This Week in Cinema, I Learned…Apr 28-May 04 2024
Written by Cameron Geiser
Welcome to This Week in Cinema, a yearlong film criticism project wherein I will be watching a new film that I haven't seen every single day.
Finally, we have come to May. While the remainder of April wasn’t a full week I still devoted the final days to a specific genre, Action. We’ve got a couple of simple, yet satisfying, action films from the past year and a half in Monkey Man, Plane, and The Beekeeper. However, the real fun began with another film from Mel Brooks in Robin Hood: Men in Tights- what an oddball flick! Two Shaw Brothers Kung Fu films and a Hong Kong Kung Fu flick starring Donnie Yen round out the week’s introduction to May, the month of Kung Fu and Comedies! But did I learn anything from these films this week? Well, first and foremost I was incredibly entertained by these films. None of these films had truly compelling stories for the most part, but the magic of these films lies within the execution of well choreographed action, and in some cases narrative depicted through compelling action. The lesson I found to be consistent through all of these films was the idea of committing to the bit, essentially. When it comes down to Comedy and Action, going all the way, being willing to be silly or going for the joke at any expense provides goodwill from the audience. If they see someone giving it their all, the audience will take notice. So, this is all to say, go for the gold, do the thing, be free of shame and give it a go- you’ll likely be rewarded in creative pursuits.
April 28th
Monkey Man (2024)
4/5
Dev Patel can rest easy knowing that his first film as a director is a rousing success. Monkey Man is a simple tale of revenge, but one told with plenty of charm and heart pumping action. Patel wisely strings the audience along throughout the film when it comes to his character’s backstory, slowly revealing more slivers of motivation as our solemn lead ingratiates himself with the powerful and the corrupt. Bit by bit he climbs the social hierarchy of the Brothel where the politician that killed his mother frequents, moving ever closer to his goal. Once “Bobby”, the alias Patel gives himself, gets an opportunity to kill his mother’s attacker- it goes off the rails. “Bobby” recoups from his injuries and begins to fight not just for himself but for the marginalized and the powerless, he takes another go at revenge not just for his family, but for all the families whose lives were destroyed, or made to be lesser because of the wealthy and the powerful. I really dug this one. The cinematography, choreography, and lighting of this inventive tale of revenge were all quite impressive for a first feature. There was style all over this film, but the fight scenes themselves had a scrappy nature to them and I quite enjoyed that. While the pacing could have been tighter in the first half of the film, it certainly wasn’t sluggish or uninteresting. Monkey Man is a reliable action film, if you’re wanting some cinematic adrenaline, look no further.
April 29th
Plane (2023)
3/5
Plane is the sort of movie that you’d see often decades ago. Take a couple of noticeably talented actors with name recognition and throw them together in either a comedy or an action vehicle. This time around those names are Gerard Butler and Mike Colter, and for the most part, that works just fine. Colter doesn’t get quite as much to do, and not enough character stuff knowing how good he was in his Luke Cage role- but his presence is always felt when he’s on screen. The fact that he’s playing a dangerous prisoner who’s being transported with a small security team does play into this notion, but still, Colter does a lot with a little. Butler does a commendable, if unoriginal, job playing the role as everyman pilot Brodie Torrance. He’s a detached, yet caring, family man forced to fly the worst routes for his airline after a public display of aggression to an unruly passenger years prior. When a gilded CEO forces the plane through a tropical storm over the east asia seas- it doesn’t go well. They crash land on a tropical island, in a very intense well crafted sequence of tension, that’s overrun by violent rebel factions. Butler and Colter are inevitably forced to team up and that’s when the film turns into a 1980’s style action film. The henchmen involved seem like they themselves were plucked from any Rambo sequel and dropped into this film. The last half of the film is the reason to watch as everything goes to hell in very entertaining fashion. Simple, lean, fun- Plane is a totally “fine” action movie that should suffice given the proper level of expectations.
April 30th
The Beekeeper (2024)
3.5/5
I regularly enjoy watching Jason Statham action movies. Since the days of The Transporter franchise, Statham has been a presence in genre cinema and while some films haven’t exactly been the best (The Meg 2: The Trench comes to mind), he’s always been a reliable action star. Which makes The Beekeeper that much more interesting to me as I found it to be one of his best movies in years. I also think it elevates David Ayer back to a respectable status as well. I knew Suicide Squad being a trainwreck couldn’t have been entirely his fault. This film effectively proves Ayer’s merit in the action genre. Anyways, if you were wondering, yes, Statham is *actually* a literal Beekeeper in the film, but he’s also The Beekeeper. Which essentially means he’s an extremely skilled asset from a super secret organization that bends the rules of international order to prune any members of “the hive” that threaten the safety and well being of the rest of the hive. So after some punk rich kids scam a nice old lady out of house and home, he retaliates in extremely satisfying ways. This is the third movie this week to have a bit of an “Eat the Rich” vibe, and I’m happy to see it. Good stuff indeed. The Beekeeper isn’t as cheesy as the marketing made it out to be, and admittedly the film was surprisingly well made. It was always just a bit better than I anticipated, which is why I give it a hearty recommendation.
