Category: Movie Reviews

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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.

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Action & Thriller Foreign Movie Reviews

The Raid: Redemption – The Sensational Bone Cracking Blood Spilling Indonesian Film That Is Popular At Home And In US

My Indonesian born now a Singaporean wife Cynthia has been asking me out for a movie date for the past three weeks.  She wants to watch the new Indonesian movie The Raid: Redemption that is very popular back home and in US.  Yet, five minutes into the show when a line of captives were brutally executed by the gangsters, I was not sure if she would stay till the end.  It is bloody.  The execution is so in-your-face such that at one point, even I had the urge to look away.  The opening scene has set the bar.  The audience is warned.  This is no child play.  Blood will be shed, in a big and realistic way.  Bone will be cracked.  People will die.  When it comes to urban warfare and close quarter combat, the key to survival is to eliminate your opponents.  The Raid: Redeemption is a 100 minutes movie that guarantees to entertain from the beginning to the end, if you have the stomach for it that is.  Surprisingly, Cynthia stayed till end.  And our friend TK did not fall asleep.

Here are a few interesting points to share, courtesy of my wife who understands the language and has been reading all the news on this movie.  I have added a few based on my research too.

  • The main actor Iko Uwais has won a National Silat Championship.  Silat is a traditional Indonesian martial art.  Iko is one of the two choreographers of this movie.  The other one is Yayan Ruhian who plays the deadly Mad Dog character in The Raid.
  • The Raid or Serbuan Maut as locally known was hugely popular in Indonesia during Cynthia’s recent visit to her birth town.  It has also gained popularity in US.
  • The translator has apparently taken the artistic liberty to spice up the violence of the movie by adding a lot more vulgarity than what is spoken in its original Bahasa Indonesia language.  I suppose that is to cater for the Western audience because violence is not really violence with a lot of swearing?
  • It is common to see a praying scene in an Indonesia movie.  After all, Indonesia is a Islamic country.  It should come as no surprise that those who pray will prevail.
  • The Raid is likely to have a sequel.

At the end of the movie, I felt utterly confused by the story line.  Maybe it is lost in translation.  So I asked Cynthia and TK for their understandings.  Looks like the three of us have a different version of what we think the story is.  Cynthia insisted that this is an Indonesian action movie.  There is no story.  We pay to watch the action instead.

True.  There are tons of action.  Twenty cops raid a 30-story building heavily guarded by a notorious crime lord and his gang.  The show starts with an urban warfare stealth mission that turns horribly wrong.  I suppose sooner or later, the characters would be out of ammunition.  Hence, I was not that surprised when halfway through the movie, it turns into close quarter combat with knives and fists and a rare usage of pistols.  The fight choreography flows beautifully (again, beauty in the context of violence).  The filmmakers must have involved quite a number of professionals for this show because the fight looks authentic and there are many different faces that appear for that few second of glory.  There is one old guy who cannot fight – as demanded by the plot I guess – and he stands out like a sore thumb.  It is through contrast like this do we realize how professional the rest of the actors are.

The Raid: Redemption is intense.  It is an entertaining, eye-opening movie provided that your heart can take the violence, blood, and more.

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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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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

House Of Pleasures (Or House of Tolerance) – A Fine Balance Between Art And What Could Have Been Otherwise

Speechless I was at the end of this French movie.  What could I possibly write in order to share my experience with my readers here.  The entire entry could well be summed up in two words: C’est tragique.  Too much to process after the show, my mind just went blank.  House of Pleasures does not glorify prostitution, which is good.  With a group of actresses who are naked or semi-naked most of the time, strange to say, there is nothing erotic about this movie either.  Is it seductive?  Yes.  The costume is beautiful and some scenes are tantalizing.  But there is also enough grotesque and fear that darkens the overall mood.  In this tragic setting, the camaraderie within the group of prostitutes under the same roof is what holding the story together.  Sex is transformed into a pure monetary transaction.  The preparation and after the act routines add much realism to the profession.  And because of that, fantasy and eroticism is diminished leaving behind what it is seen through the eyes of the prostitutes on a day-to-day basis.  House of Pleasures is a movie told from the prostitutes’ perspective.  To them, there is no pleasure about the business.  It is what they do in order to make a living.

