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noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:55:00 +0000

REVIEW: KNIVES OUT

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 16:11:00 +0000

Rian Johnson is the man who brought you “Looper” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (Yes, I can see the fence is quickly building up). His latest effort is a modern spin on the murder mystery and thriller, that tackles the whodunit genre eloquently – entitled “Knives Out”, starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer. It is safe to say that I am genuinely thrilled and entertained by “Knives Out”.

It is important to point out that “Knives Out” does not seem to be reinvigorating the good old genre, but rather, it plays out as an old-fashion murder mystery in a good and fun way. Thank God, it does not take itself too serious like Kenneth Branagh’s “The Murder on the Orient Express” and totally avoiding the goofiness as well as over-plotting as in “Happy Death Day”. It is a straight-forward movie that will leave you less convoluted and bizarrely amused by its good mix of humour, character development and ingenious breadcrumbs (but also questionably plausible).

Rian Johnson delivers an entertaining and thrilling ride in “Knives Out”, which of course started out in the most formulaic plotting way. The death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), a patriarch figure of a wealthy family, who apparently committed suicide and leaves behind a big fortune. However, the family’s grieving is interrupted when a well-known PI Blanc Benoit (Daniel Craig) comes to investigate. He takes interest in Marta (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s personal nurse and quickly recruited her to help him in the investigation.

As the plot moves along, the audiences will quickly learn that the breadcrumbs are both linear and non-linear. Under Johnson’s methodological scripts, the plot decides to spend a great amount of time dissecting the mystery from Benoit and Marta’s perspectives. The other factor that is also working in favour is how excited it is to watch the ensemble cast having sort of fun and ripping the hell of each other (literally). Somewhere along the lines, it seems typical of a rich family to have these sort of “misbehave” I assume.

Without giving too many details that potentially can be spoilers, it suffices for me to say that Johnson has delivered the twists and turns effectively (although understandably some may say “I have seen that coming!”). "Knives Out" is indeed one of the few technical victories in the story and character-driven cinematic experience of the year. The oddball here is his decision to include some political arguments in the mix (left vs right banters sound fun), while my only letdown with “Knives Out” is the third act. Although it may not be the strongest reveal in cinematic history, it is certainly still a rewarding ending.

“Knives Out” is well-made, well-acted, as well as genuinely thrilling and fun to watch. Rating: 8.5/10.0

"Knives Out" is written and directed by Rian Johnson; rated PG13; released beginning 28/11/2019; ran for 130 minutes; and distributed locally by TGV Pictures for Lionsgate.

REVIEW: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 15:42:00 +0000

Here is the short and mild-spoiler review for DreamWorks' third installment of “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, subtitled The Hidden World.

Source: IMDB

1. What is it about? As alluded on the title, the third adventure will once again explore the relationship between Hiccup, who is now the leader of his tribal village Berk; and Toothless, his Night Fury dragon. Together, they embark on an adventure to find the mythical hidden world of dragons, following the ever-growing threats from the ruthless dragon poachers such as Grimmel.

2. Much of the credit is that the film continues to give its lovable dragons and their human counterparts with ample opportunity to shine. The plot device is rather simple and funny yet is also affectionate enough due to the heartfelt moments and emotional messages. These are adequate and appropriate to conclude the trilogy on a high note.

3. There are, however, pieces of underwhelming feeling that the third outing is nothing more than a rehash of the two predecessors in terms of its themes and story. The first movie was true magic, while the second one successfully took bold risks.

4. On the aspect of visual treats and much like its predecessors, one can expect grandiose experience with striking colours and amazing scene fluidity. Take the hidden world, for example, the animation highlights the Edenic neon-infused atmosphere and swarming dragons amazingly well. However, the comedic fighting sequences the movie displayed are quite forgettable.

5. One of the downsides of the movie is perhaps the direction for the villain character. Earlier, Grimmel is portrayed as a fearless, intelligent and charismatic dragon hunter. Unfortunately, the story development eventually made him pretty much one-dimensional and fails to live up to the expectation of a satisfying climax.

6. “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” plays too safe but offers a satisfying send off to the characters we loved.

OVERALL RATING: 8.0/10

Distributed by Universal Pictures. A production of DreamWorks Animation. "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" stars Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, and F. Murray Abraham. Directed and written by Dean DeBlois, based on Cressida Cowell’s “How to Train Your Dragon”. Runs at 104 minutes. Released since 31 January in Malaysia.

OFFICIAL TRAILER: JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:22:00 +0000

Baba Yaga is back......
The trailer for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is here as attached:

Baba Yaga, errr, John Wick round three is distributed by Lionsgate, directed by Chad Stahelski from a script by Derek Kolstad. It stars Keanu Reeve, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, and a dog.

REVIEW: GLASS

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:44:00 +0000

Here is the short review on Glass with minor spoilers ahead.

1. It is crazy to think of the number of in-depth ties-in, years in the making, as well as the motion wheels in this movie, have to offer. Good thing though, at least, M. Night Shyamalan managed to get this across the better side of the fence.
2. Following the surprise successes of "Unbreakable" and "Split"; "Glass" takes the Eastrail 177 trilogy back into the original intentions and ends it decently with enough exploration into the symbolism and abstractify of the themes of vigilante, superhero, and mental health.
3. The movie is enticing to watch with a significant dynamic display between the three main characters; once again anchored by a magnificent rapid trans-characters by James McAvoy.
4. M Night Shyamalan is not a great writer, as evidently perplexing for "Glass" to carry countless overwhelming plot points that ultimately can be both bittersweet and rough to savor.
5. The twist at the end is not as clever as the Shyamalan's standard would have been, abruptly done and lack of logical senses.
6. "Glass" is a well-aged psychological horror with uneven beautiful chaos thrown around it - luckily it hit more than it misses.

OVERALL RATING: 7.0/10

Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. A co-production of Buena Vista, Universal Pictures, Blinding Edge Pictures, and Blumhouse Productions. "Glass" stars Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anna Taylor Joy, and Spencer Treat Clark. Directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan. Runs for 129 minutes.

REVIEW: THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 07:31:00 +0000

A campy summer action flicks overdosed with cliche humor and absurd plot; the feminism-fueled action comedy in "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is barely passable although watchable.

Mila Kunis as Audrey and Kate McKinnon as Morgan. Credit: Lionsgate

Playing much like "Spy" and "Get Smart" (the latter two are the better spy movies), "The Spy Who Dumbed Me" centers around some ordinary and average fella or chick(s) - Audrey (Mila Kunis) and her weird-wacky best pal with rich parents Morgan (Kate McKinnon), whom were dragged into serious intelligence run, no thanks to Audrey's boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux) who happened to be a CIA agent. After Drew "dumped" Audrey and died, various government operatives and assassins are going after Audrey, believing she has something they want - flash drive with terror attack plans.

For most of the running hours, "The Spy Who Dumped Me" can't seem to find itself a core rooting nor does it able to find a perfect balance between the over-the-top story and self-igniting action. The film does have a very simple plotting template to follow, but it always comes out with plenty of twisty affairs, unnecessary side-tracking violent and weird geographical changes.

The basis of the film, is without a doubt, "Spy". Unlike the self-awareness wit and workable goofiness in that Mellisa McCarthy's flick; this is nowhere near it.

Sam Heughan (Right) as Sebastian Henshaw. Credit: Lionsgate

The good thing about this movie, it tries to make use of all the elements from a spy movie diligently and with care. There are plenty of car chase, bullet spray, double crosses, betrayal, knife fight, Red Sparrow assassin and Cirque du Soleil performance. The last one is odd, I know.

While we have seen some good quality jokes in this movie, the running mills of laughter seem to get rusty by the time we approach the third act. Nevertheless, I found myself laughed-out-loud on various occasions although not the memorable one.

Mila Kunis has proved herself a very reliable in handling comedy, something we have seen with equal quality in 2015's "Bad Moms". Kate McKinnon, on the other hand, has great comedic lines and moments but succumbed to an over-the-top performance and "Freeman" as her last name.

Overall, "The Spy Who Dumped Me" could be a summer crowd-pleaser. Certainly, also it is a perfect example of the chaotic film which resulted from the imbalance nature between its desire to craft a silly comedy and absurd plottings.

"The Spy Who Dumped Me" is rated 4.5/10.

Distributed by Lionsgate and GSC Movies, "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is a co-production of Lionsgate and Imagine Entertainment. It stars Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, and Ivanna Sakhno. It is directed by Susanna Fogel, with a screenplay, she penned with David Iserson.

REVIEW: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 14:54:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, your top contender for the greatest action movie of the century alongside Bourne Ultimatum, Skyfall and Mad Max: Road Fury.

Tom Cruise as IMF's Ethan Hunt. Credit: Paramount Pictures

[MINOR SPOILER ENSUING] What is the similarity between Mission: Impossible movies and a bottle of red wine? They age well. In a Hollywood business model of crafting sequels after sequels, the M:I franchise has started to distinguish itself in a more savoury territory and keeps going better each time they spin the wheel.

This is a continuing victory ever since J.J. Abrams corrected the course in the third installment. "Fallout", now the sixth installment in this two-decade-old movie franchise, is regarded perhaps the best and it is an upcoming instant classic in years to come.

