Ong Bak 3

Ratings: 0.5/10

Genre: Action

Overall value for time and money: 0.0/10

This movie defnitely ranks as one of the worst movies I've watched. An utter waste of time, and money. Can't believe I was so naive into paying $8.50 for this piece of rubbish movie. This sequel of Ong Bak 3 takes you to what happens after Ong Bak 2. The main lead, Tien gets captured by the evil Highness, gets tortured and have all his limps broken, was on the brink of death but through mediation managed to miraculously heal both his physical body and ominous karma.

After Ong Bak 2, probably one of the best action movies I've caught which didn't rely much on CG, I was so psyched about its sequel. But after watching Ong Bak 3, I can only shake my head with extreme disgust and say that the director is extremely delusional. Both movies are worlds apart, or universes apart... This movie has too much CG, too much fake CG as a matter of fact, which makes it look like a low budget, low class movie. Story development was like a rollercoaster ride, and story plot was a total flop.

I won't even include my "*major spoilers ahead*" warning this time, because I will lay everything right here right now so to save your precious time and money. Even if you're an Ong Bak fan like I am, or was, don't let curiosity lead you to commit one of the worst watches of all time. So many times throughout the movie I wanted to simply walk out of the theatre... but stayed in my seat hoping that things would change for the better... only to come to terms with the sad fact that everything went downhill as the movie progressed.

I mentioned that the director was delusional because in this movie, he portrayed himself like a god, or deity, in particular like Buddha... meditating and recieving enlightenment and divinity. Well, deities are not supposed to use violence, so, the main appeal of the Ong Bak franchise is already no longer there. Instead of action packed scenes, you'll be greeted with a s***load of disturbing horror scenes and draggy romantic scenes. The horror scenes were present because the Highness was hexed by his previous mentor whom he poisoned, so he started hallucinating and the only remedy he knows of is to seek the help of a demon crow fighter (also featured on Ong Bak 2), who later killed the Highness and took his role.

The draggy romantic scenes were such because they added no additional merit to the plot of the movie... and the scenes kinda made me feel that the director wanted to have a go at a different genre but failed epicly. There were many other redundant and draggy scenes, such as the dancing of the female lead, and Tien's mediation scenes. Even the comic relief (this mad man) was an epic flop. I could only force myself to fake laugh at certain no-brainer lines.

The reason this movie failed terribly was because of a number of factors. But most importantly, it didn't accomplish what "Ong Bak" movies were supposed to... satisfy its audience with senseless fighting. I shared the theatre with many, almost 90% of guys, which I assume were all there to relax and enjoy a good action pack movie. But no, there was little action, instead, there were horror scenes (which totally didn't add any meaning to the film but redundancy) and forced romantic scenes. Too much focus on Tien's rehabilitation, showing him practise fight stance like dance moves. The ultimate villian in Ong Bak 2, the Highness was nothing more than a wimp in this episode and died off so easily... Such an extreme change of plot.

At the ending scene, Tien was wearing a white robe and carrying a staff, reminded me of Moses, which I was sure Tony Jaa wanted to impersonate intentionally. He wanted to make himself look divine, and this movie was his platform for doing that. There was even a Buddha-like statue with his facial features on it. I couldn't believe how ridiculous and delusional this movie was, I almost puked with disgust in the midst of the movie and the saving grace for this movie was the ending theme song. Even the starting scene was like a torture slasher movie, which made viewing very uneasy and the prolonged torture scenes didn't do anything other than extending its runtime.

This movie really defined what a bad movie is, and set the benchmark and threshold level for myself. Ong Bak 3 makes other flop movies like May and House of the Dead seem like epic successes. This movie truly is the godfather of flop movies.

Inception

Rating: 9.2/10

Genre: Action Thriller

Overall value for time and money: 9.0/10

The lives of a top dream information snatcher (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his partner are put into danger when their recent dream invasion mission failed. However, they recieve an unlikely proposal from the supposed target, Ken Watanabe for another mission, which promises to solve all their problems and have them return to their normal lives... in exchange for successfully accomplishing a near impossible mission of planting an idea into a target's (Cillian Murphy) mind.

