Well, it almost feels like two separate movies. I liked the half of the movie that takes place in modern times, that has some vintage Jackie Chan moment, like the fight in the glue factory or the tomb raiding fight in India, these scenes alone bring us back to a younger Jackie Chan era like Projetc A and Mr. Canton and Lady Rose. But the other half of the film, the epic historical stuff, is very, very cheesy, even the fights, which a loaded with CG for this half of the film, don't spark any positive reaction, and Jackie trying to play a serious, melodramatic role doesn't quite cut the mustard either. However, Tong uses brilliant cinematography for the old era China part of the film and I must compliment the film for some of its use of music. Overall, the story doesn't hold up as being remotely plosible. But thanks to some great comedy and other funny moments (that I don't think were meant to be funny) the film is still enjoyable. It's not Jackie's best, but it is better than most things he's put out in recent years, with the exception of New Police Story--which I think is his best in a long time.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Dukes of Hazzard
(2005)
Yee-Haw!
8 August 2005
Alright, alright people will say what they will about the continuity or story, but if you watched the TV show you would say that the story and continuity issues were part of the remake process, because similar, obvious, blunders happened in the show all the time.
The Dukes of Hazzard movie is a lot of hokey fun. The chemistry between Johnny Knoxville and Seann Willam Scott is excellent, their on screen pairing really makes the aggregates likable and audience friendly. And I have to admit Jessica Simpson pulled off a pretty good Daisy Duke (she surprised me with her decent acting), but no campy TV remake could be complete without Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson (who is a great Uncle Jesse and has some awesome jokes to tell) .
Of course, what would the Dukes Of Kazzard be without it's beautiful orange star, number 01, The General Lee--the '69 Charger is back in all its Hemmy glory with some nicely done (non CG--thank you Mr. Chanrasekhar) car chases. Why would anybody want to see the Dukes for any other reason bu the car and the chases is starts and finishes. They chases are big screen beauty that bring the viewer back to late '60s and early '70s when car chases were at their prime.
Believe what you will about The Dukes of Hazzard movie, but it is the best TV remake to hit the screen in a long time, I think that its stays loyal to the original show's content and theme which is why I liked it and if you were a fan you will like the movie.
My only concern was the casting of M.C. Gainey as Roscoe P. Coltrane, who played a good bad guy, however I feel that the Roscoe character was not well re-established by changing his look, and personality.
Overall though, this movie is a lot of simple fun and an enjoyable time at the movies.
The Dukes of Hazzard movie is a lot of hokey fun. The chemistry between Johnny Knoxville and Seann Willam Scott is excellent, their on screen pairing really makes the aggregates likable and audience friendly. And I have to admit Jessica Simpson pulled off a pretty good Daisy Duke (she surprised me with her decent acting), but no campy TV remake could be complete without Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson (who is a great Uncle Jesse and has some awesome jokes to tell) .
Of course, what would the Dukes Of Kazzard be without it's beautiful orange star, number 01, The General Lee--the '69 Charger is back in all its Hemmy glory with some nicely done (non CG--thank you Mr. Chanrasekhar) car chases. Why would anybody want to see the Dukes for any other reason bu the car and the chases is starts and finishes. They chases are big screen beauty that bring the viewer back to late '60s and early '70s when car chases were at their prime.
Believe what you will about The Dukes of Hazzard movie, but it is the best TV remake to hit the screen in a long time, I think that its stays loyal to the original show's content and theme which is why I liked it and if you were a fan you will like the movie.
My only concern was the casting of M.C. Gainey as Roscoe P. Coltrane, who played a good bad guy, however I feel that the Roscoe character was not well re-established by changing his look, and personality.
Overall though, this movie is a lot of simple fun and an enjoyable time at the movies.
Firefly
(2002–2003)
I hope Firely comes back to TV
25 July 2005
Something is seriously wrong with the FOX TV people. The canceling of Firefly was as big a mistake as canceling Family Guy. Firefly is probably the most original and refreshing Sci-Fi to hit the tube in a long while. It combines, the noiseless tranquility of space with the best collected characters from a Sergio Leone western and mixes them in a cake pan of brilliant dialogue and smart stories. I think most people who watch the show can enjoy and relate to the simplicity of these characters and their mission. All they want to do is work, they want their next job and they want it to go off without any problems. Simple and sweet (of course it wouldn't be good TV if everything went smooth).
I love Star Trek very much, but Voyager and Enterprise made me seek out new life and civilization; and that's when I stumbled on this space opera. I am sad to say I've never seen the original broadcasts, but from discussing sci-fi with a lot of common thinking geeks, like myself, many of them mentioned Firefly and it made me find the series on DVD. Firefly is a highly entertaining and educated show, what was nice is that they don't try and explain too much technology or why things are the way they are. Much like the original Star Trek series, the character chemistry is high and the stories are simple, to the point and fun--oh and the fact that the characters all swear in Mandarin is a very nice touch by creator Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel)
I love Star Trek very much, but Voyager and Enterprise made me seek out new life and civilization; and that's when I stumbled on this space opera. I am sad to say I've never seen the original broadcasts, but from discussing sci-fi with a lot of common thinking geeks, like myself, many of them mentioned Firefly and it made me find the series on DVD. Firefly is a highly entertaining and educated show, what was nice is that they don't try and explain too much technology or why things are the way they are. Much like the original Star Trek series, the character chemistry is high and the stories are simple, to the point and fun--oh and the fact that the characters all swear in Mandarin is a very nice touch by creator Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel)
The Island
(2005)
Worst movie you could possibly see this summer!
24 July 2005
I would give this movie 1 star, but the first half hour of the film was decent. As for the rest of it--well... please, Mr. Michael Bay, stop making movies that insult viewer's intelligence. The film starts as with a nice pace and tone, similar to Blade Runner and THX 1138. Then it takes an odd turn--a turn that feels almost like Michael Bay had a big bag of pre-set action scenes that had to be put into the movie. Mr. Bay reaches into the bag and randomly takes out each of these action scenes and scatters them into the thinning plot, detaching the viewer from the characters and removing any hint of passion that the film's opening act was ready to unfold.
Don't get me wrong, Michael Bay used to handle action scenes quite well. But even the action in The Island cannot justify my ticket price. The action was so over the top it became nonsensical and funny--almost as funny as the nearly insulting use of product placement (of which only one product made me say "ooooh coooooool"; and that was a pretty sweet looking Caddy).
I do have to give the film some credit, Ewan McGregor does a fine acting job as do Steve Buscemi and Sean Bean. And I think Scarlett Johansson is good actor, but hardly saw the point of her character.
To make a long, annoyed review short, if you have any interest in this type of sci-fi movie, please look at Blade Runner, Thx 1138, AI, Alien3 (The director's cut).
Don't get me wrong, Michael Bay used to handle action scenes quite well. But even the action in The Island cannot justify my ticket price. The action was so over the top it became nonsensical and funny--almost as funny as the nearly insulting use of product placement (of which only one product made me say "ooooh coooooool"; and that was a pretty sweet looking Caddy).
I do have to give the film some credit, Ewan McGregor does a fine acting job as do Steve Buscemi and Sean Bean. And I think Scarlett Johansson is good actor, but hardly saw the point of her character.
To make a long, annoyed review short, if you have any interest in this type of sci-fi movie, please look at Blade Runner, Thx 1138, AI, Alien3 (The director's cut).
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