Being a great of kung fu movies, I aboslutely had to see “Kung Fu Panda“.  Even though it is an animation, it still features Jackie Chan and lots of kung fu training and fights.  I don’t know what it is about kung fu movies that drags me in and occupies my attention, but it’s always the same.  And “Kung Fu Panda” was no exception.

And it wasn’t a disappointment.  Great animation, good humor, and the best of kung fu - it’s all there.  The last dumpling fight is up there with the rest of the best kung fu fights.  And an extra point for choosing the animals for characters and kung fu styles.  Lots of fun.

Overall, a 7 out of 10.  Recommended for any fans of animation, Jack Black, or kung fu movies.

Yesterday I went to see “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor“.  I thought that the previous two movies (”The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns“) were entertaining, so I was looking forward to this one.  However, there were quite a few reviews that mentioned that this sequel sucked.  That got me into doubts whether I should see it at all or not, but finally I decided to go.

The flick wasn’t bad at all.  It was somewhat crowded with characters, and the plot was sort of weak, but the important stuff was still there - mummy, Brendan Fraser, and tonnes of special effects.  Shooting, fighting, car chases, airplanes, zombie battles, exposions - these were all in excess.

But the critics were somewhat right.  This wasn’t as good the previous mummy movies.  First of all, the mummy itself wasn’t strong or scary.  In the previous films, the Egyptian mummy was so powerful that it was making warriors out of sand dunes, commanding millions of flash eating beatles, and moving stormy clouds in formations.  A hero had to fight that mummy, because it was too devastating before it was even getting into its full powers.  In this film though, the mummy was more like a pissed off guy getting his life back.  Whoever gets on his way was getting his butt kicked.  There was some potential for evil afterwords, but it’s just not the same.  Secondly,  Rachel Weisz wasn’t in this movie, and she couldn’t have been substitute by anyone.  Not in a million years.  Thirdly, there was something obviously dogdy about the storyline itself.  It felt like the good guys has become the bad guys, and the bad guys has become the good guys.  And since it wasn’t going very well on its own, some really bad dialogues and mottos were added to the mix.  And that didn’t mix that well.

Overall, I’d give it a 6 out of 10.  Not a bad entertainment flick if you are to see it in the movies, but don’t be expecting much out of it, and I doubt that it’s worth a DVD purchase.

P.S.: There is no way Brandon Fraser could win a fight against Jet Li.  No way!

These days there isn’t much choice of what to watch in the movies. So I ended up at “Be Kind Rewind“.  It’s a comedy with Jack Black and Mos Def, both of who are often funny.  Also, I wanted to see how Danny Glover is doing these days, since the last time I saw him was in “Lethal Weapon 4” or so.

“Be Kind Rewind” is a bit of an akward film.  It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s cheap, and it’s kind.  Some parts of it are so hilarious that I was laughing out loud.  Yet other parsts of it don’t make any sense at all.  Some scenes follow each other naturally, yet some other feel like they were glued together very roughly.

Overall, I’ll give it a 6 out of 10.  Not something that I would strongly recommend, but not your regular movie experience either.

The other day I went to see “The Dark Knight“, also known as the latest story in the series about Batman.  I am not a big fan of superhero comics, with Batman being no exception.  But I’ve seen all the movies so far.

I have to say that this one was the worst.  It was too long and too boring.  It had great cast, but that didn’t help the film one bit.  There are a few special effects, but the overall boredom burries them in the long propagandic dialogues.  In fact, the movie is total crap except for one bit, which makes it worth watching - The Joker.

Heath Ledger did an excellent job with this character.  It was by all means the best villain I’ve ever seen in the movies. Heath Ledger even outdid Jack Nicholson, who played The Joker in “Batman” (1992).  Heath’s Joker was the scary kind.  That person was so evil and … broken, that you wouldn’t want him to exist on this planet at all.  But, at the same time, he was so realistic that you could easily meet somebody very similar (minus the make-up, of course) just around the corner.  Really, a masterpiece.

As it stands, it’s difficult to rate this film.  I’ll give it a 5 out of 10, with all 5 points being for The Joker alone.  If you aren’t into movie villains, avoid this film at all costs.

The other day I went to the cinema to see “Wanted“.  I’ve been waiting for this film for some time now, since I liked the trailer and heard quite a few positive reviews from people who saw it earlier. It wasn’t a disappointment at all.  On the contrary.  I really liked it.  In fact, I’m planning to go and see it once again, while it is on the large screen, and then I want to get myself the DVD with all the extras and special features.

