GeneChing
12-10-2019, 10:03 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9Ajb_ZQzM
I'm just going to drop my review now because I saw this on Amazon Prime a week or so ago. This is a Taiwanese film starring Shu Qi and Eric Tsang. I love Eric Tsang. I think Danny Devito is like the Eric Tsang of Hollywood. He has a small part, one that I thought the film had totally forsaken when the credits started, but then there's an after credit scene that pulls it all together. Shu Qi, well, she's dirty without make-up in the beginning, a shackled slave wife, but then she becomes luminous and gorgeous like usual, and actually pulls of some decent dramatic scenes. I come and go with her, but her role here worked for me.
The story is a period film about dumb greedy villagers, an ancient steampunkish device that erases memories called the Worry Ridder, a scamming Daoist, and a band of bandits that provide their own soundtrack with acapella beat boxing faintly echoing Bobby McFerrin. The bandits were great and sometimes, good villains are all a film needs to succeed for me. It's got some dark humor, brutally heartless yet tongue-in-cheek. I was surprised by several plot turns, and found it's sensibilities humorous, mostly because I was scratching my head trying to figure out where it was all going. And in the end, I found the conclusion satisfactory. It's got some stunning cinematography, well composed scenes, panoramic settings, swooping shots, the director moves the camera astonishingly well. They built a complete village for this, which gives it solidity, especially with some complex drone work. There's sword fights. The main villain carries this ridiculous ratchet. The finale fight is an innovative toggling of fast and slo mo, with absurd wire work, powdered with corn starch for effect.
Do I recommend it? Well, definitely for anyone keeping up with Chinese cinema. I would enjoy your take on this very much. Also recommended for any of you that are Shu Qi fans. It's award-winning Taiwan cinema, but it might be too quirky for many. I enjoyed it for what it was. It felt like fresh escapist fare. Some of its notions were hackneyed and uneven, but there was enough novelty that it kept me engaged.
THREADS
The Village of No Return (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71612-The-Village-of-No-Return)
Chinese/Shanghai Steampunk (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64489-Chinese-Shanghai-Steampunk)
I'm just going to drop my review now because I saw this on Amazon Prime a week or so ago. This is a Taiwanese film starring Shu Qi and Eric Tsang. I love Eric Tsang. I think Danny Devito is like the Eric Tsang of Hollywood. He has a small part, one that I thought the film had totally forsaken when the credits started, but then there's an after credit scene that pulls it all together. Shu Qi, well, she's dirty without make-up in the beginning, a shackled slave wife, but then she becomes luminous and gorgeous like usual, and actually pulls of some decent dramatic scenes. I come and go with her, but her role here worked for me.
The story is a period film about dumb greedy villagers, an ancient steampunkish device that erases memories called the Worry Ridder, a scamming Daoist, and a band of bandits that provide their own soundtrack with acapella beat boxing faintly echoing Bobby McFerrin. The bandits were great and sometimes, good villains are all a film needs to succeed for me. It's got some dark humor, brutally heartless yet tongue-in-cheek. I was surprised by several plot turns, and found it's sensibilities humorous, mostly because I was scratching my head trying to figure out where it was all going. And in the end, I found the conclusion satisfactory. It's got some stunning cinematography, well composed scenes, panoramic settings, swooping shots, the director moves the camera astonishingly well. They built a complete village for this, which gives it solidity, especially with some complex drone work. There's sword fights. The main villain carries this ridiculous ratchet. The finale fight is an innovative toggling of fast and slo mo, with absurd wire work, powdered with corn starch for effect.
Do I recommend it? Well, definitely for anyone keeping up with Chinese cinema. I would enjoy your take on this very much. Also recommended for any of you that are Shu Qi fans. It's award-winning Taiwan cinema, but it might be too quirky for many. I enjoyed it for what it was. It felt like fresh escapist fare. Some of its notions were hackneyed and uneven, but there was enough novelty that it kept me engaged.
THREADS
The Village of No Return (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71612-The-Village-of-No-Return)
Chinese/Shanghai Steampunk (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64489-Chinese-Shanghai-Steampunk)