Kids' Movie Weekend

I really need to see Get Him to the Greek, but for some reason *cough*Mike*cough*, I ended up seeing 2 kids' movies instead.

I wasn't really excited to see The Karate Kid, and it was pretty much what I expected. Your typical sports movie where the underdog works hard and beats the bad guy. I don't really remember the original all that well, but the only thing this movie seemed to have in common with it was an old Asian dude. Otherwise, it's pretty different. They could have called it The Kung-Fu Kid and just been accused of ripping off The Karate Kid. I mean, it takes place in China and they do kung-fu -- there's no Japanese karate involved. But I digress.

The movie was fine but here's my main problem with it - the kid's too young. He's 12, not the high school senior of the original. 12 is too young to be so violent. (The Chinese kids are encouraged to break people down, literally. Then again, this is China -- they're growing super-soldiers to take over the world in 5 years.) 12 is too young to be wandering off alone in a new foreign city, hanging out with an adult male. The movie could have easily taken a turn and become an after-school special. 12 is too young to be fighting for honor. 12 is too young to be confidently macking on a hottie. And 12 is definitely too young for abs. This kid had abs that rival Bradley Cooper's. It was insane.

Jaden Smith is likeable. He totally has his dad's personality - you could see his father delivering lines the same way. For me, the best part of the movie was Jackie Chan. There is something cuddly about a serious, quiet Jackie Chan. I'm used to the whacky, comedic action guy. I like this serious one better. He made the movie for me.

In the end, I just had too many real questions bothering me. Would a single mother really relocate her son to China for a job? Is that what the economy's brought us to? And keep letting your kid fend for himself on the streets of a foreign city!



Toy Story 3 on the other hand, I definitely wanted to see. I always enjoy the Toy Story movies, and Pixar movies in general. This was great. The level of detail in a Pixar movie always gets to me. This time, we have the toys going off to a day care center that is made out to be a prison. The movie's just as good as the ones that came before. Sweet, funny, and just a little twisted. Seriously, the Big Baby is creepy as hell.