Warlords (Tau Ming Chong)

For one of our most faithful fan, Angel, I decided to make a comeback.... hope my fellow 2 other reviewers would too, anyway, I havent seen a lot of good movies lately which warrant me to write....but Warlords does seem quite good so I decided to give it a go and I am glad I did

I caught this war movie yesterday, and I enjoyed it. Happenned in 1870's when it's an upheaval in China, where millions of lives lost during the war. Jet Li's character described the period as when dying is easy, but living much harder. This movie was quite well made where the focus is very much in the story rather than the styles, unlike Heroes...

I would say all the 3 leads gave commendable performance. The 3 brothers who learned the importance of brotherhood in the times of war was told from the eyes of the 3rd brother Takeshi Kaneshiro. The war scene was very well made to, kudos to director Peter Chan who brought us Perhaps Love last year.

I would urge people to watch it to see how bad war really is.

7/10.

Resident Evil 3: Extinction

I saw this movie free, so decided to review it.

How I got it free? Register with http://www.gsc.com.my/
and on your birtdays they send you an email for a free voucher to the movie with asterix as advertised in the newspaper.

So you get to see movies which are already a few months shown.

Back to the movie, I rate this better than part 2, but then if you've seen one, you've seen them all. It seems to keep to its formula. Show zombies in the beginning and middle part trying to devour humans and end it with a monster to fight Alice, the heroin.

The crow scenes are quite tense, I must say......but still Resident Evil has become too formulaic and predictable, it's almost a case of who stays alive.....and of course Alice will survive, and this time there's a lot of Alice... wondering what I am on abt, watch it, I wont spoil it for you.

6/10

Elizabethtown (2005)

i'm back! :D (i'd die suffocated from the platypus nags if i don't make an entry here.. hehehehe..! but i still adore u hun ;P )

anyway, lets get back to business. i found out bout the movie from an ex-colleague who had been asking me like zillions of times as to whether Malaysia actually released this movie. I didn't know back then and i still don't know now (sorry dude... ) but it doesn't matter coz i've always have my *Movie Recycle Centre* to lean on :D

Orlando Bloom (and man! he really bloomed..! :P ) and Kirsten Dunst (i just love her in this flick!) starred in this movie. Oukay... imagine this... you screwed up big time with a wayyyyyyyy established, multi zillion sport related company (think Nike, or was it Adidas? :P) and you got fired. on your way out of the building, you bumped into your girlfriend and you asked her "do you love me?" and she replied "Yes" (with a *i think i love you* face) like with 5 minutes delay. and when you reached home, your sister called to inform you that "Dad has passed away". Three unlucky strikes in a row. In one day. Consecutively. I'd go insane for an unknown duration of time if it was me. Though probably that would happen in reality to most of us, but the movie shows you sometimes we should take things one at a time, rationally.

Essentially, the movie is about how people exert with what life has to offer as well as enduring the death of someone loved by everybody, and coping with the imprinted tragedy. There are also threads of heart warming gestures that soften the unmelodious tunes, with a touch of sweet originality craziness :)

What i love most about this movie is the scripts/lines/quotes. i think they are refreshing, original and captivating. Lines like "I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember", "You shouldn't be the substitute for anybody" or even "Is there such a thing as partial cremation?" (oh, i literally rolling on the floor, laughing because of this ;) ) and dozens others.

Here's the trailer :



Rating : 9/10

Ginger snaps

Another steaming pile of dung I watched for this blog. Yeuuuchhh ! bad crap this. Picture Beverly Hills 90210 + Slither + a-lot-of-other-cliched-horror movies is what this movie really amounts to. It's the story about sisters Ginger and Brigitte journey into adulthood. This show was supposedly well received by critics and it's really a mystery to me why. The teenage angst, brooding teenager without a care angle has been done to death and should have really been left where it was lying -> six feet under ! Ginger might be overflowing with teenage angst but she sure ain't no Shannon.

Somehow director's John Fawcett's ploy of using lycantrophy as a metaphor for puberty failed to register with me to. All in all, it could have been done so much more elegantly. Lots of plot lines were left hanging and actors felt like cardboard stand ins than humans. What happened to the parents ? Heck there are so many "what happened to"s I am not even going to waste your time or mine here. In the end what you end up with is a feeling of disenchantment and I was there grumbling looking at the time I just poured into this piece of crap wishing that ginger would die her inevitable death (yes you could see it 10 miles coming) and shut her trap already !!

Score : 3/10

Trailer :

The aviator 2004

This show had two things going against it from the start :

1. I don't really dig into auto biographies. Too depressing to see someone great reduced to the shell of a person from where they started for me.

2. I don't really dig Leo Caprio.

Well, well, well I was pleasantly surprised by this offering from Sorcese. The close to two hours of this show just flew by and the life story of a certain mr Howard Hughes was told from an interesting perspective from his victories to the demons that haunt him. Two performances that stand out here for me are Leo's Howard Hughes ( surprise again ! ) and the ever lovely Cate Blanchette's uncanny portrayal of Katherine Hepburn. They really brought life to their characters and the whole show is left on their able shoulders. Kudos !

For me a biography succeeds if the movie makes you at least curious to find out about the protagonist featured and sparks an interest in his passions and motivation, if that is the case then The Aviator succeeds with flying ( pun intended ) colors here !

8.5/10

Trailer :



Check out this interview with Leo regarding his role :

Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Just caught this movie in Brunei courtesy of the local Brunei Pirates. How appropriate =). I am a bit late to the party, and thank god for that !

