A for A Very Good Movie.

If you look under the silver screen heading on the right side of my blog, you will find my last five English movies seen. (This "feature" is a revival of what I used to do before the first revamp of my other blog.) Since I sorely missed grading movies, here's my own critique of those five movies.
[Updated to include critics' marks.]

Kerwin - D/C-: Critics - C+: Ocean's Twelve. Meh. The original is way, way, WAY better than this sequel. It's like they just decided to create a sequel because the original (which was just, in fact, a remake) was a hit. Perhaps they thought it soared in the tills the first time because of the cast? Well, they're wrong. Despite-- or inspite of-- the cast, no one did anything in this movie. It was a total waste of actors' fees. (In fairness, though, there was a very nice sequence involving Julia Roberts. But you probably should just wait for it on video.)

Kerwin - C/C+: Critics - C-: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Again, another instance of the original having more spunk than the sequel. Aside from a few outstanding sequences, this movie was just another run-of-the-mill feel-good love story. In short, it's just really a so-so film. If you're feeling so-so, you probably should watch this. Perhaps. Maybe.

Kerwin - B: Critics - D: Blade: Trinity. A good action film, but I really don't know if the first two Blade films were better than this one, having failed to watch those two. That said, this installment of the Blade series is better than more than half of the Marvel comic-book-character adaptations out there (Daredevil and The Incredible Hulk, for example). I especially liked the casting of Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds in this film: Biel brought the attitude, Reynolds brought the funny. However, I thought the new characters were not well-developed, though, and action scenes fell a little short. There was also that one particular sequence which bothered me: What was that initial chase between Blade and The Ancient One for? Aside from being filler?

Kerwin - B+: Critics - D: National Treasure. If you watch a film to enjoy it, not to analyze it, then you will definitely get a blast from watching this movie. Of course, it's reminiscent of the now very famous Dan Brown stories (Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons), but assuredly, it does not have the same plot. I really don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. One thing's good, for sure: The treasure DOES NOT lie in your heart. I've always hated treasure hunts in films and books which end up saying, "The treasure lies within you." UGH. Good thing this movie stays away from that shitty ending. Another good thing: Nicholas Cage is good. I normally don't like Nicholas Cage, but it seems that he is most pleasant playing characters which are laid-back and witty, which in this film he most assuredly is.

Kerwin - A/A+: Critics - A/A+ (I'm assuming here. The film hasn't reached American market yet.): Kung Fu Hustle. Great, great film. From the story to the progression of the story to the relevance of the story to the subtleties in plot to the foreshadowing in every corner to the comedy to the "love story" to the drama to the action to the cinematography to the location to the actors to the characters they play to the magical powers they possess to the one heap of a great ending, this movie rules. I won't say more lest I spoil everyone else. JUST WATCH IT. I beg of you: WATCH IT.