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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Prince of Persia

Releasing the Sand turns back time. Only the holder of the Dagger is aware of what’s happened,” Prince Dastan says in “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”

A collaboration between Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions, the film comes across as a “Pirates of the Caribbean” where all the water has been replaced by sand.

Jake Gyllenhaal, known before this film more for his puppy eyes and his swoon-worthy quality, is Dastan, an orphan and honest boy.



The setting is ancient Persia, an almost magical place constantly basked in the most wonderful golden light that gives things a near-precious feel.
One day, Dastan comes to the rescue of another boy who was being unjustly punished, and thus gets the chance (unawares) to display his Parkour skills for the king kindly ruling over the land, King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). The King already has two boys, Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) and Tus (Richard Coyle), but he decides to adopt Dastan nonetheless, and thus make of him a prince.

The King’s brother, Nizam, (Sir Ben Kingsley), though he does not show it right then and there, is not happy about it, which speaks volumes in terms of how predictable the film will eventually turn out to be.

Dastan the orphan boy grows up into a man who knows no fear. He jumps from camel to camel on their backs, runs on rooftops, walks on walls, and does the most amazing backflips while being tied with nothing but a rope that would, of course, inspire no kind of confidence these days with a genuine pro. What’s even more amazing in these action scenes than Gyllenhaal’s arms and abs is the fact that one can literally see which are the stunts he does himself. Moreover, all fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and don’t rely too heavily on speed, so that one is never lost when watching them. I would said that the fighting scenes, movements and everything are fantastic and at their best.

All is well until the order is given to attack the holy city of Alamut, of which unreliable intel says it is harboring weapons of mass destruction. Again predictably, that too is a lie for all there is in the city is a gorgeous princess, Tamina (Gemma Arterton) although I hardly see her as gorgeous. The princess, who is the guardian of a magic Dagger, which can turn back time by just one minute when you release some of the Sand of Time. The Dagger is also the only object that can break a huge glass-like vessel underneath Alamut, which contains enough of this mythical Sand to swipe everything on Earth. Understandably, all villains want the Dagger and will stop at nothing to get it, which sets the two unlike allies, Dastan and Tamina, on a terrific journey through the desert, which is as fun as it is apparently lacking real substance.


Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton are unlike allies in “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”

That is not to say that the mission the two have is not urgent enough: just that the viewer experiences its translation on the big screen in a rather passive, though very alert, way. The types that make up the rest of the comic-book atmosphere of the film include Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina), whose clear function is that of bringing comic relief, with his ostrich races and his propensity towards tax evasion and easy money; knife-thrower Seso (Steve Toussaint), who evolves from threatening brute to loyal protector; and, of course, the Hassansins, who are a group of ninja-like warriors who handle incredible weapons with amazing speed and accuracy. All these characters come with stories that are clear from the get-go and leave no room for questions, which is why critics agree the film is too honest with the viewer to hate it, despite its flaws. In the end, order is established with a typical feel-good Disney ending that can’t but bring a smile and thus sum up what has been an amazing and exciting ride, albeit one devoid of real feeling.

Well, if you have yet to watch this movie, make sure you watch it on the Big Screen especially if you want to watch the nice abs, the wonderful jumping and fighting scenes...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Ip Man 2

Ip Man 2

IP MAN 2 starts with Ip Man, as well as young son and heavily pregnant wife (Xiong Dai Lin) in tow, arrives in Hong Kong. Ip establishes his own Wing Chun martial arts school but struggles to bring in students, and therefore an income for his impoverished family, until the arrogant, yet inquisitive Wong Leung (Huang Xiaoming) appears.

After Leung was beaten by Ip Man, he eventually signs up for the martial arts school along with his friends. Before long, many more people are following interest in this new fighting style. However, the other martial arts schools masters, in particular that of Hung Chun Nam (Sammo Hung), are reluctant to let Ip simply set up shop on their turf.

Leung gets himself into a fight with one of Hung's students (To Yu Hong) and is subsequently held for ransom, Ip Man is forced to face Hung and barter for his release.

The film wastes no time in getting to the action and within just a few minutes Yen clashes first with Huang Xiaoming, then rival students and street punks, culminating in a fantastic 20-on-1 melee at an abandoned fish market that brings him face-to-face with Hung.