This movie as far as I am concerned is a steaming pile of cow dung ! The convoluted story line and the unfunny action scenes ( case in point - orlando and kiera getting hitched in the middle of a full blown action fight sequence ) just nails this pirates' franchise coffin tight in this doozer of a movie with johnny depp reprising his role as Captain Jack sparrow. Thanks to the overly complex plot, I was half way asleep when the climatic battle came and even then scenes of the "smart" tactical manoeuvers by the pirates failed to rouse me from my slumber and looked contrived at best. I can distinctly remember a better movie on that topic helmed by the capable mr. Crowe ...

Ok ! Ok ! People tell me to be positive ... right ! there are a few gems in this movie ! There I said it... but seriously the acting of Chow Yuen Fatt and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Sao Feng and Barbossa respectively is good. Sadly, good acting from these veterans fails to rescue this movie from it's watery grave, that is it's PLOT. Sorry guys and gals. That is about as positive as I can get for this.

Also, sorry no trailers for this movie.. I am not going to waste my time going to youtube to cut and paste this turd. Go there yourself if you have an inclination for that sort of thing.

Grade : 1/10

2001's memento

This is one heck of a good movie ! Imagine, your wife is killed, you got nothing more to live for except for revenge and the fire burning inside of you to hunt down her killer. To put a whole new twist to this time old tale of revenge, your brain can no longer make new memories due to an accident sustained during a tussle with your wife's killer. Christopher Nolan in this noir classic successfully puts us in Guy Pearce's character ( Leonard / Lenny ) and conveys his fears, pain and confusion with scary realism. He does this by turning traditional story telling on it's head by literally telling the whole tale upside down. Carrie Ann Moss is great here as the conniving Natalie who sees a way out of her problems utilizing Leonard's memory problems to her advantage.

For me Nolan, successfully lifts this normal tale of murder, intrigue and revenge up a notch by doing this. This truly makes the movie memorable. I love both the lookout and this movie.

Some short scenes from this classic :



Check out more about this movie at imdb

I say this movie is worth your time and is extremely rewatchable ( watched it about 4 times with different people now ... ) so go ahead ... you won't be disappointed. 9/10

Why I think Ratatouille is good

Since I have got the complaints abt my review being too short and also since I also met a friend who told me he's not interested in cartoons when I recommend Ratatouille to him, I decided this movie deserve more praise from me....

Nowadays hardly is there s movie which can entertain you and at the same time make you think...and to me Ratatouille succeed in this degree.... there's much more laughter I got this time around from Pixar and in the end it also make me ponder about how the story unfolds.

I wish more people would give animation a chance, cos these days, some of these animations are made for adults...Just my thought, all the animators are adults, all the voices behind the characters are adults, so I just fail to see why some people still prejudiced against animation, and have this idea animations is purely for kids. Watch Ratatouille and I can quite bet that you would have a good and fun time at the cinema.

Ratatouille

Pronounced as Ra-Ta-Too-Tee, this is a very hard movie to spell, but I implore you to catch this movie while it's still in the cinema where it should be enjoyed at. The movie started with a short clip about an alien trying to abduct a man from his house. It was very funnyly done. That alone put me in stitches



On to the movie which is about a rat who aspires to be a famous chef in Paris. Impossible I hear some of you say, but it's this premise which keep everything interesting. This movie was told with a heart, something lacking in a lot of today's movies. It also made me forgive Pixar for subjecting me to Cars last year(maybe I just am not much of a fan of cars.)

The animation was superbly done with rats scampering in kitchen floors looking so real.

8/10

p/s : My all time favourite Pixar is still Toy Story, I wonder what are reader's choice. Also love A bug's Life and Incredibles.

In Her Shoes (2005)

i didn't know this movie existed at all. i watched it on Astro few months back and second time few weeks ago... (yeah... Astro Recycle Center ;P )

anyway, Toni Collete (as Rose Feller) and Cameron Diaz ( as Maggie Feller) starred in this flick. and, as obviously shown here, it's about sisterhood. first, let me comment on Toni Collete performance. i like Toni Collete the instant i watched her in The Muriel's Wedding long, long time ago. She has always been consistent, she really portrayed her character very well and she's a very talented actress. especially the mother, sisters or close-knit family thingy type of character, I'd say "Toni Collete, bring it on girl!" :) I guess when it comes to a character with personal touch, Toni Collete can give that kind of impact.

okay, back to In Her Shoes. As been said before, Collete(Rose, elder sis) and Diaz(Maggie) are sisters but they are very different in every way. Even with nothing much in common, they get along pretty well but of course little squabble here and there but nothing major. Rose is a stable, sensible and responsible person but has a very dead social life. Maggie on the other hand is everything opposite. She's a carefree, wild and alive, except that she's jobless due to her dyslexic condition. she just refuse to improve herself where she rather use her social charm to get what she wants.

so, as predicted, every time Maggie got into trouble, rose has to bail her ass out. but rose doesn't mind because it's what she always do. looking after her sister, protecting her. until the day Maggie slipped by sleeping with Rose's boyfriend. And 3rd world war started. the 'war' really tested their sisters-ship, dependency on each other and struggling to cope with life without being around with each other.

another part that i like in this movie is the poems. "One Art," a poem by Elizabeth Bishop and "I Carry Your Heart with Me", by E E Cummings. I just love both of the poems and i'll share the URL once i find it later.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

finally, all in all, i'll give In Her Shoes a fine 8/10.

The lookout ( 2007 )

what do you do when you are confronted with a situation where you have to plan a way to outwit a bunch of guys who has kidnappped your best friends and you even have to write down how to fix yourself dinner because your brain cannot handle remembering more than a few minutes of contents ? This is a damn good movie in my books reminding me a lot of another one of my favorites ... Memento. Joseph Gordon-Levitt play Chris Pratt which who life changes after being involved in a prom accident which damages his brain's frontal lobe ( a loooot of movies are using this as a plot device now ). What is this thing with hollywood movies always centering their plots around a theme for a given season ... before it was aliens .. then it was disasters ... now it's brain damage ?!

