Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Kung Fu Panda was pretty awesome. Kids will like it because it’s a cartoon. Adults will like it because it brings back the good ol’ days of kung fu movies. Jack Black is Po the panda. He dreams of being a kung fu master, but instead is the son of a noodle chef. He’s got five idols, Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross). Shifu, the wombat-looking kung-fu master, is voiced by Dustin Hoffman. Michael Clarke Duncan has a small voiced role as a prison warden. Anyway, some of the predictable themes from the kung fo movies of yore are present in this one. Overcoming impossible odds, finding and fulfilling your destiny, etc. it’s kind of a “Little Engine That Could” story, but less inspiration and more entertainment.

Jack Black has experience doing cartoon voice-overs. He was in Shark Tale and Ice Age. I love his humor. It’s very subtle (which I guess is why NPR’s FilmWeek said the film’s comedy was muted) but very effective. Dustin Hoffman’s been in a few The Simpsons episodes, but that’s about it. Angelina Jolie was also in Shark Tale, as well as Beowulf, which is kind of an animated film. We all know Jackie Chan, but he really didn’t say too much in here. And neither did Lucy Liu. Seth Rogen (from Superbad and Knocked Up) also had a minor role. Po’s dad is played by James Hong. He’s usually typecast because of his accent.

Kung Fu Panda was cowritten by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (both of whom did some Mad TV and King of the Hill episodes). Codirected by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson (who has worked in the art department on Shrek 2 and Madagascar).

Go see it!

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

A story about obsession. Two high school teachers played by Judi Dench (better known as M from the James Bond films, or Queen Elizabeth from Shakespeare in Love) and Cate Blanchett (who incidentally, also played Queen Elizabeth in the film Elizabeth, and from The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio) befriend each other. They’re relation turns from one of respect, confidence, and loyalty to one of betrayal and blackmail.

Bill Nighy (from Love Actually, Underworld: Evolution, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) plays Blanchett’s devoted husband. Nighy’s always got these great roles… Billy Mack, the obsolete rock singer in Love Actually. Viktor, the vampire lord from Underworld. And Davy Jones, the legendary pirate in Pirates.

Notes on a Scandal is actually pretty straight-forward. There appear to be twists and turns, but not really. A married teacher sleeps with one of her students. Her friend and fellow teacher keeps journals of everything going on. They clash. That’s all there is to it. The acting is pretty amazing. You have two of the arguably best English actors of our time. Can’t really go wrong with that.

The film’s kind of dark. The mood is melancholic, sometimes hasty. I think that’s to create an uncomfortable environment for the audience. The music and mood do a pretty good job of that. It was adapted from a novel by writer Patrick Marber, who also did Closer, which I realy liked. Director Richard Eyre is a former TV director in the UK. The only other work of his I’m familiar with is Atonement, with which he had a producer role.

Decent flick. Probably not worth renting… But if it plays on TV, I’d DVR it.

Awake (2007)

Not sure why I never heard of this movie except from browsing Netflix. About 45 minutes into it, I seriously thought about giving up on it. It wasn’t because the movie was bad. It wasn’t. It was just disturbing. Hayden Christensen (from Shattered Glass and Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars movies) is a billionaire Wall Street whiz. A weak heart renders him into surgery at the hands of his trusted friend and doctor, played by Terrence Howard (from Crash and Iron Man). His girlfriend, and fiance later on in the movie is played by Jessica Alba (TV’s Dark Angel, Fantastic Four, and Into the Blue). Lena Olin (The United States of Leland, Chocolat) plays his mother.

A side-plot here: Christensen and Alba are in love, but Olin is against it. I guess a pretty major theme of the movie is “Mother knows best.”

So Christensen undergoes surgery, but doesn’t go under because the anesthetics don’t work on him. According to a tagline at the beginning of the movie, “Over 21 million people are anesthetized every year, and about 30,000 don’t go under. They stay awake.” It’s a scary thought, but I can’t imagine it to be the way the movie depicts. Nonetheless, very interesting.

