Crimson Peak

Ratings: 7.7/10

Film class: B+

Genre: Fantasy thriller

Scare factor: 1/5

Gore factor: 3.5/5

Young Edith (Mia Wasikowska) was revisited by her deceased mum with a message she couldn't decipher... Not until years later where a family tragedy and a love temptation would bring light to what the main plot of Crimson Peak is all about. 

Knowing the director Guillermo del Toro, that his style of movies were more fantasy horror than spine-thrilling ones like Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy, I figured I wouldn't be freaked out that much. True enough, Crimson Peak was more like a Period Drama Fantasy Thriller. And as Edith, who also happens to be an aspiring author puts it aptly in the movie, it's not a ghost story but merely a story with a ghost in it. Though she was referring to the draft of her novel, there was parallel reference to the actual movie itself. Think Sixth Sense in a fantasy era. The ghosts were more monster-like than ghostly.

*major spoilers ahead* Not everything links smoothly. Like how her childhood sweetheart has a hobby for collecting ghostly photos (so what if he did? There wasn't any follow-up after), or how even Edith was an aspiring author (perhaps just to hint the true genre of the movie as what I mentioned above) or how did a pivotal dog survive the harshness of the winter cold (did some ghost feed the dog?) and most importantly how did Edith's mum know about Crimson Peak? If she was indeed able to "see" the future, then wouldn't she have "seen" the death of the villains as well? 

Also, the in-your-face head smashing and cheek piercing gore was grossly unexpected, unwelcomed to say the least, but perhaps that was what was needed to erupt the horror adrenaline some members of the audience were hoping for. 

Despite it all, I liked it. The costumes were a feast for the eyes, vibrantly and extravagantly designed to captivate even the most cynical of audiences. The plot was twisted and the twist did make the movie more "intelligent" in a sense. It was creepy, not spooky, sweet, not romantic. 

Tom Hiddleston steals the limelight as usual, and to see Jessica Chastain in such a dark movie was also rather refreshing. 

Crimson Peak may have peaked if not for the unconnected subplots and the seeming sex-cut-scene between Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston but it did reach a climax that only a horror version of Pirates of the Carribean or The Lord of the Rings were capable of. Crimson Peak was indeed a true visual spectacle, mysteriously intriguing...

The Martian

Ratings: 7.0/10

Film class: A

Genre: Sci Fi Drama

Filmed like a narrative documentary about how to live on Mars, The Martian wasn't so much a space odessey as I had imagined. It was more like a movie which lets its audience understand the science behind space exploration. 

The graphics weren't that great, some starting scenes looked superimposed, and the landscape felt like a typical desert than an out of this world terrain. I believe the director would have done his homework to ensure that it's representative of how it would actually look like on Mars, but some inconsistencies were too conveniently unaddressed.

*major spoilers ahead* If a bad storm had initially caused Matt Damon to be stranded alone on Mars, why weren't there similar storms throughout the many solar days (referred to as Sol 1, 2, 3 etc.) whilst he was clinging on to survival? Also one particular scene was the most puzzling... He had taped up a damaged bunker-like base from the outside and the next scene showed him teleporting inside even though there wasn't another entrance into the base (where the potatoes were cultivated). 

The action scenes were limited, and the soundtrack was out of place... "Disco" music, upbeat oldies music set in a Sci Fi planetary disaster movie. Off, totally off. I know the director meant it to be fun, and funny, but it took out the classines of it. The humor was also excessively overdone (redundancy words intentional), falling flat on several occasions. 

The cast reminded me of Interstellar, with 2 familiar faces, Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain. Even the orange space suit looks familiar. But it doesn't have the flair of Interstellar. I can't help but compare yet another recent classic space movie, Gravity. If I were to sum them up in a few-words comparison, it would be that The Martian was down to earth, Gravity was out of this world, and Interstellar was... simply stellar.

Still, it was definitely an eye-opening movie about space exploration, or more aptly put, planetary exploration. Though technical at times, it was more cool than boring. The Martian test one's mental focus cos once you drift off, you might find it tough to keep up. Since mankind is sending a group of humans up soon to Mars to try to colonize it, this makes for an excellent "textbook" movie.

Everest

Ratings: 7.2/10

Film class: B+

Genre: Action drama

Everest's all about the mountain, the climbers merely act as supporting roles in portraying how dangerously beautiful this natural Goliath is. Throughout the movie, I myself was wondering (also addressed in the movie)... Why do people actually wanna risk their lives climbing it? Does satisfaction of conquering it precedes the importance of life? Of living? I don't want to comment too much on this, because i believe those who have climbed it or are thinking of doing it must have their own personal reasons. 

What I love about the movie is that it gives you the experience of what it would be like if you were to actually attempt climbing the highest mountain in the world. It's immersive, almost felt as if I was there myself. I get to see the different camps, the logistics and operations involved, get to understand the theories and symptoms behind possible health side effects, witnessed the blanket of scenic snowcapped terrains, gasps at the treachery of the volatile weather and of course what it would be like to reach the summit - it's view of the surroundings and the tattered flags laid by the many who have "conquered" it. 

What I like about it was how unpredictable the story was... It felt like a game of thrones moment, no one was safe... Every character had an equal chance of survival despite how experienced a climber he/she was. 

What I didn't like about Everest was that there weren't much "human spirit" portrayed. It wasn't like the movies "Unbroken" or "Men of Honour". It was more of glorying Everest, and about the giant claiming lives. I had hoped for a death defying seat gripping moment, but all I got were deeply depressing ones. Also, the accent was hard to catch. Most of the time, I found myself falling back to reading the Chinese subtitles so that I could keep up with the conversations, but eventually gave up because my Chinese is as poor as the weather conditions on May 10 1996.

Perhaps just like the unpredictability of the turn of the weathers high up in the mountains, this movie also promises that for its audience - at first everything was "bright" and hopeful, but at the end, all that remained were tons of frozen despair and an avalanche of bleak survivals. The ending was rather random, detailing the survival of one unlikable character. 

More imax-experience-documentary styled than action drama, still, Everest will not fail to impress. Get ready to be swept away by the highest mountain in the world...

Inside Out

Ratings: 9.2/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Family Animation, Comedy

"I have a dream, I hope will come true

That you're here with me, and I'm here with you

I wish the earth, sea, the sky up above

Will send me someone to lava..."

Just can't get this lava song outttaaa my heaaddd!!! The short film "Lava" just before the movie was exceptionally catchy and "awww"sifying, making it an apt prelude to the actual film. It has a great blend of joy (cheery ukulele music), sadness (several scenes) and some concept of abstract loneliness in it. But ultimately, it's all about lav-a. 