Anyways, back to the plot, a bunch of bank robbers headed by the charismatic Spargo capitilizing on Christ's disability tricks Chris into commit a crime. As events unfold, with his best friend in their grasp and being framed for a crime he did not commit, Chris's only way out is to outwit the robbers at their own game.

This is a well written thriller which takes a while to pick up but once going will hold you glued to your seat right until the credits roll. Gordon-Levitt's protrayal of Chris is believable and makes us feel his pain of loosing his life to an automobile accident while Matthew Goode's Spargo is charismatic and dangerous at the same time. Though I think the ending could have been better done especially in terms of Spargo's character, this film still earns a respectable 8.5/10 for me.

Cheering Stand Up Moment : The time when Gordon-Levitt's Chris is on the phone with Spargo screaming "The one with the money is the one with power", I lost it and shouted "Yeahhh !!! Alrighttt !!!". Watch out for it ..

A trailer of the movie ....



A good movie this .... thumbs up !

IMBD page : The lookout

The director also directed ...

What is the most romantic movie scene you wish re-enact with da loved one ?

Just a snippet of conversation I had with anti-gravity ... my most romantic scene I would want to re-enact with da loved one would be from the previous post ...

[14:41] sorcerer_low: hey let me ask you something
[14:41] sorcerer_low: what would be the most romantic thing u thought of doing with your significant other ?
[14:41] sorcerer_low: mine is that post la i mean in moviehonchos
[14:42] liliadandelion: umm..
[14:43] liliadandelion: lemme think
[14:45] liliadandelion: it's gonna take a long time... am not really a romantic person
[14:45] liliadandelion:
[14:45] sorcerer_low: nvm baby u know i can wait for you
[14:45] sorcerer_low: i always wait for you
[14:48] liliadandelion: hmm... i dunno...
[14:48] liliadandelion: to me being with my significant other is enuff
[14:48] liliadandelion: even without saying a word
[14:49] sorcerer_low: hmm
[14:49] sorcerer_low: alright

what would your's be ?

Love Actually - 2003

Well, I have been here in Brunei for a week without tv and without any form of entertainment and it's KILLIN' ME !!!! Thank god for the few movies that I packed along with me when I came here. So far from my stash, I have finished seeing two shows, both with the theme of love, that is Before Sunset and Love Actually. I liked both of them. Firstly let me go into Love Actually. Love actually is starring an ensemble of great actors and actresses which include :

• Bill Nighly of Notes on a scandal fame
• Liam Neeson and the great
• Emma Thompson

with great cameo appearances by Mr-Rowan-Bean-Atkinson himself. This is a movie which follows the lives of a few couples with the underlying theme of love. Love of every level as well as stage is presented to the audience in a light and fast flowing mood. Performances were great all around and it managed to put a smile on my face at the end with just the right touch of that great warm fuzzies you would get at the end of a nice romance movie. Don't expect a traditional romance movie with a hero and a heroine ( if it was that kind I don't think I would have liked this movie ) rather a movie which sees love through the lives of couples ( or couples to be ) at various stages in their lives.

Here are two favorite scenes from the movie, the first, billy mack's ( bill nighly ) rendition of "Chrismast is all around us"





and the next one is something I always wish I could do one day with a member of the opposite sex...


I give this movie a solid 8/10. Definitely a movie to see with the significant other.

Freaky Friday (2003)

Readers must be thinking what is a dude reviewing a chick flick, but I urge guys who always need to have their fill of testosterone while watching their movies,to give this movie a try. This is a perfectly movie for you to just sit back and enjoy the once brilliant carreer of Lindsay Lohan.

She plays Anna Coleman who is on the eve of her mom's (played equally brilliantly by Jamie Lee Curtis) wedding rehearsal throwing a tantrum and having a heated argument with her mom about how her mom doesnt understands her. How we all could relate to that....

As fate would have it, they went to a Chinese restaurant and was served the fortune cookies and bam the next morning they found themselves transferred to each other's body, and thus they have to endure the whole day in each other's body and in the process learn the hard way what makes each other tick.

This movie is filled with witty one-liners and the speech by Anna (in mom's body) could give a lump to your throat.

Although the premise is nothing new, this movie is still a fun watch.

7.5 over 10

Vacancy (2007)

You know a movie is forgetable when you can't even recall the 2 leads character's name. It started quite promisingly in fact when we see this couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) in a car bickering over the smallest issue of whether they almost run over a squirrel or a raccoon.

Like all slasher flick in its genre, their car broke down, and they are now stuck in a motel straight from "Phsycho." Surely alarm bells should start ringing when you're the only occupant in this motel, how the heck do the owner survived if not to sell the video of them slashing you?

So we see this movie from the point of view of the couple as they waited in the room to either be rescued or be slashed. To me it just doesnt add much to this genre which we're so used to by now.

5/10 forgetable.

Can readers out there give us their opinion on this?

