Top 5 Of 2009

[bum]

Inspired by a couple other threads here recently. Feel free to add any categories you wish (i.e. top 5 beers of 2009, etc).

Movies:
1. Martyrs (I'm pretty sure think this is one of the best films I have ever seen)
2. Thirst (Still undecided on exactly how much I like this, after one viewing, but I know I like it a ton)
3. Where the Wild Things Are (Managed some moments of genuine joy and menace - rancid soundtrack)
4. That's It, That's All (Another with a rancid soundtrack but it is just gorgeous)
5. Machine Girl (Mind-meltingly amazing. Japanese schoolgirl fighting Yakuza ninjas. YAKUZA NINJAS!)
Special mention to Crows Zero 2 and Yatterman which I have downloaded but not watched yet. I'm certain they're amazing.

(The production dates of some of these is prior to this year but they only became available to me in 2009 so they count.)

Albums:
1. Beehive & the Barracudas - Pure Commotion
2. Curse Ov Dialect - Crisis Tales

(There must be something else but this is all I bothered paying money for - excluding the new Drones record which does not belong on this list at all.)

 

[Adamt]

Top 5 Top 5's of 2009

1. Albums
2. Movies
3. Beers
4. Dishes
5. Napkins

 

[petesbrew]

Top 5 things that shit me today
1. Jackie Chan movies.
2. People who can't connect tv's right.... seriously, it's a piece of piss.
3. Sydney's public transport & general traffic/toll situation
4. The state of my music folder... roughly 100gb of chaos
5. Our 2 kids constant whinging today.

 

[Adamt]

It's no longer 2009... and what's wrong with Jackie Chan movies? (yhe older ones...)

 

[petesbrew]

It's no longer 2009... and what's wrong with Jackie Chan movies? (yhe older ones...)

Oh yeah you're right. My bad.

I went through a stage a few years back watching Chan movies, but oh they're so crap... the fights are okay, but once you see a cool Muay Thai movie like Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong or Chocolate... Hell yeah!

 

[bum]

Mui Thai is ugly, graceless street fighting and Ong Bak is worse than any Chan movie (if we ignore the hammy slapstick for a moment).

 

[petesbrew]

Mui Thai is ugly, graceless street fighting and Ong Bak is worse than any Chan movie (if we ignore the hammy slapstick for a moment).

Yeah, but they've got tuk tuk races, elephants and more bonesnapping.

 

[Adamt]

Mui Thai is ugly, graceless street fighting and Ong Bak is worse than any Chan movie (if we ignore the hammy slapstick for a moment).

Any sort of martial art, in a realistic (non-movie) setting is ugly and graceless. The story/script/acting in Ong Bak was useless.. there's no denying that, but the stunt work (considering no special effects, no big budget, no stunt doubles) was great. It was basically a movie for Tony Jaa to show off a bit.

 

[bum]

Any sort of martial art, in a realistic (non-movie) setting is ugly and graceless.

Only if you're suggesting martial arts exist only to hit people in the head - otherwise your point doesn't really hold much water. Regardless, compare the applied martial arts in Ong Bak to something like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and you'll see my point a little better (not putting that film forward as the best example, just the best common one).

The story/script/acting in Ong Bak was useless.. there's no denying that, but the stunt work (considering no special effects, no big budget, no stunt doubles) was great. It was basically a movie for Tony Jaa to show off a bit.

Are you seriously suggesting that Jackie Chan's stuntwork isn't any good? Seriously?. Dude jumped of a vertical cliff-face onto a ******* moving hot-air ballon. Anyway, that was the thing that shit me the most about Ong Bak - I watched it only because of statements like the above (I have long held such opinions of Mui Thai so it held no immediate appeal for me) and you know what? The stunt work is pretty shitty and everything in that movie is double (and sometime tripple) cut to make it look more dynamic. It is pretty crap on all fronts.

Oh yeah, and he wins out in the end by cutting a rail. Yeah, great message, brah.

 

[petesbrew]

Only if you're suggesting martial arts exist only to hit people in the head - otherwise your point doesn't really hold much water. Regardless, compare the applied martial arts in Ong Bak to something like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and you'll see my point a little better (not putting that film forward as the best example, just the best common one).


