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EPIC DAY IN PHILLY

Originally Written 12.22.2000

Its rather late, and I just got in the door from a pretty darn epic day. My brother, along with two of his friends and myself spent a fun filled day in Philadelphia. The main objective of the day was to check out the newly released (at least in the states) martial arts film, Crouching Tiger, Hiden Dragon. While one might think it odd that we would drive so far just to see a movie, this film was well worth it. I love martial arts films, but this film really is one of the best I’ve seen in this genre. The fight scenes are choreographed by the same person who did the fight scenes for The Matrix. However, I feel that the fight scenes were far superior to those in the Matrix for two main reasons. The scenery used in the film is breathtaking. From ancient chinese villages to haunting deserts, to bamboo groves, these beautiful locations provide the perfect backdrop for the action. The second reason why the fight scenesare such a joy to watch is that the fighting seems to reflect the passion and the conflict of the actors. With a cast featuring such asian stars as Chow Yung Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi the line between quality action and quality acting is a thin one indeed. The plot is also highly entertaining. It draws on elements of adventure movie, epic, and love story, even interspersing comedic segments. Watching the movie, I felt it ended far to soon. It was such a joy to watch. Again, the acting is incredible. I wish american action movies had plots and actors this good. This film had two of the best female protagonists I have ever seen in a movie in the action genre and it is really unfortunate that American movie producers can’t follow suit. Furthermore, issues such as violence and eroticism are done so passionately and tastefully it was really refreshing. While there are some mild love scenes involving one of the female protagonists, an action sequence proves to be the most erotic element in the movie. The action is simply staggering with minimum bloodbath factor and leaves one dizzy and amazed. If you see one movie this holiday season, this should be it. Drive two hours if you have to, its worth it.

In addition to seeing the movie, I got dinner at my favorite place in the whole world, the Singapore Vegetarian Kosher Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown. Good food, good service. Awesome.

After dinner, we went to a hardcore show. Schoolyard Bully played even though I heard a rumor they had been stuck in the south after their gear trailer broke down. I was glad to finally get to see this band, but they seemed a bit off fdue to the fact that they were using a replacement drummer. Dark Day Dawning played first and I thought they were pretty good. They’re from philly and played standard hardcore with some interesting melodic parts that reminded me a little of dillinger. Glasseater from FL played and they rocked really hard. Their punked-up hardcore was a nice acompanyment to the other bands who played that night. American Nightmare played an intense set, but I didn’t catch much of it as I was too busy trying not to get kicked in the head. Good Clean Fun played last. They were, well, good and fun. They played a number of my favorite songs like Coll-edge, A Song for the Ladies, Who Shares Wins, and the crowd was siging along for all of their set.

So yeah. It was a good time. A day I wish I could have over and over again.