Category: Movie Reviews

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Foreign Horror Movie Reviews

[●REC]² – The Spanish Horror Continues, Not As Shocking As The First One

One of the many good reasons to keep a diary is that you can relive a fragment of your past emotion on any given day.  Like today.  Reading what I wrote after watching [●REC] gives me chill.  I did not remember that the first episode was that scary.  Comparatively speaking, the sequel is less scary, the camera still shakes but not that much, and for sure, my face did not turn pale and my hands did not turn cold after watching [●REC]², alone.

When I watched [●REC] one and a half years ago, I have just started learning Spanish.  Just completed the first 10 lessons as my online diary says (another good reason to keep a diary – for future reference).  Back then, I could only recognize a very few basic Spanish words spoken on screen.  Now that I am three months short of reaching a two years of Spanish learning journey, I could recognize a few more words when watching [●REC]².  The feeling is exhilarating as I have a low expectation on what I can gain from this linguistic journey.  Language, is not my strength.  A few more words and phrases I can make out?  I am happy.  Happy to see progress.

Perhaps this time I am smarter.  I chosen a seat not too close to the screen.  The camera still shakes, but it was not as bad.  Perhaps the camera did not shake as bad to start with.  This sequel starts from where the previous episode has left off.  Instead of a team of firemen and a TV presenter, we have the SWAT team and a health officer entering the same building to investigate the situation.  First episode is rich in suspense while in this episode, more focus is on the story development.  After all, the audience more or less knows what is going to happen, when and where the abomination is going to jump at the team.

While I would not necessarily classified this as a true horror – no one jumped or screamed inside the theater, fans of [●REC] should not give this a miss.  The way the story is told is different.  Timeline is shifted back and fro and the focus of the group gets alternated as well.  More than one camera is used to tell the story.  And there are some nice twists to the overarching story too.

For sure, there will be a third episode.  And I am waiting with anticipation.

Categories
Animation Movie Reviews

How To Train Your Dragon (3D) – So Darn Cute!

And so my obsession with the dragons continues.

Knowing that we are having a road trip heading north the next day and when we are back, we will probably pick that Titan show to watch, we have got to catch this animation ths week.  So we did.  Again, in 3D.  Seems like a trend these days.  Honestly speaking, I have no clue which version is better: 3D or non-3D.  But I enjoy “How To Train Your Dragon” in 3D a lot.  Perhaps because it is a full animation, unlike Avatar and Alice In Wonderland.  Very likely I would invest the Blu-Ray format of this movie for the keeping.

Just about 100 minutes, “Dragon” grips me from the beginning till the end.  Gosh, I want more!  Cynthia and I are both big fans of “Lilo & Stitch”.  That dragon in the poster reminds us of Stitch.  Little did we know that Dreamwork has hired the directors of “Lilo & Stitch” for this children book adaption.  No wonder, eh?

I once met someone in the military service who likes to derive “morale of the story” for all the well-known animations.  I wonder what he would say about “Dragon”.  If I may, I would say that endless violence can be evaded by seeing the same you in another person’s eyes.  And together, we may eliminate the root of violence that is not us or them but something else.  Something we have not thought of.

Categories
Action & Thriller

Green Zone – Far Fetched Or Being Honest?

It is Matt Damon, again in uniform, not as a super soldier but as a Chief Warrant Officer looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.  If the Americans and their allies could not find WMD after the Iraq War, could Matt Damon do the impossible?  No!  That is the bit on being honest.

When the Iraq War started, I suppose there were two groups of people.  One who supported the war and another one did not.  In fact, make it three: those who disliked the notion of war but eager to see a swift closure to the situation.  Imagine a war spinning out of control that may have a widespread implication – socially and economically in a global scale.  The question remains: If the reason of going into war was to dismantle WMD in Iraq and if none can be found after the invasion, what have the Americans and their allies achieved?  How would those who supported the war feel?  Perhaps that is why “Green Zone” is seen as anti-American or anti-war by some, an honest production by others.

