Movie Review: Pandorum

Haven't done one of these in quite a while. Might restart with the reviews....

Pandorum is a pretty ho-hum show. Tries to be a scary sci-fi but ends up being very blah. There are some interesting ideas but generally, the whole execution is very boring. It's not the worst movie I've seen. Some movies, I really want to just leave the cinema halfway through. With Pandorum, I didn't mind sitting through it (although some parts were painfully pointless) because it seemed to indicate the possibility of something better.

As far as I'm concerned though, give this movie a miss. Your $8 is better spent wiping your butt. LOL.

Star Trek - A MUST SEE!

I think I might need to seek counselling.

The new Star Trek movie has only been released for 6 days and I have already watched it three times.  Yep... THREE.  

Yes, it's that good. 

JJ Abrams has done an extremely commendable job in rebooting the Star Trek franchise for a new generation.  The movie is accessible to both fans and non-fans and there's plenty of action, humour and drama for everyone.  I'm impressed with how he had handled each character, giving them plenty of personality and presence. 

At the same time, despite the character-building, the action almost never stops.  Within the first 10minutes of the film, I could already feel my eyes tearing up and the sacrifice.  Even at the third viewing, it was still a touching moment, handled with much class.  My favourite dramatic scene has got to be the one where Captain Pike challenged the young and rash Kirk to join Starfleet.

The special effects for this movie are also pretty impressive.  From the massive battles to the remodelled USS Enterprise, almost every scene filled me with a sense of wonder and awe.  My favourite effects scene is probably that of the Enterprise rising up from the rings of Saturn.  

Of course, to the true trekkie, there are plenty of plot holes to pick on.  But I think the beauty of this movie is that when you are watching it, you get so caught up with the story and people that you don't really think or care too much about the few inconsistencies.  Yep, it's that good.

So if you haven't caught this movie, please do yourself a favour and go watch it.  I strongly recommend Grand Cathay cinema for this coz of the THX sound system and Digital projection.  I've caught it at three different cinemas (Grand Cathay, GV Max and Iluma Bugis) and trust me when I say Grand Cathay offers the best experience for this movie.  :)

Now... when will be going for my FOURTH screening.... 

  

The original USS Enterprise... over 40 year old!

The new USS Enterprise... all iMac-fied!

Overload of Jap Movies

The last month (and apparently the coming months as well) appear to be good months for Japanese movies.  I've caught K-20 and Suspect X and both were pretty good.  I've been trying to watch Departures for the last few weeks but every weekend, the cinemas showing the movie were always almost full.  Today, I finally caught Departures and to make it a full day of Japanese movie immersion, I also managed to catch Detroit Metal City.  The two movies are totally different but are really good in their own way.

First one I caught was Detroit Metal City (DMC).  The big surprise here is that the main star, Kenichi Matsuyama, is the same guy who acted as L in the DeathNote movies!  The two roles are so different.  L is this cool and quiet character while Negishi in DMC is a kooky nerdy goody two shoes cum heavy metal star.  I really had a hard time trying to imagine that this is the same guy who acted as L.  DMC is quite interesting and hilarious at times.  But ultimately, it's Kenichi who steals the show.  The sad thing is this movie was rated as NC16 simply coz there's plenty mention of the word F$%k.  One of the songs has a chorus which basically repeats the F-word ad-infinitum.  Other than that, it's a really likeable movie. 

Departures is a really beautiful movie.  I really like how the movie allowed us to see a glimpse of how the departed are treated with such dignity in the Japanese culture.  Although the Japanese are often seen as a ritualistic society, these are some of the most beautiful rituals which I wish that we had in Singapore.  I was also quite impressed that the director refrained himself from being overly melodramatic when it comes to depicting the death of loved ones.  Instead, each funeral scene is done with much control and depth which makes this movie so believable.  The star, Kazuko Yoshiyoko, is excellent as the guy trying to come to terms with his job.  But I thought the actress playing his wife was also very good.  Ryoko Hirosue had only a few lines but her presence in every scene she was in was magic.  From being a supportive wife, to rejecting her husband becoz of his job, to her acceptance/understanding of his desire to stay in the job, Ryoko really played the part well.

Both movies are really very good.  I heartily recommend them both.  

I'm looking forward to two more which are coming in early April - The Handsome Suit and Gu Gu the Cat.  Let the Japanese magic continue! 

Three Good Movies: Red Cliff, Hellboy 2, Dark Knight

I'm happily satisfied with the three movies that were released these last two weeks. I enjoyed all three movies thoroughly and they were certainly worth every cent spent on the tickets (and drinks and snacks of course).

