divemaster13
Member: Rank 4
Monday's review....A Chinese Tall Story. Last week I promised my next review would be for a movie I did not like at all. I was assigned to watch and review the DVD, so it's a review of both the movie and the DVD set.
Previous reviews:
2/13: A Tale of Two Sisters
2/20: Comrades, Almost a Love Story
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A Chinese Tall Story (2005)
Directed by Jeffrey Lau
Starring Nicholas Tse, Charlene Choi, and Bingbing Fan
In Cantonese or Mandarin with English subtitles
Film: 1 star (out of 5)
Oh Lord, what a mess. It’s like someone took a fantasy-type video game and put it in a blender, and the resulting scene mishmash is what we have to sit through. This very well could be the worst Hong Kong movie I’ve even seen.
Now let me go on record by saying how much I love Chinese fantasy films. From the fun and silly, to those focusing on martial arts, to the more dramatic and romantic types—it’s a genre I very much enjoy. Films like A Chinese Odyssey: Pandora’s Box and A Chinese Odyssey: Cinderella (both of which were also written and/or directed by Jeffrey Lau); The Bride with White Hair; Butterfly & Sword; Green Snake; A Chinese Ghost Story; Swordman II; Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and others. Which is why I was looking forward to A Chinese Tall Story.
One of the film’s characters is the “Monkey King” (aka Sun Wukong), an extremely well-known character in Chinese mythology, first told in the stories of the “Journey to the West,” the epic adventure written about 500 years ago. (The story of the Monkey King and his disciples is also the focus of the Chinese Odyssey films, amongst many others). Other familiar characters that appear in the film are Zhu Wuneng (the pig character) and Sha Wujing.
So how does it all go wrong? Well, let’s take an example familiar to Western audiences. How about the Robin Hood mythology? A well known story from ye olden days. Let’s say that our Robin Hood film starred Wesley Snipes as Robin Hood, and Macaulay Culkin as Friar Tuck. Maid Marian is none other than Rosie Perez. Let’s give Sir Robin an Uzi as well, because you never know when you might have to waste the Sheriff of Nottingham. They might need rocket packs also, and while we’re at it, give them a tactical nuclear weapon because that sure could come in handy. If you think this sounds like a really neat retelling of the Robin Hood tale, then A Chinese Tall Story is the movie for you!
As I indicated above, this movie is a jumbled mess. In the first 30 minutes, we are introduced not only to Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing, but also to the monk Tripitaka (who is actually the main protagonist), kidnapped children, a “millennium bug demon” (which shoots laser beams), an underground Tree God, a lizard imp tribe, an angelic girl in an intergalactic egg, the Lord Chancellor Tortoise, a Sea Dragon King, a ever-morphing magic golden staff, a chatterbox imp girl, wormholes in space, and the Four Heavenly Knights.
All this wouldn’t be too bad--the tales and myths passed down over the years certainly do have all sorts of fantastical elements. But I guarantee you the Chinese mythology does not include much of the stuff we get subjected to in the last half of the film. (Helpful advice to the filmmakers: Just because your computer effects guys CAN come up with cool looking spaceships and depictions of intergalactic war in your Chinese historical fantasy film, does not mean they SHOULD).
You know your Chinese mythology movie is on the wrong track when the director asks (and I am not making this up—it’s a direct quote from the commentary) “I asked the composer whether or not we can have a more rock-and-roll type music when she transforms into some kind of android-like thing.”
Is there a story hidden in here somewhere? Yes. Yes, there is. Most of the adventure follows Tripitaka (played by Nicholas Tse—Gen-X Cops, Time and Tide, My Schoolmate the Barbarian) and Meiyan, the lizard imp girl (played by Charlene Choi and a computer). Choi is the best thing going in this film. You may know her as half of the Canto-pop group “Twins” and from other films such as The Twins Effect (a fun flick) and Just One Look (a surprisingly good drama/romance/comedy). Poor Choi, being a lizard imp and all, is hardly recognizable with her warts, snagged out teeth, doughy nose, and hunched back. That is until the computers get a hold of her to make her beautiful--which somehow makes it worse. Tse is passable, but all of the supporting actors were abysmal. A couple of recognizable faces in bit parts are wasted.
