Johnny English Reborn

Ratings: 6.8/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Action Comedy

While this movie did entertain me, I don't think it's deserves a high rating because it wasn't fantastic. It's prequel Johnny English wasn't that good in the first place, so I didn't set my expectations too high when catching it. True enough, the jokes were abundantly lame, but there were a couple of good lines here and there.

Johnny English is back after being punished for the failure of a mission and pits himself against Chinese assassins, only to uncover a conspiracy involving a mole in his agency. Framed and backed by his new rookie sidekick, he must clear his name and stop yet another assassination. 

It's entertaining to see Rowan Atkinson in action but not to discredit his talent in any way, I thought the "material" in this movie wasn't strong. It didn't bring out what could have been a f***ing hilarious movie experience. I did like the closing credits scene though, it reminded me of Rowan Atkinson's "original" material (from his standup shows). 

*spoilers ahead* The Chinese aunty assassin was annoyingly amusing and one of the lead actress, Rosamund Pike was a liberating eye candy to the aged cast.

This movie could be a waste of money, but not a waste of time. If there's ever a 3rd, you can be sure that I'll almost definitely put up a post about it. 

Crazy Stupid Love

Ratings: 6.6/10
Film Class: B

Genre: Rom Com

I didn't like it. Though the movie did do justice to its title. This movie featured crazy and stupid stuff people would do for love. Ryan Gosling was suave, but something about him just didn't feel right. Ryan Gosling was fantastic in Drive and Blue Valentine, as the cold and emotionless badass Hollywood stuntman and as the gloomy love-torn husband, but when it came to being a suave pick-up artist, either he's stuck in stereotyped roles or that he was given really bad lines in this movie.

Steve Carell was irritating as hell and was given yet another "detestable" role so nothing too different to comment about. Ie. He's good in this kinda roles. Noisy, grumpy and insensitive. Till date, I think his only more serious role was in Little Miss Sunshine. Shan't critique all the cast one by one, but in general, everyone did good what they were supposed to.

*spoilers ahead* Perhaps the main reason for me not liking this film were the exaggerated circumstances the characters landed themselves into. The director tried to "tie" everything up but it felt like a huge mess. And the scene where Steve Carell went up to do a speech on his son's behalf, that was simply ridiculous. (Can or would a parent go up on stage to criticise their kid's speech and do a "better" speech on their behalf?) If it was supposed to touch me, it failed. I can't accept illogical scenes, especially when they're this concentrated in a movie. All the "nude photo taking", "loving someone younger or 20 years older" and all the "crazy teacher screaming "crap doesn't sit well with me.

Crazy Stupid Love is more crazy and stupid, than love. 

The Perfect Host

Ratings: 7.4/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Comedy Thriller

I'm not even sure if there's even such a genre as comedy thriller but this movie does stretch the norm. David Hyde Pierce, the comedy man from Frasier (not the main guy, but his close friend), delivers a twisted and at times hilarious performance as a schizophrenic guy by the name of Warwick Wilson, who has an unexpected guest "house-crashing" his dinner. 

Problem is, this guest is not your average Joe, he's a badass criminal on the run who lied his way into Warwick's house, only to find out that he's an equally dangerous schizo guy. It's a battle of wits and even though I was supposed to loathe Warwick (I think), I absolutely adore him. It's a light-hearted thriller that's doesn't take things too seriously.

The development was subtlety high-paced, with a slow mood lingering from one scene to another, yet the story was hard hitting with all the awkward and twisted situations. It's not a movie you can simply put your finger on, cos it's totally cranky, peculiar and at the same time, utterly entertaining. Oh and btw, there's only minimal gore in this movie.

The ending is something to look forward to, considering how one would think it's just a typical battle of wits thriller. Not a blockbuster-type movie, but it's sure to hit your "top 100 most memorable movies of all times" list. 

War Horse

Ratings: 8.8/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Drama

Despite liking horses, there's an inertia for me to catch movies about horses whenever they're out on the big screens because I didn't think any of them would be able to beat the animated movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The reason is simple, one can easily animate the expression and exaggerate the gallops of the horses when it comes to CGI but it's not that simple when they're dealing with real horses. Movies with horses always lacked that "horse factor" which I would expect to sweep me off my feet.

Not sure how much CGI was in this movie to animate the War Horse, Joey, but Steven Spielberg sure did a phenomenal job in capturing my heart to feel for the horse. Most other movies emphasized more on the lead cast, I mean after all, it's reasonable to do so since the director is probably paying more money for them, but not this director. You can be sure that for once, finally, after Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, that the main star of the movie was the horse, the War Horse, Joey. All the other actors and actresses were merely supporting cast. And that's what I loved about the movie.

