Category: Fantasy & Sci-fi

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Iron Man 3 Is Fun!

Now, this is a pretty fun movie to watch.

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I should watch Iron Man 3.  I remember the Iron Man five years ago was great.  I did not like Iron Man 2 and could not remember what the plot was.  Not even a single bit.  Part one was memorable.  Part two was forgettable.  But since both my buddy TK and my wife were keen on part three, and the box office seems to do well, why not give one of my favorite actors Robert Downey Jr. another chance?

As it turns out, Iron Man 3 is fun!  It reminds me why I love the first installment.  There is this human factor as we get to see more on the vulnerable side of Tony Stark than a hero in suit.  Tony Stark as an engineer who is playful at heart and he loves to create.  The end products may or may not work as intended.  Loving it.  I am trained as an engineer and I can relate to this aspect of the show. Again, nothing really going on with the Pepper character.  There are some silly moments too, like assembling an anti-terrorists outfit and gear using common goods purchased from a local DIY store.  Or blowing up robots in order to create a firework.  But all in all, an entertaining movie.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews Romance

Warm Bodies – A Highly Anticipated Zombie Romance

A zombie romance story.

Ever since I have watched the trailer of this movie, quite some time back, I have always been wanting to catch Warm Bodies on a big screen.  Cynthia and my buddy TK’s response to my overwhelming enthusiasm has been lukewarm.  Until they have watched the show with me.  They love it.

I am unsure why the global fascination on zombies and the undeads.  Online games like World of Warcraft have them.  They have been the prime targets in many shooter games.  Even in Call of Duty and Saint Rows 3 whereby I don’t see how zombies get into the stories, but they are there.  As though in our mind, the apocalypse happening in the future would turn many of us into the rotting zombies.  Dead, but not quite dead.

Warm Bodies in essence is a story about a zombie named R and a human girl called Julie.  And R has a friend called M.  Do the names like Romeo, Montague, and Juliet ring a bell?  It seems that Shakespeare would continue to inspire, all the way to the apocalypse and beyond.

This story is interesting because it is told from the perspective of a zombie.  R narrates most of the plot.  The way he sees things, the first time he falls in love and somehow manages to suppress his hunger for Julie’s brain.  Zombies eat human brains for the memories within, and to feel human again for a short while.  There seems to be a constant yearning for the zombies to feel human.  Indeed, this love between R and Julie has triggered an effect to the zombie community and turning them warm.  Hence the film’s title, Warm Bodies.

The relationship between zombies and human is slightly more complicated than us versus them.  Zombies that have given up hope to feel human again turn into skeletons.  In this three-way relationship, zombies emerge as the protagonists while flaws from the human and the skeleton such as apathy and distrust would leave the audience something to think about.

The morale of the story if I may add would be such.  Healing between groups of different people – be it as rich and poor, healthy and disabled, different religions and non-believers, and different cultures – would start with acceptance and love.  Change is possible.  Casting away prejudice and fear so as to see things from a different perspective.  Realizing that the very thing you fear about the other one could well be the same thing the other one too fear of.  And perhaps, we are not that different after all.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Upside Down – Weirdest, The Most Fascinating Sci-Fi Film Of Late

What a sci-fi movie!

This movie UPSIDE NMOⱭ is so weird, in a good way.  If you have decided to watch this at a cinema, it is of vital importance that you don’t miss the beginning of the show.  Otherwise, you would end up clueless all the way till the end.  Before I write more on the movie, here is a little story of how Cynthia and I were nearly late for Upside Down.

Our buddy TK has bought the tickets, on a Sunday morning, while Cynthia and I were doing housework.  Such great friend he is.  The Google+ event invite said 7.20 pm.  4.43 pm, TK messaged us saying that he has parked the car at the cinema.  I replied, “So early?!”  Then he told us that oops, the show was going to start at 5.20 pm instead of 7.20 pm.  No time to argue.  I quickly jumped out of my computer chair, dashed into the toilet, and changed.  By the time I reached our condo lobby, it was 4.58 pm.  We have 22 minutes to run to our car, drive into Orchard – which is 15 km away from our home – find a parking lot, take a lift from basement to level 1, switch to another lift in order to reach level 5, pop into the toilets for a quick release, take the escalator from level 5 to level 6, and run into the movie theater.

