Tekken

Ratings: 5.5/10
Film Class: C

Genre: Action

Video game remakes rarely excel... because firstly, bringing CGI characters to life with their rightful outfits might seem too flamboyant and most if not all the time, there's just no storyline to adapt. My cousin told me this movie was a brainless action-pack film... Well, I would agree to the former, but not the latter. My summary for it, this is a brainless, low-budget, plotless weak-actioned movie.

A young man by the name of Jin, living on the harsh streets of who knows where witnesses the death of his mother by an evil corporation, Tekken. Thus, he enrols himself into a yearly tournament in hope to avenge her. Well, that's as good and as detailed a sypnosis I can provide for the vague and weak storyline. I didn't even get what the director was trying to bring across, other than just senseless fighting and the idea of a Tekken tournament.

The best bits of the movie were those which featured Christie, yet another Tekken character which really spiced up the big screens. The rest of the characters looked ridiculous and an extreme turn-off. Kazuya was quite cool as the villain, but how Jin rose from being a "street fighter" to a "prestigious tournement champ" was too far-fetched. There were so many "sudden boosts of strength scenes" that it worsened the quality of the movie and its storyline.

Bottomline is, Jin is invincible because of the teachings by his late mum... cos whenever he's almost out of strength or breath, all he has to do is to think of what his mum taught him since young, and like swallowing an elixir of condensed steriods, he will be able to beat the crap out of anyone. Opps, did I expose too much? Well... you gotta know how ridiculous it sounds or will be if you're gonna watch it to waste your precious time, at least you heard it from me first.

Date Night

Ratings: 7.0/10
Film Class: B

Genre: Comedy

A bored married couple who has been together for a long time goes into the city in hope of getting seats at one of the top restuarants. However, the restaurant was fully booked but the husband Phil (Steve Carell), not wanting to spoil their "date night", decided to take the reservation of a couple who didn't turn up. An innocent date night turned out to be a nightmarish adventure for the two due to a mistaken identity and how they had to pit their wits against a crime lord and his underlings.

It was a fairly light-hearted movie despite its heavy storyline, all thanks to the hilarious couple Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Tina Fey is the bimbolic wife of an unreliable husband, Steve Carell. But through this unexpected demise, they gradually learn to see the strengths of each other and to rekindle the dying passion which once brought them together. Don't get me wrong, the couple isn't on the verge of breakup (unlike most other movies), but it carries with it a hint of truth behind the mandanity of a long-term marriage and how each partner tends to be more fixated on the weaknesses and start being oblivious to the strengths of each other (just like in a relationship).

Though the situation they were in seemed a little exaggerated, I really liked the heart-warmingly predictable storyline and most importantly, the "aw" moments and the numerous laughables scenes in this movie. Not fantastic, but an excellent movie to light up a bad day.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Ratings: 6.5/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Crime, Thriller

The team duo is back again, computer hacker Lisbeth and journalist Mikael "teams" up yet again in this thriller after the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to uncover a sex-trafficking organisation. To complicate matters, Lisbeth is wrongfully accused for 3 murders she didn't commit...

This movie would make a bad stand-alone, independant movie because it doesn't really devote much screen time to character development despite it being a 2hr long movie. But I can't really demerit the movie because of that since it's "supposed" to be a sequel and the relationships between the characters should already have been laid out in the previous movie.

Still, because of that, it feels like it's a movie without head or tail... There were several re-enactment scenes but none too involving. They were like short trailers to piece up the major gaps in the current story plot. My advice, catch the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before setting your eyes or spending your time catching this. That way you might be able to follow more closely with the storyline.

Just like its prequel, the movie is divided into 2 major parts, Lisbeth's life, and the main case to solve. However this time, it didn't work for me. They felt like extremely separated matters and the director somehow tried to forcefully link them together at the very end. Despite having a twist in the ending, it wasn't one worth applauding. Mediocre swedish film. Didn't feel much for the characters, didn't feel much for the plot, and didn't feel much for the movie.

