Dragon (2011) Movie Review

Director: Peter Chan

Writers: Joyce Chan, Oi Wah Lam

Starring: Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Wei Tang

There are two things I love in this world: Martial arts films and Sherlock Holmes (or crime thrillers in general but Holmes is consistently excellent). Wouldn’t you know it, someone decided to mash the two violently together into a cinematic pulp. Unfortunately, the result of this merging process caused the product, the film ‘Dragon’, to be quite messy. If nothing else, the idea to mix the two genres was an excellent one and whoever thought that up should be commended. So whoever you are, I commend you.

Crazy hands man, Donnie Yen, plays Liu Jinxi, a simple papermaker who, when trying to fight a duo of robbers, he accidentally kills one of the most wanted men in China. However, not all is quite what it seems when hat-wearing detective, Xu Bai-jiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro), becomes suspicious of Jinxi’s outward innocence. Perhaps, Bai-Jiu was right to be suspicious.

Undoubtedly, the best part of this film is the first act. As the film establishes Bai-Jiu, some really incredible visuals are utilised, reminiscent of Sherlock (both the BBC version and Guy Ritchie’s films). A part of the character that makes him so interesting is his motivation. Having been taken advantage of in the past, Bai-Jiu now uses needles to chemically inhibit his empathy; he sees empathy as something that only gets in the way of the course of justice.  The scenes that show his deduction process are by far the best in the film as he uses his seemingly endless knowledge of both history and biology.

In terms of the action scenes, this film is par for the course. There are some crazy moments but the fighting itself is nothing that isn’t expected. Considering this film is a relatively unknown one in the martial arts film scene (you would have to go a long way to find someone who knows about this film).

Mediocre action is somewhat forgivable in this film because, in this film, the fighting serves as context for the sleuthing adventure rather than being the focal point of the film, which is the norm for martial arts films. This is mainly just to say that if you are looking at this film expecting a conga line of spectacular fight scenes like in Ip Man or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; that is certainly not what you are going to get.

The main issue that I have with this film is pretty much the only thing that stops it from being a hugely fun martial arts film. That issue is that the second and third acts of the film squander all the originality built up in the first. It’s not that the rest of the film is particularly awful but in comparison to the beginning, it felt massively generic. Something about a gang and we need to kill this guy. That is a comprehensive synopsis of the last two thirds of this film. The worst part of all: I was waiting the whole time for some cool detective skills from Bai-Jiu; they never came.

One more thing! Why the hell is it called ‘Dragon’? Whoa… I got a bit angry there. Seriously though, there is not a single dragon in the entire film. I personally think that it should have been called… ‘Crazy Cool Kung-Fu Sherlock Adventure’. You can have that one for free Peter Chan.

But on the whole, worth watching.

Dragon receives a: 6/10

Super 8 (2011) Movie Review

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writer: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Ellie Fanning

If you were ever wondering exactly what was in the ark of the covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark… it was JJ Abrams’ filmography. The lens flares are blinding and they don’t stop.  Abrams’ biggest directorial work before Super 8 was Star Trek. Before that he had never strayed away from television. What I mean to say is that it is surprising quite how much I enjoyed a film from a director who has rarely been able to use that title. I did really enjoy it though.

An American town just like any other is normal… too normal. We follow a group of cherubic little filmmakers who want to make a monster movie. Let’s just say, the fecal matter well and truly hits the proverbial fan.

The children in this movie are probably the best ensemble of younger performances that has arisen in recent years. This is mainly down to how they act in uncomfortable situations. Many films such as the recent ‘Earth to Echo’ stray away from teenagers tiptoeing into the realm of profanity. It’s testament to the quality of the writing of the characters. They all seem realistic enough to be believed and liked at the same time. I understand that it could be difficult for someone who isn’t a teenager to write good teenage characters while staying inside the bounds of the age rating. No character stood out as particularly poorly written and was one of the most notably excellent parts of the movie.

I don’t want to say that there is anything exceptionally wrong with the film but a lot of the third act is unexceptionally designed. The locations are extremely reminiscent of other films that are far darker than this. The issue with the locations being so familiar to everyone ever is that there is nothing interesting in the background. Any of the shots in these areas just got lost in the crevices of my mind until about 20 seconds ago. If you don’t plan on watching this film repetitively, then this likely won’t effect you too much.

