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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a review by dfmorgan

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Year: 2010
Director: Mike Newell
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley

OverviewWatched: 6th Feb. 2011
My Thoughts: An enjoyable romp. I guessed the bad bad guy early on in the film, part way through I started to wonder if I was right but was vindicated with my decision before the end. Having played one of the "Prince of Persia" platform games I could see how they incorporated some the games styling into this film and its action. Most of the time the brain was parked in neutral but a couple times I had to get into first gear but generally a good action romp.

My Rating: An enjoyable romp for a 3



(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on February 6th, 2011)

Moonrise Kingdom, a review by Antares

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) 58/100 -

Moonrise Kingdom is one of those movies where I can be sure that I wouldn't enjoy the company of anyone who didn't connect to the film.

The above quote is taken from a post on the Wes Anderson thread over at the Criterion forum, and it encompasses everything that I find dis-interesting in Wes Anderson films and everything I find disdainful in his fanboys. The ever so present and defensively, in your face... "If you don't like his films, you just don't get it." kind of crap that has been associated with Anderson from day one. This film had so much potential, but is mired in Anderson's self indulgent universe of droll dialog, quirky characters and whimsy. But where this approach was fresh back in the days of The Royal Tenenbaums, it now comes across as stale and laborious. It's sad because this film has some beautiful cinematography, with some amazing color contrasts and a jaunty, whimsical music score that is let down by a lazy storyline. Yes, it's a coming of age story, and I did like the opening 20 minutes or so. But then it starts to become bogged down by the weight of its hipster characterizations and dialog. Bill Murray is as interesting as a plank of wood in his performance as the confused and distant father, character traits which seems to encompass every role he plays for Anderson. Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Harvey Keitel are just filling out frames of the film, leaving only Ed Norton as the solitary adult character with any depth, believability or sincerity. As I was watching, I started to get a sense that Anderson was trying to recreate his own version of a Charles Schultz Peanuts special from the sixties, where the kids are profound beyond their years and the adults are only heard as indecipherable noise.

All in all, the only real enjoyment I came away from this film with was that they shot some of the scenes only a few miles from my home, and noticing many places where I hike on a regular basis was kind of fun. But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that if I never saw another Wes Anderson film in my life, I would not feel cheated as a cineaste.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 4th, 2014)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: The Gokusen: The Complete Collection
Year: 2003
Length: 325 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo , Japanese: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Plot:
Kumiko Yamaguchi is the heir to the Oedo Yakuza family, but it's her dream to teach the youth of Japan. Putting aside her Yakuza cunning, she takes up the role of a normal bubbly graduate, landing a high-school teaching job. Now Kumiko is determined to understand the teenage mind, teach higher math and maybe carry on a little romance... yet she lives with the fact that her loyal army of brutal hitmen capable of murdering disobedient students are only one step away.

Extras:
Outtakes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

Yesterday, after having received this series, I wrote, that I only bought it, because it was cheap. It seemed like a series, which could be interesting but had a high chance to totally miss my taste (after watching the opener below before buying it seemed to make this impression to me). I was wrong! It was 12 bucks very well spent! Now only one day later I have already watched all 13 episodes almost in one sitting.
This series is about a young female rookie teacher who starts in a school full of rowdy high schoolers. What nobody knows, she is actually part of a feared Yakuza (Japanese mafia) family and she is one of the best fighters there is. But she has to hide this side of herself at school to not get fired as a teacher, which is her life's dream. The problem is, her students always seem to get in some kind of trouble.
Now I am sorry that there are only 13 episodes

Rating:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2s7TAuASCJ8

(From Tom's Random Reviews on June 22nd, 2008)