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Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, a review by KinkyCyborg

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li



Title:Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Year: 2008
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Rating: PG-13
Length: 97 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Kristin Kreuk
Chris Klein
Neal McDonough
Robin Shou
Moon Bloodgood

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Storyboard Comparisons
Closed Captioned
Theatrical and unrated versions


I was never a fan of any of the generations of Street Fighter games but I thought this screen adaptation was decent action fare.

Excellent fight choreography and an interesting enough story although they could have better explained the magical forces or 'powers' that some of the combatants had.

Kristen Kreuk played Chun-Li... a looker and an ass-kicker! I had never heard of her before this and I'm quite impressed... a Canadian no less too! Chris Klein, whom I'm used to playing those Aww shucks, straight arrow type characters seemed out of place as the sweaty, macho Interpol Agent Nash. Michael Clarke Duncan was fun as the brawny thumper Balrog. I though Moon Bloodgood would be one of the fighters but she was rather pedestrian... albeit yummy eye-candy! Finally Neal McDonough was great as the evil Bison. He's pulled off the villain roll more than a few times in convincing fashion with those weird eyes and his silver tongued talk.

Given the wide array of different characters from the Street Fighter world the possibility of follow-up flicks is quite likely. If they are comparable to this one I'll be eager to check them out.

Fight!!!

KC


Rating: ... and a half.

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on April 4th, 2011)

The Mummy (1932), a review by RossRoy

Original Title: The Mummy Year: 1932 Country: United States Director: Karl Freund Rating: NR Length: 75 Min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo, English: Dolby Digital Mono Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

What they say
Boris Karloff's stellar performance as Im-Ho-Tep in the 1932 version of The Mummy is a landmark in screen history. A British archaeology team accidentally revives former high priest Im-Ho-Tep, nearly 4,000 years after he was embalmed alive. Finally free, he sets out to find his lost love, a vestal virgin sacrificed in a ritual. Powerful and mesmerizing, Im-Ho-Tep is unstoppable and terrifying in this brooding horror masterpiece. As The New York Times noted, "It begs description...One of the most unusual talkies ever produced."

My Thoughts
Continuing my Classic Monster theme. Again, this follows the same formula as Dracula. It establishes itself, and then ever so slowly builds up to the climax. The Mummy makeup is well done, but a little too soft IMO. I mean, Im-Ho-Tep had been rotting away for 3700 years, yet he looks like he is in his fifties at most. I'm not saying they shoud have shown rotting flesh and all, but they could've made him just a tad more wrinkly. But that very minor in the grand scheme of things in the movie. Karloff is effective portraying a menacing individual who will stop at nothing to gain what he wants.

One thing though, is it just me, or does it follow the exact same path as Dracula? Reveal the monster, move the story to a more modern setting, mind control the pretty lady, kill off whoever may get in the way, be killed by Dr Van Helsing...... oh sorry, I mean Dr. Muller (both are played by Edward Van Sloan)?

I still liked the movie, but something's missing. It's like the movie lacks that little spark that would've made it all tick. I don't know, the movie was enjoyable, but not quite as chilling as it could've been.



(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on October 13th, 2008)

"Battlestar Galactica" Marathon (1978-2009), a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: The Cylons somehow always know the position of the fleet and follows it mercilessly. 33 minutes after the fleet has arrived at the new jump coordinates a Cylon fleet arrives also and starts to attack. The fleet has just commenced its 237th jump and the pilots and the crew of the Galactica have been awake for more than 5 days straight without relieve or pause. They have to put an end to this or they will make one final, deadly mistake.
Meanwhile another Number Eight (numerical designation of human copies that look like Boomer) pretends to have come back to Caprica to get Karl "Helo" Agathon out of there.

My Opinion: This was a great start to the show because you are thrown right in. One doesn't know how much time lay between their jump over the "red line" and the first time the Cylons found them again but it can't have been much. And then we see them already 5 days into this 33 minutes rhythm, all exhausted and on duty for over 130 hours and no hope of release except death. It was only the first of many hard situations to come but it showed directly that this won't be an easy journey.

Synopsis: When Boomer (a Cylon who doesn't know she is one) regains consciousness she finds herself soaking wet and she also has a plastic explosive plus a detonator in her hands. When she secretly brings it back she discovers that 6 more are missing from an arms locker. Soon after a huge explosion erupts in Galactica and 60% of the water tanks are emptied into space. If the fleet doesn't find a new water source it won't survive.

My Opinion: This was also a good episode, I liked it how Boomer struggled with herself, how she tried to override her Cylon programming without even knowing that it's there. I also liked it how both Adama and Roslin didn't really like the ceremonial pomp but both did it to make the other one feel better. I also took notice of Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo for the first time, because now I know his actor Sam Witwer from the eight season of Smallville.

Synopsis: They have found water, but in its liquid form it is to salty to be used, but there are also huge masses of frozen fresh water. It will be hard and dangerous work to mine that water and Apollo offers freedom points for the men on the prison ship if they are willing to help. But the prisoners stand united behind former terrorist Tom Zarek who uses the situation to take hostages and demands elections.

My Opinion: While I liked to see the classic BSG alumni Richard Hatch (Apollo in classic BSG), I never cared much for Tom Zarek or his "mission". At no time this character was somehow likeable, he's simply a bad guy who happens to be human. This was also the first episode that Starbuck becomes an all-purpose Swiss knife (Is that a pleonasm?) because otherwise there would be no reason why she would lead the marines to rescue the hostages and it's also her who carries the sniper rifle. But I am not mad about this, because it gives her more screen time.

But I really love this quote from Adama: "There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."

Synopsis: An accident on the landing deck occurs which kills twelve Viper pilots and injures seven more. Adama gives Starbuck the task of training pilots to become Viper pilots since Starbuck had been an instructor before the war. What Adama doesn't know is that Starbuck passed Adama's son Zek in basic flight even though he should have failed because she was engaged to him. Soon after he died in his plane.

My Opinion: Another thing I like about this show: Past events are rarely forgotten, no pushing of the reset button after the episode has ended. And also the occasional flashback to a pre-war Caprica. This episode also introduces two new pilots: Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza and Louanne "Kat" Katraine and the latter one will become a worthy challenger of Starbuck's and she will call Starbuck out when no one else dares to. Starbuck needs that on occasion and that's why I like Kat.

(From "Battlestar Galactica" Marathon (1978-2009) on September 1st, 2009)