John Carter

Ratings: 8.2/10
Film Class: B+
Genre: Action

John Carter is a civil war hero who has lost his purpose in life after the death of his wife. Roaming around from place to place, he gets himself into trouble and ends up being locked up for the night. He manages to escape, using his wits and never-say die attitude, only to come across an ancient cave which is able to transport an individual from Earth to planet Mars. 

There, John Carter faces massively tall barbarian-like Martians and is further implicated in a supernatural war between the races/groups in Mars. It is there that he finds himself again, and his new purpose in life...

The far-fetched fantasty-like storyline might turn off many supposedly more mature audience, but rest assure, this movie is a hidden gem. I would think it falls under the sci-fi genre, but the sci-fi films I know are always serious and thought-provoking. "John Carter" is not a serious movie, nor is it abstract in any sense, but it sure is in its class of its own.

Disney has once again showed the world that its more than capable of producing "adult quality" movies by venturing out of its usual teenage films. 

It was downright entertaining and the story was simple, yet engaging. *spoilers ahead* The ending was the deal breaker for me, with the twist I never saw coming. It packs good action, good laughs and good casts, and it's just simple maths, 3 "good"s make it "great". 

The Bourne Legacy

Ratings: 7.7/10
Film Class: B+
Genre: Action

The Bourne Legacy felt more like an "action movie" than an "action-packed movie". It's not a bad thing, especially for those who hated the action scenes of Bourne Ultimatum (part 3) which were shaky and fleeting... most of the time I recalled that I couldn't figure out what or where the action scenes were about amidst all that "flashing".

There's storyline, there's build-up, there's action, there's another Jason Bourne... Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner). Though there were flashbacks of the story of Bourne, and several "cut and paste" scenes from the Trilogy, it would be better for its audience to watch/re-watch the previous few films before catching this one so that you'll be able to better piece the story together, and hence appreciate it more. 

There were lots which I had forgotten, and though my much-awaited meetup between the 2 leads (Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner) was not fulfilled, this sequel (or rather mi-quel? since the story is supposed to be happening concurrently with the first 3 films) left me wanting more yet again. I was sitting throughout the credits, hoping to catch a glimpse of any possible hints of a sequel, but was disappointed that there wasn't any. 

The ending was a little abrupt... the villians weren't that many and there weren't many fist-fights this time round. Recalled that the first few films always had a few professional "zai" assasins to hunt down Bourne... but there was only 1 for The Bourne Legacy. Like I said before, since it's the introduction of a new character, the focus was more on the story and his development. 

Unlike the rest, I felt this film was more emotionally intense. There were a lot of unseen buildup of suspense... similar to when you watch a horror movie, because you never know when Aaron Cross will get "crossed". 

*Spoilers ahead* There was a scene, reminiscence of a mass shooting, in the lab where Rachel Weisz was working at which was extremely disturbing. However, it wasn't really explained only by a few assumptions about the chemicals that the lab was working on in affecting the mad shooter's sanity. 

The last bike-chase action scene was one of the best I've seen, even though I was a little puzzled why Aaron Cross couldn't hold a gun in one hand and ride with the other hand... so that he was able to shoot down his adversary, considering he was so pro. But when I was told that most of the stuns in the movie was done by Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz... I decided not to "fault" the movie for such a trivial matter. 

The Bourne Legacy obviously lives on with this 4th instalment, and I really hope I won't have to wait another 5 years for the next sequel to be up. 

The Three Stooges

Ratings: 6.8/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Slapstick Comedy

The Three Stooges is about 3 obnoxious orphan kids, Moe, Larry and Curly who grew up in the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage. In time to come, the orphanage was forced to close down, unless they were able to raise $830,000. Hence, begins the quest of the 3 stooges into the "real" world to help raise the funds to save their orphanage. 

The movie is composed of 3 episodes, lasting 92 mins. Think of it as a 3-episode mini series lumped into 1 big movie. I'm sure you know by now that The Three Stooges is a remake of the classic short films back in our Grandpop's days. I'm not a granddad but I've heard of it, though I haven't seen any clips of it. 

The genre falls under Slapstick Comedy, which means you won't have to bring your brains along to catch it. The level of intellect required is on par with Austin Powers and Dude Where's My Car, and the  senseless "violence" was rather unnecessary for that few moments of laughters - it wasn't even that funny. 

