Shanghai Knights

When Chon Wang learns that his father has been murdered, he leaves his peaceful life in Carson City to reunite with his best friend, Roy O'Bannon. While the general story is about honor and revenge, it also expands into a long series of funny escapades as the two friends soon become tangled in a plot to kill the royal family of England.

Since the story takes place there are tons of gags and references to the country, starting with the usual Royal Guard one we would come to expect but also find a couple that are a bit more fun later on near the end of the film. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are back and at their best as their characters, also joining them in the action is Chon's sister played by Fann Wong. Rounding out the cast are our two villains played by Donnie Yen and Aidan Gillen. All of the newcomers do a rather good job in their roles, and easily hold their own with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.

The story itself is a pretty basic one, though it is still rather enjoyable thanks to the cast. All of the choreography for the fight scenes is well done, though it has nothing on films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. As far as the humor goes, it really depends on what you enjoy. I myself didn't overly care for a lot of that, and didn't have too many laugh out loud moments. It doesn't surpass the first film, but it isn't terrible either and is a well done sequel.

Richie Rich

Alrighty, Culkin time! *slumps*

This is actually a movie that holds a few memories for me, I remember watching it long ago as a kid many times. Watching it back then I of course fully enjoyed it. But watching it again, I still do enjoy it for what it is, though my love for it is nowhere near as strong now.

The movie follows Richie Rich, the worlds richest child. Despite having more wealth than he knows what to do with, and anything and everything he could ever want (Including a roller coaster in his backyard) he's still quite lonely. It seems being rich doesn't buy you friends, even if his butler does try just that to some success.

One day, Richie finds that he enjoys playing baseball with some average kids in a back lot and after a bit of help from his butler manages to befriend them. Though I do wonder how much they were in it for all the fun stuff he has, more than they were in it for actually trying to be friends.

While all this is going on, the evil Van Dough plots to take over the Rich company. Unaware that Richie is not travelling with his parents, he blows up their plane as they are flying to England. Luckily though, the father's soft spot for sweets helps him discover the bomb before they can be killed and instead land in the ocean on the life raft.

Taking over for his father, Richie soon starts leading the company with a firm hand and helps to improve it in many areas. However, Van Dough soon manages to take the butler out of the way and takes over the parental rights of our hero. Things soon become war as Richie leads his friends in an effort to retake the mansion and oust the man. His parents and butler join in for the final fight on the small mountain behind their home which has their faces in a Mount Rushmore style. The day is soon saved and all is well again as Van Dough is carted off to jail and fired.

This film is probably one of Culkins best, save for the Home Alone's which are just a lot of fun. I think one thing that helps me enjoy this more is the fact that I have a soft spot for films from the 90's or perhaps just a guilty pleasure. A fairly decent film, despite any flaws it may have and regardless of the fact it would never win any awards. In the end it's just a fun film, though younger viewers may get a bigger kick out of it.

Cats and Dogs

So, Cats and Dogs. I much prefer the former myself, despite their apparent association with being evil. But, that aside we have canine heroes in this film as the two wage a secret war on each other.

We find a young, adorable puppy named Lou who is voiced by Toby Maguire (who is not adorable). He is quickly adopted into the home of a scientist played by Jeff Goldblum, despite his allergy to dogs. It seems that he is working on creating a cure for man's allergy to canines. This of course, makes the cats rather unhappy about it and lead by their leader Mr. Tinkles (I kid you not) they decide to use it to make all humans allergic to dogs.

Oof.

What follows is a rather boring film as the cats make attempts to steal the formula, while the dogs try to keep them from obtaining it. In the end the cats do get their hands, (er paws?), on the formula and start to put their plan into motion but in the end the dogs save the day.

Thankully this movie is about 10 minutes shorter than most other films, perhaps because they ran out of "interesting" things to do. The acting is rather dull, and my dislike for Goldblum only furthers the lack of interest. CGI and other effects feel sub par and there are more plotholes than I care to address, but I will say this, a dog United Nations council in the earths core. If you can explain that logically I applaud you.

