I've watched two movies this week I've been waiting to see for a while. One was a sequel of the fast-paced and entertaining "Distract B13," a French action flick featuring a lot of parkour and free running, as well as some very well choreographed fight scenes. The sequel was B13: Ultimatum, and brought back the pair from the first film--cop and criminal--for some more of the same. Two fighters against corrupt politicians--apparently thought of as much of a problem there as it is here in the U.S.
Simply put, I loved the film as much as the original. Having never been to France, I can't say how much reality they've mixed with their fiction, but I imagine it's probably about the same as a U.S. action flick. If you watch American action movies, or tv crime dramas, you probably get the idea that crazy shit happens every five minutes ago and most of us are lucky to be alive.
Nonetheless, I recommend the movie highly. At least as good as anything made here, and as fun a buddy movie as I can remember seeing in a long time.
The second movie is a Thai martial arts flick, starring Jeeja Yanin, the star of the excellent "Chocolate." Though she seems so far to change her billing with each movie--so far. In this one she was billed asYanin Vismitananda.
I really wanted to like this movie. I loved Chocolate. But there were entirely too many glaring holes in this one. The premise, that girls were being kidnapped off the streets of Thailand, isn't all that far-fetched. Sex slavery is a great problem in southeast Asia, and it happens probably more than anyone would like to admit. But that's not the case in this movie, though they do mention it. Instead, they're being stolen away for their pheromones, marked by a sniffer as possessing a particular body chemistry that can be as addictive as a drug. Fine. It's got a weird SF angle and I can live with that.
But the martial art created for the movie is, in a word, ridiculous. In Chocolate Yanin was able to show off her considerable Muay Thai skills to great effect, but this film's premise in this regard is just plain stupid. It's basically what you'd get if you crossed Drunken Monkey (as popularized by several Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks) with break dancing. Drinking makes you fight better.
Ugh. There are so many things wrong with this I won't bother getting into them. But what's even worse is that it seems like half the villains--mostly introduced in the last half an hour or so of the movie--have some knowledge of and/or skill in this allegedly secret martial art. The people who've been training arduously to free these captured women are soundly beaten by the villains because these unique fighting abilities are, in a word, useless.
I won't recommend not watching it, but only because I think Yanin has the potential to be a worldwide martial arts star. Her skills are that good. But I really hope she doesn't hitch her wagon to something as bad as this again.
She's not a bad actress. Maybe she should learn French and go act in some french action flicks... It's an idea.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Friday, June 04, 2010
My top 10 ultimate badass movie and TV heroines
Okay... let's preface this by saying that I had to be able to suspend disbelief and actually think that the characters were truly badass. This is typically accomplished by fusing convincing acting with good fight choreography and excellent camera work. Having athletic, hot actresses doing the ass-kicking doesn't hurt, but somehow it isn't as necessary as one might think.
10. Victory Nelson. (Short lived Lifetime original series, Blood Ties--based on the works of fantasy author Tanya Huff). I'm afraid Vicky comes in at number 10 simply because of obscurity. Played by actress Christina Cox, we didn't get to see more than a hint of what Vicky could do. She was damn quick with those telescoping batons, though. Christina herself is a trained kickboxer, and moved like she knew what she was doing. I bought it.
9. Sarah Connors: (The Terminator franchise). I'm actually talking about Linda Hamilton here, not the television version of the same character. Linda was convincing as Sarah because she had been stripped down to the bare necessities like a woman who'd been burning from the inside out for far too long. Lean, corded muscle and a thousand-yard stare made her really come across as someone who'd seen the devil and spit in his eye. And crushed his robot body beneath her boot heel.
8. Buffy Summers. (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer of TV and Film). I'm going with the TV version because Kristy Swanson couldn't convince me of anything. Despite her slim and willowy form (and, my gawd, the girl's turned into a stick figure) actress Sarah Gellar managed to make me believe she could kick the snot out of even the badest vamp without once breaking a nail. Kudos to the choreographers and camera technicians, as well as her trainer. She was quite convincing. Yes, I know she started out with a belt in Tae Kwon Do. But I know it took a lot of hard work to make it all come together.
