the_cheese_23 Reviews

Painted Faces (1988)

The story of Sammo Hung growing up in the Chinese Opera.

[10/10 · 21 June 2003]

This is NOT a Sammo Hung action movie. See it anyways. This is the story of a Chinese opera troop and their harsh master (played by Sammo). The troop in question is the one that produced such greats as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. There is very little action in this movie, it is a drama. Sammo plays a VERY hard teacher, but he conveys a level of love for his pupils that makes his harsh treatment of them seem very difficult on him. This is Sammo's best drama. It is a coming of age tale, a biography, and a very moving film.

Enter the Fat Dragon (1978)

Sammo is the Fat Dragon!

[8/10 · 21 June 2003]

This is of of Sammo's great early comedy films. This isn't a parody of enter the dragon, the main character (Sammo) is obsessed with Bruce Lee and emulates him freakishly well for a man of his size. Nominal story about how his fighting keeps causing his loved ones trouble - then fighting. Oh, the fighting. Good, fast-paced scenes with high impact (the white guy who plays a boxer looks like he really gets hurt by one of Sammo's kicks).

The funniest bit of this movie was purely unintentional. There is a Jim Kelly looking guy (one of three experts hired to take out Sammo), but he was a Chinese guy in blackface with an afro-wig. Come on, didn't they have any real black people in Hong Kong in 1978? Well, I guess I've seen enough white fake-as-hell "Chinese people" in old American movies too.

This is one is for any Sammo or Bruce Lee fan.