So, what better way to start the new year than with an entry about a film I've been waiting for for twenty Goddamn years. So...
Tron. Tron tron tron.
What can you say about Tron, really? The original movie, in my opinion, was something special - even though it's very much a product of its time. The idea of being sucked into a computer, competing in games from the inside is one that has been revisited a few times since then.
I mean how many films has Tron arguably influenced, merely in plot terms? The Matrix, Gamer, Virtuosity... The idea of computers being more than glorified number-crunching machines is one that took a bit of getting used to.
Visually, Tron was revolutionary - the first true use of CGI ever used in computer. It's an outright tragedy that it was disqualifed from the special effects oscar category because the committee didn't consider CGI to be 'proper special effects.'
ET won instead, with a glorified puppet show. I hate that little bastard.
So, twenty-eight years later, Tron finally has a sequel. Tron: Legacy. So the beig question is, given that I am big fan of the original, did it's sequel live up to the expectations?
Well... Mostly. Visually, Legacy is the perfect sequel to Tron. The effects are updated, and its the first movie I've seen that didn't rely on 3D as a crutch rather than in integrated part of the movie.
And the Music, my God, the Music. Could anyone but Daft Punk really managed to do this movie. It's as close to perfect a movie score as I've ever heard.
The script... well, the script is no better than I expected. it was fun, but it feels like a setup. I can tell you that I was in no way surprised when I heard that the sequel was already in the works, as the whole of Legacy felt like it was building to that. The story is servicable as an introduction to the dynamics of the grid, but it's very slow in the middle when Sam finally meets up with his father on the outskirts of the computer world. The Initial burst of action on the games is excellent, and the finale is as good as anything I've ever seen. The acting is good, and the script does improve after the inevitable slow patch, but you can't help but feel that the writers could either have done a little bit more, or shortened the movie by about ten minutes.
But it's good. it's damn good. and if they can pull a sequel off, I'll be more than happy to go and see it.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Monday, 21 September 2009
The Rise and Fall of CGI.
I picked Batman Begins at Asda at the weekend, and as I was watching it on Saturday night, I remembered a story that Michael Caine related about the films development. He was watching a panoramic shot circling Batman, who was standing high on a gargoyle near the top of a skyscraper. He turned to CHris Nolan - the director - and said "How did you get CGI that good?"
To which Nolan replied:
"It's not CGI. We've got a stuntman standing up on the building while a helicopter circles him."
Now, the purpose of this story is not to relate the sheer coolness of the Batman Begins franchise - although its succeeded in making Batman cool again after Joel Shumacher's debacles.
The purpose of this little anecdote is to illustrate the attitude towards CGI in the film industry today. Where once CGI was a novelty, it quickly became a crutch.
Probably the origin of the CGI boom can be traced back to 1996's Independence Day. Whilst CGI had certainly been used before this point, the sheer scale of its usage began to really take hold after this film. After all, who needs deep plots when you can blow up the white house on a weekly basis? Not to say I didn't enjoy ID4 - its a great film, and still holds its own today. But it set a trend where rather than merely using CGI to enhance a film, filmmakers started basing their films around CGI.
More followed. The disasterous 1998 Godzilla remake made the legendary king of the monsters into a Tuna Eating CGI Iguana.
More and more, the marketing of films seemed to revolve around the special effects rather than any actualy plot content. As I previously stated, CGI became a crutch to lean on rather than a tool to be used.
-Yes, I know I'm not giving many examples. Its been a long day.
And somewhere along the line, it began to lose the sheen it had gained from ID4. When you start seeing cities destroyed in every mother movie, soon enough it begains to wear thin. Gradually, CGI fell out of fashion with filmmakers - the notable exception being comic book movies, which, due to their nature, had to rely on the technological breakthroughs that CGI had brought.
Another contribution to CGI's fall was the more smooth integration of CGI into the movie. As it became more difficult to distinguish the computer generated elements from the film, its rapidly began to lose its allure. Its use was assumed, as illustrated by Caine's story, but it was no longer the focus. Gradually movies began to feature less about the special effects.
