ironymaiden | Kung Fu Hustle

i saw a preview tonight of the new Stephen Chow film, Kung Fu Hustle. my expectations were relatively low, and it exceeded them in all the good ways; when you find yourself and a good chunk of the audience spontaneously clapping, something is right. it's more polished storytelling than his earlier films (the ones i've seen anyway) and has less cheap shots. it reminds me of Big Trouble in Little China, where the over-the-top spoofing of kung fu action beards massive, lovingly crafted kung fu action set pieces. this is a fairy tale place where people are endowed with all the speed, flexibility, and outragousness of a Tex Avery cartoon. i'm not saying it's great art, but it's well crafted, and more fun than i've had at a movie in much too long.

no clue how they chose the title in English. i missed

raevnos due to my own stupidity, but i met a nice person named Anne Marie and

craziecory. we passed out

spazzychic's useless magazines and the publicity folks gave out trading cards. i'm trying to figure out if i want to look through them more than i might want to have a factory-sealed pack of them.