Martial Arts

‘Enter the Dragon’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit Correspondent, Tony Farinella.

My unofficial title of a film buff might be revoked when I reveal this is the first Bruce Lee film I have ever watched. I do have “Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits” on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection, but I have yet to dive into those films.  “Enter the Dragon” was the last film Lee completed before his untimely death.  With it being the 100-year anniversary of Warner Brothers, they have taken it upon themselves to give this film the 4K treatment.  While I have some issues with “Enter the Dragon,” for the most part it was a decent introduction to Lee.  I look forward to checking out more of his films with my Criterion box set.  There are too many films out there and not enough hours in the day.

Bruce Lee stars as Lee, a skilled and proficient martial artist and instructor, being approached by Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks), a British intelligence agent, about entering a martial arts tournament. The tournament is being run on a private island by the villainous Han (Kien Shih). He needs Lee’s help as he suspects Han is involved in prostitution and illegal drug trafficking. He needs Lee to enter the tournament and find out the inside scoop on Han and his operation.  It’s also a deeply personal mission for Lee as he finds out one of Han’s goons has caused Lee’s family pain and misery.

Lee is joined in this tournament by a compulsive gambler named Roper, played by film veteran John Saxon, and the smooth-talking Williams, played by Jim Kelly. They are treated to beautiful women and told to stay in their rooms and not ruffle any feathers.  One night, Lee goes out looking for clues and evidence, which leaves Han wondering what is going on with his security team. Can he trust his men to keep Lee, Roper and Williams in line? Lee seems to be one step ahead of Han, but Han has an army of men and will stop at nothing to keep his enterprise up and running.

“Enter the Dragon,” overall, was a mixed bag for me.  The first hour of the film really lost me, and it seemed to move at a glacial pace.  I’m all for building up the story, the characters, and giving us time to digest everything before the final battle. I’m on board with that one hundred percent, and I like interesting characters and a good build-up to a grand finale. However, the first hour is tedious and rather boring.  It doesn’t really go anywhere.  When we get to the last half-hour and Lee gets to do his thing, it’s a beautiful movie to watch unfold on screen.  The martial arts sequences are put together like a work of art and are truly out of this world.

Maybe I’m asking too much for a martial arts movie to have a better story, but it’s more about the pacing.  There is no sense of urgency in a film that is only 99 minutes or 102 minutes if you watch the special edition of it.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely was enthralled with the last act when it comes down to Han and Lee. The way they use the mirrors and what’s around them had me on the edge of my seat, literally. Bruce choreographed the fight scenes himself, and he has a great screen presence.  I didn’t feel like he had a ton of screen time, but when he’s on screen, he really makes his scenes count. It’s remarkable how lightning fast and intense the fight sequences are, and they are flawless.  You have to give credit to Bruce for looking the part, playing the part, and putting so much into this film.

Many people have talked about the spy aspects of the film and compared it to the James Bond franchise. I didn’t really feel like they fleshed out those aspects enough.  I really wanted more of the meat and potatoes of the story. I know Lee was a silent but deadly killer in this film, but the rest of the cast can be a little too cartoonish at times.  Again, I was blown away by the final 30-40 minutes.  If they had properly built it up in the first hour, I would have considered it a classic, which many film critics and historians out there have labeled it.  Maybe I need to give this one another watch, but on my first viewing, I can’t say I see the historical significance of this film.

* * out of * * * *

4K Info: “Enter the Dragon” is released on a single disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  The theatrical cut of the film runs at 99 minutes while the special-edition version runs at 102 minutes. The film is rated R for martial arts violence and brief nudity.  It also comes with a digital copy of the film.

Video/Audio Info:  The High Dynamic Range on this 4K release is very, very strong here.  The film was released in 1973, and many scenes were incredibly bright, colorful and eye-popping.  It still has a little bit of the old-school charm to it, but it’s also touched up. That being said, it isn’t so touched up that it looks too clean.  This is a prime example of a film that is improved with a 4K release, but it still keeps its classic look at the same time. The Dolby Atmos track is perfect here.  It also comes with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Special Features:

Introduction by Linda Lee Cadwell

Commentary by Paul Heller and Michael Allin

Should You Buy It?

