ENTERTAINMENT
September 9, 2011 | By Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times Film Critic
"Shaolin," with its feuding warlords and fighting monks in '20s era China, is a sprawling popcorn blast of action kept spinning with crazy cool kung fu, tons of fake spurting blood (I think everyone had a packet clinched in their teeth) and slacker improvised, or inspired, U.S. subtitles. How else to explain the warlord who growls at his No. 2, "You just don't get the drift…" while he's choking him. Maybe to death. This is, however, exactly the drift you can expect when Hong Kong action impresario Benny Chan, with 20-plus very energetic fighting flicks under his black belt, is in charge.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 16, 2010
The students at Richard Merkin Middle School in South Los Angeles had not heard of Hu Jianqiang before they met him. They hadn't seen the movie "Shaolin Temple," in which he performed with Jet Li. But one demonstration of his lightning-fast fists and the butterfly kick in which he throws his body off the floor light as a Frisbee and the Chinese kung fu master was a celebrity in their eyes — maybe even more than the person whose money...
ENTERTAINMENT
September 26, 1996 | LEWIS SEGAL, TIMES DANCE CRITIC
Professional pop dance in Los Angeles remains so hopelessly enslaved to the record industry that it's enormously liberating to find a hip-hop show with nothing to sell except its own limitless energy and expertise. That show is the off-Broadway revue "Jam on the Groove," which opened a 14-performance run at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater on Tuesday.
TRAVEL
May 2, 2010 | By Avital Binshtock
HALF MOON BAY, CALIF. Relax and recreate The Half Moon Bay Inn, a boutique property on Half Moon Bay's main street, is offering an inclusive "Spring Cleaning" package meant to strike a balance between mind and body, between relaxation and fun. The deal offers a taste of local businesses and activities, and represents a 20% savings over booking these elements separately. Dates: Through May 31 Price: $450 a night ($850 for two nights), single or double occupancy, including lodging in a guest room or suite; a yoga class for two at a nearby studio; dinner at the downstairs Italian restaurant (excluding alcohol and tip)
NEWS
February 28, 1988 | JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press
For 1,500 years, monks at Shaolin Temple have been trained to pray without the blink of an eye and kill with a flash of the hand. They are the masters of Shaolin kung fu, a combination of shadow boxing, swordplay and body control techniques that in recent years has gained a wide following in China and other parts of Asia. Today their monastery in the foothills of the sacred Mt.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 19, 2010 | By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times
China's world-famous Shaolin Temple gained prominence among many Americans with the release of the 1980s martial arts movie of the same name. An updated version of the film, loved by fans for the riveting kung fu stunts of the temple's legendary fighting monks, is in the works. And in recent weeks, Hollywood's remake of "The Karate Kid" has topped the box office, wowing audiences with its seemingly magical martial arts techniques. But while kung fu continues to make a splash on the big screen, members of the Shaolin Buddhist Temple in Sherman Oaks are keen to spread a different message about the Shaolin culture and what their sanctuary has to offer.