Batman Soul Of The Dragon

The second I heard this concept I knew I was game for it.

An Elseworlds tale of Batman in the 1970s, with influences of martial arts, Bond, and weird cults, sign me the hell up! And I actually can fully grant this a strong rating, I had a real good time with this movie. You can tell the director knew exactly what he wanted to do, taking so many elements from so many sources and incorporating it to make a solid good movie. You get a bit of Bond at the beginning with a flat out call back to The Living Daylights, you get the oriental martial arts stuff like Enter The Dragon and even some Big Trouble In Little China stuff, and it fully embraces the 70s style, jargon, and aesthetic. I do however feel the title is a bit misleading, it genuinely is the one thing I actually don't like about the movie because Batman is like in two scenes. Oh Bruce is present almost from the word go, but you really only see the cape and cowl on two occasions which is a shame because I really like how it adapted Neal Adams 1970s suit, with the grey and blue with the yellow bat symbol, I could kinda argue the cowl looks off but everything else looks so good. The story is more an ensemble with Batman, Bronze Tiger, Shiva, and more obscure character Richard Dragon as we kinda delve into Bruce's training and them hunting down this weird syndicate/cult led by Kobra who I briefly mistook for Copperhead. It's a simple but good story and the cast brings that perfect balance between serious and fun, David Giuntoli has a strong good voice for Batman and I believe this is the first time he has done the role and he did a mighty good job I'd say. Michael Jai White is excellent casting for Bronze Tiger, and to see some Black Dynamite influence in the movie made me a very happy camper. It was so great seeing Kelly Hu back as Shiva after playing Arkham Origins so many years ago, she's awesome and brings a lot more to the character than before so nothing but love from me there. Mark Dacascos while sharing the lead with David does a good job and gives a proper good introduction to this character I find, you can obviously see the Bruce Lee inspiration yet still retains an identity of his own. We even get friggin' James Hong, bless that man, we get David Lo Pan and he is perfect as always. I knew it was him instantly and I was thrilled to have him in this. The animation was also spot on, having great fluidity for the action scenes and worked great with the aesthetic of the time period, hell this movie had me at opening credits seeing that 70s Warner Bros. logo told me everything I needed to know about the visuals in this film. And I gotta say, I was about to go on the rant again about another R rated DC animated movie, yet it actually kinda warranted it and didn't even attempt some horseshit sex nonsense, it delievers some blood and some deaths without it reaching that animated Mortal Kombat movie levels I reviewed earlier this year, so shit I'm kinda stumped what to say next. It's a good movie, solid but not outta sight, 4 stars, 8/10. Well worth a rental and if you're hardcore about the animated DC stuff, is a welcome addition to the collection in my opinion. What did I review last time that was animated DC? Wonder Woman Bloodlines and Superman Red Son, those were pretty good too so I hope the trend continues as we talk next time about the highly anticipated The Long Halloween. Please God. Please. Don't be bad. When it comes to the big proper beloved titles of the Batman it has been some hit and miss, so fingers crossed guys. See you then.

Snake Eyes

Full frontal admission here, I know precisely dick about G.I. Joe.

