Second best movie of 2001, behind only Memento! "Shaolin Soccer"

[foxdvd]

Shaolin Soccer is the newest movie from Stephen Chow. If that name does not ring a bell, it should, because he makes some of the best movies in Hong Kong today. The biggest 3, box office draws in Hong Kong for the longest time have been 1:Jackie Chan 2:Jet Li 3:Chow Yun Fat. One name that has slowly snuck up on these actors has been Stephen Chow. From the early 90’s, he started to pass Chow Yun Fat, and by the mid 90’s his movies were making more then Jet Li. His last few movies have even out grossed Jackie Chan, though even Stephen could not get close to Jackie’s older Box Office records, until now. Stephen’s last few movies have all creamed Jackie Chan, and this new one, Shaolin Soccer, has set a record for a Hong Kong made movie in Hong Kong.

Who is Stephen Chow? Think of Jackie Chan, but less fighting, more comedy. He is the Jim Carry of Hong Kong, but always keeps a strait face for most part, even when things get crazy. His movies always seem to please on some level, and while you never find yourself laughing during the whole movie (in fact, many times you laugh maybe 3 times in all) his actual comedy bits in the movie blow you away. When you start laughing, you laugh for a good 5-10 minutes after the fact. What makes his movies good, is you always have a smile on your face, and the action that does happen can surprise you on how good it is.

Shaolin Soccer is just this type of movie. It is just a good story, with a few laughs, and mind-blowing special effects for a Hong Kong movie. Take Mortal Kombat and the Matrix, and pump that up 10 times (done for comical purposes most of the time) and you get the idea. The soccer ball is kicked at amazing speeds, leaving trails of energy, and blowing people 100 feet away from the impact. Walls crumble from the strength of energy waves, and all this is done with CGI. Sure, the special effects are not that great, and some are just plain bad, but many are amazing. The bad special effects seem to be EXTRA STUPID LOOKING on purpose to make you laugh, and then you get these very good parts that really get you on the edge of your seat, as soccer balls break the sound barrier, leaving flame trails in their path. So half the time the special effects blow, making you laugh, and the other half, they blow you away with how good they look for a movie that probably cost less then 1 million to make.

The story is about a group of Shaolin Monks, each with one special power. They have given up on their abilities because there is no work for a Shaolin Monk in modern times, and each is barely making it. Stephen’s character is the only one who still tries to use his special power to live on, and is always trying ways to combine a job with Kong Fu. A former soccer great discovers his ability to kick a ball hundreds of miles, and decides to start a team of monks. The movie continues with Stephen trying to bring his old friends back together, and various soccer matches.

This movie just plain rules! You will laugh, you will be on the edge of your seat, and some parts, even though they look computery, will actually give you a bit of the feeling you got when you first saw the pod speed past you at high velocity in TPM. This is just a great movie, and I highly recommend it to you guys, especially if you have never tried this part of Hong Kong movies. It is now my favorite Stephen Chow movie(of the 14 or so I have seen) Also, besides Memento, my favorite movie of 2001.

If you want to buy it, in America try

www.pokerindustries.com

and the rest of the world (or even in America if you want to save money but it takes about 2 weeks to get it)...

www.dddhouse.com

This dvd is region free..so it plays in any player in the world, as long as it is not PAL.

[Jedieb]

As much as your glowing review moved me, I'm afraid I'll have to skip this one. It's about soccer, and we all know soccer blows. ;)

[ReaperFett]

yeah, because sports that dont stop every 10 seconds confuse you :)

[JonathanLB]

Soccer does blow. Exactly as Jedieb says. It's one of the most boring spectator sports ever created. I played for five years and it IS fun to play, but extremely boring to watch.

[Jedieb]

No, why guys play chick sports instead of REAL sports like baseball and football confuses me. ;) Hey lets watch some of the best athletes in the world run around for 90 minutes and not use their hands! If we're lucky we'll see someone score once, maybe twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! ;) ;) ;)

[Doc Milo]

The only thing about soccer that doesn't confuse me is why people riot after the matches. If I was sitting around for ten hours watching a match that ended in a 0-0 tie, I'd riot too!

