A Thousand Years of Good Prayers crosses generational and cultural boundaries. All people need to feel heard and understood. Misunderstandings and silence can lead to separation. The daughter in this movie has lived in the United States without seeing her parents for twelve years. After she divorces, and after the death of her mother, her father comes to visit from China. What follows is an uncomfortable slice of life focusing on two people who barely know each other.

Yilung works at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. When her father comes to visit, she barely makes time to see him, rushing off to work and coming home late. The father doesn't tell her he loves her, but he goes out and buys a wok and cooks for her every night, shorthand for "I love you" in almost any language. During his daily walk to the park, he meets an older Iranian woman and they talk about their kids. In Chinese. In English. In Farsi. With no subtitles. Yet subtitles aren't needed as the parents love and concern for their children comes through in each word, making their conversations understandable to them and us.

The strain between father and daughter only tightens until a wall cracks and truths emerge. Healing doesn't come overnight as with any relationship. They begin to understand each other better, as do we.

This film is shot simply, with few sets. Each of the performances was natural as if we were watching real people face the days. Henry O's performance of a father trying to cross a generational barrier with his daughter and a language barrier with the people in town was sympathetic. The father could also be frustrating when he failed to realize his grown daughter had her own wants and needs when he wanted to find her a good husband so that she didn't fail twice. Faye Yu, for the most part, gave the difficult performance of a daughter avoiding her father, seemingly ungrateful, all the while holding in a secret that kept a great chasm between them.

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is slow and narrow in focus and definitely not for everyone. It is a simple, thoughtful film concentrating almost exclusively on two people and how presumptions and lack of communication brought them to a place in their lives where both felt lonely and hurt. If you like slice of life films, especially about families, this might be one to try.

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Mongolian Ping Pong is a charming slice of life film about two families living in the vast, verdant, Mongolian steppe. The great adventure for three little boys begins when one of them finds a ping pong ball floating in a stream. Not knowing what it is, he goes in search of answers. Ultimately, he finds out vaguely that it is a ping pong ball, and that ping pong is the national game, and the small white orb is the national ball. The seven-year-old makes the leap in logic that he has THE national ball and must return it to Beijing. The problem being, neither he nor his friends know where Beijing is.

Much of this film is wrapped up in showing slow, flowing shots of the terrain, an endless sea of green, distantly bordered by mountains. The boys live in a world without electricity and running water. There are no phones, video games, or computers. One father buys a television, but even using his long herding rod as an antenna with cans and cooking strainers attached, can't get a signal. Climbing, exploring, riding their horses, playing with sling shots, and contemplating the mystery and responsibility of their new found treasure fills their days.

The strength of this film is in its hospitality and letting us be guests, sharing for a few brief moments, in a world foreign to most of us. There are no great conflicts outside of the ping pong ball, although it is obvious that a creeping consumerism is beginning to invade the old way of doing things. For the most part, it is best to simply immerse yourself in the warmth and curiosity of these children and enjoy the expansive beauty of a solid green sea.

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Two Buddhist monks wonder while they wander through beautiful landscapes and seedy back alleys, all of which are transformed into a temple in their minds.

The two monks may have traveled together, but their roads to the top of the mountain were slightly different. One monk, Poban, adhered to the rules, the other, Jisan (who had been kicked out) seemed to go out of his way to break them. In their duality of thought they were not that far apart, both were seeking to let go of attachments and find the real meaning in their faith and how that should be lived out in their lives. What was more important-prayers or action? Avoiding temptation or facing it head on? Being attached to the rules or breaking through them? From time to time their pasts and mistakes caught up with them, crashing through their thoughts, forcing them to deal with them and answer some of those questions. The conversations were dense with meaning and would take a third or fourth viewing for me to truly grasp the deeper elements.

Though years passed, it seemed ever winter in the landscape, cold, gray, and austere. This movie truly needs a loving hand to re-master it, saving it from the graininess of age. I'm sure the images were originally crisper and clearer.

