The Dark Knight

Left: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Right: Heath Ledger as the Joker. Photo credit: © Warner Bros. Pictures.

Movie review: The Dark Knight.

Synopsis:
With its criminals and corrupted people, Gotham City is still not a better place. A bank robbery doesn't really come as a surprise in the city. But this time one of Gotham's bank is being robbed by a group of masked men, led by a mysterious and scary man. Not only are there mobsters, corrupted police officers and judges, now Gotham City is also being terrorised by a new villain called the Joker (Heath Ledger).

As Batman (Christian Bale) and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) are trying to put the criminal organisations behind bars, new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) arrives in Gotham City. Soon Bruce Wayne discovers that Dent is dating his old flame Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), thus creating a certain tension between Rachel and Bruce. Both Batman and Gordon question if they can trust Dent, but they both believe he can be the public hero that Gotham desperately needs.

In order to make Gotham City a better place, Gordon and Batman decide to work together with Dent. Even Bruce Wayne supports Dent and his 'I Believe In Harvey Dent' campaign in public. Together they manage to catch a couple of bad guys and the cooperation seems to be success, but the Joker is just starting his evil games. The Joker is not like the other criminals, he doesn't care about money and moreover he's dangerous and out of his mind. In no time the mobsters are getting scared because of the many arrests, but the Joker doesn't back off. He continues to terrorise Gotham City and its citizens.

With his terrifying laugh, he threats to kill people if Batman doesn't show his true identity. With Bruce Wayne's playboy image in public, the Joker is not aware that Wayne is actually Batman. But things get more out of hand.

This time Batman has to pull everything together in his struggle against the Joker. Forcing himself to the limits both mentally and physically, Batman has to do everything to stop the Joker. This also includes improving all his technology. But things get personal for Batman when Rachel is involved.




















My thoughts:
After Batman Begins from 2005, Christopher Nolan comes with The Dark Knight this year. The Dark Knight is obviously a darker movie than its prequel. The Dark Knight with its 152 minutes is an action movie, also a thriller with drama and crime. The successful Batman Begins managed to make many Batman fans excited for the next Batman movie. If that wasn't enough, Warner Bros. released many posters and other advertisements that kept the many fans excited while they waited for the movie. The movie not only focuses on Batman, but also on the Joker and Harvey Dent (Two-Face).

