In theaters

KUNG FU HUSTLE, directed by Stephen Chow, written by Chow, Tasang Kan Cheong, Lola Huo and Chan Man Keung, 95 minutes, rated R. In Mandarin and Cantonese, with English subtitles.

When people die in Stephen Chow’s outrageous, often hilarious action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle,” it usually is after making a rather intimate acquaintance with a hatchet, though not always.

Sometimes, the kiss of death arrives on the business end of a knife, a gunfight, a sucker punch, a screaming match, a flying kick to the throat, a clutch of knuckles to the heart, a hail of swords to the torso.

Mostly, though, death comes via the aforementioned hatchet, and really, there’s good reason for that. The movie’s villains are all members of the Axe Gang, a teeming gaggle of toughs who pack hatchets like heat and who descend upon the impoverished residents of Pig Sty Alley ready to rumble.

Why the rumble? In this broad story of revenge and hysteria set in 1930s Shanghai, the short answer is that Sing (Chow) and his chubby friend, Sidekick (Lam Tze Chung), have drawn attention to themselves and to the otherwise overlooked Pig Sty Alley by posing as members of the Axe Gang. They have no idea how to fight – these two hustlers couldn’t sock a dandelion and win – but they nevertheless believe they can pass for members of the gang and thus get the respect they have always craved.

Naturally, none of this sits well with the real gang, which comes to Pig Sty Alley eager to fight but unaware that all here isn’t what it seems. Indeed, it’s in this tenement dump, run by the tough, chain-smoking Landlady (Yuen Qiu) and her philandering wreck of a husband, Landlord (Yuen Wah) – that many aging kung fu masters have come to retire. And, my, can they ever fight.

As written by Chow, Tasang Kan Cheong, Lola Huo and Chan Man Keung, “Kung Fu Hustle” isn’t as morbid as it sounds nor is it as bloody. Instead, it’s alive with more wit and mischief than any movie to hit theaters so far this year, which is saying plenty since this month also saw the release of “Sin City,” another movie that pilfered liberally from the trough of pop culture and eschewed borders for possibilities.

It’s that absolute sense of freedom that allows Chow to turn his movie into anything he wants it to be. In this case, that means cartoon moviemaking made with real people who feel as if they had sprung from the loins of Warner Bros. powerhouse Chuck Jones. Digging deep into the chopsocky genre, Chow joins Quentin Tarantino (“Kill Bill, Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill, Vol. 2”) in challenging its conventions and pressing its humor against its raw edges.

It works. As choreographed by that other master, Yuen Wo-Ping (“The Matrix” and the “Kill Bill” series), “Kung Fu Hustle” is filled with inside jokes and surprises, veering in directions you don’t anticipate because the movie has no rules. Well, no rules other than to stand apart and to entertain.

Grade: A

On video and DVD

CURSED, directed by Wes Craven, written by Kevin Williamson, 86 minutes, rated PG-13.

The hammy horror movie “Cursed” stars Christina Ricci as Ellie Hudson, a television producer for “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn” who finds herself sandbagged with a horror show of a different sort.

After surviving a nasty car wreck on Mulholland Drive, Ellie and her unpopular brother, Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg), are doomed to the dark side when each is attacked by a werewolf. Infected with its blood, they find themselves going through what can best be described as an unfortunate second bout of puberty: Hair appears where it never appeared before, unappealing mood swings cloud their worlds, interest in the occult emerges, everyone seems against them.

Who took a bite out of them? Take your pick – Hollywood is filled with wolves. Still, in this case, it could be Ellie’s smoldering love interest, Jake (Joshua Jackson), who is opening a hip new discotheque filled with wax dummies. There’s cruel Joanie, a soulless publicist played with undermining mince by Judy Greer. And there’s even Scott Baio, the former television star of “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi,” who shakes things up by playing himself. Here, he’s a ho-hum has-been.

As directed by that old horror mainstay Wes Craven from a script by his “Scream” series collaborator, Kevin Williamson, “Cursed” contrives a story in which Ellie and Jimmy can break free from their curse only if they sever the head of the werewolf that bit them. And so, in spite of the unexpected benefits that come from being a werewolf – Ellie gains sex appeal, Jimmy gains confidence, nobody messes with them – they push forward in an effort to do just that.

All of this could have been loose, kitschy fun, but “Cursed” is too self-conscious to get off the ground. Working against it is a weak script, an odd, ugly rash of homophobia that fractures the first third, and lazy special effects sequences that add nothing to the film but the occasional snort and giggle.

It’s up to the cast to get the job done, but with the exception of Ricci and Eisenberg, who are good here, that’s like applying modest pressure to a hemorrhaging wound.

Grade C-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

THE VIDEO-DVD CORNER

Renting a video or a DVD? Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Alfie – C-

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – B+

Bad Education – A

Being Julia – B+

Birth – B+

Blade: Trinity – D

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – C

Closer – B-

Collateral – B+

Cursed – C-

Darkness – D+

De-Lovely – B

Elektra – C-

Ella Enchanted – B

Envy – D

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A-

Exorcist: The Beginning – F

Fat Albert – C+

Finding Neverland – C

Flight of the Phoenix – C-

The Forgotten – D

Friday Night Lights – B+

I Heart Huckabees – C-

Hotel Rwanda – B+

House of Flying Daggers – A

The Incredibles – A

Kill Bill, Vol. 2 – B

King Arthur – B

Ladder 49 – B

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – B-

The Manchurian Candidate – B+

Maria Full of Grace – A

Meet the Fokkers – C

The Motorcycle Diaries – A-

Napoleon Dynamite – B+

The Notebook – B+

Ocean’s Twelve – C-

Ray – A

Saw – D

Shall We Dance? – B

Shark Tale – B-

Shaun of the Dead – B+

Sideways – A

Spanglish – D

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – C

Taxi – D+

Vera Drake – A

The Woodsman – B+