DVD : 1/5 Rating : Shogun Assassin

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IMHO REVIEW :
what a disappointing movie. :(

i had high hopes as this movie is based on one of my favorite comic series - lone wolf and cub. i rented it - and started watching it when to my joy the intro of the movie was familiar to me. i had heard it in Kill Bill part 2 when Uma's character and her daughter watches a movie... it's this movie.

so with gleeful content i watched, only to be utterly disappointed. first the main character choice... it was just hard for me to believe a fat-ish guy with a double chin to be a bad ass samuria, plus the movie seemed more like a compilation of fight scenes from another movie / show. the story arc was poor - if you can even find it and they butchered the characters.

they made the final villian the shogun who happened to be a wizard??!?!?! WTF?

avoid it... avoid it at all cost. read the comic series instead.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Ichi the Killer

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IMHO REVIEW : *WARNING*
another ultra-violent movie. if you liked old boy this would be it for stylized cartoonish violence. not for the faint of heart.

the reason i have a warning on Takashi Miike is known for doing ultra violent movies and pushing the boundaries. his other famous movie is 'The Audition' - but unlike that movie this is just trying to show you the gore. there are moment's when the violence seem cartoonish - especially towards the end. but this movie is not for the faint of heart.

what is the plot? it's basically about a sadistic gangster whose boss (also a sadistic bastard) was murdered - very messy like. so this gangster is out to try to find the killer. you later learn that this killer is 'Ichi.' in addition to this the gangster (his the guy on the cover) goes about trying to find his bosses' killer by torturing random / various people.

mind you there are moments when i thought - damn, that's pretty creative (and very very creepy) but there are more moments when you just have to look away.

Ichi the Killer combines sadism and a murder mystery. it's an entertaining watch - but be WARNED it's amazingly visually violent.

DVD : 2/5 Rating : V for Vendetta

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw this over the weekend with two friends of mine who hasn't read the comic book. they thought it was 'okay' nothing great, but not bad by any means. me - having read the graphic novel didn't like it at all.

perhaps it is cause i'm a fanboy and have read the graphic novel, know that the writer, alan moore, was so unhappy bout this project that he basically wanted no association with the movie (his partner / illustrator was given credit in the movie) and they changed natalie portmans character ALOT! in the graphic novel her character is suppose to be this 12 year old gal who decides to become a prostitute. on her first nite out she solicites (very poorly) a fingerman - which is how she gets into trouble and 'V' helps out.

there's also alot of little details / interactions / relationships which the comic goes into which the movie doesn't. my recommendation. if you've read the book do not go see this movie. if you haven't read the book but enjoyed the movie - go find the graphic novel.

DVD : 0/5 Rating : The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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IMHO REVIEW :
just saw this movie tonight - had high hopes as it seemed to have gotten decent reviews, but was super disappointed.

very very bad. did not like it at all. wonder how people whose actually read the books feel about it. felt like there was too much content which was condensed - leaving out details which (i'm guessing) is important to the overall storyline.

the movie completely lost my interest and hopes when they introduced santa - SANTA! DAH! what kind of movie expects santa to give you weapons! come on!

ho ho ho - you've been a good boy, here's a sword to kill little animals. come on!

THEATER : 3/5 Rating : Superman Returns

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IMHO REVIEW :
went to see superman 3D at the IMAX theater yesterday. it was an interesting event. because it was at the IMAX theater we had to get there super early. the showing wast at 10:15pm - but we got there at 8 to get the tickets and get in line. we waited an hour outside, then we were let inside - to wait in yet another line. and finally at 10:10pm they let us in. now about the review.

Superman Returns seemed more like a re-introduction to superman. the storyline as to why he has not been in the public eye was good, the acting was pretty good - the pacing was okay, but i was hoping for more action. the whole lex luthor's crazy scheme seemed kinda lame and seemed like an after thought. the real story was - where has superman been all this time and lois lane being engaged + with child. i won't get into the details of the plot as i'm sure you'll want to see it yourself. but be warned - it's 2 1/2 hrs long. so use the bathroom before watching.

now the 3D aspects... it was interesting. sadly the 3D looked a bit fuzzy + it made the movie look darker then it was - losing details. i would recommend you see this at a normal theather without 3D.

bottom line - the story between superman and lois lane is interesting. lex luthor's story arc... eh.

also - the actor Kal Penn (the guy who played Kumar in Harold and Kumar) was one of lex's henchman and was shown many times - but he never actually said anything through out the whole movie! come on - let Kumar speak!