There were several absurdities in the movie, *major spoilers ahead* like how Lisbeth "rose from the dead" and why the "robotic" villain didn't just kill Lisbeth's 2 friends straight away with the chainsaw lying on the ground but had to burn the place down. The fight scenes weren't too exciting cos of the lack of any soundtrack to go along with it and there wasn't much of a climax in the movie. Towards the end, the mood took a twist and it almost felt like a horror movie. Its not as good as its prequel, even though the prequel wasn't that fantastic in the 1st place.

Took me a while to piece together the rationale of the title, and though it was quite an intelligent use of pun, it wasn't enough to piece together this "broken" movie. Worth a miss.

Step Up 3D

Rating: 6.8/10

Genre: Dance

Overall value for time and money: 7.0/10

Step up 3...D suffers from 3 main demerits. Weak story and development, weak scripting and weak acting. But its expected. I haven't caught a dance movie which had a better storyline than its dance moves, so I wouldn't mark it down because of it. When watching a dance movie, I expected awesome dance moves which would take my breath away... and it did deliver.

Probably my last 3D movie because the 3D glasses at the local cinemas are deteriorating in quality and hygiene, but Step Up 3D must be watched in its intended form. Don't you catch this movie in 2D because you'll miss out on the intended effects it have in 3D. And though the dance moves got to a plataeu after a while, the last dance scene is sure gonna stick in your mind for a long long time because its like no other you've ever seen.

A group of "homeless" dancers get together and compete in the World Jam, the most recognised dance competition there is, hoping to win the grand prize so that they can pay off the loan where they stay. This movie had lotsa eye-candies, both the main leads as well as the "bad guys" in this movie. It's like a mix of parkour, martial arts and dance... so competitive it reminds me of the intense competition of the rapping world portrayed in the 8 Mile by Eminem.

The lead actress really made the movie worth watching, because of her demure and exceptional dance moves. Main lead Luke didn't act well, and the other lead Moose had the moves but just didn't have the looks. Recommended for dance fanatics and for those who loves a good 3D movie, but not for those who can't swallow movies with weak plots and weak acting.

The Expendables

Rating: 8.0/10

Genre: Action

Overall value for time and money: 8.5/10

The expendables is an explosive (figura-terally), hardcore action-packed film which would most certainly live up to anyone's expectations. With the star-studded cast, I would have watched it even if it recieved negative reviews... well I'm a sucker for such movies.

Storyline wasn't that fantastic, though the flow was pretty decent and acting was nothing less than professional. No "weak links" in the movie for each character were optimally fitting in their roles and the scripting was packed with cheesy yet witty humor. Loved the wayward humor and though there was a lack of "actress" devolopement in this film, this movie was supposed to be a "guyish" movie anyways. Personally, I thought Jason Statham landed the coolest character in the movie... but still, Dolph Lundgren stole the limelight as the ex-team member gone rogue. The cameo scene featuring Arnie and Bruce Willis was such a classic scene I'm sure it's gonna be much talked about and much remembered for years to come, since this is probably gonna be Arnie's last movie appearance.

I didn't like Sylvester Stallone's face cos of all the plastic surgery (which I assume he went for since it looked pretty fake... was so ever since Rambo IV) but he did an exceptional job as the director and writer of possibly one of the best star-studded movies of all times. Jet Li added weak comic relief, to my dismay since he would have packed a good punch or 2 to the action scenes.. whilst relatively unknown casts such as Randy Couture and Terry Crews were given more awesome screen times. The last action scene was utterly senseless, yet utterly jaw-dropping and seat-gripping.

A team of mercenaries go on a "suicide" mission to liberate a city from a vicious dictator. Join them on their mission in their first fight for a good cause... Well, the storyline is as simple as that. It's a no-brainer movie no doubt, but as an explosive action movie, the expendables is truly commendable. As the tagline goes, Heroes today, Legends forever.

Salt

Rating: 7.5/10

Genre: Action Suspense

Overall value for time and money: 7.5/10

Who is salt? The trailer discloses quite a bit about her... how she was "framed" as a Russian spy and how she's trying to prove her innocence. Well, at least that's what the trailer intended to set you up for. A CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy goes rogue and the movie is all about unravelling her true identity. So... who is salt? The good news, the movie answers that question. The better news, it's not that simple a question.