[Jedieb]

reaper, most American males just don't enjoy soccer and NEVER will. Here's an article that's sure to boil the blood of any soccer fan:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/news/2001/07/04/deford

Now I know the game has merits, but I just don't find any of them appealling to me. Soccer will NEVER be a major sport in the U.S. Soccer boys were salivating when the World Cup was in Tampa and were going on and on about how soccer would be kicking butt in a few years. I was in Tampa at the time and I remember it well. Here we are years later and all you see behind MLS players on ESPN are empty bleachers. Every MLS stadium looks like an Expos game. It's just not going to work here. Baseball isn't going to work in England or Austrailia and soccer isn't going to flourish in the U.S. Some laws of the universe will never be broken.

[ReaperFett]

But Eb, the people who created your football must have loved it so, they couldnt even think of a decent original name for the damn sport.


And Eb, that point about scoring makes you sound like you know jackall. This weekend, Manchester United were 3-0 down at half time, away. 2nd half, turned the game round, won 5-3. I prefer that then the sports where even badly beaten losers score 50-60 points.

And Doc, riots arent that common. But hey, what did the fans of last years NBA winning team do? Oh yeah! Worse than what happens in football :)

[Jedieb]

We're just kidding Reaper!!!! Soccer BORES most Americans. It's something some of us let our daughters and unathletic sons play. ;)

Look at the U.S. women's gold. All we remember is Brandi's celebration because after a 90 minute 0-0 tie it was the most exciting thing we saw that day! Hey, in what sport do badlly beaten losers score 50-60 points? It's certainly not football, I think you got real football confused with basketball. ;)

[foxdvd]

It is like that Simpsons episode...they have an add for a Soccer game, it makes it out to be amazing. Homer gets all excited, goes with his family, and when it starts, they just kick the ball around...and he is really mad.

I am not a Soccer fan, but if they games were like the ones in Shaolin Soccer, it would be the biggest sport ever.

[Force Master Hunter]

Odd. You view Soccer the same way the world views Grid Iron.

As a yawn fest! Stop pausing and get on with it!!! BORING!

We have a saying Down Under. Real Men play football without Helmets :-P

[foxdvd]

Ok, I am going to put up some scans from the movie. Spoiler..though VERY small..but some people do not want to see anything at all before they watch a movie...these pics give nothing away in plot, and really show no more then an average trailer..so here we go.



First up is a Matrix spoof. Very funny when you see the movie, but here are some low quality scans from the dvd. The camer pans around Chow, and then he lets go an amazing kick.


http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/B.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/C.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/D.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/E.jpg

[foxdvd]

Next up is a shot on goal in one of the games. The camera follows the ball at high speeds. Note the energy waves leave a trail in the grass...the guy at the end, catches the ball, and does not move an inch. Notice the energy wave that goes out from his body, in a perfect circle..


http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/1.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/2.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/3.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/4.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/5.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/6.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/7.jpg

[foxdvd]

Next is a shot on goal. The ball is REALLY moving this time, leaving flame-trails. The Bruce Lee look-a-like does everything he can to stop the goal.



http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A1.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A2.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A3.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A4.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A5.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A6.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A7.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A8.JPG

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A9.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/A10.jpg

[foxdvd]

Last two shots of a kick...HUGE trail left by this one..


http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/z1.jpg

http://www.crosstel.net/~foxdvd/z2.jpg

[Jedi Master Carr]

Those shots look really cool Fox, too bad the real game isn't as interesting :P Soccer will never become popular here for several reason and one has been brought out oddly by reaper, that the game rarely stops. That is so important to television because of the importants of commercials sure I guess they could change the rules to allow more commericals but I am sure many purests will hate it. Actaully I think Basketball is the most athletic sport and that is why its the only sport from the US that has an international following. (I know football has become popular somewhat in Europe but no where near as popular as basketball).

[foxdvd]

Boxing is the one TRUE sport. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Ok I meet your challenge, I'd say the Gladiatorial contests was the most difficult sport ever. Mostly because of the fact one of the contestents was almost certain to die.

[JonathanLB]

I passed that on to a few other people, hahaha, that is fantastic. I TOTALLY agree.

