Movie marathon
Aug. 27th, 2006 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirBlair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Monica
I went to a sleepover at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tryogeru's house on Friday, where we proceeded to set out on a movie marathon, as per tradition. Alas, our stamina is not what it used to be, six or seven years ago, when we used to stay up until 5 in the morning watching eight or more movies in a row. But we did manage to watch six movies, including:
1. The King and the Clown: Yes, for the third time. The subtitles were better than I remembered, but I still don't quite approve of the choices they made. Still don't understand why they used archaic English for the clown performances, for example. -_-
2. Fearless: Apparently Jet Li's last action film. It's going to be released in the U.S. sometime this year, and I strongly recommend seeing it when it comes out. The trailer is here; as you can see, it's set in turn-of-the-century China. Surprisingly enough, the main theme of the movie isn't about East meeting West, but the main character's personal story, and it ends on a beautifully poignant but tragic note. We watched it without English subtitles, and since I don't understand a single word of Mandarin, Tryogeru literally paused the DVD every ten minutes to translate for me. It's a fabulous film though, with a good storyline and amazing fight choreography. No wires or special effects, just spectacular martial arts. *_* (Has great kendo in one scene too, when Chinese martial arts is matched up against Japanese, although it's clearly the stunt double who's good, not the actor, whose stance looks a little strange.)
3. Once Upon a Time in China 2: Continuing the mini Jet Li film festival. I hear the first one is a classic, but Tryogeru only had the second and third ones on VCD. It's set around the same time as Fearless, so you have anti-foreigner riots not to mention Sun Yat-sen. The plot required some, uh, suspension of disbelief, but again, neat action scenes, if a bit schizophrenic at times. Tryogeru has a pet theory (among others) that the bad guy in Jet Li movies almost always has an unhealthy obsession with the Jet Li character, so we spent most of the movie putting words in the local imperial magistrate's mouth, haha.
4. Shaolin Kids: This movie was on crack. It was one of Jet Li's first movies (his second?) and was full of cheese. And crack. Number one example: Jet Li in a dress. Yes, you read that right. Not to mention, he pulled it off well and made a rather pretty girl. I wish I had a screencap so you can all goggle at it. Also, while I've always found Jet Li to be attractive, there are no words to describe how utterly adorable he was at that age. The basic premise of the story is that there are two rival families, a Wudang clan with only daughters (phoenixes) and a Shaolin clan with only sons (dragons). The Wudang clan is of higher status, and the father is desperate for a son so he can pass on his super-secret sword techniques. The Shaolin clan is very poor and trying to save up ten cows so the father can marry one of the Wudang "phoenixes" and give his sons a mother. Nine sisters versus eight sons plus father and uncle. I'm pretty sure you can guess the rest. It features a cast of children who are insanely talented at martial arts, and their sparring scenes are really cool to watch. Lest you forget the cheese factor, there are also random and inexplicable bouts of singing, a cross-eyed villain with some truly awful disguises, and a nonsensical backstory.
Tryogeru has another pet theory that Jet Li never manages a romantic relationship in any of his movies because even when he has a potential love interest, he is always oblivious or unresponsive. This movie is no exception. E.g., scene where Wudang family patriarch asks Jet Li's character, San Lung, what he wants as a reward:
San Lung: Let my father marry Tai Feng [the eldest daughter], and my uncle, Yee Lung, marry Yee Feng [the second daughter]--
One of his brothers nudges him. The camera switches to a shot of the third daughter, San Feng, who is obviously matched up with San Lung and has been all but bodily thrown at him. She smiles eagerly.
San Lung, dense as a rock: Oh! and teach us the Wudang swordsmanship as well!
Audience: ...
5. Once a Thief: Plot holes that you could drive a truck through! Part of the problem may have been due to the bad subtitles, but...no, the plot holes were definitely there, language barrier or no. But it's Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung as international art thieves! The heists are ridiculous but excessively cool! Not to mention, Chow Yun-fat is hilarious (not to mention, an utter dork), while Leslie Cheung is very pretty (and also an utter dork). I think Tryogeru has some sort of secret mission to convert me to John Woo films, and I have to admit, it's succeeding so far.
6. Mirrormask: Finally, finally got around to watching this movie. I liked it, creepiness and all, although I must say again that I don't particularly want to know what goes on inside Dave McKean's mind. It was mostly a visual experience, but you can recognize Neil Gaiman's voice in the script, with the same tone of, hm, oddness that you find in The Sandman. The soundtrack is gorgeous as well. I'm rather looking forward to seeing what Beowulf will be like now.
Tagged bysweetxsangria: Six interesting facts about yourself. Tag another six people. No tagging back!
I'm having trouble thinking of interesting facts that people on my friends list won't already know. Hm.
1. I am a karaoke addict. (Going withserendip tomorrow!)
2. During the school year, I live in Lowell House, which is distinguished for its age, its crowded dining hall, and its atonal set of Russian bells that ring every Sunday at 1 PM.
3. I type faster than I write by hand in both English and Korean.
4. (Shoot, I'm running out of interesting facts.) A skin condition known as vitiligo runs in my family, and I have a patch of white skin on my leg as a result.
5. I used to collect stamps and even went to two philately conventions in middle school.
6. I've had this LJ for more than four years. (Utterly uninteresting, but I'm running out of things to say.)
I forget who's done this meme and who hasn't, so not tagging anyone this time. ^_^
Yours &c.
