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Reviewer5
Reviews
Fresh Off the Boat (2015)
Not what I thought it would be
I was pretty excited to hear about a Asian show since there aren't any programs on TV with an Asian cast as the leads. I think it is pretty cool to promote diversity and ABC taking the risk by allowing Asians to finally have their own show plus Asian comedic characters these days are pretty one dimensional and lack the deep personality (compared to non Asian comedic characters). That being said, when I watched Fresh Off the Boat this week, the characters I feel seem too simple, shallow, and once again you have one dimensional characters with not much of a likable personality. I guess I'm too much of a realist but we have seen these stereotypical characters before on other shows and mainstream movies. The story being centered around the little kid who is portly and acts like a wannabe gangster rapper, the mother who is stereotyped like a Tiger mom, the father sounding obsessed trying to please white people with his business and the non Asians coming across as being rather racists etc etc are all about something to do race and they're all negative for some reason. The title itself is pretty offensive and I can't believe they went with that title (and yes I know it's based on the real life of celebrity chef Eddie Huang's book). I think also too that this show seems to be only a hit to be made fun of because they're Asian like William Hung. Such a shame, I was really hoping for a positive, inspiring show with interesting characters but the negative stereotypical humor and characters just seems really distracting and not really all that funny. And you know, the mother's stereotypical Asian accent gets to be bothersome after a while.
Selfie (2014)
It's not as bad as it sounds.
Yes, the title is cringe worthy, yes it's a romantic comedy, and yes there are jokes about social media and people taking selfies, but it's done to make fun of our modern society. You can tell the actors are not taking themselves too seriously. This makes perfect sense. The whole show is a satire like the Simpsons. Even the Simpsons have had way more crude jokes and yet it's still the longest running series ever produced.
As I am writing this, we are only at the third episode and people are already criticizing about the quality? Keep in mind, even the highly rated shows like X-Files, ER, and House M.D. have had some episodes that were not as good as some of the others. We need to give this show a chance. The characters have to be developed and the actors I feel are doing an excellent job so far with their physical facial humor, sometimes emotional acting, clever humorous timing, and an overall message about everyday life.
The two leads Karen Gillan and John Cho make an excellent complimentary pair. John Cho's character Henry is uptight and worries with analytical ideas that is trying to help Karen Gillan's character Eliza (who is spur of the moment, live life, don't care attitude) to better herself. I'm sure many can recognize the My Fair Lady spin and Pretty Woman. The shows humor also reminds me of movies like Clueless, Mean Girls, and Easy A and they were all successful both critically and financially.
One final note, this may be the only show ever produced with an Asian male lead in a romantic comedy, and I'm not saying the show is better because of that, but this also breaks stereotypes as well.
After Earth (2013)
what the heck is this??
From the looks of the preview, I thought this was going to be an action adventure sci-fi flick, (and maybe Shyamalan would have redeemed himself from his previous bore fest), but yet another very boring film with nothing to care about. Although I have to admit Jaden and Will were believable as father and son (obviously, because they're related) but the pacing and the plot just keeps dragging on with very little or hardly at all any inspiring moments of relief. Even the special effects with the natural environment seem cheaply produced, (almost seems like I'm watching a video game). What a very uninspiring movie. I should've known with Night directing...he needs to retire.
Man of Steel (2013)
Super? or Superboring?
This is one of those movies that's kind of hard to review. One of the main themes seems to be identity crisis issues. In Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder conveys human characteristics of Superman by showing us flashbacks (sort of like I am Legend) of young Clark having identity crisis issues when he is bullied (which is relatable to today's modern society), however, the dialogue between young Clark Kent and his parents (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) are a little sappy and predictable. Not only when the actors are talking are predictable but Superman who is portrayed by Henry Cavill (even though he certainly does look the part of the comic book hero and his emotional acting does create a sense of compassion), there was not a single humorous, lighthearted scene that once was the heart of the original Superman stories and films. What is in place though is the constant high paced action sequences (one right after the other). This also made the character development rather absent and the romance between Superman and Lois (Amy Adams) seem cookie cutter compared to Reeve and Kidder in the original 70's Superman. We finally get to see Henry Cavill dressed up as Clark Kent at the very end of the film with Lois smiling and knowing who he really is. Maybe Man of Steel was produced so that it is setup for the sequels just to make money? Whatever the reason for the lack of character development was, the flashbacks of young Clark Kent with his father and the emotional scene of his father's death (although a little absurd) did indeed made us care. The enormity of the special effects towards the end did live up to it's hype as well, but the climatic battle between Superman and Zod (Michael Shannon) that ended with Zod's death is not only tiresome but seems like the filmmakers ran out of ideas of how to end Superman's villain. Zod's quick death by Superman seems too sudden considering the enormous battle that just seemed to drag on. Also, the soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer (even though it's produced for emotional pace), it doesn't have that excitement that we are all so familiar with from previous Superman composer John Williams.
The Green Hornet (2011)
Stupidly Dumb!
I don't know why I went to see this, but I wish I could get my money back. Wow, this movie was really irritating me. First of all, being of an Asian descent myself, I expected Jay Chou's character Kato to be somewhat represented fairly (with respect to Bruce Lee), but most of the scenes have him doing all the hard work and not getting any action from the ladies. There was a brief scene with Cameron Diaz, but nothing happened. I find that kind of odd because Kato seems to be more of the superhero than Seth Rogen's character Britt Reid as The Green Hornet, and aren't superheroes suppose to get the ladies? There wasn't even a romance other than a brief flirtation in the office. No offense to Jay Chou fans, but his Asian accent wasn't very flattering either because his role is of a stereotypical Asian martial arts expert that drives Seth Rogen's character Britt Reid around as a chauffeur. And I understand that's how the story goes with the characters, but I find that kind of ironic because Bruce Lee tried to avoid the Asian stereotype with the heavy accent. Besides the stereotypical Asian accent, the fight scenes with Kato were interesting and pretty to look at, but the fancy special effects also made the martial arts seem a little fake. Instead of the real thing like Jackie Chan's or Jet Li's fight scenes, I felt like I was watching a video game of a player going through the motion. And I understand the fight was stylized to be funny, but it felt more campy than funny (like all that was missing were those big letters that said "POW!").
I also found Seth Rogen as The Green Hornet awkward to watch with his overacting, obnoxious personality (which wasn't very likable throughout the movie) and I understand he was trying to be funny too, but there wasn't anything really all that humorous, despite some funny moments. Overall, the film felt lazily produced and I agree with critics like Ebert, there wasn't a well structured plot. It's as if Rogen wrote the story to fit his type of characters that he portrays in every movie (which also kind of ruins it for the followers of the comic) and I understand it's just an adaptation but still, even a big time star like Cameron Diaz's role seemed to be in the movie just for her name only. And Christoph Waltz's portrayal of the villain wasn't very inspiring either (kind of a waste of his talent), not like Inglourious Basterds.
Also, I question the morals of the story. I'm not sure what Rogen and Goldberg were thinking when they were developing the script considering The Green Hornet TV show in the 60's wouldn't have been popular without Bruce Lee. One of the themes about the movie was inequality between The Green Hornet and Kato, and when the movie ended, the two decided to be equal but it didn't seem like it. It felt like Kato is always going to be in the background doing all the hard work without getting any credit which is kind of a slap in the face to Bruce Lee because like I mentioned, he did not want to be portrayed as a stereotypical Asian man. That's one reason he left the U.S. for Hong Kong to pursue his passion for cinema. One last thing, the 3D glasses made the movie too dark, (it felt like a first shooter game) and did nothing to the experience.