Star Trek Into Darkness

Ratings: 9.5/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Action Sci-Fi

If you thought Sci-Fi movies couldn't get any better... welcome to the new frontier. Star Trek Into Darkness exceeds all my expectations, I braced myself for a disappointment when I read great reviews about it because I couldn't fathom how this seemingly "old-fashioned" sci-fi movie could hit the top #250 list on imdb. Quite frankly, I think it deserves better than a #164 ranking. This Star Trek sequel has warped my "old-fashioned stereotyping mentality" to a world where no sci-fi movie has taken me before.

And even though the entire movie takes place in a dull black, seemingly boring space backdrop, it didn't feel like a monotonous playback of scenes but instead transcends the audience into a whole new world, with an entirely refreshing feeling of actually being in space with the characters, doing what they did, feeling what they felt. 

There's such strong character buildup that there were a couple of emotional scenes which really got to me. I love almost every character, and it's one of those few films where even the villain will be well-liked by many. He's a kickass villain, and just when I thought my suspicion about his character was right, due to his "glorifying" trailer preview and a poster dedicated solely to him, I was pleasantly surprised that this super villain is more than meets the eye. 

Most of the credit for the success of the movie has to go to the 3 main leads, Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and of course the villain, Benedict Cumberbatch (Khan), for their engaging portrayal of their characters and the awkwardly mismatched chemistry they have. There's also many other well-known cast, such as Zoe Saldana (who starred in Avatar), Karl Urban (who starred in Dredd), funny man Simon Pegg (who's well known for his role in Shaun of the Dead) and veteran actor Bruce Greenwood, who has mostly acted in roles as a wise and respected figure. And that is what I love about this film. 

Director J.J. Abrams gave each of his cast just the right amount of screen time to showcase themselves, while keeping the main focus of the entire movie on the friendship between the 2 leads, Captain Kirk and Spock. Well-paced, well-scripted, well-executed.

It was just so awesome to feel for the impulsive yet right-minded Captain Kirk, to laugh and weep with the 1/2 human, 1/2 vulcan almost robotic-like by-the-book Spock, and to be awed by the intellect and fighting skills of the supervillain cool-faced Khan. During the credits, I even heard a couple of guys commenting on how they were stunned that the villain was actually Khan, as if he was some unbeatable nemesis of Kirk and Spock in the old Star Trek franchise. Pardon me for my ignorance for Star Trek fans out there but I thought for once, I'll just critique a franchised movie the layman-way that I see it - without any prior knowledge since I was never a Star Trek fan to begin with. 

However, I can say this stand-alone Star Trek movie has converted me into being a fan. The first movie of this new Star Trek franchise was forgettable, but thanks to breathtaking scenes (especially the opening scene) and high-tech sci-fi technology of space warping/travel, coupled with such strong character development and story, this sequel is sure to be at the tip of the tongue for most on their reccomendation list.

Set in futuristic world, the crew of a starship by the name of the Enterprise led by Captain Kirk must find and hunt down a terrorist who was once a part of their organisation. However he uncovers a greater conspiracy and he's put to the ultimate test when the lives of his crew are put on the line, the only family he has left.

There's no post-credits scene (aka stinger) for this sequel, surprisingly, even though I didn't sit through till the end because thanks to 4G these days, I googled it before leaving the cinema. So for those of you wondering, don't bother staying back. 

If I could sum it up, Star Trek Into Darkness has redefined Sci-Fi movies and has revived an age-old franchise suited for all ages, all genders and all nations. Yup, it's that epic.

Shaolin

Ratings: 7.4/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Action Drama (Chinese)

I've had the DVD for ages, and Shaolin had always been on my must-watch list... yet, I've kept procrastinating on watching it until now. It turned out that I was missing out on a pretty awesome movie. Shaolin is a 2011 Chinese action movie starring Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse and Jackie Chan, and is about a fallen ruthless general who learns the way of the Shaolin. This movie is ultimately about redemption and enlightenment, and a certain degree of forgiveness. Shaolin should probably be more aptly called "The Zen Master". 

There's lotsa character development and the movie is entirely spun around Andy Lau's character as a fallen general seeking redemption through being a Shaolin monk, in an era set in a warring China of feuding warlords. It's important to know what the entire movie is about, because if you're expecting Shaolin Soccer's kinda Kungfu, you'll be hugely disappointed. No "Tie Tou Gong" [iron head] or "Wu Ling Jiao" [thousand kicks?] exaggerated-type Kungfu, expect more realistic fighting because the movie isn't intended to glorify Shaolin Kungfu but focuses more on the teachings of Shaolin. 

