There are many killer films, but no one is like Killer Joe. In many cases, killer films mainly described the cool killer who killed the enemies in cold blood, got things done in minutes, and showed their dazzling skills to Kill and rob. Killer Joe is a killer film combined with family tragedy and ethics that make the film different. In the film, a young man in trouble, a ramshackle father, a retarded sister, an unmerciful stepmother, and a feminine and handsome killer, become the protagonists of the story. The open story is that the son in trouble incites his father to employ a killer to kill his mother to get her insurance money, but the story behind is really worth scrutiny. Directed by William Friedkin, Killer Joe stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon, and Thomas Haden Church.

There are two plots that associate the girl Dottie with Chinese martial arts.

The first is that the brother, Chris, meets his naked sister Dottie in his dream. Dottie plays with a lizard, and then comes to his room. Suddenly, Dottie takes off her pajamas and stare at him. Then Dottie poses a Wing Chun posture and disappears.

The second is that Dottie studies Chinese martial arts from TV. After talking, Chris and his father decide to kill his mother, and they invite the killer Joe to come for the negotiation at home. When Joe comes, he knocks at the door, but on one answer. Joe opens the door himself and finds that Dottie is at home by herself, and she is studying at home the Chinese martial arts from the Chinese motion film in TV. She studies seriously, and every gesture and motion are full of joy.

The Chinese martial arts are to underline the poor girl.

People would feel so bad and uncomfortable for Dottie’s story. Dottie is only 12 years old, abandoned by her mother, and lives with her brother and father in an abnormal family. She seldom goes out, as if she is in house arrest. From the film we know that Dottie is mentally abnormal. The brother Chris has an illicit relationship with his sister Dottie, and makes her pregnant. When Chris and their father hire killer Joe to kill the mother, Dottie is appointed as retainer by Joe and becomes his sex dolls. In the end, desperate Dottie shoots her brother, father, and Joe. So to speak, this handicapped girl experiences several terrible things that most people would never experience even one.

First, the Chinese martial arts plots are to underline the poor girl’s situation. We all know that film art comes from life, but above life. That is why art is called art. The desire, aspirations, and vision that cannot be completed in real life can be met through the film art forms. That’s the movie charm. But we all know that stories in film are not true, and something like Chinese martial arts in the film are not true, either. The Chinese martial arts after artistic adaption are for motion shows, and enrich the delight to watch the film, which is fit for both Chinese and other kinds of martial arts in the film. It is a basic common sense that you cannot learn martial arts from the film or TV. The film implies the girl’s tragedy with the learning martial arts from the film plot.

Second, the Chinese martial arts are the careful selection for the film, and it is determined by the practice feature of Chinese martial arts. There is a unique practice phase of non-confrontation single-man exercise called routine exercise in Chinese martial arts practice. People will practice in the fixed motion mode that was set as regular mode by former master. The routine exercise sums up and hints the smart forms to attack and defense. But the forms must be told, and then you know how to use it. I think the routine exercise gives the film people the inspiration, because when people practice routine exercise alone, waving their hands, kicking their legs, it looks like idiot in unknowing people’s eyes, just like the girl studies martial arts alone in front of the TV.

But, does it say that Chinese martial arts are fit for abnormal people in the film? I don’t know. It is just a speculation.

The killer theme has been put on screen for dozens of years. It is easy to make the killing processes and scenes good, but difficult to make the difference. Unfortunately, Bangkok Dangerous makes no difference from other killer films. The Hollywood leading man, the Bangkok story place, it is really not stimulating, except the other Asian actors, because you know the end when you know the beginning. Our killer, Nicolas Cage, starts in the so cool voice-over, a little lonely, and with the cold and indifferent look. The film is meant to shoot a man in the night, so whole film is almost shot in the Bangkok night, but it is never thought that the killer dies silently in Bangkok, without value.

