Monthly Archives: April 2023

Film Review: Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy

Having been defeated behind closed doors by Ip Man, Cheung Tin Chi (Jin Zhang) leaves the martial arts world behind for a simpler life. He ekes out a living in his small grocery and takes care of his son Fung (Henry Zhang). Fate throws him into the path of two young women in trouble. Nana (Chrissie Chau) is a drug addict who is trying to quit but owes her dealer, and Julia (Yan Liu) is her best friend, who is also engaged to her brother.  When the dealer has Nana beat up for non-payment, Julia defends her, but they are badly outnumbered until they literally run into Cheung, who comes to the rescue. The drug dealer, Tso Sai Kit (Kevin Cheng) is very upset at what has happened, and he has his men set fire to Cheung’s store, intending to kill him. But Cheung manages to escape with his son.

They run into Julia, who offers to take them in, and takes them to her brother Chiu Kam Fu (Xing Yu),

who owns the Gold Bar. Julia gives them a place to live and Fu gives him a job. When Tin Chi earns some money, he treats his new friends to a birthday dinner for Fung at a local steakhouse owned by American businessman Davidson (Dave Bautista). Meanwhile, Kit’s sister Tso Ngan Kwan (Michelle Yeoh) as head of her family business, decides they need to go legitimate. Kit is none too pleased at this news. And he is also determined to kill Cheung.

Going straight is not as easy as it sounds. Hong Kong is still under British rule, and the local police are corrupt, working hand in hand with the drug dealers. Innocent people don’t stand a chance.  But there comes a time when you can’t pretend you don’t see, and you have to stand up for what is right.

Master Z is part of the Ip Man series, continuing from the third movie, after Cheung’s defeat by Ip Man.  However, as all good movies do, Cheung’s character grows from his adversities, and is a very fitting protagonist for this film. Dave Bautista is great as the villain, and I have to say I think he was a good choice for this, a better choice than Mike Tyson was. There is a lot of action and fighting in this film, and everything is beautifully choreographed, including Michelle Yeoh’s scenes. She was a great character, caught between her love for her wayward brother and her desire to run a business untainted by illegalities.

I enjoyed this film very much, and found it to be a fitting entry in the Ip Man series. I read there may be a sequel. I would love to see that. I’ll give this film 4 Stars

Wednesday Briefs: April 5, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

The Sins of the Flesh: Part 1 by J Ray Lamb

Jeff sat in the coffee shop at one of the main intersections in town. It was a chain place with passable coffee, but his favorite cuppa had morphed from a coffee shop to being a small indie bookstore with a coffee bar. The proprietress had a dream of having her own bookstore and so the coffee shop had begun its transformation. The seating was mostly gone and the small groups that met there had found new homes.

 

The transformation of the coffee shop mirrored the changes in Jeff’s life. He had always been known as the quiet goody-goody…

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Saturday is Horror Day #107 – Final Destination

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Final Destination

Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is going to Paris with a group of classmates, including his best friend Tod (Chad Donella). As they settle themselves onto the plane, Alex has a vision that unfolds before him, which ends in an explosion which destroys the plane and kills everyone. A panic-stricken Alex tries to warn everyone to get off the plane, but only ends up getting himself and a few of the students ejected from the plane, and one of the teachers accompanying them. The students are upset with Alex, watching the plane they were meant to be on take off without them…until it suddenly explodes before their very eyes, killing everyone on board. Now the question is, how did he know?

People are upset with Alex for what they perceive as his foreknowledge of the fatal event. The FBI are 

even called in, and they question everyone, especially Alex. He insists he wasn’t on drugs, he just saw a vision, but the agents are skeptical.  Tod’s father doesn’t want his son around Alex, to Alex’s dismay. But he gets a warning in the form of a piece of paper with Tod’s name, rather than a vision, and he hurries to his friend’s home, but he is too late.

Everyone is giving Alex a wide berth now, except for Clear (Ali Larter). She shows up to Tod’s house the same night as Alex, having felt something through him, as if they are connected somehow. One of the surviving students, Carter (Kerr Smith) has never been a friend, but he is openly combative now and tries to fight Alex at every turn. But Alex only wants to figure out what’s going on and save everybody. Is death pre-ordained? Or is there a pattern, and if you figure it out, you can change it and avoid death?

 

I found this to be an interesting watch, even if Alex’s theories didn’t always make sense, and some of the accidents seemed really farfetched. But even so, it was entertaining, although if you are looking for answers, you won’t find them here. Luckily, this is just the first film in the series. It remains to be seen how good the others are. But I did like this, so I’ll give it 4 Stars and look forward to the next one.