Movie Review - 'The Karate Kid'

The Karate Kid Starring Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, and Taraji P. Henson Directed by Harald Zwart Rated PG

There was a movie released in 1984 titled The Karate Kid, which spawned a few sequels and found a permanent home in the pop culture lexicon. While many reviews of the new film called The Karate Kid will compare the two, that won't happen here. It simply isn't relevant enough. Remakes, spin-offs, and sequels have been happening for years and if they really bothered audiences that much, they'd stop paying to see them. The trick is to find a new way of presenting the story, eliminating comparisons by creating films that stand or fall over on their own merits. A Nightmare on Elm Street remake doesn't do that but this movie does. The Karate Kid isn't great entertainment but it's a well-meaning, well-assembled, and well-oiled family film that has simple, easily defined goals, has touching performances and never sets itself up for failure. Without going into too much detail, the circumstances that force Dre (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) to move from Detroit to Beijing resonate pretty loudly: She works in auto manufacturing at a time when that's not the most stable thing to be doing in Michigan. So it's China or Option B, whatever that is. Obviously, 12-year-old Dre has trouble fitting in. Most kids speak very little English, and he speaks no Chinese. Hower, he does instantly connect with Meiying (Wenwen Han), a female student at his school, but their friendship annoys a group of young boys, who knock the living daylights out of Dre a couple times. During one such encounter, Dre's bacon is saved by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the maintenance man at his apartment building. Han is demonstrably very good at kung fu, and soon, Han begins an unusual training regimen for the 12-year-old, a lot of which stems from repetitive exercises of taking his jacket off and putting it back on again. The goal, as much as self-preservation, dignity, and honor, is an open kung fu tournament set to take place, oh, around the end of the movie. Get out your ruler and draw that straight line from point A to point B.

Click to read more ...

Brand New Thai Trailer for Tony Jaa's 'Ong Bak 3'

In the US, we'll probably get a chance to see Ong Bak 3 on VOD before it gets to theaters. The fantastic Tony Jaa just hasn't had much luck with these movies in theaters. The first one had a half-assed release, and the second fared even worse. Both came from Magnolia. The Protector did much better when the Weinsteins released it in 2006, but this guy should be a much bigger deal. He can't act worth a lick, but he's the best thing going in the martial arts genre.

Ong Bak 3 apparently comes out in Jaa's native Thailand next month, but there's no word on when it might show up stateside. That deal probably hasn't been hammered out yet. But we'll keep you posted, and you'll want an update after you watch the trailer. So what's it all about? I dunno. Looks like some guy gets beaten three-quarters to death and is really pissed off about it. He also jumps from elephants.

Click to read more ...

Yes! A Trailer for Tony Jaa's 'Ong Bak 3'

Today cannot suck, for today is the day we see the first trailer for Ong Bak 3. With the exceptions of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, I've never seen a martial arts actor any better in a fight scene than Tony Jaa. He's pretty lousy whenever he's not fighting, but oh man, can this guy work in an action sequence.

The only drawback to this trailer is that it's not long enough (that's what she said). But if you're new to the world of Tony Jaa, this will give you plenty of motivation to seek out some of his other films, in this series and beyond. Oh, and there's never been anyone, anywhere, who gets more mileage out of elephants. Check out The Protector for all the evidence you'll ever need, or just watch him tusk-swing in the trailer below.

Click to read more ...

'Karate Kid' Remake Testing "Through the Roof"

Around Christmas, the first trailer for the update of The Karate Kid was released. There's lots to pick on about that movie: Will Smith bankrolling a project for his son in an effort to make him a star, the fact that young Jaden is both physically too small and chronologically a little young, the pesky reminder that, even though karate does have roots in China, it would be a lot more common to just have The Kung-Fu Kid if you're going to make the movie there, and so on.

But actually...the trailer's not bad at all. For the audience (families), it actually looks like a ground rule double or, against really weak pitching, a possible home run. Little Jaden seems up to the task and Jackie Chan appears intense and focused. Now comes news (via Entertainment Weekly) that the film is testing "through the roof" with audiences. Sony tells the magazine that the approval rating for The Karate Kid is in the 97th percentile, which as you can figure out, is excellent. The studio's record setter in that department is Hitch, so the magazine says, and that did very well for Smith a few years ago. And there's no reason to think this remake was going to do poorly even before hearing that number.

Click to read more ...

Trailer, Clip for High-Flying 'District 13: Ultimatum'

I don't expect Shakespeare when I look at the trailer and new clip for District 13: Ultimatum, the sequel to the 2004 District 13. That film was the first pairing of Taken director Pierre Morel and writer-producer Luc Besson, in those roles, anyway. This one is again written by Besson but directed by Patrick Alessandrin.

The action in Ultimatum is the star, and more specifically, we're talking about the parkour. It's more familiarly known as free running, although I think there are some cosmetic differences between them, but I'm certainly no expert. However, you won't mistake parkour for ballroom dancing, and it's front and center here. This stuff is pretty cool to watch. Would hate to be their knees, however. Oh, and there's probably a story here, too, but I wasn't paying attention to that.

Click to read more ...