The cast includes familiar faces, there isn't a single unknown name. Returning characters are Bruce Wayne / Batman, Alfred, Gordon and Rachel. Main roles are played by Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. Minor roles are for Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Lets see what the main guys have to offer.
Satisfying many fans in the prequel, Christian Bale is again Batman and Bruce Wayne. Moreover Bale again does an amazing job. What can you expect from Bale? He is capable of playing two entirely different characters in the same movie, just like in Batman Begins. One moment we see the flirt Bruce Wayne in his luxurious life, the other moment we see the darker side of Wayne: Batman. Bale's character is somewhat different from other superheroes, an ordinary man who doesn't really have superpowers just like Iron Man. But the fact that Batman doesn't have special powers, doesn't make less superhero of him and Bale makes this very clear. This time we see a darker Batman than in the prequel. Bale is really convincing as the caped hero, not only with his gestures and movements, he even adds the deep and dark voice to his character. Christian Bale always manages to entertain the audience and make his characters believable. He again does an excellent job, fans have even called Bale the best Batman to date and I think he does deserve this title.
Heath Ledger plays the Joker, a dangerous psychopate terrorising Gotham City. Ledger almost looks perfect as the Joker with his make up, hairdo and purple suit. His hair looks so dirty and greasy that you can almost imagine that it stinks, it seems he doesn't wash it. Like they say 'clothes make the man', in this case 'clothes make the Joker', but what else has Ledger to offer in his purple suit? One thing is sure, one of the Joker's characteristics is his eerie laugh. Ledger pulls off such an eerie laugh in the movie that it makes some dialogues scary. Heath Ledger's movements, way of talking and facial expressions all contribute to his character, making it complete. The Joker isn't the Joker if he doesn't make you or himself laugh. Even though he's a villain, he manages to make many people in the audience laugh, seems like the Joker likes to joke around when the moment is right. Moreover, Ledger's Joker is scary. Many people remember the Joker as a chaotic villain, a crazy and dangerous guy. Here he seems rather calm and more organised with his evil schemes. But this doesn't matter much, Ledger's Joker is almost perfect and just too entertaining to mind such a tiny thing.
They call new district attorney Harvey Dent the White Knight, Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. With his big and happy smile, Eckhart has the right appearance as the White Knight. Dent looks like a nice guy with a heroic spark in his eyes, trying to make things better. This all indeed sounds too good to be true for Gotham. He arrives in Gotham City and together with Gordon and Batman he manages to catch some bad guys. But the success is short, and in no time the Joker is laughing at Gotham City, at him. Dent transforms into a guy who is on a killing mission, a guy who has snapped and is just seeking revenge. Well, no more nice guy says Eckhart. Just like Bale, Eckhart has two roles, Harvey Dent and Two-Face. Eckhart shows that he can also play a madman, a man who has just lost it. The evil grin on his face, the angry look, the anger, that's the Two-Face we want to see.
I have to mention Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays Rachel Dawes, both Bruce Wayne's and Harvey Dent's love interest. She replaced Katie Holmes as Dawes. Was Holmes' portrayal of Dawes so hopeless that they decided to replace her? Maybe. But don't get too much hope for Rachel Dawes, Gyllenhaal's version isn't much better. Were they really that desperate to have Gyllenhaal? She didn't suit the role much and she wasn't convincing, not in the least. She wasn't even compatible with the two love interests. I feel sorry that they created this character, but I feel more sorry for the fact that they picked the wrong actress twice.
Many people have praised Heath Ledger's work in this movie. Don't forget Christian Bale, he actually has the main role. Bale is very convincing and he did a wonderful job, just like Ledger. Frankly, Eckhart was amazing too and the supporting actors all did their respective part making the movie enjoyable. I did not like Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Rachel, she was not convincing at all and seemed rather weak.

The battle between Batman and the villains take place in Gotham City. Gotham is a unsafe city full with criminals and corrupted people, it's a dark place. The darkness that expresses the state of the city is visible in the movie. They did not use bright or very vibrant colours, the only bright colours you'll see is when the Joker appears. The look of Gotham consists of dark colours and shadows only, making the city look convincingly unsafe and unpleasant to live in.
Events take place at several places, but the story mainly takes place in Gotham City. We even get to see Hong Kong with its skyscrapers. Hong Kong definitely looks a little brighter than Gotham and certainly more pleasant to live in and livelier.











With the stunning action scenes, interesting characters with their dialogues, the story is exciting and thrilling. What I like about the movie is that most of the things make sense in the story. Some of the characters are likable, but don't like them too much as some characters change during the movie, some character development. Ledger's version of the Joker villain is much scarier than Nicholson's version and it might be one of the reasons that people called The Dark Knight the darkest Batman movie so far. What about Batman? Bale's version of Batman seems great, a great suit, the coolest gadgets and that voice, what an irresistible Batman. Another positive point for the movie.
What I did not really like is the following. We all know that Dent transforms into Two-Face, personally I thought the transformation was a bit too quick. One moment he was still Dent and then the next minute he's Two-Face. It seemed like they didn't spend enough time for this character. It's clear why he becomes this character, but they could have given this villain some more time in the movie.
Overall The Dark Knight has a strong story with convincing characters. The title for the movie suits the movie. The Dark Knight is definitely darker than the average superhero movie.

The Dark Knight is a great movie, entertaining and enjoyable. It's packed with action, crime, thrills and some drama. The story is strong in many ways and it's a little bit darker than previous Batman movies. The cast is strong too with names such as Bale, Ledger, Eckhart and many others. Ledger's death shocked many people and it might have contributed to the high interest that people showed for The Dark Knight, but lets not forget other actors' efforts as they all did a wonderful job. The movie has some minor negative points, but what movie doesn't? There are just so many things that you like about this movie, you'll forget those minor things. After the many Batman flops in earlier years, it seems Nolan managed to make Batman 'cool' again. Just like in the cartoons. The movie is exciting, interesting and Bale is again a great Batman. Don't miss the opportunity to see this in the cinema!

Written by Mialee L. aka Sukachu.