At one point I was debating with myself if A Chinese Tall Story was a spoof. I was almost able to convince myself that it was when the intergalactic egg girl (played by a very pretty Fan Bing-Bing) got out and lit up a Marlboro (!) while talking with Tripitaka who was practicing martial arts dressed in a Spider-Man costume (!!). But it is not a spoof. Of course there is the typical Hong Kong silliness, but the movie takes itself seriously enough, with enough scenes of romance and pathos (scored with a sledghammering of violins and evocative cellos) and rousing action and adventure.
This movie is so bad that I will give the DVD away. The first person to comment on this review and specifically ask me to send them the DVD, I will. I’ll even pay the postage. It won’t cost you a thing. (Oh, but it’ll cost you, all right). [note: offer has expired]
Disc 1: The film, presented in anamorphic 1.85:1. The colors are vibrant (they are the best thing about this movie). No flaws that I could see. The main menu text is so small I could hardly make it out; luckily the subtitles are fine. There are 3 audio tracks—DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Mandarin 5.1 (the menu mistakenly says this 3rd track is Cantonese). The DTS track is the choice here. Your subwoofer will get a workout. There are 8 subtitle tracks: 3 for the film (traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English); 3 for the Director’s Commentary (traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English); and 2 for Commentary 2 (traditional and simplified Chinese). Trailers for 3 movies, none of which look interesting: A Side, B Side, Seaside; Last Exile (anime), and Trinity Blood (anime). There is also some other “special selection” but as far as I can tell it just sends you to the action scenes one right after the other. The Director’s Commentary focuses mainly on the cinematography, filming, set design, effects, and such.
Disc 2: Special features, most of which are subtitled in English.
1) Deleted scenes (6)
2) Outtakes (about 2 ½ minutes worth)
3) Music videos (2 songs that play over scenes from the movie: one a sappy love ballad and one a pop song)
4) Trailers (4: one of which is obviously made for U.S. theaters, God help us all)
5) Interviews (8, with the principle actors and filmmakers. All have English subs except for Nicholas Tse)
6) Behind the scenes (6 choices; no English subs)
7) Photo gallery (montage set to sleepy pop music)
It’s great that we get a subbed commentary and special features. Too bad all that effort went into a movie that is not much more than a video game.
1 (generous) star out of 5.
Previous reviews:
2/13: A Tale of Two Sisters
2/20: Comrades, Almost a Love Story
--------------------------------------------------
A Chinese Tall Story (2005)
Directed by Jeffrey Lau
Starring Nicholas Tse, Charlene Choi, and Bingbing Fan
In Cantonese or Mandarin with English subtitles
Film: 1 star (out of 5)
Oh Lord, what a mess. It’s like someone took a fantasy-type video game and put it in a blender, and the resulting scene mishmash is what we have to sit through. This very well could be the worst Hong Kong movie I’ve even seen.
Now let me go on record by saying how much I love Chinese fantasy films. From the fun and silly, to those focusing on martial arts, to the more dramatic and romantic types—it’s a genre I very much enjoy. Films like A Chinese Odyssey: Pandora’s Box and A Chinese Odyssey: Cinderella (both of which were also written and/or directed by Jeffrey Lau); The Bride with White Hair; Butterfly & Sword; Green Snake; A Chinese Ghost Story; Swordman II; Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and others. Which is why I was looking forward to A Chinese Tall Story.
One of the film’s characters is the “Monkey King” (aka Sun Wukong), an extremely well-known character in Chinese mythology, first told in the stories of the “Journey to the West,” the epic adventure written about 500 years ago. (The story of the Monkey King and his disciples is also the focus of the Chinese Odyssey films, amongst many others). Other familiar characters that appear in the film are Zhu Wuneng (the pig character) and Sha Wujing.
So how does it all go wrong? Well, let’s take an example familiar to Western audiences. How about the Robin Hood mythology? A well known story from ye olden days. Let’s say that our Robin Hood film starred Wesley Snipes as Robin Hood, and Macaulay Culkin as Friar Tuck. Maid Marian is none other than Rosie Perez. Let’s give Sir Robin an Uzi as well, because you never know when you might have to waste the Sheriff of Nottingham. They might need rocket packs also, and while we’re at it, give them a tactical nuclear weapon because that sure could come in handy. If you think this sounds like a really neat retelling of the Robin Hood tale, then A Chinese Tall Story is the movie for you!
