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King Kong (2005)
An Epic That's Not Supposed to Be?
Clocking in at just over 187 minutes, it seem Peter Jackson can't make a movie that is less than 3 hours long. Of course, this is no Lord of the Rings and whatever else you might have heard, it's a movie about a giant ape.
The story starts slowly and picks up half way through, and when it does it is utterly spectacular. The action sequences are absolutely amazing and Jackson even managed to make all of it dramatic.
Of course, coming off a long trilogy like LOTR, Peter Jackson can't help but be dramatic but I just wish he would shift some of that monkey business off the ape and focus at least a bit more attention on the cannon fodder dying around the main characters.
It's good, but you probably need a Kong-sized bladder to sit though all of it.
Underworld: Evolution (2006)
This is possibly the worst movie since Doom 3
Finally got around to see this movie, and I've gotta say that it is a let down. The entire film consists of three type of characters, the main characters, the explainers, and of course, the cannon fodder.
The main characters are of course Selene played by Beckinsale, and Michael played by Speedman. You might ask, "do any other main characters from the original return?". Well yes and no, they all became "explainers"; which means they show up to explain something (usually telling us why the bad vampire is bad, which is kinda bloody obvious, no pun intended) then gets killed.
The last type of characters is of course, the self-explanatory cannon fodder. They are basically there to get killed, and lots and lots of people get killed. In fact, if they're not named "Selene" or "Michael", they'll most likely be killed. If you played a drinking game where you took a shot every time somebody got killed, you'll be sufficiently drunk by the first 5 minutes and be spared the rest of the movie.
Speaking of the rest of the movie, it's one clip show after the other; the basic structure of the movie consists of the following: clip show > killing > clip show > more killing > explosion > explainer explains > killing of explainer > clip show > killing of some random folks > lousy sex scene > killing > killing > killing of the final boss. The story is only there to excuse the next killing or explosion, but never quite delve into the characters or their reasons. And most of these plots were told by the clip shows or flashbacks, which are mostly from the first movie.
You might have noticed the "lousy sex scene" there, which is exactly accurate. First of all there is no nudity from Beckinsale, which is more than disappointing. Second of all considering the position of her partner relative to herself, one can come to the only conclusion that either Michael has no idea whatsoever how to have sex, or his "transformations" have somehow transplanted his penis onto his knee.
If you're one who needs only gore in a movie, this will possibly be somewhat enjoyable. However I felt the whole thing is just an excuse at stealing money out of people's pockets. There is literally no story (again, CLIP SHOW!!!) and no characterization (they're either busy killing or be killed). This is possibly the worst movie since Doom 3.
Black Sash (2003)
Definite potential
Starring Russell Wong (Romeo Must Die), Black Sash tells the story of an ex-cop martial arts teacher, his personal struggle, and his students.
I caught the premiere by pure chance, and it was quite good; choreographed fighting backed with decent story and humour, plus a main character whose English is actually understandable (the hell with Jackie Chan!). This is a series that definitely has a bright future.