Wrath of the Titans

Ratings: 6.2/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Action Fantasy

I was so hyped when the sequel for Clash of the Titans came out yesterday, 29 March 2012. While the 2010 Clash of the Titans was a remake, Wrath of the Titans is a "new" movie altogether. I didn't set my expectations too high cos I could easily identify "overly packaged and publicized" movies which always seemed to lack good plots. I desperately wanted to catch it on its premiere becos of the mythological creatures which I've always been fascinated since young (greatly influenced by the video game Heroes of Might and Magic). The Greek Gods, the mythological creatures and the awesome (not all the time though) special effects were well worth my 100 mins.  

However, while I didn't regret catching it, I sure thought the movie was pretty bad. The plot was weak (which I already expected), the scripting was choppy and "san tiao xian-ing (3 lines)", and the way the scenes flowed... were like a mixture of fresh water, sea water, and sullage water. No link... no synchroneity, the entire movie felt extremely "forced". 

The Greek Gods, Hades (Banished God of the underworld, brother to Zeus) and Ares (son of Zeus) conspire against Zeus (does he need any introduction?) to capture him so that they could "revive" and "unleash" the captive Kronos, father of Zeus and Hades. The outcome of doing so? Don't ask me... ask the director! I'm sure Ralph Fiennes (Hades) and Edgar Ramirez (Ares) don't even have a clue why they're doing so. Perhaps they were sick of being Godly and wants Kronos to destroy every single thing in the world so that they could be lonely Gods.

Newaz, the weak plot aside, the cast, though top notch with Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington and Bill Nightly acting in it, fell flat, epicly flat. I felt that somehow, none of them "rised above normal". There's only so much great actors could do with bad scripting, bad direction and bad development - they do their best to entertain the audience at the expense of making a fool of themselves...

There were Minotaurs, Cyclops, Chimeras, Dopplegangers? and Pegasus, all of which didn't fail to "light" up the screen. The CG was the only success in this film... the rest were a letdown in titan-ic proportions.

The Artist

Ratings: 8.0/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Romantic, Comedy Drama

The Artist is certainly an interesting movie. It left me speechless. I would say it's great, but not exceptional. Ever since the "new" era of movie making, silent movies have long been forgotten. Sure, the legend of the famous Charlie Chaplin still lingers, but not to the extend that he's missed by millions. There's just too many legends to be missed nowadays, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Jackson etc. The last I remembered of such "silent-like" movies/series is the Mr Bean series. And thankfully, Rowan Atkinson is still in showbiz. Charlie Chaplin wasn't my era, I only vaguely recalled it being shown on our local channels as "fillers" when I was like about 5 years old or younger.

What I'm trying to say is that while it's refreshing to bring an "old" concept back in the modern age, I believe it will soon be chucked away and forgotten in years to come. No matter how much I love it, I was especially fond of the 2 leads for creating such a nostalgic experience for me, the inevitable will happen because the movie lacked the impact. It had the "novelty", soundtrack and great performances by the star-studded cast, but something is missing.. which I cannot put my finger, or comment on. 

I did feel for the characters, but felt that the story dragged a little too much in the middle... about how despite the extreme of circumstances, the male lead still refused to adapt to change. The Artist is about a famous silent movie star who outlived his fame when the new era of talking movies kicked in, and his stubbornness to change would gradually cause his ultimate downfall... 

There's love, there's comedy, there's heart-warming and beautiful moments, and there's lots, real lots of concentration needed on the audience's part due to the nature of the film. In a good way, it forces you to be involved. 

Despite my "imperfect" reviews and "harsh" thoughts above, considering the hype and awards it has received, I'm hopeful that our local TV stations will screen this on TV in years to come, and sure hope that the memory of this forgotten "era" will forever be kept alive... 

Bad Teacher

Ratings: 5.8/10
Film Class: C+
Genre: Comedy

I think most of the budget went to getting Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake to star in this no-brainer film. No special effects, not much of a storyline/directing and Bad Teacher had an, aptly put, no "class" feel. 

An obnoxious, superficial and materialistic junior high school teacher goes through great lengths to get extra cash so that she can get a boob job to win the heart of a well-off teacher-colleague. The scenarios in this movie are quite extreme, and reminded me of a saying during my days in the army - You can do anything, just don't get caught. Bad teacher really "teaches" the wrong stuff. Kudos to the movie for staying true to the title. 

Goes without saying, I didn't like the storyline 1 bit. Didn't see the point of the movie. Thankfully it was a light-hearted movie but failed epic-ly on the humor. The only thing this movie urged me to do, is to throw an apple at it! FAIL! 

The Grey

Ratings: 7.7/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Suspense Drama

Told myself I wouldn't miss any of the recent Liam Neeson movie and I didn't! The Grey is about the survivors of seven oil workers in a plane crash in Alaska. Braving the freezing weather to seek help isn't their greatest worry... a merciless pack of wolves has their eyes on the helpless seven...

