The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ratings: 7.3/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Whimsical Comedy

Wes Anderson's film style doesn't follow the conventional Hollywood films, if you don't already know. I know of many of his movies, yet have only seen, perhaps 2. This, and the Fantastic Mr Fox. His use of bright colors for every single freaking scene is bold, yet refreshing. The use of whimsical songs lighten up the mood, and the scripting is pure genius - elaborately subtle, the funny serious type. However, I wouldn't exactly say this is a light hearted movie, and at the end of it, it feels quite... with the lack of a less offending word, meaningless. 

I guess you either worship him, or are impressed by him. I'm the latter sort. It's impressive alright, but not the kind of movie which I fancy. Despite having many of my favourite stars, especially Ralph Fiennes, I couldn't feel the movie - all I was treated to, was an entertaining delight of colors, star-studded cast and cutsy music. 

Ralph Fiennes star as Gustave, a legendary concierge in charge of The Grand Budapest Hotel. There's a new lobby boy, who eventually becomes his most trusted friend, and together, they journey through adventures of corruption, prison-breaks and assassinations. This is the story of how his lobby boy, came to own the Grand Budapest Hotel... 

I would recommend this, not for the plot, but for the cinematic genius and entertainment value. It's in a class of its own - cheesily classy. 

Midsummer's Equation (Detective Galileo)

Ratings: 8.3/10

Film Class: C

Genre: Mystery Drama (Japanese)

This sequel to Detective Galilieo's Suspect X is one of the most "soul-ful" Japanese movie I've seen. I might be overthinking things, but the "extended ending" really distorts my inner equilibrium. You can say this movie felt like a 2 chapter series, the first 3/4 of it was Chapter 1 about Manabu Yukawa, aka Detective Galileo, an astute physicist, being invited to a small town to explain to the townsfolk about an upcoming seabed mining plan. The townsfolk are against the idea because they wanna protect the marine landscape, whereas the mining company's there to convince them otherwise. 

What would seem like the main plot turned out to be a minor part of the entire movie - the seabed mining almost seemed redundant at some point, that the scriptwriters merely injected it as a "excuse" to get Yukawa to this small town. True enough, there wasn't much purpose of the seabed mining plot, an absolute throwoff subplot. Though there was some rationale afterwards, it was obviously a forced link. 

Despite the above, and a rather monotonous flow of events and dialogue, there were so many "human factors" that made this low profile movie a hidden gem. Before I finally speak of its glory, I have to also add that I don't see how this is a sequel to Suspect X, merely another movie on the Detective Galileo's hit series. 

*major major spoilers ahead, do not read on if you haven't watched the movie*

I thought it rather mundane and disconnected at first, about how Yukawa became involved in a supposed suicide case in the small town. He initially didn't care much about it, but it was a little boy who sparked his interest. I wondered how important the little boy was, I mean, how important could he be? Considering he was not even that related to the family which the opening sequence focused on, basically the mystery which was to be unravelled. 

It turned out, the little boy not only brought the themes of "innocence" and "inquisitiveness" into this dreary setting filled with multiple layers of disjointed secrets, he also brought a controversial lesson to be learnt in life - to unknowingly be an accomplice to a crime. He was made use of to carry out a crime, which he would always be guilty of, whether be it in the eyes of the law, or whether its within his own moral compass. Like they always say, the truth hurts. 

It's so bad that at some point, I just wondered to myself whether the truth should even be unravelled. For once, or one of the few rare moments in cinema history, the lie was really better off than the truth. Though Yukawa did what was merely right, it felt wrong. 

Of course, it wasn't just the boy. The father of the female lead and the female lead herself also stole a huge bulk of the limelight. There was one scene so provocatively strong and emotionally powerful that will surely "haunt" me from time to come. And that one scene was about how her father told Yakuwa that his hypothesis was wrong. Initially it seemed merely to be a scene of denial. But it wasn't just that. 

