WALL-E

Absolutely adorable! You don't believe that robots can fall in love? Have a go with this amazing movie from Pixar. Yet another success to a string of successes in their belt! :)

Perjalanan Ke Tengah Bumi

One word - forgettable

Two words - don't bother

Three words - watch something else

Four words - don't waste your time

Five words - watch The Dark Knight instead

What makes a hero?

OMG. What just happened? Did I really watch a movie about a masked and caped crusader who dons a rubber costume and fights bad guys?

Or did I just witness a powerful interplay of action, philosophy, psychology, criminal investigation, tragedy and heroism, condensed into a "long" 2.5 hours of pure cinematic joy?


What makes a hero a hero? Is it the fact that he dons a costume and fights bad guys and saves the world? Or is he one who awakens the complacent into action by his outrageous antics and appetite for chaos? Or is he the one who forms an unofficial alliance between law makers and law breakers with the hope of bringing further peace to the nation? Or is he the one who charges through with the laws of the land in hopes of utilizing the justice process to nab serious criminals? Or is he the one who stands by another in times of difficulty, often offering nothing but comfort and silence? Or is he the one who supplies incredible gadgetry to enhance law enforcement and vigilante's modus operandi?

Yes, The Dark Knight attempts to ask all these questions, and by large it succeeds. Henceforth, I am labeling it as the most intriguing movie I've watched this year!

Star Trek XI teaser!!!

This trailer was playing before Prince Caspian actually started. I didn't know at first glance what movie it would be for. Then, those timeless words:

"Space... the final frontier"

Fuyoh!! Keng man! Makes me impatient to watch this movie!

Indy is back!

I'm so eagerly awaiting this one :D

Putera Caspian

The first half of the movie was sooooooooooooooo boring!!! The storyline reminded me so much of Eragon. Then, Aslan appeared. In a #$&#$%^ dream!

Thankfully, the fighting soon arrived. At least there's some action in this movie! Unfortunately, the battle scenes are so short and... incomplete. When Aslan appeared for real, he did nothing except say some cryptic phrases, and roar loudly, causing large trees to destroy the Telmarine's catapults. Hmm... where have I seen this before? *COUGH*ENTS*COUGH*

Totally a waste of 2 hours plus. If you had 10 bucks to spare, go watch Iron Man again!

I watched a French movie yesterday...

... actually it was more like 18 French short stories crammed one against the other over a span of 2 hours. Possibly the longest 2 hours I've experienced recently.

Some individual tales were actually not too bad. Some quirky humour, touching moments, and surprising twist. But the majority of the stories turn out to be nothing more than wannabe artists who cater to the movie critics instead of the average moviegoer. No doubt, this will win them awards at Cannes, but then again, those movie reviewers usually got their heads in the wrong place.

I even forget the name of the movie. And we had a scare because the first 10 minutes of the movie played with only Chinese subtitles on screen. Disgruntled audience had to scold the projectionist, and moments later, English subtitles appeared below the Chinese subtitles. Tsk tsk...

So anyway the movie is not recommended for the average moviegoer. But artsy fartsy types will love it.

Orang Besi

Iron Man totally blew my mind away. And surprisingly, elsf also enjoyed the movie, I suppose due to the cool factor and the funny dialogue.

This is definitely a Must Watch movie of the year :)

Over Her Dead Body - flat storyline but funny one-liners

Over Her Dead Body is currently showing in cinemas in Malaysia. But this movie was released in 2007, so DVDs are readily available.

Anyway, the plot is so simplistic, it makes me cringe. But the show is saved by some funny one-liners and delivery from the lead actress. Other than that, the movie is so predictable that by the end of the show, you wonder what happened to 2 hours of your life. There was a similar movie shown last time starring Reese Witherspoon called Just Like Heaven, which was much much better!

Recommended only for hardcore fans of romantic comedies.

Forbidden Kingdom - small kids show...

Hollywood has done it yet again. The Americans have taken an interesting and complex Chinese legend (the story of the Monkey King), dumbed it down, added some nifty CGI effects, plugged in a rousing dramatic and emotional soundtrack, and finally cast an ang-moh as the lead whining ordinary kid turned kung fu hero. And voila! Forbidden Kingdom is born.

The much touted fighting scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li lasted only 10 minutes on screen. That's also aided by super duper wire effects and unbelievable punching/kicking sounds. The rest of the movie plays out like Karate Kid meets Chronicles of Narnia. It is so dumbed down and predictable, that the movie is only suitable for those kids of age 13 to 16. Nothing about the movie impressed me at all. Story line? Seen it all before. CGI and special effects? Too bland already. Stardust did much better. Fighting scenes? Come on... Fearless is still the king!

So where does that leave Forbidden Kingdom?

Very not recommended for the big screen, though it will make good popcorn fare for small kids.

The Mist

Watched Stephen King's The Mist yesterday. I've read the story before in the compilation Skeleton Crew. After watching the movie, decided that it is quite a faithful representation of what I had pictured when I'd read it. But there's a difference in the ending. While the book ends with uncertainty that the mist will continue to stay and the narrator is slowly going insane, in the movie the hero actually must face the consequences of his actions, as the mist slowly clears away after he had performed euthanasia on his compatriots and 5 year old son.

