Green Snake a.k.a. White Snake 2: The Tribulations of Green Snake (2021):

Green Snake a.k.a. White Snake 2: The Tribulations of Green Snake (2021):

“Verta the green snake-demon must find a way to escape from the modern Asuraville of mortals, in order to rescue her elder sister Blanca the White Snake from the demon-slaying monk Fahai.”

“Green Snake” as it was released in America on Netflix, is in fact a sequel to the animated “White Snake” (2019) movie from China. Let's treat it as it's own movie though. After a fight with the monk Fahai, White Snake is sucked into a kind of Buddhist purgatory. Green Snake goes after her. There, she finds that she's no longer in Tang dynasty China, but an amalgam of the modern world and spirit world called Asuraville.

She meets up with Simon and his party, who are hunting down demons led by Mr. Ox. They want to conquer Asuraville, whereas the others just want to return. Old Fox, a spirit with a fox on one side of her head acts as a guide, and explains how to leave Asuraville, by dropping their “tokens of desire” into a pool. Meanwhile, Green Snake might actually have met White Snake (Blanca), reincarnated as a man who's name is never revealed anyway.

Then, when they all gather their tokens, they battle with Mr. Ox again. He finally agrees to leave with them after removing the no-name man's face, for some reason. Then, they battle Fahai again. Green Snake is defeated over and over actually, but ends up in the modern world when she beats Fahai. Green Snake is confused. So was I.

I don't know that I liked this movie. I didn't hate it, but it had way too many side-quests. First it's about Fahai, then find Green Snake, fight demons, then find Green Snake again...it goes on for about 30 mins too long. Plus, I don't like that the action stops just so they can explain the tokens of desire midway through. By the time they got to the 2nd Fahai encounter, I was lost as to what the main story was. Was it to find White Snake, defeat the demons, or get home? Hadn't she done all that before anyway?

I don't really recommend this movie. The animation and battle scenes are good. But, there are just way too many subplots that divert the main story. Maybe it would've made more sense if it weren't presented as a standalone movie. But, in its present form on US Netflix, I have to say skip this one.

Iron Mask (2020):

Iron Mask (2020):

“Early 1700: Cartographer Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) from Viy (2014) is back to map the Russian Far East. He's forced on to China, where he confronts the Dragon Master et al. The iron masked Russian Czar escapes the Tower of London to a Russian ship.”

So, there's basically two films going on here. One is a basic supernatural wushu (historical Chinese fairytale.) and the other is the action movie between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan that American audiences were sold. Well, they fight for five minutes. They aren't even the main characters.

In this world, tea is actually the healing tears of a mystical dragon. An evil witch kidnaps and replaces the Russian czar with an imposter, while Johnathan Green is trying to map China. Are you following? Good. Of all people, Arnold plays a British guard. There are some funny moments, but ultimately it pivots to being just another wushu film, with some line about how the lead actress is Jackie Chan's daughter, the rightful empress who has to fight the witch, and reclaim the throne.

By itself, it's an alright movie. I just feel it's a bit bait-and-switch. It feels like two movies. Arnold and Jackie come back to end the film. Jackie explains to Arnold that the dragon is everywhere. Usually, I like wushu films for their effects. But, I think here they just ran out of money to show the dragon again. I would recommend this film. But, just bear in mind, it's a little convoluted.

Journey To The West (2014):

Journey To The West (2014):

"A story centered on Tang Sanzang, a Buddhist trying to protect a village from three demons, his emerging feelings for Miss Duan, the demon hunter who helps him repeatedly, and Sanzang's transformative encounter with the Monkey King."

Pretty good, pretty weird action comedy by Stephen Chow. Look it up if you wanna watch something funny and unique, with a weird spin on Chinese legend. Check it out if you can.

Bruce Lee, Wise Man of Kung Fu by Beth Kelly: Guest Blog

Happy Turkey Day! It's also Bruce Lee's birthday! So, in honor of this, I have a guest blogger today! Asian Film Fan, blogger, and ESL teacher Beth Kelly is going to tell us all about Bruce Lee's impact...outside of his fists! Beth Kelly deserves all credit. I didn't write this!

