The Avengers [ Movie Review ] ★★★★1/2

The Pitch

The Avengers is not like any summer blockbuster movies that came before. It's a comic book superheroes team like no other. The seed for this movie was planted in the first Iron Man, way back in 2008. From then on, it was a cumulative of movies that introduced the likes of The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America that collective forms the basis for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

With this group of super-powered individuals, it gave Marvel the opportunity to bring one of their most beloved and long enduring superheroes team onto the big screen. Personally The Avengers is one of the most anticipated movie of the past few years.

The biggest worry would be how would these characters be handled. Will the main characters from four different movies blend well together or will they be jostling for screen time? Would the filmmakers be able to make a villain / threat so menacing that requires a team up of such super powered individuals?   

The burden / task / glory lies in Joss Whedon's hands. Mainly known as the creative force behind the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly television series, Joss Whedon had only directed one movie and that's Serenity, a movie spinoff from Firefly. The Avengers would mark as his second directorial effort and it makes me wonder if he could handle the scope of such magnitude. He is a comic book fan and wrote well received comics for Marvel Comics before but it was the Astonishing X-men comics, not the Avengers.

But still Joss Whedon has impressed many with his writing skills and it's unlikely that Marvel would just throw one of their biggest movie event in recent years to someone who might not be up to the job. There's only one way to find out if The Avengers will live up to the hype.

The Plot

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

(Plot taken from The Avengers Singapore Facebook Page) 


The Perspective


Joss Whedon's The Avengers definitely managed to live up to the hype, met the expectation of (most) comics fans and set the bar real high for the next few superheroes comic book movies to come. It's been a long time since I had so much fun with a superheroes comic movie and the last one that made me craved for more was Iron Man. Here are some of the highlights of The Avengers movie.


First and foremost, the movie did a great job in characterizing the various superheroes in the limited time frame. There are four main heroes (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Hulk) and three supporting ones (Nick Fury, Hawkeye and Black Widow). It's not easy to handle all of them and yet this movie managed to put enough focus on them for the audience to care about their respective motivation and struggle. 

It's a delight to see how these various characters interact with each other. Their conflicts in personalities and opinion brought out quite a few interesting insights to their character and how much they differs from each other. The only thing that topped their fight with each other was the antagonist of this movie, Loki.


Let's just put it that these heroes need a cause so epic and a villain so devious that they would brand themselves together to fight the common enemy. Loki's evil plans and methods in this movie were definitely the crescendo rising to the climatic finale.


Last but not least, I couldn't remember caring so much about characters like the Hulk, Thor or Captain America. Iron Man was a delight when the movie came out but the other three were simply unmemorable. In Joss Whedon's direction, he brought out the essence of why these characters had remained so popular after all these years and he did it while juggling with all these other characters. Marvel needs to rethink how to handle those three characters in their respective upcoming sequels.


The Avengers is simply the best movie of the year. Nuff Said. Now go watch it in a good cinema near you.

Rating: ****1/2
 
Coda

As usual for the movies in Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are some goodies left after the movie. The scene occurs during the mid Credits. It's Thanos getting report from the minion that the invasion had failed. There's a line in that scene that the minion said gave me goosebumps ... the Infinity Gauntlet type of goosebumps ... and that line is ""To challenge them is to court death!""

Reportedly, ComingSoon mention that there's a additional second scene at the End of Credits that's NOT included in the international prints. Yup that's right! Only the US theaters get it. But then again, there are those people who seen it and complained that the scene was too short and was a waste of time to stay back for. I was anticipating that scene and was disappointed that it wasn't included in the Singapore print. In case you want to know what is it about, it was a quiet scene of the Avengers having shawarma together in a diner.

The Avengers Official Trailer 2

 

Marvel's The Avengers Super Bowl 2012

The Avengers Official Trailer

 

New Set of Avengers Banner poster
 

Marvel Studio just released a set of characters poster for the upcoming The Avengers at Comic Con 2011. Awesome piece of work isn't it? Nuff Said!

Chronicle [ Movie Review ] ★★★★

The Pitch

In recent years, the "Found Footage / Shaky Cam" genre has branch out to many interesting premise. No longer constrained in the conventional horror genre, it has move on to mega monster invasion (Cloverfield), space exploration (Apollo 18) and even religious faith (The Last Exorcism). The latest offering of the "Found Footage / Shaky Cam" would be a Chronicle of a group of high school kids gaining superhuman power after exploring a mysterious crater.

Chronicle's premise sound like a dream come true for anyone who had ever fantasize about gaining superpower abilities to rack some havoc or gain some form of popularity. It's probably going to appeal to the comic books readers and fans of anime. As someone who reads comics during the school days and had daydreams of flying in the skies, Chronicle became a highly anticipated movie after watching the trailer at their youtube channel.

The climatic end of Chronicle trailer also send vibes of the Japanese animation Akira ( アキラ ) . One of the friends is going to get mad with power and it's probably up to his friends to stop him. I can't wait to see how they are going to pull this off with shaky cam.

Quick | 퀵 [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Pitch

Quick 퀵 caught my attention with it's box office performance in Korea. It didn't managed to top the box office during it's run in Korea cinemas. Each week, it was outflanked by other Korean movies like The Front Line and Sector 7. But at the year end tally of total admissions, Quick was ahead of The Front Line and Sector 7. That piped my curiosity. What the draw of this movie which look strikingly like Keanu Reeves' Speed?

The Plot

Legendary biker Han (Lee Min-Ki) used to roam the streets recklessly with their motorcycles. Now he works as a courier boy who delivers his customer's goods in record breaking time.

His past caught up with him when his colleague dispatch him to send Ah-Rom (Kang Hye-Won) a member of a successful pop idol group to a concert. It turned out that Ah-Rom used to be his girlfriend and he broke her heart by cheating on her. Just as Han was about to proceed with the delivery, a mysterious caller warns him that Ah-Rom is wearing a helmet with explosive. If Han doesn't makes the deliveries within the time limited that the mysterious caller set, the helmet will explode. If they try to remove the helmet or are separated more than 10 meters, the helmet will explode.

