Oh man - boy am I happy to bring you something good for today’s Funtastic Friday, “Shaolin Soccer”. The name reminded me of a Bend It Like Beckham knock off or one of those Disney “Johnny Tsunami” kind of films, but I was happily mistaken.

“Shaolin Soccer” falls into the slapstick genre of kung-fu. A mixture of “The Big Green”, “The Matrix” and “Kung Pow: Enter the Fist”… but a little less South Park. The stunts were great, the jokes were well executed and the film relies on sarcasm or exaggeration for it’s delivery which is one of my favorites.

“Shaolin Soccer” follows an out of work Kung Fu master hoping for a Kung Fu reformation but he can’t find the hook to make it popular again. He has the “Steel Leg” which an injured drunkard by the name of “Golden Leg” discovers and decides that they can kill two birds with one stone by starting a soccer team. I can’t tell you how much fun this film was… you’ll just have to trust me on this and give it a go.

[STATUS REPORT]

BROAD vs. NICHE - I place this in the more broad area of film. Anyone can enjoy this movie. It’s a comedy film that gets its laughs from silly situations and exaggerated outcomes. No foul humor and no weird sex jokes. My kind of film.

WATCHABILITY - Easy. Something new and goofy is always happening. The characters are these wild kung fu heroes with borderline super powers which offers an “anything goes” feel to the movie. You may find a brief lull here and there but they had to include a story somewhere.

WHEN TO WATCH - This is a late night movie for sure. Not because of it’s vulgar or anything, but because you’ll want to have gotten everything else done and out of the way so that you can just sit down and have a laugh with no interruptions. I think this is the kind of movie your friends will enjoy as well. Highly recommended. 

Sorry to give a full poster opposed to the normal trailer. I just feel like A.) This movei might be a hard sell because it appears very generic at first glance. and B.) The trailer is way too long and tells too much of the story.  All that to say, I really loved City Island and am proud to add it to my highly recommended films on my Netflix Instant Queue.

The premise behind “City Island” is that your main character, played by Andy Garcia, is a prison guard who recognizes one of the inmates’ names and realizes that it is his son from a relationship 24 years past. Knowing that the inmate could be released on parole if there was any remaining family, Garcia’s character takes this as an opportunity to make up for his early absence as well as break the news to his wife at home.

I didn’t classify this as an independent film at first glance, but after viewing, this definitely fits in with the Little Miss Sunshine genre of dysfunctional families with a feel good ending. I laughed, cried, and left with a warm heart. Strongly recommend this film.

[STATUS REPORT]

BROAD vs. NICHE - This movie isn’t really either. It’s not a family move per se, and it’s not some gritty difficult indy film. It falls somewhere in between little miss sunshine and World’s Greatest Dad, only because there are a few strange sexual situations that take place in the film. I think this is a great college level film seeing as how college folk are not too mature to feel uncomfortable while mature enough to understand the emotion of the film.

WATCHABILITY - Hooked for the full length of this film. I kept hoping it would be longer and that rarely happens with a movie. I wish this was a television series. I could have watched this family perform all day.

WHEN TO WATCH - I think this is a superb college dorm film. Put it on on a Friday night right after all your shenanigans and just before the fourth meal taco bell run.

“Everything Must Go” must go nowhere. I loved this movie. I can always tell a good film when listening to the trailer gets me excited all over again. “Everything Must Go” feels like a low budget film with a new side of Ferrel that stumps “Stranger Than Fiction”, which I know is saying a lot.

The trailer doesn’t allude much to the fact that Ferrel’s character is an alcoholic. I am assuming that this would have pushed a lot of folks away from the film. We like our heroes to be likable, not self-destructive. But the alcoholism doesn’t take away from the character or become too much of the focus in this film. It just offers a well rounded, honest character.

The color and look of this film are great, as you can see a preview of that in the cover art. The set is small which keeps the film interesting and the talent is so high that it captivates you. It’s funny to see a film where a garage sale is the climax, but similar to the film “In Good Company”, you don’t need a happy ending to walk away from this one feeling great. The character development and new perspective does that for you.

[STATUS REPORT]

BROAD vs. NICHE - I don’t think this is a hard movie to grasp, so I would suggest it to anyone. I put it in the broad category, but also understand that this is a bit of a drama and the topic of alcohol can feel a little overbearing or uncomfortable for some people.

WATCHABILITY - Very high. Interested in this film from start to finish.

WHEN TO WATCH - I watched this at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning and it felt great. I would definitely suggest a weekend morning to take this one in. It’s an interesting film that I really enjoyed, but the subject matter and characters were a little depressing so I’m not sure it really livens up a Friday night and might be too weighty for a weekday evening.

I’ve tried double posting two movies at the same time in the past, and it was an epic fail… so I don’t know why I’m trying again. Here’s the gist of it. After I saw The Trip, I loved him. Saxxondale… not so much. Hamlet 2… I couldn’t believe it. I loved that movie.  So more than a review… I’m giving a suggestion. there’s no reviews necessary. Just watch these movies and enjoy Steve Coogen.

Add “HAMLET 2” to your DVD Queue

I thought this was going to be a very “South Park” movie considering the only portion of the film they give away is the song “Rock Me Sexy Jesus”. But this is about 3% of the entire movie. Most of the film follows Coogen trying desperately to work through his own personal problems while saving the drama department with his very limited resources and unusually large cast of primarily first time latino students who ran out of electives to choose from. I thought the acting was fantastic which you don’t hear a lot about in comedies.

Watch “The Trip” Now

This is available on Instant Queue so you can watch this right now. The movie is a touch slower, but it plays out as more of a drama with a sense of humor. Acting is amazing and watching the playfulness and friendship between Coogen and Bryden is new and refreshing to an American like myself. I would recommend playing this immediately and putting Hamlet 2 on your DVD Queue.