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CJ7

Movie review: CJ7.

Synopsis:
Construction worker Ti (Stephen Chow) is a poor man who works very hard. Ti struggles daily in order to survive. Despite the fact that he is very poor, it doesn't stop him from sending his son Dicky (Xu Jiao) to an expensive private school. Ti repeatedly tells Dicky important things. He hopes that his son will grow up as an educated person who will be useful to the society.

At school, Dicky is often bullied by other children due to his poor background. To make things worse, his teacher also looks down on him. A young teacher named Miss Yuen (Kitty Zhang) often tries to comfort Dicky. When one of the children shows up with a new toy, a robot called CJ1, Dicky secretly wants one too.

On one day, Ti and Dicky are watching TV outside a department store. The TV show suddenly gets interrupted by a news report, it seems an UFO has been spotted by some people. In the meantime Dicky went into a toy store to look for CJ1. Ti finds his son, but Dicky doesn't want to leave the store without the robot toy. Dicky begs his father for the toy, but Ti can't afford it. Dicky walks away after he gets spanked by his father.

Ti regularly looks for usable things at a trash dump as he is too poor to buy new things. That night he goes to that trash dump, there he finds a green ball and takes it home with him. He quickly goes home and tells Dicky that he has found something better than CJ1. Dicky is still mad, he ignores his father and the toy. But soon he gets curious and plays with the ball. The following night the ball turns out to be an alien dog. Dicky befriends the alien and names him CJ7.

With CJ7, Dicky is more interested in playing than studying. He dreams about CJ7 and his special abilities, but forgets to learn for his test. Dicky will soon learn important lessons when he wakes up.

My thoughts:
Stephen Chow directed CJ7, he also co-produced and co-written it together with Vincent Kwok. The Chinese title for CJ7 is Chang Jiang Qi Hao. The movie had it's first premiere in January and the first DVD appeared earlier this year in April. CJ7 has yet to be released in some countries. The movie has comedy elements, which is Chow's signature. To make some things possible, Chow has used CGI and several special effects. Besides comedy, the movie has also been marked as a science fiction and drama movie.

Main characters are Ti and son Dicky, although Ti seems to be more like a supporting character in the shadow of his son Dicky. Xu Jiao, who is actually a girl, plays Dicky. Ti is played by Stephen Chow. Computer animated CJ7 plays a big role too. There's a minor role for newcomer Kitty Zhang as Ms. Yuen.
Xu Jiao plays Dicky, a boy who is more interested in playing than studying. Dicky has a poor background and his father can't buy him many things. But Dicky has a rich imagination, this is made clear after his father finds CJ7. Little girl Xu Jiao is quite convincing as a boy and as an imaginative kid. Not only is she convincing, she offers more for the viewers. She's funny, almost like a little comedian. CJ7 is Xu's first film, but she shows that she already has many facial expressions suiting particular scenes.
Then we have Ti, Dicky's father played by Chow. Unlike in his previous movies, Chow definitely has less jokes in CJ7. Chow is also less funny, but this may be his intention as the story of CJ7 isn't comedy only. Chow can be amusing at certain moments, not necessarily funny. The reason why Chow is amusing is because some viewers hold on to Chow's earlier funnier appearances such as in Kung Fu Hustle. For some it's hard to let go of Chow's appearance as a comedian, as he has always been a comedian.
Just like Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang is also a newcomer. Unlike Xu, Zhang only has a minor role and we don't see much of her. She doesn't impress much though in the moments that she does appear. It's a waste of the character Miss Yuen as they could have used that character more.
Young star Xu Jiao did an excellent job, considering it's her first role. Stephen Chow's character is a little bit disappointing, I expected a little more jokes coming from Ti. It seems Ti intentionally made space for Dicky.

Ti is so poor that he can't afford a normal house, instead he lives in a broken house with Dicky. In this house, Ti tries to learn his son important things such as no stealing. The house indeed looks semi-demolished, both from the inside and outside. They even added broken furniture and many other things that make Ti look poor. Other locations are the private school and a construction site where Ti works. To be honest, the private school looks more like a normal school. Dicky plays with CJ7 in his house and even takes him to school. A little side note, the movie got shot in Zhejiang, China. The Chinese title for CJ7 is Chang Jiang Qi Hao, this is literally translated as Yangtze River 7 or Long River 7 (an existing river in China).