I have this bright idea to start a conference to discuss among the three of us on a particular movie each month to let readers know what we think of each particular movie which all 3 of us need to watch, but in order to make that work, we do need readers' feedback whether this is workable or not. So please give us comments, cos I cant even convince my 2 fellow reviewers here. Below is what we've discussed.

liliadandelion has joined the conference.
liliadandelion: hola
SP CHU: This is the only time I see both of u online
SP CHU: he's not here yet....
SP CHU: Let's start by asking anti what he like best about transformers
SP CHU: I meant what she likes best
liliadandelion: do we really need to have this...?
SP CHU: I shall do the editing
SP CHU: I shall see how it goes
SP CHU: inconvenient? or not in the mood?
liliadandelion: both actually.
SP CHU: just do it when u have the time/ in the mood
SP CHU: I shall leave this conference open
SP CHU: u can also pretend a friend asking u what u like so much abt transformers
liliadandelion: pretend?
SP CHU: what my intention is to have us chat abt the same movie
SP CHU: what we like and dislike abt it
SP CHU: And readers in honchos see the interaction between 3 of us
SP CHU: cos movie reviews can sometimes get boring, especially mine
sorcerer_low has joined the conference.
SP CHU: Is Low able to read what I typed before he joins the conference?
sorcerer_low: no

sorcerer_low: can't comments already serve that function ?
SP CHU: how many times we post at the comments?
sorcerer_low: as much as you want
SP CHU: but that's the problem we dont do it enough
SP CHU: here we just chat like normal
sorcerer_low: then how are you going to make this work ?
SP CHU: abt the same movie
SP CHU: We basically talk abt transformers
SP CHU: what we like abt it and what we hated abt it
sorcerer_low: yeah i know but technically how are you going to achieve that ?
sorcerer_low: say like this
sorcerer_low: u start a blog post then u let us finish it
sorcerer_low: if one of us daddles and holds it .. it's going to end up the same as the comments thing and worse it won't published
SP CHU: copy and paste what we chatted and then post it on the blog
SP CHU: that's where editing comes in
SP CHU: Things like we say Megan Fox is hot...
sorcerer_low: chats won't work
SP CHU: give it a try
SP CHU: if it doesnt we abandon it
sorcerer_low: i tried it before
sorcerer_low: what happens is ... you don get a good summary of what a person things
SP CHU: thinks?
sorcerer_low: because what he / she thinks is scattered over a few lines
sorcerer_low: thinks == how they felt about the movie
SP CHU: ok let's start by asking u why u give such low rating for transformers
SP CHU: also let our readers be the judge whether this work or not
sorcerer_low: if you want to do this
sorcerer_low: why don u just create a summarizing post for all three opinion blogs ?
SP CHU: There's no interaction bet. the 3 of us that way
SP CHU: this way we argue till kingdom comes
liliadandelion: tho the idea kinda ok, but i dont see any practicality in it. i agree with low that this has already been achieved by having comments
SP CHU: i think what we've discussed here already made an interesting read in itself
SP CHU: even before we discussed anything abt transformers
liliadandelion: prolly u could use this then
SP CHU: can i post this in the blog? and let our readers have their say too?
sorcerer_low: yes. exactly my sentiment
sorcerer_low: we'll do this ... if this blog post attracts > 3 new comments then we'll prolly do what u say
sorcerer_low: if not we can it
liliadandelion: agreed.



If you like what my idea is about, readers need to greenlit it by commenting on it...If your comment is as negative like my fellow reviewers, we would also can the idea.... Hope to hear from readers...

What are the best movies or series to bring on a long working trip ?

I will be going on a long working trip to Brunei end of this month and internet there is not guaranteed and at best spotty, so I will be bringing my stash of dvds of series and movies to digest of the course of 2 months ( yes it's that long ! ). So far I have singled out the following dvds :

1. Lost ( Season 1 ) - Hey sue me I didn't catch it the first time around.
2. Veronica Mars ( Season 1 )

Need some help from ya loyal readers of this lil' blog on other interesting movies or series I could bring along, essentially think along the lines of what are the titles you guys and gals would bring along if you were stranded on an island ( with electric supply of course ! ) for two months.. mucho gracias for the help.

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Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

HP5 directed by David Yates is to me by far the best in the series, Some may complain that a lot has been left out from the book, but then I would also complain the book is too long-winded, to the point I couldnt care much less towards the last chapter of the book. The movie doesn't suffer this fate, I guess clocking at about 2 hours 20 minutes.

As the book got darker, so does the movie, gone are the innocence we used to associate with the series. It is even quite intense and Daniel Radcliffe prove to us here that he can really act.

Harry Potter uses magic in the presence of Muggles when 2 Dementors attacked him and his cousin. Dumbledore came and defended him in a special hearing. When school started all the kids in school avoided him like the plague because no one believed him that "he who cannot be named" is back. Dolores Umbridge's character was hateable in the book and this carries to the movie as well when she tortures HP and yet still can keep a cheery smile on her face. HP also started a class and kissed his dream gal. All this while he struggles with the fact that there is a tight connection between him and Voldermort especially during the dreams sequences.

I read the book sometime ago, and this movie made me realised what I enjoyed about the book most....

So I guess this should be the best in the series for me... So what is yours?
8/10

Crank ( 2006 )

Some movies are good, some movies are bad, but rarely will you see a movie that can claim the moniker ... "it was so bad it's actually good". Crank is one such movie that lives up to it. It stars Jason Statham as Chev Chelios. Only Statham can play such roles like this with so much conviction that he actually pulls it off by making it believable.

Crank is about our hero Chev Chelios who has had a chinese designer poison pumped into him by some baddies and wakes up grubbily to a video informing him of this unfortunate turn of events. This designer drug has a twist in that if his heart slows down under a certain level he will die. Picture the movie speed's plot but exchange the bus for a man and you have a pretty fair idea of what this movie is about. The movie speeds off from the bang. About the only slow scenes is during the beginning and once the action picks you up by the throat it never lets go until the very end.

Technically side this movie has a lot of jerky hand held camera works which fits in well with the high speed chase scenes and the pacing of the movie.

