Horrible Bosses

Ratings: 7.5/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Comedy

Three friends tormented by their bosses decide to murder their horrible bosses and free themselves from agony. Yup, though we're talking about murder here, that aside, this movie was super hilarious. There's a hint of obnoxious "Hangover" in this, but this movie really got to me because of its star-studded cast, which I always am a sucker for. There was Kevin Stacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrel and Jamie Foxx!! How awesome is that?!

I personally thought the chemistry between the 3 friends was what really made this movie work. Though the casts' performances were all top-notch, the most important factor to get the audience engaged always lies in the acting of the protagonist, or the 3 protagonists in this case. I liked the story progression, the witty lines and the unpredictable encounters and situations that the main casts had to overcome in the end.

The poster of horrible bosses speaks for itself. This movie is hilarious, racy and extremely crazy. Good stuff.

Bridesmaids

Ratings: 6.7/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Comedy

No doubt about it. Bridesmaids is truly the female version of Hangover. Why? There's loads of crude humor in it and for its audience out there, it's either you like it, or you don't. It may come across as offending to some, and f***** hilarious to others, but for me, it was simply a so-so movie.

The scenarios were too exaggerated, but funny nonetheless, and the entire movie didn't give a very "feel-good" feel to it even though I kinda expected it from the movie poster. Each of the Bridesmaids were "unique" in their own way and the relatively unknown main lead, Kristen Wiig (Annie) truly stole the limelight. She was obnoxiously funny and had this "like and hate" personality about her character. Well, that means, she acted well.

Actually, Melissa McCarthy also gave a superb performance as Annie's best friend's sister in law. Oh and yeah, Annie's best friend, Lilian is the one getting married. I think the problem with this movie is that there's just too many characters in it. While the focus did still mange to revolve around Annie and Lilian, the movie felt relatively messy.

*spoilers ahead* There's one of the most disgusting scenes I've seem on screen (didn't expect it to be from this movie) which was rather interesting. It's not gory, and there's no violence or nudity in it. But the act of a group of decently dressed bridesmaids puking all over the place, has won a place in my top 10 most disgusting scenes in filmology.

While Bridesmaids might not be my cup of tea, if you're a fan of The Hangover, Knocked Up or Due Date, you might be laughing your pants or intestines out with this film. Watch with an open mind, an open heart and an open stomach.

Equilibrium

Rating: 7.8/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Action Thriller

Wow Wow Wow. This is definitely one of Christian Bale's coolest movie. Matrix style. Since The Matrix came out in 1999 and Equilibrium in 2002, the latter was possibly inspired by the former. Still, this movie is one of the coolest action packed films I've seen. Other such movies which I can think offhand are The Matrix, Wanted, Taken, and Death Sentence. Since Equilibrium is such an unheard of movie, it won even greater brownie points for me.

No there wasn't slow motion action scenes, maybe there was, one of two, and yes, the way Christian Bale acts and dress reminded me of Neo from The Matrix, but the way Christian Bale wipes out his enemies is in a class of its own.

In a hypothetical world after World War 3, in order to not have a 4th World War in which the ruler of the fascist world believes Humans cannot survive, everyone is forced to be devoid of all forms and emotions and feelings. If someone does however have it, he/she is a Sense offender and will be executed immediately or without trial. Imagine that?! Even the term used to describe such an offender is such a pun in itself.

The whole concept of the storyline was well thought off, however, there were a couple of loop holes in the movie. The ideology of a person being unable to feel, is just too difficult to pull off, even if it's just a movie. There were incidences of sense and feelings portrayed, but which were not accounted for the movie. *major spoilers ahead* In essence, I believe what the director wanted to show was that everyone was robot-like, but yet if a person isn't able to feel, then why would he/she even clap for a speech given by the ruler?

Also, the ending twist was quite a screw up. The twist would have been awesome if everything pieced together, but it just felt like it was a convenient twist to make the storyline more "cool" and planned, which kinda backfired.

Still, all these little loopholes didn't really spoil the movie experience for me. Christian Bale was way too awesome in this movie and I really liked the shooting scenes, in an artistic point of view of course (don't want to sound sadistic).

The movie only made a fair bit of reference to the title but I thought though cool, once again, doesn't really make much sense. To sum it up, Equilibrium is a relatively no-brainer (cos' using your brain will spoil the experience for you) but super cool action packed film.

Fermat's Room

Rating: 7.5/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Mystery, Game

Well, I actually thought this Spanish movie was pretty awesome. Four mathematicians find themselves being voluntarily invited to meet up in a secluded room in hope of being presented a great enigma. The mathematicians (actually one of them is an inventor), are to solve an enigma within a minute if not the room will start to shrink. However, they are hardly given any time to breathe as the enigmas will keep on coming one after another.

The mathematicians all have their secrets, and as the story unraveled itself, the suspense grew stronger and the entire picture was gradually pieced together one by one. There's a slight element of Saw in this movie, nope, not the Gore, but a part of the storyline. This movie doesn't have gore, doesn't feel like a low grade film and definitely not a no brainer film. Interesting sets of enigmas presented and there's even subtle hints throughout the movie which made me think, "Oh my, how did I miss that?" (kinda reminded me of Dark Knight)

I especially liked the ending twist, as well as the finale scene. It packed a powerful line just before the credits rolled (similar to Shuttle Island) and left me very satisfied after its viewing.

Fermat's Room is definitely worth your time even though one might complain about it's "low-budgetness" since most of the film takes place in a single room. The colors are vibrant, the acting was convincing and it was great idea to have the main cast kept under 4 characters since it allowed me to feel more for the characters and to understand them better. The difference between this "game" film and others, lies in that because the characters were not redundantly wiped out one by one, you get to "sit" with them through the movie and to feel for them as well.

Intelligent, Suspenseful and Twisted. Fermat's Room is a must-see!

Cube

Ratings: 7.2/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller

This vintage film really zaps me back to what classic horror sci-fi movies was. Saw this recommendation from Imdb, where there was a post of "game" movies. Viewed quite a few from the list, but Cube was one of the top of such a genre. Other top recommendations (from me) include The Game (1997), the classic Saw (2004) and the Japanese film Battle Royale (2000).

Cube is no different from the norm of how sick "games" are played. I'm just quick surprised this was a 1997 movie, which I believe this movie was one of the pioneers which inspired the "sick game" concept. 7 strangers wake up to find themselves stuck in a cube-like maze in which they have to figure out why they're there, and to find their way out before it's too late.

Enclosed in a squarish room, the strangers soon realised that they must keep moving on the next room. However, there's many doors for them to advance, and all but one of the room is equipped with deadly traps. The strangers have to find a pattern to the untrapped rooms and eventually solve the mystery as to how to escape the kafkaesque maze.

Since it's such an old film, I have no idea who any of the actors or actresses are. But they all acted decently well and there's this slight eeriness to the movie thanks to it's soundtrack and twisted behaviors displayed by the characters at the end of the movie. The suspense was there no doubt, and the plot buildup heightened as the story progressed. But be prepared because at the end of the movie, though you might not have more questions popping up in your mind, not everything will be answered.

This movie will leave you with a fair bit of unresolved questions, yet the concept and ending will leave you greatly satisfied.

PS.: There's a sequel to this movie, but heard that it doesn't bring justice to this movie, therefore I decided to not bother wasting my time on it...