Personally, my deeper query is as such: Did America go to war because of bad intelligence that WMD may exist or they went to war knowing that WMD does not exist?  “Green Zone” has made some strong claims.  And I am not certain to what extend does being faithful to historical facts lie.

Nor would I know if a Chief Warrant Officer on the ground be given such a great autonomy to pursue his personal objectives without having to notify the command center and his superior, able to reassign his people out of his team on the fly, able to initiate a personal transfer of unit also on the fly, and to embark on a solo life-threatening mission with zero intelligence and little military backup.  I am not even talking about how a local Iraqi can walk in and out of a military prison by simply following an American in uniform.

But if one can overlook these incredible scripts and claims, the filming of “Green Zone” looks authentic.  The Iraqi backdrop and the intense battle scenes, the partnership of Matt Damon and the director Paul Greengrass (Bourne series) – I would say “Green Zone” is an entertaining film.  That is if you do not think about the scripts too much.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Up In The Air – What’s The Point?

Being someone who had spent quite a good number of years traveling overseas for work, I can relate to the feeling of frequently going through the airport security, the ‘good’ life of living on travel expenses clocking in mileages and points, living on a suitcase for most part of the year, not having a home called home, the at times loneliness, and etc.  I too have a similar observation using suitcase as a metaphor, similar to George Clooney’s main character’s thought on a backpack.  Except, mine is realer than his.  Back then, my belongings at ‘home’ were constantly on a move, from one friend’s storeroom to another.  It was a hassle, painfully tedious to relocate my belongings.  At some point, I had to hire a mid size lorry to move my stuffs.  At that time, I had this concept of how good it would be to have only one suitcase to house all that I need.  In a way, I did.  Inside my suitcase, there was a pair of mini-speakers, my CD player, and a few of my favorite CDs (now I would just need a phone that comes with thousands of tracks!), a few good books to read again and again (“If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler” and “Romeo and Juliet” anyone?), my swimming gears, basic clothing and necessities, a camera, a diary, and that was all I need.

I often think that it is hard to make a film out of corporate life.  Because it is not as entertaining compares to the career of a cop or a doctor or a lawyer.  In that sense, I think “Up In the Air” has done a pretty good job on portraying a glimpse of what corporate life is like (“I type with a purpose” is perhaps one of the best lines).  The few frames of image on the process flowchart was enough to give some of us a really good laugh.  Some of the technicalities of downsizing companies, in my opinion, add more depth to the drama.  I wish there are more gems like these moments.  But like I said, corporate life is really not that entertaining to watch.  Neither is loneliness.

Running in parallel of the main storyline is the story of romance and family.  The film could have been more intense in terms of the exploration of how living alone affects family and love life.  Then again, “Up In The Air” is light enough to entertain, yet giving some pointers for self-reflection.  I enjoy watching the acting of the three main characters.  And George Clooney?  Well, I have always been a fan.

To borrow a line from the movie to close this entry: What’s the point?  Looking back, what’s the point with the frequent traveling, living up in the air?

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Alice In Wonderland

3D or not 3D?  I say 3D, and go for the experience.  Pleasantly surprised I was, the overall 3D effect seems to have better clarity than Avatar.  I wonder why.

It must have been a long time since I last read the book “Alice In Wonderland”.  All I remember were the rabbit hole, the potions, the card soldiers, and the little girl called Alice.  I wonder what makes this story lasts through the century.  There have been films made in the name of Alice, believe it or not, since a century ago.

Pleasantly surprised I was, with the film’s adaptation as the story is more like an extension to the original series.  Tim Burton’s Alice is now a teenager revisiting the “Underland”.  While the storyline can be predictably simplistic, the graphical effect is very pretty to look at, magical in some scenes.  Figures are artistically distorted – be it as the overall size, or the enlarged head or eyes.  The line of realism and illusion has blurred so much these days on the big screen.  How technology has progressed.

