Four Movie Reviews

Well, DVD rentals, anyway...

First, let's look at Resident Evil: Degeneration. Plot was boring, characters were boring, animation was hit-and-miss. If I go any more in-depth, I'll be boring, too. I don't really recommend it, but it might fill a really slow night.

Next, Confessions of a Pit Fighter. Very good, well done fight scenes. The main character actually regains his conscience through the intercession of an intelligent and effective Catholic priest (when was the last time Hollywood did that?). Plus, a little pro-life message. Downside: the plot development is a little choppy and the love-interest looked like she might have been born with a penis. Otherwise, I'd recommend it for anyone who likes fight movies and especially if you'd like to see a movie with a bit of conservatism.

Speaking of conservative movies, An American Carol is out on DVD. Liked it at the cinema, like it on DVD. As I've said before, this is a movie with a definite political axe to grind--and it causes some of the jokes to fall flat. But there are also a lot of jokes that don't fall flat, and some real feel-good moments. If you enjoyed Airplane: The Movie, or if you appreciate the fact that America is the good guy, or (like me) both--you should watch this movie. Hell, I'm buying a copy.

Finally, Adventures of Johnny Tao. What's not to like? Pretty girls, but very family-friendly. The Chinese people are speaking real Chinese, and it has the best classical martial arts choreography I've seen outside of Hong Kong. There is some excellent visual style going on (including the final showdown between a hero dressed like a honky-tonk cowboy and a villain dressed like a post-apocalyptic biker), and the good guys work at the VFW! Highly recommended.