Memoirs of a Geisha

For the finale of “Zhang Ziyi Month,” I will be talking about “Memoirs of a Geisha,” released in 2006.

The basic story is that Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) remembers how she was sold into slavery and misery when she was a kid, trained by her mentor Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) into a famous geisha, and persistent against both her enemy Hatsumomos (Gong Li) betrayal and changes of war by her.

Angie Errigo stated in her review, “Among the 1,001 things we learn in Rob Marshall’s vividly instructive movie is that ‘geisha’ actually means artist, these select women having been schooled in music, dance and witty conversation.” Don’t forget selling cobblestone streets in eight-inch platform shoes without tripping over their expensive kimonos. They still manage to arise from this demanding movie as stylish prostitutes, personalities and desires heartlessly blocked.

Errigo noted, “Arthur Golden’s phenomenal bestseller of life and longing in a geisha house at the end of a golden era (the 1930s) was inevitably destined for a high-toned screen adaptation, and Steven Spielberg was long set to direct before competing projects took him off. So the assignment went to Marshall, hot off Chicago and benefitting from a big-time production (from a picture-perfect geisha district constructed in California to Yo-Yo Ma cello solos). Meanwhile, chick-lit screenwriter Swicord negotiates the contemplative text by providing Sayuri with a sorrowful narration to chronicle women behaving badly to one other.”

Errigo referenced, “If geishas used to be the supermodels of Japan, Zhang’s head-turning Sayuri is Giselle, Yeoh’s cool, ultra-professional Mameha is Tyra and Gong’s fragile, volatile diva Hatsumomo is Naomi. There’s a definite catwalk-cum-Chicago sequence when Sayuri performs a strangely avant-garde dance number at the auction for her virginity — white-faced, spotlit, hair-tossing.” Every actress in here is magnificent, including greedy house “Mother” Kaori Momoi and young Suzuka Ohgo as Chiyo, turned into Sayuri after a Little Orphan Annie childhood with just one happy memory (having Ken Watanabe’s kindly Chairman character buy her ice) to inspire her entire career and keep a shining ray of hope.

Could you say it’s just the audience, or is anyone else perplexed by the fact that casing Chinese actresses – really beautiful and successful which is undeniable – as iconic Japanese women? There’s probably no difference. (Errigo mentioned, “Rumour has it Lost’s Yunjin Kim turned down a role because she is, hello, Korean.) This is typical Hollywood, where they think we will not notice or care. It’s pulling teeth for them to cast beautiful and successful Japanese actresses.

Along with the life-changing interference of World War II, blink and you’ll miss it. Errigo said, “It’s a carefully apolitical inclusion there solely to explain the arrival of gum-chewing Yanks who have trouble grasping Japanese culture.” Oh, the irony.

My final thoughts are that this is a beautiful, colorful and perfectly-acted cultural mixture, but it’s never so moving more than it should be.

Now my only complaint with this movie is that unlike the previous movies that I have talked about, they were all in the original language, but I watched them with subtitles rather than dubbing. That’s only because I prefer it that way and not having to hear the dubbing, which isn’t in-sync all the time. This movie wasn’t in the same area. Instead, everyone was speaking English, which made me think why they did that? I don’t mean to sound insulting in any way, but I thought that maybe they would have everyone speak their native language to one another. However, for it to be spoken entirely in English by everyone (and not being dubbed over) is actually a good thing. This proves that English is being spoken all over the world. See this movie when you can.

Well that ends “Zhang Ziyi Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I have, and I will see you all next month.

House of Flying Daggers

Movie imagery, which has gotten violent and bad in countless new Special Effects action movies, may have been redeemed by the beauty of the martial arts movies from the East. Zhang Yimou’s 2004 flick, “House of Flying Daggers,” like his “Hero” and Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” brings together intensity, romance and amazing physical beauty. Roger Ebert stated in his review, “To Pauline Kael's formula of "kiss kiss bang bang," we can now add "pretty pretty."”

