What's good, fight film fans? It's been a little over a year
since I last posted on this site, and left you severely hanging.
First off? I apologize, profusely. Life, as it has done in the
past, had thrown me off a bit(new work clients, parting ways
with old work clients, family strife & health setbacks). I want
to send a shoutout to the folks and family that held me down
during that time.
So Hai!Karate took a bit of a backburner. I do hope that there
won't be another extended hiatus like this one. I will do my
best to make sure there isn't. Now, I realize that I left off
in the middle of an epic countdown. THE DIRTY 30. I'll be getting
back on that, no question. And I'll be giving you the movie
reviews you'll enjoy to the fullest. To those who've been waiting,
thank you for your patience. For those who're intrigued and new
to the site, I invite you to go back and check out previous
posts and get comfy.
Yep, had a bit of a slight hiatus but because you have been patient,
here's the next installment of THE DIRTY 30!! Thirty of the best fight
scenes in martial arts cinema according to Hai!Karate! Judging from the
response we got, it appears we're on the right track. If you missed out
on it(and shame on ya if that's the case), check out the first installment
right HERE.So let's
get into these next scenes posthaste - but first, a reminder of the criteria
is below:
CRITERIA: For the scenes making this list, there's a couple of factors.
The first being, standalone quality. How do they hold up if taken out of
their picture and seen by itself? The second factor is, how finely choreographed
it is. The third? The overall wow factor. That zone you get into when seeing
these scenes and how it sticks with you.
25)Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang Opening Credit Scene
Even the most casual of martial arts movie fans will instantly
find themselves hyped up beyond belief once you hear the first
notes of the music accompanying this scene. It's one of THE best
opening film scenes of the genre, and one that is a calling card
of the Shaw Brothers Studios worldwide. Now of course, when you
got the VHS version stemming from what was televised stateside,
you were missing about 15 or so seconds. That time included the
title and opening movements of the Shaolin monks before the rogue
Wu Tang monk engaged. And of course who can forget one of the
ultimate lines ever uttered in the genre:
"I MAY HAVE BEEN EXPELLED, BUT I'M STILL THE BEST!! WU TANG!!!"
24)Angela Mao In The Muay Thai Ring, The Tournament
This gem got covered at length here already but the scene of Angela whooping natural ass in the ring
- as a woman - earns a spot on the list because of its historical
impact and because hey, it's another way for her to flex on her
opponents. Observe:
23)Jet Li's Drunken God Fist, Last Hero In China
Jet Li, the man, the legend. One of the pre-eminent talents in
kung fu cinema to have ever graced the screen. In this film, he
takes on a role he's most beloved for in the genre, that of the
legendary hero Wong Fei Hung. Now of course, this is a kind of a
standalone picture from the Once Upon A Time In China series that
he did with famed director Tsui Hark initially. But in this film,
with Yuen Wo-Ping at the helm, Jet gets to really work his creative
side. Hence the scene where he becomes the "Iron Rooster." All of
that is a prelude to his final fight against the corrupt magistrate
Lui Yat Siu, played by Alan Chui Chung-San. Fei Hung gets his feet
severely damaged by a cunning trick by Yat Siu, and so to turn the
tide in his favor he downs a huge jug of wine. Which is out of
character for Fei Hung, who's sworn off drinking. But what ensues
is a brusque, yet well-crafted final fight scene that fully takes
advantage of Jet Li's incomparable acrobatic ability and fighting
prowess - with a little shit-talking thrown in for good measure.
22)Jackie Chan Vs. Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Wheels On Meals
Listen. There's a couple of you so-called Jackie Chan fans out
there who haven't even heard of this scene. Yes, there are - trust
me, I've gotten one or two gray hairs out of being frustrated at
their lack of knowledge. But all that aside, this is one of those
fight scenes that makes you really wonder how hard that Jackie and
Benny went at each other. I mean, the sheer force of the blows that
get landed in this scene still make me yell at the screen every
time I see it. One of THE best mixed-martial arts battles ever put
on screen in the 80's era. But hey, check it out for yourself and
see if I'm lying. Oh and at 1:51 - JEEEBUS
21)Sammo Hung Vs. Yuen Wah, Eastern Condors
Eastern Condors is one of my favorite martial arts flicks in that
it showcases the great talents of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in a
contemporary setting along with having quite a few WTF moments
throughout the movie. You also can't beat the cameos. But anyway,
this film about Asian prisoners-of-war enlisted to help the U.S.
blow up a secret arms cache in Vietnam to gain their freedom is
really off the chain. And this final fight between Sammo's leading
man and the villainous Viet Cong general played by veteran actor
Yuen Wah is a fine blend of slapstick and deadly serious battle
that uses everything in the ammo dump. And to be clear - Sammo's
long tradition of demanding realness in these scenes will make you
truly wince a couple of times while watching this fight. You'll also
ask how Wah's suit managed to stay without sweat stains as long as
it did up until near the end.
