Jaden Smith, the next Karate (Kung-Fu?) Kid

Some fans of the original Karate Kid movie are appalled by the remake starring Jaden Smith as the new Karate Kid and Jackie Chan as his teacher.  Some are very explicit about their displeasure to a having a black kid play the role.    But as Jeff Yang points in this article, the story of an African-American learning self control and discipline from martial arts is “less of a perversion than it is a correction.”

Yang says that African-Americans were the first non-Asian community in the US to embrace martial arts, and without them, Asian fighting disciplines might never have taken root.  “The story of martial arts in black communities is part of a much bigger narrative of African American interest in Asian culture,” says Amy Obugo Ongiri, assistant professor of English at the University of Florida and author of the forthcoming book “Spectacular Blackness.”   White flight, she says, made inner city theatres become spaces for people of color, and cheaper, less marketable films like martial arts movies were often shown.  “We’d go and watch films all day,” recalls Warrington Hudlin, the producer behind films such as “House Party” and “Boomerang.”

Bruce Lee has been particularly influential.  In the documentary “How Bruce Lee Changed the World,” a number of African Americans, like Wu Tang Clan rapper and producer RZA and actor and rapper LL Cool J, talk about how Bruce Lee influenced them.  While filming certain scenes, LL Cool J thought about how Bruce Lee would have done the scene and acted accordingly.  Interestingly enough the new movie is being filmed in the Wu Tang mountains.

I am not sure that this new version of the Karate Kid (shouldn’t that be “Kung Fu Kid” if he is learning from Jackie Chan in China?) will be better that the original (although the reimagined Battlestar Galactica certainly has its plusses).  In any case, check out Yang’s article – it’s interesting, and I hope the Karate Kid remake is at least as good!

• Fish Story – Japan (2009)
  Forget the upcoming blockbuster 2012 for a moment and check back into something a little more fun about the impending doomsday. Fish Story is about a song, woven throughout a tapestry of characters over time and how it saves the world. Not exactly light fare, nor is it a heavy sitting. It is touching at the parts where it matters the most and funny when it needs to be. All in all, a very entertaining film that has everything from a little romance, to martial arts, to punk rock music.
• Breathless – South Korea (2009) – Closing Night Gala
  With an armful of awards under its belt, Breathless is brutally violent and aggressively touching at times. A debt collector who uses his fists to talk meets his match with a high school girl unafraid of him even after he hits her. Unbeknownst to each other, they share a parallel background of domestic abuse each wanting to move past their past but constantly wrestle with the demons locked in their closet. Brace yourself for some really brutal fight scenes. Watch the trailer below.

The Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival rolls into town November 11 – 15th, 2009. Check out a short interview with the Director of the Canadian film The Ache, Keith Lock above and the second part of my mini reviews below.

• White on Rice – USA (2009)
  Fluffy and cute, White on Rice follows the antics of Jimmy, a naïve divorce in America living with his sister and sharing the bunkbed with his nephew. After meeting the niece of his brother-in-law, he convinces himself that she is perfect for him, unknowing that she has already fallen back in love with her ex-boyfriend, his co-worker. Albeit cute and starring a cast of rising Asian-American talent, Jimmy’s comedic in capabilities toe the line between being earnest and irritating. Popcorn fare at best.
• The Ache – Canada (2009)
  Inspired by sex columnist/ poet Louise Bak’s curious family story and mysteries of ancient “fox spirits”, The Ache is a quirky supernatural tale of how sex has the power to make people behave in very bizarre ways. Perhaps one of the more interesting films in the festival despite a rather imbalanced cast, it provokes in unexpected ways. While there is an overriding theme of sex, more subtle and important is everyone’s need and want for intimacy. Despite its shortcomings, it lingers in your mind long after it ends.

The Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival rolls into town — mine! — November 11 – 15th, 2009. In honor of the film festival, this is the first of a three-part mini reviews post of the features being presented. Watch the trailer and if you like, check out the limited edition shirts over at NIWE Style Clothing.

