When I was a little girl, my mother and father would take me to the movies to see Bruce Lee. We all loved him. We went to a Black American theater down town. People were standing in a long line and waiting to get tickets. Sometimes they were sold out before we could get there. I would get so upset. Everyone there would brag about how cool Bruce Lee was. They considered him as a cool soul brother. To me, Bruce Lee had an affect on many people. People would imitate him while standing in line. Those were the good old days.

One day, my mother told me some bad news. She told me that Bruce Lee had died. Some say that he was shot, some say that he was poisoned, and some say he went into a coma. Many believed that Bruce faked his death because he had enemies. Well, I will not get into it, but there are all kinds of stories about him.

After Bruce Lee's death, there were some Bruce Lee imitators and look-a-likes that kept him alive. Still, the movies were not as good. Being a child, it was still fun to see Kung-Fu. One of Bruce's greatest imitators was Bruce Li. I still thought that I was watching Bruce Lee until my mother pointed out the difference between him and his look-a-like. The thing that she pointed out was Bruce Li didn't do outstanding fighting like Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee's moves, actions, and sounds that he made were a bit different than Bruce Li's moves, actions, and sounds. Still, they looked like twins. That made it hard to tell them apart. Where is Bruce Li now? It is said that he ended his career in 1985 after his wife's death to return to Taiwan. I wish he would come back to the big screen and play as Bruce Lee for old time's sake.

Another great imitator of Bruce Lee is Bruce Lei. He acted and looked so much like Bruce Lee that me and my mother thought that it was Bruce Lee. My mother thought for sure then that the rumors were true about Bruce Lee faking his death. She had me convinced, but I know now who Bruce Lei really is. He was born in North Korea and Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco, California in 1940. The way that you can tell that Bruce Lei is not Bruce Lee is by the way that Lei is built. Bruce Lei had more muscles.

In the late 70's and early 80's other stars of the jade screen were showing off some of their own talents such as, Liu Chia Liang (aka The Pops), Gordon Liu, Hsiao Hou, and the impressive female fighting ace, Hui Ying Hung.

Liu Chia Liang

Liu Chia Liang not only starred in Shaw Brothers movies, but he directed some of them and choreographed the action . His roles has often been that of a kung fu master, farther, uncle or hermit. His fighting technique was called Hung Gar Kung fu, but he is also known for using untold animal forms like in the movie Mad Monkey Kung Fu where he and Hsiao Hou display the monkey style with perfection.

His movies tend to show that arm and finger strength is very important when training in kung fu. Liu Chia Liang's other starring credits are My Young Auntie (director), Legendary Weapons Of China and Samo Hung's ever enjoyable Pedicab Driver. His directorial efforts are Dirty Ho, New Killers In Town(starred), Tiger On The Beat and Drunken Master 2 & 3 (starred).

Gordon Liu

Gordon Liu who appeared in a number of movies directed by Liu Chia Liang, has often played the part of a Shaolin monk or abbot. His most memorable movie is with out doubt, The 36 Chambers Of Shaolin where he learns how to train his body for combat and masters a variety of weapons after his family and business are destroyed by the local government.

After all his vigorous training is complete, he faces the legendary bad guy, Lo Lieh for an all out final. Liu's display of the 3 Section Staff, Sword and other deadly weapons is riveting. He was cast in the two Kill Bill movies, broadening a wider appeal to new audiences and bringing awareness to his legendary talents. His other movie appearances include, Dirty Ho, Treasure Hunters(supporting role), Return To The 36 Chambers, Shaolin and Wutang and Jet Lee's The Last Hero In China.

Hsiao Hou

Hsiao Hou just like Gordon Liu, has starred in many of Liu Chia Liang movies. He was best known for his role in Mad Monkey Kung Fu. The movie starts where Mr Chen (Liu Chia Liang) and his sister ( Hui Ying Hung) are invited to an old friends home (Lo Lieh), after watching a stage play, but once they get there, Lo manages to gently persuade Chen in to drinking and show off his kung fu in order to set him up. Lo knows that his weakness has always been alcohol .

Eventually one glass lead to another and before you know it, he's under the influence. He's led to a room to lay down. He awakes next to a lady who wrongly accuses him of assault. Lo Lieh order his hands to be crippled by beating them.

Now living as a recluse he earns money as a street performer for the locals. The tax collectors turn up and take all his hard earned money. A member of the audience known as Monkey (Hsiao Hou) befriends him and both help each other to make a living. Monkey knows nothing about Martial Arts, but is quickly trained in the art of monkey kung fu by Chen.

Once his training's complete they both go on a kung fu rampage to bring about justice in their home town. The final showdown is spectacular as they take a stand against Lo Lieh and his henchmen.

Hui Ying Hung

One of the most entertaining movies Hui Ying Hung has made is My Young Auntie. This movie is jam-packed with non-stop kung fu from beginning to end with a clean slice of comedy and a great storyline that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. When Ah Tao (Hsiao Hou) comes home after spending the season in college he finds out that the young woman in his home is actually his auntie (Hui Ying Hung) who his father says he must respect, he decides to rebel and refuses to call her auntie causing her much disappointment.

