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Reviews: Roger Ebert (3.5 of 4) | IMDb External Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes 83% | Metacritic 71%

In Tropic Thunder (2008) a frustrated director (Steve Coogan) sends his actors into the jungle (filmed in Hawaii) to make a more realistic Vietnam-era film. Local drug runners mistake the actors as Drug Enforcement Officers. The actors mistake the drug runners for other actors attempting to induce better performances. Comedy ensues.

I liked Tropic Thunder a lot. I laughed a lot. The cinematography was beautiful.

It has a large ensemble case.  Ben Stiller plays a an actor attempting to prop up a sagging action star career. Matthew McConaughey plays his agent – seemingly willing to do anything to keep his cash-cow of a client working. Jack Black plays a low-brow comic actor not concerned with much more than his next drug fix. Nick Nolte plays a Vietnam vet. The movie being made is based on his book.

Despite this being Ben Stiller’s film (he directed it), it’s Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise’s movie.

Tom Cruise, dressed up in a fat suit and a bald-cap (looking a lot like James Lipton), played a wonderful, small part as an egomaniacal producer. the character is rumored to be modeled after Harvey Weinstein. Stiller hinted in a recent Charlie Rose interview that a spin-off staring Cruise’s Les Grossman character may be in the works. Tom was spectacularly good in this completely atypical role.

Robert Downey Jr. was outstanding as a Russell Crowe-inspired, Australian actor, playing a black man, playing a solider. As his character, Kirk Lazarus, put it:

"I know who I am. I’m a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude."

His performance is a MUST see. But for Heath Ledger’s inspired performance in The Dark Knight, Downey Jr. would/should have won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor here.

A bit of trivia: Owen Wilson was supposed to play the Matthew McConaughey role but dropped out after his suicide attempt in August 2007.

If you want a good laugh, I recommend Tropic Thunder.

With a few notable exceptions (Nacho Libre) I’ve enjoyed pretty much every movie I’ve seen that featured Jack Black. This role, which seemed written for him, is no exception.

Animated features are hardly a novelty these days. We take their high production values for granted. Yet this Dreamworks production is a notch above. It has an authentic Chinese and kung-fu look and feel. The directors and artists pay particular attention to the details of Chinese architecture, painting, sculpture and philosophy. The colours are more vibrant, more real than usual. It ‘feels’ warmer and more believable. During the movie I noted to myself that this movie should be well received in China. It’s as close to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) as an animated movie can get.

It’s funny. I laughed out loud many times. With one exception (hint, there’s a Nacho Libre reference) it does not rely on the inside-Hollywood humour that has become common in animated movies. Instead, the movie’s original story stands on its own.

As you’d expect, Kung Fu Panda is about an unlikely hero becoming more than he ever thought he could be, facing his fears and prevailing over his own doubts and, ultimately, evil. It’s not original in that way. It’s original insofar as the movie marries the underlying personalities of the actors with those of the characters and the needs of the story. It’s as if the writers studied the actors and crafted an original story to suit their unique characteristics. As a result Po, the Panda, is lovable, chubby, energetic, quirky, whimsical, funny and over confident – just like Jack Black. Dustin Hoffman’s Shifu (the Kung Fu Master red panda) is a short, easily annoyed, somewhat eccentric, yet stalwart character, just as Hoffman is. And Tigress is a proud, disciplined, strong-willed, and confident character, just like Angelina Jolie.

Barring something spectacular, Kung Fu Panda should be a shoe-in for Best Animated Picture. See it on a big screen if you can. It’s fun for the whole family.

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Reviews: Roger Ebert | IMDb External Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic