Movie Review: The Paper Tigers (2020) on Amazon Prime

The Paper Tigers (2020)
May 7, 2021

Director: Quoc Bao Tran

Writer: Quoc Bao Tran

Cast: Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Matthew Page

Rating: PG-13 (Offensive Slurs|Violence|Some Strong Language)
Genre: Sports And Fitness, Action, Comedy
Runtime: 1h 48m

WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT
Three martial artists--notorious in their prime as "the three tigers"--have grown into middle-aged men one kick from a pulled muscle. But after their teacher's murder, they must juggle dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge him.

I think it's important to understand some background on this film to really appreciate what they have done. All the info from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paper_Tigers

The director and producers had a strong admiration for martial arts and old-school fun martial arts films. Bao Tran used his friendships and classmates from when he studied martial arts as inspiration.

They had a male Asian-American main character in mind with a minority leading cast but they were worried about whitewashing by a studio...and guess what?! Hollywood producers offered them 4 million dollars BUT there could be no Asian lead character and suggested that Bruce Willis be the lead and a part for Nicholas Cage had to be added... 

I'll give you a moment to let that sink in...

Bao Tran and company said no and crowdfunded their movie. They raised $124k on Kickstarter in 2018 and then some private investors (including someone who learned under Bruce Lee) added one million dollars more. They made the indie movie in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. The local businesses offered free food and lodging and production studio space for the cast and crew.

Okay, history lesson over...

 The Paper Tigers is a movie about childhood friends, growing up and growing apart, and reconnecting. It switches between the three main characters' childhood martial art lessons with their shifu (Kung Fu master) and present day. The whole murder mystery is kind of flimsy. It is just a device to bring the three together. And it has a definite indie feel. The humor is predictable and cliche but the inclusion of Matthew Page's stereotype character is hilarious. There is also some great Kung Fu fighting. 

WARNING: This part is my personal opinion and doesn't represent other members of the I Smell Sheep staff.

If the director had had a studio budget and resources would the movie have been better? I some ways, yes. But in the most important way, no. Whitewashing is a systemic problem in more than just the entertainment industry and it makes me angry.

My husband and I enjoyed The Paper Tigers and give it

3 1/2 "poison fingered" Sheep

SharonS

 

Movie Review: Kung Fu Killer

Kung Fu Killer (Kung Fu Jungle)
Director: Teddy Chan
Cast: Donnie Yen, Charlie Yeung, Baoqiang Wang, Bing Bai, Deep Ng, Alenx Fong
Producer: Catherine Hun, Alex Dong, Ning Song, Lei Nga-Bok
Genre: Action & Adventure, Foreign
Sub Genre: Martial Arts
Run Time: 109 Mins
Theatrical Date: Apr 24, 2015
Original Language: Cantonese, English
Well Go USA Entertainment http://www.wellgousa.com/theatrical/kung-fu-killer
A vicious serial killer is targeting top martial arts masters, and convicted criminal and kung fu master Hahou (Donnie Yen) is the only one with the skills to stop him. Released from jail and into police custody, they soon have their doubts about Hahou’s true allegiance after a series of mysterious events. Hunted by an unstoppable killer (Wang Baoqiang) and the entire police force, Hahou finds himself on his own, leading to a final battle you have to see to believe in this action-packed, kung fu crime thriller from director Teddy Chen (Bodyguards & Assassins, The Accidental Spy).

If you are a fan of martial arts movies for the sake of the amazing skills and techniques then this is a movie you will want to see. This film is basically a way to showcase the martial art styles: Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, Qi, Weapons. There is a serial killer (Baoqiang Wang) targeting the grandmasters of each style. There are elaborate and realistic fight scenes featuring each style as well as some other scenes of our hero kicking ass. And of course the big showdown between the two at the end in traffic! Amazing skills.

The rest of the film—the plot—isn’t all that interesting. Just a frame work to build the action scenes around. You aren’t going to form any emotional connection with the characters. You’ll just be waiting for the next battle.

This is a limited release so most people will have to catch this DVD or online. Definitely worth a look if you can appreciate martial arts. If you are looking for good crime thriller…not so much.

Side note about the title. The film’s original title is Kung Fu Killer, but because of censorship in China it was changed to Kung Fu Jungle. The government feels the word “Kill” isn’t good for the audience.

Action/martial arts rating: 5

 

Story/acting: 2

Movie Review: The Guillotines

Starring: Xioming Huang, Ethan Juan, Shawn Yue, Yuchun Li, Boran Jing
Director: Andrew Lau
Limited Release: June 14, 2013
Cities: New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, Pasadena, San Francisco
Theatrical Distribution: Well Go USA
Runtime: 113 MIN 

Mandarin with English Subtitles Rated R for
Strong Violent Content
Official website: www.TheGuillotinesMovie.com

Infernal Affairs co-director Andrew Lau takes the helm for this remake of the Shaw Brothers classic Master of the Flying Guillotine set during the fall of the Qing Dynasty, when a group of clandestine assassins are repurposed for a malevolent new cause. When Emperor Yong Zheng rules the land, he maintained his strength through the power of the Guillotines, an elite team of assassins tasked with eliminating all opposition. Though the Guillotines are deemed disposable when Emperor Qian Long comes into power, the new ruler attempts to consolidate his might by unleashing the gang of killers on the defeated Han Chinese, leading to a violent power struggle between the oppressed masses, and the malevolent monarch. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Oh, I had high hopes for this one. I mean look at that movie poster! Check out the trailer. Instead what I got was a lot of crying, slow motion, a Chinese Jesus, crying, flash backs, a random screaming goat (that was pretty cool), none to subtle symbolism, and did I mention crying?

