Movie #419 - Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard

2007 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 8 min
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith, Andrew Friedman, Jonathan Sadowski

This one was a first-time watch. Yes, it took me FOUR years to get around to seeing this. Shameful, right?

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at what a worthy follow-up this movie is to the successful 90's trilogy.  McLane's older, not really that much wiser, and still as ornery as they come.  Toss him into a world of computers and hackers and he's lost, but he makes up for what he can't decode with brute strength and guts.  Also, he can take helicopters out of the air with a broken fire hydrant, which is pretty friggin' sweet.

So I did enjoy this one. It's a fresher take on the "outdated" franchise, but it still stays true to the main character and his approach to law enforcement.  There's even a nice throwback line, saved for the very end.  Nice work, all around.

Movie #51 - Balls of Fury

Balls of Fury

Rogue Pictures

2007 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 30 min

Director: Robert Ben Garant

Starring: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, James Hung, Thomas Lennon

A movie about the dark and dangerous game of ping pong might sound a bit far-fetched, but this stellar cast's outstanding committment to the premise makes it work. Christopher Walken is hillarious, although not at all Asian (you'll get it when you see it), and attacks this character with his usual Walkenese fervor. It's the best part of this movie.

Unless you consider the fantastic Def Leppard soundtrack. That's pretty awesome, too.

I don't know much about the ancient Chinese tradition of ping pong, but this movie does a good job trying to educate you. But if you ever do find yourself in a sudden-death ping pong tournament, just watch out for Diedrich Bader and the courtesans of pleasure. Wow.