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...