Here's a movie that brought the oomph back into the vampire lore - Night Watch (2004). By the way, I hear that the 3rd part is coming out sometime this year. And not a moment too soon, in this age of vampires having identity crises and, er, sparkly chests. In an odd twist, the third part is called, wait for it, Twilight Watch.
I wrote an article recently about martial arts actors and their lesser known projects. Some of the comments reminded me of other noteworthy stars. Well, some of them are well-known all over the world and their pictures are splashed all over the place (or in Donnie Yen's case, baring his chest on his site and various magazine covers). In this article I will talk about Donnie Yen, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. (Note: If you don't give a hoot about going through this short list in ordr, click on each name to jump to the relevant section).
So, what did these guys do before they became the hottest foot-flicking, fist-waving martial artist on the block?
Everyone knows about the current movies and the latest hits. But what about the little known gems, the ones that were made when actors were trying their luck? Here I am picking out three noteworthy actors famous for their martial arts prowess and talking a little bit about their past ventures.
1. Jackie Chan
If you have not heard about Mr. Chan, you've probably been living under a rock. With big hits like the Rush Hour movies and the somewhat silly Shanghai Noon, he is a familiar face. So if there was a list of favorite martial artists, he would certainly be top of that list. Other than his recent successes that are roughly based on being the “mysterious man from the other land”, he has done some amazing movies in the past. These were from his young and daring days of trying just about any or every stunt in a movie. This made for fantastic viewing, especially since he loved to add the outtakes at the end of the movie.
First things first. This list is a collection of old hindhi songs about friendship. Thing is, given the quirky movie styles of the 70s and 80s, most of these songs are unintentionally funny. And this is coming from someone who can understand the language.
1. Prince and Pauper
This little number is from a movie called Dharam Veer. It's a classic in its own right, probably due to the extensive sword fighting. At least that was the reason why I used to be a fan of the movie. Well, this song is about the ever-lasting friendship between a prince and a warrior. The Fellowship of the Ring is nothing compared to the bond between these two; heck, they are even calling it the 8th wonder of the world. So, in the course of the song, they fend off some dodgy folk, harass an evil princess and hook up with the queen who decides the warrior is a-ok to pal around with her son.
