Edshugeo The GodMoor

Now that it's official that HD-DVD is dead and that Blu-Ray is the victor in the war over next gen movie software formats, what's to be done with unsold players and discs?

Price cuts, of course.

I once thought I'd jump at HD-DVD if the price reached a certain low, but those price drops came only after things got progressively worse for them and defeat almost certain. So, I still held off.

Now comes a rumor that the HD-DVD add on for the XBox 360 will be lowered to about fifty bucks. Close to the $40 I thought it was worth, post format war. Before the end, I would'a considered paying $80. (now confirmed - Feb. 26th, 2008)

I reasoned that I could enjoy a bunch of movies for a while (likely to fall in price as well) and then at some point, take advantage of the notion that the 360 add-on can be made to work on a PC, rip the movies, and eventually burn those to Blu-Ray, once such burners and blank discs became affordable. That's a good plan for those who have already built up a sizable collection of HD-DVD discs (maybe not if their PCs are Mac or Linux, I dunno). Not such a good plan for me. I'd end up accumulating crap, I would eventually have to throw away. Eventually meaning in a year or two. Might not be such a bad thing if disc prices end up being close to that of a rental.

For now I'll continue to buy (and download) DVDs, though not as frequently as before, and maybe slowly start to buy a Blu-Ray disc here and there, so that I'll have a few titles once I get my first player (maybe, ...possibly a PS3, not likely before December).

Prior to getting my first DVD player at the end of 1998 (I think), I made frequent trips to Chinatown and stocked up on VCDs, a movie disc format that never took off here in the U.S., but was very popular in Asia. I was able to watch them on my computer, and knew I would pick a DVD player that would support that format. That allowed me to have a small library (in addition to the first DVDs I purchased) ready. Stephen Chow movies made up a good chunk of that collection. His movies were not as heavily bootlegged (at the time) as a lot of the stuff coming out of Hong Kong in that decade and before, so it was new stuff to me, and a change from Jet Li, Jackie Chan*, Tsui Hark, etc. I almost made Chow's Kung Fu Hustle my first Blu-Ray purchase, but backed out of it. I did order the Dragon Dynasty DVD release of Royal Tramp, which contains both 1&2 (based on Louis Cha's Deer And The Cauldron AKA Duke Of Mount Deer). I haven't seen them since watching those VCDs. Though I recently watched a TV series starring Dickie Cheung and produced by Royal Tramp director/producer Wong Jing.

Of course, with Blu-Ray's backwards compatibility, I already have a 400+ strong library of commercial (which means I bought, not downloaded them) DVDs, many of which look good to great on my 37". There is also decent hi-def content on cable, and downloadable rentals on XBox Live (which I'm not that partial to).

While I've yet to make the PC to 360 connection work, for the purpose of streaming video and movies from the computer to the TV in the living room, I can connect a USB hard drive to the XBox 360 to play that content. Same with the PSP (music and video, not games). I've not downloaded hi-def content from the web, yet. At least not in the formats recognizable to the 360 (wmv, mp4, avi). But that seems like a possibility.

In any case, I think I shall leave HD-DVD to rot.

* I once read a review of City Hunter (the live action HK version) that stated that Jackie Chan was trying to make a Stephen Chow film (it was directed by Wong Jing, who'd made a lot of films with Chow at the time). Seeing how that movie made a mockery of one of my favorite 80s anime (and not in an amusing way), I was a little hesitant to experience Chow's wackiness first hand. Once I made the jump, I was hooked.

Labels: DVD, HDTV, movies, PS3, wu-xia, XBox 360

Happy Year Of The Rat. D-Addicts has another series up for torrent download. Genius Physician Ti Ying AKA Miracle Healers.



This in addition to the usual Chinese Drama Series Of The Month. Three Musketeers with Shu Qi (torrent link). As far as I can tell, it isn't based on Alexander Dumas' novel, though that wouldn't be a bad idea.

Labels: bittorrent, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia, youtube

The Forbidden Kingdom with Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Liu Yi Fei (Crystal Liu) and some unknown (to me) White kid for local (Hollywood) flavor.



I take it that this movie is gonna be acted in English, which may or may not be kinda awkward to listen to, since there's only about one native speaker (I think) throughout most of it. Then again, some Chinese had that issue with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

I'm just gonna hope for the best.

Labels: kung fu, movies, wu-xia, youtube

And I almost forgot to check D-Addicts for the Chinese Series Of The Month.
This month, it's Tian Long Ba Bu (Eight Steps Of The Heavenly Dragon), also known as Demi Gods And Semi Devils and also State Of Divinity.

I recently watched an 80's HK version of the Louis Cha novel starring Lueng Kar Yan, Felix Wong, and Shek Kin (Mr. Han from Enter The Dragon). I liked parts of it but disliked others, mostly the first third of the series before Lueng Kar Yan shows up and starts throwin' around beatdowns. This one is a newer production. Looks to be from within the last couple of years. Guess I'll add this to my download list.