7. Faith Lehane: (BVTS, once again--the TV show). All things considered, it was much easier to buy Faith as a "chew em up and spit 'em out" vampire slayer. She just looks more solid than Sarah Gellar. Plus the character was balls-out. Where Buffy relied on her friends a lot, Faith just relied on good old fashioned ass kicking craziness. Maybe not the best strategy in the long run, but I never got the idea Faith planned to be around forever.
6. Lara Croft: (Tomb Raider 1 and 2). I was impressed to discover that Angelina Jolie did many of her own stunts for this movie. She looked solid and her kung fu skills were impressive. Okay, maybe not kung fu, but at least kickboxing. The bungee cord ballet was fucking amazing. Large, megalithic props to the choreographers on this one. She looked like she could wade through a whole army of illuminati assholes without batting an eye. I miss that Angelina.
5. Elektra: Setting aside the debacle that was Daredevil (one of my favorite superheroes growing up--after Spider Man, screwed up by so many things I don't want to discuss right now) I honestly didn't think Elektra was that bad. Garner certainly managed to pull off the badassery as well as anyone could have. I know, like Angelina, that she did many of her own stunts and lost the tip of a finger during the rehearsal of the sword fight with the Big Bad). I can respect that level of dedication. And, yeah, I thought she might've been all that.
4. Zen: (From the Thai film, "Chocolate.") Really she should have rated higher, and would have if not for what I see as the director's few glaring mistakes. The girl is remarkably athletic, and has one hell of a future ahead of her. But, despite some truly remarkable stunts, there were a few techniques performed that threw me bodily out of my suspension of disbelief. For a little thing like JeeJa Yanin (or, if you prefer, Yanin Vismitananda) to get any power (without presumed supernatural assistance) into her blows, she can't be performing them at a distance of a couple of inches. That kind of punch/kick might rock his head back, but it won't knock him flat. But all in all the girl was the shit.
3. River Tam: (Firefly and Serenity). Another Joss Whedon offering featuring a little girl who can kick ass. Of course, we don't really see that side of her until the movie. Summer Glau is a dancer, and, as we've seen before, dance translates very well into martial arts choreography. Yes, you too will believe this tiny thing can kick the living shit out of a whole army of wild, savage, cannibalistic Reavers. And that, my friends, is impressive indeed.
2. Alice: (Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3). I just recently watched RE 1 the other day. Milla Jovovich looked solid, like someone who COULD kick a zombie's head clean off. It's been a while since I've seen the others, but I remember thinking she'd lost a little muscle tone, particularly in the last one. I know she's been genetically altered, folks, but a little bulk makes the pill go down easier. Yeah, she kicks ass. But it helps that she LOOKS like she can kick ass.
1. Violet Song jat Shariff: (Ultraviolet). Milla again. This girl makes a remarkably believable action star. Some of it is, of course, attitude. You watch her and you believe she can go from stone killer to sweet thing and back in seconds flat. Violet is a thief, assassin, and "terrorist" in her world, and, as she says more than once, killing is "what I do." She'd lost everything that mattered to her and wanted revenge. And got it... in spades. Live or die, Violet was going to take as many of the motherfuckers with her as she could. A lot of people hated this flick. I loved it. Some of the special effects were sub-par, but the story and choreography were top-notch in my book. Massive amounts of violence and, yet, heart. I get it.
I should include an honorable mention category, but not this time. Let's see what everyone else has to say first. I await your responses.
10. Victory Nelson. (Short lived Lifetime original series, Blood Ties--based on the works of fantasy author Tanya Huff). I'm afraid Vicky comes in at number 10 simply because of obscurity. Played by actress Christina Cox, we didn't get to see more than a hint of what Vicky could do. She was damn quick with those telescoping batons, though. Christina herself is a trained kickboxer, and moved like she knew what she was doing. I bought it.
9. Sarah Connors: (The Terminator franchise). I'm actually talking about Linda Hamilton here, not the television version of the same character. Linda was convincing as Sarah because she had been stripped down to the bare necessities like a woman who'd been burning from the inside out for far too long. Lean, corded muscle and a thousand-yard stare made her really come across as someone who'd seen the devil and spit in his eye. And crushed his robot body beneath her boot heel.