Don’t focus on the plot, the characters, and the trickery, which are all great in “House of Flying Daggers,” and look only on the visuals. There are insides of rich elegant wealth, costumes of astonishing beauty, landscapes of mountain ranges and meadows, fields of snow, piles of autumn leaves and a bamboo grove that works like a kinetic art drawing.

The action scenes placed in these areas are not poorly done in half-decent and unintelligible center action. Ebert noted, “Zhang stands back and lets his camera regard the whole composition, wisely following Fred Astaire's belief that to appreciate choreography you must be able to see the entire body in motion.” Tony Scott of the New York Times must be making a point when he says the film’s two completely flawless action scenes are probably being “cherished like favorite numbers from Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris.” Try proving that anywhere in “The Matrix” or “Blade: Trinity.”

The scenes in particular are the Echo Game, and a fight in a tall bamboo grove. The Echo Game is set inside the Peony Pavilion, an expensive brothel that add-ons in the passing days of the Tang Dynasty, 859 A.D. An undercover policeman named Jin, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro, goes there with a task that the new danger may be a member of the House of Flying Daggers, an underground resistance movement. The dancer is Mei, played by Zhang Ziyi, and she is blind. Ebert noted, “martial arts pictures have always had a special fondness for blind warriors, from the old "Zatoichi" series about a blind swordsman to Takeshi Kitano's "Zatoichi" remake (2004).”

After Mei dances for Jin, his comrade Leo, played by Andy Lau, challenges her to the Echo Game, where the floor is surrounded by drums on poles, and he throws a nut at one of the drums. Shi is to hit the same drum with the end of her really long sleeve. First he throws one nut, then three, then the entire bowl is thrown, as Mei spins in midair to follow the sounds with beats of her own. Ebert said, “Like the house-building sequence in the Kitano picture, this becomes a ballet of movement and percussion.”

Jin and Mei become partners in escaping from the emperor’s soldiers, Mei not thinking (or is she?) that Jin is supposed to be her enemy. On their run, apparently to the secret headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers, they fall in love. However, Jin quietly goes to follow up with Leo, who is following them with a handful of soldiers, hoping to be led to the hideout. Which side is Jin betraying?

Still other soldiers, not knowing anything about the undercover mission, attack the two, and there are scenes of magnificent choreography, like when four arrows from one bow hit four targets simultaneously. Actually, most of the action in the movie is made not to kill anyone, but the satisfaction of the beautiful skill. The impossible is happily welcome here.

The fight in the bamboo grove can be compared to the treetop swordfight in “Crouching Tiger,” but is amazing in its own way. Warriors attack from above, throwing sharp bamboo shafts that corner the two, and then jumping down on tall, flexible bamboo trees to attack at close range. The sounds of the whooshing bamboo speaks and the click of fighting swords and sticks have musical sound. Ebert said, “If these scenes are not part of the soundtrack album, they should be.”

Ebert goes on to say, “The plot is almost secondary to the glorious action, until the last act, which reminded me a little of the love triangle in Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946). In that film, a spy sends the woman he loves into danger, assigning her to seduce an enemy of the state, which she does for patriotism and her love of her controller. Then the spy grows jealous, suspecting the woman really loves the man she was assigned to deceive.” In “House of Flying Daggers,” the relationships have additional areas of discovery and betrayal that in the end in the snow field are operatic in their romance tragedy.

Ebert said, “Zhang Yimou has made some of the most visually stunning films I've seen ("Raise the Red Lantern") and others of dramatic everyday realism ("To Live").” Here, and with “Hero,” he wins for mainland China a share of the martial arts glory won by Hong Kong and its helpers like Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino. The film is so good to look at and listen to that, like with some operas, the story is almost not really focused on, just there mainly to get us from one well-done scene to another.

If you haven't seen this movie, and you love this genre, this is another absolute must. I had started watching this when it was available for free On Demand, but I never went back and finished it. Now that I have seen it, I highly recommend everyone to see it.

