The Green Hornet

I wasn't expecting much after I saw the preview for The Green Hornet, which is why I waited for it to come out on video before watching it. I had seen clips of the original TV show when I was a kid and new Bruce Lee starred in the series, but wasn't too familiar with the story line.

Seth Rogan plays Britt Reid, who is a spoiled rich kid who does nothing with his life. When his father dies, he inherits his media empire and decides to make a difference in the world. He and his side kick Kato played by Jay Chou, begin fighting crime as anonymous vigilanties at night. Reid creates the identity of the Green Hornet and is pretty narcissistic in his attempt to promote his alter ego's popularity through his newspaper.

Reid is kind of like Iron Man or Batman in that he has unlimited financial resources and gadgets to help him fight crime. He is an unlikely guy to be a superhero. Kato is the only competent member of the duo, but I had a problem with him having the power to stop time when he fights the bad guys. What's up with that?

This movie was a little better than I expected. It doesn't take itself too seriously and there is enough humor in it to keep it entertaining. Without the humor, The Green Hornet would have been horrible. Despite being fake and campy, I still give it a generous 6.3 stars.

Hanna

After seeing the trailer for Hanna, I figured it was a movie about a teenage girl who had been raised from birth to be an assassin. I still had many unanswered questions about the plot, so I was looking forward to seeing this to get all the details behind the story.

Hanna takes place in Europe so there is a different feel to it. Several things about it reminded me of the Bourne movies and Identity. This movie is directed by Joe Wright who also directed the Soloist and Pride and Prejudice. I was surprised that he is so versatile when it comes to the genres of his movies.

Why is Tom Hollander always a bad guy?

There were many times during the movie when I kept asking myself "what the heck?" and was curious to get more information about how the story was going to unfold. Hanna features a techno soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers and between the music and the cinematography, it comes across more artsy than most spy/action movies. I'm sure there is a large segment of viewers who won't care for this movie at all because it is so different.

There is quite a bit of violence and some really weird and freaky characters featured in this movie. It also has several plot holes and some inconsistencies, but I still give Hanna 7.2 stars.

3D Is So Overrated!

I just don't get the 3D movie craze. I thought it was a gimmick back in the 50's when it was popular, but technology has brought 3D movies back with a vengeance. I'm really surprised at how many movies are going with this trend.

Some movies are better 3D candidates than others. I saw Avatar at a 3D IMAX theater and I thought it was pretty cool, but I just think too many movies are trying to use it. I knew things were out of control when The King's Speech came out in 3D. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but I still think it's over done.

I feel insulted when a movie throws in special effects specifically for the purposes of having something shoot out of the screen at the viewer. It reminds me of Dr. Tongue's 3D movies on Monster Chiller Horror Theater on SCTV.



Sorry for being such a party pooper, but I think 3D is over rated and over priced. I think I'll stick with my view master for those occasions when I need to experience cool 3D effects.

Megamind

I'm not usually a fan of animated features, but I decided to give Megamind a shot. It is about two children from different planets who are sent to earth when their civilizations were destroyed. One was sent to an ideal home and became the super hero Metro Man. The other grew up among criminals and became the villain Megamind.

The movie features the battle between the these two as well as another character named Titan who wants to be the most powerful person in Metro City. What makes Megamind enjoyable is the fact that he is so human and flawed (even though he is technically an alien.)

This movie is pretty entertaining for a cartoon. It features the voice talents of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, and David Cross. Several scenes made me laugh and I haven't enjoyed an animated film this much since The Incredibles. I give Megamind 7.4 stars.