As much as I would like to brag about how near perfect this deep sci-fi movie is, it's not. It is indeed very thought-provoking, but because of its genre, it forces us to think... and when I think... I tend to overthink and find loopholes with such movies. But it could easily be one of the best movies of the year. It gave me a similar vibe to Shutter Island when the credits rolled but I still preferred Shutter Island because of the cinematography and the unexpected twist within a twist... *major spoilers ahead* This movie had a twist at the end, but only introduced a new concept of a dream within a dream.

What I really liked about the film is that it allows for "impossibilities" since the concept of dreams and fantasies provides a legitimate window for them. So when you see your entire world becoming distorted and if there's like a random train derailing and coming out from nowhere, it's acceptable. If dinosaurs were to pop out, or a volcanic eruption in the middle of your apartment, its still acceptable. The concept allows it to explore new boundaries and has a ring of Matrix-ness in it. Good choice of actors except Leonardo Dicaprio's wife which I personally felt wasn't very compatible to him.

And thanks to its 2.5hr runtime, we get to draw into the characters' emotions and to feel for them, especially Leonardo Dicaprio's character. Joseph Gordon-Lewitt also delivered a top-notch performance as Dicaprio's partner (you'll recall seeing him in Third Rock from the Sun and have moved on to more serious roles... a similar path taken by Aston Kutcher and Topher Grace) and he added "character involvement in the movie". He was in one of the best action scenes of the movie, the anti-gravity scene which featured Gordon-Lewitt fighting off bad guys and trying to find a way to wake his team up. That is true for Ellen Page as well (from Juno and Hard Candy). What I'm trying to say is that though the main focus is Dicaprio's character, there is also a good amount of focus on Dicaprio's team members... which makes viewing more involving.

Finally, let's get down to the true finesses of the movie. Ken Watanabe might be a refreshing face to the big screen (since I've only recalled seeing him in Last Samurai and in the Cannon ads), he seriously need to articulate his words more clearly. Most of the time, I had trouble figuring out his speeches and even the mandarin subtitles provided little help. As a result, I had to infer most of what he said... which was very important since he was the employer and the rationale of the mission is what drives the movie plot.

Took me a while to figure out what they were actually doing... to implant a new idea of having a billionaire's son break up his company after his father's death and to set up his own. The dream within a dream concept is cool and convenient in such that it allows them to orchestrate a series of events to lead up to "planting the idea" since they cannot do it forcefully and have to work their way through the "layers" of the dreams. Its convenient because every layer down, the time difference increases since the deeper you go into the brain, the faster it functions... so a 3rd layer dream of 10 years would only equate to 1 hour of sleep time. This gives the team, and the movie more reason to extend its scenes and yet make sense after it all.

Initially, I thought the explanation of Leonardo Dicaprio's "inner demon" (which is his wife) was a little vague since he said he implanted an idea into his wife's mind of not being in reality and it manifested... but thumbs up for the more detailed explanation at the end which really tied things up. The first part of the movie which featured his wife sabotaging his mission was a great subtlety in throwing you off the road since they didn't explain it only until the middle of the movie... at the start you might think that Ken Watanabe employed Dicaprio's wife to prevent him from succeeding because apparently its created by Dicaprio himself...

The feeling of free-falling to wake a person up from deep sleep is a very interesting notion since most of the time when we dream of free-falling, we actually wake up. For someone like me who did experiment on my dreams before, I wouldn't totally agree with that because I have tried to control my dreams and I did reach the end of the free-fall... as a result I no longer have those kinda dreams. But for those of you who still dream of free-falling and it freaks you out by waking you up... then this idea would make sense.

