planet b-boy; harold & kumar 2

Planet B-Boy

I watch a lot of movies, and obviously, I try to watch ones that I think will be good or at least entertaining... but every once in awhile, I do happen to see a film that completely blows my expectations away and I leave the movie theater with a happy feeling that makes me wanna tell all my friends to see the movie.

Planet B-Boy is one of those rare movies.

GO SEE IT.

I first heard of Planet B-Boy from AngryAsianMan and became interested naturally out of my own fascination with hip-hop culture, however I wondered if a documentary film about the subject of b-boying could actually involve more than just the filming of battles. After all, one could just surf YouTube or other video sharing sites for videos of guys breakdancing (like the one I took this year at the Korean culture festival in FedWay).



(photos by Ray Demski)

The genius of Benson Lee's Planet B-Boy is that the documentary manages to weave together several strands - live footage of breakdancing, the history of the artform of b-boying, and the personal stories of five different b-boy crews from different countries competing in the 2005 "Battle of the Year" competition - Knuckle Head Zoo (USA), Phase-T (France), Ichigeki (Japan), Last For One (S. Korea), and the defending 2004 champs, Gamblerz (S. Korea).

While the live footage of breakdancing is awe-inspiring, the best parts of the movie are in how well the stories of the individuals involved in the b-boy crews are told. Two stories in particular moved me - a b-boy from Japan struggling with obligations to his family's tea business and a b-boy from "the countryside" of South Korea trying to mend a broken relationship with his father. Even for someone who might not be interested in hip-hop or b-boying, these kinds of personal narratives are deeply compelling.

This is a hidden gem of movie... don't miss it! It'll only be shown in Seattle for the rest of this week, so check out the showtimes right here.

Some videos from the film:

• Planet B-Boy Trailer
  
• Planet B-Boy: Korea
  
• Planet B-Boy: Run DMZ
  
• Ichigeki BOTY 2005 Performance (awesome!)
  
• Last For One Official Site (in Korean)
  

.:.





Harold & Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay

I saw Harold & Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay on Saturday with the usual suspects - Mel, Chris, Chong, Matt, and David (who managed to escape, I mean, take a break... heh). I pretty much agree with the review on AAM - the movie is definitely not for everyone, but you have to appreciate that:

1. How often do you get to see TWO Asian American guys as leads in a movie where they get to be regular guys? (Well, OK... regular guys who smoke pot, hang out with NPH, get with hot girls)
   
2. The use of comedy to satirize and undermine racial stereotypes. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie involves the Korean parents of Harold being interrogated by an ignorant Homeland Security officer who can't understand them despite the fact that they are speaking perfect, unaccented English. "They're using some sort of dialect I'm not familiar with!"

You can check out the official Harold & Kumar site here.