OK, I'm clearly locked in a Fu mood lately so I've got another movie recommendation for ya'll that is in the Fu genre. This one is great for a whole set of reasons that aren't in common (generally) with my most recent recommendation - Jet Li's "Hero". The current recommendation, "Contour", is NOT a cinematic masterpiece - hell it's not even up to the quality of Ron Widbin's Rockbridge/Hickman produced stuff on the Columbia public school channel - nor is the acting high quality (again think high school plays)...BUT, it kicks Hero to the curb for pure adrenaline-charged nearly constant kick arse Fu action!! This is some of the most impressive Fu action I've seen in years.
"Contour" was made by a bunch of martial artists and stunt people who call themselves simply: The Stunt People. These are some crazy, but VERY talented mo-fo's. Anyhow, these guys & dolls have been making Martial Arts/Fu/Action shorts for some time now and in 2006-07 produced and released their first full-length feature film - "Contour". Eric Jacobus, one of the founders of The Stunt People, wrote, directed and starred in "Contour". For those of you who know of Ed Wood Jr and his films there is some similarity between Contour and Wood films in there shoestrng budgets, poor acting and horrible scripts - but that's where the similarities end. If Wood could kick arse like Jacobus he'd not be simply remembered as the Worst Director of all time but the Worse Director of all time that no one would dare tell that to for fear of getting their head crushed. Anyhow, "Contour's" plot is thin at best - hell I can't rightly tell you what the plot is - but it's Ok since the plot and character developments are just means to connect the various awesome fight scenes. This movie is one fight to the next, with many lasting so long one will get tired just watching these guys/girls beat eachother relentlessly. The fight scene near the end of the movie is nearly 20 minutes in length and is a masterpiece. Nevermind that all the characters in the movie are played by a handful of people (they wear masks of various types, many times causing me to laugh out loud at how stupid it all looks, to shield that they are in fact the same guys/girls); the entire budget of the movie (~$5000) was likely spent on water (for obvious rehydration), food, and medical bills [there is no way it was spent on much more]; and that NO ONE in the cast can act (Jacobus is a pretty decent Fu version of Bruce Campbell - even looks a little like him) - this is simply a tour de force of Fu action. You will wince 30-30 times I gaurantee! The DVD also has a docu on the making of "Contour" and The Stunt People, as well as several shorts and training pieces - all quite amazing. I highly recommend it - but don't expect great (or even good...mark that decent) cinema, you need to watch this knowing it's low budget for film, but as high a 'budget' for action as anything out there.
See some reviews of "Contour" at HK Flix
Search out this movie for rental...B has my copy so maybe he'll respond to this post after he watches it?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The dialogue was terrible. The story was even worse. And the acting (if that's what you want to call it) was frightening.
But...
The martial arts sequences are very, very impressive on par with what one might see in a traditional HK flick (which incidentally don't have much acting, storyline or dialogue either). Give these folks a few acting lessons and a decent script and who knows what could happen.
Post a Comment