Riddick

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$1/2

THE VIEWING

"Times up."

Having viewed all the “Riddick” movies prior to this one I thought maybe, just maybe this one would ”tie up loose ends” or perhaps provide some closure[expectations from ANY cult classic sequel].  Hardly fulfilling either one of those precepts it became increasingly confusing after the movie referred to older characters… I simply didn’t remember any of them because what we really go to these flicks for isn’t the supporting cast but for Riddick himself… which [this movie]“Riddick” had more than enough of.

     Vin Diesel was the ONLY person we saw for half the movie. Vin Diesel was also the only human we heard  for half the movie… and the parts where Riddick himself wasn’t speaking, he narrated! It’s comical to really reflect about that as I sit here and proofread but that is exactly what happened… up until a flashback and the bounty Hunters arrived.  As narcissistic as it may seem, it wasn’t as bad as I wrote it.  It worked in the sense that I was there to see a testosterone, anti-metro-sexual, kick butt, no-holds barred movie sci fi movie and that’s exactly what I got.

     Yes some of it was ‘dumb’, most of it was over the top, a few shallow lines made for a pretty low score in my book… but one thing was for sure, you wanted to see  everyone that had it coming get theirs and we were satisfied!!!  

   I thought the ending was very weak but still deem it worth watching!

letter grade:  C

The Grandmaster

THE PITCH

WORTH

$$$


THE VIEWING

"If life had no regrets it would be really boring."

I’ve enjoyed all 3 of the original Ip man movies so far.  That is why I became more than anxious to see this new rendition of the legend that trained Bruce Lee.  Not a bad film, but I prefer the original Ip Man movie that is now available for rental.

     The Grandmaster’s cinematography is at it’s best along with the martial arts choreography.  Every movement seemed to have incredible precision.  Masterful camera and editing work just fantastic to watch.  My only gripe is that it was more of a love story than anything else.  Normally, that would be a good thing but not for a martial arts movie.  I want to see fighting.  The threshold for sappiness in a martial Arts film would  be Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and even in there may have been too much artsy, lovey doviness… but  at least we had enough action to compensate for all of that. Here, not so much.

      I think it’s a good movie to watch, but you may want to wait for DVD.

      Worth the price of the admission simply because of the quality of the film. Marginally worth watching because your time is priceless and I feel like the original Ip man movies can suffice your need for Wing Chun/ Kung Fu fighting.

letter grade: B-