Kung-fu

There are movies I have wanted to see, knowing, really knowing from the preview that I will love it. I can also tell when I need to avoid a movie, based on the preview. I've seen a lot of movies (4866 rated on Netflix to date). I have essentially seen way too many movies. Nothing like Kevin Murphy, of course, who miraculously manages to still love all films, to my admiration and amazement. It is a rare movie that can get through my wall of 'seen that' and 'so flawed'.

I was uncritical and omnivorous once, easily distracted by shiny things. I grew up not able to see any movie not G rated, or not on the Legion of Decency list of acceptable films. My tastes when given free reign tended toward the risque and foreign, anything not Disney, in essence. I spent my four years in college seeing an average of 4-5 movies a week - in theaters. I went to the movies at the Detroit Institute of Arts from one to three times a week. The WSU film society had noon shows for students for 50¢. The Punch and Judy showed art house and second run movies. The Ren Cen had Tuesday dollar night. The Unitarian Church down the street showed films in series. I saw French and Czech, Polish and Japanese and Russian films. I saw a string of Hitchcock, and Bertrand Blier movies. I saw two a week in my film classes from Professor Spaulding. He loved movies, with all their warts, which he enjoyed dissecting. I have never seen film the same way again.

My tastes and criteria for movies are quirky and unusual, a combination of my training, film and acting, overexposure, and deep attachment to characters. When I have tried to rate movies in online lists, compared to what others like, to get recommendations, it does not jibe. The more I rate, the more wrong the predictions become. I think I confuse the system.

Because I will refuse a movie because a director has betrayed my trust - especially if that director murders a character. I have no qualms about a character dying, or being murdered in a film. But when that character is simply offed for no plot advancing or character defining reason, just for the thrill of it, then I do not give that director another chance. My best example is in the shiny but soulless The English Patient. When the sergeant is gratuitously exploded to no end, at the end, I felt shamelessly manipulated, badly manipulated. I want to be skillfully manipulated when I see a movie.

I hated Ralph Fiennes in that movie, and will never see any movie with him in it again. In Quiz Show he irritated me, in English Patient, I came to loathe him. See, thing is, he ACTS! That showy, self conscious, easy ACTING! that I know to be an Oscar grubbing cheat. It looks like he is doing something grand, but there are no difficult choices made, no subtlety, no heart. It's Special Effects Acting -"See the 'Making of--Ralph Fiennes facial expressions!'"

Please, don't ever ask me to see a Ron Howard or Steven Speilberg movie. Just don't even ask.

I will not see a movie with Julia Roberts in it. I will give anything with Judy Dench, or done by Martin Scorcese, a chance, even if Julia Roberts were in it. I have not liked all Martin Scorcese films. Nor every one of John Sayles. But I will grant them another try. They have earned my trust, and we all make crap at times.

On the other hand, I do not need a movie to be great. It does have to have heart. It does have to be fairly free of gaping plot holes. It has to have a sense of humor, the truth of drama, the point of comedy. That Thing You Do is one of those perfect small movies. Internally consistent, funny, true and with a warm chewy center. Tank Girl is not perfect, but Lori Petty is so charming, and the friendships that develop are genuine, ignoring the silly special effects and the swiss cheesy plot. Nor do I even need that, Plan 9 From Outer Space is utter crap, but done with such energy and wobbly imagination that, given a room full of loudmouths watching it, is a lot of fun, and the good guys win (I think, sorta). It's fine to like bad movies, as long as one is aware that it is bad, but likable anyway.


I just saw Kung Fu Hustle. I knew from the previews I wanted to see it. It has been on our Netflix list for a long time, but D was a bit dubious. We missed it in theaters when it came out, due to the move across country and my own disenchantment with sitting in a theater to see a film. I regret this.

I laughed, I cringed, it was amazing. Difficult to cope with the extreme Tex Avery extreme violence at first, but it was pointed. No one was quite what they seemed, and compassion wins. This was by far the best movie I have seen in years. It is the funniest modern comedy I have seen, with Pixar animation being in the same league. This is a movie that is concentrated movie. Much more than is obvious on first viewing. It is parody and homage and over the top moralizing, CGI and martial arts chorerography, disguising a solid story of courage and decency and responsibility. It is, as all great stories are, a love story.

We may need to own this one, and make friends watch it.

Yes, I do have IMDB bookmarked on my bookmarks bar, since you ask.