Cynthia seems to love the film.  My mother too, even though there is no subtitle for her.  I am thrilled by the 3D experience, more than anything else.

Now, why is a raven like a writing desk?  It is a riddle in the original story.  And I still don’t quite get it in this movie.  Looks like I have to watch it again!

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Bright Star – For The Love Of Poems …

If you love art-house type of movies, especially on the topic of poetry, you may find the highly acclaimed “Bright Star” a movie worth checking out.  A story based on the life of the poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne, set in the year 1818.  The drama can be intense, and the words from Keats’s poems and letters are interjected naturally into the some parts of the scripts.  It may take some time to understand how the roles relate to one another (you know how it is like to start reading a novel only found yourself hopelessly lost on the first chapter?), but patience pays off for this 2 hours long movie.  It shows that the historical background is well researched.  And the scripts are intelligently written with subtle cues that may please those who pay attention to the words.  I have to admit that it is hard to digest, or even to appreciate the words of the poems at first listen.  Those who come from English Literature background may be in a better position than me.  Occasionally, I read Shakespeare’s works.  But still, poems require time to appreciate.  Certainly not in a duration of merely 2 hours.

And because “Bright Star” is based on a true story, there is always one camp of audience who wishes the story to be resolved a different way and another camp who critics on the accuracy of the research effort.  Also, the pace of “Bright Star” can be slow and the overall mood can be depressing, at times painful even to watch.  To that extend, it may not be a film for everybody.  As for me, after watching “Bright Star”, I did some research on the life and work of John Keats.  His poems seem beautiful.  You too should check them out.

Below is “Bright Star”, the poem, as found in Wikipedia.

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art —
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —
No — yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever — or else swoon to death.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

20th Century Boys 3 – A Closure, Finally!

It’s a no-brainer.  If you have already followed the Japanese movie adaption of the manga series, you wouldn’t wish to miss the last installment of the trilogy.  If you have not heard of “20th Century Boys”, I doubt if this 156 minutes film would make much sense to you.

I was struggling to like the first installment when it arrived in Singapore, 2008.  By the time I have watched the second installment (2009), the trilogy has grown to me.  Perhaps because I was beginning to recognize the characters.  The “20th Century Boys” casting is massive.  And I need a super memory to familiarize myself with who is who.

The last installment offers good closure to all the loose ends of the previous installments.  That is satisfying.  Although at times I wonder how far this child play would go, I can tolerate some elements of childishness in this last episode because like it or not, if you look deeper inside, men are in fact boys.  And since I too am born in the 20th century, I can relate that rock music should save the world.

PS. Someone should start creating a new manga series called “21st Century Girls”.

Categories
Movie Reviews Romance

I Enjoy Watching New York I Love You

Despite the mixed review, if I am to examine why I find “New York, I Love You” a pleasurable film to watch, the list would look something like this.

  • I enjoy reading short stories.  Short stories often has a faster pace, a metaphor, and a twist as resolution.  When I was younger, I found short stories incomplete.  Now that I am older, I find short stories at times more charming to read.
  • I enjoy watching romance drama.  It touches on my soft spot – emotionally speaking.
  • I like “Paris Je T’aime (2007)”.  A large production team with a different mix of directors, actors and actresses.  And the same producer has created a New York version this year.
  • Picture house type of films talk to me.  Some stories in this film are pretty artistic in nature (read: slower pace).  And that set me thinking.

And because the production team is so huge, it is hard to maintain the consistency in terms of mood, pace, and quality.  So, watching “New York, I Love You” is like having a tapas sampler in a restaurant.  Not quite a full meal but probably satisfies those who enjoy a feast of variety better.  Some stories stand out better than others.  Like the old man and the old lady walking in the street chatting with one another.  It is so heart warming.  His wife’s constant reminder in him “lifting his feet” (the old man apparently has undergone a hip surgery recently), their struggle with the pace of New York, and the theme of companionship so vividly portrayed.  Some stories have witty dialogs and twists.  Some do not go anywhere – plot-wise – but help painting a slice of the city.  Such variety.  From the youngest character to the eldest, from one race to another, one language to another, even the director team appears to have come from different backgrounds.