RED CLIFF (Part 1)
Like I mentioned in an earlier post about Andy Lau's THREE KINGDOMS, it's disappointing to see that no one has done a really good movie based on China's Three Kingdoms era. I'm glad to say that RED CLIFF has finally broken that trend. John Woo has assembled a pretty good cast, with a pretty good script and combined them together to form a darn good movie. lol. There is a nice epic feel to this movie and what I'm particularly impressed with is the way they manage to have so many characters and yet allow the viewer to remember all of them! This was one big failure of the early movie starring Andy Lau. Other than Andy and Sammo Hung, I couldn't really follow who was who and the other characters didn't have much personality at all. Effects were also pretty credible and the fight choreography is top-notch as I would expect from a John Woo movie. My favourite actor Tony Leung, is at his best as usual (I think I only cannot stand him in Wong Kar Wai's 2046) and acts off well against the pretty-boy Takeshi Kanishiro (who for some reason, walks like a kuniang in this movie). The only complain is the female lead. They could have replaced her with a brick and no one would know the difference. Heh.

Red Cliff is a really good movie. Only complain is that I have to wait until 2009 for the ending!

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN MOVIE

HB2 is a fantastic follow-up to the first movie. I liked the first movie and this second movie took everything that was good and made it better. Ron Pearlman is really the only person who can play Hellboy. It's uncanny how he is such a perfect fit for the role. This movie stands out with all the weird incarnations of demons and imaginary folk, right out of the mind of the director Guillermo del Tomo (who channels his best efforts from his eerie movie - The Orphanage and his enchanting movie Pan's Labyrinth). I was blown away by all the weird and wonderful creatures. The story, action and effects were all handled well and the characters really got to show more of their personality as compared to the first movie (especially dear old freaky Abe). I don't have any complains about the movie. Loved it. You should go watch it and then start catching up with Guillermo's other movies.

THE DARK KNIGHT

This is one movie that was so hyped-up that I expected it to fail to deliver. I'm glad to say that for me, it not only delivered, it actually delivered way beyond expectations. Yes, it's been written many times, but I must also say that the Joker is the best character in this movie. He is really creepy and crazy and yet, disturbingly, he was still believable! The other outstanding thing about TDK is the story. I liked that there was a good plot and not the usual Marvel-movie-type stories like Spider Man, Iron Man and Hulk. However, at the same time, be warned that this movie can be a little too dark because the Joker kinda brings out the darkest side of humanity. Thankfully, the writers did include some witty one-liners and jokes in the movie to help lighten the mood. All the other actors are also pretty good. I was only mildly annoyed with two things. (1) I don't think Maggie Gyllenhall suits the role. (2) I don't like Batman's sore-throaty voice. To be frank, I am not sure if this movie is better than Iron Man. I think it is fairer to say that both excel in different ways. Iron Man was a great comic book superhero movie. Dark Knight almost feels non-superhero-like. At times, it feels more like a real life gritty police-and-bad-guy movie. That to me is the charm of DK.

Hancock & Movie Dryspell

The summer blockbuster season is winding down and it's down to the weekly releases. The bad news is... no more multiple movies to keep me busy. Good news is... there are some good stuff coming out every week. This week there's Hellboy and the new Chinese movie by Tony Leung. Next week is time for The Dark Knight. For now, we're stuck with Hancock.

HANCOCK is an attempt to make a realistic superhero. Like how superheroes can sometimes do more bad than good when they destroy buildings and bust up the roads, even when they are fighting to save the day. There was some potential in this movie, but I think the director/writers just didn't dare to take it to the next level. So in the end, the movie just ended up feeling a little blah.

They tried to explore a little about how superheroics can hurt more than help, but then they resolve it without much thought. They tried to make Will Smith a hero with a difference. But then they chickened out and show him turning over a new leaf in no time. They tried to build an interesting mythology behind how he belongs to a breed of super-humans. But they never really fleshed out the story.

In the end, Hancock just feels bland. It's not bad. There are some laughs and some nice effects. But in a movie season with great films like Iron Man and good films like Hulk, Hancock just ends up being severely mediocre. :)

Mega Movie Mini-Reviews

In case you haven't realized by now.. .tonight (ie. Monday night) is server maintenance night for Age of Conan... so that's partly why there's a huge blog update. Sorry lar, for now, my life does kinda plan itslef around the two server maintenance nights for AoC :P.