• Overheard - Hong Kong (2009) – Opening Night Film
  From the same team that produced Infernal Affairs, Overheard explores the lure of insider trading as it takes a toll on three surveillance team members struggling to decide whether or not to profit from their knowledge. At a time when the crash of the economy has many financial casualties, it’s easy to sympathize with the main characters personal dilemmas. It’s a gripping, unpredictable edge of your seat blockbuster-like cop-drama thriller that gets confusing at times but pays off in the end.
• Yang Yang (Trailer) – Taiwan (2009)
  In the coming of age story, Yang Yang tries very hard to fit in. Thanks to her French genes, her Eurasian features gets a lot more attention than she would like. After all, she sees herself as Taiwanese and nothing else. It’s an interesting take on a kind of discrimination and exoticism with Asian cultures revering bi-racial children and how these kids have to face a set of challenges from the family where they are supposed to belong to. The film is well crafted and performed. Highly enjoyable.
• Yanggaw – The Philippines (2009)
  Part family drama, part horror story, Yanggaw sets itself in a remote village in the Philippines. Far from any formal law enforcement or modern medicine, the locals still take the advice of witch doctors and carry out their own justice. When the daughter comes home with an undiagnosable illness, livestock are slaughtered and people start disappearing at night. The family struggles to keep their ties together while dealing with the beast in their midst. The film is a bit slow and dragging, even for a drama.

We’ve spoiled our daughter and taken her to Disneyland for her birthday each year, so we’ve gotten pretty familiar with the theme park. In addition my company has even held an event in EuroDisney, which I got to attend. What I didn’t realize until reading about the latest Disneyland planned for Shanghai, is that there’s already one in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The park in Shanghai has been in planning for the last 20 years, and finally won approval this month. It’s estimated it will be completed in 5 to 6 years and be a little larger in size than the current Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. Disney hopes this theme park will create the kind of marketing engine that the other Disney parks have, encouraging families to buy into the paraphernalia the way my family has.

In part, the promotion of Disney within my own family has been largely my fault, as I was looking for role models for my daughter, and thought Mulan, with all its flawed images of Chinese culture, was at least a good independent Asian female role model, and not the helpless princesses of other Disney classics. Unfortunately, my daughter never took to Mulan and instead favors Snow White, who relies on others to save her. Disney to their credit did also produce an American Native Princess, Pocahontas, and East Indian Princess, Jasmine. And finally this Christmas season, the African American Princess, Tiana. My daughter can’t wait to go see this latest movie, so I think I’ll refrain from letting her know there’s another Disneyland she can visit until she’s a little older.

You can see the film trailer here for a preview. The movie will be followed by a student-led discussion encompassing the friction between cultural and LGBT values. The movie will begin promptly at 6:15 p.m., so please arrive early. Refreshments will be provided.

“Saving Face” Film Screening, Thursday, October 29, 2009
Conference Room B @ 6:00 p.m., De Anza Community College Campus

For more information, please see the Facebook event invitation here. Please feel free to invite your friends and loved ones — this is a free and open event where everyone is welcome!

In modern pop culture, the Three Kingdoms period of China is kinda like the Medieval period to Americans — dramatic war stories full of people performing acts of valor and glory that have been dead of hundreds of years — except, you know, that shit was real. (Okay, King Arthur may be real, but the whole slaying flying dragons thing? Come on, now.) Which is probably why Red Cliff, the epic four-hour movie based on the Three Kingdoms period that was directed by John Woo last year smashed box office records in China previously owned by Titanic.

Now an abridged, westernized version Red Cliff is coming to America and if you live in the Southern California area, you’re in luck — you can watch a free screening in Los Angeles at the DGA. But here’s the catch — the free screening, especially geared towards 8Asians readers, is Wednesday night. Yep, tomorrow. To RSVP, YOU MUST send an email with the subject line “RED CLIFF RSVP – AAAN” to redcliffRSVP@gmail.com where you will receive further instructions. Priority will be given to registered people, but that does not guarantee a seat, so we recommend you arrive at least 30 minutes before the special 7pm screening time. And use the bathroom beforehand — this may be the abridged version, but with a 140-minute screening time, you’ll not want to miss any of the action.

The truth of the matter is that because the heart of the film industry is here in Los Angeles, so is the heart of film restoration efforts. Film restoration is extremely tedious and costly, and many of our film treasures are being lost at a rapid rate. Because are we lucky enough to be in a city where much of the restoration is done, occasionally beautifully restored films are publicly screened here!