This encounter sets up the film's centrepiece sequence, as Ip Man is invited to face all the local martial arts masters and must accept any challenge thrown at him, while fighting the whole time on a large tabletop. If he stays up long enough, he will be granted permission to run his school. Inevitably, this leads to a fantastic clash between Donnie and Sammo, as they unleash their Wing Chun and Hung Kuen on each other, all the while struggling for balance on a teetering table. Ip managed to stays up long enough and the match between the two is considered as a draw.


Although initally, it seems that the battle was between the two martial arts master but after spending some time in their next duel, Hung seems to accept Ip as a noble, humble and skillful martial arts master.

It was then that the battle switch to the Chinese and the British because when the boxing champion, Twister somehow insulted the Chinese martial arts, a boxing match between Hung and Twister was started.

It was during the match that Hung was killed. Brutally hit by Twister for so many times on the ring, Hung eventually died. Because of this, the Chinese press write some terrible stuff about the British and then as we all know, Ip Man challenge Twister for a boxing match.

The fighting scene was awesome and it is no wonder that Donnie Yen had so often been credited for his expertise in the martial arts scene. However, overall, the movie is predictable and I would remember it as just another Chinese martial art movies and nothing more.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Iron Man 2


Well, people...Iron Man is back....and this time, with more cool stuff!!

Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., who reprises his role as Tony Stark.

Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting calls by the United States Government to hand over the technology. Ivan Vanko has duplicated the technology and built weapons of his own, creating new challenges for Stark.

For those of you who have yet to watch the movie, this is generally how the movie goes:

Six months after revealing his identity as Iron Man, Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), has helped maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows, New York, to continue his father's legacy. A United States Senate committee, led by Senator Stern (Garry Shandling), demands Stark release the technology for military application. Stark refuses, declaring that he and the suit are as one while also claiming his competitors are years away from successfully recreating the technology.

Stark is slowly being poisoned by the palladium in his arc reactor, and attempts to find a substitute element have failed. Growing increasingly despondent and thrill-seeking as a consequence of what he believes to be his impending death, he appoints his former personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries, replacing her with Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).

While racing in Monaco, Stark is attacked by Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who has constructed an arc reactor of his own, along with whip-like energy weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor. Afterward, Stark learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko, who collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor but was deported to the Soviet Union and died in poverty. Ivan blames the Starks for his family's fate, and seeks revenge. Rival weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) has Vanko broken out of jail and recruits him to perfect a line of armored combat units he will use to upstage Stark at his own Expo.

Stark throws what he believes will be his last birthday party and gets drunk while wearing the Iron Man armor and indulges in dangerous activities, forcing his friend, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's silver Mark II armor and after almost destroying Stark's house in the resulting fight, carries out his previous orders to deliver the armor to the military. The next day, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark and reveals Natalie is undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder. Fury gives Stark some of Howard's old artifacts to aid in finding a cure for the palladium poisoning. A hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the atomic structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany), Stark synthesizes the new element and cures himself. Afterward, Vanko contacts Stark, revealing he is still alive and set on revenge.

At the Expo, Hammer unveils his new military drones, captained by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark as Iron Man arrives to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor, setting them to attack Iron Man. Potts has Hammer arrested while Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Romanoff race to Hammer's Queens facility. They find Vanko has already left, but Romanoff is able to turn over control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.

Eliminating the remaining drones, Stark and Rhodes are confronted by Vanko in his new, more powerful suit of armor. He is defeated when Stark and Rhodes fire repulsor rays at each other, triggering an explosion beside Vanko. Too injured to continue the fight, Vanko ignites his and drones' self-destruct bombs, apparently killing himself in the process. Stark races to save Pepper amid a series of explosions quits her position as CEO. Rhodes departs with the Mark II armor without serious objection from Stark.

At a debriefing, while showing news footage of another event, Fury informs Stark that while he is "unsuitable" for the "Avengers Initiative", S.H.I.E.L.D. wants him as a consultant, which Stark agrees to.

This is taken from Wikipedia



Well, I am impressed by the fighting scenes of course...but more important, I felt that the movie has managed to create a selfless Stark, and the way he dealed with his emotional instability when he felt that he was going to die, that was awesome.

For me, the movie is a good one and those of you who wanna have a great time after watching a movie, Iron Man 2 is a must for you to watch. All the more that I went for dinner with my family and YenLeng after the movie to celebrate Mother's Day. It was just an awesome weekend!!