Eventually, he accepts her position. Auntie explains to Ah Tao and his farther that she married a senior member of their family to protect the families asset, but another member of the family (Lung Wei) and his children are trying to get their hands on them, to use them for their own evil deeds. This erupts into constant encounters with hired henchmen. In the end, both sides of the family face off for an all-out jaw dropping, kung fu finale.

After the release of this movie, Hui Ying Hung became a recognised female kung fu star. This is one of Shaw Brothers best productions and a must-see for fans of kung fu movies.

The movie is about a teenager boy called Jason (played by Michael Angarano - “Seabiscuit,” “ Sky High,” “One Last Thing”) who's obsessed with Kung-fu movies, but his dreams soon become a reality when he stumbles upon a historical artefact while checking out pirate DVD's. He's transported through time to ancient China, where the age of martial arts was rife. There he meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and an imprisoned warrior known as the “Monkey King” (played by Jet Lee).

This has been a well anticipated movie moment for fans of both these amazing martial artist. When Jet Lee made a name for himself with the Once Upon A Time In China movies back in the early 90's, arguably it hailed him as the new Kung-Fu King. At the same time fans of Jackie Chan stood firmly behind their hero while still paying homage to Lee.

The Forbidden Kingdom has another added feature to it. Not only is Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) in charge of choreography, but this is the first time that he and Jackie Chan have worked together since the golden days of Snake In The Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master (directed by Yuen Woo Ping) which highlighted Chan's physical ability and boosted his career.

With Yuen at the helm of the action, it wouldn't surprise me if Michael Angarano gets a fighting part and pulls it off like Keanu Reeves from The Matrix. Let's hope that this movie will guarantee bums on seats and bring more fans to the world of martial arts. The UK release of the movie is yet to be confirmed.

The Guillotine's intentions from the beginning were corrupt, as his original mission was to eliminate the Ching rebels, including the One Armed Boxer, who coincidentally only has one arm. During a prestigious kung-fu tournament, including crazy characters such as “Win Without a Knife” Yakuma, who actually holds a knife secretly, a man who fights using his pigtails, and an Indian Yoga master who could extend his arms by 5 inches, The Flying Guillotine tried to assassinate the One Armed Boxer, but failed.

The Flying Guillotine himself is completely blind, and used a flying guillotine, a hat shaped device that chopped heads right off! What also made this film stand out is its use of creative special effects. A dramatic fight at the end incorporates coffins with spring-loaded hatchets and Wang Yu's gravity-defying wall-climbing. You could also imagine the kind of public reaction a film like this would receive in 1976, to this day it remains a cult film classic that lives up to its eccentric name by offering one of the most unusual and fascinating kung-fu movie experiences.

Jaa’s first movie can be found in the foreign language section of the video store. It’s called “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” and it also a great movie. “The Protector” was initially released as “Ong-Bak 2” overseas but was sponsored into America by Quinton Terantino’s production company, Baa Ram Ewe.

Tony Jaa is being billed as the next Jackie Chan and he lives up to it. In fact there is a cameo by Jackie that seems to indicate an official passing of the torch.

This film does several things right, which will look familiar to fans of Chan. The portions of the film that are in Thailand everyone speaks Thai (subtitled). When in Australia they speak English. Given Australia’s tight gun laws it’s possible that most thugs rely of brute force, so it’s not the type of martial art movie where the whole movie should have been over in a five minute fire fight. Instead the fight scenes are phenomenal and original, but not ridiculously implausible, and not repetitive.

I also demand a “smart factor” from my action hero’s. I can’t stand when the hero runs out of ammo but doesn’t pick up any of the half-empty guns on fallen enemies. Our protagonist uses a weapon when it is available.

What about the “R” Rating?

There wasn’t any tough language in the film and if there is nudity it’s not gratuitous.

The R is definitely for violence, and that is best reserved for films where a hero is attempting to do something noble. Our protagonist has more than enough reason to seek revenge but it’s clear that his mission is to find his elephants.

The bad guys are clearly aggressive and violent, but our hero doesn’t really stoop to their level. He shows remarkable restraint through-out the movie. There are no coupe de grace scenes or much collateral damage. The R is probably 90% for a fight scene nearly movie’s climax. Every Martial Artist under the sun will reply the same way if asked, “What would you do if someone attacked you with a knife.” The answer is, “break his arm.” At the risk of spoiling the surprise there are probably 50 guys wielding knives.

Larger Story

When I say larger story I speak in reference to John Eldredge although he makes no claim to have created the concept. It’s become a style of film criticism in which secular movies are examined for elements of truth that transcend the intended scope of the film. Not necessarily Christian themes so much as human themes from the perspective of a person who believes we are all in God’s story.

Our hero’s mission doesn’t change because the odds against him grow. His mission is relational—he wants his family back. Our hero has virtually no resources, no local connections, nor is he even familiar with local customs. Still he is able to conduct an investigation into organized crime, and determine who to trust in the crime family and in the corrupt local police department. He is a classic example of a hero who knows who he is and what he must do—and does it.