This movie made it for me because it never took itself seriously. Action scenes are dipped in humor to produce and hour plus of the most entertaining movie I have seen in ages. This is one which you have to leave your brain home to really appreciate. At an age where every cockamimi action movie tries to be a thinking man's piece but falling flat on their faces crank is like a breath of fresh air. Oi Bruckheimer ! Take some notes !

Check out the trailer here :






Scenes to watch out for : You have a gf by your side ... you need to get your heart rate up ... you are in public ... so what do you do ?! ....

7 out of 10 for keeping me well entertained ... is a crank2 on the way ? Bring it on ....
imdb page : Crank ( 2006 )

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What is your favourite romance movie ?

For me my all time favorite romance movie has got to be Vanilla Sky. This movie has got just the right mixture of sci-fi and I am a sucker for those movies which features a lost chance at the love of a life time and how a fleeting moment of love no matter how short can turn out to be the moment you have been waiting for all your life. This is not a rottentomatoes favorite earning only 39%but who the heck cares ? I like it and that is all that matters ... So, what is your favorite romance movie of all time ?



This is a movie which i will fall in love again over and over again everytime I watch it ... ( only the right person reading this will know what I mean ... :) )

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Die Hard 4.0 (2007)

Also known as Live Free or Die Hard, Bruce Willis is back as John Mcclane....and before you can mutter the word same old, same old, the action came in thick and fast when the terrorist came in the form of computer hackers who ran amok with all things related to computers from the traffic Lights to the tv station.

I love the first quarter of the show where we're introduced to the new character played by Justin Long as a computer hacker and how Mcclane saved his life time and time again. The action were slick and kept you on the edge of your seat. Love the car chase scene too.....

but then it start to get repetitive, and by the third quarter you sort of have a feeling how it's all going to end, and John Mcclane just can't die (hence the title),...or else there wont be anymore sequels.

A pure escapism movie which you should just enjoy without thinking too much...

Die Hard 1 is still the best among the 4.

6.5 out of 10

Perfume story of a murderer

I saw this movie quite some time ago .. and sorry to say I saw it just because this movie had an interesting title as well as an interesting trailer ... check it below.

This is an interesting tail about a uh ... murderer. What is central and interesting about this flick is all to do with the killer's obsession with smell and of course the olifactory device ... the nose. Check out his reason for killing the women he encounters. Talk about having something to remember her by. The first half of the act is superb for me and did really well to flesh out the beginnings of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from his humble beginnings as a slave to his eventual rise to fame and notoriety.

The second third of the story sort of takes on a whole different supernatural turn which is supposed to be some kind of social commentary but doesn't seem to work on me. All in all the last one third of the movie spoils the initial build up of the movie for me. However director Tom Tykwer shows promise and I eagerly await his next project ... the international. It reminds me a lot of From Dusk to Dawn directed by the venerable Quentin Taratino ... once the vampires came out, the movie went to hell literally... same here. Once it reaches a certain point it's like the director lost interest in the movie. Too bad it was a pretty good build up to that point.

Score : 4.5/10

Perfume story of a murderer ...

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Transformers (2007)

Just saw it....I am a fan boy been a fan of the cartoon in the 80's and it is indeed cool to see my boyhood heroes comes to live in this movie. From a movie lover stand point, the story aint much,.... Some of the scenes were too disoriented, so much so that I cant even tell which was the autobots and which one is the decepticons, recall not having such problem telling the villains and the good guys apart in the cartoon. As I recall all the bad guys were airplanes and all the good guys were automobiles, and Megatron was nt a plane, it was just a gun...... All these flaws aside, this was still a movie to be enjoyed on the big screen, as it should be....After the movie, going to get my car, I sort of half hoping that my car would transform....

7/10

Jurassic Park (1993)

The movie which started it all. We all knew the appeal of dinasours when we were kids and this movie managed to capture that magic.

I guess I wont have to dwell much into the storyline here, as I am quite sure nearly every reader have watched this famous movie before, some may even recalled that they have to wait in queue for the tickets when it first came out.

When viewers were first exposed to the dinasours the moment was magical. It make us realised what something we cant see in real life we can see on the silverscreen, that's the power of movies.

After a lapse of 14 years, this movie is still worth watching. It managed to stood the test of time, this I give kudos to the director : Steven Spielberg.

When I searched for the year, I saw they're making Jurassic Park 4 (slated for 2008) with Kiera Knightley and Sam Neil probbably reprising his role.

8/10


I probably rate it 9/10 when I first saw it ;)

Transformers

OH MY GOD!!!

YOU'VE GOTTA WATCH IT FOR YOURSELF!!!

IT'S THE GREATEST, BESTEST, AWESOMEST MOVIE EVER!!!

YOU SIMPLY SHOULD NOT MISS IT.

GO! WATCH IT! NOW!!!

Rating : 11/10

Four Brothers (2005)

I watched this movie for the 4th time tonite. Somehow, there's something bout this movie , that has never failed to keep me glued to the seat. You could read about the synopsis here, in their official website, and keep on reading here to find out what kept me glued from the start ( i dont really do spoilers ;P )

Anyway, i guess you could say that mark wahlberg(Bobby Mercer) has been given the same kind of character since his not-really-hit movie "The Big Hit". But i guess he has this kind of persona or suitable identity as cop-criminal-gang leader type. Tyrese(Angel Mercer) acting could improve. He got the talent but still havent got that *ummph* to make him as lead actor. Andre(Jeremiah Mercer) of the OutKast on the other hand was given a rather laid back character. His on and off appearance in the movie didnt bring that much of impact. But same could not be told of Garret's character(Jack Mercer). He played the youngest of the brothers with a sensitive touch. The older brothers were very protective when it comes to him. So, you would somehow feel involved in their grief when deadly event befallen him in the movie.(I 1st noticed him when he starred in Friday Night Lights)

sure, the main focus of this movie is about vengence. but it is not all about actions, shootings and what not. i like the brotherly love that the movie portrayed and i'd say all the 4 main actors had developed sumkinda brotherhood-bond between themselves. they really played their roles well. a few witty+cynical+funny lines+scenes also kept the movie *perky* once in a while. But i have to hand it to the director, John Singleton. His shots and drama intensity was just superb.

