Cinematic Perfection Vol. 3

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This critic has seen more than 600 films (Currently working on an exact figure, will figure it out by the end of this week). The fact of that matter is I am a very harsh critic, and one that does not give high marks very often, especially recently. Nonetheless, there are movies in which received the highest honor from me. Yes, perfect scores coming from me do exist, and I am every so often throwing reviews of movies that I absolutely loved and adored to prove to you that yes I can enjoy movies just as much as hate them. These are in no order, they are all equally amazing movies that should be viewed by everybody---at least once ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: This didn't get a perfect score from me, but is the BEST of the martial arts films I've ever seen...so might as well be perfect, right?
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Jui kuen II (1994)

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With Jackie Chan behind the production and the time to perfect it, Legend of Drunken Master winds up becoming a martial arts legend itself, 28 February 2007

To describe Legend of Drunken Master is almost impossible. It has so much, it does so much, and it delivers in so many ways, you cannot really describe the experience. Legend of Drunken Master stands as Jackie Chan's best film, and arguably the greatest martial arts film in history. That's right Bruce Lee fanatics, it tops most/arguably all Lee films. Surely Lee had the strength and the power; but did not have the ensemble cast that Chan had, nor did Lee have any fights that can top the ones the Drunken Master engaged in throughout the 105 minutes of this kung fu madhouse.

With a decent plot, good acting, and a dash of humor to go along with the frenzied action, Legend of Drunken Master is one of those rare complete martial arts films that do more than just throw fights at you. Honestly, there has yet to be a perfect martial arts film. Whether its bad acting, a weak plot, too much focus on action, a pointless romantic story attached, or way too over-the-top substance, there hasn't been a martial arts film worthy of being up there with the best films in the modern era. Jui Kuen II (as they call it overseas) is the closest to the complete package as you can get.

We start the film off with Jackie Chan as the tough yet uncontrollable young kid by the name of Wong Fei-hung who accidentally takes a seal from British smugglers. The smugglers, also involved in overworking Chinese men in a factory resembling slave-like sweatshop of some sort, want the seal back. In the meantime, Wong's controversial fighting technique, drunken boxing, has been met by disapproval of his father, and wants him to refrain from ever using it. Drunken boxing also has a lot of competition and shun from others in the community. Chaos follows as soon as the British and their henchmen find out who has the seal, and vow to do whatever it takes to get it back and to spread fear in the community.

The plot isn't groundbreaking, but its something different than the average martial arts film. While it still contains the themes of family, honor, respect, and dignity contained in most Chinese movies of this genre, the preservation of Chinese art is a concept not used often. Nonetheless, it works, as we see the traditional values of the Chinese being threatened by the more modern mechanisms of the Europeans. There is also a major issue with honor, as Wong's father is morally against drunken boxing, and hates it when his reputation is damaged even a little. The acting involved with the tension amongst Chan and his family is at times a bit overblown, but for the most part gets the job right.

Jackie Chan is one of the few actors/actresses in modern cinema history that can both be taken seriously and lightly. We see Chan at his playful side, especially when he is drunk. But, take away the smile, watch him pose, and you will fear him. Seeing that look in his eye right before a major fight starts can send shivers down your spine, as you know he will not back down easy, and will use whatever technique necessary to take you out. His physical appearance isn't exactly intimidating, but his agility and amazing ability to be balanced and whip out an insane combo of punches and kicks remains to be matched by anyone else out there. The best of Chan is here in terms of acting, usage of props, and kung fu. Don't let his usage of props fool you, he can engage in a brutal victory without the use of any objects. Few Jackie Chan films prove this, but Drunken Master has its share of fights without any other objects floating around.

The fights are what Chan is best known for, and the fights are where the film excels towards jaw-dropping levels. From the first fight, involving swords and extending from underneath a train to a nearby house, to the final fight that lasts over 10 minutes without exaggeration; Drunken Master will wow you, will keep you on the edge of your seat, and will make you almost jump back in amazement. Hollywood does not have enough patience to spend four months on one fight alone, which is why we don't see fights in action films like the ones seen here. The final fight, involving a well-trained kicker and Chan at his drunkest stage is easily one of the best fights in history—it's so well choreographed, so well-timed, and so brilliantly executed, that it deserves a spot on one of modern film's greatest achievements. Raising the bar for generations to come, the last fight mixes speed, agility, humor, combos, fast movements, and unbelievable stunts. In truth, all the clashes prior do the same, but this one puts all the others to shame.

