You reap what you SOWyau

X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn, 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:08:00 +0000

For those who debate on whether the latest turnout from Marvel's Mutant is a reboot or prequel, will whole heartedly agree that it need to be better than the last dismal X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hood, 2009). In fact the feral mutant feature tarnished the X-Men movie brand so badly, it needed Logan's superhuman healing ability to revive the X-Men franchise.

For that noble reason, we go back to the 1940s and 60s, where we find out more about the two pivotal mutants. Before the principal of X-Men known as Professor X, he was Charles Xavier; before Magneto becomes the magnetic field controller, he was Erik Lehnsherr. First Class tells the story of the early years of two most influential mutants, how the young Charles met the blue shape shifting Raven, who became his few and far between best friend; meanwhile somewhere in German concentration camp, Erik was one of million victims of Nazi's atrocious regime.

Erik Lehnsherr AKA Magneto

20 years later, follow by years of Nazi's imprisonment, the vengeful Erik search and trackdown his all-powerful evil guardian Sebastian Shaw (played by the evergreen Kevin Bacon), Kevin played the new villainous Sebastian, the leader of another mutant group, known in the comic as Hellfire Club. Kevin Costner starred in Thirteen Days (Donaldson, 2000) may have presented a more historical accurate version of the Cuban Missile Crisis, First Class certainly re-creates the more intriguing alternate history by interlacing the involvement of the X-Men in the notorious Cuban Missile Crisis. The war between Homo Sapiens and Homo Superiors is always been the backbone of X-Men movies, the leaders of two mutant groups, who fight for the same course. i.e. to protect their own kind against the human's onslaught and discrimination. The subtext of skepticism in self-acceptance is even more noticeable in the subplot of Mystique and Beast.

Charles Xavier AKA Professor X

Here in First Class, we witness the first of many to come encounters between Charles and Erik, mind you, it is not all sparks and flares when two of them met, by contrary, they share some of the tear jerking moments such as where Charles delves into the fond childhood memory of Erik in order to amplify his metal control ability. The truth is, there are more than enough material to make a feature length movie about Erik and Charles, let alone the inclusion of Sebastian Shaw and the first ever intake for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster, hence bring us the movie title, X-Men: First Class. Rising stardom actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender wear the Cerebro device with ease as they handle their roles as the young Charles and Erik convincingly. Their hands are not tied by the need to impersonate the older counterpart characters in the movie sequel. However, rest assure that you will be able to relate them to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as you re-visit the sequels.

Take my review with a pinch of salt if you only want to hear from a diehard comic X-Men fan, be that as it may, I do not have a faint idea whether this movie is faithful to the comic. All I knew is, in some aspect, it is slightly contradicted timeline in previous X-Men movies, does it matter to me? No, when I witness the cameo which is many times funnier than Stan Lee The Marvel Comic God. Does it upset me when they contradicting the age of Moira MacTaggert as in X-Men 3? I forgot about it when I look at the amazing bar scene where Erik tracked down the Nazi "pig farmer" and "tailor", a heart pounding built up suspense before one of them makes the first move.

Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw

What makes First Class so special is, there is a collective of indie aura, a seductive 1960s vibe attach to it, suspiciously due to the teaming of director, the Brit Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman the co-writer. It reminds me of Vaughn's Kick-Ass (2010), another comic book adaptation movie whom leaps out of the big studio artistic confinement. It does not only rely on money shot climatic battle, the way Charles and Erik compliment other so well, I will watch it even without the the sub-plots of young mutants' recruitment and Sebastian Shaw orchestrating the nuclear war.

Unlike most superhero comic movies, It belongs to the same Superhero comic movie hall of fame, along side with Christopher Nolan's two Batman movies and Bryan Singer's double X-men. Yes, you heard me there, it is THAT inspiring! Hey, all the while I thought in a X-Men movie universe, it is a cardinal sin without Wolverine playing the main lead, well, I was gladly wrong. What happen next with this exciting beginning, there are lots of potential to be fulfilled, uncharted territory can be explored. Let us celebrate the re-born of the franchise, roll on First Class: Graduation Year.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it

2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution

3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre

4 stars = Excellent, strongly recommended

5 stars = A classic status? Only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:42:00 +0000

Miscast, irritating, tepid are the unkind words that spring to my mind for one of the main actor in the movie. No, it is not Christoph Waltz, although it fair to say he is regrettably wasted his talent here as the arch villain. We knew what he is capable of, say, a proper direction comes from the meticulous Tarantino. If the opening of Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino, 2009) shows Christoph in deadly threat of table talking, then here, the movie opens with the lame introductory of him (as the chief underworld Russian mobster) threatening his victim. Not even an engulfing flame from a blast explosion shows as much intimidation.

No, neither those unkind words is directed at Jay Chou, an established singer/actor superstar in the Far East. He fills the big shoes' role as Green Hornet's sidekick Kato. Following the footsteps of the late legend Bruce Lee who previously donned the same martial art expert character. Although he may at times murmuring his english lines when (a) he is not at each other's throat with his partner-in-crime, or (b) busy cover his P-I-C's ass during crimefighting. Nevertheless this nerdy looking Jay unknowingly exceeded my expectation. Kato is Green Hornet's late father's trusted mechanic and servant, who become the worthier half of the vigilante costumed duo. The brainy Kato is also an inventor to some very cool gadget, just look at the heavily armed Chrysler Imperial car, the Black Beauty.

Those stinging words at the beginning of this write up: miscast, irritating, tepid are aim at Seth Rogen, the playboy who inherited the newspaper publishing syndicate from his murdered father, the egotistical loser who bullies Kato, the spoilt brat who is the other "expendable" half of the costumed crimefighters, Throughout the movie until the end, the Green Hornet character has no redeeming features.

Cameron Diaz has aged rather...hmmm... to put in nicely.....indelicately. she looks much older than I thought. Her golden years of hot chick role is inevitably behind her now. Here in the movie they even make fun of her old age. The role she is playing as the love interest will be as fine as it was other newbie actress. By the way, what is Michel Gondry doing here? He is clearly having a Fish-Out-of-Water Syndrome. This big budget superhero action vehicle is not exactly the type of the director famed for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Is he in those deal with the movie studio where Michel need to helms The Green Hornet in return of they will fund his next artistic flick (artistic, read: lower audience turnout). Apart from the occasional trademark visual flair, this is all but a bland effort. For Michel Gondry, the Oscar co-winner of Best Original Screenplay, I hope it is not the case of how the mighty have fallen.

Well, I have to admit that as part of the contemporary audience, I am a novice for any existing materials of The Green Hornet which dated as far back as half a century ago, but I cannot get over with the notion of such childlike hero, Tell me the original Green Hornet is nothing resemble to it. What is seemingly a money making movie franchise has been washed down the drain when Seth Rogen carried his usual slapstick antic from his previous movies. Even the idea of making the spin-off movie of Kato alone is a better choice! The Green Hornet afficionado should not be too upset by the usage of bullet time technique during Kato kicking goon's ass, because It is understandable that Jay's Kato does not fight with the deftness of Bruce Lee, after all it is the highlight of otherwise an uneventful outing for the costumed crimefighters.Kato's Bullet-time-vision , the retro Black Beauty, weaponary Gas Gun barely save this from being in the same league as Howard the Duck (Huyck, 1986). It got so much potential, it could have been an awesome twosome masked heroes feature, but ultimately paying the price of having a child-like uninteresting actor in the lead role. To sums up my thought for the Green Hornet character, I share what John Mills from Se7en (Fincher, 1995) said: "You're no messiah, you're the movie of the week, a f**cking T-shirt, at best."

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it

2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution

3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre

4 stars = Excellent, strongly recommended

5 stars = A classic status? Only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:05:00 +0000

I remember I used to watch the now defunct WWF's wrestling matches on tube sometimes, thinking how cool it was, those pro wrestlers in the ring body-slam each other, wondered why the umpires were scared of them, pushed to the ground by them without getting any punishment. Until I was told all of that were staged, it is an act, no different than the live action of actors perform on art theatre's stage. Despite knowing the truth, I never dismiss wrestling just because it is simulated. To me, the wrestlers are something like a cross between a stuntman and actor, a sportsman-figure who choreograph the moves, minimize the risk of injury from the stunts they pull during a match.

Without taking into account of the short movies Darren Aronofsky has made, The Wrestler is his 4th directorial feature. Each of those are distinctive to each other, almost emphatically avoids comparison. Shot in grainy images, this low budget work focus on Randy, an aging, faded wrestling star struggle to cope with his life outside the wrestling ring. The movie begins with beautiful montage, showing the promotional event posters, ticket stubs, newpaper cutting, tag along with live commentator sound clips, all these illustrate the glory Randy had 20 years ago.

The fame he had did not pave way for ample life. Now Randy lives in a rented deteriorate caravan, still he barely afford to pay the rent for it. He work part timely at a supermarket, supervised by a jerk manager who makes everything hard to Randy every chance he has. While he befriended a stripteaser (Marisa Tomei), she is adamant not to allow their relationship to go beyond customer/worker boundary. All the setbacks above are incomparable to the loves of his life: Wrestling and his estranged daughter.

Akin to Robert Downey Jr, it is good to see the B-movie starrer Mickey Rourke back into the movie limelight again after a series of troubled private life. Here he truly put up a gritty, tour de force performance playing a sympathetic washed up pro-wrestler. Sorry, scratch that, he did not ACT in it, MICKEY ROURKE IS RANDY "THE RAM" ROBINSON, he lives and breathes through the character. He did not have to try hard because of the blatant juxtapose between Randy the wrestler and the real Mickey the actor. One even can draw parallel situation with Cassidy the stripper, both are now in the twilight of their respective career, but still desperately clinging on whatever they are best at. The admirable Marisa Tomei put up a brave performance as stripper in some nude scenes.

