Winners And Sinners (product link) Action/Adventure / Comedy This was a very funny movie and the action was great as well. But don't be fooled by the misleading box art billing Jackie Chan as the film's lead. Jackie has a rather small role totalling maybe 5 minutes but that's enough time for him to shine. The real star here is Sammo Hung. He has a great sense of humor and even makes time to poke fun at himself. This movie is a true Hong Kong classic and should not be overlooked.
Godzilla: Final Wars was a mixed bag and far from a great achievement to say the least. I was looking forward to seeing this film for so long that I even dreamed about seeing it and loving it on more than one occasion. Sad to say that not all dreams come true and all expectations cannot be met. First things first I would like to mention the length of this film. It clocks in at over two hours and seems to get more and more ridiculous by the minute. Judging by this and the fact that the director here is none other then Ryuhei Kitamura I think the studio gave him a little too much money to play with. At one point the film baically makes a complete 180 and becomes a full fledge martial arts film! The film even resembles "The Matrix" at one point showing a lack (or care) of any originality. The monsters here are merely co-stars and some look completely ridiculous (King Seasar looks as silly as ever). The special effects range from state of the art to amiturish crappy looking as if it came from a twelve year old's PC. The monster battles resembled old episodes of Power Rangers and are so quick that if you blink you might miss them completely. I'm kind of glad that this film did not make it to U.S. theatres for it would've been laughed off the screen (even by a seasoned fan like me). Even with $20 million Toho couldn't make a good film. I don't consider this an honest attempt nor do I believe the director set out to make a good film. You can't substitute "coolness" for "goodness" and expect this kind of gamble to pay off. I think director Kitamura is too overrated and should never make another Godzilla film. At least Godzilla got revenge on his "useless tuna eating" American counterpart and the words "Final" and "Wars" were mentioned.
Kung Fu Hustle (product link) Comedy / Action/Adventure Not much comedy but lots of great action. I love great fight scenes and this movie is packed with many of them. The special effects range from crappy-looking to "Pirates of the Carribean" to an episode of Looney Tunes and I loved it!
New Police Story (product link) Action/Adventure / Martial Arts I'm a huge fan of Jackie's, but I thought this movie really sucked. It's so silly. One of the early scenes where Jackie and his men get taken out one by one was just laughable! The storyline is rediculous and the characters are too stupid. And the fact that so many teenie boppers were cast in this movie also really bugged me. But on the plus side of things, at least the movie has some action. Like a bus chase that easily rivals the the great opening sequence from "Terminator 3". And an exciting final battle between Jackie and up-and-coming martial arts star Andy On (I thought this fight topped the rooftop battle from "Who Am I?" by just a little bit). I give Jackie credit for trying to put his best acting foot forward. But ultimately, it just didn't work for me...
Initial D (product link) Action/Adventure / Drama This movie is only for true fans of the anime. If you're not a fan or are unfamiliar with the anime (like me), you'll probably be pretty damn bored. The story is faithful to the original material and the characters are portrayed pretty accurately. The acting was surprisingly good. However I found the racing scenes to be pretty dull when they should have been the most exciting part. In place of the CG cars (like in the anime), they used real cars with stunt dirvers which was not that exciting. In fact, I found them just boring. The CG races on "The Legend of Speed" were more effective. Though it's not terrible, this movie is strictly for fans and car enthusiasts.
I've been a huge Godzilla fan for years and I've seen many of his movies. GMK is by far the best Godzilla movie yet! The best of the Millennium series or any series for that fact! This is the only Godzilla movie since the original back in 1954 that tries to tell a good story. Some people thought that the movie took itself a little too seriously but I thought it worked. The story's much darker and Godzilla is meaner than ever. The special effects are really spectacular. The cardboard buildings are still cardboard but they break, fall and explode much more convincingly now. The destruction scenes are some of the best I've ever seen. The miniature work is also very good. The rubber costumes are still cheesy but, they're improving. GMK was suppose to end the Millennium series of films a couple of years ago. But because it was so successful, they've made a couple more movies since then. After seeing how the last couple movies turned out, it's a shame that they didn't just end the series then. At least then it would have ended with a bang.
To be quite honest there will never be another breakthrough Godzilla film such as 2001's GMK ever again. With that said I can honestly say that this film is definitely better than Godzilla's latest outing, "Final wars" and that's not saying much. The truth is that there was nothing going for this film except for that it was a sequel to the lackluster GxMG which left an awfull feeling in the stomach's of the fans who actually paid to see it. It ultimately failed to fill the void left by the pevious film's cliffhanger. But not everything in this film was a disaster. From a technical standpoint this is probably the best Godzilla film ever made. It was nice to see such high production values considering the film's miniscule budget. Effects director Eichi Asada is at the top of his game. The CGI effects are top notch and sadly even better than it's $100 million American counterpart. The minature work is very effective as the buildings crumbled realistically especially the Tokyo Tower scene. It was also nice to see Mothra flap her wings realistically for once. Considering all this couldn't make the film any better I still give it a decent 2.5 because the film was still a feast for the eyes. Strictly for fans.
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure "Ong Bak" is the best movie about fighting I've ever seen! It delivers some of the best fight scenes not seen since Hong Kong's glory days. Star Tony Jaa and his superb Muay Thai boxing kick some serious ass. The fight scenes are really well done and look frighteningly real. In short,this is the best damn movie you'll ever see! The best damn movie any guy should see!
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