The story picks up two years after the event in "Rogue Nation" after the capture of anarchist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Turns out it is just the beginning, as "Fallout" raise the stake even higher with much more global threats under the pretext of insidious manifesto of an unknown idealist John Lark. Syndicate may fall, but right on its ashes, the group reassembles as The Apostles.

THE UPSIDES

Mission: Impossible - Fallout stars Simon Pegg as Benji, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa, Tom Cruise as Ethan and Ving Rhames as Luther. Credit: Paramount Pictures

"Fallout" is an amazing and solid cinematic experience, which is best viewed on the large premium platform and it lives up to its titular name of adventuring into the aftermath (read fallout) of "Rogue Nation". Coming in astoundingly refreshing is indeed a welcoming refreshment as this is now the sixth vehicle in the franchise. Of course, at the end of the movie, you are yearning for more.

This Tom Cruise-starrer is a fast-paced, highly kinetic, action-packed beast right from the beginning, and sprinkled with great wide-shot cinematography. Each punch packs visceral muscular tone, gripping and moderately brutal, yet clean and steadily done by director Christopher McQuarrie.

Every chase scene accumulation takes the best from all the classic chase scenes available in the modern time. Those street chase in the city of Paris and London, serve as two of the hallmark set pieces in the movie - both feels tight and gripping. Of course, the intense third act is stupefying to watch too.

Henry Cavill as August Walker. Credit: Paramount Pictures

And the plot is no easy task to follow. It is a culmination of high brainer and convoluted old school spy plot details that becomes increasingly twistier and thrilling as it goes on. The uncanny presence of the McGuffin objects do very little to distract us from the greater story, though. At least the character chemistry seems to make this movie more lively.

THE DOWNSIDES

But with such larger-than-life plot points, many may find it utterly confusing. Who is John Lark? How is he related to Lane? Can we really trust Walker? While it plays out exactly from a chapter out of a typical Cold War spy thriller, no amount of exposition can do justice if no one can follow them intuitively. If you think "Rogue Nation" is hard to follow, try this.

The introduction of two new shady characters earlier in the movie looks to offset the absence of Jeremy Renner's character in this one. While Renner is busy saving the world in another universe, Cavill comes in as the muscle man of CIA and in character very much akin to Renner's Brandt back in "Ghost Protocol". But this Agent Walker is just doing okay, which unfortunately also means that his performance as the antagonist is pretty much unconvincing.

Perhaps my greatest complaint of all is on how they handle Angela Bassett's character with lack of development. She is written to serve little purpose and continuously work in an ambiguous character not similar in the way they handled Alec Baldwin's in "Ghost Protocol".

VERDICT

Despite the small shortcomings, it is safe to say "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is one of the best in the franchise and sets to become one of the greatest action movies of this decade. Perhaps, and no doubt, the seventh movie will definitely be coming and explores on the Apostle.

"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is rated 8.5/10.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is a co-production of Skydance, Alibaba Pictures and Bad Robot. It stars Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Ving Rhames, Angela Bassett and Alec Baldwin. It is directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie, based on the TV show by Bruce Geller.

SHORT REVIEW: GEOSTORM

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 16:14:00 +0000

This post is a short review for Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, and Abbie Cornish's "Geostorm".

It comes in a time of unprecedented natural disaster impacting parts of the globe, "Geostorm" is a tasteless yet somewhat a guilty pleasure flick that is packed with often jarring and non-sensical plot idea. At least despite its obvious B-rated direction, it is still able to keep you on the motion for most of its running time.

You are half right to assume this as a typical disaster movie with exaggerated CGIs, and the other half of it is a mixed bag of politically-charged conspiracy theories and un-sound scientific discoveries (at the moment). This sci-fi action is not that all bad, but it is definitely an awkward one. 5/10.

COCO BEATS JUSTICE LEAGUE FOR THANKSGIVING GOLD

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 15:19:00 +0000

The box office in the North America was pretty rosy over the weekend - thanks to the extended Thanksgiving holiday that marks the beginning of the yuletide season.

As expected, the DC Comic's own Avengers "Justice League" is not doing that well, losing to the Pixar's newcomer "Coco" on the second weekend and dropping by 59% following the $96 million last week. With mediocre critical and significantly good audience reception, the odds are not in the favour of the team to retain first place.

Last week's opening was not that grand, considering that Marvel's The Avengers did more than double back in 2012. Instead, Pixar's own Dia de Muertos-themed musical adventure "Coco" gobbles up the fourth biggest Thanksgiving opening ever behind "Frozen", "Toy Story 2" and "Moana". The opening of $71 million in 5 days could boast a possible $210 million earning in the Stateside by the end of its theatrical run.

Meanwhile, going third is Stephen Chbosky's drama "Wonder", from the distributor Lionsgate which stars Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The drama holds very well on its second week with only 19% reduction to $22.3 million for this weekend receipt. Thor and friends are still flexing some muscle respectable holds at fourth place.

This weekend Thanksgiving box office looks like this:

COCO (Walt Disney) - $49.02 mil (3987 theatres) = Total: $71.20 mil
JUSTICE LEAGUE (Warner Bros) - $40.73 mil (4011 theatres) = Total: $171.55 mil
WONDER (Lionsgate) - $22.30 mil (3172 theatres) = Total: $69.44 mil
THOR RAGNAROK (Walt Disney) - $16.79 mil (3281 theatres) = Total: $277.47 mil
DADDY'S HOME 2 (Paramount) - $13.25 mil (3518 theatres) = Total: $72.66 mil
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (Fox) - $13.00 mil (3152 theatres) = Total: $74.25 mil
THE STAR (Sony) - $6.88 mil (2837 theatres) = Total: $22.03 mil
A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS (STX) - $5.01 mil (2306 theatres) = Total: $59.75 mil
ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ (Sony) - $4.52 mil (1669 theatres) = Total: $6.27 mil
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (Fox Searchlight) - $4.40 mil (614 theatres) = Total: $7.62 mil

Others:
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (Sony Picture Classic) - $0.40mil (4 theatres) = Total: $0.40 mil
DARKEST HOUR (Focus) - $0.18 mil (4 theatres) = Total: $0.25 mil

SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING EASTER EGGS AND SHORT REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 09:13:00 +0000

Enjoy Spider-Man: Homecoming which was released over the weekends? If you do, probably this is the place for you to check out the Easter Egg scenes from the movie. There are tons of them, but probably these are the more stand-out one. Of course, if there are other Easter Eggs we have not covered aside from those on this list, give us the shout-out in the comment. I have also included a little review in this article too.

First of all, let me say that "Spider-Man Homecoming" succeeds in many ways to finally bring this pivotal character back into the expanded MCU. The second reboot is nothing short of entertainment, and it never disappoints me. "Homecoming" is packed with the usual Marvel's stuff - that's offering both thrilling and exciting Spidey adventures. There are slight under-development in the character and story departments, but these are countered by an effective charm around the casts and an on-the-dot straightforward and yet funny plot all around. I give the latest Spidey adventure a solid 4.5 out of 5 (Rating: A-)

And now to the Easter eggs with SPOILER ALERT ahead.....

OPENING MARVEL STUDIO INTRO
The opening Marvel Studio intros is hardly a surprise since it has been rumored and later confirmed for a month that it will feature a Michael Giacchino's rendition of the 60s theme song. You know, the one that sounds like "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does whatever a Spider Can".

DAMAGE CONTROL
The Department of Damage Control (DODC) is heavily featured as the one, apparently set up by the government and Tony Stark, to deal with the artifact fall-out and restoration of New York City after the events of "The Avengers". Up until 2015, Marvel Studios had planned out a TV series entitled Damage Control, but that didn't pan out. Damage Control was also mentioned in "Iron Man series" and in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

CINDY MOON? SILK?
Sometimes MCU throws and cross-references names for the sake of fun, although they could end up being something meaningful. Take one, for instance, there is a character called Cindy, who is also a friend and schoolmate to Peter, Ned, Liz, Michelle, and Eugene. Yes, Cindy is the girl who is also part of the Peter Parker's Academic Decathlon team at Midtown High School. Cindy could be a direct reference to Cindy Moon or Silk, or it could mean nothing.

AARON DAVIS
Aaron Davis is a petty criminal who was "caught" in an arms deal with Herman Schultz (Bokeem Woodbine) and Jackson Brice (Logan Marshall-Green). During the interrogation scene with Spider-Man, he told Peter that he has a nephew - which of course, for many comic readers is a hint about Miles Morales. Morales is, of course, the Ultimate version of Spider-Man. In the same Ultimate version, Aaron Davis eventually becomes the anti-hero character Prowler.

THAT STAN LEE CAMEO
It was widely speculated that Stan Lee has always been one of the observers who reports to The Watchers - an interesting note from the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2". And in this movie, he called himself Gary. His cameo scene involves him and a few neighbors arguing about a car's alarm that went off following Peter's attempt to apprehend a guy trying to steal a car, only to mistakenly take down the owner.

By the way, RIP to Mrs. Lee, who passed away earlier this week. Stay strong, Stan.

"AVENGERS" ROBBING THE BANK
This scene is a cross-reference to an actual story from the comic Ultimate Spider-Man. Similar to the movie version, Peter Parker is given the first chance to deal with the bank burglars, who don the masks of Avengers characters. In one particular scene, Peter fights off "Thor", and in the process, Peter managed to grab "Thor's" elbow, making "Thor" punched "Hulk". It is clear that this is an homage to the first Avengers movie, sort of "revenge" when Hulk punched Thor out of nowhere. Also, there is a one-liner joke about identity theft at the background. Pun!!