That's it for now Hai!Karate fans...until the next installment,
walk good!!!
What's happening martial arts film fans?!!! I know you're excited as I
am for the beginning of this highly important chapter in Hai!Karate history
right about now!! We are all set to begin the countdown to the baddest, most
brutal, supremely elegant and down right heroic list of the greatest fight
scenes every martial arts fan should know and love. To state again like I
have before...this list is a rebuttal to the wacktacular 'lists' that have
popped up in recent months. Will we miss one or two? Perhaps. Will we make
this list a hipster-esque notation of scenes that land somewhere between too
obscure or not enjoyable? NOPE. Will we pay homage to some of the best fighting
to have been captured onscreen? YUP. So without delay, let's break down how
this will work. We're counting from number thirty all the way to number one.
Five scenes per post. Hai!Karate is drawing on a good deal of films that have
been seen, and there's no restriction in terms of region or nation that the films
were produced in. Now if you have some beef towards the list at anytime, guess
what? That's cool. 'Cause good debate on a good subject broadens the community
and only promotes the work of these fine actors and studios. So now that the
semblance of a disclaimer is in, let's start the show...
CRITERIA: For the scenes making this list, there's a couple of factors. The
first being, standalone quality. How do they hold up if taken out of their picture
and seen by itself? The second factor is, how finely choreographed it is. The
third? The overall wow factor. That zone you get into when seeing these scenes
and how it sticks with you. That said, here's numbers 30 through 26...
30)Final fight scene, King Of The Kickboxers, 1990
There's a few of you out there outside of the die-hard fans who have even
HEARD of this flick. That said, it'll be a shock once you sit down and partake
of this Seasonal Films-produced movie from 1990. And for those who've only
associated Billy Blanks with the Tae-Bo craze he helped launch, you'd be in
for a surprise as well. But this scene with Loren Avedon and Blanks makes the
list on a combination of highly technical and brutal fighting and the pure
arcade fighting game WTF-ness. Basically, Jake Donohue's(Avedon) an NYPD officer
who is on special assignment in Thailand and events lead him back to the country to
face his brother's murderer and supreme villain Khan(Blanks). The whole thing
is just meta because Donohue is investigating murders committed by Khan in
movie fight scenes. So we get to this final fight, which is deep in the Thai
jungle, in a giant bamboo dome surrounded by tribesmen. With three stages of
bamboo platforms. Over water. With bamboo stakes. I mean, the fight scene alone
is over 10 minutes and is a rollercoaster of feels. Avedon and Blanks throw
DOWN on all the platforms, and you really see their skills on full display.
And you even get extra bugface from Blanks at the most inopportune of times,
but it makes for great action shots like the one below. When you see this flick,
tell me it wasn't the inspiration for one or two Capcom fighting game levels.
29)Final scene, Kung Fu Vs. Yoga(Lao Shu La Gui), 1979
Let's state this upfront - this film is on the lower scale of martial arts films
in terms of production and you might get thrown off when you sit down to watch it.
It's dubbed in a haphazard way, the comedy can be womp-womp worthy at times. So why
is it on the list? The final fight scene where Tiger(Chin Yuet-Sang) and Wu Shing
(Alan Chung San Chui)confront the yoga master Singh(Dunpar Singh)to steal his ruby
to finish a quest. The scene lasts close to ten minutes, and it's one of the most
unique scenes ever in action movies due to Singh's completely fantastic flexibility.
I mean, the man is OFF THE CHAIN. It's the first time and I do believe the only time
the full potential of yoga has been put to work in an action film in an authentic
manner. Don't believe me? Peep it for yourself in this clip that merges the two previous
encounters in the film with the final scene.
