Paranormal Activity 4 [ Movie Review ] ★★

The Pitch

I have never watched the first three Paranormal Activity movies. The idea of watching long still shots of surveillance video for sudden burst of jump scares just didn't appeal to me. It's like a bad mutation of the shaky cam genre. Plus I am a fan of the Saw franchise and was kinda pissed that the Paranormal Activity franchise replaced it as the king of Halloween box office in recent years.

But I was lucky enough to be picked by UIP for the Paranormal Activity - WANT IT contest. I am not sure why I took part in this contest in the first place. It's been a long time since I caught any movies that is really scary and I guess I crave for a real good scare.

I am also wondering what's with the longevity of this franchise? Why is it still doing so well after three installments? Just last week, Paranormal Activity 4 topped the US box office with $29 million (although last year this weekend, Paranormal Activity 3 opened with $52.6 million) while outside of America, Box Office Mojo is reporting an average increase of 11% over it's predecessor. What the secret behind it's success? Is it really that scary that it's bringing enough audience back to make such an impressive debut on the box office?

Money aside, I am definitely looking forward to be spooked like the New Zealand test audience in this video.

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.

Turning Point 2 Laughing Gor Returns | Laughing Gor之潛罪犯 [ Movie Review ] ★★★

Laughing Gor is quite a "cultural" phenomenon in the Hong Kong entertainment scene. This undercover cop character was a supporting role in a Hong Kong TVB television police drama E.U (Emergency Unit - which was already a third installment to The Academy series). While undercover cops characters and angle had been done numerous times in Hong Kong films and tv series, Laughing Gor managed to gain so much popularity until the character / actor got a movie and drama series spin off.

First was the movie Turning Point that was supposedly meant to chronicle the Laughing Gor's times before the events in E.U. However it wasn't a faithful prequel as there are a few events that contradict with what happened in the television series.

TVB "corrected" those problems by making another spin off television series called Lives of Omission. This new television series became a replacement series that correct the contradiction between E.U and Turning Point. After Lives of Omission, it seems that Laughing Gor is still pretty much sought after and that why there's Turning Point 2 Laughing Gor Returns ( Laughing Gor之潛罪犯 ), a movie that directly ties in with events that occurred in Lives of Omission.

Turning Point 2 starts off with Laughing Gor (Michael Tse) being sentenced to life imprisonment for killing So (Bosco Wong). But for Hong Kong's most beloved undercover cop, it's never that simple. It turned out that Laughing Gor is in a new mission to gather more information on Tai Chit (Chapman To) a former Narcotics Bureau Station Sergeant who admitted to corruption but refused to reveal the identity of his accomplice.

Soon afterwards, a trained psychologist Professor Fok (Francis Ng) is imprisoned for drug dealings. The mysterious Professor is not a simple man. As soon as his jail term starts, he demonstrated his ability in analyzing people and manipulating people's mind. Laughing Gor soon realized that the Professor is interested in Tai Chit too. To add on to his dubious character, Laughing Gor also noticed that So's wife, Paris (Kate Tse) has been visiting Professor Fok and they are in a strange loving relationship.

What is Tai Chit withholding? Who is this mysterious Professor Fok and what is he up to? Why is Paris hooking up with the Professor when she should still be in the mourning for her dead husband. It all adds up to a big confrontation with the new head of police, the drug lord of the golden triangle and a diabolical plan to change the system.

There are a couple of things that I noticed about Turning Point 2 Laughing Gor Returns. The first and foremost would be that this movie relies heavily on the events in Lives of Omission and how it affected characters like So and Paris. Even though there's flashbacks to the last few episodes of Lives of Omission, it can get rather disconnecting. If it's impossible to access the television series, at least try to read up with Wiki page on it.
 
The second thing would be that Turning Point 2 played out like the third installment of Infernal Affairs. In order to move on, it adds new characters in by writing new background stories that wasn't established in The Omission of Life. In a way, it's a major retcon to what's been established, particularly to Laughing Gor killing So at the end of Lives of Omission. Some might like it and some might not. Personally, I thought it was a rather intriguing retcon and it kept me entertained throughout the show.