THOR'S MAGIC BELT
When Happy is supervising the transfer of Stark's artifacts to the new Avengers facility in the upstate of New York, Thor's magic belt is mentioned along with many other kinds of stuff that are also to be transported; including Hulkbuster, new Captain America's shield (Oh, Tony made another one?), and et cetera. Happy is unable to pronounce it properly (Megi......!!??). It is actually spelled as Megingjörð and on the pronunciation, well, no comment. In the conventional Norse mythology, Megingjörð is the belt given by Odin for Thor to use in times of peril; which is one of Thor's three main possessions, along with the hammer Mjölnir and the iron gloves Járngreipr.

REFERENCES TO JOHN HUGHES CLASSICS
The characters of Peter and his high school pals do take some inspiration from John Hughes' classic "The Breakfast Club", although character-by-character references are quite obscure. But the most direct mention has to be in one particular scene in the movie; where Peter Parker gives the bad guys a chase throughout the suburban neighborhood while giving a nod to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" for being a great movie. Of course, the home running scene from that classic movie is being played on the TV of some ensuing teen party. Much love for John Hughes!!

THE TINKERER
Phineas Mason (Michael Chernus) is heavily featured in the movie and could play a major role in the future of Spider-Man series. Hailed as the guy who helped Adrian Toomes transformed and integrate the salvaged alien artifacts as their weapon of the heist, Mason helped to create many powerful suits for the Spidey villains, including the Sinister Six. With Gargan being in the movie, one can assume The Tinkerer will be back soon.

MAC GARGAN
Mac Gargan is the psychopath murderer and ruthless criminal who makes a deal with Toome to buy the alien weapons from. He is mentioned by Karen during the weapon sale on the Staten Island ferry, and makes another brief appearance in the mid-credit scene, confronting Toomes about the real identity of Peter Parker. If you know your Marvel comic well enough, you would know who is he. In the comic, Mac Gargan lives as the villain Scorpion. Check out if you can spot his little Scorpion tattoo during the mid-credit scene too.

AUNT MAY IS NOT A FAN OF THAT TONY GUY
Marisa Tomei's character Aunt May isn't really a fan of Tony Stark, especially how "Stark's intern program" gave Peter a lot emotional and physical burden. At the Thai restaurant, Aunt May made that very clear that she doesn't like him. Not sure how much does this reference, but so that you know, the real life Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr once dated and featured in 1994 film "Only You". The rest they said, was history.

FOOD CRITICS
There are a few recurrent gags about food. First, Aunt May's "disastrous" meatloaf makes another mentioning in the movie - which references the scene from "Captain America: Civil War" where Tony Starks made a surprise visit to Peter Parker's home. He is clearly not a fan of Aunt May's meatloaf.

Then there is another one - the Branzino's reference. Flash Thompson is complaining about a bad branzino with his Homecoming date. That is a huge shout-out to one of the funniest scene in Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man".

That's it, folks. Discuss your favourite Easter Eggs scene from the movie in the comment section below.

NETFLIX'S OKJA IS A HEART-BREAKING REMINDER OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:57:00 +0000

Eccentric and extremely playful South Korean director, Bong Joon-ho returns with a brand new movie that pokes on the shady food industry and their capitalist business nature, while also putting the spotlight on animal rights and media manipulation issues. Joon-ho is almost like the Eastern version of Wes Anderson, often offering wacky narration on social classes ("Snowpiercer"), environmentalism ("The Host"), immigration ("Haemoo") and psychological state-driven empathy ("Mother"). "Okja", currently shown on the streaming platform Netflix, is not at all different from his usual staples.

In fact, "Okja" is nothing less than a gem - brilliantly coaxing of the idea it tries to present and interjected in within its timeframe a full persona, black humor, realism, and emotion, The media platform needs this to be a hit original movie, after strings of disappointment offering on its recent full-length feature contents. Sure, they did. By the way, spoiler alerts incoming.

STORY DEPICTS THE HEART-BREAKING SITUATION OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN

It is a movie about the eponymous character in the discussion; a super pig rear by a traditionalist farmer on the mountain range in rural South Korea and his grand-daughter Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun). Okja's existence is given very early in the movie. Apparently, Okja is one of the 26 super pigs developed (genetically engineered of course) for a noble cause to solve food problem by a questionable and stereotypical agro-chemical industrialist Mirando Corporation (must be Monsanto in disguise), under the watch of its CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swindon). These porcines are sent to far-flung countries around the world to be rear, and ten years later, one of them will be crowned the best pig. One of these, of course, is given to Mija and his grandfather, who represent South Korea with pride.

The introductory scene is absolutely figurative and very vividly an allegory to the current state of media manipulation and PR stunt constantly used by the corporation to cover up the true nature. Jake Gyllenhaal even plays Dr. Johnny Wilcox, a zealous zoologist and weird TV personality roped in by Mirando to MC this whole PR front. After a while, it is not that difficult to perceive that something is not right with these 26 super pigs (I repeat, genetically modified). No, they do not transform into Kaiju or super freaky monsters; but rather into commodities or properties, valuable raw materials that will eventually turn into spam, ham, jerky or tenderloin on a ceramic plate. No fancy pig pageants, in the end, guys.

Another element depicted in this movie is on Mirando's treatment to Mija and his grandfather. It cannot be more accurate in depicting the allegations of how many big corporations are treating the farmers or laborers that produce raw materials for final goods. Starbucks and their coffee farmers, sweat shops for Nike and so on. The fact is this - farmers remain to be paid less for every amount of crop or livestock they grow, even if incentives has been raised over the past years.

To counter the corporatist treatment on Okja, a group of animal rights called Animal Liberation Front (I see PETA all over this), led by a persuasive but calm Jay (Paul Dano) comes to the rescue. The second half of the movie is dedicated on how the Mija and the group come together to rescue Okja. It is natural to presume these rights groups may have agenda on their own (we know how PETA can be wrong most of the time). "Okja" does not give much less pleasing burden to ALF, although there is little internal strife of beliefs, credo, and opinions between Jay and his followers; who also comprised of Red (Lily Collins) and K (Steven Yuen) among others.

BUT THE REAL STORY IS LOVE

The elements about the greed of capitalism can be very ironic, but "Okja" also devote most of its running time to tell the real story - which is love. Okja's relationship and presence in Mija's life are genuinely established. No thanks in part of Joon-ho's careful and meticulous set-up through his screenplay with Welsh TV writer Jon Ronson. Mija's set-up is quite straightforward. After all, the relationship between a child and a pet is almost always cast in within a sad history.

Orphaned as her parents died when she was still young (no backstory was given), Mija's life revolves only around her grandpa and Okja. Knowing Okja since she was four, it is obvious that Mija somehow regards Okja not only as her pet but also her playing buddy. Okja may be a super pig (although looks more like a hippo and sized like an elephant), but she does have soft spot for Mija. Both are loner and orphan.

Turns out their friendship is fated for only ten years, as mentioned and agreed to terms and conditions earlier. After ten years, Okja should be ripe, and Dr. Wilcox and his corporatist come to take Okja away. Mija is clearly devastated and even more so, after his grandfather openly informed her that he has been lying to her about the nature of who actually owns Okja. That's Intellectual Property, my friend, and it is a b***h in many senses. The unwillingness of Okja to let Okja go is what fuel the story forward. "Okja" can also be viewed like the Spielberg's classic E.T., in which both share a common notion of how a child essentially achieves moral insight and coming out of age with a non-human character.

OKJA IS A MUCH NEEDED HIT FOR NETFLIX

"Okja" is another well-pleasing social narration from a well-respected director. Joon-ho has been very consistent in his movie, by delivering a well-structured, simple yet allegory-filled plot and dark humor on where it is appropriate. There is a sense of forthcoming lingering around its star-studded ensemble casting which proves to be another excellent chance for Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal embracing wacky characters. They are fun to watch and the cast, in general, and especially Ahn is absolutely brilliant. But I do hear on some sections that Gyllenhaal's full lunacy does not resonate well.

Being more of an adventure movie than action-filled, there are not much high-octane action sequences for you to watch, perhaps the action highlights only occur once in awhile. So, don't expect Bayhem or Godzilla fist-fighting in the mix. The CGI recreation of the super pigs are not at odds, rather simplified and well-match with the picture.

Of course, "Okja" is not flawless. The flaws ironically and mainly came from the director's amazing vision. In the case of "Okja", it feels almost like Joon-ho is throwing everything to the wall, everything in his sleeve to try to impress. The result can occasionally come to feel overlong (118 minutes of drama) and awkward. And the constant bombardment of capitalist plots can feel convoluting, tonally tricky, and disgusting to many viewers. Do watch out for the last 30 minutes because the mood becomes excessively "violent and graphic".

For me, "Okja" deserves a solid 4 out of 5.

So what does it mean? That Netflix finally has another one damn good movie on its contents? Yes, they do - especially in their prolific resume, nothing from the past 2 years can really match the power of brilliant as in their first adventure into the movie business with 2015's Cary Fukunaga's Oscar-extremely underrated "Beasts of No Nation". Here's a prayer to this August's Death Note which is shrewd in so many controversies.

