Bullet Proof Monk

[brianhunter]

I went to see this with my wife this weekend. I enjoyed it, the end drug out a little too long. I did laugh and thought the character interaction was funny and I always have fun watching "wire fu". It rated very low though. I wasnt expecting lord of the rings or anything so I just enjoyed myself.
Has anyone else seen it??? What did you think?

[Aikikitty]

I saw it yesterday. It was okay. No Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon that's for sure and nothing was realistic but that's alright. It was entertaining and the fights were fun to watch.

Robyn :asian:

[tarabos]

good action, good special effects, a good bit of fun. it was pretty much what i expected it to be plus a little bit more i'd say. the dude from american pie does a good job as well.

i'd say it's worth seeing considering there really isn't any other martial arts action out there right now.

[pesilat]

Originally posted by brianhunter
I went to see this with my wife this weekend. I enjoyed it, the end drug out a little too long. I did laugh and thought the character interaction was funny and I always have fun watching "wire fu". It rated very low though. I wasnt expecting lord of the rings or anything so I just enjoyed myself.
Has anyone else seen it??? What did you think?

I liked it quite a bit. Pretty much what I expected it to be overall and there weren't really any surprising plot twists (though they tried).

But I thought it was very good. I really like Chow Yun Fat. I thought Sean William Scott and the girl did good work, too.

I thought, within the context of the movie, the story line was very plausible and held together well.

As I told someone else (on another forum): if I want to see real martial arts on a screen, I've got video footage of my instructors I can watch. I'm at the movies to be entertained by the story and action. Being entertained by reality is nothing special :)

Mike

[MinnieMin]

I agree with Mike totally, except that it was better than I expected. I had a fun time watching this movie.

Min

[tarabos]

Originally posted by pesilat
[B]I'm at the movies to be entertained by the story and action. Being entertained by reality is nothing special :)

amen...

take note "reality" tv show producers...

[arnisador]

The martial arts sequences weren't that great.

[ECYili]

I saw it this weekend. Granted you don't go to a movie like that to see an oscar winner. That being said, it could have been alot better. The story was fine and the actors did a good job. I just didn't like the way they filmed it, the editing and cinematography was nothing to write home about. And can any Amercian director shoot a fight scene the right way?! The close up shots during the fight scenes made it hard to figure out what they were doing. With those simple adjustment it would have been even more enjoyable. I would give it a 6 out of 10 just because of the way it was filmed.

Just my 2 cents

[Crazy Chihuahua]

Originally posted by arnisador
The martial arts sequences weren't that great.

But don't forget that Chow Yun-Fat isn't a martial artist! He's just an actor. He happened to look half-decent in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, so his next movie was a kung fu flick, but most of his earlier works have just been comedies.

[pesilat]

Originally posted by Crazy Chihuahua
But don't forget that Chow Yun-Fat isn't a martial artist! He's just an actor. He happened to look half-decent in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, so his next movie was a kung fu flick, but most of his earlier works have just been comedies.

Comedies?

I'd call what I've seen of his earlier work action or drama:
Anna and the King
The Corruptor
The Replacement Killers

Of course, that's only what's been popular here in America. I haven't seen any of his earlier Chinese films. Were they comedies?

Mike

[ECYili]

I've seen 2 of his Hong Kong films; Hard Boiled and The Killer. Both were straight up action flicks. There were some funny spots but they were not comedies. I've heard the same for Bullet in the Head(the title is soemthing like that).

From what I've heard of Chow is that he was a stunt man first. I guess they thought it was better to make a stunt man the lead actor, that way he would do his own action scenes instead of bringing someone else in to do it. He's is really good in both of those films, both I think were directed by John Woo.

[MinnieMin]

I maybe wrong here, but I thought Jackie Chen was a stunt man and never heard of Chow was a stunt man; he doesn't like to be wired. I'd rather think he is a action and drama star.

Min :asian:

[MartialArtist]

Originally posted by pesilat
Comedies?

I'd call what I've seen of his earlier work action or drama:
Anna and the King
The Corruptor
The Replacement Killers

Of course, that's only what's been popular here in America. I haven't seen any of his earlier Chinese films. Were they comedies?

Mike
WHATT??? NO HARDBOILED?

[pesilat]

Originally posted by MartialArtist
WHATT??? NO HARDBOILED?

LOL. Nope. Haven't seen that one yet. Keep meaning to, but the fates have, thus far, conspired against me ;)

Mike

[moromoro]

Does chow yun fat have the lead role or is this a stiffler flick

[pesilat]

Originally posted by moromoro
Does chow yun fat have the lead role or is this a stiffler flick

Chow, Scott (Stiffler), and the girl (can't remember her name) are co-stars. The movie ends up being about the interactions between them. But Chow is definitely the lead role.

Mike

[moromoro]

great i would not have bothered if stiffler was the lead

[arnisador]

Yes, he has the lead role (with Seann William Scott)!

There's an article here (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=334).

[Crazy Chihuahua]

you might have to dig a bit to find his earlier movies. i've got a friend who's seen a lot of his stuff, and he tells me he used to do some loose, funny movies.

the stunt man thing i'd never heard before. it may be true, but i'd not heard that previous to reading this post....

[moromoro]

thanks guys

[Michael Billings]

Great show for a matinee. I enjoyed it, but it is what it is. Matrix type generated special effects, with some pretty good action and Kung-Fu, mixed in.

You could tell from the guns on the car who co-directed the movie.