The deliveries that they have to make are obviously explosive in nature. Not only that, they have to deal with Ah-Rom insistence on making a detour for her pop idol group's performance, the persistent hounding by Ah-Rom admirer cum Han's ex arch rival cum traffic police officer Kim Myung-Sik (Kim In-Kwon) and a conspiracy theory involving Japanese Yakuza. The chain of events and characters provide the set up for a series of unexpected fun and thrills.

The Perspective - Quick Movie Review

Quick 퀵 - think of it as "Speed" infuse with nonsensical humor and what a ride it was. In fact, there's even a climatic ending on board on a speeding train that stood out as a form of "homage" to "Speed". It might not have been equally thrilling but Quick stood out on with it's side bursting gags that kept me laughing as the explosive thriller unfolds.

Underworld: Awakening [ Movie Review ] ★★

The Pitch 

Underworld Awakening is the fourth installments to the Underworld franchise. Just like Vin Diesel with the Fast and Furious franchise, the lead actress of the first two Underworld movies, Kate Beckinsale returns to the franchise after skipping one installment.

It's been reported that Kate Beckinsale had no intention to return to the Underworld series but was convinced by the quality of the script. Since Kate Beckinsale felt that the script was good enough to wear those tight rubber suits and corsets for another round of supernatural whack fest, the Underworld fans must be rejoicing to have another chance to see her strut her stuff on the big screen.

Personally,  I never seen any movies of the Underworld franchise, I had always been curious with the longevity of this series that revolves around the world of vampire vs werewolves. This series had always felt like a hoakey blend of two groups of beloved supernatural creatures with stylist tight clothing and a huge range of noisy weaponry. It isn't something that I would go out of my way to watch but since folks at Incinemas were nice enough to pick me from their facebook contest, Underworld Awakening shall be my entry point to the Underworld series. Let's hope that it would be a good jumping point for a Underworld newbie.

The Viral Factor | 逆戰 [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Plot

A failed mission to protect a scientist who has stolen a copy of the smallpox virus left Jon Man (Jay Chou) severely injured and the scientist kidnapped by his traitorous colleague Sean (Andy On). The bullet is lodged in Jon's brain will paralyses him within two week and he decides to spend his final days with his mother (Elaine Jin).

What he didn't expect was that his mother revealed to him that he has a long lost brother Man Yang (Nicolas Tse) whom she left behind with his gambling addict dad Man Tin (Liu Kai Chi). To fulfill his mother last wishes, Jon decides to track Man Yang down in Malaysia.

En route to Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia), Jon befriends medical specialist Rachel (Lin Peng) and came across criminal organization attempting to kidnap her. During the process to foil this kidnap attempt, he discovers that Man Yang is a wanted felon working as a mercenary for Sean, who needs the help of a medical specialist to mutate the small pox virus and holds the world ransom.

After Man Yang failed to kidnap Rachel but escaped with the virus, the criminal organization attempts to control him by kidnapping his daughter. The righteous Jon has to decide whether to stop Man Yang from breaking more laws or assist his wayward brother in rescuing his niece and stopping Sean's diabolical plans?

The Great Magician | 大魔術師 [ Movie Review ] ★★★

The Pitch

Without looking at the plot premises, The Great Magician 大魔術師 was already alluring with the people involved with this project. It has a stellar cast of Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Lau Ching Wan and Zhou Xun. Three actors had all impress me with their performance in respective movies (Happy Together, Hero, Mad Detective, My Name is Fame, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate & The Message - just to name a few) in the past.

Beside the cast, The Great Magician is directed by Derek Yee. Like the cast, I enjoyed the director's previous works (C'est la vie, mon chéri, Full Throttle, Viva Erotica and Triple Tap) and I have yet to find a disappointing movie from him.

On a closer look, The Great Magician seemed to share a similar premise with Edward Norton's The Illusionist. A magician taking on a dictator for the affection on a woman. It's a pretty good movie and even if The Great Magician ends up as a rehash of The Illusionist, I am still looking forward to how this collaboration between Derek Yee, Tony Leung, Lau Ching Wan and Zhou Xun would turn out.

The Darkest Hour [ Movie Review ]

The Darkest Hour tells the story of four young Americans who became stranded in Moscow when aliens that comes in form of energy beings suddenly invaded planet Earth. After escaping extermination, they managed to find other survivors and a way to spot the invisible aliens.

Together with other survivors, they also found a broadcast message that informed them that there's a Russian submarine that would bring them to their nation's submarine. Armed with a homemade weapon that's designed to disarm the alien's electronic force field, they make their way to the rendezvous point that's located in the heavily alien infested area.

As an alien invasion movie, The Darkest Hour was rather bland. The best stuff are already on the trailer and there's nothing in this movie that really top those that were shown. The Darkest Hour is essentially a tour to see Moscow in post-apocalyptic ruins while the American teenagers attempt to find a way back to America. Initially the alien beings in the invisible electric form look impressive but after a while, it became rather boring. The homemade weapon that helped them fight back came about so easily and very little explanation was spent on this equipment.

It's a visual fest but emotionally hollow when we follows the character in trying to survive this massacre. If the alien invasion is so effective, it really make little sense to travel back to their home country when it's a worldwide invasion. But being a formulaic movie, the characters had to do something and the whole point of this movie was to make that impossible attempt to return home. It's not the worst alien invasion movie but it isn't that good either.  Catch it only if you want to watch the extended version of the trailer on a big screen.


Rating: ** 1/2

Real Steel

The Plot

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring.

Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. 

When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback. 

(Plot Taken from Real Steel Singapore FB Page)

Love In Space | 全球熱戀 [ Movie Review ] ★★★

The Pitch

Love In Space (全球热恋) is the romantic comedy follow up to last year Hot Summer Days (全城热恋). Directed by Wing Shya (夏永康) and Tony Chan (陈国辉) with an ensemble of well known Asian celebrities, these two movies basically presents a variety of love stories like what Love Actually did.  

