The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (4 Stars)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) is less a continuation than a collision. Arriving seven years after The Mummy Returns, it feels like a franchise trying to reinvent itself by grafting one cinematic mythology onto another. In that sense, it works as a crossover film; not between studios or properties, but between the Hollywood adventure serial of the first two films and the wuxia-inflected fantasy epics that had gained global popularity in the early 2000's.

By shifting the action from Egypt to China and replacing Imhotep with Jet Li's Dragon Emperor, the film attempts to fuse the familiar Mummy formula with elements drawn from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Terracotta armies, immortal emperors, shape-shifting witches and snowbound monasteries all signal a desire to tap into a different cinematic tradition. On paper, this is a promising idea. A globetrotting franchise built on resurrected legends should be flexible enough to roam across cultures and mythologies.

In practice, the crossover is uneasy. The film never fully commits to Chinese myth in the way the earlier entries embraced pulp Egyptology. The Dragon Emperor is visually impressive but dramatically thin, and the mythology around him is sketched rather than lived in. The result is a film that borrows iconography without absorbing tone. Where Imhotep felt operatic and obsessive, the Dragon Emperor often feels like a boss character waiting for the next effects sequence.

The sense of dislocation is heightened by the recasting of Evelyn, now played by Maria Bello. Bello brings intelligence and energy to the role, but the change breaks the emotional continuity of the series. Combined with the decision to age Rick and Evelyn into quasi-parental figures while pushing their son Alex to the foreground, the film struggles to balance nostalgia with renewal. It wants to pass the torch while still leaning heavily on Brendan Fraser's established charm.

There are clear ways the film could have been improved. First, it needed a stronger thematic link between the two mythologies it was crossing. Instead of simply swapping Egyptian curses for Chinese immortality, the script could have drawn parallels between imperial hubris and ancient religion, giving the crossover an intellectual spine rather than a geographical one. Second, the film would have benefited from slowing down. The relentless action leaves little room for atmosphere, humour or romantic banter, all of which were key pleasures of the earlier films.

Most importantly, the crossover should have extended to character rather than spectacle. Imagine Evelyn engaging more deeply with Chinese history and philosophy, or Rick forced to adapt his roguish soldier persona to a culture he does not understand. Those frictions could have generated comedy and tension far richer than yet another CGI avalanche.

As it stands, The Mummy 3 is an instructive failure. It shows how a franchise can attempt a cultural crossover without fully respecting or exploring the traditions it borrows from. The idea of a Mummy film that travels the world is a sound one, but this entry proves that mythological mash-ups require more than new locations and bigger visual effects. They require curiosity, patience and a willingness to let the crossover reshape the series rather than simply decorate it.

Success Rate:  + 0.8

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Wicked (4 Stars)

This film bookends my life as a film fan. The very first film I saw was "The Wizard of Oz". I saw it in the cinema, but obviously not when it was first released. I wasn't born in 1939. I can't remember the exact year when I saw it, but I'm certain it was my first film, because my parents didn't own a television until I was six years old. Yes, I'm old enough to remember the dim, distant days when televisions weren't an item taken for granted. They were very expensive in my youth. My parents always rented a television, because they couldn't afford to buy one.

The correct name of this film is "Wicked Part One". That's what's written on the splash screen. The second part is due to be released next year. The two films serve as a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz".

I don't want to give too many spoilers for the film, but the main theme is that we're invited to have sympathy for the Wicked Witch of the West. She was an outcast all her life because of her skin colour; she was born green. In "Wicked Part One" we see that she uses her magical powers for good. So how did she turn bad? We'll have to wait for Part Two to find out.

I've always been a sucker for a musical. The music was uplifting, even though the lyrics were often shallow. I was happy to see that the cinema was almost full. That's the way cinemas should be.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (5 Stars)

There are people who don't watch super-hero films on principle. I can understand them. There have been good super-hero films in the past, but in recent years Marvel's films have become progressively worse. As a dedicated Marvel fan I go to see every film in the cinema and buy it on Blu-ray a year later, but I'm not blind to Marvel's faults.

However, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (I prefer to shorten the title to "Shang-Chi") is a masterpiece. And do you know what makes it so good? It doesn't look like a super-hero film. It's a martial arts classic, complete with fantasy creatures. If someone sat down to watch it after the opening credits, he wouldn't even recognise that it's a Marvel film.

