WAaahhh-Koo-cha-wooo!!! (Kung Fu Sounds)

Okay, okay, I'm not exactly the greatest martial artist, I'm still a yellow belt in the most basic form of kenpo.(I think that was the style, I don't know it's been about 9 years) but whoa!! What a show! To start off, it is a subtitled film and the most expensive Chinese film made to date. It was made originally in 2002, but Quentin Tarentino caught a glimpse of it and edited it for an American audience.

Okay, now that we know how it came to the states, let's talk about its greatness. Immediately, the styles of martial arts used in this film are stupendous. Jet Li is one of the finest and among the most knowledgeable in regards to martial arts and films, in my opinion. He gives a great performance! I can't really say too much without giving away the story twists because it starts almost instantly. The integration with the mythology of the ninja trainings and disciplines as well as the beautiful history of China are expressed with the greatest display of colors, cinematography, and story to ever be brought over from our Eastern neighbors! I enjoyed this more than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" because there was a bit less wire work done, so less flying around, which worked for Crouching Tiger, but realizing that this is a completely different story and holds such a rich history of the land, they kept it more focused on the story at hand and used it here and there where it was fitting!

I can't express enough that this is a SUBTITLED film! While in the theater, there were few comrades that were displeased with the fact that it was subtitled and created a bit of a scene. While they were refunded and taken care of by our great friends over at the Cinemark Tinseltown Theaters (The best seat in town!!), be sure to check out the possibility of subtitles with a film similar to this, because you never know! Personally, I enjoy subtitles over dubbed, because I just cannot stop laughing if there is a bad voice actor on top of a good show... feels too much like Mystery Science Theater 3000.

In summation: Great fighting sequences, BEAUTIFUL cinematography, splendid performances, phenomenal story, and simply clever ideas and concepts for this production.

This show definitely made me smile, so on our Happy/Sad rating system (Either we liked it [Happy] or we didn't [Sad]...) I give this one a:
HAPPY Rating

Again, with most of our movies, we see them at Cinemark Tinseltown Theaters in Newgate Mall! Thanks for your support and for letting us tape our shows there!

Other Movie Recommends:
"Napoleon Dynamite" (Just a very offbeat humor show! Not a typical comedy! Fun stuff!)
"Wimbledon" **GREAT Date flick guys!!** (Not too "girly" of love story!)

Movies to AVOID:
"Anacondas" (Oooh my goodness... Dodge it like the Bubonic Plague!)
"Mr. 3000" (Unfortunately, all the funny was shown in the trailer, and while there are a few good moments. Just not enough to keep this one afloat, personally, wait for it to come to your local video rental store.)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER REVIEWS: "At The Movies with Jamie & Spot" on Ogden's Cable Channel 17 Daily at 1:30pm & 10:30pm.

HEY!! What are you doing down here? Finished already?? Write us back and let us know what you think? Are we wrong? Anacondas totally awesome and we just didn't see the light in the film? Movie to recommend? Want to just chit-chat about films?? Drop us an e-mail!! movietalk4u@yahoomail.com Looking forward to hearing from you!

www.streetmagazine.net