MOVIES OF THE MONTH, SEPTEMBER 2006

My birthday month was a big one for martial arts, appropriately enough.

The Protector
Not as good as Ong-Bak, but still pretty fun. I wanted more of the campy tranny villainess (a la Black Lizard), but it does have the first capioera master I've seen who looks like he could really kill you instead of just dance you to death.
The Wicker Man
The original--not the remake that looks so bad I can hardly watch the trailers. I'd seen it before in a butchered version, but the the DVD has the famous naked dancing scene.
Fullmetal Alchemist, vols. 12 & 13
Jet Li's Fearless
Fearless is a meta-kung fu movie: it doesn't just display martial arts, that's what it's about. A little like the Shaw Brothers movies directed by Lau Kar Leung such as Shaolin Challenges Ninja and Martial Club, it's about martial arts as self-improvement and a way for different cultures to communicate by fighting, not killing. It gets a bit New-Agey in the middle, where our hero learns values by living in a remote tribal village, but there's enough action in the beginning and end to make up for it.
New One-Armed Swordsman
Hey straight gals! Do you love the tragic romance of Brokeback Mountain and the pretty boys of yaoi anime? Then check out the extremely homoerotic work of kung fu director Chang Cheh. Rumor has it that David Chiang and Ti Lung's wives hated the movies they teamed up in, and you'll know why. This is more a swordplay movie than a kung fu one, so don't expect elaborate martial-arts moves, but it is a Chang Cheh film, so expect plenty of dismembered limbs and spurting blood.
The Boxer From Shantung
Another early Shaw Brothers "kung fu" film, but really more of a gangster flick about a rube from the country with fighting skills who rises up the criminal ranks before realizing it's not worth it. Chen Kwan Tai burns up the screen with charisma, but unfortunately doesn't get to display his considerable martial arts skills. A nice cameo by David Chiang as a benevolent gangster boss.
The Sound And The Fury
Not exactly what you'd call a good movie, but I love Yul Brynner. He dominates whatever he's in, but unfortunately only made a few decent flicks. This film has all the Southern Gothic elements in place: run-down plantation, once-proud aristocratic family holding on by a thread, drunk brother, slutty sister who has an illegitimate child (a cheesy Blanche Dubois imitation by Margaret Leighton), a mentally retarded mute, tough-but-maternal black housekeeper, a bed-ridden matriarch who won't accept the family's decline, a sexy drifter, and the spunky young daughter who may actually make something of herself if she doesn't get knocked up. Brynner plays the adopted son who tries to keep the family together. His Russian accent is hilariously explained by saying he's a Cajun who spoke only French for his first 10 years. I haven't read the book, but I'm sure it's nothing like this movie.