Archive for the ‘Indiana Jones’ Category
SEE: Big And Plodding: SCORPION KING 2: RISE OF A WARRIOR
SCORPION KING 2: RISE OF A WARRIOR
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Starring Michael Copon, Karen David, Simon Quarterman, Tom Wu, Andreas Wisniewski, Natalie Becker and Randy Couture
Distributed by Berjaya HVN Sdn Bhd
THE director and producers bravely sallied forth in an effort to make a movie that might do justice to its predecessor. Sadly, they failed. This movie, a sequel of Scorpion King, proves to be a fiasco.
Frankly, the prequel itself, with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as the main character, hardly sizzled at the box office, so what exactly can you expect of a movie that is just designed to ride on the coattails of a more glamorous prequel? Not much.
I find the actors rather wooden in their acting, the plot a bit abrupt and unclear.
In one moment, the main character is fighting the king, the next, he is fleeing on a ship in search of a weapon to kill the ruler.
There is even a moment that smacks of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade where the main character’s dead father’s voice keeps on warning him to trust in his faith.
The visual effects themselves are a bit sloppy. This movie was produced this year, so I wonder why they are using effects which look like they came from a show almost a decade ago.
As for the bonus materials, there are the Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes and The Making of Scorpion King 2 itself. The Gag Reel offers fun and laughter after nearly two hours of boredom with the funny shots.
As for the Deleted Scenes, I think that the movie might have been better off if the producers hadn’t taken them out.
The Making itself is a good watch, and while I appreciate the cast and crew’s effort, I definitely don’t like the result. - SL
Rating: H
New Straits Times
Play: Welcome To Gotham City
Lego Batman is quirky and fun, complete with movie soundtracks and fantastic graphics. FAIZUL AZIM SAIFUL writes.
LEGO BATMAN (PS2)
IT is inevitable that there will be a game from the Lego franchise that pokes fun at the Caped Crusader, seeing how well the latest movie did at the box office.
Although Lego Batman does not follow the movie’s storyline, its apparent disassociation with it is what makes it so charming.
You begin with Batman and Boy Wonder Robin as you battle numerous criminals from the Dark Knight universe. You’ll fight The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Clayface at first.
As you proceed, more enemies from the comics appear, including the Penguin, Man-Bat and as expected, The Joker.
To reach these Arkham inmates, you’ll have to pound enemies with your fists or by throwing them around. Along the way, you’ll find different suits to help you complete your missions.
One puts Robin in a huge metallic costume that enables him to walk up metal walls. Another lets Batman glide so he can access ledges.
There are also switches to activate, puzzles to solve and hidden goodies to find, including blue bolts, special Lego pieces and other items.
The plays are in the same format as previous titles in the Lego series such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
You control two characters at the same time (or one, if you’re playing the co-op two-player mode), exploring levels as you build Legos and collect “studs” that help unlock extra features.
Once you have completed a level, you open up free play which allows you to switch to any characters whom you’ve unlocked to find hidden areas and secrets in the game that only they can reach with their unique powers.
Lego Batman excels over previous Lego games with its variety of missions. The missions include exciting vehicle segments (including a fun ride in the Batmobile) and different characters to control.
Villains also get their share of the spotlight. Not only do you control The Joker and the Penguin (among others), but they also get their own missions.
From stealing an ice cannon to facing off against an impatient Commissioner Gordon, these stages are just as much fun as the heroes’.
The level design is great and takes you all over Gotham City Lego-style. The story has a lot of the brand’s trademark humour, such as having the characters communicate entirely by mumbling (or meowing in the case of one villainess).
Developer Traveller’s Tales has done a great job with the presentation, complete with Batman soundtracks, along with a few original compositions.
The graphics are the best of any Lego game, whether you walk through the city streets or raid Mr Freeze’s icy warehouse. The camera angles do get hectic from time to time, leading to an occasional accidental fall off a ledge.
As with other Lego titles, just don’t take this game too seriously, and you may enjoy its quirky outlook on the movies it’s based on.
The game can be bought at WEGA Enterprise located in Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur. Call 03-2141-8688.
New Straits Times
CINEMA: Spoiled Spoof
A scene from Disaster Movie.
DISASTER MOVIE directed By Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
Starring Matt Lanter, Vannessa Minnillo, Kim Kardashian, G. Thang, Nicole Parker and Carmen Electra
THE title of Hollywood’s latest spoof, Disaster Movie, says it all.
It actually takes some effort to stay put in the cinema hall till the end of the show.
From the same filmmakers who brought us Scary Movie and Epic Movie, this movie barely has a story. It spoofs everything from Hannah Montana to High School Musical to Beowulf and even Justin Timberlake, but in a fragmented format.
It mostly concerns Will, played by Matt Lanter, having a dream that the world is going to end on Aug 29 of this year.
Taking parts of Cloverfield and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as its base, the movie starts from 10,001 BC, when a caveman falls into a giant dinosaur dung, then gets bailed up by a buck-toothed, tattooed singer a.k.a. the talented, but troubled, Amy Winehouse.
Sadly, none of this mixing results in anything remotely funny.
When Will wakes up from his dream, he throws a superduper sweet sixteen party, even though he’s 28.
At the birthday function are pregnant teen friend Juno, best buddy Calvin played by G. Thang and his lady Lisa played by sexy Kim Kardashian.
Without warning, the city is pummelled by asteroids, sending Will and his friends out into the streets where they run into an ice storm, a twister, an earthquake and other natural disasters.
Along the way, when he discovers Lisa is trapped in the local museum, Will vows to save her, as well as the planet of course. He must use the mystic powers of the legendary Crystal Skull to do so.
Through it all there are only two funny moments.
One comes when they run into the Enchanted Princess played by Nicole Parker. Her fairy tale look at the world, often accompanied by her singing, is explained as being the result of taking loads of wonderful mind-altering drugs.
The other funny moment is a jab at High School Musical.
The film is also populated with impersonations of people in the news but who are so badly impersonated that they require an introduction like “look everyone, it’s Jessica Simpson”.
There are also appearances from every superhero, from Ironman to Incredible Hulk to Hancock, unspeakably clunky musical numbers and lots of scenes in which women get smacked in the face but don’t die immediately.
I gave up trying to work out all the movies, celebrities and television shows being spoofed. You have to be media literate to get this movie and brain-dead to enjoy it.
Perhaps the most decent aspect of the movie is how current it manages to be.
But ultimately it ends up being a tedious movie-going experience.
New Straits Times