After showing Michael the trailer for the new film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film is getting all the buzz and looks to be great. But here’s my gripe.

IT’S NOT A MATRIX RIP OFF!!! For anyone who doesn’t know, The Matrix is just an American take on a Chinese film style that has been around quite some time. Perhaps it’s similar because all the fights in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping. When filming the Matrix, the Wachowski brothers wanted to translate this style to the American screen, so why not hire who is considered to be the best.

Also, Charlie’s Angels is not a Matrix rip-off. Guess who it was choreographed by, Wo Ping. So maybe it does look similar, but for a reason. Anyway, if you like that sort of thing, look for this Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon film to be the best over here yet. Be warned, it is all in Chinese, but the film is supposedly so great that it does not matter even to those who care.

In the meantime, if you want some wacky Asian cinema at its best, check out A Chinese Ghost Story or any one of its sequels. And if you want to know where the story of the Matrix really came from go rent Ghost in the Shell and if that excites you, Mamoru Oshii, the director has a new film coming out that combines animation, computer animation and live action. It’s called Avalon. Enough for now, I have lots of other things that really need to be done.