It's also quite strange that Michael Tse's screen time as Laughing Gor has been dramatically reduced for a lead role. It's filled with unnecessary characters like Carmen (Janice Man), Laughing Gor's handler and comedic performance of MC Jin as Officer Yeung that did very little for the story or Laughing Gor's story. It doesn't help when Michael Tse's co stars, Francis Ng, Chapman To and Kara Hui are stealing the show from the lead. It's like what Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang and Francis Ng (again) did in the first Turning Point movie, out shinning Michael Tse's performance.

In summary, I am still waiting for Michael Tse to impress me with his Laughing Gor character. I am still not getting the hype and popularity of this undercover cop. But that not to say that Turning Point 2 Laughing Gor Returns isn't without it's entertainment value. The retcon was fun to watch and the supporting cast of Francis Ng, Chapman To and Kara Hui are ever reliable in their respecting roles. Turning Point 2 comes recommended and probably highly recommended if you are a fan of Lives of Omission.


Rating: ***

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.

Overheard 2 | 窃听风云2

Manson Law (Lau Ching Wan), a celebrated stockbroker in Hong Kong is injured in a car accident. The police, led by Inspector Jack Ho (Louis Koo), discover a military surveillance device in the car wreck.

Meanwhile, the wiretapper Joe (Daniel Wu) is unveiling his extensive plan that targets the mysterious financial conglomerate, the Landlord Club. The fate of these three men soon intertwines in the cat-and-mouse game that may bring down the entire stock market.

(Plot Outline taken from Cathay)

Gantz 2: Perfect Answer

The Plot

The Battle Continues in Gantz 2 Perfect Answer !

Masaru Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama)'s death changes Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) 's view of life completely. He decides to keep fighting until he earns 100 points so that he can bring back Kato.

GANTZ calls back Ayukawa (Ayumi Ito) and other GANTZ alumni who'd left once after scoring 100 points. In the meantime Kurono works on getting 100 points. But before Kurono succeeds in resurrecting Kato, Kato unexpectedly turns up.

Another strange man (Takayuki Yamada) appears and he appears to be investigating GANTZ and the fighters while the fighters take on the most terrible enemy (Go Ayano). To complicate the situation, GANTZ starts acting up. GANTZ chooses the next target... this time it's not an alien but a human girl, Tae, who is in love with Kurono.

Some GANTZ members go after Tae to score points while Kurono tries to protect her. In turn, Tae tries to protect Kurono who fights for her. A love story between their characters blossoms and Kurono must stop his teammates from getting to Tae.

Each teammate has a different motive for fighting, whether to protect a loved one or to do what they think is right. Whatever their cause, they end up sacrificing something important... 

Go Ayano - Kurofuku Ichi

(Plot Outline taken from Gantz - Singapore & Malaysia Facebook Page) 

Coming Soon (18 Aug 2011)

Final Destination 5

The Plot

In “Final Destination 5,” Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man’s premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse.

But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.

Plot outline from Final Destination 5 Facebook page

Coming Soon (25th Aug 2011) 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon [ Movie Review ] ★★1/2

In a strange revelation of sort, Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf had actually publicly acknowledged that the second installment of the Transformers movie series was bad and they promised that the third one will be an improvement. Some suspect that it's just a scam to lure movie goers into trusting Michael Bay and company while there were early "reports" buzzing that the third installment was really an improvement. But Michael Bay is Michael Bay, can he really change his methodology to give us a Transformers movie that will finally do justice for the robot toys?

Transformers Dark of the Moon turned out to be much better than the first two movies but that doesn't necessary mean that it's a good movie. 

It's still plagued the same problem with Michael Bay trademarks (or Bayhem).  Convoluted plot, plot holes, quick fix solution, low brow juvenile humour and his love for military action were just some of the things that went wrong for Transformers Dark of the Moon.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that the actors were tasked to act with subpar characterization material. The Autobots and Decepticons were so poorly characterized that hardly anyone cares when they died. Last but not least, Shia LaBeouf's attempt at acting was simply annoying and whinny.

Wingsuit Basejumps

But then again, there are stuffs that I enjoyed in this loud barrage of noise, visual and bad acting. First and foremost, the action sequences are much clearer now. Michael Bay had finally fine tune to the right amount of slow-mo and clarity to allow viewers (like me) to get a better understanding of what actually happening in the gigantic robots bawl. It also included impressive action sequences such as wingsuit basejumpers gliding through collapsed skyscrapers.

