Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

4/5

Kung Fu Panda 2 tells the backstory of Po (Black), the obese bumbling panda warrior that was raised by a goose (Hong). Po rejoins his team of kung fu masters to protect a village from a pack of wolves. Those wolves are henchmen for the evil peacock Shen (Oldman), who is building weapons of mass destruction to take over China. As Po gets closer and closer to Shen, he also gets closer and closer to the shocking truth of his past. Honestly, the plot is ludicrous. I'm embarrassed just typing it out. You don't need me to tell you that it is the weakest aspect of the movie. Fortunately, however, the directing, the animation, and the acting are all amazing. They integrate seamlessly to fashion this wonderfully endearing film.

Just like in the first one, the filmmakers use the animation to free themselves from the limitations of live action instead of trying to mimic it like in WALL-E. For example, the first battle against the wolves in the musician's village. Each attack, block, and fall is perfectly synchronized with musical instruments to turn the violence into a delightful melody. Another example, the scene in which the kung fu masters are hiding inside a dragon costume (by far the best scene of the movie). It almost plays like a video game and rekindles viewers' fond memories to elevate this movie off the screen and into our collective experiences. That, and it was just plain hilarious. This movie is not perfect by any means, but it's a lot of fun and it's a breath of fresh air for the world of animated films.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302011/

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

4/5

Kung Fu Panda is a delightful animated comedy about a panda (Jack Black) in ancient China who dreams about kung fu but is stuck making noodles for his father. When happenstance names him the Dragon Warrior, he must train with his idols, the Furious Five, under the tutelage of Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) in order to save the town from the recently escaped Tai Lung (Ian McShane). He must fight against his comrades' prejudices and his own insecurity to fulfill his destiny as the Dragon Warrior. Yes, the plot is pretty simple, but it had a very good "believe in yourself, be an individual" message that suburban parents love having their kids hear.

The acting and music were adequate. The real joy of watching this movie was in the wonderfully comic moments and the exquisitely choreographed fights. The animators understood that they were unrestrained by a physical camera and took advantage of that fact to do impossible angles, slow motion, and long takes that enhanced the humor and fun. The compositions and movement within each frame flowed seamlessly with the tight editing. While WALL-E tried to make itself seem filmed, Kung Fu Panda made sure you knew it was animated. For that reason alone, I think I prefer Kung Fu Panda to WALL-E. It may not be as memorable or timeless, but it's certainly a step in the right direction as far as CGI is concerned. If you want solid entertainment, consistent laughs, and a chance to see animation exploring its limits, make sure you check this movie out.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441773/

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

3/5

Lucky Number Slevin is, all things considered, a pretty entertaining movie. It's very fun, clever, and exciting, with an incredibly well-thought out twist at the end to make you sit up and pay attention. Unfortunately, because it's set up that way, it probably doesn't have a very good replay value. The twists at the end got a bit too ludicrous to be believable, and certainly unnecessary. And in explaining every minutiae of plot twists, the pacing suffers. It is especially exasperating when you've already figured out half of it, but they spend five minutes explaining anyway. The action was almost nonexistent; where present, it was obscured by bad editing techniques and flashy special effects. The camerawork was absolutely atrocious, which probably was one reason the editing was so jarring and gimmicky. While the idea was good, the script itself was pretty terrible; other than a snicker here or there, it was entirely bland and self-indulgent. But all in all, the movie is supposed to be a gangster/con movie, and it pulls it off pretty well.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0425210/