Mandala isn't for everyone. It is slow, focusing narrowly on the two leads and their conversations regarding life and Buddhism. As Jisan said, "Attaining enlightenment is easy, putting it into practice is difficult." Forty years after the release of this film and countless world events since then, this message still found and resonated with me reminding me how timeless some films can be.

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Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, and Brigette Lin have the ultimate slumber party in the middle of the desert at the Dragon Gate Inn.

The hero, Chow Wai On, sends Yau Mo Yan and some mercenaries to save the children of an executed loyal official who are being used as bait. The power mad eunuch is back at it again and this time he's cleaning house of anyone not loyal to him and he wants Chow's head on a platter. Chow and Mo Yan rescue the children and get as far as the Dragon Gate Inn in the middle of the desert. It's run by Jade who is ruthless in her own right and has an eye for Chow. Things get complicated when the Eunuch's men show up at the inn and everyone is trapped there due to the weather.

Tsui Hark did a good job of creating a claustrophobic atmosphere as deadly games were played within the inn. My problem with it was that he didn't slow the pace enough for us to get to know any of the characters. Maggie Cheung's Jade was the only one who came across with a personality. Tony Leung Ka Fai and Brigette Lin had little to do besides fight and call each others' names. He didn't have many lines, but I was happy to see Yen Shi Kwan in a supporting role. Donnie Yen was in what amounted to a guest starring role as the Eunuch.

Most of the fight scenes didn't work for me either. I have no problem with wire work but much of the focus was from underneath the fighting which made it harder to follow the movements. Swords missed by great distances. These martial arts directors usually do a much better job of interspersing real kung fu moves and narrowing the focus to show the action, here everyone seemed to be jumping around in a frenetic pants on fire style. If there was something I did really like it was that the women were capable fighters, especially Jade.

Though the characters were only in the Dragon Inn for two days it began to feel like two weeks with nothing aside from the random deaths going on. Even with hints of romance, a great cause, friendship, betrayal, etc., with all the random scenes it was hard for me to get invested in any of the characters or their relationships.

The final fight scene in a sandstorm was bonkers but couldn't make up for the messy chaos in the inn. Because this is post 1990 it doesn't get graded on a curve with me like earlier martial arts movies. If you like kung fu movies, and the cast is strong in this one with some of my favorite actors/actresses, Dragon Inn is worth seeking out. Just ask for the vegetarian meal if you ever go there.

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What do you get when you cross a martial arts movie with steam punk, computer graphics, pop-ups, a comic book, and a video game? Tai Chi Zero.

The Freak was a martial artist born with a small horn on his forehead foretelling greatness. After his mother died, he was taken in by a master (Fung Hak On) and ended up on the wrong side of a battle against the ailing Qing army. He escaped to the famed Chen Village where he hoped to learn kung fu techniques that would heal the wounds caused by his many battles causing him to be near death. Problem was, outsiders were not allowed to learn any of the techniques. He ended up fighting most of the village and the Chief Master's daughter, Angelababy (more often than not), as he tried to convince them to teach him.

Jayden Yuan, a real life wushu champion, played The Freak. Martial artists like Fung Hak On and Bruce Leung also gave the movie martials arts cred. All of which came crashing down when Angelababy's character was supposed to be a martial artist. In fairness, Jayden in only one of his two movie credits, wasn't a very strong actor so the movie needed people around him like Tony Leung Ka Fai who could act. Even Angelababy looked Oscar caliber in comparison to Jayden, though he was far more convincing in fight scenes.

I won't get into the story, because honestly, it's convoluted. Fortunately, it was fun and funny, never taking itself too seriously even when the big life or death battle began at the end. This movie is not for everyone, and it is far, far from perfect, but if you can check your brain at the door, it's diverting enough to be entertaining.

Spoiler/Not Spoiler Alert (the sequel is listed in the credits above)! There is a part three/finale.

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A Summer at Grandpa's sounds like an idyllic childhood romp through the flowers. And while there are moments of childhood glee, this is a Hou Hsiao Hsien film and there's always a deeper narrative camouflaged under the sunny surface.

