Saturday, May 26, 2012

"We Could Have Had Something SPECIAL!"



Seeing that picture of Fan Bingbing reminded me of another of my favorite Asian actresses, Ziyi Zhang. If you have never seen one of her action films you have missed out. Let me give you a sense of Ziyi Zhang's powerful balletic fighting style in these two clips.

The first is from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the bottom one from House of Flying Daggers. The character in the second movie is suppose to be blind, which makes Zhang's abilities as an actress and dancer all the more remarkable.



I couldn't complete this post without showing off what is probably my favorite performance of hers. I confess a weakness for Chris Tucker's comedy stylings (Ruby Rudd in Fifth Element was comedy Oscar bait) so she was just added sprinkles on the cake that is Rush Hour 2. I have me a deep spiritual love for that movie. It's just so stupid. I love the smirk on her face as he's mocking her because she knows just how badly he is about to get his ass kicked.



3 comments:

Simon B said...

Crouching Tiger... is one of my fave films from the last 10/15 years. It really is a beautiful movie with jaw-dropping action, great characters and a fantastic score. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh are both excellent as the sufferers of unrequited, doomed love... but Ziyi Zhang ( or is it Zhang Ziyi? ) is a revelation as Jen, the young warrior. The scene where she takes on and beats a whole bar full of bandits and cut-throats has to be seen to be believed...

I'm gonna have to watch it again, now...

Simon B said...

Oh yeah... and that Drum Dance scene from House Of Flying Daggers is one of the most eye-poppingly sumptuous moments in movie history...

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

She is magic to watch especially when she fights all those thugs with their signature weapons and identities. But she was never going to lose...not with the Green Destiny in her hands. Crouching Tiger still amazes me and breaks my heart everytime I see it.