*irrevelant critique* Since I'm already at it, if you're someone who has constant nightmares of free-falling, it means you're very stressed and your subconscious mind is telling you that. To counter it, you have to tell yourself every night to be aware of it being a dream... it's tough but possible (I was only successful after dreaming up 3-5 identical dreams) and when you're finally aware of it... then tell yourself you want to know where is the end. Don't wake yourself up and when you hit the ground.. and it doesnt hurt you, you know its a dream.. and the best irony in that it reinforces that you are in a dream. Enjoy that moment because after that, you'll never dream of another free-falling dream ever again.

Back to the movie... I was thinking it more of a loophole since Cillian Murphy was not "trained" or "conditioned" to wake up after feeling the sensation of free-falling, but he did anyway. So the above would provide a good explanation for that.

Perhaps the most "cool" and thought provoking moment of the movie was the ending... where the top (Dicaprio's totem to keep track of reality) kept spinning... which signified that he was still in a dream. It makes sense since there was a scene of him explaining to Ellen Page that he was lost in Lomo (like a black hole in your dreams) and I was finding it peculiar how he managed to get out... So it kinda leads up to that ending even though some may not like it... especially since back then when I was in secondary school my teachers would always dissuade us from writing compositions that were of dreams because it would mean that your entire compo was.. was.. "redundant". Well, Christopher Nolan did the unthinkable by bringing that idea to the big screens, and getting an impressive rating and compliments from its viewers. This movie really tells us that we should challenge ourselves to attempt breaking conventions.

And like I've said, no movie is perfect.. now for the lows about the movie which I didn't like. Didn't quite get why Dicaprio would be able to enter Ken Watanabe's Lomo (opening sequence) towards the end since he was in his own subconscious dream. Is Lomo the same for everyone? How did he manage to get there right after his wife died in his hands? It makes sense for Ken Watanabe to be an old man and Dicaprio being still young because of the time-layer concept but it doesnt explain how Dicaprio could "magically" enter the same dream of Watanabe's. But.. but... ironically, it would make sense if... everything is a dream. Because that way, you don't have to link everything up since conveniently, in dreams, you don't remember how you get to a place, or how you get out, or even how stuff don't link in dreams... But I believe that can't be the case because if it was intended that way, then you don't even need to make sense out of the movie... such an oxymoron.

That's why when the director dabble into such concepts of dreams and fantasies, it allows leverage on the rationalism and logic and even if something, or some link doesn't makes sense, its acceptable since its just a dream...

There were times when I tried to stay focus since the jargons used were pretty deep and it makes it hard to keep track of logic... and made it slightly draggy at times. Overall, a highly recommended movie, but be prepared to have your mind "tortured" since it's one movie which requires lotsa attention and involves lotsa thinking.

From Paris with Love

Rating: 7.4/10

Genre: Action

Overall value for time and money: 7.5/10

An employee of the US embassy gets his big "promotion" when his boss teams him up with a top American secret agent, Charlie Wax, played by John Travolta. Not knowing what his mission is about, yet wanting to serve his country, the young employee enters a whirlpool of trouble and gradually learns the ropes of what it's like being a secret agent.

One of the biggest fault of the movie was its publicity... for those of you who have caught Taken, you would expect much from this movie since its from the same director. Despite the fairly cheesy movie title, the movie succeeds in drawing in its audiences since there's John Travolta, is directed by the same director from Taken and is presented by Luc Besson. I brought down my expectations since the online reviews voiced much disappointment.

But, after catching this movie, all I have to say is that one man's meat is another man's poison, and vice versa. It was surprisingly good, way way better than what the title "promises". On one hand, we have John Travolta, a kickass and formidable secret agent which certainly brings the action a whole notch up, while on the other, we have the meeker young employee, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, a down-to-earth and righteous male protagonist. Meyers' role was the engaging factor of the movie while Travolta's role was the cool action factor of it.

A well mix of characters, which evokes different emotions in the film. What I liked about it is that Travolta role wasn't the "I hate this guy" stuck up zai guy, but he was more of a crude hero which doesnt really go by the book. *spoilers ahead* Unlike most other action pack films, this movie also draws you in gradually and have you feel for the main protagonist as he realises the person closest to him is also his enemy.

