Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li - Thoughts

To the unfamiliar, Street Fighter is a popular Capcom videogame that was released in 1987. Over the years it has gone through several iterations, and is in fact still around. It was at its height in the 90’s, and has a rich storyline, with considerable detail to each characters back-story, and fighting style. There have been several animated movies, 1 animated TV serial, and 1 feature film that was released in 1994. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the second feature film, released 15 years after the first Street Fighter movie. It is not sequel, but more a back-story of Chun-Li. It follows the character from her younger years, when her father is taken away by a mysterious organization. It showcases her growing up, her quest for her father, her fight for justice, and her inevitable clash with Shadaloo (the same organization that kidnapped her father several years before).


While the first Street Fighter movie set the stage for the Street Fighter universe, and was quite in keeping with the core plot of Street Fighter, The Legend of Chun-Li is a lot more realistic and can be easily related to the real world. Though it never comes up, I’m assuming that this is a few years prior to the events of the Street Fighter movie from 1994. I noticed some of the camera work to be amateurish, but otherwise for most part the movie was pretty good. There were some high impact actions scenes, and key Street Fighter characters including M.Bison, Balrog, Vega, Gen and Rose made an appearance. The plot had the usual crime syndicate piece by means of Shadaloo’s agenda, the master apprentice routine with Gen and Chun-Li, and also a unique father daughter relationship. Although I wouldn’t rate it as being intensely gripping, the pacing was acceptable and the movie was entertaining throughout. If you’re a Street Fighter fan then this is a must watch for you. You’ll find that Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is comparable and possibly better than most run of the mill Hong Kong action movies.

The most prominent role was that of Chun-Li played by Kristin Kreuk. I found it a little odd that the 5 year old version of Chun-Li had such strong Asian features, but later grew to look like Kristin Kreuk who looks barely Asian. That aside, I think Kristin’s performance was excellent. Her acting was good, and so were her martial arts. Her portrayal of the loving daughter driven by anger to find her kidnapped father, as well as a pure hearted human being who by nature stood up for the weak and poor was commendable. If you’re a fan of Kristin Kreuk, then this is probably a must see movie. Neal McDonough as Bison was perfect; cold, conscienceless, ruthless and powerful. While a little smaller than what I’d have expected Bison to be, Neal McDonough is brilliant as a villain. Chris Klein plays the role of Charlie Nash, an Interpol operative on the hells of Bison and Shadaloo for over 3 years now. I found his role to be a little silly and comical. Perhaps his was the comic element in the plot. While working in Bangkok, he partners with Det. Maya Sunee, played by Moon Bloodgood. While I’m not very familiar with her past work, she has worked on a few notable projects. In Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li she plays a hot sassy police detective that means business and doesn’t mind getting her hand dirty. She played the part well, and kept things lively. Robin Shou’s portrayal of Gen, the wise mentor of Chun-Li was pretty decent. What I found extremely ironic was that he played the part of Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat motion picture, which incidentally is also based on a videogame, and perhaps the primary competing arcade fighter against Street Fighter. Lastly, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog was brilliant. He looked and felt the part more than ever. His performance was flawless, and he brought to the screen solid presence as the top dog of Bison.

As in most cases, the DVD I was watching was a Region 1 US DVD. Video was bright, clear and quite good all through. No color filters or tones were applied, and colors were quite vibrant; especially during the daytime shots. Though not very large scale, the special effect were decent and not noticeable cheesy. The soundtrack that was presented by means of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround was ample. It added a lot of impact to the martial arts fight sequences. Surround usage was present but nothing overly noteworthy.

My Recommendation: Watch It – (A must see for Street Fighter fans, but average/passable for those unfamiliar to Street Fighter)

Before The Devil Knows Your Dead - Thoughts

I saw the trailer of this movie sometime in 2007, and while it didn’t come across as spectacular, the movie seemed decently interesting. It had been a while since I’d seen any of Ethan Hawke or Marisa Tomei’s work, which made it more attractive. Being in no real rush to see it, I finally saw it towards the end of June in 2010. In Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, two brothers plan to rob their parents jewelry store; their plan seemingly harmless and something that would result in a win win situation. Things unfortunately go terribly wrong, and everything starts spiraling out of control. The implications haunting the brothers in the weeks after and taking its toll on the entire family.


When the script for Before The Devil Knows Your Dead was written, it was intended to be a Thriller. The director Sidney Lumet on the other hand felt that it was more a melodrama; I’d have to agree with the director. The movie is slow, and tragically intense. Performances are brilliant all round, and the emotion in the various scenes are gripping. Though I was unfamiliar with Sidney Lumet’s past work, reading up on him led me to realize that he has been involved with some masterpieces of cinema in the past. He is known for his technical prowess and bringing out the best in his cast; which is very evident here. The movie has a unique presentation style to it, with the same events being presented from various individual points of view. This added emphasis to the perspectives of different characters involved. Before The Devil Knows Your Dead has a dark tone to it, in keeping with the realities, ironies and hardships of life. If you have the patience for something unhurried, and can handle the grim truth of life, give this one a try, and you’ll find it to be quite brilliant in achieving its storytelling goal.

