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Back in the summer of 2004, a friend from a website I used to review for encouraged me to review Stephen Chow’s movie Shoalin Soccer. Biting the bate, I decided to purchase the disc and give it a shot. I was not disappointed one bit. It was one of the most entertaining movies I reviewed that year. When it was announced that another of Stephen Chow’s movies would be released in the form of Kung Fu Hustle, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. After viewing this on DVD, I came to the conclusion this man is absolutely brilliant, in that he was excellent at using special effects and wire work in such a unique and interesting way. Instead of using special effects as an integral part of the story, he uses it to enhance the comedy, to create these outrageous scenarios that are silly and humorous, but at the same time interesting and ingenious. The movie is exceptionally well balanced, with outstanding acting, captivating music, gut busting humor, but also shows very good character development, and outstanding pacing. This movie does not take itself too seriously, but seeks to make you laugh using old school Kung Fu, silly outrageous circumstances, the look and actions of the characters, and over the top special effects.

After the success of Shaolin Soccer, Chow was approached by Columbia Pictures to do a follow up movie right on the heels of the above mentioned title. The budget was set for $20 million, and shooting was done in Shanghai from June 2003 through November 2003. The fight scenes took up most of the time, as often times what was planned just didn’t quite work out when filming. The fighting scenes of Kung Fu Hustle were initially choreographed by Sammo Hung. Production suffered a setback when Hung quit after two months due to illness, tough outdoor conditions, interest in another project and arguments with the production crew. Chow immediately contacted Yuen Woo-ping, an action choreographer with experience ranging from Hong Kong action cinema of the 1960s to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the early 21st century to replace Hung. Yuen swiftly accepted the offer. In doing so, certain scenes in production under Hung were cancelled. Yuen managed to take seemingly outdated wuxia fighting styles like the Deadly Melody and Buddhist Palm and recreate them on the screen with his own imagination. In spite of these production issues, Kung Fu Hustle went on to gross $4 million in its first day opening in Hong Kong, eventually grossing $60 million in Hong Kong alone. In the states the movie made $17 million dollars in limited release, and the movie made a worldwide total of $101 million, making it the highest grossing foreign film in North American history.

Kung Fu Hustle.2004.576p.BDRip-AVC.ZONE.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 39 min
Size: 	2.50 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x426 
Aspect ratio:  	2.40:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	3 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.287
Audio
#1:  	Chinese 2.0ch AC-3 @ 224 kb/s
#2:  	Chinese 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s (Commentary with director Stephen Chow and several cast members)

https://nitro.download/view/33069758B98434C/Kung_Fu_Hustle.2004.576p.BDRip-AVC.ZONE.mkv

Language(s):Cantonese
Subtitles:English, English SDH, Dutch, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish, Russian (+En/Fr/Nl for commentary)

The post Stephen Chow – Gong Fu aka Kung Fu Hustle (2004) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

There is a lot to admire about this pointed modern-day political satire, but you’ll have to get over a few hurdles. One of them is the unnecessary length, another is the distracting use of a circular frame – a device that references Chinese art and hints at its heroine’s constrained plight, but often makes the viewer feel as if they’re peering through a keyhole. The heroine is a comically stubborn villager (a spirited, uglified Fan Bingbing) who embarks on a perverse mission to get her sham divorce overturned so that she can redivorce her cheating husband properly. He’s added insult to injury by likening her to Pan Jinlian, a literary character associated with promiscuity (misleadingly translated to Madame Bovary in the English title). These grievances are clumsily handled by a succession of self-serving, buck-passing officials, in a similar fashion to Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qui Ju. The satirical bite dissipates a little as the story drags on, though a powerful, emotional coda makes it worth the wait.

— The Guardian

14.2GB | 02h 19m | 1920×1080 | mkv

https://nitroflare.com/view/A2AA7ECE3ED26EB/I.Am.Not.Madame.Bovary.2016.BDRip.1080p.x264.AC3.mkv

Language(s):Chinese
Subtitles:English

The post Xiaogang Feng – Wo bu shi Pan Jin Lian AKA I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016) (HD) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Plot summary: (from anutshellreview.blogspot.com)
Feng Xiaogang’s Assembly was the opening film at last year’s Pusan International Film Festival, and tickets were sold out in record time once they were made available online. Such is the faith (or curiosity) of the new film from the director who brought us movies like World Without Thieves, and martial arts Hamlet The Banquet. When you think of Chinese directors making a movie based out of Chinese history, you can’t help but imagine the massive amount of propaganda that get so blatantly infused into the story and especially the dialogue. But here, Feng managed to bring about a movie which goes beyond the usual ra-ra, and shows us that a movie with universal themes can also come out from what is essentially a war movie based upon China’s tumultuous era after WWII.

Assembly refers to the call of the bugle to retreat and regroup, and this is the call that Captain Gu Zidi (Zhang Hanyu) and his 47 men of the 9th Company, 3rd Batallion, 139th Regiment, are keenly listening out for, as they go about their mission in ill-equipped fashion, holding fort on a strategic plain. Sent to the frontlines for war-crimes, Captain Gu and his men, while being the best at trench warfare, find themselves severely lacking in essentials – manpower, ammunition and heavy weaponry, as they go up against the marauding forces of the Nationalist army, with their relatively superior armour. However, their mantra is old school – only the bugle will signal their fall behind, and everything else means fulfilling their mission objectives at all costs.

Ultimately, Assembly is an ambitious film. It combines drama and action, and in both aspects, doesn’t hold back in bringing about the best it probably could. Kudos go to actor Zhang Hanyu who plays Captain Gu, in what can be essentially a one man show, putting focus of his place in history and his solo fight against the system. And after watching this, you’ll probably won’t hesitate to watch another war movie coming out of China, if they meet the benchmark set by Feng Xiaogang. Recommended!

Ji.jie.hao.AKA.Assembly.2007.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	2 h 3 min
Size: 	3.28 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x450 
Aspect ratio:  	2.25:1
Frame rate: 	24.000 fps
Bit rate: 	3 343 kb/s
BPP: 	0.302
Audio
#1:  	Chinese 5.1ch AC-3 @ 448 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/7D439B37BDBDFD4/Ji.jie.hao.AKA.Assembly.2007.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Language(s):Mandarin
Subtitles:English

The post Xiaogang Feng – Ji jie hao AKA Assembly (2007) first appeared on Cinema of the World.