Friday, May 08, 2009
12:34 by FoxTwo
I just watched this movie at the 7.15pm screening at Orchard Cineleisure last night. As a Trekker, I was waiting with bated breath for the new movie to be released. It has been a few years since the last one, and with an all-new cast, I was curious to see what director JJ Abrams can do with the Trek universe.
What I can say is, after the whole movie was over, we felt a sense of loss. The whole Trek universe has been turned upside down. What we knew as "canon" may no longer be.
Small inconsistencies aside, such as Kirk being in Starfleet after the majority of his crew (including Pavel Chekov, who is only 17 in the movie), the movie had this feeling of "emptiness". No real story other than "The Bad Guy Must Be Stopped!". There is no underlying story to make you go "hmmm" after you walk out of the cinema. The whole movie feels more like Mission Impossible in the 23rd Century.
There are of course, references to canon Trek, like Kirk cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test (quite funny actually). Other funny parts - Sulu forgetting to "release the handbrake" (in this case, activating inertial dampeners) before going to warp, Chekov trying to speak a password into the computer and the computer rejecting him due to him pronouncing "V" like "W", a Red Shirt dying (as expected) after jumping onto the drilling platform, and Scotty's (new) cute companion, to name a few.
Actor Karl Uban, who portrays McCoy, did an outstanding job. As my friend said, we recognised him immediately the moment McCoy came on-screen. Same speech patterns, same fears, same everything! Personally, I liked that I finally know how he got his nickname - "Bones". I think Karl Uban might have spent a lot of time watching the old TOS episodes to learn how DeForest Kelley performed as McCoy, and to copy it over to the movie.
And, when he said "I'm a doctor, not a ....", my friend and I were nudging each other and smiling. Yep, that was his signature line.
In stark contrast, we didn't recognise Kirk at all, until the final scene when he finally wore the Captain's uniform. THAT was when he moved and talked like Kirk, the Kirk we knew.
Zachary Quinto, better known as Sylar from Heroes, did an admirable job as Spock. Just enough conflict within him, the human and the Vulcan half. If you've never seen a Vulcan get angry before, Zachary Quinto's Spock will make you think twice before you provoke a Vulcan.
As a Trekker, my eyes light up whenever I see or hear something familiar. The chirp of the communicator, the whine of the transporter, the bridge sounds. They took what was familiar and improved on them. The transporter effects are impressive, with swirls around the entire body as opposed to just a sparkly effect on all Trek episodes and movies before this. The "jump to warp" sequence is breathtaking too, and looks more "logical" on screen this time around. The engine builds up power while the ship is stationary, then it starts to shudder, then an immediate "bang!" and the ship leaps into warp. You really have to see it! Even in warp, the effects are much better than anything before this movie.
Here's something notable - when Spock ("old Spock") appeared on the screen and saw a young James T Kirk, Spock smiled. I have not seen Spock smile since the original pilot back in the 60's. Further along in the movie, Old Spock spoke to Young Spock. That scene was pretty touching, I admit.
As for the story, not much to tell other than as mentioned before - good guys must stop the bad guys. The problem is, in the process, they destroyed the planet Vulcan. Spock is now part of "an endangered species", to quote him from the movie. With the destruction of Vulcan, the majority of what was canon in Trek, is no longer going to happen. The most obvious one is of course, the attempted reunification of Romulus and Vulcan in TNG, and Ambassador Spock was the one facilitating these talks.
Yeah, the whole Trek universe had been turned upside down. What we used to know as Trek, may no longer be. Since Old Spock appears to be "trapped" in this timeline, it is even more reason to believe that the original timeline will probably not be restored, and from here on out, the future is unknown and new.
Hence, the feeling of loss, but also curiosity about what will come next.
Don't get me wrong. The movie is good. It is probably going to earn alot of money at the box office. It's just that the Trek universe we all know, is gone. It's not like other "reboots" like Battlestar Galactica, where they started everything from scratch. This time around, they made it canon - people from the future (original timeline) coming back in time and causing havoc, and at the end of the movie, the timeline is not restored.
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12:34 by FoxTwo
Star Trek - The Beginning.... AGAIN
Image via Wikipedia
Spoiler Alert!
This post MAY contain spoilers about the new movie, so if you do not like spoilers, STOP READING NOW!
Thank you.