Inside Out follows the emotions of young Riley from birth till the age of 11 years. 5 emotions in particular, Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger. When Riley has to move to a new city with her parents, her whole life, and emotions turn inside out, and it's up to Joy to find the "happiness" she thinks Riley deserves. 

Pixar has did it again. This time, its off the charts deep. My mind was blown, wow, wow, wow. On the surface, it was 70% comedy, 30% touching. It wasn't laugh out loud funny, and most of the funny scenes were forgettable. But what really hits the home run were the two teary scenes that broke me. 

I think the reason I felt so strongly towards the film was cos of the very first scene, when baby Riley was born. It reminded me of my newborn baby. I just thought to myself, "Nothing could go wrong. It's perfect already."

*spoilers ahead* 

It sure did meet my expectations, but the introduction of her imaginary friend Bing Bong kinda dipped my interest. He was simply too weird looking, and wasn't even cute in the first place. But before I could mentally criticize him further, I found myself tearing for him. Tsk* So I guess if even the "boring-est" part could buy me over, nothing else could go wrong, and sure enough nothing else did. 

It was uphill from there on. 

*major spoilers ahead* What really impressed me was the abstract concept of "emotion re-modelling" (if such a word even exist) portrayed in a seemingly kiddish movie. Of how basic our emotions were when we were younger, and how it matured over the years. We are now more capable of complicated emotions as adults, and perhaps the movie was trying to go as far as saying that joy and sadness has to co-exist for either's existence, just like ying and yang. How could joy be characterized as happiness if one doesn't even know what sadness is? It's that bittersweet feeling we find it hard to explain at times, how could something so right, feel so wrong? Something so wrong, feel so right? 

At the last few scenes, the mixture of colors in the core memories being made though breezed past in a brief scene, it nailed the adult-hood maturity of emotions we are experiencing in our everyday lives. 

Inside Out didn't just turn Riley's emotions topsy turvy, it also promises to turn its audiences' topsy turvy minds inside out as well. Perhaps the strongest emotion which brings together Joy was Sadness afterall. So don't beat yourself about feeling sad over unfortunate events in your life, find the joy which surrounds you thereafter, because negative attracts positive afterall, because it is only then will you find true happiness, only then will you be able to understand what true lava is...

Ted 2

Ratings: 7.0/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Comedy

Stinger: Yes (after-credits)

The obnoxious live teddy bear is back with his buddy John (Mark Wahlberg). Ted married a human wife, and when their marriage spirals down in time to come, he comes up with a plan to salvage it... by having a baby with his wife. However, since he's a teddy bear, there's no way he could have a child with her, and thus begins his mission with John to find a suitable sperm donor. However, when all else fails, he resorts to adopting a child. Things start to spiral for the worst when the "system" discovers that Ted is not recognised as a human being and starts forfeiting all his civil rights. Essentially, Ted 2 is about what makes someone, or something, "human". 

If you don't already know, Ted's like Europe's Bad Taste Bear, vulgar, blunt, obnoxious who is always indulging in all the vices (drugs, alcohol, prostitution, smoking etc.) He's a total bad influence, but a comical one to say the least. 

*major spoilers ahead* An unexpected cameo was featured, Liam Neeson, who returned during the after-credits stinger. It probably lasted less than 5 seconds, and I was left rather clueless as to what that last scene meant. References to different movies were made (Jurassic Park, Paddington Bear), audibly and visually. The jokes were generally M18, and there were a couple of laughter puking scenes (especially loved the one where they buried John's computer harddisk underwater). 

The first half of the movie was more jammed pack with laughter, though most of the scenes were already "leaked" in the trailers. The "high" level dropped during the 2nd half, focusing a little more on story - civil rights and what makes a human "human". It was rather unexpected, coming from a movie franchise which had previously pre-defined the shallow expectations its fans would have. 

It wasn't fantastic, and was definitely a "guy movie". The last scene at comic-con was a total disaster, fattening the lameness a bit too much for me to bear. But overall, it was... a rather enjoyable film.

Terminator Genisys

Ratings: 7.8/10

Film Class: A+

Genre: Sci-Fi Action

Stinger: Yes (mid-credits)

Kyle Reese, a relatively unknown soldier of the Resistance led by John Connor is sent back in time to protect his mother, Sarah Conner. If you're clueless about the Terminator franchise, its about cyborgs ruling the future. T1's about protecting Sarah Conner, T2's about protecting Sarah Connor's son, John Connor, T3 was quite a blur, T4 was about the future where the cyborgs have already ruled, and finally now, T5, aka Terminator Genisys seems to bring you back to the first installment of the franchise. 

In fact, it's almost similar, just that everything's now running on a different timeline. The entire cast has changed, with the exception of the most prominent figure we know as the Terminator... Arnold Schwarzenegger. And to quote one of the lines in the movie, the "Future is not set", giving way to more installments in the future - as can be seen from the mid-credits stinger. *major spoilers ahead* The stinger scene however was a big question mark, all I can tell is that Genisys was not completely destroyed.  

Genisys and Skynet are the same thing, but due to the different timeline, it kinda make sense to create a new "name" for the cyborg cyber-mastermind. 

The Awesome: The CG was top class. Reminded me of video game cinematics. I especially loved the fight scene between the first version of Arnold as the Terminator versus his current "older" self. It brings back the classics, and thanks to the CG, seeing young and old Arnold battle it out didn't feel out of place. T1000 was also brought back via the ice-cold hunky Byung-hun Lee, and a new "Terminator" was formed due to the integration between humans and machines. 

The classic line "Hasta La Vista" was not said, but at least Arnold did say "I'll be back". And when it did happen, the director just had to bring back the classic Terminator soundtrack as well. That, was just super cool. 

The Good: Though the storyline was in a way, predictable, there were slight twists. Rather confusing, but it still has a bit of the "wow" factor. The pace of the action also seemed to never really drop. The chemistry between the leads wasn't present, but the female lead could fire up the screens by herself anytime. 

The Bad: The script was horrible, jokes felt flat most of the time. 

After T2, I thought the Terminator franchise couldn't be rebooted (T3 & 4 were crap). Well, Terminator Genisys finally managed to upgrade the franchise.

Jurassic World

Ratings: 8.2/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Sci-Fi Action

I felt like half a child again. Jurassic World easily tops this season's movie screenings. With such a stylo-milo name like the Indominous Rex, the all-too-familiar Jurassic OST and state-of-the-art CG, this reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise deserves a standing ovation. There were even the old Jurassic Park settings, and reuniting the dinosaurs this Gen-Y adult's familiar with is an added bonus. 