CJ7's story is simple to understand, it mainly focuses on Dicky and his pet CJ7. The story has place for drama and comedy, but it's certainly less funny than Chow's previous movies. There are several scenes referring to previous movies Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. It seems Chow's main intention is to bring some certain messages instead of making the audience laugh. The movie is somewhat heartwarming because of the messages.
But besides entertaining, CJ7 can also be disappointing. There are several reasons contributing to the disappointment. Many people mainly watched CJ7 because Stephen Chow has attached his name to the movie. Fans were eagerly awaiting Chow's movie and then Chow doesn't appear a lot in the movie. As an excuse they use Ti's extra hours at work. Then we have the alien CJ7. With the many toys, DVD editions and other items, the movie can be misunderstood as an advertisement for the alien itself. Like I mentioned before, when people think about Stephen Chow, they think about comedy, jokes and laughs. The movie doesn't provide much of these elements for the viewer. Let's not forget CJ7's other genres, the movie is still amusing and entertaining.

CJ7 is not your usual Stephen Chow comedy, instead it's more like a family drama. If you are expecting something like Kung Fu Hustle, then be prepared that you might feel disappointed after seeing this movie. But CJ7 can provide entertainment for some people with its heartwarming but simple story. Others like other Chow movies so much, that they forget that CJ7 is whole different movie. It sure took Stephen Chow a lot of years to make CJ7, just forget Chow's previous movies for a little while and try to enjoy CJ7.

Written by Mialee L. aka Sukachu.

Links:

• HK dvd edition available here.
• Taiwan dvd edition available here.
• US edition available here.


• Order the special HK edition here.
• Order the special Taiwan edition here.

For other editions, check out:

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Get in the line for The Dark Knight

After Nolan released Batman Begins in 2005, he now comes with The Dark Knight. A new Batman movie means a new villain. Yes, the Joker is going to entertain you this time. The Dark Knight proves that there are many Batman fans, some have impatiently waited for its release. Many trailers and posters kept the fans excited till the release of The Dark Knight. The wait is over for most countries (some still have to wait for a little while, like Japan, France and other countries). The Dark Knight got released here on the 24th of July.

As a Batman fan, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see this movie on a big screen. I imagined the cinemas would be full on the first days, so I decided to wait a couple of days before watching the movie. Finally I went to The Dark Knight last night.

Oh no... there were many people waiting outside, probably all for the new Batman movie. The cinema was packed, many people standing in queues and I had to squeeze myself into the building as many people were making an attempt to leave the cinema after seeing The Dark Knight. To be honest, it was difficult to see who wanted to leave and who wanted to enter the building. Finally I got in the building, quickly queued in the line to get my ticket, lucky I made a reservation.

Christian Bale is still the caped crusader. Other cast members include Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Baine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. Many people have praised Heath Ledger's version of the Joker. And Ledger indeed does a wonderful job, but lets not forget other actors' efforts. The movie is great and the 150 minutes quickly passed by for me.

Dark Knight poster. Photo credit: © Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Chungking Express

Left: Cop 663 (Tony Leung) waiting for his girlfriend to return. Right: Is Faye (Wong) daydreaming about cop 663?

Movie review: Chungking Express (1994).

Synopsis:
There are two separate stories. The first one is about a heartbroken cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro). His girlfriend May breaks up with him on the first of April. Cop 223, who is named He Qiwu, treats the break up as an April's Fool Day joke. As his birthday is on the first of May, he decides to wait for exactly a month before moving on. Every day he buys a can of pineapples with an expiration date of May 1. But he has more strange rituals, he hopes that May will come back by doing these rituals. May isn't joking and she doesn't come back. Cop 223 decides to look for love and ends up in a bar. Here he meets a woman with a blond wig (Brigitte Lin). Exhausted from a failed operation, she falls asleep in a hotel room with 223 watching the TV. She leaves the next morning. She doesn't forget He Qiwu and she wishes him a happy birthday by leaving him a message on his pager. He visits a snack place where he comes often, the snack place seems to have a new staff member Faye (Faye Wong). This is where the second story starts.

