Dragonball: Battle of Gods (2014)

As in every DBZ feature, the Earth is either threatened or under attack and Goku sets out to save us. This time, our villain is Beerus, the God of Destruction. Awakened from a 39yr slumber, he seeks out a fight with a Super Sayan God. Not finding a worthy challenge among the remaining Sayans, and after defeating ALL of the Z-Fighters, he decides to destroy Earth. Goku, champion fighter and savior of Earth, learns that in order to have the strength to challenge pyrrus he must become a god himself. 

Goku vs Beerus is one of the best fights they have animated. Not because of the action, but because of the story development. Goku's been humbled by a stronger fighter and realizes that he cannot win without using power borrowed from his friends, and he hates every minute, lamenting that the God form is something that he'll never be able to achieve on his own. He's vulnerable. I can't remember the last time that's happened.

Anyway, I had been looking forward to watching this flick ever since it was announced and admittedly, I could be biased by nostalgia, but I feel that Battle of Gods Lived up to its hype. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The humor, the fights all the references and cameos. All of it. It also summed up the events of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z so that new viewers could jump right into this story.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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Rigor Mortis(2012)

 A public housing tenement is plunged into a dark storm of supernatural chaos.

The Cast:

• The Bella Twins
• The Soulless Body aka David Blaine
• The Bait
• The Hunter
• The Dark Lord

The Situation:

After accidentally murdering an old man, the Dark Lord, who happens to dabble in necromancy, makes a promise to bring him back to his grieving widow. He manages to do so, but notes that he's missing a soul. To his delight, there are twin ghosts terrorizing the building who just happen to be looking for a body to inhabit.

Peanut butter meets Jelly and shit gets real. Coming to the rescue is the bait and the Hunter who helps although he'd rather just cook rice and get along with the ghosts.  

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Rigor Mortis is supposedly a homage to a series of Hong Kong Vampire flicks. I don't know anything about that. What I do know, is that this film combines two of my favorite genres (supernatural and martial arts) and spits out a very decent film. The visuals are fantastic and not to be understated. The monster was bad on its own, but definitely worse once infused with twin magic.

My prediction? You won't love it, you won't hate it, but you'll enjoy how pretty it looks.

 

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Of violence
Nudity? Nope

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Flashpoint (2007)

 

Detective Ma's partner had finally infiltrated a notorious gang and Ma enters the fray to go up against the leader before he takes over the streets.

 

Flash Point is a modern day action thriller so it isn't heavy on the martial arts, but it's there. Detective Ma (Donnie Yen) is a hot tempered badass detective who has no time to waste on bureaucracy. After his partner has his cover blown,  the gang makes an attempt to take him out. This of course enrages detective Ma and now he has even more of a reason to destroy. His only consolation was that they managed to get the head gangster, but once they kill his chief and try to blow up his team,  he decides that all bets are off.

 One of my personal mottoes in life: "If it stars Donnie Yen, I'm in."

There's only one film of his that let me down, 2010s Return of the Fist. That kinda sucked. Anyway, what I don't get I'd why it took me so long to watch Flash Point. Granted I'm not happy with the drama, but the fight scenes are so well worth it. Watching Donnie Yen play an arrogant dude was a treat and along with the fight scenes at the end and beginning of the film, that helped make things more enjoyable.

Violence? Yes

Explosions? Yes

Nudity? No

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Man of Tai Chi (2013)

In this Kung-Fu tale set in Beijing, a young man armed with incomparable martial arts skills gets embroiled in the world of underground fight clubs.

The Cast:

• Tiger Chen
• Keanu
• Dedicated cop, jing si
• Master Wang
• Secret Surprise Villain Cameo

 

The Situation:

Tiger Chen is a man who just wants to fight. His principles don't allow him to do so, but the beast is awakened when he meets Donaka Park, who leads an undergoes fight club and cultivates Tiger's bloodlust. Whereas Tiger belives he's fighting for money, he discovers that Donaka is only after the destruction and complete corruption of an innocent soul. Hot on Donaka's heels though, is dedicated detective, Jing Si, who is hellbent on shutting down his operation.