Despite the high praises I have of this, the plot is not without its flaws. *major spoilers ahead* There wasn't any closure for some of the characters, especially the evil "mad scientist" who conveniently disappeared. The villains were wiped out seamlessly as well, many without much of a fight. The last scene felt like a Godzilla movie, but T-Rex was indeed... the cutest thing ever. Its short hands reminded me of Pixar's Toy Story, darn it. Guess my impression of T-Rexes will never be the same again...

The action conveniently (once again) revolved around the main leads, especially of the 2 boys. But I do like the man-dinosaur bond between the main lead and 4 Raptors. The Raptors were always feared.. from Jurassic Park 1-3, but this time round, they acted like what He-Man and his friends would ride on to battle. 

It wasn't without its all-too-classic toppling-vehicle-glass-shattering scene, just that it's modified. I liked how the director stayed true to its franchise, without making it look too forced. 

Jurassic World packs several jump scares and comic scenes (the downer romantic seen towards the end was priceless), realistically impressive CG, and a superbly fearsome man-made dinosaur. It was indeed a theme park for dino fans. The tension was addictive, and to top it all, the experience was prehistoric.

Insidious 3

Ratings 7.3/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Horror (Comedy)

Scare Factor: 3/5

I didn't catch the first 2 installments, but since this is the prequel, I knew I wouldn't miss out too much on the plot linkage. 

Quin Brenner is haunted by a supernatural presence, thinking that it's her late mother, she went to seek the help of a psychic so that Quin could communicate with her mum. However, the supernatural presence wasn't her mum but a malicious spirit out to claim her soul. 

The first half of it was pretty scary, thanks to the unrealistic reactions and actions of the female lead. Despite knowing that the evil presence was lurking around a corner, she would always pop her head out looking for it. Silly, if you ask me. Either that or she's a seriously curious bunny. You kinda see it coming, but the scares would still get to you. 

It was a good touch of handicapping the female lead, greatly affecting her mobility and making it more scary in a sense seeing how helpless she was. 

The massively CG-ed apparitions and their total on-screen time lulled the scare factor a little, seeing too much of them in CG just wasn't that scary after a while. To make matters "worst", the scriptwriter brought in 2 comic characters... Who infectiously dumbsify the psychic grandmother turning her into a kickass monster slayer. Well, that's the 2nd half of it, where the heaviness and seriously of the first part was stolen, transforming the genre into a horror comedy. The demon in the last scene even reminded me a WWE wrestler (apparently from Insidious 1)... 

Despite sounding lame, it was actually a rather entertaining movie. I dreadfully liked it. Insidious 3 does stay true to its title... it was... horrifying, yet insidiously funny...

Make Me Shudder 3

Ratings: 5.5/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Horror Comedy (Thai)

Scare Factor: 0.5/5

A group of schoolboys decided to take a grad trip to Phuket. They ended up stranded in a deserted hotel that was previously hit by a tsunami, which claimed many lives. It was there that their nightmares came to life. 

First off, there was too many pretty boys and a tragic lack of female leads. There were many hints of homosexuality but other than a few kissing and holding-of-hands scenes, everything else was PG. I'm not one for subtlety, unless the plot calls for it. The director should have gone all out instead of holding it back... 

The scare factor was disappointing. The lameness skyrocketed to 15 floors high, crashing any horror bent on creeping up on its audiences. So it turned out to be more brainless than breathless. Entertaining but shallow, with a lack of good CG and draggily obsessive wave-swirling scenes, Make Me Shudder 3 is one messy flop. The extended endings, x3 added no additional value to the plot nor entertainment. 

This Thai horror comedy is a zombie movie disguised as a supernatural movie, even the cast felt the weight of the identity-crisis, unable to differentiate whether those "things" moving were ghosts, zombies or vampires (the classic no-breathing scene is reminiscence of Chinese vampires films). 

However, there were indeed a couple of hilarious moments, but is it worth watching? Unless you're a zombie wanting to waste your life (or death) away, No.

The Age of Adaline

Ratings: 7.1/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Romance Drama

Adaline (Blake Lively) is a single mother who was accidentally struck by immortality. As a result, she was forced to live out her life in the shadows in fear of being captured and experimented upon. 

The Age of Adaline is rather peotic, with the narrator injecting obnoxiously-scientific humor whenever he tries to explain certain phenomenons. That's the only comic element in the movie, the rest, it's mainly tragic, tear-jerking and romantic at times. 

However, despite having such a starlet to brighten up the big screens, I would say this movie is rather gloomily boring. The worst part of it is having to see an old Harrison Ford clinging onto a young Blake Lively. No offence to the veteran Indiana Jones, but everything about them felt off. The twisted turn of events about how he "reconciled" with the love of his life was a cruel joke. It was more queasy than sweet. 

That said, Adaline and the main lead did have what I call a primary reaction. I don't think they were very compatible, but they did manage to pull off the romance. 

The entire movie was classy, but felt like a waste of time. If it wasn't for Blake Lively, my boredom would have been the one that was immortal.

Aloha

Ratings: 6.8/10

Film class: C 

Genre: Romantic Drama

Bradley Cooper is a military contractor who was assigned to Hawaii to clinch a deal with a local tribe. Accompanying him is an elite Air Force watch-dog, the all too gorgeous Emma Stone. 

For most parts, I was clueless. The plot was messy, and not well explained. However, it took a turn for the better when the romance started to fly. Bradley Cooper's ex, Rachel McAdams, is also a force to be reckoned with. The limelight was equally shared among the 3 leads, but an unknown female cast, Rachel McAdam's daughter turned out to be the ultimate "wow" factor. 

Jokes were novel, but not very well thought of. The silent guy-talk was silly, but memorable. The plot wasn't really that predictable, because of what a jerk Bradley Cooper was. Pretty mind-boggling, with lotsa Hawaiian folklore strung into the flippant plot. 

Chemistry wasn't electric. There was something off about the romance, possibly cos it sparked too abruptly. 

However, the 2nd half of it was strangely sweet. It was... Just sweet. Period. Despite the rough pace, unconvincing acting and the lack of a likable male lead, I was able to immense myself ever so slightly. I liked the slight twist at the end, probably was what salvaged it. Oh yeah, and one last thing, speaking about salvage, there's 1.5 stingers; there's a memorial scene, and the other 0.5 is about the floating space debris (not really a scene in itself but just something flying past the screen while the credits was rolling). 

Just as strange as their sparks flew, I find this film rather enjoyable. Good enough for me.

