the butcher, the chef and the swordsman trailer

[phoenix_darshan]

Hi feloow martial arts fanatics,

has anyone by any chance seen this movie and/or is keen giving a brief/lengthy review?

thanks guys:tongue:

[Guest Yi-Long]

Looks pretty damn good, except for the lame logo and fonts.

[One Armed Boxer]

There`s a review over at Twitch -

http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2010/09/tiff-2010-the-butcher-the-chef-the-swordsman-review.php

[HAZ]

This played at the Toronto int. film fest. It was pretty popular. I haven't seen it surface on line, but I haven't really been looking.

[ShaOW!linDude]

Looks kind of cool.

I see that Jabba the Hut has been typecast as the big, ugly slug of a villain again.

[Cesare]

First saw this trailer when I went to see Detective Dee - and I have been looking forward to the flick ever since.

So far haven't had any luck, but it is on my list of must-sees...

[daisho2004]

It looks interesting enough.

[un-j]

I've heard of hip hop oriented comedy numbers in this one. That brings my hope for it down a notch!

[kungfusamurai]

I just watched this in the theatre. It's definitely NOT a martial arts film. It has elements that seem to allude to the arts, but there is no actual fight scene that would put this in that category.

It was basically a comedy drama, and done almost like an anthology, with the main story being the one about the pig butcher who's in love with some woman at a brothel. That is the part of the movie that really made me almost walk out. That first 15 to 20 minutes (maybe it was longer) featured horrible non-humorous comedy with bad stylized effects, and a pointless 'rap' music sequence. Nobody was laughing in the theater, and it was predominantly middle-aged asians watching it (some were Mandarin speaking chinese).

The movie changes gears when it goes back in time and you learn about the mute caught trying to steal in a restaurant kitchen, so he's punished by having to work off his theft in the place as some kind of cleaner. Anyway, things happen, and then it goes back in time again for another story. I won't say what it is, and why it keeps doing that. It's the mute in the kitchen story that seems to work the best.

They could have had a really good ending, but instead, the director draws it out further into some stupid video game style antics (you'll see what I mean if you haven't), making the whole thing land with a thud.

You basically have 2/3 of a good movie, so 6/10 is what I think it deserves.

I would have to say the guy who plays the butcher is the Dean Shek/Eric Tsang of the 21st century. And I don't mean that in a good way...

KFS

[Space]

I've heard of hip hop oriented comedy numbers in this one. That brings my hope for it down a notch!

"Taoist Wizard" flashbacks...

[ShaOW!linDude]

I watched the trailer again. It shows some comedic aspects but it really makes the film appear to be an action/adventure type with some MA tossed in.

Thanks for the "heads up", KFS.

If it's anything like you say, I'll pass.

[kungfusamurai]

I watched the trailer again. It shows some comedic aspects but it really makes the film appear to be an action/adventure type with some MA tossed in.

Thanks for the "heads up", KFS.

If it's anything like you say, I'll pass.

If it's playing for a discounted price, it might be worth a look. But I wouldn't have been happy if I was paying more than $8 to see it. Probably was because I was expecting a martial arts movie a la the early 90s new wave period flicks.

KFS

[Cesare]

The film is over the top, all over the place and rather disjointed. It just doesn't quite work as a coherent whole. Wuershan needs to learn that less is sometimes more...:-)

The film is plagued with all kinds of popcultural jokes and references - and while those tend to be pretty funny, the whole thing would have been better off without many of them. There is a lot of experimenting with style, visuals and narrative structure. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Dao jian xiao just keeps tripping over its own feet in all that unrestrained enthusiasm.

But I suppose it is that enthusiastic drive that made me like it. Adore it, even. Despite all its indisputable flaws.

The story of desire (The Butcher)

The most flawed of the three. All that is not so good about this film is somehow more pronounced whenever the butcher is in focus. It is a real shame, since it is this story that serves as a frame narrative for the whole plot. Some individual aspects, details, scenes and jokes in this story work quite nicely. It's just that the thing as a whole doesn't work that well. Also, if you're allergic to Chinese slapstick, Butcher's story might make you slightly nauseated.

The story of revenge (The Chef)

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. THIS is what the whole film should have been like. Off-kilter, funky, playful - but coherent. And with some substance and *feeling* to it.

(Or maybe I just like food too much...;-))

The story of greed (The Swordsman)

Not as well paced and not as solid and -- well-rounded -- as the revenge story; but overall a very, very pleasant, stylish piece and it fits very nicely within the context of the whole narrative. And Ashton Xu is übercool as the swordsman...:-)

Don't expect too much of this flick. It's just a tad too juvenile in many respects.

But it is IMHO worth seeing and it is definitely something quite new within the context of Mainland Chinese cinema. And there are flashes of brilliance throughout...:-)

I liked it a lot, but I can be a very benevolent viewer. I think 6/10 or 7/10 is a fair rating.

[fiol]

my bro already watched it.. i will go to the cinema this thrusday. From what i saw on the trailer and from my bro's words, i think i will enjoy it

[mpm74]

Coming to DVD from fox on Sept 27th.

No word on a Blu-ray release.

[phoenix_darshan]

its free on alluc.org to see and i totally agree, kinda on the fence again, i also wish the whole movie was about the mute or at least have some nicely choregraphed fights in the swordsman story, i did not mind either video game nor comic style scenes, i appreciate directors who think outside the box, tarantino does that stuff too and no one reprimands him for it.

i think this had the potential to be an all time classic if it had focused on another strand instead of the never ending screaming butcher, i still felt sorry for him at the end meaning he had my sympathy to a certain degree..

defo check it out its an unusual movie experience.

i need to sleep over it if its worth a buy

[Cesare]

The whole Buddhist allegory thing would be kind of incomplete without the Butcher. But I think his story should have been handled with more...moderation.

But I gotta say - after repeated watching, I enjoy the film even more. And I am definitely looking forward to Hua Pi 2. Wuershan is a rather promising director.

[daisho2004]

OK I just seen this last night on Netflix, and I agree with everyone this movie had a good storyline well 2/3 of it anyway. I like the Chef episode and the Swordsman. I mean they all tied together nicely but the Butcher one was to comical and I think that ruined it for me.