4 stars

Ninja Assassin

How much would you expect from a movie titled “Ninja Assassin“? Either not much at all, or way too much – depending on two things: whether you saw the trailer for this film and whether you lived and loved every ninja movie that was released back in the videotape days.

I loved ninja movies. Most of them got to me exactly at the age when a boy thinks he is becoming a man. That’s the time when you are romantic and want to feel the power and have way too much time on your hands and you are still a kid who haven’t forgot how to imagine things and how to play with toys. How could anyone not love those movies was beyond me.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) ninja movies are mostly a thing of the past. They are not mainstream any more and even if they are released at all somewhere – you don’t hear about them. “Ninja Assassin” was an exception, I think, for two reasons. First, it was way too long since we saw a ninja movie. There are many people out there who miss them. Nobody would watch one ninja movie after another these days, but an occasional nostalgia is very welcome. Second reason is the trailer. It was visually awesome. Even those who saw it once a long time ago still remember it.

Now, to the movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was better than any other ninja movie that I have seen (or remember) and mostly that is due to a huge leap in visual effects and movie martial arts since the time I last saw a ninja movie. I mean the graphics and choreography are breathtaking sometimes. It was all post-processed, of course, to give it a fake look – similar to the massacre of Crazy 88 gang in Kill Bill. The blood is too red, too liquid, too gushing, and too much. But it’s fun to watch. Sword fights are awesome. All the ninja accessories are there. And, probably, for the first time we are shown the most terrifying ninja skill properly – hiding in the shadows. Ninjas in this movie appear out of nowhere and disappear into nowhere.

There are plenty of fights and action and the story is deeper than in many other ninja movies. In fact, I think they slightly overdid the setting – there are 1000 year old clans, governments and corporations using assassins, code of honour, and all those billion other things, which unfortunately never get used. They just mention them but they are either totally or mostly irrelevant for the happenings in the film.

Regardless, I had fun watching this film and it brought a whole lot of awesome memories. And, being biased towards the ninja stuff, I feel empowered to give it a 4 out of 5.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I totally forgot to review a film that I wasn’t planning to watch at all, but did, and enjoyed quite a bit – “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” (by the way, is that the longest movie titles ever or what?).

I saw the trailer and thought that this film would exploit parents’ love for their children and good memories of epic fairy tales, such as Harry Potter & Co. But my wife wanted to see it too much and I couldn’t say no, and there was no better choice, so we went.

I was surprised as to how much I actually enjoyed it. There was a rather straight-forward story, but it was wrapped with lots of excellent visual effects, some humor, and an amazing cast. I think the movie was way under-promoted for all the good work that went into it. Maybe they ran out of money, who knows. That’s not important. The fact that it is solid, light, and provides good entertainment is important on the other hand.

4 out of 5. Enjoy it on a big screen, but if you missed it – rent or buy a DVD. You can watch it several times.

Brooklyn’s Finest

I just came back from the cinema, where I watched “Brooklyn’s Finest“. It’s a rather slow developing drama picturing three separate stories of three New York cops. While there is nothing in particular outstanding about this film, overall it is quite good and enjoyable. Some of the things it shows are more realistic than in many other movies, some – not. It’s not particularly too far-fetched, but probably not something that would happen in real life. Quite close though.

I think this film is trying to give you something to think about. It actually spells out the idea in the first scene, first dialogue. But because the rest of it somewhat slow, the message gets lost in the process. If not completely lost, then for sure it doesn’t sound as clear as it did in the beginning of the film. Maybe it was the idea, maybe it wasn’t – I don’t know. But I thought it would have been better if the message was carried across a bit louder.

This is not a film for a romantic Friday evening or a family Saturday morning, but there is enough good in it for me to recommend it. Either pick a slow day and see it in the movies, or grab the DVD. 4 out of 5.

Green Zone

A couple of weeks ago I saw “Green Zone” in the cinema. I barely heard anything about this film – only that Matt Damon plays the main character and that it was directed by the same guy who did some of the Bourne trilogy – but even that was enough. I wanted to go.

First things first. This film is not like the Bourne trilogy. There are a few moments that bring back the memories, but overall it is a totally different film. The subject is different, the characters are different, the way it was shot is different. Second things second. I enjoyed this movie. As most other Hollywood-made war-related movies it had its share of propaganda, but once I switch on the propaganda filter, there was plenty to enjoy.

Matt Damon acting was awesome as always. He is very natural and very, how should I put it, believable. It is often easy to relate to his characters just because of his acting, and this film is not an exception. The visual content of the film was interesting. While I am not a big fan of handhold shaking camera effect, it works for this film. And gladly not the whole film is shot this way – only the scenes where it adds to the atmosphere.

There was plenty of background work in this film – scenery, decorations, costumes, routine, etc. One of the common ways to avoid this work in a war movie is to switch between a command bunker or Washington office and a blind darkness of the jungle, or something like that. In this film everything is happening in the war zone and story switches between neutral and hostile areas. This creates a nice feeling of being there.

Now, to the important part. The story. While, as I said, it holds plenty of propaganda, I still liked it. At least it attempted to show things from a different angle and explain how things go wrong and what it takes to make them right. There is something to think about and even know, a couple of weeks later, I find myself rethinking parts of the movie. I do want to see it again and probably I will once I get my hands on the DVD.

Overall, a good film. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

2012

I just came back from the movies, where I watched “2012“. Initially, when I heard about this film, it sounded awesome. I even posted the trailer in the blog, when I first saw it. But then, it came to the cinemas and pretty much everyone I know went to see it, and I haven’t heard any exciting reviews yet. Yes, the special effects are awesome. Yes, they destroy the US and even pretty much all current Earth population. Yes, it’s breath-taking at times. But there was no excitement in those comments. No thrill. No sparks. It almost felt like the movie was boring. So, I wasn’t hurrying to see it. But today I finally did. First, because I had to. Second, because all the other movies I’ve either seen or they suck.

So, I went to see “2012” with lower expectations than I initially set. And maybe that was exactly what I needed. Because I quite enjoyed the film. There were, of course, a few tongue-in-cheek moments, such as mobile telephony working when everything was falling under ground or a doctor with 2 hours of practice flying planes or a computer simulation being able to predict wave impacts up to the second during the time when nothing was certain. But that doesn’t matter. You get these in pretty much every movie these days.

What’s important is that the movie had something to show that you haven’t seen before. Yes, everyone saw the end of the world movies. But not at this scale. Ground was falling, building were collapsing, giant waves were playing ping pong with huge ships, trains were flying over airplanes, and on, and on, and on. Some of the scenes were so realistic, that I was grabbing my armchair’s handles. And that happens rarely.

If you are not into huge scale special effects films, then this one still has some drama, romance, and comedy to offer. Comedy especially. I think it actually made the film so much better. If everything that happened in the movie would have been given with the serious attitude, it would be way too boring and unrealistic. But an occasional joke here and funny face there brought this film to life. As did some of the acting.

Overall, I’d recommend this film to anyone who expects entertainment from a movie. 4 stars.

P.S.: If I still haven’t convinced you to see this film on a big screen, consider this: it was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also directed movies like “10,000 B.C.”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “The Patriot”, “Godzilla”, “Independence Day”, “Universal Soldier” and a few others.