Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Outline: A gang tries to take over a small town, and they are resoundly defeated by three kung fu masters. So the gang calls in some masters of their own. So the town antes up with more masters. And so on and so on.

Trust me, it's not really about the plot. Or, really, the kung fu.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that any movie can be improved by dance fighting. Dance fighting is so much better than ordinary fighting. And what does this movie have? Tons of dancing and fighting, of course.

In the above picture, the leader of the axe gang, Brother Sum (Kwok Kuen Chan) is leading all his members in a nice little dance sequence. He may be the bad guy, but I can assure you he's also my favourite character. Because of the dancing, really. He does it 'cause he cares, you know.

I know, this isn't much of a review, but I just wanted to tell you that I watched this movie and it was funny and you should watch it, too. It's not particularly violent if violence isn't your thing, and it's not particularly dance-y, if the dancing is going to turn you off. It's just a terrific spoof of traditional kung fu movies with their hidden masters and balletic sequences (not that this movie doesn't deliver both in spades).

At the end of the day, all the movie tries to be is funny about kung fu, and it succeeds. That's enough for me. A

I also took in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), which is everything they say it is and more. For someone known for all this methody brooding and screaming in the street, it's astonishing how understated Marlon Brando could be. Of course, I recently discovered that I might just be a sucker for union movies. Nonetheless, this is one of the best movies ever made.

One thing, though: how is it that Eva Marie Sant's voice could contain so much emotion while her face remained blank? Did anyone else notice that?