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. 

Battleship

Ratings: 8.8/10
Film Class: A
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Thriller

Had my reservations, because of the trailer hype, unattractive poster and ordinarily uncreative movie title. I can't fault the director for the movie title because it's based on the classic guessing naval game about ship placement which I played when I was younger (now there's even an iphone game app on it). The trailer hype which was created since around mid last year (I think?) created too much "unnecessary" waiting. And I really thought they should have put more effort into coming up with a much cooler poster design. 

Anyways, if you don't already know, Battleship is also from Hasbro, the multinational toy and board game company from the US which brought you Transformers. I don't see the "link" in its publicity, but from the way the movie turned out, there were loads of transformer-like CG in it... in a word, AWESOME. 

Battleship has a bit of everything, I'm not referring to the genres, but more on reminiscence of other well-known films. *spoilers ahead* To sum it up in a sentence, Battleship is "Transformers" CG meets "Independence Day" Alien Storyline-ness, a tad of sinking "Titanic" and a hint of TV ad "Starship Troopers", and finally, new school meets old school "Wild Hogs" versus "GI Joe" aliens.

While there might have been a few scenes of "discontinuity" (created a bumpy plot progression), especially the one where the Battleship Missouri was reintroduced and given its 20 minutes of fame, and somewhat "off" humor lines every now and then, I was really impressed with the overall movie experience.

There's character development, character engagement (not so much the lead but his bro), and you even get to see lots of human-like extra-terrestrials, something most alien movies do not feature much of. I expected epicness, and the CG brought out just that... with a hot babe and my favourite Hollywood star Liam Neeson, the director really knows how to please a guy, much so for a male movie buff.

A guy-ish movie, for a guy-ish audience. There's principles of art of war, there's "original battleship-like" attacks and there's non-stop CG action which would awe all ages. Battleship is definitely a movie I'm going to keep in my Blue-Ray Library for years to come...  

The Hunger Games

Ratings: 7.4/10

Film Class: B-

Genre: Action Thriller

I think this is a B grade movie, slightly low budget cos of the camera work. I was totally irritated during the first 15-30 minutes of the film with all the shaky and upclose shots, which made me feel that the reason for doing so was because they couldn't afford/bother to do up a decent setting in the background. By upclose, I mean right smack few inches in front of their faces and by shaky, I mean consistent unnecessary up-down movements. I'm not sure if the situation improved during the later half of the movie or that I just finally succumbed to conditioning...

Well, there were lotsa good reviews about The Hunger Games. I believe the good reviews were more directed to the tagline, "May the odds ever be in your favor", mentioned about 3 times throughout, pretty catchy line I must agree. Does one really learn how to survive in the wilderness after watching this movie? Nope. Cos most of the stuff inside are fictional. Does this movie take away any trust left in others? Survival of the fittest? Nope, there's still hope in humanity. 

Everything I was told of the movie, didn't come true. Truth is, I still don't really understand the logic behind the hunger games. All I know is that it's a competition to be the last man or woman standing amongst the nominated teenagers from 12 different districts - 2 from each district, chosen by drawing lots. And the reason of it is to remind everyone of how they came about to their current situation - peace time... not that peaceful afterall. 

We all know the lead star volunteered herself because of her sister and the movie takes us through her journey as a competitor in the hunger games. She made friends, enemies, and even "the love of her life". *major spoilers ahead* Ok, I was being sarcastic. It was portrayed quite bluntly that she pretended to fall in love with this other guy from her district just "for show" - maybe for now but their love might actually blossom in future. 

The Hunger Games is an adaptation of a trilogy novel series but from where this movie was leading to, it would seem that it might even stop at the first instalment. There's no after credits scene to whet your appetite for a sequel. I was not a fan of the lead actress, and neither am I now despite after watching her in action. 

However, contrary to what I assumed this movie would be, it's not a teen flick. I would say that the theme is generally quite "adult" and it's more along the lines of "How to Kill a Mocking Bird", slightly twisted. Comparisons have been made to the Japanese movie Battle Royale, and true enough, there's much resemblance to it. While the Japanese "version" of this "survivor of the fittest, battle to the death"-type movie had a more superiorly disturbing storyline and was lined with lotsa gore, The Hunger Games did not lose out in its engagement and suspense. It was pretty horrifying and cool at times even though there were a few scenes in it which messed up the genre a little... *major spoilers alert 2* The part where the participants formed a group and started to hunt her felt like a horror thriller and the part where they had to face the dog-like beasts felt like a sci-fi computer game-like movie like Gamer. 

