Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

This movie pissed me the hell off, and not for the reasons one might expect.

You won’t see me write something like that very often.

I recently watched Adele Blanc-Sec on Amazon Instant Video, after wanting to see it for quite some time. It is based upon a comic book/graphic novel series out of France that started back in the seventies.

It stars Louise Bourgoin as Adele Blanc-Sec, directed by Luc Besson.

Louise Bourgoin is the best thing about this film, and she does her best to save it in its dying third act.

So what about this movie pissed me off? Well, let me tell you.

I loved the first thirty-five minutes of this move. Loved it. Even if the plot of the film was unclear and Adele’s motivation was unclear. The first thirty-five minutes were so good and well done, I believed that everything would become clear in the second half.

Boy, was I wrong.

The first half of the film showcases Adele as an intelligent supreme adventurer that can overcome any obstacle with ease.

The second half of the film shows a completely different version of Adele. One who is a fool that can’t seem to do anything right, and it turns out what we thought she did right in the first half was horribly wrong. Any signs of intelligence also slips away in the second half as the script devolves into a mess.

Everything starts to unravel at the half way point during an overlong segment which sees Adele try to rescue a Professor from death row. This segment is long, overdone and boring. Here Adele dawns a number of different disguises to rescue the Professor, only to be caught every time and escorted from the prison. Why she is never arrested, is puzzling.

The movie, nor Adele herself, recovers after this segment.

When it comes to Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Luc Besson is like a prizefighter who puts together a great game plan, but forgets how to throw the knockout punch.
FINAL VIEW: Mixed. There are good things about the film, just not enough. Its second half fizzled and dies long before the film ends.

Worth a look for those who are curious, but ultimately an average film one won’t miss.

RATING: 4.75

Little Big Soldier

The first thing I want to mention is that I am not a big Hong Kong movie fan, nor a big martial arts movie fan. Do I like some Hong Kong movies? Of Course. Do I like some martial arts movies? Of course. As a general rule though I am not a fan boy who think that everything in those genres is ‘cool’ and ‘awesome.’

Here is the odd thing, even though Little Big Soldier is marketed (in North America) as a martial arts movie, it isn’t. It is a historical drama that includes action, adventure, martial arts and humor.

What Little Big Solider is, is an excellent movie. It is easily Jackie Chan’s finest film in two decades, which he also wrote and produced.

Everything in this film balances near perfectly. The structure is dead on and the pace is even and flows like a cool stream. This all comes into place because of a well written screenplay that tells a great story, and stellar direction by Sheng Ding.

Little Big Soldier take place during the Warring States period of Chine and tells the tale of an older Soldier (Chan), who captures a high-ranking General (Leehom Wang) in hopes of gaining a reward.

The true gem of this film is the relationship that builds between Chan and Wang, and how neither man is ever sure of what that relationship is.

And, of course, there are the martial art fight scenes that can only be praised.

Little Big Solider is One Big Film.

Final View: This is required viewing for all. The fact that it wasn’t nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film is a joke.

Hulu, Amazon, NetFlix, Red Box, or Fry’s Electronics for $2.99, make it a New Year Resolution to see Little Big Soldier.

Rating: 8

WHAT IS WHAT I WATCH I REVIEW?

Hello All,

Welcome to my new blog “What I Watch I Review.” This new blog . . .  well ‘faux’ new blog really. I originally launched this blog on January 1st of 2014. I never did write for it because a brain aneurysm sideline the year 2014.

Everything is good now though, and effective immediately today, Thursday, January 1, writing for this blog commences.

Okay, so back to “What I Watch I Review.” It is exactly as it is title. This is a blog where I will review, comment and discuss materials that I watch. Movies, documentaries and the occasional TV show.

I will focus mostly on movie commentary and reviews. Don’t expect a lot of current run theatrical reviews unless I see the movie while in theaters.

I have eclectic tastes, everything from ‘art house’ fare to genre movies, foreign, silent, etc. All movies are on my plate and I will write about many of them on this blog.

In fact, my first piece will be posted tonight, as I will write about Jackie Chan’s ‘Little Big Soldier.’

At this point I plan on posting a review every two weeks, on Fridays. I may post more often, but we will so how it goes. These reviews will be between 400 and 500-words. I want to keep the reviews tight and succinct, keeping the filler limited.

As I do with my comic book blog “The Burning Mind,” I may also posted random ‘flash reviews,” which will be short 150-words or less reviews.

I won’t just write about films I enjoy, I will also write about films I don’t like, and even films I don’t finish and why.

In addition to the review/commentary pieces, I will probably also write some general film and opinion pieces, and even some rants on the film industry. This will be in addition to the reviews.

I plan my style for the blog to be more of a smooth conversational, talking style. Something that invites more interaction.

One thing I will NOT do is take pots shot or insult filmmakers or actors. Even if I hate a film, I will not spout hatred toward the filmmaker. So don’t expect that.

I also don’t expect everyone to agree with what I write. It’s all good though.

MOVIE TIME!

Ace Masters.