May 1st
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
4/5
Mel Brooks, the legend, brought us this crazy comedy back in 1993- and honestly it may be his most unhinged film. Everything about this one worked for me, from the slapstick to the wordplay and the very meta jokes, Robin Hood: Men in Tights was constantly a rip roaring comedy that had me in tears. Maybe it was the fact that the film is a meta comedy during the Medieval period but I was constantly getting Monty Python and The Holy Grail vibes from this film, and that’s the highest praise I can give a comedy of this sort. Cary Elwes as the titular Robin Hood was a constant source of laughter as his piercing eyes and sly smirk were constantly at odds with any given scene as if to say, “Oh why look at me in this ridiculous situation, how long do you think I can keep this charade going?” with a wink and a nod. I was also surprised to see Dave Chappelle and Patrick Stewart show up in the film, their presence and comedic timing was much appreciated as well. This is some of Mel Brooks’ best work, you owe it to yourself to check it out if you haven’t!
May 2nd
The 36 Chambers of Shaolin (1978)
4/5
The 36 Chambers of Shaolin may have an extremely simple story structure, but I was thoroughly entertained for the whole of the runtime. San Te (Gordon Liu) is your typical Kung Fu protagonist, his family was killed by Government officials so he journeys to the famed Shaolin Temple to learn Kung Fu so that he may fight back against such blatant corruption. After one of the Elders at the Temple accepts San Te’s admittance, we fast forward a year to see him begin his Martial Arts training in earnest. He initially tries to go to the most difficult chamber, but finds it too abstract and difficult thus starting at Chamber 1 where San Te attacks the challenges with a fervor and speed not seen before. Add another five years and San Te ends up having mastered every chamber in record time, often through sheer grueling determination. When offered domain over any chamber he chooses, he requests a new chamber be made so that he can train every day people in the ways of Shaolin Kung Fu. One of the elders is dismayed by the idea and continues to challenge San Te until yielding once San Te invents the three section staff and proves, essentially, to be a Kung Fu genius. The training montage may be half the film, but I found The 36 Chambers of Shaolin to be a quality Kung Fu flick!
May 3rd
Magnificent Ruffians (1979)
3.5/5
This Kung Fu flick wasn’t as narratively impressive as some of the more daring entries in the Shaw Brothers filmography, but Magnificent Ruffians does manage to entertain through its characters’ unyielding positivity, competitive camaraderie, and general sense of brotherhood. Yuan Ying Fei (Lu Feng) is a rich businessman and well known Martial Artist with his famed golden sword technique. However lately he’s been running out of worthy opponents to fight as Kung Fu is going out of style with the rise of Western influence and modernization bringing guns into play. That and he’s already killed anyone left that could have been of interest. Thus our villain hires our leads, the titular Magnificent Ruffians. They’re a group of highly skilled martial artists lounging about at local restaurants without money to pay for their meals- they simply let the staff beat them when they can’t pay. When Yuan Ying Fei orders the group to take out their competition he’s not only sizing them up for a fight later on, he’s also trying to take out his local competitors in business. When the Ruffians end up befriending the targets instead, Fei sabotages one of their staffs with an explosive, which as you may have guessed, causes some death and destruction. The fight scenes are admirable, entertaining and full of a sly, carefree attitude as compared to the majority of Shaw Brothers movies at the time. It’s worth a watch.
May 4th
Iron Monkey (1993)
3/5
I’ve always admired the level of dedication that Donnie Yen brings to his work, and it was clear even way back in 1993 that he was destined for Kung Fu greatness. Iron Monkey isn’t the most demanding story, in fact it is often cartoonishly over the top, but Donnie Yen and the titular Iron Monkey both steal the show. Okay, so I suppose truthfully the whole week had films that embodied that “Eat The Rich” tone with two films focusing specifically on characters that ‘rob the rich to feed the poor’. Yang Tianchun (Yu Rongguang), a humble traditional Chinese doctor, would often charge the rich more for his services and let the poor be treated for free. Wong Kei-ying (Donnie Yen) and his son Wong Fei-hung (Angie Tsang) happen to be traveling through the Iron Monkey’s town and are mistaken by the local police for the Iron Monkey as they are on the hunt for the vigilante that dare interfere with their dominion over the masses. This is mainly because a few guards witness Donnie Yen fight off a couple of thieves with impressive skill. There’s some predictable stuff with both Martial Artists recognizing each others’ skills while maintaining a respectable distance until they decide to join forces. Not all of the fights are the most impressive, but Donnie Yen is always the one to watch in any fight scene. It’s all very silly in tone and wildly unrealistic, but truly- I was entertained.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.