It always annoys me when newpspapers go with the line "Rock Star in Sex and Drugs Shame" and when you read the article the person in question isn't actually ashamed at all (well, at least it did when I could bear to read that kind of paper).

So I'd like to make it 100% completely clear that I feel _no shame at all_ at having spent the last 2 hours unable to breathe from the amount of laughter that The 40-year-old Virgin was provoking. I haven't seen anything that funny since Team America, and the closing 3 minutes were funnier than anything I've seen since, ooh, the South Park movie.

It's basically a sexual comedy of errors, with a heart. The kind of thing I find unbearable if the characters are all completely unlikable, but works rather well if its heart is in the right place. I feel the same way about American Pie (the original, not the sequels, obviously).

You'll either love it or hate it.

(octopoid_horror would obviously hate it, sight unseen, from a great distance)

I was, it has to be said, disappointed with Batman Begins.  I felt that the plot holes you could drive the Batmobile through and the silly technology didn't fit with the 'realistic' tone of the film, and ultimately it left me feeling that it could have worked better.  Most importantly I didn't like the fight scenes - while Batman taking out a few people stealthily was nicely shot in confus-o-vision, all blurriness and quick movements, using this same technique when dealing with one-on-one combat out in the open was just annoying - I want to _see_ people performing cool moves, not just get an impression that they're moving really quickly.

Which is why I utterly adored Kung Fu Hustle.

Not only is there no point at all even _thinking_ about the silliness inherent in the movie - because it's presented as a cartoon, using real people, but the combat scenes are shot from enough of a distance for you to appreciate that the people doing the fighting are all highly skilled in their own right, not just depending on stunt men and a few weeks training to fake it.

On top of that, the film was fantastically funny and really nicely shot, complete with really nice choreography (including the dance scene), and martial arts from the action choreographer of The Matrix, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger, and many more.  Including a wonderful take-off of The Matrix Reloaded's "Burly Brawl" which looks sooo much better than the original.

If you like comedy or martial arts movies I'd recommend this.  Heck - I'm not a big fan of serious martial arts movies myself, but this was just perfect.

9/10