Standing up to imperialism has often been a theme in Hong Kong martial arts cinema, and given Hong Kong’s history, it’s easy to see why.  Hong Kong is a city that has long struggled with its own identity.  For a time, it was not part of China, and the city’s natives certainly weren’t considered British either.  China is a nation that spent an incredibly long stretch of history being governed by foreign powers, it’s ironic that now they hold the majority of our nation’s debt.  But Hong Kong was a city that spent almost the entire twentieth century as a British colony, and as the specter of Communist Chinese takeover loomed in the nineties, both Hong Kong’s identity and future seemed uncertain.

It was out of this cultural context that Tsui Hark’s classic martial arts epic Once Upon a Time China was released, an action-packed tale of the culture clash between east and west in 19^th century Hong Kong.   While the film’s protagonist, Dr. Wong Fei-hung, is a folk hero that has been portrayed in countless films, Jet Li’s version of the character helped reinvigorate Hong Kong kung-fu movies and would come to be his definitive role as an actor. Li’s take on Wong redefined the role of the intellectual warrior who must defend his countrymen against foreign tyranny.  Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, which is a continuation of a TV series called Fist of Fury, is the latest in this tradition. (more…)

Transcending what objectively qualifies as “a great movie,” there is a rarer film still — a special kind of drug, tonic, and comfort blanket that guarantees a couple hours of escape from punishing reality. In 1999, “Office Space” died at the box office but something about it wouldn’t be denied and on DVD writer/director Mike Judge’s sharp, savage, right-on take of suburban office life found a ready-made audience desperate for that tonic – for anything that proved someone somewhere understood and sympathized with their own personal Cubicle Hell.

It was on a Friday night and I was in the Wal-Mart DVD aisle desperately searching for anything that might help to take the edge off a particularly brutal week of corporate bill collecting when the tagline “Work Sucks” caught my eye. Normally the thought of paying retail would’ve worked against such an impulse buy, but the comfort gained from those two words were alone worth $19.99, and home with me “Office Space” went. (more…)

Many artists long for one thing above all else and that’s a kind of immortality. They long to create or to be a part of something that will live on past them – that will live on for as long as there’s a civilization and maybe beyond. David Carradine achieved that early in a long career. Perhaps, too early.

A look at Carradine’s resume is a look at an actor who loved to work, relentlessly searched out paychecks, or both. My guess is that genetics might have played a part. His old man, John Carradine, has a list of credits longer than the end titles of a Michael Bay movie.

There are stories about David Carradine. Plenty of them. And if today’s reports prove true — if he indeed did hang himself in some Bangkok hotel room, well, obviously there was some bad news, personal demons, or a toxic mixture of both. Whatever it was, I’m not interested in hearing the story or passing it along. Unless it’s in self-defense, demystifying movie stars borders on the profane in this house.

Whatever it was, I hope he’s found peace. (more…)

Prolific actor David Carradine, best known for the Kung Fu TV series, the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill, and a series of ads for telephone directories, has been found dead in the closet of his hotel room in Thailand, where he was about to begin participation in a new film.

Preliminary reports have the death as a suicide by hanging.

The circumstances of his death, however, should not be allowed to overshadow his accomplishments as an actor.

As the son of actor John Carradine, David Carradine both benefited from his Hollywood family connection and rebelled against the industry that employed him. He appeared in a few very good movies, such as Bound for Glory and The Long Riders, and many, many very poor ones. He played a wide variety of roles, with numerous appearances as villains, some of which were quite memorable, even in some very bad films. (more…)