The last two weeks have been movie-catch-up weeks for me. Since returning from Japan, I realized there were plenty of June holiday movie releases which I had not seen. So I hit the movies with a venegance and I've kinda realized that in the last two weeks, I've caught at least 8 movies... hehheh.

Well, it's gonna be too long to review each one of them in detail, so here are my mini-reviews for those who are still wondering if you should watch them:

KUNG FU PANDA

- RECOMMENDED! -

Good movie! Plenty of fun. Just wondering how much more interesting it might be if it were dubbed in Chinese!! Heh.

WANTED

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! -

Excellent action sequences! There are a few which litereally blew my mind away! Keep a lookout for the train scene. LOVE ANGELINA JOLIE. Jack Macavoy also played a great loser really well. Must see!

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

- RECOMMENDED (If you like Adam Sandler) -

This is Adam Sandler back to his roots. Hilarious jokes. Adult Jokes. Body Part Jokes. Can be a turn-off if you dun like Adam Sandler. For me... I LOVED IT!

21

- CAN SEE IF YOU LIKE -

Decent movie about gambling. Kinda predictable but it was a fun movie for me. Nothing spectacular unless you are a true maths geek and enjoy trying to understand the maths behind it.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

- CAN SEE IF YOU LIKE -

Not a fantastic show, but much better than first one. Main characters are just not as interesting as characters in movies like Harry Potter. Shows you how important casting can be. On the whole, not bad lar.

GET SMART

- RECOMMENDED -

If you want to enjoy this show, leave your logic at the door. Don't try to think too hard, just sit back and enjoy Steve Carrel in all his naive stupidity. I find him pretty watchable. He hasn't reached irritation levels yet. Anne Hathaway is a nice icing on the cake. heh.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED -

Though not as entertaining as Iron Man, this second hulk movie is much much better than the first hulk movie. Story moves along faster, effects are kinda fakey but still quite good, Edward Norton is an excellent Bruce Banner.

THE HAPPENING

- BEST MOVIE OF THE SEASON!!! NOT!!! -

This is such a wasted movie. Please avoid it. I only kinda enjoyed it only because it was so bad and I wanted to see how much lousier it could get. Even die-hard Shyamalan fans can't support him after this!

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I've been itching to catch this show since it opened on Thursday. Yep, I'm not one to wait. So once, my crazy week was over, I couldn't wait to pop into a cinema today to catch IJATKCS. Lolz. That's quite a mouthful. IJATKCS is a sequel 20 years in the making. Has it been worth the wait?

Storywise, I think it's pretty much in the similar vein as the early Indiana Jones movies. Two weeks ago, I made an effort to rewatch the original movies to remind myself of them. As I sat through the movie today, I think Spielberg has remained quite true to the original flavour of the IJ movies. So story-wise, time has been kind to the franchise.

Moving on to the actors.... heh... I must admit that as much as I was impressed with Harrison Ford doing many of the action sequences, I couldn't help thinking...boy, is he old. lolz. It's been 20 years and I think it shows. He's no less entertaining. But at times, I felt it was a bit of a misfit. Shia Labeouf does a pretty decent job as Indiana's son. Yeah, we all know he is probably being groomed to take over the Indiana Jones franchise and although he doesn't really do much in this movie, I think the scenes he were involved in were done pretty well. The other main actor in this movie is Cate Blanchett as the evil russian scientist. I felt she was kinda corny. Her accent really sounded weird but oh well, I didn't go to this movie expecting academy-award winning performances.

I want to say a little about the special effects. I have to say that there were a few scenes which really blew me away. The first one was the atomic bomb mushroom cloud. Phew. It was awesome and scary. The other happens near the end. I won't say more as I don't want to spoil the ending to anyone who is reading this review. But I was really glued to my seat when the final mega-effect scene unfolded.

On the whole, IJATKCS is a fun show. Don't expect deep plots. Just go expecting a roller coaster ride. I still enjoy the clue-solving moments. I like to think of IJATKCS as a big budget version of the National Treasure series. Watch it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

A great start to Summer Blockbuster season!

Last Friday was a very satisfying day. Watched two movies and ended up being thoroughly satisfied with BOTH movies. It seems that the Summer Blockbuster season has officially started!

IRON MAN

IRON MAN is an excellent movie. The trailers were pretty interesting and I was a little afraid that expectations would be too high and the movie would be a disappointment. I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.

