Quote:
Originally posted by yournamehere
Ummm . . actually - the "physics-defying" martial arts films started in Hong Kong. Hollywood is just doing what Hollywood does best: Taking a proven genre, casting it with A-list American actors, and beating it to death.
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Absolutely. Thanks for pointing it out,
yournamehere.
Wasn't it some premier director who started the trend, too? Someone like Woo, who should have known better...?
Quote:
Originally posted by Nisses
[B]You wanna know why Kung-Fu movies are turning into shit? Because the genre is spent. Finito, all dried up. There is nothing new they can introduce into it (apart from one or two exceptions maybe). Everybody's seen every move at least twice in a good movie and 3 lame rip-offs of it in just as many bad movies.[B]
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Perhaps for Kung-Fu, or Gung-Fu (depending on your Wade-Gilles or Pinyin), but what about the multitude of martial arts practiced elsewhere? Nisses already mentioned Capoeira, which is amazing to behold. Ninjitsu, which is rarely portrayed even close to accurately, is sometimes beyond the comprehension of the untrained. It's more than simple armlocks that toss people around...
And Hapkido? Aikido? Seagal and the other losers who proclaim to practice such arts rarely show anything other than a simple arm bar or hip toss.
How 'bout Tae Kwon Do? Yeah, we all know the name, which perhaps detracts a bit from it's shock-value, but have you ever seen a grandmaster? I'm lucky in that I have, and the shit you see on tv or in the movies, even when they utilize black-ropes and computer editing, isn't even close. I remember holding my breath for an entire round of sparring because what was happening was so insane.
There's plenty that can be done; though many of the ignorant probably won't see the value, those of us who care and are knowledgable will, and will be astounded.