Van_Dammer

Sympathy For Mr. VengeanceFirstly, this film has an interesting story. It's about Ryu, a deaf mute, who tries to help his sister; she is in need of a kidney transplant. It gradually develops into a grim tale of revenge, which Chan-wook Park seems to be very good at.Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is quite minimal in some respects and does sustain a consistent mood. I think it could be of a faster pace, though, and, doesn't have as much impact as it could at times, but the film still has plenty of positives. Violence, for instance, is used sparingly, but is well-orchestrated. It also features a couple of really memorable scenes.Overall, it doesn't create the great impression that Oldboy does and I don't think it's put together as well, either. Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is good, but I hope Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is better.

HazeWhen I downloaded this, the file was named 'Haze - Sick, Twisted Japanese Horror.' I think this film falls slightly short being sick, but it's pretty good, nonetheless. It's about a wounded man who awakens to find that he is locked in an extremely cramped concrete 'maze'. There is so little space that he can barely crawl.From the very beginning, Haze is atmospheric and tense. It manages to maintain that feel and offers a good few uncomfortable moments as it progresses. The only problem is that it seems like an imitation of Saw and Cube, but doesn't incorporate some of the strengths of those movies. For instance, there isn't really much of a back story provided. Also, while the ending leaves room for interpretation, there are a couple of lose ends that could still be tied up.At a running time of fifty minutes, though, Haze is a fun little ride. It's well-directed and, being a fan of Saw, I got a kick out of it.Carlos Mencia - Not For The Easily OffendedCarlos Mencia begins this stand-up by saying that you will probably enjoy most of the show, but there's bound to be at least one part that will piss you off because he'll be making fun of you. I think most of us can take a joke, though. Anyway, he does indeed take aim at practically everyone and everything.This stand-up is a bit weak at the beginning, however. Mencia starts with a few easy targets that have been done to death already, such as Michael Jackson and Steve Irwin. The real treat begins when he criticizes society, schooling and current affairs. Not For The Easily Offended is a bit like Chris Rock's Bring The Pain in the sense that Mencia puts across his own views effectively. It's humourous because, although he appears fairly angry, he highlights irony and double standards.When he moves on to topics like race and sexuality, Mencia is totally unapologetic. His act is definitely un-PC as he jokes about some questionable issues, but it's all very funny. Then again, Mencia's weakness is that wherever his material is somewhat thin, he simply begins to act silly or exaggarates his mannerisms.I've certainly seen better stand-ups than Not For The Easily Offended, but it's decent stuff.

Twilight SamuraiAfter losing his wife, Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada), looks after after his two young daughters and sick mother. With very little pay and in unenviable conditions, he dedicates the majority of his time to them...This film defies practically every 'samurai movie' stereotype. It's an excellently acted character-driven drama, in which the protagonist evokes a lot of respect. A potential love story, with a surprising amount of romance, unfolds as the plot thickens. It's refreshing because, throughout, everything's done with a great degree of realism. The two fight scenes, for example, feature absolutely no over-the-top bouncing-off-trees style action or excessive violence.My main gripe with Twilight Samurai is that, towards the climax, it should have been far more intense than it actually was. Similarly, there were several times that I desperately wanted to fast-forward it. Overall, though, it's a good movie and is worthwhile, but I don't rate it as highly as a lot of other people do.

You're right, hence I always scroll down whenever I see your latest drivel.

So you're not being 'subjected' to them at all.

I'm not, because it means we get subjected to his pathetic "I think I'm writing for a magazine" film reviews.

Nobody's forcing you to read them.

Just My Luck

Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) is known to many as the luckiest woman around. After a chance encounter with a down-and-out young man (Chris Pine), however, she realizes that she's swapped her fortune for his.