Film criticism is subjective, and I really wanted to love this film. I’ve loved what Warner Brothers has been doing lately with their restorations of classic cinema.  I’m always looking to learn about new films and classic Hollywood stars.  With that being said, I was bored and uninterested in two-thirds of this film.  For a classic, it shouldn’t be the case.  I will give credit where credit is due and say the final 30-40 minutes feature some of the best martial arts I’ve ever seen in my life.  I didn’t expect the film to be wall-to-wall action, as that wouldn’t be feasible, but I was hoping for a little bit more out of the characters, pacing and storytelling, even in a martial arts movie. If you are a Bruce Lee fan and you adore this film, you won’t be disappointed in the least by this 4K release and transfer.  I’m willing to watch this film again and see if I missed something. In the end, it’s one with a grand finale that needed a story and some build-up to accompany it.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘John Wick Chapter 4’ – Still Trying to Kill the Unkillable

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

If there is to be a fifth “John Wick” film in our future, or perhaps this can be included in the upcoming spinoff entitled “Ballerina,” in which a father and son visit a memorial which stretches out for a couple of miles. Their dialogue would be comprised of the following:

“Daddy, what is the wall?”

“Well son, this is a memorial for all the people killed by John Wick, a professional hitman and assassin.”

“Wow, there are so many names up there!”

“I know son. Funny thing is, this memorial was opened up the public before those who constructed it realized they had another mile or two to add on. Just when everyone thought John could not kill another soul, he somehow found the strength to kill another human who was sent out to kill him.”

“Why did so many try to kill him dad?”

“Because there was a bounty on his head son, one to the tune of around $20 million dollars.”

“Daddy, are all these names up here to show they did not die in vain?”

“Actually son, it was quite the opposite. This memorial is proof of what happens when you put greed above everything else.”

Right from the start, the “John Wick” movies have shown how its title character is a human being somewhere in between the 1980’s action heroes portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and John McClane from “Die Hard.” On one hand, John looks to be super-human as he dishes out punishment while taking quite a large number of brutal hits in return, but thanks to Keanu Reeves, who continues to do some of his best work in these films, this character remains fully human as he is not without a soul and is looking to find peace in a world which appears very much devoid of it, particularly for him.

“John Wick Chapter 4” starts not too long after the events of “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” in which he found himself betrayed by the High Table. Since then, he has lived in an underground bunker with The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) who has helped nurse him back to health. Suffice to say, John’s bloody knuckles are a sign that he is ready to fight yet another battle. Of course, what makes this even clearer is the following dialogue:

The Bowery King: “You ready, John?”

John Wick: “Yeah.”

But the fact that John Wick is still alive does not sit well with Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard, who always looks like he is about to start singing “I’m Sexy and I Know It”) who chastises Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and his friend Charon (the late Lance Reddick) for failing to kill this dog-loving assassin. To see that the job finally gets done, Marquis hires Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind assassin who also happens to be an old friend of John’s. Caine is not keen on taking the job, and he shudders once he realizes what name he is reading on a braille card to where he does not even need to spell it all out. As these two come to blows, it does not take much to see how they are both victims of circumstances beyond their control as they fight to protect what they love most.

Director Chad Stahelski knows what we want and expect from a “John Wick” film when we enter then theater, but he is smart to not start things off with too big a bang. During its 169-minutes, he takes his time to reintroduce us into the world John inhabits and of the people in his universe who either benefit or suffer from his deadly actions. And when those action scenes suddenly take flight, you can bet it will take not one or two, but close to a dozen bullets to take out a single bad guy. Watching this, it makes me wonder if John will suddenly run out of bullets at the worst possibly moment.

When it comes to Reeves, many love to joke about what a bad actor he is. As for myself, I feel the need to defend him from time to time even if his work in “Knock Knock” remains too painful to endure. The truth is, he is one of the main reasons the “John Wick” movies work as well as they do. In this latest installment, he receives the deepest of bruises, is almost hung from a noose, has a tattoo searingly burned into one of his arms and ends up falling down more flights of concrete stairs than Father Karass did in “The Exorcist,” and yet he still comes out of all of this standing tall. Even if you wonder if John ever gets any sleep, has any time to go to the bathroom or if one ice bath a day is enough for him, Reeves makes you believe he can endure the worst and yet still come out of it all with a pulse. Even when a supporting character utters to John why he doesn’t just die, he makes you realize he is not about to or, at least, not yet.

Other than that, “John Wick Chapter 4” contains a lot of great things such as Ian McShane’s performance as he plays Winston Scott in a far more gleeful than he did previously, Clancy Brown who proves to be a wonderful addition as a high-ranking High Table operative called the Harbinger, a thrillingly propulsive music score composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, and striking cinematography from Dan Laustsen.

Still, I do need to single out another performance here, and it is the one from Donnie Yen, As Caine, he shows how the blind can see things better than those who still have their eyesight, so it should be no surprise when he easily takes out his devilish opponents with something like the sound of a doorbell. Like John, Caine is in a position not of his own making, and Yen does an excellent job of showing the painful conflicts this character is forced to deal with. As much as he does not want to be in this position, you know he is not about to go easy on his prey. But will he enjoy taking down his target? That remains to be seen.