Whiplash

Ratings: 7.8/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Drama

An ambitious drummer gets into the best music school in the country and pushes himself to the limits to earn the respect of his obnoxious tutor, Fletcher. Whiplash is technical, exaggerated, gritty and has an ending deserving of a standing ovation. For most parts, they didn't astound, but the "twist" in the ending was indeed a drumroll stunner. 

I felt the acting wasn't that solid, simple storyline, predictable especially with the romance subplot. For most parts, I was as puzzled as the drummers, wondering to myself whether were they rushing or dragging their tempo when Fletcher was f-ing them. Wee bit graphic with the splattering of blood, but the cringes were mainly caused by the tension between the 2 main leads. 

The actual score of "Whiplash" wasn't electrifying, needless to say neither did the other soundtracks impressed. I can appreciate jazz and drumming, but the highlight of the movie was the tension and the comeback which makes Whiplash more than a "feel-bad" exhilarating movie.

Max Max: Fury Road

Ratings: 7.5/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Action

A visual spectacle of what looked like raw, crude cinematography and loads of action-packed car-chases scenes sewn together. Mad Max: Fury Road is yet another gloomy-looking post apocalyptic movie about the degradation of humanity, redemption and hope. It's horded with loads of mutated looking beings all fighting to get back a ruler's supermodel-looking wives... who were rescued by a kick-ass heroine played by Charlize Theron. An unlikely alliance was formed when Max (Tom Hardy) was thrown into the tracks of the armored tanker truck driven by Charlize Theron, literally. And I have to say, Max is one mad hardy son of a gun...

The names of the cast was catchy, with names like Immortan Joe, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), The People Eater, Nux (Nicholas Hoult), Rictus Erectus etc. it's hard not to associate this with coolness - like a graphic novel, or even a superhero cartoon. However, the names were not repeatedly mentioned, which meant that if you missed it the first time, you'll probably just identify with the cast with the way they looked (every one had their own unique look) instead of their catchy names. 

There were also many female eye candies amidst the hideous male cast. Yup, the make-up of the guys in this movie are just repulsive, with the exception of the male lead, Max. They were either massively scarred, physically mutated or had weird things stuck to either their faces and bodies. Not my cup of tea. Which really made the eye candies soooo soooo liberating to the eyes.... 

What I really liked was the stark contrast of the "good team". Mainly female eye candies, with only 2 male leads, Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult. Which kinda helped shined the focus on the 2 guys who were more, how should I say this, more susceptible to getting their hands dirty. Of course there's Charlize Theron, who was equally as badass, but the most human-like of all. Furiosa acted as a reminder of humanity, Max as a dependent hero and Nux as the unsung hero. 

The reason I'm not waving my underwear and making cave-man calls is because of the savagery and senseless gore portrayed. It's mainly brainless fighting, and the plot was simple. There was a slight twist, to be more accurate a U-turn in the plot, which didn't bode well with me. My wife said that it's about finding new hope, I say it's much ado about nothing. 

Action scenes were cool, intense at times, and the best fight scene for me was the one without vehicles (ironically) - the duel between Furiosa and Max. I was never a huge fan of car chases, and this movie was 90% car-chasing action-packed.  

A revolutionary movie which dared to test the boundaries of cinematic creativity, Mad Max: Fury Road is in a class of its own, twisted but entertaining. There were horror-like scenes at times, humorous ones as well, but the bulk of it was just plain head-on-explosive-guy-flick-like impressive. However not much substance in the plot, but overall a great movie worth torturing your eardrums for.

Note:
As an afterthought just for fun, if I could I sum this up with movie references, it would be:-
A group of slasher flicks deformed antagonists and "Silent Hill" underlings mounting vehicle mods like "Death Race" to hunt down a rugged-looking Daniel Craig "James Bond" and "G.I. Jane" to bring back a group of girls who turned out to be more "Sucker Punch" girls than Victoria Secrets supermodels, set in a backdrop of "The Hills Have Eyes". Short bursts of haunting scenes reminiscence of Sam Raimi's "Spider-man" with heavy metal soundtrack. 

Unfriended

Ratings: 7.7/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Horror Thriller (Supernatural)

Scare factor: 3/5 (pretty intense)

Staying away from the trailers, I was able to keep my suspense up till the actual viewing of the movie. All I knew was that Unfriended is a movie about cyberbullying, which drove a teenage girl to commit suicide. A year later, the group of friends who caused her death was disrupted by an unknown presence in an online chat room. I was under the impression that there was some semi-supernatural stuff going on, perhaps a psychotic killer on the loose hoping to get some revenge, but nope, it was full on supernatural.

It was psychologically scary, due to its realism - filmed in the style of a first person's view of what she sees on her computer screen, *spoilers alert* with the exception of the last scene. The believable, but slightly exaggerated plot got me at the end of my seat throughout, it started with a bang, and ended with a slam. There weren't many "cheap scares", mainly because of the seemingly limited soundtrack. There were of course tension build ups, with several sudden sound scares, but most of the supernatural stuff weren't in your face-type. There were more gory-like, Final Destination style. 

You'll need a stomach for gore to be able to sit through this horror film, it was more disturbing than horrifying. Still, I was pretty shaken up. 

*warning, major spoilers ahead* It was slightly exaggerated because of the video that caused the girl's death... her shitting in her undies after getting senselessly drunk. While it's embarrassing, I don't see how it would lead to a girl shooting herself in her head. She didn't seem like an outcast, and the so-called "cyberbullying" wasn't that extreme. Just offending comments made in response to her video. But it does bring into light the issue of cyberbullying, and the consequences it might trigger. 

I especially liked the style of filming. Though simple, and minimalist, it created a great sense of realism, thanks to the unexpectedly convincing acting of the unknown cast. In fact, it didn't even seem like they were acting at all. Seemed like they were genuinely chilling out and acting according to how the story developed. I wouldn't be surprised to know that they were unaware of the script until the very last minute... which of course I know couldn't be so because of how they died. *opps, cover mouth* Ok, guess I spilled the beans, let out their dirty secrets, but hey, you've been warned. 

It was also partially enriching for me... I'm not sure if the chat room they used was Skype (yup, haven't used that before), and was impressed about how certain "bugs" were created for the purpose of the movie... Like not being able to disconnect a person in the chat group (is that even possible?), like disabling the "forward" option in email, like disabling "unfriending" in Facebook (FB), or even reporting a dead person's account in FB (does it even exist?). There's some serious eye-opening tech stuff being showcased here.