A Look Back at Bruce Lee, Wise Man of Kung Fu

The only thing faster than Bruce Lee’s fist was his influence. He was a slight man at 5-foot-7-inches and 135 pounds with a childlike bowl haircut. Yet he would marry Chinese nationalism with Hollywood effects with grand effect, looming large in films such as Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon. The latter of which will be airing on November 27th in honor of what would have been Lee’s 74th birthday on the El Rey Network as part of their Thanksgiving “Way of the Turkey” marathon that will also celebrate Lee’s legacy (the channel is available through some providers like DirecTV).

Lee Jun-Fan was born November 27, 1940 at the Jackson Street Hospital in Chinatown, San Francisco, not more than an hour’s walk from Fisherman’s Wharf. The supervising physician, Dr. Mary Glover, asked to christen the boy with an English name. Bruce, she suggested. Agreed, said Mrs. Grace Lee.

Three months later, the family returned to Hong Kong. Little did they know that 18 years later, fearing repercussion from a Triad gang member whose son Bruce had bloodied in a fistfight, they would mail him back to America in a third-class ship bunk.

Young Bruce had the nickname “Mo Si Tung,” meaning never sits still. He was a hot headed youth. His status as a child film star and member of the privileged Ho-Tung clan guaranteed him some social immunity. He was privately taught by Wing Chen grandmaster Yip Man. He became a Hong Kong cha-cha dance champion. In short, he was on the fast track.

That ended when Bruce arrived in America with $100, a pair of glasses, and the plan to become a dentist. After flitting between jobs, siblings and cities, he landed as a drama student at the University of Washington in Seattle. There, Lee opened his first martial arts school, the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. A few years later in 1963, Lee would publish, Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense, explaining the Taoist philosophy upon which he would later base his martial discipline, Jeet Kune Do, meaning Way of the Intercepting Fist.

In 1964, Bruce married Linda Emery, dropped out of college, moved to Oakland, California, and was invited to the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships. He demonstrated the two-finger push-up and the one-inch punch, landing a solid hit on volunteer Bob Baker, who later said, “I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable.”

First exposed to Hollywood via the Karate Championships, Lee snagged his first role as Kato, sidekick of The Green Hornet. After a few years as a support actor, Lee returned to Hong Kong and obtained his first leading role in The Big Boss. All of Asia fell in love with Cheng, the furious factory worker fighting against Hsiao Mi, boss of a narcotics smuggling operation. The release became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong.

That is, until Bruce Lee’s next film: Fists of Fury (also released as The Iron Hand and The Chinese Connection) which showcased Lee as a martial artist retaliating against Japanese racism in Shanghai. Ever since Asians first came to America as exploited laborers on the transcontinental railroad, male Asian-Americans were often pigeonholed as stolid, nerdish and watered-down. All that changed with Lee’s bared teeth and flying sidekicks.

For Way of the Dragon, Lee’s third major film, he was writer, director, actor and choreographer of all fight scenes. The story pitted Chinese restaurant owners in Rome against the local mafia, starring Lee as the underdog martial artist, Tang Lung. It was also the big break for Chuck Norris.

Lee’s fourth film, Game of Death, was never finished. He halted production to star in Warner Bros. Enter the Dragon as a shaolin martial artist working undercover on behalf of British Intelligence to expose a narcotics trafficking operation. The movie smashed records. It launched a Kung Fu craze in the 1970s, spawned the film career of Jackie Chan, and cemented Bruce Lee as an all-time great.

Bruce never witnessed the film’s release. On July 20, 1973, he took the painkiller Equagesic for a headache. After dinner, he napped and never woke up. He would have turned 75 in 2014.

Beth Kelly is a blogger and film fanatic based in Chicago, IL. Working previously as an English teacher in South Korea and Poland, she's now back in the Midwest and feeling better than ever. Follow her woefully neglected Twitter account at @bkelly_88.

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994) Review:

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994) Review:

“The world is your arena, now. Not just the street.”

- M. Bison to Sagat

   In the Olympic Spirit, here’s an anime based on a 90s fighting game (which I remember playing from a van for the first time, and being completely enthralled by!) about international fighters! But, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie is no mere videogame movie. It also combines buddy cop, kung fu, and Terminator motifs all nicely meshed together against the backstories of the characters. The best fighting game movie ever!
 
