Kung Fu Panda 2 review

 Number 962 on the top 1000 films of all time is John Stevenson's sequel to the original 2008 animated wuxia film Kung Fu Panda.

Po (Jack Black) now a respected Kung Fu master is called upon to defeat the peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman.) Lord Shen aims to dominate ancient China by using the newly-discovered gunpowder as a weapon. This could spell the end of Kung Fu. Meanwhile, Po starts to learn more about this mysterious past.

What can I say about this film which I haven't said about its predecessor? The animation was gorgeous. And the score was superior. Po remained a goofy yet sympathetic protagonist thanks to Jack Black's performance. James Hong, who plays Po's adoptive father Goose, was also great. As Po's adoptive father, he is very protective of his son. And he is naturally worried when Po goes off on his adventures. This concern was touching to see. One heart-twinging moment was when Po, just about to leave to defeat Lord Shen, reassures Goose that he'll be back before he can say noodles. As Po is leaving, Goose mumbles 'noodles' to himself. I'm not ashamed to say that I nearly cried.

Gar Oldman was also great as Lord Shen. He helped to bring the peacock to life with his borderline over-the-top performance, reminiscent of his villainous role in Leon the Professional. He made Lord Shen a far more memorable villain than Tai Hung.

John Stevenson also changed direction in this film choosing instead to take a darker tone. Nowhere is this more evident than when we learn more about Po's past of which I won't spoil here. Yet he also stayed close to the roots of kung fu films. From the wuxia films that I have seen, I have observed that they always champion the art and prowess behind kung fu. It is a source of national pride. Having this pride threatened with the invention of gunpowder, the tension and stakes went right through the roof.

Unfortunately, Kung Fu Panda 2 shares the same failures as its predecessor in its under-utilisation of its considerable cast. Despite starring in major kung fu films, Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh were majorly neglected.

That notwithstanding, I did enjoy Kung Fu Panda 2. It holds the rare title of being just as good as its predecessor. 

Kung Fu Panda review

 Number 672 on the top 1000 films of all time is the computer-animated wuxia film Kung Fu Panda.

Kung Fu Panda is set in ancient China. It follows the bumbling, but well-intentioned Po (Jack Black) - a giant panda bear who loves kung fu. When he is inadvertently named the Dragon-Warrior, it becomes his destiny to stop the evil snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian Mcshane.)

I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda a lot more than I thought I would. Generally I find wuxia films more style than substance. Sure the martial arts sequences look brilliant, but the films are always so overly-serious. This wasn't the case for Kung Fu panda. The best thing about the film was that it didn't take itself too seriously. And a lot of that was down to John Stevenson's strong direction.

Rather than making a parody like Dreamworks wanted, he instead created an action-comedy that took all the best elements of Wuxia, but also incorporating a lighter tone. Having Jack Black as Po also helped a lot. His comedy is always so expressive and physical which translated well to an animated role. Yet he also made Po a very sympathetic character.

Po is a kung fu enthusiast. He loves the martial arts. But he is also resigned to spending his life in his father 'Goose's' (James Hong) noodle restaurant. As a side note, James Hong was a delight as the over-protective and overly-affectionate father. Po very much becomes an unlikely hero as nobody, least of all, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) - the Red Panda who has to train Po, has any faith in him succeeding.

Jack Black, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong - there are some acting heavyweights in his film. But that's not all. Angeline Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and Michael Clark Duncan also all lend their voices. But with such a large cast and so many characters a lot of the acting talent was largely underutilised. Jackie Chan - star of so many kung fu films gave a disappointing contribution, while Lucy Liu and Seth Rogen largely blended into the background. Ian Mcshane's voice performance was nothing noteworthy either.

Having said that, I did enjoy Kung Fu Panda. It had gorgeous animation, and real heart. Unlike so many of its predecessors, it embraced portraying Kung-Fu under a more light-hearted lens.

The Adventures of Tintin review

 Number 925 on the top 1000 films of all time is Stephen Spielberg's 2011 computer-animated adventure film 'The Adventures of Tintin.'

Based on the Belgian comic of the same name, the Adventures of Tintin follows the titular detective as he solves crimes. Tintin (Jamie Bell) buys a model ship to later discover a clue hidden inside. An interpol agent comes to investigate and later ends up dead. This is when Tintin realises he has stumbled upon a bigger mystery. With the help of drunken ship Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis,) Tintin aims to solve the mystery before the villainous Sakharine (Daniel Craig.) 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It had all the adventure, whimsy and action that you would expect from a Stephen Spielberg film mixed in with some gorgeous animation. The animation was so life-like; it looked lovely. And the script had enough humour in it to stop things from becoming too serious. Although this was of no surprise, as Stephen Moffat, Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright penned the script. Edgar Wright also wrote the Cornetto trilogy which are very funny films.