--------------------------------------------

Man of Tai Chi is a battle between balance and chaos fought within Tiger Chen, a star student and sole successor to a 600yr old style of kung-fu. His sensei, Master Wang, represents the good and his employer, Donaka Park, represents the dark, pulling at Tiger to release his inner demons.

 

Donaka Park is played by Keanu and honestly, he has one of those faces to where your can't see him as a villain, but to his credit, he's pretty ruthless in this film.Tiger Chen is no slouch either and together, they do show Tai Chi in another light. Yes it is known for meditation and exercise, but I learned that in the right hands, Tai Chi can fuck people up. The meh part about this movie? The dialogue. It was so wooden. It may have been done on purpose in order to force us to focus on the fighting, but it was a bit distracting. The fighting scenes however, absolutely deliver. Keanu also directed the movie so there's that.

One of the other things I liked was that Donaka wasn't just another rich asshole who ran a fight club, he was a badass dude who could get shit done with his fists. The other thing I liked was the final fight scene. I don't want to spoil it and tell you who the opponent was, but it was unexpected and i was thrilled. Another was that Donaka Park was not a rich pussy. He could actually back up his business. With his fists.

Sidenote: 

I'm actually both surprised and relieved that the RZA wasn't in this movie is some way, but I'm sure he will find his way into the sequel.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Of Chi
Nudity? Nope

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The Miami Connection (1987)

The Miami Connection has got to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I've seen in a while. I honestly miss movies like these. 

The premise is simple, there's a  Japanese biker gang who are bikers by day and ninjas by night. The biker ninjas are trying to control Miami in order to further their drug trade and other nefarious activities. The only thing stopping them from achieving total supremacy is a band of musicians known as DragonSound. They are all orphans, best friends and black belts in taekwondo,  capable of wrecking shop if pushed.

After a few minor squabbles with a band that used to perform at their club, DragonSound are pushed into a direct blood feud with the Miami Ninja after a member is killed in an ambush. 

 Cocaine!!!!

The movie is bad. No one is claiming it's good. This is, the music is dope. I could see myself buying the soundtrack (if bugging things were still in fashion) If nothing else, I'd watch it again just for that. Also the concept of a biker gang by day, killer Ninja squad by night is hilarious. And they have their own theme song! This movie is so 80s.    

 

 

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Of sound and karate
Nudity? Titty does make an appearance, but really, beggars can't be choosers I guess.

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Psycho Gothic Lolita (2010)

After assassins kill her mother and maim her father, innocent Yuki --now dining gothic leather -- goes on a mission for revenge.

At a birthday dinner, five hooded assailants, break into their home. In the struggle, her father is seriously injured and her mother is killed right in front of her. 

Lolita sneaks into a gambling den where debauchery is ever present. After disembowling the guard, she heads for her first kill, Sakie, the Queen.

By the time she reaches and executes the fifth guy, she learns that there was more to the story than just a random murder. Her mother was a devil, and they were exorcists. She is also a devil and he's been baiting her until she revealed her true form.

 Harbinger of Justice, executing those responsible for her mother's death. 

Before you ask: Why not? Japanese B movies are still B movies. 

Didn't really know what to expect when I started Psycho Gothic Lolita and honestly I was bored until the fighting started. It plays kinda like Kill Bill. A woman was wronged by 5 people, makes a list and sets out to get her revenge. But this is Japanese, so there's a lot of blood and gore and weirdness. It works for the film, but if you have no experience with the genre you'll hate it.

For a move made in Japan in 2010, it really lacks the flair that accompanies the genre. But technically it's an exploitation flick, so I guess that can explain it.

Idk whatever.

 

Violence? Yes. Oh yes
Explosions? Blood Spray
Nudity? No

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Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)

***An iCheck Movies Listed Film***

Well, I could never find a good movie with all the guillotines I wanted so I dipped into the archives. Master of the flying guillotine has to have all of the guillotine I can handle....right?

Here's the quick and dirty:

Essentially, a blind grandmaster travels the country, seeking to avenge the deaths of his two disciples. All he knows is that a one armed man is responsible. So he does what any good master filed with rage would do, guillotine just about every one armed man who crosses his path and those that get in his way.

The one armed boxer is a master of his craft, but he has no desire for fame, fortune or to draw the attention of the Chinese government. He has opened a school and is persuaded to attend the tournament as a way to learn more about kung-fu outside of his own.