However, the movie did give me several (3 parts I think) pretty good laughs, with a rather touching scene at the end of episode 2. Thank God I left my brains at home, and I was kinda prepared for the lame and forceful humor. I'm sure you'll feel ripped off if you caught it in the cinemas, but it's a decent comedy if you're looking to throw away your long list of to-do stuff at work for a good 1.5hrs. 

And before I end off, I must say, the 3 actors were seriously awesome as Moe, Larry and Curly whom I was never acquainted with. Moe reminded me of Dumb and Dumber, a little hint of Jim Carrey, and Larry and Curly were spastically funny as the main supporting characters. 

The Dark Knight Rises

Ratings: 7.6/10
Film Class: A
Genre: Action Drama

Managed to catch the gala première of the final instalment of Christopher Nolan's Batman's series. And the conclusion is... that Christopher Nolan achieved what no other director has ever achieved; the 2nd movie in the series being the best of its lot. Followed by the 3rd (this film), then the 1st (Batman Begins). Normally sequels rarely top its original, but in this case it did.

Batman is forced to surface once again, after being deemed the villain responsible for the death of the supposed hero, Harvey Dent (Two-Face in The Dark Knight), by a greater evil, Bane. In fear of spoiling the plot for you, I shall leave it at that, with spoilers, and major spoilers up ahead. The soundtrack was very catchy, with the chant of a language I didn't understand but was later explained, and the scene of the crumbling field (as seen in the trailers) didn't fail to impress once again. The showdown between Bane and Batman might get you at the edge of your seat, and the ending scene was rather breath-gasping. As for everything else... they were only so-so.

The acting wasn't as good as the first, even though it featured many new faces, such as Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, 2 of the latter stars being a favourite of the director's, as assumed since they both starred in Christopher Nolan's Inception. The villain, Tom Hardy, couldn't shine as much cos his face was covered all the time and his voice was rather muffled. I had to switch my cat-like hearing senses on to capture his words... which failed most of the time. And the mandarin translation didn't help much either.

*spoilers ahead* What I didn't like about the movie was the progression of the plot, as well as the scenes. The "jumps" in scenes vital in the logic of the film were extremely prevalent and conspicuous, creating loopholes and breaking the flow of the storyline. While the director tie up loose ends, I thought "loopholes" shouldn't be created for the sake of creating them just to fill them up in the end.

*major spoilers ahead* There's a slight twist to the story and the cameo by Liam Neeson was quite refreshing. However, bringing back the "concept" of the "League of Shadows" led by Liam Neeson in the first instalment was a bad move. I had totally no recollection of the the group considering Batman Begins was 7 years ago (2005) and much of this movie's plot revolves around the ideals of Liam Neeson's leadership role. It would have better aided me in connecting the dots if I had re-watched the first, but still, I thought the conclusion would be better off having a more stand-alone plot.

*major major spoilers ahead* I was silently waiting for "Robin" to "appear" and he finally surfaced at the end. Didn't like how Marion Cotillard so abruptly gained the trust of Bruce Wayne to take over his empire and definitely not how the director conveniently skipped the explanation about how Batman survived the explosion at the very end.

The Dark Knight Rises concludes the Batman trilogy just right, literally. I kinda expected more, but I guess it's good enough for me.

Prometheus

Ratings: 8.2/10
Film Class: A
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror

Prometheus: A titan in Greek mythology credited for the creation of man and human's use of fire. The movie title was apt, revolving around a group of futuristic explorers who went on an expedition to a distant planet to uncover the truth behind the beginnings of the human race. *major spoilers ahead* There were also a couple of memorable scenes of "fire" here and there, one of a flame thrower (apt choice of weaponry), and the other of combustive spacecraft material scattered around the dangerously high CO2 (in the context of human) planet. Perhaps it was also indirectly implied that "one (Man) shouldn't play with fire". 

A few days before catching Prometheus, I found out that it was supposedly a prequel to the Aliens quadrilogy. But director Ridley Scott had intended it to be a standalone movie. Frankly, it turned me off a little... wasn't a huge fan. And after imdbing the quadrilogy, only the first Alien movie was directed by him actually. In a way, he was like Prometheus, for he created the Alien species/saga which lived till this very day... at a point the Aliens even battled it out with Predators. He "ended" with a bang this time round as well, even though the movie hinted the possibility of a sequel. 