Check in next week for the finale in "Zhang Ziyi Month."

Hero

Zhang Yimou’s “Hero,” released in 2004, is beautiful and charming, a martial arts performance demonstrating the styles and lives of its fighters inside Chinese tradition. Roger Ebert noted, “It is also, like "Rashomon," a mystery told from more than one point of view; we hear several stories which all could be true, or false.” The movie starts, like many folk legends, with a storyteller before the presence of a superior king, counting on his reasons to protect his life.

The storyteller is Nameless (Jet Li), who arrives to the imperial palace of the feared King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming). Qin dreams of uniting every fighting palace in China under his rule. His plans to end battle, the opening narration tells us, “were soaked in the blood of his enemies.” Three murderers have sworn to kill him: Broken Swart (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Long Sky (Donnie Yen). Now arrives Nameless to say he has killed all three of them. He wants to become the king’s valued deposit, and collect a reward.

The beginning parts are visually breathtaking. Nameless arrives at the royal palace way high on the caste system, walks through entrance rooms of great wisdom and wealth, and is allowed to kneel within 100 paces of the king – which is closer than anyone has been allowed to approach in many years. One more step, he is warned, and he will be killed.

The king wants to hear his tales. Nameless explains that his martial arts skill alone was not enough to win against such difficult opponents. Instead, he gets inside their heads to find out their vulnerabilities. For instances, Broken Sword’s fencing method was disregarded by the style of his script. Sward and Snow were in love, so jealousy can help here. Maybe Snow could walk in on Sward sleeping with the beautiful Moon, played by Zhang Ziyi, which would separate their union. As Nameless tells, there are flashbacks to the scenes he talks about.

“Hero” was the most expensive film in Chinese history, an honest try to surpass Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and the sets, costumes and special effects are completely pretty. Look at the part where Nameless and Long Sky are fighting until one gets killed during a heavy rainstorm that breaks the ceiling of the room they are fighting in, while a blind musician, played by Shou Xin Wang, plays his harp in equivalent. They sometimes pause to ask the musician to keep playing. At one part, Nameless throws himself across the room in slow motion, through a cloud of suspended raindrops which fall like jewels when he goes through them.

How about when Nameless and Broken fight while floating above a lake, sometimes making patterns in the water with their swards. Zhang even looks like he’s filming them from below the surface of the water they’re walking on. Or how about the part that is in a rain of bright red leaves. Or another where a calm master of inscription continues teaching, and his students sit obediently around him, while a rain of arrows fly through the roof of the their school. Ebert said, “Never have more archers and more arrows been seen in a movie; although I knew special effects were being used, I was not particularly aware of them.”

These stories really interest the King of Qin, and after each one is finished he allows Nameless to step a little closer to the throne, until finally there are only 10 paces that separate them. However, the king has not survived years of murder attempts by being vacuous, and after the stories, he speaks, giving his own interpretations of what might have occurred. Ebert noted, “His version is also visualized by Zhang, creating the "Rashomon" effect.”

We can easily see the king being right in his retelling of Nameless’ stories, and we think if Nameless came up with a way to get closer to the throne and kill the king himself. This hypothesis is not only thought up by the audience but, obviously, to the king, who may have a deliberate reason to allowing Nameless to come so close. The two are playing an elegant game of truth or consequence, where it really won’t matter what really happened to Sword, Sky and Snow, because everything has finally arrived at the two men in the throne room.

Ebert credited, “A film like "Hero" demonstrates how the martial arts genre transcends action and violence and moves into poetry, ballet and philosophy.” It is violent simply on purpose. Ebert mentioned, “What matters is not the manner of death, but the manner of dying: In a society that takes a Zen approach to swordplay and death, one might win by losing.” There is an old martial arts tactic where one brings the opponent closer to throw him off balance, and yields to his attacks in order to fabricate him. One might even win against their enemy by dying – not by killing him, but as a move in a larger game.