It's a tragic film. Shang-Chi's father is a ruthless warlord, and he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps. His father tries to change and become a good man, but after his wife's death he reverts to his old ways. He has an organisation called The Ten Rings that supports or topples governments. But his greatest wish is to get his wife back from the dead. He hears her calling to him, telling him she's trapped in a cave in her home village of Ta Lo. What he doesn't know is that it's really a monster imitating her voice, a monster that wants to devour the world. Shang-Chi has to fight against his father to stop him. Father versus son is a tragic conflict in any culture. Tony Leung is an incredible actor, and the look on his face is heart-breaking when he finally realises he was wrong.

A second Shang-Chi has been promised. Can it be as good as the first? I hope so.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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Police Story 3 (5 Stars)

This is the third film in the Police Story series. It was originally released with the title "Supercop".

The Hong Kong police force wants to break up an opium smuggling ring and arrest the leader, Chaibat. One of the ring's leaders, Panther, is in a prison work camp in mainland China. Ka Kui is sent as an undercover operative, posing as a petty criminal to win Panther's trust and help him break out of prison. He's assisted by Yang, a Chinese police officer played by the magnificent Michelle Yeoh.

Back in Hong Kong, Ka Kui joins Chaibat's gang and takes part in his activities, waiting for the right time to reveal who he is.

This is (in my opinion) the best film in the series so far. There are car chases and fights on top of a train, as well as pursuits by a helicopter. The film's budget was less than a million dollars. How did they manage it?

The reunification of China and Hong Kong is a topic. When it's asked whether the money from the gang's Swiss bank account should be given to Hong Kong or China, Ka Kui says it should be given to Hong Kong, because after reunification China will get it anyway. Smart thinking!

Success Rate:  + 36.2

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Royal Warriors (5 Stars)

When reviewing "Raging Fire", made in 2021, I praised Hong Kong police films. They're not a new phenomenon. "Royal Warriors" was made in 1986, and it has all the trademark mix of martial arts and gunfights. If anything, it's even more over-the-top than the newer films.

Three policemen from different departments meet on a plane flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Michelle Yip is a Hong Kong detective returning home from vacation. Michael Wong is an undercover air marshal. Yamamoto is an Interpol agent accompanying a criminal who's been extradited to Hong Kong.

Hijackers attempt to free the criminal by taking control of the plane. Was it so easy to smuggle guns onto a plane in 1986? The three heroes defeat them in a breath-taking battle. After arriving in Hong Kong they work together, although I'm not sure how that's possible.

What they didn't know is that the criminal and one of the hijackers belonged to a gang of four blood brothers who survived the war (which one?) and promised to remain together until death. "We live together or we die together!" They hunt for the three policemen, killing dozens of innocent bystanders in their attacks.

I groaned when I saw the plaque on Michael Wong's coffin. Don't they know how to spell Michael? Oops, that's a spoiler!

But 10 minutes later we see the coffin again, and the plaque has been put right. I'm happy that the director noticed his mistake, but he should at least he should have been consistent and gone back to reshoot the first scene. It couldn't have been that difficult. Maybe he thought nobody would notice. He didn't reckon with me.

By the way, the director/screenwriter wasn't very imaginative with the character names. Michelle Yip was played by Michelle Yeoh. Okay. And Michael Wood was played by Michael Wood. What a coincidence!

It's a high octane action film from beginning to end. There's none of the humour that tainted Michelle Yeoh's previous film, "Yes, Madam". I said that this film is more over-the-top. Michelle Yeoh even drives a tank to fight the gang members.

Michelle Yeoh was a cute looking girl at 23.

And now she's a fine lady. She's always been a talented actress, but she had to wait another 37 years to hold an Oscar in her hand to prove it.

Everything everywhere all at once (5 Stars)

I must be getting old. I was planning to go to the cinema today to see "The Royal Hotel", but I changed my mind because it was too cold. That's the first time the weather has ever kept me away from a film. I don't want to make a habit of it. It's going to be shown again on Monday, so I have a second chance to prove I'm not a wimp. Actually it's being shown every day, but most days it's being shown dubbed into German. I have to wait until Monday to get another chance to see it with the original English dialogue.

So I used my evening at home to watch "Everything everywhere all at once", which I haven't watched for 18 months. It's an incredible film, one of my top films of 2022. I put it in third place. Maybe it should have been first. If I get a chance I'll watch all of the top three films to make up my mind. I shan't change the list now, what's done is done. The only changes I ever make to old posts is to correct spelling mistakes. But I'll tell you in a new post if I change my mind.

