Isaac's Film Reviews

CGI-film sequels have a recent history of turning out far better than expected and, in some cases, better than the original. Toy Story 2 and Shrek 2 are a notable duo, both of which far exceeded expectations and treated audiences to something sequels rarely succeed in doing: keeping characters, locales, and in many cases, a plot formula already presented to the movie-watching world fresh enough to warrant another visit to the film’s universe. Films like these don’t come around every day, and unfortunately Kung Fu Panda 2 is not one of these special films. It’s not terrible on any front, but Panda 2 fails to deliver in several key areas, and the potential Kung Fu Panda franchise may suffer because of it. The sequel picks up right around where the first film left off. Po the big, lovable spotted panda is now accepted by his peers as the Dragon Warrior and treated as such. He’s the leader of the Furious Five, who are tasked by their Master Shifu to avenge the murder of another...

I challenge you to think of five fourth franchise installments of quality within the last two decades. Sure, the fourth Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies were both pretty decent, and it’s not completely unheard of for a fourth franchise installment to actually be a quality film, but most filmmakers find it hard to keep recycled characters interesting after three films already having focused on their exploits. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides isn’t the perfect example of a four-quel done right, but it is a very enjoyable, well-acted, surprisingly original entry in a franchise that many had, prior to this film’s announcement, assumed was dead.  The movie picks up at an unspecified time, probably a few years after the events of At World’s End . It finds Captain Jack Sparrow and his first mate, Joshamee Gibbs, running from custody in London, shipless, crew-less, and seemingly hopeless. Jack soon finds himself face-to-face with the King of England, and, soon aft...

Summer 2011 has shaped out to be the season of a lifetime for superhero fans. With four major comic book films releasing within the next three months, it’s a comic nerd’s dream come true. On May 6th, Marvel kicked off the summer season with a smash, releasing its first of three studio superhero blockbusters coming this summer. Thor is a drastic step away from the tone set by recent superhero films like The Dark Knight and the Iron Man movies. All of these films took a rather realistic spin, or at least as realistic as invincible crime-fighting super-humans can get. With Thor, Marvel returns to days of comic old, when superheroes weren’t subject to the restraints of the real world. They delved into alternate dimensions, explored fantastic worlds and stopped aliens from invading Earth. And it’s for this reason that Thor manages to break away from the Marvel norm and become something rather special. Chris Hemsworth stars as the title character, the Norse god of lightning. After rei...

  The Fast and Furious franchise isn’t exactly known for its impeccable quality, deep plots and multi-leveled characters. What it is known for is high-octane car chases, obviously impossible (but very fun to watch) stunts, and lots of big sweaty guys beating the crap out of each other while other big sweaty guys shoot the crap out of each other while even more big sweaty guys race the crap out of each other. Although Fast Five doesn’t completely do away with this tried and true formula, it does add a few notable new layers to it that make the film a very enjoyable one. Fast Five follows the story of street-racer Dominic Toretto, his sister Mia, and his friend Brian O’Conner. After the three reunite following Dominic’s escape from custody, they find themselves framed for three murders they did not commit on a routine train robbery gone awry. Soon, they’re being chased all over Rio de Janeiro by a hardened agency bounty hunter and his dangerous weaponized team while simultaneou...

January is an infamous month for movies. It arrives just after the holiday rush, and months before the blockbuster summer season. It’s often where companies plop the movies they believe will be duds. It’s for this reason that The Green Hornet shines. After being repeatedly delayed, the film finally released in cinemas on January 14th, and proved that the month doesn’t have to be a garbage can for movies. The film is centered around Brett Reid, the lazy, twenty-something son of a millionaire Los Angeles newspaper owner living in his father’s shadow. When his dad dies, Brett is left in charge of his father’s media empire, and immediately finds himself overwhelmed. He longs for a life of thrills and excitement, so he teams up with his father’s old mechanic Kato and sets out to fight the city’s crime under the pseudonym “The Green Hornet”. The set-up sounds ridiculous, and that’s because it is. The film is based off of a 1930’s radio serial of the same name, but the filmmakers ha...