We missed it by 1 minute.  It was all good.  The movie was not started.  Certainly the most exciting thing we have done in the entire weekend.  Maybe the entire 2013 thus far.

Now, back to the movie, in case you may miss the first couple of minutes of the show, in this alternative reality of one moon and two worlds, here are the three rules.  Yep.  Like all good sci-fi stories, there are three rules.

  1. All matter is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not the other.
  2. An object’s weight can be offset by matter from the opposite world (inverse matter).
  3. After some time in contact, matter in contact with inverse matter burns.

Because the two worlds co-exist in an upside down fashion, the entire movie is – for lack of better word – weird.  People from either world interact in an upside manner.  From the presentation point of view, some clips are shot upside down.  It may sound strangely uncomfortable.  But it works surprisingly well on screen.

The two worlds are not equal.  As an analogy, think of the age of colonization.  The ‘down’ world supplies the resource to the ‘up’ world to value-add and the products are sold back to the ‘down’ world.  Hence, the ‘up’ world is rich while the ‘down’ world is not.  People from either world do not visit the world they do not belong (see rule #1).  They may interact at mid points.  Like the mid-floor of a tall building that connect between the two worlds.

With this setup, it seems impossible for people from different worlds to fall in love.  But, the forbidden love affair is the essence of the story.  Jim Sturgess plays the Adam character who comes from the ‘down’ world while Kristen Dunst plays the ‘up’ world Eden character.  Jim Sturgess, I must say, is very charming on screen.  His narration though, is utterly lifeless to me.  That is my only complain to this movie.  Interestingly, almost too coincidentally, Kristen Dunst has outdone her signature-upside-down-Spiderman-kiss with an … even better upside-down kiss in this movie.

The chemistry between Adam and Eden is convincing.  Such a joy to watch.  I would say, some of the kissing scenes rival those from … Twilight.  And because I was so much drawn by the romance bits, some of the sci-fi bits might have been overlooked until I walked out from the theater.  For example, can two persons from either world be in contact with one another for long?  Wouldn’t they catch fire?  Can a person from the ‘down’ world consume food from the ‘up’ world?  Wouldn’t that person’s stomach burn?  Is it possible that two planets maintain a consistent distance so much so that a building that connects the two planets does not get torn apart?  How do people from different worlds procreate?  Wouldn’t the womb … burn?

Even more strangely, the film starts with a Chinese production company logo and ends with a song in Chinese.  Perhaps I am thinking too much.  There seems to be a sequel though.  We shall see.  I enjoy watching UPSIDE NMOⱭ.  It is likely to be a sci-fi story that blows your mind away.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters – It Gets Better Towards The End

A much better role for the leading female actress.

For the record, Cynthia and I did not pick this one.  Our friend TK did.  Because he wanted to see his “flower vase” a.k.a. Gemma Arterton – his words, not mine.  If TK was not impressed with her performance in Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, why would he pick Hansel and Gretel?  I suppose there are female qualities that not even a mortal man can resist.

Again, I have not read the original fairy tale.  Cynthia tried hard to give me a quick run down of the original story on our way to the theater.  All I got was that Hansel and Gretel were siblings.  They got lost, entered a house made by biscuits.  And the boy was going to be eaten by the witch.

In a way, Cynthia is right.  Witch Hunters is unique because the main characters are siblings.  Though, I must say, since both characters are attractive in their own ways and there aren’t many character development opportunities in the beginning, it took me quite some time not to look at them as romantically linked.

