Bubba Ho-tep (2002)

Many of my friends know that one of my favorite movie genres is the "B" movie genre (in other words poorly made movies that nobody else wants to watch). Probably the most famous "B" movie actor is a man by the name of Bruce Campbell who is most well known for playing the role of Ash in the Evil Dead series directed by Sam Raimi (who has "Evil Dead 4" in the works right now btw). "B" movies are known for their over-the-top special effects and notably terrible acting.

"Bubba Ho-tep" is one of Bruce Campbell's most recent films and stars him in the role of Sebastian Haff. However the true character of Sebastian Haff is Elvis...yes the King himself. The story behind that is that Elvis wanted to go under the radar so he faked his death and took the place of a man named Sebastian Haff. Here's the kicker; Sebastian Haff is an Elvis impersonator. So Bruce Campbell plays Elvis who is impersonating Sebastian Haff who is impersonating Elvis.

The story is based around Elvis who is now old and lives in a care facility with a man who thinks he's JFK. The problem is that the care facility where both of them live is under attack by an Egyptian mummy who is eating the souls of the care home tenants. It's up to Elvis and JFK to stop the mummy and bring peace to the care home.

This film is actually a very well put together film compared to every other "B" movie I've ever seen. The film quality is very high and everything looks really great comparatively. The acting is a bit cheesy but for this film I think it's pretty appropriate. There weren't any super cheesy special effects which definitely sets this apart from most other Bruce Campbell (for instance "Terminal Invasion"). I think this film turned out as good as it did because Bruce Campbell has embraced the fact that "B" movies are generally thought of as terrible films with no value whatsoever. Because he has embraced the fact that "B" movies are cheesy, his films sort of have a right to be cheesy and I think it's appropriate for the context. This may start bringing these movies that I have such a passion for to a more widespread audience. Bruce Campbell fans definitely check this out. "Bubba Ho-tep" gets a 3.5 out of 5.

Slacker (1991)

It's been awhile since my last post. This is because I decided to take some time off after my much involved research and viewing project on Bruce Lee and his legacy. Rather than writing reviews I've been watching Dragonball Z....

So anyways up on the chopping block today is the film "Slacker" which is part of the Richard Linklater library (who happens to be one of my favorite directors and writers). Richard Linklater has a very unique style of putting his films together and the general vibe and cinematography are very recognizable. One film that is very similar from Linklater is "Waking Life" which analyzes the theory of lucid dreaming (not being able to differentiate between what is a dream and what is real life). Linklater is known for have a constant dialog/narration going on throughout the entire film. Most of the time this dialog is about some philosophical ideal or something relating to how people see life differently.

"Slacker" is a film analyzing the lives of misfit youths and people who general aren't doing much with their lives (or so it seems on the outside). The subject of the film is passed around from person to person by small connections that they each have, such as walking past each other on the street or having a conversation about life in a coffee shop. Through this passive look at the subjects the viewer obtains an understanding as to the lives and connections of everybody involved. This idea of film making expresses that everybody is in some way connected, in terms of a lot of the subjects visited throughout the plot come up in later conversations in the film, or have already been touched on by previous meetings and conversations. Other than that there isn't so much of a set plot except for gaining an understanding of life through the eyes of conversation (which is a distinct Linklater-ism).

I really enjoyed this film, probably because it was very interesting from a philosophical and existential viewpoint, but also because it was one of Linklaters earlier works and I can really see a definitive style in his film-making, and it's a style that I really enjoy. It's this analytical style that gives the film a very light-hearted feeling which also makes for a very entertaining film because of the light-hearted nature. This film is also a good example of flawless acting. The actors do a great job of getting inside their roles. This film would have been impossible if the actors weren't able to immerse themselves in the lives of their characters. This was a very enjoyable movie and if you enjoy Linklater check it out, and if you enjoy movies that explore existentialist ideas and philosophical problems, or if you just want to watch it because I watched it and you trust my reviews, then definitely check it out! "Slacker" gets a 4 of 5.