The year is 1899.  At the turn of the century, what future does it lie for the brothels that are specially catered for the French aristocracy and the high society?  In this particular brothel run by Marie-France – a single mother with two kids – the courtesans are hygienically cleaned and seductively dressed.  Every evening, inside a luxurious living room, wealthy clients mangle with the girls.  This scene almost viewed like a high society party with free flow of champagnes and cigarettes.  Someone is playing the piano.  Girls entertaining the guys.  There is laughter and small talk.  Some clients like what they see and the business is concluded in the bedrooms upstairs.  Some stay in the house till eight in the morning when the ‘commerce’ hours are long over.  There is this illusion of love.   Most girls dream to have their debt paid fully one day and be free.  The prospect of marriage at the end of their career is non-existence, and the girls know it.  The threat of deadly diseases is real, and it persists throughout the movie.  Each client has his fetish.  Some are deadlier than others.  This bets the questions of: If sex can be paid by money, what else can money buy?  One girl is brutally disfigured by a client she grew to trust.  The landlord’s decision to increase rent threatens the very survival of this brothel.  What can Marie-France do?  Close down the business and sell the girls’ debt to other brothels?  What is going to happen to the prostitutes we as an audience have made a connection with in this two hours long movie?

House of Pleasures has an open ending.  While the backdrop of the movie is set in 1899 and 1900, there is a short clip showing modern day street prostitution.  Perhaps, that is the answer.  The world’s oldest profession never ends.

I have my respect to the director Bertrand Bonello.  This movie could have been watched like a porn movie and it is not.  Because the rest of the film is so much more engaging than the sterile sex scenes within.  The continuous shooting and split screen methods blend the different themes and concepts into one, resulting in a holistic story of: This is prostitution.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Delicacy (Audrey Tautou) – Love Not At First Sight

In the opening scene, you see the back of a French actress walking down the street of Paris.  The camera stays with her and you wonder, where is she going?  Since you can’t see her face, you further wonder, who is she?  The way she walks seems familiar to you.  You may even recognize her back, her short hair, the back of her ears, and perhaps her rather petite outlook.  Suddenly you gasp, she must be Audrey Tautou!  Seldom have we seen actresses who exude such aura that is instantly recognizable.  Our friend TK recognized the actress before the camera revealed her identity.  He had no idea what movie we have chosen for him.

Delicacy has a slow moving plot.  The overall story is not what I would call entertaining.  It is about coping with losses and starting anew.  Because there is so much realism within, you ought to be someone who appreciates acting in order to enjoy this movie.  If you do, Delicacy is delicious.  Tautou is a talented actress.  We have seen her taking on different types of roles throughout her career.  This time, as a widower, she buries herself in work shutting away from most social interactions.  Can she fall in love again?  As audience, we get to witness how love not at first sight works.  Her counterpart played by François Damiens is worth a mention.  Damiens looks utterly ordinary, awkward in every little move.  He is even balding. And his character Markus has a huge crash on Nathalie played by Tautou.  The way he looks at her, the way he behaves when she is nearby, and the way he spaces out when she is not around – all these moments accentuate how awkward the relationship development is.  But the beauty is that it feels so natural looking at how the two interact and drown in this intolerable awkwardness.  It feels so real.

The soundtrack performed by Emilie Simon is also worth a mention.  The music is dreamy and moody.  It suits the plot well.  Emilie is a French singer who plays electronic music.  If you have a chance to check out her music, I would recommend you to do so.  Her music can be found in SingTel AMPed, arguably the world’s worst designed Android app.  Alternatively, you may check out her official YouTube channel.

Delicacy does not have a thought provoking open ending like many European movies do.  However, it does have a flavor to it.  Perhaps, what the filmmakers want to tell us is that to help someone in overcoming the pain of losses hidden inside, one must relive her past, understand it, only then there is hope to moving on.  On a side note, I think the title is appropriate in every way to describe the movie, especially Tautou’s character.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews Romance

The Vow – What if One is to Lose Years of Memory?

