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Reviews
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Labyrinth meets Princess Bride meets Karate Kid! Awesome!!! =)
I want to get one thing out of the way first! I've read so many threads & forums on the internet saying that this is not a movie for true martial arts fans - well, that is a load of rubbish!!! I love martial arts movies and am fans of classics such as Jet Lis' Legend of Fong Sai Yuk films, Fist of Legend, Jackie Chans' original Police Story films, Dragons Forever, Donnie Yens' Iron Monkey - and obviously the modern day classic that is Sha Po Lang!!! So, did I like this film? I loved it!!! I didn't think anything would top Iron Man or Hulk this summer - but it's been done! It really took me back to my youth, I came out buzzing from the cinema on a real high. It is a modern day fantasy, the kind of film you watch as a kid and wish that it was you who was the main character. Which is amazing seeing as I'm 28! That's why it reminded me of classics like Labyrinth, Princess Bride and the Karate Kid.
It has some great fights - obviously one of them is Jackie Vs Jet, which is surprisingly long. I was also really glad that the fight was very balanced - each knocking down the other as many times so that there was no true winner.
But a great film needs a great ending, which thankfully, this film has! It was really nice to see for once a film having a neat & tidy ending doing essentially what you want. This might have been too formulaic for some people, but for me it was the perfect ending to a great film which I hope will become a classic.
Hope you enjoy this great summer movie too...
9/10 (I never give 10/10 - so that's a pretty crazy score, maybe I'm still on a high from seeing it last night).
Anamnesis (2006)
Classy UK Art - House Thriller
I saw this film at its first screening at the British Film Academy in December 2005 and was pleasantly surprised.
The story revolves around Joe, a young medical student who ends up being involved in all kinds of memory manipulation related shenanigans.
Like time travel stories, the result is a film with lots of twists & turns but ultimately is worth it in the end, raising lots of questions and leaving a lot of interpretation up to the viewer.
The performances were generally solid and camera direction tight given the low budget of the production. Especially worthy of note is the break through performance by Solar Flare front man - Bobby Stryker.
Definitely worth watching / picking up on DVD if you can find it.