The second story is about cop 663 (Tony Leung), he also has to deal with love problems as a flight attendant (Valerie Chow) breaks up with him. He meets a girl Faye (Faye Wong) at a local snack place, she secretly falls in love with 663. After his girlfriend breaks up with him, 633 starts to talk to his decorations at home. Faye tries to cheer him up whenever she has the chance. She also starts breaking into his apartment and moves his belongings, trying to improve his living environment. When 663 realises that she likes him, he invites her for a date at a restaurant called California. But Faye decides that she wants to see the world and doesn't show up and leaves a little something for him. Will there be happiness for cop 663?










Left: Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) eating his pineapples. Right: Cop 663 (Leung) is starting to talk to his plushie.

My thoughts:
Chungking Express got released in 1994 for the first time, directed and written by Wong Kar Wai. Cinematography has been done by Christopher Doyle. The movie was made in two months (shot in less than a month), when Wong took a break from the production of his previous Ashes of Time movie. Originally Wong wrote three different stories, two of them are part of Chungking Express. The next movie Fallen Angels by Wong is about the third story. Even though it got shot in less than a month, many people feel that this is Wong Kar Wai's best movie to date. A remastered DVD got released earlier this year in May together with the DVD for another Wong movie, Fallen Angels.

There are four main characters in Chungking Express, two for each story. He Qiwu or cop 663 is played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. Brigitte Lin plays the woman with the blond wig. Tony Leung plays cop 663 with Faye as his love interest, played by Faye Wong. There is a minor role for Valerie Chow as a flight attendant, cop 663's ex.
Young Takeshi Kaneshiro plays the sad cop 223. Cop 223 has to deal with love problems after May breaks up with him. His appearance eyes as a young and somewhat dorky guy, not sure how to deal with his love problems. This fits the story and Takeshi does it in a convincing way. Most important thing is that he appears sad, also convincing. Cop 223 soon meets a woman with a blond wig, who seems be smuggling drugs. There is basically no conversation for the two of them. This woman is played by Brigitte Lin. She appears as a cool and calm woman and it fits her role perfectly. Despite the fact that the main characters don't talk much to each other in the first story, the viewer can understand what's going on.
In the second part we see cop 663 (Tony Leung) dealing with his break up. Cop 663 doesn't seem to suffer as much as 223, partly because a different new woman enters his life and mainly because Tony portrays a less sad guy than Takeshi does. Leung makes his character likeable in Chungking Express, he does it by adding a little extra something to the movie by delivering his lines in his own charming way. The new woman in cop 663's life is played by Faye Wong. Leung and Wong are compatible on screen, but Leung always seems to be compatible with his female opposite players. Definitely a plus point for Leung. Wong looks somewhat adorable in this movie. She has to play a woman who is trying to cheer up a heartbroken guy. It's not that it's not convincing, but I've seen more movies with Faye Wong as an actress. While you might not notice this in Chungking Express, the thing about her is that I feel that she can't show many emotions. But I have to admit she did a pretty good job in Chungking Express.The cast did a good job by making the characters likable. Main characters are compatible and this is a positive point.










In the first part, it looks like they used a handheld camera, this is very clear during the chasing scenes. In the second part we see a different technique, less blurry than the first part. The second part also features a technique where the main object is moving very slowly, but the background is moving faster. The events take place at several places. We see Faye redecorating 663's apartment, this is actually Christopher Doyle's apartment. The many places with its colourful background and sometimes vibrant colours are mostly Tsim Sha Tsui, a busy area in Hong Kong. Not only do we see 663's apartment, there are bars, local food stores, local eating places, local market place and many other places that have characteristics of Hong Kong. The title Chungking Express refers to two places, Chungking Mansion and Midnight Express.

