If the words “Wax On, Wax Off” don’t mean anything to you then you might be too young for this list. Growing up in the 80’s it was a mantra all kids knew. “Don’t forget to breathe, in through nose, out through mouth.” We all wanted to be Danny LaRusso and we all wanted a Mr. Miyagi to teach us where karate comes from. These movies took me back.
I was in Taekwondo more than 20 years ago and I still remember some of it. I hope to convince my daughter to take some form of self-defense and I might even join her. Despite my age, my knees are much better today than they were when I first took Taekwondo. All of the running I have been doing has made them stronger. Anyway, enough reminiscing, let’s talk about the Karate Kid movies.
Everyone has that one genre of film that is their secret obsession. For some it’s ROM coms, other it’s musicals and for some it’s thrillers. My secret film obsession is Martial Arts films. There was a time when I was in martial arts and perhaps my interest stems from that experience. A friend of mine, who helped me train in taekwondo, is primarily responsible for introducing me to the genre. Here are my Martial Arts Month selections, 2023 edition:
September (2022) is Martial Arts month. I really enjoy watching martial arts films so I really wanted a month for them. It doesn’t matter if its English, dubbed or subtitled. Jackie Chan is probably my favorite martial arts actor but I have a lot of respect for Bruce Lee. Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat are also some of my favorite martial artists. Below you will find that I have covered all of them in my selections this month.
The Legend of Drunken Master is, hands down, my favorite Jackie Chan movie. It’s terribly dubbed but at least Jackie Chan always dubs using his own voice. Enter the Dragon is the Bruce Lee movie. If you only watch one Bruce Lee movie, it should be Enter the Dragon. These two movies are the quintessential martial arts films (IMO).
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a wonderful movie starring Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang. I watch most of these movies as background while I am working (since I’ve seen every movie on my Plex server at least once). The lesson I learned with this movie, it’s hard to watch a movie with subtitles and work. A note for next time. I also learned, this movie has a sequel which I will have to check out sometime.
I’m not going to say much about the live-action Mulan, I’ve covered quite a bit when I wrote a review. It’s easily my favorite animation to live-action adaptation.
Bonus/Special Event Movies
There isn’t a special event movie in September, that I could find. If you know of some date reference in September that warrants watching the associated movie, let me know in the comments. However, I did get in a bonus movie. As I am trying to stay caught up in Phase 4 of the MCU, we watched Thor: Love and Thunder. I did enjoy it, with just a few minor criticisms.
“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” – Stanley Kubrick
I know November is Thanksgiving month but there really aren’t that many Thanksgiving themed movies (other than A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving). Therefore I’m going in a completely different direction; my top 5 martial arts movies. Apparently “Martial Arts” is not a recognized movie genre. They primarily fall under the “action/adventure” and even “comedy” genres. I find that disappointing. I’m such a fan of martial arts films, perhaps because I used to be in Taekwondo (in another life).
You will find that my favorite actors in martial arts films are Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Although you cannot ignore the godfather of martial arts movies, Bruce Lee. There is also the immortal Chuck Norris (who has SIX different black belts), Steven Seagal, Chow Yun-Fat, and Michelle Yeoh (to name a few more gifted martial artists). But I digress.
Here’s the list:
The Legend of Drunken Master – “Monkey drink master’s wine!”, probably my all time favorite martial arts (and Jackie Chan) film
Enter the Dragon – the most iconic Bruce Lee and martial arts movie. ever.
Shanghai Noon – I love the surrealism of Indians encountering an adept martial artist
Rush Hour – I love the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker
Honorable Mentions
I have three honorable mentions this month. It could be argued that Hard Boiled is more of an action movie than martial arts. Chow Yun-Fat is fun and this movie has one of the longest action sequences completed in a single take. Martial arts movies typically do not get a lot of media attention. However, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is actually a fairly renown movie. It’s over-the-top use of mid-air martial arts is really well done and really gives credence to it’s fantasy themes. Finally, Romeo Must Die is another one of my favorite Jet Li films. In fact I almost chose this for the top 5 instead of Kiss of the Dragon. The legend of the “kiss of the dragon” in the film is what won me over (similar to the “five point palm exploding heart technique” in Kill Bill).
On a final note; one question some may ask is: subtitles or dubbed? It depends on the movie. Most of Jackie Chan’s movies I watch dubbed (he voice dubs himself). Movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Brotherhood of the Wolf I watch with subtitles because that is how it was in the theaters.