A toast for Okja, the super pig that is mesmerizing and soulful. Fun fact, there is apparently a joke that flies under without much notice.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Mon, 15 May 2017 09:20:00 +0000

[SPOILER ALERT] The gang is back for a brand new rock-n-roll space adventure, and this one is without any Infinity Stone involved in the mix. The fifteenth movie installment in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe refers very lightly on its connection with the upcoming Avengers assembly feature. That is understandable, considering that Volume 2 sets only a few months after the Guardians saved the world-cum-galaxy from Ronan and his purple Orb. The five-piece motley crew immediately unravels the truth behind Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) true parentage.

Much like the first film, we got to hand it out to director James Gunn who wrote and directed a well-balanced sequel - and relatively continuing Marvel Studio's own overarching success. Although the sequel feels all too familiar (which is kind of the trend nowadays); the effective use of witty humor, amazing character portrayal, and an in-sync pumping soundtrack makes this sequel excellent and enjoyable. I mean, why break something that works just fine. And of course, Gunn also created plenty of expansive story elements that depart from the original material source, especially the much-debated decision to replace Json with Ego, as the father of Quill. Not a problem for casual audiences anyway.

Meanwhile, on the more negative observation, first, I find that Drax's continuous banters involving genitalia are quite disturbing although funny - for sure, equally annoying too. Another buzz-killer in Volume 2, is the fact that the movie has finally does some justice for the villain, only to be torn down by a heap of recycled and formulaic (and also, occasionally very out-of-random villainous agenda) materials. Almost Marvel, almost! But then, Kurt Russell's version of Ego - the Living Planet ain't that bad after all. Lastly, I do not find myself attached to the whole sibling rivalry between Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) - I just thought it is weirdly resolved and acts more like a baggage than anything useful in here - just my thought!!

I'M MARY POPPINS, Y'ALL!!

Even if it is not particular as memorable as the predecessor; Yondu, Drax (Dave Bautista) and Baby Groot are the real show-stealers. Yondu ascends into a central role by being the heart of the movie, effectively delivered by the ever reliable Michael Rooker. Drax's attempts to turn off the supposedly "advancement" from Mantis (Pom Klementieff) are funny as hell. But with so much on the pot, the central message is still about family. A recurring tone that, in my opinion, very much akin to how "Empire Strikes Back" was set up after "Star Wars". There is a supposed theory how Mantis and Peter Quill could be related after all.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is another victory for the Marvel Studios, it is crazy enough with all those workable elements from the first film managed to make its way holding strong for the sequel. This is a sequel, a potent one, after all. Rating: A-

Info Dashboard:

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL 2
Casts: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell
Distributor: Marvel Studios (production company), Walt Disney Studios
Director: James Gunn
Screenplay: James Gunn; based on "Guardians of the Galaxy" by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Rating: P13
Release date: 27 April 2017
Running time: 136 minutes

ASSASSIN'S CREED IS MORE OF A VISUAL TREAT THAN A COHERENT ADAPTATION

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 14:10:00 +0000

After last year’s under-rated “Macbeth”, Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and director Justin Kurzel reunite in a new movie entitled “Assassin’s Creed" - a somewhat mediocre silver screen adaptation for one of Ubisoft most popular game properties ever.

Source: 20th Century Fox

Welcome to the Spanish Inquisition for when the movie is mostly sets. In “Assassin’s Creed", Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is a murderer awaiting execution, only for him to be spared from death and be taken by people from Abstergo Industries. Cal is forced to participate in Project Animus, a high concept scientific experiment led by Dr Sophia Riskin (Marion Cotilard) and her father Alan (Jeremy Irons), that allows its user to relive the memory of their ancestors.

Cal is strapped onto the machine to go back in the late 15th century as Anguilar de Nerha, a fearsome Assassin during the Spanish Inquisition. While Lynch is strapped on the machine, he gained new skills and knowledge, while also learn that the Abstergo is just a cover front for the modern Knights Templar – an arch enemy of the Assassins. Abstergo has a plan on their hand to force Cal to act as an intermediate to locate the missing artifact known as the Apple of Eden.

“Assassin’s Creed” is perhaps one of the better movie that draws inspiration from game property, but to be honest, that is a low bar to really impress. But one of the strongest points about this movie is the action scenes, which are quite well-coordinated and choreographed. Collaborating once again with “Macbeth” alum Adam Arkapaw in the cinematography department, the result of these exciting action sequences is an amazing visual treat, as well as stimulating, that goes well against the muted and smoky background of the 15th century Spain.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Indeed, the story-telling in “Assassin’s Creed” is rather tricky. Where most movies nowadays fail to spark is an effective pay-off at the end of the movie, something that most and many video game-based movies have failed. Interestingly, “Assassin’s Creed” goes through some rough and bumpy ride to serve a somewhat good pay-off in the end, which should do enough to help to spark a more exciting future struggle between the Assassins and Templars. The movie takes almost an hour to deliver an overall exposition to serve the casual audiences albeit incoherent. But to be fair, the Assassin’s Creed’s game never has a great story to deal with, so the movie exceeds what the game does.

For that, it is presented from the perspective of Cal, as we see the transformation from his brutal childhood to death row and to the ultimate fight for redemption. But unfortunately, the narratives of “Assassin’s Creed” are rather crude and can be annoying. It is a shame that the movie goes down very much akin to “The Matrix”, occasionally transporting the story between present day Abstergo and 15th century Spain, the latter is deemed too little. “Assassin’s Creed” should have spent more time in the past, because that is what it should be. The present-day story offers very little to the overall picture, more like a distraction and convolution than serviceable.

Another aspect lacking in the movie, is that despite it manage to set-up a decent transformation of Cal and the possible modern day war between the remnants of the Assassins and Templars, the character development is very weak. Nothing to suggest the story set-up on Aguilar and his female warrior companion, nor does it give a proper look on these descendants of ancient Assassins – the last act where they plot together to take down the Abstergo comes out nowhere and random. Equally annoying, is the character Sophia Riskin by Marion Cotillard who appears to have abandon her quest of self-enlightenment for no reason towards the end.

While “Assassin’s Creed” does excel is on the satisfactory pacing, actions and cinematography; it suffers from crude and incoherent storytelling, as well as weak character development (aside of Cal) that only paid-off half. Rating: B (3.0/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

ASSASSIN'S CREED
Casts: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Michael K. Williams
Distributor: 20th Century Fox (in association with Ubisoft)
Director: Justin Kurzel
Screenplay: Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage; based on Assassin's Creed by Ubisoft
Rating: P13
Release date: 22 December 2016
Running time: 116 minutes

ROGUE ONE IS THE STARDUST

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 10:21:00 +0000

The new Star Wars movie - "Rogue One", although it is not part of the main features, stands in neatly as an amazing space opera and an appreciable filler that bridge between the two previous trilogies.

Credit: Comicbook.com

"Rogue One" sets just before the first line in "Episode IV: A New Hope" was first spoken. "Rogue One" recounts an effort by a group of rebel consisting of the Rebellion intel officer Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), daughter of Empire scientist and criminal Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Force-sensitive monks Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), defected pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) and former Empire cyborg K-2SO (Alan Tudyk).

When Jyn's father Galen (Mads Mikkelson) sends out a secret message through Bodhi about the Death Star plan to the Alliance, the message drops off in Jedha, a moon for which the great revolutionary icon Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitake, I take the character name as a nod to Che Guevara). After helping Jyn to escape, the Alliance tasks Cassian and Jyn to find Galen, in a motion to stop Galen from continuing to build the super weapon. But it turns out, they are to late and the consequence is that Jedha is destroyed in what looks like a Death Star's demonstrative test.

The rebels against the Alliance's Senate verdict, band together in a suicide mission to steal the archival plans to the Death Star, a planet-killing weapon which was predominantly featured in the second Star Wars saga. Of course, standing in their way is the Empire's Advanced Weapon Research Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), who uses Jyn's father Galen (Mads Mikkelson) as an unwilling participant. Learning the imminent threat carried in the wake of Jedha's destruction, the group is practically in a race of time as the Empire is now in a step closer to crush their enemies with ease.

Source: Syracuse

"Rogue One" is a one decent stand-alone Star Wars prequel feature. Director Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla") creates an effective caper-heist space drama that benefits from a lot originality and creative freedoms. But "Rogue One" is not a definite stand-alone as it occasionally also borrows some elements from the original Star Wars trilogy. The gambit works, nonetheless, offering a great deal addition into the saga. Probably, I can say this without giving much - that "Rogue One" answers one of the most bothering question in the Star Wars mythology about the Death Star.

But not everything is a smooth ride. It suffers from a hasty first act, which can be a little dense with often convoluting frequent jump of scenes and galaxy settings. Casual audiences who never watched or appreciated much on the Star Wars saga may find it a little lost in those moments. There is also an issue with the characters. While their portrayal is faultless, it is without a doubt, a band of rebels that I find difficult to get attach with as the character developments are quite little.

It is only when "Rogue One" stabilizes, the movie moves into a right direction by offering aesthetic and well-made action sequences. Those scenes in Jedha (first act), and particularly in Scarif (third act) are thrillingly fantastic. A mixture use of hyperspace jump, X-wings, Y-wings, Tie fighters and Imperial fleets, Force sensitive, a little nod to the Cantina and Darth Vader; are valuable enhancements that gives "Rogue One" a definite closer feel to the legacies instilled in "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back".

