The Film:

The best thing about Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster is that it feels like a second chapter of a story rather than a sequel. While China is struggling to recover after WWII, Ip Man (Donnie Yen) wishes to spread his martial art of Wing Chun, but is faced with local opposition, due to political and business maneuvering with some of the British officers who are still occupying China. While both Ip Man films follow highly dramatized events in the real life of Yip Kai-Man, it’s the focus and positioning of the story against some of China’s roughest patches, that not only lends itself to Nationalistic pride, but universal emotions.

Who could be a better villain for this film, following the ruthless Japanese in the first film? Sammo Hung. Fight fans will gleefully watch their confrontation, following their long, storied film careers that saw them fist-fight to Hell and back in SPL: Sha Po Lang (aka Kill Zone). Their fight here is equally as good as anything in Killzone and in the first Ip Man. But it’s the clever writing that makes Sammo Hung’s character of Master Hung Chun-nam not quite the villain we’d expect, making his status and relationship to Master Ip more like Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa.

The Rocky reference doesn’t stop there. In fact, the rousing patriotism and end fight sequence with Ip and “Twister”, a brutal British boxer, echoes Rocky IV, when Balboa and Ivan Drago’s boxing match meant more than the title, but a political battle between Communism and Democracy. While Ip Man 2 is a far better film than Rocky IV was, the excitement and pride is equally between the films. Ip Man’s fights with “Twister” is brutal and intelligent. A great martial artist doesn’t just use a set of skills to win, but develops strategy to win. Seeing Ip’s in-match strategy is a blast, especially since Wing Chun is far different than Western boxing, but “Twister” is a rock solid ragin’ bull. Good stuff to watch unfold, a rousing finale much like the first film.

Still, how can you have a story about Ip Man during the late 1950s without mentioning one of his most famous pupils again in Bruce Lee? The denouement here is exciting. The two Ip Man films are both one and equal. A true account of Ip’s philosophies and kindness, but a fist-pumping source of national pride that is universal as they come.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: I’m happy to report that the eye sore that was Well Go USA’s Ip Man Blu-ray (here) is gone. This transfer is gorgeous. Colors are eye-catching, details are high, and blacks are thick and dark, unlike the washed out look of the first film in HD. The disc defaults to its DTS Cantonese track, which is the preferred dub to listen. Nice engulfing sound mix, the bass is appropriately deep without drowning the dialogue, which is clear. This might be one of the better Well Go USA HD discs.

Making of Ip Man 2: Through on-set interviews the cast and crew chat about furthering Ip Man’s story in the ’50s, as well as production tidbits. Runs about 18 minutes in HD.

The rest of the extras are on Disc 2, and are in standard def.

Behind the Sets is broken up into a few mini-featurettes that explore the various locations for the film; Deleted Scenes are sometimes in rough form, but look out for some deleted boxing matches, which are sure to excite fans; Interviews features about everyone from the film, broken up by actor/crew as they chat in great detail; Shooting Diary and Trailers round out the extras.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Twitchfilm has the new US trailer, as well as a new clip:

The Film:

In what is the easiest and most instantly gratifying Paul W.S. Anderson film, Mortal Kombat was simply summed up by my uncle on the hot summer day of August 1995 during the movie: “This is like a fantasy version of Enter the Dragon.” But of course it was. The famous Bruce Lee film is a large inspiration to fight films here in America, so it should come to no surprise that it served as an outline for what creators John Tobias and Ed Boon, let alone Paul W.S. Anderson, did. Serving as a reason why I was sent to detention far too many times in junior high for playing the game endless in the mornings with my friend, the film – to me – was like the Second Coming.

Get over here!

One of the reasons my friends and I were so engrossed during the 1990s with the game, was beyond the blood and fatalities, there were these cool characters, and as you beat the games, featured some neat back stories. A movie version of this? Orgasmic. There’s aren’t a lot of fighting movies that feature truly in-depth plots or development, so maybe that’s why I’ve excused director Paul W.S. Anderson for the thinly plotted film. Although, I felt his Resident Evil films never matched the potential they could have been, Mortal Kombat was appropriately handled.

Acting like a late Shaw Bros. production with CGI, Mortal Kombat‘s only real flaw was connecting the fight sequences together within Liu Kang’s journey to avenge his brother’s death. The fight sequences are easily the most memorable component to the film. The Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion match is extremely well-done, although I’m unsure on how their fight concluded in Hell, but seeing both of their fatality moves, ending with Johnny Cage’s autographed photo on Scorpion’s bones was one of the fist-pumping moments growing up.

Of course, we fans griped a bit about the shortness of Goro’s match-up, the lack of a fight between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, and Reptile’s odd appearances, the fact remains – as it does today – Mortal Kombat (1995) was just plain fun. Robin Shou is essentially Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, but Shou plays Liu Kang with a certain humbleness that is inviting to any new comers to the franchise. Cary Tagawa is perfectly evil as Shang Tsung. His swagger, his punctuation of his dialogue, the wide beady eyes – Tagawa rocks. Goro is still a cool creature (here). But the film is a breezy 90 minutes, something that aids it, as well as making it easily accessible. It might not be a great movie, but the fun factor stills holds up, which I’m please to report, as that was the key reason I went back-to-back opening weekend and quickly snatched up the VHS when it came out.

