Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

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.

Are you a fan of Simpsons?  If so, this ,”The Simpsons Movie” is the absolute must see for you.  But then again you probably already watched it. Me, on the other hand, is not a big fan.  I like to watch an episode of Simpsons now and then, but I am getting tired of them pretty soon.  And that is probably the reason for it taking almost a week for me to watch the whole movie.

Normally, I allocate time for movie watching in such a way that I won’t be interrupted. But during the last week I simply didn’t have that luxury, even though the movie was already rented.  So, I decided that technically this movie is not a film (it’s an animation), so the normal guidelines can be bent a little bit.  I saw the whole thing in about three or four sessions, with a little bit of overlap to get me back to where I stopped the previous time.

I have to say that this movie is nice. It is not disconnected from the cartoon series.  It’s just longer and has a bigger story, but overall it looks and feels like the usual Simpsons.  The animation is the same, the humor is the same, and the sound might be slightly better than the TV version (I don’t have anything at hand to confirm it).  So, what’s more there to say?  It’s the Simpsons. If you like them, watch it. If not, then not.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

I was surprised to learn that “Mulan II” exists. As successful as the original animation was, I thought it would be followed by a sequel, but everything was pretty quiet. It turns out that sequel came out six years later.

Directed by: Darrell Rooney, Lynne Southerland
Genres: Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical
Cast: Ming-Na, B.D. Wong, Mark Moseley, Lucy Liu, Harvey Fierstein, Sandra Oh, Gedde Watanabe, Lauren Tom, Jerry Tondo, Pat Morita, George Takei, June Foray, Freda Foh Shen, Soon-Tek Oh, Frank Welker
IMDB raintg: 5.8
My rating: 5.0

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I’ve seen “Mulan” back in last millenium when it was going through the movies. I liked it a lot and bought the DVD among the few things for Maxim’s near future. Watched it again today.

Directed by: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical
Cast: Miguel Ferrer, Harvey Fierstein, Freda Foh Shen, June Foray, James Hong, Miriam Margolyes, Pat Morita, Eddie Murphy, Marni Nixon, Soon-Tek Oh, Donny Osmond, Lea Salonga, James Shigeta, George Takei, Jerry Tondo
IMDB raintg: 7.2
My rating: 9.0

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It’s good to watch an animation once in a while. “Madagascar” is one of those freshlhy released, so I decided to check it out.

Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, Eric Darnell, David Cowgill, Stephen Apostolina, Elisa Gabrielli
IMDB raintg: 6.3
My rating: 7.5

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