The opening scene was gloomingly gorgeous! And the CG was state-of-the-art. Even the words "state-of-the-art" sounds so outdated now, in fact the CG was top tier of this era. A word of warning though, the entire movie was dark and solemn, and it's not your typical Sci-Fi thrillers. Yup, Prometheus is closer to being a horror film. You'll probably remain tense throughout and might even jump in your seat  a couple of times (typical of the Aliens quadrilogy).

The storyline was anything but ordinary. It's highly thought-provoking, to the extend that it left me rather irritated trying to connect the dots. I managed to make sense of most parts of it (I think) but there were still bits lost in Planet Alien. 

I believed that humans were accidentally created by early Man, contrary to what the explorers (lovebirds Dr Elizabeth Shaw-Noomi Rapace and Dr Charlie Holloway-Logan Marshall-Green) believed. There was a scene of the lead actress questioning why we were created only to be destroyed. That explains it. And as what the Captain of the ship said in a particular scene, trying to best explain the whole shebang indirectly to the movie's audiences, the creators made a new species in the military base (cave) which would later be revealed to evolve into Aliens, to wipe out human race and to re-populate planet Earth with their own kind. Though ironically, we humans, are derived from them. 

There was a scene of David (Michael Fassbender), a cyborg(?) drugging the drink of the lead explorer (Dr Holloway) which was also rather puzzling. The "purpose" of David was disclosed at the ending scene, but as to why he drugged the drink with a droplet of Alien fluid, which would later grow into worm like creatures, still remains elusively unexplainable. Possibly he was instructed by his maker to "experiment" on modern humans to re-create early humans? Seems so from a scene in the movie, how the lead explorer mutated into "Dr Hyde". David remains a mysterious character till the very end, he (or it) seems to know everything and on how to stay out of danger (maybe not so towards the end), which was very ???????? 

The hologram of the early humans being decapitated in the cave at the start had a line where Dr Shaw said that his death was dated 2,000 years ago. Well, the first homo sapiens were here on planet Earth way before that, which explained chronologically that the opening sequence showed the creation of Man, and that everything else, the cave, the Aliens, all came after that. Which is why our creators wanted to wipe us out because they didn't even know Man came from them in the first place. 

Possibly, there were a group of Early man explorers who went out in the universe to find life. Then one came across planet Earth, drank something which turned out to be poison (don't ask me why) and scattered his DNA on Earth. Then a few thousand years later, while planet Earth started to have a human lifeform, Early man decided to inhabit another Planet which could sustain life because their planet was in danger by God knows what, created a military weapon, Aliens which they would unleash  onto Earth to destroy any lifeforms, in this case Human/Man. 

It's just a case of "mistaken" identity, unintended creations and the struggle for survival. And we humans have that "itch" of curiosity which we want to scratch so bad with undesirable consequences. That's what this movie is all about. Either that, or I'm just thinking too much. 

Whichever it is, Prometheus still makes a great movie to watch with your peers and loved ones. It's quite gory and not for the squeamish, but the experience of being transported to an Alien planet makes everything else bearable.

The Avengers

Ratings: 8.0/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Action Drama

I kept telling myself, don't expect too much... don't expect too much... Because I was fearful of being let down. Given the flattering reviews, the much awaited hype, and it's overnight exemplary ratings on imdb, I thought that regardless of my expectations, the movie would nail a spot in my Top Movie List. 

It was the first movie I had to make a week advance booking but honestly thought there was nothing fantastic about it. Of course there were the "usual" awesome CG and cool superheroes anyone would love to see come together to fight against a common enemy. Not 1, not 2, but 6 of them tag teaming, bickering and b**** smacking the hell out of Loki, a powerful God-like being from the realm of Asgard. Asgard is another world where the "Gods", like Odin and Thor lives. So having Thor being one of the 6 superheroes fighting against is a little puzzling. I mean shouldn't they be on the same level? 

