龍馬精神 - Ride On

Ride On (龍馬精神) is an 2023 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Jackie Chan and Liu Hao Cun. The supporting cast include Guo Qi Lin, Yu Ai Lei, and Andy On. Cameo appearances by Joey Yung, Wu Jing, and Yu Rong Guang. There are too many other to name that make small bit part appearances.



Jackie plays Lou, a down on his luck former stuntman working with his horse Red Hare. Lou takes Red Hare around Hengdian World Studios as a picture opportunity. Lou is in debt to a loan shark that tries to collect from him throughout the film. The other major storyline is that Lou got Red Hare from a friend without any paperwork. The lawyers come for the horse to say that it is theirs. Lou seeks the help of his estranged daughter whom he has not seen in 6 years, Xiaobao. Xiaobao enter their lives and tries to save the horse from taken away. Which transitions to preventing her father and Red Hare from getting hurt through lots of dangerous stunts. Will they be able to reconcile and keep the horse?

This is a long movie at around 2 hours of actual story time. Its a bit corny in many places as is Jackie's recent style these past 5-7 years. Jackie's in a transition time of making more sentimental films vs how he moved to more gritty films since returning from the US. Shinjuku Incident(新宿事件) and Police Story: Lockdown (Police Story 2013/警察故事2013) are examples of his return from the US. His films of the last few years have been more light hearted and rely less on his old skool acrobatics. Just less, not completely. Acrobatics are still at the core of the action in his films.

There are lots of crying scenes in this film. Liu Hao Cun is standing out has possibly part of the next generation of film actresses. Liu Hao Cun has another film releasing soon that I definitely want to check out.

I caught this via Peacock.

Battle Creek Brawl - The Big Brawl - 殺手壕

Battle Creek Brawl (The Big Brawl/殺手壕) is a 1980 film. The movie stars Jackie Chan in his first attempt to break into Hollywood. The supporting cast include Mako, Rosalind Chao, Chao-Li Chi,and Jocelyn Lew. The film was set in the 1930s Chicago era.



Jerry is a disappointment to his family as his father wants him to stop being lazy and take over the family resturant. However, Jerry would rather do other things. While defending his father's turf, he catches the eye of a local gangster we has fighters in the underground, but is not able to beat his nemisis. The gangster is able to blackmail Jerry into fighting for him. Will Jerry be able to win the fight and get these gangsters out of his hair?

I caught this on Amazon Prime recently. Took me about 3 weeks watching it on and off while I was washing dishes. The movie as based in Chicago and completely in English. The movie was made circa 1980 and it reflects that time period. There were a couple of sequences that specifically tried to show off Jackie Chan's phyisical traits, specifically his acrobatic skills. There were than a couple of other sequences include the finale fight that highlighted his physical comedy skills. You see the acrobatic skills display in some other Shaw Bros movies of that era as well. In today's era where the actors have not Peking opera trained as their foundation, you no longer see these displays. So it was refreshing to see that Jackie Chan is both an actor and athlete with skillz.

If you're Jackie Chan fan, this film may not live up to his other films of that era as the storyline was on the weaker side. The brawl itself was comedical in nature and it played out that way as you never felt that he was in real danger. However, I am glad I was able to watch this once.

The Foreigner - 英倫對決

The Foreigner (英倫對決) is an 2017 film. The movie stars Jackie Chan. The supporting cast include Pierce Brosnan, Liu Tao, and Katie Leung. The film is based on 1992 novel called the Chinaman. Good thing they went with The Foreigner.

Jackie plays a Ngoc Minh Quan, a former Vietnam War special forces. On the way to take his daughter to a clothing store, the store is bombed, killing his daughter. Devastated, Ngoc sets to find out the party responsible for his daughters death. When no answers come, he goes from one channel to the next until he lands on Liam Hennessy, the current Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, played by Pierce Brosnan. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and with peace there, Hennessy tries to parlay this event into releasing POWs to get re-elected. But Ngoc is persistant and when he starts to find out that Hennessy may be dirty, he goes into action.

This is a new face for Jackie Chan to his English speaking audience. Jackie goes Taken and looks to take out anyone that doesn't tell him who killed his daughter. The movie is gritty and goes guerilla warfare style.

For those of us that watch Jackie's movies in Zhong Guo, they have been getting progressively more gritty, starting with Shinjuku Incident all the way to his more recent films. Jackie's acting has also improved with age.

I was entertained and Liu Tao being in there wasn't too bad either.

Kung Fu Panda 3 - 功夫熊貓3

Kung Fu Panda 3 (功夫熊貓3) is an 2016 animated film. The voices Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, J. K. Simmons, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson, James Hong, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Randall Duk Kim. This is the third film release.

