liu) from the capital Nanking on his way to Canton to investigate reports of opium smuggling. The inspector borrowed a horse from Bil for his journey.

Read the rest of this entry

Youtube has deleted my account for copyrights problems. So I am now reuploading to a self-hosted site and embedding the videos back on this site. So keep coming back to check out the videos as I will be now free to upload more of my favourite vids. Meanwhile, a word of apology to those who are fans of my old Youtube vids.

Vids done for

Fist of Legend

Ip Man

Painted Skin

Legendary Assassin

Flashpoint

Mongol

MONGOL – The Rise Of Genghis Khan

Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 80th Academy Awards, Mongol chronicles the early life of one of the greatest conquerors in history – Genghis Khan. This epic joint production from Russia, Germany, and Kazakhstan is directed by award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, and stars acclaimed Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu in the role of Temugin, the man who would become Genghis Khan. Shot completely in the Mongol language amid Central Asia’s sweeping grasslands and endless deserts, Mongol offers a fascinating revisionist profile of a man that everyone knew, but few understood.

Read the rest of this entry

A loving homage to the 1973 Bruce Lee kung fu classic Chinese Connection, updated with increased production values, a Romeo and Juliet-style romantic subplot, and a more temperate view of the Japanese enemy. A martial arts protege (Jet Li) leads his classmates in revolt after their teacher is poisoned by the invading Japanese. The final fight scene is arguably one of the best of all time. Fights choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, action director of The Matrix.

This is by far my favourite retelling of Jing Wu Meng’s Chen Zhen, this time acted by Je Li with an awesome display of his superb martial arts skills. This version is unique for 2 reasons: 1) this is the only version with a happy ending where Chen Zhen gets thru this alive, 2) the Japanese in this movie are not all portrayed as bad. His Japanese love interest and her uncle are both shown in a very positive light  Don’t read this if you do not like spoilers. And believe me when I say this is the best version of the Chen Zhen story.

Read the rest of this entry

The classic Chinese story collection Strange Tales of Liaozhai receives its most opulent adaptation yet with Painted Skin. A remake of King Hu’s 1993 film of the same title, this Gordon Chan-directed release mixes old-style Hong Kong Cinema panache with new generation stars and visual effects, resulting in an unexpected and wildly entertaining mixture of action, drama and tragic romance. Top Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao face off as two women who love the same man, a soldier played by the handsome Aloys Chen. Donnie Yen lends the film a solid martial arts presence, while Betty Sun (Fearless) and Singapore actor Qi Yu Wu (881) fill out the supporting roles. A box office hit in both China and Hong Kong, Painted Skin is Hong Kong’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2009 Academy Awards.

Read the rest of this entry