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