The Karate Kid 2010 Movie - How to Watch it With Your Children

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There has been a fair bit of controversy surrounding the Karate Kid Movie 2010. Despite the debate as to whether this film is suitable for children to view, many youngsters will see it. As a kids karate sensei, I would like to make suggestions on how to view this movie, and how to discuss it with your child.
First off, violence sells in Hollywood. MMA is so popular because people want to see real fighting action, maybe even someone getting hurt. Sometimes more violence than necessary is shown to make a movie dramatic and sell tickets. The consequences of such violence are not shown either. Missing teeth, broken bones and other serious injuries are not portrayed accurately by Hollywood because it is too gory. The pain and trauma is also not shown because it is too confronting to viewers.
Realize that fighting is not the way to solve our problems. There are many better ways of resolving conflict other than violence, and the first is communication-talking it over. Could the differences between the characters in this movie have been resolved in a better way?
The bullies in this movie, like the original Karate Kid Movie, trained in dojos that taught glorification of violence. This is extremely rare in the martial arts world, but it makes the movie more dramatic, because there has to be a bad guy in this story to make it interesting. The vast majority of martial arts instructors teach respect and avoidance of violence.
The tournament in this movie, just like the first, is not even close to what an actual martial arts tournament is like. Realise there are rules in tournaments and they are designed to prevent injury. There is also mandatory protective equipment worn in tournaments. If tournaments were run like this no one would ever attend them.
Look for good in this movie. Try to find lessons to be learned about life in the story. Try to put yourself in the different actors' positions in this movie and see where they are coming from. Is there peer pressure amongst the bullies? Was the bully brainwashed by his instructor? Was he racist? Who taught him to be racist?
Try to see how another culture lives from day to day. Remember, different is not always better or worse-it is just different, and that differences in language, food, and customs is what makes life interesting. How interesting would the world be if we were all the same? Look for common threads as well, as there are many western influences in China today. Is the western way of life always the best? Look for the beauty in the scenic sense, and also in the people and how they live. Remember, the martial arts originated in this part of the world.
What lessons did you learn from this movie?

Australia's Youth Self Defence Karate was founded in 1994 by Kenpo Freestyle 5th Degree Black Belt, Matt Klein. After arriving from the U.S., Matt noticed a great need for fun and affordable activities for children in Sydney. He opened the first club specializing in martial arts for kids in Australia. The classes became an instant hit, with their high-energy, fun, and non-intimidating atmosphere.

From Cairo With Love

The romantic mood in "Cairo Time" has a strong presence, but it's missing the tension that films like this thrive on. In fact, this is one of those rare films that fails what's called the Peter Griffin Test: Think back to that episode of "Family Guy" where Peter buys a tank and shows up with it at a drive-in theater. After a few minutes of a bland comedy called "The Even Couple," he yells, "There's no conflict in this movie!" and fires a missile at the screen.

Maybe the reason why films like "Cairo Time" are so rare is because theater owners aren't keen on movies that might put them out of business.

Of course, one might envy its heroine, Juliette (Patricia Clarkson), for getting to hang around in such an exotic place. She's a journalist who's come to Cairo to work on her next story, and to go sightseeing with her husband, a U.N. official named Mark (Tom McCamus). He'd planned on meeting her in Cairo after taking care of some business in Gaza, but when the airline cancels his flight, his old friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig) steps in to keep her company.

You'd think someone who's got a piece to write would want a little time to herself.

Juliette gets so used to having Tareq around that she starts to fall in love with him, which is made all the more surprising by the fact that they don't have much in common. An affair is usually enough to generate some drama, but these characters aren't bold enough to create any sparks - their romance is limited to passionate glances that bespeak of the flames within their loins, and all that other Harlequin crap you find in bargain bins at supermarkets. (Actually, given this film's PG rating, this material seems better suited for the young-adult section at the bookstore.)

Even the parts that don't have anything to do with their relationship come out wrong, all wrong. When Juliette hops on a bus and sits next to a woman named Jameelah (Mona Hala) only to have the Egyptian police pull them over, Juliette's caught off-guard when Jamelah asks her to track her boyfriend down and hand him a love letter. Instead of turning this into a major plot point, the movie allows Juliette and Tareq to take care of the letter as if it were as easy as... well, mailing a letter. It's stuff like this that makes you wonder how a film this dull can last 90 minutes.

Sometimes it's worth waiting through a film's theatrical run for the DVD, but if you must see "Cairo Time," wait until it turns up on television. At least there, you'll get something out of the commercials.

Kick-Ass - A Review

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"Are you one of the people who see something that they're not supposed to and pretend not to see it, instead of doing something about it?" This question is the premise of Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is your average nerdy high school kid who is into comic books. He and his nerdy friends were occasionally getting mugged by the thugs in their town. One day, he decided he was tired of it and made up his mind that he would be a superhero named Kick-Ass, even though he did not have any training on self-defense or weaponry. During his first venture as a superhero, he sees the two men who mugged him trying to steal a car. The men told him to leave but he did not and he ended up getting stabbed. When the paramedics arrived, he pleaded with them to hide his suit due to embarrassment. He survives the attack but he ended up in the hospital, with frayed nerves and a body full of metal plates. After this unfortunate incident, he was still determined to be a superhero, so he set up a MySpace page where people could contact him to ask for help. While on a mission, he sees a guy getting beaten up by the thugs of the local mobster Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). Due to his numb condition, Kick-Ass did not feel much pain and in the end he beat up the thugs. People were watching during the incident and somehow the video made it to YouTube, making Kick-Ass an overnight sensation. Meanwhile, a father-daughter team who saw the video wanted to help Kick-Ass because they somehow sensed that he did not know how to defend himself. Damon (Nicolas Cage) and Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) were well-trained in weaponry and had mad fighting skills. Damon was an ex-cop holding a grudge against D'Amico. He initially thought it was not necessary to help Kick-Ass, but Mindy changed his mind. In one of Kick-Ass' missions, Damon and Mindy appear to him as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, their superhero alter egos. They also managed to save his life and offered to help him whenever he needed it. Kick-Ass went home frustrated and wondered, was it really worth it to be a superhero?