Hot Summer Days was one of my top ten worst movies of 2010. It was a fumbling attempt to ape Love Actually's success and it drown in it's arsenal of cardboard characters and multiple weak storylines. But Hot Summer Days must have done well at the box office since a follow up had been green lighted. 

The Plot  

Love In Space follows a mother (Xu Fan 徐帆) and her three grown daughters as they juggle their unexpected love encounters in a space station, Sydney and Beijing.

In Space, No one can hear your sweet nothing

In a space station, Rose (René Liu 刘若英) is unexpectedly reunited with her ex boyfriend Michael (Aaron Kwok 郭富城). With only the two of them working in a confined space, romance started to blossom. They tried to suppress their underlying love for each other as the issues that caused them to break up at the first place remained unsolved.

When Garbage Met Disposable Gloves

In Sydney, Lily (Gwei Lun Mei 桂纶镁) had a love at first sight encounter with Johnny (Eason Chan 陈奕迅). Their relationship wasn't a easy one as Lily suffers from anxiety disorder (OCD) with cleanliness and he works as a garbage man. But fate kept pushing them together and it's up to them to overcome their status quo for their love to blossom.

Proof that Clark Kent disguise work

Lastly, Peony (Angelababy 杨颖) is a well known celebrity in China but credential wise, she just got the worst actress award. In order to perform better for her next movie, she went undercover to work as a waitress to study her role. What she didn't expect was that she would fall for a failed writer Wen Feng (Jing Boran 井柏然) there. Relationship bliss would not be easy for her as she is under contact with her agency and it's forbidden for her to date for the next five years.

 The Perspective

Love In Space is a marked improvement from Hot Summer Days. The most obvious improvement would be reduction of love stories between five couples to three. Concentrating on only three couples gave more time to build up the chemistry between characters. But then again, these three love stories are still rather predicable and the only thing that saved it from being a yawn fest would be their rather interesting setups.

The most enjoyable love story among the three would be the one between Lily and Johnny. The quirkiness of their situation and the actors performance made it a pleasure to sit through this section of the movie. 

The most gimmicky portion of Love in Space would be the romance between Rose and Michael. I was interested to see what tricks would a China film use to depict the zero gravity environment. While the mixture of wires and computer generated images were not top notch Hollywood standard, they were not too bad. The romance were passable largely due to charisma of the two actors.

Last but not least, the Beijing love story which features Angelababy in various outrageous costumes. I am not sure why Angelababy and Jing Boran were paired up for the second time. It seemed that the China audience like them as a couple but I felt that the chemistry between them was lacking. Or perhaps I am just not used to the China style of romance which this segment is catering for.

In summary, Love in Space turned out to be more enjoyable than expected. The reduction of stories worked well and the set up here were so much better than Hot Summer Days. It might not go down as a classic love story like Love Actually but it would do to pass time with a love one.

Recommended.

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World [ Movie Review ] ★★

The Pitch

How do you bring in the element of smell into a cinematic experience? Robert Rodriguez will be attempting to do that with the latest installment of Spy Kids movies.

A Scratch & Sniff Card that allows the movie goers to smell the different aroma of the movie. Calling it the Aroma-Scope, movie goers will be able to enjoy the "fourth dimension" (hence 4D) of the movie.

It's a gimmicky trick to lure the targeted demographic into the cinemas but since the modern 3D movies are no longer a novelty, it's interesting to see what the Aroma-Scope has to offer. Let's not forget that Robert Rodriguez made Spy Kids 3 in 3D format before the modern 3D craze started. Who knows? Aroma-Scope might just be the next trend in gimmicky movies.


Disclaimer: Robert Rodriguez did not pioneer the use of Scratch & Sniff Card or 3D in a movie but for this reviewer, the usage of this two gimmicks on the Spy Kids franchise were the most memorable ones in movie history.

The Plot

Marissa (Jessica Alba) is a retired secret agent for the OSS (Organization of Super Spies). Her life now revolve around her step kids, a pair of twins named Rebecca and Cecil (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook) and her own baby girl. Her husband, Wilbur Wilson (Joel McHale) is a spy hunting reality television program host who is unaware that his wife was a top notch spy.

Their relatively uneventful life took a drastic change when the world is threatened by The Timekeeper and his goons. They speed up the time and soon everyone on Earth is running out of time. Marissa has been recalled back into action by the director of the OSS, Danger D'amo (Jeremy Piven). It turned out that the bad guys are after a red-sapphire necklace that Marissa had just (coincidentally) given it to Rebecca the night before. The Timekeeper are hunting the kids down and surprise surprise, the kids might not be as defenseless as they looked.

The Perspective  

Let's start by reviewing the usage of Aroma-Scope / Scratch n Sniff card as part of a movie watching experience. We were supposed to rub the respective number when prompted by the movie.

It wasn't impressive at all. The audio explanation for the Aroma-Scope could have been done with visual. Folks scratching with coin (which was what I did) might not get the smell the various distinct aroma as compared to those who sniff their thumb after rubbing those number.

Most of the aroma numbers smell like bubble gum and a couple smell like a nasty farty stink. It didn't really enhance the story telling process and served as nothing more than a gimmicky distraction. The aroma numbers didn't evenly spread out in this movie. The first two were evenly spread in the first half of the movie and the next three were squeezed into one scene with only the fifth aroma bearing a rather distinct citrus smell . The sixth aroma smell like cardboard and the seventh aroma gave the most nasty revelation. The very last one didn't make much sense with what going in the movie and smelled like the first two aroma.

I don't think this Aroma-scope would catch on. There are far too many complaints online that indicate it's not working for them. It didn't work that well for me and my movie partner either. All this checking for the right number and rubbing actually take time away from the screen. It's "fun" for novelty act but I wouldn't want to do this again for movie watching.

