If you’re a Marvel and/or DC Comic lover, then Iron Man is a movie that you must watch. For those who don’t know who Iron Man is, here’s a short description of this marvelous super hero. He’s eccentric, rich, a playboy, intelligent, master of technology, and has lots and lots of cool looking cars.
Tony Stark acted by Robert Downey Jr. was such a proud superhero character with an attitude who as opposed to many superheroes, revealed himself to the press as Iron Man. There was lots of action in the movie which is pretty much what I expect from a film like this. Effects was amazing and the Iron Man character wasn’t a bit disappointing at all.
I don’t want to spoil your excitement so just go ahead and watch it if you haven’t done so yet. It’s a 5 out of 5 to me.
I was so excited when I first heard about the movie Forbidden Kingdom mainly because it stars two of the most popular names in martial arts film Jackie Chan and Jet Li. While I did plan to watch the movie on its opening date, I wasn’t able to do so because I had so many important things to do.
Now that I was able to see the film, all I can say is that I’m not really happy with it. I was not really sure if it was the “Karate Kid” feeling that I didn’t want or the fantasy part of the film. I was never really a fan of both. I also think that the movie is lacking in kung-fu action between Jackie Chan and Jet Li himself. They did have one good fighting scene inside a temple but that was just it. I was also expecting to see them fight a common enemy (The Jade Warlord) together but that didn’t happen.
The actors however did well in their individual acts. Here’s my quick assessment of their acting:
Jackie Chan (Hop, the thrift store owner/Lu Yan, the Drunken Immortal) - as usual, Jackie did well doing the drunken fist style. Quite reminiscing of his movies back in his early days.
Jet Li (The Silent Monk/Sun Wukong, the Monkey King) - I was quite surprised to see Jet Li as the Monkey King. I first thought that Jackie would have been a better fit for the character but Jet Li did quite well.
Collin Chou (The Jade Warlord) - evil and powerful, he was able to portray the character well enough.
Michael Angarano (Jason Tripitikas, the Traveler) - he was good in martial arts and was a better actor than Ralph Macchio but somehow his young age and the fact that he’s an American still gave me the “Karate Kid” feeling.
Liu Yi Fei (Golden Sparrow, the Orphan Warrior) - darn she’s gorgeous. She was also able to show that avenging heart that she’s supposed to show.
Li Bingbing (Ni-Chang, the White-Haired Witch Assassin) - she was supposed to be evil but I somehow didn’t feel that in her character. I think it’d have been better if she was given more actual fight scenes instead of her just using her hair in fighting.
All in all, I may not be a great fan of Chinese fantasy stories but I’d say that the movie’s storyline is interesting - especially the immortals. I would have given it a good rating if more focus was given to the Chan and Li instead of trying to give equal attention to all the main characters.
For lack of action and focus, I give this movie a rating of 3 out of 5. I simply expect more.
Writing a review for Sweeney Todd - the Demon Barber of Fleet Street could be summed up in a simple formula and that is: bloody + musical = wonderful. Directed by Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd is a barber starred by Johnny Depp who lost his family to the corrupt Judge Turpin after he was sentenced for 15 years exile for a he didn’t commit.
After his exile, Sweeney Todd comes back to London with a vengeance desiring to kill the judge but ended up slitting the throats of anyone he desires using a straight blade which he uses for shaving. As if that wasn’t gruesome enough, his lover / friend Mrs. Lovett covers for Sweeney’s crimes by butchering the murdered and baking them into meat pies selling them to unsuspecting customers and oh how they loved her meat pies.
Set the story aside and you’ll still love the movie as it is also a musical. The lyrics and the music are all so wonderful that I heard myself humming inside the movie house. Only a few phrases were said without music. It’s not the “Sound of Music” type of music but something sounding eerie, sad, funny and lovely.
What about the characters???
Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd once again did a great performance. Didn’t know he could sing and act that well.
Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin made a great performance but one thing I noticed which I did like was Judge Turpin’s accent and the emphasis of words. He was so Professor Snape.
Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett was so psychotic you’ll love her in the movie plus empathize with her feelings for Sweeney
Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford looks almost identical to his Harry Potter character Peter Pettigrew. He was so able to portray that image of being a loyal henchman to Judge Turpin yet cannot be trusted by the rest of the world.
People are dying of cancer but someone found a cure. People gets the cure and are totally healed of cancer BUT…
I Am Legend is about such a cure and its deadly side effect. Cancer is gone from the face of the planet and the human race is next in line toward extinction. A new disease spreads… millions die, a few survive, and there are those who are in between - alive but no longer human. Lt. Col. Robert Neville, M.D. (Will Smith) is one among many scientists tasked to fine a cure for the new disease and he’s running out of time. He and his dog are the only ones left in New York - there’s no other human left alive.
Yes, this is another twist to what I call the “Zombie Genre” but I have to say that Francis Lawrence did a great job in transforming Richard Matheson’s 1954 science fiction novel into a 2008 movie. Watch the movie and read the book.
I was so excited to watch it the first time I saw the Bee Movie in movie trailers but I have to admit that after watching it, I am quite disappointed. The graphics and animation was nicely presented but the storyline is not that good.