I've maybe watched 2 or 3 episodes of the show on a sleepless night in my pre-teen years on Boomerang, I can name exactly 3 characters, Snake Eyes, Baroness, and Cobra Commander, and that's about it. So I walked in virtually blind, and the movie was okay. It wasn't horrible but wasn't terribly good either, I'd say the cast is the strongest point of the movie, the action is very shaky and is slightly hard to follow at times but done admirably, the story really didn't grab my attention until a good bit in, and the fact that the majority of the film takes place in Tokyo gets the movie some brownie points. Of course I enjoyed that immensely, seeing the bits of culture and locations on a big screen brought me much joy. But in terms of plot, it's sheer basics. We meet up with a young Snake Eyes, who sees his father murdered and devotes his entire life to kill the man who did it, only to be recruited by a ninja clan and you know the rest. It's very by the numbers, I kinda expected it to be an average decent movie from the trailers and TV spots and that's really what I got. I would absolutely love to see a hardcore G.I. Joe fan's thoughts on this, picking up on all the easter eggs and educating me on the differences. Henry Golding is a decent lead, he has the physical prowess and is believable in the role and he commits fully. Andrew Koji does actually really good work with the material and the inclusion of his character being the next heir to a powerful family clan brought a lot of enjoyment to the film for me. Haruka Abe is awesome, able to pull off the choreography and does indeed suit the role of chief of security for the family, she's class. Takehiro Hira and Ursula Corbero are okay villains, just not having much of a role to really play with. And from what very super little I know and have seen of the Baroness, I think Ursula hits the nail on the head in terms of physicality, and I'm genuinely curious to see what might come next for this new fledgling series. It's kind of a modus operandi for these G.I. Joe movies to be average, the first run got what, like 2 movies? And were not terribly loved at that, so it kinda peaks my interest more than anything to see if this series continues, though I have this tugging sense that this will be a one shot. Not because it's bad but because of how it's all about the profit the movie makes to seal the deal for a continuation. I'm not expecting high art or future action movie classics with this series, but it could turn into something better than what is here. I personally give the movie 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, but you can tell there was honest to God effort in terms of sets, choreography, acting, and it wanted to tell a story beyond this even if the story and script were not very good. It's a mixed bag, and thusly very mixed conclusions can be drawn from it. And on that shrugging bombshell it is time to end this week, see you next time everybody.

Mortal Kombat

Shit that still held up.

For a movie I haven't seen in about 15 years, I still liked it! And from my limited knowledge on Mortal Kombat it did pretty good, which is strange because Mortal Kombat in some form or another has been a part of my childhood. I played Mortal Kombat 2 lots on the Super Nintendo, played the arcade cabinets, and watched the movie despite me being roughly 10 years old. Hell I even remember how I saw this movie for the first time, I got my Nan to buy the VHS at a Sam's Club of all places and I think she knew about the game cause she asked what the rating was but I got it and I quite liked. But now I have a lot more appreciation for it, it genuinely truthfully is a pretty decent movie! It takes the basic plot, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade through various means are brought to the tournament of Mortal Kombat spearheaded by Shang Tsung and must fight for the sake of the world. Fairly accurate to the games. The first thing I gotta say is the production of this movie is excellent, even though the CGI is not quite good it's used when needed. The sets are outstandingly crafted, the cast does pretty good with lots of love going to Robin Shou and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa being the highlights of the cast, this soundtrack man, ho my gawd is the bomb dot com, no horeshit Jack. Just the amount of practical effects used must truly be applauded cause you would think oh it's CGI bullshit, it's so dense every single image has so much going on, they use it for anything and everything but that is far from true. This has honest to God effort in sets, choreography, acting, they wanted to do it as best as they could. Ooh but it doesn't have the blood and gore, oh it doesn't have an R rating, jabber jabber jabber, accept it for what it is. The filmmakers knew damn well the demographic was teens so they made a movie for teens to be able to go see, and shock twist everybody it made over $120 million dollars with an $18 million dollar budget so it did great in theaters and no doubt became a mainstay for video rental stores. And trust in me when I say, you get your money's worth of fights, in Street Fighter there was hardly any but here my God, after 40 minutes in it's practically non-stop fighting, it gives some preamble and explanation to this world then is all out martial arts. I have to praise the actors cause they just flat out did it all, they were trained for extensive fighting and they do pay it off. Now obviously some are more seasoned fighters than others but that doesn't take away from the effort of these actors. I mean I couldn't do 1/10th of the moves they pull, it's mighty good stuff! I was just so pleasantly surprised with the quality, and urge people to watch it again if you haven't already. 3 stars, 7/10! I wish...God how I wish I could say with all of my might the next one is just as good. I'm getting depressed just thinking about it. Tomorrow, I will face annihilation.

Ip Man 3

I think with this movie it all depends on perspective whether it is better than the last or not.