Aroma-Scope aside, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World marks the first time that I watched an installment of the Spy Kid franchise (or any of Robert Rodriguez's movies made specifically for kids). While there are kiddish movies that are made for both kids and adult,  Spy Kids 4: All the Time was made strictly for kids and it's a pissed poor "made for television kids channel" quality.

Predictable plotlines and cardboard characters, Spy Kids 4 just dragged on and on. The morale of spending quality time with love ones and the wordplay on time was repeatedly hammered into the audience. It became tiresome and draining. The intended effect to amuse with the puns for time became increasing unfunny as the movie progress. I actually felt sad for kids if this is how kids entertainment are supposed to be these days. 

If there's anything that was remotely entertaining, I would say that Ricky Gervais' a talking robot dog named Argonaut had a few funny lines. But for every funny line, there's a poo / fart gag line up to counter it. It's hard to imagine that the Robert Rodriguez who made movies like Sin City and Planet Terror could come up craps like this. I hope his kids will grow up soon and he would not have the excuse to make this type of movies for his kids anymore.


Worth the 3D price?

It's just as equally weak as the Aroma-scope card. Nothing really stood out in this 3D format. Even when it's a special effect laden scene. There are plenty of moments when one could view this movie without the 3D glasses. That's right, not much 3D in this movie at all.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes [ Movie Review ] ★★★★

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes is Worth Going Apes For"

The Pitch

The first thing that got my attention was the long and mouthful title. It contains two sets of the phrase "of the"  and that just didn't flow right for a movie title. Even though it wasn't the ideal title, it did somewhat accomplish the job of informing people that it's a prequel to the classic movie The Planet of the Apes.

Upon more research on this movie, it turned out to be a reboot too. Director Rupert Wyatt had said that they are trying to achieve what Batman Begins did for The Dark Knight franchise. Since both movies are not so well titled, there might be a chance that Rise of the Planet of the Apes will turned out to be as good as Batman Begins.

The trailer looked promising too. The CGI apes that Weta Digital and Andy Serkis created through motion-capture performances looked impressive. James Franco look set to add another intriguing entry into his diversified resume by providing the human perspective to the origin of the ape's worldwide domination.

Strangely, for someone who was never interested in the Planet of the Apes franchise and it's concept, this prequel reboot is buzzing for me. First and foremost, I would like to see how will this movie link to the old franchise and how are they going to bridge it. I am also intrigued by how human brutality towards animals in the name of science would be worked into the movie. Last but not least, can a bunch of apes really win the war against humans?


The Plot

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist who is about to find a cure for Alzheimer. Tests on chimpanzee had been progressing well and needed approval to move the project onto human trials. After a horrible mishap during a presentation for the investor, Will's project was deemed as a failure and was subsequently canceled. Will's animal wrangler gave him the offspring of one of the test subjects and was force to bring it home while they looked for an animal sanctuary.

Will's dad, Charles (John Lithgow) an Alzheimer patient became fond of the young chimpanzee quickly and decided to name it Caesar (Andy Serkis). As times passes, Will noticed that Caesar had been genetically modifies and adapts very well with human-like intelligence. Unfortunately, Caesar incurred unwanted attention when he attempt to "rescue" Charles from a nasty neighbor's "attack". The authority ordered Caesar to be locked up in a primate shelter.

In the shelter, Caesar learned about human cruelty towards animals and started to resent the treatment to it's species. The issue was exacerbated by the fact that Will's attempt to rescue Caesar had been hampered by the government's red tapes. Caesar decided to take matters to it's own hands and form a revolution for the apes.

The Perspective - Rise of the Planet of the Apes Movie Review

To summarize, it's a pretty good prequel story. Director Rupert Wyatt made a wise decision of not covering too much and used his characters well to drive the story. The conflicts between human and apes were well crafted, creating a subtle tragedy on the best intention. It was gripping to see how Caesar's bond with humans would slowly evolve into a rebellion. It's the kind of scenario that you would sympathize both sides and but understood their rationale in their involvement with the eventual clash.


It's nice to see that instead of rushing, they took the time to build the foundation for the bridge between this movie and the rest of the franchise. The filmmakers were also pretty innovative in crafting the reason why a bunch of monkey could conquer the whole world and mankind. The beauty of their innovation would be that they could include another movie before reaching the events in Planet of the Apes or just jump straight there. And of course the news on a space shuttle mission to mars were a nice nods to those who are aware of what happened in Planet of the Apes.

   The story won't resonate without a good performance from the actors. James Franco, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto and Andy Serkis delivered the compassionate side of human and animal interaction. Brian Cox, Tom Felton and David Oyelowo showed the nastiness of mankind without going overboard. It's a well balanced storyline with capable cast supporting it.

WETA Digital's special effects for Rise of the Planet of the Apes needed to commended here. It was so good that sometimes, it easy to forget that Caesar and other apes are pure computer generated images. It's not the highlight of the movie but it definitely aided in telling the story.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one rare summer blockbuster movie that thoroughly entertains, intrigue and satisfy. It packs as much intellects and emotions as one possibly could in a commercial summer blockbuster that's main function would be to entertain. In a way, it matches Batman Begins and Star Trek (2009) in terms of creating the excitement for potential sequels that might come after this reboot prequel. Highly Recommended!

Coda

Don't leave the theater immediately once the credits start rolling. There a scene inserted in between the credits. It covers what happened to Will's poor neighbor and how a "minor" character would affect things to come. You will be glad that you stayed for this scene if you enjoyed the movie.

Green Lantern [ Movie Review ] ★★1/2

The Pitch

After Marvel showed everyone how Comic book movies could be successful with their second tier characters (Iron Man) and the potential superheroes team up movie that they could do with them, DC comics finally have the balls to make a big budget movie of their other characters beside Batman and Superman.

That's right! beside Batman and Superman, there are other famous superheroes (Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman & Green Lantern) in the DC Comics that are waiting for their big screen adaption. Together, they form the Justice League of America, a superhero team that is similar to Marvel's Avengers which will be coming mid next year. this review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

To test if the audience these days are ready to embrace other DC Comics superheros (beside the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel), they are going with Green Lantern, a superhero who possess a power ring that allows the user to control enormous power with their willpower.

