Robin Hood Blu Ray Review

The combination of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe has produced some great movies in the past. They seem to like to work with each other as shown by the sheer number of movies they have done together. And, for most part, they have made good solid movies. So, I was fairly excited when Scott and Crowe teamed up once again to make Robin Hood. There have been countless Robin Hood movies and it seemed like there was little Scott could do to add to the already abundant Robin Hood story. After watching the film, I was fairly impressed with the direction of the story.

Instead of the standard Robin Hood story where he is an outlaw from the start, we start off at an earlier point where Robin Longstride is a part of the English army returning from the crusade. During the return, the king is killed in a siege. Few of the knights are instructed to return the news of the death. However, during the return, they are ambushed and killed. Robin Longstride and few of his friends fled the battle once the king was killed. On the way back to England, they happen to come across the dead knights. There, he promises Robert Loxley that he will return the Loxley family sword to his family. Once they return to England, he decides to stay with Loxley family and assume the family name Loxley in order to help out the family.

This movie really has nothing in common with previous Robin Hood movies. This could have been any generic medieval sword and adventure type of movie. This isn’t said to disparage the movie. On the contrary, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe deliver a great movie. But, for people expecting the typical story line of Robin Hood might be disappointed. What we do get is a prelude or part 1 or the overall movie. The movie screams for a sequel that details the typical outlaw life Robin Hood leads. The end feels like a set up for the next movie. The disappointing box office result may prevent a true sequel to this great movie.

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Prince of Persia Blu Ray Review

It is not easy to make a great transition from video games to the big screen. Only handful has made a successful jump from game to movie. The movie industry is littered with awful video game adaptations. We only need to look at Mario Brothers or Street Fighter franchise to see the massive failure attempts. It’s not surprising the movie studios were bit hesitant to make a video game movie. However, with the video game sales surpassing the box office sales, it is inevitable that there will be more video game movies. It’s no surprise Disney jumped into video game movie with producer Jerry Bruckheimer behind the Prince of Persia. While there are bigger franchise in the video game sphere, Prince of Persia might be the most suitable franchise for the Disney Company.

Dastan is a street rat who gets adapted by the King of Persia after some altercation. He grows up as a Prince surrounded by royalty. Dastan distinguishes himself as a warrior prince in various battles. Persian Army learns of Alamut’s involvement in supplying weapons to Persian enemy. Persian army invades the city on this information. Dastan distinguishes himself again as a great warrior. After the battle, the King of Persia dies under suspicious circumstance. The blame is placed on Dastan as the killer. In order to prove his innocence, he runs away with the help of Alamut’s princess. While investigating the matter, he learns of the special dagger that could change the history of Persia.

With Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, you get everything you expect from Bruckheimer production. While it is rated PG-13, adults should be able to enjoy this film unlike some other Disney films. At first, I was skeptical of Jake Gyllenhaal carrying a big budget action film. But, he does great job as the lead. Gemma Arterton as the princess Tamina is what you would expect from the role. The other surrounding cast such as Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina are top notch actors who compliment the main characters very well. This is a very enjoyable summer pop corn flick you should not miss.

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Kick-Ass Blu Ray Review

Kick-Ass, a comic book adaptation, has received some great reviews and buzz. A lot have compared it to Superbad or any other nerdy-sex comedies to come out of Hollywood in droves. While I’m not denigrating Superbad or other similar films, Kick-Ass is really different film. While it does retain the nerd factor from Superbad, it is mainly an over the top live comic book movie. There are some crazy over the top violence in Kick-Ass. While there have been more violent films, non has come from a small girl with a very violent streak.

The story revolves around Dave Lizewski, a nerdy high school kid with a big crush on the school’s popular girl. As expected, Dave is a big nerd who is into comic books and video games. Tired of being pushed around, Dave decides to become a “superhero” even without any super powers. On one of his outing, he stands up to three thugs who are beating on one guy. Even though he doesn’t really take care of the thugs, he does just enough to chase them away. This entire encounter is caught on tape and Dave becomes an internet sensation. Through some misunderstanding, he becomes entangled in a crime that involves real superhero duo Hit Girl and Big Daddy. Together, they have to deal with dangerous drug dealer.

This is different type of superhero movie. It is not Marvel or DC comic book adaptation. You will not see any Spiderman type of story. While you do see some elements from Batman, you will not associate this movie with any other superhero movies. While movie does center around Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass, it is Hit Girl that takes the center stage. The diminutive Chloe Moretz delivers a winning performance as the foul mouthed assassin. You will be hard pressed to find better young actress to deliver this type of performance. Overall, Kick-Ass is an enjoyable movie.

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The Good, The Bad, The Weird Blu Ray Review

The Good, the bad, the weird is the Korean take on the Sergio Leone’s classic Spaghetti Western, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. This has to be truly one of few Korean movies to deal with Western subject. Instead of the Wild West, the setting is the 1930s Manchuria. Until recently, Korean films were mostly dramas and melodramas. Only in last 10-15 years has Korean cinema produced broader genre including action and adventure films. The Good, the Bad, the Weird is the latest attempt at something different that might appeal to international market.

