Journey to the East...and Outer Space?

Last night, Liz and Valerie watched yet another film take on the Chinese classic Journey to the West. The plot is perhaps a little too complicated to convey in a short time, but let it suffice that it involves the journey of a monk to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and all the trials he has to go through on the way. This version, like many other film versions on the text, spoofs the classic tale and also takes a jab at modern Hong Kong and American cinema. A Chinese Tall Story focuses on the relationship between said monk and a lizard imp who we learn later is really an alien.

Confused? So were Liz and Valerie, but this didn't stop it from being an incredibly enjoyable film to watch. While there are serious gaps in the plot, making it confusing for those not familiar with the original text (aka Westerners), A Chinese Tall Story manages to keep you intrigued and entertained. Brimming with CG effects, prosthetic makeup (they even made the cute Charlene Choi ugly), and random dance scenes (Bollywood style), Liz and Valerie weren't sure they were watching a period piece, a slapstick comedy, or playing a video game.

Taking jabs at Spiderman, Star Wars, anime, Gordon Liu (he has a cameo) and even Wong Kar-Wai, the film leaves no one unscathed. Nicholas Tse even makes fun of himself at times. Which brings us to an important point: this film stars the favorite pop icon Nic Tse. And, believe it or not, Nic is bald because he plays the monk. Yup, no lovely locks in this one, though he does sport an exaggerated Elvis-style wig at one point (don't ask, just watch). It was hard for Liz and Valerie to accept that he shaved his head for this one, but never fear, he is still extremely cute.

While not the best movie, this is sufficiently tying Liz and Valerie over until John Woo's Battle of Red Cliff (based on one of the other classic Chinese novels) comes out.