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rijotan
Reviews
The Karate Kid (2010)
Not superb, but still way better than the original
I don't really know why people keep dissing this movie. It's way better than the original in ALL factors. The only reason why the original might be seen as better is because at the time it was made, the original was something new and had a better AWE factor whereas in this one, we already pretty much know what to expect.
But putting aside the awe factor, this new movie has better everything. The acting is way better. Although Miyagi feels more sage than Han, Han is definitely more believable, and you are much more drawn to his character. Of course Jackie chan being a martial artist and all, he is more believable as a master here rather than miyagi.
And although I'm not a big fan of Dre's spunky attitude in this film, I much prefer it to Macchio's wooden and awkward movements in the original. The relationship between Dre and Han really pulls you in as well. The love/friendship relationship in this movie is more sweet and innocent and a lot less forced as well.
The action is also way better, which is expected since this is modern day. But what I liked is that this movie showed a lot more of the training of Dre which showed him really working hard in a much longer span of time - progressing and progressing, such that when he finally fights, he is actually believably good. On a side note: Jaden Smith should continue on his kung fu, he might just become the next huge martial arts actor, judging from the skills he displayed in this film.
Of course, cinematically it's beautiful, showcasing breathtaking china.
About the only thing I don't like about this movie which I missed in the original is the age of the kids. They play 12 yr old kids. And although the "bullying" atmosphere here is much more believable than the old one, I'm having trouble trying to grasp 12 yr old kids as being this brutal or this powerful. I mean cmon, 5-6 12 yr olds think they can take on Jackie Chan? Even I can can cream 6 12 yr old kids without much problem, regardless if they're martial artists. I would have preferred 16 yr old senior high school students, since their skill level would have been much more believable at that age range.
So why did I give this movie a 7? Because it wasn't a perfect movie. It's much better than the original (I give the original an honest 4), but it still has a couple loose ends and a few things which could have been done better. But still, one of the better movies of this year.
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
Good action, distant acting
As a huge fan of comic books and cartoons in general, I sometimes can't help but compare DC cartoon movies to those of Marvel.
1 thing that DC has over Marvel, is that DC generally make better fight scenes. They take a more climactic approach to having a huge, long drawn out showdown... and this is never more emphasized as in this movie. The last fight scene between supergirl/superman/darkseid is one of the longest, best fight scenes I've seen in cartoon movies.
This movie also had great coloring and shadowing, reminds me of the old spawn cartoon series. And I applaud this movie for taking time to tell a story rather than just jumping into action.
One thing I'm not that satisfied though is the voice casting. I mean, the voice acting was good, but the characters tend to all sound alike. Sometimes I couldn't differentiate between Superman, Batman, and darkseid's voice. The women also tend to sound alike. And the way the voices go, it sounds too self conscious. As if the actors were really trying to make their characters sound more heroic. This tends to make me feel un-connected with the characters... like I was just reading the comics.
I also wish that DC would start giving more movies to their other characters, and not just keep rehashing their big duo. I mean, how many cartoon movies do we already have of Superman and batman? Oh well, still a pretty nice story. I enjoyed it more than Red hood and public enemies.
Ultimate Avengers II (2006)
Better and worse than the first
I just finished watching the movie (for the 2nd time in a row), and I'm planning on viewing it again. Probably one of my favorite movies of all time.
Now a lot of people are comparing it with the first movie, so here are my thoughts on the comparison:
1. Action - there was a lot more action in this movie, and the action was more brutal (panther tearing up that super alien was sweet). But the quality of the action scenes in the first movie were better. In this movie, we get to see a lot of little skirmishes which showcase the abilities of each character, but there was no major battle scene like the hulk rumble we had in the first movie. The battle between panther and capt. America vs kleus (i know its spelled wrong) could have been a lot better if there weren't so many cuts. You had the impression you were viewing a comic strip (but it was still sweet coz it was so brutal). Thor wasn't given enough action in this film... although they did showcase a lot more of his other talents (like teleportation). and thor did save the most number of lives (saved the whole avengers team, saved pym, saved ironman). but i was really wanting to see him kick butt. Hulk didn't do anything... just slammed an alien or two. So between the 2 movies, i loved the action of the 1st more.
2. Story - the 2nd movie definitely had more story. We are given a flash back of capt's story; then given a background on t'challa (black panther); then there's the subtle love stories of pym-wasp, capt-widow, banner-betty. And we're also given a sneak preview into the armory of tony...and of course the hints of thor's prodigality with his father. There maybe some who wouldn't appreciate this kind of plots in a comic book film, but we're forgetting that this is only 1 film in 8, and it is necessary to build up the stories of each character to establish them.
So, I actually liked this 2nd movie better, just for the fact that it had a thicker plot to it and could absorb you more in its story. I was just a bit disappointed with the action though... they should have added an entire 30 mins to the film just so they could give more emphasis to the fight scenes. The capt.a-panther-kleus could have been so much better and would have been the highlight of the movie. I hope the makers of this movie could read a couple of these posts, so they could do something and make the next movie a lot longer.