Just My Luck is just below average at best. It has a moderately interesting plot, but the execution is poor. The film is quite predictable and never quite capitalizes on the opportunities that the story presents for some really funny moments, but instead resorts to repetitive attempts at comedy. Lindsay Lohan, in the lead role, isn't as likeable as she should be. It's not as though her character is meant to be arrogant or egotistical, but, for some reason, I didn't care when she became unlucky. Perhaps it was simply Lohan's mediocre acting. She ranges from being unable to portray emotion at all to completely overdoing it. Additionally, she seems too young for her role, which is that of an office woman.Chris Pine, on the other hand, is actually rather good. However, his performance is plagued by a lackluster script, which is loaded with cheesy lines and unrealistic reactions, notably from his character. Nonetheless, there are a couple of decent jokes in Just My Luck, but a considerable amount of it falls flat. There are only so many times that a scene in which something goes wrong and someone tries to frantically fix it can be recycled in one film.All-in-all, Just My Luck won't bore you stupid, but you'll probably forget most of it within a week and won't want to watch it twice. Better yet, watch something else. On a closing note; the only surprisingly decent Linsay Lohan movie is Mean Girls and judging from her recent efforts, especially Herbie Fully Loaded, it looks like things may stay that way for a long time.

I have to say, I'm continually impressed with how many films Van Dammer watches. Do you do anything else?

I do everything else during the day, but because I have a terrible sleeping pattern, I usually watch a film or two very late at night.

KiteKite is about Sawa, an ophaned schoolgirl. She works as an assassin for Akai and Kanie, who also act as her guardians. So, the film has a pretty basic storyline that has been done before, but the characters' dark back stories are interesting enough to compensate for this.Regardless, Kite is a meant to be a fairly mindless, stylish anime that will help you kill an hour. It opens with an very violent scene, filled with blood, in which Sawa kills a man with exploding bullets! As it progresses, Kite becomes even more graphic. The bathroom shooting incident, which occurs towards the middle of the film, is one the most exciting action sequences that I've seen in a while. After that, it's just over-the-top mayhem at its best.I don't think it's any secret that the Japanese occaisonally add a perverted edge to manga, anime and video games. We've all seen the fictional female characters with oversized breasts and extremely revealing outfits. It's clearly no accident, either. This film features a couple of sex scenes that are ridiculously perverse in terms of detail and specific content. Now, I'm not easily offended. I don't mind sex, violence or strong language in films, but thank God that there aren't many scenes of this nature or else Kite could be known as a vivid hentai.Overall, it's evident that Kite is a film which favours style over substance and doesn't necessarily try to be anything more than what it is. In that respect, it's a success. While it lacks character development and a strong plot, it's worth watching for the very high entertainment value, spectacular action and brilliant violence.

I would have enjoyed I, Robot more if it wasn't for the shameless product placement. I swear the first 5 minutes is like watching an advert break on TV.

Produce placement in I, Robot? What the hell are you talking about?Now, I'm off to buy a JVC hi-fi and some Converse trainers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef9r7E5Ygncbooker t sings HBk theme

Collaboratize ~~~

I thought so... Thanks, purplemonkeydishwasher.

Was the McMahon DVD originally supposed to be about the McMahon Vs. Austin feud as opposed to just Vince himself?

I, RobotSet in 2035, robots have become integrated into everyday life and, due to their flawless programming that prevents them from harming humans in the slightest, serve society perfectly. However, Del Spooner (Will Smith), a quick thinking cop, has been cautious of them since the very beginning. He is sent to investigate a strange suicide case and begins to believe that it is actually a murder - comitted by a robot.Will Smith, who some people severely dislike, is very good in I, Robot. He's a wise-cracking cop who is excellent at his job, but also has a dark past and actually cares about people. Spooner's belief that a robot is responsible for murder causes some backlash from the police department as nothing of that nature has ever occured before and leaves him as somewhat of a loner. The quote, "Does believing you're the last sane man on the planet make you crazy? 'Cause if it does, maybe I am." sums up his character.A reason as to why I think Smith is suited to this role is that he can effortlessly switch between the different facets of this movie; primarily action and sci-fi. Visually, I, Robot accommodates both genres well. There are plenty of futuristic landscapes and special effects to keep the sci-fi audience happy and enough carnage to please action fans.Then again, I suppose some people may argue that the film doesn't fully capitalize on its themes of philosophy, but I, Robot definitely isn't a mindless flick. It's a highly enjoyable blockbuster that pays homage to a few of its predecessors...