The Green Lantern power would create the opportunity to razzle dazzle the viewers with special effects. A potential incentive to draw in viewers who are new to the Green Lantern universe. Character wise, they chose Hal Jordan, the most popular Green Lantern in DC Comics history to carry the story forward and they hired Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine's Deadpool) as Hal Jordan, with Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) directing. this review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

The first trailer was goofy and caused a split in reaction to this movie. Some like it while others just didn't think it was a faithful representation of Hal Jordan. The subsequent trailers tone down Ryan Reynolds clowning around and focus on the action and special effects. Personally it was an improvement but while small adjustments can be done for trailers, would it be possible to remove the unlikeable content for the whole movie without affecting the story telling?

The Plot

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers.

But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).

Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity.

With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax...he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

(Plot taken from Green Lantern Facebook Page)

The Perspective

After going through three comic book movies (X-Men First Class and Thor) this summer blockbuster period, Green Lantern is the weakest inclusion. It suffered the same problem that plagued the other two comics superhero movies and that's trying to cover too much ground for an origin movie. It felt like a crash course on Green Lantern and it sort of alienate the newbies. The problem in this area was due to movie trying to pander to the non fans while catering to what the fans would want to see. I suspect that the end result here would not please both sides at all. this review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Ryan Reynolds rendition of Hal Jordan felt like a weak attempt to replicate Robert Downey Jr's success with Tony Stark / Iron Man. There something about how Ryan Reynolds approached comic characters that don't really sit well with me. He has that limited range when he is taking on comic book character that I find it hard to distinguish his Hal Jordan from his Deadpool (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Hannibal King (Blade: Trinity). It required more to be able to relate to a character that constantly switching between a charming playboy and a insecure superhero and personally, I felt that he didn't managed to pull it off.



It's also crucial to build the villain up when one attempts to build the hero up. We get two in this movie and both of them felt so disposable. Parallax, one of the greatest super villain in Green Lantern mythology gets a proper setup when it showcase how the combine might of several Green Lanterns couldn't even get a scratch on it. Guess which rookie Green Lantern came around at the end to go one on one with Parallax? I won't spoil the ending here but let's just say it's one ending that hard to swallow. this review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

The other villain, Dr Hector Hammond was setup to show a parallel villainous journey as compared to the green hero of the day. The characterization felt paper thin and rushed to keep up with the pace and numerous elements of the movie. At the end of the movie, it makes one wonder what the point of setting up this character when he hardly amount to anything at all. Was it even necessary to have another villain at hand when there's already one as super as the Parallax?

It's not the worst comic book movie but it certainly won't make me go out and grab a Green Lantern comic to read. It tried to cover too much ground and the star actor lacks the x factor to carry this whole bulk of the movie on his shoulder. I really wished that the next comic book movie would just keep it simple and remove all the unnecessary bits while focusing what the main thing that make the hero tick.

Super 8 [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Pitch

When Super 8 teaser trailer was released, it felt like it's going to be a Cloverfield-ish type of film. In the usual secretive J.J. Abrams way of keeping the fans interested, there was not much information on it. What is Super 8 all about? Are there going to be eight super powered individuals that escape from the train crash or will eight superheroes rising from that incident.

Then when the next trailer came about, it was revealed that it was going to be like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Goonies meets Cloverfield type of film. A bunch of kids making movies with Super 8 mm film camera when they witness a horrifying train accident. It's notable that this is a collaboration between J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Production and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. Yup the same folks that gave us Cloverfield and E.T.. Expectation for this movie had been turned up a few notches.

But personally, what attracted me to Super 8 would be the aspect of kids making homemade movies. Movies like Son of Rambow and Be Kind Rewind that are focus on amateurish movie making have always touch my heart. I am interested to see how this mixture of genre would turn out. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Super 8 also marks one of the two movies shown in ScreenSingapore Hollywood Nights Red Carpet Gala Premiere.

The Plot

In 1979 the United States Air Force shuts down a portion of Area 51 and ships the material stored at the decommissioned site by rail to an undisclosed but secure location in Ohio. In the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio, a group of teenagers are making a movie with a Super 8 mm film camera when they witness a train crash. They suspect it was not an accident. There are disappearances and unexplained events around town, and the local deputy investigates the cause of the events leading to the discovery of something nobody expects.

(Synopsis taken from Wikipedia)

The Perspective

Super 8 is an enjoyable flick that invokes all the memories of old school children adventures with a dash of modern day CGI monsters. The pace of the movie was good and the turn of events were interesting enough to keep me glued to the screen. The young cast were impressive and specially Elle Fanning that charms the socks out of me.

For the look of this movie, J.J. Abrams used a mixture of lens flare and grainy film stock. The combination didn't really complement each other and it became competing distraction instead. The lens flare that J.J. Abrams utilized to give Star Trek the movie it's special look is starting to wear out it's novelty and welcome in Super 8. However the grainy feel of the movie was a nice nod to the olden days of film making. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

What I didn't like about Super 8 would be how it ended. It felt rather too convenient and simplified after the elaborate setup and multiple subplots. It lacks a certain satisfaction of seeing how the various elements (such as the Super 8mm film project, the alien dilemma and Romeo and Juliet love angle) were being tied together. The fruition of all these elements felt too easy and hastily done. It was a great journey but let's just say the destination was a bit of letdown. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Coda

Don't rush out of the cinema once the movie is over. There a special treat during the credits that made for those who wondered what happened to their film project. One of the highlights of the movie, specially when they pay homage to the maestro of zombie movies. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Gantz | ガンツ [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Pitch

Gantz has been in publication as a Manga series since 2000 and is currently going on strong. This gory manga depicts a group of people who were plucked right before their death and given a mission to kill aliens with futuristic weaponry. Folks who had not read the manga and wondered about it's popularity could finally get a taste of Gantz with the two part movies adaption.

