I watched a decent amount of stuff last week so this is more just going to be a dump and less my thoughts about the films, especially since a few are just ones we all watch anyways.
Scrooged dir by Richard Donner
My go to Xmas Eve film. I love it
Krampus dir by Michael Dougherty
Still fun.
I Come In Peace/Dark Angel dir by Craig R. Baxley
One of Dolph's more entertaining films from the early 90's. Also happens to be set at xmas time.
Armour of God dir by Jackie Chan & Eric Tsang
Jackie's adventure film, I haven't seen this in it's original HK cut, it's always been the terrible Eng dub. A really fun film with some amazing set pieces and a terrifying air balloon stunt. No idea why Jackie did that one to himself and his team
Dragon Lord dir by Jackie Chan
This is definitely on the lower end of Jackie films for me but still an interesting watch. It's amazing the jump in skill he has as a director from this film in '82 to Project A in '83 and then Police Story in '85. It's like an entirely different person. The film itself is very goofy and non action oriented, even when there is a fight scene it's played like Jackie has no idea how to fight which is humorous. The final battle is so weird to watch unfold but pretty damn entertaining. The real draw to this film is the shuttlecock game, it's impressive and a blast to watch. The whole thing is one youtube and I recommend checking it out.
Snake In The Eagle's Shadow dir by Woo-Ping Yuen
Considered one of Jackie's classics from the pre 80's era, one I thought I had seen but realized I just mixed it up with another film. It's very similar to Drunken Master. Story is very basic and it really only exists to show off the fighting which is really the highlight of the film. For those that are unaware, there is a really nasty fight with a cat and snake late in the film, luckily the version I own is the one from 88 films which actually has that scene edited way down. As a big lover of cats (and animals in general) the full scene would have ruined the film for me. I looked up what was cut and saw a few stills from it that made me angry. Overall it's a fun film but not sure I would revisit it all that much. The more films from Jackie's catalog I watch, the more I realize I'm a big fan of his output from '83-'98
Warrior
On the topic of martial arts, I finally started watching Warrior which a friend has been pestering me to watch for two years. I'm three episodes in and really enjoying the action, the story is very meh for me and the acting is a bit all over the place and melodramatic. But I can't stress how good the action is, fight choreography is excellent, editing is good and paced really well. Worth checking out if you want some decent modern martial arts.
Cowboy Bebop
Rewatched the original anime as it's been years and my wife had never seen it all. Holds up really well and I enjoyed the hell out of revisiting it.
Cowboy Bebop The Movie dir by Shin'ichirô Watanabe & a few others
This was the first time revisiting this since it came out almost 20 years ago. I remembered enjoying it but feeling like it wasn't that great. That memory is wrong or the opinion was just wrong. It's amazing and I wish it hadn't' taken this long to get back to it. The animation is amazing, the fights are beautifully staged, story is actually really well done for 2 hour "episode". It's nice to see these characters one more time.
I will be watching the live action adaption soon, we started the first episode and it was mediocre, we were just a little Bebopped out and will get back to it in a few weeks
