Movie Buzz : Iron Man 2 VS Ip Man 2
A quick review on both movies that I caught recently. It’s the battle between the IM 2.
Iron Man 2 – Even though I’m not exactly a hardcore comic book fan, it was rather easy to catch on the characters with its brief build-up and backstory scenes between the characters. One scene that I thought was superbly done was the grand prix scene in Monaco with the introduction of the character Vanko aka Whiplash. Another would be the scene whereby WarMachine and Iron Man battled against the Vanko and his droids army. Overall, the movie was really enjoyable but I thought the fighting scenes could be longer (like seriously, fighting against Vanko took less than 1 minute ?! That’s…noob.)
Of course, you can’t resist the charm of Robert Downey Jr and stunning Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman. Apparently The Avengers will be out in 2012, I believe this is a good intriguing ‘trailer’ for fans out there. Jon Favreau (Director) handled the action and special effects with real skill, I have to say it was better than what I’d have expected.
Ip Man 2 – A real dramatic martial arts film, in terms of plot and characterization, it portrayed how Chinese people were treated by the British back in those days, as well as the western perceptions towards Chinese martial arts. A random rush of Chinese pride after watching this film, especially when you recall the history of how the Chinese have always been ‘bullied’ by the Japanese then British during that period. Patriotism much. (Jackie Chan should just step aside with his crappy police beat them up action flicks)
Sammo Hung is one of my favourite martial art actor and I think his character was terrific. It’s a shame that it won’t be a trilogy as to build up the characters more and there would be a better focus in Ip Man 2′s story. Impressive use of technology to showcase the traditional martial arts and I really enjoyed the fighting scenes. As usual, the villains in most movies are rather astonishingly dumb, like how 20 men would wait patiently for their turn to whack Donnie Yen or having one ignorant boorish British man offending the entire Chinese population, but that’s how movies do it – unfolding the next events.
If you’re not exactly into the action, I must add that Huang Xiaoming (Leung) is rather cute as Donnie’s first student. Too bad there wasn’t much worth-watching scenes of him except being a troublemaker (which instigated the fight that brings Yen and Hung together)
I’ll give this movie a 4.5/5 !
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If you have only time for just one movie this summer, I would say go for Ip Man 2 !
Movie Buzz : The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Let’s put it this way, Terry Gilliam isn’t the most coherent story-teller and is the kind of director whom you either love or hate. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is either utter rubbish or rather epic for movie-goers. Unlike the boyfriend, I’ll choose the latter. Almost like how things just don’t make sense at first but evolves into a somewhat fantastic, abstract, and amazing imagery. I feel that the film was rather ‘Hitchcockian’ as well and quite similar to how he directed 12 Monkeys. (Which is not a compliment IMHO)
So the story follows Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his traveling theater troupe, which includes Anton (Andrew Garfield), Percy (Verne Troyer) and his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) as they try to show people the enlightenment within life – through a mirror which brings u to the imaginarium that’s some sort of dreamland where your wildest fantasy are realized. Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) aka the Devil, on the other hand, allows people to get quick gratification they desire. So at a certain point the person in the imaginarium will be given a choice of easy temptation or harder road to enlightenment.
Obviously if you choose the former, your soul will end up with the Satan, while the latter will return and be happy. I will not spoil the rest of the story but Tony (Heath Ledger) was rescued by the troupe and the story progresses from there.
While most people won’t embrace the fantastical,the scenes inside the imaginarium were pretty awesome with the (hand-drawn?) CGI. I thought the usage of CGI environments were pretty well-blended into the story. However,the way how Tony as a character morphing into Johnny Depp/Jude Law/Colin Farrell was just too convoluted and forced. Perhaps Ledger’s death affected the ‘original presentation’ but it felt really incomplete. On a side note, I’m not sure if it’s just me or the dialogues were rather muffled. Perhaps it’s post-production but it was a struggle to understand the actors at times.
There were just way too much set-up to absorb and it was like the movie will never get going ! Just like how your naggy old dad is telling you a story and keeps on interrupting himself with random things, that’s how the movie started. The plot just won’t start rolling and it took me awhile to understand (I won’t even dare to say fully understood) the movie. I’m quite sure the impatient movie-goers would have walked out of the theatre before the story actually start flowing. (You should see how the grumpy boyfriend was frowning at the end of the movie.HAHA!)
I was quite disturbed when I see Doctor Parnassus romancing his daughter, Valentina, or rather her mother who was played by the same actress. It was almost like incestuous ! But Lily Cole is really gorgeous in a special way. Percy”s one-liners cracked me up during the film but overall, I didn’t think any characters actually stood out but great acting nonetheless. I don’t think I’m bias to say that Johnny Depp was brilliant even though it was just a short appearance. In fact, it was only at that point where I understood the story better ! Sadly Ledger didn’t get to act in those imaginarium scenes, would be fantastic to see a quirky side of him.