The movie is quite refreshing because it breaks a lot of molds. A nerdy superhero with no superpowers? Check. A purple-haired 11-year old sharp shooter who looks like an angel but swears like a sailor? Check. These attributes make watching the movie fun though, because they were so unexpected. The scene where Damon shoots Mindy on the chest was shocking, only to find out she was wearing bulletproof armor and he just wanted her to get used to the impact. Her expertise with the folding knife was also fascinating to watch. I would say the real star of the movie was Chloë Grace Moretz because she was the one who kicked ass, literally and figuratively. This movie certainly would pave the way to good roles and of course, success, because she is exceptionally talented. All in all, the movie was exhilarating and a lot of fun to watch.

Predators Movie Review

Cover of Predator [Blu-ray]

The year was 1987 and Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his popularity. This was when Predator was unleashed around the world. This film introduced us to one of the most frightening creatures ever put on film. There was great balance of horror, comedy, action and suspense and made this one of Schwarzenegger's best films and gave us a creature that was hoped to be seen in other equally as great movies. Unfortunately this was not the case. We first got Predator 2, then Aliens vs. Predator and lastly Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. All of these films paled in comparison to the original and really made the Predator something much less than it was intended to be. Now, 23 years after the first film, we finally get a film that reminds us why we liked the Predator in the first place.

When the film starts, you almost get a sense of deja vu. The location is a jungle much like the one we see in the original film, but with different actors roaming around and wondering where they are. One person then meets another and both seem lost and unsure of how they ended up where they are. Then another person runs into the steadily growing group. They all begin talking and all realize that they have been brought to the jungle by someone or something, but they don't know who or why. They are all heavily armed and all seem to be elite and trained fighters. They all come to a cliff with a view of more of the jungle and realize they've been brought further than they ever could have realized. We see a vista with multiple moons or planets in the sky. They've been taken from Earth.

This is the big change of this film from the original. The Predators have been collecting species to bring them to a planet to hunt them down. Why would they go and hunt on a different planet, where it could be more difficult because of all the people that are there when they can just pick the ones that they want to hunt and bring them to their own hunting ground. The humans they have picked all have experience, either hunting, fighting or stalking others. They are the Predators of Earth. Who better to challenge than the hunters of Earth?

I personally would have liked to see not only humans, but other species from around the galaxy to join together or at least fight the Predators jointly. We saw glimpses of other races that had been captured, but didn't make it after being dropped from an aircraft. If only some of these had survived so that we could get a better sense of other races that the Predators like to make sport of. Maybe the filmmakers were saving that for a second film should this one do well. Either way, I really like the direction they took with this film and it makes me remember why I loved the first film to begin with.

Sure, this film isn't perfect, but it does what it set out to do which was remind the audience about these fierce creatures and why they were once popular. They also made this film very similar in tone to the original and brought back the action and suspense that was missing from other Predator films. I do hope to see another movie after this one, but hope they take a few more risks, show a lot more creatures and give the Predators a challenge that will make the audience stand up and cheer.

Movie Review - Toy Story 3

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Unarguably the best among the three; Toy Story franchise returns with it's final edition in a 3D avatar for one last time. Directed by Lee Unkrich and produced by Disney Pixar, Toy Story 3 - one of the most loved animated movie - runs for 1 hour 45 minutes, making it a short and sweet adventure tale of lifeless toys, that speak a mind of their own.

Andy the kid, who once had a huge collection of toys in his room, has now grown up into a hand-some teenager, soon he will join college and it is time for him to put his beloved toys away, though they are still in perfect shape. Woody the sheriff is hopeful that Andy will tuck them away safely in the attic so that when he has kids of his own, they'll play with the toys someday, but Wood's and his friends' dreams are short-lived, for, Andy's mother is of the opinion that the toys be discarded as nobody would play with them once Andy leaves home.

As Andy picks up Woody and Buzz Light Year, his heart skips a beat yet again for the two of his favourite toys and he wants to take them to college with him. So he puts the two in a box which he would take away to college and others in a bag that his mom will donate to a nearby kid's day care centre. His mom mistakenly picks up the other bag, thinking it is trash and throws it out of the house. Woody is now in a fix. He has to save his friends. Off he jumps the window, saves his friends form trash van and they all crash land in the box that is to be donated to Sunnyside Day care.

Sunnyside Day care is now altogether new and fascinating home for the toys. An unknown place where they are accorded a warm welcome by other toys. But their grief of being discarded by Andy still looms, until they meet Losto - the Pink Bear. Woods tries to convince his friends to return to Andy, but the toys have now taken a disliking for him and decided to stay back at the day care centre, with different kids each day, playing with them all day long. The unruly kids of the day care get the better of Andy's toys and it is now they have been trapped by Lotso. Someone's arm is missing, while someone else's nose goes for a toss! The toys are in an utter mess and now want to break free.

Then on begins their adventure journey through the day care centre with loads of twists and turns. How they manage to save their life and whether Andy takes all of them to college is a must watch, the plot of the story flows smoothly throughout and does not give way to confusion. Even if you haven't seen the earlier two instalments; it doesn't confuse you a bit. You get the gist of the story the moment it begins to roll on screen. Also the romantic angle of a heart broken Barbie and Ken is well picturised. All toys play their characters well on the screen and same goes for voice over artists behind the scenes.
All in all... Toy Story is a must watch for people of all ages. Go Watch it.