Speaking of the Cornetto trilogy, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost offered some great comic relief in their roles as bumbling police officers Thompson and Thomson. Andy Serkis was enjoyable as well, but he is always good in animated or motion-capture roles.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with Daniel Craig. As James Bond, he has huge charisma, but this charisma didn't come through the medium of animation. Or maybe Sakharine wasn't a particularly memorable villain. Regardless of the reason, this wasn't one of Daniel Craig's most memorable performances.

Nonetheless, I thought this film was great fun. Although a sequel has been announced, it has been stuck in development hell for years. Hopefully, it will reach the big screen soon.

The Squid and the Whale review

 Number 898 of the top 1000 films of all time is the independent comedy-drama 'The Squid and the Whale.'

Bernard Berkman (Ben Daniels) and his wife Jean (Laura Linney) are two academics going through a messy divorce. Caught in the middle are their two sons Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and his younger brother Frank (Owen Kline.) Over the course of eighty minutes, we see this family attempt to move past this life-changing event.

This was certainly an interesting film. It portrayed a scenario which would be would be relatable to audiences worldwide. And it did it sympathetically.  But the characters weren't sympathetic. I liked the situation they were in, but I didn't like them at all. Neither Bernard or Jean are likeable at all. Bernard is arrogant, overly-proud and creepy - he stars a relationship with his far younger student Lili (Anna Paquin.) Meanwhile Jean has been unfaithful to Bernard for years on end. She is arguably the main reason that they're divorcing. It's no wonder their sons are so messed up.

Walt and Frank quickly take sides with Walt siding with his father and Frank with his mother. And both boys begin acting up in their own particular ways. As can be expected from boys that age. Even though the film tackles a difficult subject, there is still plenty of humour to stop things from becoming too serious. Any fancy special effects or big sets gave way to introspection and quiet character development. It was moving without being maudlin.

It was an entertaining watch, but more because of the setting and scenario and not because of the characters. 

Midnight Run review

 Number 731 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action-comedy Midnight Run.

Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is a bounty hunter who has been enlisted to bring accountant Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin) to his bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano.) After embezzling 15 million dollars from mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina,) the Duke then skips out on the bail that Moscone posts for him. But Walsh finds it more difficult to bring back the Duke than he thought, as he has to outrun the FBI, a rival bounty hunter and Serrano himself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was funny, tense, but also very heart-warming. I thought that De Niro and Grodin had a great chemistry. They played off each other well. Their relationship contributed a lot to the film's humour. Grodin is a comedian by trade, so it's no surprise that he was so funny. But De Niro did surprise me. Perhaps I'm so used to him playing grumpy old men or grizzled gangsters that I wouldn't expect him to be funny, but he also had great timing. And he was very charismatic. The relationship between the two contributed greatly to the film's success.

And Joey Pants was great. He brought a great chaotic energy to his panicking bail bondsman of Eddie Moscone.  There were plenty of great gags such as the increasing number of obstacles that Walsh faces in bringing the Duke home. Of course, you would expect things to be anything but easy, it was still entertaining seeing everything play out.

However, beyond all the farcical humour, there is a strong emotional core that ties everything together. Both Walsh and the Duke are highly sympathetic characters. Initially, Walsh is closed-off and withdrawn, but he slowly opens himself up to the Duke, revealing how when he used to be a cop, he was drummed off the force after he refuses to take a bribe from a drug lord like the rest of his department had. This resulted in the breakdown of his marriage, as well as his gloomy outlook on life. Similarly, it's revealed that the Duke robbed Serrano so he could give the money to charitable causes. A naive goal, but an admirable one nonetheless.

Throughout the film, you see Walsh being conflicted by his conscience and by his love of money. Which direction would he take? Believing him to be an inherently good man, the Duke forges a relationship with Walsh hoping that he will let him go. And this tension drove the film along to a satisfying, heartfelt, and not at all, overly-sentimental conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Run. Give it a watch. I think you will too.

Despicable Me 2 Review

 Number 733 on the top 1000 films of all time is the computer-animated comedy Despicable Me 2.

Former supervillain Gru (Steve Carell) is now a loving father to his three adoptive daughters. However, he is tempted into becoming a hero by secret agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) when the mutagen PX41 is stolen from the Arctic Circle. This all forms part of a greater plan when it is revealed that supervillain El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) stole the mutagen in his scheme for world domination.