I just watched this movie at the 7.15pm screening at Orchard Cineleisure last night. As a Trekker, I was waiting with bated breath for the new movie to be released. It has been a few years since the last one, and with an all-new cast, I was curious to see what director JJ Abrams can do with the Trek universe.
What I can say is, after the whole movie was over, we felt a sense of loss. The whole Trek universe has been turned upside down. What we knew as "canon" may no longer be.
Small inconsistencies aside, such as Kirk being in Starfleet after the majority of his crew (including Pavel Chekov, who is only 17 in the movie), the movie had this feeling of "emptiness". No real story other than "The Bad Guy Must Be Stopped!". There is no underlying story to make you go "hmmm" after you walk out of the cinema. The whole movie feels more like Mission Impossible in the 23rd Century.
There are of course, references to canon Trek, like Kirk cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test (quite funny actually). Other funny parts - Sulu forgetting to "release the handbrake" (in this case, activating inertial dampeners) before going to warp, Chekov trying to speak a password into the computer and the computer rejecting him due to him pronouncing "V" like "W", a Red Shirt dying (as expected) after jumping onto the drilling platform, and Scotty's (new) cute companion, to name a few.
Actor Karl Uban, who portrays McCoy, did an outstanding job. As my friend said, we recognised him immediately the moment McCoy came on-screen. Same speech patterns, same fears, same everything! Personally, I liked that I finally know how he got his nickname - "Bones". I think Karl Uban might have spent a lot of time watching the old TOS episodes to learn how DeForest Kelley performed as McCoy, and to copy it over to the movie.
And, when he said "I'm a doctor, not a ....", my friend and I were nudging each other and smiling. Yep, that was his signature line.
In stark contrast, we didn't recognise Kirk at all, until the final scene when he finally wore the Captain's uniform. THAT was when he moved and talked like Kirk, the Kirk we knew.
Zachary Quinto, better known as Sylar from Heroes, did an admirable job as Spock. Just enough conflict within him, the human and the Vulcan half. If you've never seen a Vulcan get angry before, Zachary Quinto's Spock will make you think twice before you provoke a Vulcan.
As a Trekker, my eyes light up whenever I see or hear something familiar. The chirp of the communicator, the whine of the transporter, the bridge sounds. They took what was familiar and improved on them. The transporter effects are impressive, with swirls around the entire body as opposed to just a sparkly effect on all Trek episodes and movies before this. The "jump to warp" sequence is breathtaking too, and looks more "logical" on screen this time around. The engine builds up power while the ship is stationary, then it starts to shudder, then an immediate "bang!" and the ship leaps into warp. You really have to see it! Even in warp, the effects are much better than anything before this movie.
Here's something notable - when Spock ("old Spock") appeared on the screen and saw a young James T Kirk, Spock smiled. I have not seen Spock smile since the original pilot back in the 60's. Further along in the movie, Old Spock spoke to Young Spock. That scene was pretty touching, I admit.
As for the story, not much to tell other than as mentioned before - good guys must stop the bad guys. The problem is, in the process, they destroyed the planet Vulcan. Spock is now part of "an endangered species", to quote him from the movie. With the destruction of Vulcan, the majority of what was canon in Trek, is no longer going to happen. The most obvious one is of course, the attempted reunification of Romulus and Vulcan in TNG, and Ambassador Spock was the one facilitating these talks.
Yeah, the whole Trek universe had been turned upside down. What we used to know as Trek, may no longer be. Since Old Spock appears to be "trapped" in this timeline, it is even more reason to believe that the original timeline will probably not be restored, and from here on out, the future is unknown and new.
Hence, the feeling of loss, but also curiosity about what will come next.
Don't get me wrong. The movie is good. It is probably going to earn alot of money at the box office. It's just that the Trek universe we all know, is gone. It's not like other "reboots" like Battlestar Galactica, where they started everything from scratch. This time around, they made it canon - people from the future (original timeline) coming back in time and causing havoc, and at the end of the movie, the timeline is not restored.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
18:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaHave you wondered why the latest Batman movie is titled "The Dark Knight"?
I'm a comic fan. I grew up on Superman, Batman et al. Even so, when DC Comics revamped Batman in the 80's (or was it the 90's) and came up with the Dark Knight series, I never did follow that. All I knew, was that Batman become moodier, broods, and the whole atmosphere of Gotham became "darker".