It's not the first to use the concept of online messaging, but definitely the first in making an entire movie out of it. Refreshing, seat-gripping, and raw, Unfriended is the fore-runner in low-budget horror films. No shaky camera work (ok, maybe a bit via the webcams) and I’m impressed with the occasional bad-connection pixelation, freeze panes and loading of screens which added suspense and more bonus points to realism. Though low budget, it feels like a well-thought of, well-made horror movie which has been scarcing out in recent years. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ratings: 7.2/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Superhero Action

Stinger: Yes (mid-credits)

Packed with action but lacking in plot, this sequel of the Avengers was cool-ly confusing. The Avengers must overcome their greatest fears and band together with new allies after Iron Man screwed up by activating an Artificial Intelligence gone wrong - Ultron. Bent on destroying the world so that it can be "remade", Ultron is like a Transcendence version of Megatron. His abilities were nowhere near cool, just that he was able to be everywhere (cyberspace), control all technology and make an army s***load of machines for the Avengers to take on. 

*spoilers ahead*

The movie was like a superhero version of Hangover, a group of bickering grown up guys trying to out-talk one another with whoever has the funniest one-liner. A floppy "stand-up" comedy with too many lines falling flat, and too many leads snatching the limelight. On one hand we are drawn into the "sextion" (sexual tension) of Black Widow and Hulk, then we have the bickering of the alpha males, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, then we get to feel a bit more for the seemingly less awesome, most human family man Hawkeye, we get to see the extreme transformation of the repentant new kids on the block, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and finally get to scratch the our heads over the sudden creation of a new god-like superhero, Vision. 

Perhaps the funniest moment in the movie was handled effortlessly by Vision, where he picked up where the Avengers left off at the start. The opening sequence was inferior to X-Men: First Class, and the ending was like reliving the 1st installment of the Avengers franchise, where the members would gather in a circle and start fighting bad guys concurrently... almost like a trademark scene. 

I don't know how such a predictably boring script could have been approved by its creator Stan Lee, but I reckon that it has something to do with getting him drunk. 

There was however a small twist, the death of a superhero. Trust me, you wouldn't see it coming. 

And yes, there's the usual Stan Lee cameo and the sequel stinger. About 8 seconds long and it featured... *drum roll*, another God-like being, Thanos! It's about time the producers and director bring in the big fish! "Loki and Ultron, come on (sarcastic tone)?!" I sat through till the very last bit, hoping that there were perhaps 2 stingers (I only recall ever sitting through a Marvel movie with 2 stingers, was it The Avengers?), but all I was treated to were the ending words "The Avengers will be back". So don't bother, feel free to leave after seeing Thanos and hope that the next time they return, they will finally be more intact. 

PS.: To the Avengers... "Stop splitting up after the end of every Avengers movie to film your own Superhero sequels before teaming up again in future! Stop treating the Avengers team like a part-time job!" 

Predestination

Ratings: 8.8/10

Film class: B

Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller

Predestination looks to be a low budget thriller on time travel, which takes place in an alternate reality where a few chosen elites are able to go back in time to prevent crimes from happening. It sounds similar to Minority Report, however with a less impressive cast (no A-listers), CG, and publicity. While it's not blockbuster material, its strong script and impressive acting wowed me, deserving of what I would call, yet another hidden gem. 

It's not too intellectually heavy on surface level, but it does bruise your brain a bit. The multiple twists are guaranteed to deliver some of the most memorable in cinematic history. Were the twists important? Yes, so much so that my advice would be to stop reading now and go watch it with an open mind. The less you know, the better the experience will be for you. It's relatively dialogue heavy, but rest assured sitting through the entire movie will be well worth it. 

*ultimate spoilers ahead, do not read further if you haven't reached predestination* So did the plot twists make sense? Or did they open bigger loop holes? Well, the only feedback I received from my movie buddy, none other than my wife, was that the physical built of both leads were different. That's for the absolute critics, in a way, it didn't bother me that much. 

1st major twist: The female protagonist was forced to undergo sex change due to her pregnancy and was given a chance to go back in time to kill the man who impregnated her. She went back, and realized that the "man" her previous self met was actually her present self. So it meant she had sex with herself. And did she change the course of history? Nope. So yeah, it makes sense cos their relationships just went round in a loop. And was it actually possible to have sex with yourself and have a baby after? Well the movie did explain why (she has two full sets of sex organs in her body) and it also did good subtle explanations like she, who after changing into a man said in a bar encounter with the male protagonist, Ethan Hawke that "she-he" was no longer shooting blanks. The only convenient excuse of an explanation was how she was forced to undergo a sex change as a result of her pregnancy. If both sex organs had indeed been growing symbiotically until then, how does a pregnancy force the female sex organs to lose its dominance and ends up being life threatening instead?

2nd major twist: The elusive villain, the "The Fizzle Bomber", was actually Ethan Hawke himself, his future self. Was it possible? Yeah, it would seem so, because his time travelling briefcase failed to decommission him, meaning he was officially off-the-grid but his device was still working. Which also meant he was able to go back in time to stop himself from stopping himself... (Hope that doesn't confuse you) ie. That's why he's always a step ahead of his past self. But the ending did show that he was able to finally shoot his future self. Which kinda didn't mean he wouldn't exist (the time traveller's grandfather paradox, that if you went back in time to kill your grandfather and succeed, you wouldn't even have existed in the first place to do that). Since he killed his future self, in who knows how many loops he has been through, it only meant the fizzle bomber wouldn't exist in the new reality. His past self would still have existed and perhaps for some critics you might argue that he wouldn't have existed for that purpose of going in loops to finally kill himself, that explanation is good enough for me. Perhaps it just meant a different alternate reality would happen, making this movie irrelevant, and who knows, perhaps a sequel might pop up something in the near future? And if he hadn't killed his future self, the "Fizzle Bomber", it would mean he would become the bomber in the future, and the loop resets itself. Makes sense to me. 

And I liked this twist because in its own twisted sense, the "Fizzle Bomber" has his reasons for turning out the way he is. The "greater good", "thin line between right and wrong" scenario... 

3rd major twist: The female protagonist turned out to be Ethan Hawke himself after she-he was disfigured during a failed attempt to stop the "Fizzle Bomber", who by know you know, is himself. So can the same person give birth to himself, so that he can impregnate himself, to hunt himself down, to kill himself? While its a very cool twist, it's the most uncredible. Forcefully, it might make some sense, about his abnormaly, as to why he has 2 sets of sex organs in him. But this twist just makes the "grandfather paradox" sounds like child's play. He went back to the past to "make himself", and the future to "kill himself", there's just so many variables I don't know where to start. It's worst than a snake biting its own tail (an apt analogy used in the movie), it's like an invisible snake biting its own tail. There's no way you can even verify the existence of the snake... 