Tung Tung (11) and Ting Ting (4) were sent to their maternal grandfather's rural house for the summer while their mother lay ill in a Taipei hospital. Far from a cuddly grandpa, this grandpa was the village's doctor and rarely interacted with the children. Tung Tung made friends quickly with the local boys. In the days before cell phones, dvds, cable, and video games they did what most kids did, went outside and played. They skinny dipped in the local creek splashing and playing. Again, Hou never leaves any scene too shiny, and the boys had to exit the creek when cow dung floated into their play space.

Ting Ting suffered the fate of many a little sister and was left out of the boys' games. She spent most of the time with her stuffed animal or plastic fan, ultimately befriending the local mentally ill woman.

As Tung Tung hung out with his friends or lounged bored at his grandpa's house, he began to see behind the world of the adults around him. His childhood became breached by reality and the signaling approach of growing up. Even in the pastoral town, rape, an aggravated assault and robbery, a shot gun wedding, and family discord took place. Tung Tung went from casual observer to participant in the adult world around him as the movie rolled on. He also discovered that adults were capable of childish, petulant behavior. Adulthood, it would seem, is an ongoing process.

This film is a slow slice of life story shown through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy as those eyes begin to open to what is happening outside of himself. A Summer at Grandpa's bids Tung Tung and the audience to become more observant of the small details and meaning in the world around us.

(Trigger warning---if you are sensitive to animals being harassed or dying you might want to skip this movie or fast forward through a couple of scenes.)

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Kara Hui, Lau Kar Leung, Johnny Wang (as the villain of course!), and Hsiao Hou battle it out for a will with fists, swords, song, and dance!

The synopsis does not do Kara's character justice. Cheng Tai Nan married an elderly man and second brother in the Yu clan who had taken good care of her and her father. He had made the special request so that she could see to it that his will and property deed went to his brother Yu Jing Chuen (the amazing Lau Kar Leung) and not to his nefarious brother Yu Yun Wei (Johnny Wang). Her husband died soon after their marriage and Tai Nan took the deed to Jing Chuen and was prepared to help him defend this inheritance. Tai Nan had incredible martial arts skills and did not suffer fools lightly, always ready to put the beat down on disrespectful rascals-including her new grandnephew! She represented the old ways as she bumped heads with Hsiao Hou's character and the encroaching modern (cars in a Shaw Brothers movie!) elements and Western influences.

Kara Hui was the gem in this goofy kung fu comedy. Her skills and beauty took center stage until she was sidelined for the final fight. She also won the first ever Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for this role!

Lau Kar Leung wrote, directed, and choreographed this film. It's no secret he's one of my favorites. His fights are always quick and creative. I could almost forgive him for keeping Kara out of the final fight because it meant a showdown between him and Johnny Wang.

Hsiao Hou's performance as Charlie Yu Tao, Jing Chuen's reckless and immature son could be wearing. While an acrobatic martial artist, his acting is usually over the top and devoid of any nuance.

Johnny Wang played the role he's played so many times before, and yet always does a good job. Gordon Liu in a wig showed up as one of Charlie's friends. A long list of supporting and bit characters played by martial artists made my fangirl heart sing.

The sets were the best I've ever seen in a Shaw Brother's movie, none of the obviously cheaply made walls and windows for people to be thrown out of. People were thrown around, just on a higher class set.

For me, the movie ran about 30 minutes too long. There simply wasn't enough story to tell and some of the dance numbers/fights dragged on. Having a very young, great auntie and elder of the clan was a nice gimmick even if it was run into the ground at times.

My Young Auntie is a kung fu classic even if parts of it haven't held up well. For fans of Kara Hui or Lau Kar Leung it's worth watching.

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Predictable? Yes. Entertaining? Also, yes. Donnie Yen's charisma saved what would otherwise have been a standard teacher saves students in trouble story.

Donnie Yen's character, Henry Chen, returned to teach at his old school after serving in the United States military. He was assigned to the worst class in the school. What he found were standard movie fare students---poor students, students with parental problems, misunderstood kids, racism, kids running errands for gangsters, stressed kids, kids with unfulfilled dreams. Chen studied their histories and then stepped in to make things right by unconventional means.