Fantastic creature and set design, and genuinely terrifying moments of horror make this movie a worthy visit to the supernatural and an examination of humanity at its worst.

Highly recommended!

Ah Long Pte Ltd

It's a laugh out loud local comedy that features the delicious Fann Wong ;)

While it starts out really nicely with all the jokes and gags, in the end it turned out to be an overdone social commentary on the dangers of Ah Long's.

Not bad, but not great either...

Harry Potter 5

Finally watched the movie yesterday in a freezing cinema hall. 1 Utama management, please make it more convenient for moviegoers in TGV to access the car park in the new wing!

Anyway, the movie actually made me understand the story of Harry Potter 5 much better than the long-winded book. And I'm actually surprised to see how little story development there is in HP5 compared to the previous books. Dunno, maybe if I go back to the book then I'll be able to pick up all the missed out bits that were intentionally left out by the movie director.

The movie plods along fine, the focus this time more on Harry. Sure, Ron and Hermione get some screen time, but it's comparatively less than the previous outings. Cho gets limited screen time and fails most of the time, while Luna Lovegood serves as comic relief with her weird self chatter and incessant obsession with Nargles.

Dumbledore is in his finest performance for this installment (check out the dueling scene at the end!), while Sirius is given fine treatment here. The other characters don't really get much screen time (Ginny, Neville, Moody, etc.) which is a good thing to keep the movie flowing but also a bad thing because the magic of previous movies is just lost in this one.

A good view, but could've been better. I very much preferred HP3 and HP4 movies.

Transformers

Yes!! I finally watched it!! It's simply breathtaking!! I ran out of words to say, after the movie we talked and talked and talked and talked... simply put, this is the best movie of the year PERIOD!

Update:
OK. Here's a more proper review of the movie.

First, let's start with the awe factor. Simply listening to the original voice of Optimus Prime in the beginning of the movie brought back nostalgic feelings. The opening sequence in outer space, and in the Qatar desert really pumped up the adrenaline and set the pace for things to come.

When the first transformation occurred on screen, I was simply stunned. The transformation sequences really dropped jaws, slick and seamless moves that turned the military helicopter into a menacing alien robot.

Bumblebee's transformation sequence and his play with radio also adds flavour to the movie's feel. I have to say that Bumblebee looks cool in the movie, unlike the bloated appearance in the cartoons. He's also a pivotal character in the movie, having more airtime than any other robot in the show.

When Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, the transformation simply blew my mind. Here was a super truck which stopped right in front of Sam Witwicky, proceeded to transform into a giant robot that towered over everything. And of course that superb voice is probably the only voice that is capable of bringing Optimus Prime to life.

The Decepticons are pretty nondescript. Megatron doesn't show up until the final third of the movie. Starscream was barely seen that he became quite irrelevant. Other Decepticons also were not that great.

In fact, Michael Bay betrayed true Transformers fans by showing more humans than robots. I mean, what is the story with the military soldier in the middle east? What's the point of the analyst-with-the-horrid-Australian-accent sub story and his ghetto sidekick? What's the point of introducing a quasi X-files like Sector 7 government agency? Seriously, Michael Bay should have just dropped all human characters except Sam Witwicky and his girlfriend, the Secretary of Defense to show how useless human defenses are, and of course the occasional "kelefe" to gawk, run and scream. All other airtime should be dedicated to the robots!

That said, this movie realizes the dreams of those of us who grew up in the 80's when the Transformers were popularized. If only for the nostalgia factor, this movie rates already at 4 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately, the substandard plot development and the inclusion of useless human characters deny it that final star rating. Nonetheless, this IS the best movie of the year for a biased reviewer. Highly recommended for anyone who has played with Transformers toys, watched Transformers cartoons, or simply like CGI robots that can transform to and fro cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, tanks, etc. Go watch it and then spend the rest of the day raving and ranting about it!

P/S - I really didn't like the fact that Optimus Prime's faceplat retracts when he's speaking. He looks so sissy when his mouth is exposed!

So dark the con of man...

When a movie is made based on one of the most controversial and widely criticized novels in history of mankind, half the battle is already won. No matter what the movie critics say or write, chances are that 50% of the general population will watch the movie "out of curiosity". Another 30% who have actually read the book will want to see the characters and places described in the story being fleshed out on the silver screen. The remaining 20% are the ones who couldn't get a ticket for X-MEN III.

So what's the verdict? It's quite thankful that it's been a while since I read the book, so I forgot some of the twists, such as who is the true identity of the "Rector". So for a plot-driven movie, it holds up well. However, why must they explain everything in words?! At least, there are "recreated" visuals to aid us in imagining the world of the Roman wars and Pagan demise. The direction is messy and bland, with no chance for the audience to connect with the heroes. The scenes are so dark that sometimes I wonder if they decided to turn down the lights just to hide all the flaws of the movie. Even the much anticipated albino self flagelating monk Silas was forgettable. I mean, at least Darth Vader had more character in Star Wars 3!