One thing I can tell you is that it won the Oscar for Best Film last year, along with six other Oscars. This amazed me, not because it's a great film, but because the highbrow film critics agree that it's a great film. It's a rarity for one of my favourite films to be showered with Oscars. It's also unusual for a science fiction film to be picked as Best Film at the Academy Awards. Has it ever happened before? Let me check. *long pause* Yes, "The Shape of Water" won the Best Film Oscar in 2017, but I think that it was the only other science fiction film until now. Please leave a comment and let me know if I've missed anything.

I like "Everything everywhere all at once", but do I really understand it? What I mean is, I can sit and describe the plot, but I don't know the underlying meaning of the film. I don't know what the director is trying to say. I need to look for a review by one of the highbrow critics that I'm always criticising. One of them might have something valid to say. If I find something that I agree with, I'll let you know in my next review. Until then, I'll leave you with a few photos of the laundromat owner Evelyn Wang.

Success Rate:  + 8.0

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A Haunting in Venice (3 Stars)

Jump scares in a murder mystery? That's unusual, but "A Haunting in Venice" is a crossover between murder mysteries and horror films. It's based on the Agatha Christie novel "Halloween Party". This is one of the few Agatha Christie novels that hasn't been filmed before. It's because it was considered one of her weakest books. To improve it, the location of the film was set in Venice instead of London. The eerie atmosphere of the Venice canals is a definite improvement, distracting from the weakness of the plot.

Hercule Poirot has retired and is living in Venice, turning down all requests to solve murders. His friend the author Ariadne Oliver asks him to visit a seance. An opera singer wants to speak to her dead daughter to ask why she committed suicide a few months earlier. Hercule doesn't believe that it's possible to speak to the dead, so he visits the seance with the intention to uncover the medium as a fraud. But then the medium is killed, and the investigation begins.

The film has been highly praised, but I couldn't relate to it. I'm not a fan of murder mysteries. The long monologue in which the ex-detective explained what had happened and who was guilty bored me. I would have preferred a fully fledged horror film.

Yes, Madam (4 Stars)

"Yes, Madam" is an action comedy film made in Hong Kong in 1985. It's significant for two reasons: it was Cynthia Rothrock's first film, and it was Michelle Yeoh's first leading role. Michelle is the Madam in the title.

Richard Nornen is visiting Hong Kong to deliver evidence on microfilm about the criminal activities of a supposedly respectable businessman called Tin. An assassin is sent to kill Richard in his hotel and retrieve the microfilm. He kills Richard, but while he's searching for the microfilm he's disturbed by room service. Except it isn't room service, it's two petty criminals called Aspirin and Strepsils. They see Richard's dead body and think he's sleeping, so they steal his wallet and his passport. The assassin would have shot them, but the room is visited by Inspector Ng (Michelle Yeoh), who wants to collect the microfilm.

Inspector Ng assumes at first that the thieves are the murderers, so she pursues them. The assassin assumes that they have the microfilm, and he's correct, although they don't know it. The microfilm was tucked into his passport, behind his photo. The thieves sell the passport to a colleague who forges documents.

The English police inspector Carrie Morris (Cynthia Rothrock) visits Hong Kong to help with the case. She knows that the microfilm was hidden in the passport. Aspirin and Strepsils are arrested, but soon declared innocent. They're released, but they know the assassin is hunting them, so they beg the police to arrest them again.

The film is difficult to pin down to a single genre. There's a lot of slapstick comedy, but there's also a lot of explicit violence, especially in the opening scenes. Michelle Yeoh says that it was intended to be a film that the family could watch together, but this intention didn't succeed. "Yes, Madam" has been given an 18 certificate in most countries for its excessive violence. The best scenes are doubtlessly the martial arts battles in which the two women take on hordes of bad guys. The humour is annoying.

There's a blunder in Cynthia Rothrock's first scene when she arrives at the airport.

Carrie Morris is forced to defend herself against an assailant. Her high kicks reveal that she's wearing blue panties. That's hot!

But seconds later we see that she's wearing yellow panties. Did Cynthia have to change her underwear between takes? There's only a brief glimpse for a few film frames. Evidently the film makers didn't think anyone would be perverted enough to pause the film to look up Cynthia's skirt. They didn't reckon with me.