In other words, Batman is no longer seen as a black and white hero. I must say that the latest movie does indeed convey that feeling.
In the movie, The Joker appears in Gotham. He starts going on a rampage, and Batman is kept busy foiling each of the crimes.
Right at the end when Batman finally catches him, The Joker finally revealed his true plan. Batman realised that each time he foiled one of Joker's crimes, he's setting the government up for a political backlash. Bit by bit.
The only way to preserve the integrity of the government, was to shoulder all the blame. Let everybody think it was The Batman that was behind all the nefarious deeds, so that the police force, the senate and everyone else is "cleared".
Batman becomes an outlaw vigilante. Wanted by the cops. Hated by the crooks.
Batman thus becomes a Dark Knight. Alone, he fights for justice, but is seen as an outlaw, a wanted fugitive.
(If you didn't "get" this part, you need to re-watch the movie again)
Ok that is the gist of the story.
Heath Ledger, the late actor who played the role of The Joker, gave a really incredible performance indeed. Although the behaviour was different from the comics, he does effectively convey that The Joker was "crazy". No incessant laughs, but right at the end when The Joker revealed the true master plan, you somehow start to doubt whether The Joker was crazy in the first place. If anything, Heath Ledger should win the posthumous Oscar that the Academy is nominating him for.
I would go as far as to say this movie is all about The Joker, rather than Batman. In the end, Batman was "defeated" anyway, since he had to assume the blame for everything. Joker technically won, even if he was caught. Even Two-Face (Harvey Dent) was a pawn in The Joker's plans, and Two-Face truly thought he was "fixing" the problems when he started going around killing people.
One of the more lighthearted moments in this mostly grim and dark movie was where a junior employee of the Wayne Enterprises managed to dig up blueprints of the Batmobile and showed it to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and demanded $10 million in yearly salary. Morgan Freeman's reply was classic:
"Now, let me understand this. You think that our billionaire owner secretly dresses up in a bat suit, goes around pummelling crooks at night with his bare hands, and YOU want to blackmail him? Good luck".
That had the entire cinema laughing.
As I mentioned, the movie was mostly dark and grim. When I left the cinema, I actually felt sad for The Batman. To be played like a fool, and then to be hunted by the law enforcement. He must have felt totally alone and set up.
18:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaHave you wondered why the latest Batman movie is titled "The Dark Knight"?I'm a comic fan. I grew up on Superman, Batman et al. Even so, when DC Comics revamped Batman in the 80's (or was it the 90's) and came up with the Dark Knight series, I never did follow that. All I knew, was that Batman become moodier, broods, and the whole atmosphere of Gotham became "darker".
In other words, Batman is no longer seen as a black and white hero. I must say that the latest movie does indeed convey that feeling.
In the movie, The Joker appears in Gotham. He starts going on a rampage, and Batman is kept busy foiling each of the crimes.
Right at the end when Batman finally catches him, The Joker finally revealed his true plan. Batman realised that each time he foiled one of Joker's crimes, he's setting the government up for a political backlash. Bit by bit.
The only way to preserve the integrity of the government, was to shoulder all the blame. Let everybody think it was The Batman that was behind all the nefarious deeds, so that the police force, the senate and everyone else is "cleared".
Batman becomes an outlaw vigilante. Wanted by the cops. Hated by the crooks.
Batman thus becomes a Dark Knight. Alone, he fights for justice, but is seen as an outlaw, a wanted fugitive.
(If you didn't "get" this part, you need to re-watch the movie again)
Ok that is the gist of the story.
Heath Ledger, the late actor who played the role of The Joker, gave a really incredible performance indeed. Although the behaviour was different from the comics, he does effectively convey that The Joker was "crazy". No incessant laughs, but right at the end when The Joker revealed the true master plan, you somehow start to doubt whether The Joker was crazy in the first place. If anything, Heath Ledger should win the posthumous Oscar that the Academy is nominating him for.
I would go as far as to say this movie is all about The Joker, rather than Batman. In the end, Batman was "defeated" anyway, since he had to assume the blame for everything. Joker technically won, even if he was caught. Even Two-Face (Harvey Dent) was a pawn in The Joker's plans, and Two-Face truly thought he was "fixing" the problems when he started going around killing people.
