Tag Archives: Movies-on-DVD

Ninja Assassin (DVD)

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Like most people, I am a sucker for ninjas. Take some of the most God awful movies and throw in a ninja or two and I’m there. I have sat through some horrendous films all for the sake of catching a glimpse of some idealized brutal ninja violence and often times I have wound up dissappointed. After seeing the trailers for this film, I felt like my search for quality ninja action had finally come to an end.

Ninja Assassin is nothing more than a bloody action flick with a fairly basic plot. To be perfectly honest, if anyone is expecting more from this film, you will be sorely dissappointed. Fortunately, the movie is VERy bloody and VERY action packed. Right from the get go, the movie opens with a crazy assassination scene complete with severed limbs and people being sliced in half.

We are then introduced to Raizo (played by Rain), a ninja assassin who has been banished from his clan and is doing freelance assasination work. Unlike the other ninja in his former clan, Raizo has developed a bit of a conscience. This is explored through various flashbacks in which Raizo reflects on his ninja training. The film cuts back and forth between Raizo’s training days and the present. In the present, Mika, a reporter, and a group of interpol agents have been tracking the ninja clan and have linked them to numerous assasinations throughout the years. When Mika discovers too much information, she is marked for death by the ninja clan. Luckily, Raizo happens to be in the right place at the right time and manages to rescue her from the onslaught of assassins. Eventually, this leads to the ultimate showdown between Raizo and his former clan family.

Plotwise- there isn’t too much going on in this movie other than your standard revenge storyline. This is actually a good thing as Raizo has all of the acting ability and personality of a concrete block. However, despite his personality shortcomings, like many other people I prefer my ninjas to be slicing and dicing more and talking less. The action in this film is very well done for the most part. Ninja stars are constantly whizzing by while swords are heard clanging together as severed limbs fly left and right. While the acting is pretty dismal overall, the flick’s saving grace is that they action scenes are excellent.

This is the bad ass ninja personification that audiences have been waiting for. I can’t even begin to count the number of wussy ninjas that have appeared on screen in other movies that have left me waiting in vain for them to just hack somebody in half. If you want bloody, visceral ninja action- this movie delivers that in spades. Unfortunately that is about all the movie delivers. Main character Raizo, as played by actor Rain, will most likely not be nominated for any academy awards anytime soon. He is entirely believable as a killing machine and he manages to pull of this role fairly well.

Overall, this is a very entertaining movie but definitely not for everyone. There is a considerable amount of violence that is not for the squeamish. The bad acting, substandard plot, and over emphasis on action are all the trappings of a B movie, yet the one thing that manages to elevate this movie above that level are its tremendous special effects and action sequences. The movie is worth seeing for the action alone, which to be honest is perhaps the only reason someone would go to watch a movie called ‘Ninja Assassin.’

The Box (DVD)

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The premise for The Box is fairly simple. You receive a box with a button on it. You are then given the choice to press the button, which will result in two things: a stranger somewhere will die and you will receive 1 million dollars. Upon hearing about this premise you will decide on one of two things: it sounds promising and could be a great movie or it sounds completely stupid. Unfortunately, I was with the first group who thought this film sounded interesting and had a lot of potential.

The film takes place some time in the 70s and the entire film is shot with a retro feel to it making it reminiscent of films like ‘Poltergeist’ or ‘Close Encounters’. However, the visual comparisons end there as The Box doesn’t have any of the substance of any of the two previously mentioned films. Cameron Diaz is a school teacher / mother who is employed at a prestigous local private school which her son also attends. James Marsden plays her husband, who works for NASA and is a hopeful candidate for the astronaut program. To make a long story short, the family comes into some financial hardship and decides to press the button. What ensues is a confusing and uninteresting romp towards a less than impresive climax.

Most of the interest in the plot stems from the mysterious box. How does it work? How do people die from it? Unfortunately the answers to these questions ultimatley drag the movie down quite a bit. I won’t spoil the details, but the method in which they explain everything is seriously dissappointing.

If you are really dying to watch this movie, then it may be worth renting to see for yourself. I watched this movie for free and was still disappointed even with my bar set relatively low. It is a shame since Marsden and Diaz are great actors but unfortunately they weren’t good enough to salvage this film.

Law Abiding Citizen (DVD)

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I’m glad to see Gerard Butler making more action oriented movies. After starring in a few yawn inducing chick flicks and a some mediocre kiddie movies, it looks like King Leonidas is starting to return to form. After watching the trailers for Law Abiding Citizen, I knew I had to see it. I wasn’t sure if it would be a good movie or not, but the film is clearly built on the exchanges between Jamie Foxx and Butler, which looked more than intense enough to capture my attention.

Make no mistake, Foxx and Butler are what make this movie work. Form the beginning, the plot seems like a standard revenge flick. Butler plays Clyde Shelton, whose wife and child are beaten and murdered in front of him by a group of men while his home was being broken into. Foxx is the attorney prosecuting the case, Nick Rice, who winds up cutting a deal with the leader of the group in exchange for his testimony against another, less involved group member. Shelton of course, sees Rice as corrupt and vows to have his revenge on not only Rice, but the entire judicial system.

After murdering the gang leader responsible for the death of his family, Shelton is arrested and placed in jail. However, he still continues to target and kill anyone involved with his case. It is up to Rice to figure out a way to stop him before it is too late.

The plot of the film is actually pretty good and will keep most people guessing for most of the movie. About two thirds of the way into the film, there is a huge plot twist that feels like it was lifted straight out of a cartoon. The twist is so obvious and almost insulting. Any other movie would have been destroyed by this revealation. It is a testament to the excellent acting of Foxx and Butler, however, that this movie survives. The interplay between the two actors and the tension generated between them in each scene is clearly the driving force of this film.

I know that not everyone will appreciate this movie, but it is fairly entertaining throughout. Up until the big revealation near the end, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what would happen next. This movie is definitely worth renting, although not quite as good as the expectations I had for it.