Short Cut Review: The Expendables 2

A Short Cut Movie Review is normally less than 400 words, but in some cases may go slightly over. This is my attempt to keep writing about as many films as I see without getting bogged down with trying to find more to say. They are meant to be brief snapshots of my reaction to a movie without too much depth.

Although I felt it lacked a lot of the sheer joy and fun of watching these guys kick ass in the first movie, this sequel still dazzles with the audacity to be bloody as hell with its gratuitous mayhem and violence. West, a director not known for restraint in action film, took over the helm from Stallone this time out. Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of the governor's chair, his role has been expanded. Bruce Willis also participates more and Chuck Norris turns up riffing on the popular "Chuck Norris Facts." Van Damme makes a less than satisfying bad guy. In spite of the sheer excess of the combat sequences, West keeps the one-on-one muscle confrontations mercifully short.

Kung Fu Panda 2 Movie Review

Kung Fu Panda 2, the sequel to the hit computer-animated action comedy from DreamWorks Animation, follows the standard rules of sequels. It is bigger in scope, louder, and more boisterous. And it expands the cast list, already overflowing with celebrity voiceovers, to include even more. Part of the fun is trying to identify that voice you recognize but just can’t place. In addition to the stars of the first show, Dennis Haysbert and Jean-Claude Van Damme appear as kung fu masters from another province and Danny McBride is here as a badass wolf.