Perhaps the scheming intellect of Loki may exceed Thor's, but Iron Man's intellect surely matches Loki's. So in essence, Thor + Iron Man will give Loki more than just a fair fight. Before I start, opps already did, continue complaining about the plot, perhaps it's better I give a brief synopsis. 

Nick Fury, who leads a special organisation by the name of S.H.I.E.L.D, sets out to recruit superheroes to fight against a being from another realm, whom by know you already know as Loki because he had stolen a very powerful energy source and had "converted" several of Nick Fury's elite team to be on his side. The initial "Avengers" project was scrapped, from the end credit scenes of the other superhero movies like Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, but was re-initiated in this movie because of the current situation. 

*Major spoilers ahead* Nick Fury has no idea what Loki has planned, but yet decided to gather this "Avengers" team again to retrieve the energy source. Also, Thor wasn't part of the "plan", he just happened to be involved because his brother Loki is trying to mess up the planet of Thor's love interest, Natalie Portman, whom we sadly get to only see a still picture of. The supposed "twist" in Nick Fury's "masterplan" wasn't that much of a climax and seeing how the 6 superheroes hurl semi-humorous lines at each other made the movie rather "degrading". 

The script and plot stole the class of this high awaited Blockbuster movie. It felt, if I must say, rather kiddish. It's true that the "origins" of the superhero movies came from cartoons, but seeing and experiencing how that level was raised by the previous instalments, it was rather disappointing to have sat through a semi-funny, semi-classy, semi-cool, semi-intellectual "all-star" movie. The most disappointing bit of Avengers was how silly-like the ultimate evil villain was. 

Though every superhero was given a fair share of screen time, it acted as a double-edged sword because there wasn't much focus and character engagement was kept at a minimal. That said, there's still a slight focus veered towards Iron Man but I couldn't connect with any of them. 

To sum it up, Hulk was the class clown, Iron Man was the cool nerd, Captain America and Loki were part of a himbo cheerleading squad, Thor was the clueless Viking, Black Widow was the oscar winning actress, Hawkeye was the modern age Legolas, and Nick Fury was the muttering pirate. 

There's no after credit scene, only an early credit one. Unlike the rest of the instalments, you don't have to sit through the entire credits for that few seconds of extra footage. Just have to hang on a bit before the scene of "Thanos" comes up. I blatantly put his name down because if you're not a fan of superheroes, you'll prolly be clueless about who that purple faced guy was at the very end. 

You can find out more from the link:

http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/avengers-spoiler-revealed-final-scene-224135677.html

That said, the link also mentioned that there's this scene about the superheroes sitting at a restaurant eating shawarma (mixed meat dish) at the very end of the credit roll. However, the only scene I saw was the word "MARVEL" splashed across the big screen over a red background. I'm curious to find out why I missed the scene out but probably won't want to sit through another 142 mins just for that. While I'm definitely getting Blue-Ray for this, I'm not going to give The Avengers a second viewing... 

I really hope that the sequel will come back with a vengeance and will prove that combining all 6 superheroes in a single movie would be "neater" instead of spelling "disaster". 

The Vow

Ratings: 7.5/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Romantic Drama

When a couple's love for each other is put to the test after a car accident, Leo (Channing Tatum) must try to win the heart of his wife Paige (Rachel McAdams), once more. Inspired by true events, as the poster claims and from the stills at the end, I shall go against the norm of my usual reviews by having a spoiler right at the start *major spoiler ahead*.. don't expect anything too "bombastic" - in a nutshell, expect anti-climaxes. That's realism for you. 

I'm glad the director didn't over exaggerate matters and the scenes from the trailers are almost as romantic as it's gonna get. I believe most viewers out there would be dismayed by Leo's lack of perseverance but that's just because we've all been influenced by the conventional happily ever after romance stories. 

I've never been a huge fan of Channing Tatum but thought this was one of his best on-screen moments with his convincing love for Rachel McAdams. And Rachel McAdams has once again bragged to her fans how versatile an actress she is... as the loving wife, and the doubtful victim. The narration wasn't very consistent, though strong, it felt out of place and "forced", simply added for the purpose of injecting some cool lines and concepts about the situation. However, they added no value to the already bitter-sweet moments.

Perhaps the one most important thing I have learnt from this film is that everyone changes, gradually. But given the circumstances, we'll all turn out the same way, either way.