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Reviews
Yi ge ren de wu lin (2014)
Stereo-typical Donnie Yen movie
The trouble with Donnie Yen movies lately is they're becoming too familiar. The movies may be different, but they somehow make you think it's the same Donnie Yen movie you've seen from last time. It's mostly because Donnie Yen casts the same actors with him again and again, and he keeps having the same movie flaws that keep his movies from becoming great. The movies usually starts off with a very promising plot with well thought of characters and story background, but then in his effort to create a deeper story he tends to lose the plot with outrageous circumstances, twists, or drama in the middle. It's no different with Kung Fu Jungle. The good thing, though, is he's still able to pull it through at the end of the movie. I can't help but feel disappointed since Donnie has so much potential to really make great movies with great fight scenes without sacrificing the story, but lately martial arts movies from Thailand or action movies from Korea and Japan are doing way much better. But, I think it's the point he makes in Kung Fu Jungle that he also wants to point out in his career: he no longer vies to be number one, he's just contented doing martial arts with the other masters in the industry.
Orange Is the New Black (2013)
A beautiful TV series.
I've seen two seasons so far from Netflix. I really loved it, especially the way it started with how prison is normally depicted to the public, then into how the inmates actually live in prison, and gradually into how the inmates actually are as persons - with a beautiful story telling of what their lives were before their convictions. The only thing that turns me off is Piper's and Alex's characters. They're probably the most inconsistent, and with the most superficial reasons for living. Society would do well if they're both kept in the 'Shu'. As for the rest of the characters, I find them so full of life. They easily represent a microcosm of the world, where everyone has his or her own history and struggles but has to learn to live with each other, embracing each other's full personality both good and bad, all for the hope of surviving each day until that near yet so out-of-reach freedom finally comes.
Daredevil (2015)
interesting enough but not free from flaws
Here is my take so far on the new series Daredevil. Drama-wise, I find the story good with a lot of things we can relate to and learn from with the turmoil going on these days. Although, like so many other Marvel comics, I still find the rebooting a little bit disturbing, but I guess that adds to what keeps it interesting and worth going through all over again. With regards to the fight scenes, a lot of them are really good; but surprisingly they're not consistent. It's like they had different fight choreographers for every fight scene, or maybe different stunt actors. In one scene, it's like watching Jason Bourne fighting another high level agent; then in another scene, it's like watching a fight in a stage play of Romeo and Juliet with the steps clearly cadenced and danced to. As for the characters, I find it weird that whenever Matt Murdock puts on the mask he seems to be using his eyes more than his other senses. For no reason, he can easily find a woman's soft purse without trying. He just goes to the couch and gets it from behind a pillow. He can walk into a room for the first time and knows exactly how things are laid out inside. I find Ben Affleck's version from the movie more realistic in comparison. Charlie Cox isn't to blame, though. The Director should have seen to it. As for Wilson Fisk, I think he's the softest and lamest Kingpin I've ever seen. The only thing Vincent D'Onofrio contributed to the character is shaving his head, the rest is all script. You still see the same Vincent D'Onofrio as he is on screen in all of his other movies, just acting in another name delivering his lines and with a shaved head this time. As for Foggy Nelson, I think Elden Henson did a noteworthy acting for the role.