To keep it short and simple – Watch it if you’re a Ledger’s fan, it’s his last performance afterall. Watch it if you’re Johnny Depp fan. Watch it if you like bizzare stuff. Watch it if you’re a deep thinker (especially if like me, you can relate it to the bible/religion etc). Watch it if you like detailed settings and wardrobe. Watch it if you’re patient enough to stay through the movie. Else don’t bother. Not the usual Hollywood film that movie-goers would enjoy ! I’ll give it a 3.5/5 personally !
source : flixster
Movie Buzz : Astro Boy !
Caught the premiere screening of Astro Boy with the boyfriend at Golden Village earlier on. Before I share my thoughts on Astro Boy, I think Singaporeans are really inconsiderate when it comes to such events which are free seating. I don’t see how you can’t move in - knowing that others who come in later than you will have a hard time moving to the middle seats. OR putting your bags next to you to occupy another seat. Like seriously, quite a disgrace to call myself Singaporean when you are in such situations.
Anyways, the synopsis for Astro Boy reads something like how a typical Japanese cartoon would be like – Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist. The robot then turns into a hero and save Metro City and embarks on a journey in search of his destiny. Cliché but it was not what I was expecting after the nice happy start of the film.
Without a doubt, the best thing about Astro Boy was the hard hitting and rather dark first act that sets the back story. We see the brilliant scientist Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage) and his really smart human son being introduced. Not having a single clue of how Astro Boy’s story is like, I would have expected some science-experiment-went-wrong which transformed the son to a heroic figure with super powers as it’s a children-friendly film. How the film went was much darker and the emotional depth was surprisingly effective in the rejection scene which followed shortly between the scientist and the recreated son. I thought this component of the film was well handled and it gave a solid foundation for the film to kick off with.
Overall, the animation was not fantastic but attractive enough from both animation and cinematography perspective. I liked how 2D and 3D animation is blended together to produce a visually appealing piece. I think Imagi (the Hong Kong Animation Studio) did a slick job for the CG and kinda bring the whole story to life. There are a number of ‘useless’ yet interesting characters that piece the film together. For instance, I really liked the 3 robots called the “Robot Revolutionary Front” who were the comical relief in the film. Although it felt as though these sidekick characters were created to take up screen time but I think their presence added the entertainment element – even if they have no positive or negative impact for the story. You can totally agree with the robots’ last line” Well, I guess we didn’t actually do anything” – quite right!
One thing I’ve never liked about animation movies is that you have all these voices of high profile actors are not necessary the best choice. Most of them were emotionless and flat when it comes to portraying their animated characters. Then again, I think guys will like Kristen Bell as Cora even if, in my opinion, Cora’s character was rather weak. I’m not sure how different the Manga is as compared to the film but I find the messages behind the story were literally in your face – like “how fitting in when you’re different from others harder to do than you thought” (somewhere along that line) or how you can never replace your loved ones etc. However, I find the music by John Ottman infused the right atmosphere and really fits the film.
Overall, the movie started off with a bang but weakens as the movie reaches the end. Especially when you were expecting the action to get more exciting – reaching “OH NO,ITS THE END OF THE WORLD” when the red core and the blue core meets…but hell no, it was a “That’s it ?!” disappointing moment for me. I didn’t quite get why the president kept repeating that he is trying to win an election, going on and on about it…like what’s the point ? (inside joke?) Isn’t evil guys suppose to destroy the world with such great power ?! That’s how the story should be like ! (I’m sadist)
It was quite a straightforward story for kids to understand with jokes that are good enough for the adults to chuckle over. I have a soft spot for this iconic figure created by Osamu Tezuka aka “God of Manga” because of his cute hairdo and spunky red boots. So I’ll say it’s a 4 out of 5 (despite my slightly negative review) for this fun family film that everyone can comes away happy for different reasons. It could have been better.
It opens in cinema this coming Thursday, 5th November !
Now, who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf ? [Wolverine Review]
The boyfriend and I caught X-Men Origins : Wolverine yesterday. He, being a comics fan, had pretty low expectations for the movie. On the other hand, I have absolutely no clue what’s the “original” story behind X-Men or the characters…so I guess I went in without much expectations. (Except drooling over Hugh Jackman) Although I have to say I was really looking forward to the movie as Wolverine is probably one of the characters that I actually heard more of. (Disclaimer : This review is going to be based on a person without 0% knowledge of the story/wolverine/comic. Visit the boyfriend’s blog for a more indepth cover..lol) 
The opening credits was rather impressive, I liked the transitions and it delivered a great style of storytelling on the background/relationship between Wolverine and Sabertooth. What puzzles me alil is how they have this mutant power and where the hell is their mother ? Like they showed how they fought in the wars, but why would they be accepted in the first place if everyone thinks that they are freaks ? 
