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The tuxedo
Jackie Chan's new film that is coming out in October is said to be HEAVY!!!
check the trailer of
The Tuxedo
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MEN IN BLACK 2
INFO BELOW
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review:
Yes, MIBII is rote work and predictable, but with a philosophical visual coming right at the end that extravagantly redeems it.
MEN IN BLACK II
By
MR T
It's taken five years to put together the deal for the sequel to the million MIB - carving up the sequel money pie takes time. MIB ended with Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) getting neuralized and having his memory wiped clean. But now, how to get him back with Agent Jay (Will Smith)? Agent Jay has had a succession of new partners he keeps neuralizing in disgust. Finally, he's given Frank the cigar-smoking pug as a partner. Frank does a nice job resurrecting the cinematic soul of Edward G. Robinson. Its Frank, but also Smith's reaction and interaction with him that makes their scenes together so funny. Smith can humanize anyone, except Lara Flynn Boyle.
It seems Agent Kay's old nemesis Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) is back to find a glowing bulb that is hidden on Earth. It means a great deal to her. Only Agent Kay knows where it is and he's now a content postal worker (with nagging thoughts about the Universe) in rural Massachusetts. MIB's boss Zed (Rip Torn) tells Agent Jay to bring him back, de-neuralize him, and get the bulb. Neuralization accomplished, both agents are back in high form - in fact, everything's been grandly punched up.
A big worm lives under the New York City subway system and Agent Jay treats it like a poorly-trained puppy, though it did remind me eerily of The Sachamama - the large demon snake that moves so slowly, the Amazon jungle has grown on top of it. Agent Jay has to tranquilize the worm by riding it Sterling Hayden-style. Maybe Industrial Light + Magic had all this spelled out in the contract: bigger, better, and bolder. But what did it mean to the story?
The Worm Guys are back with more character and scenes and so is Jeebs (Tony Shalhoub), the sleazy alien pawnshop owner. New to MIB are Scrad/Charlie (Johnny Knoxville) a two-headed guy who is helping Serleena find Agent Kay and my favorite, Jarra (John Alexander), Earth's ozone thief. And we were led to believe it was hairspray cans!
The writer's (Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro) very amusingly gave Michael Jackson his much lobbied-for cameo, as he pleads to be accepted into the MIB program as Agent M. It worked for me. Why wasn't he used as Agent Jay's partner who didn't work out and had to be neuralized into returning to singing? He certainly could have cried better than Agent Tee (Patrick Warburton).
The Martha Stewart double cameo left me wondering "Who knew and when did they know it?" Considering Stewart's stock-dumping scandal, her significant presence in MIB headquarters is presciently ominous. And the family transfixed in front of Martha Stewart Living made me think: Is MK Ultra (the CIA's rumored Mind Control program) still operating, but in a different format?
I read all about Lara Flynn Boyle's man-eating bragging and woman-are-scared-of-me boasting. It works well here with her "starved-to-perfection" body and cruel, beautiful face. Just a glance and we all want to confess our sins to her.
Except for ruling an alien planet of criminals, what kinds of roles does Boyle go up for?
What saves MIBII and makes the entire thing work for me is the Grand Central Terminal locker creatures who worship Kay - my idea of bliss. This shows inventive and original writing that follows up with a nice twist at the end, last recalled long ago in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
I'd actually see MIBII again for this clever ending and Agent Kay's memorable line summarizing the MIB code. Yes, MIBII is rote work and predictable, but with a philosophical visual coming right at the end that extravagantly redeems it.
CAST:
Tommy Lee Jones .... MIB Agent K (Kay)
Will Smith .... MIB Agent J (Jay)
Rosario Dawson .... Rita
Rip Torn .... MIB Chief Zed
Patrick Warburton .... Agent T (Tee)
Lara Flynn Boyle .... Serleena
Paige Brooks .... Laranna, Queen of the Universe
David Cross (II) .... Newton
Darrell Foster .... Autopsy Agent
Michael Jackson (uncredited)
Linda Kim .... Lauranna
Johnny Knoxville .... Two-Headed Alien
Tony Shalhoub .... Jeebs
Michael Bailey Smith .... Creepy
Mary Stein (I) .... Birdlady Alien
The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)
Release Date: May 16th, 2003 (moved up a week from May 23rd, which was the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend; originally mentioned as a possible May/June 2002 release, and then December 25th, 2002)
MPAA Rating: The first film was rated R, so it is very likely that the sequels will be as well.
Title Note: (1/7/00) It's possible that this film may have a subtitle besides just being The Matrix 2. Some of the concepts that could be used in a subtitle include Neo, Zion, The Construct, etc. (5/10/01) Indeed.Corona broke the news that the title will be The Matrix: Reloaded.
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The Fast and the Furious 2 (2003)
Release Date: Summer, 2003
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Video Note:
7/14/01 - It's worth noting that of the three sequels that Original Films has made for their movies, two (Cruel Intentions 2 and The Skulls 2) have gone direct-to-video. So, it's possible this project could be direct-to-video as well, especially if several of the cast members don't sign on to return. Officially, this is being planned on as a theatrical release, however.
Production Company: Original Film (Urban Legends: Final Cut, Cruel Intentions, The Skulls)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Release Date: July 2nd, 2003 (that's a Wednesday)
Title Note: The title will be abbreviated on the posters, etc. as T-3: Rise of the Machines.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Company: C-2 Pictures (This is a company being launched specifically by the producers who own the rights [Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna] to produce these sequels.); VCL (Germany); Toho Towa (Japan) (Those last two companies are financing partners on these projects).
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl (John Connor), Kristanna Loken (T-X), Claire Danes (Kate Miller), Mark Famiglietti, Mark Hicks (Detective Martinez); other cast not yet announced.
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Shaolin Soccer tells the tale of how a ragged bunch of Shaolin warriors become a top football team. The film is incredibly funny and the action is kinetic and imaginative.
The movie opens with a sequence where an egotistic football player has his legs broken by an irate audience after missing a goal kick (they had invested heavily in his ability). The humbled football player ends up at the bottom of the feeding chain and leads a miserable existence.
He runs into Sing (Stephen Chow), a Shaolin warrior down on his luck, and decides that the Shaolin ability possessed by Sing and his friends would form a formidable football team. The story showcases how this motley crew slowly climb to the top and eventually showdown with an evil football team owner, who currently controls the best team in the league.
The pacing is frenzied. Key plot segments are explained to us in seconds (for example, how the final opposing team itself acquires Shaolin-like powers) in an effective manner. The sense of humour is innovative. One of the more hilarious gags involves a heavyset player who loves raw eggs (accompanied by some extremely funny dialogue).
I saw the Thai version of the film and couldn't understand most of the dialogue (though I did catch some funny references) but that isn't the most essential aspect of the film, neither is the adequate acting by the cast. It is the sheer energy and the humourous outlook that makes the film work. I highly recommend checking it out on the big screen.
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Shaolin Soccer
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