300: Rise of an Empire

SEIZE AND PREPARE FOR GLORY FOR TONIGHT, WE DINE IN HELL!

Release dates: March 4, 2014 (Asia)

March 5, 2014 (United States)

Sullivan Stapleton as Themistocles

Eva Green as Artemisia

Lena Headley as Queen Gorgo

Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes

Director: N

Producers: Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, 300, Watchmen)

Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Batman: The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Strikes Again)

Notable Quotes:

"If death comes for me today I am ready." - Artemisia

"You fight for freedom? I offer freedom without consequence or responsibility" - Artemisia 

"Let our final stand be recorded in the histories, that we chose to die on our feet rather than live on our knees!" - Themistocles

"It begins as a whisper... a promise... the lightest of breezes dances above the death cries of 300 men. That breeze became a wind. A wind that my brothers have sacrificed. A wind of freedom... a wind of justice... a wind of vengeance." - Queen Gorgo

This movie is neither a sequel nor a prequel but rather a film that connects to all the aspects of how things unfolded within The First and Second Greco-Persian War. It took 7 years for producer Zack Snyder (who directed the first film) to come up with the second film from his successful film 300 back in 2007.  The film is based on Frank Miller's  unpublished graphic novel "Xerxes". There are a lot of things that I considered while watching this film. Fist of, will this be as successful as the first film? Second, will it have that same strong story line like what we witnessed in 300? Thirdly, will the new protagonist Themistocles played by Sullivan Stapleton to be as eye catching and watchable as Gerard Butler's portrayal of King Leonidas? Luckily, almost everything went well with my expectations.

Let's face it, Themistocles is no Leonidas as Sullivan Stapleton is no Gerard Butler. When Butler played Leonidas he was ravishing, mighty, powerful and memorable. He had a lot of lines in the film that were memorable as well. As for Stapleton's portrayal of Themistocles, it was hard for me to focus on him as the main protagonist as he was not even close to a 100% memorable guy here. I watched the film with my wife and both of us got confused at times as who was really the hero of the film. Stapleton wasn't really that convincing and interesting but I guess his character did some good in the movie. Protagonists should all be interesting to watch and should provide a performance to remember and be talked about for a long period of time. 

 

As for the main antagonist of the film Artemisia, which was played by actress Eva Green, she was one bad ass, hot chick villainess to be reconed with. That sex scene between her and Stapleton was ravishing so to speak. It was like a cat and dog fight with growls and all that. Eva's portrayal of the character was great and she somewhat kicked out Xerxes into the sidelines and saying, "Get out of the way gay god king, I'm the bad ass villain here now not you." (^_^) A truly powerful performance but I wished she was aligned with the good guys.

 

I am a bit disappointed at some characters in the movie that mostly did short scenes like Queen Gorgo and Xerxes. Well, for Xerxes, at least we get to see how he became the self proclaimed god king. As for Gorgo, to be honest when I first heard that a sequel will be made and she was in the movie, I thought she would have more scenes and have a huge part  in the film but sadly she took over as the narrator of the film (in the first film it was Dilios who narrated the story) After seeing the film I wished Gorgo and Artemesia had clashed and that Gorgo was the one who killed Artemesia. That would've been nice if they did that but I guess they are saving her blade and furry for Xerxes in the next film since he was the one who killed the King of Sparta. The fight scenes were well choreographed and if you are a fan of gore movies, you won't mind the blood being spilled all over like hell. CGI was good as well especially with the battles at sea and all that but not as memorable as the fight scenes from the first film.

  

My Evaluation

Story: 4/5

Let's admit it, this is no 300 and the characters are not that memorable but the story played out good. Great job for the new director although I would've wanted Snyder to have directed and produced this but hey, that's how things are in life.  I wonder if I can find someone who can connect all these scenes from the two films and make it into one? (hmmm.. interesting wouldn't you say so?) Congratulations to the people behind this movie and I am looking forward to the final chapter of this great franchise. (Hoping that they'd make one and have Gorgo kill Xerxes big time.)

Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Dragon Ball Evolution (2009)

The Legend comes to life....Really? Seriously?

Dragon Ball Evolution

April 10, 2009

Justin Chatwin as Son Goku

Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi

Jaime Chung as Chi Chi

James Marsters as Lord Piccolo

Emmy Rossum as Bulma

I have been a huge Dragon Ball Z fan ever since I watched the series back in the early 90's from Goku's childhood up until the Majin Boo Saga even until the GT series and all of its movies including the latest installment Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. There have been several live action films of the franchise in the past but to be honest, this has got to be the worst live action film of a very famous Japanese anime ever. Why doesn't Hollywood ever learn from their previous mistakes of making a live action film of famous anime's and have western actors and actresses but please, can we stick with the original characters and story lines to be able to create a magical moment with these films?

First of, why in the blue hell is Goku even attending school here? As we know, Goku has lived in the mountain area together with his grandfather until he passed away and all he knows is fishing and martial arts. They totally messed up his character here. Secondly, his first meeting with Bulma was very much different from the original story. I mean again, Goku has lived his entire childhood in the mountains and doesn't even know what a girl looks like. 

 

The entire cast was a disgrace. How in the heck did they end up chosing these actors anyway? I don't want to be so damn harsh on the Dragon Ball franchise but James Wong and the producers ruined everything big time. Dragon Ball was full of action and comedy and that was missing in the film. No offense to Chow Yun-Fat for his portrayal of Master Roshi but he made Roshi more Chinese than Japanese. Master Roshi is a well respected master of martial arts, and a little bit of a pervert (due to his fantasies of Bulma, Chi Chi and the other women in the DBZ world). Chow tried to portray the role but seems that he was holding back a lot on being a pervert like Roshi was. It was never close to what the original looked like. 

 

Oh I almost forgot, where in the blue hell are Krillin, Woolong, and Puar? Yes we have Yamcha but again bad choice of an actor to play the role. Since when did Yamcha became Korean? It would've been nice if Joon Park's character here was a bit more like the original but it was so crazy. Yamcha here could've shown the fist of the wolf fang technique or even the sokidan technique. Would've been really nice if the characters were as they were but no. This could have been a really nice start of a franchise but I guess they thought things were much better this way. 

           

Plus, what's up with the Kame Hame Ha being able to have such a long procedure before being released into an energy wave? And it can heal a person? Since when was the Kame Hame Ha used to heal an injured person? What they adopted in the techniques and the martial arts was more on Kung Fu instead of Japanese martial arts. When Goku first learned about the Kame Hame Ha it was fantastic in the anime and here it was such an unforgivable thing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-zwM1jR_iA

What was Lord Piccolo even doing in this film? He's not even supposed to be the main villain until Goku, Yamcha and Krillin are officially Master Roshi's students and enter the World Martial Arts Tournament. The very first and probably the longest rival of Goku was The Red Ribbon Army. No doubt James Marsters gave a good portrayal of the character but again, with the costume and all that it was a mess.

                             

My Rating

Story: 0.5/5 

CGI: 2/5

Costume Design: 0.5/5

 If someone who didn't know about Dragon Ball Franchise would probably like this movie. But the majority of people now a days knows that this was a great classic that was made into a live action garbage. I hope that they've learned their lesson and have taken down notes from Rurouni Kenshin and start fresh. Get Japanese actors to portray the characters and make up a good story line. Pick up the pieces and make it magical. I am still hoping they'd reboot this and give some honor to the legendary franchise.

Comments and suggestions are always appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Rurouni Kenshin (2012)

"The Hitten Mitsurugi is a style meant to fight many. As long as it is this sword, none of you will die."

Cast:

Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider) as Himura Kenshin / Hitokiri Battōsai
Emi Takei as Kamiya Kaoru
Munetaka Aoki as Sagara Sanosuke
Yu Aoi as Takani Megumi
Koji Kikkwaka as Udō Jin-e


NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A LIVE ACTION MOVIE OF A JAPANESE ANIME THAT WE WILL ALL LOVE AND TALK ABOUT FOR YEARS TO COME!

