Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

[Drunk Monk]

Dammit. I should be writing for GQ. I bet they pay well. 

https://www.gq.com/story/tony-leung-10-must-see-films

4 days earlier...

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/shang-c...ng-movies/

[Drunk Monk]

Yes. Then you should track down the short that is an interview with the Mandarin in prison.

I saw that a bit ago. I looked it up when researching Shang Chi. It was an extra in the Thor BRD, and could be found online but was scrubbed soon after.

All the extras are on Disney+

Good tip. I just rewatched it. It fills out Trevor's story arc nicely. It's a must-see connection. 

And once again, other writers are in my wake on this...
SEP 3
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/real-ma...ten-rings/

SEP13
https://screenrant.com/shang-chi-martial-arts-styles/

[King Bob]

DM - Simu is doing the SJSU Spartan Speaker Series tomorrow (online of course) in case you're interested. I think it's open to everyone.

[thatguy]

https://gizmodo.com/awkwafinas-stunt-dou...1847956018

Awkwafina's Stunt Double for Marvel's Shang-Chi on Her Unusual (and Awesome) Career Path
Cheryl Eddy

---

<<Go to the link above for the video>>

You probably don’t recognize the name Lee Chesley, but if you’ve seen Marvel’s most recent record-breaking blockbuster, you’ve absolutely seen her work. She’s the stunt double for Awkwafina in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings—and that’s not the only impressive entry on her resume. io9 got a chance to speak with Chesley about her super cool career so far.

Breakdancing is involved (with some footage to prove her bona fides!), as is an understandable amount of Michelle Yeoh hero-worship, who Chesley got to share the set with on Shang-Chi. Her other stunt performer credits include Jumanji: The Next Level (her first time working with Awkwafina), DC’s Birds of Prey, and the upcoming Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. Check out the interview in the video above, conducted by Aiko Tanaka for io9.

“I got into being a stuntwoman at a gym that I trained at. Some people that saw me training were like, ‘Oh, do you do stunts? You should get into it! You look like you could do it!’—because I would just throw stuff and chuck stuff and land, and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re good at hitting the ground!’” Chesley recalls. Of her idol, Chelsey says, “Michelle Yeoh was such a big influence and inspiration [for] me because there were very few women already that did action, that looked badass, that weren’t, like, just a pretty face. And on top of that, Asian women,” she says, adding “the awkward part of me came out” when she met Yeoh on the set of Shang-Chi. Even though Chesley worked on the Marvel Studios film herself, she admits, “I still fan over it... hardcore,” noting that she’s a big anime and comic book nerd.

The process of making Jumanji is when she really realized she’d found her perfect niche. “I think it was during that movie and then working on fights with people that I felt this is what I really like to do. I’ve always been into martial arts films, I’ve always been into movement, it really felt like everything that I had done up to this point had facilitated making this job work for me.”

If you’d like to see more of Chesley’s work, you can check out her Instagram. And keep an eye on io9 for more fun behind-the-scenes stunt performer profiles.

--tg

[Greg]

There is a 90 minute documentary about the making of Shang-Chi on Disney+ It's serviceable, but not really something to go out of your way to see. It's all too slight. They do a bit about the VFX. They do a bit about the stunts. But mostly it's Simu Liu talking about various stages of production and his own personal story.

[King Bob]

Finally saw this. It was pretty good. The choreography was enjoyable. I thought the best part was Simu with Michelle Yeoh. The monster battle was a bit silly and too long. In fact the whole movie was too long. I thought it was odd that Ben Kingsley bit was supposed to be a child when Planet of the Apes came out, since he was 25 at that time. I think an edit to tighten up all the back story would have made it much better. And Awkwafina is falling into typecasting.

I'm going to voice the heretical opinion that the MCU is not good. It's really a "So what?" kind of thing to me. I think it was a marketing ploy to move more product rather than an artistic choice. In this case it really weakened the story to graft that on at the end. (The same thing with putting Thor in the MCU; it subsumes the Norse mythology under something much more slight.) Mystery and incomprehensibility are key in myth. Tying everything together destroys that. I imagine DM and Greg will disagree.

[Greg]

Of course. I never agree with DM

Shang-Chi could have used a good edit. I think one of the weaknesses now of the MCU is that it so big. All those films are hard to keep track of. Plus you have the problem that all the films now have to lead on to other films for one big story. It would be nice to get back to tighter narratives. I think the TV shows do a good job of that.