One of the more lighthearted moments in this mostly grim and dark movie was where a junior employee of the Wayne Enterprises managed to dig up blueprints of the Batmobile and showed it to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and demanded $10 million in yearly salary. Morgan Freeman's reply was classic:
"Now, let me understand this. You think that our billionaire owner secretly dresses up in a bat suit, goes around pummelling crooks at night with his bare hands, and YOU want to blackmail him? Good luck".
That had the entire cinema laughing.
As I mentioned, the movie was mostly dark and grim. When I left the cinema, I actually felt sad for The Batman. To be played like a fool, and then to be hunted by the law enforcement. He must have felt totally alone and set up.
Labels: movies
Thursday, July 03, 2008
23:28 by FoxTwo First off - there will be NO spoilers in this post, so people who haven't watched it won't see things they don't want to see.
I managed to get a couple of free tickets to this movie and thus I caught it tonight, 3 July 2008 (same release day as US, ie 2nd July over there). Initially from the cinematic trailers found everywhere, it seemed to be a story of a downtrodden super hero, played by Will Smith. However, the story is not so straightforward.
Needless to say, I was engrossed throughout the movie and I bet I wouldn't even have to munch on any snacks if I did buy some. The lead character, Hancock, is so named because he has amnesia. He has no memory of how he got his super powers nor his name. He woke up in the hospital and decided to discharge himself, and the nurse at the counter requested for his "John Hancock" before she could release him. A "John Hancock", in US slang, means "signature". It is derived from the famous underwriters, John Hancock, where their signature is proof enough that the item is legit or worth what is written out to be. So, the lead character decided to adopt the name John Hancock for himself.
You can really identify with the super hero lead character because he's an ass, and is hated by people. While he might save people's lives or foil robberies, he does so with total disregard to property, and usually ends up demolishing half the city while trying to bring crooks in. Hancock behaves like this because he is all alone in this world - the only one of his kind.
He does not see himself as a hero, merely a lonely man in this world. He doesn't wear a costume nor a mask. Since he's alone, he has nobody to protect. Thus he has no need of a secret identity. Everyone knows who he is. He the "a**hole" to everybody.
His life changed when he saved the life of an image consultant. The man is so grateful to Hancock that he decides to help Hancock change his public image, and sets about bugging Hancock to be more "heroic" than just being an a**hole with super powers.
As the movie unfolded, there were many funny moments to break the sometimes sombre mood when Hancock is alone and reflecting on his life. I really would not want to bring up any specifics lest it spoils your enjoyment. Needless to say, I find them funny. One example would be his super-hero costume (which you'd have seen in trailers anyway). Just listen to the dialog when the image consultant friend first presented it to Hancock. Personally I find his costume too much like the X-men movie costumes - mostly black with some light coloured trimmings. Not very super-heroic, but cool.
Towards the end, you will find that the story isn't what it seemed. Hancock cleans himself up, and then starts to get the adulation of the general public.
I was a little disappointed not to see Will Smith topless in the movie. Would have loved to look at his rippling body to motivate myself for my workouts. Ah well.
This is a movie where I'll definitely buy the DVD to keep and watch again at a future date.
Oh yes, do stay a bit during the credits. There's a funny scene right in the middle of the rolling credits. Don't just stand up and walk out.
23:28 by FoxTwo First off - there will be NO spoilers in this post, so people who haven't watched it won't see things they don't want to see.
I managed to get a couple of free tickets to this movie and thus I caught it tonight, 3 July 2008 (same release day as US, ie 2nd July over there). Initially from the cinematic trailers found everywhere, it seemed to be a story of a downtrodden super hero, played by Will Smith. However, the story is not so straightforward.
Needless to say, I was engrossed throughout the movie and I bet I wouldn't even have to munch on any snacks if I did buy some. The lead character, Hancock, is so named because he has amnesia. He has no memory of how he got his super powers nor his name. He woke up in the hospital and decided to discharge himself, and the nurse at the counter requested for his "John Hancock" before she could release him. A "John Hancock", in US slang, means "signature". It is derived from the famous underwriters, John Hancock, where their signature is proof enough that the item is legit or worth what is written out to be. So, the lead character decided to adopt the name John Hancock for himself.
You can really identify with the super hero lead character because he's an ass, and is hated by people. While he might save people's lives or foil robberies, he does so with total disregard to property, and usually ends up demolishing half the city while trying to bring crooks in. Hancock behaves like this because he is all alone in this world - the only one of his kind.
