Category Archives: Two Stars

88 minutes (DVD)

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Let me just mention that Al Pacino can do no wrong! Even in a film as horrible as 88 minutes, his star power managed to shine. Without Pacino, this film would have been a complete disaster and sadly Pacino’s performance was probably the only positive I can mention.

As for the negatives, we may as well start off with the atrocious acting. Talk about lack of emotion and character development. All of the supporting cast put on b-rated performances, and not one character felt genuine during any point of the film. Everything was rigid and awkward and I never found a connection with any of the characters portrayed.

Then there was the lack of cohesion in the plot. There were so many damn holes in the script that you’d drown in confusion within the first thirty minutes. I never grasped what was actually going on in the film, and when I finally figured it all out, I could not understand what made “her” do it. Yes, 88 minutes was suppose to be suspense thriller, but there were just so many things that just didn’t make any sense to me.

Finally, I had a problem with all the things that happened within his 88 minute time frame. I’m pretty open minded when it comes to films, but even I found this to be incredibly unbelievable. How the heck was he able to accomplish all the things he did in just 88 minutes of time? Are you kidding me? Did time stop between scenes? Is this a sci-fi film?

Overall, I found this film to be a complete waste of time. Unless your a hardcore fan of Pacino, there is really nothing to see here. Skip it.

The Forbidden Kingdom (DVD)

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To be completely honest with you, I wasn’t overly impressed with The Forbidden Kingdom. The film had the potential to be a modern classic with kung fu legends Jet Li and Jackie Chan casted for it, but with such a weak plot and lack of energy from its actors, it was a complete disappointment for me.

The biggest problem with this film was the lack of intensity during the action sequences. I completely understand that this was suppose to a lighthearted “fun” film, but even with all the humor and fun in old school kung fu flicks, the fight scenes were always amazing. I’m not sure how others felt about the highly anticipated Jet Li versus Jackie Chan duel, but it left me wanting more. The choreography for the fight was on point, but neither Li or Chan had the fierceness that I’ve seen from them before. It just wasn’t very tenacious.

How about the motor behind the movie? Its storyline. What a complete joke. I have watched a grip of kung fu flicks with bad storylines in my time, but there was always something that would save it from total disaster. In the case of the Forbidden Kingdom, neither the fights scenes or its big budget could salvage it.

Overall, this film was not what I had envisioned it to be. I guess after watching classics such as Enter the Dragon and The Five Deadly Venoms, it makes it very difficult to appreciate anything which doesn’t live up to them. If you a hardcore fan of Kung Fu, then I advise you skip this one altogether. It will make you cringe to see so much talent (Li and Chan) go to waste. To those not so hardcore, you might actually be enjoy this one. It seems that good ol’ Hollywood has struck again.

Synopsis: Legendary martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li come together onscreen for the first time ever in director Rob Minkoff’s time-traveling take on the Monkey King fable that finds an American teen transported back to ancient China after wandering into a pawn shop and discovering the king’s fighting stick. Once there, the adventurous teen joins an army of fierce warriors who have sworn to free their imprisoned king at all costs. In addition to appearing as the mythical Monkey King, Li assumes the role of a silent monk, and Chan appears in the role of kung fu master Lu Yan. Famed action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping presides over the fight sequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Rush Hour 3 (DVD)

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Project2With the summer coming to an end and most of the huge summer blockbusters out of the way, I decided to stay home and catch up on films I’ve missed over the past few months. Rush Hour 3 was one of them. I had actually been looking forward to screening Rush Hour the past couple weeks but now that I’ve seen it, I’m glad I missed it in the box office. It was definitely the worst out of the three films and was filled with clichés and way too much soul singing.

Both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return as sidekicks in this film and that’s basically about as good as it gets. If you’ve seen the first two, then you’ve basically seen this one with a slightly different storyline and updated soundtrack. Basically you get the same racial jokes and alot more of Tucker’s totally annoying voice.

If you haven’t seen this film, I’d advise you not to waste your time. Its cheesy and overdone. Stick with the original Rush Hour which was definitely the funniest and most action packed of them all.

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