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia, youtube

Two TV series up at D-Addicts this month (among others) are Drunken Kung Fu, the Chinese Series Of The Month and Fox Volant Of Snowy Mountain.

At the moment, I know nothing of Drunken Kung Fu, but I'll be downloading it for sure.



Fox Volant is a 2007 series based on a Louis Cha novel. This novel is available in English, but has been criticised for a bad translation. Perhaps it will be re-done by Oxford University Press at some point. I hope they're still translating his works. I'm almost finished reading The Book And The Sword, which is absolutely wonderful so far.

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia

Pretty much what I've been doing for a while. This is like my theme song. Comes from a relatively recent album by Sparks, called Hello Young Lovers, which is badass in a Bohemian Rhapsody meets Meatloaf, though not really kinda way. I thought those guys were just a new wave group from the eighties, but there's way more to them than that. I vaguely recall an old Saturday Night Live appearance, where I thought the keyboardist was named Roland because of the prominent logo on the instrument. I also recall they had the movie rights to Mai, The Psychic Girl, and they were gonna make it a musical directed by Tsui Hark. The idea frightened me at the time, but now I wish it got made. Wonder if they went ahead and wrote any songs for it.

I'm still digging Bad Brains' Build A Nation. I used to like the idea of Bad Brains more than I did their records. Now they've made a album worthy of a Punk/Reggae band, though now it's more heavy rock, than punk, in my opinion.

Video Games.

Played through Me And My Katamari on the PSP. The controls are painful compared to We Love Katamari on the PS2, but I love the 8 bit version you get at the end. Sorry if that's a spoiler. Also love the theme, Katamari on the Funk. I doubt I'll get the 360 version (Beautiful Katamari) unless it's cheap and I have nothing better to do, which, I guess, is inevitable. Starting Killzone Liberation on the PSP. Demo was cool so I picked this up a week or two ago (I know it's been out for a while).

Still have to finish We Love Katamari on the PS2. I want to be done with all my games on the PS2 and then say goodbye to them. There's a bunch. I'm bad at finishing games, but lately I'm a bit more into it. Having the XBox 360, it would be easy to move on, but I can't. I won't. Grand Theft Auto 3 was a birthday present dammit! So was Dynasty Warriors 2, I think. And I just bought two or three PS2 games like 6 or 7 weeks ago (Shadow Of The Collossus, Socom II - Socom was used - 5 bucks, and one other?) in addition to a few other decent titles just sitting around like War Of The Monsters. So I will finish them and maybe pass them on to friends.

Finished BioShock and Halo 3 on the XBox 360. Bioshock is the better of the two games, though I've yet to try out the online multiplayer function of XBox Live. I actually let my free one month gold membership lapse without trying it out. Wanted to be a better player first. I can barely shoot straight even at this point, but I'm gonna join up next week or so.

I also play various demos, or Burnout Revenge if I want a quick gaming session. I just bought The Orange Box, primarily for Portal, but it includes Half Life 2 and Team Fortress. Looks like fun. Haven't opened it yet.

Movies.

Transformers was fun, but got annoying during the second hour (I think) with the comedy bit with them searching for glasses while the robots try to hide from the parents and the big bad government goons showing up. Turned into E.T. for a little bit. I was never a fan of the cartoon, though the animated Transformers: The Movie was pretty decent.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang was awesome, though. Picked it up at the supermarket a while back for six or seven bucks and finally checked it out. Funny as a muh-fug. Really looking forward to Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

Also went to see Jodie Foster's Death Wish movie, The Brave One. I liked it. Not great, but good enough. Really looking forward to seeing Terrence Howard in some kinda armor in Iron Man or maybe it's sequel.

TV?

Finished Heavenly Sword, Dragon Sabre (2003), which finishes up the Condor Heroes Trilogy, though it's not really a sequel, in my opinion. In the order I watched them, this followed the 1983 version of Legend Of The Condor Heroes and the 2006 Return Of The Condor Heroes (simply called Condor Hero in the U.S. release).

After the 2007 Legend Of is released with subtitles (fansubs perhaps), I may revisit the trilogy, following with the anime version titled Legend Of but which is actually Return Of (I have some but not all of this series) and then cap it off with the 1986 New Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre. I also have a few volumes of the comic book adaptations of Louis Cha's novels. Legendary Couple by Tony Wong is based upon Return, and Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre was adapted by Ma Wing Shing. Both were published in English by Comics One, which went out of business before completing either story.

I've got Heroes stockpiled on my cable DVR, but haven't watched any of this season, yet. I will soon.

Audio Books.

eMusic has a audio books subscription service separate from their music downloading site. I joined, but will probably cancel after my second month. Listened to After Dark by Haruki Murakami and started A Briefer History Of Time by Stephen Hawkins. The first was a novel and was a breeze to get through, despite some audio glitches here and there. The second, not so much. Though meant to be lighter reading (listening) than Brief History, it requires a bit more of my attention than I can give it during a morning commute, or while shopping. I have to take a different approach, and will, later.