He does not see himself as a hero, merely a lonely man in this world. He doesn't wear a costume nor a mask. Since he's alone, he has nobody to protect. Thus he has no need of a secret identity. Everyone knows who he is. He the "a**hole" to everybody.
His life changed when he saved the life of an image consultant. The man is so grateful to Hancock that he decides to help Hancock change his public image, and sets about bugging Hancock to be more "heroic" than just being an a**hole with super powers.
As the movie unfolded, there were many funny moments to break the sometimes sombre mood when Hancock is alone and reflecting on his life. I really would not want to bring up any specifics lest it spoils your enjoyment. Needless to say, I find them funny. One example would be his super-hero costume (which you'd have seen in trailers anyway). Just listen to the dialog when the image consultant friend first presented it to Hancock. Personally I find his costume too much like the X-men movie costumes - mostly black with some light coloured trimmings. Not very super-heroic, but cool.
Towards the end, you will find that the story isn't what it seemed. Hancock cleans himself up, and then starts to get the adulation of the general public.
I was a little disappointed not to see Will Smith topless in the movie. Would have loved to look at his rippling body to motivate myself for my workouts. Ah well.
This is a movie where I'll definitely buy the DVD to keep and watch again at a future date.
Oh yes, do stay a bit during the credits. There's a funny scene right in the middle of the rolling credits. Don't just stand up and walk out.
Labels: movies
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
15:39 by FoxTwo I know I'm late, but hey, better late than never eh?
In all honesty, I watched this movie three times. Seriously, who can get enough of Jacky Chan and Jet Li? But first, a warning. This blog entry WILL contain spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie, feel free to skip the rest of the entry.
Before we delve into my ramblings on this movie, here's a couple of links by other bloggers who have seen it before me. Well at least, did a writeup of this before I did anyway.
Well the movie opened pretty spectacularly with a shot of the Monkey God (孙悟空) putting the smack down on the Jade Army high atop a mountain somewhere. The move calls him the "Monkey King", which technically isn't wrong, since he *IS* the king of monkeys in the Chinese folklore.
The story is nothing short of fantastic - a modern-day American boy, by some sheer twist of fate, is transported back into Ancient China (中国, or literally translated, "Middle Kingdom") after he came into contact with a magic staff (more accurately, a bo) amidst a botched robbery attempt in a pawnshop in Chinatown. This is the staff of the Monkey God.
In Ancient China, he is very quickly mixed up in a village being attacked by the Jade Army, and as he flees them, he runs into Jacky Chan. The thing that really caught my attention was that the very first fight scene had Jacky Chan using the Drunken Fist (醉拳) to fight off the Jade soldiers. That is almost like an in-joke, since Jacky Chan's first movie was indeed, "Drunken Fist". So Jacky Chan saves the boy and tells him the story of how the Jade Warlord had tricked the Monkey God and imprisoned him in stone, and the staff was the only way to free him.
Then later on in the tavern, they hooked up with a girl called Golden Sparrow. Now this is my first gripe. In English they called her Gold Sparrow. In Chinese, her name is Golden Swallow (金燕子). This is confirmed by the spoken Mandarin dialogue later on when the White Haired Witch (白发摩女) was questioning the innkeeper about a "boy and a vagabond". When she was presented with the dart that Golden Sparrow killed the guards with, she muttered (in Mandarin) "Little Swallow.. let's just see how far you can fly.." before the camera cut away. So, she SHOULD have been "Golden Swallow"! But I guess having a name like "swallow" might be misconstrued :)
The fight scene in the abandoned temple was the best scene in the whole movie, in my opinion. Again during this fight scene, I was tickled to see another "in-joke". The fight started off with Drunken Fist again. Then, Jet Li displayed the Praying Mantis (which I believe was in his first movie). After that, Jacky Chan switched to the Tiger Fist, and that was Jacky Chan's second movie. As the fight progressed, the Snake and Crane forms appeared, in actual chronological order to their respective movies!
The American actor, Michael Angarano, seemed a little stiff when doing the fights. I am guessing that he has no training in the martial arts at all, and it was only the constant rehearsals of the fight scenes that saved him.