There’s a twist, but I’m not going to spoil it here. I’d say the film’s worth checking out. Jessica Alba actually gives a pretty convincing performance here, which is surprising. Terrence Howard is pretty good, as is Lena Olin. I haven’t seen Christensen in enough movies to judge his acting, but it wasn’t bad. The monologues get tiring pretty quick, but I guess they were necessary in this case.

Awake was written and directed by first-timer Joby Harold.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

This was by far the worst movie I’ve seen so far this year. Kristen Bell’s a looker, and a pretty decent actor. You know her from TV’s Veronica Mars and from film Gracie’s Choice. Jason Segel plays the guy lead. He’s lame. Terrible actor. Mila Kunis plays his new object of affection. She’s Jackie from That ’70s Show.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was meant to be a comedy, but it wasn’t funny. Not in the least. I walked out of the theater, actually, only to walk back in because I’d seen the three other movies that were playing at that particular theater. I sat in agony through the rest of the film.

Kristen Bell breaks up with her boyfriend of five years and breaks his heart. To get over her, he decides to take a vacation in Hawaii, only to run into her and her new boyfriend there. At the resort they’re staying at, he meets Mila Kunis (who works at the hotel) and falls in love. The story had a lot of potential (I’m thinking Meet the Parents or something of that sort), but neither the writer nor director delivered.

Segal wrote it. He’s a terrible writer. This guy shouldn’t be in Hollywood. He has no idea what he’s doing. Nicholas Stoller directed it. He’s also clueless. I hated this film!

The Strangers (2008)

I now know why I don’t like horror flicks. They just don’t do it for me… Sure, there’s the jumpy music. But that’s about it. The story wasn’t that scary. Two people, Scott Speedman (of TV’s Felicity and the Underworld trilogy) and Liv Tyler (from Inventing the Abbotts and Armageddon) spend a night at a cabin in the woods. They get harassed by three masked strangers. And that’s pretty much the gist of it.

The two characters do a pretty good job of acting scared. Liv Tyler and her whispy voice and all… But really, there’s just no story behind it. You don’t find out why they were assaulted. You don’t find out who the assailants are. There are just so many loose ends.

The Strangers is written and directed by Bryan Bertino, who’s done two other movies I’ve never heard of. He’s no good.

Valentin (2003)

I liked this one, actually. There wasn’t much to the story. It’s about a boy (Rodrigo Noya) who lives with his grandmother (Carmen Maura). His mom has left him and his abusive father (played by Alejandro Agresti, who also wrote and directed). The father always has new girlfriends and tells his son that “he could marry this one and that she just might become his mother.”

A sad story, actually. The acting is good. Rodrigo Noya was 8 at the time of shooting, and evokes sympathy like no other with his character. The father’s love interest is Leticia, played by Argentinian beauty Julieta Cardinali. There’s a side plot of matchmaking here. The boy befriends a local drunk who also happens to be a pianist (played by Mex Urtizberea). The film ends with a faux serendipitous moment when the pianist meets Leticia under boy-Cupid’s eager eye.

Valentin was a bit slow, and it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. It was similar to The Chorus (2004) in some ways. But since this film came out first, I’m guessing The Chorus took a page from this script.

Troy (2004)

Troy is probably one of the most star-studded films I’ve ever seen. I’ll start off with the big names first. Brad Pitt is Achilles. Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom are Hector and Paris, the princes of Troy. No further introductions needed for those three. Brian Cox (from The Bourne Supremacy) is Agamemnon. Peter O’Toole (one of the most celebrated actors, EVER), is Priam. Diane Kruger (of Wicker Park and National Treasure) is Helen. Saffron Burrows (who I loved in Deep Blue Sea and more recently in The Bank Job) plays Andromache. And Rose Byrne (also from Wicker Park) is Briseis. That about sums up the star power of Troy. Oh wait. I almost forgot about director Wolfgang Peterson, who is a blockbuster magnet. The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, Outbreak, and In the Line of Fire are some of his films.

The battle scenes of Hollywood yore have pretty much been abandoned. It’s probably due to a matter of budget. With technology in this day and age, it’s probably more cost-effective to have CGI recreate the thousands of soldiers needed to fill a war film. And the fact of the matter is, it’s probably more visually effective anyway.