I did enjoy myself, but wasn't awed by it. A satisfying film, ala-carte style (not buffet-style). 

The Great Magician

Ratings: 6.6/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Action Comedy

Somehow, this movie just reminds me of Let the Bullets Fly - Action packed with loads of comedy. However, Let the Bullets Fly was one of the most memorable chinese movies of such a genre. The Great Magician doesn't "appear" close.

A great travelling magician catches the attention of a powerful warload, Lei Daniu, who engages his help to win the heart of his 7th concubine. Of all his other wives, the 7th is one who treats him most coldly and whom he adores most. Unknowing to him, the great magician is her fiance who is plotting something up his sleeves...

The movie started strong, and engaging, but gradually became too gimicky. It was just ma-cheesy at the end, especially after the point where everything was "exposed", perhaps the director's wrapped way of relating it to real life (magic is no longer "magically" after it has been exposed). I recalled stronger magician/illusions plot films such as The Illusionists and The Prestige, but then again comparing The Great Magician to the others is like comparing a mandarin orange with persimmons.

There were "real" magic involved (by real I actually mean realistic) and "fake" ones (by fake I mean the impossible ones, only achievable by CG) as well. So if you're a avid magician who's looking for fresh ideas to enhance your repertoire, I'm afraid you won't be finding any in this film. There are things you probably already know and others which you know are just "impossible", something that in theory, shouldn't exist in a magician's dictionary.

However, I did enjoy the first 3/4s of the movie until it fell downhill but overall, The Great Magician does enough to amaze its audience.

23:59

Ratings: 6.2/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Horror

HorCom? ComHor? Or however you put it. Nope, this isn't The Ghosts Must Be Crazy. Which I did catch too, but didn't make it to my blog. Not because it was bad, it's just that I'm generally not a fan of local productions. I'm kinda contradicting myself a little, because there were a couple of movies which did tempt me - 23:59 being one of them.

I bought Kidnapper, but sad to say till now, is sitting in my DVD box collecting dust. The movie by Eric Khoo, Be With Me was one of the best local productions I caught, think there were less than 10 lines spoken in that movie.

Since I'm already on this topic, I might as well do a quick review of the local movies I've watched. The three top directors in our local scene would probably be Jack Neo, Eric Khoo and Royston Tan, in no order of popularity. There was also a pretty unheard of "new" director, Kelvin Tong, with his recent "Tua Seh Kai" (It's A Great Great Great World) which was refreshing with the star-studded cast and old school concept, but didn't quite spell out WOW. Generally, I'm not a fan of Jack Neo's movies, from Money No Enough all the way to I Not Stupid, they were all quite floppy. Royston Tan's movies are a little... how would I say it? "Off". They're not your mainstream movies and is a little "twisted" here and there.

Eric Khoo's my favourite local director with movies that are still "artistically normal". And now, Gilbert Chan, no idea where this guy's from (though 23:59 is not his debut movie) who did a fairly decent job in portraying an army horror story. The Maid by Kelvin Tong was pretty good, and for the not-so-recent, not-too-long-ago Haunted Changi which I didn't watch, I can safely assume that 23:59 is possibly one of the better local horror movies.

Rumors about a mad mother and her child haunting the army recruits at exactly 23:59 becomes reality when a new recruit seemingly witnessed them and tries to tell his best friend, only to be brushed aside as having his imagination gone wild. After dying during a road march, his best friend must uncover the secrets behind the haunting of the mad mother and child...

Hmm... even as I'm typing the sypnosis, my hairs are standing on ends. However, even though it's a horror movie, it's not that scary. Horror meter wise, probably about 5-6/10. Still there are some nostalgic scenes which gives me the creeps. *spoilers ahead* The toilets, the bunks, the chin-up bars (not like there was anyone, or anything pulling me down...)

The disfigured child reminded me of the demon-ress from Rec, with lotsa "synthetic" makeover. And the main reason why I bought this at it's orginal price was all because of the nostalgic army song the recruits sang... "Training to be soldiers, fight for..."