There are some realistic but not excessive wrestling violence shown: the act of blading, the sadistic using of staple gun, barb wire wrapped crutch, glass panel to depict the dark side of the sport. Against his doctor's advice, Randy knows very well with his heart conditon he is risking his life if he continue to do what he does best. Without a shred of doubt he would rather die in the ring with the cheering audience rather than dying without trying. He told Cassidy the only place he gets hurt is "out there" @ the real world. Wrestling is the blood in his veins, he breathes, live with the sport.

There are moments where camera angle were shot from the back of Randy's big shoulder frame, it's like we are viewing the world through Randy. The first time he prepares to work at the deli counter, he is so pump up, the tracking shot follows from behind Randy walking from the supermarket back rooms towards deli counter, made him looks like he is walking out from dressing room to the arena ready to rumble in the ring. Even the sounds of roaring audience are heard in the background. I guess this is what Randy must felt at that time, he detested working at the supermarket yet he motivated himself to go for it. In a way, it reminds me of myself sometimes. *chuckle*

The end comes full circle when Randy goes back what he does best: Donning his signature move - Ram Jam accompany by the noise of cheering and booing from the audience. The speech he gave to the rowdy audience at the end is as heartbreaking as you can get. Tell me that you do not move to tears when the movie faded to black with Bruce Springsteen's title track plays. To cite The Wrestler as a wrestling movie is like saying Stallone's Rocky is a boxing movie. Aronofsky's tale of a washed up wrestler is my generation's Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980).

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it

2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution

3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre

4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended

5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Devil (John Erick Dowdle, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:15:00 +0000

It used to be a surefire hit for movie to be associated with the distinctive label of M. Night Shayamalan. He directed, wrote, produced and sometimes acted as cameo in some of the most original modern days' cinematic achievement. However his fall from grace began after some back to back turkeys of Lady in The Water (2006), The Happening (2008) and the TV series adaptation of The Last Airbender (2010). Now I think he had realized that he should let his trusted associates to bring his idea to the screen. The story he provided (he did not pen the script) will be the first of 3, from a planned supernatural thriller anthology called The Night Chronicles. Still, Shyamalan's familiar modus is evidently shown here, it was set in his own soil Philadelphia; his long time collaboration, Tak Fujimoto is the director of photography; plus the holy moly plot twist elements are back!

The movie begins with a voiceover telling us about how the devil roams the earth teasing and torturing sinned people before taking their souls to eternity hell. The opening credits shows an upside down panning view of gloomy Philly skyscraper. At one of the office high rise, five strangers entered that office tower riding a same elevator, it was then struck by a sudden malfunction midway, and soon follows by series of bizarre, unexplained events, all happened in the confined metal box. A detective, still mourning at the loss of his family in a hit and run road accident, was called to calm the situation and try to get them out before the conflict between them turns real ugly. Apparently, one of the five strangers in that elevator is not what "it" appear to be......

My first impression for Devil is, it is an extended The Twilight Zone episode spanning 70-ish minutes. Huge chunk of the movie take place in the elevator, interweave with real time plot happen elsewhere. The voiceover in the movie works like a charm guide, at times warns the audience the imminent dangers and also devilishly manipulate our anticipation. This bone chilling Devil reminds us the tell-all sign to look for from a great scary movie is, because it never rely on cheap sudden jolting scare, nor it depends on full-blown gore and blood.

Everytime the lights in the elevator inexplicable went off, the screen goes total black, it only accompanied by the eerie whirling sound effect heighten by the surround cinema speakers. You will only able to see the aftermath of the carnage, not during the invisible force at work. Nevermind, the tension of waiting for the next trainwreck is enough to agonize you. Forget about the subliminal shots of the devil, the script also offers further religious undertone such as the belief of everything happens for a reason, or the hypothetical statement of "If you believe in god, then you will have to believe in the devil". As for the big plot twist mentioned above, I will not reveal it here, a minor hint I can give is, just think of it as a reversal of retribution to foil someone's coup de grâce.

This movie will not scare the daylight out of people who take elevator as opposed to say, that famous shark movie has inflicted on the beachgoers' mind with permanent scar. Though, claustrophobic individual should avoid it at all cost. I was among the skeptics who scoffed at the "M. Night Shyamalan Presents:" on top of a movie title before this movie. Now with less of his involvement in this horror chiller, my cynicism against him evaporates until he bring on the next chapter of The Night Chronicles.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it

2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution

3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre

4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended

5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 09:58:00 +0000

From the perspective of 80s action movie buff, The Expendables is the most anticipated blow-them-up vehicle in recent times; a seemingly ultimate action movie to end all action movies. It is a truly throwback to the 80s action movies. The plot focuses on a group of experienced mercenaries who called themselves The Expendables. They were hired to overthrow a dictator, who rules over a small South American island. As a pet project of the veteran Sylvester Stallone, he co-wrote and directed it. He also starred as one of the Expendables crew alongside with other action movie stars, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Lee, Jason Statham, ex-football player Terry Crew, real life martial artist Randy Couture (too bad Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steve Seagal passed on this project). Joining the line up is the wrestling star Steve "Stone Cold" Austin and the B-movie regular Eric Roberts as the villains.

Ironically, one of the highlight and also my favourite scene is not from any cool battle scene. It is actually where the former bosses of Planet Hollywood, Sly, Willis and Arnie (the latter two in cameo appearances) in a uproarious church scene, their tongue-in-cheek exchange have me chuckled. The recent career-revived Mickey Rourke also appeared as an ex-Expendables but he never get to hurt anyone onscreen unless you consider penetration of stallone’s skin using a tattoo needle as such. I also love the reconnaissance mission where Statham and Stallone used their bomber to take out whole crew at the dock. Oh yeah who can forget the over the top violence where torso being blasted into two halves by Terry Crews's AA-12 auto shotgun.

The recent TV series adaptation of The A-Team (Carnahan, 2010) brings back the nostalgic fun without too dumb. Frankly, I expect more or less here in The Expendables. I did not hope for any kind of Shakespearean character complexity, heck I would be satisfied if I was served with half cooked script. Instead I was treated with this yawning bore fest. I may not be a hardcore 80s action movie aficionado, but I am sure the 80s was not as dumb as this movie depicted. In spite of all the loud explosions, car chasing, fist fighting, the in-your-face gore-nography, I felt restlessly bored. Towards the so-called climax of the movie, I can't wait for Stallone, Statham et al to save the girl, defeat the dictator's army and ride off into sunset with the mannish choppers.

For all the huge funding invested on the movie, It sure look and smell like a very B-grade-feel movie, I wonder Sly did it deliberately as homage. For example you won't be seeing a more stereotyped villain characters as Eric Roberts as the rogue ex-CIA agent and puppet dictator played by David Zayas. What The Expendables managed to do is turn up the volume, heat up the fights, blow up the body count and invite the movie critics to screw themselves. You know what, If not because of the action star-studded casting, this schlocky actioner would be a direct-to-DVD material.

Michael Bay, come back please, all is forgiven.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Salt (Phillip Noyce, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:51:00 +0000

As they said, art imitates life; the recent news about the capture of Russian spy - Anna Chapman and her comrades in

United States

eerily echoes the Angelina Jolie starring spy thriller Salt. It was Tom Cruise who is supposed to play the lead title at one time but dropped out because it would be too similar to his well known special agent character Ethan Hunt of Mission: Impossible franchise. The script was subsequently altered for Salt to undergo gender change.

Talk about Mrs Pitt, until this movie, I have never really notice what a beauty this lady is, The sultry-eyed, bee stung-lipped, with a killer figure; she look absolutely stunning on the big screen. Her portrayal in this movie allows her to transform from a blonde to fringe brunette to short hair, she even look great in disguising as a man! Angelina Jolie is a bona fide female action stars, step aside Milla Jovovich who is merely a rag doll in the cartoonish Resident Evil movie series. Jolie already has a few action flicks under her belt, she starred in Wanted (Bekmambetov, 2008), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Liman, 2005) and she also played as Lara Croft character in the two movies based on the video games adaptation.

Who is Salt? That is the tagline flash across the teaser movie poster with Angelina's face. Bundle with the curious trailers, the movie marketing campaign would love to make sure the gullibility in us will search for the answer. From the opening, Salt is rescued from the detention of

North Korea

. A few years later and happily married to a mild-mannered arachnologist (scientist who study spiders), she seems to work for an oil & gas company. Below the horizon she is a CIA agent, more like an office desk job rather than a field agent. One fine day, a self-claimed Russian spy walks into CIA Centre and declares his defection to

government. He also goes as far as claiming there will be a Russian spy by the name of Evelyn Salt, who will attempt to kill the visiting

Russia

president soon and kickstart the "Day X", an operation cultivated by the former Soviet Union's KGB officer to overthrow

government.

Before the accusation can be confirmed, all hell breaks loose as the suspected Salt escapes without attempt to clear her name. And thus ensure the exciting on-the-foot and car chases. Hot on her heels are Liev Schreiber as Salt's superior and Chiwetel Ejiofor as another secret government agent. Liev is skeptical about the whole scheme but Chiwetel is adamant to hunt her down. Audience rides the wave with Salt who shows her cat-like reflex by walking and hugging the building ledges and jumping from a moving truck to another one on a highway. By the way, she also do-a-MacGyver by making a bazooka out of office tool.

