I Spent 12 Hours Watching Kung Fu Movies on New Year’s Eve
There's a ton of things to do in Missoula on New Year's Eve. But as a movie geek who was exhausted from traveling back and forth from New York over the past week for Christmas, I knew there was one event that felt like it was made specifically for me. This year, I went to The Roxy Theater for their annual Kung Fu Movie Marathon, six movies that played all day long, from noon to midnight. And it was one of the best New Year's Eves I've ever had.
Granted, I've had a lot of rough New Year's Eves - nights that ended early, nights that got sloppy, nights that got kind of lame because nobody was available, that kind of thing. This year I got to avoid all of that by sitting in a movie theater all day and watching people kick each other. It was amazing.
Here's a quick rundown of all the movies that were shown:
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin - An awesome movie starring Gordon Liu as a guy who trains with Buddhist monks after his village is destroyed.
Police Story - One of Jackie Chan's best action movies, about a cop ordered to protect a witness - features some of the most insane action you'll ever see.
King Boxer aka Five Fingers of Death - A pretty clear influence on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, right down to the siren sound effect.
Golden Swallow - Probably the weakest of the day, but still a solid time.
One-Armed Swordsman - This was a blast. It's a swordsman with one arm! What more do you need?
Drunken Master - Another Jackie Chan joint - not as good as its sequel, The Legend of Drunken Master, but still a great time.
Anyone else stop by the Roxy this year for a kung fu movie or two? What did you see?