Indeed, "Rogue One" works incredibly well both as a stand alone and prequel in the Star Wars canon. Equipped with exceptional action sequences, the movie moves along quite well against the backdrop that suits, a gritty, dark and unintentionally violent. So, "Rogue One" is the stardust. Move on with Episode 8 now!! Rating: A- (4.0/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Casts: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures (Lucasfilm)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Screenplay: Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, based on Characters by George Lucas
Rating: P13
Release date: 15 December 2016
Running time: 133 minutes

SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING TRAILER IS HERE

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 06:02:00 +0000

With Marvel Studios finally able to get in touch on their prodigal son Spiderman who just came back from a long way home from Sony Pictures, it makes sense that the new Spiderman movie will feature some established character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. It is not an open secret since we have known for awhile that Tony Stark aka Iron Man will make an appearance. Not just only appearance, but Tony will be involved in probably as a mentor figure to the Tom Holland's version of Peter Parker.

So today, the first trailer for "Spiderman: Homecoming" has finally arrive and it looks good. Go watch the trailer now.

Enjoyed? Now probably let's talk about some shots from the movie that you may or may not have missed out.

LASER MCGUFFIN

First, I want to talk about this shot. A laser-cutter being used by the some Avenger-themed masked perks in bank robbery - perfect for last Halloween. Nevertheless, I am not entirely sure if it is just an average McGuffin that plays a role in keep on reappearing in this trailer, or it is the last Infinity Stone that we are looking for. Just a recap, though, here are a list of Infinity Stones that we already know so far:

From left to right

The Space Stone (Tesseract) - one used to create portal to a different dimension. It is now kept at Asgard.
The Mind Stone (Scepter of Loki) - one used to mind control. It is now in Vision's head, much like a computer chip.
The Reality Stone (Aether) - the most convoluted one, perhaps it has a symbiotic relationship that generates unlimited capabilities. It is now in Taneleer Tivan's collection at Knowhere.
The Power Stone (Orb) - the most powerful stone that can consumes an entire planet. It is locked inside Xandar's vault under the care of the Nova Corps.
The Time Stone (Eye of Agamotto) - recently introduced in Doctor Strange as a time manipulative time device, now under the possession of Strange and Wong at Kamar-Taj.

The last Stone is supposedly the Soul Stone and it comes in orange as it implied. Does this look orange to you? Probably not because the rock on Vision's head is not entirely yellow at first. Maybe this is the last one, or maybe it is not, who knows. But one thing for sure, this laser looks set to appear in the trailer a few more time. Wait, probably it is not a new Infinity Stones, but more like "copied" from the previous one.

WHY HOMECOMING YOU ASK?

This probably gives you the reason why the movie being named "Homecoming"for its subtitle. Apparently, Peter Parker have a crush with this girl called Liz Allan (played by Laura Harrier). I think it is a reference that all the things that happened in the movie may take place during their Homecoming, about how Peter Parker has to step up to save the girl he had crush with. I mean it's pretty generic but what can you expect more though.

TONY STARK IS LIKE A MENTOR

In "Spiderman: Homecoming", Tony Stark will serves on a mentoring role for the young Peter Parker, whose early life we have already knew. Living in semi-decent apartment in New York with his (hot) aunt May (played by Mellisa Tomei), Peter is torn between living a normal life and trying to prove that he is as worthy as any Avenger members.

Judging from the trailer it is easy to speculate that with his new profound power and the arrival of a villain known as the Vulture (played by the ever cool Michael Keaton), Peter Parker goes against the latter despite Tony urging him to leave it to the big guys at Avengers.

As you can guess it, Peter does not heed him and by the time the situation is so gravely danger for a young kid to deal with, Tony comes to arrive. No, Captain America will not make any appearance, even if Cap and Peter come from the same city.

A LITTLE AVENGERS REFERENCE

With Spiderman now embracing the new family, it makes absolute sense to have some Easter Eggs to tie the Spidey world with the MCU. Welcome home, dude. Now let's see what you might have missed, or unless you have great eye and powerful tingling senses.

Tony Stark's pop, Howard is right there on the left of the mural.

And Bruce Banner aka MIA Hulk is on the most far right of the assemble portraits of scientists - along with Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Isaac Newton, among others. By the way, seriously, Bruce has been MIA for more than a year.

FIRST LOOK OF VULTURE

The trailer presents a few first glimpses and shots on the new villain. Michael Keaton, after retiring from the Batman costume, goes full mechanical in a new and impressive outlook of Vulture.

This is an upgrade from the original comic to reflect the technology of our time.

Keaton plays the Adrian Toomes' version, which is by far, one of the more popular incarnations of the character. Adrian is an elderly man with capability to fly, no thanks to his custom-made razor-wing, and earning his reputation as a master criminal mind. With a long standing line of foes, this one makes a nice entrance rather than your typical Green Goblin and Venom. Something to separate this and the previous Sony's versions.

And guess what? That laser weapon again.

DONALD GLOVER, BOKEEM WOODBINE, MICHAEL CHERNUS

One of the mysterious aspects of the movie is Donald Glover. The actor has a role in the movie, an unspecified one, but probably a most vital one. Affectionately also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, some outlet suggested he might be the new villain - Electro. But the best place to guess is from this blink-and-you-missed-it frame.

Donald stands on the right of, whom I believe, is Logan Marshall-Green in another anonymous villain role - but the jacket Logan is wearing is almost similar to Shocker, which is ironic since onlt Bokeem Woodbine is confirmed to be Shocker in "Homecoming". Seen here, Logan is unleashing that device again. Another laser? It looks like from the Chitauri's tech, no? There is no big revelation as it is still unclear who Donald Glover is going to play? Perhaps a simple arms dealer?

Besides having Vulture as the only villain, the trailer also reveal Bokeem Woodbine's portrayal of Shocker, one of the Sinister Six villain team members. Could Bokeem and Logan play the same character or somehow they managed to make Shocker as a group of individuals rather than one. I think you would have missed him in the original U.S. trailer, but he is definitely in the international version.

STAR WARS REFERENCE

Remember the Munich airport scene in Captain America: Civil War? Remember how Peter made a reference on Star Wars' AT-AT to devise a plan to take down Gi(Ant) Man?

Yes, there are plenty of Star Wars merchandises featured; from the AT-AT set in Peter's room to his friend's Death Star Lego. Star Wars fans much!

SPIDEY FLYING SUIT

Yeah, that looks great. But not the best thing from Tony Stark-designed suit for the young Peter Parker I believe.

Okay, so that's it. If you noticed anything else from the strings of trailer we have seen over the internet, jump to the comment section and shoot those additional stuffs alright?

DOCTOR STRANGE IS TRIPPY IN AN AMAZING WAY

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 10:24:00 +0000

Marvel Studio’s “Doctor Strange” is not perfect, but it succeeds in doing its job in setting up a mind-bending and figuratively interesting character movie to move MCU forward.

“Doctor Strange” is the fourteenth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which is also the seventh eponymous superhero character to receive an origin tale, and the most oddball among the rest. Perhaps the most distinguished features of all is the fact on how close we are to the use of “magic”.

Source: Rolling Stone

Now, MCU has always been very careful when it comes to the use of “magic” element in its story. “Magic’s just science we don’t understand yet,” uttered Jane Foster in the “Thor”, apparently quoting Arthur C. Clarke. Occasionally these can be explained as the act of God, quantum science, human enhancement technology or simply just extra-terrestrial.

Nevertheless, as the story goes, “Doctor Strange” follows a story of a stubborn-yet-accomplished neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) whose horrifying traffic accident effectively ended his successful career as both the healer and researcher. Probably no one in the world could bothered with his downfall, but at least, Dr Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) does. Desperate and fuelled by ego, he distanced himself from Christine, chooses to seek for alternative medicine after countless of unsuccessful operations left him remain impaired.

He finally comes across a secret legion of sorcerers in Nepal whose practice with spiritual entity allows for “miracle healing”. Although he initially just wants to use the newly learned spiritual art to heal his wound, he is quickly drawn into a world of mysticism between the legion of spiritual masters led by The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and a rebel sorcerer group led by Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) who bends into using the dark entity known as Dormamu to “heal” the world. With the help of Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong), Strange encounters his first test in magic fight to fend of Dormamu.

In a year with already five superhero comic book movies released to the mass spectrum, “Doctor Strange” stands out quite differently than the rest. In fact, it does not fall into the same category of disappointment much like the double DC doses or the band of mutants’ blasphemy. Yes, it is correct to assume that Marvel will deploy its usual three-act tricks in setting up an original character story – with hero egoistic mix with the usual zero-to-hero subplot, opposing a little to offer villainous motivation. But this is one of those better offerings from the MCU so far.

Source: Gamespot

Humours and actions - the two strong cores that present in every Marvel movies, are once again being used to the satisfaction in this one. Director Scott Derrickson, in my opinion, succeeds in making this oddball an enjoyable one, filled with great moments and mind-bending actions to run the story forward. Look forward for the opening and climatic battles which employed a trippy-yet-amazing works of fine cinematography – which, by no surprise, should remind you of Christopher Nolan’s epic “Inception”.