After the Grandmaster crashes the tournament, the one armed boxer closes his school and tells of how he defeated the two disciples. He suspects their master is coming for him and he gets ready.

///////////////

It's still a good film, but I'll never get my guillotine. *wistful sigh*

Stray Quotage:

"Was he the one armed boxer?
       No! He was just some bum!
I don't care. I intend to kill every one armed man that I come across here. "

"We all want to learn kung-fu. But we don't want to hide all our lives"

"The one armed swordsman is just a one armed chicken."

Sigh. One Armed Boxer vs Flying Guillotine. That's the original/international title and one that's more apt to the film. Despite its title it's only focus is the tournament and the one armed boxer. Shit there's just about an hour long wait until we get to their first confrontation.

I get it. The Master of the Flying Guillotine is clearly the bad guy, as realistically, you really can't go around taking people's heads, but the equation should be simple: arrive, take heads, leave. Unfortunately, the entire first half is tragically void of guillotines, minus one scene in which s chicken gets it. I'm starting to realize that I'll never get the proper amount of flying guillotine in my life. The irony is that I'll probably be killed by guillotine when it's time. 

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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Karate Girl (2011)

Years after someone murdered her karate master father and kidnapped her sister, Ayaka sets out to put her family back together.

 

A ruthless businessman is attempting to control Kurenai Karate all over the world. To do so, he'll need the black belt held by Sojiro Kurenai, the greatest karate master of all time.

After a short battle,  it's protector is slain along with his eldest daughter. The businessman absconds with the black belt and his youngest daughter. With his final breaths, the protector manages to revive his eldest, Ayako and tells her let no man take the belt, which was around his waist the whole time.

About 8 years later, we find Ayako working in a movie theater. She uses karate to stop a pair of purse snatchers and becomes instantly popular with the crowd of onlookers. The pics and videos hit the web, alerting the bed guys to her presence. When the businessman finds out that the belt in his possession is a fake, Ayako is still alive and he was paralyzed for no reason, he  sets out to track down Ayako and retrieve the real one, but not before heart punching one of his henchman.

Keith Gets His Head Kicked In...

What I like about these Japanese karate flicks specifically is that the actors really take a beating to sell it. No punches are pulled and it just looks better. Comes across more fluid I mean. As the end credits roll, there are scenes showing the choreography.

Karate Girl it's not a barn burner, but it is a decent flick and the fight choreography is well done. It's basically about a girl who knows karate and fucks shit up, but only because she's forced to. In the process she reunites with her sister (who the bad guy kidnapped) and it's double the fun as they take out Keith, the biggest, baddest, whitest martial artist the bad guy has on his team. [Dude ate like 8 tandem kicks to the head. 6 alone, just because of his name.] I also found out that this starred the same girl from High Kick Girl!. I thought those kicks looked familiar...

Violence? Yes. No blood though, just kicks to the face.
Explosions? Of kicks to the face
Nudity? No naked ass-whippings

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Tai Chi Zero (2012)

Yang travels to Chen Village to learn a powerful form of Tai Chi. Though villagers are forbidden from teaching outsiders, Yang becomes their best hope for survival when a man arrives with a plan to build a railroad through the village.

A man is born with what is known as "The Three Blossoms of the Crown," a technique that allows its user near invincibility and complete mastery of his martial art. His current boss is a warlord who uses his technique to finish battles and each time he uses it, it takes a toll on his health. After the last fight, he was told that he's dying as he wastes his chi and he should seek out Master Chen and beg him to teach his style of kung fu.

He soon learns that The Chen style of Kung-Fu is not taught to outsiders and he's rebuffed despite his many efforts. However he is determined and once the town is threatened by its prodigal son, he intervenes, hoping to win their favor. Shit quickly his the fan and you'll have to watch Tai Chi Hero to finish the story.

Tai Chi Zero is actually fun and entertaining. It looks amazing and the storyline is both solid and consistent. The action scenes come often and there's very little filler. Just about everyone in the film has a background in martial arts or were someone that was pivotal to martial arts cinema and they get title cards explaining who they are when they first show on screen. That was an idea that's actually dope in concept and execution. Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to  and I hope it doesn't Kill Bill Vol.2 itself. That'd be bad. Mmmkay...

