Friday, February 13, 2015

Weapon of Choice (2014) Movie Review



Harkening back to the 70s, in a time before CGI, quick edits, 'Weapon of Choice' finds an action niche. portrays Jack Lee, he is a retired assassin, and master of many forms of hand to hand combat, not to mention a wide variety of weapons. Incidentally Kang, co-wrote, produced, and directed the film!

The film does follow the 'Taken' plot line some what, daughter kidnapped and trained father, who will stop at nothing to get her back, but the two twists are the two lead females in the film are not shrinking violets, as police officer 'Ash' Jordan and Jack Lee's niece (who acts as his daughter) as Jamie Lee not only get in on the action, they are a part of it in an important way. The two actresses were very enjoyable to watch, taking time to get into character. Hats off go to Dennis as Jaime Lee, she had to be full of rage at times and daughterly at times and she really pulls it off.The second twist one you have to watch, I am not going to spoil it. It involves a hit-man for hire!

'Weapon of Choice' is a true independent film, a labor of love. The acting is decent for an indie film. Jino Kang, is a serious no nonsense guy, molded like old school Steven Segal.with a dash of 'Shaft' The film actually does have a 70s grindhouse vibe and even a classic car is used in the end.

There is copious action and fighting throughout the film. The choreography is rather enjoyable, and the filming is adequate. Obviously some combatants are far more skilled then others, towards the end, some guys seemed to be useless fodder, but Jino Kang keeps it interesting by varying the weapons, enough to keep up interest.

My minor complaint is the film does not seem to move from scene to scene with enough urgency, however it does become obvious that this is an attempt to provide character depth, as the film begins on the fly with action. Obviously, with a bigger budget, more time could be taken with accoutrements, and affording higher quality equipment, 'Weapon of Choice', although it has a few lull points, is an entertaining action movie, definitely worthy of a watch especially for fans of old school martial arts and 70s action films, and rates a 7 out of 10.

Lots of ways to watch!




Fist 2Fist 2: Weapon of Choice - Released Everywhere!
On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/…/fist-2-fist-2-weapon…/id956655371
http://www.amazon.com/Fist-Weapon-Choice-Jino…/…/ref=sr_1_1…





Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse Movie Review

Above Photo: (C) 2015 Universal Pictures




Universal Pictures have quite a clever marketing approach. By making lower budget versions of their original hits, essentially they are attempting to capture the magic of indie films, and shrink the financial impact. 'Dragonheart 3' is a real gem, and captures no pun intended, the heart of story telling, weaving a tale and caring about the characters.

'Dragonheart 3', produced by Raffaella De Laurentiis   is linked to the original, by the heart sharing of human and dragon, had a rather unique story in that the dragon is virtually powerless and forced to live in the shadows, by a ruthless powerful being who can put the dragon under his spell. Essentially the dragon needed the human companions to break the curse and free it. A dichotomy exists between man and beast, but their actions are linked. 'Dragonheart 3' is a "message" movie to fight you own battles, a task, often made more difficult when the odds are stacked.

'Dragonheart 3' opens with our 'hero' being denied knighthood, after he shows compassion to a local shop keeper and does not take his gold share and give to the ruthless king. The king tells him, in order to be a knight he must pay 100 "crowns" (assuming gold) He decided to journey into the forest to find, the mysterious meteor which has landed in an area of ruthless Picts. The 97 minute film is more of a quest film, than action, as the hero, red haired warrior, and wizard in training try to protect the dragon eggs from the clutches of the evil sorcerer.

The voice of Drago the Dragon is provided by Sir Ben Kingsley, but the true highlight of 'Dragonheart 3' is the spirited portrayal of Rhonu by actress , Tamzin, portrays a arrow wielding warrior and is hell bent on fighting for what she believes in. In 'Dragonheart 3', SHE is the one with the courage, even though Gareth () is linked to the dragon. In one scene she is running towards the fight while he is retreating in the opposite direction, remember though, he is not a knight. Tazmin actually is the hero in the film, and no, I will not spoil it! She added a lot of fire to 'Dragonheart 3' and definitely not just with her red hair.

Above photo: (C) 2015 Universal Pictures


The action, scenery, and various accoutrements of 'Dragonheart 3' were not spectacular, but pretty good, for the limited budget. It is obviously hard to compare, to the original film, in terms of atmosphere, but CGI artists were hard at work, creating a mythical being who moved in an out of the shadows.

A bit of humorous dialogue "She sneered at you, that means she likes you" is among the various sardonic lines scattered through 'Dragonheart 3'. The unique plot twist, the humor, coupled with the pace of the film, actually elevated 'Dragonheart 3' above the average direct to video film. 'Dragonheart 3' rates a 8 out of 10 a must own.

Film is available now on streaming links and blasts to DVD and Blu-Ray on February 24th! Follow Amazon link: