Category: Fantasy & Sci-fi

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Action & Thriller Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Avengers – Is It Really That Good?

My life could be in danger if I meet Jason Johnson in person.  Mr. Johnson is a professional movie critic working with one of our local papers called The New Paper.  He said on air in The Backseat With Maddy & Cheryl that anyone who does not like The Avengers shall be thrown at by the stones or drown in the sea.  You either like the movie, or you shall die.  I am unsure if it is OK to make death threat on air in Singapore, even as a joke.  But I am scared.

Anticipation is a double edged sword.  Now, if I am to tell you that I am not that crazy over The Avengers, would you think that I am nuts?  One billion dollars, the film has made worldwide.  One user in Google+ wrote an article: Just how does piracy kill the film industry when The Avengers made a billion?  I do not know.  Since the beginning of time, men steal or cheat, especially when we know that there is no consequence to our action.  But, we are also willing to pay for an experience that worth the dough, especially when we cannot wait.  Complex creature men are.  Maybe the answer to privacy is advertisement.  And it may lead to this eventually.

The Avengers is a true feast to the fans of the superheroes.  It is like an all-star movie.  Some female viewers may drool on Thor the God of Thunder, who is played by Chris Hemsworth.  Can he really act?  It is hard to tell.  In a sci-fi setting whereby I presume actors are working with the blue screen most of the time, what is good acting when we are so overwhelmed by the mind boggling CGI?  Then we have the talented Robert Downey, Jr. who plays the Iron Man.  So much emphasis is on him and that is understandable.  His script is lively and humorous.  He is quite possibly the only true actor in The Avengers besides Samuel L. Jackson whose airtime is rather limited.  50 million is likely to be Downey’s salary with bonus when the rest of the actors get a single-digit million dollar check.  Contrast to Tony Stark’s carefree personality is Captain America who prefers discipline and has the general awareness of public safety.  Chris Evans is charming in his solo movie.  He is charming in The Avengers too.  I find Loki creepy so not much to say about the only villain in this movie.  Hulk has a new face, again.  For some strange reasons, I do prefer the new Hulk played by Mark Ruffalo.  All of a suddenly, we have a loveable, still scary Hulk.  I am still not convinced how those pants can fit the big green Hulk.  Our movie buddy TK said that those are stretchable pants.  Yet Dr. Bruce Banner was totally naked after waking up from a bad fall.

There are a bunch of noteworthy side kicks in The Avengers.  Canadian actress of How I Met Your Mother – Cobie Smulders – is Nick Fury’s assistant.  Maybe in my mind, Robin is a funny character in that TV series.  It is hard to reconcile how she can be part of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Nevertheless, Cynthia seems cool with that.  Hawkeye’s performance is a surprise to me.  Little did I know that Jeremy Renner has also acted in The Hurt Locker.  To be honest, I watch The Avengers because of Black Widow.  This character should have her independent movie title.  Why do we so seldom see female superhero films?  I don’t know.  Maybe it is a Western thing.  Are the heroines in The Fifth Element, Resident Evil, or Ultraviolet count as superheroes?  Is it just a Marvel thing?  Scarlett Johansson is attractive and she plays a deadly and intelligent agent.  I do not know what she means by too much blood in her ledger as I am not a comic book reader.  I could only imagine.

The Avengers lacks the pace and intensity of The Hunger Games.  And it is not as emotionally driven as, say, Daredevil.  Some bits of the story do not seem to make sense.  But, it is a hugely entertaining movie, a feast to the eyes – both in terms of CSG as well as star power.  Each superhero has his chance to shine and be useful to the plot, in their capacity.  The story is incredibly simple.  Part one is about superheroes facing off with one and another, which to me is silly.  Part two is about superheroes working together to fight off that one villain, which is exciting.  I don’t see any clever strategy in place.  The overarching story seems to be a continuation of Thor.  Like many superhero movies, I would probably forget this one before the month turns June.  There are some memorable moments though.  And the award goes to Hulk.

