Crank Duology

Overall Rating: 5.5 /10

Genre: Action

Overall value for money and time: 4.5 /10

The first installment is about a professional assasin who was injected with a deadly chinese poison that would kill him if his heart rate drops. The sequel shows him being a lab rat and having his heart replaced by an artificial heart, which needs constant electrivity boosts to keep him alive.

The overall rating is highly contributed from the sequel. When I first heard of the sypnosis, I leaped at the opportunity to finally catch Crank. I mean, what could go wrong with such a novel concept and with Jason Statham in it? I found my answer... the directing. It didn't work for me. Both movies almost felt like I was watching another House of the Dead, where there's abrupt scenes of video games popping up throughout the movie. Made it feel cheesy, cheap, and unprofessional. Almost also feels like The Forbidden Kingdom, a "kiddo" director trying to live his dream by directing a movie...

Fortunately, I was able to convince myself to complete both movies and the sequel, though equally irritating with the video games scenes, was slightly better in terms of creativity - the sources by which Jason Statham would recharge himself. The ending was lame... expectedly, and assured a 3rd installment, which I might finally give it a pass....

The Hurt Locker

Rating: 7.4/10
Genre: Suspense Drama
Overall value for money and time: 7.5/10

An elite US bomb squad stationed at Iraq has only 39 days to their next rotation. The recent death of their squad leader is replaced by the seemingly reckeless Staff Sergeant Will James. Can they survive the mahem?

The movie holds a good amount of suspense, as each bomb uncovered could potentially result in a major disaster. The opening and ending scenes were strong in enhancing the characters developments and hence the overall rating of the movie. There were a handful of scenes which would not please the tight scrutiny of some, but in terms of buildup, plot, casting and suspense, this movie would certainly satisfiy most.

Initially, I didn't see where the movie was heading towards as it reached a plateau somewhere in the middle, but the ending did provide a good closure. I liked how the protagonist returns to his mandane daily life where he's just an ordinary guy living in an ordinary world and becomes a "hero" again when his next shift starts. Though superb in most senses, there was something unexplainable about the movie which was unable to blow me away.

Until the very end, I was still puzzled about the rationale of the title as it was not discussed or even mentioned throughout the movie. I could only assume that the protagonist and his squad members had to "lock the hurt" inside when they returned to their daily lives, for the stuff they do, the dangers involved, where life is cheap, the possibilty of being blown up anytime is neglected and left unappreciated by most of the US citizens...

Surrogates

Rating: 6.6/10
Genre: Thriller
Overall value for money and time: 6.2/10

This is the new age of cinema... "surrogate-like control". This movie bears an uncanny ressemblance to Gamer. Not sure which movie was surrogated, but since Gamer came out first, I would only assume it's the later. Imagine a world where "humans" walking the streets are all surrogates, being controlled by another human. They may or may not look like the original persons, but the "utopia-like" world was threatened when the first homocide occurred after the reign of surrogacy.

Not only was the surrogate murdered, the user suffered the same fate as well. This led to the concern of the prime surrogate organisation and the police force, leading to the unfolding of conspiracies... What I liked about the movie was the lead actor, Bruce Willis and how the director made the surrogates look less human with the CG - there was a clear distinction between surrogates and real humans. What I didn't like about the movie was the pace and the lack of action scenes in the movie. What I'm neutral about it is the "love story" and the twist in the ending which wasn't that fantastic in the first place.

Overall, a fairly decent movie but not one to leave you at the edge of your seats. Was rather disappointing for me as the story and casting didn't bring it a notch higher. It's almost like a normal tasting plate of chicken rice bought from a well-known chicken rice stall...

The Ugly Truth

Rating: 7.3/10
Genre: Comedy
Overall value for money and time: 7.0/10

While I would love to insert "romantic" into the genre, I would be lying to you if I did. Either that, or I just have a high tolerance for romanticism. This movie is all about the art of courtship - in particular courting men. Gerard Butler stars as a host on a talk show about the "ugly truth" where he teaches his audience (mostly single females) about the differences between the sexes and how to go about getting the guy of their dreams.

Single, traditional and dominating TV producer Katherine Heigl was on a verge of losing her programs when her boss employs Gerard Butler to feature the segment on her show. This resulted in an increase in viewer ratings which "forced" her to work with him... and subsequently advice from him on getting the man of her dreams.

What lies ahead is the typical storyline and if you're in for a good laugh, this movie is for you. Crude humor, might even be vulgar at times but with an open heart, and an open mind, this movie won't go wrong with a long term date, though I'm not sure if it will work just as well for first dates...

Thirst

Rating: 6.8/10
Genre: Thriller

Overall value for money and time: 6.5/10

A devoted Priest volunteers himself for an experiment to develop a vaccine for a flesh-eating virus, the Emmanuel virus. He was the only survivor of the experiment and was worshipped as a Messiah. However, circumstances turned for a twist after his return when he started craving for human blood, and falls prey to one of the greatest sins of humans - lust.

I wouldn't categorise this movie as horror since it didn't pack much, if not any horror scenes in it. What it did have was gore, humor and erotism. It started off slow, unravelling the Father's altruistic character, but gradually succumbing to inner desires. He had an affair with his friend's wife and together plotted to kill her husband.

If that doesn't make you queasy enough, just wait till you get to know the wife. Like the director Chan-wook Park's previous hit movie Oldboy, I would have to admit this movie is weird and highly disturbing, but the ending did save it. Oldboy's plot was still much better but this movie will nevertheless leave you pondering about it after the credits roll. It was a tragic love story, and until the very end, it was still dubious whether the wife really did love the protagonist.

It nearly reached a standstill when the adulterous couple started trapping their "preys" and at that point I wondered how it was all going to end. Though it wasn't a novel ending, it did create a closure for the movie. One thing's for sure, you wouldn't thirst for more after this movie...