Movies The Movie Thread! - Continuation

[Kusachu]

Finally got around to watching The Book of Eli. Not half bad. I was a little bored by the pace, but the fighting was good, scenarios were good, Denzel is ALWAYS good, the ending was good. I liked how they showed how religion can be used to corrupt or to heal, and didn't think it was too overboard, but I smirked a bit about the "version" of the book for historic reasons, though, any other translation/version would have probably seemed out of place given the context of the movie. And points for the twist at the end. For a second I thought I was watching an M. Night movie, thankfully only for a second though.

I guess there's not much to say about it other than it's a pretty good movie. It's like...Eastern Wyoming. You know, high elevation on the plain. It's up there, but the whole pace of the movie is pretty even and stretches a bit.

 

[Kravmaga]

[...]

re:Karate Kid- I was very disappointed by two things:

1. The Joe Esposito song "You're the best around" did not play at any point in the movie.
2. The line "Sweep the leg" was not mentioned in any form... no, "break the leg" does not count, breaking is different from sweeping.

I might be in the minority here or not, I don't even know anymore, but I enjoyed karate kid.
There's a pretty vocal group out there seemingly outraged at what they believe is a disregard for martial arts nomenclature and you know what? I find it absolutely ridiculous. The original karate kid had just about as much real karate in it as a 30minute instructional video from a magazine coupon; furthermore, the very fact they thought about changing the name shows they were honestly trying hard not to push on anyone's fanboy buttons. To me, the name is, if anything, a tribute to the classic movie which in terms of plot, character and acting are all VERY sub-par by today's standards and again, imho, the new movie itself does a perfectly adequate job of carrying the spirit of the original without any of that cheesy 80s music. Yet, critics are depleting their precious stash of colorful words to put movies down when it comes to this one on a technicality while they forgive mediocrity, blatant abuse of horror or much much worse affronts to cinematography on a regular basis. Some random wanker had the galls to comment on the karate name when he gave positive marks to jonah hex and shrek, for pete's sake! I wager he must be immune to irony or the sheer amount of it would have crushed him.

And okay, this new karate kid movie handled a bunch of things clumsily like losing track of characters, reinforcing the movie cliche that the only solution to antagonist violence is protagonist violence and the direction was a little bit distracted too. I get it, but it also tried to do good things especially relevant during our generation; it had the social commentary on wasteful lifestyles in the western culture, it tried to show a first person perspective into a nation we americans seem to love fishing for strawmans to use as scapgoats and it even had a part where it shows adults able to swallow their pride and learn a little wisdom from children's sincerity. I mean sure it's not gonna work with every tough-nuts out there but there was great intentions there.
On top of it all, I'm really glad a director finally managed to paint a picture of china that shows its real people, crowded, human, hardworking and living amidst conditions that would make most people cringe at the mere thought, yet able of such dedication, pride and hopeful optimism to look forward to every colorful minute of everyday. Contrast that to the guy who bet me that the asian parent syndrome would never die and half an hour later into it, [/zomgsplr] the asian dad open-mindedly judges a black kid with no outstanding background and who almost cost his daughter her university ticket when neither of them even spoke each other's language. If anything, the movie tried to break some rock solid stereotypes of side characters being so full of themselves they can never change their mind with that and the bully learning respect or the tired-of-life cliche finding some joie-de-vivre in teaching instead of prevailing over the designated asshole of the day.

Now I'm not gonna try and sell it as the best movie or even trying to go for that, but it was definitively above average, more honest and much better than a lot of crap I paid hard earned money to see lately; if anyone still couldn't enjoy it for what it was, and that would be a glimpse of life in china with a plot loosely inspired by the karate kid, then I really think you made up your mind before you went in there. Nobody is entitled to the remake of your favorite flick being mind-blowing, nobody; I, for one, am glad this remake was at least an attempt full of heart and good intents.

 

[benelori]

Ip Man 2...well the first thing that I like is that it's Chinese...I like Chinese movies, I'm a huge fan...and the overall action scenes were pretty good...but I disliked though, is the fact that in some scenes the directors seemed to be uninspired and they made copies from the first movie

Last Airbender and not casting Asian...I would love if the Last Airbender would be a chinese movie, but the original cartoon series doesn't really portray the characters as chinese or asian whatever...even though some cultural and some vague martial art elements are inspired from there, Aang still doesn't look like Asian, and the water tribe look like eschimos...so other than martial arts, wardrobe, etc. the characters themselves shouldn't be portrayed by Asians I think...