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Action & Thriller Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Hunger Games – Better Than I Expected, Despite Moral Conflict

I thought to myself, so this is one of those ‘reality show’ inspired movies, where audience seeks to be entertained by watching contestants battling each other to death.  Worse still, we are looking at contestants of age between 12 to 18.  Do we need another one of those movies?  And why the children?  Is this social liberation or a download spiral of human morality?  Who would enjoy seeing children of that age bracket killing eliminating each other?  Increasing, media violence has raised concern across the board.  I feel that we are pushing the limit further down.  Movies like Hunger Games.  Books like Game of Thrones where children wield swords and girls under the age of 14 have sex.  Some video games that are violence in nature played by children.  What would the long term repercussion to our future generations be if we endorse violence at that age bracket?  I do not know.

Now, if I may throw my moral hat away, ignore the conflict inside of me when seeing children of age 12 to 18 hacking, shooting, or killing each other with wits, The Hunger Games is a wildly entertaining movie.  It is said that because 12 districts have in the past committed treason against the central government, each year, each district must pick 2 tributes – a young boy and a young girl – to play the Hungers Game.  Only one will survive.  There is an overarching philosophy revolving around this.  Since I don’t quite get it or finding it quite silly, I shall not elaborate here.

24 contestants are placed in a game location and there is only one survivor.  The rest of the 23 contestants would need to die.  Yes, death to them all.  We love it.  There are tons of twists in the plot.  Because it is after all a TV show, it must be entertaining, especially to the ‘sponsors’ who may influence the process.  In short, not only do the children require to kill off each other, they have to do it in style.  They need to, kill to entertain.  The audience, including us, loves watching this.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the main character who represents District 12th.  I did not like her or find her attractive in X-Men: First Class.  Neither do I find her attractive in The Hunger Games.  Having said that, I grow to like her character as the plot unfolds.  She seems rather suited for this movie.  Genuinely innocent, and determined to stay alive.

I found myself shivering throughout the 142 minutes long movie.  The plot is intense.  More so, was the air-conditioning in the theater.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – A Deeper Look Into The Saga Thus Far

Cue to perfection, at the very nanosecond that this show was ended, the dude next to me bellowed in pain.  For a good ten or twenty seconds, I wasn’t counting.  It could well be half a minute.  I was giggling.  I could feel his pain, even though I could not relate.  Like having 117 minutes of his life utterly wasted, not going to get it back.  And then he screamed with his face and hands offered skyward, “Thissss issss teeeerrrriiiibbbbleeee!”  His two female companions next to him broke into laughter.  And I too laughed out loud as he switched back to the bellowing mode.  Cynthia did not catch on initially.  But when she did, she too laughed along.  Poor guy.  He should have been indoctrinated before watching any Twilight movie.  We Twilight followers are like movie cultists.  There isn’t even a discussion on which Twilight installment is better.  It is irrelevant.  To give you an analogy, Gossip Girl [guy] fans will not say season 3 is the best because there is a threesome scene involving Hilary Duff.  A true Gossip Girl fan would love every season, every episode.  In the eyes of a true Twihard, the entire saga is like a wondrous feast that spans five long years.  Five long years of anticipation and we are so close to climax.  I hope there will be a climax in 2012 when this saga ends.  Because “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” is neither a foreplay nor a climax.  The first three installments – “Twilight”, “New Moon”, and “Eclipse” – are foreplay.  Should the two kiss, should they not?  Should the two have sex, should they not?  Twihards are treated like a rubber band, played by the filmmakers.  This formula has been successful because if for a moment you think Twilight saga is a series of movies on vampires and werewolves, you are misinformed.  Twilight Saga is a teenage romance story, a soap opera.  And on that note, I sincerely hope that “Part Two” will blow our Twihard minds away.  Give us the climax please!