Bangkok Dangerous is a 2008 crime thriller film written and directed by the Pang Brothers, and starring Nicolas Cage. Killer Joe (by Nicolas Cage) is a quiet man, he disappears quietly somewhere in the world after he finishes the job. This time, he goes to Thailand in the name of vocation to launch the new job. In Bangkok, he meets a deaf-mute girl, Fon. He fabricates new identity to get close to Fon. In order to reduce his chances of exposure, Joe chooses Kong as his assistant, a corner boy, to do some dangerous liaison work. Joe finds Kong smart and capable, and he accepts Kong as his student and friend. Because of his beloved Fon, it is a violation of the regulations for Joe to abandon the assassination, which greatly infuriates the buyers. The buyers begin to insanely assault Joe. Joe fights back the gangsters, for his new life, lover and friend.

After all, Nicolas Cage is good actor, not handsome, but sexy. He treats actor’s lines well. When watching such an unpopular film, most people don’t know Thai language, and the leading lady is deaf and mute, so the Nicolas Cage actor’s lines is very important. Especially his voice-over sounds very aesthetic. He will add his creativity to the role in the film. He is the kind of charismatic actor who handles and grasps the role appropriately.

But, his hairstyle is a real failure in the film, because the hair scatters scruffy. I don’t know why the girl would fall in love with such an old sloppy bald-headed man.

Nicolas Cage teaches Kong Wing Chun.

In the film, Nicolas Cage teaches Kong Wing Chun, which is commendable melee action scene. It is said that Steven Seagal and Robert Downey Jr. all studied Wing Chun. Now, it is found that Nicolas Cage studied Wing Chun, too. There are two plots.

One is the dagger lesson. In the beginning, Kong asks Nicolas Cage to teach him to fight, but Nicolas Cage takes up a dagger to try to kill Kong who knows too much. Kong is so agile to block Nicolas Cage’s hand when the dagger is next to his neck. After several trials, Nicolas Cage finds him a man of great potential, and accepts him as student. The other lesson is the chi sau training, a way of dual practice of Wing Chun. But here we know that Nicolas Cage is not familiar with the Wing Chun theory. The Wing Chun theory is to withdraw the chest, erect the back, loose the shoulders down, and punch out in the middle line of the body. But Nicolas Cage raises his shoulders, and punch out in the side line of the body.

The Chinese Wing Chun.

Wing Chun, a traditional Chinese martial art, belongs to the southern China school of fist martial art and is based on the “Central Line of Human Body” theory. With its focus on defense, Wing Chun develops an active and concise system of defense and the proper use of force in necessary circumstance. The basic Empty hand forms of Wing Chun are Siu Lim Tao, chum kiu and Bil Gee, and major practice method is chi sau, a way of dual practice, and the main instrument used include man-shaped wood stool, sword and sticks, and auxiliary equipment include sandbags on walls, and three-star stools. It advocates the flexible movement of four limbs under the guidance of right concept and mindset.

The true origin of Wing Chun remains mystery now and is highly disputed. The history of Wing Chun is not seen in written documents, but passed on orally among people as folk-legends. It is widely believed that it originated in border areas in Sichuan and Yunnan Province, then gained prevalence in Fujian Province and eventually established itself as a prominent school of martial arts in Foshan, Guangdong Province.

It is explicit that Yip Man learned Wing Chun from Chan Wah Shun who was an accountant in an old-time Chinese private bank. As Chan Wah Shun charged a high fee, the art of Wing Chun did not reach out wide then. Yip Man showed prodigious ability for martial arts but was poor in physical health. In the hope of boosting his health, Yip Man was allowed to be one of Mr. Chan’s followers. Yip Man was both talented and diligent, so he was favored and instructed by Chan in person more often. And Chan Wah Shun asked his elder disciple Wu Zhongsu to practice with Yip Man a lot, further improved Yip Man’s skills.

After Chan Wah Shun died from stroke, Yip Man followed Wu Zhongsu and practiced hard for three years before he was even 15. After that, Yip Man went to St. Stephen’s College in Hong Kong as demanded by his father. And during his college time, he was able to meet Leung Bik, the Wing Chun master, with whom he practiced Wing Chun together. In 1949, Yip Man left Foshan for Hong Kong to teach Wing Chun art to make a living for the following 20 years.