While watching “John Wick Chapter Four,” I was reminded of what happened after Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” became such a worldwide phenomenon. Hollywood quickly greenlit a number of martial arts films heavy stunts, but none of them were anywhere as successful. Some studio executives proclaimed that these films had the best fight choreographers available, but they clearly missed the point. The best action films out there are not just about stunts, but also about characters with moral dilemmas they are constantly entangled in. Whether or not they win the day, they still wonder what will become of them once all the violence ends.

The ”John Wick” films are not just about stunts; they are about the characters which inhabit them. This is what makes all the amazing stunt work, and it is infinitely amazing here, so bloody effective. Whether or not you consider “John Wick Chapter Four” to be one of the best movies ever made, it is clearly one of the greatest action flicks to come out in recent years, and seeing it once is not enough. More importantly, you have got to check it out on the silver screen with the biggest audience in town.

By the way, there is a post credit scene I encourage you to stick around for. And yes, this film is dedicated to the memory of Lance Reddick, yet another actor who tragically left us far too soon. Rest in peace Lance…

* * * * out of * * * *

Exclusive Interview with Dylan McTee About ‘Wrong Turn’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The latest “Wrong Turn” installment is now available for all to watch, but while some of the filmmakers remain the same, almost everything else has changed. Directed by Mike P. Nelson, this film acts as a reboot of the “Wrong Turn” franchise as we follow a bunch of young adults who are going on a hiking trip up in Virginia. But instead of running into bloodthirsty cannibals, they run into a clan of self-sufficient people who have lived in the mountains for years and do not take kindly to outsiders. What results may seem like another horror slasher extravaganza, but unlike its predecessors, it is grounded in a reality we all know and understand, and this makes this particular reboot stand out in the overcrowded horror genre.

Among the young adults in the cast is Dylan McTee who portrays Adam Lucas, the loudmouth jerk of the group who never knows when to shut his mouth. But while Adam may sound like the typical clichéd you find in the average horror film, McTee invest this character with intelligence, thoughtfulness and a physicality which is on full display throughout. Born in Los Angeles, California and a graduate of USC, he played Wyatt Long in the CW show “Roswell: New Mexico,” and he also co-starred in “The Wind,” a horror film which belongs on my “Underseen Movies” list.

I spoke with Dylan about the making of “Wrong Turn” and how it differs from the average film, and we also discussed other things like training at USC and why he is so inspired by Daniel Day Lewis’ acting.  

Ben Kenber: How familiar were you with the “Wrong Turn” franchise before you got cast in this reboot?

Dylan McTee: I was, and part of the reason why I wanted to do it was because it (the first “Wrong Turn” film) was one of the first horror movies I ever saw. As a kid, I remember watching it with my older brother who had, obviously without my parents knowing, had turned it on. It scared the shit out of me for months and probably messed up my brain for maybe the good, right? Because I’m in the new one (laughs).

BK: I had talked to Adrian Favela recently and he said he also saw it when he was a kid and it messed him up pretty good.

DM: Yeah. I think a lot of us were the same age as kids when the first film came out, so we were given a too early exposure to it.

BK: Well, its better seeing the original “Wrong Turn” at a young age than the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

DM: Oh yeah, that was on too. I saw all of them. I watched “The Exorcist” when I was way too young. Way too young.

BK: As the movie goes on, we learn Adam and the other young adults are not all they appear to be and prove to be more intelligent than they appear on the surface. They are more complex than I expected. Did this aspect appeal to you?

DM: Yeah, of course. Certainly, there are archetypes. This isn’t like a character drama or anything. This is still a pretty classic horror slasher film, but you are very right. I play Adam who is definitely the difficult one and why I wanted to play him was because of the fact that he is the guy who, whether or not it is socially right to do so, says the truth or at least what he believes to be the truth, and he’s not afraid to fight about it. That’s sort of what the film is about. At its heart it’s a fun, fun slasher just for you to have fun while watching, but it is also sort of about social issues that we have today like division. I think that we’re all quick to judge, and in the universe of this film that is exactly what gets you killed. I think that was really fun to explore.

BK: In other interviews, you have said you are attracted to very challenging roles which explore the darker side of humanity, and we definitely get to see Adam’s dark side when he is forced to defend himself in the worst way possible. What was it like portraying that?

