Listage: Five Musical Films That Don't Annoy Me

I don't think this one will be as universal as the kung-fu list. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional Broadway-style musical, in which characters start singing to each other as soon as they meet for no known reason. But musical numbers can be a very entertaining and powerful component of film (or stage, but this is a film list). For the most part, the movies that follow have some special setting or plot component that explains the musical content. Without further ado, and with bracketed lyrical snippets:

1. Cabaret- Just a great film, exploring the decadence of 1930s Berlin and the rise of the Nazis alongside the characters' personal angst and struggles. Almost all of the music takes place on stage at the titular cabaret. ["...but there's room on ze bottom if you drop in zome night"]
2. This is Spinal Tap- Yes, it counts, hilarious cult mockumentary though it may be. I still rock out to my cassette of the soundtrack. The music is all onstage, performed by the band themselves. ["My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo/ I like to sink her with my pink torpedo"] Indeed.
3. Chicago- More a fave of my wife than myself, but it does have lots of Bob Fosse style a la Cabaret, and doesn't nearly annoy me. Most of the music takes place inside the less-than-stable mind of Roxy, the protagonist. ["Let's all stroke together, like the Princeton crew/When you're strokin' Mama, MAMA'S STROKIN' YOU!"]
4. Dancer in the Dark- If you don't shed a tear at this film, shame on you. Bjork is joyous, tragic and magnetic. The music takes place in her mind as she escapes from the dreariness of her life into a fantasy world based on Hollywood musicals. ["This is not the last song..."]
5. Hair- There's no special reason for most of the music in Hair, which makes it a bit of an oddball on this list. But I just enjoy the subversive nature of the plot and the psychedelic nature of the songs. Plus, nudity. ["Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair, shining gleaming steaming flaxen waxen/ Give me it down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer, here, baby, there, mamma, everywhere, daddy daddy hair/ Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair!"]
6. Bonus TV selection: Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Once More With Feeling"- this time an evil curse is the reason for all the singing and dancing. Mentioned here because it's the best Buffy episode evah, and it's a good segue into my next planned post. ["Bunnies! Bunnies! It must be bunnies!"]

Listage: Seven Martial Arts Movies That Anyone* Can Enjoy

Enter the Dragon- The mother of all kung-fu movies, but it also happens to be a decently taut action thriller. Bruce Lee was one intense dude, and the tournament scenes could personally kick Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ass into next week.

Rush Hour- I personally enjoy a lot of Jackie Chan movies, but this one has a little something for everyone. A good cop/buddy picture with Jackie Chan-style action sequences. (And it has a pretty fair sequel, including Zhang Ziyi, who will appear again on this list.)

Miracles (aka Qiji) - I choose this one to be my representative of Jackie Chan’s early Hong Kong career. It's a loose remake of Pocketful of Miracles. The plot and acting is typically goofy but amusing enough to keep you going between amazing Jackie stunts. The final fight scene is incredible, maybe his best ever.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- This is the first of what I have begun to call the martial/art flicks. I define this sub-genre by a heavy dependence on beautiful scenery, cinematography, dance-like fight sequences and a plot tinged with romanticism. Speaking of beauty, it stars the nubile and flexible Zhang Ziyi.

The House of Flying Daggers- Another martial/art flick, another opportunity to mention the lithe and multi-talented ZZ. This film is even more oriented towards dance/choreography visual themes- not totally dissimilar to watching one of those golden-age Hollywood musicals.

The Karate Kid- Yes, this is a martial arts movie, and it’s a feel-good family drama. Johnny is a superb archetype of the teenaged-rich-popular-asshole character. We all love to root for the old guy from Happy Days and Vinnie's cousin, but let's face it, we'd root for a rutabaga if it were up against Johnny. Plus, it's highly quotable to an almost Airplane-ish degree. Sweep the leg!

Kung-Fu Hustle- This one has a uniquely strange visual style, and it’s just plain fun and funny.

*By anyone, I mean you don’t have to like kung-fu movies in general, but you do need to be willing to read subtitles. When I saw 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' for the first time, people actually walked out of the theater when they realized (gasp!) there were subtitles! Fools! Because A, dubbing is annoying, and 2, it would have been a magnificent movie even if you never understood a word of what was being said.