In this alternative dark fantasy, Hansel and Gretel are witch hunters.  And the witches in this movie look monstrous, like straight out from a horror movies.  In fact, there is enough blood and gore that would qualify Hansel and Gretel as a part-horror-part-fantasy movie.  Heads explode.  Bodies torn into pieces.  If this film was to be infused with a good sense of humor, that would have suited me better.  The plot is by and large predictable.  I was pretty bored in the beginning.  But it does get more entertaining towards the end.  Cynthia seems to really like this one.  TK thinks it is so-so.  Anything – be it as movies or video games – with girls kicking butts wins my heart.  Gemma Arterton just have that something I want to see.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Twilight, Forever! An Epic Finale

Finally.  5 years of anticipation.  Breaking Dawn Part 2 is upon us.  Just how high is my expectation?  As high as Bella can jump with her new found vampiric power.

Twilight Saga has always been the highlight of the tail end of my year.  At the epic ending, I did not hear selective audience bellowing in pain like last year.  Instead, the pair of Javanese girls sitting beside Cynthia went “This is so sweeeeeeet!  This is so sweeeeeeet!” non-stop.  As the audience slowly filtered out of the theater, still holding onto whatever Twilight fever that lingered, a large group of girls no less then twenty were taking photographs to commemorate the completion of this 5 years journey.  Throughout the movie, the audience laughed in unison, clapped hands at the triumphant moments.  The love to the Twilight was felt everywhere, in this enclosed environment.  Is Breaking Dawn Part 2 really the end?  I mean, out of nowhere, that hobbits infested franchise Lord of the Ring has sprung out a new movie The Hobbit, hasn’t it?  I don’t know.  Thinking that Twilight Saga has finally ended leaves a hole in my heart.  What am I going to look forward to same time next year?

Initially, I questioned the wisdom of splitting Breaking Dawn into two parts.  Having watched part two, I believe it is a necessity.  The mood is completely different.  Part one was a struggle, on Bella’s side of the story.  She was pregnant, with a ‘demonic’ child of an unknown status.  Half human and half vampire.  Bella was also at her weakest, weaker than even her human form from episode one to three.  It was painful to watch, not because the story is terrible.  But the entire struggle is painful.

Now, in part two, Bella has finally become a vampire.  A wish that she has stated in the first installment.  A proposal made by Edward with a condition in New Moon.  An agreement to Edward’s terms in Eclipse by Bella.  And in her dying moment, a bite that concluded in Breaking Dawn Part 1.  I have waited 5 long years to see Bella transformed into a powerful vampire, breaking free the human frailty that has made her so vulnerable in the large part of this saga despite her strong human will.  I want to see what she can do, how the character emerges in this final installment.  Breaking Dawn Part 2 delivers.

There are still the legendary kisses between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in this final episode.  Taylor Lauther once again takes off his shirt and has won swoon from the female crowd.  There is more character development on the expanded vampire reinforcement.  The Volturi – powerful vampire coven – looks deadly as ever.  The werewolf pack is there, albeit having a much lesser role to play in this last episode.  Almost all the human characters are gone, saved for a few.  This is a battle between the vampires.  Those who have missed any of the previous episodes would likely not able to follow the plot as the narrator makes little effort in recapping the past.  But the fans would love this climax ending.  The generally depressing and at times desperate overture is gone.  Now is time for the glory.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Resident Evil: Retribution (IMAX 3D) – A Prequel or What?

It was our buddy TK’s childhood dream to watch an IMAX 3D movie.  In this dream of his, the theater would have a dome shaped ceiling.  We would lean back and watch the movie projected high above us.  That visualization reminded me of my childhood memory inside a Space Museum in Hong Kong.  So I said yes to a S$22 door ticket – double of what I usually pay – for a movie that is likely to suck.

There was no dome shaped ceiling.  For future reference, it would have been called OMNIMAX instead.  The screen was gigantic though.  The image was crisp.  The color seen through the cheap 3D glasses at Shaw Cinema was surprisingly vibrant.  In one particular scene, Milla Jovovich entered from the far side of the tunnel, where the light source was.  The tunnel was long, dark, and the floor was wet.  The 3D effect was so good that I could feel the depth of the tunnel.  As though the silver screen was eaten by a giant black hole.

In fact, the 3D effect of this zombies infested movie was so good that I could not sleep well that very evening.  Mind you, these are not household zombies.  These are mutated zombies with four large and gruesome tentacles coming out from their mouths.  Die zombies.  Why don’t you just die?!

