IP MAN

(2008) While its first classification might come under that of "martial arts" films, Ip Man is so much more: a dra matic biopic that feels beautifully like an epic.  Donnie Yen plays the real life grandmaster of the Wing Chun martial arts, who devoted his life to studying Wing Chun but himself was a pleasant and humble man of money, who lived in peace with his family and was revered in his village of Fo Shan in 1938.  But the forthcoming war and Japanese invasion of China would see Fo Shan leveled, many of its inhabitants killed or driven off, with Ip Man himself tossed from his home and forced to live hand-to-mouth, eventually taking a labor job to try and keep his wife and son fed.  But as the humiliations toward Ip Man and his fellow villagers pile up, the grandmaster can no longer remain passive, and must fight for the one thing he believes in most - the people he loves.  This is no ordinary martial arts film, it's the journey of an incredible man who combined martial arts and his spirituality, creating a driving force that would bring him dozens of students throughout his lifetime ... none less than the modern-day master himself, Bruce Lee.  Ip Man is, simply, nothing short of terrific; certainly a classic of its genre.  (rated R)  9/10 stars