Essential Martial Arts Movies: Part 1 (List)

Martial arts films have always been my guilty pleasure. I would say it had to be seeing a Jackie Chan film on TV when I was very young that sent me on this path. When I was young I would throw any Jackie Chan VHS I could find for rent on my TV and enjoy (This sentence makes me sound old). As I got older I never stopped liking the martial arts films, but rather dug deeper into them. Then streaming movies happened. We have so much access to martial arts films that are sometimes only available through select online stores and now people have access to some of these great films with only a short search on the internet.

I always appreciated the visual aesthetic the Chinese directors chose in their action films, as well as the sometimes impossible stunts. There are great martial arts films and campy ones. With this list I hope to give you part I of the my favorites with my favorite action stars and styles.

Beginner Friendly Foreign Films (List)

We live in a wonderful time. Finding films of nearly any kind is nothing more than a few quick searches from the comfort of our homes. This opens so many film options, and I hope foreign films begin to shine in secondary markets. Most people who get heavily into the history of cinema would no doubt come in contact with Tarkovsky, Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini and countless others, but my goal was to find easily accessible films for people venturing into foreign film for the first time. Films that closely resemble domestic films in heart and execution, but are set in beautiful new locations.

Some people are put off by subtitles, but truly after a few minutes I barely notice I am reading them anymore. Give it a try!

Review: The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short (2015) 

2h 10m runtime

IMDB (7.9/114k) 

RT (88% Fresh)

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, Michael Lewis(Book credit)

Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt

The Big Short was released in 2015 and took home the Oscar for best original screenplay. The film was driven by veteran comedy director Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman) who also co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Randolph (The Interpreter, Love & Other Drugs). They based the film on the book by Michael Lewis called The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine. He based his book on the truth behind the financial and housing crisis in the 2000’s. 

Review : Bridge of Spies

Bridge of Spies (2015) 

2h 22m Runtime

IMDB(7.6/136k) 

RT (92% Fresh)

Director : Steven Spielberg

Writers: Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan, Jesse Plemons

Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies is a cold-war era thriller about a lawyer drawn into an unfamiliar world filled with media speculation, fear, and espionage. I was prepared for a very slow paced drama, but was pleasantly surprised after seeing the film. 

Review : Creed (2015)

Creed (2015) PG-13

2h 13m Runtime

 IMDB(7.8/109k) 
RT (94% Fresh)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Writers: Ryan Coogler (Screenplay), Arron Covington (Screenplay), Ryan Coogler (Story), and Sylvester Stallone (Characters)

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad

Writer/Director Ryan Coogler reunited with the star of his 2013 critically praised film Fruitvale Station and they made a great film. Creed is the story of Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, as he seeks purpose and fulfillment in his life through boxing, friendships, and relationships. I was skeptical going into another film in the Rocky series, but I am skeptical of most long series. I feel that at some point they lose their heart and become essentially parody of themselves. This film was not at all like that, but rather truly embodies Rocky with a new perspective.