GrandpaBunche
Joined Dec 2006
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Reviews26
GrandpaBunche's rating
After the gravely disappointing CHOCOLATE (which disappointed to a dull script and some of the most mechanical fight choreography on record) comes this film featuring a schoolgirl named Kei Tsuchida (Rina Takeda) whose martial skills far outstrip her deeper understanding of the art she's learning. The basic gist of the story is that the girl in question, though only a brown belt, can throw down against karateka of higher rank and smash the living crap out of them in process. Seeking to prove how "strong" she is, the girl "hunts black belts" by going from dojo to dojo and challenging the top fighters, utterly decimating all her opponents. This practice does not sit well with her old school sensei (Tatsuya Naka), who advises her that what she is learning is strictly for self-defense and urges her to change her ways. Ignoring her sensei's guidance, Tsuchida accepts an invitation to join The Destroyers, a group of martial arts badasses from various disciplines, who use their skills as thugs and enforcers for underworld interests. Once she passes their brutal "entrance exam," Tsuchida discovers she's stepped into more than she bargained for when the leader of the gang is revealed to have held a major grudge against her sensei for fifteen years and she is now the bait to lure him to a long-delayed confrontation...
HIGH KICK GIRL's martial arts are stunning and what deficiencies may exist in some of the acting are more than made up for by the electrifying choreography. Takeda is nothing short of amazing in her role, looking like a Japanese Paris Hilton and exuding just the right amount of bullying arrogance when handing out butt-kickings. The film is briskly paced and never boring, and speaking as a longtime martial artist, I recommend this to anyone who has daughters with an interest in practicing. Takeda is a hero guaranteed to pique the interest of girls and young women, offering a refreshing alternative to the cynical marketing scam that is the Disney Princesses. She starts off as a smug, bullying jerk and learns some serious attitude-adjusting and humbling lessons by the end of the story, so there's more to this than just endless fight scene after endless fight scene (unlike CHOCOLATE). The film is also notable for featuring none of the graphic/sadistic gore and violence one might expect from this, and there's also no cursing, nudity or fetishistic fan service that usually goes along with a Japanese flick whose protagonist is seen in a schoolgirl's uniform for most of the running time. If this were given an MPAA rating, I could see this getting by with a PG-13 at worst, and that solely because it contains wall-to-wall fights, but if we lived in the more permissive era before 1995, I bet this would get a PG. In summation, HIGH KICK GIRL is a tougher-than-usual film for kids that solidly entertains from start to finish and maintains a very moral standard throughout. If all the viewer wants is quality ass-kicking, that's certainly to be had here, but the resolution of the character's arc comes as the satisfying icing on a tasty budo cake. And when watching the DVD, don't miss out on the two extra features focusing on Takeda and Naka's skills and their training for the film's fight sequences. There's also a standard "making of" featurette that, like the other extras, is untranslated, but in the case of the features on Takeda and Naka their physical acumen speaks for itself and delights the eye. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
HIGH KICK GIRL's martial arts are stunning and what deficiencies may exist in some of the acting are more than made up for by the electrifying choreography. Takeda is nothing short of amazing in her role, looking like a Japanese Paris Hilton and exuding just the right amount of bullying arrogance when handing out butt-kickings. The film is briskly paced and never boring, and speaking as a longtime martial artist, I recommend this to anyone who has daughters with an interest in practicing. Takeda is a hero guaranteed to pique the interest of girls and young women, offering a refreshing alternative to the cynical marketing scam that is the Disney Princesses. She starts off as a smug, bullying jerk and learns some serious attitude-adjusting and humbling lessons by the end of the story, so there's more to this than just endless fight scene after endless fight scene (unlike CHOCOLATE). The film is also notable for featuring none of the graphic/sadistic gore and violence one might expect from this, and there's also no cursing, nudity or fetishistic fan service that usually goes along with a Japanese flick whose protagonist is seen in a schoolgirl's uniform for most of the running time. If this were given an MPAA rating, I could see this getting by with a PG-13 at worst, and that solely because it contains wall-to-wall fights, but if we lived in the more permissive era before 1995, I bet this would get a PG. In summation, HIGH KICK GIRL is a tougher-than-usual film for kids that solidly entertains from start to finish and maintains a very moral standard throughout. If all the viewer wants is quality ass-kicking, that's certainly to be had here, but the resolution of the character's arc comes as the satisfying icing on a tasty budo cake. And when watching the DVD, don't miss out on the two extra features focusing on Takeda and Naka's skills and their training for the film's fight sequences. There's also a standard "making of" featurette that, like the other extras, is untranslated, but in the case of the features on Takeda and Naka their physical acumen speaks for itself and delights the eye. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
With the success of Harry Potter, it was inevitable that more family-friendly fantasy series would come into being and several have come and gone, but Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books have won acclaim from critics and readers, and now the first film adaptation has hit. I'll cut straight to the chase and tell you that I went into PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF having never read the books, but after what I got when I saw the movie, you can bet your sweet tuchas that I'll be reading them as soon as possible.
As anyone who's ever read Greek mythology can tell you, the Greek gods were a randy lot who spent a lot of time lusting after and seducing mortal women (or, more honestly, raping them, if you read the less-family-friendly recountings of the stories), and the fruits of those unions often became great heroes who slew horrifying monsters. That was back in the days of yore, but now it's the 2000's and the gods are still up to their priapic ways. Young Percy Jackson (the very good Logan Lerman) discovers the hard way that he is the result of his mother's passionate relationship with Poseidon, god of the oceans, and in no time his mundane world of high school angst gives way to potentially deadly confrontations with deities and monsters straight out of Edith Hamilton. Y'see, Percy unwittingly finds himself the chief suspect in the theft of Zeus' thunderbolt, and if it is not returned within a certain period of time, the "Big Three" of the Olympian pantheon, specifically Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, will go to war for supremacy, a conflict that would lay waste to most of the world. So it's a race against time for poor Percy, who must save his mom, the world and his own ass, all while discovering the awesome details and perks of his hitherto unknown birthright. Luckily for him, he's far from the only mythic being or demi-god to be found in the Tri-State area, and aided by his best friend, the "handicapped" Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), and the beautiful and highly-skilled warrior Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario, certain to become a hero to little girls everywhere), Percy embarks on a quest to plead his innocence to the lord of the Underworld and free his kidnapped mother in the process. The way is fraught with danger (that may be a tad too scary for the under-eights) and loaded to the gills with monsters and situations that are sure to delight the mythology-cognisant, all of which adds up to give the audience a rousing, compelling equivalent to a modern day Ray Harryhausen film, and that's a compliment that I do not hand out lightly. It hits all the right mythic notes and that just makes me feel good all over. And how can you not love Uma Thurman as Medusa? I mean, seriously, that rocks! To be blunt: I loved every second of PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF and intend to see it again as soon as possible. Oh, and don't walk out when the end credits start to roll...
As anyone who's ever read Greek mythology can tell you, the Greek gods were a randy lot who spent a lot of time lusting after and seducing mortal women (or, more honestly, raping them, if you read the less-family-friendly recountings of the stories), and the fruits of those unions often became great heroes who slew horrifying monsters. That was back in the days of yore, but now it's the 2000's and the gods are still up to their priapic ways. Young Percy Jackson (the very good Logan Lerman) discovers the hard way that he is the result of his mother's passionate relationship with Poseidon, god of the oceans, and in no time his mundane world of high school angst gives way to potentially deadly confrontations with deities and monsters straight out of Edith Hamilton. Y'see, Percy unwittingly finds himself the chief suspect in the theft of Zeus' thunderbolt, and if it is not returned within a certain period of time, the "Big Three" of the Olympian pantheon, specifically Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, will go to war for supremacy, a conflict that would lay waste to most of the world. So it's a race against time for poor Percy, who must save his mom, the world and his own ass, all while discovering the awesome details and perks of his hitherto unknown birthright. Luckily for him, he's far from the only mythic being or demi-god to be found in the Tri-State area, and aided by his best friend, the "handicapped" Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), and the beautiful and highly-skilled warrior Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario, certain to become a hero to little girls everywhere), Percy embarks on a quest to plead his innocence to the lord of the Underworld and free his kidnapped mother in the process. The way is fraught with danger (that may be a tad too scary for the under-eights) and loaded to the gills with monsters and situations that are sure to delight the mythology-cognisant, all of which adds up to give the audience a rousing, compelling equivalent to a modern day Ray Harryhausen film, and that's a compliment that I do not hand out lightly. It hits all the right mythic notes and that just makes me feel good all over. And how can you not love Uma Thurman as Medusa? I mean, seriously, that rocks! To be blunt: I loved every second of PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF and intend to see it again as soon as possible. Oh, and don't walk out when the end credits start to roll...
