功夫熊猫 1
I still remember way back in 2005 when I first heard about Kung Fu Panda I thought it was a pathetic idea. My thoughts had to do with 2 things… the concept and using Jack Black. Both I thought were terrible ideas that seemed to me to lend themselves to yet another cookie cutter, annoying, cheap and witless animated film (non-pixar) that would just rely on fart jokes, burp jokes, fart jokes and basically any simple little thing it takes to amuse 10 year old kids (which is just about anything) without bother to put any quality story telling or themes or idea into it. Just have Jack Black talk in outrageous tones, flash some pretty colors and have Po (that’s the name of the Panda) fart.
Yes, I thought I could already see the entire movie playing itself out in my head just from hearing the concept alone. So off I went to see Kung Fu Panda the other day. Was I correct in my first impressions? Actually… no I wasn’t. It’s actually not a bad film at all.
“The most important element” in any film will vary according to its genre. For a film like Kung Fu Panda clearly the most important element it needed to pull off was comedy. If a film like this one doesn’t make you laugh… then there isn’t much left to fall back on. Thankfully the movie succeeds quite well on this level. I can’t recall any more than 1 hard belly laugh (usually a decent comedy needs much more than that), but it felt like it at least always had me smiling or giggling through the run time. Almost none of the joke were home runs… but then did all work. The end result was I found myself entertained almost all the way through.
Coming up with a good villain in a kids film is no easy task. The character has to be menacing, but at the same time you can’t give kids nightmarish visions and make them crap themselves. I mean come on… it’s Kung Fu Panda… you can’t exactly have Violator (from the Spawn comics) showing up can causing kids across the nation to spontaneously crap themselves in their theater seats… then requiring therapy for the next 3 years to make the nightmares go away! It is a fine and delicate balance… and the villain in Kung Fu Panda, Tai Lung, was PERFECT. He was certainly menacing… but at the same time easy enough for the kids to handle without needing pampers. I think the presence of such a villain really helped the film work.
Doing good action in an animated film is also no easy task. I mean, it’s easy enough to DO… just not so easy to do WELL. However, Kung Fu Panda and the folks at Dreamworks really did pull of some BEAUTIFUL animation with complex yet extremely smooth kung fu fighting that was a treat to watch. It was also a lot of fun seeing how each character had a totally different fighting style in keeping with which animal they were. I mean come on… how on earth do you animate a snake doing Kung Fu and have it look cool? Well… they found a way!
功夫熊猫2
Kung Fu Panda is an American animated comedy film released in 2008. After its release it is welcomed by most adults and children and receives very positive and favorable reviews. I think the film is trying to tell us that if you have a dream and hold on to it, you will be successful one day.
The movie is about a lazy, fat and clumsy panda called Po. He helps his goose father in his family noodle shop every day. And his father expects him to take over the shop and tell him the secret ingredient of making noodle soup. However, Po is fanatic of Chinese Kung Fu and is always dreaming to become a Kung Fu fighter.
Everyone is surprised to find the result but they have to accept the reality. Eventually Shifu takes sage advice from Oogway and begins to teach Po martial arts. Po is carefully prepared to fight. But is Tai Lung defeated in the end by the panda? I urge you to find out the result on your own.
In my opinion, the most impressive part of the movie is the sacred Dragon Scroll and the secret ingredient of making noodle soup. When Po is ready to open the sacred Dragon Scroll, which promises great power to its possessor, he finds nothing but blank. He was in despair and everyone is shocked and desperate. So Shifu has to order his students to lead the villagers to safety while he stays to delay Tai Lung for as long as he can. Then Po meets his father on the way back, and unexpectedly his father tells him the secret ingredient of the family's noodle soup: nothing. He explains that things become special when people believe they are. I think this is the theme of the movie. Once you hold a firm belief, you can get what you want.
