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The Karate Kid (2010), a review by Jon

The Karate Kid (2010)
4 out of 5



You can’t judge a film by its title. And you mustn’t in the case of The Karate Kid, should you become confused and cynical! After all, it’s set in China and features Jackie Chan, so Karate is never even mentioned. It’s just a slightly offensive marketing ploy to live off the back of the 1984 hit, which makes you question the motives of making it at all and dismiss it out of hand. They really should have proudly named it “The King-Fu Kid”, because despite being a near step-for-step remake, it’s actually very good and deserves a chance to stand on its own.

It’s a story about Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) who moves with his mother (Taraji P. Henson) from Detroit to Bejing. Struggling to fit in, he tries and fails to stand up to a crowd of bullies led by Zhenwei Wang. He becomes afraid of even going to school until meeting Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the quiet maintenance man who knows Kung-Fu and who reluctantly agrees to teach Dre. A local, ruthless Kung-Fu teacher has agreed his students will leave Dre alone, so long as he fights in an upcoming tournament.

Jaden Smith does really well in the title role and has clearly put a lot of work in that demands respect. As well as the physical aspects, he also has his father Will’s cheeky humour and timing. Importantly, all the young characters act very well with the adults. Often this kind of film underwrites the grown-ups and the relationship between Dre and Mr. Han especially is very real.

As Mr. Han, Jackie Chan is just magic in what might be his best English speaking role. Through no fault of his own, he doesn’t have Pat Morita’s natural unassuming calm (well, he is Jackie Chan!) that made Mr. Miyagi so iconic, but he is just as poignant and brings a beautifully judged humour to the character. The moment he rescues Dre by disabling six bullies without throwing a punch is wonderful. It’s brilliantly choreographed; thrilling and very funny in that Chaplin-esque way Chan is so good at. From that point on, he keeps the film alive and proves why he’s one of the biggest movie stars around. As with the 1984 film, the last half is predictable, but that’s the curse of sports based tournament movies and you’ll nevertheless be on the edge of your seat!

The film doesn’t flow as nicely as the first version, and that could be an effect of over-familiarity, but this version does lack some potential by using a much younger cast, despite their considerable ability. While Zhenwei Wang brings a convincingly vicious ferocity to the role of the main bully, Wen Wen Han as Mei Ying (the girl Dre has a crush on) is awkward and the story loses momentum in those sequences. They are just too young to convince for a romantic angle. The original plot worked as a coming of age story that teenagers could identify with, so the test will be if the young audience take to Jaden as their Karate Kid as much as my generation took to Ralph Macchio.

So you might be cynical about why it was made and how it was marketed, but give it a chance, because it’s honest and likeable. The Karate Kid has had a very good reception in the States and has confused people by beating The A-Team, but it’s easy to see why. This is a children’s film that respects its audience, including the adults, and outside of Pixar animation, that is rare and very reassuring.

The Karate Kid is a great family film, with a solid message and deserves to become as loved and as inspirational as its reassuringly cheesy predecessor. If only it hadn’t have been let down by the silly title.

(From The Karate Kid (2010) on June 27th, 2010)

Dom za vesanje, a review by goodguy

Dom za vesanje (Yugoslavia 1988, AKA Time of the Gypsies) Written by: Gordan Mihic & Emir Kusturica Directed by: Emir Kusturica Starring: Davor Dujmovic, Bora Todorovic, Ljubica Adzovic, Husnija Hasimovic, Sinolicka Trpkova, Elvira Sali DVD: R2-FR Carlotta (2007) My rating:

I decided to re-watch (and review) this before getting into the opera adaptation I recently bought.

Time of the Gypsies is a film entirely in Romani, the Gypsy language. The literal translation of the original title is "house for hanging".

The film tells the story of Perhan, a Gypsy orphan who lives with his grandmother, his crippled younger sister and his womanizing uncle in a Gypsy village on the outskirts of Skopje (Macedonia). Perhans days are filled with caring for his sister, working a small lime oven, practicing his telekinetic skills and adopting a turkey. A blossoming first love between him and Azra, a neighbor's girl, is strongly opposed by Azra's mother due to Perhan's lack of wealth. As the grandmother heals the son of the Gypsy king Ahmed, she wants him to take Perhan's sister to a hospital in Ljubljana. Perhan insists on accompanying her.

In Ljubljana, Ahmed persuades Perhan to follow him to Italy and slowly draws him into his shady business, which consists of child trafficking and running a small gang of burglars, beggars and prostitutes from a camp outside of Milan. The promise of making a fortune to provide for his sister and grandmother, to build a house and to put up the dowry for Azra causes him to departure more and more from values and beliefs he was raised upon by his grandmother.

When Ahmed has a heart attack, he sets up Perhan as the new boss. That however results in a fallout between Ahmed and his brothers and he sends Perhan back to Yugoslavia to acquire new members for the gang. But upon return to his home village Perhan finds that nothing is as he has hoped.

Kusturica weaves his tale of love, family, lost innocence and revenge in wondrous and magical images, with a rich symbolism deeply rooted in Gypsy mythology, while at the same time maintaining a gritty and unjudging realism in depicting the Gypsy life. Humor and comedy, sometimes venturing into the grotesque, are balanced seemingly effortless with touching tragedy and moments of uninhibited joy.

As in Kusturica's mesmerizing images, deep sadness and extreme exaltation, melancholia and euphoria, not as opposites, but synthesized are also the key elements of Goran Bregovic's magnificent score. To a large part it is based on a few Gypsy traditionals, but developed with great variety.

More superlatives are needed to describe the actors. Almost all of them are not only amateurs, but also actual Gypsies. Wonderful fresh and captivating performances throughout, even in minor roles.

Time of the Gypsies is such a poetic and beautiful film; it is a film not to be watched, but to be experienced, to be completely immersed in its images, music and sound. To me it is, ever since I've first seen it and without the shadow of a doubt, the greatest film ever made.

DVD Notes

The French release of 2007 is the first DVD release of the film in the western hemisphere. The film has been remastered and both a single and a 2-disc special edition are available, but sadly with French subtitles only.

The only English friendly version I know of is the VHS released in the US in 1995, although I've also heard of (but never seen) a Laserdisc. While searching for the trailer and a clip from the film on YouTube, I also found out that the entire film seems to be available there in 10min pieces. Hardly the proper way to watch it, but still...

Aside from the theatrical version I talked about here and which runs about 02:20h, there is also a 5h TV version. I've seen it once in the mid-90s, and a few years ago it became available on a Russian DVD (with Russian subtitles).

Trailer and Clip from the Film

Below is the international theatrical trailer and a clip from the film, showing the famous sequence of the St. George's Day celebration (Ederlezi).







(From goodguy's Watch Log on December 29th, 2009)

That '70s Show: Season Two, a review by addicted2dvd

That '70s Show: Season Two (1999/United States) As the gang continues their way toward adulthood, their childhood friendships suddenly get a bit more complicated: Kelso begins dating both Jackie and Laurie; Eric and Donna attempt to take their relationship to a new level; Fez keeps trying to get a girl (any girl); while Hyde is so cool that girls are asking him out. And while their parents tro to keep everybody on the straight and narrow, the gang keeps on truckin' with full speed hilarity.

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Stars:
Topher Grace as Eric Forman
Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti
Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso
Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde
Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart
Wilmer Valderrama as Fez
Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Interviews

I just finished season 2... I went through this season in no time. And am enjoying the series even more. Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong) was in several episodes of this season. He made a pretty good addition to the cast. Once again I can't decide which episode would be my favorite of the season as they were all good... but if pushed I would probably go with the 2 part episode where Donna and Eric loose their virginity. I would love to go straight to season 3... but don't have it yet. Hopefully I will be able to get it before too long.




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on January 23rd, 2012)