Archive for Reviews

By definition, adventure/action movies always have an air to them that makes them unbelievable. But often you can overcome this by having a riveting tale of adventure that keeps you glued to your seat. Unfortunately, Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem, was one of the most forgettable movies that I have seen, an unbelievable tale that bastardizes Jules Verne’s classic book. In this iteration of the tale, the filmmakers (with Eric Brevig as director) tried to make up for a lackluster storyline by utilizing new 3D technology. The technology left my two sons, who saw the movie with me, constantly asking, “Why does the picture seem so grainy?”

So if combining an unbelievable story, a predictable plot line, and non-awe-inspiring effects is your formula for an action movie, then you should see Journey to the Center of the Earth. For everyone else, just save the cash.

Before I took a trip to the movies yesterday, I checked out how The Dark Knight faired on Rotten Tomatoes, a Website known for being a harsh critic on movies. To my surprise, The Dark Knight had achieved 94% on the “tomatometer”, which actually makes it one of the most highly rated movies on the site.

Armed with my ticket I entered the theater and braced myself for an unforgettable experience. Oddly enough, I am among the 6% who did not enjoy the movie, and I even wish I could forget the experience.

As far as the characters go, I think the actors did a good job, but in my case, this is a bad thing. The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, seemed like such a creep that it was hard for me to keep my eyes on the screen while they focused on him. I felt like all of the voices were low and monotonous, often hard to understand over all of the action scenes. Critics credit this movie for being very “deep”, but all I can think is that they confused this word with “dark”. I might be more content with the movie if there were a glimmer of light or an ounce of casual humor in it. Alas, there was neither. I found myself listening to line after line of sadistic comments spewing from the mouth of The Joker. I felt I never would be set free from his evil, twisted manners.

In an article on MailOnline, Chris Tookey wrote, “It doesn’t fight terror, it embraces it.” I couldn’t put that into better words. It’s like no one in the film would just stop The Joker’s madness. The problem is that the movie is also longer than the average movie: 2.5 hours. When I had to use the bathroom during the movie, I found myself not caring that I missed a segment of the movie. (That has never happened to me before.)

I’d like to conclude by saying that if you’re specifically into action, this movie will not disappoint you; the special effects are fantastic, but I cannot say that for the rest of the movie.

The “Summer of Superheros” is officially over. And what a season it turned out to be. I entered the theater five times and was pleasantly and incredibly surprised. Let’s recap.

Ironman was a great way to start the summer: humor, smarts and action, oh and Robert Downey Jr. This movie had perfect parts of each ingredient.

The Incredible Hulk finally gave us a green giant to cheer for, thankfully. Although they could have kept Jennifer Connelly, I promise not to complain too much. Liv Tyler sufficed.

In Hancock, Will Smith manages to save humanity, yet again, and not drop any rum either. I was surprised by this movie and actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Plus, Charlize Theron wasn’t playing some kind of psycho killer for once, which helped.

Hellboy 2 had visuals that alone made this movie worth seeing. I thought I was watching an extended Tool music video, but the red devil really pulled through with this one. I was worried this movie would be the sophomore slump, and it wasn’t. I just hope they make a third one.

The Dark Knight, wow! I think Christian Bale has dethroned Michael Keaton. Sorry Mike, you had a good run. What made this movie was. . . everything. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, you need to do so. This movie, I feel, lived up to the hype and pressure.

I will say I haven’t been this excited for a movie season since the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Kill Bill 2, and I was pretty excited. However, if the sight of death and violence bothers you, try Wall-E. Trust me, that little guy is as much a hero as any of the above mentioned.

Jet Li has released a new movie, and this time he forms a brotherhood with Takeshi Kaneshiro (Chunking Express, House of Flying Daggers) and Andy Lau (House Of Flying Daggers, Infernal Affairs) in The War Lords.

The Warlords is set during the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty in China. Because of oppression suffered by Chinese people due to corruption, a group of rebels formed the Taiping Rebellion to fight for the rights of the people. Jet Li (Brother Pang) is a defeated army general fighting the rebels when they were betrayed by their ally and left for dead. Brother Pang barely survived and was saved by a group of bandits, whom he convinces to join the Chinese army to be able to take care of his family. They agree, but he must join their brotherhood. They form a brotherhood and make a pact to free all Chinese people from oppression. However, as they succeed more and more, Brother Pang becomes hungry for more power and eventually puts their brotherhood in jeopardy.

As with any good action and war movie, the setting is very fast-paced and rarely gets boring. It was direct to the point and always exciting. It was an attempt by Peter Chan to make a beautiful movie about an ugly truth. And it did work. The movie was about two hours long, and there were times when I had to go back and wonder what had just happened. But otherwise, it was a good movie that touches on brotherhood, love and commitment. It’s not a movie that excels technically since everything was so simple, but it’s a movie that borders on good and excellent because it attempts to strike a chord in people’s hearts.

Watch The Warlords, not for the action it shows, but for the message it portrays.