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Johnny English 2 - Reborn (2011)

Johnny English Reborn (2011)

The long awaited Johnny English sequel has been out for a while now, and I've finally watched it!

Johnny's got some gray hair, and the action scenes sometimes look a bit slow when he runs them, but overall the movie manages to combine action and comedy the same way the last one did. Maybe not better, but at least just as well.

A traumatizing incident in Mozambique (deja vu on the incident that killed all agents in the last movie) has made Johnny go into exile and training in a Shaolin temple. That's where we meet him, before he is put back in service by M17 (now owned by Toshiba), and another ridiculously funny mission starts. Sometimes the humor can be a bit lame, but overall, it's not too lame to laugh at. The plot twists unexpectedly at times, and very expectedly at others, but it's varied and the action sequences are much flashier than in the last movie. Better budget I suppose.

There's a boat chase, a helicopter ride, a fight on a ski lift, a wheelchair chase... so there's plenty of watchable content. Rely on Rowan Atkinson to deliver family-friendly comedies. There's been way too few of these lately. The movie features crazy inventions, pokes fun at James Bond regularly, borrows some humor from the Pink Panther movies and I wonder if the black Tucker agent is inspired by the Rush hour trilogy? The frequently present old Chinese assassin/cleaner lady opens for much humor as well.

Johnny English in this movie is more like Pink Panther than James Bond, though there's a lot of similarities between these two series. If Roward Atkinson makes another sequel I suppose it will be a series btw, for now it's just a couple. But if not, this is a well-deserved final. Not a perfect movie, but thoroughly entertaining.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

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Mortal Kombat Legacy (2011)

Mortal Kombat Legacy (2011)

Apparently someone heard my wish back in my old Mortal Kombat movie review, and finally made something based on the game worthy of the effort! At least that's what I thought, until I realized there have been plenty of sequels since the 1995 failure, and since I didn't know about any of them I guess none of them are any good. I could be wrong though, only way to know for sure is to watch them, so when I have some extra time (not today), I will do so. For now, here's a quick review of the mini TV-series from last year (or movie, as some call it, even though the credits roll after each episode).

It's a good series, or movie... or whatever you wish to call it. After watching the cinematic versions of other classic games such as Tekken and Street Fighter however, it falls short. Sure the fighting sequences are nice, the effects are stylish, and the scenery is varied. Yet the atmosphere is always dark and somehow the plot doesn't captivate me at all. It's not cliche, it just isn't very interesting. Maybe I'm not Mortal Kombat fan enough for this movie, but it didn't really cut it for me. It was good, but at the same time disappointing. I'll give it a...

 rated 3/5: not bad

Fairy Tail Rules

I've been watching Fairy Tail a bit, I'm now up at episode 63, and I've been thinking about how some traits of the series keep repeating themselves. The series has an odd way of repeating events or actions through different characters, especially in the final fights. The series rules, but there's a set of rules this series seems to follow:

  • Foes always stand up one final time to fire off a final attack, especially after it is believed they have been defeated. Usually this final attack doesn't work anyway, and they fall back down. It's as if this goes to show that the good guys still aren't strong enough; that the foes are defeated by their own weakness and not the good guys strength.
  • Fairy Tail (the guild) is usually taken to the verge of defeat in the big battles, before they once again rise up and show their true potential. I suppose this is done to raise suspense, and it does, but it also makes the story all the more predictable.
  • Foes always seem to have a hopeless advantage before either a weakness about them is revealed or the opponent suddenly gains unnatural strength. Again, wouldn't be as exiting if they didn't, but it still opens to predictability.
  • Characters you thought got killed off appear again, usually with personalities in high contrast to how you perceived them at the beginning. For example, if they're bad at first, they're good the next time you see them.
  • The good guys always have to go down at least once when facing a strong opponent before they start to fight for real and defeat them. Exceptions being those who use Stellar spirits, in which case the spirits usually go down in their place. Thinking about Lucy here.
  • Even when the good guys are completely powerless, they somehow gain a whole lot of power and miraculously reverse the battle.
  • Natsu just can't lose.