My previous experience with audio books was limited to Al Franken's Lies and The Lying Liars That Tell Them. A great audio book, but I didn't hold it up as an example of the medium, because it's a collection of funny stories delivered by a comedian who knows well how to perform his work. I've been told that normally, one should avoid audio books read by the authors themselves. Consider Al Franken an exception to this rule.

Comics.

Blood Sword back issues and the new re-translated, digitally enhanced volumes (Chinese Hero - Tales Of The Blood Sword). I'll talk about those another time, but I'll say the new volumes are great, mostly.

My creative endeavors?

All I do now is dick around, but when I get back to recording, I'll use the Vox page to blog about it rather than only using it for audio links and writing a separate blog.

Labels: comics, dorama, DVD, kung fu, movies, music, music video, PSP, tv, video games, wu-xia, XBox 360, youtube

I vaguely recall this being the title of a barely watchable movie from, maybe, the 1990s, but I won't let any such preconceived notions get in the way of checking out a new Wu-xia TV series.

I don't know what it's about except that it's based on a Louis Cha (Jing Yong) novel from the mid 1950s. What's likely are kung fu mayhem, defiance of gravity, romantic complications, and perhaps yet another attempt by some evil bastard to infiltrate the Beggar Clan. Well maybe not the last bit, though it's been attempted in three series I've seen already, Demi-Gods and Semi Devils (1982), Legend Of The Condor Heroes (1983?), and Return Of The Condor Heroes (2006), all based on Cha's works.

The thirty episode series (fansubbed) can be sampled over at D-Addicts via a torrent. The download includes the soundtrack. It's a bit hefty at 16 GBs.

I actually have 2 more eps to go on Return Of The Condor Heroes.
I should be done tomorrow, at which point I continue watching the Anime, Jubei-Chan 2: Counterattack of Siberian Yagyu, before moving on to Heavenly Sword, Dragon Sabre (2003-ish), the third and final (?) part of the Condor Heroes trilogy.

Labels: Anime, bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia, youtube

Swiped from Kung Fu Cinema;

007.06.26 | Upcoming | by Mark Pollard

This news is a month old but definitely worth mentioning. Wong Kar-wai has been hard at work re-editing his sole wuxia film ASHES OF TIME for a big-scale re-release. Back in May it was announced that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired what is now tentatively known as ASHES OF TIME REDUX for distribution in the U.S. It has also sold to several European territories at this year’s Cannes.

Originally released in 1994, ASHES OF TIME is Wong’s loose adaptation of wuxia author Louis Cha’s “Legend of the Condor Heroes.” It stars some of Hong Kong’s hottest talents of the past 30 years including Tony Leung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, and the late Leslie Cheung. Wire-assisted action choreography is directed by the great Sammo Hung. Award-winning cinematography is provided by Wong’s long-time collaborator Christopher Doyle.

The original film was a complex, moody and non-linear tale of self-absorbed and lovelorn knights wallowing in their sorrows out in China’s barren western frontier. Coupled with arresting visuals and exceptional acting from its superstar cast, it was a fascinating, yet difficult film to digest, particularly for audiences accustomed to typically less sophisticated Chinese-language swordplay adventures. It was also a movie plagued by an overlong production schedule and Wong’s own spontaneous filmmaking style, which didn’t lend itself very well to feature filmmaking on this scale.

As such, it is not surprising to learn that one of the changes to be applied to the REDUX version will be the addition of new scenes. What isn’t clear is if new footage has been shot expressly for this release or if unused 1994 footage will be used. Wong is also re-editing other scenes and applying a new score.

The timing for a re-release of ASHES OF TIME couldn’t be much better now that broader international audiences have had a healthy sampling of more artistically-minded wuxia films like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and HERO. Although enthusiasm for Wong Kar-wai’s works have cooled some at film festivals, he still remains the darling of the Asian arthouse cinema crowd.

There are relatively few wuxia films that could receive a similarly high-profile reintroduction to worldwide audiences. Yet, a successful run of REDUX could at least encourage the reissue of other neglected wuxia classics such as Tsui Hark’s THE BLADE and King Hu’s DRAGON GATE INN.

Work on REDUX is expected to be completed late this year.

Source: Variety

Labels: kung fu, movies, wu-xia

As reported on Kung Fu Cinema;

Online digital download site Jaman.com is currently offering up to three free downloadable rentals on select Shaw Brothers classics such as TWIN BLADES OF DOOM and THE 14 AMAZONS when you create an account.

All you need to do to take advantage of this feature is have a broadband connection, visit Jaman.com, register for free, download the Jaman player, and start downloading up to three digital titles specially-marked “Free Rental” from among 50 Shaw Brothers classics in Jaman’s online library.

