Kung Fu Hustle review

 Number 512 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Chinese martial art, comedy-drama Kung Fu Hustle.

Sing (Stephen Chow) and Bone (Lam Chi-Chung) are two hapless, small-time crooks. To break into the big time, they decide to join the Two-Axe gang which terrorises the local neighbourhood run by Landlord (Yuen Wah) and Landlady (Yuen Qiu.) To gain initiation, Sing and Bone must kill somebody - a task easier said than done when the neighbourhood is populated by no less than five kung fu masters.

Would it be fair to say that Kung-Fu Hustle was more style than substance? I know it's a comedy and it's not meant to be taken seriously, but I've never been a fan of films that are overly-reliant on special effects. I know they're supposed to be integral to the film's humour especially the slapstick nature and they weren't meant to be used gratuitously, but I did find them tedious after a while. From the weird banshee shockwave that the Landlady performed to the Sing's sonic punch that destroyed an entire building, it all became repetitive after a while.

Another reason I didn't get on with this film is that I'm not keen on martial art movies. Similarly to boxing films, while the fights maybe well choregraphed, they drag on too long and don't hold my interest. I'm not invested in the fighting so I naturally don't care about who wins or loses. I am also puzzled as to why the film was marketed as a comedy. It didn't make me laugh very much. But that's not because the jokes fell flat, but rather they didn't seem to be making many jokes at all.

A lot of the film is dedicated to Sing's childhood and a particular flashback of him standing up to some bullies going horrifically wrong. He is trying to stop them from beating up a girl, but is beaten up instead. We see the two re-unite and kindle a romance as adults. This was a cute subplot, but not very funny. In fact, other than bizarre special effects, the only joke I remember is a rather predictable one.

Bone, to gain initiation into the Two axes, decides to kill Landlady by throwing knives at her. But due to his terrible aim and hapless nature, the knives all end up in Sing instead. And Sing is behind him. Yet as we know that these two are hapless, this joke was far too obvious to be funny.

Unfortunately, this film didn't appeal to me. I am not a fan of martial art films, not am I fan of films that prioritise style over substance, but I am sure this film has a dedicated fanbase. I'm just not one of those fans.

La Strada review

 Number 184 on the top 1000 films of all time is Fellini's drama: La Strada.

Gelsomina (Giuletta Masina) is a young woman from a poor family. When her sister Rosa, and wife to travelling strong man Zampono (Anthony Quinn) dies, Zampono returns to buy Gelsomina as his new wife. However, Gelsomina finds herself attracted to fellow circus performer Il Matto, (Richard Baseheart.)

Compared to 8 1/2, I much preferred La Strada for one clear reason: its simplicity. There was no surrealism, dream sequences or introspective monologues. Only a love triangle between three tragic characters and you don't get anymore tragic than Gelsomina, Zampono and Il Matto.

Firstly, you have Gelsomina who is a victim of circumstance. After her Rosa dies, Gelsomina is sold to Zambono as his new wife. The brutish Zambono derides and humiliates her by coercing her into becoming part of his act. He is also cruel, intimidating and regularly forces himself onto her. But worst of all, he derives her of her true love - the high-wire artist Il Matto. A rivalrly between the two men ends tragically when Zambono murders Il Matto. A despondent Gelsomina falls into despair until Zambono abandons her on the road or the street, if you will. It revealed that she later died from a broken heart.

As for Zambono, while he is an animal, you wander if this is only a facade. As a travelling strongman, he lives a lonely existence. The only way he can get through the day is by putting on a front. And despite everything, I think he really cared for Gelsomina. After he finds out she's died, he breaks down in tears on a beach. To be honest, I thought he was going to walk into the sea.

Finally, we come to the high-wire artist Il Matto who is part of the circus that Gelsomina and Zambono join. Il Matto and Gelsomina develop a connection, leading to a bitter rivalry between Il Matto and Zambono with the former always playing pranks on the latter - this eventually ends up in both of them being fired and Zambono later killing Il Matto. 

If I were to criticise the film for everything it would be the dubbing. I understand that it was standard practice for Italian films to be recorded without sound and dubbed later on, but I don't understand why. Quinn and Baseheart were both speaking English when they were being filmed, so the dubbed Italian looks so obviously fake. That notwithstanding, I'm just glad to have overcome the art-film bump in the road.

8 1/2 Review

Number 181 on the top 1000 films of all time is Fellini's 1963 surrealist, comedy-drama 8 1/2.

Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastrioianni) is a famous Italian film director who experiences a creative block when directing his latest science fiction film. To overcome this block, he revisits pivotal points and relationships in his life.

Much like any of Ingmar Bergman's film, 8 1/2 is a film that can only be enjoyed if you're a diehard cinophile. I know that I'm doing a challenge to watch the top 1000 films of all time, but I am not a diehard cinophile. I'm not that deep when it comes to films. There's stuff I like and stuff I don't. And 8 1/2 wasn't something I particularly liked or could follow. Films like these are usually surreal - to the point of frustration, and I don't have the patience to wade through the many dream sequences or worse have to figure out what's a dream and what's reality.

Films about films like Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood have an air of superiority. They're not so much a reference to what came before, but an ego trip for directors proving how much of a film buff they are. Granted being made almost sixty hours before OUATIH, 8 1/2 didn't have the same air of superiority, but it did feel like Fellini was dangling ideas over my head that I'm not intelligent enough to know they're even there.

But like I say, I'm not a cinophile and probably not intelligent enough to even begin interpreting this film. One IMDB reviewer noted you have to watch the film a few times to understand it. I probably won't be doing that anytime soon unless I have trouble getting to sleep.