28)Frank Dux Vs. Chong Li, Bloodsport, 1988
This was THE film that launched Jean Claude Van Damme into superstardom for a
few years. And a huge reason why lies in this fight scene between our hero,
Frank Dux(Van Damme) and Chong Li(Bolo Yeung Sze). Now of course, you can ask
whether Dux was shamming the world about his exploits, but the fact remains that
Bloodsport is an undisputed cult classic. Think about that final scene - it's so
full of late '80's synth-rock schlock but it still doesn't take away from how
compelling that fight scene is. It's got it all - high drama(Dux losing his sight
due to some crushed sulfur tablets) and triumph on a get-the-fu**-outta-dodge
level(Van Damme leaping a silk gi-clad official still makes me laugh out loud
in an unbelievable manner) and Bolo's yells and faces just add extra oregano man.
I mean, I'm sort of surprised that there isn't a Bolo Yeung facial expression
montage reel on YouTube somewhere. And if you find yourself chanting "Kumite"
by the end of this post, well...I rest my case.
27)Leung Chang Vs. Ngai Fei, The Prodigal Son, 1981
Fans of Hai!Karate already know about this because of the previous review done
right here. But for the newcomers, this scene is listed due to the skil exerted
by Yuen Biao as Leung Chang. Biao was steadily adding to his reputation as the best
if not one of the best acrobatic kung fu actors, and this final fight scene in one
of the genre's most critically acclaimed films is proof. It's no wonder that Biao,
director and co-star Sammo Hung and co-star Lam Ching Ying got top honors that year
for their fight choreography in this film. The final fight is an exhibition of sheer
fury via Wing Chun; indeed, Ngai Fei's demise also ranks as one of THE WORST defeats
in kung fu cinematic history. You'll wince when you see it for real. But it's a
fitting end to a great fight scene in one of the best films of the genre.
26)Gloria Hendry Vs. Pinky's Men, Black Belt Jones, 1974
Gloria Hendry is often not given her due but this Black woman was
baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, man. And she gave the film a decidedly extra
level of realness thanks to her first action scene in the Jim Kelly
classic. From the moment she challenges Pinky's minions by undoing the
bottom two buttons on her dress and slips out of her platform heels,
you knew someone's ass was going to get mollywhopped. Even her trash
talk, although derisive, was fierce. When you see her effortlessly
take out five dudes in this scene, you are so caught up in how flawless
it is that you don't realize ITS UNDER THREE MINUTES. It just truly
underscores how great of a film Black Belt Jones was, Blaxploitation
era classification or not.
Thanks for catching the first installment of THE DIRTY 30!!!! If you
dig what you've seen so far, join us again for the next five brutal,
bodacious, bold and bad-ass fight scenes on the list!!!
What's happening Hai!Karate fans?!!! We're basically entering the summer and
we know that everyone is still staggering in some way after Memorial Day over
here. So a little while back, I made it a point to announce that Hai!Karate was
going to do its own 'top listing' of fight scenes any martial arts film fan
should check. For those who missed it, peep it right here. And just as you cannot
put forth a gorgeous smorgasboard of a meal without an appetizer, it was fitting
that we start off with a little bit of the best of the rest. Just to get you into
what we're trying to do here. So without further delay, let's break it down:
The Kitchen Scene, Fist Of Fury, 1972
Whether you call it The Chinese Connection or by its actual name, Fist Of Fury,
the 1972 Bruce Lee flick is regarded as a classic in the genre. The second film
in Lee's career for Golden Harvest, Fist Of Fury has inspired a few remakes and
has stuck with fans because of the sheer electricity of the fight scenes. And of
course, there is the comedy within the film. Even the unintentional. Which brings
us to the scene where Cheng Zhen discovers that the two cooks in the school were
in cahoots with the Japanese and - shocker - they are Japanese. Now he makes quick
work of them both, but this scene sticks out on two levels. One, the raw power of
Cheng Zhen's punch dealing a lethal blow to the cook and much like a favorite meme
involving Beyonce, very much on the beat. The second level is the laugh factor that
I know wasn't director Lo Wei's intent. But the English dub is off the chain. And
I KNOW doggone well at least one of you has mimicked Bruce's lines before - "so why
did you kill my teacher then...so why did you kill my teacher WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY?!!!!!"
Mas Oyama versus the bull, Karate Bullfigher, 1977
The first film in Sonny Chiba's trilogy-long ode to the great Kyokushin Karate founder
Masutastu Oyama is commonly known to Western audiences as Champion of Death. The original
title stems from the fact that Oyama was known to fight bulls head-on - and WIN. In
this flick, Chiba as Oyama does so as a way to protect the villagers in a coastal town
near where he trained. I mean...on the surface it seems ridiculous. But when you stop
to consider that Oyama did this on the regular, you have to admit that he was a straight
up badass. And that Chiba is in his own right for even recreating the event. It's full
of bloody action, brief but it does make the overall film that much more entertaining.