To really understand what that scene meant, and what my following explanation about it is, it's better that you watch the movie first before reading on. Briefly put, the backstory that is, is that his fake daughter Narumi killed the extorting wife of her actual Dad, so he and his wife tried to cover it up. Narumi's actual Dad having found out his daughter killed his wife, confessed to a crime he didn't commit. All was well, until this movie started. The apparent suicide of a man, who happened to be a cop. That's when Yakawa found out that he was murdered by Narumi's fake Dad because he found out that the cop was digging into the past, after realising that he (the cop) had falsefully put a man (Narumi's actual Dad) behind bars. 

And when Narumi's fake Dad rebutted to Yakawa that he did not murder the cop, and that Narumi is his daughter, he wasn't in denial. He said what he said because he wanted to protect his daughter. He was remorseful alright, but he didn't admit to his murder because that would mean that there was indeed something to hide, which also meant that Narumi did indeed murder someone.

It was a movie about love on a higher level, about the love of parents, about a daughter's realisation of her parent's love for her. This movie wasn't about justice, it was about finding out the truth. 

Detective Galileo's Midsummer Equation is a sum of human predicaments to the power 2.

Maleficent

Ratings: 6.5/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Fairy Tale Fantasy

Maleficent wasn't magnificent. But I have tons to say about it. This movie probably met with an identity crisis - the trailers portrayed a darker side of the classic Sleeping Beauty story we are all so familiar with (actually I'm not) but turned out to be "brighter" than expected. It tells the story from the perspective of the wicked witch... well, at least that was what I thought she was all along... turned out not all the wicked spell casters are witches, for Maleficent was a powerful fairy turned evil due to the betrayal of her first love. Evil isn't even the appropriate term to use here, let's just say she "lost her way". As to whether she eventually found "her way back", think I just gave it away.. *opps* (no spoiler alert here cos Maleficent's the main lead for a reason duh?).

The acting was pretty bad, generally, possibly because the cast had to act in front of a green screen most of the time. Almost every scene was so CG-ed, and the CG wasn't great, making it too unbelievable. The fantasy world that Maleficent lived in was actually pretty cool, with all the interesting mystical creatures, but was made unbelievable because Angelina Jolie's and Elle Fanning's acting gave it away (there was something unnatural about the way they acted). 

I didn't quite get the theme of the movie. It wasn't too "dark", it wasn't too "bright", it was neither here nor there. In the presence of a greater evil, I guess it makes the villains look good. The director crushed the Sleeping Beauty's story by portraying how scheming her Dad (King) was. I mean if it was meant to be a dark version of the Fairy Tale, he should have gone all the way. I was rooting for Maleficent from start till end, I mean what the prick right, since when did the spectrum of good and evil in the fairy tale universe reverse itself? Imagine the Beast psychologically terrorizing Belle to be with him, or the seven dwarfs plotting to cannibalise Snow White, or the Fairy Godmother cursing Cinderella with a disease that would consume her in her later years... should I continue? 

It's warped, it totally ruined what fairy tales are meant to be, and should be meant to be for the rest of eternity. And the "twist" at the end, was similar to Frozen, true love's kiss, I knew it was too easy. But yet, an applaudable point was that it wasn't too draggy. The true love kiss's part was straight to the point... though the lead up was choppy. 

It was a decent Disney film, but it won't be a "legendary" one for sure. A couple of giggles, and a scene with a touching quote from Angelina Jolie won't make me wanna lay eyes on this a second time though. But strangely enough, I... kinda recommend this film... Perhaps Maleficent has cast a spell on me...

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Ratings: 7.5/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Marvel Superhero

The X-Men must come together again... wait a minute, X-Men? It's more like Wolverine travelling back to the past and bringing together best-friends-turned-arch-enemies Professor X and Magneto to stop an assassination which brings about a doomed future for mutants and humans. A post-apocalyptic tale where time travel's possible (only in the Marvel Universe), where the mutants' and humanity's only hope against a world governed by invincible Sentinels is a 4-men team comprising of Wolverine, Professor X, Beast and Magneto. 

