Movie Reviews: Blood the Last Vampire, Rudo y Cursi, Transformers 2, Away we Go

Hello again blogsphere,

Again I've got no comic news, but hey what can I say, if I could post my scripts I would. In the last week or so, I've watched a few movies though, and since I do happen to review them from time to time, I thought "what the hay."

First up is Blood: The Last Vampire, a J-horror action flick based off of the Anime movie and T.V. series. Being sort of a fan of the original (and I use that term loosely), I thought that I'd give it a shot to kill some time. The story revolves around a young girl named Saya, who hunts vampires, even though she's a vampire herself (the twist being that she drinks the blood of vampires to survive). Yeah, Japanese Blade pretty much...but it's also Japanese.

This is an action flick that pulls no punches, the story is interesting enough to be followed, but all we really want to see are the kick ass showdowns. On that end alone though, the standard wire-fu and slow mo, leave a little to be desired. If you're bored with nothing to do, you can watch this and be satisfied. Just don't expect this to raise your I.Q. and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, it's also cool that they have a bi-lingual cast.

Rudo y Cursi on the otherhand is quite a nice piece of film. From the screenwriter (and director of this film) and stars of E Tu Mama Tambien, Rudo y Cursi is about two brothers from rural Mexico, who get scouted to play professional football (soccer for you Americans :p) and how the rivalry at home continues on the field. It's the setup for any sports movie, but because its foreign, there's quite a bit more to it.

The story is incredibly intimate, showing you quite a bit of the pair's family life as well as their personal struggles. You can see how the two of them are rivals very clearly, as well as the reasoning that motivate them to be so. Through the comedic aspects of the movie are apparent, the narrative and themes are stronger, making the film more than you would expect. Of course, this is pretty much the same with any foreign drama and myself ^^

And of course we have the reviled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

To be honest, I've got no idea what put critics off to this movie. Michael Bay must have either paid them to say nice things about the last one, or didn't pay them to say good things about this one, because I see very little difference between the two.

The setup is, Optimus Prime and his Autobots have been hunting down the remnants of the Decepticons on earth (if you don't know who Optimus Prime is, or what an Autobot or Decipticon is either, just stop reading and save yourself the useless knowledge), and in doing so, discover a new foe that's been working behind the scenes of the ranks of the Decepticons. Sam Witwicky, now about to go to college, is once again drawn into their conflict and is forced to make a decision between joining the Autobots battle, or trying to lead his own life.

So, once again, this is AN ACTION MOVIE. This is not the Bicycle Thief, Citizen Kane, nor even The Seventh Seal. If you don't like hot girls, computer generated robots fighting, one liners, and explosions, I suggest you find something else to watch and or talk about. While there are some annoying characters, and more potty language than you would expect, if you saw the first one and liked it, you're in familiar territory. It's just more. More is sometimes a good thing, and in this case it is. That's all I have to say about that.

And now to my favorite of the bunch: Away We Go.

This was something I read about in an Entertainment Weekly, that I had to buy in order to reach the 5 dollar card purchase limit in a store. I was only really interested in it because I like Maya Rudolph, and this is her biggest acting role since SNL. The story is that of an couple who get pregnant, and decide to find another place to live in order to raise their child. So, they go on a trip across the country (and even to Montreal!), in order to find a place to put down some roots.

This was a very intelligent, thoughtful, and yes another cliche adjective, touching film. I say this because once again, despite the obvious witty humor and comedic situations, this movie is making one of the truest statements of what I believe marriage and relationships have evolved into in America. You have the illustrations of parents that can't have children, parents with children that they don't take care of, single parents raising their children; from baby boomers to new age hippies, this movie takes a pretty good look at parenting and from all sides and generations.

On top of that, it speaks quite a bit on what I think is how what we consider to be love in relationships these days. To some people this might be either an eye opener, or mere fantasy, but I can see these characters as real people. I'd like to think that I can see a little bit of myself in the main characters, and even though this is a fictitious movie, I'd like to think that the relationship that they have would be attainable in real life. Needless to say, this is a definite must watch.

Oh yeah, the performances were brilliant by the way, Rudolph and Krasinski have amazing chemistry as Verona and Burt, and there are a crap ton of great actors supporting this movie as well. On top of that, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (whom I've never heard of) provide some of the most witty and intelligent banter I've ever heard in a romantic comedy. Or is it a drama-dy? Sam Mendes (director of Squid and the Whale) once again has made me very happy.

Well, I think that's all I've got for now. This summer may have some slim pickings, but I guess I still find things worth watching. Hopefully more comic news next month ^^