In some cases it became anathema to even point them out - more marketing effort was put into the fact that films weren't using CGI than those that were.
Perhaps CGI has finally ound its role as a filmmaking tool rather than the focus of movies.
---
This pointless rant bought to you by:
-Bendana
---
To which Nolan replied:
"It's not CGI. We've got a stuntman standing up on the building while a helicopter circles him."
Now, the purpose of this story is not to relate the sheer coolness of the Batman Begins franchise - although its succeeded in making Batman cool again after Joel Shumacher's debacles.
The purpose of this little anecdote is to illustrate the attitude towards CGI in the film industry today. Where once CGI was a novelty, it quickly became a crutch.
Probably the origin of the CGI boom can be traced back to 1996's Independence Day. Whilst CGI had certainly been used before this point, the sheer scale of its usage began to really take hold after this film. After all, who needs deep plots when you can blow up the white house on a weekly basis? Not to say I didn't enjoy ID4 - its a great film, and still holds its own today. But it set a trend where rather than merely using CGI to enhance a film, filmmakers started basing their films around CGI.
More followed. The disasterous 1998 Godzilla remake made the legendary king of the monsters into a Tuna Eating CGI Iguana.
More and more, the marketing of films seemed to revolve around the special effects rather than any actualy plot content. As I previously stated, CGI became a crutch to lean on rather than a tool to be used.
-Yes, I know I'm not giving many examples. Its been a long day.
And somewhere along the line, it began to lose the sheen it had gained from ID4. When you start seeing cities destroyed in every mother movie, soon enough it begains to wear thin. Gradually, CGI fell out of fashion with filmmakers - the notable exception being comic book movies, which, due to their nature, had to rely on the technological breakthroughs that CGI had brought.
Another contribution to CGI's fall was the more smooth integration of CGI into the movie. As it became more difficult to distinguish the computer generated elements from the film, its rapidly began to lose its allure. Its use was assumed, as illustrated by Caine's story, but it was no longer the focus. Gradually movies began to feature less about the special effects.
In some cases it became anathema to even point them out - more marketing effort was put into the fact that films weren't using CGI than those that were.
Perhaps CGI has finally ound its role as a filmmaking tool rather than the focus of movies.
---
This pointless rant bought to you by:
-Bendana
---
Monday, 10 August 2009
Harry Potter And the Grim Grim Dark Grimness.
So, after a few days of my wifes nagging, We finally went to see Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.
And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, this may seem rather insignificant to you, but as my wife could probably tell you, I've always been rather indifferent to the Harry Potter movies. Not that I dont enjoy them, I've just never been particularly bothered about actually seeing them. I liked Order of the Phoenix, but again, I was very indifferent to actually going out and watching them. The same again was something I felt for Half-Blood Prince.
Now, the Book of the film was the only one in the series I found truly problematic. it wasnt bad, but It felt as if the entire thing was merely a setup for Deathly Hallows. To be honest, the last few books felt a little flabby compared to the rest, with multiple chapters of Harry being a whiny little bitch.
Daniel Radcliffe's performance in the film, however, takes a slightly different tone. After the rather miserable opening of Order of the Phoenix, admittedly, leading from the death of Cederic in Goblet of fire set the tone for the whole movie, leading up to the death of Sirius at the end of the movie.
...Look, the book came out in 2003, and the film in 2007. If you claim I'm spoiling it for you, fuck yourself. Seriously.
Anyways, Radcliffe's performance is the true sign that this young actor has truly ound his feet in the part. In the first few movies I was genuinely underwhelmed with his performances - even making allowance for his age - but in Half-Blood Prince he genuinely makes the part his own, bringing a certain zest to the performance that he previously lacked. And it really worked. His personality leapt off the screen in this film, bringing fantastic life to the movie. Similarly, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have matured into their roles, allowing the chemistry that the three have shown in interviews to finally come through on screen. Given that the film is far more concerned with the relationships between the characters than those that have come previously, it was just what they needed.