Anyhow, I think that the story turned out much better on paper than on celluloid. For a plot that relies on the conspiracy theory, the countless explanations and wordiness of the script did not do much justice to the wasted talents of Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen.

TWO out of FIVE stars at most.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Yummy! Chocolate! Lots of sweet, toothaching chocolate and candy!

From the imaginations of Roald Dahl and Tim Burton, this highly creative children's tale brings the adventures of Charlie Bucket & Willy Wonka to the giant screen.

The story is about an ordinary kid who gets a chance of a lifetime to visit the longtime closed-to-public chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka, the eccentric and socially-challenged owner of the Wonka Chocolate Factory.

The factory itself is the main attraction of the movie. From hot bubbling chocolate waterfalls and rivers to edible grass and trees, magical candy-making machines, squirrel squad to remove the walnuts from their shells... the amazingly colourful world is brought to life in an almost cartoonish manner.

Johnny Depp plays Willy Wonka to a likeable level, except when he does his gag of crashing face first into his rocket-powered glass elevator. Charlie's crooked house is an amazing piece of movie prop design. And the supporting cast of the 4 children and their parents provide the avenue for Burton to exercise his gothic flavour of comedy. You will be able to watch the greedy fat boy turning into chocolate, an over competitive girl turning into a giant blueberry, a too-intelligent-for-the-average boy turning into a miniature (subsequently flattened and stretched), and an overly pampered girl covered in rubbish.

While the story is simple in nature, Burton decides to put some depth into the Willy Wonka character by providing a back story to his Freudian slips, charting how his precarious relationship with his dentist father created the Willy Wonka that he was.

Nonetheless, this movie will be a candy fest for the eye, so sit back and enjoy the movie!

Seven Swords

How to describe this movie? Trying too hard to be an epic! Imagine masses of armies vs helpless villagers, but minus the grand battle scenes of The Two Towers. Imagine not one, not two but SEVEN heroes with SEVEN mystical swords, but minus the explanation of why the swords are so mystical and powerful. Imagine a female hero character who holds a superbly cool "flowing" sword but has no idea how to use it. Imagine... urgh... imagine no more.

Seven Swords is a decent attempt at creating a magical setting for a clash between good and evil. Unfortunately the evil is not as great as it may seem. The Fire Wind clan seems more intent at getting good food and women at their disposal. While the seven heroes have absolutely nothing to do than to hold their swords and look cool. Yeah right.

Oh ya, all the heroes are also forgettable. Only Donnie Yen looked as if he had somewhere to go with his character, but in the end it collapsed under the weight of the Korean actress who died in his hands.

The only memorable character is the leader of Fire Wind clan, but even he is mildly forgettable. In the end, Seven Swords is seen as trying too hard, but impressing nobody. Dull colours also impede the enjoyment of the movie. Go watch it if you want to impress people with your intellectual selection of movies (much much better than Bug Me Not!)

Redemption...

I printed out the Bewitched ticket redemption voucher. I walked to Phileo1 to buy the latest copy of Galaxie. I walked to Menara Star in Phileo2 expecting a large crowd.

??????????

No queue? No crowd? No counter?

shuckssssssss.... redemption date is 12 August lahhhhhhhh

*feeling stupid*

The Island

Pity... The Island could have been quite a good sci-fi movie, but instead it chose to be a dumbed down summer action movie... Oh well at least there is Scarlett Johanssen!! OMG! OMG! Scarlett Johanssen is so hot!!

Basically the movie is about some bunch of gay-looking people all dressed in white, locked up in some kind of facility to protect them from the "Contamination"... once in a while, some lucky bastards are chosen by a lottery to bring them to "THE ISLAND" (yeah, how cheesy right...) the only uncontaminated place left in the world... of course, the trailers already spoil it for you that there is no island. Those gay-looking people are actually clones of very rich people in the real world. A so-called "insurance policy".

So 2 of these clones escape the facility and learn how to live in the real world (OK, basically they learn how to have sex). Of course the Dr Evil of the facility wants to track them down and bring them back otherwise his super secret will be exposed. Apparently Dr Evil told his sponsors that the clones are in "vegetable" state, but in reality all of them are living and breathing and experiencing life. Too bad for Dr Evil, there goes your multi-billion investment!

OK, watch this movie if you want to feel slightly intelligent. But for super sci-fi addicts, this movie will make you feel stupid.

Verdict: Watch it for Scarlett Johanssen.

Fantastic4

OMG! JESSICA ALBA IS SO HOT!!!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

Fantastic 4... just a fun ride, explaining how each character got their powers... though it's funny how all of them are exposed to the same cosmic radiation, but develop so different powers. Well, a good kiddie's movie that really brings out the kid in you. I watched it from the front row of the cinema (FARKING free tickets)... had a blardy stiff neck afterwards. Quite fun to watch lah, especially for the special effects for the torch guy yada yada.... who am i kidding man!! OF COURSE it's JESSICA ALBA!!!

Man, her boobs are so hot, they're dying to explode out from that blardy uniform, her blouse, her innerwear... man... wowwwww!! JESSICA ALBA!!!!

Did I mention that Jessica Alba is so hot!?