I went to a sleepover at
tryogeru's house on Friday, where we proceeded to set out on a movie marathon, as per tradition. Alas, our stamina is not what it used to be, six or seven years ago, when we used to stay up until 5 in the morning watching eight or more movies in a row. But we did manage to watch six movies, including:1. The King and the Clown: Yes, for the third time. The subtitles were better than I remembered, but I still don't quite approve of the choices they made. Still don't understand why they used archaic English for the clown performances, for example. -_-
2. Fearless: Apparently Jet Li's last action film. It's going to be released in the U.S. sometime this year, and I strongly recommend seeing it when it comes out. The trailer is here; as you can see, it's set in turn-of-the-century China. Surprisingly enough, the main theme of the movie isn't about East meeting West, but the main character's personal story, and it ends on a beautifully poignant but tragic note. We watched it without English subtitles, and since I don't understand a single word of Mandarin, Tryogeru literally paused the DVD every ten minutes to translate for me. It's a fabulous film though, with a good storyline and amazing fight choreography. No wires or special effects, just spectacular martial arts. *_* (Has great kendo in one scene too, when Chinese martial arts is matched up against Japanese, although it's clearly the stunt double who's good, not the actor, whose stance looks a little strange.)
3. Once Upon a Time in China 2: Continuing the mini Jet Li film festival. I hear the first one is a classic, but Tryogeru only had the second and third ones on VCD. It's set around the same time as Fearless, so you have anti-foreigner riots not to mention Sun Yat-sen. The plot required some, uh, suspension of disbelief, but again, neat action scenes, if a bit schizophrenic at times. Tryogeru has a pet theory (among others) that the bad guy in Jet Li movies almost always has an unhealthy obsession with the Jet Li character, so we spent most of the movie putting words in the local imperial magistrate's mouth, haha.
4. Shaolin Kids: This movie was on crack. It was one of Jet Li's first movies (his second?) and was full of cheese. And crack. Number one example: Jet Li in a dress. Yes, you read that right. Not to mention, he pulled it off well and made a rather pretty girl. I wish I had a screencap so you can all goggle at it. Also, while I've always found Jet Li to be attractive, there are no words to describe how utterly adorable he was at that age. The basic premise of the story is that there are two rival families, a Wudang clan with only daughters (phoenixes) and a Shaolin clan with only sons (dragons). The Wudang clan is of higher status, and the father is desperate for a son so he can pass on his super-secret sword techniques. The Shaolin clan is very poor and trying to save up ten cows so the father can marry one of the Wudang "phoenixes" and give his sons a mother. Nine sisters versus eight sons plus father and uncle. I'm pretty sure you can guess the rest. It features a cast of children who are insanely talented at martial arts, and their sparring scenes are really cool to watch. Lest you forget the cheese factor, there are also random and inexplicable bouts of singing, a cross-eyed villain with some truly awful disguises, and a nonsensical backstory.
Tryogeru has another pet theory that Jet Li never manages a romantic relationship in any of his movies because even when he has a potential love interest, he is always oblivious or unresponsive. This movie is no exception. E.g., scene where Wudang family patriarch asks Jet Li's character, San Lung, what he wants as a reward:
San Lung: Let my father marry Tai Feng [the eldest daughter], and my uncle, Yee Lung, marry Yee Feng [the second daughter]--
One of his brothers nudges him. The camera switches to a shot of the third daughter, San Feng, who is obviously matched up with San Lung and has been all but bodily thrown at him. She smiles eagerly.
San Lung, dense as a rock: Oh! and teach us the Wudang swordsmanship as well!
Audience: ...
5. Once a Thief: Plot holes that you could drive a truck through! Part of the problem may have been due to the bad subtitles, but...no, the plot holes were definitely there, language barrier or no. But it's Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung as international art thieves! The heists are ridiculous but excessively cool! Not to mention, Chow Yun-fat is hilarious (not to mention, an utter dork), while Leslie Cheung is very pretty (and also an utter dork). I think Tryogeru has some sort of secret mission to convert me to John Woo films, and I have to admit, it's succeeding so far.
6. Mirrormask: Finally, finally got around to watching this movie. I liked it, creepiness and all, although I must say again that I don't particularly want to know what goes on inside Dave McKean's mind. It was mostly a visual experience, but you can recognize Neil Gaiman's voice in the script, with the same tone of, hm, oddness that you find in The Sandman. The soundtrack is gorgeous as well. I'm rather looking forward to seeing what Beowulf will be like now.
Tagged by
sweetxsangria: Six interesting facts about yourself. Tag another six people. No tagging back!I'm having trouble thinking of interesting facts that people on my friends list won't already know. Hm.
1. I am a karaoke addict. (Going with
serendip tomorrow!)2. During the school year, I live in Lowell House, which is distinguished for its age, its crowded dining hall, and its atonal set of Russian bells that ring every Sunday at 1 PM.
3. I type faster than I write by hand in both English and Korean.
4. (Shoot, I'm running out of interesting facts.) A skin condition known as vitiligo runs in my family, and I have a patch of white skin on my leg as a result.
5. I used to collect stamps and even went to two philately conventions in middle school.
6. I've had this LJ for more than four years. (Utterly uninteresting, but I'm running out of things to say.)
I forget who's done this meme and who hasn't, so not tagging anyone this time. ^_^
Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-28 01:24 am (UTC)Part of me is sad that Fearless is (he says) his last movie, but I'm afraid if he continues to make movies, they'd be crappy Hollywood movies.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-02 12:49 am (UTC)