The scenes where Jacky Chan taught him kung fu were hilarious. Again, it reminds me of his old movies where he was the one at the receiving end of the torture. The Horse Stance was especially nostalgic. Too bad the joss sticks were missing (from under his butt) because in his first movie, Jacky Chan was forced to remain in Horse Stance for 4 hours until the joss sticks ran out. His master also placed cups full of water on both his arms and on his head as punishment.
Unfortunately, the narrative to show the passage of time where they taught him martial arts seemed rushed. In their old movies, you could see Jacky Chan and Jet Li performing heaps of sit ups, push ups and so on while the narrator droned on and on about the philosophy of kung fu.
Special effects wise, it's a pleasant mix of computer CGI and wire-work. I am sure with modern day CGI, they can easily make Jet Li fly among the mountain tops as the Monkey King.
The whole movie had an epic feel to it, and after watching it 3 times, it still doesn't get stale. It was really too bad that Jason didn't get to kiss Golden Sparrow right before she died though. Would have loved to see just how many people would hiss and boo at that scene :)
In my opinion, this is by far the best "period drama" that has come out of Hollywood. Of course I'm being biased, since I grew up on Jacky Chan movies as spoken in the original Cantonese :) It was also too bad that the Hyena style wasn't shown too, but that would have been too cheesy.
15:39 by FoxTwo I know I'm late, but hey, better late than never eh?
In all honesty, I watched this movie three times. Seriously, who can get enough of Jacky Chan and Jet Li? But first, a warning. This blog entry WILL contain spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie, feel free to skip the rest of the entry.
Before we delve into my ramblings on this movie, here's a couple of links by other bloggers who have seen it before me. Well at least, did a writeup of this before I did anyway.
- Xinyun's thoughts
- Darth Grevious' thoughts (well it's mixed in with other movie reviews)
Well the movie opened pretty spectacularly with a shot of the Monkey God (孙悟空) putting the smack down on the Jade Army high atop a mountain somewhere. The move calls him the "Monkey King", which technically isn't wrong, since he *IS* the king of monkeys in the Chinese folklore.
The story is nothing short of fantastic - a modern-day American boy, by some sheer twist of fate, is transported back into Ancient China (中国, or literally translated, "Middle Kingdom") after he came into contact with a magic staff (more accurately, a bo) amidst a botched robbery attempt in a pawnshop in Chinatown. This is the staff of the Monkey God.
In Ancient China, he is very quickly mixed up in a village being attacked by the Jade Army, and as he flees them, he runs into Jacky Chan. The thing that really caught my attention was that the very first fight scene had Jacky Chan using the Drunken Fist (醉拳) to fight off the Jade soldiers. That is almost like an in-joke, since Jacky Chan's first movie was indeed, "Drunken Fist". So Jacky Chan saves the boy and tells him the story of how the Jade Warlord had tricked the Monkey God and imprisoned him in stone, and the staff was the only way to free him.
Then later on in the tavern, they hooked up with a girl called Golden Sparrow. Now this is my first gripe. In English they called her Gold Sparrow. In Chinese, her name is Golden Swallow (金燕子). This is confirmed by the spoken Mandarin dialogue later on when the White Haired Witch (白发摩女) was questioning the innkeeper about a "boy and a vagabond". When she was presented with the dart that Golden Sparrow killed the guards with, she muttered (in Mandarin) "Little Swallow.. let's just see how far you can fly.." before the camera cut away. So, she SHOULD have been "Golden Swallow"! But I guess having a name like "swallow" might be misconstrued :)
The fight scene in the abandoned temple was the best scene in the whole movie, in my opinion. Again during this fight scene, I was tickled to see another "in-joke". The fight started off with Drunken Fist again. Then, Jet Li displayed the Praying Mantis (which I believe was in his first movie). After that, Jacky Chan switched to the Tiger Fist, and that was Jacky Chan's second movie. As the fight progressed, the Snake and Crane forms appeared, in actual chronological order to their respective movies!
The American actor, Michael Angarano, seemed a little stiff when doing the fights. I am guessing that he has no training in the martial arts at all, and it was only the constant rehearsals of the fight scenes that saved him.
The scenes where Jacky Chan taught him kung fu were hilarious. Again, it reminds me of his old movies where he was the one at the receiving end of the torture. The Horse Stance was especially nostalgic. Too bad the joss sticks were missing (from under his butt) because in his first movie, Jacky Chan was forced to remain in Horse Stance for 4 hours until the joss sticks ran out. His master also placed cups full of water on both his arms and on his head as punishment.