On the whole, the movie is funny and entertaining. Its theme of “believe in yourself” is loved by the parents. And for adults there are some wonderful actions and sceneries. If you have not watched the Kung Fu Panda, I sincerely recommend you to watch it and enjoy the enthusiastic and funny Panda.
音乐之声1
Watching the DVD of "The Sound of Music" wasn't exactly a revelation -- after all, I was a teenager when the film came out, and saw it in a theater, lo those many years ago -- but it was a delight.
I hadn't seen it for many years, and it was a great treat to see it again via the excellent production values of the THX digitally mastered DVD.
That long tracking shot over the Alps to Julie Andrews' wonderful, crystal-ringing voice set the pace for a delightful movie.
There are people who turn a cynical eye and ear to this film, which is too bad for them. Musicals have a limited audience in this age, I suppose, but for those who love music in any form, and who can stand some sweetness from time to time, this film is deeply enjoyable.
The music is almost completely great (there is one tune I just can't warm up to), the performances are charming, the Austrian locales are beautiful and the story is touching, involving love, personal drama and world drama. What else do you want?
"The Sound of Music" is a mostly true story, of the Von Trapp Family Singers. Austrian Captain von Trapp, wife Maria and his children had sung in the Salzburg Music Festival in 1936, then scooted out of Europe in 1938 to get away from Hitler and his evil ways. Eventually they opened a music school, then an inn, in Vermont.
Maria wrote a book, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers," which became a German film, "Die Trapp Familie," in 1956. By 1959, the story of the von Trapps had become a successful Broadway musical, with a little help from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The movie version -- directed by Robert Wise and somewhat improved from the stage version, most agree -- was released in 1965.
It is the story of the lively novitiate nun, Maria (Andrews), who -- too flighty to concentrate on religious duties -- is sent to be governess to the von Trapp children. She soon thaws out the icy Captain von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer) and he sings "Edelweiss" with his children, and before too long he's in love with the noviate and eventually they are wed.
Watching the DVD -- again, many years after the last time I'd seen the film -- I was continually thrilled by Andrew's great charm and beautiful voice, which rings as pure as the finest crystal. She is so delightful in the role that it is no wonder she has been the star she is for so long.
There are photographs of the real Maria, and interviews with some of the von Trapp children. It's amusing to hear them talk about the liberties the film took with their story.
"The Sound of Music" was the most popular movie ever made to that date, and held the box-office record for a long time. For good reason. It is a complete delight, and still highly recommended.
音乐之声2
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) was one of the most popular films of the 1960s. Although a bit corny, it is a joyous musical odyssey suitable for the entire family. Today, too often what goes for musicals, see for example EVITA, is little more that a show with a single decent song. In THE SOUND OF MUSIC every song is tuneful and most are memorable and moving.
Some shows are meant to be seen in a movie theater on a large screen with an impressive sound system to match. THE SOUND OF MUSIC is one of them. Nevertheless, our family enjoyed it at home. We have a high quality home theater setup, but the full effect can only be experienced in a real theater. I have not seen the film that way in thirty years. This review is from the home viewing rather than my memory.
The movie is filled with songs, and there are even some simple dance numbers. When Liesl dances in the conservatory at night with Rolfe (Daniel Truhitte), she ends up giving him a single kiss. This sends him into total rapture. I can remember a time when I was a teenager like him and one kiss from a girl, especially a beautiful one, could evoke a response as strong as Rolfe's. Times change and teenagers are regretfully much more sexually sophisticated now. Still, the lone kiss in that scene remains powerful.
In a show that is so upbeat it has been criticized as being sappy, there is the tension of the looming war. The Captain's friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn) is apolitical and ignores the coming Anschluss. "What's going to happen is going to happen," he advises the Captain. "Just make sure it doesn't happen to you." Although this war reality is ever-present and although the film is based on a true story, the movie feels like a lovely and enduring fairy tale.
This is a movie filled with exuberance, memorable songs, and great beauty. A joy to be savored and seen by each generation.