Super 8 is the standout example of children in movies. They act like real teenagers and are respectively likeable. Some of the sequences in the final act are somewhat underwhelming and familiar but I rather enjoyed the film as a whole.

Super 8 receives a: 7/10

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The Raid (2011) Movie Review

Director: Gareth Edwards

Writer: Gareth Edwards

Starring: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Yayan Ruhian

This is exactly what I have been looking for in an action movie. I don’t need you to tell me that you’ve got a particular set of skills; you don’t even have to speak English. People have often called ‘The Raid’, “balls to the wall”. They’re not only right but I’m pretty sure that these actors would just know the wall down. It is one of the most impressive and tense movies in recent memory.

A raid is set up upon a heavily fortified apartment building and the physically skilled Jakarta police force attempt to take the building floor by floor but all hell may or may not break loose.

I take pride in the amount of martial arts movies that I have watched. I haven’t perused Jackie Chan’s entire filmography but I consider myself rather well versed in the genre. Of all that I have seen, ‘The Raid’ has easily the best fighting. Iko Uwais deserves to be the next Bruce Lee or Donnie Yen. The actor’s superhuman abilities coupled with the fantastic cinematography makes for the most jaw-dropping and incredible fight sequences I have ever seen. For fight cinematography to be outstanding it only takes a lack of mistakes. All you need is to wait. If I see cuts between each hit, it looks false. Much like a oner, stringing together multiple moves is far more impressive than a single move. This film lets you see everything (although some might not think that is a good thing if they are adverse to gore).

Even outside of the hand-to-hand combat, the direction is great. The pace slows to a palpable rate and these unforgettable shots burn into your memory. There is a moment when the lights go out in the building and neither side can see the other. A shotgun flashes and you see the shadows of the assailants pulse up the wall so you know what is going on before the protagonists can even register it. These moments are provided abundantly making the struggle seem even more uphill.

The problem most people have with the movie is that it supposedly has no plot. Firstly, it really doesn’t matter because the film is so mesmerizingly impressive but also there is more nuance than first appears. There are some characters who are more than meets the eye.

The one issue I have with the film is that the first act I expect could drag on when re-watching it. You know that there is going to be incredible martial arts skills but instead you start bogged down by the police officers firing guns at each other. I even found this on my first watch. Guns in cinema are boring because it is so easy to find yourself in a drought of interesting situations. The most interesting gunmen are the snipers in stories like Saving Private Ryan and Phone Booth but in this, you are blinded by muzzle flashes for ten percent of the first act.

Don’t misunderstand this. This criticism only exists to show that the film isn’t perfect. By the end there isn’t a chance that you are dwelling upon the tiny parts of the movie that aren’t fantastic. If you want to get into martial arts movies or even foreign films in general, there is no better place to start than ‘The Raid’.

The Raid receives a: 9/10

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Johnny English Reborn (2011) Movie Review

Director: Oliver Parker

Writers: Hamish McColl, William Davies

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Daniel Kaluuya, Dominic West

I would love to say for you to calm down because this movie is ‘only a bit of poo’ as it would be a cool reference to the first movie. Unfortunately, this movie is actually a rather large amount of poo.

That being said, it is not a 100% pure poo. There are some utterly hilarious moments like the vole in MI7 and the Rolls Royce Phantom being truly the Rolls Royce of automobiles. Generally, while not being at his best, Rowan Atkinson is till the highlight of the movie. His lines are funny and he’s got a pretty flippin’ excellent physical performance shown in the parkour sequence.

The main problems arise in the fact that English is far too competent. The first movie was an exercise in dramatic irony. You knew he had parachuted on to the wrong building but he didn’t making what he did in there all the more funny. Even though the parkour scene is really funny, It just amazes me that this character is able to execute success in any degree. In the first movie, he starts as the highest ranked agent in MI7 (by default) but constantly fails getting him kicked off the case. He just does everything wrong and the only thing he does do right is falling onto the throne. In Reborn he seems to never technically do anything wrong. He’s trying to hide from someone in an apartment, he does it successfully. He tries to fight someone, he does it successfully. He even tries to outrun the police using a wheelchair… successfully. More than this, apart from a few jokes, this supposed comedy movie really isn’t that funny at all. The third act is almost all cringe worthily awful as well. In theory this movie isn’t too excruciating but there are some scenes (particularly the first one) that are boring and unfunny, Speaking of excruciating scenes, some are just left half baked. Theirs is a scene

of mistaken identity which thankfully shows English’s incompetence but just as it’s getting good, we are sent away to another exotic location by Deus Ex ‘Not Bough’.