Maybe because of the lack of a cohesive theme and storyline, some find that the stories do not add up.  Maybe some wish that this is better than “Paris Je T’aime (2007)”.  For me, I enjoy taking in the short stories as they are.  And besides, I like the soundtrack too.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Right … So This Is Sherlock Holmes?

Pardon my lateness in writing this.  Given the recent turn of exciting events, I hope it is forgivable.  One may ask: Why write this type of entries for every movie you watch?  I am a Cancer and I am fond of collecting movie stubs.  Until one day I realize that the printing on the movie stubs faints over time.  Besides, I don’t get to collect every movie stub since not every ticket is purchased by me.  Now, I have a record of all the movies I have watched on big screens.  And if you read my so-called ‘reviews’, more often than not, I mix it with my diary making it more personal, more fun for me to read in the future.  Interestingly, some do find some of my views beneficial, which I am humbled.  Some find a common voice within, which I am even more humbled.

I have high hope on Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes”.  It is a classic, correct?  I must confess that I didn’t know who wrote “Sherlock Holmes” and I am amongst the group of readers who thought that Sherlock Holmes exists.  Between you and me, I even thought that “Sherlock Holmes” was written by Agatha Christie.  Now you know that I am not quite into the genre of detective stories.

Or more correctly, reading detective stories make me feel stupid.  Clues are supposed to be everywhere.  And you are supposed to solve the crime as you read the story.  Somehow, I am finding it hard to crack the cases.  As the detective takes the final stage explaining the case, like a magician who leads you to the third stage, the answer is right in your face.  And I always feel stupid, frustratingly inferior.  To whom?

Back to the movie.  Given any normal day release, “Sherlock Holmes” could well be an entertaining film to watch.  But you know during Christmas, there were tons of great movies to choose from (blue aliens anyone?).  We watched “Sherlock Holmes” on a large theater and the sound and image quality didn’t quite match the series of movies we have watched over the holiday season.

A couple of observations on “Sherlock Holmes”.  The filmmakers appear to have borrowed Doyle’s characters with the story written by someone else.  My questions are: Why not name these characters something else?  Why not adapt one of the original stories written by Doyle?  I suppose if the story is well known – though I have yet to read any of his books – many people would have known the ending.  And that is not a great detective story because … ?

Our friend TK seems to enjoy watching “Sherlock Holmes”.  Well, dude, if you want us to join you for “Sherlock Holmes 2”, you better join us for “Twilight 3”!

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

An Education – A Beautifully Made British Production, Witty And Humorous

The main reason of I picking the film “An Education” was to relive the memory of the university that I studied in.  Of course, having an aggregated score as high as “Avatar” is a pleasant bonus.  A screenplay written by Nick Hornby is also a pleasant surprise.  It is a story based on the true memoir of a British journalist Lynn Barber who has studied English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, University of Oxford.

Set in the 1960s, 16 years old Jenny – played by the talented Carey Mulligan – has set her goal to study in Oxford, supported by her school and her family.  Along comes David, a charming and much older man, who is more than willing to show Jenny a different kind of education – one that is as real as life itself.  As Jenny confronts the contrast of the vividness of real life and the boredom of school and university – which I am certain all of us do at some points in our lives – and asks what the point of studying is and what the point of the education system is, Jenny is ready to throw her goal of Oxford away and to walk into the life of David.

Nick Hornby is known for his wit and humor.  I have always enjoy reading the dialogues of his novels.  Under his script, the character Jenny has come alive as someone who is intelligent, innocent, and yet have the bravery of facing the reality.  “An Education” is filled with music – a common trademark of Nick Nornby’s works.  The cinematography of the 1960s UK and Paris is beautiful.  I enjoy every bit of the film.