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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Dragon (2011)

A seemingly humble paper maker is hounded by a persistent detective after events reveal that he may might possibly be a killer with a blood-soaked past.

Two men come into a village to rob their prosperous paper mill. Liu Jin-xi (Donnie Yen) fights them off and kills them. One of the men was a dangerous and wanted killer and a detective sets out to discover how an unarmed paper maker could kill the trained killer. He digs deeper into the case trying to figure out just who he is.

That starts with a little cat and mouse action as the detective starts to test him, knowing that he isn't just a lame shop keep who got in a lucky strike. When he discovers what he believes is his true identity, a wanted outlaw, he sets about plans to bring him in. But word gets out and the 72 Demons, his old gang, makes plans to bring him back home. By force if necessary.

This old man, he played one. He'll punch your face off just for fun...

Dragon is essentially A History of Violence, but with more martial arts and asians and it takes place in 1917 China. Although there's a fight within the opening scenes, it does move a bit slow but once his true identity is out,  the action and story picks up as well. And things get that much better. Not so much for the character, but for the viewer. By the end you'll see he has to fight his father to get out of the gang and at one point, even he gets Yip Man'd (rapid fire punches to the face/body)

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

After herbalist Xu Xian weds a woman who saved him from drowning, he discovers that she's an incarnation of the 1,000-year-old Madam White Snake.

Jet Li is a monk, well, sorcerer I guess, who's been battling the the White Snake, a bewitching demon. After a quick opening scenes battle, he manages to defeat her and trap her in a spiritual rock. Years later, an herbalist nearly drowns and is saved by a mysterious woman. It turns out she's the reincarnation of the white snake and the sorcerer attempts to either recapture her or kill her, much to the herbalists chagrin. After she's taken out (spoiler alert!) He tries to break her out and when danger befalls him, she essentially does the same.

 I would do anything for love, but I won't do that...

At its core, The Sorcerer and the White Snake is about love. Specifically a  forbidden interspecies love between man and demon. It supposes that humans and demons are capable of going to extended lengths for love. Outside of that drama, it also has awesome visual effects and Solid kung fu action. But it loses points for a random talking rat demon(s).

 

Violence? No
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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Iron Monkey 2 (1996)

Donnie Yen returns to fight off a deadly assassin named Snow Fox and aids a band of insurrectionists battling a malevolent gang of weapon smugglers.

Iron Monkey 2 is not an official sequel, which explains a lot. It's an Iron Monkey movie in name and Kung Fu only. In the time between the two films, The Iron monkey went from mythical robin hood like super hero to leader of the Chinese resistance.

The plot itself was/is simple but I found it hard to follow and that was probably because I was bored.
There was a lot of gunfire in this film. I hate martial arts movies with guns. It kinda ruins the setting and more importantly, takes me out of it. The best part about Iron Monkey though, was the flying guillotine. That weapon is so sick and definitely needed to be featured more.

The flying guillotine is the best part of any martial arts film. 

[Disclaimer: This is a scene from another film.]

The action in Iron Monkey 2 was fast and intense. When they did fight I mean. But Donnie Yen did not look interested, at least that's how I saw it. Second best part, They Molotov'd a dude in the climax. Kung Fu fight-- > Molotov-- > end credits.

That sequence almost made the film worth while.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese. 

Set between the British occupation of Hong Kong and the Japanese invasion of China, war hero Chen Zhen, forms a Secret movement to fight the Japanese invasion of China. To that end, he infiltrates the high society and the Triads, hoping to influence them when the time comes. One rainy night, outside of a theater, he spots a black outfit with matching mask. He puts it on and kicks some Japanese ass. After the battle, he becomes the symbol of Japanese resistance and public enemy number 1. Eventually, he realizes that the only way to save China, is to defeat the ruthless Colonel of the Japanese army, who challenges him to a fight at the same dojo where Chen killed years ago.

Chen Zhen is the fucking man.

Return of the First was slick and had brief flashes of awesome but overall, it played more like a drama than an action flick. After the action of the first scene, the movie slows down to build up the characters. The slow pace is killer, the action scenes attempt to make up for it but there are a lot of lulls. If I could rate it based on that opening scene alone, it would score high. Unfortunately, the movie continued and it was all downhill from there. As it went on (and on), I could see why I skipped it.