Just how I don't like anime or manga series to be portrayed by Japanese actors, especially when in the original series the characters don't look asian at all

Fourth Kind? Anyone? I was pretty intrigued by the film at first, but then I read a comment, that it's a movie for believers

 

[Paper]

@Kravmaga- Yes, the movie tried to tackle sensitive points in the world today, and they did teach some valuable lessons. But it did not do justice to the series and it pressed on racial stereotypes. The scene where Zhensu Wu talks to Jaden Smith was an attempt to break the stereotype that all Asians are uptight, but they by making the movie in China, using Kung Fu, and calling it Karate Kid; they managed to not only push a certain stereotype, but insult the culture. As I've stated before, I'm very proud of my lineage and I admit that I am "uptight" when it comes to upholding my culture.

Fun Fact: It's not called Karate Kid in Japan.

You know what, for the sake of the people that liked the movie, there is one line that I liked because it speaks the truth with regards to all students and teachers.

"No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.".... but even that is a Japanese proverb, not a Chinese one.


@Benelori- Oh please... The Japanese people have already explained why their characters look the way they do: It's to tell them apart! There is no race in this world with green, purple, or even pink hair. Just because a character has big eyes and is blonde, does not mean that he/she is caucasian. This video explains it all.

Asian culture + Asian setting= Caucasian characters??? Your "math" is off.

Here are a few links to back my side of the argument:

Paramount v.s. Asian actors "...actors of color have been relegated to villain, supporting, and background roles."
Avatar wikipedia entry (read the first paragraph) "...Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world of Chinese martial arts...The show drew on elements from traditional Asian (mainly Chinese, Indian and Japanese) culture and Indian religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), while blending the styles of anime and US domestic cartoons."

Even the names of the characters are of obvious Asian influence (I highly doubt that "Bei Fong" is a traditional European/north American family name).

 

[Imperium]

Asian are indeed misrepresented, but at least you're not always the "sophisticated bad guys". From the Sheriff of Nottingham to Magneto our whole accent is typecast. We should start a petition against hollywood!

In all seriousness though, i am going to watch avatar if only because i liked the original. I dont expect much, but there is a small bead of hope it will be good. Having said that, if it is hugely disappointing, it will probably be because of that baby faced child actor who plays aang.

 

[Kravmaga]

@Kravmaga- Yes, the movie tried to tackle sensitive points in the world today, and they did teach some valuable lessons. But it did not do justice to the series and it pressed on racial stereotypes. The scene where Zhensu Wu talks to Jaden Smith was an attempt to break the stereotype that all Asians are uptight, but they by making the movie in China, using Kung Fu, and calling it Karate Kid; they managed to not only push a certain stereotype, but insult the culture. As I've stated before, I'm very proud of my lineage and I admit that I am "uptight" when it comes to upholding my culture.

Fun Fact: It's not called Karate Kid in Japan.

You know what, for the sake of the people that liked the movie, there is one line that I liked because it speaks the truth with regards to all students and teachers.

"No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.".... but even that is a Japanese proverb, not a Chinese one.

I guess this is where we differ.
I'm not in favor of wisdom having to belong to a certain culture and or any culture being so easily offended as a good thing. And this is not a japanese saying but "negative criticism always says more about the critic than the target of his/her contempt."

Also, I really don't see how naming a remake after its original is insulting to asian culture or anything even remotely insult-able (is that a word?) within the scope of the original movie. The new movie while still attempting to recreate those things that worked back then (which I personally believe was mainly relying on a craze in the 80s over anything kungfu-related, no matter how cheezy and filled with david carradine) has tried very hard to avoid stepping on anyone's toes. Efforts wasted apparently as we still manage to find ways to be so offended by it.

I don't know, I feel we as a society are all starting to ignore genuine efforts and good intentions as if we all have everything all figured out while finding nothing wrong with criticizing based on a technicality more often than with an unopinionated reason. I just think we're being really really unfair to this one. Karate kid would have been exactly the same with a different name and still stand on its own qualities without any relations to the 1984 one; this might be a bit off but I also think it would have been a stronger film if it had less of the cheesy fighting and more on finding peace for both jackie chan and jaden smith's characters.
I guess I'll close with my favorite line as well:
"Kungfu lives in everything you do; it lives in how you put on and take off a jacket and it lives in how you treat other people." This struck me as powerful because kungfu in chinese refers not only to the martial arts, but also the self-acquired abilities, strength and worth of people in in the face of their harsh lives. Everyone's out there signing up for a class to learn to flip out and look cool while kicking someone's ass forgetting that real kungfu is also meant to teach us how to be better, wiser and more tolerant people.