The story revolves around three characters trying in pursuit of a treasure map. The story opens up with a hitman, the Bad, trying to steal a map from a Japanese official traveling by train. During the robbery, a thief, the Weird, steals the map from the Bad. The Weird escapes with the map. Meanwhile, a bounty hunter comes upon the scene and decides to pursue the Bad for the bounty. All three are tangled up in a classic chase as they all hunt for the treasure and each other.

The movie is clearly influenced by many classic western movies. Even so, the movie has distinct Korean elements. There are some humorous dialogues that might only appeal to native Korean speakers. Even so, the overall plot and subject matter should appeal to broader international audiences. There are some breathtaking cinematic and photography in Manchurian desert. The opening train sequence as well as all the action sequences are top notch. Any fan of western and Spaghetti western should appreciate this fine film.

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Date Night Blu Ray Review

The combination of Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a comedy movie is a dream come true for the fans. They both star in two of the funniest comedy shows on television. Whoever came up with the idea to put them together in a movie should be given a medal. Having said that, Date Night was little disappointing even with the two great leads. Even with the comedic chops between the two leads, the film feels like a formulaic and derivative. Perhaps I expected too much and had too high of expectation from two of my favorite comedians.

The plot is nothing new in a movie. You take two ordinary people and put them in an extraordinary situation. Only this movie does it with funny situations. Phil and Claire Foster, played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey, are married couple who go on their weekly date night. They are a very busy couple who insists on having a date night every week to get away from their family and work for a day. On one particular date night, they decide to go to a fancy/hip restaurant on a spur of the moment. They soon realize they cannot get a table without a reservation. To get around this little problem, they pretend to be another couple when one reservation call is unheeded. They soon find themselves in a trouble when they are mistaken for the other couple. Two men approach them and insist on following them out. Phil and Claire think it’s about taking the reservation. But, they soon face bullets and murderers on wild night out.

Even with very vanilla material, Steve Carell and Tina Fey carry the movie from start to finish. The played out plot doesn’t seem so bad when the two leads are so funny. Maybe that’s enough to carry this movie. And, that was the goal when the movie maker got Steve Carell and Tina Fey. I don’t think you can have really unfunny movie with two of them. While the movie was funny, it easily should have been better with the two great leads. Overall, it’s very pleasant way to spend 90 minutes.

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Clash of the Titans Blu Ray Review

The remake of the 1981 classic Clash of the Titans retains the overall similar plot and adds the latest visual effects. While the original wasn’t a big success, the story and mythology was ripe for a modern update. The lead actor, Sam Worthington, seems to be in every other movie these days. The success of Avatar has propelled him leading man in Hollywood. Even before the release, the early screenings returned poor reviews from the viewers. The critics universally derided the movie as being shallow and light. My expectations were fairly low after the first round of reviews. The movie wasn’t total bust but it was a letdown.

The overall story is in line with the original 1981 version. The war between human and gods is about to erupt in the Greek city of Argos. Humans, following the lead of the King, rebel against the Gods and look to overthrow them as the supreme ruler of the world. The three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all decide that humans must be dealt with in harsh terms. Tangled up in this war is son of Poseidon, Perseus, who has been raised by fisherman and his family. Hades plans to overthrow Zeus during the war. Perseus must track down Hades and find a way to defeat him and expose his plot to Zeus and Poseiden.

The action is the main attraction of this film. There are many action sequences including the fun battle between Perseus and Madusa. The fight sequences are fairly straight forward and heavy on CG usage. The character development is extremely thin and poorly done. The overall story is driven from action sequence to action sequence without any character development. With talented cast and very action oriented story, the movie should have been better. Instead we are left with a mediocre movie with some decent action scenes.

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Cop Out Blu Ray Review

While I’m not a huge fan of Kevin Smith, I did enjoy some of his earlier movies like Clerks and Chasing Amy. His more recent movies like Jersey Girl and Zack And Miri Make a Porno was not as good as the earlier movies. The Cop Out is somewhat different movie from Kevin Smith. The buddy cop genre is something different from the Chasing Amy director. Given that I’m a big fan of Bruce Willis, I gave it a shot. The movie turned out to be one long SNL skit involving Tracy Morgan. Bruce Willis has always done very good comedy within his action films. While it’s not gut busting funny, I always got good chuckle out of his comedic chops. However, Cop Out was just painful to watch.

The plot is paper thin and not all that original. It’s about long time partners Jimmy and Paul at NYPD. They have been long time partners and good friends. Facing an astronomical wedding bill for his daughter, Jimmy decides to sell a rare baseball card. However, during the transaction, the collector’s shop gets robbed by two bumbling thieves. Jimmy and Paul eventually track down the two thieves and learn that baseball card has been turned over to a drug dealer. One thing leads to another and both cops find themselves involved in bigger crime.

