REVIEW: Hulk, Get Smart + Movie Schedules!!!

The Incredible Hulk
"HULK SMASH! HULK SMASH GOOD!"

Directed by Louis Leterrier Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and William Hurt


Coming right at the heels of fellow Marvel hero Iron Man, the Hulk smashes into place, hoping in earnest to both make lots of greens and wash out the bad aftertaste left behind by the giant's previous outing.

It comes two-folds I suppose... with both the good and the bad news. The bad news is that it doesn't quit soar to the same standards as his iron-clad buddy, in fact it lacks much of what made Iron Man so stupendous. On the other hand, it beat himself up handily, well his Ang Lee version at least, and if put into the right perspective, the Hulk still manages up a solid, entertaining and, most importantly, an action-packed array of sequences (Take that, Ang Lee!)


You see, the main reason it doesn't soar the same heights as Iron Man lies in two huge factors- Robert Downey as Stark and the Hulk's pacing. The first one isn't its fault, but Robert Downey just beats Edward Norton handily. Not that Norton does not give in a good performance, in fact he gives in as good a performance as Bruce Banner as is possible, giving a good balance between torn fugitive, brilliant scientist and distraught lover. But Downey's turn as Stark is just much more fun to watch, and in a way it also lies down to the fact that Stark is a much more interesting AND irresistible character than Banner.


Also, while Iron Man's pacing was sleek, fast and smart, Hulk comes across as a forced melodrama and action bonanza every scene. This is not completely a bad thing, in fact it's for this reason that this movie rises above the normal superhero movie. But, it also is its worst factor, because I just can't shake off the feeling that the pacing of this movie is not only strange but also nagging.

Still, if one were to stop comparing it to its Summer brother, it still is one superior Superhero movie, and definitely a superior summer blockbuster. The cast is tremendously talented and well suit for their roles. The fanboys will be screaming from all the hidden easter eggs scattered all throughout. The action sequences are amazing and exactly what we were looking for the first time around. The story and film itself is not afraid to embrace itself in its entirety. Plus, the effects here are just amazing. While I was fairly impressed with the first Hulk, this version does not only wear darker shade for green or forgo the silly purple shorts, but it's also much darker in its look and realism. The vein and muscle details are just amazing.


What does this mean? It means Marvel just gave out its second hit in a row. If we keep this up we might actually have too much good superhero movies, which for years now I have never imagined possible. And I must admit, I'm as excited about this prospect as I am of the thought that I will one day rule the world (no... really, I will).


8 out of 10


Get Smart
"Get Smart gets it right. Get it? Get Smart- gets rig.. ah forget it."

Directed by Peter Segal Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Jhonson and Alan Arkin



This movie is a convoluted mess, utterly lost in its pacing and has a certain lack of dynamics in its angles. It is also incredibly funny, joyously light-hearted and undeniably entertaining. Oh how I hate this kind of movies, they never make writing reviews easy. Can't I just completely love or completely hate a movie again?

Well, there's little else to say about the bad stuff than what I just summarized in the previous paragraph. This movie is no masterpiece, and the fact is that it even has some jokes fall flat. It has a case of mistake identity that can't seem to decide whether its a mix of action and comedy, pure action or pure comedy. In turn it doesn't quite live up to the maximum effect of either on some parts that had sadly a lot of potential. On the other hand, it does give us what it set out to do in the first place.

This movie is highly entertaining, at least in most parts. Steve Carell remains a comedic natural and while Anne Hathaway may no longer be as stunning as when I first saw her, she is nonetheless adequate for her role. The movie follows the shenanigans of Agent Maxwell and his partner Agent 99. And the shenanigans can be quite a treat too, none of which could have been nearly half as entertaining had it not been for Steve.

With those points aside, what else can I really say about the movie? It does a pretty good job of being entertaining, avoids being sucky unlike some movies nowadays. For movies in general, thats mission accomplished and sadly something of a rarity. But in a summer season as volatile as this, it serves more as a refreshing snack before moving on to the next main course.



7 out of 10

MOVIE SCHEDULES
Due to requests and complaints on the fact that I did not add the release dates on some of the movies I presented in my Summer Movie entry, I have decided to do so here. Yes, Bra, I'm looking at you. Hehe. Anyway...

Wanted
June 27



















Hancock
July 3


















Journey to the Center of the Earth
July 9


















The Dark Knight
July 17


















Mama Mia!
July 18


















The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor Dragon
July 30


















You Don't Mess with the Zohan
August 6



















Wall-E
August 13


















X-Files: I Want to Believe
August 13
















Star Wars: The Clone Wars
August 20


















My Sassy Girl
August 20
















Disaster Movie
August 27


















Babylon A.D.
September 3



















Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
September 10

REVIEW: Kung Fu Panda, Prince Caspian and Assasin's Creed!!!

Kung Fu Panda
'Still no Pixar, still pretty awesome'


Dreamworks has always given off pretty entertaining animation features, but never have they ever come close to the ingenuity, originality or beauty of Pixar's masterpieces. This movie doesn't change that, but it does represent the best of Dreamwork's so far, and while not revolutionary is nonetheless a step in the right direction.


Let me just say that I have absolutely nothing bad to say against this film except that it just isn't better than it is. You see, the animation is amazing, the graphics mixed with a tinge of Asian colors and style, really burst in the big screen. This is the way to go as since Dreamworks can never compete against Pixar in terms of detail, it should make it up with unique graphical styles to augment its shape-oriented style as it does here.


