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fabrisseShort review: I loved it.
I finally saw the original The Karate Kid a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of Netflix on demand. My overall reaction to the movie was "maybe you had to be there." It seemed nice enough. Pat Morita's character losing his family in an internment camp while he fought in World War II was a little piece of character development that surprised me. I thought Morita handled the role well, but there were some things I didn't care for.
One of them was Daniel-san. He was too old to be complaining about a move like that -- my inner Sue Sylvester was screaming "Trying being evacuated from Vietnam before you're four years old. THAT's hard." (For those who don't know, Sue Sylvester is an over the top character from Glee who will steam roller over anyone.) Daniel-san was complaining about moving across country at fifteen. He had friends back home and, as far as we know, a working telephone. Is it the easiest thing in the world? No. But it's livable.
For me the two most sensible things about the new movie are that the child is young enough for the whining to make sense and the situation is extreme enough for genuine culture shock. Two of my worst bouts of culture shock were coming back to the US after extended times elsewhere. You get a view of your home country in your head and the changes can rock someone back on their heels.
I've had at least one moment of genuine culture shock, though, and it floored me at 17 with a lifetime of moves behind me. (It sounds trivial, but the first time I went to the bathroom in a Belgian restaurant and a man was using the urinal just flummoxed me. There were stalls, too. There was only one bathroom for both sexes, and I learned to cope very quickly, but there was still that moment of American jaw drop.) Shao Dre has to cope with major changes from language to hot water heating to everything. This is something major, and he's twelve.
I also liked how vicious the kids were. Twelve year olds are vicious. The ones I faced at summer camp tried to kill me by pouring a caustic on the floor and blocking all the air vents. Fortunately, they kept opening the door to taunt me. When the counselors found out, I was punished because I shouldn't have been using that outhouse instead of the one in my unit. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. My sympathies were entirely with Shao Dre as he tries to get around the bullies. Although, I admit, some of my sympathy was reduced when he hit his opponents with dirty water. Their retaliation was still far out of line with his action.
And Jackie Chan. I worried about the fight with the bullies. Age matters. These kids are so nasty, and it's six against one and it's the perfect Jackie Chan fight. I don't think he makes a single move that isn't purely defensive. He doesn't beat the kids up; he uses them as shields against the other kids. Essentially, they end up beating each other with him as the pivot point. The kid who is the least invested in the fight, has the least damage. It's beautiful. Even at nearly fifty, I can dream about someone who might have fought like that for me. (In fairness, my little sister did. She was small, but she was tough. When she found out about the outhouse incident, she walked up to the girl who'd led the group -- who was six feet tall at 12 -- and asked her if she'd done what I'd said. She admitted it and asked what Sis was going to do about it. Sis pulled herself up to her full four-foot-nine and slugged her straight in the stomach. The bully was a little more wary after that.)
The travel brochure parts of the movie are breathtaking, but even the trip up to Dragonwell serves a purpose for the characters.
The image that sticks in my mind is the shadows of Shao Dre and Mister Han lit by the headlights of a car as they practice in a courtyard. It speaks so much to the development of both their characters that the moment works, but the image also carries on a theme from the shadow puppets we see at an earlier point. It also is part of the throughline regarding who is in control.
I really loved the remake. It spoke to me even though I've never been to China. I'll probably see it again.
While I know the new movie's reviews are mixed, though more favorable than not, I'm concerned about the comments I've seen on the reviews. I don't mind the ones that dis Jaden Smith as the son of movie stars. I think he's a good actor for his age and I hope he retains it. But there's an underlying fear/racism in some of them from "what kind of a name is Dre?" to nasty remarks about his dreadlocks (which he's not wearing, they're braids).
Around the end credits there are pictures from the set and the rehearsal/training periods. There's one picture of Jaden with a big natural afro and a grin on his face that made me grin too.
I finally saw the original The Karate Kid a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of Netflix on demand. My overall reaction to the movie was "maybe you had to be there." It seemed nice enough. Pat Morita's character losing his family in an internment camp while he fought in World War II was a little piece of character development that surprised me. I thought Morita handled the role well, but there were some things I didn't care for.