In addition to the teenagers' problems, the school was in danger of being shut down because of underachieving students. Throw in gangsters who intended to develop the area where the school sat, and you've got all you need for conflict. Add in a couple of awesome fights when the plot slowed down or became too serious to keep the audience invested and you've got a winner-it's Donnie Yen, we don't expect him to solve all of his problems in a peaceful way, do we?

Donnie elevated a familiar and at times clichéd story with his star power. He transitioned over to less action and more acting smoothly in this film. The kids were likeable even when doing unlikeable things. One problem with such a large cast, the villains were underdeveloped even though one had a key connection to Chen.

This movie was a combination of social concerns and martial arts displayed in a fairly balanced manner. Some problems may have been solved too easily, but sometimes we need to believe that children can be saved from others and themselves and that someone cares enough to risk stepping in to help them. Big Brother had moments of inspiration and enough action and character development to keep it entertaining. Donnie Yen as Henry Chen didn't just save the children in this story, he saved this movie as well.

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Love does mean saying you are sorry

The synopsis for Romang sounded romantic, bittersweet, and heartwarming. Before I watched this movie I read comment after comment about how it made people ugly cry. This movie made me angrier than it did sad. And I found it more bitter than sweet. More heartbreaking than heartwarming. It might be more apt to say it's about a family that in their response to a tragedy years ago, lost the ability to love and laugh and became locked into a terrible dysfunctional cycle.

The father was a taxi driver who was cold, angry, selfish and unapologetic. The mother worked as a hairdresser out of their home, usually on the roof, and either absent-mindedly or passive-aggressively neglected to do the things her husband expected and demanded. Their son who lived with them along with his wife and daughter couldn't hold down a job. The home bristled with resentment and lost dreams.

When the mother was diagnosed with dementia, the little family initially exploded. By the time the movie caught up with the synopsis, I was beyond caring about any of them. Also, at that point, it stretched credulity in the way dementia was portrayed, or at least compared with the experiences in my extended family. The emotional U-turn of the father nearly gave me whiplash.

A seasoned cast gave admirable performances full of emotion and pathos. The OST was beautiful as well. For me, the uneven writing let me down right to the bitter end. I'm all for a good tear jerker or even a melancholy slice of life, somehow this one managed to miss all the right steps for me by abruptly changing mood and not giving good reasons for characters' changing behaviors unrelated to their diseases And contrary to what Ali MacGraw said in Love Story (1970-"Love means never having to say you are sorry"), love does mean saying you're sorry.

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My Blade, My Life had an enormous cast, full of famous faces, but blink and you would miss most of them. There were endless blink and you'll miss them duals as well.

Pearl Chang Ling starred as Lu Du Shing AKA Lone Traveler Wu, the swords"man" in search of Peerless Swallow, a renowned swordsman. Poor Pearl was dressed in a wooly tunic for the length of the movie. She looked more like a vagabond than a skilled swordswoman. Violent and with a temper to match, she dispatched anyone who crossed swords with her, or just plain crossed her, ruthlessly. As per usual, everyone accepted her as a man until the shocking reveal late in the movie. Pearl did a good job playing the single-minded warrior who wanted to be free of her duty and was willing to slice her way through the kingdom to get there.

The plot was needlessly complicated by varying factions which didn't add anything to the main story. The plot revolved around Wu and Peerless Swallow's family histories and the dire consequences and burdens left to the children of swordsmen. Wu had sacrificed her entire life to become a swordswoman to fulfill her father's wishes. Chained to a sword for ten years, unable to free herself of it unless she fulfilled her mission or died trying. Ling Yun played Peerless Swallow, the object of Wu's scorn. He gave a suitably noble turn as a man who was tired of the swordsman code of endless fighting.

My Blade, My Life was shot in Taiwan. The sets were rudimentary, the costumes outlandishly bright at times. The score was forgettable except for the original Star Trek sci-fi sound effects during fights.