Robert Downey Junior totally fits the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. He not only seems to look the part, he also plays the role convincingly well. There is a certain playfulness and innocence with the way he explores his new found armour and it's a joy to see him flying through the air. The other roles are played quite well too. Gwyneth Paltrow is also a pretty fun Pepper Potts. She doesn't try to overact and plays her role in an understated yet convincing manner.

The story is fairly straightforward. There weren't many surprises but the story did move along briskly and at least there weren't too many silly plotholes or ridiculous storylines.

But who am I kidding. The real star of the show is the armour and special effects. This is a techie's dream-come-true. From the cool 3D computer interface effects to all the little hydraulic/mechanical parts of the armour, every moment was a moment in techie heaven.

Iron Man was a throughly enjoyable show. In the list of superhero movies, I would say it would be second to Spiderman 2, but definitely beats Spider 1, Spidey 3, Hulk, Superman and the newer, darker Batman. It was a fun ride. Don't hesitate. Watch it now.

HAROLD & KUMAR: ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY

I wasn't expecting anything much from this movie. I didn't watch the first one so I didn't know what the story was about. But since I was in the mood for something stupid, I decided to go for it. I know it's M18, so my apologies to the under-18s, but if you are of the required age... this show is hilarious and certainly worth watching.

This show is pretty no-holds barred. H&K really does make fun or anything and everything. But I think the one thing that raises it above crass humour is that it makes fun of all things American. Hollywood usually makes fun of many racial stereotypes, but in this movie, the minorities (ie. Korean and Indian) make fun of American stereotypes. It's kinda refreshing.

Harold & Kumar is good fun. But it might not be everyone's cup of tea coz there is lots of talk of weed and sexual humour.

Review, Review, Review, Review (That's 4 Reviews)

OK, have watched plenty of movie so here are some quick reviews of the last few. Actually, not sure if I should continue with these reviews coz I dunno if anyone reads them even. So, maybe if you do read them, how about saying something in my cbox so I can decide if I should continue doing them or not.

NIM'S ISLAND - I didn't really go to this movie with much expectation. I caught it simply coz there was nothing else to watch that day. I have to say I liked the movie in a weird kinda way. It was certainly quite childish, but I knew it was supposed to be, so that helped. I didn't take it too seriously so I didn't have an issue with Nim (the girl star) talking to the animals. I also liked how Jodie Foster didn't take herself very seriously and played a very funny author suffering from agoraphobia. Movie can be a little slow at times, but on the whole, an enjoyable, childish movie.

FORBIDDEN KINGDOM - Oh my goodness, how wrong can a movie get. Not much more wrong than this, I can tell you. This was supposed to be the ultimate showdown - Jet Li vs Jackie Chan, but it was just a big comedic attempt. What did they do wrong? (1) Do literal translations from Mandarin to English. Since when do we enter the Gate of No Gate to return to the Land of No Land where you Love of no Love exists? (2) Make the ancient chinese act like they had bilingual lessons in school! Since when did the chinese people of olden times speak english? American english no less! Come on, this was an obvious attempt to pander to the americans. When will Jackie take more pride in his own race. (3) An american kid as a hero in a chinese movie? OMG. To be fair, he did a decent job, but the whole idea is plain stupid. (4) Bad & sad Chinese stereotypes. The Jade Warlord and all his minions had a heavy does of eyeshadow. Don't ask me why. And the Jade Warlord spoke like some kuniang! And I loved it when the Jade Emperor (supposedly the king of the chinese gods) asks the ang mo kid "What is your request? Please?" SO POLITE!!! Like the Jade Emperor was some servant. This movie failed miserably as an action/kungfu film. If you are looking for a comedy, this is it.

THREE KINGDOMS - This is one complicated movie. They did try to give it a sense of scale and some of the battle scenes were not bad. But a poor script with a poor handling of the main characters left you wondering who was who and who did what. Kinda sad coz I know this is supposed to be an epic. It wasn't lousy. Just didn't live up to what it could have been.

STREET KINGS - This movie was kinda watchable. Nothing fantastic, which is a slight disappointment considering that Forest Whitaker is in it. Sadly, Whitaker overacts in this film and channels his 'Last King of Scotland' role too much. On the whole, this wasn't a bad movie, just a forgettable one. Felt just like a longer TV episode of the typical cops & villains show.

Evangelion:1.0 - Review

Since my return from Tokyo, I've been trying to find time to go watch Evangelion:1.0. Finally made time on Thursday night to catch it at The Cathay.

It's a definite must-see for fans of the original anime. I like the added scenes which help to give a sense of awe and scale to the launching of the Eva units. There were nice little touches and plenty of hydraulic-type noises! heh. I'm so easily sold.