Kai, a prisoner of the spirit realm finds a way to get to the human realm. When he does, he seeks out the Dragon Warrior to prove he's the strongest. Po inherits the master role, but does a poor job. Heading back home for some comfort, he bumps into another Panda looking for his long lost son. Po learns that there's a whole village of Pandas. Saying good bye to his friends, me makes the long perilous journey to this village. When he does, he gets reconnected. Just as he was getting comfortable, Kai's presence is felt and they must devise a plan to defeat him. Can the village learn Kung Fu in time to save themselves?

Much like the last installment, they expand on the mythology of the realm. Where the 2nd installment made improvements to the first one, this 3rd installment didn't. Seems there's always someone around the corner that is bigger and stronger than the last one. But beyond that, this movie didn't involve the previous characters as much, but spent a significant time in the panda village.

My kids both liked the movie and I plan on getting it on sale in Blu-ray during black Friday or the Christmas season. Be prepared for more, it was recently announced that there are 3 more planned films.

Shaolin - 新少林寺

Shaolin (新少林寺) is an 2011 film out of Hong Kong. The movies stars Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse. The supporting cast includes Fan Bing-Bing and Jacky Wu. For some reason, they list Jackie Chan as an cameo. Jackie Chan's role is much more than an cameo. The abbot of Shaolin appeared in the first Shaolin temple movie of 1982 alongside Jet Li.



After the Qing Dynasty, there was this Warlord Era in Zhong Guo. During that time, warlords fought for territory amongst each other. Andy Lau plays one of these warlords and is shown to do anything to retain his power, even take the life of his shown brother. Nicholas Tse plays Andy's right hand man. Fan Bing Bing plays Andy's wife. On a night when Andy was to rid himself of his shown brother, he is betrayed by Nicholas. Whom takes the power of both warlords in one night. Andy's chased down by men trying to eliminate him and escapes to Shaolin with his injured daughter. However, the mortal wounds are too much and the daughter dies. Andy is than taken in by Jackie's character, a cook at the foot of Shaolin Mountain. It is there that Andy comes to grips with the consequences of his power struggle and joins the monk-hood of Shaolin. However, when Nicholas is found to be an evil general causing innocents to die, Andy steps out to make a difference.



The movie was well made and well paced. But I had very little emotional attachment to Andy's character. Through the reform, I didn't care. Which made for a long 2 hour watch. Long 2 hour watch. I am saying it again, 2 plus hours! Wow, they could have done this movie in one and a half hours. Because there was so little character development, many extra exercises were forced on the audience to see the just how bad or good one of the characters are.



As an high profile movie that was even shown in the theaters in the US, this movie was well made and had extremely good looking actors. However, the entertainment value could have used some help and the length trimmed. In all, I can't recommend this movie due to its excessive length in light of the story told.

The Kung Fu Dream - The Karate Kid - 功夫夢

The Karate Kid (The Kung Fu Dream/功夫夢) is a 2010 film starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The film is a revamp of the iconic 1984 film that starred Ralph Macchio and the late Pat Morita. The movie is based in Detroit and with the majority, in Beijing, China.

The Cast
Jaden Smith - Dre Parker - The Kung Fu Kid
Jackie Chan - Mr. Han - The Kung Fu teacher
Taraji P. Henson - Sherry Parker - Dre's mother
Zhenwei Wang - Cheng - The Bully
Yu Rongguang - Master Li - The Bully's Master
Wen Wen Han - Mei Ying - Dre's crush

The Story
Dre, a twelve year old, moves to Beijing, China with his mom. Dre befriends a blond dood in his building and they play some pick up ball at a park adjacent to his apartment building. Mei Ying is also at the park studying her music notes and catches the attention of Dre. Dre gets up the courage to talk to her and starts to impress her. Cheng enters the picture and beats up Dre pretty bad, leaving him with a black eye as a souvenir. The next day, at school, Dre bumps into both Mei Ying and Cheng again. This time, things get worst as he's bullied even more. Dre starts to avoid Cheng and his cohorts. One day, Dre is chased down and beaten badly before Han steps in to rescue him. The next day, the two go to make amends with Cheng at his school. However, Master Li wants to challenge Han on the spot. Han suggest that they settle the score at an upcoming Kung Fu tournament. From that point on, Dre spends everyday training with Han. As a learning experience, Han takes Dre to Wudang Mountains. It is there that Dre sees a women have a stare down with a cobra. Back in Beijing, Mei Ying and Dre become closer and closer and eventually kiss at a festival. On the day before Mei Ying recital, Dre leads her to cut school for a day to relax. They travel around to various places in Beijing. Mei Ying's recital has been changed to the current day and she is picked up and shuttled back to school. The results of her recital were not reveals or I just don't remember. But her parents force her to cut off her friendship with Dre. Dre finds out about Han's wife and son on the anniversary of their death. Dre helps Han to find reason to move on. They continue to train for the tournament. Mei Ying shows up during the day of the tournament to cheer on Dre. What do you think happens from here on out? ^_^