The last scene was magnificently plotted as it evoked a strong empathy for Meyers' character. Not just your average brainless action packed film, it packs good acting, good casting and most importantly a good plot. Whoop in a couple of twists here and there and wala, what do you get? From Paris with Love.

Chloe

Rating: 7.2/10

Genre: Suspense

Overall value for time and money: 6.8/10

A dark, sensuous suspense film about a married woman convinced that her husband is cheating on her and employed the services of a girl by the name of Chloe to seduce her husband. The movie spans mainly around the 2 female leads, while Liam Neeson was more of a supporting actor to the movie.

The story plot hid well in suspense as the story gradually unfolded itself and even until the very end, it wasn't really that clearcut. I really liked the ending, reminiscence of Shutter Island, and it really brings "dark and erotic" cinema back to the big screens. The last I recalled catching was The Reader, and though the eroticism in this movie wasn't that elaborate visually, the concept of it would drive anyone's testosterone and estrogen levels up. I think this movie excelled in that area, since most of the movies nowadays work mainly on the "visual" areas and none have been this "arty farty" since American Beauty. This movie is more straightforward compared to the latter, but its great in that sense that I didn't have to put extreme thought into the plot.

*major spoilers ahead* It won't take you that long to figure out that Chloe was lying to the wife, Julianne Moore about her husband's affair... and the darkness of the movie comes from the "twisted" sense of arousal and the result of an unlikely affair. The final scene which showed Julianne Moore wearing the hair clip which Chloe gave her really "explained" the hidden plot of the story... which I believe was that her character had a hidden desire and a suppressed fantasy of lesbianism (if that is even a word). The hair clip was a symbol of their love, and despite her rejecting the notion of being in love with Chloe and insisting that their one-night stand was a mistake, she still wore it at the end.

That, I believe, is strong cinema. Similar to Doubt, where even at the very end, the movie keeps you thinking through the subtle and subjective hints it drops you along the way. That way, there's a higher chance that how you percieve the movie will not be the same way as I, or how others perceive it. Good stuff, touchy content and a little shuttering at times but overall I think the execution of the plot was done very tactfully... Great directing complimented with good acting.

Despicable Me

Rating: 9.2/10

Genre: Animation

Overall value for time and money: 9.5/10

Having been out of evil steals for a while, an evil villian, Gru, comes up with a new diabolical plan to steal the moon, hoping to make himself the most capable villian around. However, the new villian kid on the block, Vector, is making things very difficult for him, and coming up with yet another sinister plan to make use of 3 newly adopted young girls to steal a shrinking device from Vector, will Gru finally be able to "prove" himself to the world?

It started off slow, almost with an extreme low with the sleezy humor and me being not used to Steve Carrell's fake voice-over. But this movie turned out to be one of the best movies, and animations I've caught this year. A truly pleasant surprise, for, in my opinion, it beats Toy Story 3 hands down. The pace caught up after the first 5 minutes of the movie, when the 3 little girls first came on. And from then on, it just kept getting better.

The youngest and smallest girl is the cutest animation kid around, with the fat chubby boy from Up being the 2nd. She really brought much entertainment and feelings to the movie and I think she totally stole the limelight from the male antagonist, Gru. The 2 other girls complemented her character very well, with one being the more mature sister-like child, and the other being the crude, and direct child. As for the youngest girl, she was the innocent and adorable child. Her cuteness and her innocent big eyes are a notch higher compared to the Puss in Boots from Shrek. And the most amazing fact about the movie is that this animation isn't even a Pixar or Dreamworks production, but a universal pictures production... and this animation really puts universal pictures up there with the leading animation companies.

And as if the 3 girls and Gru didn't add enough entertainment to the movie, the production also added in minions... Gru's underlings who looked like yellow tablets. They reminded me of the little green aliens from Toy Story, only smarter and more handy. There was endless possibilties for the use of the minions... and the way they were utilized also added a good deal of humor to the movie. Most of the time, the words that came out from their mouths were gibberish... and they were so rubbishy it could easily sweep anyone off their seats laughing out loud. Had many good laughs in this film, as well as "awwsss", which I thought was one of the biggest factor contributing to the success of the film.

