Quick reviews

These movies are movies I've seen on Sky or DVD recently, not at the cinemas, so they aren't reviews for new movies exactly. Just new to me.
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Zombieland

This movie was kind of annoying to be honest. I thought it would a lot funnier than it turned out to be, and plus the girl played by Emma Stone was incredibly annoying. I hate it when directors present such unlikeable characters in ways that are obviously meant to make the viewer like them. She robs the protagonists 3 times in the movie, with no real apology or remorse, and then she gets with the guy at the end. I dunno, maybe I am being a hater. Sue me.

That isn't to say that this comedy is a complete waste of time; the Bill Murray cameo is great, and Woody Harrelson's zombie-killing hick schtick stays funny for the length of the feature. But as far as zom-rom-coms go, "Shaun Of Dead" has funnier characters, with funnier dialogue, and it doesn't try to tack on a morale-of-the-story moment at the end of it. (2.5/5)
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Funny People

As far as Judd Apatow directed features go, this is definately the least funny, at least in a laugh-out-loud in every scene kind of way. Instead, it opts go down a more mature path, and it mostly succeeds.

When comedic actor George Simmons (Sandler) finds out that he is dying, he is forced to reassess his life and try to find out what is really important to him, and if fighting to stay alive is even worth it, considering it's been a long time since he was genuinely happy. With the help of Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), he makes new friends, confronts old ones, and slowly begins to realize he has to change his perspective of life.

This feature can get a bit heavy, and at times it does feel forced, but the actors (especially Rogen, to my surprise) are skilled enough not to get lost in the drama, and they still deliver good performances, sprinkled with a few actual jokes here and there, to remind us that we are actually watching a movie about comedians, starring comedians. Oh, and Eric Bana owns every scene he is in. (3/5)
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Tekken

My thoughts after watching this film adaptation of the beloved video-game franchise:

"Well, that sucked."

I'll add half a point because Eddy Gordo wears the exact same fighting gear in here as he does in the video games. (0.5/5)
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Sherlock Holmes

My sister absolutely hated this film, and was very passionate and vocal about this to me. My girlfriend watched it at the movies, and I think she actually fell asleep. I also bore a bit of a grudge with it before viewing, because it was the film Guy Ritchie decided to film instead of filming the promised sequel to another movie of his that I liked.

So, with all this in mind, I decided to watch it anyway. And I quite liked it.

There's not really much to say aside from the fact that Robert Downey Jr is a brilliant Sherlock Holmes, and ditto to Jude Law as Dr. Watson. I like the idea that Holmes has the kind of swag that Downey Jr brings to the table, not to mention it's quite buzzy to see Holmes methodically take down opponents in fist fights due to his knowledge of the human anatomy and how it responds to different types of impact.

I understand that the faithful fans of the original novels might not like this movie. That's cool. To them I say: Go and read the novels then. Or watch the countless 80s and 90s film adaptations that are clearly more faithful to the old stories. This is clearly meant to introduce a new generation to the franchise, and as a whole it succeeds. Now kids know there is a detective named Sherlock something-rather. They know he's a certified genius and arrogant. They also know he has a level-headed doctor called Watson for a partner, who by hanging out with Holmes actually makes Holmes more likeable in our eyes. And while they were finding this out, they were treated to 2 hours of decent and intelligent (for Hollywood) action.

I read somewhere that Downey Jr is one of the few actors these days actually capable of playing a genius. I agree. Guy Ritchie's touch is definately all over this (one of the main signs being that Mark Strong is present), but this is definately Downey's film. (3.25/5)