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

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IHMO REVIEW :
saw this last night (yes after i saw Superman Returns) and was surprised to like it. not a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. but he was likeable in this movie (i thought). it's from the same peeps who did the 'Lethal Weapon' series and has the same feel. so if you liked lethal weapon - you'll probably like this movie as well.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Night Watch

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw this the other day. i know that i reviewed this movie (kinda) sometime ago stating i didn't like it much... but i got it via netflix and watched it again. here's my second review.

the first time i watched it was over at a friends house after a food coma... i was half falling asleep trying to read the subtitles. this time around i was wide wake and enjoyed the movie very much. to my shock.

one odd thing though... in the language selection they only had english, french and spanish. no russian... whatever. the story was pretty good - i especially enjoyed how everything tied in. if you enjoy fantasy, epic stories that you'll be very entertained. it won't move you - it won't leaving with an epiphany, but it will leave you entertained.

FYI - this is the first film of a trilogy. on the dvd they had extras showing the director / writer talking bout it with them filming the second film. i'll be waiting for the second installment.

DVD : 0/5 Rating : 16 Blocks

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IMHO REVIEW :
i've seen this movie some time ago - wasn't moved to review it. but to be complete - here's my review.

don't watch it. it sucks ass. not enough action, the ending is all hollywood and it just doesn't compare to any of the die hard series.

DVD : 0/5 Rating : Hostage

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw this movie some time ago - review = bad. well - disappointing. i guess it's mainly cause when i see bruce willis in an action flick i automatically think of the die hard series - which were all entertaining - great plot twists and of course big bangs! this movie just didn't have it.

it tried to have plot twists - which initially were interesting, but it didn't build. it just fizzled... and of course you gotta hate it when they don't explain stuff. who were the bad guys again?

NOT RECOMMENDED

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Running Scared

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IMHO REVIEW :
so yea... i'm catching up on my movie reviews. saw this two nights ago. it isn't bad... there were two things that annoyed me slightly - but if you can set that aside it's pretty entertaining. (way better then 16 blocks or hostage).

1. the ending is just too convenient. it just ties all the loose ends in like 5 min... that always annoys me.

2. the way things all tie together - how the story goes from one character to the next and so forth... it's just... to contrived? if you can look away from that - it's very entertaining and the pace is fast.

if you're looking for a good action flick where you'll be entertained that i think this would be a good flick. but if you get annoyed with details and such... you might want to stay away from this.

DVD : 4/5 Rating : Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor

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IMHO REVIEW :
just watched this over at harolds place - bloodie great movie. the timing on the subtitles were slightly off, but other then that the movie was great.

day watch is the second installment of a trilogy. the first was night watch, the second is called day watch.

here's my review - without giving too much away. the second movie seemed like they had a bigger budget (the first was a huge hit in russia) and they dive in deeper into the story and explore more about the world - exploring it. the overall setup is great. there are two forces - the dark and the light. these forces have a truce... and there are peeps to enforce that truce, should the truce be broken - there will be all out war. simple yes, but the way the story works within the setup is great.

the creativity of the writer or production person or whoever came up with all the cool stuff is fantastic. the bit i love most is how they take common objects and give it a back story, making these objects interesting. example - flashlight, in the first movie the flashlight was a weapon, which can expose and harm the 'dark.' in this movie they introduce more stuff - such as the camera, a piece of chalk, a childs toy. it's great.

the second movie has a complete story - if you haven't seen the first movie you can still enjoy this story, but you'll enjoy them slightly more if you have seen it as all the characters from the first movie is in the second. the completeness of this story was great - all i can say is i have no idea how they are gonna top this one and what story they will do for the third... it was that complete.

if you're interested in watching this movie now and not wait... go to scarecrow videos on roosevelt (seattle).

THEATER : 2/5 Rating : Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw this movie earlier with my dad - it was what i was expecting. not bad but by no means great. it had it's moments, it had all the various special effects - it left a lot of stuff hanging... pretty much what i expected reading some of the reviews on bluedot.

noticed kids in the movie theater watching this - was wondering how they could sit through all 2 1/2 hrs of this without getting tired. was shocked the kids seemed to enjoy it - there were some movie gore, but they didn't seem to mind. go figure.

my recommendation - watch it only if you have nothing else to watch and you really wanna go watch a movie. otherwise, go grab a beer.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Empire of the Wolves

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw 'empire of the wolves' the other day and here's my review. it's pretty darn good! the movie - as i see it - is in three parts. part one: creepy! - part two: mystery + twist. - part three: build up + conclusion. in that sense it kinda threw me of initially - cause the first 1/3 of the movie seems like it's gonna be a horror flick (meaning - it has some visually gross stuff... so if it's not your thing - look away) but after that it goes in deeper to solving a mystery...

the mystery is great - there are multiple characters all unique which all seems to be converging. some characters : young cop trying to find a serial killer. corrupt cop who was fired - but knows the turkish underwold. government official wife whose memory is failing her. the serial killer. those are the four main characters - but they have a slue of supporting casts which are all very well played out & given time to develope.

overall - a very entertaining movie. my only grip was the very end... it ended too 'neatly.' i dislike movies that end too neatly - especially when the whole movie was spent building up towards the end... where you're wondering - what the shits gonna happen next! and then it's... oh - is that all. :(

but still a good mystery story with lots of twists and turns you don't expect (i didn't). if you're up for a mystery - this would be a good flick.