Once you’ve finished watching your free rentals, you can continue to rent movies for $1.99 or purchase them for $4.99.

I'm not a fan of watching movies on my computer, but I'm gonna have to try this.

Out in video stores this week are the first of the Dragon Dynasty releases of the Shaw Bros. line; 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (Master Killer), My Young Auntie, King Boxer (5 Fingers Of Death), and The One Armed Swordsman. If these movies contain the original English dub tracks (where applicable), then the time has come to throw away my old supermarket bought bootlegs.

Labels: downloads, good deal, kung fu, Liu Chia Hui, movies, nostalgia, Shaw Bros., wu-xia

On TV

Craig Ferguson
is what David Letterman was like, about twenty years ago and Conan O'Brien was less than ten years ago (before Andy Richter left). Funny. A guy trying to make the best of what the network will spring for.
Apparently, multiple shows are recorded on the same day (which ruins the topicality of some shows). Also it's not shown in HD, which might be a good thing as Hi-Def has made Conan harder to look at (Dude looks ghastly).

No complaints about Jay Leno's show which is a solid, entertaining late night show in the tradition of Johnny Carson, whom he replaced. I have way more respect for the guy now than I did when he first took over The Tonight Show. I don't really make it a point to watch the show, though. If I think I can stay up, it passes the time till CF comes on.

The Showbiz Show With David Spade
here's where showbiz news belongs, aside from Entertainment Tonight, which isn't quite as funny. He should be on five nights a week.

The Sopranos
Do I keep HBO now that it's done? Hmmm. Maybe, if not, I'll need another HD movie channel. I thought it was a great ending. It won't please everybody, though.

The Daily Show and sometimes The Colbert Report.

House M.D.
I normally come in during the last ten - fifteen minutes. There's no way I'm gonna guess what's wrong with the patient anyway.

On PSP

Return Of The Condor Heroes (2006)
The box set in U.S. stores is simply called Condor Heroes, but it's based on the sequel to Legend Of The Condor Heroes, a serialized novel by Louis Cha. The anime, which is titled Legend Of... pulls the same trick, though in that case it isn't only the U.S. version, but the Japanese version as well that's mis-titled.

Anyway, it may not be completely necessary to see the prequel to enjoy this, but if you don't, you might get the impression that West Venom, Ouyang Feng is simply a crazy, funny old guy as I did when I first encountered the character in The Legendary Couple (only read the first four volumes), a comicbook adaptation of Return from a few years back (It only lasted 8 volumes in the U.S.). It remains to be seen (by me) whether his true colors re-emerge.

Prior to this, I watched the fifteen disc (59 episode) 1983 version of Legend, and decided to follow with the 2006 version of Return, instead of the eighties version with Andy Lau (which I don't have, anyway). I was gonna wait for the 2007 version of Legend, but said eff it, and bought the DVD set of the 80s version instead. Great series, but it didn't need 59 episodes to tell that story.

I downloaded the 2006 Return of... from usenet, and the 2004(?) version of the third part of this story, Heaven Sword, Dragon Sabre, from D-Addicts, which I'll watch next. I also have a 1986 version of HSDS starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, but I'll save that for another time.

I'm up to episode eight (of forty-one). I stopped for a bit, and re-read the first four volumes of the comicbook, 'cuz I remembered some other stuff happening near the begining that didn't seem to be covered here, particularly, Yang Guo's relationship to Guo Jing's and Huang Rong's daughter, the Wu brothers, and his first meeting with Ouyang Feng. I'm seeing some of that stuff pop up in dialog and flashbacks now. Also, I found watching Yang Guo (Yang Gor) as a young boy annoying with all the crying and what not. I thought we'd be past that when he grew up (end of ep 3), but at this point he's still wandering around yelling for his Gu-gu. Otherwise, it's starting to get pretty good, though confusing with all the characters popping up outta nowhere.

I'm concerned about what's gonna happen when he finds out who killed his father, the douche-bag, Yang (Wayan) Kang. Also, that thing that happens to Gu-gu/Mistress Dragon is pretty disturbing both here (ep 6?) and at the end of vol. 4 of the comic.

The effects are very well done, but the action is a bit floaty.

Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils (1982)
TV series also based on a serialized novel by Louis Cha. A few of the episodes I had of Return Of The Condor Heroes were found to be corrupted (particularly the subtitles), so while I searched for replacements and re-read The Legendary Couple (the four volumes I had), and started this series. I now alternate between this and Return.
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a prequel the Condor Heroes trilogy, but the Beggar Clan figures prominently as well as their two well known techniques, The Dog Beating Stick and The Eighteen Dragon Repelling Palms (passed on to Huang Rong and Guo Jing in Legend Of). It clearly takes place during the Song Dynasty, where Condor is close to the end.
Wikipedia places Demi-Gods at the 11th Century, Legend at the 12th, Return at the 13th, and Heavenly Sword at the 14th.