But thats not to say there isn't plenty of action. There is, but it's far mor subtle than in the film's predecessors. There are no really huge shootouts, no extended battles, which is good because there isnt any way this film could have done those sequences without either looking tame next to the last film or overshadowing the climax of the next (two?) films. The attempted attacks on Dumbeldore - especially the scene when a cursed Necklace takes hold, are fairly nerve-wracking.
And all of lends to the general feeling of darkness about this movie. This is not Shiney-Happy Potter. This is the culmination of all the grim imagery thats influenced the last three films, and its all a buildup to the Final sunrise of the last Film. It's a genuine credit to JK Rowling that most of the imagery in the film can be lifted directly from the book. Her Novels are incredibly visual in their writing, and that's one of the things that makes this film what it is: an amazing visual experience.
And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, this may seem rather insignificant to you, but as my wife could probably tell you, I've always been rather indifferent to the Harry Potter movies. Not that I dont enjoy them, I've just never been particularly bothered about actually seeing them. I liked Order of the Phoenix, but again, I was very indifferent to actually going out and watching them. The same again was something I felt for Half-Blood Prince.
Now, the Book of the film was the only one in the series I found truly problematic. it wasnt bad, but It felt as if the entire thing was merely a setup for Deathly Hallows. To be honest, the last few books felt a little flabby compared to the rest, with multiple chapters of Harry being a whiny little bitch.
Daniel Radcliffe's performance in the film, however, takes a slightly different tone. After the rather miserable opening of Order of the Phoenix, admittedly, leading from the death of Cederic in Goblet of fire set the tone for the whole movie, leading up to the death of Sirius at the end of the movie.
...Look, the book came out in 2003, and the film in 2007. If you claim I'm spoiling it for you, fuck yourself. Seriously.
Anyways, Radcliffe's performance is the true sign that this young actor has truly ound his feet in the part. In the first few movies I was genuinely underwhelmed with his performances - even making allowance for his age - but in Half-Blood Prince he genuinely makes the part his own, bringing a certain zest to the performance that he previously lacked. And it really worked. His personality leapt off the screen in this film, bringing fantastic life to the movie. Similarly, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have matured into their roles, allowing the chemistry that the three have shown in interviews to finally come through on screen. Given that the film is far more concerned with the relationships between the characters than those that have come previously, it was just what they needed.
But thats not to say there isn't plenty of action. There is, but it's far mor subtle than in the film's predecessors. There are no really huge shootouts, no extended battles, which is good because there isnt any way this film could have done those sequences without either looking tame next to the last film or overshadowing the climax of the next (two?) films. The attempted attacks on Dumbeldore - especially the scene when a cursed Necklace takes hold, are fairly nerve-wracking.
And all of lends to the general feeling of darkness about this movie. This is not Shiney-Happy Potter. This is the culmination of all the grim imagery thats influenced the last three films, and its all a buildup to the Final sunrise of the last Film. It's a genuine credit to JK Rowling that most of the imagery in the film can be lifted directly from the book. Her Novels are incredibly visual in their writing, and that's one of the things that makes this film what it is: an amazing visual experience.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
My Top ten fight scenes of all time... thus far.
well, after whining like a little emo bitch for the better part of the day, I thought I'd try writing something constructive.
of course, I cant really be arsed, so what you're getting is a list of my top ten movie fight scenes instead.
Now, The ground rules:
1) I have to have suffered through the entire movie at some point, not just the fight in question.
2) you may notice that the Rocky fights are not included. in this case, i decided it has to be combat fights rather than sporting fights. and the one from Rocky five sucks donkey balls.
3) These must be fist fights. Minimal Weaponry (or in the case of some, weaponry in the main context of the fights) onyl allowed.
LET US PROCEED.
-----------------------------
NUMBER 10: Cloud vs Kadaj, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.