The 1973 back to the past era was more err.. human-like, whilst the dark future packed more Marvel-Superhero-Universe punch that X-Men fans have been waiting so long for; yup, it's finally here, a fireworks of mutant display during the opening and ending scenes. The only complain I have is the lack of action all through mid-way compared to the adrenaline pumping start, which reminded me of what X-Men felt like during my younger days, when it was still cartoon-ized. 

*spoilers ahead* I didn't like how Mystique was so crucial in this film, was never a fan of hers, but not only was she that important (in changing history), she was also the common love interest of Professor X, Magneto and even Beast. What?! It's not even a love triangle, it's a love square! 

While Wolverine didn't have his kick-ass alimentum claws back in the past, he does have his high-density bones to slice through... nothing? I don't even recall him Berserker Barraging anything, but he does feel more vulnerable, and a character's vulnerability makes the story somewhat more relatable. 

The ending is predictable, but definitely not the stinger. *major spoilers ahead* Even though it was less than 10 seconds long, the post-credits scene is worth staying back for, especially for fans... because it introduces this unknown new character, rather scrawny looking compared to how the comics/cartoon have always portrayed him... he is none other than the ultimate villain I had hoped for since the X-Men's first live motion picture... the Age of Apocalypse is coming. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past is the franchise's best sequel yet, a more all-rounded film with better focus, finally an X-Men movie more X-Men than Wolverine. 

Godzilla

Ratings: 5.5/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Sci Fi Action

This version of Godzilla glorifies the Japanese prehistoric fictional legend, a monster which feeds on nuclear energy capable of mass destruction. However, unlike the previous Hollywood film, Godzilla's this Godlike monster, a creature which maintains balance, humanity's last line of defence against other monsters like it. The trailer tend to throw the audience's expectations off, portraying Godzilla as yet another devastator, but this T-Rex (big head, short hands), Iguanodon (scaly skinned), Stegosaurus (spikes at the back) and alligator (tail) chimera shows you its less commonly seen good side. 

I happened to bump into my friend after the movie, and when he asked how it went, the mentally beat up me replied... "It's quite "gina" (meaning child-like, childish)". For a lack of a better adjective, that was all I could think of to sum up my 2hr long solo movie experience. Not sure if it was cos' of the sound effects, as I was seated at the leftmost end of the cinema, or was it the overly simple storyline, or was it the exceptionally bad acting from the main lead, or was it the insanely ridiculous way Godzilla somehow always manages to come back to life from a near-death state (reminds me of Ultraman), but it just felt soo.. sooo.... horrible. 

There wasn't enough action, too much poor scripting, poor acting, poor development that I just thought to myself, "Are we there yet?" We do get to see Godzilla's full frame pretty early in the movie, but the monster duels were always either cut out too quickly after some teaser exchanges of blows or they just too flukishly ended. 

The best part of it was the opening credits... after that, everything else went downhill. Just like Godzilla, the movie went dangerous close to the core... being sucked in... let's just say it sucked to the core. No stinger at the end, so you could spare yourself the agony and get out of the cinema before the monster "ate your brains".

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ratings: 8.4/10
Film Class: B
Genre: Fantasy Comedy

What’s amazing is that the greatest “secret” of Walter Mitty is that he was scheduled for a remake in 1994 (yup, there’s an even older version in 1947)… but due to loads of production hiccups, we only get to see him now (2013). Ben Stiller wasn’t the first choice, to act or to direct, but ended up doing both, with stellar results.

