THE REEL CRITIC

Author: STEPHANIE DOSCH

If you want a go to the movies but can't decide what mood you're in, "Kung Fu Hustle" might be for you. Combining live-action and computer-generated martial arts, slapstick comedy, Tarantino-style blood and guts, a dash of cartoonishness and a little Buddhist mysticism, Stephen Chow's latest film has something for everyone.

The film is set in 1940s Canton, China, where the notorious "Axe Gang" runs the show with an iron...well, axe. The only places that escape their tyranny are the slums of the city, where the people are too poor to be worthwhile. Pig Sty Ally is one such slum, and it is here that a ridiculous cast of characters emerges.

The trouble begins when a wannabe gangster, Sing (Stephen Chow), and his sidekick pose as members of the Axe Gang, resulting in the real gang arriving at the scene. Incredibly, three of the Pig Sty Residents - a young coolie, a donut maker and an effeminate tailor - defeat the gang and are discovered to be kung fu experts. Similarly, Pig Sty's bitchy landlady and seemingly docile landlord turn out to be two of the best-living kung fu artists.

The Axe Gang's leader, angry at his defeat, recruits Sing to retrieve the best living kung fu expert, known as "The Beast" from a mental institution so he can pit him against the husband-and-wife duo. Sing, while seemingly bumbling, appears to have some special powers of his own, as well as a long lost love to motivate him.

Chow, (best know in the United States for "Shaolin Soccer") who wrote the screenplay as well as directing and starring in the film, packs as much into it as he can. The opening scene is kind of a combination of a Western and a gangster movie, with some choreographed dance moves, martial arts and gore thrown in. An axe-shaped firecracker used to summon the gang reminds us of superheroes like Batman, and a flood of blood in the insane asylum hallway is a blatant "Shining" reference.

Overall, the movie is pretty funny, though some of my Chinese-speaking friends say it's much better in Cantonese. Personally, I enjoyed the hyperbolic characters the most, like the landlady who always has curlers in her hair and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, or the Pig Sty tenant who was always showing a half moon. There were some good special effects, as well, but they were often obvious to the point of cartoonishness, which added to the fun. It's completely unique and, while perhaps not an Academy Award-worthy film, it puts the hustle on the usual post-Oscar humdrum.

"Kung Fu Hustle" is playing in Burlington at the Roxy and in Williston and Essex Junction. And, if you can't get enough martial arts, check out this week's Hirschfield film, Takeshi Kitano's "Zatôichi." A movie about a blind master swordsman who helps two geishas on their quest for vengeance, it won five Japanese Academy Awards and the Special Director's Award at the Venice Film Festival.