Graeme Noble
01-05-2008, 03:38 AM
Contour (Stunt People Presents)
Starring Eric Jacobus, Andy Leung, Tyler Wang & Dennis Ruel
Directed by: Eric Jacobus
Plot Outline: After blowing a routine heist, anti-social thug-for-hire, Law resume his day job as a shady San Francisco tour guide. Before he knows it, Law and his group of unsuspecting tourists are in a race against time to recover a videocassette tape that will rescue the politically unstable country of Uruvia. p>
I have been a member of the Stunt People message board for about 4 and a half years now, and it is only this week that I have watched their first feature-length movie. Of course I had seen many shorts that Eric and the group had made and posted on their website – they were impressive so I knew what to expect when I ordered the dvd. Most people who are reading this or who are thinking of buying this will be mainly concerned with the action in this one, they won’t be buying Contour for a an in-depth epic masterpiece movie, because it certainly isn’t that – however the martial arts in this movie is of high quality, and I don’t say that lightly. The music is very impressive I have to say, and the main theme which is played at the credits is incredibly good and I love it. In fact I’ve rewinded my disc just to listen to that tune again – it’s great! My only gripe with the music is some of it played during the fight scenes isn’t ideal, but I try not to be too fussy. There is a lot of action in this one, so grabbing screen shots for this one took a while, and to write this review takes a while, but I think it is worth it. The fighting is very fast, which is good, and the choreography flows well and it’s varied well. Some of the camerawork isn’t to my liking, especially when the fighters move about a lot, the camera tends to follow them round and it occasionally misses out stuff but I shouldn’t complain about this since I like Legend of the Wolf. Some of the falls and flips in this one are absolutely fantastic and each one of them deserves a lot of credit for this, but I’ll specifically talk about the action as I go through the movie.
I feel I have to write something about the movie as a whole. Honestly speaking, I didn’t really enjoy it. There were 3 very funny moments though, all involving Jacobus, as he is the best-written character in the whole movie. Recent Stunt People member, Tyler Wang is an excellent addition to the movie and much needed, she is attractive, sexy and very believable. The best thing about this movie, action excluded, is the relationship between Jacobus and Wang, it is funny and interesting. The main villain Dennis Ruel is an okay villain, but nothing new is offered with his performance, and his sidekick, Ray Carbonel is just what you’d expect really. The worst thing about this movie is Ed Kahana’s character – what can I say, I hate him. I think he is supposed to be annoying, but he really is too annoying, and his squeaky voice goes right through your head. His bodyguard Andy Leung is okay, probably because he doesn’t speak in English – but at least he can fight well, and I mean he can fight well.
Like a lot of Hong Kong movies, I found it quite difficult to understand some parts. The simple Jacobus tour guide stuff was simple enough, but the extra stuff involving Ed Kahana is sometimes over-the-top and silly. For their next project, I hope they make a more straight-forward movie with less annoying characters, but since all these guys are not professional actors they did a remarkable job, and lets face it, it isn’t really the story we’re concerned about – it’s the action.
I am writing this review in a similar style to how Eric Jacobus used to write, so it is fitting to write this review of his movie, in the style he made so famous. The movie starts well, just like most Hong Kong movies, an action scene, and a typical one at that. Jacobus comes in, beats up a guard and steals his robbers mask. After some plot involving a bag (which is a big deal in this movie) the fight starts. Jacobs starts off fighting two men, and the camera is up high for the opening shots, which is a great way to start off a fight, as you see everything and it looks cool. Lightening speed choreography and nothing too fancy here, just basic hand techniques and quick kicks. A few of the men literally fly at Jacobus, but after a few exchanges, they’re knocked down again. Jacobus takes care of the guards and then has a short fight with Ray Carbonel who looks okay but if I’m honest, not as flexible or good as Eric. Overall though, it’s a great start to the movie, and it’s a good taste of what’s to come.
The next proper fight in the movie comes ten minutes after a very impressive opening credits scene. This fight, which takes place in a gym is my personal favourite and it really is high quality stuff. Eric Jacobus against the one who taught him Tae Kwon Do I think, Andy Leung. These two are the best fighters in the movie and this is the only time the two fight each other so it’s special. This is an acrobatic fight featuring a lot of falls, and the choreography is excellent and I had no problems with the camerawork here either. Both men look just as good as the other and there are some unbelievable jump kicks performed and some excellent falls where they twirl their bodies round several times, which is obviously gym practised. Also, I noticed a few trademark Jacobus back flips in their too, which was nice. It goes on for a good 2 or 3 minutes and it ends with both men kicking each other at the same time, which is exactly what Jackie Chan and Benny Urquidez do to each other in the finale of Wheels on Meals. After I watched it I was left feeling completely satisfied with the fight. ’
The next fight isn’t so good but still has its moments. Dennis Ruel and his mate, Ray Carbonel take on a large group of men armed with baseball bats, and this scene is long, lasting almost 5 minutes. Some nice weaponry work with the bats and Carbonel is skilled with the bat, and some of the choreography is nice and the fight flows well. Ruel then gets involved and performs the best move of the entire movie, a triple jump kick, where he kicks 3 guys in one move – a move very similar to Casanova’s jump kick towards the end of Master Strikes. The fight continues with some more weaponry work and Ruel makes this fight better by throwing in some very impressive kicks.