If they'd trimmed this movie to around 90 minutes and cut away much of the useless cast and story, I would have rated this movie higher. As it was, it dragged on too long when Pearl and Ling Yun were the heart of the story.

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Based on "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guangzhong, the movie follows the military life of Zhao Yun from front line infantry to celebrated general .

Produced in China it took me a few minutes to adjust to familiar actors being dubbed. Having watched so many Cdramas I was able to fall into it pretty quickly.

I have only the most cursory of knowledge about this time period and will leave it to others to judge it on it's historical accuracy. As with all movies based on historical characters, I take them with a grain of salt knowing the makers have their own agendas. Fact, myth, and legend are often intertwined to tell a good story. The same goes true with costumes and armor, whether they are accurate or made to be pleasing to the eyes is not for me to decide.

Three Kingdoms was beautifully shot and scored. Costumes, sets, and locales were all well done and chosen. Mountains above the plains made for desolate places of battles.

All of the actors did a good job of portraying their characters, though most had very little time on screen. The great Ti Lung barely had any lines as one of the Five Tigers. Vanness Wu was in and out almost before I recognized him. Yueh Hua as the warlord and later emperor Liu Bei showed up long enough to make a small impact. The focus of the movie was on Andy Lau's Zhao Yun and Sammo Hung's Luo Pingan. The two were war buddies with Zhao's story told through Sammo's eyes and jealousy. Maggie Q also had a significant role as Cao Ying, the leader of the of the opposing forces in the final battle. Resourceful and ruthless, she made an excellent adversary for Zhao.

Three Kingdoms downfall for me was that there was no development of characters, no reason why they were continually at war, nothing much to hang onto. It was a series of violent battles over three decades bound by a thread of characterization between the two friends. The movie ended with me knowing little more than Zhao Yun was a tiger in battle and his friend envied his success. Andy and Sammo managed to imbue their characters with more than what they were given to play, a testament to their acting abilities and chemistry.

The short, creative battles are worth watching the movie for, as well as the pairing of Andy Lau and Sammo Hung. As long as you aren't expecting much more it's entertaining.

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True love rarely goes smoothly, especially when it happens during a politically tumultuous time and both lovers are framed for different murders.

The no-name female lead was a Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. A brilliant fighter, she looked after her group of people and helped protect their small, somewhat peaceful island within a sea of deceit and battles. The new leader of the Wu Dang tribe stumbled across her on his way to deliver the curative red pills to the emperor. He promised to give her a name worthy of her beauty and skills. Along the way he was framed for murder, she was framed for murder and everyone ended up in the mountain fortress. As often happens, they fell in love and he gave her a name.

Trying to keep up with all of the plots and traitorous groups was difficult at best. Most of the time I was a bit lost as to who was supposed to be the bad guys. Except for Wu Dang and the mountain fort, the rest were duplicitous murderers. When the story stayed with the lovers, I found it to be engaging. Elsewhere, it tended to lose it's way, especially near the end.

The heart of this movie was the love story with all of the betrayals swirling around them for external conflict and to test their love and trust. The actors certainly looked earnest enough, though I wasn't completely sold on their chemistry. I'm really not sure why it was titled, The White Haired Witch. Zhuo Yi Hang had substantially more time on screen and development than Lian Nishang (the name he gave her). I was disappointed that she was given less time and character development for what could have been a much more interesting character. The titular character shouldn't be relegated to practically a supporting role in her own film.

The cinematography and costumes were beautiful and the natural scenery made for alluring settings. The movie did not disappoint in these areas. The CGI was disappointing when it came to people leaping around the mountains.

I thought many of the fight scenes were good. Most were fairly short and brutal. It was a wuxia which meant there was some flying around and special powers. None of that bothered me in the least. The only problem I had was when huge armies clashed with the view narrowed down to a few people making the battles small in scope.

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom had great potential, it was beautiful to look at but was let down by the muddled political plots and lack of meaningful evolution for the main character.

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If you are inspired to watch this movie because you saw Andy Lau's and Ekin Cheng's names and picture on the title---don't bother. Ekin and Andy had very little screen time.
If you are inspired to watch this because you saw a badass swordswoman on a poster like I was---seriously don't bother.
If you thought A Man Called Hero and The Storm Riders were masterpieces---this movie is for you. It comes from much of the same team and might serve your viewing needs.