Initially, I wasn't sure if this show would hold my interest, but now that Leung Kar Yan has shown up (as Beggar chief Master Kiu), things have gotten much more interesting. Especially the fighting.

Tuen Yue who was the focus, up until recently (I'm somewhere around ep 18), is a bit annoying to me. He does have a fascinating dilemma, though; His father was such a player, any girl Yue meets is potentially his half sister. This has only ruined one relationship, so far, but I doubt it'll be the last...

edit: I should mention that the above shows aren't available for the PSP (that I know of). They had to be converted from the DVDs to MP4s using XviD4PSP by Winnydows. There are other tools out there. This is the one I use.

Labels: comics, dorama, downloads, DVD, kung fu, PSP, tv, wu-xia, youtube

Albums

A Weekend In The City - Bloc Party
Didn't care much for this when I first heard it, but I've since warmed to it. What did I mean by "mellow"?

Eat Me Drink Me - Marilyn Manson
Nothing he's done has been as good as Mechanical Animals (my favorite MM cd), but since then, Manson has rocked with a consistency not unlike ACDC back in the day. Something's different about this one. A lot more guitar solos. What else? Jury's still out.

Grinderman - Grinderman
I know almost nothing about Nick Cave, save an appearance in Wings Of Desire (watched the DVD a few months ago). Time to find out more, maybe.

Still Stuck In Your Throat - Fishbone
They're back! And they actually sound like Fishbone. Good Fishbone. Oh, shit!

Supreme Clientele - Ghostface Killah
Just starting to get into this one. If nothing else, it's good to have the theme from the Iron Man cartoon. I'm forcing myself to not listen to Fishscale for a little while.

Songs

Too Sexy - Sheila E
Instrumental b-side. I wonder who plays guitar on this.

Still A Thrill - Jody Watley
Funkiest guitar ever? Almost.

Myung Theme and Voices by Yoko Kanno
From the Macross Plus soundtrack. Beautiful.

Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing To Fuck With - Wu-Tang Clan with Rage Against The Machine
'Nuff said!

ルパン三世 '80 [Sunaga T Experience 9849 Mix]
The Lupin III theme played in a similar fashion (if not a variation of) the jazzy theme from the car chase in Cagliostro's Castle. From the 30th anniversary remix album, Punch The Monkey.

Catch My Disease - Ben Lee

Guitar (2nd version) - Prince

The Imperial March - John Williams
Before I realized that James Earl Jones was providing his voice, I figured the reason Darth Vader walked like a Black man was the kick ass pimpin' theme he was given in The Empire Strikes Back.

New Toy - Lene Lovich

Pleasures (Old Denim Mix) - Pushim
Japanese reggae. This song triggered all sorts of emotional chemical reactions the first few hundred times I listened to it. That was before I even realized she was singing in English. Powerful stuff.

People Get Ready - Jeff Beck And Rod Stewart
As great as Curtis Mayfield is, I still prefer this version (which was the first I heard). Love Beck's playing on this.

Scandalous: The Passion and The Rapture - Prince
From a CD single. The original version is from the Batman soundtrack. I normally just listen to The Rapture, which is mostly an awesome guitar solo. The Passion appears to be a mash-up of Scandalous and some other unknown Prince song. Possible, but I'm guessing it's just a really interesting embellishment that almost sounds like an altogether new song. Also love how the two pieces (Passion & Rapture) flow together as one.

沧海一声笑
This song can be heard in the movie Swordsman, sung (lip-sync'd) onscreen by Wu Ma and Lam Ching Ying (if I remember correctly) aboard a boat. Always loved this song. Listen to it on this page. Swordsman was based (loosely) on Louis Cha's Smiling Proud Wanderer.

All on my PSP, of course.

Labels: music, Prince, wu-xia

Alt.binaries.multimedia.chinese has a trio of English subtitled TV series being uploaded. All encoded for the iPod, but should be playable, as is, on the PSP. Official firmware 2.8 and up, or custom firmware 3.02* and up is required. The mp4 file, which doesn't have to be renamed, would be placed in the /VIDEO folder (in the root directory of your memory stick), instead of one of the various folders found in MP_ROOT. I haven't watched these series yet, but a previously uploaded shows that was iPod encoded, Face To Fate, played with no problem, other than three or four episodes (out of thirty) didn't have English subs.

Okay, so what I see being uploaded at the moment are:

The Brink Of Law - Looks like some sort of legal/cop drama. No kung fu, but some action is involved. Here's a YouTube clip.

The Heavenly In-Laws - Weird (to me) supernatural comedy. Yuen Wah's in it (I think that's him), so maybe there's some kung fu. A YouTube clip.

