Reviews

I liked it. I admit to catching the movie only because of Noah Wyle, but the movie caught me. It was fun, not taking itself too seriously, and the feature character is an unlikely hero, which is always worth watching. The name librarian is misleading since Noah Wyle's librarian character is more archaeologist and artifact keeper than librarian, probably why he's the librarian instead of a librarian, a different Jane Curtin will have you remembering.

The plot here is pretty basic. Geeky guy needs to save the world with beautiful woman to help him. She's the brawn; he's the brains. If you like fun little action-adventure movies, this is the kind of plot you're used to.

If you're looking for something different, don't look here. There's very little originality to bed had, but then again, since when did people start expect originality in a made-for-TV action-adventure?

The acting isn't bad nor is it great. It's definitely good enough for a made-for-TV movie. On top of that, you get to see Bob Newhart as a magic marine who kicks ass and saves the day. If nothing else, you should watch to see old Bob Newhart learn a few new tricks. ^_^

The music is pretty standard stuff. Think of it as a cross between Stargate SG-1 and Xena with some random rock beats tossed in for fun. It's perfectly suited for this kind of movie and doesn't try to step outside the box. Granted the rock beats got a little jarring at times due to their unexpectedness but the overall feel was fairly cohesive.

As for the 'action' portion of the program, it's more than fair. After all, if you're going to cast Kelly Hu in a movie, you make good use of the flair that she's known for, a touch of martial arts found in a good old-fashioned fist-fight. Hu's much more of a natural at this than her good-girl counterpart, but that's only to be expected since we are talking about the woman who got to give Wolverine as good as he gave. As for Bob Newhart, I couldn't possibly say whether or not he was good at the action bit. It's too weird for my mind to wrap around, but at the same time, I really liked him in this role. Noah Wyle was the brains so his fight scenes mostly involved him getting beaten up.

Overall, this was a really fun movie. I found myself watching it again when it re-aired. I dearly hope they make a sequel. This movie was much more conducive to a sequel than many other made-for-TV movies. I don't know that this would make a good series, but I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be too bad if they tighten the story a little. After all, there's got to be a reason why there were so many threads left untied at the end of this movie.

It's a made-for-TV movie so don't expect too much, but I'd have to say that this was a fairly enjoyable way to pass time. The effects are pretty decent and the plot was quite a hook, if somewhat predictable.

The acting here is pretty decent. (Speaking of acting, I couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between Stephanie Nicole Lemelin and Kirsten Storms.) Sam Trammell was a little wooden, but he's decent overall. Daniel Baldwin, doing his last name justice, did an admirable job with the character he was given, but even here, there's no spark. There's not a single standout performance to be found in this entire flick, but no one was truly horrible, either. As a whole, an above average performance by the entire cast.

The plot, based on a book I've yet read, is pretty interesting, though expository information was in short supply. The premise here is that dinosaurs survived and flourish among humans by subjugating their 'true nature' to human customs. The 'villains' are a group of cult-like dinosaurs who seek to destroy this peaceful coexistence; their argument being that one shouldn't have to subjugate one's own nature in order to live and that their lives are basically lies. I put villains in quotes because there exist an underlying message that the movie attempted to pose, though it obviously wasn't successful because I obviously didn't get enough of the message to be able to articulate it into words.

Overall, an admirable 6/10 stars – worthy of watching, above average but mostly forgettable.

Ah. It's amazing to see how such a common film like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon can manage to garner such an intriguing fan war. For the record, I liked this movie, and what has been said is true, the cinematography was amazing. However, considering that we're talking about a movie that is but one amongst many of the same wuxia genre, this movie is highly overrated.

I realize that a lot of the attention garnered for this movie was thanks to the fact that it is an Eastern movie that seemed to appeal to a Western audience. I don't mean for it to sound insulting, but we in the West tend to have a unique attention span that is easily distracted by new things. CTHD is certainly that for the West. However, considering how I've grown up on HK movies and Chinese serial dramas, this movie was nothing new. In fact, it was much of the same old stuff but almost worse in a way since Ang Lee didn't bother bringing the first 3 novels of a quintology to life and jumped head first into the 4th. Don't get me wrong. I love Ang Lee and think he's quite the amazing guy, but that does not mean the guy is constantly batting 1000 in my book.

For one, why Mandarin? I realize that Lee wanted to appeal to a larger audience with that, but I believe that enough of the Eastern world is so used to seeing dubbed movies and serials that it wouldn't really bother them.

Secondly, why did Lee choose to go with a more balletic style of choreography versus the more traditional heavier-feeling style of choreography? While I didn't feel that it took too much away from the movie, many of my Asian friends did complain that making the choreography that balletic took away what little semblance of belief you had left. (FYI, the wuxia genre traditionally employs the "flying" technique with wires, but it is usually not done in such an...effortless feel. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but watch CTHD against the choreography in any Asian serial of recently years, and you'll understand what I mean.)

Third, why the 4th book? Many of the complaints toward this movie concerned how disconnect the plot felt, and I have to agree. While I had a good deal of background on this movie, I still felt there were too many details that were just left hanging in the air.

However, despite all that, Lee does an admirable job of constructing a coherent story. The actors, despite the language hurdles and various other issues, performed rather decently in their parts. The thing about the wuxia genre is that the movies/serials have to be view as more than just the sum of its parts. With rare exceptions, one good actor can't carry such dept of story and a good cast can do nothing to improve a poorly constructed plot. In Lee's case, the end result was more than just the sum of its parts. Deconstructing CTHD makes one wonder why one would view such a flick in the first place. However, put everything together in one place, and you've got a fairly decent way to waste a few hours. Granted, my preferences for this particular story would run more toward seeing the recently made Chinese serial rather than this movie since the story is better developed, but hey, to each his own.

Overall, an admirable six stars out of ten.

The O.C. is, surprisingly, a good show. Considering that there's next to nothing that great on Fox, The O.C. is a refreshing surprise. This show will probably be a new favorite of mine, and I haven't had a Fox favorite since ... well, ever.

This is a great show featuring a great cast. Yes, some do look a little older than their parts require, but that's TV. It's more important that I didn't even notice this when I watched the show. I was completely enthralled. The content is nothing terribly new, I grant, but it's refreshing to see it done like this, a little more grit with a lot less melodrama, though I'm sure the latter is forthcoming.

Until it become Dawson's Creek in Orange County, I'm going to love this show. Definitely 8/10 stars.

I don't need to see another ER or NYPD Blue. When it comes to TV, I'm looking for good entertainment, not necessarily mind-numbing but nothing terribly serious. I found Fastlane to be a perfect middle ground. It's the great action flick adapted for the small screen. Fastlane is what its title proclaims, quick paced and not necessarily about the nitty-gritty stuff you'll find in other cop shows. If you want serious cop shows, go watch NYPD Blue, CSI, or any of the plethora out there. Fastlane is its own niche, and I'm sad to see it go. It's nice to unwind to this show at the end of the week.