I have to admit, I love Japanese Anime! Yes, yes I know, I'm a little "too old" according to some people to still be watching cartoons or anime but what the heck. (^_^) This movie is the real definition of a live action film based on an anime series. Plus, this is the only, and I mean ONLY Japanese cartoon that was made into a movie with Japanese actors, not like what they did to the legendary Dragon Ball franchise. Great job by the producers and director of the film by combining a wonderful story and cast. I couldn't have asked for any other person to play Kenshin Himura other than Takeru Satoh who, in Japan, have played the famous Kamen Rider or we so popularly know as Masked Rider. If you ask me, he is the perfect guy to play Battousai. Each of the actors have also done a fantastic job portraying their roles like Koji Kikkwaka who played the villainous Jin-e as well as Munetaka Aoki as the hard headed fighter Sagara Sanosuke. Each and everyone of the cast have researched their characters very well. 

One of the most interesting things in this film was the amazing speed and agility of Takeru. Look at that sick and wicked, super high back flip and picking up the wooden katana was really jaw dropping. He is almost like a meta human or some sort of being. I quote this by saying, "DAMN!" Most films would be using CGI or stunt doubles for these kind of action scenes but they surprisingly held up each scene very nicely.

Another interesting thing is Sanosuke's Zanbato. In the anime, it was a really large and heavy sword which, for me, was a really impossible to handle sword even for anime characters (but what the heck, everything is possible in the world of cartoons) but good job by the director for having used a much more practical sword in the movie. Although it was still big and quite impossible to handle, good thing they stuck with that idea. If they had gone with the same zanbato used in the anime, that would've probably ruin the whole thing. I mean could you imagine if they did a live action film of Final Fantasy 7 wherein Cloud Strife would also be wielding a very very large buster sword and people would go like, "How much does that thing weigh?" "Is it even possible to get a first strike if this was used in a real battle?" (^_^) It is really nice to see the same stuff used in the anime but sometimes we need to be realistic as well.

  

This was the fight sequence I was telling you guys about having a huge zanbato to fight with as a weapon. In the anime, Kenshin fought against Sanosuke to prove his point that fighting and hurting people is not the way to live our lives but instead to protect the people that matter most to us and forget the past and create a meaningful future. In the movie though, he had to run and avoid Sano which was kinda not okay for me. I know several things were changed from the original story but this was a bit odd for me. He could have at least used the Hitten Mitsurugi Ryu Son Sen like in the anime. But heck, at least he made him realize that it was not necessary to fight to please Kanryu. Still was a nice way to execute how they resolved their little conflict with one another.

Another round of applause for making the love triangle of Kenshin, Kaoru and Megumi really unforgettable. I loved the scene at the restaurant wherein Megumi was making Kauro jealous as she even kinda flirts with Kenshin a bit when Kaoru was asking questions about who Megumi was and where she came from. We all know Kaoru will marry Kenshin in the future but if this was like DC or Marvel and they had an alternate universe, Kenshin and Megumi would also work as a great couple. Don't you agree? (^_^) I really loved how the connection between these three characters developed in both the cartoon and the movie. Kudos to Takeru, Yu and Emi for portraying their roles wonderfully. Just look at the look on Kenshin's face when Megumi rested her cheeks on his shoulders, he was like, "Oh boy what am I going to do?" And Kaoru's reaction is like, "Taena ka akin sya!" hehe. 

Japanese fighting techniques have been well executed in this film. Many of the techniques from the anime were applied here and all of the main characters did a swell job. From Saito Hajime's Gotatsu to Kenshin's Hitten Mitsurugi were all but brilliant. I so loved the last battle against Jin-e when Kenshin did the Hitten Mitsurugi Battou-Jutsu. I was thinking to myself, "was it possible to execute that in a live action film?" The answer of course was a big YES!

My Evaluation
Story: 5/5
A well deserved rating I might add.