It's not just intensive senseless humor packed into a 95 min animation but the storyline, *spoilers ahead* how an evil villian changed for the better because of ahem...* love, also greatly enhanced it. It's not everyday that you come across a movie with the male lead also being the villian (definitely not in an animation) and I thought the concept was very refreshing. It's not a matter of who's good or who's bad but who's the more evil villian... Touching, hilarious, entertaining and heart-warming for audiences of all ages, all races, and all sexes. One word... OUTTTTSTTTAAANNNDDDIINNGGGG!!!

Predators

Rating: 6.6/10

Genre: Action Thriller

Overall value for time and money: 6.5/10

After the disappointing viewing of Alien vs Predators 2, I went to catch this movie with an open mind. It didn't quite attract me at first, but after seeing the pretty decent reviews online, I thought, what the heck, since I've already caught all the Predators installments. I'm not even sure if this movie is an indepedent movie or is it even like a stand-alone sequel?

An elite group of humans dropped into an unknown forest later come to realise that they are part of a hunting "game". *spoilers ahead* The story is pretty predictable, initially the humans were the prey while the predators were the hunters. But towards the end, there was a change of roles... nothing too unpredictable about that. But despite the typical storyline of a Predator movie, it does pack a good load of Predator screentime. Thankfully, the movie was shot mostly in the day, and when the Predators finally made their appearance, they weren't dark and dodgy figures which one can hardly catch a glimpse of (like in the previous movies), but were more prominent figures, allowing us to appreciate the intricacy and the details of their "body costume".

But that's about all the thumbs up I can give to the movie. The cool characters died off too quickly, and having Topher Grace in the movie (a more well known actor) kills quite a lot of suspense because at different points where he's on the verge of dying, you know his time isn't up yet. Adrien Brody once again stole the limelight as the male lead with his low, manly voice and demeanor. The sword duel of the Yakuza gangster and the Predator might seem a little overplayed and irrational but it still kinda makes sense since the Predators were treating the hunting of the humans more like a challenge and a game to them.

Not much mention about the basis behind the extraterrestrial dogs and "civilians"... I mean if they were sent to the forest as well as prey, I don't really see the need to because there are already the humans. And of course, there isn't any explanation as to how the humans were actually "captured" and brought there... we just know bits of pieces of the "unseen" off screen plot. Also, the rescuing of the hostage predator is quite unaccounted for... and the duel between both Predators felt like a short advertisement breather. And the main problem with Predators movies is that although the build up of their appearance is strong since most of the time they are invisible... they become more vulnerable after their first appearance as they somehow throw away their ability to use their invisibility anymore. Last but not least, the entire setting of the movie is in the forest, so it kinda feels like a low budget film but in a way still makes an engaging setting for the helpless humans.

Something was missing in the movie. Probably the "substance" of it or the "grandeur" of it. It just feels like another cheap production, no brainer action thriller despite a fairly decent storyline and a good cast. Still, one of the better Predator movies out there (best being Predators 2) and even if you're not a huge fan, you can still give this movie a try.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Rating: 7.0/10

Genre: Thriller

Overall value for time and money: 6.7/10

A dark thriller about how a righteous and resourceful journalist is aided by a female hacker (the girl with the dragon tattoo) in his new assignment - to uncover the truth behind a girl who has been missing for 40 years.

First off, the movie didn't explain much as to why the "case" was brought up 40 years later. *spoilers ahead* The analysis and gathering of all the information by her uncle who was the one who employed the services of the journalist didn't need to take 40 years. Also, the breaking of the case at the end of the story by the journalist and the female hacker, by which even the authorities couldn't crack seemed a little far-fetched.