Bottom Line: Missing this film would be a travesty, especially if you enjoy a good martial arts film. This time its not Chan alone that makes the film; we have a good cast of characters and fighters, a decent plot, and never really drifts into an unbelievable level unlike most action movies of today. This is Chan at his absolute best; and this is famed director Chia-Liang Liu at his best. Almost a complete package in terms of quality and substance, Legend of Drunken Master is as close as you can get to martial arts perfection; and remains the greatest martial arts film of all-time.

Meet the Robinsons: 7/10

Delightful futuristic Disney fun with quick humor and faster plot twists, 27 July 2009

7/10 Stars

Pixar, headed by John Lasseter, has slowly been reviving Walt Disney Feature Animation back to its quality days of the early 90s, when Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, and others rocked the box office and captured the hearts of audiences everywhere. One of the first collaborations of Disney Animation receiving the Pixar touch is Meet the Robinsons. Of course, while Pixar's films are far superior, Meet the Robinsons is a very hyper, friendly, and eccentric film that will entertain the family without ever being offensive. While the pacing and plot twists might be a bit much for younger kids to swallow, the message and humor make up for it.

The film follows 12-year-old orphan Lewis desperately trying to find a family to fulfill his desire for a family that would care about him. At the same time however, he scares off potential parents with his plethora of ideas and inventions. One of his inventions however begins to draw people from the future, leading to a crazy ride of a story that takes you through different timelines and dozens of unique encounters with a family from the future that despite the craziness seems to enjoy Lewis' company. This movie awkwardly (and to an extent successfully) combines very fast-paced humor with deep story lines and a massive assortment of characters that will leave you entertained but then forgetful as to whom is named whom. That's what happens when you have half a dozen writers working on the screenplay.

The writing in Meet the Robinsons is its main strength and its main weakness. Its fast-paced humor (that sometimes occurs out of nowhere---try to explain the martial arts sequence at the dinner table please) hits more than misses, and really keeps the movie fresh and engaging. Yet, there is very little character development, resulting in the main hero and main villain as the only dimensional characters in the movie. The rest of the cast is just like the humor; hit and miss. The frogs were rather annoying and unfunny, but the uncles in front of the door were hilarious and much underused.

Animation is a strong point in the movie, despite not matching to Pixar standards. The art style of the future has a retro feel; exactly like Tomorrowland in Disneyland and Disney World (we can even see Space Mountain for a brief moment). The rest of the movie is quite colorful and animated with plenty of energy and pizazz. Unfortunately though, we didn't see enough of the future, as the focus is purely on the family and its antics. One would have hoped to see more of Walt Disney's 50s and 60s visions of the community of tomorrow that he expressed so dearly in Disneyland and eventually in Epcot.

One of the most interesting aspects of Meet the Robinsons is its uncanny amount of plot twists and sudden revelations; especially towards the third act. While some of it can be predicted (the more movies you see, the quicker you can catch details) the usual audience will be quite thrilled at the inability to predict how the bumpy ride of a movie is going to end. But one can't help but feel sorry for the kids—who would be utterly lost in the third act by the time changes that run rampant. Then the fast pacing doesn't help the kids at all. At least they have some wonderful music to listen to while being lost, courtesy of Danny Elfman.

Bottom Line: Meet the Robinsons is one of the deeper rated-G films seen in recent times. Basically Meet the Robinsons is the inferior yet happier version of Wall-E; it's a children's film with deep adult values and a detailed vision of the future. The difference is, Wall-E's future looks very depressing, and we didn't see enough of Robinson's future. The zany humor is what keeps the movie afloat and the kids awake, while throwbacks to retro-future imagination and an engaging plot covering decades and different timelines will be sure to keep the parents and adults in check. After a slew of disappointing projects (Dinosaur, Atlantis, especially Chicken Little) Pixar has breathed new life into Disney animation. Maybe in the future we will see a new Disney Renaissance. In the meantime, Disney "moves forward" with a delightful family film that isn't spectacular, but will not disappoint either.

