James Huynh (SpunkyJamez)

Hot Rod PG-13

"Life is pain - we've got to scrape the joy from it every chance we get."

Hot Rod is like a big, sack of candy. At first, you'll love it, but the more you eat, the more you get sick of it. This is the first feature from The Lonely Island, a comedy troupe well known for comedic music. Directed by Akiva Schaffer, Hot Rod starts off with hilarious gags, but soon, they get old - it becomes critically unfunny towards the end, and though the film has a talented cast and a great soundtrack, the simple story is stretched out way too much. The film would've worked as a short film, but as a feature, it just doesn't feel right.

SUMMARY:

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) is a loser, a slacker living in a small US town with his mom (Sissy Spacek), his younger brother (Jorma Taccone), and his stepfather (Ian McShane) whose respect he craves. He also misses his dead dad, whom he thinks was Evel Knievel's back-up. Rod, a man-child, believes that he is a stunt man. When his stepfather needs an operation, with help from his brother and his slacker pals, Rod hatches a plan to set a school-bus-jumping record on his moped. First, his crew and he have to raise money to rent the buses and build the ramp. Trouble is, Rod's inept at his chosen career. Looming failure is complicated by the return of Denise (Isla Fisher), Rod's next-door neighbor and secret heartthrob, who is home from college.

REVIEW:

Written by Pam Brady (Uncredited: Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone a.k.a The Lonely Island), the script has a lot of charm. The shame is that a majority of the jokes are of Rod hurting himself in stunts. This is hilarious at first - the film opens with a failed attempt at stunt that's terrific - but as they keep using the same material, it just gets boring. Some of the jokes are extremely predictable, and you can always tell how a certain gag will turn out. Sooner or later, these jokes will start to bore you. Rod Kimble is a funny hero, but ultimately ends up being quite unlikeable - he treats his brother like shit, and acts like an asshole in front of Denise. On the plus side, the sheer idiocy of his relationship with Frank is hilarious, and by far the best thing about the script. While its humour does start to get tiring after its opening, the script does have its moments of belly laughs.

REVIEW TO BE FINISHED...

The Sorcerer and the White Snake Unrated

"No matter what happens, I will always love you."

Oh boy, this was excruciating. The Sorcerer and the White Snake is a prime example of what happens when you let special effects outweigh a story. The film is based on a Chinese folklore, but never fully takes the time to tell the tale. All you'll get from this film is endless battles created by CGI. That may sound fun, like Transformers, but this is a love story - and you don't get that much romance. There's no character development, and the motives are always unknown. Directed by Tony Siu-Tung (An Empress and the Warriors), this film washes away the story it tries to tell with special effects that get old pretty quickly.

SUMMARY:

The film depicts the romance between a human, herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam), and a demon in the form of a white snake which can take human form, Susu (Eva Huang). But to crusading monk and sorcerer Fa Hai (Jet Li), whose mission it is to fight demons, this liaison is not acceptable.

REVIEW:

As you see above, the plot summary is quite short. That's really because the film's tale is quite simple. The Sorcerer and the White Snake is a reworking of the Chinese folklore, Legend of the White Snake, and it is a truly poignant love story. I'm a real sucker for 'forbidden' love stories, and there is a tragic touch to this film. This is a very sad film, but it could've been tear jerking. This is the main problem with the film - there isn't much of a screenplay. The film never tries to explain why Susu loves Xu Xian so much, and thus, the romance is never fully convincing. Towards the end of the film, the story goes crazy - there's no sense to what is going on. During the climax, a big battle between Susu and Fa Hai takes place, but the motives get lost in the middle of it all. There are times where characters do stupid things for the sake of a battle starting. The film needed to take time to explain things. We as the audience, is never sure who we are supposed to be routing for, and that is another problem. Who is the villain? At first, the filmmakers try to depict Fa Hai as a villain for trying to come between the lovers, and then Susu is the bad guy because she decides to flood the temple. It's all fucking underdeveloped. It's such a shame as well, because this is a really beautiful love story.