I like Carrie's attitude. Inspector Ng plays everything by the book, but Carrie is an aggressive police inspector who bullies men that she's arrested. She beats up helpless men to get confessions out of them. I wouldn't confess to her. Not too quickly. I'd let her beat me up first.

I wonder if Carrie was portrayed like this for reasons of racial profiling. Did the director Cory Yuen assume that the English police are brutal?

Michelle Yeoh isn't just beautiful, she's an outstanding actress. She's been making films since 1984, but she still hasn't won an Oscar. This year she finally has a chance. She's been nominated as Best Actress for "Everything everywhere all at once". She was also nominated for this year's Baftas but didn't win. Let's wait to see what happens on 13th March. If she doesn't win, she should send Cynthia Rothrock to beat up the judges.

The Blu-ray was released in 2022, and it contains a new interview with Cynthia Rothrock. She says that she made her first seven movies in Hong Kong before she made her first American films. She must have counted wrong. According to IMDB she made thirteen films in Hong Kong from 1985 to 1990.

If I were only judging the action scenes, I would have rated this film five stars. I've reduced it by a star because of the non-funny comedy scenes.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

Could this be one of the greatest love stories ever told? Maybe. For those of us who consider ourselves in any way spiritual or religious, it asks serious questions. What's more important? Spirituality or love? Putting the question in a more western setting, is it better to go to Heaven or to love someone? Assuming the two are alternatives. It sounds very awkward when I see the words in front of myself, so I hope you'll understand me. Those who've seen the film will know what I'm talking about.

The Beatles sang that "All you need is love". That seems obvious in theory, but how many people live by that slogan in practice? As you get older other things become more important, such as money, power and fame. Mostly money. It's intuitively obvious that money shouldn't be more important than love, but what about religion? Should my religion be more important than love?

There are so many distractions today. Technology, Internet, entertainment in general. Jen and Lo (whose names vary depending on how they're anglicised) are surrounded by mountains and just have one another. That's a beautiful life. Maybe I could have lived like that when I was younger. Now that I'm older I've been corrupted by the Internet. If I were alone with a woman in the mountains I'd soon yearn for the Internet and my film collection, however much I love her.

I hope my readers don't find my thoughts too crazy. Try to understand me. Tell me what you think.

Success Rate:  + 10.6

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (4 Stars)

Netflix Thursday #9

When I watched this film six years ago I gave it five stars. Watching it again today, it's difficult to understand why. It's true that it has a lot in its favour. Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh are two outstanding actors. The film contains many spectacular fight scenes, more than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" itself. And yet something is missing, something that's only apparent when watching the two films back to back. "Sword of Destiny" (I prefer to shorten the title) lacks the spiritual depth of the original.

"Sword of Destiny" takes place 18 years after the events of the first film. Shu Lien has lived as a recluse since the death of Li Mu Bai. Now she returns to Peking to see the legendary jade sword that used to belong to Li Mu Bai. It was in the house of Sir Te, who has recently died. Now a bandit called Hades Dai wants the sword for himself. He sends Wei Fang, his adopted son, to steal the sword. Wei Fang is captured in a fight with Shu Lien, so he sends a larger force to free him and take the sword.

Five warriors unite to defend Te's house. The leader is Silent Wolf, Shu Lien's former fiancé, who she thought was dead. He reveals that he faked his death because he knew Shu Lien loved Li Mu Bai, and he wanted them to be together. That didn't work out, as we know from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Shu Lien has a student, a young woman called Snow Vase. She's the daughter of Hades Dai, but her mother switched her with Wei Fang after her birth, because she wanted to give Hades a son. All her life Snow Vase has been searching for her half-brother (or whatever the relationship is called), not knowing his name, but she can recognise him by a birth mark.

I wouldn't say this is a bad film, but it's not a masterpiece like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Curiously, it's a fake Chinese film. It looks Chinese, but it was filmed in English. With the exception of Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen all of the main actors are Americans or Australians of Chinese descent.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (5 Stars)

My local cinema has a regular "Best Of Cinema" feature. On the first Tuesday of every month a classic film is shown. In most cases they're films that I know well and would like to see on the big screen. Today the film was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". It was shown in the original Chinese version with German subtitles. Perfect!

