奔跑吧! 兄弟 - Running Man

奔跑吧! 兄弟 (Running Man) is an 2015 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Angelababy, Wang Baoqiang, Li Chen, Michael Chen, Ryan Cheng, Wong Cho-lam, Sie Yi-Lin, Lynn Hung, Guo Jingfei, Eleven, Kim Jong-kook. The film is based on a popular Zhong Guo variety show of the same name.



The movie starts with the introduction of the team as they arrive at the airport. Eleven eventually shows up as their tour guide. When they get to the hotel, we are introduced to the whole team and the pick teams. The winning team gets to stay in the nice hotel rooms and the loser gets the no so nice hotel rooms. The swimming pool event is using their hands only to knock their opponent off the stage. The next day, they are present with an activity to find up to 200 clues. The winning team will receive $888,888 CNY. A killer has been made available in this game. Game on!



I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what I saw. Because I have not seen the Zhong Guo variety show nor the original Korean version, I wasn't sure what was going on. And the captions they had on screen were not translated so I didn't get the jokes. However, I understand enough to ask myself why the heck I paid AMC prices to watch this. I could have just watched the Youtube version of the TV show. Yikes! But its doing tremendous biz in the motherland. I went with a buddy that knows the Korean version and we were the only ones in the theater.

Youtube Trailer.

拜金女王 - Material Queen - Upcoming

Woohoo! 拜金女王 (Material Queen) is finally set to be released in Taiwan on June 17th! The idol drama will star Van Ness Wu, Lynn Hung, and Daniel Chan. Seems to be a story of riches again. Seems you can't go through many dramas without something of "Rich" vs. "Poor". A very different concept than what's here in the US.

However, I am looking forward to this series. The first one in a long time for me. Hope its a good one.

All's Well Ends Well 2010 - 花田囍事2010

All's Well Ends Well 2010 (花田囍事2010) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Louis Koo, Sandra Ng, Ronald Cheng, Raymond Wong, Angelababy, and Lynn Hung.

The film is about a royal family in the beginnings of the Ming Dynasty. Louis Koo is the emperor. Sandra Ng is the crazy women. Angelababy is the princess and her squeze the general played by Ronald Cheng. Princess falls in river, loses memory. Picked up by Million, played by Raymond Wong, forces her to marry. General looks for Princess. Queen wants to see princess. Emperor is not very smart. LOL moments placed every 5 minutes or so.

This is what it is. Mindless entertainment with the stars of today looking their best in ancient gear. Angelababy stands out as a stunning beauty. Louis is going nuts, in the movie and real life for doing these films. Ronald is Ronald. Lynn Hung is a giant and looks out of place in this film.

See it for the eye candy. Skip it if you're looking for a engaging story.

Ip Man - 葉問

Ip Man (葉問) is a 2008 film starring Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lin Xiong Dai, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, and Lam Ka-Tung.

Ip Man is a movie about the Ip Man's life in China around the time before and during Foshan's Japanese occupation of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The movie starts with a tranquil Foshan. Where people are well off and study martial arts as a hobby. Ip Man, played by Donnie Yen, has a son and wife and seem well to do. Ip Man does not have a job and trains in martial arts as a hobby. Apparently, everyone in Foshan recognizes him as the best fighter. I see this when some thugs burst into town and beat up all the heads of the martial art schools. Its up to Ip Man to show these thugs the exit. The movie than moves to the Japanese occupation and just how bad it is there. Ip Man and Wife are kicked out of their nice home and forced to pawn all belongings just for rice. Ip Man finally has to get a job and falls into a underground tournament set up by the commanding General. Ip Man eventually beats everyone and heads off to Hong Kong.

If you read the history of Ip Man and than watch this film, you'll know that its pretty much just using Ip Man, Foshan, and Wing Chun. Because, the movie and the facts don't jive. Putting that aside, the movie is half action and half drama. When the fighting is on, its on. Its crushing, has nice editing and is on point. When the drama is on, its to lead up to the fighting. You put those together and you've got a fighting movie that's entertaining and emotional.

It's a well made film and the English subtitles came in handy when they used paragraphs to advance the story and when there was Japanese dialogue.