As I indicated above, this movie is a jumbled mess. In the first 30 minutes, we are introduced not only to Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing, but also to the monk Tripitaka (who is actually the main protagonist), kidnapped children, a “millennium bug demon” (which shoots laser beams), an underground Tree God, a lizard imp tribe, an angelic girl in an intergalactic egg, the Lord Chancellor Tortoise, a Sea Dragon King, a ever-morphing magic golden staff, a chatterbox imp girl, wormholes in space, and the Four Heavenly Knights.
All this wouldn’t be too bad--the tales and myths passed down over the years certainly do have all sorts of fantastical elements. But I guarantee you the Chinese mythology does not include much of the stuff we get subjected to in the last half of the film. (Helpful advice to the filmmakers: Just because your computer effects guys CAN come up with cool looking spaceships and depictions of intergalactic war in your Chinese historical fantasy film, does not mean they SHOULD).
You know your Chinese mythology movie is on the wrong track when the director asks (and I am not making this up—it’s a direct quote from the commentary) “I asked the composer whether or not we can have a more rock-and-roll type music when she transforms into some kind of android-like thing.”
Is there a story hidden in here somewhere? Yes. Yes, there is. Most of the adventure follows Tripitaka (played by Nicholas Tse—Gen-X Cops, Time and Tide, My Schoolmate the Barbarian) and Meiyan, the lizard imp girl (played by Charlene Choi and a computer). Choi is the best thing going in this film. You may know her as half of the Canto-pop group “Twins” and from other films such as The Twins Effect (a fun flick) and Just One Look (a surprisingly good drama/romance/comedy). Poor Choi, being a lizard imp and all, is hardly recognizable with her warts, snagged out teeth, doughy nose, and hunched back. That is until the computers get a hold of her to make her beautiful--which somehow makes it worse. Tse is passable, but all of the supporting actors were abysmal. A couple of recognizable faces in bit parts are wasted.
At one point I was debating with myself if A Chinese Tall Story was a spoof. I was almost able to convince myself that it was when the intergalactic egg girl (played by a very pretty Fan Bing-Bing) got out and lit up a Marlboro (!) while talking with Tripitaka who was practicing martial arts dressed in a Spider-Man costume (!!). But it is not a spoof. Of course there is the typical Hong Kong silliness, but the movie takes itself seriously enough, with enough scenes of romance and pathos (scored with a sledghammering of violins and evocative cellos) and rousing action and adventure.
This movie is so bad that I will give the DVD away. The first person to comment on this review and specifically ask me to send them the DVD, I will. I’ll even pay the postage. It won’t cost you a thing. (Oh, but it’ll cost you, all right). [note: offer has expired]
Disc 1: The film, presented in anamorphic 1.85:1. The colors are vibrant (they are the best thing about this movie). No flaws that I could see. The main menu text is so small I could hardly make it out; luckily the subtitles are fine. There are 3 audio tracks—DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Mandarin 5.1 (the menu mistakenly says this 3rd track is Cantonese). The DTS track is the choice here. Your subwoofer will get a workout. There are 8 subtitle tracks: 3 for the film (traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English); 3 for the Director’s Commentary (traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English); and 2 for Commentary 2 (traditional and simplified Chinese). Trailers for 3 movies, none of which look interesting: A Side, B Side, Seaside; Last Exile (anime), and Trinity Blood (anime). There is also some other “special selection” but as far as I can tell it just sends you to the action scenes one right after the other. The Director’s Commentary focuses mainly on the cinematography, filming, set design, effects, and such.
Disc 2: Special features, most of which are subtitled in English.
1) Deleted scenes (6)
2) Outtakes (about 2 ½ minutes worth)
3) Music videos (2 songs that play over scenes from the movie: one a sappy love ballad and one a pop song)
4) Trailers (4: one of which is obviously made for U.S. theaters, God help us all)
5) Interviews (8, with the principle actors and filmmakers. All have English subs except for Nicholas Tse)
6) Behind the scenes (6 choices; no English subs)
7) Photo gallery (montage set to sleepy pop music)
It’s great that we get a subbed commentary and special features. Too bad all that effort went into a movie that is not much more than a video game.
1 (generous) star out of 5.
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