Change Your Image
stikfigureman
Reviews
Cactus (2008)
Mediocre "Thriller"
I've got a few movies sitting around at home to watch and I decided this one first because Shane Jacobson was in it and I did enjoy Kenny. That was pretty much the main reason behind my choice and I do want to try and find some good Aussie films. It was mediocre at its best.
The plot of this movie is a very simple one. At the beginning we see one man beating up another man. Then cutting to a man (Travis McMahon) driving in the desert and he just keeps driving. Turns out he was doing the beating up and he's taking his victim (David Lyons) to some guys that promise him money. The two start off quite hostile towards each other but because they spend so much time together they start chatting. Shane Jacobson plays a truckie that follows their path, but he is barely in the movie and Bryan Brown plays a police officer that runs into them early on.
The movie was written and directed by Jasmine Yuen Carrucan, a lady that normally has worked in the camera and electrical department (like the Kill Bills). Her writing was decent but nothing particularly stood out and it never stepped away from doing anything safely. The dialogue was dry throughout the movie, it wasn't bad but still nothing good. The plot doesn't mean a lot could really happen but it did feel dragged on. Still despite this, none of it was bad.
As for the acting, really the only people on the screen are McMahon's and Lyons' characters. Both were decent and they worked together on the screen very well. It was their on screen chemistry that made this movie that bit better. As I said before Shane Jacobson has pretty much no screen time so there is nothing I can really comment on. Bryan Brown has small screen time and makes his presence known but thats about it. Although that is because of the plot of the movie, so I can't comment too much.
The movie was alright with its acting, directing, dialogue and story so it all comes together as being just above average. This is a movie that is great to fill time and I recommend it to anyone a fan of the Australian film but don't really go out of your way to do so.
originally appearing on my blog: www.comikkazee.com
Shao Lin Si shi ba tong ren (1975)
The 18 Bronzemen Part 1 - Review
Walking through my local DVD shop I wasn't intending to buy anything and definitely not something I had never heard of before but I saw this for real cheap so I picked it up. I just wanted something different to watch and review for my website. I don't regret purchasing and watching this film. Besides my mate that watched it with me I can safely say that out of everybody I know I am the only person who has seen this movie. So onto reviewing The 18 Bronzemen: Part 1.
The story in itself is quite confusing and most of it does not get explained until towards the end but I'll try my best. So there is a government known as the Ching government and they decide to kill anybody that supports this guy called Ming. A baby (later called Shao Lung) is rescued and brought to the Ming friendly Shaolin Temple where he is brought up in the art of kung fu to exact revenge upon his family. At the same time another child is taken to the Temple and the two grow extremely close. After many hardships they two enter the "line of 18 bronzemen" which is the final task to graduate from the Temple. Here they fight men literally made from bronze. If they fail they die. After failing the first time and helping each other to escape they try again and succeed. Shao Lung then decides to track down the evil tyrannical ruler to avenge his family.
The movie was directed by Joseph Kuo and starred Peng Tien as Shao Lung and Carter Wong as Brother Wan (the kid that was sent at the same time as Shao Lung). The movie even has a decent twist which took me by surprise. A complete laughable part however is when a woman is apparently disguised as a man and everybody thinks she is (but it is clearly obvious it is a woman).
So despite its flaws, most likely because of being something that is completely different to me, I found this to be an enjoyable movie. This is a hard movie to recommend as it would have a fine niche market but hey, if you find yourself bored, why not? I look forward to watching part two.
originally posted on my blog www.comikkazee.com
Disneyland: The Richest Cat in the World (1986)
The Richest Cat In The World - Review
Ever been bumming around looking at your DVD collection and just feeling fed up with them all? Feeling like just none of them are good enough and you want something new to watch, and I mean something, whether its good or bad? Well thankfully there is this wonderful thing called Foxtel IQ (or cable t.v). This thing has multiple movie channels and they really don't care what they show you. It was because of this ingenious invention I was able to get my hands on The Garbage Pail Kids. It is because of this amazing machine that I stumbled across this movie: The Richest Cat in the World. It was on at two am and I wasn't gonna stay awake for this. Yay record function! I set this baby for record and then I watched it the next day. And surprisingly I do not actually regret this decision as I can always justify I have seen worse.
We open to a house maid standing outside a door and we hear voices. She walks in to give a clearly sickly man his food, but there is only one man and his ginger cat. The man's name is Oscar Kohlmeyer, played by Ramon Bieri. Anyways the maid walks out and we quickly see that Oscar's cat Leo can talk, because he is not ordinary cat.