My Thoughts
The movie was actually pretty enjoyable. It was a pleasant surprise because the original one from 1984 and its sequel in 1986 have this special place in my heart, as it presented asians on screen when there were very little representation. It hasn't gotten much better 25 years later, but its still a reminder. In this case, dood is in China. China! The story featured twelve year olds having the hots for each other and that freaked me out. Because my daughters are not that far off from that. Urgh.

The settings and the use of landmarks in Beijing and Wudong Shan were pretty amazing. I though it was great to see how ex-pats can function in China. They did have to use a little karate as Dre was trying to learn it when Han comes to fix his door knob.

In all, this is a movie I'll have to watch with my daughter(s) someday. I think this version is slightly more editable than the 80s versions for her.

BTW - got this as a $1 rental at a Red Box.

Spiritual Kung Fu - 拳精

Spiritual Kung Fu (拳精) is a 1978 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Jackie Chan, James Tien, and Mo Man-Sau.

Jackie Chan plays Yi-Lang, a non-monk pupil of Shaolin. Yi-Lang is notorious for getting in trouble, being punished, lazy, and has bad luck. One night, a meteor hits Shaolin temple and five aliens or ghost appear in the library where Yi-Lang is serving as a guard. Yi-Lang out smarts them and becomes their boss when he find the five style martial arts manual. Yi-Lang than starts to learn these five styles, Tiger, Dragon, Crane, Snake, and Panther. The main plot revolves around James Tien's character who is trying to be the master of the clans. Yi-Lang and evil guy have a super long showdown at the end. Guess who wins? Seriously super long showdown.

The version I saw was the English dubbed version. The movie itself is dated and the climatic fight scene is super long. If you're a Jackie fan, you'll want to catch this as its the beginning of Jackie's comedy-fu. It's old skool that didn't stand the test of time too well.

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu - 點止功夫咁簡單

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (點止功夫咁簡單) is a 1978 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Jackie Chan in his third "Kung Fu Comedy" film.

The movie credits are actually the highlight of the film for me. It goes about 10 minutes and is classic Shaw Bros. type movie intro. A guy comes out and demostrates his skills. But instead of being all serious and hard like other classic kung fu films, Jackie goes on a spoof. Jackie takes many of the kung fu mythos of the time and spoofs them. I was drawn in and was immediately trying to figure the film or genres it was making fun of. Than the movie started. Jackie plays a thief that's just trying to get buy. Somehow he finds favor with the begger sect head and starts to learn kung fu from him. Jackie gets in with a delivery service clan and they take people out.

This was not a good movie. Even for 1978, I can't believe it would have been thought of as a good movie. The final fight took 10 minutes! Jackie and this one guy fought for freaking 10 minutes at the end of the film. Dude!

No good YouTube clips or a trailer.

Looking for Jackie - 尋找成龍

Looking for Jackie (尋找成龍)is a 2009 film out of China. The movie stars Zhang Yishan and partly Jackie Chan.

The movie is about Zhang Yishan, a 15 year old based in Indonesia. Yishan is a avid Jackie Chan and would love to study under him. However, Yishan is lazy and has tunnel vision. This tunnel vision leads to a very selfish life or "me me me". If you like this quality, keep watching. Without that trait, you can't go on. Yishan finds out that Jackie Chan is shooting in Beijing and decides to head there to find him. Once there, you go into 3-4 story arcs that lead him to Jackie.

Once he finds Jackie, Jackie tells him that he's been selfish and unstudious. And that he needs to learn Chinese reading and writing better when he gets back to Indonesia. Yishan does get better grades, but is still self center and all about himself.

I had this one while washing dishes so I watched it all. If I was not washing dishes, I would have fast forwarded or turned it off. The only bright spot was Tang Yan making a brief cameo in the beginning of the film.

New Fist of Fury - 新精武門

New Fist of Fury (新精武門) is a 1976 film out of Hong Kong. It stars a very young Jackie Chan and Nora Miao. This film was a sequel to Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.

