SimplyMaggies

I have recently seen “Kung Fu Panda” simply because my husband and I don’t have any children it usually takes some time before we go down the list of all the movies we want to see we make our way to the cartoons (well, you can’t really call them cartoons anymore, can you? They are mostly computer animated these days). So, after a few months, we finally decided it was time…

“Kung Fu Panda”, starring Dustin Hoffman, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Lucy Liu, is a story of an average panda bear named Po, who loves kung fu and dreams about becoming the famous Dragon Warrior. Through events that are beyond his control, he undergoes the training with the kung fu Master. The filmmakers came up with some funny scenes for the training part of the movie, which is pretty substantial but light in mood.

Moreover, Po is a good-natured character and (even if you might have figured out the end of the movie) you find yourself keeping fingers crossed for his success. And Po is very likable, mainly because he is fat and cuddly (as any panda bear would, I imagine). This seems to be something to which children respond very well. 

Although computer animated films can be quite incredible (no pun intended), as it is in the case of “Kung Fu Panda”, sometimes I miss the good old cartoons…But this one is quite beautiful, I must admit (even if grudgingly…). So, if you have kids and for some unforeseen reasons they still haven’t seen “Kung Fu Panda”, it would be a good idea to buy the DVD for your home collection.

I’ve had this movie in my collection for a while now but strangely I haven’t seen it until recently; as if I subconsciously knew I had to be ready to see it. I like controversial movies and I thought (don’t ask me why) it was about one of the wars in the Middle East and the American involvement. I couldn’t be more wrong…

“The Kingdom”, starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Gardner, opens with a quick trip down the memory lane of Saudi-American relations in the oil industry. It is unusual but quite appropriate for the ambience of the film in general. It grabs your attention from the very first clip and holds it nearly to the end. And it dictates the whole nature of the film and tells the viewers when and where it will take place.

As soon as the little history lesson is over, the camera moves to show a group of Americans playing softball with their oh-so-typical loud disregard for everybody else, which really is not a virtue if you happen to reside somewhere in the Middle East (like these people obviously do) in times when nearly everyone there hates Americans. Then suddenly, we see two guards moving towards a truck and start shooting without any warning. Next thing you know, they’re riding in the truck shooting at everyone and everything in sight. The sequence of images ends with a bomb going off and blowing up people that some of the guards were supposedly getting to safety. And this is only the first few minutes of the film.

I am sure I don’t have to tell you that some American agency will send its people (hence Jamie Foxx and Jen Gardner) to find out what the heck happened out there… In the climate of very fragile relations between the American and the Saudi governments, it proves to be quite a challenge.

I must say I did enjoy the film, even though the camera moves were at times irritating (quick shots and close-ups as if filmed with a home video camera). It touches upon some of the delicate issues that many Americans simply and sadly didn’t get. But then again, coming from a country that was under another’s thumb for so long and having other nations trying to invade us throughout the history, there is no other way I could understand that film. And to me, this was mostly about the nature of the antagonism towards the Americans and some other Westerners that seems to be running deep in the Middle Eastern countries. And even though I absolutely don’t agree with their methods, I can understand where they come from and what drives them…

“The Kingdom” is not an easy film to watch and it may upset you in many ways but all in all it is worth seeing, even in spite of some typical American movie tricks (like three agents killing off the whole terrorist cell; give me a break!)… And if it makes you take a second glance at some of the issues it touches upon, all the better.

I have finally gotten a chance to see this much-talked about movie and I must say it was quite entertaining. And all thanks to amazing visual effects and one magnetic actor that steals the screen whenever he shows up. Obviously, I’m talking about Robert Downey Jr. who in this film (at least) is an absolute star and shows off his talents.

Downey is actually so good he overshadows the other cast members who really are quite forgettable. Well, perhaps with the exception of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character who gets enough scene time to make some kind of impression. Unfortunately, Terrence Howard was not lucky in that respect and I am a bit disappointed. Perhaps the sequel will prove a bit more favorable to him…

All in all, “Iron Man” is an entertaining action hero film and that is all you should expect from it. There is no underlying depth, as in the case of “Batman-The Dark Knight” for instance, and it plays on the common tricks of the trade. There is plenty of action, even more stunning visual effects and a decent amount of humor (just enough to make it light and funny).

However, I couldn’t help myself from making comparisons with other action-hero movies (and God knows there are plenty) and unfortunately, it falls a bit short. It simply follows the beaten path and does not introducing anything new to the genre. But then watching it not so long after the fabulous “The Dark Knight”, which takes the genre to whole new levels, was perhaps just slightly unfair to the “Iron Man”.

If I had to rate it, I’d give it a B. Watch it simply for the jaw-dropping effects and the always remarkable and captivating Robert Downey Jr.