RECCE ROOM

For today's review, I will take note of the movies The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid II . I had seen both of these many times as a kid. We had them both on tape. At the time, I liked the second one a bit better. Well, I watched both through entirely recently... probably the first time in fifteen or more years... and had some thoughts on them. The Karate Kid This movie is far better than the second. Now I know why it was nominated for several awards and the second was not. The acting was far better. The score was much better. The directing and production was better. The plot was far more original. I really wish learning the martial arts was as easy as Miyagi made it look! The Karate Kid II As a child, I liked this one a bit better. Had more fights. However, a few things turned me off to this one as an adult. 1. Miyagi turns into some sort of peacenik. Seriously, I can understand (and personally, I do adopt) an attitude of nonviolence, but Miyagi goes leftist in this mo...

Just finished seeing all episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) on Netflix. Here are my thoughts: This series winds up surpassing the original series (TOS) in most respects. Disregard the fact that Captain Picard is less of a cowboy than Captain Kirk. The characters of TNG are more believable, despite the fact that more of the characters are non-human. Recurring villains and antagonists include Q, Cardassians, Romulans, and Ferengi, among others. Overall, I found the antagonists to be acceptable. Situations were often the key as opposed to making the antagonist the main focus. TNG featured a lot more of the Klingons than I ever saw in syndication. I had seen most of the episodes either when they were first released (Seasons 1 and 2), or later during syndication. Not a lot of Season 7 episodes appeared in syndication. However, Season 6 seemed to be a favorite. A lot of Season 1 seemed to revolve around setting Picard up as being old and weak... as if he was about to re...

So I recently completed viewing of the series Star Trek: Voyager. I have always enjoyed the Star Trek movies and TV shows, and this one was no different. I'm not going to go into great detail on the plots or acting. It was a Star Trek series. I do agree with some critics that pointed out the 6th season felt like they were looking for filler material. Some episodes in the 7th and final season felt that way, too - at first. But overall it was entertaining. Favorite moment: when the Emergency Command Hologram started kicking tail. Janeway was always hesitant to use weapons, and that put them in several dangerous predicaments, but the ECH was more decisive. Least favorite moment: When the crew crosses the transwarp barrier, but then they give up on research on it per a Captain's log. WEAK SAUCE.  Favorite character: the man in me says Seven of Nine. The reviewer in me says Neelix. My personality liked Tuvok. But overall, it had to be Harry Kim - I feel I was once just lik...

The Muppets movie of 2011 was on tab this past Thanksgiving weekend. It was a Muppet movie. The producers held to the formula (simple comedy, simple plot, entertaining songs) that made the Muppets a favorite of mine, and so many others in my age group. My kids loved it. I enjoyed it. More than once, the wife was tapping her feet to the beat of a song.

Preview alert for a movie I will likely review next year. The Avengers is based on several Marvel comics superheroes. Thor, Ironman, and others join forces. What more do you need?

Space Battleship Yamato . Best preview I've seen in years. Since Star Wars. Seems the movie came out in Japan in 2010.  And is it just me, or does that sound like Aerosmith singing the theme song " Love Lives "??? (OK, I found out it was just Stephen Tyler)

Recently, we joined Netflix. Local video stores are a thing of the past - there are none at all in our city, or on this side of Nashville. Netflix has a lot of movies available for download, and many more can be delivered to your door. I watched the download of the Karate Kid (2010). Being a big fan of the original movie from 1984, I was skeptical. That said, to be completely fair, this movie was quite entertaining. It was neat watching the differences, yet seeing the similarities. One thing I liked is that this movie had a lot less foul language than the original. Being a martial artist for over 25 years, I must point out that this movie would have been better titled: The Kung Fu Kid. Karate was virtually non-existent in the movie (save a brief appearance). It was interesting to see how they made the love interest, especially seeing as these kids were 12 years old. Perhaps a bit overdone, but not inappropriate. Also interesting was to see how Mr. Han (who took the place of M...

As always: SPOILERS! Friday night, the Mrs. and I saw " Battle: Los Angeles ." Setting: The film is set in the present. The plot centers around a platoon of Marines sent to help fight the threat of an alien attack. Summary: The story starts with the premise that you know that aliens are attacking Earth. Let's face it, if you wanted to see this movie, you already knew that. There are several scenes that establish the basics, but not much more. It seems to be as if they wanted to give the viewer enough information, but not too much. The idea is that if you were there, that's about how much you would know. Soon, we meet our heroes. The main character is a Marine Staff Sergeant who is about to retire from service. Naturally, as the attack happens, he is placed second-in-command of a platoon of Marines who are led by a very young, inexperienced Lieutenant. This is typical in the infantry - new 2nd Lieutenants are paired with seasoned Sergeants, as a sort of lear...

By request, some thoughts on two of the best movies ever made, and an abortion that was named the third film in the series. THE GODFATHER This film should be seen by all adults at least once. Most will like it. Plot Holes: Minor Hollywood inconsistencies. Comments: This is a very intricate movie, focusing on human interaction. One can learn a lot from it. This is one of those movies that must be seen several times before one picks up all of it. I like the new version, interwoven with the second film, in chronological order. This film has many good quotes. Many of them have made mainstream America. Lots of old-fashioned guns. I am a rifle-lover, and there are few rifles in the movie. But the pistols and shotguns are in force and are time-period accurate.  This movie ranks very high on most top 100 lists, and for good reason. THE GODFATHER II This film should also be seen by all adults at least once. Again, most will like it. I think it is one of the very few ...

This will be for the "Predator" Series: Note: I'm not going to outline the plot, name characters, or that wort of thing. Go to the Internet Movie Database for that information. PREDATOR See this if you like: Anything Schwarzenegger . Action films, slightly sci-fi films, films with lots of guns. Plot holes: None outside of the usual Hollywood plot holes such as how many bullets can be fired from a magazine, or that mud could completely erase your heat signature. I chalk these up to exaggeration. Comments: Used to watch this a lot as a kid, with my brother, and our friend, Kevin. PREDATOR II See this if you like: Action films, slightly sci-fi films, military films, films with lots of guns. Danny Glover films before he came out as a raging libtard. Plot holes: The predator is less of a match for Danny Glover (a cop, in the movie), than the previous one had been for Arnold (a special ops soldier). Maybe because Glover had a bit more information on the...