If you are into vengence+cool moves+cynical jokes, well then, what are u waiting for???

Oh, did i mention drama intensity with all the shootings and actions involved? :P

Rating : 7.5/10

The Ice Harvest (2005)

This crime noir stars John Cusack and it was not one of his best work, but still watchable.
John Cusack plays Charlie Arglist a lawyer who just scammed the mobsters together with his partner in crime, Billy Bob Thornton for USD2 Million. Oliver Platt plays his drunken best friend who married his ex wife.

It's Christmas Eve and every thing which seems to go wrong does in this dark comedy.
Some memorable lines from Oliver Platt's character who told John Cusack, "At our age, regrets are all we have left in this world."

The scene with the box behind the car reminded me of Pulp Fiction, so I wont exactly call this movie original, but on a rainy day when there's nothing much to do, this is worth a rental.

5.5 /10

Pulse ( 2006 )

Onward with the horror movie marathon. This time I watch 2006's The Pulse. The best way to describe is movie is Ghost in the Machine meets Land of the Dead. A computer virus is let loose and actually sucks the life out of the person using the computer. The virus uses wired networks and any wireless or celullar networks as it's medium of transfer and after a while the host will be reduce to piles of black ash !

There is nothing revolutionary or ground breaking about the effects in this movie, but it's adequate and backs up the story rather well. Some of the effects look like they were borrowed from White Noise but in the end there were a couple of moments. The scene in the laundry room had me at the edge of my seat for a few minutes at least. So 5/10 for special effects here.

The cast is a young cast and the only one I could pick out is the heroin from Veronica Mars. The acting is passable ( I mean how much acting do you actually do in a horror flick aside from looking scared, crying and screaming anyway ? It's hard to tell with these kind of flicks ). There was a general feeling of been there done that with this movie as most of it are grounds already covered by other movies. So while I was yawning, I wasn't yawning that hard...

All in all this is nothing new but well done and not too cheesy so i give it 5/10.

Imdb page : The Pulse ( 2006 )
Rottentomatoes : The Pulse ( 2006 )

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War of the World

This movie is SO DISAPPOINTING. a great beginning, great climax in the middle but the ending sucked. BIG TIME! i mean like, if you are the alien and you've been planning to get rid of human race for billions of years, dont you have at least a back up plan? i mean like the alien was supposedly has been eying the earth for hundreds of light years and supposedly again they are more intellectual and hi-tech creature. and yet again, they dont have any plan b or c or d... and they lost because they were not immune to our environment yet ( all the bacterias and the highlighted paramecium ( paramecium ---> correct ah? ) and tom cruise's whole family didnt even get any cuts or bruises while running away, trying desperately to save themselves. and yeah, what's with the "is it the terrorist?" thing? it was repeated twice by dakota fanning and by her 'brother'. LAME! and the purpose of spraying human blood is...? i kinda have high hope on this movie but it let me down.

Rating : 4.5/10

Unleashed (2005)

Another typical Jet Li movie. loaded with action but the storyline sucks. mainly about an orphan, named Danny brought up by a supposedly british mafia head. the only thing he does is killing peeps once the collar been taken off from him. yes, he wore a collar. suposedly correspond to the title of the movie. but he has this fascination towards piano (how weird is that?) and classical music. Turns out that his mom was a pianist and murdered when he was young. The murderer is the very own person who brought him up. so, the storyline kinda predictable and yada, yada, yada it's just another filler.

Rating : 5/10.

The Descent (2005)

Okay okay ... back to the horror movies marathon ... 2005's the descent. Picture this. Imagine gollum did not die in the LOTR movies and somehow survived in a dark cave with a mate where they have been breeding voraciously till the modern day. His path crosses with a bunch of women on a caving expedition and what ensues as anyone can guess is absolute pandemonium as gollum has developed a taste for human flesh. That is a basic summary of what The Descent is about.

The plot actually revolves around Shauna Macdonald's character Sarah who has suffered a great loss during a accident after a nature trip where she is the only survivor. It is hinted at the beginning of the movie that her husband is getting extra credits for extra marital activities with one of her best friends Juno played by Natalie Jackson Mendoza. Fast forward to a year later, the whole gang get together again for a caving expedition with the main aim of helping Sarah get over the loss of her family. Decending into an unchartered cave, things start going south after a cave in where they run into gollum. Let me tell you here... the creature looks _EXACTLY_ like gollum but with beady eyes.

Well the plot ain't exactly original but what saves this movie for me is that is really well acted and well crafted. The acting is good all around and you get the sense of panic and fear these women are going through stuck in a dark cave with no exit in site and with a added challenge of a carnivorous crazed humanoid like creature hot on their asses. These women had hot asses, especially Juno ( too bad of what happens to her at the end ) ! The fight scenes were well done and the infra red camera shots was immaculately done added to the suspense. Think aliens here. Slick editing brought us to and fro from various spots where the action was going on and this helped the show move at a brisk space.

I would also like to make a mention here about the settings of the movie in the cave. The scenes were just gorgeous although half the time they were enveloped in darkness. The claustrophobic among you might want to give some of the cave scenes a miss as they really convey a feeling of being trapped.

