Movie Reviews: Triple Whammy

Since it's the weekend and I'm effectively stuck at home (with the exception of two occasions) I thought I'd share some mini-reviews of what's screening at our cinemas. This summer is a hotbed of big budget releases, and here are a few of the ones I managed to catch (and download..shhh):

The Punisher
An apt title that turns out to be more of a comedy than an action film, and was it just me or did Malaysia see fit to put in a little card at the end of the movie that said "Frank Castle was captured and jailed" right after the aforementioned hero swore to rid the world of bad guys? What, our audiences can't think for themselves? John Travolta schmoozes through another take as Howard Saint the essential bad guy, Armageddon's Will Patton turns in a passable performance as his sidekick Quentin Glass, and there are several other notables including the lovely Ms Rebecca Romjin. Of course, where would we be without the titular hero? Taciturn, dark and brooding he exacts his punishment somewhat underwhelmingly as the scores of weapons he has barely sees any use (look out! A bow and arrow in a building? What happened to silencers?). Recommended if you're going through a boring Saturday, and you've definitely got to watch out for the hilarious "burning skull stunt" he pulls near the end.

A 3 out of 5

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Third time's the charm for Harry and his mates. Alfonso Cuaron manages to breathe a new, darker life into the franchise by actually turning his characters into people, instead of inflatable book-alikes. The kids have grown into their roles really well, and the supporting cast (even the new Dumbledore) manage to turn this outing into something that actually feels like a feature film. Unlike Chris Columbus's "look ma! I can do magic!" approach, Cuaron infuses Hogwarts with underlying magic at every turn, not to mention the fact that the kids actually go out and about the school grounds. Purists may balk at the turn the film's taken, but I only fear for the fourth one if the rumours are true that Cuaron may not be directing.

A 4 out of 5

The Chronicles of Riddick
I found myself liking this more than I probably should have, which may be because I've recently rekindled my interest in the entire franchise by playing the video game (which a lot of reviews have stated as one of the best titles of 2004). Vin Diesel reprises his role as the mysterious Riddick as he becomes embroiled in a battle against planet-destroying religious fanatics all the while shaking off the bounty hunters on his tail. Watching this I could not help but draw parallels with the first Conan movie, in terms of narrative and plot structure. The action is satisfying (albeit a little over the top) but all in all this film is perfect popcorn material, plus it may just make people a bit more curious about the prequel, which has now attained cult status among DVD collectors. A word of warning: Judi Dench twirls around like a forest elf more than once, and that may prove to be more difficult to stomach than any violence.

A 3.5 out of 5

Right. That's about all the time I have this week, so if you'll excuse me, I'm off to leave my PC on while downloading some more movies to review.

Ash.ox out!