The Devil's Disciples - Here we go! Now, this is more like it. Looks like Eddy Ko as the bad guy. Flying swordsmen and CGI. Hope it's actually good. Preview below:



How does one download the great stuff to be found on alt.binaries.multimedia.chinese and the thousands of other groups on usenet? I'm never good at explaining how it works, so I'll just point towards TimDoc's page, and let him explain it (his downloading guide has been a great help to me over the years). There are other guides on the net as well. You can use a premium server like EasyNews, but your ISP may provide access to usenet at no extra cost, so find out how this whole thing works before paying extra.


*I can't remember if there was a custom firmware between 2.71 and 3.02, but any PSP firmware (official or custom) 2.80 and over would enable the /VIDEO and /MUSIC folders (in the root directory of the memory stick). Not all MP4s work in that video folder however.

Labels: dorama, downloads, kung fu, PSP, tv, wu-xia, youtube

This series is shorter at ten episodes than most of this genre (Wu-Xia), which tend to go on for about 30-50 eps. Don't know anything about this one (cast, story, etc.) except that it's widescreen, which will look good on my PSP. I also notice it's available (with English subtitles) at quite a few online retailers, at around twenty bucks, which isn't bad.

Speaking of interesting online deals, I noticed a price difference for the 1983 series, Legend Of The Condor Heroes at the global and U.S. site for YesAsia. The global.YesAsia site, which in this case mentions "United States - English" at the top of the page, lists the series at $162.50 for the fifteen disc uncut set. (I get to this site through a link at Kung Fu Cult Cinema).
The US.YesAsia.com site lists the English subtitled set (also as "uncut" and fifteen discs) at $73.50. I normally wouldn't spend $75.00 in one shot on a single DVD series, but this is sounding like a good deal to me. I may have to pick this up...

02/17/07 - ordered it a few days ago. The prices on the global.yesasia.com site adjusts once you setup your location.

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, DVD, good deal, kung fu, online retailers, tv, wu-xia

Don't know much about this series, except it has Raymond Lam from Twin Of Brothers, which I liked as well as that guy from John Woo's Heroes Shed No Tears. Eddy Ko (Thanks imdb).

Torrent download and info at D-Addicts. Opening theme below via YouTube.




I've probably got enough of these Wu-Xia series that I could watch an episode a day (on my PSP, of course) and still not be finished in a year. Currently I'm watching Hero In Black AKA Wo Lai Ye (Here I Come), a Zorro like comedy that features Cheng Pei Pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Come Drink With Me) as an overbearing mother. I've recently downloaded 35 episodes of a Monkey King series that has Sam Lee in it.

This isn't all I watch. Before starting Hero In Black, I watched the first season of The Wire (My brother hooked me up with the first two) and I'll probably check out the second season next. Also recently bought the final season of Angel, and season one of Smallville, so I'll be looking at those eventually as well.

Update 01/24/07: I finished Wo Lai Ye last week. While not completely bad, it's the worst of these dramas I've seen, yet. I just didn't like the characters or their relationships to each other. Especially Song Dou's affection for the owner of the Top Chef restaurant. It contradicts his hatred for the greed of corrupt officials and the wealthy who live at the expense of the poor in his town.
She appears to share this sentiment, yet also shares the characteristics of Wo Lai Ye's sworn enemies. I found the ending unsatisfying as well.

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, PSP, tv, wu-xia, youtube

Available over at D-Addicts.com. A great, great series, though I've not read the Jin Yong novel (aslo called the Deer And The Cauldron), nor seen previous versions like the series starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and Andy Lau. I did see Royal Tramp 1 & 2 starring Stephen Chow, but that was a long time ago.

Here's a synopsis from wiki.d-addicts.com/;
This production is a more recent, and somewhat more loose adapation of Jin Yong's last and most unique Wuxia novel "The Deer and the Cauldron". The story is centred around an uneducated street urchin Wei Xiao Bao, who was born and raised in a brothel by his mother. Through a series of misdaventures, he managed to make his way from the southern playground of Yangzhou to Beijing, the seat of Manchurian imperial power, and bumbling accidently into a fateful encounter with young Emperor Kang Xi. By hook or by crook, but also through a genuine concern and fierce loyalty towards his "mate" the Emperor, Xiao Bao found himself in the greatest of confidences and a complicated friendship of one of the most eminent monarchs of Chinese history. -- more can be found at Spcnet.tv

The complication comes primarily through his association with the anti-Manchu insurgent group, The Heaven And Earth Society. Wei Xiao Bao must weigh political (ethnic?) ideology and one set of friends against another as well as consider what's in the best interests of the country. Also, he'd like to accumulate seven wives. Hilarity and Kung Fu abounds. And there's also Chen Kwan Tai in a villian role...
Hi. I'm Chen Kwan Tai. You may know me from such films as Executioners Of Shaolin, Heroes Two and Iron Monkey (not the one with Donnie Yen).

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia

Looks like Wong Kar Wai is going back into the editing room for his classic film, Ashes Of Time. I look forward to seeing a decent DVD of this. Hopefully, this time we can actually see some of Sammo Hung's choreography. Why did they hire the guy if they weren't gonna use his stuff?