The movie is about Nora Miao escaping Shanghai and setting up shop in another town. However, I can't recall the town (silly me, it's been less than 24 hours since I watched it). Jackie is a local kid that makes a living as a thief. Jackie steals some nunchucks. Eventually, Jackie decides to learn kung fu and resist the Japanese that occupy the area.

The movie was super long and super "not good". Avoid it if you can. I had it on while washing dishes so it wasn't a serious watch. The fights were completely whacked. This is pre humor Jackie. I think the movie played off of Bruce Lee's movie. Including Nora Miao being in this movie.

With so many classic films from the 70s era, its a shame that this gets more attention just because it has Jackie Chan. Look at the DVD cover, Jackie has guns on. Makes him look like Rambo.

Shinjuku Incident - 新宿事件 - Upcoming

Jackie Chan is back making movies in HK again. This time, in a movie called "The Shinjuku Incident" helmed by Derek Yee. The movie is based on a familiar subject in HK films, the triads. But this time, its in Japan, so its called the Yakuza. The movie is set for release on April 3, 2009.

The movie also stars Daniel Wu, Xu Jinglei, Fan Bing Bing, Ken Watanabe, Yasuaki Kurata and Naoto Takenaka.

From the trailer, it looks like regular triad/yakuza fair. A gritty film for Jackie and familiar territory for Daniel Wu.

Hand of Death - 少林門

Hand of Death (少林門) is a 1976 movie directed by John Woo.

The movie does not star Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung. Jackie is part of the ensemble cast on the "good guys" side and Sammo Hung is part of the ensemble cast of "bad guys". John Woo makes a cameo in the film as well.

I would skip it.

Rush Hour 3 - 尖峰時刻 3

I watched Rush Hour 3 (尖峰時刻 3) via Netflix about a year ago now. I remember the movie being entertaining, annoying and ultimately a letdown.

The movie is based off an investigation that all the Chinese triads in the world are ultimately centralized. There is someone that controls it named Shy Shen. To keep it out of corrupt hands, only a few know this super sensitive information. This leads them ultimately to Paris. Where hijinx ensues and Chan/Carter defeat the goons at the end.

The Rush Hour trilogy looks like it ends here, but you never know. It did make $$ and that's why Chan/Carter signed up for this installment anyways.

張靜初 (Zhang Jingchu) plays the grown up daughter of Ambassador Han. Zhang spends only about 5-10 minutes on screen so you can't really even count her as a force in this movie. Quite sad since Zhang's beauty is completely wasted.

If you've got nothing else to do and really like Jackie Chan, check it out.

The Forbidden Kingdom - 功夫之王

Originally posted on xanga.



The Forbidden Kingdom (功夫之王) stars Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Li Bing Bing, Collin Chou, and Liu "Cyrstal" Yi Fei.  The story takes some of the concepts and characters from "The Journey West". Specifically, the Monkey King.



The Forbidden Kingdom stars Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Li Bing Bing, Collin Chou, and Liu "Cyrstal" Yi Fei. The story takes some of the concepts and characters from "The Journey West". Specifically, the Monkey King.



There is actually a lot of action in this film and features a lengthy dual between Jet Li and Jackie Chan. The main protagonist is a white guy from South Boston getting sucked into Ancient China. After seeing the "making of" on the DVD, I can see how the movie was sold to a studio to fund. Its the white guys saving the Chinese. Since they can't save themselves. I digress.



The special effects are a little above average as a lot of it sorta looked fake. But overall, the fighting was quite good.

As for the storyline, you'll have to get over it. It's not that great. But the movie is beautifully shot. Uses lush landscapes and it shot entirely in China.

I hope a sequel comes of this. I'd like them to take more chances the next time around. But it'll still be geared towards an American audience.

I know that Crystal Liu had spent some of her pre teen years in New York. Seems that she never completely mastered it as she has a "FOB" accent. I don't know if it is on purpose due to the style of the film, all the Asian ppl that speak Mandarin, have a slight accent. Like Li Bing Bing and the supreme emperor seemed to have dubbed voices. Crystal can be a cross over star if she's willing to sacrifice projects in China in order to spend time in the US. Who knows. I hope she does stay mainly in China as production there is faster and you would see more of her vs. in the US, where productions take a long time and seeing her on screen is alot less.

As for Jet Li and Jackie Chan, they seemed to play off each other and I hope for more of this in the future.

I'll try to get a hold of the DVD when I see it in the 4.99 and under bins.

The movie pay homage to the Shaw Bro movies in a quite a few ways. The opening credits takes you through a bunch of the Shaw Bros artwork from the 60s/70s. Crystal Liu says "Come Drink With Me" in one of the fight scenes. Makes no sense. Its just an homage including the name Golden Sparrow.