Movie Review: Seven Warriors (1989; Maverick Films/Well Go USA)

...Cliff Notes   remember those?? Those revelational baskins of saving grace, we oh-so often utilized in high school literature class, when writing book reports, and making crossed-fingers-behind-the-back 'I swear' claimant, in actually having read the book...even though the 'been there-done that' English teacher...shaking her finger adamantly at the class...clearly stated, "...now, I'll know whether or not you've read the book, or merely read the 'Cliff Notes', as the latter only touches the bare-bones basic 'beat' of the story, without going into detailed specifics, as far as character and setting..."?? "And besides...", of course, she had to add, just to lay the guilt trip, "...isn't reading the actual book so much more rewarding, anyways?? Yeah, yeah...we thought that we knew better, didn't we...that is, until we saw the dreaded C+, etched in red ink, at the top of the report, which we 'labored' oh-so hard on (...it's not fair, dammit...head down, hands in pocket, kicking the dirt in defiance). But then, that's exactly how the 1920's war-torn China-set, 1996 take on the classic 'Seven Samurai' story, called "Seven Warriors", seems to come across...hitting the standard 'beats' of the story, like some sort of checklist...without really making the re-envision, special unto itself...

Movie Review: Saving General Yang (2013, Pegasus Motion Pictures/Well Go USA)

...considering the human virtues examined and upheld, there's more than great appeal and compelling intrigue, when partaking of Chinese films, which depict the best...and sometimes, the worst of man's nature. His strengths... weaknesses... ideologies... flaws... passions... sacrifices. Time and time again, Asian cinema has wrought keen focus on their historical figures and heroes...Wong Fei Hung...Hung Hei Kwoon...Fong Sai Yuk...finding them much more relatable and inspirational than invented fictional characters. And in a nutshell, that's the major juxstapositioned key to these films' invariable appeal; if one finds one's self unable to relate to these characters, or feel the sense of how real these persons actually were, then the overall substance in the events portrayed becomes minimal...even non-existent. Regrettably, such is the case with the latest dramatization of one of China's most famous historical war tales, and the fraternal band of warriors, associated with the legendary tale...told a number of times, in the past, but here, rendered with all the grandiose visual spectacle of a major war epic...but with little substance...generic, fleeting and dramatically unembraceable...