All in all this is a good movie and it gets my recommendation

Rating : 8/10


LowKS

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Hot Fuzz ( 2007 )

Movie night with the significant other and we were staring down three choices :

• Rise of the Silver Surfer ( Think I will just ermm borrow this from the internet video library ahem .. )
• Oceans 13 ( After all the lukewarm reviews ... no thanks )
• Hot Fuzz

So we settled for Hot Fuzz seeing how it was the logical and only watchable choice of the list. She had no history going into this movie so was just happy to go along for the ride. I was however approaching this movie with trepidation .. I was worried. I really liked Shaun of the Dead by Wright so I didn't really relish the idea of spoiling my experiences with that movie in the event if Hot Fuzz bombed. I did catch a bit of the beginning scenes of Hot Fuzz from browsing around in the Internet Movie Store ... and it didn't look that good, so I went in with mixed feelings. I am glad I took the chance ! It was great !! It took a while warming up, but once thrust in the thick of the action both of us just couldn't help but love this movie.



This time around Simon Pegg of the SOTD fame is Sergeant Nicholas Angel ( Check out the name ! ), a decorated and by the book cop who gets relegated to a small town because his high arrest rates and impeccable record was making his superiors and fellow officers look bad. Life in the small town looks deceptively calm but is there something more than meets the eye ? Together with PC Danny Butterman, son of the town's police chief ( Nick Frost ), they crack case wide open Bad Boys style !



While in SOTD, director Wright pays his homage to the horror genre, here every scene, nuance, dialog, Hot Fuzz pays tribute to the action genre. Be forewarned, if you walk in to this movie expecting a spoof of action movies you will be disappointed. While it is a funny movie, it was not made in the spirit of a spoof. Rather what you have here a team of writer and director that love the action genre and Hot Fuzz is their way of showing their adulation for it. Right from Bad Boys2 to Point Break every major movie in the action genre is given a tip of the hat to. Every is classic action movie stuff right from the amplified ambient noise to the slick editing. Even the plot has a typical action movie feel to it. I like how in the middle of the movie the plot is actually "simplified" to make this fit in the action genre when Timothy Dalton explains to Sergeant Angel that his the case that he is investigating is not really as complex as he thinks and everything is a lot simpler than he thinks.



The actions scenes weren't lacking too as bullets flew all around the screen while our two heroes were blasting away in slo mo across the screen dodging bullets and firing firing the pieces away ... Yeah ! Full marks from Head Master Bruckheimer !! For fun, try to pick out the scenes where the movie gives a nod to SOTD. As far as the acting goes, Pegg and Frost have good chemistry and hit off well with each other. While Simon and Nick might not be the most good looking of blokes, they have enough screen charisma to have you rooting for them after just 20 minutes into the show. The rest of the cast are great too with cameo appearances by well known UK tv actors and actresses.



Thanks Mr. Wright, you really did not let me down with your second outing. Now I can happily add Hot Fuzz to my collection right next to Die Hard and Rambo !



I say if you are looking for a good movie to see and don't want to go the way of all the so-called block busters invading our cinemas, give Hot Fuzz a try. You definitely won't go wrong. Now you got to excuse me while I go for another reviewing of Shaun of the Dead ...



Rating : 7.5/10



LowKS

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Ocean's 13

This movie tried to revisit the reason why Ocean's 11 was so well-liked, and for a brief moment it did succeed but just a brief moment cos on most parts, when you try to compare this to Ocean's 11, this still feel somewhat inferior.

The Oceans gang are back and this time minus the romance angle. Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones are gone. The only woman in this one is Ellen Barkin who plays the assistant of the villain Al Pacino.

One of their own member (Elliot Gould who plays Monica and Ross Geller's dad in "Friends") was duped into all his life savings, causing him to be in a coma. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and gang wants revenge on Al Pacino's character.

It's quite fun seeing how they scheme their way into the casino owned by Al Pacino, and in the process within a few minutes win all the money from all the tables.

There was a funny scene involving Oprah Winfrey's show. Watch out for it.
Ocean's 11 was more tight and there was a sense of danger that Ocean's 13 lacks.

Ocean's 13- 6/10
Ocean's 12- 4/10
Ocean's 11- 7.5 /10

V for Vendetta

This movie I think will appeal to both male and female. The action scene was super cool, reminiscent of Matrix bullet time thing, we now have a Knife throwing one here.

Females would enjoy the touching moment when a letter from the prison was read.
I caught it for the second time and still love how it still has that political view of the government who rules us.....

It's like not very often there are movies which makes us think, and I believe if you look carefully this movie achieved that.

Synopsis: V is a sole hero challenging what he feels isnt right about the government, although he achieved this via violence we still feel for him as the"government of future UK" is painted as evil here. He found love in Evey (Natalie Portman- whom bravo to her shave her head for this movie).

Comes highly recommended

8/10.