To sweeten the deal, this film stars Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama as the two protagonists of Gantz. Kazunari Ninomiya career in Japan ranges from being a singer, songwriter, actor and radio host. For movie fans and the rest of the world, he probably more well known for his performance as Private Saigo in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima.

Kenichi Matsuyama on the other hand, has been making regular appearance in recent Japanese movies that were shown in Singapore. Movies such as the Death Note franchise (as the iconic L), Detroit Metal City (switching from Johannes Krauser II and Souichi Negishi), Kamui Gaiden (as the reluctant ninja Kamui), Kaiji the Ultimate Gambler (doing a supporting role) and the recent Norwegian Wood which was shown just a couple of weeks ago. With these two popular Japanese actors / idols fronting the adaption of a popular manga series, it's intriguing to see what Gantz the movie has to offer.

The Plot

Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) tried to help a man who had fallen onto a subway tracks and after saving the man, they were hit by the oncoming train. Instead of dying a gruesome death, they were surprise to find themselves intact and teleported into a Tokyo apartment with a strange looking black sphere at one end of the room. They soon realized that they were not alone. The others were equally bewildered and no one could give a concrete explanation on  how they got there and what's going on.

After sometime, the black sphere known as "Gantz" was activated and presented a weird mission to the people in the apartment. Gantz then opened up and to their surprise, there a bald naked man with a breathing apparatus  They also found suits and a range of weapons inside three racks that protruding from Gantz. Before they could figure out what's going on, they were teleported back out to a Tokyo suburb to commence their alien hunting mission.

The Perspective

As a newbie to the Gantz story, this movie was an entertaining introduction to the world of Gantz. The premise for Gantz was pure escapism and high octane adventure that does not shy away from gore. The concept of hunting aliens in a wide variety of forms with a range of futuristic weaponry would appeal to fans of gaming, manga and fantasy.

Perfect Distraction

Not forgetting the babelicious eye candy Kei Kishimoto (Natsuna Watanabe) who provides a nice distraction from all the alien hunting going on in Gantz.

What the movie didn't do that well was the characterization of the Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato. Both came across as whinny as they struggle with their respective issues. The whole issue with Kei Kurono's childhood dreams of being a hero and Masaru Kato's being overly worried about his brother just slow down the pace of the movie. Instead of being excited about their new powers and thinking of how to  survive the next mission, they spend their time mopping about with their past problems. Personally it just felt like the wrong genre to explore such personal issues.

But overall, Gantz was fun and a great introduction to the manga series. It might inspire one to pick up the manga to see what's missing from the movie adaptation. It also wet one's anticipation for the sequel Gantz Perfect Answer. Let's hope that Gantz does well in Singapore so that the distributor would bring in Gantz Perfect Answer.

Kei Kishimoto (Natsuna Watanabe) So Sexy and Kawaii that I am going to post her picture again!

Thor [ Movie Review ] ★★★

The Pitch

Thor the mighty Norse god who was send down to Earth to learn about humanity, might not be as popular / well known as Spider-man, Superman or Batman. However when Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk comes together, collectively they form the Marvel Comics biggest superhero group, The Avenger (the movie event of 2012) and that is something to be reckon with.

Not exactly a fan of Thor but neither was I a fan of Iron Man before the first movie came about. Robert Downey Jr and Jon Favreau made a movie that convert me (and many others) into a fan of Iron Man. Now the question is can Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Kenneth Branagh do the same for Thor?

Kenneth Branagh who is well known for Shakespeare movies will be directing this and Thor will make his first commercial comic book movie. The tussle in the royal family in mythical portion should be right up his alley. It also helps that he is reported as a fan of Thor.

Chris Hemsworth is probably not that well known yet but he did give memorable performance in the short introduction arc of the recent Star Trek  movie. It would be interesting to see how he fare as the leading man for a full length feature. Plus he is getting support from Natalie Portman (the recent Oscar Best Actress) as the love interest.

The Plot

The Frost Giants of Jotunheim were on a warpath to conquer the Nine Realms. Their war started on Earth but Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard and the Asgardian warriors managed to put a stop to that. They seize the Casket (the power source for the Frost Giants) and forced a truce between the two races.

Years later, Odin's son Thor (Chris Hemsworth) prepared to ascend the throne as King of Asgard. He was interrupted by the Frost Giants who were attempting to retrieve the Casket. Thor angered by their attempts and saw it as act to break the truce. Against Odin's order, Thor, his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and their group of friends traveled to Jotunheim to teach the Frost Giants a lesson.

They fought and Odin had to intervene before Thor and his friends actually became causality of the battle. For his arrogance, Thor was stripped of his power and banished to Earth. Odin cast a spell on his Mjolnir (the hammer that contain the source of Thor power) so that only those who are worthy could wield it.

On Earth, Thor encountered Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her fellow scientists while they were tracking the strange wormholes that opening up in the dessert skies. Thor seemed deranged to them but they were intrigued as they suspect that he could have something to do with the strange wormholes. Eventually Thor discovered that his Mjolnir is in Earth and attempted to retrieve it. It was when he tried to lift it, he discovered the spell that his father had cast. Realizing his folly, Thor decided to settle down on Earth and develops a romance with Jane.

Meanwhile, Loki discovered the his true heritage and confronts Odin. Unable to take the the various chain of events, Odin collapse and fell into an Odinsleep (or coma in human language). Since Thor ain't around, Loki became the next in line to take the throne and when he is in power, he set out to wipe his biggest competitor, Thor.

The Perspective 

In terms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor was like the last Hulk movie . It's serviceable (and in this case, an introduction to one of the main characters in Avengers) but it didn't impress as much as the first Iron Man movie. The visual effects were nice, the actors look good in their respective roles but there were a couple of points that Thor didn't do that well.