Watching this movie for 2 hours and 14 minutes is worth it. The musical score for Rurouni Kenshin was also very excellent, bone chilling, spine tingling, gives you goosebumps all over. Every single movie's musical score should in fact make the audience feel the message of the entire story. The fight coordinators have done a brilliant job in all of the fight sequences in the film. We know that in the world of cartoons heroes move fast but boy oh boy did this film not disappoint us huh. Took us all to a whole new level. It was also good that they have come up with a really nice story where it makes us realize that we can make a difference in this world for a better cause. Great story telling helps a film get positive recognition from its audience no matter if it is in Japanese, French or Italian language. In the end, no matter how dark our past is, if we are willing to seek forgiveness and start a new life, nothing is impossible. I am so looking forward to the sequels which are going to be released in August and September of 2014.

As always, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Iron Man 3 2013

Memorable quotes:

"You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys. One thing you can't take away...I am Iron Man."

"I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without, that's you Pepper."

Now how do I begin with this one? Hmm, oh yeah. I paid to see this in the cinema, even had a little "tampuhan" with my wife about watching it on the big screen and over all I wasn't really that impressed with how this film turned out. I mean come on, who wouldn't want to see it, this is freaking Robert Downey Jr as IRON MAN baby, so I was really excited to watch it. However, sorry to say Robert or Tony, this movie did not live up to my expectations at all. Some people say that this might be the last Iron Man film in the franchise (which I hope is not)This film was the first of what was called Phase 2 of  Marvel's story line for the up coming Avengers: Age of Ultron which is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015. The reason I got hooked up with the first 2 films was because no one has ever tried to make a live action film of the character since its introduction to the comic book world. Maybe there's a reason they had to wait this long because if they did Iron Man in the 80's or 90's, oh boy I couldn't imagine how it would look like especially the suits. Most people say that if the first film is successful, a sequel might be a disaster or could be more successful that the first one (which for some films worked pretty well). 

Things that made me think while watching IM3

1. How did Tony get a hold of his little giger counter thingy like the ones they have in Dragon Ball Z (of course Stark's was way cooler and more advanced) to operate the Mark 42 when he was rescuing those passengers from Air Force One, when he left it in his house and got destroyed during the attack? Did it transport itself from the house? 

2. Why was War Machine (I know, I know, he's been re branded here as Iron Patriot but I like War Machine better) not involved in the last battle? His suit was made useless as well as his character. There are 41 other suits built and the best line that Stark can tell Rhodes when he asked for a suit is "Oh I'm sorry they're only coded to me, which means I got you covered." 

3. Let me just quote The Rock for this next one regarding The Mandarin, "What in the blue hell is wrong with you?" I mean come on people, you decided to go back in the past with Stark dealing with his mistakes and all that so why did they have to change the way The Mandarin was played out here? In the comic books, The Mandarin was the leader of The Ten Rings, which was of course the group of assassins that kidnapped Tony in the first film. They could have probably had him take revenge on Stark on this one since his group was defeated by Iron Man. Ben Kingsley had the look, the costume but damn, I hated it when Tony broke into his layer and would hear this guy start speaking in an English accent, then says he is an actor, then in the end to find out that Killian was The Mandarin. That was a not good for the story I'm telling you. Why can't movie makers just stick with the original story sometimes. 

4. I had no problem when Stark issued an open challenge to The Mandarin by giving out his home address. But come on dude, he spent almost 72 hours awake tinkering and building new suits which in the last battle scene were all combat ready except for Mark 42 which he used to protect Pepper, fend off the bad guys and unfortunately was not mission capable because it was a freaking prototype?!?! Seriously?!?!

My favorite scenes from IM3

1. In the so called "birthing room" were Stark was testing out his newly built Mark 42. I loved it when he danced and called for his suit to come to him and everything got messy when he got a little cocky over how he can handle things.

2. The scene where he was making a deal with Harley and after he gave the kid a protection from bullies to cover up his ass, the next line was a killer; "You know what keeps going thru my head? Where's my sandwich?" Haha! Battered, bruised, homeless, Stark still acts as if he owns the place.