Premonition

I think this is a VERY sad story. another glimpse-of-your-future-kind of storyline. but this has no happy ending. it's almost suffocating at times. like whatever you do, it'll never be enough. and you'd feel helpless as well. really hit that certain switch inside you to really appreciate your loved ones. Sandra B. really carried herself well in this movie. her character felt alive.
Perhaps she should do more thrillers rather than starring in goofy movies like those Miss Congie stuffs :P

Rating : 6/10

Next

It's like the Paycheck storyline. u get a glimpse of your future and what u do with it. to me, nick cage is being unnecessarily too calm at times. but his character evolve steadily. jessica biel, was given an unchallenging character. julian moore was just another Scully-kind FBI agent. It's a good filler if u dont have anything to watch :)

Rating 4/10

Fantastic 4 - The Rise of The Silver Surfer

I went to watch this movie few weeks back.
This 2nd installment was better than the previous one. A HELL lot better.It started quite draggy at first but the storyline was nicely arranged. The action scenes were great, all the visual effects+CGI+sound effects deserve some credits.
I still hate Jessica Alba's act. Nothing new. Probably they didnt explore her character that much. But still, her acting wasnt really good anyway. Torch got better. More action scenes as it is supposed to have. The other 2 were somewhat like extras rather than the frontline. Von Doom's appearance was rather brief, a little too brief that his character didnt really leave any impact in the movie. But the Silver Surfer himself was cool.
The duration was slightly less than 2hrs. I know... kinda short. But it actually felt longer. Hmm.. dunno whether thats a good thing or not.
All in all, it's still worth going to the cinema to watch. It's enjoyable :)

Rating : 7/10

What I thought of Shrek III

Before I go on to my review about American Psycho, let me do a quickie review on Shrek 3. Here's what I thought in short : It sucked, it sucked and it sucked. I liked 1 and 2 and I thought that 2 sold out a bit by doing the matrix bit and all but it was still palatable, but 3 totally sold out and it sucked !



Gone are the funny modern alternative look at classic fairy tales and in it's place is an MTV version of it ! Gawd ! They really should have just stopped at 2. At least then they would have gone out with a bang. Shrek and Donkey you guys are NOT funny !! Even the ginger bread man fails to save this third smelly outing. Want to know something that will really make you shiver in your timbers ? They have got shrek 4 and 5 planned !! According to sources, it will be about the origin of shrek and how he ended up in the swamp. Now that is something that really keeps me up at night ... Thank god they are going to show that !



Bleh !!



2.5/10 !

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American Psycho ( 2000 )

As promised a review on american psycho. Sorry it took quite a while to get this out but this was one disturbing show and it was hard to disengage to get my thoughts down. I have seen some pretty disturbing shows, but this one has got to trump them all. This show will stay with me for a while as I am sure it will if you watch it too.

By day Mr Patrick Bateman is a suave financier with a posh job and legions of admirers. By night out comes the other psychopathic Mr Bateman which would make Jack the Ripper look like a boy scout. Those of you who are itching to get a glimpse of Mr. Bale bare essentials would be happy to note that this movie features ample helpings of scenes with Mr. Bale running around in his birthday suit.

A bit into the plot. The movie shows us the facade of the yuppie lifestyle and what can lurk behind it. Christian Bale does a good job ( as usual ) of initially portraying two different sides to his character which in the end is broken down and merges into one. This humor here is laced with barbed wire lashing out at you at every opportune it gets. The scenes where Bateman and gang are having a contest to see who has the best business card is oozing with sarcasm and beautifully carried out by Bale with his usual conviction to the character. The humor is dark and scathing so this might not be a show for everyone and some people might actually get turned off by it, but this reviewer liked it for it's originality.

While it explores the psychii of the rich and famous and later plunges us into a deeper and darker persona of it, the movie never gets preachy and doesn't present a nicely tied up ending which would have spoilt it. Kudos to director Mary Harron for a job well done. This is one movie I am sure that will not have fence sitters. Either you like or you don't.

Me, I like it.

Rating : 7.6/10

LowKS

The Host ( 2006 )

As My first post let me start by reviewing the first movie on my horror / suspense movie marathon. This movies is none other than 2006's Gwoemul or The Host for rest of us Korean illeterates ...

Let me be upfront here, I am not that much into foreign movies. Don't really know why but foreign movies never really did make it for me so much. But recently I decided to let my guard down a bit and give the Cannes favorite "The Host" a chance, and boy I am glad I did. It a monster of a fun ride ( pun intended ) !

Firstly let me dispense with the good stuff about his movie. Joon Ho-Bong in his second directorial outing presents his delicious monster fare with a quirky family which oils the wheels on this fun ride. For a synopsis of The Host go to it's imdb page. I fell in love with the quirky characters right from the start and was behind them all the way as the monster does it's public romp. The first and second part of the movie certainly deserves a 9/10 in my books. It was just great witnessing the family interaction as they turn from from victims to eventual heroes.

As far as creature effects go the creature in this movie stands out. With the Lord of the Rings creative team behind it, it look lively and blended in well. I was actually literally at the edge of my seat especially during the the up close and personal scene in the sewers.

This is a finely crafted movie with great editing which kept the suspense high during pivotal moments of the movie. Kudos to the editing team for a job well done. The editing is right up there with other American movies I have seen.

Alas, the movie falls a bit flat during the third act when it tries to get all serious with affairs and it sort of degraded into a B grade monster flick from here. Too bad because the first and second act was just superb, but I can forgive Joon for this as I just loved the first and second act. So all in all I really enjoyed this movie, and it really lived up to the hype of being Better than Jaws ! 8/10 ! Looking forward to more from Joon Ho-Bong ! Next up .... American Psycho

Low Kian Seong

Shrek the Third

and third time not so lucky.....cos this movie kinda suck and predictable too.
It tried hard to be funny and most times it fell flat....

What the movie is about.

Shrek and Fiona tried to fit into royalty but shrek prefers his mudhole to anything else. Frog King is dying and Shrek is supposedly the heir to the throne, so he desperately leave far far away land to find Arthur, the next heir to the throne. It's at this point Prince Charming gathers all the villains in Far far away land to take over the kingdom. And at this time, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella were having tea with Fiona....

Lots of going on, but the story teller failed to make full use of these characters instead we got the feelings they're there only as cameos appearance and nothing more.

If you like Shrek, just stay away from this one and you would have a good memory that Hollywood did create an original character...watch this and your fond memory would be ruined.

4/10

CHU SP