Story-wise, I can see they've made an attempt to tie everything much closer. There is a little bit more back story so that we can understand better where the Eva units came from. Of course I think the ultimate test is how they actually end the movies series this time round. They've decided to make it into a 4-movie series. Part 2 is supposed to be out this year as well.. shiok! I can't wait.

For people new to the series, be prepared for a cliffhanger ending. If you can't take it, then you better wait for all 4 movies to be released before watching the series.

Minor irritation... happened to have some former students sitting behind me at the cinema... a couple of them were making irritating comments through the whole movie... sigh. Spoilt some of the nicer scenes. If you are reading this... shaddup next time. heh.

Ah Long Pte Ltd & CJ7

Saw these two movies last week. Couldn't bring myself to write any review coz they were seriously pathetic. Here's my quick reviews of the two....


First off... CJ7. Definitely the weakest movie when compared to Stephen Chow's last two movies. It wasn't very funny. It wasn't very touching. Yes, it had a few funny moments and a few touching moments, but it was all quite average. I think he either tried too hard to move away from what he does best - making us laugh, or he was too preoccupied with the special effects which created the little alien. I am also mildly disturbed that Stephen Chow chose to use 3 girls to act as boys and 1 boy to act as a girl... i mean , come on... it can't be that there were no cute boys to cast as the lead kid rite? So-so movie. Give it at most 5/10.

Ah Long Pte Ltd.... Sigh. I didn't have high expectations at all... and even then, my expectations were still too high. This was one loooooong painful movie. The irony? The worst movie among the 3 CNY movies is also the longest. I have no idea what Jack Neo was thinking when he made this movie. His lousy jokes and poor editing aside, I have no idea why he decided to base the movie in Malaysia!! His previous movies poked fun and Singapore and I think it made some sense when we could at least pretend he was trying to make a statement by joking about us. But when he moved the location to Malaysia, he lost even that little difference his movies made. This was a really bad movie. Avoid it at all cost. 0.5/10. (The 0.5 is given to Mark Lee who at least had some funny moments in the movie).

No Country for Old Men

This movie teaches me that critics probably watch movies through some special glasses which allows them to see how wonderful & fantastic it is while I just see some other lame version through my normal spectacles.

No Country For Old Men has got glowing reviews from every major critic. It's like rated at some super high average score of 91/100 at metacritics.com

So, I went to the cinema with fairly high expectations. I found the movie soooooo boring. Yeah, there was some interesting moments. Yeah, the bad guy is somewhat spooky. Yeah, there was a chuckle or two. But I just found the whole movie pointless. I don't understand what it's about. I don't understand the ending. I don't understand the title. I don't understand anything!!

Even Jesse James, which was long and boring, had a more satisfying ending.

I think maybe I am just too shallow. I have no idea how to enjoy such a movie. At the end of the movie, I could only remark that it was some 'existential s#%t' which I can't understand.

If you are shallow like me... who enjoys movies like Transformers and Harry Potter, please avoid this movie like the plague.

If you are some arty farty dude or dudette, go for it. Knock yourself out. Whoopee.

Kung Fu Dunk

Work ended at 2pm today so I decided to catch one of the CNY movies before going home for reunion dinner. Had a choice of all three movies: Kung Fu Dunk, Ah Long Pte Ltd and CJ7. I decided to catch Kung Fu Dunk even though most of the reviews in the newspapers were really bad. I think it averaged around 1.5 to 2 stars out of 5! I am glad to say I didn't let those reviews make my mind for me. I really enjoyed the movie! It was a nice break from all the weirdish, bloody-ish movies I've been watching recently.

I think the key to watching this movie is to remember that you are essentially watching a japanese manga. There are parts that are just plain silly, but in the context of a manga, it's really very suitable.

Jay Chou does his usual good job in his I'm-so-bo-chup-that-I'm-so-cool role. Of course, it's not much different from his other roles... but you've gotta admit that he is the right person for such roles. Eric Tsang also does a pretty good job as his manager. I'm glad he practiced some self-control and didn't go over-the-top in trying to act silly. All the other roles were quite peripheral. Even the female star, Charlene Choi, was not very prominent.

The 'kung fu' elements were pretty well done and even though I don't watch basketball games, I enjoyed the way the basketball stunts were carried out. The special effects were also pretty well done. I just wished there was a little more of the 'qi' effects.

