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Reviews
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Locations
I know most of this was filmed in Austin but was there a scene filmed in Seguine near San Antonio? Thanks.
Li Xiao Long zhuan qi (1976)
surprisingly good
This is one of the "Bruceploitation" movies that Hong Kong produced in the 1970's and 80's. And "Bruce Li" (aka Ho Tsung Dao) was the premier actor in those days. Here he plays the legendary fighter from his teenage years up until his untimely death. This movie was actually better than most so called bios. It was more true to his life than most. Included was his relationship with his Wing Chun Kung Fu master Yip Man, friends in Seattle, Oakland, and Hong Kong. His wife Linda and 2 kids were also shown. Betty Ting Pei , who was there when he died, also is shown. This film was also chronologically correct, for the most part ( showing first Hong Kong, then Seattle, San Francisco/Oakland, Hollywood, and finally Hong Kong). Of course this film had it's exaggerated moments ( to put it mildly) such as Lee fighting mafioso in Rome ( while filming Way of the Dragon) or the fight to teach non-Chinese in San Francisco ( which in reality was in his Oakland school, not the street in San Francisco). They also at the end put out the various "theories" about his death , including the idea that he's still alive, hiding out in the New Territories ( maybe he's teaching Elvis how to fight and Elvis is teaching him how to sing and play guitar)! Still this film was actually more accurate than most films, including in many cases Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story ( maybe thanks to director Ng See Yuen who helped launch Jackie Chan's career). Overall, it's pretty good ( for the genre).
Jesse Stone: Night Passage (2006)
Goodmovie but not same as book
While this was a pretty good movie, as a fan of Parkers series ( Jesse Stone, Spencer, Sunny Randall) I was a little disappointed the movie didn't have the same plot as the book. Those who've read it know what I'm talking about; those who haven't , get ready for a spoiler. In the movie Steven Baldwin was an abusive husband who was mob connected, and that's about it. The book is quite different. Jesse Stone was hired as police chief of Paradise, Ma. by the town council because they needed a puppet they could pull ( the previous chief got nervous and was sent packing). The reason is the town elders ( including some cops) are a bunch of white supremacists who are planning a revolution. The previous chief in fact is killed in the Midwest. The town elders know about Jesse and his drinking problem; that's why they hired him but he turns around and straightens himself up (somewhat) surprising them. He disrupts their plot. Part of the story also includes a weightlifting muscle head who's a real thug. Jesse runs into him early on and deals with him throughout the book. This thug along with a town elder even goes to Boston to buy weapons for the revolution from mafioso Gino Fish ( from the Spenser series) but gets ripped off. Eventually he kills a woman (or 2) in Paradise which Jesse solves, thus turning him into a cooperative witness. There were some scenes straight from the book ( especially the opening scene on Santa Monica Beach where Jesse is thinking about his future and his past when the cops question him) but the major plot change made me less than thrilled. Still, the acting helped bring this movie up.