Throwdown

I just saw this tonight and it is already one of my favorite movies. I don't know when it will get reach the states (if ever), but I will happily buy DVDs for people if they want (and they should want). Here are some stills and you can watch the trailer here (you'll have to click around a little bit if you can't read characters). More facts: Directed by HK legend Johnnie To as an homage to the Sanshiro Sugata judo movies of Akira Kurosawa. Starring Louis Koo, breaking out of his squeaky-clean popstar image to play a former judo champ turned gambling alcoholic night-club manager and petty criminal-- if you imagine a Cantopop heartthrob channeling Dustin Hoffman in his '70s scruffy loser glory, you'll get some idea of how awesome he is. Aaron Kwok, an even bigger Cantopo star, plays the upstart who wants to fight Koo, and Cherrie Ying is the ragamuffin girl who finds singing work at Koo's club. There is also a great and weird cameo by Tony Leung Ka-Fai. The closest description for the film might be "judo screwball black comedy", but it's much stranger and darker than that.