Comparing Thor to Iron Man, this movie didn't do a good job in establishing the change of the protagonist's heart. The time spend in the cave with Dr. Yinsen established a strong reason why Tony Stark would give up playboy lifestyle for a superhero role. For Thor who had been banished to Earth for his arrogance and stupidity, this movie left me wondering what make Thor change his behavior. Was it just because he couldn't lift his Mjolnir (hammer) or the things Loki said to him? Those two events felt insignificant to alter a prince behavior so much. The lack of direness and affecting emotional just weren't convincing for his eventual change.

TRON: Legacy [ Movie Review ] ***

After 28 years, the sequel to the cult favorite TRON is finally making it's way to the screens. Like all computer programs, it's getting a makeover with an update on the visual and special effects. But can TRON: Legacy change the track record of the previous TRON's box office collection and attracts both the old and new fans? Can it modify the story into something more accessible for the casual viewers to appreciate or even make the story better than it's predecessor?

This time round, TRON Legacy is basically about a son's search for his dad in the digital world of the Grid. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), the hero from the original TRON had suddenly gone missing. "Abandoning" his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) for many years, the story starts when his friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) suddenly received a page from Flynn's Arcade that had been closed for years. Initially reluctant, Sam finally visited the abandoned arcade to investigate the source of the page. After fiddling around with arcade games, Sam discovered a secret passage to his dad's workplace and accidentally activated the teleporter that digitize / teleport him into the Grid.

Upon arrival, Sam was quickly captured and sent to play the deadly games. Using his survival skills, wits and an unexpected aid from a pretty warrior (Olivia Wilde), Sam managed to escape the games and is reunited with his dad. It turned out that this time round, its' Kevin's program CLU ( a younger Jeff Bridge ~ the power of movie magic) that's up to no good. Entrapping Sam and keeping Kevin stranded in the digital world, CLU is planning to use the trapped father and son to carry his sinister plan.

Without a doubt, the biggest draw for Tron Legacy would be the update on the visual feast (special effects and costume / set design) and Draft Punk's contribution to the movie soundtrack. The blazing disc war and lightcycles were constructed to wow. It's well worth the ticket money to see how the world of Tron has been stylishly fabricated for the 21st century.

Another unexpected highlight would be how Tron Legacy play up the reunion between father and son.   The setup for the separation between Sam and Kevin didn't feel like a tedious wait before the good time (in the Grid) could start rolling. In fact, it was well handled and well acted by the duo that the audience could relate to their longing for each other without the need of overdoing it.

Dude, I'm not your Father

Tron Legacy pays plenty of homage to the original flick. From reusing the CLU character as the main villain to Sam making the similar remark as his dad did to a very big door, this movie is filled with nods to what had came before. But after a while, it started to feel more like a reboot than an actual sequel.

Such as the obligatory disc war, lightcycles, escaping from the Grid and the restarting the source were the very same path that Kevin had taken in the original TRON. Although various elements had changed, it make one wonder why doesn't TRON Legacy branch out more as a story of it's own.

Even the flawed story in the first TRON didn't get much update in the second TRON movie. While the first one was rather inaccessible to the casual viewers, the second one had a storyline that's too convenient. Just when our heroes are clueless on what to do next, a Solar Sailer appears right beside them to take them where the story wants them to be. It also mind boggling to know that Sam arrival into the Grid was a trap by CLU and yet Sam had to go through dangerous games that could end his life. If CLU was being a wise tactician, the script certainly didn't make that aspect shine.

With a tagline that declared The Game Has Changed, it make one wonder did the sequel really change much from what had already been established in the first movie. Beside the change in players / user, a little modification here and there, Tron Legacy is basically a rehash of prominent events that occurred in the original film. It's pretty to look at but without a good story, TRON Legacy ends up looking like a beautiful vase.


Worth the 3D price?

Like many other recent blockbuster movies, TRON: Legacy is presented in 3D. The only thing I could get out of this 3D presentation was the depth of field and the diminishing gradient. It's a pity as it marred my enjoyment of watching all the impressive visual and special effects in their full glory.

Skyline [ Movie Review ] ***

In the midst of a potential lawsuit from Sony and a barrage of thumb downs from movie critics ( and other disgruntled movie viewers with a imdb account), Skyline has finally arrived. Going with low expectation, Skyline wasn't as bad as one would expect. It's not the best alien invasion flicks around but frankly Skyline wasn't that bad afterall.

Much like Cloverfield, we follow a bunch of young adults experiencing a sudden attack by unknown creatures in a city. We get a glimpse of their relationship matters, their future hopes and worries. Then out of the blue, they get a rude awakening that their lives are going to be changed drastically. In Skyline, it's the blue lights from outer spaceships sucking up humans by the thousands.

Instead of running around a city that's torn by monsters, the folks in a skyscraper apartment had the dilemma of choosing whether to escape from the building that they are in or stay put while trying to hide the constant alien abduction.

There's been complains about the lack of character development, the horrible dialogues, the storyline and the far-fetched ending. It's going to vary from one person viewpoint from another but personally, I find it hard to agree with most of the complains (found @ imdb).

Skyline is about a group of people stuck in a building. They are facing a sudden doomsday scenario and the movie is basically about them making decisions with little idea on what's going on. The movie did enough by presenting us with a little background information about this group of people and even though it's slightly one dimension, it was enough to proceed on with the story. To care or not to care for these characters are up to individual's preference and personally, while they are not going to be my favorite movie character, the function well enough to move the story forward.

Then there's the complains about the dialogues being cheesy, unoriginal and badly written. As again, Skyline is not trying to win award for scriptwriting. It's not deep or impressive but it does well to convey the sense of emotions that the characters are going through. One complain highlighted that the group actually said "run" when they were attacked by a big alien and I wonder why isn't it possible? It felt pretty real to me. When tentacles are zooming in to capture you and you are running for your safety, wouldn't you yell something to make your group move a little faster?

Last but not least, there's been complains about the storyline and the ending of Skyline. Most of the complains are aimed at how the folks are stuck in the apartment and the story going in circles (while showing off their special effects) that seems to be heading nowhere but the seemly inevitable doom. Personally, that's the point of Skyline. It's about a group of everyday people stuck in a situation that the odds seems to be overwhelmingly stacked against them. It put you in their shoes and make you consider what would you do if you are faced with such scenario. The prolongation of them stuck in the high-rise apartment works (beside obviously for the budget aspect) in ways that it helps to create the sense of dreariness and difficulties of leaving the safety zone. It also shows that in such dire and hopeless moments, humans would do it's utmost to stay alive.