Jet Li is perfectly cast as Fa Hai - he does really well as a righteous monk. However, he rarely fights in this film, which may disappoint fans. Meanwhile, it's fair to say this is Eva Huang's movie. She stole the show. She's not 100%, but she's the best performer here. You feel the pain she goes through, and to be honest, much of her acting allows the love story here to have some dimension. Raymond Lam, however, doesn't have a lot to do as Huang's lover, and he shares no chemistry with her. Charlene Choi, and the rest of the supporting cast, also have little to do - they're given nothing at all to work with.

The special effects are what audiences come into this film for, but in The Sorcerer and the White Snake, the CGI is mediocre at best. They overused - CGI settings and action sequences. Sometimes it adds to the look of the film, which is something I liked. The cinematography is beautiful. However, towards the end, it's just one effect after the other, and it just gets boring. The snakes look shoddy. All the landscapes look undeniably fake. And to what's ever worst - there's not a lot of martial arts. A lot of the action is just blasting CGI creations at characters, and it just doesn't work at all. The score is so overdone it hurts, but the costumes and props are gorgeous. The production design is solid, and again, there are moments where the film looks terrific. I just wish the film hadn't been overwhelmed with so much CGI - it literally drives me up the wall. With such poor special effects, you'd want them to stop shoving it in your face every second. The film is being released in 3D, and luckily, I viewed the 2D version. I know for a fact that the 3D won't help, it'll just make things worse.

Overall, The Sorcerer and the White Snake is not what I want from a romance film. It tries to hard to be an action film, but good Chinese actioners don't rely on special effects - take Hero for example. That had a good story, and so does this - or at least, it could have. Kids will love this, I'm sure. It's great for them - it's a colourful film with lots of wacky characters, but at the end of the day, most adults should just skip this. Eva Huang's gorgeous, but she ain't worth it.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 R

"Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you came in."

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is the first film of Quentin Tarantino's two part revenge epic Kill Bill, which revolves around the character of The Bride (who is not named in Vol. 1), and her craving for vengeance. This showcases Tarantino's brilliant style, and it is by far his most action-packed movie. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 also feels like a tribute, to all of the cult classics Tarantino feels so very passionate about. This is definitely a love letter to cinema.

SUMMARY:

The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad consists of five most deadly killers, led by Bill (David Carradine). There is O'Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) as Cottonmouth, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) as California Mountain Snake, Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) as Copperhead, and Budd (Michael Madsen) as Sidewinder. And there is The Bride (Uma Thurman), who wanted to quit because she was pregnant. On the day the Bride wanted to marry the love of her life, her former colleagues showed up and killed everyone there. Bill ended The Bride by shooting her in the head. However, The Bride survives, barely, and is left in a coma. Her colleagues know this but won't kill her in her sleep. After four years, The Bride awakens. For her, not a second has consciously passed, and after she realizes all the things that have happened, The Bride decides to take revenge. On each single one of those who betrayed her. First on her death list is Cottonmouth, who has become the most powerful yakuza boss of Tokyo, Japan. Second in line is Copperhead, who chose a more decent life as well.

REVIEW:

Tarantino has always been quite original with his writing, though he is a thief - and he's proud of it. Kill Bill Vol. 1 has been influenced by many films and characters, and is, in a way, a homage to Hong Kong martial arts movies, Japanese samurai films, and many more. Tarantino's love for cinema can be realised after viewing this film. Tarantino's script is so bizzare - and I mean that as a compliment. This is so out-there that you can't treat it as a flaw at all. Also, the plot is enjoyably ridiculous, and the characters are fantastic. The Bride is such a memorable hottie, and all her dialogue is great. In fact, Tarantino's dialogue is stuffed with loads of deliberately lame wise-cracks, and these lines work so well. The members of Deadly Viper Assasination Squad are all terrific as well. Each has an attribute that makes them amazingly unqiue. O-Ren Ishii is the one who gets the most of a look of the bad guys, and she really is interesting. Her henchmen are also a highlight. The film feels like a comic-book adaptation, as many of the henchmen seen in the film are so odd. O-Ren's bodyguard is a 17 yr old Japanese girl called GoGo, who is insanely sadistic. As well as that, she also has an army of gangsters known as the Crazy 88. While the story is quite brilliant, it is also soul-less. It's not a huge problem, but there's not a sense of love or compassion here. Also, there's right reason why you want The Bride to have her revenge - honestly, you don't really care.