Cinematic Perfection Vol. 2

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This critic has seen more than 600 films (Currently working on an exact figure, will figure it out by the end of this week). The fact of that matter is I am a very harsh critic, and one that does not give high marks very often, especially recently. Nonetheless, there are movies in which received the highest honor from me. Yes, perfect scores coming from me do exist, and I am every so often throwing reviews of movies that I absolutely loved and adored to prove to you that yes I can enjoy movies just as much as hate them.

These are in no order, they are all equally amazing movies that should be viewed by everybody---at least once
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The best movie of 1984. Among the best films of the 80s. Among the best films of all-time., 30 September 2008

Author: diac228 (diac1987@netscape.net) from Orlando, Florida

While 1984 box-office-wise was dominated by Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters, there is one film that rises above them all in terms of quality by miles upon miles. Amadeus is an excellent and superbly-crafted film that is most likely the greatest stage-to-film translation in the history of film-making. Combining exotic and fascinating sets with great cinematography, flawless acting, grand writing, great directing, and a well-picked soundtrack to blend it all together, Amadeus is a visual treat full of deep themes that will move and question your soul. The effort involved is most likely the reason why mainstream audiences believed that everything that happened in the film actually happened, when in fact it's based off of a popular play. In this tale about religion, greed, envy, music, passion, and love, there is an overwhelming amount of material presented in its above-average running time. Calling this the best movie of 1984 and one of the better movies of the 1980s isn't a stretch at all.

Amadeus starts off with an elderly and bitter Antonio Salieri reaching a low point in his depression by attempting to kill himself. He then confesses to a priest his story about his life involving Mozart, and the film enters a flashback mode that jumps between the past and present; the present in the movie is merely Salieri evaluating the events that were going on. The majority of Amadeus is about Salieri as he struggles to find peace with himself and God after witnessing a childish vulgar man deliver some of the best, daring, experimental, and unbelievable music the world had ever laid its ears on—music that is much better than anything Salieri could produce. Salieri's jealousy and rage gets the better of him as his quest for vengeance and victory spirals out of control at the same time as Mozart's un-expecting depressing spiral. The movie focuses on many themes, with God and religion being the dominant theme.

The strongest quality Amadeus possesses is the excellent directing and writing. The writer and creator of the play was involved with the screenplay, and overall its Oscar-worthy material. Stripping the themes and major ideas from the play and turning it into a film-like medium, the movie itself is just as powerful as the stage version. Peter Shaffer's influences include several short stories about Mozart and many rumored tales that Salieri confessed to killing Mozart (which is heavily debated even today). Milos Foreman, known for directing "One Flew over the Cukoo's Nest," is at the top of his game here. We see many sweeping shots of the city streets, beautiful and massive sets for operas, performances, and musicals, and just so much more. It is one thing to have wonderful sets, but it takes a good director to know how to handle the 360 degrees of beauty surrounding the scene. Complimenting the directing is the editing, which apparently didn't win an Oscar. Try naming 10 scenes better-edited than the "Requiem" scene towards the end.

In a rare double-nomination moment in the Academy, both of the main characters were nominated for best acting, and both of them should have won (instead of just one of them). The acting in Amadeus is nearly flawless, from Tom Hulce as Mozart to F. Murray Abraham as Saliri, to even the smaller roles (See pre-Sex and the City Cynthia Nixon pull a good performance in a minor role). The cast excels the movie into rarely-reached heights, as the opera singers and dancers and performers enhance the authenticity of the period piece and the way the performances were done back in the 18th century/19th century. Even if you aren't a fan of the opera, you can't help but be startled by how long they can cling on to some of those notes.