Out of Ten? 6

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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Chocolate (2008)

Acclaimed Thai action director Prachya Pinkaew helms this martial arts drama, which follows Zen, a young autistic woman who discovers that she has the uncanny ability to absorb precision fighting skills just by watching martial arts movies. When her cancer-ridden mother's creditors come calling, Zen attempts to settle the debts by standing up to a hardnosed gang of criminals who have wrongfully swindled money from her family. 

From the people who brought you ong bak and the protector comes Chocolate. The tale of an autistic girl who learns martial arts by watching street fights and film. After her mother is hospitalized, an autistic girl tries to collect debts owed to pay her medical bills. In doing so she runs afoul of many shady dudes and eventually the guy responsible for her father's exile.

Chocolate is an awesome film and fits perfectly within the realm of the Ong Bak/Protector universe. The fighting and stunt work are crazy and the story moves straightforward from A to B. Fight fans, will love it. Plus the villain is a rock star. No matter how many times he is attacked, he never loses his shades. Because that wouldn't be cool.


Here's the trailer. (Spoiler alert!: Fight happens.)

Bonus points for the super cool villain.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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Ninja (2009)

A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

The top two students in the running to replace the leader of the dojo don't like each other two much. During a heated training exercise, the Japan born student tries to kill the Last Samurai and is expelled from the school.Years later, he shows up as a Snake Eyes clone, conducting mercenary work, specifically assassinations for an unnamed secret organization.

The dojo throws a small ceremony to name his successor and pass down the ancient weaponry. My question is, if the techniques are to be passed down in secret, why have a public ceremony? Anyway, Snake eyes crashes the party and after being reminded of his expulsion, he threatens the Sensei and everyone there that day. As the ninja weapons are being hidden, snake eyes is preparing for war. He has a closet full of weapons and at nightfall, he makes his move, taking out nearly the whole school on his way to kill his former teacher. The old man is dope. he even gets in a "I taught you everything you know," but like a good ninja, snake eyes resorts to chicanery to win, using poison darts then decapitation to end the battle.

After giving away her location by calling her father, snake eyes sees the number and deduces that the weapons are in New York. He calls the leader of the secret society to bring in the ninja girl and makes plans of his own to join them shortly. After being attacked, the ninja kids are on the run. This eventually leads to a fight on the train, which not only had to be the longest ride, but it also gave me a new kill to add to the list (skip to 5:15 for the kill)

Sidenote: I don't get how she is the daughter of the head of the ninja school, yet a complete punk bitch during fight scenes. I thought these mofos were ninjas. A little gunfire and she turned into a quivering bitch. She was dead weight throughout the film. Useless. it's like they watered down her character during filming.

After finally getting arrested, the (cliched) stubborn cops believe they are the bad guys and treat them like so. Chaining them to chairs and blatantly disregarding their stories. Snake Eyes shows up at the station and the cops eat sword for their efforts. Nifty little lightsaber effect on his sword too, but that just added insult to injury. After a battle atop the police station, we quickly learn that the last samurai is no match for Snake Eyes, who captures Ninja Girl and flees. The Last Samurai is now on a mission to rescue Ninja Girl. Tearing through the secret society along the way, he gets in contact with snake eyes and offers to trade the ninja weapons for the girl. Making his way to the deal, last samurai puts on the ancient weaponry and finally claims his birthright as an American Ninja. Which of course leads to the final fight scene and the downfall of Snake Eyes.

I came into this film expecting total crap. What I got was decent crap. Passable, but still crap. The dialogue was bad but who needs words when you can let spin kicks speak for you? (Seriously. I think his dialogue was 80% spin kicks. I don't think I saw dude throw a punch the whole film!), the logic behind the plot was flawed, and somehow a police helicopter was written into and out of the movie during the same scene. Outside of all that, the evil ninja was, of course, a total badass and the action scenes (read: bloodshed) saved the film from a worse score.

Out of Ten? 6

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Smoke Bombs.
Nudity? No. Unfortunately

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Clash - 2009

Trinh codename Phoenix, a female mob enforcer, must complete a series of organized crime jobs for her boss Hac Long in order to win the release of her kidnapped daughter. She hires several mercenaries to help, including Quan dubbed Tiger, who she becomes attracted to. Trinh and Quan's relationship becomes complicated as it becomes evident that their motivations are not the same.