Of course, some liberal creativity involved during the comic-to-movie translation and along with it the customary Marvel recipe are also in place, but these effectively go down to how well the story set-up has been done to give us plenty of reasons to watch characters like Strange, Mordo, Wong and The Ancient One. Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor are simply amazing in their roles, which for the titular character itself, is an almost exact printout from the source. It is apparently shame to see the talented Mads Mikkelson’s bigger-than-life villainous outfit runs short of steam and impact – something to do with the constraint in the running time, it is.

“Doctor Strange” it is and MCU Phase 3 is shaping very well at the moment, after the spectacular “Captain America: Civil War” last May. Rating: A- (4.0/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

DOCTOR STRANGE
Casts: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelson
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures (Marvel Studios)
Director: Scott Derrickson
Screenplay: Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill; based on Doctor Strange by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Rating: P13
Release date: 27 October 2016
Running time: 115 minutes

INFERNO IS INFERIOR BUT IS STILL ENGAGING

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 16:07:00 +0000

“Inferno” departs heavily from its original source and loses much of the coherent idea it intended to bring in the end, but is still offering an entertaining thrill against the backdrop of Florence, Venice and Istanbul.

“Inferno” is the third Dan Brown’s adventure about the world’s renowned symbologist Professor Robert Langdon to be adapted into the movie screen by director Ron Howard. The book is a bestseller, as well as being a good read that makes you hardly want to put it down for a pause. In the movie business across the Tinsel town, it almost comes to a point that any other movie adaptation will still feel inferior than their book counterpart – that’s understandably true, given that we have lived through many to see it why.

Then, by the third time you are making Langdon going for a spin around the exotic Medieval locations, you would have figured out that by now that they would be able to make this one correct at last. Alas, it did not – I mean not entirely of course. It is now sinking aptly and vividly that this based on one of the more famous and perhaps the better one in the four-story series, the movie comes up below its expectation. I mean, “Inferno” is not that bad, but it is also neither outstanding too.

The story begins with Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) awaking in a hospital in Florence with no recollection of what had happen before that. With the help of Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), they evade an assassination attempt by someone in a powerful global syndicate who would stop at nothing to stop Langdon from interfering their agenda. Clueless and panic, Langdon’s only clue is a biohazard tube with its content seemingly secured by his own thumb print.

With Brooks’ help, Langdon begins to recover his missing trail, and it turns out Langdon is deep in a mission with the Dr Elizabeth Siniskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen) at WHO. Using the clues available, they go on a hunt across Florence that is inspired by Dante’s depiction of hell – the Inferno; trying to stop a genius madman Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) in his controversial attempt to cause a plague outbreak that will cull the global population into half.

I would have advised those who have not watch it to actually read the book first, to get the background knowledge in hand, and should later nevertheless - keep your expectation low. But in case you are familiar with the subject matter, chances are you already knew by now that the heavy departure and radical changes on the story have somehow altered the basic things we love about the book – a suspenseful and smartly twisted thriller.

“Inferno” is barely recognizable, but at least it has something else in mind. If you view it as a standalone series, perhaps putting aside what you have known would help. After all, “Inferno” can still be a thrilling adventure, if not a particular on the edge of your seat running thriller that you crave for. As with the other movie in Langdon’s series, the standard trademark of gazing all the secret tunnels, historical Medieval locations and beautiful garden labyrinth form the basic cat-and-mouse chase that hinges the movie quite well. Then, the bonus experience with Hans Zimmer’s amazing score is definitely an ear-pleaser.

“Inferno” is fueled exceptionally well on the casting department, with the likeable Tom Hanks is clearly comfortable on his performance as Robert Langdon. But it is Irrfan Khan’s role as the Provost that turns the story wheel and delivering some great one-liners. On the opposite, Felicity Jones offers a reliable complement to Hanks, but it is a shame not to learn more about her backstory, particularly the non-reader.

The problem with “Inferno” is that it has an erratic and rushed start, to couple with plenty of confusing story and imagery in the first act. Likewise, many elements of the story are missing, while the remaining one is dumped too quick to a dizzying pace. It definitely means that the audience would barely have a breathing space to go through. The fast pacing ultimately kills the fun and intensity, as evidently portrayed in a short and forgettable Vasari Corridor scene. But a second viewing will probably help to make sense of these crazy pacing and arbitrary. Rating: B (3.0/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

INFERNO
Casts: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster, Irrfan Khan
Distributor: Sony Pictures (Columbia)
Director: Ron Howard
Screenplay: David Koepp; based on Inferno by Dan Brown
Rating: P13
Release date: 13 October 2016
Running time: 122 minutes

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN IS ENJOYABLE ALTHOUGH LESS EDGY

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 10:02:00 +0000

What promised to be the next “Gone Girl” comes out short, much like its contriving source material and lacking the edge of the seat factor, but nevertheless still derives a good psychological thriller turnout to savour with.

“The Girl on the Train” is a film adaptation of the novel of same title by Paula Hawkins, which focuses on the perspective of relationships from three seemingly unrelated women. Rachel (Emily Blunt) is devastated by her recent divorce with Tom (Justin Theroux). She spends her time on her daily train ride fantasizing about the life of a perfect couple, living in this one particular house located beside the track. The daily trippy ride turns ugly when one morning, she sees something shocking.

It turns out the seemingly happy couple is a farce. The woman, Megan (Haley Bennett) is seem to be having an affair with another man. That enrages her. But on the next day, Rachel wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. Rachel tries to inform the authority and the woman’s control freak husband Scott (Luke Evans) after learning that Megan is now missing. She becomes fixated to the case, but her alcoholic reliance and abusive behavior casts a lot of suspicions about her involvement.

Tate Taylor (“The Help”) adapts “The Girl on the Train” from a screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson, injects this mystery- bound thriller into something quite similar in theme with David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” – in terms of love, infidelity, abuse and desire. Although both features share a similar gut-wrenching and psychological crime perplexity, it does not help that the nature of the story is actually different from what we initially thought, so it makes sense for me to cease any comparison with “Gone Girl”. After all, this movie has a lot of ingredients to stand on its own.

Standing on its own, this multi-faceted thriller offers a large mystery wrap, but it goes down a little untidy on its editing and camerawork. Wilson’s screenplay is not exactly provocative but it bounds to have some mechanic works to run the story in aptitude way. The story employs great deal of flashbacks, that even while are gripping but also offer less breath of air in between the timeline jump. The mystery is staged on the right depth, but it offers less psychotic and twisted upon its convoluted plots to allow me to be at the edge of my seat. The revelations are not that difficult to apprehend. Luckily, these whole package does not mean you will be getting away with a bad film experience, just a tad different, and it is actually enjoyable.

Much of the positives in this movie has to be coming from a stellar range of caliber cast, one in particular an inept show of emotionally vulnerable women. Emily Blunt is slowly becoming a household name following her excellent performance in “Sicario”. In this, she shines and she offers an attracting character story that balances her dark emotional baggage with a justifiable desire. But perhaps if the movie could have been better, she might have a shot on the Oscar nominations at least. Haley Bennett is certainly on a rise, as she is amazing once again following the success in the recent remake “The Magnificent Seven”.

“The Girl on the Train” could have been a better movie if it was done on the right tools. Nevertheless, with the stellar performance from Emily Blunt and some critical decisive moments to its merit, “The Girl on the Train” is still a worthy and solid thriller. Rating: B (3.5/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Casts: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez
Distributor: Universal Pictures (DreamWorks)
Director: Tate Taylor
Screenplay: Erin Cressida Wilson
Rating: 18
Release date: 6 October 2016
Running time: 112 minutes

PASSENGERS TRAILER #1

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 15:41:00 +0000

Image: Courtesy of EW

Sony Pictures has unveiled the first official trailer to its upcoming Holiday presentation entitled "Passengers". Directed by Academy Award nominated director Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) and written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus), the space thriller is about a spaceship, Starship Avalon, on its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as "Homestead II" and transporting 5,259 people has a malfunction in two of its sleep chambers. As a result, two hibernation pods open prematurely and the two people that awoke (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) are stranded on the spaceship, still 90 years from their destination.

Of course, the trailer sterns some interesting premises. It started like a typical romance story about two isolated individuals in a lonely world, but quickly evolves into something darker and sinister. There comes the science fiction portion with plenty of elements on space travels been crammed inside, before, finally a conspiracy theory about why they woke up too soon. But being directed by Tyldum, who has done great job helming "The Imitation Game", as well as a promising script from an upcoming, rising writer, we only hope this, even as if it looks dodgy, to be actually good.

"Passengers"arrives this December 21 in the United States and tentatively on 29 December in Malaysia. "Passengers" stars Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia and Laurence Fishburne.

DON'T BREATHE (2016)

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 03:47:00 +0000

It has been a great year for horror movies. In 2016, we have already seen some great box office performances and critical responses for titles such as “The Witch”, “The Purge 3”and “Lights Out”. Continuing into the end of summer and into the fall season, the latest feature of adrenaline rush plus shock combo, comes from director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead reboot). Teaming up again with producer Sam Raimi, “Don’t Breathe” comes with a good effort in reinvigorating the home-invasion horror premise in a good old-fashioned suspense and edgy atmosphere, combined with grey characters and smart twist engineering.

