Monday, June 23, 2008

Movie Review: The Happening

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Featuring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo

Genre: thriller, horror

Plot: Nature gives the humanity a warning?

Official website: http://www.thehappeningmovie.com/

Comments: Honestly I don’t think M. Night Shyamalan made a decent movie since the Sixth Sense. I don’t know why I had hoped this one was better. The story is highly unbelievable, with little logical explanation and too much gratis gore. The plot is so full of holes you wouldn’t catch a fish with it in a tub with no water at all. Totally disappointing.

Rating: 6/10

Friday, June 20, 2008

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Featuring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu

Genre: animation, comedy

Plot: Oversized Panda saves village from fearsome enemy.

Official website: http://www.kungfupanda.com/

Comments: It was amusing and fun. Some of the scenes are very well done with acute attention put on details and since it involves animals I was less bothered by the CGI work. It was also one of the very few films in which I tended to like the villain better than the hero. Purrrrr… What worries me is what kind of message the movie sends to the obese kids who sit on the sofa stuffing themselves while watching kung fu/action movies on the TV and dreaming about the cool things they would like to do. Will it encourage them to go and do something about it or just sit there and wait for those things to come to them?

Rating: 8/10

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Movie Review: The Incredible Hulk

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Featuring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt

Genre: action, sci fi

Plot: Direct sequel to Hulk.

Official website: http://www.incrediblehulk.com/

Comments: I only watched this because it had Edward Norton in it and William Hurt, though I didn’t recognize William Hurt at first. He looks just odd rounder and with white hair. For a sequel it wasn’t bad, in fact it was better than the first one. My main complaint is that like with most comics inspired movies, there's lots of action and not enough plot. Sure, the CGIs are cool, but one cannot stop thinking that Edward Norton is wasted in such a part. He needs more screen time as himself. The appearance of Robert Downey Jr./Stark in the end was a hoot. Better than Iron Man because it was less schematic and more heartfelt.

Rating: 8/10

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

*** MIGTH CONTAIN SPOILERS! ***

Featuring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt

Genre: adventure

Plot: Indiana Jones 20 years later.

Official website: http://www.indianajones.com/

Comments: I saw the movie after just having seen the other 3 one per weekend, it just happened that way. I’m not a big fan of the Indiana Jones movie, I think they’re ok but that’s about it and I won’t feel the need to watch them again for another decade. So I didn’t have great expectations when I saw the 4th one, I didn’t know what to expect really. It was very funny, I’d say. Indy’s aging character was done right, and a few others too, though the alien plot was a bit too far stretched. I mean, come on, Indiana Jones deals with the past, not with the future, but anyway… it wasn’t bad, and it was entertaining. Might not have the patience/will to watch it for another decade though. In a way, it’s like Dumas’ musketeers saga. The Three Musketeers was great. Twenty Years Later was a step down, but it brought back found memories and you can’t just miss it because of that.

Rating: 7/10

Saturday, June 7, 2008

2008 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships

Rank Name NOC Code Total Score Rk PenScore Rk Pen Score Rk Pen Score Rk Pen
1 KANAEVA Eugenia RUS 75.725
2 BESSONOVA Anna UKR 73.850
3 KAPRANOVA Olga RUS 73.375
4 ZHUKOVA Inna BLR 73.375
5 GARAYEVA Aliya AZE 71.800
6 GODUNKO Natalia UKR 71.425
7 PEYCHEVA Simona BUL 69.300
8 RISENSON Irina ISR 69.200
9 CID Almudena ESP 68.600
10 CHARKASHYNA Liubov BLR 67.350
11 GIMATOVA Dinara AZE 66.750
12 WEBER Caroline AUT 66.400
13 MITROSZ Joanna POL 66.125
14 RIVKIN Neta ISR 66.125
15 CANTALUPPI Julieta ITA 65.500
16 KIKKAS Irina EST 64.675
17 VASS Dora HUN 64.250

Monday, June 2, 2008

Bryce Dallas Howard to replace Charlotte Gainsbourg in T4

Bryce Dallas Howard is in talks to replace Charlotte Gainsbourg in Terminator 4. She is going to play the part of Kate Connor, the wife of John Connor, along side Christian Bale.


A Terminator 4 Bale - An Unofficial Website