Film Review: Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

 Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

Having been defeated behind closed doors by Ip Man, Cheung Tin Chi (Jin Zhang) leaves the martial arts world behind for a simpler life. He ekes out a living in his small grocery and takes care of his son Fung (Henry Zhang). Fate throws him into the path of two young women in trouble. Nana (Chrissie Chau) is a drug addict who is trying to quit but owes her dealer, and Julia (Yan Liu) is her best friend, who is also engaged to her brother.  When the dealer has Nana beat up for non-payment, Julia defends her, but they are badly outnumbered until they literally run into Cheung, who comes to the rescue. The drug dealer, Tso Sai Kit (Kevin Cheng) is very upset at what has happened, and he has his men set fire to Cheung's store, intending to kill him. But Cheung manages to escape with his son.

They run into Julia, who offers to take them in, and takes them to her brother Chiu Kam Fu (Xing Yu), 

who owns the Gold Bar. Julia gives them a place to live and Fu gives him a job. When Tin Chi earns some money, he treats his new friends to a birthday dinner for Fung at a local steakhouse owned by American businessman Davidson (Dave Bautista). Meanwhile, Kit's sister Tso Ngan Kwan (Michelle Yeoh) as head of her family business, decides they need to go legitimate. Kit is none too pleased at this news. And he is also determined to kill Cheung.

Going straight is not as easy as it sounds. Hong Kong is still under British rule, and the local police are corrupt, working hand in hand with the drug dealers. Innocent people don't stand a chance.  But there comes a time when you can't pretend you don't see, and you have to stand up for what is right.

Master Z is part of the Ip Man series, continuing from the third movie, after Cheung's defeat by Ip Man.  However, as all good movies do, Cheung's character grows from his adversities, and is a very fitting protagonist for this film. Dave Bautista is great as the villain, and I have to say I think he was a good choice for this, a better choice than Mike Tyson was. There is a lot of action and fighting in this film, and everything is beautifully choreographed, including Michelle Yeoh's scenes. She was a great character, caught between her love for her wayward brother and her desire to run a business untainted by illegalities. 

I enjoyed this film very much, and found it to be a fitting entry in the Ip Man series. I read there may be a sequel. I would love to see that. I'll give this film 4 Stars

Saturday is Horror Day #73 - The Great Hypnotist, Everything Everywhere All at Once

 The Great Hypnotist

Xu Ruining (Zheng Xu) is a successful psychologist who specializes in hypnotherapy. His former teacher, Professor Fang (Zhong Lü) refers a rather troublesome patient to him, Ren Xiaoyan (Karen Mok). Red has been to other therapists, but no one believes her when she says she can see dead people. Dr Xu doesn't especially seem to believe her either, but he's determined to get to the bottom of her problems, which involve having been abandoned as a child and left in an orphanage, even as he tells her that no one leaves his office without having been cured.

Sounds like a challenge, but which one will come out on top?

This is a beautifully filmed, well-acted and well-written thriller about two protagonists who are both strong-willed and determined. The plot and the characters suck you in until you don't know which side to believe. Does Ren really see dead people? Can Dr Xu bring her back to reality? It seems as though the more he tries, the more he is sucked into her reality. Is it reality or is it something else?

You may remember Zheng Xu (Dr Wu) from another film I recently reviewed, Lost in Hong Kong. This 

role is like night and day from that other one, showing the actor's versatility. I'll have to look for more of his films.  I enjoyed watching this film and will give it 4 solid Stars.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Evelyn Wang's (Michelle Yeoh) life is not quite the way she once pictured it. She and her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) own a failing laundromat. Her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is at odds with her, and Evelyn can't bring herself to tell her aging father, Gong Gong (James Hong) who lives with them, that Joy has a girlfriend. The business is being audited by the IRS. Evelyn, Waymond and Gong Gong go to the office to meet with agent Deirdre Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis). And that's when everything begins... to change?

Evelyn finds her attention is wandering from Deirdre and her incessant complaints, when she finds herself looking at a strange note telling her to do strange things, such as put her shoes on the wrong feet and think herself inside the janitor's closet. When she does, she finds herself with a man who looks like her husband but who says he is from another universe, and it is up to her to save the world...

Say what?

To say this movie is a wild ride would be an understatement, and on the surface it seems chaotic and 

erratic as Evelyn tries to make sense out of everything, but in so doing she learns to come to terms with her own life and the people in it. Great cast and imaginative writing make this sci-fi thriller is sure to become a cult classic. It requires multiple viewings, I think, and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see it in the theater. I hear it was mind-blowing. I give this film 4.5 Stars.