Underneath the loud mess, I also saw potential with the plot of Dark of the Moon. It felt as though they gave a new spin to all that had been established in the first two movies.  It's not exactly done with finesse but it showed that it's plausible to craft a real Transformers movie out of Michael Bay's pseudo Transformers movie. The whole turn of the tide for the defeated Deceptions and betrayal among the ranks of the Autobots were some stuff that I love to see explored for a Transformers movie. But of course what little that's good in this movie had to wrestle with Bayhem inclusion of the gung ho military participation and a peekaboo at Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's short mini skirt while she is coming out from a sports car.

Badass Optimus Punisher Prime Kills with No Mercy

Last but not least, the reason why I was entertained in a pretty dumb and long movie would be that it's the darkest installment of the series. It's so violent that the movie is filled with decapitation and limbs flying all over. Optimus Punisher Prime and the other Autobots aren't shy to shoot their arch rivals in the head anymore. On one hand, the violence were stylishly portrayal, on the other, it wasn't very Autobots like. It seemed like Optimus Punisher Prime is strangely missing a sense of code of honor and suddenly capable of throwing tantrums that felt very unlikely of a respected leader. It's not the Optimus Punisher Prime that I grew up with but Michael Bay's Transformers hadn't been anything like the Transformers that I am familiar with so I am going to let it slide and simply enjoy the style over substance on this. 
 
The funny thing is that watching this movie is like going to a loud flashy party filled with pretty things to see and getting drunk. It felt kinda fun at that moment but the morning after, I woke up with a hangover and little recollection of what was good or make sense. The more I think about it, the more I hated it but I can't shake away the fact that I remembered clearly that I enjoyed watching it. 

Beyond the Movie

If you ever try to figure out how did the events that occurred in the three Bayhem Transformers movies could be piece together in a coherent way, check out this forum post at Hardwarezone.

Kung Fu Panda 2 [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Pitch

Kung Fu Panda was a blast. It was an awesome American comedic homage to Asian Kung Fu movies. Plenty of funny moments, memorable casting choices, loveable characters, heartwarming at times and blazing Kung fu action sequences that would please most Kung Fu fans. Needless to say, it made lots of money and became a household name. When that happens, Kung Fu Panda 2  naturally happened.

Well most of the original cast are back for this sequel and that's a good news. The Furious Five (Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen and David Cross), Sifu (Dustin Hoffman), Mr Ping (James Hong) and Po (Jack Black) will all be back for the second adventure. Gary Oldman will be taking over the antagonist role of Lord Shen and Michelle Yeoh will be spouting words of wisdom as the Soothsayer (effectively a replacement for Oogway). There's also a surprisingly supporting role of Master Croc for Jean-Claude Van Damme, well known for most Hollywood martial arts movie in the 80s and 90s but had been missing from the spotlight in recent years.

Will Kung Fu Panda 2 become a worthy successor or just another disappointing cash grab sequel (like many of it's animated peers)?  or  will Kung Fu Panda 2 achieved a rarity by being on par with the first one or even outshine the original material like what Shrek 2 and Toy Story 2 did? This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

The Plot

Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five – Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu.

It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

(Plot Write Up taken from Kung Fu Panda's Facebook Page)

The Perspective

In a nutshell, Kungfu Panda 2 was entertaining and enjoyable. But it lacks that special ingredient to make it as awesome as the first one. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

It could be that the threat that could end Kung Fu wasn't really a legitimate threat that could really stop Kung Fu. It's a threat that any fast moving stealthy martial art experts could get around it and disarm it. It felt that for the sake of a plot device, the Kung Fu experts had to "dance" around it to make it look more fearsome than it actually is.

It also doesn't help that Lord Shen wasn't really that effective as a villain as compared to Tai Lung. Yes, it's a different type of villainy and Gary Oldman was having such a dastardly time with his character that it was remisence of his performance as the over the top DEA officer in Leon but it just lacked the oomph that Ian McShane was able to bring for Tai Lung.

Sifu was notable absence for the bulk of the movie and the pairing of Tigress with Po lacks that certain chemistry that Po shared with Sifu in the first one. Besides Tigress, the other furious four didn't really have much to do except to assist Po for the big fight scenes and tagging along in general. Rather poor usage of the other "main" characters if you ask me. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Finally, the last nitpick would be that Jean-Claude Van Damme's Master Croc and the other Master felt excessive and unnecessary to the plot. There wasn't really enough dialogue for him to catch that distinctive Van Damme's accent in his portrayal of Master Croc either.