---
It may surprise you that I prefer this fight to the one immediately following it, The Cloud vs Sephiroth fight that makes up the film's proverbial "Main event." Theres one very simple reason for that: the Cloud vs Kadaj fight is the fight the film has been building towards for the entire run. Kadaj has been the main antagonist, tormenting Cloud at every turn. While Sephiroth is a legend, the Sephy-CLoud fight feels more like fanservice than an actual fight with any build to it. On top of that, The Kadaj fight feels much more realistic than the Sephiroth fight. More sword fighting, and less DBZ style flying through the air.
---
NUMBER 9: Asuka vs the MP Evas, End of Evangelion.
---
An odd choice, but one that gets me every time. In the buildup to this fight, I genuinely shed tears as Asuka cowers in her Evangelion-02 at the bottom of the Lake, chanting "I dont want to die" over and over. In the background, her mothers voice starts to speak, telling her she isnt alone, and when she realizes, it all breaks loose, leading to Eva-02 taking out 10 or so Mass production Evas. It's a controlled piece of Brutality on the part of the Evangelion animators, and amazingly effective as Eva-02's battery finally dies and the MP-Evas take their gory revenge.
---
NUMBER 8: Iron Man vs Iron Monger. Iron Man.
---
Another one of my favourite fight scenes, and one that for the the type of film it is, is far more realistic than it should be. The Movie battle between Iron man and Iron Monger most certainly has its roots in the comics, but in terms of the capabilities that have been set in the films for both suits, this is a good, uneven fight that Iron Man wins by grit and Determination alone.
---
NUMBER 7: Neo vs Agent Smith, The Matrix
---
Possibly a controversial choice at this stage, this fight was revolutionary in its time, with the use of wirework and bullet time making this a never before spectacle of Kung-Fu action. add to that the clear amount of actual fight time both Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving get, and you get a brilliant cinematic fight that has, unfortunately, been diluted by time and imitation.
---
NUMBER 6: Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader, Revenge of the Sith.
---
In terms of Jedi Battles, up until this point the Star Wars Prequels has been noticeably lacking. Sure, we had Yoda vs Dooku in Attack of the clones, but that came across more as a comedy fight than an epic moment. But this, the batle we had all been waiting for, Vader and Kenobi in their primes, was an end to end lightsaber duel across the molten lava surface of the planet, Mustapha. Even the ending meets with Approval from me, as Kenobi remains a teacher telling Anakin not to violate a basic combat principle and attack the high ground.
---
NUMBER 5: The Bride vs O-Ren Ishii, Kill bill Part one.
---
Before this scene came about in cinema, very few people outside the select clique of fans had seen a true samurai style duel on the big screen. The two former deadly vipers have a dramatic duel in the snow outside the house of blue leaves. the scene is also a crutial one of redemption for Thurman's Bride, as her skill is mocked by O-Ren for her perceived lack of skill, and apologises as she realises she has been outclassed. I remember sitting with a couple of guys who didnt get shy she did this until it was pointed out to them, and both suddenly grinned and nodded their heads in agreement, despite having previously thought it was a bit stupid. The fight itself is, very simp,ly, a triumph of substance over style.
---
NUMBER 4: Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds vs The Operative, Serenity.
---
Okay, I'll be the first to admit, this one is pure Browncoat-Bias on my part. I love Firefly, I love Serenity, and I have honest-to-god Man love for Malcolm Reynolds. that said, none of this takes away from the fact that this is a singularly brutal, dramatic fight on the edge of a precipice in the depths of Mr Universe's planet, as Mal tries to transmit the message that shows the alliance to be guilty of creating the deadly Reavers. Mal eventually wins the fight via an incapacitating move and stroke of luck - The cluster of Nerves the operative attacks to paralyse his victims had been torn out during the unification wars.
---
NUMBER 3: Daniel vs Chozen, The Karate Kid Part two.
