- I know, I know - where are the updates? Well, it's been a crazy-busy week, and I've barely had any time to do anything other than slog through in anticipation of the weekend. But anyways, I'll try to keep things concise so I can actually get a new post out of the gates.
- Celtics - huge game tonight! Man, Tuesday's game was a heart-breaker, and I think tonight is going to be another uphill battle for Boston. I feel like some wind had to have been taken out of their sails after Game 3, as with the Lakers playing only so-so, the game was one that could easily have been stolen by the C's, if only Paul Pierce or KG had come out of the gates with a little more fire. With the inconsistency that the Celtics have had on the road, and the fact that Kobe seems due for at least one or two more monster games before all is said and done, The Celtics will really have to kick it up a notch tonight if they want to win. They have to play mean and angry, play to win, and play the full 48 minutes. Pierce needs to have a big game and lead by example, and the C's will also need some strong and consistent play from the likes of Rondo and the other role players. They need a Leon Powe, Eddie House, Sam Cassell, or Kendrick Perkins to play big. But if Boston can somehow pull off a victory tonight, then, wow, they will be in great position going back to Beantown. If the Lakers win tonight, however, then things could get a little scary. So what I'm trying to say is: Go Celtics, Beat LA!
- So much to talk about, but since like I said I'm trying to keep things short, I'll skip straight to my long-awaited (by about 3 of you) review of Kung ... Fu ... Panda.
KUNG-FU PANDA Review:
- Until now, I think I've yet to be truly impressed with a non-Pixar CGI movie. From the always-impeccable animation to the tremendous scripts, Pixar to me is simply the king of the modern animated film. It doesn't help things that studios like Dreamworks have seemed intent on releasing a flood of wannabe movies. Movies that sell themselves based more on the strength of the A-list talent doing voice work than anything else. Movies that never quite have the polish of Pixar. So many of these animated films have taken a heavy cue from SHREK, and played up the pop-culture references, the "cool" humor, and sacrificed that timeless sense of wonder for the cheap laugh. For kids, I'm sure a lot of these Dreamworks CGI movies prove pretty entertaining and fun, but for me, when I hear about a new non-Pixar CGI family film, I usually am pretty indifferent. I'm happy to say that Kung-Fu Panda karate-chops through all of that. While not quite Pixar quality, it is nonetheless an incredibly fun movie that feels like a top-notch produciton through and through. It's a movie that uses its big-name voice talent to its full advantage rather than as a crutch. It's a movie that has a real sense of artistic design about its direction, choreography, and overall look. And man, it's got some of the overall coolest and most kickass action sequences I've seen thus far in '08, and that goes for live action, animation, you name it.
Plot-wise, Kung-Fu Panda is about as simple as you can get. A young panda, Po, voiced by Jack Black, dreams of a life beyond his father's noodle restaurant - a life of adventure, intrigue, and hardcore kung-fu. So for Po, it is a fantasy come to life when he is inexplicably deemed to be the chosen one - the Dragon Warrior - who is destined to join with an elite group of kung-fu champions in order to thwart the evil machinations of the sinister Tai Lung. Of course, Po is an unlikely candidate to be the Dragon Warrior - he's a roly-poly panda, afterall, and his talents lie more in eating than kung-fu fighting. It is here that Kung Fu Panda becomes a classic lovable-loser-spreads-his-wings-and-realizes-his-potential movie. But what could have been a pretty bland affair instead becomes a lot of fun thanks to inventive action, solid humor, and a great overall aesthetic.
As mentioned, the voice cast is of the type that at first glance seems gimmicky, loaded with big names. But the voice talent really adds to the precedings, with some real spot-on casting. Jack Black, for one, is pretty perfect as Po. Black works so well because he's not really shoehorning his personality onto Poe - the truth is that Po in many ways IS Jack Black - an overexuberant, goofy fanboy of a Panda -- so really, the melding between Jack Black and Po the Panda is pretty darn seamless. You've also got to love Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, Po's gruff mentor who's kind of like Yoda by way of Master Splinter. The other real standout is Ian McShane as the evil Tai Lung - despite not having much of a backstory or real motives, McShane nonetheless makes sure that Tai Lung comes off as one evil bastard.
On the other hand, some of the peripheral characters never really pop. The Furious Five - the band of elite kung fu warriors who join with Po, are voiced by a veritable all-star cast of talent ... but despite some fun visual designs, each based on a different real-life kung fu style, none of these potentially-cool characters are given much to do. I mean, we've got Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and Seth Rogan doing their voices, but only Jolie is given any real backstory, the others are just kind of barely-there.
But again, the movie is really about Po's journey, and then, it's about giving us some insane kung fu action. The action scenes here are just awesomely-choreographed and staged. When we first meet McShane's Tai Lung, he's holed up and chained deep in an underground prison uilt especially to contain him - in fact, he's its only prisoner. The setup is classic - we KNOW it's only a matter of time until Tai Lung escapes, but the question is how. What ensues is a crazy-awesome escape / action sequence that definitely rocked and rocked hard. We get a similarly kinetic scene later on, when Lung confronts the Furious Five atop a hanging bridge that crosses a cavernous ravine. Again, the action is fast and furious, and the drama heightened by some really innovative staging.
There's a lot of fun humor here as well. The kids at the theater were all laughing hystrically throughout the movie, and a lot of that is thanks to a combination of Black's great delivery and some really well-done animation that bursts with life and character. I really appreciate the comedy is all organic to the script - there's no random pop culture references or anything like that. There's a lot of Simpsons-esque physical and verbal humor (Po often reminded me of Homer Simpson, actually), but it mostly works.
In the end, I really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda - I thought it had a wholesome central message that was great for kids, but in the context of a funny and smart movie that really did feel like a loving tribute to all things kung-fu. And not only was it a fun homage, but it really did deliver on the action, with some stunning CGI set pieces. The story is ultimately pretty flimsy - the Furious 5 are never really fleshed out, and the main villain, while cool, is kind of just there, without any real plan or plot-based reason for being a threat. But really, this is just a fun movie with its heart in the right place, and an indicator that Pixar may finally have a bit of competition.
My Grade: B+
- Alright - I actually started this blog entry earlier in the afternoon, but am wrapping it up as I'm sitting here watching the Celtics-Lakers game. Dayum, the Celtics have cut it to 2 at the end of the third quarter ... this has been a mostly dismal game for The C's thus far, but ... could there be hope? The next half hour or so is going to be interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment