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BluesManBDR529
Reviews
Fei Ying (2004)
Decent movie, but could have been better
I love Asian action movies. So when I saw the case for this, I had to check it out and picked up the DVD. I wish that I had just rented it. I was hoping for something as much fun as Returner. Silver Hawk, however, is not it. The movie is decent, but other than a couple of moments in the movie, it just doesn't fare too well. In some fights the action is pretty good but in others it's just overly cheesy. Don't get me wrong, I like cheesy stuff sometimes, but some of this was just bad. The editing and slow motion parts in the fights were crappy. Another problem, and this is the fault of the DVD makers and not the movie itself, is that the DVD did not contain the original language track. So I had to contend with a really bad dubbing job as well. Despite all that, there is some fun to be had. Michelle Yeoh and Richie Ren looked like they were having fun, and there was some good unintentional humor. It wasn't a total waste of money, but if I could go back I wouldn't have bought it. The bottom line is, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's no where near the best either. It's merely forgettable, and that's worse than being horribly bad. If you want a good fun action movie go get Returner which stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Anne Suzuki. Let Silver Hawk be a renter.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
A Bourne Loser
**SPOILERS**
First off, I love the "Bourne" books. I'm just finishing The Bourne Ultimatum and these are some of the most exciting books I've ever read. I wish I could say the same thing for the movies. I can honestly say that I never knew what was going to happen in The Bourne Supremacy, because it was absolutely nothing like the book. There was nothing even remotely the same. For instance the book takes place almost entirely in China, with Marie being kidnapped. In this movie the closest they ever get to china is India and Marie gets killed 5 minutes into it. Did they even read the books? Do they even care? This movie is everything I hate about Hollywood, they take an excellent book, and butcher it, or in this case just rewrite the entire story, and slap the name on it. I was prepared for some changes, I knew there would be some, but I was not prepared for this travesty. If they had called these anything but Bourne, I could handle them, in fact I would probably like them; but selling them as the Bourne stories is wrong. Now that I'm done ripping the story let me get to the production. This movie is pretty well made. The acting is good on all fronts. The main problem I had was the camera work. Seriously, the director of photography should never be hired again. The camera was so shaky during all the action scenes, and even some none action scenes, that I couldn't tell what was going on. The main problem areas were the fight in the house and the final chase. I know that they were trying to make the fights seem more frantic and chaotic, but I hate this form of cinematography. Instead of making it feel frantic, it is just distracting and had me looking at my watch. Honestly, the only reason I went to see this movie is that it was a friends birthday and I promised to see whatever he wanted. I guess I'm that sucker that's Bourne every minute, for actually paying to see this movie.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Total mixed bag
I saw the movie last Saturday, and I've been trying to decide what i thought about it ever since then. Everyone came out of our theatre with a "Ho-hum" look on their face. This was not the "balls-to-the-wall" action film we all envisioned. I know it's certainly not what I expected. Therefore I am totally torn on my feelings for the film. On one hand I thought it was cool way to end the series, on the other hand, it seems there is so much more that could have been done to make this a better movie. There is no clear ending here, I won't give it away, but those who have seen it know what I'm talking about. We're just supposed to accept that some things happened after the end of the film, and in my opinion that boils down to bad filmmaking. Then I start wondering if it was intentional. The Matrix movies have always been about thinking and elusive meanings and dialogue, but it still seems that there should have been some attempt at a true ending. Now to the fights, these are spectacular. Spectacular, other than the first fight with Morpheus, Trinity, and Seraph against the Merovingian's goons which seems to me like a rehash of the lobby scene in the first movie, but then we get to the good stuff. The Zion dock fight is a new step in the right direction for CG mixed with live action, this thing is a beauty to behold and one of the best parts of the film. The superfight at the end is astonishing as well, as we finally see the two most powerful characters in the Matrix mythos go at each other like there's no tomorrow. Agent Smith is now totally enshrined as my favorite character of the entire trilogy, and he ranks up there with Darth Vader as one of my favorite villains in film history. Hugo Weaving shines here, and I hope will get some much deserved credit for his portrayal of Smith. The movie though is a totally mixed bag; it's better than Reloaded but not as good as the original which set the bar so high that it's hard to surpass. It will definitely take multiple viewings to sort all of this out and decide just how this film was meant to work. There's way too much to think about here. I think that if people give it a second chance and not just dismiss it after the initial viewing they will find more to love here, but only time will tell.
