tiny and kung fu
I went to see "Karate Kid" last Wednesday. It was pretty good. I mostly went to see it for Jackie Chan and fighting, but it turned out to have other positive aspects. Jaden Smith was about as cute as I expected him to be. Are all twelve-year-olds that small? He's itty-bitty. But: kick-ass. If (lionturtle forbid) they give movie!Zuko a little brown brother, I vote Jaden Smith. His fight scenes seem like a preview of what we'll see from Noah Ringer, twelve-year-old ass-kicking-wise,, although I hear Noah Ringer's better. His acting is decent for twelve, although he needs to work on the subtleties. When your girlfriend's dancing like Lady Gaga herself, gameface isn't the right expression. I expect he'll get better with age, as he acquires a face. I also predict more of J.S. in the future; if nothing else, the credits imply such. Well, they don't imply so much as scream LOOK OUT PRETEENS, HEARTTHROB ALERT. PLAY ALONG PARENTS, OR WILL SMITH WILL BEAT YOU UP. JUST KIDDING. MAYBE. the credits song was a duet by Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber. If there had been twelve-year-olds in the audience with me, probably they would have been foaming in the aisles.
Another fun thing: a cute romance between Dre and Meiying. This is what twelve-year-old romance should be like: cute and mostly chaste. I'm talking to you, Mike and Bryan. Dre and Meiying mostly hang out together, and be friends. Not so much aangsting or pre-battle tonsil hockey.
I haven't seen any of the other Karate Kid movies (that I remember), but I heard from a source that this one is similar to them, plot-wise. Who doesn't enjoy seeing a smug bastard get his ass handed to him? The smug bastard, that's who. And the bastards in this movie are really smug. Bastards.
Jackie Chan was a major part of its goodness. If he's getting to old to be the star of action movies, then I will happily accept him as Grandpa Badass. He plays it well, unlike some aging actors, who just sort of exist in the same movie as a younger person. Plus he rocks the old-guy facial hair.
movie haiku:
still as a mirror
peaceful as the dragon well
Dre schooled that kid hard
Another fun thing: a cute romance between Dre and Meiying. This is what twelve-year-old romance should be like: cute and mostly chaste. I'm talking to you, Mike and Bryan. Dre and Meiying mostly hang out together, and be friends. Not so much aangsting or pre-battle tonsil hockey.
I haven't seen any of the other Karate Kid movies (that I remember), but I heard from a source that this one is similar to them, plot-wise. Who doesn't enjoy seeing a smug bastard get his ass handed to him? The smug bastard, that's who. And the bastards in this movie are really smug. Bastards.
Jackie Chan was a major part of its goodness. If he's getting to old to be the star of action movies, then I will happily accept him as Grandpa Badass. He plays it well, unlike some aging actors, who just sort of exist in the same movie as a younger person. Plus he rocks the old-guy facial hair.
movie haiku:
still as a mirror
peaceful as the dragon well
Dre schooled that kid hard