Movie Review - Ip Man 2

Movie Title

Ip Man 2

Year

2010

Genre

Action, History

Story

Picking up from where part 1 ended, Ip Man (Donnie Yen) with young son and pregnant wife (Xiong Dai Lin) have now settled in HK.Ip Man sets up his own martial arts (Wing Chun) school but struggles to attract students, until a youngster - Wong Leung (Huang Xiaoming) appears and challenges Ip Man to a duel in a test of Ip Man's Skills. After taking a thrashing, Leung with a group of his friends join Ip Man's training, and finally grows into a sizeable group of students (but still no sign of Bruce Lee yet).

One day, Leung gets into a fight with a group of rival martial arts school students, is subsequently beaten & held for ransom. Ip Man was forced to rescue him via barter for his release at the wet market. However, the altercation soon brings the much feared & respected martial arts Top Dog Hung Chun Nam (Sammo Hung) into the fray. Hung, representing the other HK martial arts schools, learns of Ip Man'snew school and refuses to let Ip Man simply set up shop on their turfunless Ip Man can prove himself in a duel with the other masters.The challenge of the duel was - if he could remain standing on a teetering tabletop for the entire duration of a burning joss stick while fighting off the other kung fu masters, he will be granted permission to run his school.

Ip Man was obviously victorious and soon earns the respect of Master Hung and his cohorts. The movie then shifts gears to focus on how the corrupt British Officials in HK disrespect the locals.It became the final straw when during a friendly boxing match turned tragic when a boorish British boxer - Twister (Darren Shahlavi) - kills a Chinese fighter in the ring. This infuritates Master Hungand he fights Twister for the honor of his kinsman. Predictably, Master Hung loses not only the fight but his life as well. This prompts Ip Man to pick up the fight. The ending provides no surprises as we are all geared up for Ip Man 3 (read: Ip Man wins).

Not to be outdone by it's box-office rivel Iron Man 2,Ip Man 2 also provides a much anticipated teaser for what's to come in it's 3rd instalment. Right before the credits roll, a snotty little kid (who had gotten Bruce Lee's mannerisms down to a T) who hasn't even hit puberty comes to Ip Man demanding to be trained. But of course history tells us that this fateful event doesn't happen till years later when Bruce Lee had put a few more youthful years behind him!

Most Memorable Moment

The fight between Ip Man and the Martial Arts Masters at the hall atop the precariously balanced table top.

Acting

The acting is credible from most of the cast but Simon Yam seemed to pose a puzzle as to why he even in the movie. What more can be said about Donnie? I like him as the Martial artist more so than Jet Li or Jackie Chan. Sammo is also believable and sometimes scary.

Overall

Discounting the really bad and equally annoying British characters, Ip Man 2 is an above average Action Kung Fu flick (probably the best for the year) that satiates the fans for the genre and Donnie Fans all over (especially after the lack lustre 14 Blades recently)! Visually, it's a feast as the set looks pretty authentic and the fights are very well choreographed!

Rating:

7/10

Movie Review - The Losers

Movie Title
The Losers
Year
2010
Genre
Action, Comic Adaptation

Story

Deemed by many to be a watered down version of the Summer's Upcoming A-Team, it is in fact based on an acclaimed DC-Vertigo comic series of the same name by writer Andy Diggle & artist Jock.

The movie is about A CIA black ops squad that was betrayed by their handler during a black Ops mission. The team is led by Field Leader Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan - last seen in the Watchmen - another excellent DC-Vertigo series - as the Comedian), and his four trusted team members are:

- Jensen, Comms & Tech (Chris Evans - well known for his role as Human Torch in Fantastic Four)

- Roque, Demo & Tactical (Idris Elba - last seen in Obsessed)

- Pooch, Transport & heavy Weapons (Columbus Short - last seen in Whiteout)

- Cougar, Long Range Eliminations (Óscar Jaenada - quite new to Hollywood)

The movie starts with the 5-man team on a covert CIA mission in Bolivia totake out a drug lord & his facility. However, when they spot innocent local school kids on the premises to be used as drug mules, they tried to abort the bombing of the facility. Their boss & handler, the mysterious Max, would have none of it and bombs the entire compound anyway. The team then took it upon themselves to rescue the kids before the bombs could hit the target. They succeed but the rescue helicopter with the kids on board was blown out of the sky under Max's orders. Thought dead, the team languishes in Bolivia but soon heads back to the US for some revenge when Clay gets some help from a beautiful but mysterious Aisha (Zoe Saldana - last seen as the fiesty Neytiri in Avatar.) who seemed to have her own agenda pertaining to Max.