This movie throws all sort of subtlety and irony out of the window and opts for half finished, unfunny scenes. There are a couple good lines and Rowan Atkinson moment but not nearly enough to redeem this sizeable piece of poo.

Recommendation Status: Please don’t watch it.

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Movie Review

Director: Joe Johnston
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving

Captain America was one of the first Marvel characters to even be invented and this movie’s success seems to have warranted the production of a sequel so surely it must be good!

I did certainly enjoy this movie. As a superhero movie, it is pretty mediocre. This is not to say that the movie isn’t enjoyable to watch, it definitely is. While the origin of Captain America is pretty cliché, the story is told well. I don’t even feel like any of the characters were particularly poorly written or acted.

Adding to this, the movie features many small little Easter Eggs that most Marvel fans will recognise. Firstly, the premiere issue of Captain America’s comic is given a short clip in the movie. The cover of the comic shows Cap punching Hitler in the face. A fan-favourite character in the movie is Arnim Zola, a character who may or may not be in the second Captain America movie. He isn’t in his classic comic book form in the movie, which is slightly disappointing because I think that it would have looked hilarious.

The real problem with the movie is how unoriginal it is. This problem lies mainly in the origin itself. It’s yet another superhero origin that involves someone being injected with a super-serum. Sorry Captain America, I think Wolverine, the Lizard and Bane beat you to it! More than this the interactions between the characters were pretty poor. There is a moment in the movie when Steve kisses a girl other than the one who is in love with him. This looks like it would cause an emotional issue but is never mentioned again. I fail to see the point in that entire scene.

Captain America: The First Avenger is worth a watch if you want to stay up to date with the Avengers canon. It is certainly not the best movie made by Marvel it is surely beaten by Iron-Man and the Avengers. As a closing statement, the movie is worth a watch.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2012) Movie Review

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto

Planet of the Apes is often heralded as having one of the coolest plot twists since the invention of the plot twists. This first movie was good enough to keep the series going for eight movies (soon to be nine) and even a few TV series. Is Rise of the Planet of the Apes good enough to reintroduce the franchise to a newer generation?

The movie tells the story of Caesar, an ape that was born in a lab that test experimental drugs on primates. Andy Serkis provides the electrical signatures used to create Caesar and it looks fantastic. The movie boasts some of the most impressive CGI characters ever. The incredible CGI allows the movie to create characters that are original as well as recognisable.

The best scene in the movie is when Caesar has been locked in an abusive ‘rescue’ centre for primates. When Caesar grabs Draco Malfoy and yells ‘NO!’, everything goes silent and the gorilla almost sheds a tear. It is an unspoken rule that if you are able to bring a gorilla to tears, you are a pretty cool character. The tension in the scene is incredible and it sparks the third act, which is one of the strongest that I have seen in a long time.

The third act builds up really well. Once Caesar escapes the centre you know that something big is going to go down. The scene on the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing. Watching all the ultra-smart apes walk along the suspensions of the bridge is visually astounding.

This being said, the movie isn’t completely good news. Most the humans in the movie are the most basic and generic people who have ever been fictionally created. I truly believe that if you told a computer to simply create a person, this is what would come out. James Franco is just a man who is a scientist. Freida Pinto’s character may as well just be called woman because let’s be honest that is all she amounts to. One rather interesting character is that of David Oyelowo’s character. He is rather hard to read and is only in it for the money.

I heavily enjoyed the movie. The visual effects were an absolute delight to watch and the tension and pacing was utterly sublime. The apes are great as the movie carved out unique characters for each of them even tough only one of them had dialogue. Unfortunately, the humans are some of the most default people ever. Nevertheless, it was a fun movie and I certainly recommend it.