I liked this film as much as I liked its predecessor which is very little at all. It had all of the same weaknesses as the first Despicable Me. The humour wasn't even juvenile. It was infantile. There was an over-reliance on poop and fart jokes. I get that this is family-friendly. I get that it's meant for kids. But there is more to entertaining kids than poop and fart jokes. Usually in family-friendly films like in Disney Pixar while there are silly jokes for kids, there are lots of jokes that only adults are meant to get. But there was none of that in Despicable Me 2. Just juvenile humour and Steve Carell being Steve Carell.

I don't know why he's doing a silly voice with a silly accent. And I don't know why he has to do it throughout the whole film. It became very old very quickly. I get why this is a children's film. It has bright, eye-popping animation, lots of idiotic humour and cute little minions, but there is little substance for anybody older than the age of ten. The storyline was predictable, the voice performances were forgettable and, even the minions, who have gone onto become the mascots of this franchise became very tedious after a while.

Yes, I'm being a grumpy old man. But this grumpy old man did not like this film at all. It was despicable.

Collateral review

 Number 723 on the top 1000 films of all time is Michael Mann's 2004 neo-noir crime thriller 'Collateral.'

Max (Jamie Foxx) is an LA taxi driver with a simple dream of owning a limousine business. But his life spirals out of control when he accepts Vincent's (Tom Cruise) fare. For Vincent is a hitman who is a hitman with a number of contracts to complete.

Collateral was certainly an entertaining thriller if entirely unbelievable. Despite being a contract killer, Vincent is very careless. He exposes himself when he shoots his first victim leading to him falling out of a window onto Max's cab, partially destroying it. But surely a contract killer would be more careful than this. Vincent has hired Max to drive him around for the whole night. How is he supposed to do that when his windscreen has been near-shattered?  And they go on to put the victim's body in the trunk of the car. And they drive it around the whole night. Surely, this would attract unwanted police attention which later does happen. And Vincent even tells Max off about the dangers of unwanted attention. 

And when it comes to Vincent's final target, he (spoilers) hesitates long enough for Max to come and save a day. One, a contract killer would never hesitate like this. Two, we've seen Vincent kill remorselessly before. It made no sense for Vincent to hesitate now. Finally, he is very blaise about Max knowing his true identity. Surely, it would be in his own best interests to keep this a secret. There is less chance of Max panicking and doing something stupid. But I guess this wouldn't have made a very interesting film.

Despite these plot chasms, I did enjoy Collateral. At first, I wasn't convinced by Tom Cruise. I'm so used to seeing him as a hero that it was difficult seeing him as villain, but he was pretty damn good. Jamie Foxx was also great as Max. Max is your everyman whose whole life was turned upside down. And he goes through a very satisfying character arc from burned-out taxi driver to an unlikely hero. Foxx earned his Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Sure Collateral is unbelievable rubbish, but a film doesn't always have to be 100% believable to be entertaining.

Watchmen review

 Number 662 on the top 1000 films of all time is Zack Snyder's 2009 superhero film 'Watchmen.'

Set in an alternate dystopian 1985 with cold-war tensions running high, the film focusses on a group of retired superheroes called the Watchmen. When former member 'The Comedian,' (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) his team-mate Rorschach (Jackie Earle Healey) tries warning his former comrades Dr Manhatten (Billy Crudup,) Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman,) Niteowl (Patrick Wilson) and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode,) but instead he soon stumbles upon a greater and more dangerous conspiracy theory.

Many people credit Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy for giving a darker, grittier vision of superhero films. However, I would argue that Watchmen deserves a lot of credit for this too. As somebody got bored of superhero films by Age Of Ultron and who has never cared about the Marvel/DC debate, I thoroughly enjoyed Watchmen.

Not only did I enjoy the darker, grittier tone, but it felt more grounded and realistic than other superhero films. There were no stupid puns like the infamous Batman and Robin nor any fun and whimsy that you would expect from one of the million MCU films. Everything was grounded in real life. Nothing was played for fun. Nor should it have been.  Even in the eighties, the threat of nuclear annihilation was omni-present. It was a real fear, and Zack Snyder tapped into this fear well.

I was also impressed with Zack Snyder's direction. Having seen a few of his other films, I've noticed that the he prioritises spectacle over storyline, but he was remarkably subtle here. He also released a director's cut, which was also well-received.

Out of all the characters, Dr Manhattan is the only one with any powers which added another layer of realism. These aren't super-powered beings who became heroes, but simply everyday people.

Across the board, the performances were strong as well. Jeffrey Dean Morgan showed his early 'Negan' tendencies in his role as the slimy and smarmy 'Comedian. But Jackie Early Healy was the star of the show. Rorschach was a tortured soul, but Healy made him a sympathetic anti-hero.

Sure, it is relentlessly dark, but the next time you credit the Dark Knight Trilogy for reimagining the superhero genre, please also give Watchmen its due.