And hence the problem.  Zombies don’t die easy, if at all it dies.  I have no idea what would kill a zombie.  The violence taken towards the zombies are extreme.  From close quarter combat to close range shooting, it is violence to the power of violence.  I was so concerned that Cynthia could not take it.  To my surprise, after the show ended, she exclaimed, “This is actually good!”

And she added, “Girl power!”

Perhaps that is what makes Resident Evil: Retribution entertaining to some: Girl power.  Come to think on it, this genre is quite rare.  Blood the Last Vampire is one.  The Thai action movie Chocolate is another.  I love seeing girls taking the leads on an action film.  Not the type of action like Charlie’s Angels.  But real action like Resident Evil.

The problem I have with Retribution is that the story line has become too simplistic and unrealistic.  It was a straightforward rescue mission.  Alice (played by Milla Jovovich) is captured by Umbrella Corporation.  A squad is sent in for the rescue.  And then we have Ada Wong (played by Li Bingbing) who would have been great had she actually become Alice’s true sidekick and stuck with Alice.  But she disappeared halfway.  Alice has to fight against the artificial intelligence Red Queen who commands an army of zombies.  Now, why does Umbrella Corporation so hellbent in eliminating mankind while, I suppose, they profit from selling weapons to the human?  I have no idea.  Retribution is one bizarre movie.  I don’t even know how the film title was derived.

Another problem I have with Retribution is that most main characters, except Alice, speaks in a one dimensional voice.  Like robots.  Like zombies if zombies could talk.  I read that Li Bingbing is a good actress.  It does not show in Retribution.  That was a disappointment.

Retribution reminds me of Twilight 4.  The whole movie is somewhat depressing.  Just when something exciting happens, just when I could smell the advent of an epic plot, I was slammed with ‘the end’.  Or rather ‘stay tuned’.  I gasped in disbelief.  TK turned around trying to comfort me, “Resident Evil never ends.  It is like that!”

I have thoroughly enjoyed the IMAX 3D effect (though TK highlighted to me that most scenes are not presented in 3D) and at the same time, I was thoroughly disappointed by the plot and the presentation.  This movie is a half-half for me.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Painted Skin: The Resurrection

Cynthia woke up at 9 this morning.  On a supposedly lazy Saturday.  Reluctantly I got out of bed, tempted by that one bowl of hot oatmeal that would soon present itself in front of my computer together with a cup of fresh coffee.  I so wanted to sleep a bit longer.  Last week has been rough.  But I wouldn’t want to miss a hot homemade breakfast cooked by my wife.

Since Cynthia has a facial appointment in town, a few options became available.  I could stay at home.  But do what?  All my video games are getting boring and I have nothing to play.  If you are a girl and cannot relate to this, the next time you open your wardrobe and sigh, “I have nothing to wear”, remember guys also have the same painful dilemma too.  I checked online to see what movies I could watch in an hour or two.  Painted Skin II was the only option.  Since my buddy TK gamed for it, we then have a ‘date’ watching a Chinese film on a supposedly lazy Saturday.

I don’t know Zhou Xun.  TK told me that she is a famous actress.  I do know Vicki Zhao and the primary reason why I didn’t mind watching this one was her.  I have not watched the previous installment.  According to TK, that one is forgettable.  This one is too.  In the last episode, from what I gathered while watching this movie, the 1,000 years old Fox Demon fell in love with a married man.  In the end, the man has decided to go back to his wife.  Somehow, Fox Demon sacrificed herself to save this couple whom I suppose faced some kind of grave situation.  Because of this act, Fox Demon was banished, tortured, and frozen for 500 years as some sort of punishment by the – I guess – Prime Evil.  500 years later, a Bird Demon charmed by the beauty of the Fox Demon (who according to the lore wore the skin of the most beautiful woman known to men) and she broke the ice.  Together, the Fox Demon and the lesser demon, Bird Demon, escaped the frozen prison and into the mortal world hoping to outrun the Prime Evil’s frozen grasp.