Those seem to be rules of the series. In the long run, up until now that is, these repetitions serve to make the series a bit too predictable. I suppose I didn't notice how everything always goes at the beginning, because somehow everything in this series happens faster than it does in other anime, but now that I've watched until this point everything is clear. Of course surprise enemies always turn up, and revelations lead to clarity on a whole different level, but as for the fights themselves, they can't get more predictable than they already are. I suppose the unpredictability lies outside the fight, or after the fight, or in personality changes during the fight. Words also have a much bigger impact than weapons, will is much stronger than skill and Natsu just can't be defeated. Fairy Tail Rules.

Weekend Of 8th Week

The time just flies, doesn't it? Feels like it was January yesterday but that month passed and this one is on its way away. The snow melted. I walked around in sunshine today. A chilly wind, but sunshine nevertheless. A fresh refreshing start of spring springs into be-ing (with the hyphen it rhymes FYI)!

I've spent the weekend watching Fairy Tail (bet you noticed that) and playing Pokemon HeartGold. If I was playing the regular game (and by regular game I mean first generation) I would have beat it already, I beat the 16th gym leader a few hours ago and I'm up at 152 Pokemon on the National Pokedex. The regular game had 8 gym-leaders and 150 Pokemon total. This one has 16 and 400something. Then again, regular Pokemon was pretty hard. Yeah.

HeartGold is a remake of Gold, and just like the old version this game is super-addicting. Though it's a remake it's not the same game. The script is different. Locations are different. Pokemon and items from the third generation (the one after the original Gold) have been added. It's a completely new experience and at the same time a kick of nostalgia. I played a lot of Pokemon Gold, so this is bringing me back plenty. The only thing it's missing are the old bugs, the ones that let you clone Pokemon and items for one. I used that bug a lot back in the day. Having ten masterballs and a hundred Rare Candies can be pretty useful. :)

One great feature the original Gold game didn't have was the ability to import Pokemon from the original games. Instead of the Safari Zone in Kanto (it's moved to Johto) there's the Pal Park, where you can transfer 6 Pokemon from a GBA-version Pokemon game and catch them again in the park (an unlimited amount of times). Every ball used is a guaranteed catch. I added about forty Pokemon to my quota in less than an hour; now that's progress. :)

I bet you don't want to read a ramble about Pokemon though (but if you do I could scribble for hours), so I'll sum it up by saying it's an amazing game. Compared to Gold it's much easier, locations are hinted frequently, catching the legendary Pokemon is no longer just up to chance, there are tons of improvements and new features and the graphics are amazing compared to the old games. With a new console that's to be expected, but it brings about a whole new gaming venture. I've never played the game enough to get a full Pokedex earlier, but with this one I think I'll make an exception. Or rather, I don't think I'll need to play the game for incredible amounts of time to catch em all. The import feature opens up for completely new possibilities! All that's left on my agenda (apart from getting all the Pokemon) is beating Red. Weekend is almost over though so that'll have to wait.

So eh, other news? Well there really isn't much. It's life as usual, and I'm taking a walk to the airport next Wednesday. Whassat? Airport? Vacation? I'll fill you in later. Hmm, filling in the space so the word is not merely a repetition: later.

Adventures Of Tintin - Secret Of The Unicorn (2011)

Adventures Of Tintin - Secret Of The Unicorn (2011)

The official title seems to be just Adventures Of Tintin, but I'll go with the added Secret Of The Unicorn since I sincerely hope this is just the first in a series of remakes following the whole series. :)

Overall, this movie was great. The graphics took a few seconds to get used to with the realistic yet strangely unrealistic character faces, and I never got used to Milou. Something about his eyes, or his face, it just doesn't feel as energetic as it does in the comic. I did get used to Milou being called Snowy instead of Milou, but I'd rather they had stayed with the original name. All the other characters have origi... of wait, what happened to Dupont & Dupont? Did they just cut out all these French names to Americanize the movie? I'd rather they stay true to the original script, but setting those minor grievances aside...

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Fairy Tail 68

I was looking forward to a happy end, but this episode is just tragic. Maybe it will come, the happy ending, who knows. For now you better brace yourself for a tearful experience. At least if you watch the series. I read the title of the episode, A Guild For The Sake Of A Single Person, and I expected Gerard to be saved. It starts with him being taken away.

Gerard Is Taken Away

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