Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007)

Directed by Justin Lin
Produced by Julie Asato, Justin Lin, Salvador Gatdula, Joan Huang, Jeffrey Gou
Written by Josh Diamond
Starring: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, James Franco, Dustin Nguyen, Ron Jeremy, Bella Thorne, Mousa Kraish
Label: Review, Comedy, Mockumentary, Hollywood
I make this review right after I finished watching the DVD. Since this blog dedicated to new film like it's name, clearly it's a special treatment. While some people are annoyed by the movie. Some people clearly love Finishing The Game, that's why it win Special Jury Prize at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, so do I.



A mockumentary which focuses on Bruce Lee's final movie Game of Death. Lee died prior to finishing the movie, having shot only approximately 12 minutes of film. So, the rest of the film was finished using a Bruce Lee double and a new script.

Finishing the Game set in the wake of Bruce Lee's death, as we now know, old footages of Bruce from previous movies, and stand-ins were used to complete the shooting so that it could still be released and sell to the audiences. Finishing the Game, as a mockumentary looking for the next possible Bruce Lee stand in.

The movie highlight the casting process to finish 'The Game of Death' with a young inexperience director Ronney Kurtainbaum (Jake Sandvig), with his mentor/ assistant Eloise Gazdag (Meredith Scott Lynn). The casting (not tobe confused with the REAL cast) contain Breeze Loo (Roger Fan) the overconfident 'famous' B movie star. Cole Kim (Sun Kang) as a enthusiastic new comer, with his manager/ girl friend Saraghina Rivas (Monique Curnen). Tarrick Tyler (McCaleb Burnett) as a caucasian who think himself half Chinese, and many more.

Surprisingly the movie is fun, with such a cheesy formula, at least I like it much. Some people are annoyed that Finishing the Game is silly and irrellevant. But it satirizes the 'Bruceploitation' after Bruce Lee's Death as silly and irrellevant, so being silly and irrellevant IS the whole idea of this movie. (reviewed by DL/ 2008)

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You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

Label: Review, Comedy, Hollywood
In a raw and rude makeover courtesy of who else, Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler reinvents himself as whining geek turned super-silly action hero Israeli assassin in Don't Mess With The Zohan. A newly hairy and heavily buffed along with heavily accented Sandler sexes up his screen image in a crude Middle Eastern culture wars political comedy that is ultimately no laughing matter.


Sandler is the reluctant Israeli counter-terrorist operative who'd rather be doing dainty stuff like cooking dinner and hair styling. Which doesn't cramp his macho style at all, at least when it comes to impressing the bathing beauties at the local beach, by dropping his swimming trunks or flipping a fish off the grill and directly into his butt, while tending the barbecue.

When he's had his fill of beating up Palestinians, catching their bullets in his nose - I kid you not - and stealing their goats, the jaded closet peacenik fakes his own death at the hands of formidable Arab foe Phantom (John Turturro) while playing ping pong together with a grenade. Then he heads for New York City stowed away in a dog kennel in the cargo compartment. And assuming the name of one of his fellow passenger pooches, Zohan aka Scrappy heads for the nearest hair salon.

After being tossed out of assorted beauty parlors for a litany of indecent behaviors, the swaggering aspiring stylist with a too-much-information bulging prosthetic crotch settles on a salon run by Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a fetching Palestinian-American. And while doing mandatory apprentice duty sweeping the floors there, Scrappy educates himself in the trade, which in his mind includes seducing all the senior citizen female customers comfortably over the age of consent. Eventually a confrontation ensues uniting neighborhood Israeli and Palestinian immigrants against an urban removal mean corporate suit, who wants to clear out the area to build a mall.


Don't Mess With The Zohan as a counter-terrorism satire, is its own worst enemy. The story is filled with all sorts of bright ideas, like peace in the Middle East as a promising possibility based on the New York City model, where everybody tends to get along and live in harmony no matter what their historical differences. There are also delightful surprise cameos popping up everywhere. But Apatow's compulsion to talk dirty nonstop and Sandler's eagerness to act out each and every one of those vulgar and raucous fantasies, add up to a marriage of minds far from being made in heaven. Rarely has sex been such a turnoff on screen.

Prairie Miller is a multimedia journalist online, in print and on radio. Contact her through NewsBlaze.

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What Happens in Vegas (2008)

Directed by Tom Vaughan
Produced by Michael Aguilar, Dean Georgaris
Written by Dana Fox
Starring Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher
Label: Review, Comedy, Romantic,HollywoodWhen I was going to watch this movie I expect the worst, I think this is just a typical yet predictable Hollywood comedy. What Happens in Vegas IS a typical yet predictable Hollywood comedy. However at least it's better than my expectation (Remember, I expect the worst).
Ashton Kutcher as Jack Fuller a carpenter who was fired by his own dad meet Cameron Diaz as Joy McNally who was dumped by her fiance, stumble into marriage during a drunken weekend in Las Vegas. They were supposed to do divorce peacefully but due to the $3,000,000 won by Jack with the quarter of Joy, the two must figure out a way to share it since they are still legally married.

May contain spoiler:
Like I said, this is a typical yet predictable Hollywood comedy, but it's also a funny and entertaining movie. The fight of Jack and Joy is the highlight of this movie, and it is the funniest moment in this movie. Now you can pick the most likely ending: a. One of them win the money; b. They both lose the money; c. The money no longer important, because they love each other. If you ever watch Hollywood comedy, you should know the answer. What Happens in Vegas is funny at the funny moment, and not funny at the (supposed to) romantic moment. Sometimes mariage comedies should just stick with trying to be funny. (reviewed by DL/ 2008)

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Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Directed by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Produced by Melissa Cobb
Written by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan.
Label: Review, Action, Comedy, Animation, Hollywood
DreamWorks Animation once again produces a computer animated film that contains martial arts, action, ancient China setting, animation, and comedy. Surprisingly Kung Fu Panda is not contain Shrek routine like anachronistic joke and managed to be a worthwhile family entertainment.



Jack Black voice as Po, a tubby panda who is a big fan of kungfu but his career prospects boil down to inheriting his father's noodle stand. That is, until turtle Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) appoint Po to be the "Dragon Warrior," a kungfu champion who will defend the valley from the wrath of mighty leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane).

How can a chubby novice such as Po compete with Tai Lung? How could Po gain respect from Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and his students The Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross)? Well, it would be too much spoilers if I tell you the story.

Jack Black was a good choice for the main character, Po, and I even get a sense of the real Jack Black. Dustin Hoffman also equally good in his role as Master Shifu, the kung fu master charged with training Po in martial art. However the other voice actors/ actress are replaceable, proving they were brought in merely to sell the film.

The animation is beautiful, the actions are well done, the fight scenes were fun to watch, althought it's not too violent. Emotional moments sometimes gets a little too sentimental. Still, they help us to understand the problems of the characters and the way they had to dealt with their shortcomings.

Some people might complain about the message to "always following your dream" tells kids to be dissatisfied with ordinary jobs. The other might complain about the story has no surprises at all and Kungfu Panda just use usual formula. Still, Kungfu Panda is fun, so who care! (reviewed by DL/ 2008)

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