Two separate stories can clearly be distinguished in Chungking Express. Each story featured in the movie is about a cop dealing with love. Both cops are suffering from a break up, but we don't see any clear emotions such as tears showing that pain. Lacking tears, brilliant Wong manages to make things very clear in both stories. Love sickness can lead to crazy things, look at cop 223 eating a can of pineapples every day. There is not only sadness, but also happiness as cop 663 manages to find new love. Like the sadness part, there is no clear element that represents happiness (think about kissing, holding hands and other things that represent 'happy love'). But Wong does it again, the happiness in the movie is convincing.
Cop 223's break up felt sadder than 663's story. Even though 663 got dumped, his love problems got presented less sadder. The second part is definitely the strongest part of the movie, this may be due to more conversations in that part. It features camera techniques that are simply amazing. Add an irresistible great actor Tony Leung and a somewhat adorable Faye Wong to that.

Chungking Express is irresistible, even after seeing it for the second time. Many Wong Kar Wai fans have chosen this movie as their favourite to date, this is not without good reasons. The actors did an excellent job by making the main characters likable. If that's not enough, we even get to see Doyle's apartment when we look at 663's apartment. The stories featured in the movie are simply, yet amazing when you think about the time Wong took to make this movie! The second story is definitely the strongest part of the movie, but this doesn't make the first story a bad one. The tagline "If my memory of her has an expiration date, please let it be 10,000 years..." seems to fit the first story about cop 223 perfectly. If you have seen other movies by Wong that you like, then this might be something for you. For those who have seen this movie already, don't forget it and watch it again.

Written by Mialee L. aka Sukachu.










Links:

• Get one of Wong Kar Wai's best movie! Remastered dvd available here.

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Cop #663 and #223 are back

Carina Lau (42) and Tony Leung (46) on their wedding in Bhutan. Photo credit: sina.

Finally after 14 years, Wong Kar Wai's irresistible Chungking Express has been remastered on DVD. I decided to get a copy last month to check what the improvement is. Due to my busy schedule, I put it on the the pile of other stuff that I wanted to watch. This pile includes 2046, also a movie by Wong.

If you have seen Chungking Express before, you might remember a very young cop #223 played by Takeshi Kaneshiro and a young Tony Leung as the cop #663. After Tony Leung's marriage yesterday to his longtime girlfriend Carina Lau, I found a good opportunity to write a review for Chungking Express this week. It took the couple about 19 years to get married, a little bit more than the release of a remastered dvd of Chungking Epxress.

Chungking Express has been mentioned as Wong's best film by many people in 1994. Not only in 1994, but also in the following years, even after Wong has made many arthouse hits like In the Mood for Love and 2046, both starring Tony Leung.

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Stephen Chow's alien dog

The wait is over for impatient fans of Stephen Chow, they no longer have to wait anymore after the release of CJ7. It has been 4 years since Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle movie. With a certain speculation about Kung Fu Hustle 2, I certainly didn't expect something like an alien dog in Chow's recent movie.

The alien dog that is green and has fluffy hair, is starring in Chow's latest movie CJ7 (also the name of the alien). CJ7 is different to other Stephen Chow movies. The movie focuses on a kid and makes it somewhat a movie for kids.

Newcomer Kitty Zhang plays a role next to Stephen Chow in CJ7. The DVD got released earlier this year in April. To attract more buyers, more editions have been released in May and June, some including posters or dolls. We'll soon find out what CJ7 is about and what is has to offer in a review.

Promo for CJ7. Photo credit: sina.

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Kung Fu Panda

Left: Po (Jack Black). Right: Furious Five. Photos credit: © DreamWorks Animation.

Movie review: Kung Fu Panda (2008).

Synopsis:
Clumsy and lazy panda Po (Jack Black) works in his father's noodle restaurant, but Po dreams of being a great kung fu master in the Valley of Peace. However Mr. Ping (James Hong), his goose father, wants Po to take over the restaurant after finding the right moment to disclose the secret ingredient for his delicious noodles.

The villagers from the Valley of Peace are all excited after the announcement of a ceremony to find the Dragon Warrior. They are unaware that kung fu master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) had a premonition about evil Tai Lung (Ian McShane) escaping from prison and that this is the reason for the ceremony. Master Oogway believes the Dragon Warrior can defeat Tai Lung. During the event master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) sends a messenger goose Zeng to increase the security at the prison.

Master Shifu's students, better known as the Furious Five are all demonstrating their kung fu skills. Po arrives to late for the ceremony and finds himself to be standing in front of closed doors. Everyone assumes that one of the five skilled students, Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen) or Cane (David Cross) will be chosen as the Dragon Warrior. Clumsy Po uses fireworks and manages to get in, but he crashes in the middle of the square. The Valley of Peace is shocked when Oogway names Po as the Dragon Warrior.