Vietnamese big budget action flick.
At the behest of the big boss, A woman assembles a group of mercenaries to complete an arms deal. One of the guys is recognized and they have to fight for their lives to escape. After being betrayed by one of their own on another mission, the two remaining members try to track him down and retrieve the stolen merchandise and extract a measure of revenge. By the time they catch up to him, their motivations for doing so are radically different.

There's nothing special about this flick. Clash is basically about shootouts and Muy Thai. The big boss is actually quite a badass and when he finally shows that side, it's a thing of beauty.

 Overall though, I can say I've seen better.

Out of Ten? 5.5

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? Peek-A-Boob.

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True Legend (2012)

Su Qi-Er retired from his life as a renowned Qing dynasty general in order to pursue his dream of a family and his own martial arts school. However, Su's peaceful life is shattered when his vengeful adopted brother, Yuan Lie, kidnaps his son and leaves Su for dead. Saved from his demise by his wife Ying and the reclusive doctor Yu, Su resolves to perfect his technique so that he may defeat Yuan Lie and reunite his family.Now burning to become a martial arts master, Su Qi-er submits to a teacher who helps him become more powerful than ever before.  

True Legend is essentially a biopic about  Su Can, a former chinese general, turned drunken beggar and his ascent to Legendary Martial Arts status.

The film starts with an awesome ninja style raid on the enemies headquarters. Su Leads a team into enemy territory to rescue his captured prince. For this, he is offered the position of Governor, which he declines because he's retiring to be with his family. He nominated his brother Yuan for the job and the story really begins there. 5 years later, Governor Yuan pays a visit to  Su and his family. Su's father says he doesn't trust him and relays the bloody history between himself and Yuan's father.Believing him to be out of control, with a deadly technique, the Five Venom Fist, Su's father killed.YUAN's father and raised them as brothers. Yuan had always resented this, and he fears that now that he's governor, nothing good can result.

Yuan arrives while Su is away, announces that he has mastered the Five Venom Fist and after a short battle he prices the old man right by killing him and taking his head. Su arrives too late top stop him, but during their fight he finds out that Yuan is hardcore. After landing some pretty good cuts with a sword, he realizes that he's causing no damage. Just then Yuan laughs and reveals that he has metal fucking armor sewn 1inch deep into his flesh.

 Hard.Fucking.Core.

Not long after this reveal, Yuan wings the fight (duh), infects him with the venom technique and throws him into a waterfall to die. Our hero goes through the "I've been throughly defeated and now I'm completely useless" phase and even becomes an alcoholic until his hair grows in and he defeats his own self pity. Believing him to be unable, she decides to rescue their son herself. Reading the note she left about his instability to save his family, Su, races off to the castle and fucks shit up on the way to defeat Yuan. Before the final battle however, Yuan says he won't kill his wife, but he has her buried alive in the forest. After a final fight that saw them fight into and out of a snake pit, Su kills Yuan and the race is then on to find his wife. Unfortunately he finds her too late. Now a drunken heartbroken beggar, we move onto phase two of our film: The Drunken Fist.

After wandering into a bar and fighting a drunken fist master, he runs into Ma, an old friend from his war days. Ma tells him that Foreign warriors are challenging Chinese to fights and are killing them and he decides to support his friend in his fight with the foreigners. During the fight, his son gets involved and he uses the drunken fist to save him and take on the foreigners who are apparently aided, controlled and released by "White Tupac" David Carradine, who I'm sure I've seen in more films post mortem than when he was alive.

 White Tupac

In the epilogue we learn that he wandered the country and used the fist. the style would then be copied and spread throughout the land. Making him a true Wushu master.


True Legend is a solid flick. Good action. Easy to follow story. Yet, still a bit longer than I'd have liked. But there is Michelle Yeoh...

