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6/10
Fun and entertaining, ignore the haters.
12 November 2017
Dear goddess this movie receives a lot of hate. Apparently it's racist because a large part of it is about a white guy (student of Lee) who falls in love with a Chinese girl. You should boycott it because Lee is portrayed as an arrogant, trash talking punk who enjoys street fights and has a bad attitude.

The sad thing is most of those reviews were probably written by people who are big fans of Lee. All they remember is the legend and they forget there was a man who started the legend.

In fact, the movie is based on an article written about "The toughest fight Bruce Lee ever had". It is not intended as a biopic, as such: It takes a snapshot of Lee, nearly at the peak of his powers, incredibly skilled, technique nearing perfection, confidence bordering on arrogance, but without the discipline and the introspection required to balance out his physical abilities.

Enter Wong Jack Man, a famous shaolin monk who travels to San Francisco after a fight spiraled out of control. Inevitably they are drawn into a confrontation, as their philosophies and world views are nearly exact opposites of each other.

I really enjoyed this movie. Is it great, in the class of Ip Man? No. But for sitting at home and watching a film that tries its best to show a side of Lee that everybody once knew about but has conveniently forgotten, while still being respectful and trying to fit in a bit of a plot, I think it deserves much better than all the vitriol and abuse heaped upon it.

This article explains a lot about Lee at the time of the fight and how he evolved from a street thug (albeit an exceptionally gifted and skilled one) to the martial arts icon he eventually became. Watch the movie, read the article, judge for yourself.

http://fightland.vice.com/blog/bruce-lee-vs-wong-jack-man-fact- fiction-and-the-birth-of-the-dragon
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8/10
For fans of the fantastic
16 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Small disclaimer: I was never a huge fan of the Harry Potter books or movies. I think I was maybe just a little bit too old when they came out, because I really like fantasy and I tried very hard to like them. Read three books and got bored, watched two movies and got bored.

That's why I was surprised to like Fantastic Beasts so much. A large part of that is due to Eddie Redmayne, who is simply brilliant in his role as Newt Scamander, the wizard obsessed with magical beasts and protecting them. Reminded me a little of Gerald Durrell, whose books I read over and over again growing up (or maybe Steve Irwin, if you've never heard of Gerald Durrell). Socially awkward and distracted, it is delightful to watch him become confident and authoritative when interacting with the beasts he loves so much.

His story is quite a simple one, trying to catch the beasts that escaped while on his way to Arizona, but it plays out against a much larger backdrop of political intrigue as suspicion and paranoia build in the wizards' community, who are deathly (and reasonably) afraid of having their existence exposed to ordinary humans.
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Emerald City (2016–2017)
8/10
Here be lions.
7 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I loved the premiere of Emerald City. Fantastic in every sense of the word, since Tamren Singh created an amazing fantasy world filled with fascinating characters. While every scene, every setting and every inhabitant of Oz pays tribute to the wonderful imagination of L. Frank Baum, Singh has managed to stamp his own vision and his own interpretation on it and transformed it into something even more bewitching.

Dorothy is a strong, capable and modern woman, her dog, a German Shepherd, is a K-9, the Scarecrow is a man with no memory, a mysterious past and a sword issued to the Wizard's Guard, the flying monkeys are drones patrolling the world and looking for danger...

I loved the original Wizard of Oz and I understand why people don't want to like this remake. But this isn't a remake or a reboot. Instead, it is a reinterpretation and it is wonderful and magical and spellbinding. It has action and drama and colour and magic and touches of humour that are so deft that I find myself chuckling long after the joke is over.

Take Eamonn, the man I assume is playing the Tin Man. Stalked by one of his own troops intent on murdering him and returning to Oz to claim the glory, blaming his death on lions, the scene cuts away just as he is about to be stabbed in the back. Later, when we return, the camera shows him strolling casually back to camp.

Stumbling about in the dark two of the would-be murderer's accomplices find his body, hacked apart, and take it back to camp to dump it accusingly at the feet of Eamonn. Unconcerned, Eamonn takes a bite of an apple while looking at the body, then just says one word: "Lions."
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Beyond (I) (2016–2018)
6/10
Good effort but slightly underwhelming
2 January 2017
Like other reviewers, I was quite pleased to discover a new series to start the new year with. The description sounded enticing, "a young man wakes up from a coma after 12 years and discovers new abilities" so I decided to give it a go.

Tim Kring, the man behind Heroes, is one of the producers and for anyone who watched Heroes there will be similarities. A twenty- something develops strange powers and finds himself being hunted by a powerful organisation for unknown reasons. However, unlike Heroes, the characters mostly stay disappointingly one-dimensional and the story is predictable enough to be slightly boring.

The cast is competent and some of the ideas are interesting, but it feels like the show is aimed at a YA market, sort of like a Baby Heroes, and while there are some decent moments I never really got that "Wow" moment after the first couple of episodes.

It's a pity, because some of the characters have real potential and if they were willing to push it a bit and take more risks by aiming for a more mature market I think I would have liked the show a lot more.

As it is, I give it a 6/10 for good effort, but not good enough. Watch if there is nothing else on or if Heroes was too edgy for you.
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