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Warrior King, a review by Achim

Title:Warrior King [Tom yum goong]
Year: 2005
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Rating: 18
Length: 106 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: Thai: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Thai: DTS: 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Tony Jaa
Petchtai Wongkamlao [Phetthtai Wongkhamlao]
Bongkod Kongmalai
Jin Xing
Nathan Jones [Nathan B. Jones]

Plot:
Hot on the heels of his incredible ass-kicking performance in Ong-bak, the greatest action hero of the decade, Tony Jaa, is back in Warrior King - with a bigger budget, a Western setting and even more of his amazing trademark "no wireworks, no CGI, no stunt doubles" action!
Thai village boy, Kham's peaceful world is rocked when illegal animal smugglers kidnap his precious pet elephants, stealing them away to the seedy underworld of Australia's Sydney to meet a dubious end. They have picked the wrong guy to mess with: the elephants are like family to Kham, and he sets out to bring them back, beating to a pulp anyone who stands in his way.
His journey pitches him against one fierce opponent after another, each more skilled and deadly then the last- the perfect recipe for the most bone-crunching , jaw-dropping action ever!

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Multi-angle

A Thai action flick with Tony Jaa. Oddly paced, it seems to run out of steam at about 45min in (not that I expected a deep story from this movie...). However, they then threw in some more plot elements to get the movie along to the end at a breakneck pace again. While in overall the story just serves it's purpose, it was involving enough to keep me entertained between the fight sequences; what more can you ask. Along with all of that comes a animal rights message, not overly heavy handed, just enough to get your brain going a little bit.

The fight sequences are the real focus of this film. They are quite violent, which is enhanced by the sound design (lots of bone crunching noises which occasionally made me flinch on the couch ) and big thuds for the fists or feet landing on opponent's body parts. Most impressive is the scene where the fight goes up on a big round staircase, filmed in one continuous shot which is approx. 4min long; must have been a stunt coordinator's nightmare but came out incredibly well The final fight is extremely vicious and pits Tony first against a horde of minions and then against some rather large western guys. It goes on for a long time without outstaying its welcome. Loads of broken bones in this one, I still wonder whether it was well applied prosthetics or CGI.

So, nothing that will cause long discussions afterwards, but if you are looking for well done martial arts with a punch behind them (pun partially intended), then look no further.



(From Achim's entirely random reviews on July 13th, 2010)

Forrest Gump, a review by Jon

1994
Forrest Gump
4 out of 5



Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is the most innocent of figures and we see a generation of America develop through his eyes.

Criticising Forrest Gump is like kicking a puppy in the face. Well pucker up, Pooch! I’m gonna have a go… oh what’s the use? That’s the thing about Gump. To continue the puppy analogy, he just keeps coming back until he eventually makes you laugh by leaving a turd on the carpet or trying to hump your leg. It is a lovable film that has many good points, but it’s as dumb as its hero when it comes to delivery. Maybe that’s the point though. That it is in all respects, a simple, unassuming tale, representing something much bigger than its hero. Black Beauty then. Sorry, first puppies, now horses. Keeping up?

Tom Hanks is marvellous as Gump, but Oscar worthy? He was for Philadelphia, but considering the incredible talent he was up against, here I’m not so sure. As I said once before though, Oscar loves the afflicted and they obviously see being thick as a disability! Best Film no excuse though because I should have been watching The Shawshank Redemption tonight. It’s the first time I think the Academy truly lost all common sense.

Although as subtle as a sledgehammer, it is fundamentally clever. Gump has nothing but an iron clad sense of right and wrong instilled in him by his “momma” (Sally Field) and that’s how he sees everything good and bad America has to offer through several decades. Told in flashback as he sits on a bench waiting for a bus, his habit of simplifying huge events is endearing and unavoidably stark. Some of the effects work when he appears in original footage is incredible (though the John Lennon sequence was misjudged). His effect on people is wonderfully uplifting, tempered by a strong sense of irony that crops up occasionally. The best sequence is in Vietnam and can represent the entire film; he barely has any idea of why he’s there or why anyone’s there. He’s just dealing with it, along with his friends, the equally dumb Bubba, whose stories about shrimp are hilarious, and the brilliant Gary Sinise (whatever happened to him?) as soon to be disabled Lt. Dan. EDIT: As Jimmy reminded me, the soundtrack throughout is amazing, evoking the perfect mood for each era. I wouldn't normally edit a review because of comments, but it really is that good and so important.

The other big influence on his life other than his mother, is Jenny (Robin Wright), the little girl who is the only one to show him kindness and whose life runs parallel to Gump’s. While he is like the feather at the start, just letting the breeze take him everywhere, she seems constantly in search of something, always refusing his devotion. I thought this was the films weakness, because like everything else, you have no idea where she’s going to end up, which in itself is fine, but then they kind of shoehorn in the last chapter. I didn’t like how she came across and I didn’t like that it was almost an afterthought. It was too much to tack on as an epilogue when the rest of the film was on the bus stop bench.

The bad points are largely inconsequential. You’ll love it or hate it, regardless. It is an original film with a good heart and a fiendish sense of humour. By the end, I was sold on the character and even the theme stopped annoying me!

However: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Read the card, you pillock.


(From Jon's Best Picture Oscar Marathon on February 18th, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. Hero
Original Air Date: 11/30/1999
Doyle gets a chance to atone for his past when Angel agrees to help a group of mixed-heritage demons being hunted by violent pure-blood demons known as The Scourge.

Guest Stars:
Tony Denman
Anthony Cistaro
Michelle Horn
Lee Arenberg

My Thoughts:
It is now time to say goodbye to Doyle (Glenn Quinn). It is shame his time on Angel was so short as I enjoyed his character. This is another good episode. Cordelia finds out about Doyle... prepares to go out with him... and loose him all in one episode. So this one was definitely more of a dramatic storyline then it was comedic. So not to much here to even give you a little chuckle. Well maybe Doyle trying to do the commercial. But that is about it.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on February 24th, 2010)