I hated Nicholas Tse's character, which only showed how good an actor he is, especially acting as a villian. Jackie Chan's character on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. *major spoilers ahead* I had hoped that Jackie Chan was a kungfu master in disguise, but the director decided to just let him come along for the ride, stole no limelight or added no value to a Kungfu movie whatsoever apart from his super-china accent. 

Fan Bing Bing was also cast as Andy Lau's wife, a noteworthy eye-candy, standing out ever more so in a movie dominated by guys, and full of Shaolin monks. 

I think the success of Shaolin should fully be credited to Andy Lau, for his realistically convincing portrayal both as an arrogant and ruthless general, as well as a humble and forgiving monk. 

Identity Thief

Ratings: 7.1/10
Film Class: C
Genre: Slapstick Comedy

Sandy Patterson is your everyday family man, and after years of hardwork as a capable businessman, finally leaves his unappreciative boss and joins a new company, only to find his bright future jeopardized by an identity thief. After finding out the identity of the culprit, an innocent looking chubby lady, he decides to take matters into his own hands by pursuing the thief himself, hoping to convince her into turning herself in, or at least clear his name.

Despite being a slapstick comedy, there were some pretty tear-wrenching moments that makes you go "awww". Seeing Jason Bateman (Sandy Patterson) and Melissa McCarthy (identity thief) together is like watching Pinky and the Brain. No money for those of you who manages to guess who the Brain is. 

While Jason Bateman isn't spastically cute (like Pinky), he sure isn't as street smart and resourceful like Melissa McCarthy, though of course this should be the case if not she wouldn't quite "quality" as an identity thief, would she?

And if you were to ask me about the chemisty between the 2, somehow, I feel they're more of a mismatched pair forced to ride together than a complementary one. Was it "laughing out loud [LOL], rolling on floor laughing [ROFL]" kinda funny? 50,50. There were funny moments of course, but weren't enough to tickle your tear glands.

Since Identity Thief is a slapstick comedy, I should point out the obvious, the plot is an absolute no-brainer. And to make matters worst, there's a crazy bounty hunter in the movie which is guaranteed to disconnect your corpus callosum, and possibly vomit out stupid.

Still, it made a great time-waster movie which pampered my worn-out brain, which I have no qulams giving it credit for.

The Host

Ratings: 7.3/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Sci-Fi Romance Drama

The Host is set in a futuristic world where Earth has been inhabitated by a parasitic alien species and humans are the minority. Able to control the mind and body of any human they "infect", the aliens hopes to gradually take over Earth by hunting down every last human alive. However, their plans are disrupted by an anormaly,  one of the aliens forms a connection with a strong-willed girl, by the name of Melanie (Saoirse Ronan), and both of them (essentially one person) eventually form a friendship which might just save the world. 

Based on a novel from author Stephenie Meyer, who also wrote Twilight, I was keeping my fingers crossed that this movie wouldn't cause me to spew blood like Twilight did. It turned out that the director was the determining factor when it came to the overall feel of a movie. I naturally assumed that The Host was directed by the same person as Twilight, but it turned out that director Andrew Niccol not only did not direct Twlight, he was the one who brought us In Time, Gatacca, and the highly acclaimed The Truman Show. Andrew Niccol is a quite the master at Sci-Fi movies, and he didn't slack off this time round either. 

However, since it's written by the same author, there's still the element of teenage romance prevalent, and perhaps the genre should be more aptly described as Sci-Fi Teenage Romance. However, there's still a certain degree of maturity in the plot, touching on themes of stereotype, forgiveness and most importantly, trust, and of course predominantly, love. 

Alright, I admit, apart from the interesting Sci-Fi plot, the other main reason that I was so drawn to watching this is because of Saoirse Ronan (pronounced as "Seer-sha Ronan"), one of my favourite upcoming actresses who not only have the looks, but who can act as well. 

*major spoilers ahead* The minuses for the film are that as there's 2 "persons" in Saoirse Ronan's body, the audience will always get to hear both of them talking to each other throughout the movie, in a narrative-style-like yet not your typical narrated movies, such that there's a certain degree of childishness possibly due to the shallow conversations they have with each other. Problem with the scripting, perhaps. Since we're on this topic, there are a few cute lines though. 

The love triangle with the 2 seemingly unknown eye-candy actors opened a huge door of "chick-flickness" and the way they tried to "test" Melanie's true motives are rather... immature, through lotsa smooching... Problem with the casting, perhaps. 

As for the pluses, the interesting and refreshing sci-fi storyline (but not as strong as I would have hoped), and the CG was pretty awesome, by awesome I mean realistic, not grandeur. 

I did enjoy the movie, more than I expected, but not enough for me to sing it praises and reccomend it to friends who would ask me for weekend movie reccomendations. So since I'm assuming all my viewers are my friends as well, I wouldn't quite reccomend this one, unless there's a certain eye-candy you don't wanna miss.