Half of the movie is filled with Tracy Morgan’s antics. The other half is a bland cop comedy. Both are painful to watch. I can understand Tracy Morgan doing this movie. But, I can’t understand why Bruce Willis would do this awful movie. I would have rather seen another mediocre Die Hard film. And, Tracy Morgan shows no range as actor. He plays the same SNL character he has played in his entire career. I’m not asking for Shakespearean stuff but at least do something different in the comedic field. The over the top comedy gets old by the middle of the movie. Overall, I can’t honestly recommend this film to anyone.

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The Bounty Hunter Blu Ray Review

After string of bad movies, Jennifer Aniston makes another stinker in The Bounty Hunter. In all fairness, she did have Gerard Butler’s help in making this movie. While both are undoubtedly great actors, they seem to go out of their way to make bad movies for some reason. Aniston has enjoyed great success on television sitcom as well as some movies. However, she has failed to star in a decent movie in for a while. I’m not sure who is forcing her to star in these terrible movies. For Gerard Butler, he should stick with action/drama movies. While P.S. I love You was barely watchable, The Ugly Truth and The Bounty Hunter were both terrible romantic comedies.

Like the movie name suggests, the movie is about a husband chasing down his ex wife. Milo is a former cop who works as a bounty hunter for his friend’s business. When his ex wife, a reporter, jumps bail to chase down a lead, he jumps at the chance to bring in his ex wife. Murder cover up serves as a rather boring back drop to the story. The murder cover up is only convenient ploy to showcase the interaction between the two leads. The simple case of hunting down his ex wife turns out to be little more complicated as the two go at each other over their failed marriage and the current situation.

The trailer looked funnier than the actual movie. The stupid murder cover up was not all that intriguing. The film maker banked too much on the star power of Aniston and Butler. Even they couldn’t save this ridiculous movie. There were some funny moments but not enough to carry this movie. Overall, I cannot recommend this movie to even the hardcore fans of Aniston and Butler. Avoid this movie.

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Green Zone Blu Ray Review

An action movie starring Matt Damon should have been a box office hit. Instead, Green Zone barely made any noise at the box office. This is despite mostly good reviews from the critics. On an estimated budget of $100 million, Green Zone only managed to bring in $35 million domestically and $58 million in foreign box office. In today’s market place, it is hard to actually lose money when both domestic and international box offices are added together. According to the rumor, the studio green lit this film even though it didn’t like the script just to lure Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass to do the 4th installment of Bourne film. After watching Green Zone, I can definitely see why it failed at the box office. The overall plot and tone of the movie is so anti-Bush and Republicans that the film effectively cut out half of the domestic audience. You can see why studios usually shy away from very political movie.

The plot involves the aftermath of the second Iraq war. Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller is tasked with finding the WMD left behind by the Iraqi army. When each intelligence fails to pan out, Miller is suspicious of the “evidence” provided. Miller gets suspicious and starts asking questions. CIA operative named Marty is also suspicious about the existence of WMD in the first place. Together, they piece together clues that point to massive lies and cover up that initiated the second Iraq war.

Without giving away the main plot, it is fairly obvious what the overall point of the movie is. That is to blame the previous administration for going to war Iraq. While the movie is very good speculation on what might have happened, it will polarize the audiences with the heavy political message. On a very objective level, the movie is quite good painting a picture of what could have happened that led to President Bush going to war with Iraq. Overall, if you were expecting a Bourne type of movie, you will be very disappointed. Instead, this is more of a political movie than an action movie.

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The Book of Eli Blu Ray Review

The Book of Eli doesn’t disappoint the targeted audience. The post apocalyptic western film is as advertised. The plot isn’t really original. It’s your standard post nuclear war movie where civilization has taken a giant step back into chaos and anarchy. Small pockets of communities exist with warlords controlling the population. Murder and rape is rampant and food and water shortages persist throughout the World. This is the setting where Eli is on a mission to deliver a book to the western part of the United States. It is the year 2043 he is nearing his goal of reaching California. However, there is mad warlord in a town that is searching for a specific book. It wouldn’t be a big spoiler to mention that the book is in fact the Bible. There is not very subtle hint about the war and the cause. It seems that Bible was burned along with other books in the aftermath of the war.

The movie’s strong point isn’t the philosophical ideals. Instead, it is the action that makes the movie enjoyable. There is a deeper meaning the directors are trying convey. But, it is very thin and overly employed in other movies. It feels like they tried to thrown in religious angle where it was not needed. This isn’t to say that it detracts from the film. In fact, it does have the uplifting feeling once the credits roll. All that aside, the action is very slick and well choreographed. If you are a fan of the post apocalypse genre, you will be right at home with this film.

Danzel Washington is perfect as Eli, the wandering warrior with mission. Gary Oldman once again plays the villain. It seems like Gary Oldman was made to be a villain in most movies. Perhaps it’s because he does it so well. You really can’t argue with Oldman playing a villain. The Mila Kunis character seems to be an afterthought. Her character isn’t really needed or serves any purpose except to have attractive female cast. Even so, she is a terrific actress and does her role without any problem. Overall, the film was enjoyable and well worth the purchase.

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