The Bruce Lee Legacy

As some of you may know I've been going through a Bruce Lee phase lately and have been trying to get my hands on every movie he's made. Little did I actually realize how big of a deal he was in the Kung-Fu genre of film until I watched "Game of Death." For those of you who don't know much about Bruce Lee, here's a short summary of his life.
Bruce Lee was born in 1940 and lived a short life, dying in 1973 before the release of one of his most celebrated films, "Enter the Dragon." His career as a professional film martial artist, choreographer, producer, and writer included more than 30 different films all contained within the Kung-Fu genre showcasing his own Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts. He died of what appeared to complications in his brain (but this was never confirmed as the cause of death and it remains a mystery still today) while filming his last film "Game of Death," which was later released in 1978 using actual "Game of Death" footage combined with footage using a Bruce Lee stand-in, as well as footage from his previous films. His own unique style of fighting is instantly recognizable for his quick feet and all around fast-paced fighting. His impact on the martial arts genre as a whole is astounding and directors allude to his work all of the time (most recently and most memorable is in the "Kill Bill" movies directed by Quentin Tarantino) and his work will remain important in martial arts film making for many years to come.
To get to the main point, I would like to provide you with some overviews and reviews of the movies that I've watched and how important they are to the martial arts genre, and to the film industry as a whole.
When Lee started making movies he was basically forced to "come into Hollywood through the backdoor" as described by his wife, Linda Emery, in the Bruce Lee documentary by John Little. This means that Hollywood wouldn't allow an Asian man to star in a martial arts film because he wasn't white, even if he was a better fighter. So Lee got to Hollywood through the Hong Kong film scene. He stared in his first martial arts film entitled "The Big Boss" which is centered around a wealthy business smuggling drugs and becoming protective of his operation by killing anybody who discovers his plot, this being all of Bruce Lee's characters family and friends. So Lee goes on a rampage to take on the Big Boss in a climactic fight scene. I rated "The Big Boss" as a 3/5 solely because it was really a classic "B" movie in terms of the incredibly terrible gore and lack of coherent plot line. However, it can be seen that Lee is beginning to develop his own unique fighting style.
Rather than review every single Bruce Lee movie I've watched in the past few weeks (the total being 6), I'll just give all a numerical review of each.

The Big Boss(1971)-3/5
Fist of Fury(1972)-3/5
The Chinese Connection(1972)-4/5
Way of the Dragon(1972)-5/5
Enter the Dragon(1973)-5/5
Game of Death(1978)-2/5

As you can see, throughout Lee's career, his movies became of higher quality and were just generally better, as well as Lee developed his own personal fighting "style" known as Jeet Kune Do (Path of the Intercepting Fist). I say style in quotes because Lee wasn't a severe opponent of fighting styles and proved through is films that his Jeet Kune Do could prevail over any one style, as it combines the extreme power of Gung Fu as well as Lee's own philosophy of defending with offense.
One exception to this was "Game of Death" which I mentioned earlier. I watched "Game of Death" anticipating it to be an excellent piece of work because it was later than any of his other movies. Little did I what "Game of Death" actually was until I looked up Lee's death an the release date. The film was released in 1978, however, Lee died in 1973! After more research I realized that Lee began filming "Game of Death" in 1973, directly after filming "Enter the Dragon", which was Lee's first and last Hollywood film. While in the process of filming Lee died and the film was never finished. However, after his death the Hong Kong production company pulled "Game of Death" out the vault, created a whole new plot, and filmed that plot using a Bruce Lee stand-in as well as excerpts from his previous films. The stand-in pretended to be Bruce Lee in fighting and acting very poorly and the scenes that were used from his previous films were cut in very poorly and the movie had very little cohesive value. The only redeeming factors from this movie were the last 20 minutes of the movie which were the only parts of the original "Game of Death" footage, using the authentic Bruce Lee. This short bit of footage is the best representation of Lee's fighting style and is a wonderful work of martial arts art!
Before Bruce Lee began filming his movies, the movies that were coming out of Hong Kong were really cheesy sword play movies that were completely unrealistic and over-used special effects. Bruce Lee's movies combat this form of film making by using almost no special effects (the only instance I can think of is from "The Big Boss" where fake blood is used) and using authentically choreographed fight scenes that are true to Lee's specific form of fighting (Jeet Kune Do). Lee's style of film making influenced so many great fighting movies to come after it, including most (if not all) of Quentin Tarantino's movies, Chuck Norris films, as well as Robert Rodriguez's films (associated with Tarantino in some cases).
Not only did Lee influence all of these icons in film making, but his influence on modern philosophies between valiant enemies shows through even today. Lee's philosophy was one of respect and equality for all people, including ones enemies. Lee made this apparent in not only his movies (in particular "The Way of the Dragon") but in his publications and journal entries. Lee was an avid reader of many eastern philosophers such Confucius and used these ideas and thoughts in collaboration with his own and applied them to martial arts and life in general. The film industry and the martial arts genre is lucky to have such a man as Bruce Lee. He revolutionized the film industry in his field as well as made an example of how people should treat each other through his movies.
So if you haven't checked out Bruce Lee's philosophies, not to mention his movies, they are a must see!

