asaar Reviews

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Almost A Monstrous Letdown...

[6/10 · 15 June 2008]

So this movie wasn't THAT bad I guess. It was definitely entertaining, a bit better than Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk. There were many things that really bugged me about this one though. First off it is full of advertisements. They threw in a Norton Anti-Virus ad (maybe provoked by Edward Norton's lead role.) Also, Liv Tyler's character decided to buy a rather expensive looking camera after she sold her diamond studded pendant which did not add to the plot at all. Liv Tyler and Edward Norton also do a pitiful job of acting. The two of them had no chemistry. It was like the director threw them on the set without any previous interaction and said "Act!" Despite these harmful casting issues and the unfortunate amount of advertising going on, this was a fun summer movie.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

What the Heck Happened?

[5/10 · 3 June 2008]

So I went into this movie expecting it to blow me away. I mean, Jet Li...AND Jackie Chan?? I figured they couldn't go wrong with a cast like that. But unfortunately, I was wrong. First of all: why do we even bother with the scenes in America. Or better yet, why does the teenage boy even exist? I feel like this would have been much more successful had it been taken seriously by the American filmmakers who created it. The kid, quite frankly, cannot act, be funny, punch, or kick...so...why not delete him entirely. Set the film in China or wherever it was supposed to take place. Have Jackie in possession of the staff. Have Jet Li be the Monkey King...except he should probably take on a more sinister role rather than a hoppity little man. And let it roll from there. Wow, I should be a director. Cause if I were given two huge stars like Jet and Jackie, I would not have made a complete mess of this amazing opportunity. By all means though, see it if you want to see aesthetically pleasing fight scenes. This is, of course why we go to see these movies. I was just befuddled when the opening scene of Jet Li fighting on the mountain tops quickly switched to some nobody American teen actor who had no right to ruin a perfectly good film. Thanks for reading. 5/10 -aws

Oldboy (2003)

For your own sake, Ignore all of the "This movie sucked" comments

[10/10 · 3 June 2008]

First off, the plot, one of the things I noticed was a common theme in the comments criticizing "Oldboy" was actually quite impressive. There is a twist like in all good movies. If you were one of the folks who saw it coming a mile away, good for you, congratulations. Now you can sit back and enjoy the ride. Oldboy is one of those films that starts out strong, builds you up the whole way through, and then ends with a bang, leaving you satisfied and thinking back at what a great film it was. It follows a lonely man who has many problems but refuses to face them. The movie guides him through a healing path where he discovers the mistakes he made in his life and as a result pays the consequences for them. It really makes the viewer draw many parallels between his or her life and the life of our tragic hero in the film. Not to mention it is beautifully filmed. The choreography in a rather impressive sequence involving some torture and a fight scene involving a hammer (I won't say much more for sake of avoiding spoilers) was fabulous, almost a bit Matrix-esquire. See this movie! It's worth it!

Superbad (2007)

Respectfully, This Film Sucked

[1/10 · 16 May 2008]

This was not a good film. Period. Honestly, on my personal rating scale, I would have probably given it about a 3/10. It had its moments here and there. Kind of. However, the hype surrounding this movie and all of the excitement about its poorly written, downright dumb jokes were outrageous. I'm tired of hearing people talk about Superbad. I'm tired of hearing its name compared to good movies. And most of all, I'm tired of people saying it was good because they heard it was. For all you uneducated folks who insist on hyping up this film, that's called "jumping on the bandwagon." Whatever guy of high authority used the words "good" and "Superbad" in the same sentence deserves to be locked in a room for a year with this so called "comedian" Jonah Hill. This movie was the epitome of the word "stupid" in all of its essence. From start to finish I was waiting. Waiting for something that never came: A good joke. Anything that would have let me leave the theater feeling the least bit satisfied. The filmmakers attempted to make a film that we could relate to. "We" being teenagers. Unless you are a dumb brick, you can't relate to this film. Quite simply, they failed in that sense. I mean, are we really this dumb? I beg you, if you wasted your money on a DVD of this film, watch it again, but this time keep this in your mind: This is how adults view us. This is how the world views us. Yes they probably made a bundle off this low budget piece of garbage. But I remind them, I'm still waiting for something that makes me laugh. So I vote they make a new film, maybe start fresh, throw in some guys who are actually funny. How bout NOT Jonah Hill...and let's just steer clear of Seth Rogen, because he isn't funny. "Knocked Up," another mockery of modern film making, was also crap. It's not like I don't have a sense of humor. I love comedies. Want to see a good comedy? Go watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Go see any film by Wes Anderson. Hell, I like the dumb ones too. I highly recommend just about anything with Jim Carrey or Steve Carrel. THOSE are comedians. So please try to avoid watching this if you haven't already been sucked in by all of the hype. Because (I'm sure that I'm not the first person to say this) "Superbad" was simply super bad.