---
Now, I bet you're looking at this one in a spot of disbelief, arent you? But in terms of Drama towards a climactic fight, the first two Karate Kid films were masterclasses in Building up a battle. The mo-holds-barred Karate fight between the Delinquent, Villainous Chozen and Daniel is the perfect synchronisation of light and dark with back and forth action giving the battle an excellent atmosphere. unlike the restrained atmosphere of the All-Valley championship fight in the first movie, this is the first fight where you genuinely feel Daniel is threatened by an opponent, as Chozen genuinely tries to kill him through the battle. All in all, the return to the Tournament style in the third movie felt like a severe letdown after this brutal challenge.
---
NUMBER 2: Jake vs Ryan, Never Back Down.
---
I know, you guys have got to be scared that Never Back Down is making it this high onto, well, any list ever. But if there is one thing that this movie does, its fighting, and the final battle betweem Jake Tyler and Ryan McCarthy is no Exception. More importantly, in a cinematic world where films are increasingly relying on wirework and CGI to create a fight, this is a brilliant piece of MMA choreography that breaks the mould of what films are currently doing. While Never Back Down itself hasn't necessarily beena great hit, the minimal use of CGI and the various fight styles shown - the fight moves from stand up, to ground based submission and Strikes to Wrestling and back to stand up again - make this a compelling and brutal battle, and probably the first time ever a mid-fight epiphany has come whilst the hero is locked in a guillotine choke.
Fun fact: Cam Gigandet has won the Fight of the Year award two years running: firstly for this fight, and secondly for the piece-of-shit fight at the End of the abomination before Literature and Filmmaking that is Twilight.
---
BEFORE NUMBER ONE! SOME NOTABLE MENTIONS!
These are the ones that didn't make it into the main list due to various reasons:
Spike Spiegel vs Vincent Volaju - Cowboy Bebop the movie: A classic MArtial arts battle, in animated form!
Sean Thornton vs Will Danaher - The Quiet Man: John Wayne and Victor Mclagen make this fight a supreme work of Comedy and Action.
Aragorn vs Lurtz - The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring: One of the best none-samurai sword films committed to film, spoiled only by the short length.
Balian vs Guy - Kingdom of Heaven: an excellent sword fight, omitted from this list because for some unknown reason, the fight onyl appears on the fucking special edition. good call on this one, Hollywood Studio Heads. Really.
Douchebags.
---
AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BE WAITING FOR:
NUMBER ONE:
Riggs vs Mr Joshua: Lethal Weapon.
---
If Never Back Down Broke the mould for modern Cinematic fights, Lethal Weapon took a Sledgehammer to the Clay they made the Mould out of. Riggs vs Joshua was a cinema MMA fight before Hollywood even knew what the fuck MMA Was, combining stand up grappling and clinch boxing with brutal ground and pound, an attempted drowning and finally a choke-out victory via traingle choke for Riggs. Bearing in mind that the first UFC event, which really brought Mixed Martial Arts to the fore, wasn't even a twinkle in Helio Gracie's eye at this point - it occured six years later - the use of Jiu-Jitsu to finish a cinema fight was practically unheard of, and the brutal beating both men suffer under the spray of a busted fire hydrant is why I've chosen this as my number-one cinema fight.
But dont believe me? watch for yourself.
----
Dont agree with my choices? Have your own favourite fights list? comment and let me know! For now, I remain,
-Bendana.
of course, I cant really be arsed, so what you're getting is a list of my top ten movie fight scenes instead.
Now, The ground rules:
1) I have to have suffered through the entire movie at some point, not just the fight in question.
2) you may notice that the Rocky fights are not included. in this case, i decided it has to be combat fights rather than sporting fights. and the one from Rocky five sucks donkey balls.
3) These must be fist fights. Minimal Weaponry (or in the case of some, weaponry in the main context of the fights) onyl allowed.
LET US PROCEED.
-----------------------------
NUMBER 10: Cloud vs Kadaj, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.
