Michelle Yeoh

Crazy Rich Asians

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Crazy Rich Asians
  • IMDb: link

Crazy Rich Asians Blu-ray reviewCrazy Rich Asians offers your basic going home to meet the parents tale, notable for two things. First, the romantic comedy features a talented all Asian cast. And second, it contains far better writing an acting than most romcoms. Our couple in love is Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick (Henry Golding). Despite being nearly ready to propose, Nick hasn’t come clean with his girlfriend that his family is crazy rich (and also just plain crazy). Rachel discovers this for herself while accompanying Nick to Singapore for a friend’s wedding.

The film features what you’d expect. Nick tries to balance love and family obligations. Rachel struggles to fit in with his family and deal with his disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) before learning to stand-up for herself and teach the Youngs a few lessons of their own. The supporting cast includes the over-the-top Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O. Yang, and Nico Santos, and the more understated Gemma Chan who bonds with Rachel over her own marital troubles.

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Mechanic: Resurrection

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mechanic: Resurrection
  • IMDb: link

Mechanic: ResurrectionThe follow-up to 2011’s The Mechanic returns Jason Statham as retired hitman Arthur Bishop. After faking his death, Bishop has lived the good life in Rio until a courier (Yayaying Rhatha Phongam) for an old frenemy (Sam Hazeldine) throws Bishop’s life into chaos. After falling for the honeypot (Jessica Alba) sent in to earn his trust, Bishop is blackmailed into committing the impossible assassinations of the world’s three largest arms dealers (Femi Elufowoju Jr., Toby Eddington, and Tommy Lee Jones) in a matter of days when he fails to prevent her kidnapping.

Better than the first film, director Dennis Gansel relies too heavily at times on close shaky-cam quick-cut action scenes. The script by Philip Shelby and Tony Mosher is more convoluted than necessary for a rather straightforward action film. Because of this the story requires a bit more set-up, following the open action sequence, before the movie really gets going. The set-up is really just an excuse to throw Statham into action scenes in multiple exotic locales (Thailand, Brazil, and Australia). On that level it works pretty well, especially during it’s best scene involving Bishop’s murder by swimming pool.

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Kung Fu Panda 2

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Kung Fu Panda 2
  • IMDB: link

Three years ago DreamWorks Animation put out a little film called Kung Fu Panda about a Panda with a destiny to learn Kung Fu and save his village from a shadowy warrior. It turned out to be one of my favorite films of 2008. While it might not be as good as the original (a film which I love to no end), the sequel brings plenty of awesome back to the screen.

Kung Fu Panda 2 fills in Po’s (Jack Black) back story as an attack on his village will lead him on a quest to discover where he comes from. Also back for the sequel are Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross), and Viper (Lucy Liu).

The film also gives us a deadly new enemy in a deranged peacock (played with malevolent glee by Gary Oldman) who wants to rule all of China by the force of a new deadly weapon which could mean the end of Kung Fu. We also get a few new characters voiced by the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme as a Kung Fu crocodile (admit it, that’s pretty awesome), and Michelle Yeoh as the Soothsayer who holds all the answers to both Po’s past and future.

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Steele Bond

/ / Essays, Theme Week

Timothy Dalton left the franchise after two films in the midst of MGM’s legal and financial nightmare that threatened to end the series for good.  But that was not to be.  Much like Dalton before him, Pierce Brosnan had been offered the role of Bond years before. but could not accept because of his starring role in Remington Steele.  Fast-forward a few years, and again like Dalton, Brosnan was given a second chance.

With GoldenEye Bond was relaunced with some subtle differences.  Bond was no longer the hot-shot top spy, now he was “a relic of the Cold War” who seemed out of place in the current world events.  M was also given a drastic makeover as Judi Dench took over the role, the first woman to do so, with a particular flair and wit.  The movie was a huge success and Bond and Brosnan continued for three more profitable films, making Bond not only relevant to the modern world, but worth the ticket price as well.

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Bond Girls

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: Bond Girls are Forever
  • IMDB: link

Maryam d’Abo (The Living Daylights) hosts this look at what it means to be a Bond Girl, talking with former Bond Girls, in this limited edition DVD of the made-for-television documentary.

Starting with Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike (Die Another Die), host Maryam d’Abo discusses what it means to be a Bond Girl and how the experience differed for the women who are part of this select sorority that began the moment Ursula Andress walked out of the water in Dr. No.

Including clips from past Bond films and interviews with several Bond girls the special is an interesting look at this select group of actresses.  There aren’t huge surprises or revelations, and truth be told, some of the girls haven’t aged well over the years, but there’s something intriguing about each of these women describing their experiences.

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