I liked the humour and pacing of the movie. It doesn't really go over the top but it's kinda silly in a manga-kinda way. Like I said, some people will be put off by the silly jokes and lack of slap stick humour. But if you think of it as a manga, it all fits very well.

Warning...Mini-spoiler: My only compaint is this little section near the end of the movie where Jay Chou's kung fu teachers swoops in to save the day. Personally, I found that whole section meaningless and force-fitted into the movie. I would have enjoyed the movie without that section at all.

Very good movie. Might watch it again. Now what next... CJ7 or Ah Long?

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

OK, did Sweeny Todd break the series of bad movies? I am a little mixed with that. As a musical, it was reasonably interesting. But the songs aren't as catchy and engaging as say Moulin Rouge and Hairspray. The two actors played their role well, I did like Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter in the lead roles. It was also fun to watch Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) and Timothy Spall (Wormtail) together in a movie other than Harry Potter. Sacha Baron Cohen (of Borat fame) was also great as a rival barber.

But the sum of good performances didn't strike the gold for me. I think the movie was just too dark (Tim Burton's favourite colour scheme) and I must admit I am getting sick of gornography (excessive gore in movies). There were so many throat slashings and blood spurting in the movie. Kinda turned me off.

I guess you could say the movie is among the better ones that I've seen in comparison to the recent others. But on it's own, I think it's just passable. I really need some gore-less movie right now. Something lighthearted and fun and maybe even heartwarming. Enough with the blood splatters and see-how-much-worse-i-can-kill-a-person scenes. I might even just go for something totally chick flick like 27 dresses.... yes, I am that desperate.... :-)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Boy, is the title of this movie long. And like many reviewers have said, the movie title pretty much tells you the entire story of the movie, spoiler included. For me, the movie is just like the title. LONG. VERY LONG.

I went to the movie expecting some sort of a western - horse-riding, gun fights, etc. All I saw was a long drama set in a western. I can't say the movie is bad. It's just that it takes soooo long to tell a simple story. In fact, I pretty much enjoyed the last 20mins after Jesse James got assassinated. But the 2h 10min that preceded the assassination was very long. Long, with very little action. One reviewer on the web summed it up well, this was like literally watching a book being read. It reminds me how important a screenwriter is in translating a book into a movie. You just can't do everything that's in a book. I have to compliment the writers of the Harry Potter movies. They don't follow the books page by page but are able to pick out the best and most important parts for the movie-goer.

The high point during the movie came when a group of teenage school girls left the cinema about 1hr into the movie. They obviously thought they were going to get to ogle at their dahling BRad Pitt. Little did they expect that all they got was a long movie.

Kinda sad. So desperate for a good movie. My last few movies were quite disappointing. I wonder if Sweeney Todd will turn the tide....

Cloverfield

By now, much has been said in the media about this movie. I'm gonna keep this review short and say that I didn't like this movie at all.

Firstly, yeah, I was one of those who had a severe attack of motion sickness 15mins into the movie. It was really bad. Felt really giddy and wanted to throw up. Had to watch the rest of the movie by keeping my eyes closed and opening them only at the portions when the camera wasn't swinging wildly around. I've watched Blair Witch Project and I didn't feel sick watching that even though it was done in a similar video-cam style. I think the diff was that in Cloverfield, the camera was wildly swinging around all the time. Really made me sick.

Secondly, even as I thought about the story, I found that on the whole, it was not very exciting. We don't really learn anything about the monster. No background, no ending. The movie just felt like one of those 3D rides in a theme park.

Yeah, some reviews are saying how excellent the movie is. For me... YUCK. Nuff said.

Paprika

Finally got around to watching this movie. It's pretty highly rated and some reviews place it as the top anime movie of 2007. I've been looking out for it at VideoEzy and was glad they finally had it last week.

I've watched Satoshi Kon's previous movie, Tokyo Godfathers and thought it was a very warm show. Told a simple story but left you feeling warm and happy at the end. Paprika on the other hand, is kinda weird. I know it's about dreams mixing into reality, but I just didn't find myself getting into the characters much. In fact, although I normally prefer listening to the english dubbing, I actually changed back to the original jap track coz I felt the voicing of the characters just sounded wrong.

The animation is pretty interesting and I did find the dream sequences mildly hypnotic and engaging. But the story just wasn't very interesting to me. On the whole, I found the movie a bit of a yawn. At some points, I had to force myself to continue just to reach the end.

Maybe Paprika is just not my kind of anime. I usually prefer something with a bit more fantasy element. Personally, I wouldn't think it was that fantastic to be the top anime last year.