Ethan Hawke who played Hank Hanson, one of the two brother was exceptional in his character portrayal. He seemed constantly overwhelmed, and always had a look of being a little lost and confused. Andy Hanson, his elder brother played by Philip Seymour Hoffman came across as a complex, with perhaps years of bottled up internal conflicts. Gina Hanson, Andy’s wife played by Marisa Tomie was perfect in her role. Her expressions were incredible, right from the first scene in the movie where she’s upset and starts crying in the hotel room in Rio. The scene in the car between Andy and Gina is perhaps one of the most powerful in the entire movie. Albert Finney as Charles Hanson, the loving husband who is deeply hurt by the things happening around him, and is annoyed by the way the world is treating him like an old man, is remarkable. Without a doubt, performances were something that really stood out in Before The Devil Knows Your Dead.

As in most cases, I was watching a Region 1 US DVD. Video was impressive, remaining sharp and clear throughout. Colors were rich, though dull and not vibrant. The entire movie had a dark dull feel to it, which is probably intentional in keeping with the story/theme of the movie. Being set in the late 80’s/early 90’s, the intention may have also been to make it look dated. The rich colors were more noticeable in the outdoor daylight scenes. The aspect ratio was obviously reformatted to fit a home theatre; the fit on my widescreen plasma was exact and it made for an immersive viewing experience. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack was good, with dialog being clear. Surround usage was barely noticeable, except for occasional ambient sounds.

My Recommendation: Watch It (Shinning performances, and beautifully crafted narrative; the plot and drama may not appeal to all though)

Lost: Season 5 - Thoughts

If anyone reading this believes that they need introduction to Lost; I really think they should get a life. Without going to much into its origins, Lost is perhaps the most noteworthy and groundbreaking of television experiences this decade. It set the bar for what can be expected from TV, and treaded in areas strictly reserved for big budget Hollywood movies. When Lost first aired it brought to TV a sense of mystery, intrigue and edge of the seat sorta intensity that is to date unparalleled. In the months and years that have followed, I’ve had friends tell me, ohh you like Lost, check out Heroes (and so on). Well I did, and as nice as they have all been, it pales in comparison to Lost. At any given point of time, there are a handful of successful and popular TV shows; but it’s safe to says that Lost transcends it all. Lost follows the story of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, which crashed on a mysterious island which possibly has a life of its own. To say more would be to give too much away, but with Lost its fare to expect the unexpected.


Season 4 was perhaps one of the weakest seasons. Having come to expect so much from Lost, season 4 was a bit of a drag and left me not really dying to get my hands on season 5. I remember having season 5 for almost 6 months before getting started on it. That said, I think the makers of the show were aware of this, and did their best to give back to Lost what it seemed to be lacking. Season 5 was awesome, and few long pending questions were finally answered. Needless to say, in true Lost fashion so much was left unanswered and hanging. Some new characters and story elements were introduced in season 5. Expect more flashbacks and some actual time travel in play this time around. Overall a wonderful season that will leave you begging for more. Season 6, here we come.

If you’ve been watching Lost for a while you know what to expect of the actors and their character portrayals. Matthew Fox as Dr. Jack Shephard has shown considerable range, in changing and evolving with the show. In seasons 1, 2 and 3 he was the selfless hero, and unofficial leader of the group. In the seasons after his more human and flawed side showed. The transition is very believable and natural. Josh Holloway as Sawyer, and Evangeline Lilly as Kate play considerably complex roles. Just 1 or 2 seasons are insufficient to understand them completely. Their performances are undoubtedly committed and deep, wherein long following viewers get to understand them better over an extended period of time, similar to that of a real life friend/relationship. Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet is still dreamy and nice, but has a stronger and influential role in season 5. Serving as the voice of reason and direction in Sawyer’s life. Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, the somewhat face of the island has a prominent role in season 5. He comes across as a no nonsense yet straight forward and good man.

The content I was watching was an HD DivX rip, recorded from TV at 720p. Video was good for most part and skin textures were accurate. As with DivX, colors were a little less vibrant, but the high resolution source and mastering made for a good experience. Sound was presented in Dolby Digital AC3 5.1 surround. While surround stage usage was minimal, it was perfect for ambient sounds; especially the ocean. Dialogue was clear and the center channel made a big difference here.

My Recommendation: Kick Ass (If you don’t like Lost and haven’t been following it I’d suggest a rating of Watch It +)