Although I enjoy a resourceful Evelyn Salt outwits and outmuscles her pursuers, it is quite annoying to see Salt manage to break free every single time after being detained. I think either one should be fired from the job, the careless persons who held Salt under custody, or the movie screenwriter, take your pick.

Why is Salt running from everyone as if she is guilty as charged? Is she really a highly trained Russian spy planted as a mole in CIA? I am sure you will be keen to look for the answers as there will be enough plot twists waiting for you until the end, perhaps spill over to potential sequel. The quest of finding Salt's true identity tag along with heart pounding action sequences made me forego certain plot absurdity. As the retrospective Cold War era reminds us, the sizzling hot Jolie provides the extra spice to Salt.

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +0000

If I told you half of the 2.5 hours duration of Inception take place in somebody's dreams and its content is far from mumbo jumbo, would you believe me? Well, this movie is what you would expect to see if David Lynch remakes Ocean's Eleven. Instead of Danny Ocean and gang planning a heist, Leo DiCaprio and his assembled team will do it inside a dream, where the minds at its most relax condition. They knew the dreamer's secret, they dig deep, they track it and found it, easy.

Here is the real deal: Leonardo DiCaprio is Dom Cobb, a thief who will not be convicted under any existing law, how would you sentence a thief who uses a Dream Device sneak in people's dream stealing valuable information? The much sought-after Cobb is often hired business corporation to enter; thus sharing the same dream world of the targeted dreamer, to "extract" the info worth billion of dollars from the mind of the his clientele's competitor.

A powerful businessman Saito; played by Ken Watanabe, offer Cobb a latest assignment. If succeed, will grant him to return to his children (he was forced to exile from the country after being accused of a murder). This time, instead of extracting someone's secret from the unconscious mind, the unfeasible mission and "last job" required Cobb to "incept" an idea deep into the mind of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), a soon-to-be-the-heir of a powerful business empire. An idea planted deep enough into Fischer's mind that will fool him it was his own willingness not to continue his dad's footsteps.

The final act of Inception showcases the labyrinth of surrealistic dreams. It is essentially a heist movie where Cobb and his assembled team made up of team members with specific task. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Cobb's long time collaborator; Ellen Page is the talented dreamscape architect who designs layers of dream; Tom Hardy is a skilled impostor; Dileep Rao plays a chemist who creates potent sedatives to allow fellow dreamers execute their task.

I was reluctant to give a full mark to British born director/writer Christopher Nolan's latest enigmatic effort. Despite the awesomeness mind blowing script, most of the characters lack the kick of emotional depth, other than Cobb, whose untangled relationship with his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard) and his kids evoke our sentiment. But then are we suppose to root for Saito, Leo et al? Or Fischer is the real victim here?

I believe a single viewing for most of core audience will not sufficed to absorb the multi layered plot. This is a movie you need to be watch at least once to be fully grasped. By the end of your first viewing, you will keep thinking about it, it is like you are infected with some kind of virus, the cure will be you try to piece together the jigsaw puzzle. It is very likely you will be going back for a second viewing to tie up any loose end. By that time, if not before, the great word-of-mouth is already spreading like a virus to the people around you. And there you have it; Nolan successfully planted the most resilient virus to the audience's mind, also known as INCEPTION.

Be ready to put on a thinking cap for a brainy storyline involving dream within a dream within a dream within a dream, no, I am not The Shining (Kubrick, 1980)'s Jack Torrance typing those words repeatedly. I want to emphasize that Inception deserved your full attention for its pinpoint accuracy of details and timing of the plot. Ignore my advice, you will wish the handy Plot Twisting FAQ sheets are ready to serve you. Inception is an a-maze-ing reward for the movie intellectual, even after umpteen viewings, it challenge our mental capacity, proving that a big budget blockbuster can be entertain at the same time without underestimating the audience's intelligence.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Predators (Nimród Antal, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:32:00 +0000

With the back-to-back box office failures of two Alien(s) vs Predator movies, it is time for the movie producers to go back to the drawing board, surely the main agenda in their brainstorming sessions is how to revive the ailing scifi/horror franchises. While Ridley Scott is helming Alien prequel soon, Predator series gets another sequel treatment, mooted by Robert Rodriguez (of Mexico Trilogy and Spy Kids Trilogy) who wrote the early draft in the 1990s. Predators is a follow-up to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Predator (McTiernan, 1987) and Predator 2 (Hopkins, 1990) with a total disregards to the AvP series storyline.

This movie opens with a group of people parachuted to a rainforest look-alike in another planet. They had no idea how they got to that place and neither they know each other. Later we will find out they were chosen from military, triad, druglord, convicted mass murderer, doctor background. The similarity between them was, they were all capable of ending another human life like swatting a fly. Their weapons were still attached with them but what they did not know is, they are right in a game hunting preserve. Stalked by the invisible cloaking, mandibles face, dreadlocks alien hunters, the predators observed them, studied their behaviour pattern and hunted them down as trophies.

The casting of Adrien Brody as the lead role is a brave decision by the moviemaker, not a typical action movie star, but he pull it off with some solid performance. Alice Braga provides the only female character, while Rodriguez's regular, tough guy Danny Trejo is a member of Mexican drug cartel. Lawrence Fishburne made a surprise cameo here but he looks like someone who forgets to renew his gym membership rather than trying to survive in an alien planet.

What makes the Governor Arnold-starred original version a breakout hit was, it was a fun testosterone-filled, a typical action flick made in the 80s. I still remember being terrified by the invisible force and wonder how the commandos are going to defeat the fearsome creature. Now, we already knew the predator is an alien hunter species, extremely difficult to be killed, abide by the code of honour, equipped with advanced weaponary, hunting human as trophies. Despite the introduction of a new powerful Predator species in this movie, this supposedly sequel does not expand the universe of the creature, unlike the xenomorph in sequel Aliens (Cameron, 1986).

To pay homage to the original movie is one thing, but the similarity between them is too much for my liking. For example the battle between Adrien Brody's character with the predator is a re-construction blueprint from Arnold vs the creature at the final battle. Then there is this sequence where the Yakuza gangster stay back and use his katana to go mano-a-mano with the predator while his friends break away, reminds me of the Native American bloke near the end of Predator 1, though we only heard his scream as he met his demise. I maybe picky, but how about the resemblance of the scene where mini-gun at full blasting only to find missing its target?

The movie producers from Troublemaker Studio must be expecting a pat on their head from the Predator series fans, thinking: "Hey look, no remake but a brand new predator movie!" I have to say sorry, Robert Rodriguez, it is close but clearly no sight of cigar. You should know the sequel should not take away the terror and intensity out of the repackage product.

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:16:00 +0000

Can you recall a movie with "3" in the title being stand up honourably along side, or even better than the precedence? I enjoy Indy and his dad's adventures in The Last Crusade (Spielberg, 1988) vastly, or the sci-fi/western theme in the underrated Back to the Future Part III (Zemeckis, 1990), the often misunderstood Alien 3 (Fincher, 1992), not forgetting the stick-out-like-a-scary-bladed-glove of Nightmare on Elm Street part 3: The Dream Warrior (Russell, 1987). However The Return of The King (Jackson, 2003) does not count as I always think The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are one huge movie split into three parts.

I was there on the big screen showing the first of Toy Story (Lasseter, 1995), outlines the rivalry tension between the leader of Andy's toys, Woody the Cowboy and the new kid on the block, Buzz Lightyears. At that time, apart from marvelling at the Pixar's avantgarde non hand-drawn animation, I was immensely delighted by the heart-warming storytelling with witty scripts, and there are plenty of jokes aiming at audience of all ages to become a true success. The sequel of it, Toy Story 2 (Lasseter, Brannon, Unkrich; 1999) bring out the spirit of carpe diem and hinting on the theme of all great things (means being together) will come to an end.

So now here comes the long awaited final hurrah of Woody and the gang. Andy is a grown up teenager now, who is leaving his home for college life soon. While he is packing, he stumble on his abandoned toys and decided to put away in the attic. Due to a mishap, Woody and the gang end up at Sunnyside Daycare, where they are warmly greeted by the toy leader, Lotso the hugging bear with new toy friends. Except Woody, all the ex Andy's toys like Buzz, Jessie, Slinky Dog, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Hamm, Rex are convinced that they will forever adored by the kids in the daycare centre, will Woody be able to persuade them otherwise? Even if they manage to go back to Andy, there is nothing they can do to stop Andy from reaching adulthood; and things will never be the same again because Andy has outgrown his toys, no longer cuddle on his toys anymore, has he? Is he?

Toy Story 3 introduced some new toy characters such as the metrosexual but campy Ken (yes, that Mattel's doll adored by billions of little girls worldwide), as love interest for Barbie. Lotso the hugging bear with a tragic past, the scary cymbal-banging monkey. Not forgetting a cute little girl, Bonnie who is Andy’s neighbour. By the end of the emotional, bittersweet trilogy finale, the young audience will wonder why their older counterparts are shedding a tear or two. What they do not know is a lot of us have been going through phases of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, parenthood…. We always understand the good notion of change, yet dreaded when it was time to let go. Just like Andy’s mum seeing his boy going to college. Or Andy’s reluctant parting with his toys that also correlatively gesture the end of his childhood.