The Golden Compass

last day of freedom before I return to work tomorrow.... what better way to spend it then to catch an afternoon movie...

The Golden Compass has been getting mixed reviews. In fact, in my favourite review site, metacritic.com, the scores aren't very fantastic. I've not the read the book so I went for the movie with no idea what it's about.

The actors in the movie are pretty well chosen. Nicole Kidman is excellent in her schizo role. I love her sudden outburst and how she suddenly switches from a bitch to a caring nun. Chilling! Daniel Craig has less than 5min screen time so it's pretty hard to say much about him. But from what little time he had on the screen, he seemed to be cast in a role well suited to him as well. Of course the big question is whether the new comer, Dokato Blue Richards, can pull off the role of her life. I gotta say I'm impressed with her acting in this movie. She comes across as being very gutsy with a hint of slyness. As mentioned in some reviews, when compared to how kids like Daniel Radcliffe first appeared in their movies, Dakota Blue Richards is way ahead of them in her professionalism.

Of course, the big stars here are also the special effects. I loved the world they created in the movie. It draws you into the story and makes you look forward to more whimsical creations. The animal/daemon CGI is also very well done. Other than the little morphing daemons, I was blown away by the awesome polar bear CGI. Look out for the big fight between the two polar bears... and watch out for the brutal end. I couldn't believe the movie was rated pg-13. heh.

I also enjoyed the story which was pretty fast moving. I'm sure there's much more in the book, but just like in the Harry Potter movies, you really can't have everything faithfully reproduced or each movie would be a 10hr ordeal. Until I read the book, I'll have to say the scriptwriters managed to put together a good story which held my attention from beginning to end.

The Golden Compass was not a disappointment. In fact, if you asked me to rank it together with the first movies of the other big franchises like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, I might even say that it beats the two of them. LOTR 1 sets up a beautiful world but I didn't care much for the first story. Harry Potter 1 was a little shaky with the young actors and so-so story line. Golden Compass seems to have gotten the formula right. This is a great movie to start the December movie season!

Movie Reviews

OK, I'm kinda in the mood for it, so here are some quick reviews of movies i've watched recently. I've placed them in order of positive reviews to crappy reviews.

STARDUST is a pretty good movie if you are into a decent fantasy story. There's a good balance of action, romance, magic and most importantly, humour. The movie doesn't try to take itself to seriously, and the big names like Michelle Pfieffer and Robert De Niro appear to be having a whale of a time in this movie! Michelle is excellent as the old ugly witch trying to get the heart of a star in order to be youthful again with her 2 other sister witches. De Niro is a sky pirate whose name strikes fear to those who hear it. What's so fun about the two roles? Well, Michelle has got some excellent jokes when it comes to her aging. Just watch what happens when she tries to cure a mole or something on her chin. As for De Niro, I will not spoil it for you... He springs a surprise which is pretty hilarious too. For some, Stardust might be a little slowish. For me, I don't think it's an academy award winner, but it was an enjoyable movie, especially since I watched it after watching THE DARK IS RISING.... (reviewed below)


If you are offended by vulgarities, SUPERBAD is definitely not for you. Almost EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE is filled with at least a vulgarity, a reference to a sexual organ or some other offensive word. Essentially, it's a movie about how 3 nerds try to buy liquor for a girl's party so that they can 'get-the-girl' despite being social outcasts. My brother warned me that the show was pretty vulgar coz he watched it before me. But after I watched it, I told him it's sad, but I know of not a few students who do talk like this, especially when a teacher is not around. SUPERBAD is quite fun coz it pokes fun at some American institutions like the police. The whole side story with one of the nerd befriending two policeman is really funny. 'McLovin' as he is called in the movie really steals the movie from the other two kids. Watch it, but be warned that it is not for the faint of ear.


I went to watch The Drummer only because I do have some interest in these huge drums. I've always been fascinated by Japanese Taiko Drum performances and here was a movie about Chinese drums. I was also interested to see if Jaycee Chan would be as irritating as his father, Jackie Chan. Well, to answer my last question first, I thought that Jaycee Chan did a decent job and he didn't irritate me like his father does. Every since Jackie started acting in Hollywood, I have just lost all respect for him and pretty much hate most of his shows. Even his latest visa ad where he pokes his head through Yao Ming's arms and starts clapping reminds me so much of a monkey. Anyway... back to the movie... I was kinda disappointed that the movie was quite slow and limp. As much as the director wanted to showcase the drums, you just don't get the heart pounding feel of a good performance/filming. We rarely see any good performances by the troupe. Then it also tries to be a gangster type movie and again, it's so disjointed that you don't feel that the two parts are really forced together. I think the movie would have been so much better with a stronger story line and a better director/cinematographer. On the whole, sadly, a missable movie. Don't watch it unless u absolutely have no choice.