While initially pretty corny, it slowly evolved into something rather abstract. Walter Mitty is the manager of the negative assets sector of Life magazine; basically he develops photos for his company from film negatives. It’s old school, and his job is put on the line when his company was brought over, with an impending downsizing of the company. He was tasked to develop the photo for the last issue of Life Magazine, using negative 25 that was sent by an independent photographer, Sean O’Connell who has contributed to many of Life’s cover photos. However, in the roll of negatives that Sean sent, negative 25 is missing.

Walter Mitty lives a rather boring life. He zones out most of the time, and enters his fantasy world. He has taken a liking to this new colleague of his but has not found the courage to ask her out for a date. So how does a missing negative 25, a chronic day-dreamer and his love interest come together? That’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for you.

*major spoilers ahead* There’s so much character empathy and fantasy corniness that it greys the line between fantasy and reality. On one hand we get so conditioned to think that what looked outrageous would surely be part of his fantasy, but on the other when it hits that they are realities, coupled with the character empathy built up in the course of the film, it churns out a really feel-good feeling that few movies have been able to achieve. It’s… psychedelically beautiful.

The soundtrack charms too, and that one scene about the helicopter, without giving too much away, is a scene that’s gonna stick in my memory palace for a long long time. I went like “w** just happened” after that scene, and the amazing thing was that Ben Stiller gave that exact same expression.

At one point I was wondering where the movie was leading to, cos it seemed like everything he did was much ado about nothing. And yet Ben Stiller is a master of teasers, because I was reeled in like a little guppy, wanting to uncover the fantasy mystery as to what negative 25 was. However, I was about to get my hopes all dashed with all the convincing throw offs when perhaps he thought, ok, it’s enough, time to reveal what the photo is to my cringing audience. And the best part, it’s worth sitting through all the mental and emotional abuse for. That last scene was like an unintentional twist, a finale that wraps everything up just perfect. But it’s not just that, at the end of the day, it’s more than just a mystery, it’s a journey into a day-dreamer’s life, and an experience to “grow” with him.

It’s no blockbuster quality, but it’s ace material, with fantasmic execution. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Ratings: 8.6/10

Genre: Superhero Action Thriller

Film Class: A

Marvel has redefined a new genre in today’s movie industry: Marvel’s very own superhero espionage film. What? Espionage? You heard me right. I was reluctant to give Captain America 2 a go, considering how badly it failed for its first installment. I hate to say this, but Captain America, has redeemed itself. I even think it’s better than most other Marvel movies.

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, has to face a formidable foe, the winter soldier, a henchman of the criminal mastermind who has compromised S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D is an intel cum special ops agency which has turned against Captain America and he must uncover the conspiracy which threatens billions of innocent lives around the world. Together with his new team comprised of other superheroes like the Black Widow and Falcon, he dashes through multiple layers of deceit and battles overwhelming odds to rise once again as the country’s hero.

This isn’t mainly a superhero movie… it felt more of an espionage thriller unlike your usual Marvel superhero movies. Considering Captain America is like a human on steroids, it makes him more ordinary, more relatable. No self-healing or flying abilities, Captain America tackles the villains head-on with only 1 weapon in his hand, his invincible shield. I think the most defining factor of Captain America is that he’s fallible and the audience were able to feel for him because just like he was at the start, we were all totally clueless as to what was happening and what was to become. 

The storyline started off pretty innocently, but developed into something more abstract, for the thinking audience. The twists, the jokes, the conversational relation to other marvel superheroes like Tony Stark, aka Iron-Man makes this film more exclusive than it would seem. Because if you’re new to the Marvel Superhero World, which there’s no excuse for you to be so, you might be lost at times during some of the dialogue exchanges.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an adrenaline pumping, mind-twisting fusion of fantasy and reality. A superhero movie worth saluting to.  

PS.:  There are 2 stingers at the back, one after the first roll of credits (which featured Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver leading to the 2nd Avengers movie), the other all the way to the end. So do stay back for the stingers. Even though the latter might not be that “worth” it since it was pretty short, it’s pretty important because it gives a hint to where the Captain America franchise might be leading to.