Out of ten? 7

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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Quick Hits #12

	Bad Boys (1995) - The original was a great flick. It was good to see Martin Lawrence and Will Smith team up. The action was good and the comedy in between those scenes kept us alert. If you notice, you'll see that Martin Lawrence received top billing...interesting. Out of Ten? 9
	Dragon Tiger Gate (2006) - Two brothers, who are separated when their parents split, find themselves on opposite sides of the law as adults. After a gang murder, they team up and reclaim their birthright. Dragon Tiger Gate is based on a comic book so the more absurd elements of the film are believable. The Fight scenes are okay but when they aren't fighting, the film offers nothing. There's so much drama between the fight scenes that it's waaaay to easy to lose interest. Out of Ten? 5
	Mandrill (2009) - After his parents are brutally killed in front of him, little Mandrill goes to live with his uncle who raises him like a son. When he asks about his father he is told that his father was like chilean action hero John Colt. From that day, little Mandrill grows up and lives his life in that manner. He eventually becomes a one named chilean badass assassin/secret agent on the hunt for revenge. There's no real way to explain the film. I went into this flick expecting nothing. But this movie was surprisingly good. I found it to be something like an exploitation Chilean Bond flick that is self aware of its cheese factor. The soundtrack is good as well. Out of Ten? 7.5
	Knocked Up (2007) - You know, I hadn't actually seen this flick from beginning to end. I decided to watch it the other day. Forgot how funny it is. Well rounded funny cast + Katherine Heigl as the hot chick and out of character celebrity cameos. Very enjoyable but time has shown that the magic of this flick would not be repeated. Out of Ten? 8
	Superbad (2007) - The movie that brought us McLovin, and we're all richer for it. Superbad was hilarious and It seems the cast and crew genuinely had a good time and enjoyed making this flick. That always makes a movie better. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't yet seen it, but if you haven't, go watch it now. Out of Ten? 10

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Mirage Man - 2007

A shy, inconspicuous man named Maco decides to become a self-made superhero when he gains national notoriety for unintentionally rescuing a television reporter from the clutches of two dangerous criminals.

Running along the streets at night, Marco Gutierrez comes across a burglary in progress. Inside of the house, he spots one of the robbers as he prepares to rape a woman. At the top of the movie, we learn that his parents died in a rape n rob so flashing back to that, he uses his pent up anger to destroy the thieves.
After watching and getting inspired by the report of his heroic work, he decides to become a superhero. After finally settling on an outfit, shit gets real and the crimefighting begins. Mirageman is saving the day and dude is fucking cats up along the way.

After his attempt to rescue a girl from a gang of pedophiles goes awry, Mirageman disappears to regroup after the reality of his "work" hits him. (ie shit got a bit too real and he got fucked up.) Out of the game for three weeks, the public's initial dismissal becomes concern. After getting the very public message that his lady was abducted, he returns to the game and wrecks shop as he goes to rescue her. Once his identity is threatened in the process, he receives a helping hand from a man who believes in him and implores him not to quit. Getting back to work, he vows to solve the pedophile case that nearly ruined him earlier. Since this is a gang of pedophiles, and considering his history with them, he's allowed to get a bit more violent and he does. Killing nearly every one them along the way to save the kidnapped girl and save the day and in true superhero fashion, the door is left wide open for a sequel.

Mirageman is a solid flick. Not only did it manage to ground the modern day vigilante mythos, it also managed to find the right balance between the action, comedic and dramatic elements.They even managed to include the "trying on costumes" and "coming up with a good name" part of superhero films. It was kinda like a Chilean Spiderman film and they even make a joke about it at one point.

Marko Zaror. 

Remember this face. If he ever blows up, I want you to say that you heard about him here first.
Out of Ten? 7

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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Black Dynamite - 2009

Black Dynamite is essentially a modern day Blacksploitation flick, done so well that you can barely tell that it was done in the modern era. The performances are both awesome and hilarious and it seems like they really enjoyed making the film.
 
If the Trailer doesn't convince you to give it a shot. I pray for your soul.
(Warning: Opens in New Window)

If you have not yet seen this movie, you need to crawl out from under your rock and slap yourself, then have your momma slap you so the lesson sticks. Black Dynamite is legitimately one of the best movies ever made. For some reason it went under the radar in theaters, but its been gaining steam as more people discover it on BluRay/DVD.

Violence? Sweet Kung-Fu violence. Blacksploitation style.
Explosions? Oh of course. Black Dynamite is a bad muthafucka.
Nudity? Of course. What is an exploitation film without Ass & Titties?

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