Are you seriously suggesting that Jackie Chan's stuntwork isn't any good? Seriously?. Dude jumped of a vertical cliff-face onto a ******* moving hot-air ballon. Anyway, that was the thing that shit me the most about Ong Bak - I watched it only because of statements like the above (I have long held such opinions of Mui Thai so it held no immediate appeal for me) and you know what? The stunt work is pretty shitty and everything in that movie is double (and sometime tripple) cut to make it look more dynamic. It is pretty crap on all fronts.

Oh yeah, and he wins out in the end by cutting a rail. Yeah, great message, brah.

Oh yeah, the double/triple cutting is kinda funny in Ong Bak. And Tom Yum Goong, walking across the harbour bridge with a baby elephant? Classic stuff. I dunno about you, but I don't know how Elephants go walking up stairs (from the Milson's Point end).
I can't deny the stunts & fight coreography are great in Chan movies, but that "hammy slapstick"... ugh, it just shits me every time.. Maybe it's just Jackie Chan.
BUT having said that, have you seen Kung Fu Hustle? Now that's an enjoyable flick. Over the top characters. You could be watching a Looney Toons cartoon.

 

[Pollux]

I love Kung Fu Hustle......Great drinking movie.

I have no top 5 list to offer, but I will make the observation that Jackie Chan is the voice of the monkey on Kung Fu Panda, wouldn't have picked it.

 

[Adamt]

Only if you're suggesting martial arts exist only to hit people in the head - otherwise your point doesn't really hold much water. Regardless, compare the applied martial arts in Ong Bak to something like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and you'll see my point a little better (not putting that film forward as the best example, just the best common one).

Well, believe it or not, martial arts were developed for war purposes, so I think my point does hold water. Many martial arts are less about the combat side than the philosophical side; which is a good thing. However Muay Thai is still a sport, with the overall goal to smash your opponent into submission.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a great movie, but the martial arts in it were ruined by the stupid flying through trees and superhuman feats. If you want to do that shit, animate it or at least call it a superhero movie.

Are you seriously suggesting that Jackie Chan's stuntwork isn't any good? Seriously?.

This puzzles me immensely as I said no such thing.

I think we are going to end up agreeing to disagree. But I hope we can agree on this one statement:

"Bruce Lee is probably better than anyone else ever to be filmed."

 

[bum]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a great movie, but the martial arts in it were ruined by the stupid flying through trees and superhuman feats. If you want to do that shit, animate it or at least call it a superhero movie.

The aspect with which you take issue is as old as martial arts related fiction itself. It is absolutely relevant, in fact essential, to the film. I saw it in a cinema full of people who laughed at it and I wondered why they were even there.

I think we are going to end up agreeing to disagree.

No. I refuse to agree to disagree.

But I hope we can agree on this one statement:

"Bruce Lee is probably better than anyone else ever to be filmed."

No shit. Any genre. Dude fucken badass.

 

[bum]

Oh yeah - Kung Fu Hustle is amazing. Stephen Chow's work is pretty great (on average - there are some absolute stinkers. CJ7 anyone?). Very heavily influenced by Bruce Lee too.

 

[bradsbrew]

Wing Tsun is better to watch than Muay Thai.

 

[bum]

All the Wushus are better to watch than Muay (d'oh!) Thai. As are the Japanese and Korean martial arts.

 

[bum]

****. I take it all back.

I just heard Chan is doing a remake of The Karate Kid. Brief synopsis from IMDB:
"Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master."

Kung Fu, you say? So where does Karate come into it?

**** Chan and double **** Hollywood.

 

[petesbrew]

****. I take it all back.

I just heard Chan is doing a remake of The Karate Kid. Brief synopsis from IMDB:
"Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master."

Kung Fu, you say? So where does Karate come into it?

**** Chan and double **** Hollywood.

Bum, I watched ONG BAK 2 last night.
I now take back what I said about Jackie Chan movies.
Ong Bak 2 was utter shit. It wasn't even good in a bad way. Just plain crap.

There's an old movie called King Of The Kickboxers, which I thought was the worst fighting movie of all time. OB2 just took the crown.

 

[beers]

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...showtopic=37443

 

[Jez]

I just heard Chan is doing a remake of The Karate Kid. Brief synopsis from IMDB:
"Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master."

the young son in the movie is Will Smith's kid.

can't wait