Final Scene, Treasure Hunters, 1981
This is a largely forgotten comedic entry in the career of the late Alexander Fu Sheng.
The movie involves two hustlers who get involved with a Shaolin monk played by Gordon
Liu as they search for a legendary treasure. This final fight scene played up Fu Sheng's
remarkable fighting abilities to the hilt, and co-star Cheung Chin-Pang...bless him..keeps
up as best as he can. It's slapstick Shaw Brothers style with a nod to Buster Keaton. And
makes for an uproarious laugh towards the end.
David Chiang, Cecilia Wong & Lily Li-Li versus Wilson Tong, Shaolin Mantis, 1978
This is one of several fight scenes placed at a crucial point in this action drama from
the Shaw Studios. Wilson Tong was well regarded as a veteran by this point, and as such
was the main man behind the fight choreography for this film. It's a tense three-on-one battle
involving broad staffs and a spear. Wai Fung & Gi-Gi's fight for freedom, aided by Gi-Gi's
mother is like the steady climb of a rollercoaster - you know the drop is coming, but you
aren't sure when. And in this scene, Tong makes sure to keep you on edge. It's also worth
noting that this scene put him in great favor with the studio to seize his own motion picture
directing career.
Sho Kosugi & Keith Vitale Biker Fight, Revenge Of The Ninja, 1983
This was back when the ninja/karate craze in the U.S. had its first jump-the-shark
moment. Ninjas had gotten some allure thanks to Sho Kosugi's key role in Chuck Norris'
The Octagon. Lee Van Clief got into the act too. So much so that Hollywood put some money
up to get films like this made. BUT - you had to have white stars. It's not a knock on
Keith Vitale whatsoever, he had some verified skills as a former karate champion. This
was one of the films where you found yourself asking, 'why did they front on Sho Kosugi
SO COT DAMN MUCH???!!!' This fight scene has all of the surface clashes you'd expect -
bare knuckle brawling versus Eastern fighting methods, polished and unassuming heroes up
against pot-bellied and dusty biker villains. And it's at a playground, and you know that
means more ways for baddies to catch bad ones!!(Side note: peep the one dude with the
'rising sun' t-shirt near the beginning of this scene. To me that sums up Hollywood board
meetings on this kind of stuff. "Hey, we've got a Japanese fighter - let's place a WWII
influenced logo t-shirt on a guy, go ALL the way with this!!!)
So now that you've had the chance to get a feel for what The Dirty 30 could be like with
these morsels, stay tuned as we begin the countdown next month!!!
Howdy Hai!Karate faithful!!! As you well know, we strive to
cover martial arts films in their glory - and also in their
shame and schlock. The next film we're going to chop it up
about falls more towards the latter than the former in this
regard. And that film is The Weird Man, straight from the latter
days of the Shaw Brothers Studio motion picture era!! The film
stars Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi, Jason Pai Piao. Chu Ko and Wong Lik
at the forefront of the cast. The director is none other than the
renowned Chang Cheh. The film is apparently based on the ancient
Chinese historical novel, Romance of The Three Kingdoms. The novel
itself is a chronicle of events surrounding the fall of the Han
Dynasty and the three super-states Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu
that rose to power afterwards starting in 169 A.D. to 280 A.D. The
film is supposed to be Cheh's own vision of those events. But after
seeing the film, I wondered about his sight for real. Before I get
into that, let's dive into the plot shall we?
The Weird Man begins with court intrigue as Prime Minister Cao Cao
(Pai Piao) plots to assassinate General Sun Ce(Chiu Gwok). But his
plans are discovered by Taoist priest Zuo Ci(Kwan Feng). It would seem
that it is too late, as Sun is ambushed in the forest but SOMEHOW survives
a mess of arrows to the chest. As he is brought home to recuperate,
Zuo Ci goes to Master Yu Ji(Tien-Chi) who is in seclusion with his
six students. At Zuo Ci's request, Yu Ji goes out among the people of
the countryside. Yu Ji knows that doing so will bring about his death,
but it is ordained. He enters the city and performs miracles, extracting
poison and illness from people by touch alone.(Apparently both are
Nickelodeon styled green slime.) General Sun hears that the people have
proclaimed him to be God, and so orders his beheading. Magistrate Xu
Gong(Lik) implores him to hold off, and Sun does - only if he can bring
the rain. Yu Ji is imprisoned on a bale of hay in the square. He brings
the rain down, but Sun orders him beheaded anyway. Magistrate Xu goes
to the 6 disciples and tells them where his body is. They retrieve it,
and let it float inside of a milky pool within the temple where it JOINS
with his decapitated head. Yu Ji then tells the disciples that his spirit
is still in limbo, and that they've been betrayed by Xu Gong. And so, he
sets forth as a spirit warrior with an impish side to set things straight...