But then again, there were a few nice touches for Kung Fu Panda 2. Michelle Yeoh was a nice replacement for Randall Duk Kim as the voice of the wise man in this series. The parallelism between Po and Lord Shen's past was a nicely done to entertain both the kids and adults viewers. The choice to explore Po's past was an excellent idea as it helped to build more layers to Kung Fu Panda's mythology and set up some rather touching heartwarming scenes of this movie.

Last but not least, it was a blast to see all the characters once again. It's like meeting up with old friends and Po specially, is still so endearingly funny. It's also impressive to see how they managed to keep the fight sequences fresh and exciting. With all that being said, there's plans to make 6 movies out of Kung Fu Panda franchise and if the quality could maintain at this current standard, I would be catching everyone of them when it's released in the cinema. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [ Movie Review ] ★★★

The Pitch

Do we need another Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirates of the Caribbean adventure? The first was blast and it gave us the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow. The following back to back sequels were not that good and frankly, the novelty was wearing off. But the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had been racking in the cash and in Hollywood, when there's profits to be made, it will be made.

Adapting Tim Power's book, On Stranger Tide to fit into the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, this installment would see Johnny Depp's Captain Jack embark on a quest to seek out the fountain of youth. There will be old and new crew joining force to helm this latest installment. Geoffrey Rush (amazing performance in The King's Speech) and Kevin McNally would be returning as Barbossa and Gibbs respectively while Penélope Cruz will be playing Captain Jack's love interest Angelica and Ian McShane (Kungfu Panda) will be taking on the villainous role of Captain Blackbeard. Rob Marshall (9 and Chicago) will be taking over Gore Verbinski as the director.

Could this installment kick start another trilogy for Disney? or will it reaffirm that this series need to be put to rest? Will the absence of Gore Verbinski,  Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) hinders the success of Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides ? Read on to find out This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

The Plot

The Spanish had discovered the map to the Fountain of Youth and they are on their way there. Not wanting to be outdone, King George II wants to send Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) who had the map to the Fountain of Youth to guide an expedition to locate the Fountain of Youth before the Spanish. The expedition will be lead by Jack's old enemy Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) who turned into a privateer after losing Jack's ship, the Black Pearl and his leg.

Unwilling to comply, Jack escapes and soon found his father who warned him about the dangers of the Fountain of Youth. He also discovered an impostor who had been recruiting a crew for the search of the Fountain with his name. That impostor turned out to be Angelica (Penélope Cruz) a former lover whom Jack had abandon many years ago. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

Jack was unable to escape from Angelica's clutches and ended up on board of Blackbeard (Ian McShane)'s ship, The Queen Anne's Revenge. He found out that there's a prophecy that Blackbeard would be killed by a one-legged man and to circumvent that prophecy, Blackbeard wants to locate the Fountain of Youth. Jack also discovered that to make the Fountain work, a tear from a mermaid and two chalices from Juan Ponce de Leon would be needed. This set up a race between the Spanish, the British naval lead by Captain Barbossa and the Pirates consisting of Captain Jack, Angelica and Blackbeard to locate the fabled Fountain of Youth. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

The Perspective

On Stranger Tides serves it's function as a entertaining blockbuster for the summer crowd. If you are not expecting much, you would be satisfied with Johnny Depp doing his Jack Sparrow routine and the mystical pirating fun adventures that one would expect from this franchise. But if you are looking for more substance and comparing it to the first movie, this series is getting tiresome and this installment was not well constructed to give the audience the same buzz that the first movie had achieved.

The biggest problem with this movie was that it tried to take on too many characters and subplots. There's three different groups of people heading for the Fountain of Youth, two different couples trying to make their untimely (and unlikely) romance work and there are two archetype of villainy at play here. These characters and their motivation were adequately presented but there were enough time or focus to make us care about them.

The weakest character in the midst of all the new characters woul be Blackbeard. The pirate that all other pirates fears was not that scary at all. There were hardly any buildup to make it believable that he was the pirate that everyone else feared. The script didn't help when this fearsome pirate was on a quest for the Fountain due to a prophecy that he would be killed by a one legged man. How's that for bravery? Ian McShane was fantastic as the villain to reckon with when he voiced Tai Lung in Kungfu Panda and sadly the same result didn't replicate here.

