Kristin Kreuk delivers a solid Chun-Li and Robin Shou a great Gen. However, this is overshadowed by the nerve-grating acting of Chris Klein as Charlie Nash and the kind features of the supposedly evil dictator M.Bison (Neal McDonough).
The initial story of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is one of revenge. The cliched tale told in many a Kung-Fu movie of the child who has a loved one taken from him/her and their story to grow stronger in order to exact revenge and re-establish their honor. On the surface, this is what we get but there is an underlying tale within this movie that made it a bit more special. There is the tale of the poverty-stricken versus their well-off masters. The true story is about a little rich girl who is given a gift by a stranger. The gift of having an experience outside of one’s establishment and comfort zone. Little Chun-Li starts off as very much a princess but is made to live within the slums and become a hero to it’s people. Read more »
Short and Sweet version. Full version available here.
When I recieved the DVD of Driven to Kill I immediately started laughing. As you know Steven Seagal has many fans (myself included) but has been the brunt of fat jokes and unkind rumors for quite some time. It was the bad art on the cover that made me realize that it was DTV (direct to tv) and I was eager to watch it for some comedy relief.
Driven to Kill details the life of one Ruslan Drachev (Steven Seagal), who is an ex-Russian Mafioso turned writer. Take some time and think on that for a minute. Ruslan is invited to the wedding of his daughter and sets out on a revenge-run after she and her mother are shot during the wedding rehearsals. That is the long and short of the plot and it doesn’t get any more simpler than that. Seeing Seagal’s fat fingers struggling on his keyboard made me laugh so much I had tears in my eyes. The man could not look anymore uncomfortable as he did in the snug chair typing his so-called “novel”. As if this wasn’t enough, he adopts a laughably bad Russian accent which phases in and out depending on how long his dialogue is at the time. He mumbles his words (typical Seagal fashion) and the constant switching between English and non subtitled Russian drove me crazy. Read more »
Short and Sweet Version. For the full version go here.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is what you probably expect it to be; no surprises, no real let-downs and nothing amazing. If you watched the first movie, this one will feel like a beefed up version of it sans the serious tone.
Director Michael Bay continues to take liberties with the robots from the cartoon by changing their compositions to fit his modern setting (the president in the movie is Obama). While there are a host of familiar names and new models to see in this movie, I felt slighted at the lack of Bumble Bee who is easily one of the best characters in the movie. Everything happens too quickly and even with 2+ hours, nothing actually develops in order for us to get acclimated with the machines. Read more »
It’s here! The first teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender (based off the Nickelodeon TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender) was released yesterday.
It looks sweet from what this little teaser shows us. More than what I expected to be honest, but I forget that M. Night Shyamalan is a good visual director, so I should expect nothing less.
Check it out.
I imagined Aang (the main character who is shown here in the trailer) being a little bit more teen-ish looking. He is 12 in the series, so I guess his size is appropriate for the movie. No real complaints here.
This teaser will be attached to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which opens June 24th (in the U.S).
It is a common reaction by Gamers and movie-goers alike to groan and sigh when the anouncement of a video game movie is made. How can you expect otherwise when we have experienced the failures of Street Fighter, Double Dragon and Doom? There aren’t many movies that have been acceptable to Gamers outside of the rendered CGI ones like Final Fantasy: Advent Children and a few other animes like the Street Fighter V series. So does it only work in CGI or anime? Well the first Mortal Kombat is one that broke past the norm, arguably (some people nerd rage over it being a good or bad movie) it worked for Gamers and spawned an awful sequel.
So why did Silent Hill, Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider work? The answer is FAMILIARITY. When Gamers go to the theater to see a movie based off of something they have played, they want to see how their looks and moves are reworked for live action. When I heard that a Chun-Li movie was being made, I grew concerned when the trailers neglected to show a lightning kick, a bird kick or a kikoken fireball. What I saw was a cute but skinny female doing rope stunts and striking poses. This is why you fail writers, had that movie substituted the bad casting and corniness for some familiarity and a special move or two from the game, gamers would see it 2-3 times over.
I recall being concerned when Tomb Raider was first announced. The actress chosen for Lara was Angelina Jolie and at the time I was picturing her the way she looked in Gia and Girl Interrupted, it made me go “wtf” and I began to have doubts. When I walked into the theater and saw the brand new ripped Angelina, a smile crossed my face and I immediately saw her as Lara Croft. The movie showed the Angie Lara doing stunts, spelunking and shooting dual pistols the way she did in the game. When the movie finished, I walked out of the theater, did a U-Turn and watched it again. I was happy due to guess what? Familiarity. Read more »
Short and Sweet version. Full version available here.
Beautiful women, fart jokes and biblical references are the ingredients in this gumbo of a comedy. The timing and feel of it all reminded me of Mel Brooks (though my stating this may be considered blasphemy by some) and I couldn’t imagine that the pairing of Jack Black and Micheal Cera would work so well.
All in all a very funny movie - there are scenes from the Bible, like Cain killing his brother Abel and the topic throughout was the legend of Sodom and Gomorrah, with a heavy emphasis on Sodom or should I say sodomy. No actual sodomy mind you but a whole lot of ass chasing for it once the boys hit the city of ill-reputed fame. Oliver Platt as the “High Priest” was probably the funniest character to me. The trade-offs between he and Michael Cera were beyond hilarious as he demanded naughty favors from the innocent Oh whilst making remarks that were truly cringe-worthy. It seemed as if everyone had a good time making this film and it was a good time watching it. Read more »
Short and Sweet version. Full version available here.
A real thriller, it has been a long time that I could say a movie had me on the edge of my seat. The Taking of Pelham 123 did just that and much more. It re-affirmed my belief in the acting abilities of Denzel Washington and John Travolta. I was truly impressed with the humanity that they brought to their characters and the chemistry between the two.
Synopsis (Skip this paragraph if you hate spoilers) Ryder (John Travolta) is a hardened criminal who has teamed up with some friends to hi-jack a train. His plans are to hold the people onboard hostage and demand a large sum of money from the city. To do this, he singles out a cab, detaches it from the rest and makes a phone call to the controllers in order to place his demands. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is the man who receives the call. Read more »
This is so odd. I am not even a fan of Lady GaGa (especially this song), but this fan made video is actually pretty well done and it had to be shared. Not everyone is going to dig this video but I am sure there are some people out there who will appreciate it.
Square Enix is coming back to destroy more high school / college student grades and social lives with their latest MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. Final Fantasy XIII isn’t even out yet and Square Enix is already plotting to destroy our wallets with the next entry in their “Final” Fantasy series. But you have to hand it to em, they sure know how to make a trailer.
Check it out below, and prepare to drop your social life in the name of peace for Haiderin.
E3 held some impressive gaming annoumcents this year, and in my opinion was a much better show than previous years. One of the highlights of the show for me was a trailer for Team Ico’s The Last Guardian. While the trailer showed a lot of gameplay, it did not reveal nearly anything about the plot, but it is still amazing to watch. Team Ico certainly knows how to make visually stunning games.
Kristin Kreuk delivers a solid Chun-Li and Robin Shou a great Gen. However, this is overshadowed by the nerve-grating acting of Chris Klein as Charlie Nash and the kind features of the supposedly evil dictator M.Bison (Neal McDonough).
Short and Sweet version. Full version available 
It is a common reaction by Gamers and movie-goers alike to groan and sigh when the anouncement of a video game movie is made. How can you expect otherwise when we have experienced the failures of 