Bottom Line: Stretching this review any longer would be an insult, because it shouldn't require this many words to describe why everyone should see this movie at least once. Amadeus is an excellent movie, no doubt about it. There's too much going for it for you to ever complain about the nitty-gritty details. The only setback is how much fiction is involved, even though some of Mozart's seemingly-exaggerated accomplishments are indeed true (Yes he did write professional music at age 4, yes he used to be able to memorize an entire piece of music after just one listen, and yes he wrote operas at age 7). But forgetting the loose mesh of fact and fiction and you'll find a rich movie full of wonderful music, beautiful scenery, and memorable scenes. Recommend to the highest degree, especially if you are a fan of classical music, or better yet a fan of good movies. Amadeus: One of the shining gems of the 1980s.

Shut up Hardcore: a Nintendo editorial

So recently on the news, there has been a lovely buzz about video game GOD Miyamoto (For those non-gamers out there, he invented Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Pikmin, Waverace, Donkey Kong, etc. etc. etc.) revealing that Super Mario Galaxy 2 (coming out next year, for those keeping track) will be a bit more hardcore. In other words, it will be a bit more difficult, and gear itself towards the hardcore audience that was rather disappointed in the rather-easy difficulty of Super Mario Galaxy. I am going to admit, despite Super Mario Galaxy being a spectacular game in nearly every way possible, the game did have its simple moments. The game was most definitely created to try to grab a new audience of gamers. Yes, it would be beneficial to the hardcore crowd to get to play a tough Mario game, since the last time we had a tough Mario game was Super Mario Sunshine (which had its frustrating moments towards the end). However, why on earth should Nintendo listen to the hardcore crowd?

If I ran the company, the last group of people I’d listen to would be those so-called hardcore gamers. It sounds rather snobbish to look away from the people that kept your company afloat all these years as gaming made its transition from cult hobby to mainstream sensation, but the Wii is the way that it is because of the abandonment of these so-called hardcore gamers. Nintendo is reaching successful numbers it couldn’t dream of back in the late 90s as Sony was ripping away at its success. Personally, I would first rant away at this group of people before finally pleasing these buggers. The success of the Wii can be traced to way back to 1996, when the Nintendo 64 made its debut. The events that started here would lead to the sudden shifts in momentum and why Nintendo is on pace to be the holder of the two most successful systems in the history of video games.

Back in 1996, the Nintendo 64 started its march towards gaming history as its debut was the biggest at the time, and it pretty much eternally trounced the now-forgotten Sega Saturn. But, as the years dragged on, the Sony Playstation attracted the new generation of gamers; sports games enthusiasts, racing game sim addicts, RPG-lovers, among others. The Playstation was cheaper, cranked out more games, had much better third-party support, and overall was the better buy; even if the Nintendo 64 games were far superior. The Nintendo 64 was the choice for first-party games, but lack of RPGs and lack of hardcore games made it hard to attract new crowds. Nonetheless, 32 million copies weren’t too shabby, despite losing to PSX’s 102 million.

The next generation was the true test of the hardcore Nintendo fans, and this is where they failed. Despite two Zelda games, one Mario game, the best fighting game of all-time (at the time), two difficult yet amazing Metroid games, and a variety of unsung modern classics, the Gamecube was a dismal failure. While 33 million isn’t shabby, this time we see only 21 million Gamecubes sold around the world. The Playstation 2 achieved this number within a couple of years. It was embarrassing to see that once the frontrunners of the industry were throttled by not only their ex-partner Sony, but even by the overblown American system the Xbox: which attracted mainly your first-person shooter enthusiasts.

So, you run the company, and see your hardcore crowd dismally falling apart and branching off to the competition, what is there to do? Fortunately, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, with controversy, increasing appeal, and realization that it makes more money, video games were starting to appeal to the mainstream media crowd. This was no longer a market for your kids; the median age for gamers was a whopping 27 years old. Gaming was a rapidly expanding business. Halo 2, released in 2004, sold a lovely 8.46 million copies worldwide. That means a lovely 423 million dollars was earned on this game alone: only 8 movies that year made more money. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas made a whopping 867 million dollars worldwide; that year only 1 film made more money (Shrek 2 in overrated fashion).

