Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

English

2011, 120 minutes

3 Stars

Rainy Day read the book years ago and loved it. She read it twice, and avoided the movie for a long time. If you haven't read the book, you will probably like this, but it introduces a whole second story line, and skips between the modern storyline and the old story line. Why didn't 'They' do two movies? Yes, Rainy Day cried at the end—she's a sucker for sad and happy, but she remains totally perplexed as to why someone would take such a beautiful book and screw it up by cutting more than half the story, and then jumping forth and back to modern Shanghai. A bit like going from Puccini to Metalica at somewhat random intervals. Both stories are, well, tender, and in Rainy Day's opinion, both stories deserve their own movie!

For the official trailer, click here. There are more trailers online, merely Google the title.

March of the Penguins

March of the Penguins

English

80 minutes, 2004

4 stars

The photography rates 5 stars, the story rates 3, in Rainy Day's oh-so-humble opinion. Now, Rainy Day loves to listen to Morgan Freeman, and she loves penguins, but.... Rainy Day is positive she's seen this movie before, or at least parts of it, on one of the so-called 'educational' channels, so she was a trifle disappointed to see it again. Also, she knows animals die in the wild. The old (like Rainy Day), the weak, the sick, and the very young, but she doesn't need to be reminded of it as often as she was in this movie. Absitively posolutely stunning photography. If you know nothing about penguins, watch it, if you know something about them, watch it on mute. Rainy Day is going to order Happy Feet – her type of penguins. She hopes.

For a trailer of the movie, click here.

Michael Jackson's This Is It

Michael Jackson's This Is It

English

2009, 111 Minutes

5 Stars

The Concert that never was. Kenny Ortega took rehearsal footage of the concert, and combined them into a video that showed a lot of how Michael worked, interviews, backstage stuff the concertgoer never gets to see.  A very bittersweet movie, and Rainy Day is delighted to have been able to see it. There are the usual sexually suggestive choreography in this, and some images that the younger set might not appreciate, but all in all, this is well worth the time to view.  How nice to see Michael happy and performing. If you are a fan of MJ, if you are a fan of music, if you are a fan of art, see this movie. In the meantime, click here for the official trailer.

Once Upon a Time in China: The Next Chapters and Shaolin Styles

Once Upon a Time in China: The Next Chapters

and Shaolin Styles

Cantonese, English Dubbed

1993, 360 minutes

NR*

Rainy Day could only stomach a few minutes of the movie, no subtitles, not beauty of the Chinese language, just god-awful English dubbing. Now, she admits, if Jet Li had been in the movie, she might have struggled through it, but he wasn't. His name is listed, but he's nowhere to be seen. So, for Rainy Day, the Saga of Wong Fei-Hung did not continue. So she switched to the second feature, Shaolin Styles, which was in Chinese with subtitles – in both Chinese and English, and impossible to read. And very smarmy, at least at the beginning. What a colossal disappointment! So, Rainy Day bid a fond adieu to that disc and popped in This Is It (see next review)

*NR = Not Rated, in this case because it wasn't seen.

Once Upon a Time in China, Part 3

Once Upon a Time in China, III

Cantonese, English Subtitles

1993, 111 Minutes

5 Stars

Once again Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, and Max Mok crossed Rainy Day's screen. Ms. Kwan provides the romance element, and does so with style; Mr. Mok is the ever faithful sidekick, Foon, and Rainy Day can't help but wonder if Foon was a name deliberately chosen as a shortened form of 'Bufoon' – he provides the comic relief. And, of course, Jet Li is superb as Wong Fei-Hung. If you've ever seen a Lion Dance during Lunar New Year in your local China Town, you must see this movie. It is filled not just with kung fu fighting, but with beautiful lions dancing. Some reviewers state the kung fu isn't up to par, but Rainy Day still found it beautiful to watch. The theme music is still captivating, oh, and it stars Jet Li.

For a trailer, click here.

Once Upon a Time in China, Part 2

Once Upon a Time in China, II

Cantonese, English subtitles

1992, 113 Minutes

5 Stars

Rainy Day should tell you at the beginning, there is NO set-up on this series of DVDs, you need to use the Subtitle button on your remote to get the English subtitles, but they are there. This time, Jet Li as Wong Fei-Hung takes on the White Lotus cult. One of the supporting characters (non-violent) is Sun Yat Sen, which makes sense as this story takes place in 1895 in Canton. Some stunning fight scenes, magnificent choreography, superb photography, and the story was pretty good, too. And, did Rainy Day mention it stars Jet Li? This is one of those sequels that is even better than the first movie.  Grab your favorite libation, a bowl of popped corn, sit back and enjoy. Donnie Yen's cloth stick fight at the end is almost believable.

For a leader of Part 2, click here.

Lone Wolf & Cub, #5

Lone Wolf and Cub:  Baby Cart in the Land of Demons

Japanese, English Subtitles

1973, 89 minutes

5 Stars

#5 in the LWC series, and so far, the most violent Rainy Day has seen. No fly-by-wire stuff, just good swordfights, and lots of spurting blood (oddly humorous and beyond reality). Not an easy movie to watch, in some respects, but well done. LWC is not everyone's idea of a Hero, he is, after all, a paid assassin, and he and his son walk the pathway to hell. Rainy Day keeps watching because she hopes, by the last in the series, Ogami-san will be reinstated to favor, and the bad guys will get their reward. The subtitles are excellent, and color coded so you know when more than one person is speaking. Ogami Itto must fight the bad guys, as well as the good guys in order to prove himself worthy.

Once Upon A Time in China, Part 1

Once Upon a Time in China

Mandarin, English subtitles

1991, 134 Minutes

5 Stars

This story, based on the life of Wong Fei-Hung (Jet Li), takes place when the Foreign Devils (Europeans) are moving into China and carving it into their own colonies. The story is from the Chinese perspective of this era, and shows how fiercely they wanted to preserve their culture against the onslaught of Westernization. If you are an aficionado of Martial Arts movies, this is one to watch! Wong Fei-Hung was a martial artist, a physician, an acupuncturist and a revolutionary. Jet Li has one of the best lines (and all of the really good fights) when he says, "You can't fight guns with kung fu!" Marvelous costuming, fantastic fight scenes, and, of course, Jet Li;-) (Rainy Day likes Jet Li, can you tell?) Part 2 & 3 are in her queue!

For a 3 minute trailer of Part 1, click here. There are several sites with information about this national hero, click here for the Wong Fei-Hung site.

Samurai Assassin, Mifune Toshiro

Samurai Assassin

Japanese, English Subtitles

1965, 122 Minutes

5 Stars

Rainy Day rates this 5 stars because the acting was superb, and the photography pretty darned good. The story is based on history, about the end of the Samurai times. Adm. Perry and his Black Ships were already nosing around Japanese harbors. Mifune Toshiro stars as the ronin Niiro Tsuruchiyo, who is not really a ronin because he is not really a Samurai. He becomes involved in a coup attempt in order to become a Samurai. He is an angry, broken, and almost animalistic man who never knew who his father was, and neither his mother nor his stepfather will tell him. He seeks to become a Samurai by killing a daimyo, thereby setting off a chain of events ending the Samurai period. Rainy Day has no idea how historically accurate the movie is, but thinks it's worth the watch.

For a trailer of Samurai Assassin, click here.