Now that is part one of the story and the beginning of part two.  For those who enjoy the genre of Chinese fantasy, Painted Skin: The Resurrection delivers just that.  Nothing exceptional.  Nothing memorable.  There are not many action scenes either.  Mostly drama and bits and pieces of CGI.  Both Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao are good actresses.  The contrast between the two – cold blooded demon and hot blooded human – is a joy to watch.  Zhou Xun the Fox Demon has little emotion.  No tear even when telling a rather sad story or singing a rather sad song.  Yet she can be coldly seductive when she plays the temptress role.  Vicki Zhao plays the Princess.  She is impulsive and boy, she can cry.  When the two swap their roles, the emotion templates get swapped too.  I seldom see Vicki taking up a lead role.  Hence, I am going to bump this very average movie to a slightly good average movie.

Ya, you welcome, Vicki.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers.  So if you plan to watch this, read no further.  I am writing this down for my future reference.  For sure, I will forget about the story months down the road.  Who knows?  Maybe there will be a third episode?

The backbone of Painted Skin II is a romance story between the Princess and her Guardsman.  8 years ago, the two fell in love.  In that magical moment under the snowy sky, the Princess asked the Guardsman if he loved her.  Knowing his status, the Guardsman hesitated in answering her.  Enraged, the Princess wandered into the forest and was soon attacked by a bear.  While the Guardsman managed to save the Princess’s life, the Princess’s right cheek forever bears the scar of the attack.  After that unfortunately incident, the Guardsman self-exiled to a faraway post while the Princess disappeared and partially covered her face with a mask made of gold.

Now that the Fox Demon has escaped, her number one priority is to find someone who is willing to give her a heart so that she can turn into a human.  OK, there is another romance story between the Bird Demon and the Demon Hunter (who is a human and inherit this role from his ancestors).  The Demon Hunter hunts no demons (ya, I know).  And the Bird Demon’s main contribution to the story besides being an eye candy is to vanquish the Evil Sorcerer after she is killed by the Evil Sorcerer who uses the blood of the Demon Hunter that is lethal to the demons.  Huh, you say?  I know.  This is Chinese fantasy.  Making sense out of the story is the last thing you should do (perhaps I should have done the same with Batman).

Call it a chanced encounter or a demonic plot, the Princess saves the Fox Demon from the bandits’ attack.  The Princess does not know that the Fox Demon is indeed a demon.  So she took the demon in as her personal servant whose primary role – I guess – is to entertain the crowd.  The Princess tries to rekindle her relationship with the Guardsman, but without success.  My speculation is that he is part guilty of the past and part charmed by the Fox Demon.  Frustrated, the Princess tried to commit suicide only to be saved by the Fox Demon, of which the true form of the demon is unveiled.  To prove a theory that because the Princess is disfigured and hence the Guardsman is no longer interested, Fox Demon suggests to exchange skin (?!) for one day.  Two beautiful women naked in a pool is sexy.  The process of skin swapping is not.  Fortunately it is done quite artistically.

Vicki’s character – the Princess – with Xun’s skin (hence acted by Xun) managed to make love with the Guardsman.  Therefore, Fox Demon’s theory seems to have its merit (Note: This is Chinese fantasy story and of course she is wrong).  Meanwhile, the Barbarians together with the Evil Sorcerer from the neighboring country demands a marriage deal in exchange for peace.  The Guardsman tries to fight the entire army of Barbarians and buy time for the Princess’s escape but fails.  Because he is no Achilles.  To save the Guardsman’s life, the Princess is willing to marry the Barbarian Chief, who is in fact dead and was killed by the Fox Demon earlier on (!).  It is the Princess’s heart the Barbarians are after for the resurrection of their Chief.

Without knowing that the Princess is going to be married to a dead man, the Fox Demon makes an offer.  Princess’s heart in return for Fox Demon’s skin.  Fox Demon can then be human and the Princess can be with the Guardsman, as a demon.  Agree to the deal, Vicki gives Xun her heart and her skin (!).  Like any good mathematical formula, think net-net, they have switched their bodies.