 

[Paper]

@Kravmaga- I'm a traditional guy, but I didn't mean that wisdom shouldn't be spread out to other cultures. I simply meant that the only line I actually liked was a re-hash of an old line, said by someone else, taken from a different culture. I can see why people would like to watch movies that exploit stereotypes then try to mend them some how. It makes them feel less guilty about the years of racism, but what they don't see is that theres really no need to do it. Only time can heal something like that, and no amount of movies (e.g. crash, babel, karate kid, etc...) can ever cure certain stereotypes. Hollywood just needs to back off and stop trying so hard.

Not that I'm trying to discriminate in any way, but I can understand why you would think that mashing up various Asian cultures isn't a biggie. But it's just because American history/culture isn't as vast as Asian history/culture. We have our heritage and we're proud of it. We didn't spend years cultivating our cultures just for it to be mixed up by some dumb Hollywood prick.

@Imp- True, I feel your pain... though you do have the James Bond franchise which kind of evens things out. j/k

 

[Kravmaga]

@Kravmaga- I'm a traditional guy, but I didn't mean that wisdom shouldn't be spread out to other cultures. I simply meant that the only line I actually liked was a re-hash of an old line, said by someone else, taken from a different culture.

My apologies for misunderstanding; in my defense, everyone with a problem with karate kid whom I've met previously seem outraged simply because of it borrowing the name from a the 80s flick they feel as part of their childhood, and therefore not to be touched by evil remake teams.

I can see why people would like to watch movies that exploit stereotypes then try to mend them some how. It makes them feel less guilty about the years of racism, but what they don't see is that theres really no need to do it. Only time can heal something like that, and no amount of movies (e.g. crash, babel, karate kid, etc...) can ever cure certain stereotypes. Hollywood just needs to back off and stop trying so hard.

And I can understand how you feel about our culture being treated as a joke can be offensive. I really do.
I avoid playing this kind of cards as much as I can hoping to be objective but I'm from asian descent as well and having lived in 3 different countries in three different continents for more than 5 years each, it pains me to see asian people dismiss western culture, europeans dismiss asian culture and westerners dismiss both european and asian cultures in the same subtle but unmistakable ways. I feel like I'm the only one who can see the biting irony of how similar all patrimonies, cultures and people really are as well as how they will all similarly show outrage at the mere suggestion that their legacies weren't as unique and special as they thought even though their knowledge of foreign cultures are shallow at best.
Time itself doesn't mend anything; in fact, if left alone, issues of divide tend to get worse due to people's inherent suspicions towards those different. It is people, those who make the first step, those who have the courage to give it a chance and those who march in the right direction over time that mend a cultural divide.
Those people take risks and their attempts in good intentions should be applauded; believe it or not, it would have been much easier for the VCs and producers to request the script to be a bunch of the same generic crap in order to play it safe.

Not that I'm trying to discriminate in any way, but I can understand why you would think that mashing up various Asian cultures isn't a biggie. But it's just because American history/culture isn't as vast as Asian history/culture. We have our heritage and we're proud of it. We didn't spend years cultivating our cultures just for it to be mixed up by some dumb Hollywood prick.

Actually, maybe you're right to feel that hollywood's simply is unqualified to ever fix what it has done with stereotypes and other hasty generalizations in the past years; however I feel each generation of people deserve its own chance to decide how they see others for themselves and a movie like the new karate kid paint such a more accurate portrait of china than any other kungfu or asia themed movie I can remember.
If you still see the japanese karate being put in where chinese wushu should be (and those of chinese descent would immediately understand why that might offend but being on a manga forum, I was hoping that weren't an issue), then we'll just have to agree to disagree at whether that's really important. But you should know that that hollywood prick you mention not only thought twice about changing the name but was also criticized hard on the other side in that what jaden smith's character learned wasn't just kungfu and nor was the original about real karate. Nitpicking at that level is a twenty-edged sword that spins around and slashes the shit out of everybody indiscriminately. Even if you were in the position to challenge the tentative title, good luck selling the risk of lower returns to your investors.

 

[Paper]

I agree that only the people themselves can change their views. Though I still don't like the fact that they would rather earn money than be factually correct. Not only does it make the viewers ignorant, but it promotes the idea that It's perfectly fine to be wrong just to make a quick buck.