"No amount of technique can fix a bad story", is always the motto of Pixar Animation Studio. That is why once again, they have done it, even though they raised the bar so high, and you wonder whether the latest installment will keep up to the standard. Rest assure it is a monumental achievement by any standard, even for a pedigree in the name of Pixar. My only complain comes from Woody's repetitive reminders to his fellow toys to pledge their loyalty to their human owner. Other than that, Toy Story 3 is a fitting conclusion to a great trilogy. If you wonder how do plastic playthings or cuddly toys presented in a computer generated animation could generate so much compassion, then look no further than Pixar distinctive label, and be awed at its underlying richness of storytelling.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

A Nightmare on Elm Street (Samuel Bayer, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:03:00 +0000

Another day, another remake...... This time, the Pizzaface is back to haunt our dream. I was silly to think that I have seen the last of him after the pointless Freddy vs. Jason (Yu, 2003). With the latest Platinum Dunes production, one may ask, does this 80s horror movie icon need a remake treatment? To pay homage to the original? I scoff every time some director/producer et al said that. If that is the reason, can we as moviegoers watch your so called "product of tribute" for free? If they say they want to re-boot the original ANOES because it looks dated and campy, then I would be understandably agree with it (though not condone it), provided that there are rooms of improvement in the original and at the same time some creativity must be injected to the new movie. I want a brilliant Dawn of the Dead (Snyder, 2004) kind of remake rather than Gus Van Sant re-doing Hitchcock's Psycho almost shot by shot. Awful it is not, unnecessary it is.

Robert Englund is done reprising Freddy Kruger character, passing the baton to Jackie Earle Haley of Watchmen's Rorschach. I need to keep remind myself that Robert Englund is not playing Freddy, Robert Englund is not playing Freddy...... His creepy performance is what I have expected, with those familiar snarling voice, wicked look, I am most pleased that he never overdid it and thank god Freddy did not turn into a one line joke comedian like original sequels did.

The storyline is almost the same as the original: A group of teenagers were stalked in their dreams by a disfigured hat wearing man called Freddy Kruger. One by one they are killed by Freddy in their dreams, what happen during their nightmares reflected in real life, including death. The survivors must find out what link them with the boogeyman before running out of time. This remake is basically identical to the original, it offers nothing new to the series. Even as a pre-requisite element of slasher movie, the death scenes are not inventive enough. it is a polished version with the same plotline except some minor tweaking on the background of Freddy Kruger.

Any original ANOES fan hopes this remake is going to re-invent and re-kickstart the whole franchise again will be kicking themselves for paying to see this insipid and lack of creativity effort. If you are a newcomer to Freddy's nightmare, you will discover the fine demarcation line in between reality and dream provides a convenient template to shape the suspenseful, scary atmosphere. It is a shame that regular visitors to Elm Street like me will find the 2010 version nothing more than a blatant attempt to milk some dough from new audience.

All together now: One, two, remake is coming for you..... three, four, we have seen it all before......

Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:21:00 +0000

Year 2008 is the year where 2 comic adaptation superhero movies dethroned X-Men 2 (Singer, 2003) as my favourites. One of them is the sequel to the reboot DC Comics Batman series, The Dark Knight (Nolan), the critical acclaimed and arguably the greatest superhero movie ever made to date. On the other hand, the lesser known Marvel Comics' Iron Man burst onto movie screens for the first time and won the heart even the most cynical fan. I, for one, from knowing nothing about Tony Stark, to collecting the metal armoured hero's merchandize products, I also delved into the comic's timeline history from other reading material, that is how the movie does to me. Also I think I am the minority who laud Iron Man over The Dark Knight. Neither the fact IM has a less epic feel (compare to TDK) does not diminish its status, nor a less threatening villain reduces my love for the movie.

So now Round 2, the often cited as the difficult middle part of any trilogy. Prior to watch Iron Man 2, I am anxious, I know it WILL NOT surpass the 1st movie's awesomeness, deep down in my heart I hope it will not embarrass and destroy the 1st movie legacy, that is how I lower my expectation. Like any 1st sequel bridging the trilogy, the protagonist always deal with bigger issues. Since Tony Stark revealed the real man behind the mask to the world, everyone wants a piece of the arc reactor powered armour suit. The pressure from US government, his rival business entrepreneur, Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell) to its own gain, try to emulate the technology that help Tony to preserve the peace. That was not the only problem Tony is facing: the arc reactor planted in his chest plate that keep his heart beating ever since the near fatal injury, is slowly poison his body. Failure to find an alternative component affects him mentally as well.

Meanwhile, the romantic tension between Tony and his personal assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) continues. But sadly the ever present flirtation is best seen during the original movie. Remember in the past James Rhodes said to himself that he will wear the suit next time? Well, this is the time, he is the War Machine teaming up with Iron Man. Don Cheadle played the role of Rhodey this time, replacing Terrence Howard due to alleged contract dispute. I prefer Terrence's portrayal of Rhodey. He had a great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. He can shows a straight face with doses of playfulness underneath. I am delighted by Mickey Rourke's performance as the villain, the development of the character, Ivan Vanko draws a parallel similarity to Tony Stark, but with opposite direction. They both have brilliant minded father, and inherited their knowledge. Only the contrast upbringing makes the difference.

Iron Man 2 did not improved from the 1st movie, I guess the director, Jon Favreau did not try to up the ante, I mean, ask yourself, how do you surpass the 5 stars rated Iron Man 1? You can't, *gasp* you can only stick with the Unofficial Rule of 2nd Part in a Trilogy as follows:

1) Bigger production budget
2) Larger casts

3) Bigger explosion (applicable, if any)
4) Expanding plotline
5) Darker tone
6) Main character faces bigger issues

Compare to its precedent, Iron Man 2 has less action, more talky scenes, I am all for that, but the middle act is sluggish, with direction-less feel to it. Too bad the drunken brawl scene was done comically, stick out like a sore thumb. The final battle is yet another machine vs machine, the only difference is the plural of it. Give me a more "organic" villiain in the next installment OK?

Like it or not, while we are waiting for final part of the Iron Man trilogy, you do not need a comic book geek to tell you that the appearance of Nick Fury, Agent Coulsen, the teaser of Captain America's Shield and Thor's Hammer are all part of the bigger Marvel Comics' universe. Plus the coming up full length features of Captain America and Thor, all these are and will be paving the path to the colossal The Avengers movie. By the way, can anyone tell me where was Stan Lee's cameo this time? Or do not tell me *another gasp* he did not make any appearance?

You may notice my comment for Iron Man 2 so far is less enthusiastic, yes i am slightly letdown by the latest outing, save for only the man himself, Robert Downey Jr. who once again shines as the womaniser billionaire, a heart of gold genius. His flamboyant body language, often carry a smirk on the face and never feel the need to hide his alter ego side. It may sound cliché, but Robert Downey Jr. is born to play high-handed Stark Industries CEO, he is the one who carries this movie steer it away to become another generic superhero movie.

The Wolfman (Joe Johnston, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:56:00 +0000

The Wolfman is the latest remakes of many Classic Universal Horror Monsters such Frankenstein, Mummy, Dracula. It is set in a gothic-feel Victorian era, Lawrence Talbot (a Latin Benicio Del Toro playing an Englishman), at the request of his brother's fiancée, Gwen, came home to look for his missing brother, Ben. He was found dead upon Lawrence's arrival with the body brutally mutilated by an unknown assailant. Lawrence tried to investigate until he was bitten by what appear to be the same culprit, the legendary werewolf who has terrorized this small settlement. He was rescued and miraculously recovered from the wound. By the next full moon, what have been suspected by the locals: Lawrence inevitably turn into a werewolf himself. At the same time, his feeling for Gwen is growing steadfast......

With Rick Baker, the make up maestro, one will think the design of the werewolf will be in safe hand. Well to be honest it's a kind of hit and miss situation here. While the transformation scene from man to beast was handled well, which anyway we are expect to see due to the advancement of the CGI technique, one can't help but notice the beast itself is too "human-like". Maybe it is just me, but i prefer the werewolf's snout more recognizable, like the one in An American Werewolf in London (Landis, 1981), where Rick Baker's make up won him an Oscar for the Best Special Effect category.

Stiff acting from A-List main cast cannot save The Wolfman as a howling, forgettable effort. Anthony Hopkins was the wolfman's estranged father but the wafer thin script did not flesh out the relationship between father and son. Hugo Weaving played a detective from Scotland Yard who was adamant to track down the whereabout of the beast. Emily Blunt provided the love interest as Ben's wife-to-be, but the romance part is hollow and too rush. It is perhaps the fault of Director Joe Johnston who should know he has a solid material in hand to build up the suspense, but no, instead we are served with lots of jumpy hallucination sequences using cheap scare tactic such as loud and sudden audio burst which kill the suspense mood. They even hired Gollum from Lord of the Rings to appear as cameo, no kidding. Hey, come to think of it, I think I also witnessed the fiery fighting between Wolverine and Sabretooth at the finale.

There are plenty of strong, bloody violence during those werewolf attacks. In fact the overdone gore implied the director's preference of making The Wolfman as by-the-numbers horror flick instead of say... a psychological horror thriller, at least they should have emphasize on the building up the suspense. The movie seems so eager to bring the first werewolf transformation to the audience and I wonder if the troubled production (allegedly due to creative differences), and a lot of the unused footages (end up on the editing room's floor), contributing to the poor pacing in the first half. Watch this movie only if you a real diehard werewolf fan while waiting for the aforementioned An American Werewolf in London remake.

