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Kung Fu Panda 2

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Kung Fu Panda 2
  • IMDb: link

Three years ago DreamWorks Animation put out a little film called Kung Fu Panda about a Panda with a destiny to learn Kung Fu and save his village from a shadowy warrior. It turned out to be one of my favorite films of 2008. While it might not be as good as the original (a film which I love to no end), the sequel brings plenty of awesome back to the screen.

Kung Fu Panda 2 fills in Po’s (Jack Black) back story as an attack on his village will lead him on a quest to discover where he comes from. Also back for the sequel are Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross), and Viper (Lucy Liu).

The film also gives us a deadly new enemy in a deranged peacock (played with malevolent glee by Gary Oldman) who wants to rule all of China by the force of a new deadly weapon which could mean the end of Kung Fu. We also get a few new characters voiced by the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme as a Kung Fu crocodile (admit it, that’s pretty awesome), and Michelle Yeoh as the Soothsayer who holds all the answers to both Po’s past and future.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  • IMDB: link

pirates-on-stranger-tides-posterHonestly, I don’t know if Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is any better than the last two disappointing entries of the franchise or I simply don’t have it in me to care about what happens to these characters anymore. Even though the film did its best to remove the only thing I really liked from Dead Man’s Chest and World’s End (namely Keira Knightley), this one is certainly no worse the wear.

The story opens with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), once again without a boat or crew, on the search for the Fountain of Youth. And he’s not the only one. Others looking for the prize include the Spanish Armada, the British Navy under the command of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and the nefarious Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

What follows is a mismatched tale which is part treasure hunt and part wacky reunion as Jack is forced to confront his feelings for an old flame (Penélope Cruz) who just happens to be Blackbeard’s daughter.

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Thor

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Thor
  • IMDb: link

thor-poster

There are quite a few challenges and obstacles laid at the feet of Thor given its main character and choice for both leading man and director. Could Kenneth Branagh direct an action-heavy comic book film? Could Chris Hemsworth carry the movie? Would Thor look cool or ridiculous as a live-action character? Is there another important post-credit sequence? How large is Jeremy Renner‘s role in the film? Would the movie start out the summer season with a whimper or a bang?

We need not have worried. Yes, Hemsworth does a great job carrying the weight of the film. Yes, Branagh not only succeeds in the character-driven scenes but also with the film’s not inconsiderable amount of both humor and action. Yes, Thor looks good. Even the character’s more ridiculous features (such as spinning the hammer to create whirlwinds and tornadoes) come off as impressive and very, very cool.

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Fast Five

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fast Five
  • IMDB: link

fast-five-posterThere’s insane and then there’s INSANE. Every time I thought the latest edition of The Fast and the Furious franchise had hit the limits of insanity they proved me wrong and found new ways to defy logic, common sense, and basic laws of nature. There’s a scene in last summer big-budget version of The A-Team where the team attempts to fly a tank that is falling through the air. The last twenty-minutes or so of Fast Five feel a lot like that.

With the exception of Michelle Rodriguez (whose character was killed off in the last installment), Fast Five brings together all the major characters of each of the films and picks up right where Fast & Furious left off with springing Turetto (Vin Diesel) from a prison bus.

Fast Five also gives us a new lawman. After the team is framed from the murder of two Federal Agents (because hunting them down for crimes they actually committed would be silly) the US Government sends the best to bring them in – Dwayne “Now that I’m back in the WWE you can call me The Rock again” Johnson.

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Battle: Los Angeles

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Battle: Los Angeles
  • IMDB: link

battle-los-angeles-posterIt’s a good thing I wasn’t expecting much going into this movie because it offers the bare minimum for a uber-patriotic action flick without supplying a single original idea, moment, or story element.

Battle: Los Angeles is little more than an excuse to cash in on critical and box office successes such as District 9 and Avatar. And you don’t have to look very hard to see where it “borrowed” most of its plot. Think of it as Independence Day meets Cloverfield meets a Marine recruitment film (with slightly better special effects).

The film opens by introducing us to all the major players of the unit who will be thrust into battle during an alien invasion of Los Angeles. Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is the war-weary veteran with one foot out the door, Ramon Rodriguez is the fresh-faced Lieutenant straight out of the academy, Noel Fisher is the goofy wet-behind-the-ears Private, and so on. If you think these characters sound familiar, you’re right.

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