The Forbidden Kingdom

You don't have to be a fan of the Kung Fu, or more correctly "Gung Fu", genre to enjoy this movie. In fact, it will probably help if you are not. A healthy part of the plot pokes a little fun that direction. And if you pay close attention, there are elements of some other fairly popular movies tossed in for fun.

You may see scenes that remind you of LOTR or Indy Jones. You may see homage to The Wizard of Oz and the obvious Karate Kid.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li were wonderful together in this oddly funny buddy movie. I have to admit that I enjoyed it far more than I expected. I am not a Kung Fu fan, but I did enjoy this movie. Michael Angarano was very, very good as the American teen in the middle of this goofy fantasy story. If you don't think Jet Li capable of comedy, think again. He even surprised me with a wide open mouthed belly laugh. I wonder if he used a laugh double?

Watch this movie with someone whom you will enjoy talking too during the movie. It is hard to resist.

Shoot Em Up & War

Lest anyone think I gave up on my mission to bring comments on worthwhile DVD movies, I should provide some kind of update. Since my last post it is not that I've been on vacation, nor that there were holidays to celebrate. It is not that there are not good movies recently released or old ones to share with you.

It IS however, combination of holidays and vacations mixed with the fact that I've not seen anything worth talking about. That lack of good material is purely the fault of my bad choices on Netflix for sure.

"War", with Michael Stratham and Jet Li is a sad attempt to tell an otherwise interesting story about an FBI Agent's quest to revenge his partners assignation by Asian gangsters. I assume you can guess who plays whom? It is set in San Francisco which has made for fun chase scenes since the days of Steve McQueen, but the acting is atrocious. None of the Asian gangsters I know talk that way. I dislike Hollywood's' use of mechanical machismo to portray Asian thugs. "War" has an unexpected plot twist at the end, twice in fact, but that is not enough to make it worth the watch.

On the other hand, if you rent "Shoot Em Up" expecting to get a dazzling display of action adventure thrills, you'll probably be disappointed. But, if you approach "Shoot Em Up" as a satire on every such movie ever made, you are in for quite a ride. Every cliche, and a few I had not seen before, were there and spoofed. I'm not sure how Clive Owen keeps a straight face through the script, or how Paul Giamati keeps from tossing his cookies, but they both pull it off and make it fun to watch.