He’s just NOT that into movie bootlegs: Video Piracy: Friend or Foe of movie-aholics?

Australian man pirates The Simpsons Movie with a video-recording mobile phone

Okay, in all my 30 plus years of watching movies, I gotta start out by saying I’ve seen my share of bootlegged movies. Mostly friends/family members lending me movies they got at the flea market or swap meet in town.

And with maybe a few exceptions, all have been grainy or you see silhouette of somebody’s head, like in Mystery Science Theater 3000. Nothing to the level of factory quality. Plus I’m one of those movie geeks that loves to listen to the audio commentary tracks on the movie right after I view the film for the first time.

I understand the arguments that not all movies get theatrical releases where one lives. Many have shared that they’ve seen Rec even though the movie hasn’t been released here in the U.S. I’m suspecting that they mean they actually saw a bootlegged/pirated copy or over the net somewhere.

The price of going to the movies is expensive, and people just want to see the movie either free or for a substantial lower cost , keeping the movie and not racking up video rental fees, or people just want to relax at the comfort of their own homes and watch the latest films out there without having to get a babysitter or whatever.

I dunno, I do stress that for the bootlegs I’ve seen, the production quality always lags. I guess I like all the bells and whistles that come with a factory made DVD film, that doesn’t skip in my movie player or gets that crazy mosaic pattern every ten minutes.

Movie studios are using new technologies such as watermarking their films in such a way as to be only visible to a video camera and not the human eye. Some studios are planning internet distribution of current films simultaneously with their theatrical release in the next few years. As far as DVD screeners getting leaked out, I have no idea how that could be stopped, but every time I see a copy of one, those words “SCREENER ONLY” or something like that, at the bottom popping up kinda annoys me while I’m getting into the movie.

So am I alone in saying that “I’m just not that into bootleggs” or are there others like that feel the same way too? Just throwing the topic out there. What are your guys opinions on this controversial topic.

<Piracy: Friend or Foe of movie-aholics?

Could a Charlie Chan movie be made today without seeming racist?

Way back yonder, when I was in my college Asian American Studies class, I remember watching a presentation of Asian stereotypes in the media. Some examples included the asexual asian man in tv shows/movies such as Bonanza and Enter the Dragon , the so called dragon lady phenomenon, and the portrayal of Asians by Caucasian actors in “yellowface”. One of the most glaring examples was the old Charlie Chan movies of the 1930s and 40s where a white actor played the Chinese detective who solved various crimes.

Taken from Charlie Chan wikipedia page
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, who acknowledged that he was inspired by the career of Honolulu policeman Chang Apana. Chan is the hero of a number of books and dozens of movies. A detective in the Honolulu Police Department, he and his wife have a very large family of children (the oldest of whom is colloquially known as “Number One Son”) and live in a house on Punchbowl Hill. He is a large man but moves gracefully, and is known when asked in the Warner Oland films, to not have a strong drink, but a sarsaparilla instead.

Chan was born in China and immigrated to Hawaii when very young. He is a faithful husband and proud patriarch of a “multitudinous family” of fourteen children. His character is portrayed as kindly, insightful and wise, as well as a dispenser of appropriate aphorisms, such as “Ancient Chinese philosopher say, ‘Hope is sunshine which illuminate darkest path'” (Charlie Chan at the Olympics). Identified in early stories as a sergeant, he was quickly promoted and known afterward as Lieutenant or Inspector. In later films, he is often seen working as a special agent for the U.S. government, and toward the end of the run is portrayed as being in private practice based in San Francisco. During the course of the series he traveled to over two dozen cities and five continents and is mentioned as having worked on a case in Australia.

Appearing in more than three dozen films from the silent era to the late 1940s, Chan outlasted many imitators and competitors rising to the ranks of the greatest movie investigators to stand alongside Sherlock Holmes, Nick Charles, and Sam Spade. However, Chan is also the subject of a great deal of controversy, with some calling him an offensive caricature or stereotype.

According to Wikipedia (not always a reliable source, I know) the last Charlie Chan movie was made in 1981 still portrayed by the Caucasian actor Peter Ustinov.

I know that times have changed alot since then, and there are certainly alot more Asian/Asian American actors who could fill the role of the the detective. Maybe not Jackie Chan, but someone out there could pull it off without coming off demeaning nor offensive. A modern take on this could involve a more hipper, slimmer, less cliched Chinese-American detective and his children, a cross between The Joy Luck Club and Brick. Maybe that guy from Eli Stone could play him, he seems like a decent actor.

James Saito

Which is Better? Fist of Fury or Fist of Legend

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Okay, for me, I thought the answer was a quick response of BRUCE, of course! He had the swagger, attitude, and screen presence no other Asian American actor has since shown in movies. A cinematic legend, whose only big Hollywood movie Enter the Dragon, came out after his death.

But, then I saw Fist of Legend, with Jet Li last night, and thought that maybe I judged too quickly. Yeah, the nunchaku scene is missing in this remake, but Jet Li is paying respects to the master, not trying to do a
simple ripoff. The action sequences are enhanced, and this take on the hostilities between early 20th century Chinese and Japanese is explored a little deeper here. The first time I saw the movie two years ago, I kept yelling at the tv, “Who you trying to fool Jet, you ain’t no Bruce Lee!” and “This movie is weak, Bruce never used wire work!”

But then, watching the movie again, I’m getting a different take on things.

What do you guys think, which is the better film.