Legion (Scott Stewart, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:59:00 +0000

How often is angel depicted as villain in movie? I can recall an androgynous Archangel Gabriel (by Tilda Swinton) in Constantine (Lawrence, 2005). This biblical related movie has a intriguing but flawed concept: Doomsday is imminent, because God the Almighty has lost faith in humanity, so He execute the annihilation of all mankind, (His intention is to "reboot" civilization again?). He sends His huge army of angels to do the deed with a specific target: To kill Charlie the waitress because she is bearing the baby who is apparently the saviour of humanity. She is trapped in a remote diner with a group of people. This is where the battle between angels and humans takes place at.

Two of the four Archangel are the main features here, Michael (played by the über-cool Paul Bettany), the rebellious cum merciful one and Gabriel (Kevin Durand) the one who ever so loyal to God. Michael defied God's command by protecting the pregnant Charlie from the onslaught zombie-like humans which possessed by angels. Legion echoed The Mist (Darabont, 2008), Dawn of the Dead (both original and its remake) where a group of people defending their fortress from the enemy.

If you can lap up God's method of wiping out mankind using angels instead of mass flood, then I suppose you will shake off the laughable image of Archangels Michael and Gabriel holding the firearm trying to shoot each other. Without revealing the twisted ending, this movie seems unintentionally ridicules God the Almighty as God the Indecisive.

In between the juicy action sequences, the dialogues spoken by the human characters are banally awful to say the least. I understand the idea of those chats is meant to provide the characters' background but clearly it backfired. Legion is a campy B-movie who hardly fulfils my so called guilty pleasure. Highlights such as the creepy old lady and the ice cream man are clever setpieces. As much as I fond of Paul Bettany, not even him able to salvage this sluggish end of the world kind of tale.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Let the Right One In (Swedish) (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:56:00 +0000

The legacy of vampirism are flourishing, continue to self-reinvent in big screen and TV all these years, Bram Stoker will be proud. This Swedish feature was adapted from the same name novel, Låt den rätte komma, literally translated as Let the Right One In. The author, John Ajvide Lindqvist was also hired for trimming the 480 pages bestseller into the script. The movie title is refer to famous vampire folklore, which a vampire cannot enter a residence unless being invited by the owner, or else the vampire will face the consequences as devastated as say, sprinkled with holy water or exposed to sunlight. I do not know whether the myth has been depicted in a movie before, but that key moment where a vampire breaking the said rule and what happen next is oddly heartwarming and powerful at the same time.

The setting is early 1980s, with the backdrop of cold landscape seemingly forever cover with snow in a small deserted suburban of Stockholm. Very often the calmly panning camerawork captured the serenity of under the roof. By using minimum editing, the gracefully waltzing camera movement soothe us with heaps of beautiful shots despite the occasional (mostly offscreen) grisly, bloodletting acts.

It is not a through and through horror movie. It is essentially a story about the relationship of two lonely souls. The pale looking blond boy, Oskar, has been bullied constantly by his peers, for reason I do not know, the introvert did not seems to fight back, he vented his frustation by himself, just like Robert De Niro did a "Are you talking to me?" monologue. They are destined to crosspath each other when Eli the little girl moved in to his next door. Eli said she is "more or less" 12 years old when Oskar asked her about her age. She also told Oskar to "hit back harder" on his bullies. From Morse Code-ing each other divided by party wall, they end up sharing their first kiss. Their relationship throughout the movie is ambiguity yet poignant. It is not an understatement to say the two young leads, Kåre Hedebrant (Oskar) and Lina Leandersson (Eli) gave a performance that will put most of the movie celebrities to shame.

By judging the superiority of this movie, the coming soon redundant american remake called Let Me In (helmed by Matt Reeves) will have a steep mountain to climb to match its undead sibling. To be able to survive from the embarrassing comparison with the original one will be a major triumph. Please take note that the subtitle is the heart and soul of the movie if you do not understand Swedish, please make sure the subtitle you are getting from Blu-ray or DVD are in English theatrical subtitle, such as Region 2 DVD from Momentum Pictures.

The ending keep me ponder whether it is tragic repeating cycles or happiness-in-the-making. To be honest, it work either way. Let the Right One In is a tale of adolescent friendship and love with vampire, it never hide the fact that the unspeakable horror seeps into the melancholic storyline, it is the testament to the masterpiece of moviemaking, much images from the movie stayed with me long after watching it. Flawless, unfathomable poignant, uncannily beautiful. Simply unmissable.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli, 2007)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:20:00 +0000

By now most of us have heard of what Paranormal Activity is all about. The much hyped up flick has become one of the cultural cinematic event of the year, thanks to the emphatic viral marketing and explosive word of mouth campaign. The essentially haunted house movie was wholly shot in amateur-ish home video style but minus the extreme shaky cam of Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008). It tells the story of a young suburban couple, Katie (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherston) moved in to a new house. Katie claimed she was by spirit since she was young. By using night vision ability video camera mounting on a tripod, the tech savvy Micah wanted to capture any supernatural incident while they are sleeping. Their pursuit begins to go out of hand as the invisible force makes its presence known to both of them.

This movie is similar vein to The Blair Witch Project (D.Myrick, E.Sánchez; 1999) in every possible way. However Paranormal Activity triumphs due to one important reason: The moment you have know the whole BWP shebang is nothing but a pseudo "found footage" celluloid, the scary-meter drops drastically. No, not this time, despite the fact without recognized actors and on a shoestring budget, the first time director/writer Oren Peli expertly orchestrate the unnerving atmosphere, turning the every day’s mundane stuffs such as door swinging, shadows, the sounds of footsteps, light switching on and off randomly that creep me out. The old school’s rule of fear for the unknown works well here.

Oren shuffled the plot between daytime mostly talkie sequences and night time terrorizing sequences, and the tension slowly built up as each night passed by. For me, it is a damn-if-it-does, damn-if-it-doesn't kind of situation during the nocturnal setpieces. Every time the video clip fast forwarding (clock indicated at bottom right) while one of the characters stood and stared motionless over the other character for an umpteenth period of time sent shiver down my spine. On the other scenario when the video clip was played at normal speed, I was dire to watch the screen as well, afraid of noticing any bit of movement. It just goes to show that you don't need gore and unnecessary violence to freak people out.

Unlike normal circumstances, you do not solely judge this kind of movie from the aspect of polished narrative structures and neat production design because it is meant to be an faux-improvised material. It is how much the impact from the movie provides that count. Paranormal Activity should soar to higher recognition if it was not letdown by the lead characters' repetitive monotonous dialogues during the daytime sequences. Having said that, it actually did serve a purpose being a boring but authentic homemade video.

Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Oh Mr. James Cameron, where art thou? Your disappearance from the movie-dom seems like an eternity since you sink the big ship years ago. To make a comeback following up your most successful movie seems like a mountain to climb. I am aware all these years you are waiting for the technology to be "matured" enough; waiting for the movie studio to grow some guts to allow you to flex your muscles.

And here we are, the long awaited, 12 years in the making sci-fi epic. A movie that fully utilize the most groundbreaking technology so far, an entire new world was created using photo realistic CGI, blending actors with motion capture animation technology. One of the most expensive movies ever made to date, and certainly the most ambitious one even by James Cameron's standard.

Avatar is best described as Dances With Wolves (Costner, 1990) meet Pocahontas (Gabriel & Goldberg, 1995) in another world. It is year 2154, a large non-government corporation (akin to Aliens' Weyland-Yutani Corp.) are colonizing a moon called Pandora light years away from Earth. They wish to drive away the native inhabitants Na'vi, a blue skin, 10 feet humanoid away so that they can mine the invaluable mineral found on that moon, before they use Plan A (read: full scale war), they create an avatar to assimilate into their tribe, to study them; to educate them. This avatar is a hybrid DNA of human and Na'vi, to enable human participant to remotely control their avatar to explore the harsh and unknown territory of Pandora. The way of how all these Avatars work, just think of how Neo and co. plug into the simulated reality of The Matrix except here in Pandora, everything is real..... Well, you get the idea.

Jake Sulley (by Sam Worthington), a former Marine paralysed below the waist, came in to the Avatar Project replacing his twin deceased brother. Jake (his avatar with his consciousness) met a female Na'vi, a tribe's princess, Neytiri (by Zoe Saldaña with the help of motion-capture technique). Both of them did à la John Smith-Pocahontas by the time the Corporation execute Plan A, prompting Jake to make a tough decision on which side he is taking.

Avatar suffered from a rare James Cameron's missing trademark: Lack of a strong character(s) that I normally root for. For a movie clocked in at 2 hours 40 minutes, it is a cardinal sins committed by J.C. not to offer us any real depth in all major characters, not even Sigourney Weaver (who played Dr. Augustine as a leader of the Avatar Project and a mentor to Jake) is at her usual best. Do not even mention the one dimensional, stereotype chief villain. Only Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri deserved some praises. Maybe I am too busy enjoying all the gorgeous visual stuffs.

The experience of watching this movie is similar to dating a beautiful face-surgical constructed, breast enhanced woman except she is an empty vessel once you are close to her. It is far from Cameron's best (Terminator 2 takes the crown, follow by Aliens (1986)), yet it has firmly become the beacon of future movie making because it raises the benchmark of 3D CGI in a movie format.

Avatar is a special effect-driven movie, truly a case of style over substance. Although almost 20 years on since I first watch his T2: Judgement Day (1991), I am still in awe at that superb crafted movie even after the umpteenth times of viewing. J.C. is always so great at crafting a solid story that enhances the visual effect even more, but he missed it this time with his own superficial script and the afore-mentioned lack of strong characters. Just like most eye candy movie, it is full marks for the looks but underneath is an aura-less chassis.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Orphan (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:54:00 +0000

The theme of devilish behaviour under the disguise of innocent face children have been brilliantly executed in the past. This latest thriller is produced by Dark Castle Entertainment, which specialize in making horror movies such as House of Haunted Hill (Malone, 1999) and The Reaping (Hopkins, 2007). It focus on a young married couple, Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Stellan Sarsgaard). They are rebuilding their frail relationship after a series of setbacks. Such as very early on we find out Kate suffered from delivered stillborn baby recently and still haunted by it. Despite they have had two children, they decided to adopt another to ease the pain of losing their 3rd child.