One of them was Daniel-san. He was too old to be complaining about a move like that -- my inner Sue Sylvester was screaming "Trying being evacuated from Vietnam before you're four years old. THAT's hard." (For those who don't know, Sue Sylvester is an over the top character from Glee who will steam roller over anyone.) Daniel-san was complaining about moving across country at fifteen. He had friends back home and, as far as we know, a working telephone. Is it the easiest thing in the world? No. But it's livable.
For me the two most sensible things about the new movie are that the child is young enough for the whining to make sense and the situation is extreme enough for genuine culture shock. Two of my worst bouts of culture shock were coming back to the US after extended times elsewhere. You get a view of your home country in your head and the changes can rock someone back on their heels.
I've had at least one moment of genuine culture shock, though, and it floored me at 17 with a lifetime of moves behind me. (It sounds trivial, but the first time I went to the bathroom in a Belgian restaurant and a man was using the urinal just flummoxed me. There were stalls, too. There was only one bathroom for both sexes, and I learned to cope very quickly, but there was still that moment of American jaw drop.) Shao Dre has to cope with major changes from language to hot water heating to everything. This is something major, and he's twelve.
I also liked how vicious the kids were. Twelve year olds are vicious. The ones I faced at summer camp tried to kill me by pouring a caustic on the floor and blocking all the air vents. Fortunately, they kept opening the door to taunt me. When the counselors found out, I was punished because I shouldn't have been using that outhouse instead of the one in my unit. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. My sympathies were entirely with Shao Dre as he tries to get around the bullies. Although, I admit, some of my sympathy was reduced when he hit his opponents with dirty water. Their retaliation was still far out of line with his action.
And Jackie Chan. I worried about the fight with the bullies. Age matters. These kids are so nasty, and it's six against one and it's the perfect Jackie Chan fight. I don't think he makes a single move that isn't purely defensive. He doesn't beat the kids up; he uses them as shields against the other kids. Essentially, they end up beating each other with him as the pivot point. The kid who is the least invested in the fight, has the least damage. It's beautiful. Even at nearly fifty, I can dream about someone who might have fought like that for me. (In fairness, my little sister did. She was small, but she was tough. When she found out about the outhouse incident, she walked up to the girl who'd led the group -- who was six feet tall at 12 -- and asked her if she'd done what I'd said. She admitted it and asked what Sis was going to do about it. Sis pulled herself up to her full four-foot-nine and slugged her straight in the stomach. The bully was a little more wary after that.)
The travel brochure parts of the movie are breathtaking, but even the trip up to Dragonwell serves a purpose for the characters.
The image that sticks in my mind is the shadows of Shao Dre and Mister Han lit by the headlights of a car as they practice in a courtyard. It speaks so much to the development of both their characters that the moment works, but the image also carries on a theme from the shadow puppets we see at an earlier point. It also is part of the throughline regarding who is in control.
I really loved the remake. It spoke to me even though I've never been to China. I'll probably see it again.
While I know the new movie's reviews are mixed, though more favorable than not, I'm concerned about the comments I've seen on the reviews. I don't mind the ones that dis Jaden Smith as the son of movie stars. I think he's a good actor for his age and I hope he retains it. But there's an underlying fear/racism in some of them from "what kind of a name is Dre?" to nasty remarks about his dreadlocks (which he's not wearing, they're braids).
Around the end credits there are pictures from the set and the rehearsal/training periods. There's one picture of Jaden with a big natural afro and a grin on his face that made me grin too.
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no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 02:42 am (UTC)And... seriously? You were punished for nearly getting murdered? Did the other girls get any sort of punishment at all? Man, I would've been fuming. I mean, I wouldn't have been able to be there for you but if I had... I would've been kicked out of the camp for my retaliation attempt. Guess I'm kind of a protector or something.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 03:15 am (UTC)I tried to runaway that year, or at least planned a runaway attempt. They weren't punished because they weren't weird. It was my fault for being different and not conforming to the expectations and being messy and...
Go to an early matinee if you're worried about price. I think some of the scenery really should be seen on the big screen.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 04:51 pm (UTC)And why is it that you have to actually grow snapdragons from scratch or they look like absolute shit? Five nurseries and all of the snapdragons for the past four months have looked like death (irises and snapdragons are my favorite flowers).
no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-28 03:16 am (UTC)