I'm not a big Nicholas Cage fan, and every time I watch a movie with Nicholas Cage in it I'm surprised they chose him to be the main actor. Because really, are there any big Nicholas Cage fans out there? Probably, since he has so many lead roles. It's not that he acts bad, it's just, well, he's normal, and not a spectacularly good actor either. He always has the same voice, always the same facial expressions. It feels like he doesn't become the character - the character becomes him. Maybe that's why he gets so many leading roles though, he's flexible, he's normal, he fits everywhere.

Not saying I don't like the movie though. This movie is great.

The movie is a bit of a documentary over the weapon trade. We follow Nicholas (don't remember his name in the movie, doesn't matter, it's still the actor not the character being played) as he grows up and starts dealing weapons all over the world. To dictators. To, well, mostly almost only dictators. He tells the story through an overlayering narrative and through his own speech within the movie. There isn't any real action, apart from a few people getting shot now and then (nothing he's directly involved in) but it still stays interesting all the time... and intense.

The scenery is varied, the people he interacts with all have definable personalities, there are some witty punchlines, there's some satire, there's a lot of talking and great scenery and the story has a heavy, a bit depressing, yet light and realistic hue. Overall, it's a good movie. Not an action movie as the name implies, not directly, but it is still a very good movie. His wife turning him in and his brother dying in front of him are some of the elements that turn it into the great movie it is. Reminds me of The Godfather, with added documentary value. The ending has a twist to it, too, even after he's turned in by his wife.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

The Rock & Samuel Jackson team up as a crazy police duo, fly through a two-story bus with their Mustang, blast criminals to smithereens and destroy property for 12 million dollars. They go all out and crazy and still they come back alive. Then one day they jump of a building (oh, spoiler alert btw) while chasing after some bad guys and die. Time for some other pair to pick up the empty space left after these two reckless heroes, a space that is eventually taken by a previously desk-working duo seemingly very unsuitable for the job.

I miss the Rock & Samuel Jackson as the leading characters. They were great the short while it lasted, playing a part much more intense than any of the parts played in the rest of the film, but even without them it is a good movie. Action, sad comedy (jokes you can't laugh at) and a seemingly random plot all build up the movie. It's good, it's ok, it's nothing special.

 rated 3/5: not bad

If you like martial arts this is a must see. Tekken, Ong-Bak, Tekken, DOA, Ninja Assassin, Ong-Bak... yeah I know I said a couple of titles twice but there really aren't that many good martial arts movies out there, not recently anyway. Good martial arts movies are few when compared to the other genres, but this is one of them, and if you're a big fan of good action like I am it's a must see.

The filmography and the game soundtrack make it seem a bit more like a video game than a movie (not strange since it's based on one), but that's good, I have nothing against that. The movie manages to maintain pace and variative fighting sequences all the way through, and I especially love the icy introduction. The main character sometimes looks like she has anorexia, and who knows maybe she does, but for the most part the movie is great. There are few flaws, and even if the acting isn't always the greatest, it surely is a movie worth watching. That much is guaranteed.

It's not amazing, but it's not bad either, it's just another movie. One that doesn't stand out yet merits a watch anyway for those entertained by fighting.

I'll give it a...

 rated 3/5: not bad

I watched Tron Legacy yesterday, in 3D, and it was pretty amazing.

As it was my first real 3D experience I'll have to review the not-so-special 3D effects along with the movie review. I believe a future of three dimensional holograms without glasses is more wishable. This didn't really satisfy me. Some effects, like whirling smoke, seemed to really hover outside the screen, realistically but at other places they were more like layers on top of the movie. Cool, but not realistic, it was still 2D. The blend between 2D and 3D wasn't perfect, sometimes it was more, sometimes less, it wasn't overall 3D. It was just 3D sometimes, a bit halfassed, not the wholesome experience I was expecting.

Moving on to the movie itself - it was amazing. The soundtrack really backed up the neon atmosphere, the play with lights, the light tension all the way through, and it was only after watching the movie that I came to know the OST was made by Daft Punk. No wonder it was so great then. Not only music and special effects were amazing, but the plot as well. It wasn't complex, but it was good, and everything combined it was a really watchable movie.

Almost makes me want to see the original. ;)

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

I read a bad review about this movie the other day.

The reviewer claimed the movie had unnecessary violence & that he wouldn't watch a Tarantino movie ever again. As for me, sure, it has violence, but the really fascinating part of this movie (and all of Tarantino's movies) is the dialogue. The dialogue in his movies is completely different from the dialogues in any other movies. It's often deep, insightful, entertaining; it's theatrical, it has a hidden stain of twisted humor in it, it's about things we all speak about but still... it's better. Read on...

Oh yeah, it gives you the strength you need. It's movies like this & Fight Club that give me all the adrenaline I could ever wish for. Inception was the greatest movie of the century, but still, it doesn't give the same kick as this one does. Not even close.

The story is a story of an old brotherhood of assassins who supposedly receive their orders from god almighty himself and have been acting based upon his orders since ancient times. They also know some fancy things like how to skew the path of a bullet. In the story we follow a seemingly regular kid that is suddenly told he is the son of a dead assassin and is asked to take over. Of course he does, after some hesitation, because it would be no movie otherwise.

The movie is intense, cynical, packed with action and as heavy as it can get. It has a great soundtrack, great filmography and characters you learn to know and care for. It has all I'm looking for in a movie and a "Get out and do something" moral that makes me want to just run run RUN! High five. Highly recommended.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Read on...