where: SHATTUCK CINEMAS in Berkeley, CA
when: Sunday, January 30th, 2011
show: 7:10 p.m.
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $0.00 large Popcorn w/ Butter ( free on my Landmark's Movie Watcher Rewards Card for February ) + $4.75 medium Sprite Zero + $0.00 Pierre 2 Mini Cheeseburgers ( given to me free at the Benicia Chevron gas station ) + $7.00 Chevron gas + $5.00 Carquinez Bridge Toll = $26.75
auditorium: 4
seat: 3rd row, 4th column, middle section
synopsis/overview: Wing Chun Grandmaster Ip Man ( Donnie Yen ) wants to start a martial arts school in early 1950s Hong Kong. And he soon finds out that a corrupt British Colonial Police Officer, Superintendent Wallace ( Charles Mayer ), runs a protection racket, extorting money from local gangs with the help of Kung Fu boss Hung Chun-nam ( Sammo Hung ). Hung informs Ip that before he can set-up shop as a martial arts teacher, he must first attend a martial arts ceremony to test his fighting skills. Ip beats his first two opponents and ends the third fight, with Hung, in a draw. But refusing to pay protection money, Ip is forced to close his school. He has another encounter with Hung, finally earning the latter's respect and admiration. Hung invites Ip to see a Western-style boxing match, where the featured celebrity boxer is the British Taylor "The Twister" Milos ( Darren Shahlavi ), a racist who openly hates, insults and attacks some Chinese martial arts school students who are there to demonstrate their skills. The asthmatic Hung challenges "The Twister" to a fight and is mortally beaten. At a press conference, "The Twister" issues a challenge to any other Chinese martial artist. Ip Man accepts the challenge. Ip Man gets knocked down a number of times but, in the end, manages to win the fight. Ip becomes the hero of Hong Kong; and his Wing Chun style of Chinese boxing becomes popular.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Leaving for Hong Kong; 2.) New martial arts club; 3.) Laundry; 4.) Rent; 5.) The spar; 6.) New pupils; 7.) "Run"; 8.) Crazy man; 9.) Bullies; 10.) The fish market fight; 11.) Protection money; 12.) Jail; 13.) Martial arts ceremony; 14.) Newspaper article; 15.) Street brawl; 16.) Family dinner; 17.) Outdoor park; 18.) Heated argument; 19.) Western boxing versus Chinese boxing; 20.) Funeral; 21.) Police brutality; 22.) Challenge; 23.) Training for the fight; 24.) The fight; 25.) The victor's humble, conciliatory speech; and 26.) Ten-year-old Bruce Lee ( Jiang Dai Yan ).
audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this movie and some gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.
recommendation: It was okay. The stand-out fight in this movie would have to be the table-top fight, worth seeing for the price of an admission ticket.
spoiler alert! First of all, this movie is not a "true to real life" bio-pic. And I'm not even sure if the fights with the British boxer actually happened in real life or if the whole thing was just some sort of symbolic embellishment done for dramatic effect. Second of all, despite what one other movie critic said, they actually used wire-work in this movie--how else to explain how a fat man like Hung jumped so high and how one stool landed squarely and neatly on top of another. When Ip's hand-tied student became "attached" to a cleaver-wielding bad guy, the bad guy could have easily and repeatedly cross-body struck the student in the jugular. The bad guys could have easily thrown their cleavers at Ip from a near-arm's-reach distance and seriously wounded him. When Ip teetered at the edge of the round table, all Hung had to do was jump up at the opposite end to make Ip lose his balance and lose the fight. When the round table broke in half, there was actually not enough height for the two pieces to land the way they landed ( but if they used wires ... ); and the way Ip and Hung each kicked the pieces should have made them move forward in midair instead of backward. If I were "The Twister," I would have fought my opponents without the use of gloves; after all, the Chinese boxers were elbowing him, kneeing him, kicking him and hitting him in the back. Why didn't the referee stop the fight when "The Twister" was throwing a number of unanswered punches? Why were the fight rules not clearly established before each match?
fyi: Ip Man was actually a police officer before he moved to Hong Kong. And he was less of a cigarette smoker than he was an opium addict.
I just loved their cartoonish portrayal of white people as "foreign devils." L.O.L.
I remember watching Kung Fu Theatre on TV ( Channel 36 or 44 or ... ? ) many years ago. It featured Kung Fu movies from the 70s and early 80s, a great majority of which were stupidly bad. I just watched them for laughs. Its host was a chain-smoking Sifu, smoking as he pleased before the camera! The Sifu would demonstrate a few moves--with a lit cigarette in his mouth--during intermissions then he would abruptly stop because he would soon be out of breath, admitting the fact before the camera ( at least, he was honest about it ). Ha, ha, ha. What an embarrassment he was! Kung Fu Master or not, I could have easily beaten that Sifu in a fight because he tired easily. They fired his sorry ass after just a few weeks. Good riddance!
word of advice: Don't stiff your workers of their much-deserved pay.
tidbits: When I went to gas-up at the Chevron gas station in Benicia, CA, before heading off to Berkeley, I asked the clerk how much the mini cheeseburger sandwich was for. He told me to take one for free because they were about to throw them away. I couldn't pass up free food so I took one.
I decided not to take a Bart train because there wasn't enough time for it. Once I got to Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, I had to drive around a couple blocks to find a parking space.
A fire truck was parked outside the theatre because a movie patron ( who watched THE RITE ) needed some emergency assistance.
I just found out that the Landmark's Movie Watcher Rewards Card can only be used once per month for a discount at the concessions counter. But the clerk was nice enough to give me February's discount special because, apparently, most movie goers with the rewards card made the wrong assumption as I did. Oh, well .... I guess that I'll be avoiding this theatre for the full month of February--thank God it's a short month!
When I exited the theatre, I noticed panhandlers sitting and loitering on the sidewalk at the theatre entrance and to either side of it where coffee shops, snack shops and restaurants are. And some of these panhandlers were looking at the dining patrons through the glass windows who, I'm sure of it, had a hard time enjoying their coffee and meals. Boy! talk about laying on a buffet-sized guilt trip on people. But that's Berkeley for you, I guess.
attention: It's that time. So, please, vote for me. Thank you.
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