I understand that I'm being difficult (at the least), but I just find it hard to enjoy something which I view to be quite flawed.

 

[benelori]

@Benelori- Oh please... The Japanese people have already explained why their characters look the way they do: It's to tell them apart! There is no race in this world with green, purple, or even pink hair. Just because a character has big eyes and is blonde, does not mean that he/she is caucasian. This video explains it all.

Asian culture + Asian setting= Caucasian characters??? Your "math" is off.

Here are a few links to back my side of the argument:

Paramount v.s. Asian actors "...actors of color have been relegated to villain, supporting, and background roles."
Avatar wikipedia entry (read the first paragraph) "...Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world of Chinese martial arts...The show drew on elements from traditional Asian (mainly Chinese, Indian and Japanese) culture and Indian religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), while blending the styles of anime and US domestic cartoons."

Even the names of the characters are of obvious Asian influence (I highly doubt that "Bei Fong" is a traditional European/north American family name).

I understand U man...but there are still mangas which are portraying asian people as asian people...
I agree that it's weird to have a caucasian person with an asian name, but I think it's better if a director chooses an actor who resembles somewhat with the original cartoon character...so for me it's not the problem of being caucasian or not, it's how they resemble with the original character...race is a label anyway, so I don't really care

Well it's a matter of taste, anyway...I don't find any of this disturbing at all

 

[Paper]

What really irked me was the fact that the only Asians in the cast play characters from the Fire nation. To make things worse, they didn't just get random Asians, they got people of South Asian descent to portray the flame-totting baddies; throw in the masses of impressionable children (of which is their target demographic), and what do you get? A whole new generation of ignorant kids who think the equation "brown skin+dark hair= boom" is completely logical. But wait! Theres more! M.Night Shyamalan is of SA descent, and yet he goes ahead, and pulls an epic fail by casting said people for said role!

... He should have quit after The 6th Sense came out on VHS.

 

[thornofcarrion]

I am furious with myself for why on the earth I was so late in watching Angels and Demons. I loved the movie. I have read the novel before, yet there were scenes where I was thrilled and excited. Tom Hanks was great as usual. The pace and setting of the movie was marvelous. Ayelet Zurer looked beautiful as Vetra and Ewan McGregor was a great pick for the role of Camerlengo. 10/10 in my book.

 

[Kusachu]

at The Last Airbender getting horrid reviews. I almost want to see it now just so I can write a searing review of it myself, but erm, I don't really want to waste precious moments of my life.

 

[Asarii]

^ Right now The Last Airbender is getting 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even Eclipse is doing better than it.

It's a shame because the original source was really good. I'm glad the movie doesn't seem to tarnish the cartoon because people are seeing the two as different entities.

Now we need an animated A:TLA film to cleanse this mess away.

 

[Paper]

As a consolation to ShyamaLOL, Uwe Boll got 4% with House of the Dead.

 

[Lelo]

really, the Last Airbender is bad? Ive been anticipating this movie for a year, I guess Ill go see it and judge it for myself

 

[benelori]

I read that they misspelled names in the movie...is that true...I mean, how retarded can a movie be?I will definitely watch this movie...when it appears as DVDRip torrent of course...

 

[Kusachu]

I read that they misspelled names in the movie...is that true...I mean, how retarded can a movie be?I will definitely watch this movie...when it appears as DVDRip torrent of course...

Not that they misspelled it, that they said it wrong. From the fan hate video which was taken down the day it was posted shows people lamenting that they never pronounced Aang's name right, as if the original was Naruto or something and these lilly white actors cannot pronounce the subtleties of the Japanese language. Which we all know is bullshit because Avatar is NOT JAPANESE NOR IS IT ANIME!! IT'S AN AMERICAN CARTOON!!

---

Oh wait, now I guess it was M. Night telling them to say it wrong on purpose because he "Wanted to say it the Asian way."

So...he changed the movie from the source material to cast no East Asians in the primary roles, but then also changed the characters names to make them sound more Asian?? What IS that?!? I'm just so confused!

 

[thornofcarrion]

Watched Taken yesterday, yes I didn't see it before. The movie was good, nothing outstanding about the plot or the movie but it was decent.

 

[goldb]

Saw She's Out of my league a few days ago, it's okay, nothing special. Didn't really do anything for me, failed even as a comedy. There were a few good scenes and some interesting characters but that's about it. The chick who plays the love is really hot though , but yeah...I wouldn't recommend paying to see it.