The storyline is more or less about a perfect society - in this case, the society inside a beehive. Everything is just as they should be. No traffic jams, everything is timed to the last second, everybody loves to work, and the entire hive is happy. One bee however wishes to go out of the norm and so he did. The movie was interesting enough to keep me awake but not enough to really impress me. One thing I noticed though is that movie could be geared towards anti-racism. Not sure though but the thought came to me when the main character referred angrily to the “white men”.
Perhaps my disappointment arose due to the fact that I enter the movie theater with my “child brain” - you see, the story is not really for kids but for adults but you can take the kids with you nonetheless. One nice part was Bee Larry King and to that I did laugh.
I’ll give the movie a 3 out of 5 but I still recommend it for watching as it’s not really bad. And oh, it’ll come out on DVD this March 2008.
When I watched the first National Treasure movie starred by Nicolas Cage, all I could say was that’s a lot of treasure. The first movie was focused on “building” a name for the Gates family but the second movie - National Treasure: The Book of Secrets - is geared towards saving that name. I won’t go into much detail as I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
Ben Gates starred by Nicolas Cage gave a rather good performance and his sidekick Justin Bartha as Riley Poole was a perfect fit to the funny atmosphere that caught my attention and hooked me throughout the movie. Then there was Abigail Chase starred by Diane Kruger who added the ‘lovelife’ twist to the movie. This time, Ben’s father and mother are more involved in the treasure hunt as they do their best to save their family’s name.
The story line I believe is better than the first movie probably because it’s not just a mere treasure hunt and more of a family concern.
I give this movie a rating of 5 out of 5. Watch it. Bring the kids - it’s clean for them to watch.
Just watched “The Golden Compass” today and I find the movie pretty much interesting especially with the “chain letter preludes” that I got warning against watching it. The story is primarily a fantasy set in a parallel world very much like to our own. The main character - Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) is a child entrusted by her uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) to Jordan College.
I won’t give out much of the story as it may spoil the surprise and I’d rather just tell you my thoughts about the film.
The Golden Compass Merchandise
Controversies… an email has been circulating well before the movie was shown warning us that this movie is Atheism for kids. While it does look like it’s quite a bit anti-religion with the Magisterium quite reminiscent of the church, there is no mention of God or religion though similarities can be seen. Read more about the controversies here and here.
The characters did act quite well and the special effects were great though I would love to have seen Daniel Craig (Lord Asriel) and Nicole Kidman (Marisa Coulter) act more. Well of course I can’t blame them for focusing more on Lyra since the story revolves around her and her daemon.
Another thing of interest in the film is the Alethiometer, also known as The Golden Compass. Unlike other compasses, the Alethiometer doesn’t point to true north but seeks Truth itself. The idea of such a device is pretty much captivated me as I am somehow seeking for truth. I’d definitely love to have such a thing.
Lessons taught… the movie kind of teaches the viewers not to just “obey” the authorities but also learn to question them. The main characters in the movie are often those who want to do things their way while the “bad guys” are doing everything in their power to force the people to obey. While obedience is not a bad thing, I think “blind obedience” can be fatal - especially when we teach our children to just “obey without questioning”.
Then there also what they call daemons in the movie. A daemon is - according to the official website - a cross between a bestfriend and a soul. Every person in in the movie has a daemon but the Magisterium doesn’t want that so they do some nasty stuff - things unimaginable in Lyra’s world. I checked their website for info and found out that I can “know my daemon” by answering a series of questions and here she is…
A daemon basically reflects the true personality of its partner and losing one is like losing one’s soul.
So how did the movie go? All in all it was great and deserves to be watched. Take the entire family with you and watch. I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 for a good story, nice acting and amazing effects. Why 4 instead of 5? Well I was actually hoping it to be as brave as how Philip Pullman wrote it.
It’s been years since I first watched Schindler’s List and now, having the opportunity to watch it again, I gave it another go and one can never make a mistake in saying that this film is great and life-changing. I was only 16 when I originally saw this movie and I have to say that it changed my perception of what a good movie is.
Schindler’s List is a film about heroism with an unlikely hero at its center - Catholic war profiteer Oskar Schindler starred by Liam Neeson, who risked his life and went bankrupt to save more than 1,000 Jews from certain death in concentration camps back in World War II Germany. Mr. Schindler or “Head Direktor” as his Jewish employees call him started out with very little money and a great idea in mind. He wanted to make money but ended up making more than what he first envisioned. He wasn’t a model person but ended up being declared as a righteous man by the Jews. He thought of only himself at start but eventually learned to think about others - hundreds of them.
More than the good film and the perfect story, I would say that the best part in Schindler’s List is that it touched my life. It may made start thinking more than just myself. It shows a world where “others” exist and gave me a sense of responsibility in every action that I do.
If you’re a Marvel and/or DC Comic lover, then Iron Man is a movie that you must watch. For those who don’t know who Iron Man is, here’s a short description of this marvelous super hero. He’s eccentric, rich, a playboy, intelligent, master of technology, and has lots and lots of cool looking cars.
I was so excited when I first heard about the movie Forbidden Kingdom mainly because it stars two of the most popular names in martial arts film Jackie Chan and Jet Li. While I did plan to watch the movie on its opening date, I wasn’t able to do so because I had so many important things to do.
I was so excited to watch it the first time I saw the 