This secret soon surfaces as the Bird Demon tells it to the Demon Hunter and the Demon Hunter to the Guardsman.  Time is running out because (1) as soon as the Fox Demon (who is the Princess) eats a human heart, she will stay in demon form forever (think vampires) and (2) the Barbarians and the Evil Sorcerer are going to plug the Princess’s heart out (who is the Fox Demon) and plant it into the dead Chief.  The Guardsman looks for the Fox Demon (who is the Princess) and proclaims his love to her.  To free himself from the Fox Demon’s charm he caught earlier on, he blinded both of his eyes in one swift slice of a blade (!).  But fears not.  While our beloved Guardsman is not Achilles, he is quite a Paris and can shoot arrows with his eyes closed, or blinded.

The rest of the story focus on the conflict between the Han Chinese and the Barbarians.  Fox Demon the Princess is paralyzed because she is starved from not having human hearts as meal.  Princess the Fox Demon is also immobilized because she is tied up on a pole by the Barbarians ready for an ancient heart transplant operation when the sun is eaten by the moon.  In one dramatic end, at the dying second of the eclipse, Fox Demon the Princess and Princess the Fox Demon ascend towards the sun and are merged into a single entity (!).  The Princess is now alive, with her skin and her heart.  And her scar is healed too.  But no matter.  The Guardsman will not be able to see her beautiful face because he is now blind.

And they live happily ever after.

PS. Where is the Fox Demon?

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Dark Knight Rises: Excruciatingly Boring

I don’t sit well with Batman fans, I know.  Specifically, the Batman according to Nolan.  So glad, this trilogy is finally over.  Sandwiched between Cynthia and TK in the cinema, I had to stay entertained.  The girl sitting beside Cynthia was playing with her wireless phone throughout the 165 minutes show.  I can totally relate.

This show is boring.  My brain bled in utter boredom.  It is hard to stay spoiler free for a not so positive write-up.  Hence, if you are planning to watch The Dark Knight Rises, read no further.  Chances are you will thoroughly enjoy the movie.  Many do, especially when you love the previous Nolan installments.  The aggregated score for this movie is very high, which I struggle to understand why.  But that is just me.

This movie is called The Dark Knight Rises.  I want to see Batman in action.  Majority of the film has nothing to do with Batman.  If it was up to me, I would rename this film to Bane: Power to the People.  For most part of the movie, I see the villain Bane way more than I see anyone else on screen.  The fear and destruction Bane has laid upon Gotham City.  The long and emotional speech Bane gave, which I wish Batman could have had a similar opportunity.  Screamed in my head I did: “Shut up! I want to see Batman!”  I get it. Batman franchise is always about the villains.  Like Joker and Two-Face.  Bane gives me nothing.  He is a fat and buffed man that seems to punch hard (reminds me of Butcher in Diablo 3).  He has a strange mask over his face that synthesizes his voice in a hollow and an unrealistic way.  He commands a terrorist network.  Gotham City has to be destroyed, once again.  With a mask covering his mouth (how does he eat or drink anyway?) and that computerized voice, I find it hard to connect to the character.  His weakness?  The mask over his teeth.  It takes Batman 165 minutes to figure that out.  Oh God.

The chemistry between Bruce Wayne or Batman and his potential love interests is terrible.  For no reason or whatsoever, Bruce is in bed with Miranda played by the beautiful French actress Marion Cotillard.  Since when Bruce Wayne is into one night stand?  No courtship, no relationship development thereafter.  It is the finding of solace, and then business.  Heroes wearing masks to protect those they love.  Who is Bruce Wayne trying to protect?  I was in joy when I heard that Anne Hathaway plays the Catwoman (actually not officially mentioned as one even though the costume has suggested so) or rather Selina Kyle the cat burglar.  There is no transformation on Selina Kyle.  No background story on her becoming a cat burglar, except she is doing it for the people or to erase her past or a bit of both.  The drama between Batman and Catwoman is a tease.  The relationship could have been so much more.  What about Catwoman is the reason for Batman’s comeback and it follows through?  In the end, it is reduced to two big kisses (I think), from Catwoman to Batman.  What a huge disappointment.  Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman still holds a special place in my heart.  Sadly, Anne Hathaway is likely to be one of the two reasons why I can tolerate The Dark Knight Rises.