I personally think it does, it adds more risk which thusly leads to more intense and kinda stressful fight scenes cause you're not sure what will happen, very important character developments, and has one of the oddest pairings of fighters in history. So we fast forward quite a few years, Ip Man's son is all grown up, his father is still teaching in Hong Kong, but trouble starts brewing when a gang of thugs led by, I swear I am not lying, Mike Tyson start harassing people for their property including Ip Man's younger son's school which turns serious after his young son is kidnapped. Meanwhile, it is soon discovered Ip Man's wife actually has cervical cancer, leading to a pretty rough viewing especially if you have known people close to you who have had cancer. This is the aspect that makes the film better than the last in my opinion. Because we've always had the same actress Lynn Hung as his wife, they don't pull a Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor and have a different actress each movie, and whether or not they planned all 3 movies out in advance or not it works. Because the family element of his life has always been there, his wife tries to keep him home so they can live their life together though he always gets spirited away in events, he tries to balance work and home but fails, especially in this movie it seems their marriage is pushed to the breaking point until she grows more and more sick leading him to spend more and more time with her which is very sweet and a nice change of pace. You know he loves her and wants to be there, but the world has different plans and he is an upstanding guy so he tries to help when he can. There's one scene, I believe not long after he finds out she has cancer and he's sitting out in public, and you can tell this man is contemplating the future of his life without her in it. It's such a very brief scene but it does so much. I know some people have this issue with foreign films of, well I don't know their acting styles so I can't tell if the performance is good. That does not apply here. It's crushing to see this couple go through the worst situation possible, and to see them so emotionally revealed. I think they chose wisely focusing on the family side of Ip Man's life so prominently, though of course there is still many confrontations. Which just throws me off even more cause there is such a powerful story being told just between a man and his wife, and then here comes Mike Tyson herding these hoodlums and challenging Ip Man to a fight. And while it is interesting to see a no bars fight between one hell of a boxer, and a grandmaster of martial arts without all the regulations of a legit boxing match seen in the last movie, it just feels odd. It doesn't hurt the film, but you do ask questions as to why. But ours is not to reason why, ours is but to watch and buy. And all these movies are worth buying if this is your style of movie. I figured it fit the action standard of a summer movie, while discussing a genre of film that I greatly enjoy and admire though I have seen in reality very little. I know there are countless kung fu and mixed martial arts movies out there, some definitely worth seeing, so I wanted to share a more less known movie series that could be interesting and entertaining to watch for even a casual movie lover.

Next week, is sort of a mixed bag. It's either gonna be 1 or 2 In Retrospect reviews with 2 movie reviews including one coming out in theaters next Friday. May have some controversial opinions about the new movie for some, but hopefully you will not hold that against me.

Ip Man 2

I think I would say this film is better than the first.

So the story picks up not long after the first with Ip Man living in British occupied Hong Kong where he begins a new school and starts taking pupils. He encounters various other Masters, and through altercations with one's students they form a rivalry which soon turns to respect and understanding. And a boxing event is announced which leads to the clashing of two styles, western boxing and eastern martial arts with Ip Man fighting not for superiority but for respect. And you may notice a....shall we say a specific pattern with this movie. Now granted, film is a langauge that surpasses all barriers, and no idea is truly original. And while the factual events happened decades before, this film combines plot from Rocky 1 through 4! Two fighters form a rivalry, they rematch while hero's wife is preggers, rivals become friends and find mutual respect for one another, one friend dies in a fight and the other must avenge him. They even do a slow-mo run for crying out loud. But does that hinder my enjoyment of the movie? Actually no, you feel this palpable passion to see Ip Man win this fight. And the fights really up the ante this time around, being much more elaborate in the use of objects and even camera placement. There is one scene I especially admire where Ip Man explains to one of his pupils the importance and values of Wing Chun, cementing even more his calm, nonviolent, and all around kind demeanor. Which is why in my opinion, they casted Donnie Yen perfectly, he really is one of the nicest people you will meet like, ever. Plus they throw in a few familiar faces from the first movie, which is always appreciated. It's just a really good movie, a little more or less action depending on your point of view, but worth your time nevertheless. But we got one more, so let's see if the 3rd ends on a high note.

Ip Man

Well I figured we needed at least one action movie series before July ended.