The first 5 minutes of the film rocked. The elite group of assassins are throwing their awesome guillotine swords, cutting off heads with Matrix like moves and being bad asses. Then they did a lot of crying as they were hunted down by the government they dedicated their lives too. I mean that sucks, but man up! You are elite bad ass assassins. Stop crying! Okay, I'l stop with the crying thing.

It was hard to figure out who everyone was and how they were connected. The subtitles were sub-par. They were in a white text and hard to see most of the time. The Chinese Jesus I mentioned was called The Wolf and he led the suppressed who were called the Herders (like I said, subtle). He knew he had to die to save his followers and he accepted this fate and he... yeah, he cried.

This is a limited release and will definitely stay that way. If you got a dollar to spend and some friends to sit down with you might be able to have some fun with this one when it comes out on DVD.

1 1/2 "heads be flying, wolves be howling" Sheep

Sharon Stogner

check out the trailer. It is very good. You will see Chinese Jesus and NO crying.

Sheep Movie Review: TAI CHI HERO

TAI CHI HERO
Director: Stephen Fung
Starring: Jayden Yuan, Angelababy, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Eddie Peng and Daniel Wu
Producer: Zhang Dajun, Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu
Well Go USA Entertainment
Genre: Action & Adventure

Sub Genre: Martial Arts
Run Time: 100 min.
Theatrical Date: Apr 26, 2013
Original Language: Mandarin
Subtitle: English

Limited release:
AMC Metreon in San Francisco
AMC Cupertino in Cupertino

Lu Chan (Jayden Yuan) is still trying to find his place in Chen Village, the legendary town where everyone is a martial arts master…and Chen-style Tai Chi is forbidden to outsiders. But since he helped save the town from a frightening steam-powered machine, Yuniang (Angelababy), beautiful daughter of Grandmaster Chen (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), agrees to marry Lu Chan and bring him into the family. It’s only a formality, though – she is the teacher, and he is the student – and that suits Lu Chan just fine, as the mutant horn on his head gives him incredible kung-fu power, but leaves him dumber each time, and closer to death.

Chen Village still stands in the shadow of danger. A prodigal brother returns, Lu Chan’s presence invokes a curse on the town, and Yuniang’s scorned fiancée has an appetite for revenge, as well as some new partners in crime.  

"TAI CHI HERO is a full-on, steampunk-infused, video game-influenced kung fu throwdown that will knock you out of your seat."

What they said! This movie is worth checking out. You don't have to be a fan of the genre to enjoy this. Every thing from the costumes to the music to the cinematography is exciting and well done and it manages to be campy without crossing into the cheesy martial art movie stereotypes. 

This is actually part 2 of a trilogy and picks up right after the end of the first, Tai Chi Zero. I haven't seen the first movie, but I plan too. The movies are a Chinese steampunk based on Yang Luchan, the man who founded Tai Chi in the 19th century and has become the most popular Tai Chi style in the world. They have taken some liberties with the story and the martial art abilities, but gravity defying martial art is part of the fun.

Beside being a visually captivating movie there is an eclectic selection of music used. Everything thing from the Nutcracker Suite to heavy metal. The steampunk element comes from the invasion of British soldiers and The West Indies Company that wants to bring their steam powered weapons and railroads to China. The director does a great job of bring a steam punk aspect to this movie. It never felt out of place or over done. The use of slow motion and fast motion and camera angles added a lot to the tone and action.

There isn't much violence because Yang Luchan is known for fighting without hurting his opponents. I would say the movie is borderline PG-13. The only issue I have with the film is the subtitles. You have to be a speed reader! They move at a fast pace and sometimes you have to choose between reading and watching, but you adjust to it and I was able to figure out what was going on

If you get a chance to see this or rent it, do! Check out the trailer below. This is a case where the movie does live up to the trailer.

5 "finding Yin and Yang" sheep

Sharon Stogner (edit by Kalpar)

About the Director
A Hong Kong native, Stephen Fung Tak-Lun made his acting debut in FORBIDEN NIGHTS, playing the childhood version of the male lead. By 1998, Stephen was voted by the Hong Kong press as "Upcoming Actor of the Year." In 2004, Stephen wrote, directed, and starred in his feature film directorial debut ENTER THE PHEONIX for Jackie Chan's company JCE Movies. His second directing feature HOUSE OF FURY was the opening film for the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2005, official selection for the 18TH Tokyo International Film Festival, and at home, the highest grossing Hong Kong film for the first half of 2005. Besides continuing with his acting career, Stephen directed JUMP for Sony Columbia Pictures Asia, which was written and produced by Stephen Chow.