Shaolin

2011

2 hr 11 min

R

Chinese / English subtitles

Martial Arts

4 stars

More story than I expected, well done. A warlord who ambushes and kills his rival loses everything he ever loved or cared about, and ends up a fugitive who finds refuge in a Shaolin monastery. There he finds redemption. At least for a while.

Marvelous choreography, great fight scenes, just an over all first rate wuxia movie. A little long in places, but worth the time to watch. And Jackie Chan steals the show.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUF8_EhO6vU  

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.