Shadow ( 2008 )
I was initially unimpressed with Well Go. They were one of the video labels who released the Shaw Brothers films, and picked the weakest selection of films to license. And their releases were initially letterboxed instead of anamorphic. But then they got better. I'm guessing they realized if they were going to specialize in Asian action films, they better hire someone there who knew something about Asian cinema. Today they are a worthy successor to Dragon Dynasty. In fact, a lot of the recent martial arts films I purchased came from Well Go. Unfortunately, they are currently no longer releasing Shaw Brothers films. But they are releasing current day classics, such as Zhang Yimou's Shadow.
I don't really want to get into the plot, as there are a lot of spoilers. But the description on the DVD box or next to any streaming video release, as well as the trailer, gives this one spoiler away. The plot involves a general, who after being wounded during a one-on-one duel to determine which kingdom would rule a city each had claimed, has himself replaced with a look-a-like. His shadow, who will take his place while he hides in a cave. There is an intricate plot for the general to use his shadow to conquer the city he lost in that duel, even though his emperor insists have peace with the rival kingdom. This is one of those films where there are a lot of twists, especially when the motives of some characters are suddenly reveled. This is the strong point of the film. It's weak point is the action. There is very little. But when the action scene finally happens, it is pretty impressive. Visually, Zhang chose to deliberately mute the colors so that it practically looks like a black and white film. Only the skin tones of the characters gives have any color. This comes off more like a gimmick than an artistic statement. Still, in balance I can understand why this film is regarded as a modern classic.
Thor: Ragnarok ( 2017 )
Well, now that I have all of the DCEU films released on home video, I am finally getting around to the recent MCU films ( 2017 -2019 ), starting where I last left off, which was SONY's Spiderman: Homecoming. That's right, I haven't seen an MCU since then. Did watch the various MCU television series. It's a good thing Marvel pretends those shows take place on another planet, because none of them spoiled anything from the MCU films. ( The first season of Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. did spoil something from the second Captain America film, but since then they stopped trying to tie into plot points from the MCU. Ragnarok was another MCU triumph, even with the change in tone from previous Thor films. But maybe they should leave the comedy to the Guardians of the Galaxy films. ( Or perhaps an MCU Howard the Duck film? One can only hope. )
College Swing ( 1938 )
Another week of reruns for SNL. And I just happened to have another unwatched film in my library, and unfortunately I was able to find it. About a year ago I bought The Big Broadcast of 1938 because it was one of the WC Fields films, and I was closing in on owning every WC Fields film released on DVD. But it was only available as part of a two film set from the Bob Hope Tribute Collection. So, I had a second film I didn't want. Basically, these are the first two feature films Bob Hope was in. But only as a co-star. The Big Broadcast of 1938 credited WC Fields and Martha Raye as the stars, while College Swing is a Burns & Allen film. And a very bad Burns & Allan film at that. There is hardly a plot. Most of the film is set pieces for the dozens of guest stars to perform. Which I am guessing is the whole point of this potboiler, just a setup so that various guest stars and even top billed stars only need to shoot a few minutes of footage, and then move onto the next set to shoot a scene in a different potboiler. But what's worse, while Burns & Allen are credited as the stars, the studio didn't even bother to provide them with a script where they acted as a team. The film begins in 1738 in a one-room college where Gracie Allen plays the only student unable to graduate, basically for being stupid. A bet is made that if Gracie, or any of her female decedents, are able to pass the final exam within 200 years, that woman would inherit the college. Of course, Gracie passes the stupid gene down from daughter to daughter, so that by 1938 her great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter ( still played by Gracie Allen ) is just as stupid as she was, and none of the women in the family has been able to pass the final exam. It is coming up upon the 200 year deadline, so Gracie hires a manager ( Bob Hope ) to help her pass the test. But once realizing how helpless she is, steals the answer key and helps her cheat. George Burns plays the administrator who gives Gracie the oral test, and is barely in the film. Once Gracie inherits the college ( which by the 1930s has grown to a large campus ) she begins to go on a hiring spree of wacky professors, each as an excuse for guest stars to either sing or perform a brief comedy routine. No one here seems to be delivering their best material, and the original songs are forgettable, the lone exception being Moments Like This which went on to be a pop standard covered by a lot of recording artists over the years and has been used in many other films since College Swing. But pretty much, this film was a waste of my time.