Enter the matured looking 9 years old orphan, Esther, who is more than meet the eyes. From the movie trailer and poster we just know something is not quite right about Esther the orphan. But nothing prepares us for her wickedness, as she turn from a nice little girl to manipulative psychopath with a terrifying secret. That secret turns out to be a chilling sucker punch to say the least. I will not disclose the twist of course, you will be guessing about Esther’s origin, be it supernaturally or “realistically”. I would say the twist surrounding Esther's origin is plausible, at maybe 1 out of 50 million chances, yeah right!

It is absolutely essential for evil child character to be portrayed remarkably; else the movie loses its appeal. This is where Orphan shines the most. There is not one shred of doubt that the brightest star in Orphan is in the shape of 12 years old actress Isabelle Fuhrman. Her debut performance is convincing, matured and most of all, more terrifying than Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers roll into one.

This scary-fest add nothing groundbreaking to the horror/thriller genre (nowadays who does?). Despite some cliché-ridden bit and a little too cardboard-ish husband and wife characters for my liking, I managed to soak up the scary atmosphere at some vital moments. Orphan the movie certainly hits my primal fear, the thought of bringing home some evil adopted child.

Little Miss Sunshine (J.Dayton & V.Faris, 2006)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:40:00 +0000

I always have a soft spot for low budget, indie movies, I felt they certainly deserved unbiased viewing rather than most of the Hollywood half-baked products. The feel-good Little Miss Sunshine is such example, it is widely labelled as a road movie with dark comedy elements. it is ironic to note that only in the world of escapism, the harshness of life in the face of depression, suicide, financial difficulty can be depicted as comical matters.

This movie involves a dysfunctional family that travels interstates trying to take Olive to participate in a beauty pageant. The route seems easy on the map, as formulaic as it is, the journey turned out parallel to life which is full of hurdles. Dysfunction how? How about during family dinner, a discussion with little girl Olive on why her uncle decides to “check out early” i.e. suicide? Or the granddad advised his grandson to bed as many chicks as he can? Or dad allows his son not to speak to other beings until he achieves his goal? The essence of the script is witty, funny and every so often, original. Great performance from the ensemble talented casts as follows.

- Olive (Abigail Breslin), the centre of afore-mentioned Hoover family, she is an average looking, lack of self-confidence but absolute adorable little girl who dreams of partake in a beauty pageant, her wish is granted when she is qualify for the Little Miss Sunshine Children Beauty Pageant.

- Alan Arby is a heroin snorting, crudely hilarious as the foul-mouthed cynical grandfather of Olive. He has been behind closed door teaching and guiding Olive to perform at the beauty pageant (More on that performance later). Alan gets to deliver most of the awesome lines.

- Greg Kinnear is Olive’s dad, Richard, a glass-half-full-of-water kinda guy whose career as a motivation speaker does not seems to bode well as his audience are half empty (or half full; *wink*). He is desperately trying to launch his 9 Steps to Success Program but to no avail. He will rams his "9 Steps to Success" down other people's throat whenever the occasion fit.

- Olive’s mother, Sheryl (Toni Collette), a seemingly distress housewife trying to hold up the family.

- Paul Dano played Olive’s Brother, Dwayne, who is a Nietzsche’s follower. He is so persistent to become a test pilot in the military that he made a silence vow until he reach his ambition.

- Olive's gay uncle, Frank (a poker-faced Steve Carell) just released from hospital after a fail attempted suicide. He is a Proust scholar whose fellow gay lover dump him and then being kicked out from his job.

As the cash-strapped family rules out travel by air, The whole family embarks on the road with a Volkswagen T2 Microbus. This over the hill yellow VW-Van is in all sort of problems, its gearbox will only engage in gear 3 onwards, its honk cannot stop honking and one of its sidedoor fell out. Just like other road movies, Along the way to the destination, the family members face some sorts of quirky problems and this is their own journey toward self-revelation.

When the movie comes to the children beauty contest segment, it is like a freak sideshow with midget, Children with thick make up with revealing swimsuit gave me huge creep. The self-doubt Olive is the only one appear normal there. As for frantic finale, without reveal how it end, actually I have a huge morality issue to it. I mean what Olive performs at the beauty pageant contest is outrageous, and yet their parents condone it. I would think when she grow up thinking back what she has done during the beauty pageant contest, she will be horrified by it, blaming their parents for condoning her act. The reason for her mother to allow Olive perform on the stage, is let Olive be herself, but then there are many ways for her to express herself, to become the real of her, not to mention she is still a child. I can understand the theme of family togetherness; I can understand what the moviemaker tries to convey the message that no matter what happen, family is thicker than blood, they are going to stick together despite what have happen. But this is too much. I guess the Hoover family is not called as a quirky, dysfunctional family for nothing.

This movie is definitely not suitable for children although the little girl is the central character. Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette shine as husband and wife provides some heart into their performance that pull the string in the family. But the one that catches my attention is Olive's granddad who absolutely bosses this movie. If you like road movie such as Little Miss Sunshine, I would recommend the obscure indie movie called Transamerica, about a man (acted by Felicity Huffman) going to perform male-to-female sex reassignment surgery.

* On the sidenote, this movie introduced me to folk rock singer cum songwriter Sufjan Stevens and the indie rock group from Denver, DeVotchKa, whose wonderful soundtracks fit into the movie seamlessly.

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:39:00 +0000

This sci-fi actioner blends the style of 1st 15 minutes of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (Myrick, Sanchez; 2000) with the almost parallel social concept of Alien Nation (Graham Baker, 1988) wrapping with non-tinseltown flavour. If you are tired of the usual cliché alien invading/visiting Earth kind of flick, welcome to formulaic-free District 9.

The movie unfolds in an expertly quick cut of various news clips and TV interviews. Showing us how 20 years ago, a gigantic spacecraft from other world arrived and hovering in the sky, above the horizon of Johannesburg, South Africa. For a few months, nothing happen, the spaceship stayed static, the governments were speculating, the unknown sighting in the sky heightened the fear among the local people. Eventually the military forced a way into the spaceship. Rather than open a Pandora’s Box, they found the alien beings inside are in dire, malnutrition condition and without a leader.

The stranded aliens are then brought to the ground, instead of assimilate into man’s territory, the Prawns, named after their appearance, are forced to segregate in a place called District 9, an area resembles a refugee camp fills with a population of 1.8 millions aliens. Soon the place deteriorated into a ghetto. The co-existance did not last on account of some minor violence incidents involved Prawn and man. As a result of residents’ pressure, a government funded organization MNU (Multi National United) is in charge of the force eviction of the Prawn to a designated place away from the city. Wikus Van De Merwe (a nerdy newcomer Sharlto Copley) leads the MNU enforcement team to carry out the alien relocation task. Unknowing to others, MNU’s hidden agenda is to retrieve the biologically controlled weapons possessed by the aliens.

The movie’s tone take a switch to pay homage to The Fly (Cronenberg, 1986) when Wikus is unexpectedly sprayed with some alien liquid substance stored in a canister. What happen next is, he begins to fall ill and undergo some strange bodily transformation due to the amalgamation of human and prawn’s DNA. The liquid in the canister is actually a fuel substance that belongs to a Prawn named Christopher. In the final act, the movie morph into a full blown shoot-them-up actionfest when both Chris and Wikus reluctantly team up to accomplish their own different agendas against their common foe.

First time director cum co-writer, Neill Bromkamp expand his short story “Alive In Joburg” to the feature length of District 9. With a shoes-string budget, it manages to look like a testosterone-boosted sci-fi blockbuster. The great designs of the creatures/weapons couples with slick CGI special effect are neatly done by Peter Jackson’s WETA. Be warned to expect grotesque body parts splattered everywhere, and console gamers will find themselves homecoming with the mecha scenes. The aliens in District 9 are presented as ignorant, filthy and barbaric save for one Christopher. The portrayal of man’s evilness towards the aliens is almost unheard from the typical alien related movies. Evidently, This serves as metaphor of now defunct Apartheid system in South Africa.

This movie is touted as one of the rare sci-fi flick with inventiveness, but I have to think that it suffered with anthropomorphism syndrome like other movies depicting aliens. You know the drill, aliens with all kind of / numbers of head, limbs, hands, legs, eyes,……; same senses as we do. The similar social behavior as man and animal do, the same working class social hierarchy and so on. Unlike say, Contact (Zemeckis, 1997) or 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) or the dreadful adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Sphere (Levinson, 1998) these movies are the prime examples of NOT divulging how do extra-terrestrials look like.

The Proposal (Anne Fletcher, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:02:00 +0000

“Margaret, will you marry me? Because I'd like to date you,” asked Andrew.

Does the above line make any sense to you? Actually it does in this movie. Never mind the reversal act. Marriage will keep the odd couple together, the dating CAN comes later.

The plot premise has been done to death:

1) Two mismatched persons loathe each other at first;
2) They get to know more about each other;
3) They begin to discover mutual genuine feelings;
4) Lastly, they fall in love.