OK, down to the bottom of the post and hence the bottom of the barrel. THE DARK IS RISING is another in the long chain of Harry Potter wannabes, and it fails sadly. The other two movies that come to mind are Eragon and Narnia (although Narnia is more of a Lord of the Rings wannabe). The good news is, I think this movie is mildly better than Eragon. The bad news is, I think it still sucks. I've not read the books so I didn't have any expectations when going in for the movie. But you can't help but feel that there's nothing very magical or exciting about the worlds created through the time-travelling. And it all zooms by so fast! Each visit to another time to seek a 'sign' lasts no more than 10 minutes! The special effects are nothing to be excited about. And the evil Rider isn't very fearsome at all. On the whole, the movie just plods along and the story just doesn't excite. As I was watching this movie, I couldn't help but wonder at how the different directors of the Harry Potter series have been able to capture our attention and imagination and keep the movies fresh over 5 movies! That must really be some accomplishment. Anyway, back to this movie, I say skip it. Save your money for The Golden Compass, another HPwannabe.... but this one is showing some promise.

Hairspray

Last weekend, I took the chance to go catch up on some movies which I'd not been able to watch since my 'incarceration' due to my sickness. I've wanted to watch Hairspray.. it's got raving reviews and I'd just finished watching the latest season of So You Think You Can Dance, so I was in an extra 'dancey' mood.

OK, before I talk about Hairspray, let me tell you what happened before. I went down to The Cathay at Dhoby Ghaut to catch it, but unfortunately, when I arrived, the seats were really bad, like first row bad. So I decided to catch a later screening at AMK Hub. In the meantime, how to past the time? I looked at all the movies screening at The Cathay and I saw the poster for Azur and Asmar. It was kinda eye-catching coz it was an animation not in the usual Disney/anime kinda way and of course, they had those 'First Prize in blah blah blah film festival' flashed all over the poster. So I looked at the screens above the counters and it said it was in English, so I thought, what the heck, how bad could it be.

Yes, how bad could it be.... sigh. First off, to be fair, the animation was interesting in that it really wasn't your typical Pixar or Anime-style. So it was eye catching for a few minutes. What got to me was that it wasn't in English. In fact, I frankly don't know what language it was in. I think is was French and Arabic. Yep... Arabic. I have nothing against the Arabic language. I just never imagined I would go watch an arabic cartoon. My point is, as much as I want to enjoy the animation, how do I do it if I am focussed on reading the subtitles? So, basically, I lost concentration and kinda fell asleep towards the last 1/3 of the movie. I definitely must stop being a sucker for the 'Won First Prize in blah blah blah festival' trick.

OK, back to Hairspray.

This is a real 100% feel good movie. I've read in some reviews that this movie is supposed to be the 'GREASE' for the current generation. I don't think I agree but I think it comes close. Hairspray is a musical. So of course, those who hate shows which break out in singing every 5 minutes better give this a miss. The singing in the movie was not bad. Everyone did a pretty fine job. I even liked all the songs John Travolta sang as a woman. lolz. The songs. Hmm. I don't think the songs were that memorable. Other than the last song, 'You Can't Stop the Beat', I think the rest of the songs are fun/nice but not very memorable. Next, is the dancing. I enjoyed the dance numbers but I can't say that the choreography was very fantastic. It was nice to watch and all that, but I think it lacked some bang. To some extent, maybe it was the filming coz often, we can't see the whole dance move but bits here and there.

For me, one of the highlights was John Travolta. I think he did an excellent job playing the mother of Tracy. Of course, many say it's just a gimmick, but I was checking it out and apparently, in the original musical version on broadway, that role is always acted by a drag queen and usually done in an over-the-top kinda way. I saw a video on youtube and saw this really flambouyant drag queen in the role. I guess it could be interesting, but I think I like the way John Travolta played it, more subdued and in a non-drag kinda way. In fact, I find his quite believable as the mother who was scared to go out. And his dance numbers were quite exhilarating, especially when he/she decides to go for it and does the Tina Turner-like number at the very end.

Overall, like I said, Hairspray is a nice feel good movie. The singing, dancing, acting were done well and it's nice to leave the cinema feeling warm and fuzzy. :P