Uma Thurman is one of the reasons why The Bride is such a memorable character. She's terrific, and delivers her dialogue amazingly. Lucy Liu plays her a villain with skill, and brings a real scary attitude to her character in one of the film's most shocking scenes. Though they have brief appearances in Vol. 1, the actors of the Deadly Vipers are all great, particularly Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver. Sonny Chiba makes a terrific cameo, and does what he does best in this role. Chiaki Kuriyama, who was in Battle Royale (Tarantino's favourite movie), is absolutely brilliant as GoGo.

Never has a Tarantino movie been this action-packed, and violent for that matter. With Kill Bill Vol. 1, Tarantino shows us his style of violence. The violence is so over-the top that even grumpy parents wouldn't care if they saw their kids watching it. The highly stylised fight sequences were choreographed by the very excellent Yuen Woo Ping. The spectacular showdown with O-Ren and her henchmen is definitely the highlight of the movie, and the fight scene against Go Go is one of the best I've seen. The costume design is epic, with The Bride's yellow outfit, which was obviously based on Bruce Lee's costume in Game of Death, being most memorable. The RZA provided the score, which is both stylish and amusing. The props are detailed, the sets look amazing, and Sally Menke's editing is top-notch. A highlight of the film is the anime sequence, which explains O-Ren's past. The whole scene is animated in a classic Japanese anime style, but with a major touch of Tarantino's direction - it's shockingly violent for an anime. The violence here is, like I said, stylised. It's so unrealistic. There's blood spraying out of people from any part of their body that has been cut. Cinematographer Robert Richardson shoots the film beautifully, and it feels quite much like a Japanese movie thanks to his photography. There's some classy use of black and white, and a scene which appears entirely in silhouette.

This is definitely the most enjoyable movie Tarantino has made. Fans of video games like No More Heroes will have a very good time with Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Like many Tarantino films, this already has a cult following. The violence is amazing, in a good way, and the film is so bizarre that it works. Fans of martial arts movies are going to dig the hell out of this. Tarantino knows Kill Bill is odd, and he's proud of it. It's bravely different, it's out-there, and it has a sense of humour - for these qualities, I'm definitely awarding this 5 stars.

Kill Bill, Volume 2 R

"Looked dead, didn't I? But I wasn't. But it wasn't from lack of trying, I can tell you that. Actually, Bill's last bullet put me in a coma. A coma I was to lie in for four years. When I woke up, I went on what the movie advertisements refer to as a 'roaring rampage of revenge.' I roared. And I rampaged. And I got bloody satisfaction. I've killed a hell of a lot of people to get to this point, but I have only one more. The last one. The one I'm driving to right now. The only one left. And when I arrive at my destination, I am gonna kill Bill."

Kill Bill was originally supposed to be one big revenge epic, but since the running time would've been over 4 hours, it was split into two parts - Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, the Kill Bill films have become cult classics. Vol. 1 was amazingly enjoyable, with a good sense of humour and terrific action. Vol. 2 is highly different. Not only is it longer (that's what she said), it goes into the story of The Bride, and how she came to be. You don't know half the story until you've seen Vol. 2.