There is something tragic about The Dark Knight Rises.  The background story of Bane’s younger day, Miranda’s childhood, and even the story of Ra’s al Ghul has a much better potential than this Batman story.  It touches my emotional core so much so that I could weep on that.  I wish there will be a spinoff like the Scorpion King story from the Mummy.  Too much of this movie is focused on the plan to destroy Gotham City.  Too little has been told about such a potential powerful story of Ra’s al Ghul and his heir.

To say that Batman is missing in action most of the film is also not entirely correct.  First part of the story, we see a crippled Batman in retirement.  Doctor has already told him that his body can no longer take all the physical punishment.  His joints are giving way due to years of beating.  Bruce could hardly walk!  Yet, donning the Batman suit with an artificial kneel assist device, Batman is out to take on Bane.  And he failed.  For a good part of the movie, Bruce was stuck inside a prison cell.  Sure, fans would want to see the comeback of Batman.  The so-called transformation through training and willpower can be motivating.  But have we not seen this sort of plot time and time again?  Miraculously, Bruce’s body is totally healed inside a prison cell where he should have died of malnutrition.  He is even strong enough to punch Bane to his face, this time with better precision and power.  Yet, what kills Bane is something else.

There is this one scene when the truck carrying an atomic bomb fell down a bridge.  Maybe a four stories fall.  The young one seated at the front of the truck trained by the legendary Ra’s al Ghul could not survive the fall while an old man inside the cargo area at the back next to the bomb could.  Mind you, this old man was supposed to recuperate in a hospital.  He got out the back of the truck OK.  No bruise no shock, it was a miracle.  I was like: Huh?!

TK reminded me that this is a fantasy story and I should not read too much into it.  Perhaps I should have switched my brain off for this 165 minutes movie.  Logic glitches aside, I find that the ending sequence very exciting and satisfying.  I wish the filmmakers show more civilians in the last part of the movie rather than a school bus full of children.  Batman has saved a lot of people.  It doesn’t appear so.  To sum up, I love the ending; I love the Bat-bike and the Bat-plane.  The bike is so hot.  Having Catwoman on it makes it even hotter.  The rest is a yawn.

Will I watch another Batman movie?  Why not, since TK and Cynthia are such huge fans.  There is always hope for a better reboot.  The Amazing Batman perhaps?

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Amazing Spider-Man: Bad Chemistry, Good Chemistry

Mad scientists, don’t we love them to give us yet another villain to fight against?  In this superhero universe, we have seen bad chemicals injected into drinking water aiming to poison the whole city of innocent people.  We have seen bad chemicals vaporized into air.  We have even seen bad chemicals injected directly into air, or intended to be so.  Superheroes spying on the criminals through the police radio channels.  At times, I can’t tell one story from another.  Haven’t we already seen Spider-Man ten years ago?  Do we need a reboot, yet another remake?  One thing for sure, the chemistry between the new Peter Parker and his new love interest Gwen Stacy is good.  Those kisses Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have could well dethrone the ones we have seen in Twilight Saga.  Oh no, have I just offended the Marvel fans and the Twilight fans in one single paragraph?

I am not a big fan of remakes.  Not when the original film is merely ten years old.  Technology has not changed that much.  Why not The Amazing Spider-Girl instead?  Hence, I have very low expectation on The Amazing Spider-Man.  I watched it because of Emma Stone (I know!)  While the part about Spider-Man’s transformation still does not make sense (I could see millions of people easily could have become Spider-Man), many parts now make more sense.  Like how spider web gets ejected out from Spider-Man’s wrists.  Or how Spider-Man trains himself to be one, which reminds me of the Batman remake.  Cynthia commented that it is unrealistic for Spider-Man to create his costume.  I pointed out to her that these days, you can learn to make anything using Google.  Except Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man uses Bing and an old Sony Ericsson phone.