Ebert noted, “Every genre has its cadre of moviegoers who think they dislike it.” Sometimes a movie comes along that everyone has to see, regardless. If you avoided seeing every superhero movie, for instance, “Spider-Man 2” was the one to see. If you didn’t like martial arts even after “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” then “Hero” may be the right film. Ebert ended his review by saying, “Is it better than "Crouching Tiger"? Perhaps not, because the "Rashomon" structure undermines the resonance and even the reality of the emotional relationships. But Zhang Yimou, whose "Raise the Red Lantern" was so beautiful, once again creates a visual poem of extraordinary beauty.”

My brother and I saw this movie in theaters when it was given an international release. I liked it, but my brother didn’t seem to like it because of it feeling like Romeo & Juliet. However, after seeing the trailers and only seeing parts of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at that time, I was intrigued to see this movie, and I’m glad I saw it. If you haven’t seen this movie, go see it, especially if you liked “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” You will love this film a lot, I give you my word.

Check in next week to see another exciting entry in “Zhang Ziyi Month.”

The Fifth Element

Today marks that it’s the 20^th year anniversary to one of the most famous sci-fi comedies ever made, “The Fifth Element,” released in 1997. In celebration, I will review the film and let you know what I thought about it.

Roger Ebert opened his review by saying, “"The Fifth Element,'' which opened the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, is one of the great goofy movies--a film so preposterous I wasn't surprised to discover it was written by a teenage boy. That boy grew up to become Luc Besson, director of good smaller movies and bizarre big ones, and here he's spent $90 million to create sights so remarkable they really ought to be seen.”

That’s not saying this is actually a good movie. It’s more of a mixture that also has greatness. Ebert noted, “Like "Metropolis" (1926) or "Blade Runner," it offers such extraordinary visions that you put your criticisms on hold and are simply grateful to see them.” If Luc Besson had been able to connect those visions with a more coherent story and more brutal editing, he might have really had a thoughtful film here.

The movie starts in “Egypt, 1914,” that birthplace not only of humans but of so many horror and occult films. Inside an ancient tomb, scientists congregate at the area of something that happened (we discover) centuries prior. Ebert said, “Four crucial stones, representing the four elements, had been kept here until a spaceship, looking something like a hairy aerodynamic pineapple, arrived to take them away, one of its alien beings intoning in an electronically lowered voice, "Priest, you have served us well. But war is coming. The stones are not safe on Earth anymore.'' Deep portentous opening omens almost invariably degenerate into action sequences.” However, “The Fifth Element” quickly goes to another extraordinary part, New York City in the mid-23^rd century. The futuristic city, made at so much cost with big, detailed models and effects, is beautiful to observe. Ebert described, “It looks like Flash Gordon crossed with those old Popular Mechanics covers about the flying automobiles of the future. Towers climb to the skies, but living conditions are grungy, and most people live in tiny modular cells where all the comforts of home are within arm's reach.”

Meanwhile, Earth is in danger of a giant energetic fiery thing that is racing toward Earth at fast speed. “All we know is, it just keeps getting bigger,” one scientist notes. Ian Holm plays an astrophysicist who drastically observes, “It is evil – evil begets evil.” What is this object? What violent aliens are sprawling toward Earth in their midst, and how to stop it? Man’s hopes may rely with Leeloo, played by the hot Milla Jovovich, cloned from a single extraterrestrial cell, who comes to life with flaming red hair already dark at the scalp (those cells remember everything). Ebert said, “Leeloo is clad in a garment that looks improvised from Ace bandages but gets no complaints from me (the costumes are by French couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier, whose favorite strategy as a designer is to start by covering the strategic places, and then stop).”