SUMMARY:

It all began when the nefarious Deadly Viper Assassination Squad moved in and assassinated the Plympton wedding party at the Two Pines Wedding Chapel in El Paso, Texas. Well, all but one: The Bride (Uma Thurman), their real target. All they managed to do to her was put her in a coma. And four years later, she woke up and swore revenge on the lot of them. It began with the disposing of O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green (This happened in Vol. 1). Now, The Bride has only three left on her Death List: Budd (Michael Madsen); Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah); and, of course, Bill (David Carradine), her boss, teacher, and lover. However, Bill does possess one thing that keeps the ball in his court: the daughter the Bride thought she had lost in her coma.

REVIEW:

I've always admired Tarantino as a writer. He may be a thief, but hell, the way he does it makes his movies work so well. For example, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 explores the past of The Bride, particularly about who trained her. Her master was Pai Mei (Gordon Liu), who is in fact an actual character of old school martial arts movies. Though this character wasn't originally created by Tarantino, he's truly a strong element of the film, and although he may be seen as cliché, there's no doubt he's very memorable. In fact, all the characters are memorable. Bill, who is actually my favourite villain of Kill Bill, has the most genius dialogue ever. Budd is hilarious, as well as being a bad guy who we feel quite sympathetic for. Then we have Elle Driver. She's brilliant. Truly brilliant. She's a cold hearted bitch, but that doesn't mean that she isn't a badass. She is a total badass. She's one hell of a villain. The Bride returns just as fantastic as she was in Vol. 1, and we find out her real name as well. Tarantino goes into a lot of detail to explain how this story came to be, with wedding and The Bride's pregnancy. If you loved Vol. 1, then experiencing the backstory of it is just as enjoyable. There are one liners that are truly sensational, and above all else, you have a kick-ass heroine.

Uma Thurman... is The Bride. After playing her in Vol. 1, Thurman is just perfect now as The Bride. She returns to Vol. 2 just as badass and likeable, and she's definitely put a lot of work into the preparation for this role (languages, fitness, etc.), but to me, whenever I hear someone say "Uma Thurman", I'll just think of The Bride. David Carradine is an absolute scene stealer as Bill, delivering his epic dialogue with style. Michael Madsen is a cool and funny red neck as Budd, and Daryl Hannah is one sexy lady, bringing brilliance to the role of Elle Driver. Gordon Liu returns to Vol. 2, having played Johnny Mo in Vol. 1. Here he plays Pai Mei, and he does it wonderfully. Another actor who returns for a much different role is Michael Parks. Parks had a cameo in Vol. 1 as a detective investigating El Paso massacre. In Vol. 2, he plays Bill's father figure, adopting a truly sensational Spanish accent.

Vol. 1 was highly influenced by the East, with genres like Hong Kong martial arts and Japanese chanbara films. Even the music itself had a Japanese touch. Vol. 2 borrows from the West, particularly Spaghetti westerns. Tarantino's pal Robert Rodriguez composed the score with the RZA, with a very stong western influence. In terms of action, Vol. 2 doesn't contain as much of that as Vol. 1, but when there are fights and guns, the film is spectacular, with the fight between The Bride and Elle Driver being one of the highlights of the film. Slickly photographed by cinematographer Robert Richardson, everything looks gorgeous, and Sally Menke's editing is terrific. Both of these elements are influenced hugely influenced by the west, and all the locations are superb. However, there was classy use of camerawork that was actually in the style of old school martial arts movies. Constant zooming in on the face is very nostalgic and brings me back to the old days with the Shaw brothers. Gory make-up and effects give the film that classic Tarantino edge, and the credits sequence will bring back memories.

Kill Bill should be treated as one film - both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 should be considered one whole thing. There is no doubt that Kill Bill is my favourite movie ever made. I fell in love with the characters, especially The Bride, and the climax is just superb. The two films are different, but they both have their own ways of entertainment. Vol. 1 will make you laugh, and provides thrills with the action set-pieces. Vol. 2 keeps the enjoyment level at 10 with the exploration of the story you haven't been told. Tarantino has always made competent movies, but Kill Bill is right at the top of the list as his best. It's a tribute to cinema, and shows just how much of a film buff Tarantino really is.