Soccer is an utterly lame sport, sorry soccer fans, it sucks! It's totally boring and it is indeed a defensive, wussy sport that is inefficient and utterly useless to Americans, who have the advantage of enjoying far superior sports that require a greater degree of skill and intelligence.

Basketball is far more athletic than soccer. You don't even frickin' need arms in soccer, but in basketball you're still running your butt off AND you need to use your hands in a very skilled, very exact manner. Let me tell you, though, if your legs aren't in great shape you cannot play. If you have knee problems, you will not be effective, if you have foot problems, you're gone, etc. It requires a full, healthy individual and is definitely one of the most athletic sports around.

Boxing is also a good one to note, though, even though it is not a team sport or a "sport" in that traditional sense, it is VERY rigorous and demanding of its participants. I have difficulty calling anything a sport that is almost always pay-per-view and where fighters fight like twice a year, though. That's pretty sad. If boxing were run better, I would love it. I love watching a great boxing match. It's awesome, but there just aren't enough and plus, the prices are ABSURD. My dad refuses to pay them even and he was a boxer when he was in high school and in college. He was quite good, too. $50 per fight or even $60 is absurd. $10, ok sure I will pay $10. That's reasonable. It costs me that much to see a movie down here in LA anyway, or more, but $50...? For a match that might last just a few rounds, but at best will not last past an hour? Ummm... no. I'm sorry but that's just a rip. They'd probably make MORE money if they charged $10 or $15.

Back to the point, yes Soccer sucks hard. It's funny to think of all these people outside the U.S. who actually like it. Such a BORING and utterly inactive game. It is truly about failure and about "attempts" that don't mean anything. There is too little scoring to be exciting.

I enjoyed playing when I was younger, but every kid plays soccer almost. I played soccer, baseball, I ran track for a few years, I passed the highest level swim course (but chose not to compete), I took karate for a year (gave it up and never got past white belt, haha), played a lot of basketball, but never on a team, etc. I just realized how lame soccer is and that it leads to nowhere, so I stopped playing.

It was, to be fair, a pretty fun sport to play. It can be enjoyable, but it totally sucks to watch.

My high school girls soccer team was the best in state history. In fact, when our school became co-ed about seven years ago, to just last year, they didn't lose ONE single game. One season they outscored opponents 65-2, LOL. It was pretty incredible. They won numerous state titles and had won 120 games in a row or something like that. The streak finally ended when some team beat them 1-0 last year, which was pretty tragic. I mean, while I was there it was just assumed the girls team would always win and you didn't even ask who won, but what was the score. Everyone, even people who didn't care about soccer, was stunned. I even thought it was pretty depressing as I knew people on the team of course. Not to mention... that was an EXTREMELY hot team of soccer players well worth watching because of that ;)

At least three of those players were perfect 10.0's in terms of looks, but then there were plenty of other hot ones in the 9 range ;)

[JonathanLB]

To be honest, any game that can end in a tie is a frickin' joke.

[ReaperFett]

1st, stopping is NOT important. There is a 15 minute break in the middle. Put em there!


And John, sorry, but your opinions on this are awful compared to the others :)

[JonathanLB]

That was a random bash. My opinions are the same as Jedieb and the writer he linked to, so your opinions of my comments are, as you would put it, awful. :)

Have a nice time watching your lame soccer games. :zzz

[Dutchy]

I agree, soccer sucks. On the other hand: baseball and American football suck too, imho. :)

The most impressive sporters imo are cyclists or road racers. Like Lance Armstrong (American) who won the Tour de France this year. The physical strenth and effort in this sport is one of the toughest.

Another fave sport of mine is track and field (one of the purest sports in sense of physical movement) which also has some impressive athletes. Last fave sport of mine is speed skating, which is a very Dutch sport.

[foxdvd]

Anyone notice my nice pictures! :)

[JonathanLB]

Your pictures actually make me want to get the movie, lol :)

"The physical strenth and effort in this sport is one of the toughest."

