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Mortal Engines takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has near destroyed itself and the planet. The remnants of civilization reside on gigantic motor vehicles that also serve as their home cities. It is a dog eat dog world where cities consume each other and add their people and technology to their own.

We are introduced to Tom Natsworthy (who is portrayed by Robert Sheehan), an apprentice historian for the city of London and Katherine Valentine (Leila George) the daughter of the mayor of London Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving). During the absorption of people from a captured city, a woman named Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) attempts to assassinate Thaddeus Valentine. From this event, the film escalates in intensity.

It is odd that the film introduces us to a variety of characters but quickly severs us from those characters. Some characters are not seen again, or their relevance has been lessened severely. In other cases, characters are introduced all of a sudden and are given significance, if only to drive the plot forward.

The best aspect to this film is definitely the visuals. The use of colors is very prominent here with the world and it's characters being very vibrant and rich. Each scene, whether it is during the daytime, or night, whether on or off it's cities, looks beautiful. The camera angles, lighting and color, in addition to the special effects, all combine into a very good looking movie.

The action sequences are also exciting to watch although it's not something that you haven't seen before. There's sequences that range from hand-to-hand combat, to aerial dogfights, and city to city vehicular combat. They have a grand, magnificent splendor to them that is a sight to behold.

Acting, however, is a bit left to be desired. The characters are one-dimensional, comical, and sometimes are overblown. The dialogue doesn't make it any better as many lines seem cheesy.

Despite the inconsistent plot and cheesy dialogue, Mortal Engines is an enjoyable movie. Don't come into the movie expecting a masterpiece. If you come into it looking for big budget spectacle with set pieces and action with an attractive cast, that's exactly what you'll get. Sometimes, that's what you need on a boring weekend.

Skiptrace is the result of a collaboration effort between Chinese talent and American filmmakers. The movie is directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) and written by Jay Longino (Bachelor Party 2) and BenDavid Grabinski (Cost of Living).

Jackie Chan returns to play the kind of role that made him famous in America. The movie's format is also reminiscent of Rush Hour. A series that Jackie was famous for in America following Rumble in the Bronx. Johnny Knoxville is seen here as the goofball reminiscent of Chris Tucker's role as Carter in Rush Hour. The film also stars famous mainland Chinese actress Fan Bingbing who plays as the adopted daughter of Jackie Chan's character.

On paper, Skiptrace sounds like a great movie. I love Jackie Chan and Fan Bingbing and I also love the Rush Hour movies. What can go wrong? In reality the movie ends up disappointing. Jackie Chan turns in a decent performance but typical of his earlier action movies. Johnny Knoxville's acting was sub-par but I did buy the whole scumbag gambler routine. Fan Bingbing was far and away the best performer (in terms of acting) in the movie but she was relegated to a damsel in distress role.

What I enjoyed most in the movie is seeing China's beautiful countryside as well as a brief look into Mongolia and it's people. The film overall is very run of the mill buddy cop flick. I didn't feel connected to Benny Chan's tragedy, which is central to his motivation for going after the crime boss Matador. I warmed up to the characters midway through the movie when it was more humorous. The plot twist was predictable and the ending gave me a bitter taste in my mouth.