Also, most movies about horses will surely be under the genre of Drama, Ie. They're dialogue driven. It's typically about bonds between the horses and the leads, about separating them and reuniting them at the end. This movie is no different. Typical plot when it comes to such movies, but the way it developed, that was the distinguishing part. War Horse, as its title suggests, is a movie about a horse during war time, to be more specific, during the war between England and Germany. And about how this strong-willed horse endured hardships to tide through the crisis.

It's also about how "angels" protected this horse, and how a chain of events lead to the ultimate ending. Typical storyline, I reiterate, but definitely not a predictable one. The events in this movie are quite "random" and unexpected, kinda reminded me of Inglorious Bastards. It even reached a point that I stopped guessing what's going to happen next and just sat back, to enjoy the movie in all its entirety. Few movies have been able to make me feel this way, me being the thinker I am, but somehow, there was too much feeling in this movie, there's just no time for thinking.

When the credits rolled, I was still trying to regain my "consciousness". I was sucked into the movie and it took me a while to get back out.

*Major spoilers ahead* There were many subplots in this movie, about the horse meeting different groups of people and how each and everyone of them started a chain event which lead the horse to where it ended at the final scene. And out of the maybe 3-4 subplots, I was fond of all of them. Those scenes acted like little episodes in this "drama series" and the movie didn't even feel that long (2.5hrs).

I was particularly fond of the Captain and the French girl's scenes. Thought I recognised the captain, he's actually the villain of Thor, Tom Hiddleston. And from this movie, it just shows how great an actor he is. He's actually also very convincing as a hero as well as a villain. And the young french girl, by the name of Emilie (Celine Buckens) whom I found from imdb, has never acted in any movies before this. Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. The cast in this movie were just brilliant!! Apart from both of them who were exceptional, the rest of the cast were also top class.

But it wasn't just the cast, but also the graphics, the mood, the story, the development, the soundtrack, which earned this drama an "A" class. Rarely, in my opinion, that dramas are categorised under "A" class because of the nature of the genre, there would always be less CGI and "awesomeness" incorporated in them. Dramas are just on a different ballgame with Blockbuster movies packed with action and excellent CGI regardless of the storyline.

However, War Horse is different. It is in a class of its own, a "family" war movie. The only other movie which could be on par with this movie is possibly Inglorious Bastards. War Horse is a heart warming tale of a horse and its journey through the hearts and souls of people on both sides of the war during WWI. It would surely make you laugh, and possibly cry and most of all, have you remember it as one of the greatest horse movies, or movies ever made in cinema history. War Horse, I salut you.

We Bought A Zoo

Ratings: 7.5/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Family

We bought a zoo is a family drama based on a true story. I don't think everything in the movie was real, cos a huge load of its scenes were highly exaggerated, but with a plot about a family struggling to start afresh by buying a closed down zoo and fighting to revive it, I can't help but feel that I'll be damned for speaking ill of this movie.

It wasn't fantastic. That's for sure. It wasn't in any sense bad at all either. It was a slightly above average family movie which may trickle your tears every once in a while and there were a couple of good lines in it. Though the lines were a little out of place, and might not necessarily complement the scenes, they were in fact pretty good standalone lines.

*Major spoilers ahead* Briefly, such lines include (not quoted from the movie, but the gist of the lines are kept) "All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage", "Your happy is too loud" and "Sometimes we talk by listening".

Though cute, I personally didn't like the daughter in this movie. I felt that she didn't act well, but of course I'm just being too harsh on her since she's still very young. Elle Fanning, the cousin of Scarlett Johansson (one of the zoo keepers), though I like her generally, in all honesty, also thought she didn't act well. Either that or as my gf suggested, she possibly didn't know how to portray a country girl. Matt Damon's son, was irritating as hell with his unreasonable arguments and the way he treated Elle Fanning was crap (not personal). Didn't quite get his role. Didn't know what character trait he was portraying.

On the other hand, I thought Scarlett Johansson was convincing as a Tom-Boyish zoo keeper. Though I'm never fond of her, I thought she delivered well in this film. The chemistry between her and Matt Damon was convincing for me. And Matt Damon, as usual, doesn't fail in his acting.

The reason why there's so much criticism in the cast is because I feel that they are an important factor in making the movie a success. Ironically, though most of the cast may have "failed", the lines and story development made this movie quite memorable. *Major spoilers alert 2* Especially the scene about Matt Damon answering Scarlett Johansson with a mere "Why not?" when he was asked "Why did he buy the zoo." It was a rather awkward scene which ended abruptly. But it was explained at the end of the movie, which made it extremely sweet.

There's also an "abstract" metaphoric representation of how Matt Damon was feeling... with his reluctance to let go of the dying Lion, Solomon.

I have rather mixed feelings about We Bought A Zoo. There was a good 4-5 times which the cast kept "chanting" the title of the movie, as if the director was afraid we didn't know what movie we were watching and as mentioned, the cast were in general too ordinary. But because the way the events unfolded, it built up to a hard hitting ending which left me more satisfied than disappointed.