Rationally speaking, a case which was "closed" 40 years ago should be near to impossible for a detective to solve, let alone a journalist and a female hacker. But if you're one who isn't too perturbed by such irrationalities, and loves dark film noir, then this movie might be the one for you. Because of its screen time of 2.5hours, it gives sufficient character buildup for each of the 2 protagonists. Initially, I had thought that the girl with the dragon tattoo was the missing girl... and the female hacker being the one with the dragon tattoo seemed a little off because she was anything but your typical heroine.

The subplots as well as the main plot was a little disturbing, reminded me of Blue Velvet and it seemed a little "sick". Not for the wimpy who cannot stomach slasher movie but this is similar to one. Not so much the gore but the level of "darkness" behind it. Well, it didn't score that high on my ratings because though engaging, it was too melancholy and monotonous at times. Both protoganists looked anything less than ordinary and they just didn't give me the "wow" or "good" feel about them. Though I didn't regret catching this Swedish movie, it's definitely not one in which I would sing praises of.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Rating: 6.8/10

Genre: Slapstick Comedy (Guy Flick)

Overall value for time and money: 6.5/10

3 guy friends whose friendship has deteriorated over the years finally meet up one day for a trip back to Kodiak Valley, the place where they once had the greatest time of their lives. The 4th guy in this film is John Crusack's nephew, and though he's not part of the "gang", the 4 of them embark on a trip down memory lane... and get blasted back to the 80s via a hot tub time machine.

Well, lemme just say that I'm not a fan of guy flicks. Though some of the parts doesnt really makes sense, the rationale of the "time travel" and the way things turned out at the end, it still makes a decent weekend popcorn movie. With the slightly above average jokes (original and crude, but not all too intelligent) and the slight twist in the storyline, it does feel that the 99 mins viewing time wasn't flushed down the toilet bowl... though I wouldn't give it a 2nd viewing.

I like John Crusack but not his acting... frankly, his acting has all along been mediocre, and this film is no exception. Rob Corddry stole the limelight as Lou, the crazy and vulgar character in the movie and for being the motivation of the trip as well as the ending. Worth a watch.

Valentine's Day

Ratings: 7.0/10

Genre: Romantic

Overall value for time and money: 7.3/10

Even though it wasn't fantastic, this movie is definitely well worth your time and money on, all because of its star-studded cast. We'll have to give the director props for being able to bring together such a diversify team of Hollywood stars, from the comedians Aston Kutcher and Topher Grace to the elegant Jennifer Garner, and the sizzling hot Jessicas... Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel.

A movie spanning around several individuals on a single day, Valentine's day. Ranging from the newly engaged couple, to a happily elderly couple and even a little boy who's in love. Though there were many subplots in this movie, the plot was weak, and the romantic moments were too clustered. Those romantic lines deserve a better amount of screen time for the audience to absorb and the romance was too "touch and go". The most romantic lines, personally I felt, was said by the husband of the oldest couple...

*spoilers ahead* There were a couple of pleasant "twists" in the story, which were all unravelled towards the end, interwining seemingly separate individuals together. The best being that of Julia Roberts' and Bradley Coopers' characters. Though I couldn't feel for the characters, it does touch on a couple of romantic concepts.. such as a guy's wife being his best friend and how when we love someone we also love them for the "unglam" bits. The only 2 characters I didn't like is the bimbolic Taylor Swift and the all braun no brains Taylor Lautner. I think Lautner was just in for the ride while the main reason for pulling Taylor Swift into the movie was for her to provide the soundtrack for the movie. Those 2 really can't act for nuts...

Not an utterly romantic movie but was pleasant and fun to watch.

Toy Story 3

Ratings: 7.8/10

Genre: Animation

Overall value for time and money: 7.5/10

Never really did like the previous two prequels of Toy Story. Personally, I thought of them to be Pixar's weakest.. even though they are like the Pioneers of Pixar animation. After checking out the incredibly convincing ratings on imdb.com, and how many have claimed it to be one of Pixar's greatest works and how it overshadows its prequels, I decided to give it a try.