I shan't spend too much time telling you how cool Liam Neeson is because it seems that all his recent movies lands him a very "zai" character. This time round, he's an expert in wolf hunting. However, no matter how pro he is at that, there's no way he's can win a whole pack of them without his rifle.

*spoilers alert* Judging from the way the story progressed, I can't help but assume that everyone would die at the end... because the numbers of the survivors just kept decreasing... depressingly. Suddenly all hope of surviving veered towards 0% because you know it's a numbers game. Did I think wrong? Well, guess you've to find out yourself.

However, while the story development was intensively engaging, the ending was quite a cliffhanger. Still, not to fret, there's an after credits scene which makes the cliffhanger less... hanging. So do remember to stay on during the credits.

The sypnosis of the movie is fairly comprehensive enough, the only bits that were left out was the story behind the characters, especially the main lead, Liam Neeson. Don't expect twists in plots or a strong story, what you would expect is a few seat jumps (due to the sudden ambush) and the occasional adrenaline pumping. With that expectation in mind, bruce yourself for Men vs Wolves!  

Tangled

Ratings: 8.8/10
Film Class: A
Genre: Fairy Tale Animation

I was hugely skeptical about the flattering critiques of Tangled. There are many great animations out there, such as Finding Nemo and Despicable Me. On the contrary, there were many flop animations, especially those which tried to "revive" the fairy tale stories... like the extremely bad Hoodwink (Red Riding Hood).

The classics were good, weren't great, Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin and the other princesses. Even the new fairy tale princess stories such as The Princess and the Frog. Whilst a fairy tale story about Repunzel isn't the usual favourite princess, Tangled owned the fairy tale 3D world.

It's a remake, so you can expect that the story doesn't follow the classic Repunzel plot. Repunzel is a princess who is unknowingly locked away in a hidden, tall castle where an evil woman claims Repunzel as her own daughter, because of Repunzel's magically hair which is able to heal and maintain the youth of her haggard "mother". Growing up in a web of lies, Repunzel soon starts to feel that the lights (lanterns) she sees out of her window on every one of her birthdays might actually be meant for her...

Her chance to look for and see the lights upclose finally presents itself despite her "mother's" demands that she can't leave the tower, when a suave, smooth-talking unknowingly finds refuge in her tower. And so... the fairy tale story continues...

I was surprised at the strong story Tangled had. As usual, I let my first impressions judge the movie. The movie title Tangled, Mandy Moore as the voice of Repunzel and the poster design were quite a turn-off, lack of a strong motivation and were too kidish-like to me. I was slapping myself repeatedly for putting off catching this movie because thanks to the critiques, I was introduced to one of the best fairy tale stories of my time.

Strong narration and depth of the emotional connection. Kinda reminded me of, though comparing 2 extremely different things but very relevant, how I was feeling when I watched the Korean drama Stairway to Heaven. I love the jokes, the lines, the characters (I liked like 8/10 main characters in the movie, what's the odds of that?), the style, the development and the songs!

Thanks to Mandy Moore, who's a singer (yeah, stating the obvious if you don't already know), she was able to really bring out the songs in a fashionably classic manner. The songs were so... oldie fairy tale like, nostalgic till the very last tune.

Despite the exaggeration and too-convenient bits of the plot, there was really nothing much to not like about this movie. If you're someone who appreciates fairy tales, nostalgic disney songs and a great animated movie, do yourself a favor by devoting some time to one of the best animations I've seen.

Arthur

Ratings: 5.5/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Comedy

Heard from a couple of friends that this movie was real funny. I was never a fan of the main lead, Katy Perry's husband, Russell Brand. Thought he was too over the top with his accent, acting and his "style". Never thought he would be landed a leading role... but he did.

A free-spirited billionaire who's addicted to alcohol and always getting into trouble lands himself into the biggest trouble he could ever imagine - marry a woman whom he doesn't love or lose his inheritance completely (actually if you ask me, it's not that big a problem ;p). Well, if that's not bad enough, that's when he finally falls in love with a random, "ordinary" girl...

The movie started with strong cheesy British accent, which was kinda of a turn off for me. Don't get me wrong, I looovvve the British accent, but someone when Russell Brand speaks, everything, the whole package just sounded so low class. No offence to him as well, he's a decent actor, with an exceptionally irritating vibe about him.

Story was weak, typical, and lines were too cheesy, most of the time. However, because of the enormous loads of lame lines, it makes the good ones really good, think they call it relativity. Gotten a couple of good laughs but other than that, for most parts of the movie, I was just forcibly making laughing sounds.

The saving grace of the movie was the Russell's love interest, Greta Gerwig, the only "natural" and "normal" character. Actually there was a touching sequence between Russell and his nanny, Helen Mirren which I thought was pretty good as well.

Quite the no-brainer, feather-lighted movie which no one would really remember in years to come. Honest opinion, time-waster.