Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/644136
FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 1, 2016 UCW 27 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I think I will always remember Kung Fu Panda 3 (95 minutes) as the first film my son ever saw in the theater. Since he asked to use the potty every two minutes, spent more time running up through the theater aisle than sitting in his seat and spilled popcorn everywhere, it might also be the last film I ever take my son to see in the theater. For what it's worth, he really seemed to like the baby pandas, even if the story went a little over his head. The ensemble cast increased by a bit, with the addition of J.K. Simmons as main baddie Kai and Bryan Cranston as Li Shan, Po's (Jack Black) bio-Dad. Keep your ears peeled for some minor cameos too—four Jolie-Pitt children contributed voices, as well as Kate Hudson and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Returning characters included the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelie Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan). By the time that the final film of the six planned for the franchise arrives, I estimate that roughly half of Hollywood will have some role in the story. I found the first film in the series mildly enjoyable, but I can't even remember whether or not I saw the second film—and it doesn't seem to matter. Unlike more adult-oriented fantasy fare, the plot doesn't require review of a Wikipedia page to understand what is going on. To sum up; there is a panda. The panda does kung fu. The entire plot of all three films is sort of contained in the title, actually. The story begins in the Spirit Realm. The "chi" of Grand Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) is stolen by his old student Kai so that he can escape his imprisonment and conquer China. Meanwhile, Po is tapped to teach kung fu to the rest of the Furious Five, in a plot point that makes very little sense and is not really all that relevant to the rest of the story. Po makes a terrible teacher, and goes to drown his sorrows at his Dad's noodle shop— where he eventually meets Li Shan. Li Shan and Po return to the ancestral home of all squishy fat pandas, The Valley of Peace. While Po is learning about the ancient Panda traditions of double-fisting dumplings, rolling down hills, and sleeping until noon, Kai is busy stealing the chi of every kung fu fighter he comes across, including the Furious Five. It turns out that the pandas in the valley taught Kai to harness the power of chi 500 years ago, so they are indirectly responsible for Kai's rampage. Overall, my one regret is that the Patriot 14 does not sell Chinese dumplings. After watching Po, Li-Shan, and various adorable Panda babies gobble delicious looking dumplings I had a real craving for some, with a side of authentic noodle soup. After drooling over animated food for 90 minutes, I wish I had waited until after the movie to have dinner, so we could have ordered Chinese food. Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX Pandas Are Fat and Squishy Kung Fu Panda 3 (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Appointments Call: from Pediatrics to iLASIK to Cataracts www.capefeareye.com Dr. J. Wayne Riggins, Dr. Sheel Patel, Dr. Raz Penmatcha Dr. Cynthia Toth, Dr. Lejla Vajzovic Dr. Shelby Stephenson, Dr. Edward Kenshock, Jr. Dr. John Krempecki, Dr. Duy Lam The Clear Choice