Ugg, no kidding Dutchy. It hurts me just thinking about that! Haha, but I do not really think of it as the same type of sport as the others because it's more of a personal exercise or something, less of a real competition. It's still competition of course, so it's hard to explain what I'm saying, but perhaps I like contact sports more (for instance, baseball is not one of my favorites at all). Still, I enjoy golf...

[ReaperFett]

Golf is NOT a sport! :0



One US sport I respect though- Ice Hockey. That is great :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Actually Hockey is not an American sports its Canadian. Really though the US only has one original sport Basketball, the others are all variations of other sports, Football-Rugby, Baseball is a variation on an English game called Rounders (still Baseball is 10 times more popular than Rounders ever was). Basketball though was founded by an American but was actually first played in Canada so both countries claim it to be theirs.

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
Ugg, no kidding Dutchy. It hurts me just thinking about that!

In what way?


Haha, but I do not really think of it as the same type of sport as the others because it's more of a personal exercise or something, less of a real competition.

Then you, obviously, don't know what you're talking about.

[Force Master Hunter]

Actually, I have found, from personal experience, motorsport demands much more of the whole body and mind than anyhting else I have tried. I know that may not be something people appreciate, as it's not exactly something every man + dog has done.

But rocketing down a track, with trees either side at 120 mph, the cabin is up to 140F, dust, fumes.... it's not exactly safe, it's stressful and in one event I drank over 5 litres of water without peeing for 10 hours -and still suffered dehydration.

It's hard on the body and just the concentration required is far above other sports. One slip, your off and having an accident.

I find Americal ball sports incredibly boring, especially Baseball and Gridiron. Having Aussie Rules as a local code, which is played fast and very hard, spoils ya. Aussie Rules players are some of the fittest sportmen of all. Have to be, in one gane you can run half a marathon.

Cricket is something I like watching, but make no mistake, It's a snoozefest at times. Better than Baseball though.

[Jedieb]

It can be argued that football, basketball, hockey, and soccer are all variations of the same game. You have a court/field with two teams. The object of the game is to get the basketball/football/puck/soccer ball in the opponent's basket/net/goal/endzone. The only differences are in the sizes of the courts/fields, number of players, and methods of advancing the basketball/football/puck/soccer. To me it's simple, which one is the most appealing to watch? For me, football is by far the most enjoyable. I love the pace, the power, and the excitement. Soccer is the slowest and the most dull. For most Americans, this will always be true. Basketball will easilly give you the most scoring opportunities. Hockey and soccer provide the fewest. What elevates hockey above soccer (for me) is the speed and action of the game. You also get the added bonus that at some point someone is throwing down their gloves and a boxing match will commence. Two sports in one, what's not to love? Then there's the fact that you get to use your DAMN HANDS!!!!! Asking great athletes not to catch, throw, or hit something is a travesty IMO!

Golf
Golf is not a sport, it's a recreational activity. Yet it's still more popular than soccer in the U.S. and it always will be. Hell, tennis has more clout in the U.S. than soccer. And tennis has been declining in popularity since MacEnroe and Connors left the tour. Soccer fans love to bring up the popularity of soccer as a youth sport. It's a popular youth sport because surburban moms in minivans love to be soccer moms. As soon as these kids hit high school they drop soccer and revert to the more traditional American sports, the big three; football, basketball, and baseball. I'm not denying the popularity of soccer around the world, I'm just telling you it's never going to be a major sport in the U.S. Xtreme pseudo sports like skate boarding are more popular than soccer in the U.S.!

Baseball
Yes, the game is boring. But damnit, it really is as American as apple pie. There are subtleties and nuances to the game that are riveting. Yes all sports have their nuances, but I find the ones in baseball to be particularly appealing. Pitch selection, double plays, diving infielders, 100mph fastballs, etc.. Doubleday, (or whoever really invented it) created a game that was uniquely American. Baseball is not a derivative of Criket. The soldiers who invented it (Doubleday was an officer in the Union army) took the simple concept of trying to hit a ball with a stick and created their own version of a game boys had been playing with rocks and sticks for ages.

Athletes
Let's get something straight. At the professional level of all these sports you have athletes that put us ALL to shame. Well, maybe not buff, but the rest of us couldn't keep up with these guys. Except the golfers, Tiger and Daly are the only ones who are probably strong enough to actually carry their own bags. You think an NFL lineman is a slow lumbering fat slob? If you raced the majority of NFL lineman from your front door to your mailbox they'd smoke your ass. But if you asked them to run the length of the street you'd better have a crash cart waiting for them at the stop sign. Think a soccer boy is useless? He'll run your ass into the ground. But if you asked him to try and make a tackle he'll look like a virgin trying to figure out how to put on a profilactic for the first time. Don't believe me? Have you ever seen a punter trying to make a tackle? It's as embarrasing as Bea Arthur on the SW Holiday Special. Cyclist have incredible indurance, but so marathon runners. There's a reason these guys can pedal for weeks in the French countryside. Could a marathon runner run their race every day for two weeks? If they did you'd have a lot of dead Ethiopians on your hands.

In the end, I like to see success and action. I don't want to wait forever and a day to see someone score. Even a scoreless baseball game has small victories that are fun to watch (strike outs, double plays, etc.) A scoreless hockey game will have checks, shots on goal, and power plays. Soccer will never be a major sport in the U.S. because we need to see success (goals, touchdowns, runs, baskets, etc), we can't stomach long stretches of failure.

"Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." :rolleyes

[ReaperFett]

course football wont be a major US sport. You dont win in it :)

[Jedieb]

What are you talking about? We kick ass in football! No one dares oppose us! It's silly sports like futbol that we avoid at all costs. ;)

[BUFFJEDI]

Wait now.... Soccer is the GREATEST GAME EVER.(in my Opinion)

It takes ultimate skill,indurance,and power(i'm sure i've said this before) having played pro soccer(two weeks) I thinks Most Americans do'nt fully appreciate the whole spectrom of the game.
Soccer KICK ARS.

why when I played in High school.The stongest and 2nd fastest person in school played soccer ,and could whip ANY football player(and did).
three guesses who that was:rolleyes


hey 3 billion + people can't be wrong.



Eb(s) What 's wrong with that Hotty Bea Arthur? :crush

[Jedi Master Carr]

Jedieb you made a better argument than I ever could. Now unless I am mistaken that game that the soliders had been playing was called Rounders right? Because I know I read in some book on the history of Baseball that it the soilders/farmers somebody picked it up from the game rounders which goes back to the 18th century but was never really popular so in way Baseball is a variation maybe just a slight variation, I never read how similar it was to it, I know it is not like Cricket at all. Regardless Baseball is a tough sport everybody that criticizes you try to hit a ball that size coming at you at 90 miles an hour it is not easy believe me.

[JonathanLB]

Dutchy you took my quite neutral post in such a wrong way it is offensive. You just made an attack on me when I agreed with you that cycling is extremely rigorous and difficult!

"Then you, obviously, don't know what you're talking about."

YES, I do know what I'm talking about, YOU don't know what you're talking about! Read the rest of the post if you truly claim to be able to speak English!

I said simply that it is NOT the type of competition I enjoy. I like combat sports. I don't consider it the same level of competition when people are racing, or when they are playing golf, for instance. It's just a different type. That is not better or worse, just different, and I happen to prefer contact sports. Basketball is definitely a contact sport, even if some people might try to claim otherwise, it's quite physical.

I would also agree with Jedieb that football is the most fun spectator sport to watch. Basketball is second for me, but sometimes there is perhaps too much scoring, thus making it a bit less meaningful. Football strikes a great balance generally, 'cept those boring 7-3 games or something. I still enjoy watching baseball, even though it can be boring. I usually just watch the playoffs and the World Series, though. That's the best part... I follow the teams throughout the year by reading about them, but I just don't watch the games (there aren't too many on anyway).

[ReaperFett]

Rounders is funny :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

What do you mean Reaper the name or the game? If you mean the name I understand the joke there. By the way for those who know nothing about rounders I found a site that list the rules for the game. Interestingly people still play it well here it is

http://rounders.punters.co.uk/rules.html

[ReaperFett]

no, the game. It's one handed Baseball :)

[Jedieb]

I thought one handed baseball was master... nevermind.

[ReaperFett]

this is the public version :)