Right.

I like it that Spider-Man acts like a spider, how he looks for his prey.  I also like it that the villain is not a thousand times bigger than Spider-Man.  It was a fair fight.  A lot of plot development on the upbringing and background of Peter Parker and the character transformation of Spider-Man, which is also a plus.  I also like it that this new Peter Parker is upfront about his identity when dealing with his love interest.  No more stupid girlfriends who are tricked by a mask or a pair of glasses.  While I will likely forget the plot a month from now, the good on-screen chemistry is probably something I will remember for a while.  Till they reboot this franchise again that is.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Snow White & The Huntsman – This Is Not Twilight, Is It?

I am happy that Cynthia has picked Snow White & the Huntsman for our Movie Review Squad outing.  TK did not object.  Hooray!  As a huge fan of Kristen Stewart, I would say, this film does not disappoint.  Plus, I heart Twilight Saga.  There are at least two scenes in this movie I would ask myself: Am I watching Twilight?

I have repeated this story many times to my friends.  Since it is relevant to what I am trying to say, so bear with me.  Since young, my mother disallowed me from watching TV.  Reading novel was my only entertainment as a kid.  Therefore, I have not heard of Snow White or Jack and the Beanstalk.  Hard to believe, I know.  But I just do not know of any of these stories.  Halfway through the movie, I was puzzled about the plot.  So, I whispered to Cynthia: Isn’t this Sleeping Beauty?  She giggled, trying very hard not to laugh out loud in the cinema, and she replied: NO!

I really thought that Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are the same story.  I mean, the girl has fallen asleep.  And there is an evil queen somewhere.  A prince too.  I was genuinely confused because, well, Snow White & The Huntsman is nothing like what I have expected.  Kids, this is not a fairy tale.  There is bloodshed in this movie.  And plenty more.

Snow White & The Huntsman is a contemporary interpretation of the Walt Disney classic.  My little niece and nephew in Indonesia adore Snow White.   They can recite word-by-word even before the lines come out.  In that classic cartoon, Snow White the character has black hair, fair skin, red lips, and she moves with grace.  In this movie, Kristen Stewart too has black hair, fair skin, red lips, and a would-be-vampire look.  Grace, I don’t think she has.  She hunches a bit (like in her Twilight movies) with this hesitant, vulnerable look.  I have no idea why a Hollywood star does not have a good posture (compare her with Charlize Theron).  Cynthia defended her by highlighting the fact that Kristen has to act with a lack of confidence.  Hence the hunch.  I suppose she has a point.  Kristen Stewart’s version of Snow White has been locked inside a prison for a very long time after all.

Charlize Theron, the once upon a time sexiest woman on earth, is scary in this movie.  Truly scary.  She screams at the camera as though she is screaming at me.  Charlize is totally into this evil queen character.  Cynthia thought that she acts really well.  As for me, I thought she has over-dramatized her part.  Is she beautiful?  Without a doubt.  When she is not aged by the CGI technology that is.

Then we have Chris Hemsworth from Thor.  He is the huntsman.  I still don’t think he can act.  But he does have his emotional moment that moves me, slightly.  He has plenty of action too, which he does it well.

There are awkward moments in Snow White & The Huntsman.  Moments that do not make sense.  Corpse kissing is one.  Reciting Our Father prayer in a fantasy world filled with fairies, dwarfs, and a troll is another.  Cynthia was quite mad that the scriptwriter has incorporated a Christian prayer into a fantasy movie.  I was pretty cool about it.  Isn’t God omnipresence?  She rolled her eyes thinking that I have played too much video games.

TK thinks that this film is average.  In fact, I am surprised that he has stayed awake throughout the movie because he couldn’t even stand Twilight.  I have enjoyed watching Snow White & The Huntsman, mainly because I am a fan of Kristen Stewart since her days in Panic Room.  Is this movie entertaining?  Yes.  Will I watch it again?  Probably no.  The good thing is, unlike Twilight, you don’t have to wait for 5 years in order to see the ending.