sockii Reviews

Gotham Knights: Pilot (2023) Season 1, Episode 1

Very pleasantly surprised!

[10/10 · 15 March 2023]

I started watching Gotham Knights solely for Misha Collins (and yes, he was well worth it) but ended up thoroughly engaged by the rest of the characters by the end of this first episode. It was a little rough and choppy to start, but I expect as much for a pilot. Once the main plot and the action kicked in I was amazed by how much momentum and intensity the show packed into all of about 40 minutes. The costuming, set design and filming is gorgeous, too, really creating a unique vision combining both modern and retro elements to this version of Gotham City. I'm eager to see where the rest of this season continues the storyline.

Gen-X Cops (1999)

decidedly average

[5/10 · 3 October 2000]

I was pretty disappointed with this film. The young stars of the movie just don't have the charm and talent to wow me like I was hoping they would, they just seem like pretty faces pouting and tossing off a few poorly-filmed kung fu moves. The gunplay was about the only exciting thing to watch--certainly influenced (ripped off?) from John Woo's style. It all ended up feeling pretty flat to me, nothing much better than a run-of-the-mill US action movie. Save your money unless you just want to look at the pretty stars.

Crime Story (1993)

Interesting change of pace

[8/10 · 1 October 2000]

I thought this movie was an interesting change of pace for a Jackie Chan film--not a joke to be found, just a lot of dark and gritty action. The production values are better than usual (though the US version's dubbing is awful!) and the story kept me interested. If you want to see a more serious side to Jackie Chan's acting, check this movie out. Don't watch it expecting tons of kung fu fighting, though, or you'll likely be disappointed.

Twin Dragons (1992)

a fun comedy

[9/10 · 1 October 2000]

This is one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies, even though it's so light and fluffy it seems ready to just float off into thin air at any moment. Jackie is just a delight to watch playing the two separated-at-birth twins, and the final brawl at the auto-testing plant is a terrific example of Chan's amazing physical comedy.

Spiritual Kung Fu (1978)

It could have been worse...

[4/10 · 1 October 2000]

This isn't as mind-numbingly bad as some of Jackie's films for Lo Wei, but the director has a very weird idea of what makes for a kung fu comedy (it seems to involve Jackie shoving snakes and frogs down his shorts and peeing on ghosts). This movie deserves to be on Mystery Science Theater 3000, with its terrible idea of ghostly special effects (guys in white face paint, red wigs, and sparkly skirts hopping around, and a sparkler used to look like a falling meteor). The martial arts scenes are okay, but not great.

The Deadly Duo (1971)

Classic Shaw Brothers film

[7/10 · 1 October 2000]

This is a good old-fashioned kung fu movie, featuring the always entertaining pairing of Shaw Brothers stars David Chiang and Ti Lung. While it may not show the polish and lightning-fast kung fu of later martial arts movies, this one has a simple but engaging storyline and enough action to keep the viewer watching.