Picture from Yahoo! Movies.
First off, I must apologize for not posting anything in quite a long time. I’ve been slacking on everything Internet-related because I’ve become absorbed with reading the L.A. Times (I’m trying to keep up with the elections and the Zimbabwe crisis) and the fantastic The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and I’ve been binging on acclaimed movies that they play on HBO at around midnight (Blood Diamond, Notes on a Scandal, Little Children). I also finished off my first year of college and moved out of my dorm. I’m now taking a summer class in the area of film; so far, I’m not liking it one bit. And today also happens to be my birthday! I’m going to see the midnight showing of Wall-E tonight!
I saw Kung Fu Panda several weeks ago when my friends were in town. Their tastes extend towards animation, comedies, and superhero movies, so we decided to see the Jack Black-voiced DreamWorks film. I was not expecting to like it because Jack Black makes my skin crawl; the only performances from him that I have liked were in School of Rock and The Holiday. I ended up finding Kung Fu Panda better than the last two Shrek movies and Cars ( a movie I despise- I can’t wrap my mind around a world made entirely of cars). It was mercifully brief, something I admire about movies for children. It was also entertaining for the most part, though I felt my mind drifting away during the fight scenes near the end of the movie.
My favorite part of the entire thing was the old turtle who was the master of kung fu or something. I have a thing for turtles, so imagine what it was like seeing an old wise turtle dispense universal truths while being absolutely adorable. The visuals were also better than expected; the village and the vivid colors made for a beautiful movie. Also, the moral of the movie wasn’t as awfully saccharine as in other movies- “you are the special ingredient.”