As I've always said, Sci-Fi thrillers on time travelling will never be perfect. It makes "Looper" looks so bad, and is on par with "Minority Report", but because it's able to achieve some awesomeness with a much lower budget, it has topped one of the most tricky Sci-Fi genres to tackle till date. 

Before I end off, there's a particular scene which I thought should deserve mention. There's a strong hint during the bar scene when she-he was speaking to Ethan Hawke, about his ideology and impression of the "Fizzle Bomber", that perhaps the bomber was doing the world a favor. I suspected then that she-he was the bomber, which turned out to be true, just that I didn't expect them to be all the same person. It's an interesting point. Because think of his life as 5 major points - 1 (baby-child), 2 (woman), 3 (she-he), 4 (Ethan Hawke), 5 (Fizzle bomber). For the bar scene, 3 and 4 were together. But 3 was thinking more like 5, because of the circumstances he was put through, and 4 was the only "altruistic" one. It's almost like a schizo scenario, how certain circumstances will change the same person into a different person and in a way a true reflection of life. We're never the same person throughout our life, that's why when we take personality tests, the results may change in time, depending on the phases in our lives. Does it mean deep down Ethan Hawke was more "psychotic" than normal? The "majority" doesn't necessarily apply here because in every version of himself, his purpose was practical, logical, "right". 

Predestination hits the homerun with the deeply memorable quotes, the finesse in scripting and execution, and the mind expanding plot twists. If this movie doesn't get you "there", I don't know what else will. 

(Note: An interesting afterthought I had was that the person who actually recruited she-he was actually his future self. So if he hadn't done that, that means the "Fizzle Bomber" wouldn't have existed. Would that bring the "grandfather's paradox" in play then? Perhaps the director's way of answering this question was by answering with another "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?", a question posed by the lead to himself. And the answer was (thankfully there was an answer), the rooster. As absurd as it sounded then, during the movie, it might make sense now. I don't know what the director (who was also the scriptwriter) had in mind when he provided that answer, but I can think of two reasons for that. 

The first, was because the rooster referred to Ethan Hawke, or perhaps she-he. Because the rooster's male, so either Ethan Hawke for recruiting himself so that a certain future could be set in play, or for she-he to join this special organization so that he could ultimately become the "Fizzle Bomber", which also meant setting that same future in play. If that's true, perhaps what the director meant, was that we have been looking at this question the wrong way. It's not a matter of the start or the end, but the middle. The middle sets the start and end in play. Absurd? Perhaps, but an interesting viewpoint to consider. 

The second possibility, was that the rooster (thanks to the limited male cast making it easier to pinpoint the "cause") refers to Ethan Hawke's boss, for recruiting him. But it's weird, because by right, Ethan Hawke recruited himself. But the movie did show she-he meeting his boss eventually. Perhaps there's an indirect reference to "God". That the boss was like "God", and he was the one who actually set everything in motion. Similar concept as the first point, that things started in the middle, not the start or end as logic would have misled us to restrict ourselves mentally. 

But whatever the "real" answer the director had in mind, it's sure something fun to ponder on...)

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water

Rating: 7.3/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Animated Comedy

The spongebob goofy gooberism is simply off the aquatic scale of lame. The jokes are bold, original and diversified. There's in your face, as well as subtle you-might-miss-it-if-you-blink humor. *spoilers ahead* I missed the "Davy Jones Book Checkout" joke, it wasn't until my friend pointed it out to me post-movie that made me vaguely recall seeing his name during that particular scene...

The Krusty Krabby Patty's secret formula was stolen by a cunning human pirate, acted by Anotonio Banderas. As a result, the whole of Bikini Bottom (aquatic world that the Spongebob characters live in) enters an apocalytic state. It's up to Spongebob and his unlikely alliance with all-time villain Plankton to find the secret formula and bring peace back to Bikini Bottom. Be prepared for a little superhero Spongebob action!

*major spoilers ahead* What I like about Spongebob movies is that because it's so lame, there's always an unexpected plot twist. The plot doesn't run logically linear, instead, it just shoots at you with psychedelic time travelling music, talking dolphins, a rap duel, spastic tyre bullying, and a most memorable piano jamming scene. You could even change the fate of the characters by changing the text on a page. What the fish?!

There was no insult to my intelligence because thankfully I went prepared. I gave my brains a day off, and what I got in return, was a money-wasting mental rollercoaster ride of fun. For most parts, I didn't have to pretend to laugh, I actually did. While it could be more worthwhile to get the DVD or Blu-Ray, watching an animated movie with realistic live-cartoon scenes on the big screen makes it somewhat less of a rip-off but more of a worthwhile movie experience.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen

Ratings: 7.8/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Comedy Drama

I hate to admit this but Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen belongs to the top tier of my local movies list. The first installment was overhyped by the supposedly "state-of-the-art" CG, which totally flopped (Director Jack Neo was ripped off paying at least a  million for that fake-looking early 21st century noobish CG crap), as for the second I skipped it cos I  didn't want to be part of the hype. It was no longer about the CG but more on the boy leads.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen wasn't 1st class, it was draggy at times, so much so it felt like a 3-hr movie and the acting was rather amateurish, despite several of the cast reprising their roles (shouldn't their acting have improved!?). I don't wanna slam our local talents too much, but I was unable to drown myself in their sorrows because those scenes were just not convincing enough.

Lotsa product placement scenes as well, and there was even a blatant in your face, or more accurately put, on your face scene promoting a Nivea facial product. Though it was quite out of place at times, it was rather cute, something you won't see often in today's cinema. They were like short comical adverts to tickle both the engrossed, and the dozing-off-ers.

4 main languages were spoken, English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese. There were also shortbursts of  Malay and Tamil because of a particular scene, promoting our very own Breadtalk and Toastbox. Some of the characteristic trademarks of Jack Neo's movies. His movies are truly "Singaporean", and though I'm not a fan, I have to give him props for that. The jokes never fail to lower the class of his movies but somehow has a relatable flair to them.

The first movie had a rather accurate depiction of what we (NS men) went through during our days in the army. The songs, the terminologies used, the way we were treated, the training we went through were nostalgically spot on. The feel was there. But not so much the dramatization of the conflicts because at least for me during my active service, we were like a band of brothers who went through thick and thin together. We didn't have time or energy to "hate", whatever time or energy we had we channelled to our training.