Now, how Stephenie Meyer murdered the lore of vampires and werewolves is, in my opinion, unforgivable.  It gets worse in “Part 1”.  Of course, I could be bias in taking Ann Rice’s work as canon.  To my best knowledge [of the lore], vampires don’t have the desire to have sex with humans.  They may seduce humans because they have desire for human’s blood.  Sex among vampires is merely an exchange of blood, and their memories.  In the world according to the writer Meyer, vampire and human can have sex, in a humanly way.  The catch is, because vampire is so much stronger, the human may be killed (or crushed I suppose)  in the process.  Bear in mind that in previous episodes, vampire and human have no problem frolicking in the wood, flying from tree tops to tree tops.  No one gets crushed.  But sex, however, is dangerous and can be deadly.  Even a werewolf knows as he (or it) confronts the vampire on this very private matter (how come he knows?)  What is more gruesome is the sex after.  I will not go into details.  All I can say is that if there is one morale of the story filmmakers have quite successfully imparted onto our teen viewers’ hearts, that would be: Sex is bad and marriage is the end of romance.

If you are to ask a Twilight fan: Would you like this “Part 1” condensed into a 10 minutes clip and combine that into “Part 2” or would you like to watch a 117 minutes “Part 1” and wait another year for “Part 2”?  I think most would prefer the latter.  It is true.  The entire “Part 1” can be told in 10 minutes.  The story for this part 1 is not complex.  It is a miracle that this small plot can be expanded into a 117 minutes long show.  Team Jacob should be delighted for “Part 1”.  The werewolf Jacob scores big (‘score’ not in an urban sense).  It is a delight to finally see him coming out of his character, to be something closer to greatness.  Good job, Jacob.  Team Edward, unfortunately, would have nothing to cheer about.  Edward is so skinny, and pale.  His contribution to “Part 1” is minimal.  Personally I am happy.  Because I am Team Bella.  This movie is all about Bella.  Her decision making, her perseverance, and her will to overcome the unthinkable.  Bella, if I were you, I would dump that loser vampire of yours and hang out with the dogs, or wolves more.

I am a hardcore Twilight fan, indoctrinated by Cynthia on the Christmas Eve of 2008.  The year after, we forced our friend TK to watch “New Moon” with us and that did not go well.  He bellowed like the dude sitting next to me on “Part 1”.  Lesson learned, we watched “Eclipse” on our own.  It is impossible to dive into an installment midway without watching all the previous ones (or to skip any for that matter).  So, friends, you have one whole year to catch up with all Twilight installments before the Saga’s climatic (I hope) finish – “Breaking Dawn Part 2”.

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Action & Thriller Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Cowboys & Aliens – I Can So Visualize This In A Video Game Setting

It is Daniel Craig once again covered in dirt and sweat working hard to do the impossible.  The story of “Cowboys & Aliens” is set in 1873, the cowboy era.  I was a bit concerned when I saw that Harrison Ford is part of the casting.  In “Morning Glory“, he looks pretty old.  OK.  In this movie, Harrison Ford looks better than I thought.  Perhaps, in the world of cowboys, the older the better (think Clint Eastwood).  I do not think Olivia Wilde is as hot as Cynthia thinks she is.  I think it is part of Cynthia’s plot to get me into watching “Cowboys & Aliens”.  In fact, our buddy TK wanted to watch this show.  Cynthia wanted to watch Conan.  And I wanted to watch Womb.  As always, those two ganged up against me. Therefore, I do not really have any expectation on this movie.

I like the initial part of the story.  Daniel Craig wakes up in the middle of the Wild Wild West with a nasty wound on his body and a strange looking bracer on his wrist.  He does not remember who he is or where he comes from.  There is this cloud of mystery.  Some romance.  There is Christianity.  And there are men who want to be a better man.

Then comes the attack of the aliens in flying machines, which is still well and good.  Aliens are abducting the humans.  But why?  There is still this cloud of mystery.  I was skeptical as in, how can the humans fight against the aliens that obviously possess a much better technology.  The linkage to our history of colonization is subtle.  Nevertheless, the theme is there.

