kofman Reviews

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

a few scares, but horribly predictable plot, bad acting

[29 June 2002]

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** this movie was just BAD and not worth watching. The two protagonists were both very irritable for the start and the stupidity of the plot didn't help. There is one scene where the girl says "this is the part in scary movies where *blah blah blah*." Nice self-awareness, but then they spend the next hour running into all the cliches of horror movies past. The acting is quite terrible too, especially of the lead actors. Try to count how many times there is a close up shot of either lead, staring in shock. It just looks so incredibly phony.

SPOILER

i was actually glad to see one of them die, it just wouldn't have been fair for them to commit all the retarded mistakes they made and still have both of them survive.

a complete and utter waste of time.

My Father is a Hero (1995)

More of a drama than a martial arts film... but still terrific

[30 October 1998]

The general plot is quite standard: An undercover cop takes on one last dangerous assignment, relations involved, etc. There have been many, many films with the same type of plot.

However, this film manages to stand out on its own. The father-son combo of Jet Li and Tsu Miu works remarkably well (the 2nd time these two have been paired up). Anita Mui stars as a HK cop trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Throw in an over-acting (but still funny) villain (who incidentally played Iron Monkey), and we have an action-packed thriller to the end.

The emotional parts of the film may drag a bit, but it's not too excessive. Jet Li especially succeeds in this role... we can see the internal conflict and pains of emotion within. The scene where the villain tries to get his son to ID his undercover dad is very notable.

There may not be as much kung fu as most fans would like, but we do get to see Li wield a new type of weapon. Generally the kung fu serves to move the plot along, not to be specifically highlighted as the main attraction. That's okay, considering the movie is so well done....

Fist of Legend (1994)

Perhaps THE best Jet Li movie (which says quite a lot...)

[30 October 1998]

"Fist of Legend" is one of Jet Li's first "modern" kung fu movies. Previously, he had made a name for himself in period films such as "Shaolin Temple" and the acclaimed "Once Upon a Time in China."

It's refreshing to see Jet Li (with hair!) fight with some different techniques. Very little wire-work was used, and the martials arts is still very dynamic. The fight scenes are especially choreographed, and EACH one is memorable.

I suppose it's worth noting that "Fist of Legend" is a remake of a Bruce Lee film "Chinese Connection" (aka "Fists of Fury"). Even though a remake, "Fist of Legend" is vastly superior is every manner (story, cast, settings, etc). Fortunately Li does not imitate the classic squealing of Bruce Lee (for that check out "High Risk"), but he does have some slight mannerisms that will remind you of the master.

Bottom line... an awesome movie.