Movie Review: Kung Fu Hustle

USC China Inst. Movie review 1 (The length is over the limit due to the info about online activities for students)
Kung Fu Hustle
One of the requirements of the USC China Institute’s Seminar made me do couple of things which are against my normal work ethics: (a) go to the local library go ‘borrow’ movies about China, and (b) approach neighbor From the library, I got Kung Fu Hustle (KFH) and Shanghai Noon. Later, my Chinese neighbor (while her Japanese husband was babysitting the kids) dropped in “House of Flying Daggers”. First I will review KFH.
KFH has various elements woven into some sort of magic carpet. Made by Asia’s hottest actor-director Stephen Chow in 2004, the movies takes us to 1940’s terrorized Shanghai region in China where the Axe Gang, a thug team, rule the town. Wearing black suits and top hats and carrying their name sake axes, they scare the heck of townspeople. Only one area, Pig Sty Alley, is temporarily immune to the predations, partly the neighborhood is so poor, in part because all the residents, from the baker and the tailor to the kids and seniors, are skilled in martial arts. Into this chaos wanders Sing (Stephen Chow), a loser punk who is desperate to be an ‘Axe’ man. However, it turns out that Sing has the makings of a natural-born kung fu genius, just the right man to battle against that legendary killer the beast (Leung Siu-lung).
Along with melodious music, action-packed stunts, synchronized fights, the movie also seem to be a social commentary. Some examples:
“Only the poorest district, which hold no interest for the gangs, can people live in peace’
“Memories can be painful; To forget may be a blessing”
“The good cannot co-exist with the bad; you can’t escape your destiny”
However, the first commentary about the “poorest district”, seemed contradictory in my experiences here in the Los Angeles area. There have been many stories of gangs like Crips and Blood destroying their own neighborhoods like Watts and Compton of the South-Central region. Too bad children have to sleep on the floor to escape from the stray bullets speeding through their windows!
One way, I plan to use the movie with my students is to play some exciting, flying dance duel during the four-five weeks of post testing. After the mandatory state testing in May, we have about five weeks of school during May-June. This may be used as an opportunity to teach things about foreign lands like China. Also, draw parallel to life in Los Angeles to those in other countries.
On line activities bout KFH:
Kung Fu Hustle online game, a China exclusive at Virtual China
www.virtual-china.org/.../kung-fu-hustle-online-game-a-china-exclus.

Kung Fu Fighter - Free Online Games (FOG)
www.freeonlinegames.com/game/kung-fu-fighter
Description: Ever watched Kung Fu hustle? This game resembles some of the characters in that movie. You have to fight your way through these martial artists to

Sony Online Entertainment Introduces Kung Fu Hustle - GameSpot ...
www.gamespot.com/.../sony-online-entertainment-introduces-kung-f...

Kung Fu Hustle - GameSpot.com
www.gamespot.com/kung-fu-hustle/
Kung Fu Hustle trailers, reviews, release dates, news, screenshots, walkthroughs, ...arts antics of the movie Kung Fu Hustle are headed for the world of video games. ...

Kung Fu Hustle Game - Play Kung Fu Hustle online for free - Games
www.kibagames.com/Game/Kung_Fu_Hustle
Nov 27, 2008 – Kung Fu Hustle online game for free! Play Kung Fu Hustle and 7794 other flash games for girls, boys, kids and grownups on Kiba Games.

*Credits: Kung Fu Hustle DVD jacket,