Military-industrial workers want to have Leeloo for their own work. They look at her from behind unbreakable glass. Ebert said, “She breaks the glass, grabs a general's privates, and dives through what looks like a wall of golden crumpled aluminum foil, racing outside to a ledge high in the clouds.” She jumps, but is saved from killing herself on the pavements far down by landing through the roof of a taxi driven by Korben Dallas, played by Bruce Willis, who looks like he was taken directly here from the cab in “Pulp Fiction.” Leeloo has unearthly powers, but she needs help, and Korben becomes friends with her. Soon the future of space is in her hands, as the movie tells the rest of the story. The “fifth element” of the title, we find out, is the life force itself – that which brings to life the lifeless (the other four elements are earth, air, fire and water). Leeloo represents the fifth element. Ranged against her is a wide anti-life force, a somewhat black hole of death. Every 5,000 years, a portal opens between the universes where these two forces live. The evil force can come through unless the five elements are correctly placed against it. The vivacious fireball in space is the physical expression of the dark force.

Ebert mentioned, “Involved with mankind in this approaching battle are two alien races: the Mondoshawan, who live inside great clunky armored suits (that was their hairy pineapple), and the Mangalores, whose faces can be pictured by crossing a bulldog, a catfish and an alderman.” The Mangalores are under the command of the evil Zorg, played by Gary Oldman, who helps the evil force despite the fact that (as far as I can tell) it would kill him along with everything else.

Ebert noted, “Now if this doesn't sound like a story dreamed up by a teenager, nothing does.” The “Star Wars” movies look deep, even philosophical, in similarity, but don’t mind that: We are watching “The Fifth Element” not to think, but to be entertained.

Besson gives us one great visual pride after another. Ebert mentioned, “A concert, for example, starring a towering alien diva whose skin shines with a ghostly blue light, and who has weird ropes of sinew coming out of her skull.” Also, a space station that looks like a type of intergalactic Las Vegas, where a disc jockey, played by Chris Tucker, walks around hosting a long-running commercial-less TV show. Also, inside spaceships that win in looking the “Star Wars”/”Star Trek” look imagining how extraterrestrials might construct its command deck.

The movie is successful in technical quality. The cinematographer is Thierry Arbogast, the production designer is Dan Weil, and the special effects are by Digital Domain, which created the futuristic Mars in “Total Recall.” Remember that Besson created these looks, and had the courage to think his weird looks could make a movie.

Ebert credited, “For that I am grateful. I would not have missed seeing this film, and I recommend it for its richness of imagery.” However, at 127 minutes, which looks like a nice runtime, it plays long. There is a lot of the annoying disc jockey character late in the movie, when the story should be focused on business. Scenes are allowed to drag on, maybe because so much work and money went into making them. The editor, Sylvie Landra, is really responsible for the pacing, but no doubt Besson was helping her out, liking what he had created. A good trimming would help what makes “The Fifth Element” amazing, and take out what makes it repetitive. There are great things in here, and the movie should get out of its path.

In the end, I would say this is an enjoyable, entertaining, fun film to check out. I know it’s not good, but that doesn’t hurt the fact of how much you’ll love watching the film. Definitely see it if you haven’t, I think you’ll like it.

Check in this Friday for the continuation of “Zhang Ziyi Month.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Alright everyone, I just came back from seeing the latest installment in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” which came out three days ago. Now I will let everyone know what I thought about it.

There are not one, not two, but five mid-and-post-credits sequences at the end of the movie. Five! John Serba stated in his review, “Normally, I'd dutifully mention the presence of such things as an aside or postscript to a review, so you don't walk out early and miss a good joke or plot point - although we should all know by now how pretty much every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie will feature one or two of them, teasing the next in the series. But including five of them in "Guardians 2" is emblematic of the film itself, which is passionately overstuffed, as if filmmaker James Gunn was, as a kid, told he could bring three action figures on a car trip, and despaired at the thought of not having his 40 favorites. So now that he's an adult, he gleefully crams all of his fun ideas into one movie.”

