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Reviews
Inside Man (2006)
A great detective fiction
People you are rating this movie low are the problem with the average movie going public these days. Throw a few explosions at them, and some whacked out main character that solves his problems with fists and they rate it a ten. And you get extra points for CGI it seems.
This movie was great! It reminds me of some of the old detective fictions that were made in the 30's and 40's like the Maltese Falcon, and then later on in the 70's Chinatown. No, Denzel didn't use a gun and blow stuff up ever chance he got, but he was intelligent and methodical in solving the case. It was actually quite nice to see Denzel finally step out of his role as the 'angry black man' and do something different. Until this point, I was convinced he was quite one dimensional.
This movie moved us through the 3 stages of a detective fiction very fluidly. It also managed to do it in a modern context. While using all the new tricks of film and the technology that we have developed, the film still adhering to the classic detective fiction motif.
The filming was excellent, and the director managed to get tons of great shots in that helped to set the tone for the movie. The closeups on the characters, the rackish angles that cause uneasiness, and the double focuses helped to present us with a story and feeling that is really unsurpassed by just about anything that has come out this year. AND BEST OF ALL IT IS AN ORIGINAL MOVIE, NOT A Sequel, A COMIC BOOK, OR A REDO! Thank you Spike Lee for doing something real and different!
Ong-Bak (2003)
A great action film!
This movie is exactly what my summary says. A great action film. I have noticed that revenge movies always make for an exciting action film. The character is always driven to obtain his or her goal. Ong Bak is a great example of this. The main character has gone to the city in search of finding what the town has lost. Along the way we are treated to amazing feats of strength and martial arts. Tony Jaa is an amazing martial artist. He does not use wires or CG animation to enhance any of the action sequences in this film. His fights are exciting, more believable than most movies, and use real martial arts to provide an exciting addition to the story. People will really get a sense of Muy Thai and how deadly it can be. While the action was exciting and complimented the story there were a few things that held this movie back. The story was kind of slow in the middle and some of the characters were left hanging. Not off of them were that well developed, as you only got back story on some of them. Also the plot seemed a bit pieced together, especially in the middle. One minute Ting, the main character, is not fighting, and the next he is in fight after fight. But, when is the last time you expected a lot from a martial arts movie. I would recommend renting the DVD if you haven't already. There are some special features on the disk that are really interesting to watch. Also if you enjoyed the excitement of the fights in this movie as much as I did, I would HIGHLY recommend Unleashed/Danny the Dog staring Jet Li.
Batman Begins (2005)
The best movie of the year?
Really people... "The best movie of the year!". This is what is wrong with American Film; fans that get super excited over some explosions, flash, and a poorly constructed story. As a movie goer we need to expect more from our movies. Yes Batman Begins was moderately entertaining to sit down and watch for 2 hours but that is the extent of its value. Chrisian Bale played an awkward Batman that was thrown into outlandish situations and chased enemies through mcguffin and plot hole to save Gotham City. Concrete does not crumble in minutes, steam is not visible (steam is super heated water vapor that you can't see, thats water vapor in the movie), diesel vehicles or large gas powered engines don't have a stealth mode you can turn on at a whim, and there is no weapon that can do that to water, what is the science behind it? I'm sure as some people are reading this they are thinking that you just have to suspend belief when watching some movies, especially a super hero movie. To these people I remind you of the mcguffin of the microwave weapon, what point did it have? I also would like to point out the sub-par acting of a good actor, the awkward characters, and the odd plot that was pieced together. You can not throw a ton of money at a movie and expect it to be an instant masterpiece. Writing a movie and filming it is a very involved process and takes a very careful touch that Batman Begins lacked. However, to the huge Batman fan, watch this movie. It is certainly better than the last two that have come out. And again, it is two hours of brainless entertainment. My verdict a renter where you can split the cost at least 4 ways.
Undead (2003)
WOW, what is going on here
What were they thinking when they made this movie? The attempt at artsy with the filter was so misplaced when you look at the context of the movie. Poor sound fx, a poor story, poor characters, they couldn't stick to a genre of film, and just an overall frustrating feel you get from the lack of cohesiveness in the movie make this one of the worst films that I have ever seen. I should have just turned it off when I saw how the zombies were created and then my second clue should have come after I saw the make up of the zombies. My biggest beef with the movie; how they combined all the genres into one mess of a movie. We had aliens, zombie people, zombie fish, some sort of character struggle between two characters that was never explained, and a whole bunch of themes wrapped into one. This movie was almost laughable, if I hadn't wasted my time. When one of the characters shoots guns from his pockets, we are graced with a comic book "boing" noise that is suppose to accompany a serious moment in the movie. I would not recommend this movie to anybody. Save your time and money by seeing another good zombie flick, if that is what you are after. I am a huge fan of the zombie genre and this has let me down.
Unleashed (2005)
A surprisingly good movie
When I first saw the preview for this movie I was excited. But not because it looked like a stellar movie, I just like Jet Li. I am a huge fan of martial arts movies. I like them all from Seven Samurai to your comedic Jackie Chan movie. When I left this movie I was even more excited. Not only were the fight scenes unbelievably intense and well coordinated, but the acting was quite good. Of course Morgan Freeman was great, as in every movie. But the nod has to go to Jet Li for his performance as Danny the Dog. I knew he could fight but this movie elevated him to an actor in my book, and not just a martial artist. His transformation from an animal to human was acted with a certain finesse that you expect from a good movie. The characters were well written and well acted all around. The bad guys were creepy, Jet Li was believable, and they had Morgan Freeman to lead the movie in to excellence. My vote see it, and watch it more than once to see all the aspects of the movie.