Then there's the movie as a whole, which is highly entertaining while maintaining clean look. Its not ridden with too much forced jokes which spelled the doom of the Shrek franchise, and like fellow Dreamworks success Over The Hedge, it gives of a jolly good time while delivering a good, albeit predictable, story.


We follow Po, a noodle maker, who suddenly finds himself the chosen Dragon Warrior above the other Ferocious Five, which leaves them pretty peeved. Which brings us to the great ensemble voice cast they have here. Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Seth Rogen are here, and they deliver their lines in perfect harmonious unity. In other words, the hilarity from these pair ups are pretty cool.


If there's anything wrong with this good clean movie, is that it goes out too short and ends too fast. Still it can't be denied that this movie really goes all the way with style, entertainment, humor and talent.

8.5 out of 10



Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
'Better than the first, which still doesn't say much'


I was never much of a fan of the first movie. While I thought it wasn't a disaster fantasy film and actually held up pretty solidly, it paled in comparison to the likes of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Still I was pretty willing to give the sequel the benefit of the doubt, which it took advantage of.

Let's just start off by saying this movie is darker, grittier and runs with a sense of a year's worth of experience and overall the movie is better off with it.It is also clear via the movie's lengthy finale that it observed a lot of the things that made LOTR so successful and tried it out, whether they effectively got it or not is a completely different matter.


You see, one of the biggest up's of this film is the fact that since all the kids have had years worth of experience as the kings and queens of Narnia, they don't have to stumble around now not knowing what to do. Rather they go around their second trip wiht a sense of experience that actually appeals to the new action pacing. That doesn't mean there are still some inexplicable and frustrating scenes of downright silliness but all in all, the children's second trip is more tightly woven than their last. This isn't a child's trip, this is war for Narnia and it shows.

The scenes are dark and despite the lack of actual blood save for the occasional cut lip, quite a number of people and err, Narnians, die in this movie. The main fact that this movie is now more accessible to adults really adds to an appeal the first movie never had.


But that's about where the good parts end. While the fantasy land and action are very well done, they stretch to a staggering 2 plus hours. This may not seem like much, but with the limited story stretched out so thin in a platform such as this, it feels like ages before the movie ends and its efforts for the better are quickly forgotten. Don't forget either that the actors are still nowhere near that good and the addition of a "pretty-face-and-nothing-else" Caspian does little to fix that fact.

And of course for all their pump up on action and fantasy ala LOTR, Adamson's sense of camera shots and mastership of the CGI is nothing compared to Jackson's and while pleasing at some points, you can't help but feel that it brims at the edge of awesomeness before receding back. This movie is mediocre and just like its predecessors, just manages not to mess things up. The only difference is that it does so with more style than the first.

6.5 out of 10

Assassin's Creed
'Ubisoft slays cool, slays good, slays way too much'

I've been eagerly anticipating this game for quite a while now, and if you've seen even but a glimpse of the gameplay you'll instantly know why. This game is just kick-ass.

You play Altair, a member of a secret group of assassins that lived and killed during the Holy Crusades of King Richard and Saladin. Tasked with the death of several prominent figures on both sides of the war, you travel from city to city climbing the highest rooftops with ease and raining death down on your pathetic foes. If you aren't sold yet, then you must be an idiot of enormous boredom issues.

First of all, let's start with the obvious stuff. This game is one of the most unique I've seen for quite some time. It's a mix between Hitman and Grand Theft Auto set in the medieval ages, but it's the interactions that rise is above the rest, literally. You see, the moment you drive Altair into a house, city wall, steel gate or even brick tower he will start climbing with unbelievable ease, flexibility and just plain coolness. You never get tired leaping across rooftops, swinging on construction cranes, climbing towers, jump-killing patrolling archers or just nose diving from the an aerie peak. And all of this is done with such fluidity that that alone would merit the game with a lot of praise.


This of course wouldn't work at all if the city looked like crap. I then thank all the gods that it isn't. In fact, it's drop dead gorgeous. The city, the landscape, the animation, texture wise it doesn't quite reach the levels of lets say Call of Duty 4 or Crysis, but it makes up in detail. And by detail, I mean GLORIOUS detail. A look at these screenshots alone should convince you because honestly I cannot put the amount of detail into words.

Then comes the storyline, which is nowhere near what I expected as it actually follows Desmond, a modern day assassin as he is captured and drilled for his ancestor's memories. Not going too much into detail, the narrative and storyline is actually highly interesting and had it not been for drawn out cinematics and an abrupt and very frustrating ending, it would have been a huge plus. Instead its a factor that brings in the first flaws and that's in the pacing.

You see, the largest and most destructive flaw of the game is that it is basically a one-trick pony. You have to admit that that one trick is so amazing it spans the rest of the game easily enough on its own, but the fact that the game repeats the same process, same gameplay and same repetitive and predictable actions mission after mission after mission really lets down the excitement during the latter half. It does not destroy the experience, but it comes real close.

If anything, this game comes pretty close to becoming one of the revolutionary ones, instead it becomes a solid and unique gaming experience brought down by few major flaws. I only hope they address issue in the inevitable sequel because an experience this good should not be given this kind of format when we know it deserves a lot more.

7 out of 10