Ignore the cliché-ridden plot, romantic comedy like The Proposal need chemistry from the lead characters which Sandra Bullock and younger counterpart Ryan Reynolds duly deliver. Add those ingredients with some belly laughing moments such as the pair’s ad hoc storytelling on how he proposed to her, or how Andrew’s “morning glory” disgusted Margaret.

The movie follows Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) as an obnoxious, bitchy chief editor in a book publishing firm. She is fittingly a typical boss from hell. All the workers including her personal assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) detest her; finds himself tough to cope with the demand of his ungrateful lady boss. Little known by others, Margaret is a Canadian without US citizenship, one day her boss informs that her visa application was rejected and has to be deported. In a nick of time, she pretends she is engaged to Andrew to avoid being fired from the job and deportation. They will stay married for a year or two and then divorce. Andrew unwillingly accepts the proposal with conditions that he will be promoted and his manuscript will be published.

Things, however, are not as easy as it turn out to be, because some agent from the government immigration department subjects the couple to a series of interviews to ensure there is no phony marriage. On top of that, the agent is tend to visit to their parents’ place. Hence, during the weekend, the newly engaged couple’s 1st stop is Sitka, Alaska, where Andrew announced their engagement in front of their parents and relatives during his grandma’s 90th birthday. Andrew’s family is like Kennedy’s in Sitka as Margaret aptly claimed. From there, watch the sparks fly (not all are love sparks, mind you) as they slowly grow feelings. All she need is someone like Andrew to enkindle and melt her heart; all she need is a gentle reminder to realize what she has been lacking all the while. Will the two of them end up fall for each other? Should you ask the question?

Sandra Bullock must have known she is probably at awkward phase now; she is no longer as the image of the young sweetheart in movies, nor her recent flicks was exactly hits. The Proposal is a personal welcome triumph for her. Ryan Reynolds deserves the plaudit as the likeable rom-com guy. Betty White stole the show as Andrew’s grandma in every scene she is in. Also, it is good to see Mary Steenbergen as Andrew’s mother. Gosh, she looks the same as in Back To The Future III 20 years ago. Botox’s wonder anyone?

As I said, The Proposal is predictable and based on a recycled plot, but its strength lies on the charming lead characters with clever dialogues. It’s warmth, funny, sweet but not over saccharine. Unlike other usual pairing of love interest (I mean you, Sean Connery), it is refreshing to see the pairing of older female lead with male counterpart. Sandra and Ryan definitely have natural charisma to grace the screen.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Taken (Pierre Morel, 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:03:00 +0000

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

These are the stern words uttered by Liam Neeson’s character to his daughter’s kidnapper over the phone. 15 years ago, this movie would be dubbed as “Die Hard in Paris”, but I guess now it is hip to say Taken is like the “male menopause Jason Bourne came out of retirement kicking ass”. Taken is a French movie produced and co-written by Luc Besson (together with his long time collaborator, Robert Mark Kamen). Chances are, if you stumbled upon a French actioner for the past 25 years, most likely it come from the direction / script / production of the big man himself.

This movie merely opened in US after most of the major oversea markets already did. It’s ironic to know the US distributor 20th Century Fox previously aim for a straight-to-DVD release, most likely due to bootleg version is ready to be downloaded from the internet some time ago. However, you just can’t put a good action thriller down, as it had surprised everyone by grossing more than 140 mil in the US box office alone (over 200 mil worldwide).

Taken is about an ex-CIA agent (Liam Neeson) go to Paris to search for his teenage daughter, and how he hunt down the kidnappers and those involved in part of the human trafficking and sex trade. Can you imagine Liam Neeson as credible action hero prior to this movie? Neither do I. but, what a surprise, He absolutely nailed the character! The beginning of the movie shows his doting side, as a father reluctantly allows her daughter to travel to Paris with her friend. As the movie progress, we found out he is almost unstoppable when he is on search and destroy mode, he is a protective father, and a no-nonsense, intense bad ass who will not give up finding his daughter. Imagine if Steven Seagal replaces Liam, you will still have the same slick visual style of revenge movie but Liam made the movie totally amazing. He is the real reason for you to watch Taken.

A regular Luc Besson’s follower will probably knows there are some slick fist fight scenes, vehicle chasing, on-the-foot chasing (sorry, no parkour here) as usual. But bear in mind this is no Léon, Besson best flick to date. And let’s not kid ourself, as good as the central character can be, you only can expect nothing more than a pure adrenalin rushing high octane actioner with some low level of realism wrap around it. Oh, did I say Liam Neeson kick ass, hard?

Terminator Salvation (McG, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Before I proceed with the writing on the latest installment of Terminator saga, I have a not-so-proud confession to make, I love T3: Rise of the Machines, love it to the extent of watching it in cinema twice and a few times at home since then. Ahh, I know, there goes my credibility, down the drain. But I really felt the critically panned T3 is underrated despite some obvious flaws. Do not forget it has the best ending among the series. A really downbeat ending and yet at the same time I felt like punching the air screaming: Yeah! Let’s the real fight between man and machines begin, bring it on! So, here we are, at the post-Judgment Day, the bleak future glimpses in throughout the previous three terminator movies. Those haunting images of swarming cyborgs blasting their pulse rifle, from the above horizon the ready-to-pounce Hunter Killer scanning for any moving target, the merciless red eyes endoskeleton looks right at your face.

Before I watch this, I sensibly told myself it will be impossible to match the greatness of T2, arguably the pinnacle of James Cameron’s movie making. T2 is a classic movie in every possible way. In this forth installment, the familiar prospects are gone, Mr Governor of California only lending his face as T-800 in a 5 seconds cameo scene, and it’s hard to imagine a terminator movie without him. Along with the Connors clan, he is the most essential character. Linda Hamilton’s voice appears as audio recorder owned by his son. In music score, the always my favourite Danny Elfman replaced Brad Fiedel to come up with some unmemorable one. To me, it’s definitely a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” scenario, it’s pointless to compose a new score, unless you are able to top the Brad’s iconic metal thumping score, which I think not.

The tale of Terminator Salvation begin in pre-Judgment Day i.e. year 2003 where a death row inmate, Marcus Wright donate his body to a organization by the name of Cyberdyne System before his execution. Move forward to year 2018, the Resistance group consists of the nuclear holocaust survivor is still at war with the self-aware A.I. system, Skynet. The now adult John Connor is a high rank soldier but not the leader of the Resistance yet. Meanwhile Marcus Wright, wake up confused, find out he is facing hell on earth. Late he teams up with Kyle Reese, the future dad of John Connor (or is it in the past?) to meet up with John Connor. Unexpectedly, Kyle and other civilians are captured by Skynet. John needs to save his dad a without further delay as the Resistance intercepted Skynet’s message reveals Kyle Reese is on Skynet no.1 hit list. Marcus appears to be John’s only hope but can he trust Marcus or does Marcus have his own agenda? Well, anyone who watches the movie trailer will know Marcus is indeed a one-of-a-kind hybrid terminator (a terminator with vital organs like human brain) designed to infiltrate Resistance camp. He was programmed not to aware he is a machine.

Director Joseph McGinty Nichol AKA McG and production designer Martin Laing are given a daunting task to create a hellish apocalyptic future. Impressively, they created a desaturated landscapes and settings. Several new Terminators appear such as the huge 50-feet tall robot-Harvester, the clunky T-600, T-700, Moto-terminator who looks like a Ducati bike, eel-like Hydrobots who roam in the rivers. Audience who look for spectacular action set pieces will not be disappointed because it was nicely orchestrated and never quite let go. Especially in the pivotal vehicles chasing scenes involving the huge Harvester pursuing Marcus et al on the trucker, follow by the deployment of slick moto-terminator, shortly Aerial Hunter Killer and Resistance’s A-10 Jet join in the fray in this breathtaking scenes.

The intense, growling Christian Bale left his batman cape to become the messiah John Connor. Mr Bale sleepwalk through playing as John, because the role is tailored for him. John is a peripheral character who cross path with Marcus and Kyle, who will leave an influence of how will he become a great Resistance leader. Sam Worthington, the Aussie newcomer did a good job in portraying Marcus Wright. One standout scene shows when Marcus tries to sneak in to Skynet base, he accidentally bump into one of the cyborgs, to his relief, the machine accepted Marcus as one of its own after scanning him. The expression of Marcus’s ease of distress and acceptance of his fate as a cyborg is wonderfully pan out. Skynet may have possessed Marcus’ body but they underestimate the heart and soul of his. Kyle Reese, the father to the human saviour. I cannot held my delight when I saw a young Michael Biehn dead-ringer, The rising star Anton Yelchin. He definitely won my heart as the scruffy, vulnerable & courageous Kyle.

I am willing to bet that during the time the novice James Cameron making T1, he never envisage that he is going to expand his Terminator universe as depicted in numerous flashback sequences by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) into full-fledged movie as per se. I am not ridiculing James Cameron, in fact I am a huge fan of T2 (it’s in my top 10 favourite). Some of the nick pick in T4 I think, is the rating of PG-13 (in US) may have compromise the true violence nature of the movie, for Pete’s sake, it’s a movie about robots and men killing each other in a full scale war! OK, here is the verdict, T1 and T2 is basically untouchable, so that left us with T3, and Terminator Salvation is marginally better than it. T3 is almost a rehash of T2 but minus its moody, great pacing script. Now for argument sake, to show glimpses of the future is much different compare to creating the whole shebang, therefore credit to McG for expanding the Terminator universe. T4 is basically the start of a new trilogy, the beginning of Skynet’s demise. If T4 meant to pave way for future installment, then there are in great start in terms of casting and production design. Just bear in mind: Terminator Salvation is a pure action movie where character development and plot-driven script is relegated to secondary aspect.

Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (Shawn Levy, 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:56:00 +0000

So, we are in Round 2, means another great adventure from the inhabitants of the NYC Museum of Natural History. The whole premise is basically a rehash of the 1st movie. A re-telling of an Egyptian gold tablet causes the museum exhibit to come alive. The movie studio who is behind the 1st flick probably thinks by recycle the plot, shifting the adventure to a bigger playground will be well embraced by the audience. But clearly this movie proves the law of diminishing in sequel.

After the adventurous event from the 1st movie, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) the former nightguard of has moved on, founding Daley Devices, a company that sells his goofy invention. Meanwhile, the museum is set to close for upgrading works. Many of his old friends will be shipped to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. permanently, Only a few left behind such as the wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), The Skeleton T-Rex who act like a dog, the Dum-dum Statue from Easter Island. Meanwhile, the evil Egyptian Pharaoh, Kahmunrah, is after the gold tablet to release the army from the underworld to conquer the world. And it’s up to our nightguard Larry to stop them. Hmmm…. The plot of save the world from falling into villain’s hand, how original is that?

Although the existing casts return in this sequel, Jedediah the cowboy (Owen Wilson) is sadly a bit underused here together with his rival-turned-buddy, Emperor General Octavius. I always love Jedediah’s cockiness and his over-confidence lines. Gone too, is the Robin Williams’ portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt, he is reduced to a cameo role. There are many, many newly added character such as the feisty Amy Adams, as the female lead in the shape of Amelia Earhart(for your info, the actual Amelia is the 1st woman to fly across Atlantic in 1928). She provides the sidekick role to Larry. Then, there is a trio of nemesis consists of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ivan The Terrible (forgive my ignorance, but who is he?), Al Capone in monochrome, You have to see it for yourself, it’s kind of like the opposite of Pleasantville (made it 1999 starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon). There even got Darth Vader character in a funny gag!

Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah is somehow on hit and miss performance; at times he is absolutely hilarious when he blows his top and suddenly turning soft, other time he is trying too hard as in the flat, repetitive exchange between him and Larry. I am also squirmed by the Napoleon’s monotonous row with Larry or General Custer lame tactical speech scene, amongst others. Compare any of these lame scenes to 1st movie which, really make me chuckled and warm at the same time, for example, when Larry had a tough time dealing with Attilia the Hut, who is a hard nut to crack. But deep down his heart, all he need is a little cuddle and care which Larry gave him in the end.

NATM2:BATS is not as memorable as the original movie, but certainly sufficed as family adventure movie, just remember not to expect anymore from that. It has its own genuine funny moments although it’s “been here, done that” kind of gag. The 1st time viewers may engross by it, for patrons who have seen the 1st instalment must have felt that the magic and surprise element is clearly lacking here.

1 star = Pathetic, SowYau feel ashamed of watching it
2 stars = Off the mark material, approach with caution
3 stars = Generally good, you should watch it if it's your favourite genre
4 stars = excellent, strongly recommended
5 stars = A classic status? only time will tell. But it is definitely in SowYau's Hall of Fame List

Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:11:00 +0000

THE LAST ONE TO DIE PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHT, The graffiti in the movie is a chilling reminder for what is imminent.

Imagine what will cause the collapse of human civilization as we know it, will it be oil crisis, global warming, shortage of consumable water, alien invasion………? How about human infertility as address in this movie?

The bleak future depicted in the movie is a timely reminder that our so-called civil society is fragile at best. All it need is some catalyst to trigger the civilization downfall à la domino effect. Here are some very intriguing points to ponder: can u imagine living in a world without newborn babies? Knowing the world is slowly but soon (if you know what I am, kind of oxymoron) coming to a pitiful end with every years go by. What would be the point of ANYTHING without a reason to keep going? Everyone will lack motivation to do just about everything; there is no future, no aim to look forward to. What’s the point of going to work to earn decent wage? Why obey the law? If I am a scientist, why should I working on a cure to a cancer knowing that every man on this planet will be gone in less than say… 70 years. I will be having a hard time telling myself to move on with my life, I will slump to depression gradually.

This dystopian sci-fi flick is poles apart from what we have seen so much these years, remakes, re-imagines, sequels after sequels, prequels after prequels, worse still, some sequels are announced before the release of a movie.

The year is 2027, the last baby was born since 18 years ago. Britain is the only organized country governed by fascist ruling. Established modern societies around the world are collapsing, slowly eroded through anarchism. Millions of refugees flock to the country seeking for haven. The government severely cracking down any illegal immigrants, by detaining any suspected one, locking up in refuge camp before being deported.

Theo, the reluctant hero (played by Clive Owen) was asked by his estranged wife, (played by Julianne Moore) to secretly escort a miraculously pregnant refugee named Kee to a research vessel offshore across the country’s coast. Being possible the humanity’s only hope, the fight to ensure Kee reaching the scheduled destination may help scientists onboard to save the future of mankind.

There are strong casts features such as the suave Clive Owen character, Theo, who is a former peace activist turned bureaucrat. He may not be a testosterone-filled action hero but an average joe like him does not deliver snappy lines before gunning down some poor bastards. On the contrary, through out the movie he almost deliberately avoiding the usage of firearm to get him out of the dangerous situation.

Michael Caine played Jasper, a carefree, chatty, hippy pot-growing former cartoonist, his “pull my finger” fart joke reminds me of someone close to me, who used to do the exact stunt. Chiwetel Ejiofor and the newcomer Claire-Hope Ashitey Round up the cast as the leader of the resistant organization and the pregnant woman respectively.

Alfonso Cuarón, the director, fruitfully produced 2 major single-shot action sequences. One is the ambush-in-the-wood scene where the POV of the camera pan around incredibly smoothly inside, I repeat inside the moving car, then follow by the intense thugs attack.
Secondly, near the end, the 6 minutes urban warfare single shot sequence is superbly filmed with gritty, unsettling style. Imagine the huge amount of corroboration needed to achieve such mounting task.

This is one of those rare movies that I proclaim loving it so much the more I watch it. The scene where the crying infant temporary stopping the war moved me to tears and at the same time put a huge grin on my face. It was such a beautiful scene. I went into this movie with huge expectation and yet I was craving for more by the time it ended on a satisfying note.

Bullet PLUS Points:
- Breathtaking cinematography
- A thinking man’s action movie
- A fitting political commentary
- Clive Owen as believable and reluctant hero
- Relatively an un-Hollywood style

Eagle Eye (D.J.Caruso, 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (SowYau) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:10:00 +0000

One needs to be prepared for familiar sights while watching Eagle Eye, thanks to abundant references to other movies. Some old school viewers will think of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest; Kubrick’s enthusiasts will recall HAL9000, the self-aware computer from 2001:A Space Odyssey ; or whether the Three Laws of Robotic in Asimov-inspired’s Will Smith starred I, Robot is relevant to this movie. How about me? I think the fast paced, fuel by paranoid ambience seems to be in the same mold of Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State. You may complain Eagle Eye borrows from other superior movies, but hey, don’t you have heard of the phase, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

In this non-stop action techno-thriller, Jerry Shaw, a university dropout cum slacker (played by Shia LaBeouf) and a single mother (played by Michelle Monaghan) are threaten by an unknown female voice, by way of connecting to their cellphones, order them to carry out a daunting task, i.e. to assassinate the President of the United States. From there, the two strangers are thrown into a series of unbelievable metal crushing cum cling-clanging mayhems involving train, cars, crane, aircraft. They are often forced to do what they are told, the mysterious female voice (AKA Aria) seems to know everything happen around them there and then, literally forcing them to react swiftly. Example, an under interrogation Jerry was told to duck himself 10 seconds before a self-activated tower crane smashing into FBI office building. There are moments where Jerry refuses to board a specific train, and to his horror, the people around him instantly receive calls telling them about Jerry being a terrorist! Both of them are basically in You-are-damned-if-you-do, and damned-if-you-don’t-scenario.

Hot on the heels of the innocent duo is Billy Bob Thornton who play the role of Thomas Morgan, a FBI agent with ease, surely he was handed a handbook on how to do a Tommy Lee Jones together with the movie script. The wisecracking Thomas blurts out the most quotable lines in the movie, (to field agents)”If you're staring at me, it better be because I'm the suspect. If not, get back to work or I swear you're all demoted to something that involves touching shit with your hands!”

The movie does not reveal the protagonist until halfway through. But if you happen to know who it is prior to that, you will probably believe that our current advanced technology allow authoritative figure to tab on civilian in whatever methods we can think of: cellphones eavesdropping, bank accounts, computer’s files, GPS satellites tracking…. essentially whatever under the sun connected via networking and internet are expose to the surveillance of government. Call me a paranoid, call me a technophobe, but I think we are paying the price of heading towards the age of Big Brother. Besides, I disagree after reading some of the reviews that I came across, citing Eagle Eye as a dumb popcorn movie full of implausible scenarios. I admit that it contains some plotholes, but generally it is nothing too severe to throw off your interest in Eagle Eye.

***Spoiler ahead*** To me, Aria is not really a bona fide villain. We need to understand that the super computer ‘react’ based on the earlier pre-credit scene, where the US president misjudged an air strike target, which later causing a series of terrorist-style bombing in retaliation. Thus the head rolling operation of President and his Cabinet is deemed by Aria as justifiable. ***Spoiler end***

Lastly, the following are types of people who must avoid this movie at all cost:
- Technophobes
- Shia’s haters.