Kung Fu Panda 2 - Review

In this sequel, based from the 2008 original, Po learns of a great danger that not only threatens peace but threaten the art of kung fu. The threat is a peacock with heavy artillery and an evil past. That past includes the destruction of the village where Po was born and the murdering of his parents.

Though the sequel contains many elements of the first such as Jack Black's signature voice as Po and the creative physical humor that made the first film so memorable, the sequel is just not as good. It is weakened with a few tired cliches, silly dialogue and a weak villain. The villain is Shen, a peacock disturbed by his relationship with his parents. He employs many dimwitted wolves to do his evil deeds. This all seems run of the mill. Even though, through the help of amazing animation, Shen looks, fights and snarls like a bad ass, he is never as evil as Ian McShane's Tai Lung from the first film. Gary Oldman is a great actor but he doesn't do anything the great animated villains of the past have done, primarily playing the villain as large as life can be. Think of any great villain in any animated work, over dramatic, melodramatic and such and such make the villain great. Oldman's Shen is none of those things.

Since it is the second film we spend a lot more time with the smaller characters of the first film, primarily the furious five; Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Mantis and Viper. It makes sense, since the furious five are voiced by some pretty big names and in the last film a couple of them had only 2 lines. These additions in dialogue do little to help the comedy or the story.

Kung Fu Panda (2008) was solid because of the animated physical humor, the relationship between Po and Master Shifu, the character development of Po, the simple elegant story that film presented, masked by kung fu fighting animals as well as an amazing voice over by Jack Black. This new film has the physical humor but lacks those other elements. Often times the story feels pressured into the easy joke after easy joke as well as pushes too many slogans within the dialogue. There are scenes in which Po or any of the furious five turn a hat into something like "hat of chaos" or wings into "wings of freedom" as a fighting move, which get tiring. You can hear the marketing team go crazy for those moments as they prepare hats and wings with slogans from the film printed all over them. Those things do nothing to help the story and do everything to try and sell t-shirts. Also if certain scenes in the film don't remind you of a video game then please rent the video game or any video game. Certain action sequences seem built upon the notion that when the movie (and it will be) is converted into a video game, this scene with the "five" as a costume dragon will make a killer level 4.

In the end, Kung Fu Panda 2 has some really hilarious moments but fails to build on the simple elegance of the first. It's a shame. Even Jack Black's brilliance from the first gets left behind. In the first he was so good at capturing the exuberance of a boy becoming his fantasy. In the sequel, even with vengeance as a motive, Black comes off a little dull and less refreshing.

Well with any good sequel, the second film set up a third movie. See you in three years. Kung Fu Panda 3: the search for more money. I mean Kung Fu Panda 3 Family Reunion. I'm guessing. Po hooks up with Tigress along the way, something lightly hinted at during this second film.

thank and please enjoy movies.

Always Next Year David Fincher (A Pep Talk)

the winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Director goes to Tom Hooper. Yay! No offense to Mr. Hooper. The King's Speech is a nice and well made film but my best director for 2010 was David Fincher.

Don't take it too hard Mr. Fincher. Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar and Kubrick only won one for special effects, not directing. Now, I am not saying that you are on par with Hitchcock or Kubrick but you have been making, forward, challenging and good films for over 10 years with little recognition from the Academy. You might say, who cares about the Oscars? The Oscars are, in my eyes a self gratifying well dressed fuck fest that doesn't promote good movies but promotes fashion and celebrity. Maybe we need that too or maybe not.

All I am saying is, don't be down on yourself Mr. Fincher. You should have been nominated for Seven but you weren't. You lost for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and maybe that was accurate. You lost again this year for The Social Network and that happens. In my eyes the best direction I saw in a film this year was by far your film.

All I am saying is... don't feel bad. Your time will come, you will be recognized. You are one of the premier directors of your time. Though I may not always enjoy your films, I cannot argue against your vision and your ability to consistently make better than average films. Remember, the Oscars aren't always about talent or skill, sometimes it's about popularity and money. That is sad but if you have ever examined the Oscars you'll realize it to be true.

Remember Mr. Fincher, there is always next year. Continue to do what you do. Keep working and keep making solid films for everyone, movie friends and movie lovers alike. Good form sir.

The Two Sentence Movie Review

So I am a little behind and I thought I would share some simple thoughts about some movies out there and being discussed.

Black Swan - A well acted film but unfortunately, the script and direction is unclear and unfocussed. I agree with a critic that said that said the best thing about the film might be the casting.

Social Network - I will choose my words carefully. The Social Network is a very well made movie.

Little Fockers - Bad. Another attempt to make money and squeeze unclever jokes about Focker this and Focker that.

Tron - Great visuals and decent action but the film had less plot that a cup of soup. Even a cameo from Daft Punk could not save this movie for me.

True Grit - Well acted but the film doesn't build upon or reconstruct the classic western. In the end, the movie says little and does less.

The Tourist - I never saw it but while discussing the film with a friend who had seen the picture, I was able to predict major plot points and the ending. Sometimes the best movies are the ones you don't waste your time on.

The King's Speech - The film is more funny than I thought it would be. A well made movie that showcases great acting, a simple study on the crippling effect of fear and the satisfaction of overcoming that fear.