When the aliens show their forms, that was quite a let down to me.  They are hideous and cold.  Physically superior but mentally weak.  The shooting scene that dominates the later part of the movie reminds me of the video game “Mass Effect“.  Except, “Mass Effect” does a much better job in telling a story that involves alien species.

“Cowboys & Aliens” is not bad.  It is not great either.  It is a decent entertainment for a lazy weekend.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes – NO! I Mean YES!

Cynthia often pokes fun at me saying that I have a special relationship with the primates.  And she does not mind accompanying me to watch “Rise of the Plant of the Apes” (what a mouthful don’t you think?) due to my profound love for the apes.  Well, to clarify, when I was a teen, I was used to revise my subjects at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in the morning, before the school started.  I would pace up and down the path next to the animal cages reading my textbooks.  My favorite stretch was located at the primate’s area.  At times, the smell of the animals could be overwhelming.  Especially when the wind blew towards me.  But I got used to it.  I reckon I could retire in a farm when I grow old.

Yesterday morning, Cynthia’s mother flew out of Singapore and returned to Indonesia after close to two months of stay.  We miss her, of course.  Life seems to be less eventful when she is not in Singapore.  I called up TK and wanted to ask him if he could join us for the movie.  What I did not know was that I have interrupted his intense jogging ritual.  No wonder he had to catch a breath before calling me back.  Can we do it later, he asked.  Since we have made plan to buy and assemble a new computer later this evening, we preferred to watch the film on an earlier time slot.  Besides, our Warcraft guild had some unfinished business at a troll dungeon that we agreed to regroup (which it did not happen).  Less than an hour before the show started, TK said he could join us.  Miraculously, he managed to get a seat next to ours.

I am not familiar with “Planet of the Apes” franchise.  I know that has something to do with how it begins.  From a storytelling point of view, I was enchanted.  I found myself cheering for the apes.  TK was depressed, as the human side loses ground.  I suppose this is the beauty of an artwork.  Different people relate to different aspects of the story.

James Franco plays the role of a scientist who is in search for a virus that can save human lives by repairing the damaged brain cells.  His ultimate goal is to cure his father suffered from a brain disease.  After years of research and testing, the research has shown positive results.  The apes have gained phenomenal level of cognition and intelligence.  Thereafter, the story centers at the main ape character – Caesar.

I love watching the computer graphics, especially Caesar’s swinging sequence.  I know it is not real.  But it is as real as it can get using today’s technology.  Caesar is full of emotion.  His facial expression is acted by Andy Serkis who has also participated in Lord of the Ring as the gollum.

I do have one takeaway point from “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”.  If you are the underdog who has discovered a brilliant idea.  First, share this idea with those who are on your side and get them to the same level.  Then, destroy your counterpart with the very thing they create.  If you think about it, we see this everyday in the corporate world.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Captain America: The First Avenger – The Charm Lies In The Heart

Of the four showcased in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far – Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America – I would say, Captain America wins my heart.  He is humble with a never give up attitude.  He is keen to contribute, in whatever capacity he can.  He represents the common people and when he wields his power, he completes his missions with a team.  At times he has the whole army behind him.  In this aspect, Captain America is unique among the four.  He is a character I can most relate to.

The story is set in the World War II era.  Hugo Weaving plays the role of Hitler’s head of advanced weaponry and he is the bad guy.  Captain America, together with the US soldiers and defected German scientists play the good guys.  It is an alternative universe when laser guns can vaporize opponents and open up walls.  Chris Evans has a likable personality, perfect for the role of Captain America.

I am often intrigued by filmmakers’ choice of love interests for the superheroes.  Don’t they deserve … better?  Perhaps Hayley Atwell has this classic look.  Do you agree with filmmaker’s choice?  As for me, I have been scratching my head ever since the day I watched the trailer.

Like all the Marvel Cinematic Universe inspired movies, if you have the patience to sit through the end credits, you will be rewarded with a short clip.  In additional, there is a trailer for The Avengers due to be out on May 2012.  Looking at the casting list, my heart goes kaboom!  Yes, Scarlett Johansson, I am going to watch The Avengers because of you.  It is disappointing that Edward Norton is replaced by Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.  In any case, I have high hope for The Avengers, especially after seeing so many clips of its forthcoming over the years.  That has to be good, yes?