3. After getting rid of the extremis soldiers, I liked how he and Harley dissed each other.

Harley: So you're just gonna leave me here like my Dad?
Stark: Yeah. Wait you're guilt tripping me are you?
Harley: I'm cold.
Stark: I can tell. You know how I can tell? Because we're connected :) (smiles with a grin and drives away)


My evaluation 
Story: 3/5
Visual effects: 5/5

Over all, Iron Man 3 was indeed one of the top grossing films and best films of the past year. I was just really hoping that after The Avengers they would come up with even more bad ass sequels with bad ass stories. I really hate that feeling when I watch a movie, expecting a lot and ending up being 60% unsatisfied because of bad decisions from the producers. I mean I even heard rumors for a post credit scene of IM3 that Tony has rebuilt his Gemini Mark 39 Space Armor and was travelling in space where he would meet the Guardian's of the Galaxy which for me, was a far more better choice of a post credits scene rather than the one they had where Tony was telling his story to Dr. Banner. What was the sense of that? Anyways, enough badgering here. Tony Stark is Tony Stark and I would love Robert to continue to play the hero we have all come to like. 

Comments and suggestions are very much welcome. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Toy Story 3 2012

Here's my first official blog about the movie Toy Story 3. Hope this goes the way I want it. :)




As Bill Cosby always said on his TV show "Kids Say The Darndest Things", there is a kid inside all of us. Toy Story 3 is yet another movie that brings the kid inside all of us adults. Out of all the 3 films, this one really made me cry and made me realize the value of friendship. I mean most of these animated films would try and capture our hearts but this one is a killer (figuratively speaking).

This movie not only has a good plot but the characters have developed a lot from the previous films. I like how director Lee Unkrich made the audience feel so attached to reality and the scenes of the film. I personally liked how the producers ended the franchise (or are they planning to make a fourth film which I think will be in a long time) with this. The ending was sad but it was the best one. (Damn! I'm getting teary eyed again just writing a blog about this.)

FRIENDSHIP AND LOYALTY

 


This is one of the saddest parts of the film when Woody and the other toys where trapped in the incinerator. While watching my heart started to pound faster and was thinking to myself, "Are they all gonna burn?" "Whose going to survive?" This scene is so powerful that it would make you think, "What if you and your friends are in the same situation? Will all of you accept your fates and die in the flames clinging on to each other?" Or will it be like a scenario from the parable "The Prodigal Son" wherein his friend's loyalty was tested when he lost all his money and no one stood by him during those hard times? Every man for himself? In life this situation happens everyday. Friendships tested. Can we overcome these situations? Let me quote Daniel Bryan (WWE) and say YES! YES! YES! YES!


TOYS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

Ok so everyone of us must have experienced having a toy or a set of toys when we were children (some even consider a paper doll a toy) but none the less a toy still. Ever wonder why even as we grow older we can't seem to throw away or give away our toys or the important things from our childhood? I mean I still remember giving away my BioMan Red 1 action figure away to one of Jollibee's MaAga ang Pasko charity works and became really sad. I mean That was one of my favorite toys Had it since I was 5 and honestly I never wanted it to leave my closet and told myself that I will let my children play with it but as reality bites, there are things in life that we have to let go. At the last part of the movie when Andy dropped by at Bonnie's house to give his toys, the whole scene was so sad. It was more of like "passing of the torch" sort of thing there but you will get the feeling of both happiness and loneliness. It's a complicated feeling but hey, it worked for the film. These toys reminded all of us about the importance and value of something we cherish dear in our hearts, Love for your family and friends and loyalty.

 

My evaluation: 4.8 / 5


The animation was really great, I loved how creative the animators were and all the scenes were memorable and the music was fantastic thanks to the musical score of Randy Newman. Disney should keep making movies like these that would not only capture the hearts of children but adults too. In my book, this is one of the best animated films of all time. If you are looking for a perfect movie that both adults and children can watch then this is the one. Who knows, after watching this your bond as a family will be more stronger.

Comments and suggestions are very much welcome. Thank you and have a wonderful day.