Kung Fu Hustle

As a movie lover I tend to stray away from almost all kung fu movies because I feel as though they are the same moves with just another slick title. I am proud to say that I am wrong. This movie was unlike any of the two kung fu movies I have ever seen. Kung Fu Hustle was hilarious, used amazing special effects, had a plot unique to its own, and contained many enjoyable references/spoofs to other cinema classics.

I loved watching Sing, a wannabe gangster attempting to join the famous and notorious Axe Gang, a legion of black tuxedoed mobsters responsible for a series of gruesome murders and complete dominance over a 1940s Hong Kong. At first, I was unsure on why Sing would even want to be a part of such a gruesome gang but as the movie unfolded I realized it was for the simple fact that they were viewed as the cool yet feared bad asses that provided a sense of strength and unity. The way in which Sing (a complete loser who cannot stand on his own two feet) went about making himself known was a hilarious disaster. His arrogance of trying to extort money from the locals in a poor apartment complex, which is territory of the Axe Gang, results in a battle between the housing complex ( containing numerous master of disguises) and the murderous axe gang. His recognition to the Gang was not so smoothly done.

Aside from the engaging plot, I loved the action pact martial arts as well as the showdown dance sequences and visual eye candy. I thought this movie was beautifully done and had just the right amount of laughable moments. I also enjoyed how the director used elements, styles, and overall references to other classic movies such as Westside Story, Gangs of New York, The Matrix, Broadway, Roger Rabbit, Road Runner and so much more. This movie could have been like all the other Kung Fu films I have seen but it wasn’t! While the martial arts style was similar, the plot and references were fresh. In typical Kung Fu movies we are told who the master or hero is in the very beginning. However, this film kept us on the edge of our seats searching, awaiting to see who would prevail as our hero.

I loved how everyone (in class discussion) was really excited about this movie. Someone made a good point about the unrealistic full recoveries we as the audience kept witnessing with Sing. He is stabbed by three misaimed flying knives and later bitten in the face by two snakes causing his lips to flare up like Roger Rabbit. Hours or maybe even a day later he returns all fine and dandy ready to make his kill.

Mulholland Drive

I found the movie Mulholland Drive to be quite interesting. Throughout class discussion we were told to not over think the films elements because in a way the movie did not have a solid meaning that could easily be summed up. There simply existed too many elements to piece together as a whole. I guess my question is why and how did the director David Lynch formulate this style of film with so much happening that its hard to even comprehend; how does his mind fathom all of these elements?

As the viewer we are constantly watching Lynch manipulate time and space as well as the characters identity. Through watching this movie, I couldn’t help but think of the film Last Year in Marienbad. Like the main male character in that film, I felt as though we as the audience were being transcended between Betty’s reality and her dream world; in which she is desperately trying to rationalize how it could have been for her making it in Hollywood. As the reading states “Betty is dreaming a bright Hollywood wish-fulfillment fantasy that is dispersed by a terrible Hollywood reality of failure.” We are constantly being sucked into Betty’s dream world were she is trying to fit the pieces together on why she didn’t get the part in a movie.

I loved how in class discussion someone mentioned that the roles the characters played switched in real life. We watched sweet bubbly blonde Betty turn into a seductive train wreck as she pleaded for Camilla aka Rita to stay (as she is straddling her on the couch). This personality switch was a complete opposite to who Betty is in her dream world and we only catch a glimpse of her (in this way) while she is auditioning her a role. Another character that does a complete 180 is the director Adam. In Betty’s dream world, we see Adam’s choice and creativity as a director in wanting to choose the leading lady in his film be stripped away from him from a higher, mysterious power in Hollywood. In reality Adam is just our typical director with really no sense of creativity and he had the chance in choosing the leading lady, Camilla Rhodes. In the dream world he hated the thought of Camilla Rhodes but in reality he was sexually wrapped up in her femme fatale image.