Shifu and the Five all see Po as a useless, fat and clumsy panda. To make things worse, Po often thinks about eating food. None of them believe that Po is the Dragon Warrior. In an attempt to chase Po away, they all try to humiliate him when they get the chance. Po finds out about Shifu's intention, but stays and endures the humiliating kung fu training sessions. Master Oogway advises Po to believe in himself, as he is convinced that Po is the Dragon Warrior.

Po learns about Tai Lung's past and his attempt to steal the Dragon Scroll. In the meantime Shifu's evil student Tai Lung escapes from prison and sends Zeng back to inform Shifu about his escape. Will Po be able to prevent Tai Lung from stealing the Dragon Scroll and can he defeat him?

My thoughts:
John Stevenson and Mark Osborne directed this animated movie. Animations has been done by Dreamworks Animation, while Paramount distributed Kung Fu Panda. The movie premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival. As usual Jack Black couldn't resist to do something silly, he posed with some guys in several mega panda costumes at the festival. If that wasn't enough, he also tried to demonstrate some kung fu at the event. Kung Fu Panda got released here on the 6th of July (and has yet to be released in some countries).

The voices for the characters are done by several well known actors and actresses. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, James Hong and several others all lend their voices for Kung Fu Panda. Jack Black's voice got used for clumsy panda Po. Their appearances are somewhat alike, both have a visible belly (which is Black's most noticeable feature). The voices for the Furious Five are done by Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Jackie Chan (Monkey), Lucy Liu (Viper), Seth Rogen (Mantis) and David Cross (Cane). Dustin Hoffman took the role for a tiny red panda Sifu. The voice for the old tortoise Oogway belongs to Randall Duk Kim. James Hong did the voice for Mr. Ping, Po's father. You might recognise James Hong's voice from other animated movies or from movies like The Golden Child and Big Trouble in Little China.

Po's adventure takes place in the Valley of Peace, which is located in China. Bright colours are used for the animations. Some of the commonly used colours are red and yellow, green for the landscape. The colours contribute to the oriental appearance that the movie has. Not only the colours, but the clothing for the characters also have an oriental feeling. To make the picture complete, the noodles and animated locations are all looking convincing as Chinese: the training hall, the palace square, the jade palace with its dragon statues, the mountains, other buildings and the landscape. Some kung fu battles in the movies look great. The animations are nicely done and look amazing, they do appear as oriental. The used colours support a certain scene: like when Tai Lung escapes, dark colours are used.

Kung Fu Panda's story is appealing to a big audience. Main character Po, who is a clumsy and fat, but sweet panda, is capable to win the hearts of many viewers. Oogway advised Po to believe in himself at a certain moment in the movie. Another important part is when Mr. Ping tells Po that he doesn't have a secret ingredient at all. It seems that the main message the movie has is that people should believe in themselves when they want to achieve a certain goal. Like other animated movies done by Dreamworks Animations, Kung Fu Panda has beautiful animations and scenes. Some may even find kung fu battles that remind them of scenes from live action martial arts movies. The story and message may appear a bit cliche to some people, but this can be forgiven when you know that part of the audience are children. Don't get the wrong impression, Kung Fu Panda is for both young and old.

Kung Fu Panda is an amazing movie, with many charming elements and characters. Not only are the scenes beautifully coloured, the action movements look great too. The events are all set somewhere in China, with a nice landscape. The music has a supporting role for this oriental feeling that the movie has, making the whole setting complete and convincing. If that wasn't enough for the viewer, the ending includes the famous 'Kung Fu Fighting' song. The story is likable, but may appear as somewhat cliche to some. All can be forgiven when you think about the big audience it has and look at all the other things that Kung Fu Panda has to offer. To be honest, I thought Kung Fu Panda was for children and I did not expect much of it after hearing about it. But the movie surprised me, great animations and colours. It certainly did not disappoint me, this animated movie is amazing in many ways.

Written by Mialee L. aka Sukachu.

*All photos belong to © DreamWorks Animation.

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