....

1) How old is Sabu?

If I'm not mistaken, he's 41.

Porco RossoStudio Ghibli's 1992 film is fairly strange. It's animated tale about a World War I flying ace-turned-bounty hunter and centres around fighter planes and 'air pirates.' The protagonist, Porco, has the head of a pig and, about half way into the film, nearly every male character begins to lust after a seventeen-year-old girl. Ultimately, though, it's a pretty simple story as the hero prepares to face his greatest rival, with a love interest as the subplot. Despite this, however, and the fact that the film even raises some interesting political subjects, I just couldn't get into it.Porco Rosso builds rather slowly, whilst establishing the elements of the film well. The characters are decent, but I don't think I found Porco himself as interesting as I should have. It then really starts to drag towards the middle, although certain mysterious aspects of the story become clearer. Thankfully, the film comes to exciting climax, which is definitely its saving grace. Overall, I think Porco Rosso is average. I didn't find it particularly interesting, but it's not a bad movie. There's a nice balance between action, comedy and storytelling, but it lacks the magic and wonder that makes Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli's 2001 masterpiece, one of my favourite films ever. I've still got to watch The Castle Of Cagliostro and, hopefully, I'll like that more than Porco Rosso.

I still object to comments like, "We're deviating from the script..." from the commentators, though.

Thanks... I should have looked at the related videos.

....

Vince Russo 'shoots' on Hulk Hogan and WCW:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppETm6Sy07wCan somebody explain exactly what happened before he came to the ring?

Battle Royale. Enjoyed it, is the second one any good?

Battle Royale is one of my favourite films ever, but the sequel is, apparently, horrible.

...True Romance and Kill Bill Vol 2 waiting to be watched.

True Romance has a Tarantino-penned script and it is all that you'd expect from him in terms of dialogue and violence. I liked it. Kill Bill Vol. 2 is of a more gradual pace than the first, but, in my opinion, is better than Vol. 1 in some respects.

Last night, I caught a bit of a NOAH match on The Wrestling Channel at about 5 AM. The two competitors were exchanging a series of chops for a number of minutes and the crowd was going absolutely wild for it. One of the wrestlers wore black trunks and the other was in blue and white. Can anyone provide more details on the match and who they are?

Kenta Kobashi (black trunks) vs Kensuke Sasaki from the July 18, 2005 NOAH Tokyo Dome show.

Thanks. I'm going out of my way to find more Kenta Kobashi matches now...

Last night, I caught a bit of a NOAH match on The Wrestling Channel at about 5 AM. The two competitors were exchanging a series of chops for a number of minutes and the crowd was going absolutely wild for it. One of the wrestlers wore black trunks and the other was in blue and white. Can anyone provide more details on the match and who they are?

The Eight DayIn some respects, this 1996 French drama is rather unique. It follows a sales advisor, Harry (Daniel Auteuil), whose job has become unbearingly mundane. Separated from his wife and an absentee father, his life simply lacks meaning. One day, on the way home from work, he encounters Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a runway with Down sydrome.Georges is a marvellous character. He's incredibly kind and good-hearted, so a few light and, often, comedic moments come from him. Primarily, though, this film evokes a great degree of sadness. It's quite remarkable how flawlessly it shifts between the two levels of this story via the pairing of Harry and Georges. Plus, it's never patronising, just honest. Overall, the result is a genuinely heartbreaking, beautiful and emotional film about humanity. In my opinion, it's better than most similar Hollywood efforts.The Eight Day is also good in regards to technical aspects. The cinematography is decent, the direction is quite innovative at times and there are a range of great shots. The two leads also deliver very impressive performances and give us two unforgettable characters.Watch this film.

Definitely. The Academy can stick it.