Massive car chase action scenes, which have never really blown me away (this time being no exception) and lots of climax pauses. It always seems to set you up for a "sub" climax then it goes downhill again. Still, it did keep me at the edge of my seats throughout the movie and the story just gets better as it progressed. *spoilers ahead* Initially, I didn't like the fact that everyone was chasing after Salt when they should be focusing their attention on a Russian defector who escaped their custody. Well, he was the one who accused Salt of being a Russian spy yet nothing bothered to look for him when he escaped and he got it the easy way out whereas Salt was frantically running around the entire state. Doesn't make that much sense but if you're able to overlook that major flaw in the movie, you're in for a good surprise.

This movie is like a less impressive action version of Inception. Inception brought you a dream in a dream... even a dream in a dream in a dream in a... you get the idea. Salt brings you on another level of theatre. A twist in a twist in a twist in a... Well, I have to admit it did impress me because I'm always a sucker for twists in movies... never really liked watching a no-brainer movie. *major spoilers ahead* Though the major twist in the movie might be predictable (wasn't so only until towards the end), the biggest question mark about why Salt would be carrying Spider poision around was not disclosed only until the later part of the movie.

Angelina Jolie has the flaire and the look of a secret agent, has seen her excel in movies such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith as well as Wanted. But this movie is not one of them. She looked desperate, amateurish and didn't fully portray the appropriate vibe of a professional agent. Don't believe it was intentional, the way she ran, the way she jumped from vehicles to vehicles made her look so pathetic. These probably attributed to her lack in involvement in her character. But with her in any movie, what could go wrong? Even if the story sucks, the acting sucks, the cast sucks, there's always her to look at. (Not saying that this movie is anything like that)

Well, I'm pretty impressed with the plot, and the twists they had installed for its viewers. Though the ending was anti-climaxal, at least there's promise for a competitive sequel. Not quite the female version of Jason Bourne (as compared in critics from imdb.com), less formidable but definitely a hotter version.

Watchmen

Rating: 9.1/10

Genre: Superhero Action

Overall value for time and money: 9.4/10

A truly remarkably visionary movie about an alternate 1985 where superheroes did indeed roam the planet, paticularly in US, and where superheroes aren't exactly looked up upon. I stayed away from this movie for quite a while, and my only regret was that... Nowadays, 3-hour movies just don't appeal to me as much as they used to. They take too long to watch, and 2 such movies would enable us to catch 3-4 movies with shorter runtimes.

But generally, longer movies receive better critics because they allow more time for character and plot development... whoop in a visionary concept with great acting and CG and you'll get Watchmen. Watchmen isn't your average superhero movie, it's probably the most abstract one I've seen. There are elements of coolness in the directing and the slow-motion action scenes (trademark of the director who brought you 300), but the most impressive element of it was the plot.

It touches on what being a "superhero" really means, even though they are not well respected, despised and hated even, yet they strive towards a greater cause. You can't really put a finger on the "main" lead of the movie, for all the superheroes were unique in their own way. Rorschach, the assassin -like crankiest, scariest and most "delusional" superhero, you either love him, or hate him... Then there's the "comedian", not quite the funny man but unorthodox in his own disgruntled ways. Then there's the ultra-fast Ozymandias, who's the most accomplished of them all; rich, famous and tech savvy. Also introducing Silk Spectre, nothing fascinating about her, just that her mum belonged to an older team of superheroes which were disbanded. And Night Owl II, the most "human" superhero of all. Finally, the most important superhero in this movie, Dr Manhattan, the god-like superhero who is America's deterrence against attacks.

The best thing about the movie is that the superheroes are just a small part of best bits. Everything was professionally directed; cinematography, action scenes, scriptings, and the choice of the casts. The ending was truly revolutionary. Many a times superheroes movies will never be able to churn out such a "matured" plot, and this movie is a fantastic mix of art, science, politics, and idealogy. I won't divulge anymore of the story because it's gonna be well worth your viewing.

Though the movie isn't perfect (of course), it doesn't drag and it never fails to keep me at the edge of my seat the whole time, saving the best for last, for one of the most memorable and thought-provoking conclusions I've ever seen. A simple sentence of advice, Men, you've just gotta watch the Watchmen.