Kung Fu Cinema calls it "one of the greatest wuxia pian ever made." I can't agree with that, though I did enjoy the film on my second viewing.

Ashes Of time provides some backstory to the world of Louis Cha's Condor Heroes.

Labels: DVD, kung fu, movies, wu-xia

The upcoming TV series remake of the Jin Yong (Louis Cha) novel that gets remade every now and then. Here's a trailer from YouTube;



There's an anime series with the same title, but it's been misnamed as it's actually Return Of The Condor Heroes. A sequel by the same author. That story has also been published in comicbook form by Tony Wong as The Legendary Couple (at least in it's U.S. release). The English volumes were canceled before the story concluded.

The subtitled 1982 series Legend Of the Condor Heroes; Iron Blood, Loyal Heart can be found here (the torrents can anyway). As of this writing just the first four episodes are up, but more should be arriving, probably over the next coupl'a months. I've previously mentioned watching the first two episodes without subs. If you're into old school Shaw Bros. action, you'll want to check these out.

Not known to me til just now; Heavenly Sword, Dragon Sabre is the third part of the Condor Trilogy. Something I'll keep in mind as I have that series stashed away for future viewing (as well as the 2006 Return Of The Condor Heroes). I've read some of Ma Wing Shing's comicbook adaptation. That too was canceled early.

Labels: bittorrent, comics, dorama, kung fu, tv, wu-xia, youtube

D-Addicts is a torrent site devoted to drama series from parts of Asia (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic Of China).

I go there mostly for the period kung fu/wu-xia series like The Duke Of Mount Deer (2000), Chinese Paladin, Heavenly Sword, Dragon Sabre, and more, but the site mostly hosts modern day romantic fare.


I recently finished watching Twin Of Brothers, which is the usual mix of flying kung fu (mostly arms flaying wildly and quick edits), special effects, romantic triangles, rectangles and what have you, and just a touch of tragedy. Highlights included Waise Lee (Bullet In The Head) as one of the villians, and a one episode appearance by Gordon Liu (Master Killer/36th Chamber Of Shaolin) AKA Liu Chia-Hui.

Romance Of The Three Kingdoms is not Wu-Xia, but is a historical drama based on an old novel. I would recommend it as a great story, but also as something that is often referenced even in fantasy based stories (including most of the ones mentioned above).

All this is to mention that this month's Chinese Series Of The Month over there is The Proud Twins. Don't know anything about it as I haven't watched it, yet. You could read this and that
for more info and then go here to download it (scroll way down).

Labels: bittorrent, dorama, downloads, kung fu, tv, wu-xia

Man, this guy is good. Dokaka is an a cappella-ist somewhat in the vein of Bobby McFerrin (but more of a metalhead) and that guy from the Police Academy flicks who did the special FX with his voice. I'd heard a little of his stuff in a preview for We Love Katamari, from a Playstation Underground magazine/disc, a little while back. Didn't blow me away, but I thought it was interesting. I did want to get the game, though.
The other day, I caught a small article about him in the latest issue of Wired, which I subscribe to (only ten bucks), and thought I'd check out his website. I downloaded a bunch of music, listened to some of it and was like "Holy shit!!!, This guy's fucking great!!! And he is, too. And there's a lot of music at his site. I haven't finished listening, yet.
I think every song of the week in April is gonna be a multi-track a cappella production. Obviously, they won't match the blinding brilliance that is Dokaka, but it does offer me a different way of approaching music for a little bit.

February 23rd, 2008 - there is no longer the huge collection of music that was on his site before, though, there are a couple of songs for purchase. More samples and video can be found on his MySpace.

Also playing in my PSP...

My Only Alibi (four song demo) - A guy I know at work is the lead guitarist for this band. I'm not a huge fan of emo (I think that's what this is), but all of these songs are rock solid. From the songwriting to arrangements and the musicianship. It's a little annoying to know someone about half my age who's this good, even if it's not unusual to find better musicians than myself.

Wendy And Lisa - Lolly Lolly and Are You My Baby from their 1989 CD, Fruit At The Bottom. I need to cut out the album intro from the beginning of Lolly, but otherwise I've always dug these two songs. Are You My Baby is sorta Camille/Prince in voice and production, though maby not much so, lyrically. My first two CDs were this and Living Colour's Vivid (both purchased simultaneously).

Still playing; GTA: Liberty City Stories, Donkey Kong Country, Metal Slug 2, K.E.T.M. and playing with PSPRhythm. Sony's apparently working on a PSOne emulator for the PSP so they can sell Playstation 1 games that work right off the memory stick. That sounds great, but if it comes at the cost of playing the games and programs I just mentioned (except GTA, which is safe), then I won't be participating in the inevitable firmware upgrade. The lure of being able to play Jumping Flash again, though...

Watching Romance Of The Three Kingdoms (up to "episode" 9 of 58, now).

