Ip Man + Treasure of the Sierra Madre · 8:45pm Dec 30th, 2022
So my brother got me hooked on watching the Ip Man film series starring Donnie Yen as the titular character. I have to say I enjoyed all for of the main films plus the spin-off film Master Z, which focuses on the life of a particular character (one of my favorites) after their appearance in the main film series. The fight scenes in them are very well choreographed even if, according to some, the stories kind of tread the same waters with the antagonists with some saying it comes across as a sort of China = good, westerners or foreigners in general = bad, in their eyes.
In terms of characters, Ip Man is a great one with a lot of good qualities but also some poor ones as well, though he is still very much a noble and humble hero. The supporting cast are vey interesting and seeing some return in several films adds to their characters as you see how some change over time and others stay the same. The main antagonists of each film are usually written so the viewer dislikes them, although the minor antagonists seem to have a bit more depth to them, depending on the film. All in all, it's an interesting series of tales about the Wing Chun Master that would go on to train Bruce Lee.
Side Note: Some of the English speaking actors don't sell their roles all that well with some exceptions. And if you are going to watch the films, I advice you to find the subs as the English dub version is a pain to listen to.
Then my brother and I rented Treasure of the Sierra Madre starring Humphrey Bogart and I have to say for a film that came out in 1948 it threw some curve balls at me that I did not see coming. Not to spoil it if you haven't seen the film, but seeing the films main protagonist shown in such a light is a surprising breath of fresh air compared to most shows and films today.
Glad you enjoyed Treasure of the Sierra Madre! It's a movie I really need to see, not just because of Bogie but also so I can add a further layer to my enjoyment of Dead Money in Fallout New Vegas.