   Now, yes, I know if you don’t know about the game, it’s not going to grab you. But, I think it’s the best videogame movie ever made because, for starters, there’s actual fighting in a fighting game movie. Within 15 minutes there are about 4 matches. (Ryu vs. Sagat, Ryu vs. Fei Long, E. Honda vs. Dhalsim, Ken vs. T. Hawk!) and many of the special moves of the characters are used throughout the fights.
 
  Street Fighter II’s impact on the world of videogames is colossal enough. But, this movie captures enough 90s cultural tropes to make it more than just a straight kung fu flick. And that’s what makes it great! To begin, M. Bison (Or Vega in Japan…how’d this movie work out over there?) is tracking down Ryu (And yes, it’s REE-you, not RYE-you.) via “monitor cyborg” after he beats Sagat. Ryu’s power level is 3620, which is supposed to be very high.

  Bison’s psychic power along with his cyborgs allows him to turn people into mindless terrorists (Cammy assassinates an English anti-drug politician under such hypnosis!) and drug dealers for his evil organization Shadowlaw.  So, Ryu is on the move at random around Asia: China (Fei Long’s encounter.) India, (Where he meets E. Honda, who beats Dhalsim.) and then Thailand. He is portrayed as a nice guy who’s just passing through and looking for the next good fight, but he knows that his only equal is Ken Masters of Seattle, who trained with him for 10 years in Japan.

Ryu’s movements catch the attention of Shadowlaw, INTERPOL (Represented by Chun Li, misspelled as INTERPOLE, but, oh well.) and the US Air Force, both of whom are investigating Shadowlaw. At first, Guile (The All-American Air Force Captain, who keeps an outrageously cool hairdo.) doesn’t want to investigate with Chun Li, but after she’s attacked by Vega (Balrog in Japan…again, how was that movie different, guys?) The Spanish wall-jumping ninja, he agrees to track down M. Bison for her.

    Although, it felt weird in the 90s to me, now I think the US military probably WOULD investigate a terrorist organization turning people into zombies. So, now it feels prescient with The War on Terror.     Meanwhile, Ken Masters is being followed in America by Chun Li, Guile, and Bison’s cyborgs, as Bison has figured out that he’s Ryu’s equal. He’s more of Smart Alec than Ryu. His scenes are accompanied by Alice in Chains, which is nostalgic. Second to the final battle is a three-way fight in Thailand (Because of course, Thailand is the last level in the game.) between Guile/M.Bison, E. Honda vs. Balrog (In Japan, M. Bison.), and Ryu vs. a mind-controlled Ken.
   
    Finally, M. Bison is defeated by a double Hadoken by Ryu & Ken into his jet engine. I’m told Street Fighter: The Animated Series picks up after the credits scene where M. Bison follows Ryu in a semi! The credits music is Rage Against The Machine. How’s that for 90s nostalgia? This movie is awesome, and far better than anything Hollywood attempted with the franchise. And drawn in excellent manga-style!

     Again, if you don’t know the game, then the entire post probably just sounds like a 90s nostalgia rant. And that’s okay. Because partially, it is. But, in the game it’s an international tournament. Maybe it is here too, but filmed on cyborgs. Whatever the case, I thought it was a good tribute to the Olympics, and Blanka, the beastman of Brazil actually tangles with Zangief, of Russia, in the movie! Still I can’t think of better representatives for the US of A than Guile and Ken!
   
   This movie is great! 4/5 stars! Well, the dialogue could’ve been delivered a bit better. It’s amusing to hear Ken say things like: “Buffalo, or whatever your name is…you’re full of crap!” A wild ride that combines all things 90s with all things manga! If you don’t feel like playing Street Fighter II afterwards, something is wrong! Go Ken! Go Team USA!  

IRON MAN: WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS VOL. 2 (2009):

IRON MAN: WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS VOL. 2 (2009):

“I’m just like everybody else now, Pepper. I’m just…normal. And I hate being normal.”

- Tony Stark

     For context, there was a time when I was out of the loop with comics, and I wanted to get back in. So, I remember asking someone in my college cafeteria: “What’s happening with The Avengers these days?” All I knew of The Avengers back then was from videogames, and a few appearances in cartoons. He said: “Oh, they disbanded.” I said: “What?”  Okay, so my jaw dropped. So, when I got back into comics, the first storyline I followed was “The Avengers: Secret Invasion” slightly before the first Iron Man movie came out.