---
It may surprise you that I prefer this fight to the one immediately following it, The Cloud vs Sephiroth fight that makes up the film's proverbial "Main event." Theres one very simple reason for that: the Cloud vs Kadaj fight is the fight the film has been building towards for the entire run. Kadaj has been the main antagonist, tormenting Cloud at every turn. While Sephiroth is a legend, the Sephy-CLoud fight feels more like fanservice than an actual fight with any build to it. On top of that, The Kadaj fight feels much more realistic than the Sephiroth fight. More sword fighting, and less DBZ style flying through the air.
---
NUMBER 9: Asuka vs the MP Evas, End of Evangelion.
---
An odd choice, but one that gets me every time. In the buildup to this fight, I genuinely shed tears as Asuka cowers in her Evangelion-02 at the bottom of the Lake, chanting "I dont want to die" over and over. In the background, her mothers voice starts to speak, telling her she isnt alone, and when she realizes, it all breaks loose, leading to Eva-02 taking out 10 or so Mass production Evas. It's a controlled piece of Brutality on the part of the Evangelion animators, and amazingly effective as Eva-02's battery finally dies and the MP-Evas take their gory revenge.
---
NUMBER 8: Iron Man vs Iron Monger. Iron Man.
---
Another one of my favourite fight scenes, and one that for the the type of film it is, is far more realistic than it should be. The Movie battle between Iron man and Iron Monger most certainly has its roots in the comics, but in terms of the capabilities that have been set in the films for both suits, this is a good, uneven fight that Iron Man wins by grit and Determination alone.
---
NUMBER 7: Neo vs Agent Smith, The Matrix
---
Possibly a controversial choice at this stage, this fight was revolutionary in its time, with the use of wirework and bullet time making this a never before spectacle of Kung-Fu action. add to that the clear amount of actual fight time both Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving get, and you get a brilliant cinematic fight that has, unfortunately, been diluted by time and imitation.
---
NUMBER 6: Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader, Revenge of the Sith.
---
In terms of Jedi Battles, up until this point the Star Wars Prequels has been noticeably lacking. Sure, we had Yoda vs Dooku in Attack of the clones, but that came across more as a comedy fight than an epic moment. But this, the batle we had all been waiting for, Vader and Kenobi in their primes, was an end to end lightsaber duel across the molten lava surface of the planet, Mustapha. Even the ending meets with Approval from me, as Kenobi remains a teacher telling Anakin not to violate a basic combat principle and attack the high ground.
---
NUMBER 5: The Bride vs O-Ren Ishii, Kill bill Part one.
---
Before this scene came about in cinema, very few people outside the select clique of fans had seen a true samurai style duel on the big screen. The two former deadly vipers have a dramatic duel in the snow outside the house of blue leaves. the scene is also a crutial one of redemption for Thurman's Bride, as her skill is mocked by O-Ren for her perceived lack of skill, and apologises as she realises she has been outclassed. I remember sitting with a couple of guys who didnt get shy she did this until it was pointed out to them, and both suddenly grinned and nodded their heads in agreement, despite having previously thought it was a bit stupid. The fight itself is, very simp,ly, a triumph of substance over style.
---
NUMBER 4: Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds vs The Operative, Serenity.
---
Okay, I'll be the first to admit, this one is pure Browncoat-Bias on my part. I love Firefly, I love Serenity, and I have honest-to-god Man love for Malcolm Reynolds. that said, none of this takes away from the fact that this is a singularly brutal, dramatic fight on the edge of a precipice in the depths of Mr Universe's planet, as Mal tries to transmit the message that shows the alliance to be guilty of creating the deadly Reavers. Mal eventually wins the fight via an incapacitating move and stroke of luck - The cluster of Nerves the operative attacks to paralyse his victims had been torn out during the unification wars.
---
NUMBER 3: Daniel vs Chozen, The Karate Kid Part two.
---
Now, I bet you're looking at this one in a spot of disbelief, arent you? But in terms of Drama towards a climactic fight, the first two Karate Kid films were masterclasses in Building up a battle. The mo-holds-barred Karate fight between the Delinquent, Villainous Chozen and Daniel is the perfect synchronisation of light and dark with back and forth action giving the battle an excellent atmosphere. unlike the restrained atmosphere of the All-Valley championship fight in the first movie, this is the first fight where you genuinely feel Daniel is threatened by an opponent, as Chozen genuinely tries to kill him through the battle. All in all, the return to the Tournament style in the third movie felt like a severe letdown after this brutal challenge.
