Movie Reviews - K
K2: A pretty decent climbing movie. Ok, not perfect, but better than many of the others.
Kalifornia: Loved it. Completely warped.
Kama Sutra: Would have been a lot better if they'd kept in the "naughty bits". I'd never seen a movie with this setting, so for that reason alone, I liked it. I just think that a movie "about sex" should have more sex in it. I mean, so many movies that aren't "about sex" have tons of sex in them, why can't this one? Why didn't they re-edit for the American release?
Kangaroo Jack: This movie will suck IQ points right out of your skull. Watch it more than once, and you're likely to feel a pain that's akin to a slurpee overdose.
The Karate Kid: This story has been done about a zillion times. Every other kung-fu flick out of Taiwan and Hong Kong had this same plot. But, this was the only version that most Americans saw. So, it was touching and original to most people. I suppose it wasn't all bad, but I really did want to beat up Ralph Machio... he deserved it dammit.
The Karate Kid II: Ralph Machio oozes "wimp" with every line. How are we supposed to believe this?
The Karate Kid III: The karate girl? In the dictionary under the word "Lame", there is a reference to this movie.
Keeping Mum: Ever wanted to just whack your annoying neighbor in the head with a shovel and bury him? I mean, who'd really care? You'd be making the world a better place. Well... then this movie is for you!
Kids: It's the new millennium, do you know where your kids are? Maybe they're doing drugs, having sex, beating people up, and forming their own "society". The scary thing is that there are probably kids out there just like those in this movie. The scarier thing is that one day they'll grow up and have kids of their own. If you were shocked by this movie, then it did its job.
Kill Bill
vol 1: I've heard a lot of rave
reviews about this one. I did enjoy it, but it was lacking in some areas... I
couldn't care less about any of the characters. For all I know, the protaganist
(the bride) had it coming, so her "revenge" is hollow. I really wanted to see
more history of "why" her wedding party was slaughtered... perhaps that will be
in vol 2? The way that Tarantino jumbles timelines, I wouldn't be surprised.
One thing this movie did have going for it was style - it's just fun to watch
as art on screen. As for the violence/body count? Anybody who's offended by
that has totally missed the point. The "violence" is completely cartoon
violence - like seeing Wile E Coyote smack into the ground at the base of a
cliff. How could you possibly be shocked by that? What's more, all the people
who get killed are characters you just don't care about, so it has the
emotional impact of the "destruction of movie props" as far as I'm concerned.
The only violence that made my heart thump a little was seeing the bride get
shot point-blank in the head. So quit complaining... If you want to see a
horrifyingly violent movie for comparison, see the Pianist.
Kill Bill
vol 2: I
still don't know exactly why the wedding party was slaughtered... among
a bunch of other things, but it did tie up all the loose ends, and help
explain the characters more. I liked this one better than vol1, but
they're really one long movie... so how can I compare them?
Killing Zoe: A gem of a movie that few people saw. Eric Stotlz as a professional bank robber who unwittingly gets involved with unprofessional, suicidal French bank robbers... and lucky for him, one really cute girl. I loved the ending.
King Kong (70?s remake): I haven't seen it in 15 years, but I do remember it was kind of dumb but I enjoyed it. See it only once though, it's not worth additional viewings (few movies are, but for some reason, this one stands out with that characteristic)
King Kong (2005 remake): Sure, it was beautifully filmed and all, but I found it really one-dimensional. A movie that's 3 hours long should have more than one storyline. Plus, there was almost too much action. I realize the movie was an action/adventure movie at its heart, but it should know when enough is enough. The action sequences just went on and one and on... like the insect thing at the bottom of the canyon. The movie also tried to say a lot of things without dialog. This can be a good thing, and is certainly better than having too much dialog (a problem with many other movies), but I thought the balance was off. There also wasn't a lot of attention paid to small details in the movie. I can't really explain it, it's just a feeling I had. Still, with all those reservations, it was pretty good, and worth seeing just for the eye-candy factor.
King of Kong: Can anyone watch this and not come to the conclusion that this Billy dude is a complete ass? If you earn the respect of your peers, you have a responsibility to be humble... for it is from them that you're allowed that respect. Put another way, let's say I was the best person in the world at drawing circles with crayons. Nobody would care. But, if I was worshiped by a group of crayon-circle freaks, I would have some understanding that any praise I enjoyed from them required that I give them respect in return. Anyway, I wish they'd shown more of the actual game - They didn't even show the pie level! I mean, I know it was a story about the people, but can't you at least take a few moments to explain the game and show something other than the main level? It's not that complicated, and would have added to the story.
A Knight's Tale: The other movie I was forced to watch on the train from LA to Seattle (see evolution). A train wreck would have been more fun than watching this movie.
Krull: A fantasy epic with a somewhat original story. Sure the "theme" has been done many times: villian captures princess, holds land hostage until she marries him. But, the bits and pieces that made up the movie were mostly unique - like how the evil castle changed location every day or so. This movie probably works best with a young audience. That's when I first saw it, so I only have fond memories.
K-Pax: I'm not going to attempt to guess whether K-Pax was really an alien or not, I'm willing to admit that I just don't know. Whatever you think, this was an entertaining piece of work. One thing I didn't get though, did the Jeff Bridges character really need to fly to New Mexico to learn about Prot? He could have just called.
Kundun: I enjoyed it. I have to wonder though if Hollywood is in cahoots with some secret government agency which is painting China as an evil monster so when we go to war everyone is for it. Of course, I'm not saying that China (the government anyway) isn't an evil monster... but...