Beethoven

One of many films catering towards children about our canine companions. Generally this film is much easier to sit through if you are younger, or a really big dog lover. If you are not one of these, chances are you should skip the film and watch something more along your taste.

The first half works rather well as the dog, Beethoven, wrecks havoc among the household after persuading the family to keep him. One running gag, the dog urinating where he shouldn't, is used a tad too often and wears thin on ones patience.

During the second half, we are introduced to our veterinarian villain. This is where the film falls apart as it becomes your run of the mill "Kids drama" film. At one point our villain even threatens the dog with a handgun........

Beethoven has nothing on some canine features like Shiloh or Lassie, yet is still better than others such as Cats & Dogs.

Shanghai Noon

Ah, Jackie Chan. A rather common sight in comedies and/or martial arts movies for the last twenty years at the very least. His partners in these movies though can be....questionable. In Shanghai Noon we get Owen Wilson and his brand of...humor.

I'm just going to say it outright, I really don't care for him at all, when I watch this movie it's for Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu, who are easily the best part of this movie.

Shanghai Noon follows Jackie Chan as he plays Chong Wang (The first of two name related jokes) as he heads for the Wild West to rescue the beautiful Princess Pei Pei. Along the way he meets a rather terrible outlaw named Roy O'Bannon who quickly derails him for an adventure filled with jail time, brawls, bordello's and villains!

The film can be quite fun to watch, Chon Wangs clueless nature regarding all things Western as he searches for the Princess that he cares for. Roy O'Bannon at times can be alright, though I often find myself really not caring for him at all. Despite it's initial hilarity, the "Uno Mas" scene can be great fun the first time around but it does wear thin if you hear it several times over and over.

The performances are all really well done for this film, though it does leave me wanting a bit more to call it "Really Good" Probably not Jackie Chans best, but far from his worst.

Happy Feet

Happy Feet, a story of a penguin who cannot sing but sure is able to tap dance. In Antarctica, Emperor Penguins sing to each other their Heart Songs to find a mate. However, Mumble, is dropped as an egg which affects his ability to sing.

The movie starts off fairly well, baby Mumble is quite adorable as are the other baby penguins. Quickly though baby Mumble grows up into....a taller version of himself and is voiced by Elijah Wood, thus losing all his adorable.

After becoming the misfit of his class and being forced to sit out at the graduation, Mumble leaves and soon encounters the Adelie Amigo's who befriend him. While with his new friends, he seeks out Lovelace, a rather crazy penguin who will answer a question in return for a pebble. With his new friends and Lovelace, Mumble sets out across the vast land and learns about being true to yourself.

The movie is rather enjoyable, though at times it can drag on a bit. Happy Feet's music and the tap dancing are among the highlights of the film.

Yours, Mine and Ours (2005)

Today's review takes us through 2005's, Yours, Mine and Ours starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.

Initially, it comes off as just a slightly larger version of Cheaper By the Dozen, and it really isn't anything we haven't seen before with the former. Aside from a pig for a pet and slightly more kids.

Dennis Quaid plays a by the books Admiral who is a tad....zealous in everything and runs his kids like they belong in the military. Rene Russo on the other hand plays the complete opposite, a completely open and hippy type of mother who thrives off a cluttered workplace.

The following 87 minutes is a pretty predictable romp as the two sets of kids instantly clash and do everything in their power to drive each other crazy. That is until they decide to drive their parents apart instead.

Most of the movie centers on the mayhem caused by the eighteen kids, whether it's them causing chaos in the hardware store or wrecking their new home. Most stunts are reminiscent of Home Alone and Cheaper By the Dozen, some of which often involve in Dennis Quaid falling into or onto goo.

For the most part, Quaid and Russo manage to carry themselves pretty well, even having a resemblance of chemistry but a predictable plot and rather poor script works against them. The eldest kids also manage to do rather well, even if they fall into basic stereotypes that we are pretty familiar with but somehow manage to trudge on through.

Ultimately, it's not one of the best comedies out there as most of the jokes and gags are unfunny and repetitive. It's also pretty hard to care about 90% of the kids when they get barely enough screen time to develop or are just far too similar to each other to note any difference.