In this case, we’ll get to see the groundbreaking Kurosawa masterpiece Rashomon, starring Toshiro Mifune in the role that catapulted him to stardom. The film depicts the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses, including the rapist and the dead man (through a medium). The stories are mutually contradictory, leaving the viewer to determine which, if any, is the truth. Rashomon has become synonymous with the unknowability of truth, and spawned the term the “Rashomon Effect.” regarding the subjectivity of perception on recollection.

Regarding this particular restoration:

While the [35mm print from 1962] print itself was in good physical condition, the source material from which it was made was extremely battered. Due to the extensive printing and handling it had received over its lifetime, many shots were already starting to shrink and warp, and there were numerous scratches, dust, and dirt in the damaged negative. Scanned at 4k resolution, that 47-year-old print has been meticulously cleaned both digitally and by hand, complete with a new, seamless soundtrack. This essential restoration has been made possible by the Academy Film Archive, the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kadokawa Pictures, Inc., with funding provided by Kadokawa Cultural Promotion Foundation and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation.

Rashomon opens Friday, October 2, 2009 at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, showing through Thursday, October 8 for an exclusive one-week engagement. Showtimes: Fri-Sun at 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30 & 10:00; Mon-Thu at 5:00, 7:30 & 10:00. Landmark’s Nuart Theatre is at 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of the 405 Freeway, in West Los Angeles. Program information: 310-281-8223; www.landmarktheatres.com

The festival will premiere several Hong Kong films, in addition to showcasing Asian American films from the “Class of 1997″: Michael Aki and Eric Nakamura’s Sunsets, Rea Tajiri’s Strawberry Fields, Chris Chan Lee’s Yellow, Quentin Lee and Justin Lin’s Shopping For Fangs — all groundbreaking works in Asian American cinema.

But what excites me is the really special round table taking place on closing night (Saturday, October 3, 2009) with Michael Aki, Chris Chan Lee, Quentin Lee, Justin Lin, Eric Nakamura and Rea Tajiri at 9:30PM after the free 8PM screening of Shopping For Fangs. The round table will be moderated by Giant Robot’s Martin Wong. (The round table is sponsored by Giant Robot and You Offend Me You Offend My Family.) And if that weren’t enough, there’s a free afterparty with sake provided by Sho Chiku Bai.

But don’t wait ’til closing night to check things out! There’s a bunch of other cool stuff during the film festival, so take a look at their entire schedule online and find out how to order tickets in advance.

Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (Thai: องค์บาก), also known in the United States as “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” was a Thai action film from 2003 that was considered the breakout film of Tony Jaa. Because of Ong-Bak, Jaa was hailed as the next international martial-arts star.

Now Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning is here today on VOD, Amazon and XBOX Marketplace. Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this film takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles.

What? The past? Well, Ong-Bak 2 is not a sequel, but a prequel to its predecessor, which sounds kind of confusing, right? Well, no need to be confused!

Why not get a Tony Jaa refresher course by watching the Ong Bak DVD, which you can win right here on 8Asians! And, if that weren’t enough, we’re also going to throw in a DVD of 2008 Thai action film Chocolate (Thai: ช็อคโกแลต), also known as Fury! (Chocolate was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and has martial arts choreography by Panna Rittikrai, the same pair who directed Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak.)

If you love martial arts and action films, you need to check these movies out! Ong-Bak 2 is available now on VOD, Amazon and XBOX Marketplace and the film will be in theaters Oct 23.

What you could win from 8Asians: 2 DVDs: Ong-Bak + Chocolate!

How do you enter?
Simply leave a short comment stating why you want to be chosen as the winner for the DVDs. (Be sure to use the email address you’d like to be contacted at if you’re the winner.)

Hurry, the deadline to enter is: Wednesday, September 30 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time)
FIVE lucky winners will be randomly selected and contacted on Thursday morning.

Rules for entering:
1) Please be in the US or Canada. Sorry, I will not be shipping anywhere else!
2) Contributors to 8Asians and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

Prize courtesy of: 8Asians.