The premise of “Don’t Breathe” is vaguely simple. Three young teenagers – Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) - are so desperate to get out of their crappy life in Detroit, that they decided to opt for small home burglary to earn enough cash to flee. When words whisper out from an abandoned neighbourhood that a blind war veteran (Stephen Lang) who lives there, has recently received a huge sum of money in a settlement following his daughter’s death; the trio comes out of a plan to steal his money for good. But little do they know that the blind man holds supreme advantages over their scheme. The blind man may be sightless, but is closer to being potent with exceptional skills to kill. So the trio’s plan quickly turns into an “out of the house” survivor mission.

While the premise is simple and does not have much effective dialogue to grace through, “Don’t Breathe” relies heavily on the atmosphere set-up, amazing camerawork navigation, well-acted, the clinging musical score by Roque Baños and superb editing to work around decently. Those five key things actually work – because for a great deal of 88 minutes, the phrase “sitting on the edge of the seat” is literally a real deal. The smart screenplay by Alvarez and his scribble partner Rodo Sayagues offers a great amount of flickering suspense and good twists to churn. “Don’t Breathe” is also, certainly not cheap when it offers numerous sickening scenes, although to the contrary of many who expect this horror thriller will ends up with plenty of bloody-torture porn, much to the effectiveness of the dark and mazy setting. One other intriguing element in “Don’t Breathe” is that there are no characters you would root for, and the well-acting of the four leads simply manifests that pretty accurately.

If “Don’t Breathe” plays out that well, it is truly unfortunate, that despite how diverging this horror thriller tries to go away from the standard home invasion thriller, it still resorts to end the third-act with clichés. There are some flawed sections of the story that seem laughable and plausible, but then there are supposed to be fiction, right? Noticed too that there is a storytelling error committed by Alvarez, which is on why the pre-script scene was set-up that way because it either offers zero contribution or it just make the whole story a predictable flashback.

Against all odds, “Don’t Breathe” is one of the best and better horror thrillers we have seen in the recent years, all thanks to the masterclass of suspense and constant cringing on the edge of the seat experience that this movie offers. Rating: B+ (4.0/5.0)

Info Dashboard:

DON'T BREATHE
Casts: Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang
Distributor: Sony Pictures (Screen Gems)
Director: Fede Alvarez
Screenplay: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Rating: 18
Release date: 25 July 2016
Running time: 88 minutes

JASON BOURNE (2016)

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:49:00 +0000

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass re-team in this brand new installment on this beloved spy franchise. Almost nine years after the end of "Ultimatum", the conceptual affair of the global intelligence landscape has evolved greatly - both depicted in the movie and in real life. That makes perfectly sense, that a new Bourne trilogy (probably in the making) would have to deal more on that residual effect of a post-Snowden world that we are living in. Full surveillance, encroachment of data privacy and stuffs like that, of course.

But as much as this new direction is gearing us up for a potential new Bourne trilogy, not everything we loved about the original trilogy got retained in this one. Don't get it wrong though. "Jason Bourne" is still an effectively-made action thriller that holds within itself through a series of well-constructed high kinetic and visually appealing action sequences (in Athens and Las Vegas), and knitted in within it a new conspiracy plot with plenty of new set-ups, as well as cross-referencing story elements from the predecessors. On the acting department, Matt Damon is still perpetually outstanding on his pivotal role. The fact that a number of high caliber casting that also include the talented Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones, is a manifestation of on-going solid performance.

But one cannot go unnoticed that there are plenty of flaws in this movie. Dubbing around with the new Threadstone-like storyline is not exactly inventive, which might makes you ponder if Jason Bourne is a necessary sequel after all. Well, it is not, but at least it provides a serviceable expansion into the series. There also exists somewhere in the movie, a new subplot that could change things in the future, something much like a "schmuck bait" but lack of strong purpose. The story writing, having lost the ever reliable Tony Gilroy and George Nolfi on the draft-board, proves to be critical as "Jason Bourne" is occasionally disorganized, less pacy, technologically unreal and anticlimactic.

Overall, "Jason Bourne" is a great movie if you compared with numerous other movies in this particular genre, but is just passable and merely good enough from the high Bourne's standard. Makes you wonder how will the future holds for this franchise if current demeanor continues. Rating: B or 3.5/5.0

Trailer:

Info Dashboard:

JASON BOURNE
Casts: Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassell, Julia Stiles
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Paul Greengrass
Screenplay: Paul Greengrass, Christopher Rouse
Rating: 18
Release date: 28 July 2016
Running time: 123 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 14:43:00 +0000

The hype is real and its existence is now fully justified. The seventh "Star Wars" film, subtitled "The Force Awakens", marks the return to its great form and gives a much needed esteem for the franchise, which were once also enjoyed by the original trilogy some four decades ago. And it is in the hands of the acclaimed director J.J. Abrams, co-writer Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt, where this movie springs to life and excitements, even if it means to stuff it all over again with "A New Hope". At least the disastrous prequel trilogy is now far behind us.

Sets some 30 years after the fall of the evil Galactic Empire in "Return of the Jedi", the remnant of the defeated faction rises as the new First Order. Once again they maintain their desire to rule the vast, vast galaxy; and that evil agenda presents an imminent threat to the newly restored Republic, established and lead by the old Rebels (now the Resistance force). The two sides have a similar plan - to find the last master Jedi, Luke Skywalker, who has gone missing after a terrible tragedy that affects him emotionally. No doubt, Luke may be the remaining one who will tips the balance of the Force. But there is also an awakening somewhere!

Aforementioned, "The Force Awakens" is a strong return to the stuffs we all loved about from the original trilogy. The basic story template, as laid out by the writing trio, is heavily borrowed from the original trilogy. It is not easy to miss these familiar elements at all, and you will certainly find yourself occasionally cringed to almost all of the references and Easter eggs. As one might argue how it is a remake of "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back"; but even with these formulaic approaches and constant recycle of materials being thrown into the mixing bowl, the result is still thoroughly solid, enjoyable and serviceable framework.

After all, the new installment also feels more like an upgrade over the classics. The visual effect is stunning and breathtaking to savour, especially the one scene involving the iconic Millennium Falcon zigzagging around the tight corners trying to evade the enemies. There is also a notable scene when the Resistance arrives to attack, swiftly flying low over the lake of Takodana - that is equally majestic. The pacing is also much tighter and dashing, albeit that can be a bit difficult to follow at times. It certainly does not make for a strong case, considering how this new installment is perhaps, too secretive.

One observation noted (also much of criticism) is how convenient certain part of the story is. Recently I discovered that these convenient parts of the story can be “answered” – thanks to the arrival of novelization and audio book. But the point being why left it so ambiguously in the movie for casual audiences?

Either way, J. J. Abrams has conceived a very interesting continuation to the “Star Wars” franchise and it seems that “The Force Awakens” is going to ride the nostalgia with an excellent seventh installment. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is an awakening of the stuffs we loved about the franchise, with an addition of favourite new characters, and dazzling visual. Rating: A

Trailer:

Info Dashboard:

Star Wars The Force Awakens
Casts: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow
Distributor: Walt Disney
Director: J.J. Abrams
Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt; based on characters by George Lucas
Rating: P13
Release date: 17 December 2015
Running time: 135 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW: MAZE RUNNER THE SCORCH TRIALS

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:35:00 +0000

“The Scorch Trial” is the second instalment in the newly-minted “The Maze Runner” franchise that was successfully kick-started by the 20th Century Fox. As you may recall from last year, I wrote about how “The Maze Runner” was a genuine surprise and an atypical young adult (YA) adaptation that offered an exciting labyrinth escapism adventure. Fast forward to this year, “The Scorch Trial” is evidently having much bigger scopes than its predecessor – with a bigger world to run, bigger plots to chew, bigger cast, bigger set pieces and bigger questions to answer for. Sometimes being bigger does not necessarily means it has the ability to carry on the goodwill from the previous chapters. While this sequel maintains huge appetite for heart-stopping action around the dystopian world, it becomes apparent that the aftermath of the first film may just sound too familiar after all. The problem with most YA novels and their adaptations nowadays is their subject matter. It is hard to find one that does not involve rebellion against the order, or anything that sets in an apocalyptic nature, or anything with the antagonist grooming a mole amongst the protagonists.

In “The Scorch Trials”, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) emerges as the leader of the Glades’ escapees, who may have thought they have found a safe haven from the evil organization known as WCKD. Thomas never seems to cast away his doubt away. Together with the hoodie-clad Aris (Jacob Lofland) whom he just met, they learn that their escape from the mazes is only leading them into another nefarious WCKD medical facility. Of course, we now know that WICKED, in the name of saving the humanity from the rabies-like solar-enhanced virus, harvest the escapees for their immunity against the virus – or at least that is what Dr. Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson) seems to justify on. Realizing the deception, Thomas leads his friends, including Minho (Ki Hong Lee), Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), Frypan (Dexter Darden), Winston (Alexander Flores) and Aris, out of another evil WCKD scheme. But the outside world known as the Scorch, a ruined and decimated urban-maze desert that is inhabited by the Cranks (zombified-human as a result of the aforementioned virus), is just the beginning of another survival quest.

With the mystifying world-building, confined environment and socially-order survival game out of the way, it becomes intrinsically clear that this sequel will be more like a filler towards the grand finale of rebellion and zombie-killing in “The Death Cure” – as is also common for any middle chapter of any trilogy. So the first half of the movie turns out to be setting the franchise into a different direction than it was, with cliché scenario to speak for. Narratively speaking, “The Scorch Trial” has nothing much to say about its plot and character development; merely it continues to amplify the notion that WCKD is still (and really) wicked, and there is still hope somewhere out there.