Ninja Assassin (2009)

I haven't seen a new movie lately in which I have been incredibly impressed with the action, blood, and overall slaughtering of countless fantastic enemies. "Ninja Assassin" has all of these and more! This film centers around a ninja named Raizo (Rain) who was raised in a secret ninja clan called the clan of black sand. It turns out that this clan has been supplying the world's leaders with ninja assassins to carry out their dirty work. Raizo betrayed the clan because he didn't believe that what they were doing was just. After leaving the clan, he made it his passion to destroy the black sand clan or die trying. Along with this turn of events, a Europol researcher named Mika (Naomie Harris) begins to unlock the secrets of the clan of black sand and how they have been involved in many assassinations over the past 1000 years. The all-knowing clan becomes aware of this and sets out to kill Mika in order to keep their secrets. Raizo takes it upon himself to protect Mika in an all-out war against the clan.
This movie was awesome! I haven't seen a movie with this much blood in a long long time. All of the fight scenes use authentic ninja weapons (like Raizo's Kusari-gama and throwing stars) and portray ninjas as being able to blend into the darkness with less than a whisper and climb on walls and control their flesh and bone to the point of possessing the ability to heal themselves. The fight scenes utilized a great stylistic slow motion that puts into perspective all of the insane martial arts moves that Raizo pulls off, which is all visually stunning and impressive (which I would expect from the Wachowski brothers, from The Matrix triology). It's reminiscent of some typical kung-fu movies from the last decade, but is also a throwback to classic "B" movie blood and gore. "Ninja Assassin" gets a 4/5.

Yellow Submarine (1968)

If you enjoy The Beatles, even if it's only in a casual listening atmosphere, "Yellow Submarine" is for you! I'm a big fan of everything The Beatles have done in terms of films and their various dabblings in cinema, even though their films are very low on the quality level. I enjoy because 1) I love The Beatles, they are the best band to have ever lived in my opinion, 2) I enjoy British humor immensely, and 3) The plots are so incredibly terrible that the jokes are brought to the forefront from being completely out of context the majority of the time.
Therefore, I LOVE "Yellow Submarine". The plot centers around an attack on the legendary Pepperland by the blue meanies. The mayor of Pepperland rides in a yellow submarine to find The Beatles to bring them back to Pepperland to save it and it's inhabitants. The movie also fits in the tradition of Beatles movies containing musical interludes that sometimes relate to the plot, but sometimes not. Another awesome and interesting aspect of this movie is that the animation is really really trippy. There are a lot of colors and things flying around and things that don't really make any sense. Most of the scenes of course happen during the musical interludes. I would say that this is the thing that really makes the movie what it is and fits into the Beatles' aesthetic of the time. So if you enjoy the music of The Beatles, and think you can handle dry British humor and trippy animation, check out "Yellow Submarine", which gets a 4/5.

Darkman (1990)

Every single time I see Liam Neeson, I can't stop myself from thinking Qui-Gon Jinn. Neeson plays the starring role of Peyton Westlake in "Darkman" directed by historic "B" movie director Same Raimi (the Evil Dead series). Bruce Campbell even makes a cameo in the last scene of the movie (which made me cheer). "Darkman" is about a scientist (Neeson) who gets tortured and interrogated by a group of mobsters about some incriminating evidence that is never really explained very well in the movie. The group of mobsters end up severely disfiguring Westlake to the point where he is unrecognizable. The rest of the movie is about Westlake exacting his revenge on the mobsters and the man behind the whole plot.
This movie is a classic case of a "B" movie in the terms that the special effects were pretty poor (but pretty sweet!) and because the plot was very poorly put together and much was left unexplained. Altogether this movie was pretty terrible in terms mentioned above, and solely because of the cameo of Bruce Campbell. Most of the movie was also pretty cheesy as well. In spite of the reasons mentioned previously, I award "Darkman" with 3/5 because I have a soft spot in my heart for B movies. I wouldn't recommend checking out though unless you can handle some of Sam Raimi's other movies.

The Family Stone (2005)

Now here's a film that is a great heart-warming holiday movie! I was basically forced into watching this by my roommate, but was pretty amazed by how not terrible it was. This movie is about a family gathering for Christmas and the problems that they experience when one of the sons (Everett, played by Dermot Mulroney) brings home the woman he wants to marry (Meredith, played by Sarah Jessica Parker). Throughout the film everybody seems to discover more about who they are, and who their family members are through a series of slightly hilarious puns (but also some not-so-hilarious ones that really put a damper on things). Different hook up by the end of the movie and everybody is happy!
The only thing that I didn't like about this movie was the fact that it was incredibly, boringly, predictable. It's very easy to plan out the entire movie in your head before anything of significance happens. However, I feel that this was a very appropriate feeling for this movie and that this wasn't significant to the overall meaning of the movie, that being love your family and those close the them. It feels to me as if the director (Thomas Bezucha) was trying to make a movie that cut as close to the heart as possible and show that not all good movies have to have intense plot twists. Overall I enjoyed this movie (and enjoyed Rachel McAdams who is HOT). Take it or leave it, "The Family Stone" gets a 4/5.