Excellent special effects, great soundtrack, and quite a few twists in the story - some of which are predictable and some are not - all these makes it into an excellent entertainment.  Of course, Angeline Jolie with gun fights and car chases is a major attraction as well.  Morgan Freeman is a nice addition.  But what I liked the most about the movie is its originality.  Not breathtaking kind, but the kind which really made me watch it in full attention.  Rarely do I come across something from Hollywood and have this feeling.

Overall, 9 out of 10.  Strongly recommended.

I needed a little focus switch, so I went to the cinema to see “The Incredible Hulk“.  I didn’t particularly liked the first part - “Hulk“, but there was nothing better to choose from anyway.

Not a lot of improvements I must say.  Special effects are pretty average.  There are a few sparks, but overall - too cheap and unrealistic.  It would have been a lot better to use photography for scenery and background objects rather than to render them.  Operator’s work was pretty average.  Scenes of Brazil towns were especially disappointing, since those were so reach with details, which were lost by operators and their equipment (shaky helicopter shots and such).  The story is still boring and way over dramatic.  It pushes for Forest Gump or something.  Edward Norton and Tim Roth were acting good, and that improved the filim a lot.  Liv Tyler tried as usual, but I am not a big fan of her.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

I’ve recently enjoyed the “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” movie.  However there was one particular scene which sticks out.  It was the moment when Indiana yet again avoided his certain death, this time by hiding in the kitchen fridge.  He was supposed to die of a nuclear explosion, but the fridge saved his hat.

Impossible?  Of course.  But there was something more to this.  Something that bothered me for the last few days.  Something that I could not find the words to express.

It turns out, I am not the only one.  There was a hot discussion at IMDB forums, and at other places that have crowds of movie watchers and reviews.  And apparently, a new term was born - “nuke the fridge“.

This is also a nice example to illustrate how the world changes with the Internet.  Lots and lots of people talk about lots and lots of things.  24×7.  Non-stop.  That generates lots of ideas, sub-cultures, products, and services.  And, in tern, lots and lots of money for people who dig it.  Nice.

I’ve heard a few negative reviews of the “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull“, so I wasn’t particularly rushing to see it.  I have the box set DVD collection of all previous Indy films and I’ve seen them a few times by now - they are good, but the age shows.  I like them, but you can’t call me a fan yet.  With that, I went to the movies today.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the film.  It was in exactly the same style as previous ones, but a bit refreshed.  I think it feels exactly like the other ones felt back when they were just released.  However if this film was shown 20 years ago, it would have blown the minds of a much wider audience.

In short, the film has everything it should have had - Spielberg’s directing, Ford’s acting, tonnes of action, a quest for something cool, much greater scale than anybody can imagine, and a few jokes here and there.  Good value for money and not a time waster.

One thing that I particularly liked, how it was done for the PG-13 rating.  There is a lot of action and a lot of people get killed in a lot of different ways, but there is no focus on that.  There is not much blood or suffering.  The scariest of the dead bodies are in bones, all over catacombs full of treasure - something you can’t take away from an adventure movie.  Family-friendly and kids-recommended.

Overall, quality entertainment.  8 out of 10.

Yesterday I went to the cinema to watch “Iron Man“.  I was a bit worried that it would be based on yet another comic book or something.  But either it wasn’t, or the comic was pretty good.

The movie turned out to be solid entertainment.  It was very much in the style of “Transformers“, but with more style and better special effects.   It was complete even with Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” song in the soundtrack.

Recommended.  7 out of 10.

I got really surprised today.  I was checking out which film should I go and see, and out of five movies that I checked, none had an IMDB rating of less than seven.  That’s a hard choice!  So, I asked a friend to come with me.  I couldn’t decided which one of the top three films I wanted to see.  He wanted to see only too.  Only one was common, so we got in and watched “21“.

Do you know those films where a bunch of guys think up some sort of system to beat the casino and win a lot of money?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where a girl falls in love with a guy for how nice he is, and he starts walking a dangerous line and she tells him so, but he responds with something like - “that won’t affect me”?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they show good friendship of really weird people, and then some of those people make some huge mistakes and let their friends down, but after, when they realize that they were wrong, and they are sorry, their friends let them back in?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they cast one or two celebrities and surround them with a bunch of unknown but really nice actors and it all plays out nicely?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they have some really nice photography, especially if any scenes take place in Las Vegas?  That’s one of those films. Do you know those films where … eh, enough.

This is a really nice movie which is mostly entertaining, but reminds of a few things that we should never forget about.  There is some really nice photography and sound.  There is enough good acting to make it really enjoyable - Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne are on the opposite sides of the fence, surrounded by a few young actors and actresses.  There is a bit of drama in this film, and there is some sense of humor.  There is nothing major about this film, but it’s made of quite a few small and nice bits.

Overall, 7 out of 10. Good entertainment.