Andy's favourite Toys convinces themselves that even though Andy is all grown-up and going to college, he would never desert them. However, things took a turn when they were accidentally disposed off... thankfully the situation was salvaged but things took another turn when they were unintentionally donated to a daycare centre. They thought they had finally found another home but of course... things didn't turn out as they had hoped.

Toy Story 3 was indeed, better than its prequels. But it wasn't awesome. I realise Pixar animations were never perfect, ok I admit I might be expecting too much here but here's my 3 cents worth of thinking. Finding Nemo was the nearest perfect Pixar animation because the starting was good, buildup was captivating, filled with original and stomach -aching humor throughout and of course it also ended with a bang. Up was almost there, with a tear-dropping moment near the start of the film, but it went downhilled with the introduction of the talking dogs. Well, the same is true for Toy Story 3.

The starting wasn't too impressive... almost felt extremely childish, yet not involving enough. It was childish-like, but I'm sure the kids weren't too hyped up about the starting as well. *spoilers ahead*. But things got a ted better as the story unfolded. Towards the end, I was reminded of all the times I played with my action figures when I was much younger and how they are, my favourites, kept away in my cupboard. It was a moment I could relate to, even though I know action figures don't have a life.

The humor wasn't that good, the barbie and ken screen-time didn't amuse me that much but there were a couple of scenes which did had me laughing off my seat (figuritively speaking). There was this one particularly scene where hope seemed all lost, which reminded me of of a scene in Spongebob Squarepants Movie that really did have me heave a sigh of relief after and resulted in half of the cinema clapping. As I've said, the movie got better as it progressed but it unfortunately didn't reach a point which really swept me off my feet. The soundtrack "You've got a friend in me" sounded too oldschool and matured to be played during such a film for me.

Even the higly awaited pre-animation wasn't as good as Up (the one with the clouds). This time it featured 2 ghostly transparent beings which could allow us to experience different scenes through their bodies, either night or day. Unlike the previous pre-animations, the message was more direct since they actually laid it out through the voices which came from the radio transmissions. Graphic was 2D-like which reminded of Casper the friendly ghost. Out of all the short animations, I loved the Cloud the most, followed by the Magician and the Bunny and finally the one with the Sheep.

Earth

Ratings: 7.5/10

Genre: Documentary

Overall value for time and money: 7.8/10

A documentary movie about the beauty of life on earth, and how its changes also affects its life. No humans involved, mainly land animals and some screen time dedicated to marine life. Animals ranges from the four main migratory families; polar bears, to birds, to elephants to humpback whales and many more. This shorter version is re-created from the Planet Earth documentary series.

I've caught a great deal of Planet Earth series before, therefore I've seen a couple of familiar, repeated scenes in this movie. However, this is like the summary, the "best of Planet Earth" all gathered in one short movie. The beauty of life on earth was really brought out through the lens of the filmakers and the cinematography was almost flawless.

The storyline was a little meshed up, but I wouldn't know how to do it any other way as well. The flow wasn't all that smooth, but it was such a trivial matter in relation to the cinematography and the different phases and faces of life on earth. Nothing to graphic (animal predation with the gruesome after scenes cut off) and the documentary touched and go on many of the other beautiful species around... such as dolphins and penguins.

To sum it up, breathataking and beautiful on a "universal level". Earth's finest moments, greatest beauties brought to the big screens.

Haeundae: Tidal Wave

Ratings: 7.0/10

Genre: Action Disaster

Overall value for time and money: 6.5/10

From the trailers, one might think that the movie spends a great deal of time on the aftermaths of the massive Tsunami which hits Haeundae town. However, all the "action" and most of the exciting parts have all been revealed in the trailers.

An impending Tsunami brought about by a recurring chain of earthquakes was ignored by the authorities to evacuate the town. When the Tsunami finally did come, it brought with it irreparable damage and massive loss of lives.

