Justin Y

Absolutely light on plot, The Kick manages to stretch out to 100 minutes. It's more the action than anything, with the story filling in the gaps and giving meaning to the fights. The playful nature of the film, along with the upbeat soundtrack, tend to liven up the picture.

The martial arts is heavy on the taekwondo and the kicks, hence the title. The choreography has its moments and while a little soft at first, gets much better as the film progresses. That leaves the final 20 minutes as the grand finale to look forward to.

The story revolves around a family and it's no surprise that all share the screen. Jae-hyeon Jo and Ji-won Ye get things moving in the early going as father and mother respectively, but by the end, it is the son and daughter that shine. Tae-joo Na and Tae Mi pull off some great fights on screen. JeeJa Yanin is more of a side character, but she gets in on a lot of the action.

The Kick is definitely a film that cares more about the martial arts than anything else. Is it worth a check out? As an action film, yes.

The concept behind the story screams of eccentric visuals and even outlandish characters and this is something that is in the realm of this director. With that said, Tim Burton keeps things in check and despite the fantasy components, this 110 minute film is more down to earth than it seems.

While this picture becomes more tolerable and easier to watch with the less than expected quirks, the humor also takes a dive. The laughs are far and few in between; however, that doesn't make Dark Shadows a complete bore because it does have entertainment value.

The screen belongs to Johnny Depp and it's hard to fault anything he does, but watch out for Eva Green. She is as much of a scene stealer as Depp. Both are worth the price of admission.

Dark Shadows isn't perfect by any means, but it is still an entertaining sit through.

The plot isn't meaty enough to fulfill 100 minutes of screen time, yet the picture spans that length. The story moves at an average pace, but nothing exciting ever happens throughout. The details are thin and even the conclusion is lackluster. As for the characters, they are stale and poorly written with very little to learn about any of them.

The action and visuals stand out, as there is extensive use of CG for the backdrops. It gives the film a bit of a comic book feel to it, but this isn't anything to brag about. Certain segments of the action do contain some nice choreography, although they are smothered with CG and change-in-speed motion effects.

Henry Cavill isn't much of a lead and part of it has to do with the writing. Stephen Dorff and Luke Evans make up where Cavill suffers, but both lack serious screen time and development. Freida Pinto and Mickey Rourke are ok for what it's worth.

Immortals doesn't offer a whole lot on the table, aside from its visual flair; however, that isn't enough to make this a recommendation.

This film has the potential to easily surpass 3 hours. It doesn't, but nearly 2 and a half hours, including scenes during and after the closing credits, will suffice. The plot does lack in depth; however, there is enough story to fill in the holes between the action. The plethora of major characters also bond well together and they each have sufficient screen time, despite the lack of character background and buildup, which is taken care of in the previous films.

The action is in abundance and done well. Combined with excellent direction from Whedon and the use of some good CG, the finale is one to remember.

Robert Downey Jr. completely overshadows the rest of the cast and is the life of the film. A lot of the comedy stems from him. The rest of the loaded cast get the job done as needed.

At the end of the day, The Avengers is a solid action adventure and is well worth the price of admission. "Hulk, smash!"