| Demon-Busters | ||
| Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons | ||
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| Review by Ross Anthony | ||
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I sought out this film after greatly enjoying Stephen Chow's earlier works: Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. Journey to the West didn't let me know. It shares that same ticklish combination of grit (blood in some cases), special-effect laden martial arts combat, and his signature sense of humor, with an underlying warm heart beating courageously throughout. My girlfriend and I were talking about this film for days after viewing. However, at least for English speaking audiences, I found the captions a bit small to read -- and very fast. (This is regarding the DVD screener that was sent for reviewing purposes. Your viewing experience may be quite different.) We often paused the DVD so we could finish reading the captions. Had they been larger, or taken advantage of the black lower region (created by the letterbox format), that would have been much better. I'd be interested in comparing it to the English dubbed version. Nonetheless, this newest chow-fried film is fun, punchy and definitely looks like the first of a series. I look forward to the next installment of Journey to the West. |
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Grade..........................A- (3/4) |
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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186.
Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow. |
