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.