What this means is that this movie will definitely be worth the ticket price. It’s filled with eccentric characters, action, comedy, music and locations. What makes this a great experience is paint – design, dialogue and deep emotion. Serba said, “And it's all slightly crazy, offbeat and garish without alienating the consumers who made the first film a $773 million-grossing global smash in 2014.”

Serba goes on to say, “In spite of its bonkers sci-fi extravaganza-ism, the "Guardians" series feels like the uber-conglomerate Marvel franchise's most personal project.” It came from writer/director James Gunn’s dignity than from a huge company throwing in plot points connecting so many movies together into one huge story. He’s making kids happy watching space rangers shooting each other with laser beams and flying through the cosmos in spaceships (you can’t connect this to anything else other than “Star Wars”), along with the strange roles in Marvel Comics, including Steve Gerber’s original “Howard the Duck” franchise (which Seth Green made a brief cameo voicing him in here) and the crazy B and C-Level makings of Jack Kirby.

On top of that is the eclectic nostalgic songs that you hear on the radio now, Gunn again effortlessly and flawlessly made his favorite ‘70s soundtrack to highlight themes and inspire scenes. Serba noted, “He uses the film to quietly will ELO and Glen Campbell towards pop-cultural kitschy-coolness.”

Speaking of which, ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” plays in the amazing opening credits, where there’s a long tracking shot where everyone’s favorite tree root, Baby Groot, reprised by Vin Diesel, and rejuvenated to a small root with big eyes after what happened at the end of the first movie, dances to the song in the foregrounds as his comrades fight a humongous, tentacle beast behind him, in small focus. Serba credited, “The scene is representative of the sequel, which is a little bit funnier and shows a smidgen more technical panache than the first, but sticks to its successful formula, and therefore satisfies in much the same way.”

The story can be compared to “Empire Strikes Back” in a way, where Gunn separates the team, looks at the love between the main male and female characters and focuses on the high tension of paternity as the main plot point. In the first film, half-Earthling Peter “Star Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) briefly mentioned in sorrow of not knowing his alien father. He and the other Guardians – Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax and Destroyer (Dave Bautista, who kills it this time), one-liner spewing Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot – are now mercenaries being tracked, and when their latest joke gets messy, their ship is saved by Ego, a powerful extraterrestrial God played with hilarity by Kurt Russell.

I don’t think I’m giving any spoiler when I say that Ego is Quill’s father. Serba noted, “The film's preamble flashes back to 1980 for Ego's time on Earth, giving Quill's pregnant mom (Laura Haddock) a ride in his T-top Mustang, but oddly not giving her a ride on his amazingly feathered hair, which is even further beyond "Big Trouble in Little China" than we ever thought possible.” On Ego’s planet, Quill tries to tell Gamora how he feels about her, but she doesn’t believe in those feelings. Serba mentioned, “She's too busy smelling a rat in this plot, symbolically speaking, and of course, that symbolic rat would probably be a six-eyed, tri-tailed flying space rat, because in this movie series, a six-eyed, tri-tailed flying space rat would be way awesome, and also too much, and too much is almost never quite enough, it seems.”

So many other things are thrown into the story. Yandu (Michael Rooker), a sort-of adopted father of Quill’s and the villain from the first film, is exiled from his space-pirate Ravager team by their leader (extended cameo by Sylvester Stallone). Gamora’s sister, Nebula, played by Karen Gillian, is the Guardian’s prisoner, and holds this long sibling-rivalry grudge. Mantis, played by the beautiful Pom Klementieff, is Ego’s personal assistant of some type, an empath who can tell how someone is feeling by touching them. Chasing our main heroes – Rocket foolishly stole some powerful batteries from them - are the Sovereign, led by Ayesha, played by Elizabeth Debicki, whose dress and throne are one interlocking unit, and her huge eyes just barely point out different directions, interpreting her fellow aliens. Serba stated, “The Sovereign are comically pompous, and are head-to-toe gold, roughly the shade and composition of, one assumes, Donald Trump's toilets.”