DM: That’s so true. I love playing the darker side of humanity for sure, just like playing the joy and all that. Adam was a particularly interesting character because he is so erratic. You don’t really quite know what’s going to happen next to him. He is deeply selfish and violent, and then he is caring and comforting, and then he lies and then he tells the truth, and to me that’s exciting when you don’t know what’s going to happen next with someone. But at the end of the day, obviously it can be argued that he is not the best person. I love to think there is a part in all of us that is deeply just mental and is willing to fight and violently fight for those assumptions we have of others. That’s, in my opinion, the lesson. It’s the weaker route to take. It’s harder to take a step back and say, well where are these people actually coming from? Where am I coming from? It’s much easier to just assume something about someone, and then that’s the job, right? At least my job in this film was to show this aspect of humanity which unfortunately we all have.

BK: Yes, we do make assumptions about people even when we shouldn’t, and this is what gets the characters in trouble.

DM: Yeah, so I really like that (Alan B.) McElroy added that. He is also the screenwriter of the original film, and I am glad that he brought that in.

BK: McElroy also was the screenwriter of “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.”

DM: That’s right! Oh my god, I forgot about that.

BK: It must be nice to work with writers and filmmakers like McElroy who are working to freshen up the genre if only by a little bit.

DM: Yeah. This is my third film ever, so I am not going to pretend like I’m some sort of veteran. In many ways I’m starting out, but this was definitely a different experience and definitely my first experience where I realized the horror genre has really changed. I find the audiences are more sophisticated than ever before. If you are going to go about rebooting something that people like, you need to push the envelope. Sure, there’s gonna be people who are upset that maybe Three Finger is not in this iteration, but I just really respect the fact that we just did something no one is expecting really. I think that’s fun to watch, and to me that’s worth it.

BK: Another movie you were in which I really liked was “The Wind.”

DM: That was a cool movie.

BK: That’s kind of a wilderness movie as well. Were there any similarities for you in filming “The Wind” and “Wrong Turn?”

DM: Oh god, they were so different. I had a fairly small part in “The Wind,” but the characters are just opposites. In “The Wind” I was a very subdued and quiet, late 1800’s city boy. In this one, I was, well, a very violent, fighting city boy, so there you go. They were both city boys (laughs). “The Wind” was very quiet, eerily so. This one is more running and trying to solve problems and action and movement and then just fighting for survival. So (they are) very different films even though they are in the same genre. But I love Emma (Tammi) and Caitlin (Gerard). They were just genius.

BK: Speaking of running and jumping, you and the rest of the cast did a lot of that in “Wrong Turn.” How physically demanding was shooting this movie for you?

DM: Incredibly. In any film, it’s how ever much you want to put in it, and for me, at least in my experience, I put in a lot. I want it to be authentic as possible, and really at the end of the day the only way to do that is just to do it. Obviously, we followed all of the safety protocols, but I was really dragged by a chain and I really fell down a hill. I am fairly equipped just from my own experience. I am a black belt in karate, I like fight choreography, I love all that stuff. It was actually something I looked for. So, for me at least, it was a huge part of the attraction to this role and this film really.

BK: I read that you studied martial arts. Which of them would you say you are proficient?

DM: Just Kenpo, a Japanese karate, and then I also do boxing and obviously some stage combat which is very like, I’m a thespian! (Laughs) But that’s not real fighting. And then at school I got in fights, but I’m not like an MMA guy. That would be cool. Maybe I will do that for the next role.

BK: You have said you are very inspired by the acting of Daniel Day Lewis. Is there any specific performance of his which you really like?

DM: One that really hit me was “In the Name of the Father.” There’s a scene where he’s talking to his dad in a jail cell, and just the way in which he lets it rip… He’s not afraid to look ugly. That’s just something I look up to. He just gives his heart and soul, and that’s what we want to watch. That’s so inspiring to me.

BK: Yes. There are many actors out there who just want to look cool onscreen, and then there are those who are more than prepared to dirty themselves up if the role calls for it.

DM: Yeah, totally. I think most of the actors that reach the top or the ones I look up to are aware of the fact that they are servants. It’s not about me. We are here to serve the story and to represent something that someone maybe is actually watching and saying, that’s me. There is a huge responsibility to acting in my opinion.

BK: You trained at University of Sothern California (USC). What classes did you benefit most from as an actor there?

DM: My favorite class was dialects. The fact that you could find movement and bring that to the voice and how you can watch videos of people and all the research involved of finding a certain specific southern accent or Northern Irish or Southern Irish or New York or Bronx and all these different things and just how you can bring it into your body. That was huge for me and so much fun. I definitely want to do more of that character stuff. I love that element of acting.

“Wrong Turn” is now available on VOD, Digital, DVD and Blu-ray. You horror fans be sure to check it out!