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's about the time that things go off
the road, Sega Outrun style. Master Yu Ji becoming this hyper-athletic
fighter using the general's wife to seduce the general, complete with
baby oil. BABY OIL. The film basically becomes a mish-mash of comedy,
intrigue with action that has a tinge of slapstick. Add some wild
special effects like heavy mood lighting, and radio serial music cues
and The Weird Man...just gets weird. Now if you get a chance to watch
the dubbed version, the dialogue essentially makes Yu Ji out to be like
Jesus Christ. I don't know if that was the aim of Cheh and the team
behind this flick had that intention, but for a good part of the film
Yu Ji does look like an Taoist Jesus complete with the hair. Or like
one of The Wild Samoans from the WWE days with lap band surgery. But
that's not even most of the confusion. The film seems to focus on the
mischief Yu Ji's soul gets into, especially with the general's wife
and her sister, even to the point of having Tien-Chi dress as them both.
And General Sun, who's supposed to be heroic, becomes a villain and yet
is still a heroic figure to be pitied? Huh? Cheh was truly all over the
place with this picture. Tien-Chi at this point was essentially in the
mode where he was the star, but wasn't really considered leading man
material all the way, save for his sharp turn in Five Element Ninjas.
Here, he gets to show off his comedic skills and some solid fighting
chops that kept him working for years. One smart move was making him
the action choreographer; he emphasizes a lot of his acrobatics, and
makes those scenes engaging. Chiu Gwok as a lead...nah. He was more of
a role player and it showed here.
All in all, The Weird Man is one of those latter Shaw-era films that
was all about special effects and the idea of throwing actors and a
script together and making it stick. Or trying to. And it didn't help
that Cheh's style of directing and making films showed its age in a
bad way. This is one of those films that you can watch once and(if you
get through it)never need to see again. It's available on DVD and
online.
What's good, good people?!! Hai!Karate returns with a burning
classic in the genre of martial arts films, The Blazing Temple!!
The 1976 flick is a cavalcade of stars including Chang Yi,
Carter Wong, Judy Lee and Kam Kong, and is directed by the
noted Joseph Kuo!
The Blazing Temple starts out with a slight bit of confusion;
we see the film open on the emperor(Yee Yuen) and his entourage.
He's just been informed that the 8 Swordsmen, along with other
members of the Shaolin Temple, are training heavily to take down
the Manchu Empire. This of course enrages his highness, who all of
a sudden gets ambushed by Miss Yu(Lee) who swears to take his head
in response to his decree to eliminate her entire family for
conspiring with the rebels. Cue throwdown. We then jump to the
Shaolin Temple and find the rebels joking with each other and
discussing how they came there during a lull in training. Of
course, this gets interrupted by the Manchu forces surging to
attack. And what an attack it is; the entire temple is assaulted,
and we see various disciples trying to save precious Buddhist
texts. Word gets to the chief abbots, and they press the remaining
disciples deep in the catacombs to train harder. The supreme abbot,
even though there is a secret tunnel to freedom, demands that the
only way out for them is through...the Bronzemen!!!
The disciples begin the process of trying to break through the
Bronzemen and the rest of the trials, but the supreme abbot is
chastised by others for being so stubborn to stick to tradition
in a dire time. He relents, and goes to the tunnel only to find
it blocked by a massive boulder. He makes the supreme sacrifice,
and the 8 Swordsmen leave to go find the emperor and assasinate
him. But the fight won't be easy - twists and turns beset them,
especially the fact that there could be a traitor in their midst.
Can they succeed against the cunning of Emperor Yungzheng and the
Manchu forces?