The ending wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Some finds it comical while others find it downright silly. It's a little bit too convenient like Independence Day and it bears some resemblance to District 9 but in a gloomy film like Skyline, it offers a refreshing sense of hope for the characters. It also reveal the ambitious goals of the filmmakers who planned a series of films / tv projects from this movie. The odds are against them now since the box office collection didn't do that well and the response from the viewers are mostly unfavorable.

Let's put it this way, Skyline won't be a District 9 but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. The thumb downs that it had been receiving felt unfair. The relatively unknown actors did well with a script that could use a bit of polishing. The special effects weren't that spectacular but with the budget of an independent filmmaker, it was impressive enough to pass as a major studio. Recommended.

Adele: Rise of the Mummy | Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec [ Movie Review ] ★★★

the Extraordinary Adventures and the Rise of the Mummy

The Singapore / Malaysia title for "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec" is rather misleading. Specially when you viewed the trailer (attached below), you might think that Adèle: Rise of the Mummy is one action packed Indiana Jones type of movies with the protagonist taking on mummified human corpses and pterosaurs. Going in with such expectation would probably result in disappointment. 

That's not to say that Adèle: Rise of the Mummy is a lousy movie. It not so much about the rising of Mummy but the extraordinary adventures of one rather feisty unrelenting and resourceful lady.

Set in Paris 1912,  A pterodactyl egg in the museum has been magically hatched through the mental power of Professor Esperandieu and is wreaking havoc in the city. News of this occurrence became the newspaper headlines and the authorities are "pressured" to solve this case soon.

In the meanwhile, Adèle Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) is "raiding tomb" in Egypt like a female counterpart of Indiana Jones (more dainty but equally venturesome). She is seeking a mummified Pharaoh's doctor to cure her sister. To complete her quest. she required Professor Esperandieu'e supernatural gift and upon returning to France, she found out that he is mystically linked to the pterodactyl and has been sentenced to death for his involvement. The relentless Adèle then set off to rescue the Professor before it's too late for her sister.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is so whimsically imaginative that it's hard to guess what going to happen next (nor would you want to). One moment, it's poking fun of police incompetence and the next, it's mystifying with weird occult-like science. Just when you think you get what this show is about, it breaks into action sequences like an Indiana Jones movie or delve into sappy romance.

It's not going to fit into the mold of your usual Mummy movies. It's a mix of Amelie and the Fifth Element. Splendid entertainment with rich imagination and attitude that should sit well with folks that are looking for something unusual. Recommended.


Beyond the Movie

There are some warnings that you should heed before getting your ticket(s) for this movie in Singapore. Most theaters are showing it in English dubbing (with Chinese subtitles). Those folks who did the dubbing did make some effort to convey the emotions of the characters but ultimately, it's just not the right way to watch a movie. The dubbing does not even match the lip movements of the actor and it felt that the soul of the characters had somehow been robbed.

But thankfully, the distributor had decided to bring a print of Adele: Rise of the Mummy in it's original language and the only place you can catch it in French (with English subtitles) would be at The Cathay Cineplex (the one at Handy Road). For your ultimate enjoyment of this movie, I would recommend you to catch it at The Cathay.

Last but not least, we managed to spot one scene that was awkwardly cut from the movie. It happened to be one of the stills that was featured on the official website. Don't seemed too raunchy to me but I guess it might incur a highly censorship rating if left intact. Anyway gawk at it while you can.

You won't be seeing me smoking in a tub in Singapore Cinema

Oh wait. There's a coda inserted at the End Credits. So don't rush out once the credits start rolling.

Movie: ***

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Drag Me To Hell [ Dvd Review ] ***

The plot device for Drag Me to Hell has always sound illogical and silly to me. Why should a loan officer be cursed with such deadly curse for rejecting a loan extension. It's not exactly her fault even though she did it for the sake of a potential promotion. The old lady already had two loan extension and it makes one wonder if she is so powerful to make such an awful curse, why didn't she used some of her power for her own financial management?

It just didn't sound right or logical even in a supernatural way.

Further more, this is more or less haunting of one person, it's kinda obvious that harm couldn't happen to her for the main bulk of the movie. It make the whole haunting experience for 3 days seemed a little pointless. Why is the demon toying with her and not drag her soul to hell sooner?

Nevertheless, Drag Me to Hell wasn't that bad afterall. In fact, it was quite an entertaining horror with a certain 80s feel to it. It didn't take itself too seriously and surprisingly, the over the top haunting were far more humorous than scary.

Although the start up for the plot still feels rather silly to me, I liked the remedy of the curse. It reminded me of Robert Louis Stevenson's the Bottle Imp in which they tried to give away the bottle that will doomed the owner to eternal hell. The dilemma that comes in choosing who to pass the curse on and the knowledge that you send that certain person to horrible fate was intriguing to watch.

Last but not least, the unflinching ballsy twisty ending was rather enjoyable. Although it was pretty obvious what's going to happen (specially if you have seen movies like the Ring), it's going to be one of the more memorable endings in recent Hollywood horror movies.

Movie: ***

Dvd Extras [ Code 1 ]


Unrated & Theatrical Version - After watching the Unrated version and skimping through the Theatrical Version, there isn't any radically different scenes or alternate take of the movie. The Unrated version simply show more details and spent more time in the gory factors.

For a more detailed take on the differences between the two edition, check out Movie-Censorship's page for Drag Me to Hell

Production Video Diaries - Basically segments of the "making of". Covering the behind the scenes for sequences like The Bloody Nose and the Nightmare. There are some segments that cover the actors / characters profile but the more interesting bits of the Production Video Diaries would be how the special effects were done for the supernatural scenes.