This Review Roundup consists of 3 movies coming out this week and one that came out late May that was delayed. Up first is I am T-Rex, an animated family film out of China. I watched the English dubbed version of the movie. I called it a family film because it’s definitely for children. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we’re so used to animated movies being for both adults and kids that when a movie is strictly for kids it is surprising. Think of it like Paw Patrol or something like that. It’s about a young T-Rex whose father is king of a local land. When another T-Rex and gang overthrow his father, the young T-Rex is taken to another land. There he meets a sort of mentor who helps him hunt and grow. There’s a side story with this dinosaur and his family as well, but ultimately the end is a battle of T-Rex vs. T-Rex and gang. If your kids like dinosaurs they might like it. It’s not too violent, but I don’t know if it’s good for 2-3 year old children. It’s open to a sequel which I expect will get made. Parents won’t get much out of it, but kids will like seeing the different dinosaurs and like the action and comedy.
Second we have Skinamarink. This is a horror film I had heard about for months so I had high expectations for it. Unfortunately I watched it and have no idea why anyone is talking about it. It’s not a real movie to me. There’s no narrative, no real structure, barely any dialogue and no point to it. I was absolutely bored to tears with it. The entire movie revolves around two children, basically everything shot off center with a creature or ghosts or something you never see. Most of the dialogue is simply the sister saying “Kevin” or the brother saying her name. Nothing happens other than the camera moving around, Lego and other toys moving on the ground and the kids going from room to room. I damn near hated this movie because it’s not a movie. Someone I know said it would be something projected on a wall at an art exhibit and he’s right because again, it’s not a real movie. The Steelbook casing I got was cool, but this is a huge swing and a miss for me. What a major disappointment for something I had high hopes for.
Third we have A Radiant Girl. The film is about a young woman wanting to be an actress during the early 1940s in France. She has a group of friends all auditioning and wanting to be part of the local scene. She’s interested in a young man she meets through her optometrist all while dealing with her own family. But it’s early 1940s France and they are a Jewish family and that becomes an issue while living their lives. It shows how people tried to go about their daily lives while all of this hung over their heads as they started to lose more and more aspect of their lives. The ending is a bit open-ended, but I liked it. What I loved was the young actress who plays the lead. She’s fantastic. She’s charismatic, delightful, youthful, pretty and just wanting to live that life those of us wanted to live when we were 19. This woman has a great career ahead of her. Instead of playing like the heavy drama it could have been, it’s lighter, more about life and youth during a time of heavy issues and death. It never makes light of the situation, but it plays as a piece of life, its up and downs. Watch it for the young actress because she is amazing.
Last we have Fist of the Condor which came out last month. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before. Let me reword that, I’ve never anything like it before from this part of the world. At its core it’s a classic kung-fu/martial arts story of ancient tradition and a wandering warrior. But it’s Chilean and modern day. It’s a throwback to the kung-fu movies/shows I grew up on with overly choreographed fighting and masters and pupils and everything I like about the genre. Except it’s modern day and in Spanish. Part of me kind of loved it. Part of me was absolutely baffled at what I was watching. The main actor plays twin brothers, one with a book of martial arts that has been passed down for generations. The other, the wanderer, out to find the book. If you grew up on classic kung fu stories, you’ve seen this before, but I’ve certainly never seen it done in modern day and in Spanish. The wanderer drives a motorcycle and guys have guns. It’s such a throwback/homage to classic Asian films that I will be recommending it to others I know who enjoy the genre as much as I do. It’s campy with overly choreographed martial arts, but so weren’t the films from 40-50 years ago. You have to see it for yourself and I expect the sequel to come my way once it’s made.
The Nerds Templar 