The way they make this cat look like it is talking is pretty funny. Before CGI would really have been used and instead of a puppet, the cat looks as though it has a bad taste in its mouth and then they have the actors voice speak. I feel sorry for this cat, as it could not have been given treats with the long reactions we get from it. Quite often we see the cat wagging its tail or just lifting and dropping the tip, which if I remember correctly that actually means a cat is annoyed and not happy. By the way, the cat Leo was portrayed by the cat Palmer, nice performance there Mr. Palmer. The voice was done by Larry Hagman, though he was uncredited.
So I should probably get back to the plot. Oscar is an extremely wealthy man and when he carks it and his will is revealed it is just sheer madness I tell you! Madness! Oscar leave his worth of over five million, a vintage car and a mansion to his cat. Oh and twenty five thousand to his nephew. Oscar also had a family living on his property where the mum was like another maid and the father a repairman (although he can never seem to successfully do this). Anyways, the kids learn that Leo can talk and the main device of the plot is the nephew's controlling wife wanting to get rid of the cat so they can claim the entire inheritance. It is up to the kids to save Leo.
The children are Bart (Brandon Call) and Veronica (Kellie Martin, yeah she still acts). These child actors actually are not all that annoying compared to other child actors I've seen, like that kid from The Wizard who keeps saying "California". They can at times irritate, especially as they seem to have quite an advanced vocabulary for children their age, but then again children in movies always seem to.
I reckon you should watch this movie if you are bored or wish to claim to people you have seen a movie that they probably haven't but thats about it. Unless you are a fan of cats because you'll probably wanna watch it just for that reason.
oringinally posted on my blog www.comikkazee.com
Life (1999)
Life is Long
This may contain a spoiler guys, I'm not exactly sure but just warning you in case....you have been warned!
As the title suggests, this is a movie about life. Its about the lives of two men that get sentenced for life as well as having a slight hint on a moral grounds of the message of life! (Sorry, I couldn't help it). A decent movie made just before the sad and gradual decline of the two stars, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence (with movies like Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son and Norbit).
The movie opens with two inmates burying the bodies of two deceased inmates and an elderly man in a wheelchair who claims to have known them for a long time. He then goes into a story about the lives of the deceased, and we are thrown into New York 1932. The movie is then told in a progression through time with the wheel chaired man giving an occasional narration.
OK, so a quick rundown on the plot of the movie. Murphy plays a conman by the name of Rayford Gibson and Lawrence a professional man named Claude Banks (who will shortly start a job as a bank teller). Both men owe a mobster money. They get a chance to stay alive by doing a booze run in acquiring some moon shine from Mississippi. There they lose all their money and are accused of having killed a man. Charged with both this and bootlegging, the two are sentenced to life in prison. Across the 65 year sentence the two men constantly bicker, make and lose friends and figure out ways to escape from their dreary misfortune.
The movie is directed by Ted Demme (Blow and Snitch), this was his second last movie. In short, the guy knew what he was doing. And kudos to him for this movie, I personally cannot find too much to complain about in this area, but if you guys do, lemme know.
As for the acting itself, it is fairly decent but obviously not Oscar worthy. Murphy and Lawrence show great chemistry during this movie. Playing two absolute strangers who happen to become friends as they age to about 90 at the end of the movie. It is because they were originally strangers that the two are mainly bickering to each other throughout the movie, often using quips, threats and insults. This is where quite a lot of the comedy lies, with these remarks between each other and some of the other stars like Anthony Anderson, Bernie Mac, Guy Torry just to name a few.
Another good performance is from Nick Cassavetes who plays the sergeant of the prison. Easily one can tell that his character is a racist with the way he treats the prisoners but the movie does well in making him more than two dimensional as his character actually changes through the movie.
This movie also attempts to have some heart, which well, not like Shawshank Redemption, but it pulls it off in some places. Namely with the progression of the friendship of Ray and Claude, but with stories of some of the other characters and the hard life they have with their long sentences. The viewer may feel slight attachment or sympathy for these characters but these things are never lingered on for too long and so will quickly be forgotten.
The movie also has subtle humour in some serious situations. Namely when Ray (Eddie Murphy's character) finds out nobody can read, so he reads a letter for an inmate. The letter reveals that practically everyone of his family has died, some from bizarre cases. When finished, Ray offers if anyone else wants a letter read and as one they say "no" and turn away.
I could go on to complain that the make-up used to age the characters could have looked more convincing and so on but I know that wasn't really the movie's aim. So really, who cares?
For a movie that is entertaining, in both being funny and slightly serious with a good ending, I truly think this movie is one for people to watch. Not saying you would think its the best thing out there, or that you should hunt it down like a piece of treasure. But if you do get your hands on this, sit down and watch it, especially if you guys are fans of Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence.
originally posted on my blog www.comikkazee.com