8. Buffy Summers. (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer of TV and Film). I'm going with the TV version because Kristy Swanson couldn't convince me of anything. Despite her slim and willowy form (and, my gawd, the girl's turned into a stick figure) actress Sarah Gellar managed to make me believe she could kick the snot out of even the badest vamp without once breaking a nail. Kudos to the choreographers and camera technicians, as well as her trainer. She was quite convincing. Yes, I know she started out with a belt in Tae Kwon Do. But I know it took a lot of hard work to make it all come together.
7. Faith Lehane: (BVTS, once again--the TV show). All things considered, it was much easier to buy Faith as a "chew em up and spit 'em out" vampire slayer. She just looks more solid than Sarah Gellar. Plus the character was balls-out. Where Buffy relied on her friends a lot, Faith just relied on good old fashioned ass kicking craziness. Maybe not the best strategy in the long run, but I never got the idea Faith planned to be around forever.
6. Lara Croft: (Tomb Raider 1 and 2). I was impressed to discover that Angelina Jolie did many of her own stunts for this movie. She looked solid and her kung fu skills were impressive. Okay, maybe not kung fu, but at least kickboxing. The bungee cord ballet was fucking amazing. Large, megalithic props to the choreographers on this one. She looked like she could wade through a whole army of illuminati assholes without batting an eye. I miss that Angelina.
5. Elektra: Setting aside the debacle that was Daredevil (one of my favorite superheroes growing up--after Spider Man, screwed up by so many things I don't want to discuss right now) I honestly didn't think Elektra was that bad. Garner certainly managed to pull off the badassery as well as anyone could have. I know, like Angelina, that she did many of her own stunts and lost the tip of a finger during the rehearsal of the sword fight with the Big Bad). I can respect that level of dedication. And, yeah, I thought she might've been all that.
4. Zen: (From the Thai film, "Chocolate.") Really she should have rated higher, and would have if not for what I see as the director's few glaring mistakes. The girl is remarkably athletic, and has one hell of a future ahead of her. But, despite some truly remarkable stunts, there were a few techniques performed that threw me bodily out of my suspension of disbelief. For a little thing like JeeJa Yanin (or, if you prefer, Yanin Vismitananda) to get any power (without presumed supernatural assistance) into her blows, she can't be performing them at a distance of a couple of inches. That kind of punch/kick might rock his head back, but it won't knock him flat. But all in all the girl was the shit.
3. River Tam: (Firefly and Serenity). Another Joss Whedon offering featuring a little girl who can kick ass. Of course, we don't really see that side of her until the movie. Summer Glau is a dancer, and, as we've seen before, dance translates very well into martial arts choreography. Yes, you too will believe this tiny thing can kick the living shit out of a whole army of wild, savage, cannibalistic Reavers. And that, my friends, is impressive indeed.
2. Alice: (Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3). I just recently watched RE 1 the other day. Milla Jovovich looked solid, like someone who COULD kick a zombie's head clean off. It's been a while since I've seen the others, but I remember thinking she'd lost a little muscle tone, particularly in the last one. I know she's been genetically altered, folks, but a little bulk makes the pill go down easier. Yeah, she kicks ass. But it helps that she LOOKS like she can kick ass.
1. Violet Song jat Shariff: (Ultraviolet). Milla again. This girl makes a remarkably believable action star. Some of it is, of course, attitude. You watch her and you believe she can go from stone killer to sweet thing and back in seconds flat. Violet is a thief, assassin, and "terrorist" in her world, and, as she says more than once, killing is "what I do." She'd lost everything that mattered to her and wanted revenge. And got it... in spades. Live or die, Violet was going to take as many of the motherfuckers with her as she could. A lot of people hated this flick. I loved it. Some of the special effects were sub-par, but the story and choreography were top-notch in my book. Massive amounts of violence and, yet, heart. I get it.
I should include an honorable mention category, but not this time. Let's see what everyone else has to say first. I await your responses.
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