Reading The Smiling Proud Wanderer (still on chapter one, I think), by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). Translated by Lanny Lin.

Labels: Awesome, fun, music, possibilities for creative expression, PS2, video games, wu-xia

Actually I just realized "Qi" would be a cooler spelling, but then some people wouldn't know how to pronounce it. Oh, well.

The PSP (PlayStation Portable) can now be used as a songwriting tool, or at least a beatbox with a homebrew program called PSP Rhythm. Excited about this, I decided to give it a shot and write this weeks song with it. Actually, I'd been playing around with it for the last coupl'a weeks.
I've been using Audacity on XP for most of my song demo recordings and this week's no different, except I've never multitracked on it. I exported the wave file from the PSP and then recorded two vocal tracks.

This week's song is a Wu-Xia fantasy. Why not?

A wave of my hand
sword energy
a quickening
of pulses
countered by palms
Shaolin techniques
my body
convulses
I gather my chi,
energy
from the forces of nature
around me
Focus my will
till I'm at peace
and ready to
release

Chi
Energy

My enemies fall
scattered throughout
like waves
in the water
The cracking of bone
spilling of blood
chaos from
order
I gather my chi,
energy
from the forces of nature
around me
Victorious
a stroke of my beard
I laugh
in pride

Chi
Energy

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Labels: downloads, kung fu, lyrics, my music, PSP, PSP Rhythm, PsychoVoyager, song of the week, wu-xia

No.

Vongo.com is a movie on demand site by the Starz cable channel. You can pick out pay-per-view content for about 4 or 5 bucks a movie, or choose a subscription of about 10 bucks a month and have access to over 1000 titles to watch when you want. The subscription also allows you to watch the Starz channel on your computer. The service allows the movies to be downloaded to a limited number (3?) of computers and external devices. The PSP is not among those devices. I had some hope that might change in the near future, because I kept reading about Sony's involvement in this venture, but an email reply to my question on this matter squashed that. seeing that I had no practical use for the service, I uninstalled it from my computer and will wait to see what develops next.

Watching full length movies on a portable isn't something that's neccesary on a daily basis. It's a nice option to have should you have to take a long trip, or wait on a really long line, say, for your passport or at the DMV. On a daily basis I prefer lighter entertainment and TV shows are perfect. Especially anime or wu-xia dramas. TV dramas can get pretty emotional though. A few weeks ago, on the bus to work, I was watching an episode of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex that had to do with a dying pet and I got a little misty eyed. Luckily I was wearing shades. I don't need to be seen crying in public. Laughing's okay. Around here, nobody notices someone who seems to be laughing for no reason, but crying's a no-no.

I'm currently watching episodes of 24 (I'd downloaded VCD's of the first season years ago) and Kodomo No Omocha on the PSP. While I plan on continuing 24 to it's conclusion, it's a little intense to be watching during my breaks at work. Perhaps I'll get used to it. Kodomo No Omocha is a cute but weird anime about a child actress who copes with both her school and professional lives. I don't mind viewing it at work where people know me, but I do admit I'd rather not be seen in any other public space watching this.

Eventually I'll convert Romance Of the Three Kingdoms and start watching those. I also have some episodes of Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan (Legend Of The Heavenly Sword And The Mysterious Xia AKA Chinese Paladin) to download and I'm working on getting the 2003 version of Heaven's Sword, Dragon Sabre. D-Addicts.com in case you were wondering.

Labels: Anime, dorama, downloads, kung fu, movies, online retailers, tv, wu-xia

(No longer available) These are newly edited trailers for the following classic SB films: The Lotus lamp, Angel With the Iron Fists, Crazy Shaolin Disciples, The Deadly Duo, and Spirit Of The Sword. I like it when the DVDs contain the original theatrical trailers, however the few that I've seen are better viewed after the movie as they give away a bit too much. The new trailers, then, serve their intended purpose; to get you excited about the upcoming dvd. Click on the title link to get to the trailer page.

I also happened upon a great article on the Shaw films in this month's ArtForum, Made in Hong Kong: The Films of Shaw Brothers Studio by Geoffrey O'Brien. Great stuff.

If you're into collecting trailers, then I suggest Dave's Trailer Page. If you only need to watch them, then quicktime.com will do the trick.
I love trailers. Sometimes they give you all you need out of a cinematic experience in less than 2 minutes. The first trailer I saw for Pearl Harbor is my favorite. Seriously had me teary eyed, especially seeing those planes fly by that baseball field. I had and have absolutely no interest in ever seeing that movie, though. Everything I needed was in the trailer. Maybe that makes it a bad trailer? Or maybe calling a movie Pearl Harbor is a bad idea if you're really spending 2 hours on Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. Having a love triangle take place during Pearl harbor is one thing, but having Pearl Harbor take place during a love triangle just won't do it for me.

Labels: kung fu, movies, Shaw Bros., wu-xia