The character interaction is again hilarious, and sometimes self-referential. Just when you think it’s annoying and silly for Quill and Rocket to fight while running away from the villains, Gamora shouts, “Can we please put the bickering on hold until after we survive the massive space battle?” Pieced into the narrative is a consistent and humanizing moral about the meaning of family, whether it is by blood or the closeness of a group suffering – mainly through loneliness and rejection – the Guardians share their eccentricities. (Serba noted, “Note, this is the same idea the "Fast and Furious" movies suck at addressing.”)

Gunn puts together a rebellion against your typical sci-fi film, which gets to be busy with exposition and special effects, and not so much on character. Serba stated, “It's nice to see substantial character asides here, effectively spiced with comedy, although they seem self-consciously shoehorned in, and a little overwritten.” The climax of the film does slow down a bit, due to a lengthy one-to-one heart-to-hearts between many characters, negotiating the narrative swiftness of the movie’s many action scenes. Serba said, “Gunn indulges a distinctively busy visual aesthetic, and it's very nearly overwhelming, especially come the third act, which peaks with a predictably cataclysmic and noisy conglomeration of explosions and shouting and other dramatic cliches of the genre. The climax is at least coherent, and is punctuated with Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," one of those nifty moments in cinema where film and song are dramatically in sync, and we feel goosebumps rise on our arms.”

If we’re going to get “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3,” these characters will hopefully appear in the huge buildup of “Avengers: Infinity War” in May 2018, with a cast list currently of 24 recognizable actors/characters from the Universe. Serba said, “I worry Baby Groot will get stepped on. Also, that the thought and care and idiosyncrasy Gunn puts into his films will be steamrollered by spectacle.” He smartly blends camp and sincerity in his characters and problems, taking them seriously enough to make these movies enjoyable to watch and look at, but not so serious that their comedic factor is instead put into the “dark” themes (which was one of the problems people stated in “Batman v Superman”). Putting these characters into a huge turmoil of Hulk and Doctor Strange may not have any charm. Serba ended his review by saying, “But I'm getting ahead of myself - before then, we'll get this year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Thor: Raganrok," which will keep the Marvel narrative and the money-printing machine chugging along.” This universe keeps growing.

Spoiler alert: the mid and post-credits scene showcase Kraglin (Sean Gunn) trying out Yondu’s telekinetic arrow and control fin, the Ravager leader reuniting with his former team, Groot growing back to his normal size, showcasing typical teenage behavior, Ayesha creating a new artificial being to destroy the Guardians, calling it Adam, and a group of uninterested Watchers listen to Stan Lee talk about his many experiences on Earth.

If you enjoyed the first movie, this one is definitely for you. I promise you will enjoy it more than the first one. However, if you end up liking the first one more, I completely understand, but I personally found myself laughing at this one more, feeling the emotions more, and overall having a better movie experience in here. This easily makes another one of my favorite comic book movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is running on a high streak right now, and I’m really looking forward to the new Spider-Man and new Thor this year.

Look out this Friday for the next review of “Zhang Ziyi Month.”

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I’m really excited about this month because I will be looking at a genre of film that I have yet to look at: Martial Arts films. For this month, I will be dedicating this to the gorgeous Zhang Ziyi, so let’s take a look at the first film I saw her in, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” released in 2000.

The best martial arts movies don’t focus at all with the fighting and instead focuses on personal excellence. Their heroes surpass the laws of space, gravity, the limitations of the body and what the mind is scared of. When you look at Western movies, you think that the two dueling are sworn enemies. In a martial arts movie, it feels like the fighters are testing how powerful one another are.

Just to note, people get murdered, but they are either characters who didn’t probably use their skills or unknown assistants of the villain. Roger Ebert noted in his review, “When the hero stands in the center of a ring of interchangeable opponents and destroys them one after another, it's like a victory for the individual over collectivism--a message not lost in the Asian nations where these movies are most loved. The popularity of strong heroines is also interesting in those patriarchal societies.”