Usually I praise the Germans for their good taste in films. I have to take it back. Today there were only four people in the cinema to see this magnificent film. I complained to the man sitting a few seats from me, and he agreed that the cinema should have been full. Interestingly, all four of us were sitting alone. I always respect people who go to the cinema by themselves, because by going to a cinema by yourself proves you're a serious film fan.

It's the second time I've seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in the cinema. I saw it in 2000 when it was new. It overwhelmed me then, and it still overwhelms me now. The only thing that's different is that after watching it a few times I have more of a feeling for the film's deep spirituality. Alongside "The Life of Pi", it's one of the two most spiritual films I know. The two films have something in common: they were both directed by Ang Lee. Not all his films are spiritual. Or maybe they are. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention to the minor details.

The film isn't just a spiritual film, it's a love story. To be more accurate, it tells two love stories. Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien love one another deeply, but they feel bound by honour not to reveal their feelings. Shu Lien was engaged to Li's best friend before his death, and they feel that starting a relationship would be betraying him. The performance of both actors, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, is outstanding. It's (relatively) easy to show the emotion of love on screen, but it takes skill to show that a person feels love that he doesn't want to show, but he's showing it anyway. I hope you understand what I mean, because it's difficult to put it into words.

The other love story involves the 18-year-old noblewoman Yu Ziao Long. Her father, Governor Yu, wants her to marry a rich diplomat, but she's a free spirit who wants a life of adventure. She finds the lives of Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien fascinating, and she also wants to become a roaming swordfighter. By chance she meets a bandit called Dark Cloud and falls in love with him. Her parents would never accept him. The step she takes for them to be together is at the same time romantic and tragic. Is the film's ending a happy ending or a tragedy? It's not easy to decide.

It's natural to compare "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with the films of Zhang Yimou. They have a similar style, but they're visually different. Zhang Yimou's films are bright and colourful, whereas "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has subdued colours. The lighting isn't as bright. It's as if Zhang Yimou wants to fool the viewer into expecting a happy ending, whereas Ang Lee leaves the viewer in no doubt that true love is destined to end in tragedy.

It was a mistake for me to omit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from my top 100 films list. I've corrected that mistake today, but I'm sad that I had to knock another wonderful film out of the list to make room.

Success Rate:  + 10.6

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Minions: The Rise of Gru (4 Stars)

My grandson Oliver is turning into a film fan like me. For the last two weeks he's been begging me to take him to see the new Minions film. Today we finally went. We could have seen it in the original English version, but he said he wanted to watch it in German. I suppose it doesn't make any difference with animated films, because the original version is already dubbed. I'm just curious about one thing: in the German version the Minions all talk with Italian accents. I'm sure the original isn't like that.

After the three Depicable Me films, this is the second standalone Minions film. I haven't seen the first Minions film, but I know that Oliver has watched it in Netflix. I looked over his shoulder a few times, but not long enough to figure out what was happening. I'll have to watch it some time soon. In English, of course.

"The Rise of Gru" takes place in 1976. Gru is still at school, and he tells his class he wants to be a villain when he grows up. They laugh at him and cruelly bully him. Only his loyal Minions can protect him. Gru has already applied to become a member of the world's leading criminal gang, the Vicious Six. They invite him for an interview, but they immediately reject him when they see he's only a child. Before leaving he steals an artefact called the Zodiac Stone from them. He doesn't know what it does, it's just a trophy of his visit, but back home he finds out it's a powerful weapon. It can turn people into any of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. The Vicious Six pursue him to retrieve the stone. He's also chased by Wild Knuckles, the former leader of the Vicious Six who was betrayed by his colleagues and left for dead.

This is a very amusing film. I enjoyed it, and so did Oliver, who couldn't stop laughing. Maybe he couldn't understand all the humour. There were a lot of jokes about the 1970's. Maybe when he's older he'll understand more. Today he just laughed at the slapstick humour. When he got home he told his mother (my daughter) that he'd had a very good day. That makes the film a success.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (5 Stars)

Despite having nothing to do with the Shang-Chi character from the comics, this is an excellent film in its own right. It captures the essence of Chinese fantasy films, so it's wrong to call it a superhero film. It's the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but it's the furthest from being a superhero film so far. Maybe there should be a Millie the Model film to step even further away from the Marvel superhero cliché.

