2 Movies Like SPL 2: A Time for Consequences (2015)

Say what you will about Quentin Tarantino, but when he recommends a martial arts film, you just have to watch it. Like plenty from the genre that Tarantino’s inspired by, Iron Monkey has the same stylish, badass action that Hong Kong cinema is known for, with spectacular wire-work choreography, excellently shot fight sequences, as well as the goofy slapstick comedy that punches in some quips between hits. But what makes the film work is the folkloric story– it’s not quite as astounding as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and it’s all packaged in a familiar Robin Hood-esque plotline, but with a fantastic Donnie Yen and a script that rightly makes fun of the incompetent, corrupt cronies that rules over this small village, Iron Monkey does justice to the genre and to the actual folk hero the story was inspired by.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Actor: Angie Tsang Sze-Man, Cheung Fung-Lei, Dion Lam Dik-On, Donnie Yen, Hsiao Ho, Jack Wong Wai-Leung, James Wong Jim, Jean Wang, Jean Wang Ching-Ying, Lam Chi-Tai, Lee Fai, Mandy Chan Chi-Man, William Duen Wai-Lun, Yen Shi-Kwan, Yu Rongguang, Yuen Shun-Yi

Director: Yuen Wo-Ping

Rating: PG-13

In the 1950s and 60s, as Congo freed itself from Western rule, it also played a vital role in the Cold War and worldwide emancipation of colonized countries. The documentary unearths this often-forgotten part of history in an unconventional manner. Instead of using talking heads and chronologically going through past events, it uses activist musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach as a starting point. It borrows their language—jazz—to tell their story. The result is mesmerizing. Many things are happening all at once; there’s the quick flash of images, the jarring cut from archival footage to live performances; and the bold text on screen, which serves as our narrator in a way. There are excerpts from newspapers as well as poets, diplomats as well as musicians. Then there’s the music, of course, whose fast-paced and unpredictable beats match the anger mounting in the film. Soundtrack to a Coup is strong, inventive, and further proof that there are more ways than one to teach history.

Genre: Documentary, History

Actor: Abbey Lincoln, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fidel Castro, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Malcolm X, Max Roach, Miriam Makeba, Nikita Khrushchev, Nina Simone, Patrice Lumumba, René Magritte

Director: Johan Grimonprez