So tell me, of the five movies – Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America, which ones are your favorites?  For me, I like Iron Man and Thor best.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

X-Men: First Class – Not My Cup Of Tea

I have a few issues with the installment of this new trilogy.  Considering the fact that “First Class” is a prequel, I am unable to reconcile how, say, McAvoy and Fassbender’s characters are going to grow up and become Professor X and Magneto that we are familiar with on a big screen.  I took a look at McAvoy and compared him with Patrick Stewart.  Nah.  I took another look at Fassbender and thought about Ian McKellen.  No way.  Is it important that the casting should somewhat reconcile with our mental expectation?  I would think so.  Star Trek has done a pretty good job in choosing their casting when the prequel was made.  McAvoy and Fassbender are good actors.  But the disconnection with the existing X-Men films is a bit too much for me to take.

From the story point of view, after the climatic ending of “X-Men: The Last Stand”, I doubt a prequel could top that.  And it does not.  The ideas of mutants against the humans, teaching the mutants to control their power and one super mutant wanting to take over the world – these ideas begin to sound old to me.  Who cares about the ability of creating whirlwinds when we have already seen what Storm can do?  Who cares about a stripper with wings of a housefly when we have seen a human boy with angelic wings?  Havok shoots beams from his chest but hey, we have already seen how Cyclops shoots beams from his eyes.  A boy who screams that enables him to glide in mid air with artificial wings?  Maybe the movie is not doing the comic books justice.  Or maybe it is what it is.

If I am to look at “First Class” as a standalone movie and to remove most of the mutants who are unimportant to the story, the film does offer more background on the friendship between Professor X and Magneto and who they are.  The linguistic ability of Magneto (or rather Fassbender) is charming.  Seeing a younger version of Professor X flirting and chatting up with girls is unexpected, but refreshing.  Hence, it is the drama bit that I enjoy watching.  What is disappointingly missing – besides more depth in Professor X’s romance would be nice – is the transformation of Magneto: the transformation from a mission of personal vendetta to a mission of one mutant (and his recruits) against the world and the disintegration of a friendship.  In one scene, a man was down on the beach.  Magneto could have had him teleported out for medical care.  Why the hurry to disappear from the screen?  That emotional part of a human, or rather a mutant, is missing.  And I am left with an empty feeling wondering if I still want to see more.

The good news is, “Second Class” and “Third Class” – if at all the rest of the installments are so called – are likely going to beat “First Class”.  It is likely that I will get to continue watching this trilogy, because Cynthia is a X-Men fan.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi

Thor – You’ve Been Expecting It, Haven’t You?

Frankly speaking, the best 3D viewing experience thus far.  I was about to give up on 3D technology wondering why I would want to spend extra dollars to watch a show with color less than vivid, edges at times blurry.  Thor has restored my faith on 3D movies.  They have done right this time.

I vaguely remember some of the audiences upon watching the promotional clip at the end of Iron Man 2 screamed “Thor!”  It was a hammer discovered on a dessert.  Now that I have watched Thor, the hammer is called Mjolnir.  And my geek-o-meter in the universe of Marvel has just shot up by one knot.  At the end of this movie, there too was another promotional clip.  This time, the audiences screamed “Avenger!”  I have been watching Avenger’s promotional clips for what seems like ages.  I wonder when Avenger will be out.

Thor is the god of thunder (played by Hemsworth), cast down from his celestial realm to our world due to some classic family politics.  The fantasy realm is a beauty to look at, especially with those 3D glasses.  And to help us to connect to to these celestial beings, we have Natalie Portman and her two science team members who witness Thor falling from the sky.  The encounters between them are lighthearted and hilarious.  And it was fun to see Natalie and her girl friend swooning towards Chris Hemsorth’s look and body.  Gosh, I so want to have a body like that!