Tony Leung plays Xu Wenwu, one of the most fascinating villains in the MCU so far. Is it even right to call him a villain? He's a Chinese warlord who's over a thousand years old. He gained power when he discovered ten mystical rings in a crater. They granted him eternal life and great power. He went on a series of conquests across China. He never made himself emperor, although he had enough power to do it. He was satisfied being a smaller leader. In the modern day he became more low key. He created an organisation called the Ten Rings which acted for him, while he stayed in his room and studied. He became aware of a mythical land called Ta Lo, probably based on K'Un-Lun in the 1970's comics. He read that the residents of Ta Lo had a superior form of martial arts, as well as possessing other knowledge. He became determined to conquer Ta Lo.

Things didn't turn out as he expected. Ta Lo was defended by the single warrior Ying Li, and he was unable to overcome her. But strange things happen. He fell in love with Ying Li, so the two of them left Ta Lo and lived a simple life. He even gave up using the ten rings, putting them in a box and forgetting about them. Together they had two children, Shang-Chi and his sister Xialing. When Shang-Chi was seven his mother was murdered by Wenwu's former enemies, which he could easily have prevented if he hadn't taken off his rings. He put on the rings again and killed the gang members, apart from the one who'd killed his wife. He trained Shang-Chi as an assassin and sent him to kill his mother's murderer when he's 14. Shang-Chi accomplished his mission, but he was so traumatised that he didn't return to his father.

So Wenwu was a villain, then he retired, and then he became a villain again for a short time before retiring again. But that wasn't the end of his development. He heard his wife's voice telling him that she wasn't dead, she was trapped in a cave Ta Lo. He calls his children back and asks for their help in freeing her. They don't want to help him, because they don't believe she's still alive. And they're right. The cave contains an ancient creature called the Dweller In Darkness. It's been imitating Ying Li's voice to tempt Wenwu to free it.

Shang-Chi and Xialing travel to Ta Lo, where they meet Ying Li's sister, their aunt Ying Nan. Together they fight against Wenwu when he attacks Ta Lo. There's poignancy itself in children having to fight against their father, but Wenwu isn't really evil. He's just been misled by an evil creature. He's not a villain at all, whatever he might have been in his past.

That's an over-simplified plot summary, but it should be enough to show the depths of this film. It's one of the best films in the MCU. My top 100 films list doesn't contain any MCU films, but maybe "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" deserves a place. I'll think it over. Some of my friends don't watch Marvel films on principle. I admit that there have been a few turkeys lately, but each film should be judged on its own merits. This is a film that deserves to be watched.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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Everything everywhere all at once (5 Stars)

A film about rocks? Not quite. This is the film poster for "Everything everywhere all at once" in an alternate universe. Take my word for it.

I saw this film in the cinema last week, but it's worth seeing again. Last week I saw it dubbed into German, but this week it was shown in its original version, a mixture of Chinese and English. My son Benjamin is visiting me for the weekend, and he wanted to visit a cinema with me to see a film in English. The cinemas he usually visits in Schwäbisch Hall only show films in German. He's missing out.

I'm happy to say that Benjamin enjoyed the film as much as me. He also thinks it's the best film of the year so far.

You must have noticed that I'm writing less posts at the moment. That's because I'm taking time off films to watch "Game Of Thrones". It's the first series that I've bought on 4K discs. For now I just have a few thoughts.

I found the first episode disappointing. It seemed badly directed. So many characters are introduced in a short time, and we know so little of their back story. I didn't know their relationship to one another, and I could hardly remember their names. If I'd seen this one episode on television I wouldn't have bothered to watch the second episode. Compare it with "Vikings", a similar series. "Vikings" also has a lot of characters at war with one another, but the series starts off slowly. In the first episode we see less characters, and there's a slow build up as the first season continues. In the case of "Game Of Thrones" I needed at least three episodes to get a feeling for the characters. After eight episodes I can say that I like the series, but it took me a while to warm up to it.

Benjamin says that it's the best series he's ever seen. He compares it with computer games that he's played recently. Maybe that's the reason for its popularity. It appeals to people who play fantasy games. I'm not a gamer, so it doesn't attract me as much. I prefer "Vikings", but I'll continue watching "Game Of Thrones" over the next few weeks. I've been watching "Vikings" on and off and stopped at the end of the third season, but I'll continue later this year. For years I've given priority to watching films, but I've recently decided to catch up on the television series that I've been neglecting for so long.