Therefore for anyone who's looking for a movie to bring your kids to, this is a good choice. However, bear in mind that the focus weren't on the animals but on the humans, so don't expect cute animals (more screen time was given for ferocious animals like tigers, lions and bears) but you can expect it to be a feel good movie.

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Ratings: 8.0/10

Genre: Action Thriller

Film Class: B+

Before I continue with my review, I have to admit, this year's year-end blockbuster movies are definitely one of the best so far. There's so many good movies out there, like Sherlock Holmes MI4, War Horse, The Artist and 50/50. 3 of which I have yet to watch but reading the synopsis and the reviews, will only be a matter of time before I catch them on the big screens. But my first 2 top choices, Sherlock Holmes and MI4 was a good call.

While MI2 and MI3 totally flopped, which made me rather skeptical about the fourth, MI4 did justice to the very first movie of Mission Impossible. The classic scenes were still prevalent no doubt, with slight twists here and there but it didn't feel that cliche compared to its previous 2 movies. It was a one off event and weren't overly done. This time, the focus were more on the story and the characters instead of the filming style and trademarks of the MI franchise. If you're wondering what classic scenes/trademarks I'm talking about, they are:

1. Mission device will self destruct in 5 seconds

2. Tearing off of face disguise

3. Mission impossible theme song

4. Super cool gadgets (though some seemed a little exaggerated)

5. "Conquering" a famous place in the world

6. Flashing of the female lead's sexy legs when coming down from a super cool car
7. Classic 4 limbs stretched out suspension

Points 5 and 6 are more like the trademark scenes which evolved midway with the franchise. And from what I've observed, MI4 is probably going to pave the way for the female lead to clinch more movie contracts in the future. The MI franchise is starting to be like the modern day James Bond franchise, where it's like a platform for relatively unknown actors/actresses to make their debut and rocket their popularity regardless of how successful the movie turns out, in this case, excellent.

The only demerits of this movie I thought were some rather fake scenes (not that good a job with the CGI under Hollywood standards) and somehow, I wasn't able to follow the movie entirely. *spoilers ahead* I didn't quite get why landing himself in prison will act as a decoy? That said, the first prison breakout scene was a fitting grand opening to set the pace going and I don't think there was even a lull moment in the movie. It was hard hitting action scene after scene which made the 2hr+ long movie seemed like a 1/2 hr movie. Yup, it's that good. Though CGI lost to Transformers 3, the whole package beats the former hands down.

MI4 just proved one thing, the mission isn't that impossible after all to revive a dying franchise. I'm been humming the theme song in my head ever since I left the cinema hours ago... "Den Den Den, Den Den Den, Den Den Den, Den Den... Tu Tu Tu, Tu Tu Tu...Tu Tu!!"

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Ratings: 8.0/10

Genre: Action Thriller

Film Class: B+

This intellectual sequel of Sherlock Holmes left me feeling satisfied yet again, though a rather short flashback explanation at the end would have made it more complete, the ending didn't affect the pluses in this movie.

Plus 1: Robert Downey Jr. sure can act. I'm so glad he's back in the movie industry ever since he knocked himself out of drug addiction. He's an excellent Iron Man, even better Sherlock Holmes. Plus 2: Judd Law's like the eye candy for this movie (feminine speaking). However, it seems he has less "credit" for his character this time round but he does good the scenes he's given. Plus 3: I salut the new face on the big screens, the villain Professor Moriarty, or at least the actor acting as him. Have liked him ever since I first saw him in the series Fringe, and I'm sure we'll see more of him the near future.

Plus 4 & 5: For the comic moments, witty and humorous lines, and of course, the trademark "smart" plot. It's not exactly thought provoking, but gives the good substance type of feel. Especially loved it when the director pieced together the seemingly random events at the end. Opps, no spoilers alert this time but any fan of Sherlock Holmes would have guessed it either way. For those who haven't caught the first, then it's really like a "OMG" cause Sherlock Holmes definitely is one of the better movies of all time and missing the first is like missing the first series of Harry Porter and/or Lord of the Rings.

Fear not though, this movie is independent and you don't have to catch the first to appreciate this. Which brings me to my Plus 6: Cool action scenes. I almost forgot about the coolest part of Sherlock Holmes... his "Spider-Sense" detective skills. Sherlock Holmes has the ability to predict 10 steps in advance (metaphorically speaking) and it's so cool every time he "turns on" that ability of his.

Possibly the only minus in this movie, rather personal, is that I don't like the female lead. She's the lead from the Swedish version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy and though I liked her in that, she just didn't quite seem to fit the role in this. She's a good actress nonetheless.

Overall, this sequel does justice to the Sherlock Holmes franchise and it paves the way for more installments to come. However, like most other sequels, the first still beats this one, but that doesn't mean part 2 was bad, it just means part 1 was better. The front, the middle, the back... two words to describe them... Good Stuff.