-Michael

[MinnieMin]

I recognized the little move of Ba Gua. :)

[moromoro]

Yes, he has the lead role (with Seann William Scott)!

ahhhhhhhhh

your joking mambe ill just wait to see it on dvd no point going to the cinemas if hes in the lead

[Phil Elmore]

My review of Bulletproof Monk. Caution -- spoilers!

http://www.philelmore.com/moviereviews/m08.htm

[brianhunter]

Originally posted by Sharp Phil
My review of Bulletproof Monk. Caution -- spoilers!

http://www.philelmore.com/moviereviews/m08.htm

Sir,
I am really getting to the point that I look forward to reading your articles :) Keep up the good work! I really enjoyed the movie, and Mr Billings was right, it is definately worth a $4-$5 matinee, just not a date night ;) Sometimes we just need simple entertainment not an epic!

This was also an adaption from a comic book, all good comic books have evil nazis trying to rule the world and a hero passing on a legacy (think captain america here).

I will definately buy the DVD and continue to resist the urge to call "Kar" "Stiffler" LOL

[moromoro]

i hate the fact that stiffler is doing action

[Andi]

i hate the fact that stiffler is doing action

Really? I couldn't tell. Why's that then?

[brianhunter]

Originally posted by moromoro
i hate the fact that stiffler is doing action

Stiffler wasn't bad, he was actually pretty funny there is a good fight scene with him using a staff (pipe) against his enemies that played out very cool

[Michael Billings]

The review by Phil Elmore was very accurate and correct. But it sure makes it sound a lot less enjoyable than I found it. I am glad you prefaced it the way you did Phil or I would have un-taken myself to the movies.

Oss,
-Michael

[pesilat]

*** attempt at quasi philosophical wit ... may fall on face ***
My only issue with the review, Phil, was the implication that, in the movieverse, all the various things happen in the same movieverse. For instance, all the temples with powerful scrolls and all the hard-edged cops with sidekick partners. I don't think they all exist in the same movieverse. I think there are many alternate movieverses and that each version we see is simply another movieverse's parallel to the others.

So, there is really only one such scroll or hard-edged cop. These are the archetypes. But each archetype has a physical manifestation (parallel counterparts) in many movieverses.

So, from this perspective, I don't encounter many of the problems you discuss (i.e.: wondering when the "Ancient Ones" would wisen up and stop making the silly things).

But that's just me :)

*** hope it didn't splat too hard ***

Seriously, though, I enjoyed your review and thought that it was pretty accurate.

But, for me, in the final assessment, I enjoyed the movie and found it entertaining ... and since that's why I go to the movies in the first place, I think it was an excellent movie. It did its job :)

Mike

[moromoro]

oh yeah stiffler doing a MA movie thats realistic!!!!

[pesilat]

Originally posted by moromoro
oh yeah stiffler doing a MA movie thats realistic!!!!

When movies start being realistic, I'll stop watching them :)

I get plenty of reality every day. I'm at the movies to be entertaining.

A movie is a story. The story has a "reality" of its own. So long as the characters, plot, setting, etc. are believable within the structure of the "reality" defined by the story, then it's a good story.

If a story is set in a world where magic works then a wizard is believable. But it's not "reality" :)

I thought that BPM did a good job sticking to its own "reality." Though there were some things (pointed out in Phil's article) that were a little shaky in this regard. But I personally didn't feel that any of them were enough to topple the deck of cards.

Mike

[moromoro]

When movies start being realistic, I'll stop watching them

that may be so


BUT WHEN STIFFLER HAS THE LEAD IN A MA FILM I STOP WATCHING THAT FILM ALSO

terry

[MinnieMin]

Originally posted by moromoro
that may be so


BUT WHEN STIFFLER HAS THE LEAD IN A MA FILM I STOP WATCHING THAT FILM ALSO

terry

Funny, you really dislike this actor. Why? :)
I thought he was not bad in this movie, and it's really fun to watch his some goofy moves (showing off); quite entertaining.

[moromoro]

Funny, you really dislike this actor. Why?

dont get me wrong i love the man, american pie 1 is my favorite comedy of all time, i love stiffler


but it is an outrage to see him take the lead on this MA movie!

[pesilat]

Originally posted by moromoro
dont get me wrong i love the man, american pie 1 is my favorite comedy of all time, i love stiffler


but it is an outrage to see him take the lead on this MA movie!

Well, as was mentioned earlier ... he's not the lead MArtist ... Chow Yun Fat is. Sean William Scott (Stiffler) is more like "Daniel-San" in the Karate Kid flicks.

He's not "Stiffler" in this movie at all. He's an entirely different character and the two have absolutely nothing in common.

The "Stiffler" character has no place in a martial arts movie. You're right. But he's not in this movie at all. "Stiffler" is just a character portrayed by Sean William Scott. In this movie, Sean William Scott plays "Kar" ... a street-wise punk with a penchant for picking pockets. He's as much "Stiffler" as you or I.

Mike

[moromoro]

iknow i know but i love to call him steven stiffler:D :rofl:

[Samurai]

You can find this movie on Ebay already (DVD). How is that possible, besides someone taking a cam into the movie theather ?

Thanks
Jeremy Bays

[pesilat]

Originally posted by Samurai
You can find this movie on Ebay already (DVD). How is that possible, besides someone taking a cam into the movie theather ?

Thanks
Jeremy Bays

Someone probably took a camer into the movie theater ;)

Mike