The next fight is quite short. Ed Kahana who has been acting like an 8 year old throughout the movie, has some weird nightmare vision and he has two fights. The first fight is a kickboxing match with some guy which takes place at night, so its difficult to see. Mainly simple kickboxing here, no shapes here, but it’s a minute of kicks, which is nice, and Jacobus gets the choreography right for the fight.
The next short fight takes place immediately after this and it’s daylight and up on the roof. I have to admit it is nice to see some fights outdoors, most of the fights in this movie are shot inside and personally speaking I prefer a fight to be outdoors, or at least getting a balance. But the quality of the fights make up for this, and here Kahana fights a guy dressed in white with a mask similar to the Dragon From Russia, I think it might be Jacobus in white, moves like him. This fight is great, and the guy in white unleashes some mighty kicks and attacks Kahana most of the time, until the end where Kahana somehow gets the upper hand???
We then come to the big end fight, and when I say big, I mean big. This fight altogether lasts around 20 minutes and everyone gets involved, so I’ll just go through it bit by bit. Firstly, Andy Leung fights Ray Carbonel, and this is good – you just know anything with Andy Leung will be good and both Jacobus and him should hit it big time. Anyway, Carbonel is okay here and there is some very nice handwork in here, a refreshing introduction. The speed of the fight is incredible and Leung just looks so composed and relaxed during it, like he’d been making martial arts movies for over 20 years. This fight is great, however the second half of it, for me, gets ruined when Vlad Rimburg comes in dressed in drag. Now I have nothing personally against Vlad, but he hasn’t got the ideal build and he isn’t as flexible as some, so combine this with heels, a wig and a silly skirt, you can understand my frustration. It just annoyed me as the Leung vs. Carbonel showpiece was so good. Another annoyance is Vlad’s acting, it isn’t good and the music played for that part of the fight is poor also. While this is going on, Tyler Wang has a fight against a few men, which is quite decent. I really liked her character and it’s good to see a woman in the role. She fights well and is quite acrobatic and she nails her opponents. A shoot-out follows this, but nothing too special. The Ed Kahana fight is long and is about 5 minutes long. He fights a load of men, and some of it is good and some of it is mediocre. First of all he fights a few men, and he seems to have the ability to attack more than one guy at the same time, with kicking and punching different guys at the same time. He is very flexible and his jump kicks are good. Although Ed is good and very talented, he has a weird style and the way he fights with his hands is strange and he’s not really punching his opponents, he’s kind of using his palms and I can’t really explain it. Anyway, the sticks come out and it’s a weaponry fight which is nice while it lasts, very impressive choreography and Kahana can work the stick well. He then gets a chain out, and is impressive with that too and attacks his opponents with that. The cream of the end fight is the phenomenal fight between Jacobus and Ruel, this is as good as the earlier duel between Eric and Andy Leung. The fight reminds me of Jackie’s fight in Dragons Forever against Benny, simple but excellent choreography shot at a super speed. Both men are very talented martial artists and both show off their skills in this fight. Ruel attacks Jacobus with some fast hands and some successive kicking. Jacobus hold his own and looks at ease of what he is doing. After some nice fighting, Dennis floors Eric and then both men take off some clothing and the fight gets real nasty. Both men go crazy at each other and then Eric, with his tie, ties it up with Dennis’ tie, which is a nice idea but personally I’d prefer if they’d finished it with straight kickboxing. Overall, a very exhausting and exhilarating finale which is 90% quality martial arts action and all men deserve credit.
There is a comedic fight at the end involving everyone fighting everyone, but I didn’t care for it hence why I haven’t grabbed any pictures. There are some outtakes at the end too which are quite funny and they save the best until last when Eric, when throwing someone into the swimming pool falls in himself – now that is hilarious! In conclusion then, Contour is a masterpiece in terms of on-screen martial arts fighting and it ranks up there with Sammo’s pieces of the 80’s and I don’t say that lightly. I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie as a whole, but I liked Jacobus and Wang’s characters and there was some funny scenes despite a lot of bad ones. The action is spread out well, consistent, well choreographed and the majority of these Stunt People members are incredible and I hope some of them make it big – especially Jacobus and Leung.
5/5 – Forget the flaws here, just watch it for the quality martial arts on display.