Mark Lee was a "bonus". And though true, Mark Lee always adds comic relief to whatever movies he starred in, he played a more serious role this time round. Don't expect any direct laugh out loud moments... just subtle humor played in a densely, creepy ambience. It's a pity there's no focus on any female leads (duh?!) but overall, 23:59 is accompanied by many outstanding performances by the relatively unknown cast.  

Wrath of the Titans

Ratings: 6.2/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Action Fantasy

I was so hyped when the sequel for Clash of the Titans came out yesterday, 29 March 2012. While the 2010 Clash of the Titans was a remake, Wrath of the Titans is a "new" movie altogether. I didn't set my expectations too high cos I could easily identify "overly packaged and publicized" movies which always seemed to lack good plots. I desperately wanted to catch it on its premiere becos of the mythological creatures which I've always been fascinated since young (greatly influenced by the video game Heroes of Might and Magic). The Greek Gods, the mythological creatures and the awesome (not all the time though) special effects were well worth my 100 mins.  

However, while I didn't regret catching it, I sure thought the movie was pretty bad. The plot was weak (which I already expected), the scripting was choppy and "san tiao xian-ing (3 lines)", and the way the scenes flowed... were like a mixture of fresh water, sea water, and sullage water. No link... no synchroneity, the entire movie felt extremely "forced". 

The Greek Gods, Hades (Banished God of the underworld, brother to Zeus) and Ares (son of Zeus) conspire against Zeus (does he need any introduction?) to capture him so that they could "revive" and "unleash" the captive Kronos, father of Zeus and Hades. The outcome of doing so? Don't ask me... ask the director! I'm sure Ralph Fiennes (Hades) and Edgar Ramirez (Ares) don't even have a clue why they're doing so. Perhaps they were sick of being Godly and wants Kronos to destroy every single thing in the world so that they could be lonely Gods.

Newaz, the weak plot aside, the cast, though top notch with Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington and Bill Nightly acting in it, fell flat, epicly flat. I felt that somehow, none of them "rised above normal". There's only so much great actors could do with bad scripting, bad direction and bad development - they do their best to entertain the audience at the expense of making a fool of themselves...

There were Minotaurs, Cyclops, Chimeras, Dopplegangers? and Pegasus, all of which didn't fail to "light" up the screen. The CG was the only success in this film... the rest were a letdown in titan-ic proportions.

The Artist

Ratings: 8.0/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Romantic, Comedy Drama

The Artist is certainly an interesting movie. It left me speechless. I would say it's great, but not exceptional. Ever since the "new" era of movie making, silent movies have long been forgotten. Sure, the legend of the famous Charlie Chaplin still lingers, but not to the extend that he's missed by millions. There's just too many legends to be missed nowadays, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Michael Jackson etc. The last I remembered of such "silent-like" movies/series is the Mr Bean series. And thankfully, Rowan Atkinson is still in showbiz. Charlie Chaplin wasn't my era, I only vaguely recalled it being shown on our local channels as "fillers" when I was like about 5 years old or younger.

What I'm trying to say is that while it's refreshing to bring an "old" concept back in the modern age, I believe it will soon be chucked away and forgotten in years to come. No matter how much I love it, I was especially fond of the 2 leads for creating such a nostalgic experience for me, the inevitable will happen because the movie lacked the impact. It had the "novelty", soundtrack and great performances by the star-studded cast, but something is missing.. which I cannot put my finger, or comment on. 

I did feel for the characters, but felt that the story dragged a little too much in the middle... about how despite the extreme of circumstances, the male lead still refused to adapt to change. The Artist is about a famous silent movie star who outlived his fame when the new era of talking movies kicked in, and his stubbornness to change would gradually cause his ultimate downfall... 

There's love, there's comedy, there's heart-warming and beautiful moments, and there's lots, real lots of concentration needed on the audience's part due to the nature of the film. In a good way, it forces you to be involved. 

Despite my "imperfect" reviews and "harsh" thoughts above, considering the hype and awards it has received, I'm hopeful that our local TV stations will screen this on TV in years to come, and sure hope that the memory of this forgotten "era" will forever be kept alive...