Movie started by introducing the male protagonist's past, and how he came to promise the female lead's father to look after her. However, the movie doesnt just span around these 2 leads, there were also other characters which the film focused on... the female lead's best friend and his relationship with his mother, the male lead's sour relationship with his uncle as well as a Tsunami specialist and his divorced wife. The build-up of the story was good, giving sufficient screen time for each and every important individual and the story behind each and every one of them.

I got to emphathize with them even more and when the Tsunami finally struck, I could feel for the characters, which I thought this movie did great in even though there were many roles to focus on. But the "action" was shortlived as the disaster and the claiming of lives took only less than 30 mins of the screen time out of the 1h 40 min movie. Action was little too drama rama, with all the highly exaggerated screamings and the seemingly "time stopped still" sacrifices. But everything else was decent. One of the better melancholic Korean movies I've caught so far.

The Wolfman

Ratings: 7.2/10

Genre: Horror Drama

Overall value for time and money: 7.0/10

Not just another werewolf movie. This movie finally gives credit to the ominosity which shrouds the mysteries of werewolves. This film brought elegance to a werewolf movie unlike any other, it is the Count Dracula of Werewolves ("Englishman" countryside kinda settings). There's also a scene which made me reminiscence about the creepiness of Frankerstein.

The brother of a murdered man is persuaded to return to his hometown where he would soon come face to face with the murderer, resulting in an undesirable outcome... the birth of a werewolf (if the title isn't already obvious enough). The plot wasn't that unpredictable but the buildup of the suspense was applaudable. It really felt like more of a "ghost" horror movie than a "zombie" like horror movie. It was pretty hilarious seeing how Benicio Del Toro, the male lead pretend to be all frightened and relief after the buildup of the scary scenes because his face is just too cool to convince me that he was indeed frightened at all.

I personally didn't quite like the scares in this film, many of which was uncalled for and unaccountable. *spoilers ahead* The way "papa" werewolf died was ridiculously convenient and the way the lead werewolf had to keep escaping from the clutches of the towns' policemen was absurd. The scene which first featured the werewolf made it seem so invincible, but when the protagonist finally became one himself, he was pretty vulnerable and a wee bit pathetic. The buildup of the characters was a flop, especially for his father's houseman, except for the main lead himself. And last but not least, the sparks between both male and female leads were too abrupt.

It being already a 2 hour film, I cannot fault it for the bits of floppy plot development. Wasn't that "smooth" a ride but I loved it enough for its elegant remake of a werewolf movie. Didn't feel like a cheap budget film, could be owing it to the realistic special effects, and apart from the unncessary scares, it did pack a good viewing for me.

PS.: If you're cringing to find out which other movies that inspector acted in like I did, look no further. He was Agent Smith in the Matrix Trilogy.

Green Zone

Ratings: 7.0/10

Genre: War, Action Drama

Overall value for time and money: 6.5/10

Heard from my friend that she was extremely nauseas after catching this movie in the theatres, cos of the shaky camera work during the action scenes. Well, I would kinda second that, but it would seem that most war movies are made to deliver that effect, raw, shaky and nauseating. Thankfully I could stomach it because it wasn't that bad after a while.

The leader of a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) squad decides to take matters into his own hands when he realised that the intel the higher ups had gotten was unreliable. Things took a turn when it seemed that there was a conspiracy going on. Unlike in the Bourne trilogy, Matt Damon wasn't indestructible in this movie. He was a rationale soldier who got his ass kicked several times for wanting to uncover the truth.

Had to rub it in because when the trailers came on, I thought Matt Damon was perfect for the role, and that he would be the super cool protagonist ressembling that of Jason Bourne in the Bourne trilogy. But it was a pleasant disappointment because the movie was more realistic in that sense and even the plot didn't seem too far fetched.

Was more of an awareness movie than an action war film which really did make me think about what really went on behind the scenes in the attack of Iraq during the Presidency of George Bush. This movie would take up 2hours of your time so unless you're a huge fan of Matt Damon or an avid fan of war movies, you wouldn't lose out too much just browsing the sypnosis of this film or checking the full story out on wikipedia.