In Zhang Yimou’s latest wu xia drama set during China’s Three Kingdom Period (AD 220-280), Shadow (mandarin Ying, translation Shadow), Zhang’s palace intrigue twisted tale of lies, deceit, power plays, doppelgangers and a wonky love triangle, features two purposely chosen kung fu weapons, da dao (a long handled big sword blade) and umbrellas that makes […]
SciFi
EL CAPITAN MARVEL: A Mountainous Movie with Cliffhanger Acclaim and Waterfall Fights
By Drs. Craig and Silvia Reid. Of all the superhero movies I’ve seen as a film critic/fan, through a martial artist and fight choreographer’s eye, what started off as a poorly shot, jumbled, non-linear perfunctory directorial method approach to the first 40-minutes, with fight scenes akin to a local martial arts school putting them together […]
UPGRADE – The Psychosis of Symbiosis
By Dr. Craig D. Reid Directed by Leigh Whannell, Upgrade is a futuristic, revenge-filled, dystopian, sci-fi horror thriller that makes a great argument for today’s society to steer away from Tesla robo-cars…computer hacking is nothing compared to the bloody human hacking that results when technology goes more than awry. When old school, born to be […]
PACIFIC RIM UPRISING: A Psychedelic, Psychotic and Ventriloquistic Epic
By Drs. Craig and Silvia Reid As I’m watching the Steven S. DeKnight directed Pacific Rim Uprising (PRU) the Prego spaghetti sauce commercial comes to mind, especially the ad’s subliminal, “It’s in there, ” message in regard to the necessary ingredients in the sauce that makes it authentic. Thus for PRU‘s ingredients, Transformers, Power Rangers […]
TOMB RAIDER: Lara Croft’s Line is Her Truth
By Drs. Silvia and Craig Reid Lara Kroft (Swedish actress Alicia Vikander) in Tomb Raider blatantly admits to her friend, “I’m no superhero.” The irony of her words might quite possibly be a self-fulfilling prophecy at the boxoffice this weekend, perhaps even a slow death knell. For those that came in late, the fiercely independent, […]
MONKEY KING 3: Hey Hey, It’s the Monkey and He’s Maybe Coming To Your Town
By Dr. Craig D. Reid Chinese film fans have heard of wuxia novels and films, stories soaked in traditional tales and legends of superhuman swordsmen and magical feats. Yet there’s another genre of martial arts prose called gung-fu xiao shuo (kung fu novels), books in which the characters use martial arts even though the heroes […]