As for Thor, I thought of him as always being part of the Marvel universe at least.

[Drunk Monk]

And Awkwafina is falling into typecasting.

She's got one note. Sometimes it works like in The Farewell. Sometimes it doesn't like Raya and the Last Dragon. She's kinda like the Rock in that way. Sometimes I have a hard time telling them apart. 

I'm going to voice the heretical opinion that the MCU is not good. It's really a "So what?" kind of thing to me.

Blasphemer! 

just kidding.

I've always wanted to yell that at you since our eventful day at the aquarium with Peggy O. 

Actually, I kinda agree. I mean, I do find the MCU entertaining in that diverting way, but it's marketing genius and movie candy. It's not so much about evoking myth but selling that brand with its self referential Easter eggs. I feel I get my money's worth when I see an MCU flick (keeping in mind that I see most of them via screeners so my payment is my review - and I get paid to do those). 

Does The Eternals make the ending make more sense? Greg knows but I'm not reading his Eternals posts until I've seen it, which might be for some time to come...

Of course. I never agree with DM

Agreed!

No wait... 

...what?

[Greg]

Actually, I was going to say Shang-Chi ties into Hawkeye but that's Black Widow. I am now lost. I'll probably do a rewatch of Shang-Chi this weekend now that tQ is back. In between King Richard and Ghostbusters

[thatguy]

I didn’t mind Aquafina. It seemed that she was channeling Jerry Lewis and filling the goofy sidekick stereotype. I didn’t mind the length either. Kingsley seemed mostly unnecessary. I suspect a lot of his part was cut and the remainder was pretty thin. 

It opened with the story of the origins of the rings, but it was a vague “some say it was x…some say it was y” and they didn’t answer that in the whole movie which bugged me (spoiler: watch the post-credit bits for a crumb)

I think they should come out with a chain of Ta Lo themed car washes. 

—tg

[Greg]

I saw this again last night. Still very enjoyable despite the bloated ending.

Xu Xialing is much more interesting than her brother. Shang-Chi ran away from home and became a parking valet. Xu Xialing built her own global underground fight franchise. And she can kick Shang-Chi's ass in the ring.

[King Bob]

I do have to say I enjoyed it, since it might sound otherwise from my rant. (After all these years I still can't quite keep myself from ranting sometimes.) And Awkwafina was fine - I just wish she's stretch herself a little.

[Drunk Monk]

That's kinda how I feel about all MCU films. They're enjoyable. Great pastimes. 

If you want to see Aquafina stretch, check out The Farewell. http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=5075 Oh wait. You've already seen it KB. Well, I think that's about as much of a stretch as we'll get our of her for a while as her typecasting is tightening. 

And I totally agree about Xialing. That actress, Menger Zhang, came out of nowhere. I'll be curious to see if they follow up with her story. 

I had a piece that I queried for Den about the mythology behind Ta Lo. They nailed the representation of the yaoguai world, right down to the chicken-pig, which is a dijiang, which I had to look up. We were going to wait on that piece, along with a Michelle Yeah retrospective, until the film dropped on D+ but I didn't follow up. Since then, several pop websites have covered the mythology. The only thing they've missed that I would've pointed out - and this was my main observation that inspired the idea for the article - was the carp scales on the dragon. That's something everyone misses but true to the legends. Chinese dragons have carp scales. But I was too busy to get around to following up on those and as my YMAA responsibilities expand, my moonlighting time for Den decreases. As Stacy points out, I don't make that much writing for them when all the time is factored in. I do it for the perks - my beloved screeners and the occasional promo package. Plus it's my loudest platform, so someday it might be a stepping stone elsewhere.

[King Bob]

A little off topic, but we rewatched The Farewell recently, and the thing I enjoyed most this time were the long shots with no dialog, just classical music.

More on topic, Simu was okay on SNL, but didn't get to do much. His monologue was charming. The cold open and the Baby Yoda bit in the news both went on way too long. They need to cut way back on the political stuff - they don't really have anything new and clever to say and it's rarely more than slightly funny.

[Drunk Monk]

Yeah, he did fine on SNL. I rather enjoyed the Simu & Bowen sketch. I liked the Republican game show sketch too. I know - political. 

I figured he would do okay give his work on Kim's Convenience. He can play comedy well.