To add to the frustration, this was the first generation of gaming in which difficult games created a backlash. Video games like Super Mario Sunshine, and especially F-Zero GX, received poorer sales after everyone learned of its difficulty. More bad news:

Mario Sunshine didn’t outsell N64’s Mario 64.
Wind Waker didn’t outsell N64’s Ocarina of Time
F-Zero GX didn’t outsell N64’s F-Zero X.
Star Wars: Rogue Leader 2 didn’t outsell the original N64 counterpart
Not a single DK installment came even close to outselling DK64 for the N64.
Double Dash didn’t sell N64’s Mario Kart 64.

The wonderment as to why Nintendo decided to adapt to the mainstream was rather appalling given the fact that Nintendo was clearly running out of ideas. They were losing fans to other platforms. A change was definitely needed. Enter Wii Sports.



Wii Sports started something that no other video game in history had been able to do: attract virtually every non-gamer to become gamers, since this wasn’t your daddy or granddaddy’s video game. The controller felt different, you were more active, it was virtual reality but it wasn’t at the same time, it was so simple and easy to pick up, even retirement homes were introducing Wii Sports to its residents. No major button combinations were needed to be learned, you just swing the darn thing when you wanted to hit the ball. The marketing campaign changed, and the hardcore was very afraid: everyone, not just the small crowd, was buying a Nintendo Wii.

The Nintendo Wii is on pace to pretty much tear apart every sales record known to man. Wii Fit is a 70 dollar game that is on pace to sell 20 million copies by the end of this year. That’s over 1.4 billion dollars. Guess how many movies have made that much this year or last year: none. Guess how many Wii games are on the best-selling video games of all-time list: 3 are in the top 10. Wii Play has made Nintendo over 920 million dollars. Not a single Gamecube game can claim this statistic. The 4 best-selling games of 2008 are Wii titles. The current best-selling game of 2009 is a 2008 Wii game: Wii Fit.

Mario Galaxy is the best-selling console Mario game since: Super Mario 64. Twilight Princess is the best-selling Zelda game since: Ocarina of Time. The sales are pouring back and throwing Nintendo into a realm of success it could have never achieved with its never-satisfied and quickly-to-run ex-fanbase.

These same people that abandoned Nintendo in the Gamecube era are on board with the surprised PS3 and Xbox 360 fans that criticize Wii’s ability to adapt to the mainstream, by claiming its not giving enough to the hardcore crowd. Even after Smash Brothers Brawl, Pokemon Battle Revolution, Mario Strikers Charged, Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and other exclusive Wii games made for an adult audience (Madworld, The Condiut) their complaints linger. So the question remains: why listen to them?

Why should anyone listen to this crowd? This crowd is a dying breed. Nintendo isn’t the only one that should stop listening to them: their competitors should do the same. Where did the rabid Playstation fanbase go anyway? PS3 is inches away from pulling the white flag, as its getting murdered in America and even in Japan, where they have had such amazing success before. Halo 3 was a lovely success but was outsold by the likes of Nintendogs. Grand Theft Auto 4 failed to outsell the previous installments. Street Fighter 4 also failed to reach the success numbers of previous installments.

Bottom Line: the Hardcore is an endangered species, and should stop whining, since it’s their quick abandonment that has led to the state of gaming we have upon ourselves today. These so-called hardcore games are quickly being outsold by smaller, shorter, more accessible games that 10 years ago would have been laughed at by anyone in the gaming industry. Companies at a whole learned that one could make much more money rounding out quick cheap games that the mainstream can easily eat up and move on without skipping a beat. Even small low-budget games like Boom Blox, We Ski, Endless Ocean, Lego Star Wars find themselves outselling phenomenal achievements like Little Big Planet, Spore, Metal Gear Solid 4, and even Gears of War 2.

Start spending, and maybe they will listen. In the meantime, the gaming world is shifting its focus to broader spectrums, and less and less attention will be given to those who have played games all their life if they continue to close their pockets whenever a big game comes out. I myself have owned every Nintendo gaming system, and have seen less attention given to me by Miyamoto and the big guys of Nintendo. But, I’m one of the few willing to accept this, after all, Nintendo as a company is doing absolutely fine without me. There’s always the Virtual Console to reminisce the good ol’ days.

So they say Wii Sports Resort is coming out soon…..