Thought I bring this up because I wasn't in the navy, so wouldn't be able to vouch for the accuracy of what was portrayed. However, based on what I've seen and felt in the first movie, I dare say it should be fairly accurate as well.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen, is about an alternate reality where the boys were enrolled in the naval diving unit (NDU) instead of the infantry unit. The movie features a few protagonists.... We have Ken, the boy with lotsa potential but would rather "chao geng" (slack around) because of a recent break-up with his girlfriend; Lobang, a boy who is a Singapore Ah Beng (gangster) who's very resourceful and glib-tongued; Aloysius, Wayang King, who's the most learned, mild mannered young chap who unknowingly steps on everyone's toes for being too gung ho; and a new addition Hei Long, a triad boss in Hong Kong forced to return to Singapore to serve the nation.  Each character had their own unique steoreotypical chracteristics which many have heard of prevalent in any soldier batch, be it in the army, or navy. And the "best" part is that you get to see what the much talked about Hell Week really is like. An eye-opener indeed. Muah Chees never felt tastier.

*warning major spoilers ahead* There were several puke-blood moments for me. One was when the statue of a frog came to life and flew over the sea (yeah, that was the lamest moment for me), and the other was the fight scene between Wayang King and Hei Long. But it was also that scene which made me realise how good an actor Hei Long was.

Acting wise, I was only impressed twice. One was where Lobang's mother came back to beat his sister up demanding for money, and the other was the fight scene mentioned above. Both his sister and mother shined during whatever screentime they were given. As for Hei Long when he got a beating and was tearing remorsefully on the floor, I... felt for him...

The main reason why I'm giving this movie such a high rating despite all my seemingly negative comments is because it has been a long while since I laughed so hard. I laughed so hard during one scene (the food delivery scene) that I actually teared. Laughing Out Loud lames*** funny.

The after credits scenes and bloopers were hilarious as well, but it ended too abruptly. Audiences had to walk out of the cinema in awkward silence, drained from the what-felt like a 3-hr long movie. They took too long to reach the climax, the highly anticipated Hell Week, too long a build up, too short the "torture"...  

Soundtrack was original and catchy. Rap-styled cool-dude-like with lyrics which makes sense even though they might not always rhyme that well.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen promises a muster of laughing out loud jokes and a buffet of eye-candies to chow on. An intimate account of the past, present and future of a typical Singaporean boy, or man. It is indeed a movie worth cheering for. Hoo-Yah! 

Fifty Shades of Grey

Rating: 6.3/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Romantic Drama

*Warning, this review is not meant for the sexually innocent readers, and I take no responsibility for any offence taken because you have been warned. The gist of this review is M18, but my sentiments and words used are at least R21."

So the highly awaited "Mommy Porn" is finally on the big screens. Fifty Shades of Grey was a highly acclaimed erotic romance novel about a college student, Anastasia Steele falling in love and engaging in extreme sexual encounters with a young and charismatic billionaire, Christian Grey. I guess that kinda explains the title, perhaps the 50 shades of grey had a duo meaning, we all know the color "Grey" refers to a dubious area, hence called the grey area, or it could also refer to the many sides of the lead character Mr Grey.

The main eroticness arouses from, arises I mean, from BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Sadomasochism), which refers to extreme erotic practices involving dominance and submission of two or more individuals. There's really no right or wrong, some may see it as a twisted state of mind, a sexual psychopath, but others may see it as a exploration of human nature, coming to terms with our basic instinct - which is why it's a grey area.

I'm not going to say which school of thought I belong to, but all I can say is that from what I see in the movie, it's a very unhealthy relationship.

I shan't torment you further with trivial explanations that you can either google or wiki online, and I know the one big question on everyone's mind is... so was the movie erotic?

No. It was slightly arousing, but not erotic. It was nowhere near hardcore, so don't expect to be watching legalised porn on the big screens. There were many scenes of nudity, but no genitalia shots. The closest were slight glimpses of both lead's pubic hairs, and a bit of butt here and there. I thought it wasn't erotic because each sex scene was filmed too "strategically" and they felt more of a need, than a want. It was as if the sex scenes were there to inject sex, but not sexual tension. They were done hastily, like mutiple quickies and just like how Mr Grey distances himself whenever Anastasia yearns for him physically, the scenes just fades out whenever you're about to cum. Playing hard to get is fine, but not when it's done excessively, and even till the very end, it failed to reach any climax.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't watch it solely for the sex, I would be lying if I told you that my hormones didn't go into overdrive from all the anticipation just before the movie, but during so, they just all went into sleep mode.

From the Ellie Goulding's music video, "Love Me Like You Do", one of the theme songs in the movie which was upload on youtube on 22 Jan 15 just before the worldwide screening of the film, it looked more romantic than I had previously thought it would turn out to be. Well, I haven't read the novel myself, and was so sure it would have flopped like the Twilight Saga until the music video came along. Was I disappointed? Slightly. I wouldn't say it wasn't romantic.

It wasn't romantic during the sex scenes, the director should have prolonged one "quality" sex scene instead of focusing on the quantity, but there were indeed some scenes of their email / text messages that were pretty sweet.

There were 2 main anti climaxes, 1 came from the scene that the word "FUCK" first came up, when Anastasia asked Christian Grey if he was going to make love to her. But to which he replied, I don't make love. I FUCK, HARD (or something similar). I believe there were soft gasps from the audience (almost full seating) because it was rather sudden. Well that one particular scene in itself was already too abrupt, because there wasn't a strong build up of sexual tension in the previous scenes and just out of the blue, or out of the grey, Anastasia just throw herself at Christian with a, "Are we going to make love now?" *9 gag face*

The other was the ending. It has been a long while since my mind was this fucked. I was totally confused and before I could wrap my head around it, the cinema lights came on and whamp, credits cut screen. It was too "orchestrated", as if the director made a pack with all cinema-owners around to world to turn on the lights straight after that iconic elevator scene (shown at the start, and at the end). Film techniques wise, pretty cool, start and end scene with a similar elevator scene. Execution wise, because of the poor progression and ambiguity of its scenes, was like a hard slap on our genitals. Ouch* What the hell did I just watch?

I didn't get the last scene because Anastasia wanted Christian Grey to show her what he went through when he was young which made him the way he is, but after "showing" her, she cut all ties and returned all the gifts she accepted from him. I was like... WTF just happened? All the romance became superficial, like the gifts she recieved. I felt that Anastasia was in the notion of being in love with being in love. She thought she loved him because he was this eligible bachelor, young, handsome, rich. And when he exposed her to a different kind of sexual "pleasure", she was hypnotised with a new kind of sexual exposure. Yet, when she was finally able to "understand" him more, which was what she wanted, she couldn't handle it.

What I liked about the movie was that the focus was all about them. All the other cast were merely calefares. Some might not like it because there was no build up for the other characters, but I came to watch them, and though excessively them, at least I did feel a bit for the leads (how not to for 125mins?!). Oh and speaking of which, it didn't feel like it ran for 125mins, it felt shorter, way shorter. Perhaps an extension to a 3-hr movie was needed to really bring out the sexual tension and characters a bit more?

