Monday, September 7, 2009

Kung Fu Movies


Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) - Great fights and far more story than your average martial arts movie. The main character's grifter sidekicks steal the non-fight scenes. The first, a man from Ting's village who flunked out as a monk. The second a young street-smart girl who dreams of going to college. Surprisingly deep and poignant characters for an action flick like this.

The plot: A small village is cursed after the head of their Buddha statue is stolen, and young Ting must travel to Bangkok to retrieve it.

Favorite Parts: Thailand! This movie brought back great memories of one of my favorite places in the world. In neither of my trips to Bangkok did I witness any slow-mo fight sequences, but this movie was still truly Thai. Fantastic job of capturing the contrast between old-world Thailand characterized by traditional village life and and new-world Thailand, greed, fight clubs and disdain for the superstitions of the past.

Loved it! Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior makes me want to take five more trips to Thailand.

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