Ebert admitted, “Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the most exhilarating martial arts movie I have seen. It stirred even the hardened audience at the 8:30 a.m. press screening at Cannes last May. There is a sequence near the beginning of the film involving a chase over rooftops, and as the characters run up the sides of walls and leap impossibly from one house to another, the critics applauded, something they rarely do during a film, and I think they were relating to the sheer physical grace of the scene. It is done so lightly, quickly, easily.”

Ebert goes on to say, “Fight scenes in a martial arts movie are like song-and-dance numbers in a musical: After a certain amount of dialogue, you're ready for one.” The choreography of the action scenes in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was done by Yuen Wo-Ping, who also did “The Matrix,” and understands to focus more on form than function. It’s not who will win that’s important (except to the story, obviously). What matters is who looks more skilled.

There’s also a contest to look for unlikely settings for martial arts scenes. In the classic Jackie Chan movie, “The Legend of Drunken Master,” a bed of fiery coals is flying in the air next to an important factory railway. Why? So Chan can fall on them. In “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Lee and Wo-Pin create a scene of complete awe and beauty, when the two heroes hang on the tops of tall, flying trees and swing back and forth during a sword fight.

Ebert mentioned, “Watching this scene, I assumed it was being done with some kind of computer trickery. I "knew" this because I "knew" the actors were not really 40 feet in the air holding onto those trees. I was wrong. Everything we see is real, Lee told me. Computers were used only to remove the safety wires that held the actors. "So those were stunt people up there?" I asked, trying to hold onto some reserve of skepticism. "Not for the most part," he said. "Maybe a little stunt work, but most of the time you can see their faces. That's really them in the trees." And on the rooftops, too, he told me.”

The film stars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, expert martial arts actors who have amazing athletic skills (as Jackie Chan and many other actors in this genre). Two other essential characters are played by Zhang Ziyi (as Jen Yu) and Cheng Pei Pei (as Jade Fox). Ebert said, “Long rehearsal and training went into their scenes, but what's unusual about "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the depth and poetry of the connecting story, which is not just a clothesline for action scenes, but has a moody, romantic and even spiritual nature.”

The story is about Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) as a warrior who is out for vengeance for the murder of his master. He has been in love with Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) for a long time, and she has as well, but their main focus are on revenge and on them trying to get back Green Destiny, a sword that once belonged to Li Mu Bai’s master and has recently been sold to the rich district governor (Sihung Lung). Ebert said, “That brings Yu Shu Lien into contact with the governor's sheltered daughter, Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), who leads a rigidly proscribed life, although she has a secret I will leave you to discover.” The other villain, Jade Fox, is a barrier between the heroes and what they want.

This story, like every martial arts story, has some sort of silly amount, but Ang Lee and his longtime collaborator James Schamus are surprisingly successful in showcasing the human elements, especially the hidden love between Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien. There are times when they’re together that you forget about the swords, and are just watching the two lovers, caringly valuing the unspoken love between them. Jen Yu, the governor’s daughter, is also interesting because she scratches at the rules that limit her and discloses a past loving life.

Ebert said, “There are those, I know, who will never go to a martial arts movie, just as some people hate Westerns; Jack Warner once told his producers, "Don't make me any more movies where the people write with feathers."” Like every ambitious movie, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” exceeds its origins and becomes unique. It’s beautiful, bold escapism and surprisingly touching at the same time. Also, the actors are really up on those trees.

If you haven’t seen this film and are a fan of martial arts movies, definitely don’t skip this one. It’s a masterpiece like any other, and one of the best in the genre. I had only seen parts of the movie growing up after it was released, but now I have officially gone back and have seen the entire movie.

I know that there is a sequel that came out, but I have never seen it. I might check it out, especially since one of my friends said it was ok. Give me some time to watch it, but don’t expect a review soon since it’s not high on my priority list of films I really need to see.

Stay tuned next week for another amazing movie in “Zhang Ziyi Month.”