Mermaids, best part of the show

The romance between the two couples here felt mishandled. It's not as clear cut or well established like the romance between Will and Elizabeth. The chemistry between Angelica and Jack Sparrow felt that it needed a little bit more work on it or maybe a little bit more screen time to make it convincing. The love story between the mermaid Syrena and Philip, the religious man who tried to redeem Blackbeard soul felt rather squeezed in to make the Fountain plot device work. It could have been easily written off and it would not have make any major impact to the story. Personally, the love story between Syrena and Philip bogged the pace of the story down. This review belongs to filmsblitz at blogspot

If On Stranger Tides was the first movie, I don't think they will be making so much money or churning out sequels like this franchise did. This installment felt bland and is running out of creative juice to drive this franchise. But then again, my friend who went in with low expectation had a jolly good time watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Perhaps it would be wiser to be less critical of this movie and just go with the flow on this one.


Coda

There's a scene at the end of the Credits. (Scroll Over to Read)It shows the abandoned Angelica sitting alone on the beach and She discovered Jack Sparrow's voodoo doll being washed up on the shores. Angelica takes the doll and smiles with a wicked intention for revenge (End of Scroll)

Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides Character Poster

Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides Character Poster

Updated: Movie Review

The Detective 2 | B+侦探 [ Movie Review ] ★★ 1/2

The Pitch

In the original Oxide Pang's The Detective, Aaron Kwok's Chan Tam was a C+ Detective (a C grade detective). In this sequel, Tam gets a "promotion"after solving the case in the original movie and now he is a B+ Detective.

While the original movie wasn't as well known as Oxide Pang and Danny Pang (the Pang Brothers)'s The Eye, it was definitely better than Forest of Death and other crappy stuff that they have been churning out. There's something about C+ Detective that stood out even though the story wasn't that good (C grade at best).

The thing that stood out for the first movie would be Aaron Kwok's performance as the C grade detective and his partnership with Liu Kai Chi. The last movie also captured a distinctive dirty gritty atmosphere in Thailand that hard to replicate elsewhere.

Now that the main cast from the original film are back in Thailand for another go at The Detective story, will B+ be better than a C+?


The Plot

After solving the murder mysteries in The Detective, Tam (Aaron Kwok) gained popularity as a private detective. His pal in the police department, Chak (Liu Kai Chi) had just been promoted. But they have not gotten out of the downturn yet. Tam is still hounded by moneylender and Chak's new supervisor is a tough guy to work with.

In order to help each other, Chak enlisted Tam's help to solve a new set of mysterious serial murders.

A man was stabbed to death at his home with a confession letter from his wife but the victim was a single man. A prostitute was murdered and the murderer gave the impression that she was raped when he actually used a pipe to fake the rape. A loan shark was killed at home with his penis sliced off and stored it in a jar.  A beautiful young drug peddler was killed by a pencil and her tongue has been cut out by a kid's scissor.  There are not apparent linkage between these murders but Tam think otherwise.

Before they could get any further with the investigation, Chak was assaulted by a black van and Tam was chased down the alleyways by a biker with steel rod. Undeterred by the threats and hitting a brick wall in solving the case, Tam decided to seek help from a psychopathic criminal that he helped append recently.When he was told to get into the psychic of the killer, he finds that the killer shares an eerie connection.

The Perspective

To put it bluntly, there not much improvement from C+ to B+. The whodunit aspect of this movie runs largely on autopilot and was incoherent at times. There are hardly any sensible deduction of the murder cases. It felt like the filmmaker was making the things up as they move along. The elaborate murders mysteries did not produce an satisfying revelation or explanation. To summarize, The Detective 2 is not the type of classic murder mystery movie that you go for.

But if you are going for Aaron Kwok's quirky performance as Tam, the camaraderie he share Liu Kai Chi and the general moody atmosphere that could be found in the first part, The Detective 2 isn't that bad as a time waster. It would at least draw you in with the hope that the final revelation would be worth the wait. It wasn't but then again, there are bits and pieces in The Detective 2 that were genuinely good.

Such as the scene when Chak get knocks down by a van and he could only lie helplessly on the ground while the van hangs around with murderous intent. It managed to capture a sense of helplessness when Chak had very few options in that situation. It put the viewer in Chak's shoes,  feeling the dread and wondering how could one outsmart the assailant while being immobile.