Woah.  Just imagine.  If one is to lose years of memory, how would that change his or her life and those around?  While facts of life like who the parents are do not change over time, our recent hobbies, our career, love life, recently acquired skills, friends, things that we shouldn’t have done but did, and things that we should have done but didn’t  do.

That’s why my friends, blogging is good.  While one may forget where he or she stores the diary (if you have one), a website is [more or less] always there.  I see blogging as an extension of my memory, as well as the memory of some of those who are around me.

I guess reading recent events that one has forgotten is not the same as restoring one’s memory.  It is not the same as living it, is it?  And here we are, a movie inspired by true events.  The Vow tells a story of a married couple.  After a road accident, the wife has lost her recent memory.  To the new her, the husband is a stranger and her ex-fiance still gives her butterflies in the stomach.  The recent life changing decisions, all wiped off from her memory.  Given this unfortunately event, can the husband win his wife’s love the second time?

All along, I thought The Vow was a romance comedy.  OK, comedy or not, it is a technical definition.  At the end of the movie, inside the theater, TK on my left said, “This is not a comedy”.  Cynthia on the right said, “This is not a comedy”.  Fine.  Cynthia did cry.  It is an emotional drama.  There are tons of on-screen chemistry between the main characters, in a moving plot.  We felt the pain and joy, and everything else in between.

I am a fan of Rachel McAdams.  To me, she could well be one of the most charming actresses in Hollywood.  Cynthia seems quite pleased with the rather handsome looking Tatum, whom I wish he would supplement his acting with some danceing (he is good at it I remember).  The Vow is about seeing a glass half empty or half full.  It is a story of a second chance not to be used to wipe off the past, but to relive the good and the bad once again.

Categories
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.

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews Romance

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen – Good Humor, With An Enlightening Spirit Within

I overheard in the radio one evening that Emily Blunt has rejected quite a few movie proposals lately including Captain America.  Yet she has decided to take on Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.  Emily is a great actress.  So I was curious.  Why salmon fishing?  When omy.sg offers two movie preview choices, subconsciously I picked this one.  I am happy that I did.

This movie begins with an unusual business proposal to set up salmon fishing in Yemen.  At the same time, there are some conflicts happening in the Middle East and the UK government is desperately looking for some good news to orchestrate.  When an government official played by Kristin Thomas catches wind of this rather bizarre business idea, she immediately lends her support on this matter.  It is funny that she cares not about the salmon, but the potential political gain.  Emily Blunt plays an investment consultant while Ewan McGregor plays a subject matter expert in fishing.  It is Harriet Chatwode-Talbot versus Dr. Jones.  I chuckled at the pronunciation of the names spoken so many times with a British accent throughout the movie.  The interaction between Emily and Ewan is light and playful.  Kristin as a supporting role is quite honestly a gem to this casting.  Such good actors, they are.  I smiled and chuckled.  The story does get a bit more serious towards the end.  All in all, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is full of humor and original ideas.  Great acting, with a witty script.  If British romance comedy is your cup of tea, this film is not to be missed.

On a more serious note, for those who are not familiar with the world map, Yemen is somewhere in the Middle East.  To create a fishing area in a desert area seems absurd.  Comparing fishing to religion also seems absurd (among many other things in the movie).  But with an open heart though, both activities require patience and faith, and a hope that something good may happen.  To think deeper, the storyteller tries to tell us that love comes from hope which requires patience and faith.  This movie transforms the simple act of fishing into something bigger, embracing lovers and a community alike.

If not for my blogger friend JoV, I would not have known that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is originally written as a novel.  Do drop by her website and check out her book review.  She highly recommends the book.  I have this belief that when the story is good, the movie is often good too.  I have not read the book so I do not know how well this book is being adapted.  In the movie, the shifting in the relationship dynamic seems a bit abrupt to me.  I may need JoV to verify for me.  I suspect it is because the movie may not have the luxury of time in the development of a love story.  Other than that, the rest of the movie flows nicely, from beginning to end.