The one-on-one duel between Pitt’s Achilles and Bana’s Hector is pretty much what did it for me… Not so much the action, although that was pretty awesome too, but just the emotional anticipation leading up to it. Bloom’s Paris wimped out of a fight already. Pitt’s cousin gets killed at the hands of Bana. And the revenge is sweet.

If you know your history, you know the story. Paris steals Helen from Agamemnon’s brother, Menelaus (played by Brendan Gleeson from Braveheart and Lake Placid), and takes her back to Troy (hence Helen of Troy). Agamemnon then wages war on the Trojans in probably the most epic battle ever recorded in history. Achilles, wanting his name in the history books, fights on the Greek side and dominates everyone. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Not a “must see,” but very entertaining. Scantily-clad men for the ladies, and scantily-clad ladies for the men. A treat for all.

The Kite Runner (2007)

Originally a book by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner was a highly anticipated film for me. The verdict, as with many book-to-movie films, is disappointing. I certainly can’t blame it on the writing. In this case, The Kite Runner is one of my favorite reads of all time. And the acting was good, if not great. Expecially the two young boys who played Young Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and Young Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada).

Playing Amir’s father is Homayoun Ershadi (who is pretty awesome in here). The main character (adult Amir) is played by Khalid Abdalla. And his wife is played by Atossa Leoni. I’ve never heard of any of these actors, but they did a great job. So I guess the blame goes to the director, Marc Forster, who also did Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, and Monster’s Ball.

I’m going to skip most of the plot points here. If you’ve read the book, you already know them. And if you haven’t read the book, I’d recommend you read it first before watching the film.

The story takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan and San Francisco, California. It’s about a boy’s childhood journey with his friend/servant.

Amir lives up to the cowardliness displayed in the novel. Throughout the entire movie, I just kept wanting to kick his ass. And the beating he receives toward the end of the film by the hands of a childhood bully does not do justice to all the wrongs he commits.

Anyhow, the film felt low-budget, but was decently shot. It’s worth a gander.

Nothing to Lose (1997)

I love this movie!

Nothing to Lose is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. I’m not a big fan of Martin Lawrence, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Sure, he usually plays the comic-relief sidekick, but he’s usually in decent films (Big Momma’s House being the exception). Bad Boys, Life, Blue Streak, National Security, and Wild Hogs were all pretty funny.

In this movie, the real funnyman is Tim Robbins (one of my favorite actors due to his performance in The Shawshank Redemption alongside Morgan Freeman). Robbins is also in I.Q., Arlington Road, Antitrust (he’s Bill Gates), Mystic River, and Catch a Fire. Robins comes home from work to find (what he thinks is) his wife cheating on him with his boss. With “nothing to lose,” he goes on a rampage about town until he gets jack-attempted by Lawrence, who plays a common thief.

The two go on this escapade, initially hating each other’s guts, but eventually getting to know and like one another. Kelly Preston and Rebecca Gayheart also have minor roles in here. The film is written and directed by Steve Oedekerk, who also has a cameo role as the security guard with the crazy dance moves!!! His resume include consultant for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and director of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

Funny director, funny actors, hilarious movie!

What Happens in Vegas… (2008)

Ashton Kutcher works out.

Cameron Diaz works out too.

The two star in What Happens in Vegas…, a cliched comedy about getting drunk and married in Vegas, hitting a slot machine jackpot, and having to work on the marriage to earn their share of the $3 million jackpot. It had its moments. Moments of hilarity and moments of tedium.

Kutcher, of TV’s That ’70s Show and The Butterfly Effect, didn’t really show much acting prowess in this role. It’s just a more grown-up version of his character from the show. Cameron neither. She’s the same character she played in Charlie’s Angels. While she’s been in superior roles in the past (A Life Less Ordinary, Any Given Sunday), …Vegas didn’t really give her the chance to shine. It just wasn’t that kind of movie.

Dennis Farina was in here. Typecasted, but funny nonetheless. As was Michelle Krusiec, who I really liked in Saving Face. Queen Latifah had a small role as a marriage counselor, and Treat Williams played Kutcher’s dad.

As screwball comedies go, this one wasn’t bad. But it was cheesy.