The other pro about this was definitely the soundtrack. Aptly haunting at times, the songs were either hauntingly romantic (BDSM scenes), or sweetly romantic (other scenes).

It wasn't that bad a film. But certainly not a rewatchable one. I'm not sure if I can submiss myself to a sequel, but am glad there's not one in the making, yet (cos there's no stinger or news about it). The lead actress does look naturally pretty, but her monotonous tone and expressions dulled the mood at times. While the lead actor didn't have a body to get girls wet over (was obvious during the first topless scene of him where there were short *woos* from a couple of ladies just before he took his shirt off but when he eventually did... an awkward silence of dense disappointment filled the air. It was almost... comical), I thought he was quite charismatic as a whole and acted well.

All in all, Fifty Shades of Grey, was just barely worth it. If you want extreme, Fifty Shades won't get you there. If you want romance, Fifty Shdes won't get you that. If you want a mind fuck, Fifty Shades WILL give you that.

Unbroken

Ratings: 7.1/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Drama (Biography)

Follow the life story of Louis Zamperini, a US Olympic runner who was a prisoner of war during World War 2. His epic battle for survival despite his spew of tragic luck is what this movie is all about. I remember reading about him in Bear Gryll's True Grit book, but it didn't occur to me it was "Louis's" story until the part that he was stranded out at sea. Well we know what happens next, as shown in the trailer, him being caught by the Japanese and being tortured and all.

It was a really... tragic story. Depressing beyond repair. Unlike most sad movies, there's really not much of a sliver lining to look out for. Brace yourself for a 137-minute sympathy draining train ride. It was a linear road to demise, at some point in the movie, I just wished it had moved a little faster. I don't want to sound unsympathetic but even though I know that's probably the intention of Director Angelina Jolie to prolong the agony so that the audience is able to empathise with the lead character (well it's based on a true story after all), it felt more draggy than engaging. 

But if anything at all, Unbroken makes one reflect on life and is a constant reminder that no matter how shi**y you think your life is, it's not even close to the one Louis Zamperini had. If he can survive that, no one's gonna judge you if you can't survive even 1/5 of the mental and physical abuse he had to go through (ok, I'm being sarcastic here in case you didn't catch that). In a way, I felt a spark of spiritual strength reignited inside of me because I know that if "I can take it, I can make it". 

That said, there's a couple of memorable quotes that Louis's wise brother shed light on during the pivotal points in his life. Overall, I would say it's a rather inspiring movie biography, not the best, but "coal" enough. 

American Sniper

Ratings: 8.2/10

Film class: B

Genre: Action drama (Biography)

Based on a true story, Chris Kyle is an elite Navy Seal sniper who played a pivotal role in several anti-terrorist missions in Iraq, after the terrorist attack on World Trade Centre in 2001. 

From a Texas rodeo rider to a legendary military sniper, from a bachelor to a father of 2, Chris Kyle struggles to find peace within himself balancing both his work and family. 

American Sniper bags many stoic emotions. It's raw, dreary and heartfelt. Don't expect back to back senseless action scenes, each action scene had a purpose in drawing us into the mental world of Chris Kyles, and provides an explanation to the "degradation" of his "humanity", to briefly quote what his wife said of him. 

Well, I haven't exactly went through any wars before so I dare not say I understand how war veterans feel, I can only imagine how unnerving and unsettling it is for one to have to try to live "normally" since they're always on high alert in the war zones, that a moment of unalertness may cause them their lives. 

*spoilers ahead* I particularly liked a scene which injected a slight subtlety - at the funeral of one of his comrades, gun shots were fired and there was a frameshot of Chris and his wife which showed the differences in reactions of both of them. Chris hardly flinched (cos he was used to it) but the gunshots rattled his wife. 

*Warning, major spoilers ahead* Other scenes of his change in psyche were more in your face but the final showdown scene with the Iraqian elite sniper was one of the most unconventional. I had expected an intense battle of wits between both of them, but it was more one sided. Yet, it was in no way disappointing. We as audiences were able to see what he saw through the sniper scope - nothing. And yet, he was able to spot his prey. The slow-mo scene was out of place, but it did achieve its purpose - to prolong the coolness of the long awaited showdown. 

I only came to know that it was based on a true story because of the live footages shown during the ending credits. Not sure why but I recall seeing the scenes somewhere before, but am unable to find any previous filmography. Well, it did add empathetic points to my ratings but it's definitely one of those true story war movies that will stick. Well directed, well acted, American Sniper was on target for many elements of a great movie. 

The Imitation Game

Ratings: 8.6/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Suspense Drama (Biography)

Alan Turing, a gifted mathematician who during the 2nd World War helped break a seemingly impossible German code pattern used to relay secret messages within their own military daily. The codes were generated by a machine called Enigma, which would create secret messages in a form of cryptograms but what made it so difficult was that the "key" to solving the messages would change everyday. There's a good 158 million million million different combinations to solve Enigma, and Alan's team's only given less than 24 hrs each day to solve it before all their efforts for that particular day would have been wasted. That's the cool part, explained effectively briefly at the start of the film. 

The Imitation Game is a fast paced movie which puts my mind on the edge of my brain (say what?!). It wasted no time in relationship build ups, though there were flashbacks now and then, the focus still remained largely on the EQ-lacking (and as a result there were several awkwardly funny scenes) genius mathematician trying to break the codes. Not having prior knowledge on who Alan Turing was, I was slapped by 2 major plot twists in the movie, one was about his personal life, the other was about his achievement in today's modern world. These I shall not disclose here but I do urge you to not google/wiki them if you haven't the slightest clue so at least there's a few more punches this movie can throw at you to make it even more unpredictably impressive.

*major spoilers ahead* I thought the way they managed to break the code was ingenious, though simple, it was something most of us would have overlooked. It wasn't a stunning discovery, but more of a Eureka, "Why didn't I think of that!" moment. The relationship between Alan Turing and his fiancée suffered slight "gappy" blows to the plot progression because there you have a touching scene of Alan's confession to her about his personal secret but reciprocated by magnanimity of a different kind of love from her, the next scene showed that they were no longer together. 

There were many eye-gaping quotes and though one of them was said a whooping 3 times throughout the movie, the incoherence of it and the tongue-twisting words used downplayed it a little. Still, it makes for a good "aw"-sifying quote, "Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

It's not perfect, but it's beautiful. Sad, and heartfelt. Complex, yet enigmatically simple.