IP Man

[malcolm]

IP Man 1 and 2 (Starring Donnie Yen)

Has anyone seen this Movie?
It is my opinion that this is a really good production, It is based on a timeline of 1937 - on and tells about the forgotten brutality Japan unleashed on the innocent Chinese people. IP Man was a hero but went through hardship, well you'd just have to see it. You do have to read the subtitles, since it does not have English dialog. But you will be pulled in to the story line before you know it. Actor Donnie Yen is so good in these, I looked up other films he is in just to watch them. IP Man was the man who trained famed Bruce Lee.

[Ben Chiu]

Merry Christmas, Malcolm!

Sorry for the late reply. I've been battling a cold and fell behind on stuff, so just getting back to things now.

Yes, I've seen IP Man and always enjoyed Donnie Yen's work (my cousin Victor looks just like Donnie!). I've always thought he never got the recognition that he deserved in the world markets. Perhaps it has to do with the projects he selects; he does more historical movies and Jet Li and Jackie Chan do both historical and modern projects.

Anyway, the stuff that went on in China pre-WWII by the Japanese is stuff my relatives still talk about. I suppose this is a big part of the dispute/conflict developing in the South China Seas over the islands there. Tempers run high with stuff like this when there's history/bad blood--an explosive combination. I hope cooler heads will prevail, but from the last I've read, South Korea is getting into the ruckus and claimed their own ADIZ that overlaps everyone else's. Crazy stuff...

I didn't know there was an IP Man 2. Will have to look for that one. Does it cover when Bruce Lee enters the scene/time period?

[malcolm]

I'm back after two weeks, went to Houston. IP Man "Three" did not have the WOW that the first two movies had, probably because it did not have Donnie Yen, I believe at the end of IP Man "Two" it did show a little boy approach IP Man in his upper years and that little Boy was Bruce Lee. "YES" A really awesome touch for the end of the move. I heard it said something to the effect "He who wins wars write the history books". I don't understand why it is not until lately, we are reading and hearing about the atrocities Japan did to the Chinese people, I even google'd this, and horrible black and white pictures showing raped dead woman and little girls and bayoneted baby's dangling at the end of some evil sick Japanese solders weapon. Japan was as bad as Nazi Germany. Anyway, I like IP Man because it tells a story of history in the eyes of an innocent oppressed people, it has action and adventure with the hero "IP Man"
Thank you for your comment and mostly I'm glad I'm not alone in my admiration of this actor and his performance. If your relative has anywhere near the appearance and talent as Donnie Yen, he may be an asset to what you do.

[Ben Chiu]

Welcome home and Happy New Year!

How cool about little Bruce! I love historical movies. I've always found history fascinating, but if done well, movies bring history to life and provide perspectives that just reflecting on events seems to miss.

I think a lot of the "lost" stories/history of China was due to communism. Being shut off from the rest of the world prevented/made it difficult for stories to get out. When I see shows like ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW, I'm reminded my family doesn't have old stuff passed down through the generations because it was all lost to the Japanese and then the communists. Lots of sorrow in China's history that's for sure. But life is cheap in much of the world.

Oh, I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. My cousin just looks like Donnie Yen. He doesn't act or do martial arts. Would be cool if he did, but I'm not that lucky.

I'll avoid IP MAN 3. Actually my wife saw it and called me to see if I wanted it. Glad I gave it a pass. I figured if Donnie wasn't in it, it could be really bad (I remember all of the Bruce Lee clone movies that came out at one time.)