If you are looking for grand sword fights or kung fu, you won't find it here. The few sword fights were hindered by posing and sped up action and enhanced by terrible CGI. My grandmother would have looked like a martial arts master the way they filmed these blurry fights.

The women were portrayed as vapid, lovesick, airheads. Unless the translation was wrong on the copy I watched, one of them fell in love with her half-brother. Eww.

The star of this comedic marvel was Nick Cheung as an ancient James Bond wanna be, Dragon 009. He knew all the criminals, was a master of deduction and loved hitting on women and making innuendos about his 8 1/2 inch third leg. Charming. He made a mildly amusing lecherous investigator though his actions are quite dated now. For the most part, the movie was a dull murder mystery. I'm sure Wong Jing and Manfred Wong, the writers, thought the big twist at the end was brilliant but I saw it coming from a mile away. The duel in the title came at the end and was quite anti-climatic.

Some of the sets were nice although I've seen more opulent throne rooms in web dramas. Must have been a very poor emperor.

There were a few funny moments and interesting fights. This movie might hit the target with fans of the other two Andrew Lau/Ekin Cheng movies, but it missed the mark with me.

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A teenage Jet Li made his acting debut in Shaolin Temple. Though young, his on-screen charisma was already coming through.

The plot is typical of a lot of kung fu movies. The father was killed by an evil warlord. The wounded son ended up at the Shaolin temple. He learned martial arts so that he could enact revenge. Killing was against the Shaolin way leading to conflict with the warlord and the monks. Anyone who watches old kung fu movies already knows this plot by heart.

If you are looking for a captivating story or character development you won't find it here. What you will find is a movie filled with real martial artists, including some champions instead of actors, meaning the fights were fast and used real moves with almost no wire work.

Disappointingly the martial artists did their own choreography with mixed results. Some of it was very good, other times it was awkward with people in the background jumping up and down with spears, interacting with no one. Jet Li was fast and furious and light on his feet, no complaints about his skills. Yu Hai, a real life Master, showed off a little of his Mantis form. The dialogue was kept to a minimum for the most part. With the exception of Jet Li's and Yu Hai's characters I wasn't emotionally invested in any of the rest as none of them were differentiated.

Fair warning there were several instances of animals being killed on screen and in another a family pet was "hilariously" accidentally killed and eaten. China could really use PETA.

The real temple and scenery around it were beautiful. The story was loosely based on an event in the temple's history. The movie started and ended with shots of the temple and surrounding area and bits about it's history from a narrator. At first I thought I was watching the wrong movie until the story obviously began. Though nice to hear about the history it was a strange way to begin a movie.

Shaolin Temple was enjoyable for me just to watch Jet Li when he was young. One particular set up of him training through the seasons sealed my score for this movie because I liked it so much. Most of the fights were engaging and creative if in need of an overlying guiding hand. If nothing else, Shaolin Temple is worth it for martial arts movie enthusiasts to seek out to see Jet Li launch his movie career.

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Master Wong Fei Hung wants to live a simple life but instead becomes embroiled in a national emergency when The White Lotus clan attacks, the Japanese are knocking at the doorstep, and duplicitous officials turn traitorous.

The story is fairly weak despite the aforementioned conflicts. Most of the intrigue introduced is an excuse to set up another fight scene. The movie's strength lies in it's numerous fight scenes. Summo wrestlers, ninjas, and your garden variety assassins show up from time to time to battle WFH and his merry band of kung fu warriors. Vincent Zhao does a good job as the high flying and noble Wong Fei Hung. His subordinates can be more of a detriment than an asset at times, both the characters and actors. The bad guys, even the femme fatale don't seem particularly menacing or much of a threat to WFH.

Warriors of the Nation is a perfectly enjoyable kung fu movie if you enjoy kung fu fights, don't mind a little wire-fu, and don't expect any character development or a cohesive storyline.

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