The romance part of it was rather boring though, Silverfox was incredibly hot nonetheless.
I can’t say the acting was impressive because it was mostly action scenes, which was handled quite perfectly. I was impressed by the use of CGI, not in a good way though. Will.I.Am’s character “Kestrel” was not as impressive as I thought he would be, it looked as though there was a slight “jump cut” instead of showing off his power. I liked “Blob” because he looked really funny and adorable. Gambit’s card-flipping action was abit showy but other than that, his action scenes were awesome. Sabertooth wasn’t that mindblowing and throughout the whole movie, I was thinking to myself “it’ll be funny to see him getting a manicure” (quite random thought because I was talking to the boyfriend about manicures) 
Deadpool should be interesting (according to the boyfriend) but I’m not so sure about that. The make up was cool enough. Oh, Cyclops was quite cute and it seems like he’ll be the next featured character I suppose.
Overall, I felt that the movie was more like a build-up for the next one. It has the right amount of subtle sarcasm and humor to balance an all-action film. It was alil longer than I wish it would have been, some parts were rather draggy. The introduction of characters were abit “huh, who’s that?…*swoosh* he/she is gone already?” for me/people who are not X-Men fans.Not all the scenes were very well-shot, boo for the cinematography and bad use of CGI. From the bimbotic side of me, I would say that Hugh Jackman is undeniably the actor for this role. How can the sexiest man alive look bad with almost every other scenes topless AND running across the field naked. (I bet they cut away a few shots of that scene !) It was quite a drool-worthy moment. HAHA 
I’m sitting on the fence for this, especially after reading about the flaws it has. I can’t say it’s a must watch but I’ll give it a 7/10 for the opening credits itself and the costumes/makeup. I guess it’s one of the better movies out there for now. There’s a after-credit scene, so do stay behind to catch it ! ( We were the only 2 clever people who stayed to watch it..MUHAHA)
To end this off, here’s a video which I thought was lame-amusing.
Why Having Wolverine’s Claws Would Suck — powered by Cracked.com
Movie Buzz : Marley & Me
The boyfriend and I caught “Marley & Me” today. Based on John Grogan‘s best-selling book, this film is definitely a must-watch for all dog lovers. 
(although I have yet to read the book)
((potential spoilers alert)) 
It chronicles the relationship of John (Owen Wilson) and Jen (Jennifer Aniston), the newly-wed couple who decided to settle down and start a family of their own…and it all began with a really cute Labrador , Marley. Basically Marley is this “world’s worst dog” who chews through wall, gets kicked out from obedience school and gets turned on by legs. But throughout it all, dog is always a man’s best friend and the film portrays that fact quite perfectly.
The set was gorgeous with perfect lighting and the cinematography was not too bad for a family film. I thought Owen Wilson played his role pretty well, the comedic persona with a tinge of SNAG (sentsitive new age guy) feel. Jennifer Aniston is (as usual) gorgeous and a total natural at playing the damsel in distress. I thought the boss (Alan Arkin) was quite an outstanding character with his witty lines too. Of course the main lead goes to Marley the dog who totally worthed all the cooing and cracking up over his silly actions. 
I liked how the story flows like a diary and makes audience feel as though they are part of the character’s lives. I was quite emotionally “attached” to Marley by the end of the film and I was sobbing when Marley left the family. 
In fact, I was quite upset when Jennifer Aniston lost her first baby. I really enjoyed such family films to begin with, the happy scenes with the entire family and Marley were very memorable and I kinda envy that kind of life. (Though 3 kids and 1 dog sound alil scary for me) 
I can say that I walked out of the theatre feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. It was so worth the tears. HAHA !
It was undeniably a sweet, simple film that has quite a good message(s) behind it. Unconditional love between the characters, how unexpected situations in life surprise you but you can make whatever you want out of it. When things get tough, stick with it and make the best out of it instead. Overall, I guess this is a movie that any dog owners/lovers can relate to wholeheartedly. I think it is an instant classic that many will enjoy, so do go and catch it if you have yet to ! 
I’m so tired but I just have to blog this out before I sleep. =X
P.S : Just a casual reminder, as much as I love dogs and I think everyone else should too…do not get yourself a dog if you’re not ready to be a responsible dog owner. No matter how cute/adorable/must-have the dog is to you, please bear in mind the responsibilities that comes with him/her. Dogs are not toys ! 
They too need as much attention and love as a human being.
“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.” – Marley & Me