Okay, that was for context. Because I believe “World’s Most Dangerous” may have been an attempt to close that Secret Invasion/Iron Man story arc, and here I have only one part of the story. But, it’s a good one! Tony Stark is on the run from Norman Osborn, who became a mayor, stole Tony’s tech and replaced SHIELD with HAMMER. Anyway, this is less an action graphic novel and more a chase across the globe…though there are battle scenes.

What bothers me the most though about this comic is the way Tony Stark is destroying knowledge of his tech by giving himself memory loss and brain damage. Surely, there must be a more efficient way…but we can tell in this respect that the Marvel movie era is in full swing, as it has him swing by Russia, and ultimately to Afghanistan, where it all began…previously his origin began in China.

Cleverly, he borrows Crimson Dynamo’s suit (an older Russian model.) as his understanding of more complex suits begins to dwindle. But, this gets him clobbered by Pepper Potts in her own suit until they recognize each other…there is some forced drama…but it’s nice to see Pepper kick butt for once.

In a way, the story is oddly prophetic…in Iron Man 3 he DOES DESTROY his suits for no good reason. I know…true love or something. But it least here he’s got brain damage as an excuse. There’s a subplot with Iron Man and Madam Masque, suggesting they had an affair…because of his brain damage? I guess when you remove Stark’s intelligence…he becomes a real jerk. But, I suppose he’s doing it for a good cause.

Lastly, at the big showdown in The Middle East…he gets shot by some terrorists, and he tells them they should just finish the job. But, they can’t, seeing that he’s not the “eternal angel of death” they make him out to be. The message is kinda mixed. It’s forgiveness and self-sacrifice, but also…he has the brain damage…which also seems to insinuate that he has a license to be a jerk.

The ending was satisfying, though. Because Stark gets the crap beat out of him by Osborn, showing the world’s media that Osborn isn’t a hero. So, he’s on the way out. It’s an all right read. Especially the little cameo reveal at the end by Thor-in-disguise! Maybe he can give him his brain back! I mean, without his brain, he is kind of a jerk. And I know it’s about empathy and self-sacrifice, but the way it’s portrayed is hardly a disability rights spin. But, maybe that’s next issue…also the art is fantastic…in spite of the sappiness! 2 out 5 stars!

ReelAbilities Film Festival 2013 Preview

ReelAbilities Film Festival 2013 Preview:

Well, I always love the ReelAbilities Film Fest in Columbus! You get to see movies dealing with disabilities and even discuss it afterwards, which is a rare opportunity to make one’s viewpoint as a person with a disability heard. It’s even better, because they always have international entries. So, I get to do some intercultural analysis as well.

     This year they have two entries from Germany, one from China, one from Portugal, one from Israel about a disabled soccer (Football to international viewers.) team. Other entries deal with Down Sydrome, (Yo Tambien, Spain.) and Aspberger’s (The clayamation feature Mary and Max, from Australia.) Longtime viewers of this blog know how important it is to me to promote strong, human portraits of disabilities. And I think ReelAbilities gives us all the opportunity to look at those kind of portraits. The festival begins Oct. 4 and ends on the 7th.

I will go to at least one showing…probably on the 6th, as I am close by the Wexner Center for The Arts. They will show “Yo Tambien” (“Me too”, from Spain.) and Renn Wenn Du Kannst (Run If You Can, from Germany.) Renn Wenn Du Kannst is about a paraplegic man in love with his nurse aide’s love interest. Since I speak German, I definitely want to go when one of the German movies is playing.

The Spanish film will probably remind me of Spain, which is a beautiful country. But, anyway, I rarely see disability films in an international context, so ReelAbilities is a real treat for me.
 
If you’re in the Columbus area, you can catch all the times by going to: columbus.reelabilities.org. Tickets are $5 at the door. If you’re an international reader, let me know of some good films with disabilities in them, and I will submit some requests. If you’re too far away to attend, I’ll provide analysis of the films after I see them to give you a taste. Regrettably, I think I’ll only be able to go to the one screening this year. But, we’ll see.
 
As usual, it should be a fun time, and give me a chance to share my human experience with others who have disabilities. We’ll have some guest speakers, one of whom I know is the poet from last year’s festival. In any case, it should be fun to see some disability stories with a little bit of international flavor! Maybe I’ll see YOU there!