The outcome is a more convoluted-yet-conveniently threaded plot that basically won’t answer much more questions than you might have kept since the first film. Convoluted as it is, but it never feels much of a burden to carry around, or at least not when you factor in the amount of supporting characters introduced with varying degree of relevance. Giancarlo Esposito’s role as the wasteland pirate Jorge reminiscent of his excellent antihero performances in “Breaking Bad” or “Revolution”. Rosa Salazar’s performance as Brenda is not entirely mesmerizing, but it gives a nicely touch on the much needed dose of love triangle in it, if it ever gets developed. The script by T.S. Nowlin still cares to inform you the motivation and to answer you several questions that may still linger, although the movie will relentlessly resort to the “run as fast as you can, duck, hide, talk and run again” cycles.

But Wes Ball is a competent director who knows how to handle his set-pieces quite well. The various treadmill action offered is by far the most acceptable guilty-pleasure of high-adrenaline excitement in the movie. Even with a high degree of camera shake and blurry dashing image against a backdrop constant narrow escape, the vivid sense of suspense and kinetic are quite real in here. Of course, “The Scorch Trial” is not exactly a game-changer we are hoping for or in any definition being “great”, but the good news is it has more redeeming points that makes it worthy to watch than, let’s say, the “Divergent” franchise – blissfully entertained! B

Trailer:

Info Dashboard:

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Casts: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Giancarlo Esposito, Alexander Flores, Aidan Gillen, Ki Hong Lee
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Director: Wes Ball
Screenplay: T.S. Nowlin
Rating: P13
Release date: 10 September 2015
Running time: 131 minutes

REVIEW: TERMINATOR GENISYS

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 16:37:00 +0000

The Terminator is back this weekend after an absence of six years with a brand new mission. After succumbing to the two distasteful installments (Rise of the Machine and Salvation), this new entree is aiming to terminate those two from our hard drive, by offering a semi-conscious reboot entitled Genisys. The execs at Paramount Pictures are hoping that Genisys will revitalize the franchise. In doing so, Genisys’ existence must have something to do with the growing tendency of Hollywood commissioning more and more reboots that deal with plot and timeline alterations. As we go into the weekend, it painted a grim picture as those bold hopes of rejuvenation will remain stagnant and in limbo as we just saw a low box office treat return and bad critical bashing all over the internet. Despite all the bashings, I am deeply saddened by the fact that Genisys should have deserved more credits than this. I guess this is another movie that I can put into the list of “I don’t get these high almighty critics”.

The two main culprits of Genisys’ early downfall could have been the way Paramount markets their biggest twist giveaway in the trailers and the expectation aura that Genisys gave was bleak. The first reason holds a lot of truth as it will always be my biggest disappointment in the movie. Generally, as the rule of thumbs, you do not go showing your biggest twist in the marketing – but we are already damned! So I went into the movie expecting for the worst case scenario, but I find it pleasantly surprised by how good it actually was. I am pretty sure that this reboot is not ashamed of itself for trying to pull another “Days of Future Past” move. In Genisys, Game of Thrones and Thor 2 helmer Alan Taylor crafts a rather inventive world using the foundations and elements that were once laid by original creator James Taylor. Genisys is much closer to the originals than the two after that byzantine films, as it explores the concepts of time travel and the classical human versus machine on its plot.

While as hard as Taylor tries to recreate and evoke those magical and nostalgic senses in this updated reboot, it ends up being somewhat polarizing. For obvious reasons, what we get are some of those elements that do work while some others will go out as flaws. The elements that do work in Genisys include the revisit to the 1984’s Los Angeles plot line which was made with a fun piece of action-packed street ride; the return of form for the franchise star Arnold Schwerzenegeer whose deadpan humours actually work, and the pacing that never really makes you bored. If there are any complaints besides the biggest give away, are perhaps the unpolished plot that will often require the audiences to connect those dots for themselves; the under-used side characters (I am talking about you J.K. Simmons) and the stake reward from this particular convoluted plot story was nowhere big enough to warrant future sequels. Well, at least they tried.

So, it was a derivative movie that still works. As a whole package, though, Genisys is a thoroughly momentum-filled fun, genuine and entertaining popcorn movie that gives hefty references to the originals while also floating to stay appealing to the new generation. The stabbing into the future of human’s over-reliance on machinery and technology may not be a new thing as we have seen this notion being used countless of time before, but the idea somehow works in Genisys. The introduction of Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke is a pleasant welcome although each has their own shares of issue. Genisys may not be a hit that goes parallel with the 1991’s revolutionary Judgement Day, but at least it is not a hot mess like others have been saying or that terrible to begin with. B+

Numerical Rating (In case you are also interested):
Story: 3.5
Casts: 4.0
Cinematography: 4.0
Effects: 4.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 17.5/20.0

Trailer:

Info Dashboard:

Terminator Genisys
Casts: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Director: Alan Taylor
Screenplay: Patrick Lussier, Laeta Kalogridis
Rating: P13
Release date: 2 July 2015
Running time: 119 minutes

BOX OFFICE: THE HOBBITS KEEPS THE TOP SPOT

noreply@blogger.com (Bernard Chung) — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 19:21:00 +0000

[UPDATED WITH OVERSEAS NUMBER]Call it the Christmas joy. The Box Office of North America generated a three-day gross of $210 million post-Christmas weekend, according to box office watcher Rentrak. That figure was up by 6.6% over the same period last year and catapulted 2014’s aggregate amount to more than $10 billion mark once again. Topping the chart once again was Warner Bros.’ The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies with $41.42 million, a drop of 24% from its opening week last week, for a total cume of $168.52 million in 12 days. It better The Desolation of Smaug’s number by more than 19.8% over the same period.

Christmas openers Universal’s Unbroken and Disney’s Into the Woods came out neck-to-neck over the weekend to settle for the second and third place, respectively. The World War II epic, directed by Angelina Jolie grossed an encouraging $31.75 million (total $47.34 million), beating the musical ensemble from director ~~Frank~~ Rob Marshall by $0.63 million. Into the Woods have, so far, collected $46.11 million in total since Christmas Day.

Fox’s third Night at the Museum movie uptick 20% from opening week with a $20.6 million collection this weekend to push its total to $55.31 million. Fellow family pic, Sony’s Annie also experienced a bump, grossing $16.6 million for a total of $45.84 million. Despite non-fancy reviews, the third Hunger Games movie crossed the $300 million mark with another $10 million gross. Mark Wahlberg’s The Gambler had a so-so opening of $9.3 million (total: $14.3 million). Meanwhile, Sony’s controversy North Korean comedy The Interview opened with a four-day number of $2.85 million. The detail of the North American box office is as follows:

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES (Warner Bros) - $41.42 mil (3875 theatres) = Total: $168.52 mil
UNBROKEN (Universal) - $31.75 mil (3131 theatres) = Total: $47.34 mil
INTO THE WOODS (Disney) - $15.08 mil (2440 theatres) = Total: $46.11 mil
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB (Fox) - $20.60 mil (3914 theatres) = Total: $55.31 mil
ANNIE (Sony) - $16.60 mil (3197 theatres) = Total: $45.84 mil
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1 (Lionsgate) - $10.00 mil (2793 theatres) = Total: $306.66 mil
THE GAMBLER (Paramount) - $9.30 mil (2478 theatres) = Total: $14.30 mil
THE IMITATION GAME (TWC) - $7.93 mil (747 theatres) = Total: $14.63 mil
EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (Fox) - $6.75 mil (3002 theatres) = Total: $52.52 mil
WILD (Fox Searchlight) - $5.42 mil (1285 theatres) = Total: $16.36 mil
BIG HERO 6 (Disney) - $4.85 mil (2065 theatres) = Total: $199.93 mil
TOP FIVE (Paramount) - $3.80 mil (1426 theatres) = Total: $19.27 mil
PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (Fox) - $3.25 mil (2033 theatres) = Total: $66.95 mil
INTERSTELLAR (Paramount) - $3.00 mil (1253 theatres) = Total: $177.35 mil
BIG EYES (TWC) - $2.99 mil (1307 theatres) = Total: $4.40 mil
THE INTERVIEW (Sony) - $1.81 mil (331 theatres) = Total: $2.85 mil

Others:
AMERICAN SNIPER (Warner Bros) - $0.61mil (4 theatres) = Total: $0.85 mil
SELMA (Paramount) - $0.59 mil (19 theatres) = Total: $0.91 mil

OVERSEA NUMBERS:

It was a rather quiet box office tracking around the world but the third Hobbit movie added $89.2 million for a total $405.1 million (Worldwide stands at $573.62 million), continuing its dominant for the third week. It opened with $10.1 million in Australia and is currently the biggest grosser of the year in Germany ($56.2 million). Fox's tale of Moses, Exodus: Gods and Kings collected a huge $31 million following releases in Brazil, UK, France and Germany - so far it mustered an overall receipt of $96 million.

Back in Malaysia, the final Night at the Museum movie - Secret of the Tomb, opened with a huge $3.1 million here (over RM 10 million) to top the local box office chart. The Battle of Five Armies was at second, while Hindi-language title P.K. was the highest debut on the third spot last week.