The Rick & Bubba Show (2002)
Get your South on!
I love this show, it's very funny, and unlike shows such as "Bob and Tom" or "John Boy and Billy" these guys are clean. I was listening to them on the radio a long time before they ever started being on Turner South, and they haven't changed a bit. The two, self proclaimed, "Sexiest fat men alive" are still themselves. These guys are not ashamed to tell you that they are Christians, or to tell you that God is the reason that they are the #1 radio show in the Southeast. If you want good clean comedy, humorous stories, and just plain fun; and you can get Turner South, then this show is for you. Go get your South on, with Rick & Bubba!
Equilibrium (2002)
Excellent movie: deep and thought provoking
I waited and waited for this movie to come out, then when it finally did, it didn't come anywhere near me. So I had to wait for the DVD, but fortunately it was worth the wait. This movie is very good. It was unfairly lumped in with all of The Matrix clones that came out. This movie is much deeper than The Matrix, and more thought provoking. The Matrix shows us a future where mankind is ruled by machines. We don't know that we are just part of a large computer program. However in Equilibrium, mankind has had it's right to show emotion taken away. Basically the government is forcing everyone to be identical. What makes Equilibrium a stronger film is that we've seen situations like this before, such as Socialism, Communism, and Nazi-ism, and we know that it could happen again. Communism tries to force everyone to be equal, but of course it will never work. Nazi-ism tried to kill those who didn't agree with them, such as in Auschwitz. Examples and consequences of this type of government and behavior are shown here. Throughout the movie you can see how people still have emotion, although the government has tried to take it away. The film shows us the negative effects of such practices, poses questions of right and wrong, and it is stronger for it. If you found The Matrix to be nothing but effects heavy action posing as a deep movie, then watch Equilibrium. The action is awesome and the plot is deep, and I can't recommend it enough.
The Italian Job (2003)
Very cool movie!
When I first started hearing about this movie I was totally against it. Although I've never seen the original, I knew of it's status and was afraid that the remake would be bad. I went to see it last night though and discovered that I'd fallen into the trap that a lot of movie critics do. I was negative about the movie without having seen it. When I went, I was completely surprised. It's a really fun movie with good acting all the way around. There's some pretty good jokes in there too. I always wondered where the name Napster came from. If I had one complaint to make about the movie, it would be that not enough time was given to the Mini chase. I've heard that the chase in the original was awesome, with the Minis going over rooftops and all kinds of other stuff. Here it just didn't seem long enough to me. Other than that, this is one to see. It definitely "Blew the bloody doors off" of the summer, but probably not off of the original.
Daredevil (2003)
The best comic movie ever, hands down!
I just got out of seeing Daredevil, and, OH MY GOSH! This movie could not have been better. Spider-Man held the prize for the best comic book movie until I saw this. Daredevil blew it and every other comic movie out of the water. The acting is awesome, Colin Farrell rocks as Bullseye, and Michael Clarke Duncan IS the Kingpin! I was greatly surprised by Ben Affleck's performance as well, he played the part to a tee. The movie perfectly follows the book to the letter, and if you thought that Spider-Man and X-Men weren't dark enough, than this one is for you. This is by far the darkest comic movie I've seen. I'll be honest; I went in expecting this movie to be a suckfest, but I was totally blown away! If you want to see the best comic to movie adaptation ever than don't miss this one! Oh yeah, don't leave when the credits start to roll or you'll miss out on a little Russian Roulette!