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/kungfu35/review_contour.html
Starring Eric Jacobus, Andy Leung, Tyler Wang & Dennis Ruel
Directed by: Eric Jacobus
Plot Outline: After blowing a routine heist, anti-social thug-for-hire, Law resume his day job as a shady San Francisco tour guide. Before he knows it, Law and his group of unsuspecting tourists are in a race against time to recover a videocassette tape that will rescue the politically unstable country of Uruvia. p>
I have been a member of the Stunt People message board for about 4 and a half years now, and it is only this week that I have watched their first feature-length movie. Of course I had seen many shorts that Eric and the group had made and posted on their website – they were impressive so I knew what to expect when I ordered the dvd. Most people who are reading this or who are thinking of buying this will be mainly concerned with the action in this one, they won’t be buying Contour for a an in-depth epic masterpiece movie, because it certainly isn’t that – however the martial arts in this movie is of high quality, and I don’t say that lightly. The music is very impressive I have to say, and the main theme which is played at the credits is incredibly good and I love it. In fact I’ve rewinded my disc just to listen to that tune again – it’s great! My only gripe with the music is some of it played during the fight scenes isn’t ideal, but I try not to be too fussy. There is a lot of action in this one, so grabbing screen shots for this one took a while, and to write this review takes a while, but I think it is worth it. The fighting is very fast, which is good, and the choreography flows well and it’s varied well. Some of the camerawork isn’t to my liking, especially when the fighters move about a lot, the camera tends to follow them round and it occasionally misses out stuff but I shouldn’t complain about this since I like Legend of the Wolf. Some of the falls and flips in this one are absolutely fantastic and each one of them deserves a lot of credit for this, but I’ll specifically talk about the action as I go through the movie.
I feel I have to write something about the movie as a whole. Honestly speaking, I didn’t really enjoy it. There were 3 very funny moments though, all involving Jacobus, as he is the best-written character in the whole movie. Recent Stunt People member, Tyler Wang is an excellent addition to the movie and much needed, she is attractive, sexy and very believable. The best thing about this movie, action excluded, is the relationship between Jacobus and Wang, it is funny and interesting. The main villain Dennis Ruel is an okay villain, but nothing new is offered with his performance, and his sidekick, Ray Carbonel is just what you’d expect really. The worst thing about this movie is Ed Kahana’s character – what can I say, I hate him. I think he is supposed to be annoying, but he really is too annoying, and his squeaky voice goes right through your head. His bodyguard Andy Leung is okay, probably because he doesn’t speak in English – but at least he can fight well, and I mean he can fight well.
Like a lot of Hong Kong movies, I found it quite difficult to understand some parts. The simple Jacobus tour guide stuff was simple enough, but the extra stuff involving Ed Kahana is sometimes over-the-top and silly. For their next project, I hope they make a more straight-forward movie with less annoying characters, but since all these guys are not professional actors they did a remarkable job, and lets face it, it isn’t really the story we’re concerned about – it’s the action.
I am writing this review in a similar style to how Eric Jacobus used to write, so it is fitting to write this review of his movie, in the style he made so famous. The movie starts well, just like most Hong Kong movies, an action scene, and a typical one at that. Jacobus comes in, beats up a guard and steals his robbers mask. After some plot involving a bag (which is a big deal in this movie) the fight starts. Jacobs starts off fighting two men, and the camera is up high for the opening shots, which is a great way to start off a fight, as you see everything and it looks cool. Lightening speed choreography and nothing too fancy here, just basic hand techniques and quick kicks. A few of the men literally fly at Jacobus, but after a few exchanges, they’re knocked down again. Jacobus takes care of the guards and then has a short fight with Ray Carbonel who looks okay but if I’m honest, not as flexible or good as Eric. Overall though, it’s a great start to the movie, and it’s a good taste of what’s to come.
The next proper fight in the movie comes ten minutes after a very impressive opening credits scene. This fight, which takes place in a gym is my personal favourite and it really is high quality stuff. Eric Jacobus against the one who taught him Tae Kwon Do I think, Andy Leung. These two are the best fighters in the movie and this is the only time the two fight each other so it’s special. This is an acrobatic fight featuring a lot of falls, and the choreography is excellent and I had no problems with the camerawork here either. Both men look just as good as the other and there are some unbelievable jump kicks performed and some excellent falls where they twirl their bodies round several times, which is obviously gym practised. Also, I noticed a few trademark Jacobus back flips in their too, which was nice. It goes on for a good 2 or 3 minutes and it ends with both men kicking each other at the same time, which is exactly what Jackie Chan and Benny Urquidez do to each other in the finale of Wheels on Meals. After I watched it I was left feeling completely satisfied with the fight. ’
The next fight isn’t so good but still has its moments. Dennis Ruel and his mate, Ray Carbonel take on a large group of men armed with baseball bats, and this scene is long, lasting almost 5 minutes. Some nice weaponry work with the bats and Carbonel is skilled with the bat, and some of the choreography is nice and the fight flows well. Ruel then gets involved and performs the best move of the entire movie, a triple jump kick, where he kicks 3 guys in one move – a move very similar to Casanova’s jump kick towards the end of Master Strikes. The fight continues with some more weaponry work and Ruel makes this fight better by throwing in some very impressive kicks.