Liu Kang wins! Flawless Victory!

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Mortal Kombat‘s DVD appearance came quite early in the format’s life, and as such, was hindered by artifacts and edge enhancement. It was too pretty, especially when up-converted. Obviously, the new 1080p transfer looks a heck of a lot better than the DVD, but it’s far from awesome. Don’t get me wrong: the colors and details are strong, blacks are decently deep, and what not. Despite the CG not holding up on Reptile, which is understandable given a near 15 year improvement since the film’s release in technology, the minor dirt, hairs, and clarity waver making the picture not as good as it could’ve been.

The DTS track is decent, but it doesn’t have the depth in the mix, especially in the bass, to really feel alive. This is mostly due to its age. Clarity in the dialogue is really good though.

Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins: I remember picking this up on VHS, since it was to be a precursor to the film’s story. My mom seemed uninterested in it, due to its silly animation, and while she was right back then, I was glued to the screen. But even then this was kind of horrible overall, with crappy animation, poor voice acting, and weird character designs, this is a true novelty, yet it’s really bad. Runs for 39 minutes in SD.

A Trailer, a Game Trailer for the new game, a Digital Copy, and a PS3 Game Code round out the slim extras.

The Film: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

That might be a tough task for audiences to accept, especially when they stroll into the theater for those very conventions. If you seek those, The Green Hornet disappoints. The film-noir styling of the 1940 serials are gone, but not forgotten, and those who seek the Leave it to Beaver trappings of the famous two season TV series, only made famous in hindsight for casting Bruce Lee, won’t get that from this version. It’s an odd bird of a film, but it’s important to note its themes, since the film is essentially and purely a comic book movie. Young American boys who read comic books, didn’t flip the page to grow into a self-loathing, tormented angel of vengeance, but simply for the ‘wow’ factor of the superhero; the POW! BOOM! CRACK! of the action, and that in itself is the origin of why Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) in this version of The Green Hornet becomes a hero. Because it’s cool.

As boys, we seek the mask that will hide us until we grow into a man. The mask gives us the courage and power to do something extraordinary. This child-like assessment of adulthood is the foundation of why superheroes have grow substantially in our increasing tough world, and is also the sense of wonder Gondry uses to craft his version of the superhero film.  Even Kato (Jay Chou) isn’t perfect. The villain? He’s equally unsure of himself, constantly measuring his evil against someone else’s evil. The old “mine is bigger than yours” game.  All of this, I’m expecting, will get lost to most under the film’s silly and often humorous boyish charm. That’s what is so refreshing about what The Green Hornet is offering.

If you never grew up reading comic books of superheroes doing something actually far more super than your own father did, I pity that you missed the American boy experience. Sure, it’s pop art manhood. Boys don’t see their fathers as anything more than a man they can never please, and it’s only until they’re older that they can appreciate their dad. Gondry knows this, and The Green Hornet stings a little nostalgia that the increasingly bloated genre has missed.

3D Note: It’s post-conversion and while at times, it adds a little depth, it also annoying clutters the screen up, especially during action scenes. While it’s not that bad of post-conversion, it’s far from necessary.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Film:

Based off of a section of Yip Man’s life during the Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man is an incredibly rousing film from start to finish. Mixing history, with some loose facts on his life, the film is considerably pro-Nationalism for the Chinese, but it really doesn’t hurt the translation to Westerners. Prior to the start of WWII, Japan invaded the inland of China, and if you remember from history class, the following events from the invasion are quite devastating (the pillaging in Fo Shan and the rape of Nanking), that’s why I didn’t mind the sense of country pride in the film, as it echoes universally like the theme of freedom did in Braveheart. But when all said and done, Ip Man‘s structure is very simple and standard for the martial art genre.

For some films, that “seen-this-before” feeling the audience could have would hurt the film, but surprisingly it doesn’t for Ip Man. Martial arts fans will know every beat Ip Man produces before it does, as it’s borderline cliched in that regard, but its success  -that clearly overcomes this – is all centered on Donnie Yen (Killzone, Empress and the Warriors). In what’s his best performance yet as an actor, because he has always wowed us with his MMA skills in films, Yen gives a restraint, yet nuanced performance as the master, Yip. The screenplay outside of the standard martial art film formula, does give Yen plenty of chances to find emotionality, humor, and drama within it, which is very important leading to the finale.

All of what Yen gives, plus the theme of patriotism, when combined like here in Ip Man, make the fighting scenes all that more rousing. Yen has always impressed martial art genre fans, since he exploded onto the scene in Once Upon a Time in China II when he went blow-by-blow with Jet Li. The sequence when he orders General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) to set up an one-against-ten fight, is absolutely the coolest fight sequence in recent memory. Fast, brutal, inventive, this fight will be remembered, and despite my reservations with the film’s structure, Ip Man is a great film through and through. Besides Donnie Yen and the action, the film is gorgeous, especially the duality of a thriving China and when Japan invades making it look like a slum, the cinematography is superb.