Girlfriends (or love subjects?) of the superheroes are usually quite useless or powerless in the stories.  Thor is no exception.  I really wish that something could have happened between Thor and that warrior princess lookalike character.  If I was the story writer, I would find a way, one way or another, to let the girl wields some massive power towards the end, to save the dude who saves the world or to save the world herself.  Better still, sacrifice herself in the process.

I like it that in Thor, the story flips between the celestial realm and our present realm.  I am unsure if there will be a sequel.  Judging at the positive reception, I reckon there should be one.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Adjustment Bureau – Who Writes Your Fate?

I suppose I should count myself lucky that whoever Cynthia thinks is pretty is not that pretty to my eyes.  And vice versa.  That way, she would feel happy that I am not looking at all the women whom she think are pretty on the street and she would not notice all the pretty women who I actually am … erm … OK …

Cynthia thinks that Emily Blunt is pretty.  I think the most attractive aspect of Emily is her accent.  TK and Cynthia picked “The Adjustment Bureau”.  I did not mind to tuck along.  Because Matt Damon is my hero.  To be honest, I often confuse Matt Damon with Mark Wahlberg.  Both are my heroes.

“The Adjustment Bureau” is advertised as a mix between sci-fi and romance.  The bits on sci-fi are surprisingly light.  If not for the paperback notebook with pages filled with ever changing circuit diagrams by the second, I would not be able to associate this movie with sci-fi.  Matt Damon plays a promising young politician.  One fine day, a mysterious girl appears that threatens to alter Matt’s destiny.  Hence the intervention by the Adjustment Bureau.  No matter how hard the bureau intervenes, Matt and Emily manages to find ways to defy the system of fate.  Now, looking at the state of the world today, is free will a bad thing?  Do we really have free will?  What if we do not possess free will and our fates have already been written?  If we have to fight for the right to our free will, would that make us treasuring it even more?  These are some of the questions the movie intends to prompt the audiences to ponder upon.

I enjoy watching the on-screen chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.  I wish Emily has more airtime because I like the romance bits in this movie more than the sci-fi bits.  Some bits of the script seem a bit far-fetched.  It is the same old background of God and Angels.  The story is not as profound as Matrix (that questions along the same line), nor as refresh as Inception.  The pace does appear slow.  I went into the theater with the desire to watch Matt Damon’s performance.  It is exactly that and that only this movie has given me.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Red Riding Hood

From the director who brought you “Twilight“, we now have a new saga called “Red Ridding Hood”.  Cynthia and I adore “Twilight”, despite what the critics said.  I was so excited in booking the tickets online so much so that I booked yesterday’s session, instead of today’s.  So, we had an early weekend celebration.

There are striking similarities between “Twilight” and “Red Ridding Hood”.  The narration, the rather helpless leading female actress, and even the fathers of Valerie of “Red Ridding Hood” and Bella of “Twilight” are acted by the same person.  There are werewolves in “Hood”, but there is no vampires (yet?)  In “Twilight”, we see Bella falling in love while in “Hood”, Valerie has already fallen in love since the beginning.  Hence, in a way, “Hood” is more a suspense type of movie than a romance type drawing us to the center of the plot: Who and where is the big bad wolf?  Looking from that perspective, the story is full of twists.  It got me hooked all the way to the end guessing who is what and with what motive.  The two opposing forces appear to be well matched.  At some point, I really had no idea which way the story would go.  Gary Oldman plays the Witchfinder General who takes over the village and volunteers to hunt the big bad wolf.  I love his acting (since the Fifth Element days).  And you may think, how cool if he is a big bad vampire eh?

Amanda Seyfried is beautiful.  She is perfect for this role.  I cannot say much about the two boys who are suppose to romance her.  The chemistry seems missing.  Perhaps since the part on falling in love is not there, there is hardly any opportunity for relationship development.  If there is a sequel (sure hope there is), I bet these boys could be replaced with someone more suitable for Amanda.