DVD : 0/5 Rating : The Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse

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IMHO REVIEW :
okay... picked up this movie cause the last movie with jean reno i saw was pretty good (Empire of the Wolves). well this movie was utter crap.

this movie was utter crap (i thought) as it tried to be an action / mystery / drama / buddy flick - and doing non of them well. the action sequences was really... out of place? there was all this fight sequences - but not by jean reno whose kinda like the main character - but by some rookie cop... what the shit? so are they like buddies - like leathal weapon or something? nope - the interplay between the two doesn't even happen til the middle of the movie and done poorly.

the mystery - eh... not much mystery there. meaning there really wasn't that much buildup. whenever they tried they'll screw it up by randomly inserting an action sequence - which distracts from the mystery / drama factor of the movie. sadly i didn't notice that this was part 2 of a movie by the same name.... (grrrrrr....) i had heard that part one was good and part two was crap. well let me tell ya - this was crap.

don't watch it. there's so many other good movies to waste your time on. :)

THEATER : 2/5 Rating : Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

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IMHO REVIEW :
saw this movie with my dad today - had pretty high hopes considering peeps on bluedot seemed to have enjoyed it + the overall rating on rottentomatoes.com was pretty good.

watched the movie and found it was.... eh. there were funny moments - but that's what it was, just funny moments with random stuff put in between. i'm getting to the point were i'm starting to believe that all of will ferrell's movies are movies of funny moments.

my personal recommendation would be if you're looking for some chuckles this is an option - but i'd say a rent option.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Throne of Blood

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IMHO REVIEW :
hmm... it has occurred to me that i seem to be on a samurai / japanese kick - it wasn't intentional, it just seems to have worked out that way.

now for the review of throne of blood - this movie is from the Criterion Collection. it's a lovely movie - just not as good as the previous Criterion Collection movies i've seen.

the overall story is interesting (it's based on shakespeare's Macbeth) but for some odd reason it didn't get me super excited. perhaps it was because i knew where the story was headed or perhaps it was because the theme seemed so familiar. it just didn't do it for me - both Rashomon and Hara Kiri were interesting, unique (in the sense it was new to me).

with that stated i think if you've enjoyed Rashomon and Hara Kiri i think you'll enjoy this movie as well - but for me i wanted more. i would recommend this movie, but i think that you'll agree - the plot is pretty self explaintory. after the first 10 min you'll know how it will eventually play out.

DVD : 4/5 Rating : Cowboy Bebop The Movie

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IMHO REVIEW :
another great movie - based on an anime tv-series. you'll enjoy this movie more if you watch the tv series only so you're familiar with the characters, but it isn't necessary to watch the tv series to get the overall story for this movie.

the movie is self contained - and unlike most anime movies based on a tv series, it doesn't suck! it's a great addition. it doesn't try to put too much into it. this movie is a complete story - completely seperate from the tv series.

at the bottom of it, this movie is a sci-fi + action + bounty huntin! as for the plot - i'll let amazon tell you more bout it.

what amazon.com says :
A tanker truck is blown to smithereens in the middle of a busy street, and a deadly viral infection is released with the explosion. The Bebop crew - Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV - are instantly after the culprit when the gargantuan reward of 300,000,000 woolongs is announced. But the case gets stranger and stranger as the cold-blooded Vincent Volaju, who supposedly has been dead for ten years, seems to be the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Spike encounters the dangerous Electra, who too seeks the madman. Conspiracies and secrets better left alone are uncovered, and Vincent's reign or terror is nowhere near over yet...

DVD : 4/5 Rating : Yojimbo

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IMHO REVIEW :
watched this the other day - and while watching it it reminded me of one of my fav westerns with clint eastwood - a fistfull of dollars. as i kept watching it the plot - story - scenes all reflected that movie except with swords and not guns.

when i did a bit of research i found that this movie 'Yojimbo' (means bodyguard in japanese) had heavy influence from western cowboy movies - then in turn 'A Fistful of Dollars' is a remake of 'Yojimbo!'

so basically if you enjoyed a fistfull of dollars you'll enjoy this as well - except you'll already know the story. :)

DVD : 1/5 Rating : Poseidon

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IMHO REVIEW :
bad as bad can be. this movie came out to theaters - and quickly went away - after having watched this i understand why.

it sucked (imho) for the following reasons.
1. it was all special effects - no character
2. you just did not give a hoot about any of the characters - so when they died you're like 'bout time.'
3. did i mention no charcter development
4. no lay of the land. it spends no time what-so-ever explaining the lay of the land (in this case boat) so you have no clue as to the progress of the characters.

so what would i have done?
1. made the whole intro like the love boat - introduce all the characters and give sometime for character development and interaction

2. spend some time having the cap. of the boat show the boat off - that way when the shit hits the fan the viewer can have a mental image of where the characters are heading.