When finally revealed, we see that Max (Jason Patric) is a kooky, over-the-top but ruthless villain with an equally quirky & loyal but low-IQ'd henchman Wade (Holt McCallany).They, along with Jensen provide much of the tongue-in-cheek humorthroughout the movie.

Most Memorable Scene

A well-choreographed sequence in which Jensen invades a high-security office building to get some classified info. His singing as he enters the lift is sure to bring a smile to your face! Also equally funny is how he managed to subdue 3 armed guards without a weapon or laying a hand on them!

Acting
Jaenada's Cougar is a cool cat who doesn't speak much but still endears himself to the viewers. The other members are also adequately fleshed out as we see Pooch as a dad-to-be but torn between going home to his wife who still thinks him dead or keeping her safe by staying away. Jensen is the young stud who is constantly trying to bed every female in sight while Roque is Clay's ever loyal right-hand-man, until their botched job in Bolivia.

Zoe, of course, in this movie had a less meaty role when compared with her ground breaking performance from Avatar, but provides much of the eye-candy for fanboys nonetheless. However, this does not mean that she doesn't hold her own against the boys - as is evident from her tete-a-tete with Clay in Bolivia (Yes - the bedroom scene!).

Overall

The Losers is a fun and a non-cerebral fare. It's light, fast-paced with lots of action. Fans of this genre will not be disappointed! Get yourself on this fun ride!

Rating: 6/10
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The Losers [Blu-ray]

Comic Heroes who don't look like Heroes (Marvel)

Every so often, there are some really scary looking characters that, just by looking, you'd never guess that they were the good guys 'coz they look so darn scary only their mothers could love them (maybe...)!



Here are a few from Marvel:

Adam Warlock
Believe it or not, this is the guy we turn to when the universe is threatened by the likes of Thanos - the mad Titan who worships Death!


Deathlok the Demolisher
Before it was cool to utter "I'll be back" in an European accent (Read: Terminator), this cyborg (Luther Manning) had already come back from the future to right some wrongs in the past!


Man-Thing
Marvel's own version of the Swamp Thing only that who ever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch!

Penance (formerly Speedball)
The only survivor from the group who called themselves the New Warriors. They basically caused the Civil War! Burdened with extreme guilt, Robbie Baldwin now inflicts pain to himself as a form of penance!

Vision
Originally designed & created by 1 of the Avengers' deadliest enemies - Ultron - to infiltrate and destroy the team. However, he proved to be 1 of the stalwarts of the various incarnations of the Avengers and even married Scarlet Witch (Magneto's daughter)!


I just love red robots with capes!

And those that have appeared on the Silverscreen!
The ever lovin' Thing from Fantastic Four
Reed Richards' best friend - Benjamin Grimm - the resident strong man of the Fantastic Four! Covered head to toe in a super strong rock-like armor/skin, he can be scary when you first look at him!

The Incredible Hulk
The monstrous alter-ego of mild-mannered Dr Bruce Banner released from his psyche when exposed to gamma radiation from a an expoding gamma bomb!

Ghost Rider
Johnny Blaze looks like a demon because after trading his soul to the "Devil" he is the physical manifestation of the demon Zarathos!

Beast from the X-Men
You wouldn't think of it looking at him but Henry McCoy is the X-Men's resident scientist cum doctor! He holds his own against other Marvel big brains like Reed Richards (of Fantastic Four), Tony Stark (Iron Man of the Avengers) & Bruce Banner (Hulk)

Nightcrawler from the X-Men
Kurt Wagner, a very religious person but ironically, looks like a demon, complete with a forked tail and 3-fingered hands & feet and the stench of brimstone whenever he uses his teleportation powers!