---
NUMBER 2: Jake vs Ryan, Never Back Down.
---
I know, you guys have got to be scared that Never Back Down is making it this high onto, well, any list ever. But if there is one thing that this movie does, its fighting, and the final battle betweem Jake Tyler and Ryan McCarthy is no Exception. More importantly, in a cinematic world where films are increasingly relying on wirework and CGI to create a fight, this is a brilliant piece of MMA choreography that breaks the mould of what films are currently doing. While Never Back Down itself hasn't necessarily beena great hit, the minimal use of CGI and the various fight styles shown - the fight moves from stand up, to ground based submission and Strikes to Wrestling and back to stand up again - make this a compelling and brutal battle, and probably the first time ever a mid-fight epiphany has come whilst the hero is locked in a guillotine choke.
Fun fact: Cam Gigandet has won the Fight of the Year award two years running: firstly for this fight, and secondly for the piece-of-shit fight at the End of the abomination before Literature and Filmmaking that is Twilight.
---
BEFORE NUMBER ONE! SOME NOTABLE MENTIONS!
These are the ones that didn't make it into the main list due to various reasons:
Spike Spiegel vs Vincent Volaju - Cowboy Bebop the movie: A classic MArtial arts battle, in animated form!
Sean Thornton vs Will Danaher - The Quiet Man: John Wayne and Victor Mclagen make this fight a supreme work of Comedy and Action.
Aragorn vs Lurtz - The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring: One of the best none-samurai sword films committed to film, spoiled only by the short length.
Balian vs Guy - Kingdom of Heaven: an excellent sword fight, omitted from this list because for some unknown reason, the fight onyl appears on the fucking special edition. good call on this one, Hollywood Studio Heads. Really.
Douchebags.
---
AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BE WAITING FOR:
NUMBER ONE:
Riggs vs Mr Joshua: Lethal Weapon.
---
If Never Back Down Broke the mould for modern Cinematic fights, Lethal Weapon took a Sledgehammer to the Clay they made the Mould out of. Riggs vs Joshua was a cinema MMA fight before Hollywood even knew what the fuck MMA Was, combining stand up grappling and clinch boxing with brutal ground and pound, an attempted drowning and finally a choke-out victory via traingle choke for Riggs. Bearing in mind that the first UFC event, which really brought Mixed Martial Arts to the fore, wasn't even a twinkle in Helio Gracie's eye at this point - it occured six years later - the use of Jiu-Jitsu to finish a cinema fight was practically unheard of, and the brutal beating both men suffer under the spray of a busted fire hydrant is why I've chosen this as my number-one cinema fight.
But dont believe me? watch for yourself.
----
Dont agree with my choices? Have your own favourite fights list? comment and let me know! For now, I remain,
-Bendana.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
We all knew it was going to happen.
Tomorrow, me and the missus are going to go and see Dragonball Evolution. After which, I will post the first of what will undoubtedly be many shite film reviews.
-Bendana.
-Bendana.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
caught a bit of TNA Destination X Last night.
Don West is infinitely more entertaining as a heel. Seriously.
In movie news: If you are a certain age, then you will probably have read certain books as a kid. This may have been one of them:
Where the Wild Things Are.
Now, its easy to presume that once again they are going to rape your childhood memories. But that is disregarding one simple fact:
That poster looks motherfucking AWESOME.
Oh, and Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern are set to start filming. Yeah.
In movie news: If you are a certain age, then you will probably have read certain books as a kid. This may have been one of them:
Where the Wild Things Are.
Now, its easy to presume that once again they are going to rape your childhood memories. But that is disregarding one simple fact:
That poster looks motherfucking AWESOME.
Oh, and Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern are set to start filming. Yeah.
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