There are many renowned disciples of Yip Man, in particular Bruce Lee who enjoyed worldwide reputation for being a master of Chinese martial arts and a movie start. Bruce Lee learned Wing Chun from Yip Man since he was young, and then left to study in the United States when he was 18. After his graduation, he founded the Jun Fan Gung Fu Instituteto pass on Chinese martial arts. During this time, he conducted in-depth study, drew on the strength of both Chinese and foreign martial arts, and eventually established his own martial art sect, Jeet Kune Do. In 1971, he returned to Hong Kong and started staring in films, and many of his films about Chinese Kung Fu were huge successes, earning the title of “King of Kung Fu” for himself and made Wing Chun world renown which he learned in his early days.

Nowadays, Wing Chun becomes the most famous Chinese martial arts in the West. In some countries, Wing Chun is the standard martial art for police and military forces. Though karate, Taekwondo, Brazil Jiu Jitsu are very popular with the Western Folk, there are many fanatical Wing Chun practitioners. With its rapid, efficient and practical style, Wing Chun greatly influences the world fight ring.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2016 British-American action horror comedy film based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which parodies the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The film is directed by Burr Steers, who wrote the adapted screenplay.

In 19 century, England, a mysterious plague breaks out, and the undead wander around and damage the countryside. Even the noble ladies are sent to China or Japan to learn the art of weaponry and martial arts. In a ball thrown by the rich Bingley family, Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy, but they get into Pride and Prejudice against each other, for kinds of reasons. In a plague, many people are infected and become Zombies. Competitive Elizabeth Bennet decides to save the home land and annihilate the Zombies with her exquisite martial arts and excellent swordsmanship. In the tough fights, she and Fitzwilliam Darcy put aside personal and social prejudices, and put aside Pride and Prejudice, and fight together. They finally become the true love of each other.

The Chinese Shaolin Temple Martial arts and The Art of War.

In the film, Elizabeth Bennet says that she learned Shaolin martial arts in Shaolin Temple, Henan Province, China. The film is set in 1700~1800 when it as Qing Dynasty in China, under the rule of Qianlong Emperor, and China and England established trade relationship that time. And it was possible to go to China to learn Shaolin martial arts.

But the fact is that during the Qing Dynasty, China was an isolated country. The foreigners were not allowed to go around themselves. Although doing business with China for years, the British just went to one city, i.e. Guangzhou. And in Guangzhou, they just went to one place, i.e. the Thirteen Hongs. And they were only allowed to stay in the Street of Thirteen Hongs, and they could not go outside without permission. Because the Chinese government scorned to make contact with the British directly, the he Thirteen Hongs, the thirteen government-appointed Chinese traders, played the role of brokers. They were only allowed to come in summer, without wife or children together. All of the actions of the British were under the monitoring and constraints from the Thirteen Hongs, just like prisoners. So, Elizabeth Bennet would never be able to go to Shaolin Temple, because of the supervision of the Thirteen Hongs.

Further More, Shaolin Temple would not recruit female students that time. The members in the Shaolin Temple were mainly monks and male laity students. The female were even not allowed to go inside the door, as its institution stipulated.And, in the movie, when fighting with the Zombies, Elizabeth Bennet’s martial arts are not Shaolin style at all.

Elizabeth Bennet says that she knows The Art of War, an ancient Chinese military treatise, dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (“Master Sun”, also spelled Sunzi), the text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of China’s Seven Military Classics upon the collection’s creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and has long been the most influential strategy text in East Asia. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

The book was first translated into French in 1772 by the Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910. Leaders such as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work.

So, Elizabeth Bennet will never live up to 1910 to read the English translation version of The Art of War. Of course, Elizabeth Bennet will say that she knows the original works in Chinese. Ha-ha, forget it.