Unfortunately, the narrative to show the passage of time where they taught him martial arts seemed rushed. In their old movies, you could see Jacky Chan and Jet Li performing heaps of sit ups, push ups and so on while the narrator droned on and on about the philosophy of kung fu.
Special effects wise, it's a pleasant mix of computer CGI and wire-work. I am sure with modern day CGI, they can easily make Jet Li fly among the mountain tops as the Monkey King.
The whole movie had an epic feel to it, and after watching it 3 times, it still doesn't get stale. It was really too bad that Jason didn't get to kiss Golden Sparrow right before she died though. Would have loved to see just how many people would hiss and boo at that scene :)
In my opinion, this is by far the best "period drama" that has come out of Hollywood. Of course I'm being biased, since I grew up on Jacky Chan movies as spoken in the original Cantonese :) It was also too bad that the Hyena style wasn't shown too, but that would have been too cheesy.
Labels: movies
Thursday, September 20, 2007
10:20 by FoxTwo
HAH! Finally.
They shoulda done that in the first place. Then, Odex would have avoided all the online hate-campaign. Their reputation would still be largely intact (including the famed/infamous low-quality VCD releases).
And, if the initial warnings are ignored, and then Odex decides to send those demand letters (aka "Odex Letters"), I bet nobody would even raise a ruckus.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. At least they learnt. A little too late, but they learnt.
Now, all they gotta do is buck up on their QC.
Oh by the way... I'm not even an anime fan, much less an "Otaku". I don't even watch cartoons. I'm only following the Odex Saga simply because it touches on some "modern crimes" that the Singapore Law is desperately trying to catch up on. These new laws on cybercrimes are largely untested in court, and thus far, merely academic.
However I do sympathise with those who got the Odex Letter in the first and second salvo back in May and August though...
Just to clarify - downloading files via Bittorrent is NOT ILLEGAL. However, downloading files that are clearly copyrighted (ie you do not own the rights) is definitely illegal. Use your common sense. If you see "Ocean's 11" for download on Bittorrent, what are the chances that it's copyrighted and hence, illegal to download? If you go ahead and continue to download it, then you deserve to get sued.
However, files that are clearly marked as Open/Free etc are legal to be downloaded via Bittorrent. For example, Linux distributions, Openoffice, and even MMORPG games such as Anarchy Online are legal. They have elected to use Bittorrent as one of their distribution channels. For sure, game demos are definitely LEGAL. After all, the developers of these games would like you to get the demo and hope you like it enough to splash some money on the full product, no?
10:20 by FoxTwo
Odex to get ISPs to issue online warnings
HAH! Finally.
They shoulda done that in the first place. Then, Odex would have avoided all the online hate-campaign. Their reputation would still be largely intact (including the famed/infamous low-quality VCD releases).
And, if the initial warnings are ignored, and then Odex decides to send those demand letters (aka "Odex Letters"), I bet nobody would even raise a ruckus.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. At least they learnt. A little too late, but they learnt.
Now, all they gotta do is buck up on their QC.
Oh by the way... I'm not even an anime fan, much less an "Otaku". I don't even watch cartoons. I'm only following the Odex Saga simply because it touches on some "modern crimes" that the Singapore Law is desperately trying to catch up on. These new laws on cybercrimes are largely untested in court, and thus far, merely academic.
However I do sympathise with those who got the Odex Letter in the first and second salvo back in May and August though...
Just to clarify - downloading files via Bittorrent is NOT ILLEGAL. However, downloading files that are clearly copyrighted (ie you do not own the rights) is definitely illegal. Use your common sense. If you see "Ocean's 11" for download on Bittorrent, what are the chances that it's copyrighted and hence, illegal to download? If you go ahead and continue to download it, then you deserve to get sued.
However, files that are clearly marked as Open/Free etc are legal to be downloaded via Bittorrent. For example, Linux distributions, Openoffice, and even MMORPG games such as Anarchy Online are legal. They have elected to use Bittorrent as one of their distribution channels. For sure, game demos are definitely LEGAL. After all, the developers of these games would like you to get the demo and hope you like it enough to splash some money on the full product, no?
Tags:
Labels: anime, bittorrent, movies, Odex