Everything everywhere all at once (5 Stars)

I'm so glad that I managed to see this film. It only ran for two weeks at my local cinema, and this is the second week. I could have watched it in English on Monday, but it was running at the same time as "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". In retrospect, I picked the wrong film. The Doctor Strange film was a mess, but "Everything Everywhere" (I'll shorten the title) is a brilliant film, proving that it's possible to make a good film about the multiverse. Yes, it's chaotic, but it's brilliant. I could still appreciate it dubbed into German.

Evelyn Wang is a Chinese immigrant in America who runs a laundromat. Her business makes money, but she can't keep up with the paperwork. She has bills and receipts scattered across tables in her private apartment above the laundromat. It's a major crisis when the tax office does an audit of her business.

This disorganised woman is told that there are multiple parallel universes and she's been chosen to fight a monster which wants to destroy all of reality. "Why me?" is the obvious question. We soon find out the answer. She has abilities which she knew nothing about. After a little practise, she's able to experience her life in every universe simultaneously. The constant cuts from from universe to another are confusing for the viewer, but they make sense.

In my opinion, this is the best film of the year so far. I can hardly wait to watch it again on Blu-ray. In English.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (5 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #6

I'm going to watch films on streaming services for the next three days. After that, I'll see what I want to do. I have about 70 films on my to-watch list, 20 true stories and 50 others. I really need to catch up. It's difficult, because every few days I think "I really must watch <fill-in-the-blank> again soon", and I add yet another film to my list.

I'll shorten the film's title to "Shang-Chi". When I watched "Shang-Chi" in the cinema in September I was shocked that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Marvel comics character. Today I watched the film with no prejudices, only thinking of it as a Chinese fantasy film, and I was overwhelmed. It's one of the best MCU films so far, maybe even the best, so it deserves a good place in the next version of my top 100 film lists.

Does it qualify as a wuxia film? I'm not sure about the terminology. Wuxia films usually take place in the past, but "Shang-Chi" is in the present, though in a world that looks like the past. There are fantasy creatures, including monsters and dragons. If wuxia is the wrong name for the genre, please let me know.

The film starts with Wu Wenwu (Tony Leung) discovering ten rings that give him immortality and other godlike powers. He founds an organisation called the Ten Rings. Apart from having his own private kingdom, he influences world history from afar. But eternal life and limitless wealth gets boring after a while. He meets a beautiful woman, Ying Li, and settles down to a happy family life. He even stops using the ten rings, so he isn't distracted from his happiness. He has two children, Shang-Chi and Xialing.

When Shang-Chi is seven, his mother is murdered by a gang seeking revenge on Wu Wenwu. He puts on the rings once more and massacres the entire gang, except for the leader. He lets Shang-Chi assassinate the leader when he's 14. Killing someone traumatises Shang-Chi, so he runs away to Los Angeles to hide from his father. His father observes him from afar for years (godlike powers, etc), but there's no contact between the two.

In the present day, Wu Wenwu hears his wife's voice calling to him. She says she's trapped in a cave in the hidden village of Ta Lo. What he doesn't know is that the voice comes from a creature called the Soul-Eater, a creature capable of devouring the world, which has been trapped by the people of Ta Lo and guarded for centuries. Shang-Chi and Xialing unite to stop their father making a big mistake.

This is Shang-Chi, played by the Canadian stuntman Simu Liu.

The film's characters are so rich and multi-faceted. I don't know the director, Destin Cretton, but if all his films are as good as "Shang-Chi" he has a long, successful future ahead of him.

Wu Wenwu is played by Tony Leung, who needs no introduction.

Shang-Chi's mother, Ying Li, is played by the Chinese actress Fala Chen.

Xialing is played by Meng'er Zhang, a Chinese actress appearing in her first film.

Ying Nan, Shang-Chi's aunt, is played by the wonderful Michelle Yeoh.

In case you thought all the actors are Chinese, Razorfist is played by the German actor Florian Munteanu.

Shang-Chi's best friend Katy, who accompanies him on his quest, is a fascinating character in herself. She's a Chinese American who's lost connection with her roots. She has a Chinese name, Chen Ruiwen, but she doesn't use it. She doesn't speak Chinese. She has no obvious skills, but she insists on fighting alongside the warriors of Ta Lo, because it's the right thing to do. The actress Awkwafina says she can relate to her.

Ben Kingsley plays Trevor Slattery, who doesn't join in the battle. He lies on the ground pretending to be dead. If you don't know who Trevor Slattery is, go back and watch the last 24 MCU films.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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