"West Side Story" meets "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

...meets all kinds of other stuff, including "The Shining" and Roadrunner cartoons...

I'm talking about "Kung Foo Hustle", of course. A totally heaping spoonful of fun and entertainment. A great take on the usual fly-by-wire kung-foo stageplay with all the campy cliches present and accounted for, and taken to a crazy new level.

I'll admit that I wish it had just a little more depth, but frankly, I really didn't expect any more than a good time, and I got that in spades. Because when it comes down to it, the only ground broken was the crazy context of some of the scenarios. Otherwise, it really was just another staged kung-foo action-fest. Like I said, "stageplay". A couple of fixed sets, massive choreography, and a presentation that lets you know you're part of the audience, and not part of the story.

Which is absolutely fine, and a big part of the kung-foo film tradition.

At any rate, I still haven't seen "Shaolin Soccer", by the same director, but I think now I'm going to go out of my way to seek it out.

(For those of you wondering what the heck I'm doing watching movies late into a Wednesday night: I'm taking a looong Labor Day weekend as of now, so I hope to watch all kinds of stuff. Including, if I can take it, a "Noir" marathon! I'm long overdue.)