To be real, The Blazing Temple is good, not great. It stands out
because it's one of the few films if not the only one, to actually
make the destruction of the Shaolin Temple a central setting within
the film. Others, you see a glimpse of the chaos or it's spoken of
and not really drawn out with the exception of Shaolin Abbot three
years later. Kuo, who would go on to helm other classics like The
Mystery Of Chessboxing, does okay here. The action scenes are crisp
and increase in brutal effect as the film goes on.(Side note - cats
catch severe bad ones starting with the Bronzemen sequence.) What
had me flip was Judy Lee basically being at the start of the picture
and then she makes no real appearance UNTIL THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES.
I wasn't overly mad at her entrance though, that wire-fu was serious.
Chang Yi puts in good work here, displaying a lot of emotion. If you've
read this blog from jump, there's times where I've called him too
damn stoic. Not here though, you get tears and everything from him.
Carter Wong as Siu is the hidden gem of the picture. This was the
beginning of Carter's prime in Hong Kong cinema, where he could be
counted on to deliver solid performances that caught the audience's
eye. And here he makes sure not to oversell his acting, and to also
be thoroughly acrobatic with his fighting. Which is probably why he
got the prominent spot on most DVD covers of the film. I do believe
that this is one of those flicks that anyone who's a martial arts
film fan will want to see if they haven't already just to add to their
knowledge. The Blazing Temple is available on DVD, and online if you
don't want to pay the freight.
RATING: 3 OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
What's happening folks? For this post on Hai!Karate, I wanted
to touch on the explosive success of Netflix's latest series,
the highly anticipated new TV entry from the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, Daredevil. Now, if you haven't watched ANY of the
series yet, I am inclined to post this for your benefit so
you can click away and I don't have to hear any nonsense:
SPOILER ALERT!!
SPOILER ALERT!!
SPOILER ALERT!!
Now that that's out of the way...Daredevil has been getting
rave reviews from almost everyone I've talked to. From the
inspired casting of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock to Vincent
D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, to the dialogue, to the plot twists -
the series is one of the best to break out of the gate in
quite some time. Does it help that the full season uploading
policy by Netflix gets more viewers? Probably. But I think
that the same accolades would be in place if this was set up
week by week in traditional form. The series is a gritty crime
drama, hard-nosed to the point that you can smell the musky
damp air of Hell's Kitchen at night. Of course, the major draw
of Daredevil are the fight scenes. The first episode alone
had me on the edge of my seat with every second of those
battles. Major props have to go to the entire stunt team and
their fight choreographer, Philip J. Silvera, whose work was
recently on display in Thor:The Dark World and The Dark Knight
Rises. Which brings me to the bit that has captured the
imagination of many: the fight scene at the end of episode 2
where Matt goes up against the Russians for the first time.
That scene is the centerpiece of "Cut Man", an episode that
lets viewers get even more of the complexity of Matt Murdock's
background. I've seen some commentary from a couple of bloggers
about how that it's the greatest fight scene EVER. *record
scratch*
Some of you need to have a seat and sit the next couple of
plays out.
Listen. The fight scene is a thing of beauty. It is a testament
to the work of all involved. But you CANNOT sit there and
pull a generational amnesiac move and proclaim it as the 'best
fight scene ever.'Do you understand how stupid that sounds,
given the history of martial arts cinema? It's symptomatic
of the thinking and writing I've been seeing these past few
months in terms of kung-fu flicks and related movies. You
know what I'm talking about - those lists by other magazines
and websites. Lists that are as suspect as Donald Trump doing
the Cupid Shuffle on Dr.Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. More
on that in a sec. The fight scene in 'Cut Man' was brolic
beyond words, no question. But you don't get that fight scene
on an American television show without acknowledging the heavy
influence from three distinct areas. First, the Indonesian
martial arts/crime thrillers The Raid and The Raid 2. Second,
Tony Jaa and his output of films from Thailand. And lastly,
District B13 and the rise of parkour. All of those elements
are at play in that scene, done in one long contiguous take.
If you were on the fence about the show from the first episode,
that moment was the one that pulled you in all the way. But
let's keep it funky. That scene's greatness should not get
put on a pedestal above the countless other moments in martial
arts movie history. And yes, you can make that statement and
not be a 'hater' or whatever else you pop-culture crazed mofos
with no sense would say. Which leads me to the next decision...
Hai!Karate is going to do it's OWN LIST. Yes, I'm tired of these
cat-in-the-hat ass lists from folks that haven't appreciated or
seen the full scope of the movies. The list will contain thirty
entries, counting down to number one, split into three posts.
That's going to take place over the course of the next month,
with alloawances for other work I've got going. SO...if you're
a fan of this blog, tell a friend. Tell ten. Because we plan
to GO IN.