Now I must admit, though my love and appreciation for martial arts film is high I surprisingly have not seen a lot of it. I want to, I know there have been tons of well done, well told, very good films with martial arts fighting in it that is unbelievable but I am glad I have seen this one. Not only does Ip Man have very impressive and incredible fighting scenes, but the story delves deep into the history of one of the most well known teachers of Wing Chun. So the story takes place in 1937, Ip Man has been living a quiet life teaching at his school until the Japanese invade China and occupy his city, where the general of the Japanese army challenges every master of every school to a duel to prove Japan is superior in every way. But Ip Man is surprisingly not a competitive and eager to fight kind of person, they do justice to the man and show him as kind, understanding, and respectful but has his limits like any person and will fight because it is the right thing to do and defeat the general. Now of course this is a trope in film, but all tropes have some basis in reality. He of course sees Wing Chun as something more than pure physical strength and power, and never oversteps his boundaries. His fighting style shows prowess and reservation, more about draining his opponent and finding openings to attack than a pure outpour of energy and strength, you can tell an awful lot about a person from how they fight. Almost as if their fighting styles and techniques are just further extensions of their character. To pit against a western point of view, Rocky Balboa is a southpaw, unorthodox, can take hits and dish them out twice as hard, unbelievable will and determination to win. You can tell a lot about Rocky from his fights, the same with Ip Man. And the fights are outstanding, with such speed and quick editing but never so fast you have no idea what is going on. The shots are well placed enough to encapsulate the entire fight, and the editing adds power and style to make every fight exhilirating and have a purpose. Now obviously martial arts is the name of the game, you go see a movie like this to view such well executed fight scenes, fights can occur from something like the dropping of a hat, but this movie's fights progress the story and be highly entertaining. That is in my opinion, the true virtue that makes a great martial arts movie. And I do highly suggest you watch the subtitled version, granted there is nothing wrong with the dub, but to appreciate the acting and story better that's the one to go for. If these movies are a guilty pleasure or something you greatly enjoy, if you haven't seen it you probably should. And we got 2 more before the week is out so stick around.

Kill Bill Vol. 2

Yeah this movie was just as good as the first.

Okay so Kill Bill Vol. 2 pretty much picks up where the last film left off with The Bride continuing her hunt for those that did her wrong, interlaced very nicely with flashback to her training with a kung-fu master but also what happened before Bill shot her in the head. To be honest I greatly enjoyed the first movie more than the second but it was still a great movie nevertheless. I think of it as the first movie was over the top but not at all in a bad way and the second movie is more subdued. Uma Thurman is still great as The Bride, we see more of Bill played by David Carradine who is pretty damn good in this movie. To me he is sort of an enigma, I can't make heads or tails of his character which I think is what they were going for, cause he doesn't seem like a nice guy, and although he did almost kill The Bride he doesn't really do much else bad. It really does keep you guessing as to what the hell he is going to say or do next, and I have to admit he has a really good monologue even though I could argue the merits of it since it involves Superman. One thing I never mentioned in the last review is that the films have scenes in black and white, and that makes you greatly appreciate the color in this movie although the black and white cinematography is gorgeous. The editing is much slower but still has it's uniqueness to it, the music is still great and I was very pleasantly surprised hearing Ennio Morricone's score from The Man With No Name movies. Now obviously you have to watch both parts to get the full story, and the second part is really good but the first part really hit it out of the ballpark for me. And there is a twist in this movie! Like I'm going to tell you, but you won't see it coming ever. So really good movie, really good series, got one more review this week so stay tuned for more!

Kill Bill Vol. 1

And thus I have returned from my turkey coma, and am ready to begin again.

I have never ever seen this movie until now, and I can safely say that I am not dissapointed. This film is fantastic. Like almost all of Quentin Tarantino's work it is greatly different from any other movie you have seen before. Slick, beautiful, quick, and unforgiving Kill Bill Vol. 1 is a sight to behold. The story is a revenge story, Uma Thurman is The Bride as she is called in this movie hunting down every single person who left her for dead on her wedding day. I really enjoyed how the story is told, very much like in Pulp Fiction it is told out of order and thankfully you never get lost as to where the events take place. Uma Thurman who is great as The Bride can get a hell of a lot of emotion out even though she speaks very little. The fight scenes are brilliant, and the choreography in them is staggering. The editing is quick in every scene and is very fluid. The music has such a wide range of variety, like you hear music from Nancy Sinatra to hearing music straight out of a spaghetti western, it is a character in and of itself! The film is brutal, it's beautiful, it catches your eye from the beginning and never lets go until the credits roll. So my expectations are soaring for Vol. 2, I cannot wait until tomorrow! Give this film a shot, it is very dynamic and different but that is the reason why people love it!