Buys
A couple of Hong Kong movies to shore up my Kung Fu Fridays tradition: The City of Violence (ok, actually a Korean film) and PTU: Police Tactical Unit (because Simon Yam, that's why). Both look like Gun Fu rather than Kung Fu, but variety is the spice of life.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Flipped The Deadly Assassin, the Doctor Who story that recast the Time Lords as a stuffy, corrupt House of Parliament (which is why I've never really understood the current Doctor's angst at their disappearance). Deadly Assassin also resurrects the Master as a gross zombie and has the honor of being the only Doctor Who story without a companion (this year's specials have one-off companions at least) AND of inventing The Matrix. It's a good Robert Holmes script, though some will grimace at the plot holes and characterization of the Time Lords as idiots. The DVD includes the usual commentary tracks, but they are far less informative than usual (Tom Baker is probably my least favorite commentator, and even the trivia text track goes silent for long stretches), a strong making of documentary, a good featurette on Doctor Who's "Frighten Factor" and another on The Manchurian Candidate, but I don't think it is as strong an inspiration to this story as everyone seems to stress.
Our Kung Fu movie of the week was Once Upon a Time in China starring Jet Li as China's legendary folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. One of the modern classics, pitting kung fu against the seemingly unbeatable Western power of the gun. A great mix of history, martial arts, tragedy and comedy, which includes the big ladder fight the terrible Musketeer copied wholesale (speaking of the West stealing China's stuff). Tsui Hark's direction is very artful, which makes the picture quality on this DVD all the more criminal. Grainy, soft and frequently marred by digital artifacts. The DVD includes a good commentary track by expert Ric Meyers - it's fun to watch with him even if he's a bit big on symbolism - but nothing else.
A relatively light week, in large part because of preparations for a Halloween party held at yours truly's. The theme was Myth and Religion and I expect to show you some pictures tomorrow.
New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 25 mostly from a couple of Torchwood Series 2 episodes - Fragments and To the Last Man.
Someone Else's Post of the Week
Second Printing asks who's the SECOND BEST in the DC Universe? Specifically, at the start of this exciting new survey series, who's the World's Second Greatest Martial Artist? Cuz we all know who the best is, right?
A couple of Hong Kong movies to shore up my Kung Fu Fridays tradition: The City of Violence (ok, actually a Korean film) and PTU: Police Tactical Unit (because Simon Yam, that's why). Both look like Gun Fu rather than Kung Fu, but variety is the spice of life.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Flipped The Deadly Assassin, the Doctor Who story that recast the Time Lords as a stuffy, corrupt House of Parliament (which is why I've never really understood the current Doctor's angst at their disappearance). Deadly Assassin also resurrects the Master as a gross zombie and has the honor of being the only Doctor Who story without a companion (this year's specials have one-off companions at least) AND of inventing The Matrix. It's a good Robert Holmes script, though some will grimace at the plot holes and characterization of the Time Lords as idiots. The DVD includes the usual commentary tracks, but they are far less informative than usual (Tom Baker is probably my least favorite commentator, and even the trivia text track goes silent for long stretches), a strong making of documentary, a good featurette on Doctor Who's "Frighten Factor" and another on The Manchurian Candidate, but I don't think it is as strong an inspiration to this story as everyone seems to stress.
Our Kung Fu movie of the week was Once Upon a Time in China starring Jet Li as China's legendary folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. One of the modern classics, pitting kung fu against the seemingly unbeatable Western power of the gun. A great mix of history, martial arts, tragedy and comedy, which includes the big ladder fight the terrible Musketeer copied wholesale (speaking of the West stealing China's stuff). Tsui Hark's direction is very artful, which makes the picture quality on this DVD all the more criminal. Grainy, soft and frequently marred by digital artifacts. The DVD includes a good commentary track by expert Ric Meyers - it's fun to watch with him even if he's a bit big on symbolism - but nothing else.A relatively light week, in large part because of preparations for a Halloween party held at yours truly's. The theme was Myth and Religion and I expect to show you some pictures tomorrow.
New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 25 mostly from a couple of Torchwood Series 2 episodes - Fragments and To the Last Man.
Someone Else's Post of the Week
Second Printing asks who's the SECOND BEST in the DC Universe? Specifically, at the start of this exciting new survey series, who's the World's Second Greatest Martial Artist? Cuz we all know who the best is, right?
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