.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

I was looking forwards to this movie (the 22nd Bond movie) since I heard about it way back when with the new kickass Bond played by Daniel Craig. Casino Royale was spectacular and I just watched it again today before going to see Quantum of Solace (and it was just as excellent as the first time).

It scored pretty well on IMDB with 7.2 (a score I think is a little high considering the depth of the movie).

Somehow it didn't feel like a Bond movie, the signature opening gunbarrel sequence at the end of start credits was absent, the signature tune was weak and not really memorable (although they keep it current with Alicia Keyes). Then the movie itself, where were the gadgets, the smoothness? The character developement? The sinister bad guy? The wit and humour?

It seems like it's turned into another conspiracy theory movie and it reminded me of The Bourne Ultimatum far too many times (but then they hired the editor, the stunt team and 2nd unit director of the Bourne movies...so what do you expect). I don't think the whole MTV-style 'gritty' editing really suites Bond. It should have a less frenetic, more interesting pace.

It basically needs a whole lot more depth, like the Poker scenes in Casino Royale and the rest of the sizzling dialogue - this movie seemed like a bunch of high budget action sequences strung together.

Of course I love Daniel Craig as Bond, he played his part superbly but there was no real development in the movie, not enough character - not enough 'Bondishness'.

He certainly played the part of the cold blooded killer but he didnt have enough chances to shine as the smooth, suave and charming bond we all know and love. Always time for a quit-witted quip and to charm some hot babe into bed. Talking of hot babes.

Olga Kurylenko showed up later in the movie looking as hot as ever, you might remember her from Hitman - Agent 47, where you get to see the goodies She's in Max Payne too, but I haven't seen that yet.

As for the principle bad guy Greene played by Mathieu Amalric, he just wasn't bad enough!

Where are the truly bad guys from the days of Emilio Largo & Goldfinger?

Where are the endearing characters who are always there like Miss Moneypenny?

Where are the freaky twisted sidekicks like Oddjob & Jaws?

Where are the Bond girls with double entendre names like Pussy Galore & Honey Ryder?

Where are the cunning and resourceful escapes?

If you look it as just a movie, it's good no doubt - but then it should be for $225 million dollars. But if you look at it as a Bond movie, it's just not Bond.

The ending pisses me off too, it feels like it's turned into a money leeching franchise...rather than having a proper self-contained plot you get that whole 'it's leading into the next movie' feeling at the end rather than having a sense of completion or wrapping things up.

And I REALLY hate that feeling, it's the feeling you get at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, it's almost like the movie is a filler. But then it does go with Bond tradition, a great Bond movie is always followed by a bad one.

I give it a 'hope it gets better next time' 6/10 for being an entertaining action/thriller.

25-year-old Wes was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably. Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut. Until he met a woman named Fox.

I actually first knew about this movie when it showed up on a blog I subscribe to, Photoshop Disasters for a freakishly long forearm. Before that I hadn't really heard of it..but when I saw the trailers and all I thought it looked a bit cheesy, it had a decent cast (Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman) though so it should at least be worth a watch.

I somehow got the impression it was going to be quite poor, it was better than expected, but certainly not great. It reminded me a lot of Fight Club the downtrodden 'normal' guy 'Wesley Gibson' played by James McAvoy certainly made me think of Edward Norton in Fight Club.

He played the part well though, turning from a normal guy into a badass within a relatively short timespan. In some ways it's a lot like Matrix too, some may call it the poor mans Matrix with McAvoy being Neo, Jolie very much being Trinity and Morgan Freeman as Morpheus.

Jolie was the hot assassin badass bitch that kicked ass all over the place whilst looking flawless, you do of course have to suspend all belief to enjoy this movie..Her role reminded me a bit of how she played in Mr and Mrs Smith.

And of course the striking resemblance to the hot female mentor in Matrix..Trinity.

All in all the action was good, it was a pretty entertaining film. It scores a high 7.1 on IMDB but honestly I didn't think it was that good. It's not exactly original or difficult to work out the 'twist'...it's just a fun popcorn movie.

The special effects are nice, there are some cool moments, the characters play their parts suitably well and there is a couple of cool lines. It has some dark humour and some good action moments, it could have been better, but I did expect it to be much much worse.

I'd give it a bullet curving 6/10.

Po the Panda is the laziest animals in all of the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life.

I have to admit I did laugh when I saw the trailer for this movie at the cinema last year and was quite looking forwards to it. I didn't manage to catch it at the cinema and a few people said it wasn't really worth it anyway.

I did however manage to catch it on the way to UK, it was a little disappointing I think. I still think Pixar is better and Dreamworks relies too much on celebrity voices. I mean how much must they have paid out for the voices of the 5 animals (Jolie, Chan etc), and they each had what 1-2 lines of dialogue each in the movie?

It was beautifully drawn on the whole and there were some entertaining moments.

Although it was a bit of a lame story....well hardly a story at all, accidental hero? Seen that before no? Just not in the guise of a fat panda voiced by Jack Black.

It seemed like a relatively short movie, but then I guess it's supposed to be aimed at a younger audience so it's quite suitable. I have somewhat of a longer attention span though so require a bit more depth.

The anti-hero or baddy was quite scary enough for a kids movie, but far from tough enough. In real life he would have ripped the fat panda into pieces and stomped him into the dirt.

He appeared to be a snow leopard, but his name in Chinese meant big dragon?

Plus it bugged me that the name of the 'master' was shifu which is master in Chinese...so Po kept calling him master master..

There were a few funny moments but sadly I'd already seen them in the trailer, nothing much new after that. It does poke fun at the old school kung fu movies and there are a bucket load of cliches thrown in for good measure.

Anyway it's worth watching, I can't say I'd want to watch it again so don't expect anything fantastic.

I'd give it a disappointing 5.5/10.

Mr. Smith, the angriest, most hardboiled man in the world, finds himself entrusted to protect the most innocent thing of all--a newborn child. When Smith delivers the baby in the middle of a gunfight, he soon discovers that the infant is the target of a shadowy force that has sent a team of mysterious and endless assailants, led by Hertz..

This is a movie I heard a lot about and it was something I was definitely interested in, a bit weird, loads of action and a great lead man (Clive Owen!) plus a hot lactating prostitute (Monica Bellucci) - how can you beat that!

It didn't go down to well with the critics, but then it wouldn't...it's not arty or pretentious, it's not deep or meaningful, it's crazy, fun and entertaining. Not an Oscar or Grammy winner, but definitely capable of becoming a cult favourite for many people. It does pretty well on IMDB though with a 7.1.

There's not much of a plot so I won't bother going into that..but Clive Owen is one of my favourite male actors and he's just suited perfectly to this hard-edged, quirky, kick-ass kind of character.

Monica is scorching hot of course, a little weird too and very seductive.

The bad guy is creepy and weird with a soft side, which suits the odd nature of the film. He's played well by Paul Giamatti.

All in all it's a thouroughly entertaining film, it's not thought provoking (although it does take a few stabs at society and human nature) and it's not deep. It's a movie you can watch over and over easily without getting tired.

Do be warned though, it's a movie that may make your neighbors complain about loud noises (Yes it happened to me). It has some incredibly unique action sequence...and it makes carrots cool.

It's no masterpiece, but it's definitely worth a watch - forget what the critics say!

I give it a 'most bullets fired in 5 minutes' 8/10.