Cradle 2 The Grave (2003)

This is not a very good movie.  At all.  But I didn't expect it to be when I got it.  This is in my library purely for the combination of Jet Li and Mark Dacascos.  I had grand hopes for what this might be. 

Every time I watch this film, I am newly disappointed by the sidelining of Li and Dacascos.  Seems this film was made as a vehicle for DMX, which sure was a gamble that didn't pay off, based on his current acting career.  The guy barely has enough charisma on film to fill a thimble.  Is he more engaging as a rapper?  Is that why this happened? 

On my first viewing, as I watched it, I comforted myself that, ok, they may not be giving Li and Dascascos as much attention as I'd like, but that's ok,  because surely they'll make up for it with the final showdown fight between the two that is bound to happen.  And happen it did.  ...Intercut with footage of two other lacklustre fight scenes.  I felt robbed.  Each time I watch it again, I think that maybe it wasn't that bad, I got to see more of the fighting than I thought.  But no.  What a waste.

Martial arts films are like musicals - you don't always watch them for the plot.  You watch them for the fight scenes.  That's not to say there aren't some wonderfully written martial arts films out there, there certainly are.  But I will forgive a lot of lackings in the plot if they are compensated for with great set pieces.  That didn't happen in this instance.  

Final Thought:  I mean, they used "2" instead of "To" in the title.  I should have known I'd be disappointed before I started watching it, based on that alone.

Up Next: Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

Coraline (2009)

As I set this up to watch it, I realised that I can't remember why I bought this film.  There must have been something about it when I saw it for the first time that prompted me to buy it.

I watched this one on my own on a rainy Saturday afternoon, which felt appropriate.  And I'm left thinking that my main reasoning for buying it was my love of stop motion animation.  The story doesn't hold my attention the entire way through.

There's many people in this world who love Neil Gaiman's writing.  I want to love it, and I've read a few of his books, but there seems to be something about it that I don't quite connect to.  I'm yet to pinpoint what it is I'm missing.  And I think that carries through to this film for me.  Much like with his novels, there are moments that grab me and there are moments that I just drift through.

Final Thought:  This is one of the few films that I watch and think "That moment would have been pretty cool in 3D..."

Up Next:  Cradle 2 The Grave (2003)

Cool Runnings (1993)

Repeated television screenings of this film through my childhood are responsible for me seeing this movie perhaps a dozen times.  There's so many classic lines in this one I feel it needs to come back to regular TV rotation so that today's viewers can use them in everyday conversation..
I can't even remember the first time I saw this film.  It just appeared on TV once a month or so, gradually worming its way in to my brain.  "Hey Sanka... You dead?" is a line I quote regularly to this day.  

It's a fun film, but it's not one that leaves me with a great deal to say about it.  Despite it being a fair while since I last watched it, I'm so familiar with this film that I spent this viewing pottering between the living room and the kitchen, attempting to satisfy a craving for mac and cheese.  Ill timed microwaving of pasta almost caused me to miss the emotional conclusion of this film.  My distraction during this viewing in no lessened my heart swelling as Junior's dad finally showed he was proud of his son.  Sniff.

Final Thought:  The mac and cheese was very tasty.

Up Next: Coraline (2009)