The next fight is quite short. Ed Kahana who has been acting like an 8 year old throughout the movie, has some weird nightmare vision and he has two fights. The first fight is a kickboxing match with some guy which takes place at night, so its difficult to see. Mainly simple kickboxing here, no shapes here, but it’s a minute of kicks, which is nice, and Jacobus gets the choreography right for the fight.
The next short fight takes place immediately after this and it’s daylight and up on the roof. I have to admit it is nice to see some fights outdoors, most of the fights in this movie are shot inside and personally speaking I prefer a fight to be outdoors, or at least getting a balance. But the quality of the fights make up for this, and here Kahana fights a guy dressed in white with a mask similar to the Dragon From Russia, I think it might be Jacobus in white, moves like him. This fight is great, and the guy in white unleashes some mighty kicks and attacks Kahana most of the time, until the end where Kahana somehow gets the upper hand???
We then come to the big end fight, and when I say big, I mean big. This fight altogether lasts around 20 minutes and everyone gets involved, so I’ll just go through it bit by bit. Firstly, Andy Leung fights Ray Carbonel, and this is good – you just know anything with Andy Leung will be good and both Jacobus and him should hit it big time. Anyway, Carbonel is okay here and there is some very nice handwork in here, a refreshing introduction. The speed of the fight is incredible and Leung just looks so composed and relaxed during it, like he’d been making martial arts movies for over 20 years. This fight is great, however the second half of it, for me, gets ruined when Vlad Rimburg comes in dressed in drag. Now I have nothing personally against Vlad, but he hasn’t got the ideal build and he isn’t as flexible as some, so combine this with heels, a wig and a silly skirt, you can understand my frustration. It just annoyed me as the Leung vs. Carbonel showpiece was so good. Another annoyance is Vlad’s acting, it isn’t good and the music played for that part of the fight is poor also. While this is going on, Tyler Wang has a fight against a few men, which is quite decent. I really liked her character and it’s good to see a woman in the role. She fights well and is quite acrobatic and she nails her opponents. A shoot-out follows this, but nothing too special. The Ed Kahana fight is long and is about 5 minutes long. He fights a load of men, and some of it is good and some of it is mediocre. First of all he fights a few men, and he seems to have the ability to attack more than one guy at the same time, with kicking and punching different guys at the same time. He is very flexible and his jump kicks are good. Although Ed is good and very talented, he has a weird style and the way he fights with his hands is strange and he’s not really punching his opponents, he’s kind of using his palms and I can’t really explain it. Anyway, the sticks come out and it’s a weaponry fight which is nice while it lasts, very impressive choreography and Kahana can work the stick well. He then gets a chain out, and is impressive with that too and attacks his opponents with that. The cream of the end fight is the phenomenal fight between Jacobus and Ruel, this is as good as the earlier duel between Eric and Andy Leung. The fight reminds me of Jackie’s fight in Dragons Forever against Benny, simple but excellent choreography shot at a super speed. Both men are very talented martial artists and both show off their skills in this fight. Ruel attacks Jacobus with some fast hands and some successive kicking. Jacobus hold his own and looks at ease of what he is doing. After some nice fighting, Dennis floors Eric and then both men take off some clothing and the fight gets real nasty. Both men go crazy at each other and then Eric, with his tie, ties it up with Dennis’ tie, which is a nice idea but personally I’d prefer if they’d finished it with straight kickboxing. Overall, a very exhausting and exhilarating finale which is 90% quality martial arts action and all men deserve credit.
There is a comedic fight at the end involving everyone fighting everyone, but I didn’t care for it hence why I haven’t grabbed any pictures. There are some outtakes at the end too which are quite funny and they save the best until last when Eric, when throwing someone into the swimming pool falls in himself – now that is hilarious! In conclusion then, Contour is a masterpiece in terms of on-screen martial arts fighting and it ranks up there with Sammo’s pieces of the 80’s and I don’t say that lightly. I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie as a whole, but I liked Jacobus and Wang’s characters and there was some funny scenes despite a lot of bad ones. The action is spread out well, consistent, well choreographed and the majority of these Stunt People members are incredible and I hope some of them make it big – especially Jacobus and Leung.
5/5 – Forget the flaws here, just watch it for the quality martial arts on display.
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/kungfu35/review_contour.html