It’s no wonder Ip Man has been one of China’s most critically acclaimed films since Hero. After seeing some real life photos at the epilogue montage of the film, the photo with an elderly Yip Man and one of his students, Bruce Lee, is a soaring tease for the events in Ip Man 2. Hopefully, it won’t take that film as long as this one did to reach the States.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Well-Go USA finally allows Region 1 fans a chance to see this great film, but their HD efforts are sorely lacking. The picture is over-saturated with light in the day sequences, which pushes a flat skin tones across and rids the faces of details, yet it still looks HD. The darker scenes like the one-on-ten fight look black and white. It’s a jarring and disappointing transfer, considering the prestige the film has and the fact that all eyes were on Well-Go. The DTS audio in multiple languages  and the Cantonese track is the best, despite some flaws as well. The dialogue is soft, yet the effects pop louder. The subtitles are decent. It’s a subpar HD effort, something I hope Well-Go fixes before other HD offerings.

The extras are spread over two discs.

Disc 1: On the Blu-ray disc, we get some rough cut Deleted Scenes and The Making of Ip Man, that is in HD running 18 minutes. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, it is subtitled and offers a good look at the film’s production. A couple of HD Trailers from other Well-Go USA titles are offered.

Disc 2: This is the DVD of the film, but it also has some new extras. Interviews With The Director And The Cast is what you’d expect, with everyone chatting about the film, working together, and of course, the fight scenes. Shooting Diary offers a scatter-shot look at making the film, yet again. Three brief featurettes on the Cotton Mill, The Streets Of Fo Shan and Ip Man’s Home focus on their set design.

Conclusion: Ip Man succeeds for the fight scenes, the theme of national pride, and Donnie Yen. It’s rousing and contagious. The Well-Go USA Blu-ray is average at best, but some videophiles will be really disappointed in the HD transfer. But at least Region A/1 fans can finally enjoy this film in a legit disc of the film.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Lee’s Kato in the 1960′s Green Hornet is the most remembered element to that show even till this day, and Cinematical posted his rare screen test for the role of Kato. Take a peak:

“‘The Silent Flute’ will be an epic martial arts adventure film that promises to honor Bruce Lee’s original artistic and philosophical conception,” said Paul Maslansky, who is exec producing. “It also promises to reach new levels of action and adventure never before seen in martial arts filmmaking” (Variety).

Putting together the script is newcomer Sasha Maslansky with Kurt Fethke, Bey Logan and himself all producing the feature. Paul Maslansky has a long list of feature he’s produced, among those being several of the Police Academy films and Return to Oz.

Coming off a solid first feature in V for Vendetta it seemed like director James McTeigue knew how to tell a solid story, and infuse some neatly staged action scenes. In Ninja Assassin, his approach feels low rent, low brow, and while I won’t get into the nature of how sometimes low brow, mindless entertainment can be great fun, all I can say is that this is scrapping the barrel of low brow entertainment. Certainly Ninja Assassin‘s goal wasn’t to make the definitive ninja film-that’s still left unmade-but there’s a reason why the ninja film is considerably goofy, especially when compared to the other cinematic cool guys: the samurais.

Ninjas are mindless, deadly, shadow dwellers, and casting of Rain doesn’t help. The film plays tricks with his character with is he or isn’t he a good guy, but the title spoils all. Rain has been touted as a possible next big thing, and while he has the physic and the skills, he cannot elevate the poor characterizations beyond the page, something a Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and Bruce Lee can do. The film’s most inspired moment, was when a Europol agent claimed he didn’t “look deadly, he looks like he’s in a boy band”, which is a playful jab at him, since Rain is in a South Korean pop band. During Speed Racer, Rain captivated the Wachowskis, who decided to place him in a martial arts film. I don’t deny Rain’s appeal, he looks good in a film, and McTeigue does craft a few awesomely staged scenes, but rumors of Rain being a heir to Bruce Lee in a proposed Enter the Dragon remake, are ill advised.

With the right material, I would like to see Rain again, but Ninja Assassin isn’t the right material. Ninjas might be cool, but CG blood isn’t cool. The film’s filled with CG carnage, and it’s very poor and incredible noticeable. In V for Vendetta, the physical hand-to-hand fights were great, there was a real presence behind Hugo Weaving’s punches. Ninja Assassin is about as deadly as the recent Mortal Kombat game. It’s way to processed, and whatever possible coolness could have leaked out from the pedestrian J. Michael Straczynski script, is evaporated with CG swords, blood, and violence. The Shaw Brothers never needed a computer to hack a limb off.

Big, bold, silly dialogue, a cable TV plot, and some uncool CG fights, Ninja Eh-ssassin feels like it should be clogging up the dump bin at Best Buy, rather than our multiplexes. Ask this ninja, why he isn’t cool.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars