China's # 1 Export: Jackie Chan! "Dragon Blade"

Dragon Blade

Rated R

Starring Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody

Written and Directed by Daniel Lee

The Story:

Tiberius (Brody) is heading to conquer the Silk Road in China. Huo An (Chan) gathers his brothers in arms to prepare to defend themselves. They end up receiving assistance from General Lucius (Chan) and his legion that defected from Rome to escape Tiberius' madness. Together, this band of warriors are all that stands between freedom and a world under Tiberius' mad rule.

So let's begin with the old standby, "based on a true story". Because it is.

Sometimes that story may be as simple as once upon a time, some Romans and Chinese met one another...

But that's still a good place to base this story on, though there was a bit more to it than that. There may not have been the full scale battle that's going to unfold here, but at least you know it's not totally making up the idea that the Chinese and Romans ever met one another.

Pretty cool concept, really.

Yep, Chinese cinema is alive and well, and you're looking at the number one export from Chinese cinema last year.

While it may look like a budget/straight to video affair from our side of the spectrum, it's really quite the lavish film with pretty good production values and a lot of effort to make this period piece shine.

From the reports I read, it was the # 1 film in all of China last year, and one billion people can't be totally wrong, right? :)

Seriously though, it's a pretty good "sand and sandals" period piece that allows the Roman legions to fight alongside Chan's Chinese freedom fighters.

Cusack turns in a fine performance, and Brody was hired to chew the scenery and twirl his evil villainous moustache.

Which he does, even without the benefit of having a moustache.

Nothing you can't do without, but if you're a fan of Chan and his films, definitely worth a peek.

Final Grade: C+

Another Documentary? Sometimes Learning is Entertaining... "Secrets of the Dead: Lost Ships of Rome"

Great Caesar's Ghost!

The Story:

Off the island coast of Ventotene, 5 different shipwrecks have been found.  This is the story of the dives that were attempted to retrieve any of their treasures back to the surface to further investigate the ancient mysteries of Rome.

Like the treasures that get hauled up to the surface, this documentary is a mixed bag.

It's focused on the diving missions, but after awhile, watching people dive deep...deeper... well, it starts to get a bit repetitive and boring.

The finds are of regular items that would have been used by Augustus Caesar (who used this island as a resort and a place to exile his daughter) so we aren't in for riches and treasures.

The finds though are historically interesting and the reconstructions of what the island palace looked like, or how the items were transported to the island. 

Those Romans were pretty clever folks! :)

The reenactments and visual renderings are magnificent though, to give you an idea of what the place really looked like, and how advanced Roman civilization was for its time.

A little more history and  a little less of the crew cavorting around and playing with dead fish would have been nicer.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Worth a viewing, but I doubt I would rush out to buy this.  This one was the most disappointing of the documentaries I've watched recently.  It wasn't awful, just not quite as inspiring as some of the others.

A Disaster of Epic Proportions..."Pompeii: Back From the Dead"

Let's see Irwin Allen top that!

Too dated?? :)

The Story:

I think just about anyone who has ever attended any school of any type has at least heard of Pompeii.  The Italian city at the base of a volcano that exploded and rained ash down on the city, killing everyone under a mountain of ash and debris.  Excavations at the site continue to this day, and it appears that they have discovered something rather unusual...

From the Discovery Channel, this informative documentary hosted by Don Wildman will take you to the city of Pompeii and see how amazingly well preserved much of the city was by being buried under a 70 foot wall of ash.

70 feet... let that sink in a moment, because they actually show how high the ash was piled in the film, and it's stunning at how that city truly was buried, and how much they've uncovered and the treasures, both literal and historical, that were kept underneath.

The architecture and advancements the Romans enjoyed are still impressive, 2000 years later.  Considering the devastation of the eruption, it's amazing how much of the city really still is completely intact.

The real historical find in this one, they uncovered a basement where they found 54 skeletons.  As these had been untouched until recently, they did not receive the haunting plaster casting of earlier skeletons, so scientists could study these to learn more about the way of life of people in Pompeii during the day, and they come up with some amazing conclusions.

They also use actors to recreate what they think happened as well to add to the dramatic affair.

Very well done, and a very interesting subject.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix or Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Don't see a need to purchase, and this could come in handy for lessons on history later on for the kids.