There's also a possibility of a third movie that becomes strangely an attraction. Given that both the first and second movie are mediocre at best, there's a strange unexplainable desire to catch the third movie if they ever get to that stage. I am guessing that it would be an expansion of the subplots on Tam's parents that had been brought up in the first two movies but had not been fully explored. It could be the last major case that Tam takes in part 3 when he finally becomes A+ Detective. I would attribute to the endearing factor of Aaron Kwok's Tam and his supporting acts that make me interested in finding out what happened to his parents.

Scream 4 [ Movie Review ] ★★★1/2

The Pitch

In recent years, old successful franchise had been making making a comeback after a lengthy absence. Series like Indiana Jones, Rambo and Die Hard series had seen a new installment to their trilogy after many years. The common thing about these 4th installments would be that they weren't that good or generally hated by the fans.

Scream 4 has certain indicators that it might just be like those movies mention above. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette didn't have much of a movie career after the Scream trilogy. It would be hard to name one movie that Kevin Williamson wrote in recent years.

Plus it's a good idea to bring Ghostface and all the stabbing back? The first one was a refreshing touch on the whole slasher genre, setting down some ground rules that identify the overused cliches of a slasher flick. The second movie marked the start of decline for the franchise and the third one was even more forgettable than the second one.

Director Wes Craven stated that he won't be directing Scream 4 if the script wasn't as good as the first one. The movie makers also made promises that this installment will be an updated with the slate of what's happening with the slasher genre (cum torture porn and remakes + reboots) these days. Would be interesting to see if the gang could actually bring something new to this franchise?

The Plot

It's the 15th anniversary of the first Woodsboro Ghostface serial killing and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) are all back in town. Sidney Prescott had overcome her traumatic past and wrote a self help book about her slasher magnet experience. The book became a success and oddly enough, she chose to return to Woodsboro on the eve of the anniversary for her book tour.

Gale Weathers and Sheriff Dewey Riley are married for 10 years and are currently residing at Woodsboro. Sheriff Dewey Riley had settle in nicely with his role as Sheriff of Woodsboro. Gale Weathers on the other hand, is having a major writer blocks of her writing career and resents being stuck in a small town where nothing much happens. She craves for something to happen so that she could be inspired to write again.

It's not going to be a happy reunion as Ghostface is back too. As every installments of the Scream franchise, Ghostface won't just be terrorizing the Scream franchise survivors. There will be new victims and this time round, the new targets comes in form of  Sidney's cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) and several of Jill's high school friends.

Like Sidney, Jill having trouble with ex boyfriend Trevor Sheldon (Nico Tortorella) (the bad boy type that invokes memories of Billy in the first Scream). Her good friends Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) and Olivia Morris (Marielle Jaffe) helps her to deter Trevor attempts to contact her.  Rounding up the list of potential student victims, Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) and Robbie Mercer (Erik Knudsen) are the new movie geeks that helps provide the rules of surviving a horror movie (as what Randy did for the first three Scream movies).

Beside the students, there are other potential victims/killers around. Sheriff Dewey has an admirer in his office and it's pretty obvious that Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) does not really like Gale Weathers. Deputy Judy also happens to be Sidney high school classmate except Sidney could not recall who she is. She is even a high school classmate with Sidney but Sidney could not remember. A strange coincidence or a designated red herring?

Rebecca Walters (Alison Brie), Sidney's publicist who got a lot to gain when Ghostface returns to haunt Sidney. Even Jill's mom Kate Roberts (Mary McDonnell) didn't seemed to be the normal mom/aunt figure. Could she bear some grudge against Sidney or Sidney's mom?

Like in all Scream movies, the potential victims (and even dead or wounded) could turn out to be Ghostface. Just as one of the quotes in the Scream movies, Everyone's a suspect... even the veteran survivors.

The Perspective

The opening act for Scream 4 was the weakest  one in the franchise. The numerous false starts felt tedious and a cheap parody of slasher flicks. It felt gimmicky and overly done till the victims became what they were making fun of ... the torture porn cardboard characters that you didn't care for.

But nevertheless, things got a better after the opening act. Characters and relationship were quickly established. It felt a little too familiar but kudos to the cast, writer and director, it was adequate to keep things interesting and the suspense tight for the audience.

The thing that made Scream 4 stood out from the last two sequels would have to be the revelation of the motive behind all the gory killings. Scream 4, in my opinion nailed the finale pretty well. Well enough to convert the average slasher flick into an instant favorite.  It was unexpected and it has a natural flow of logic to it. Unlike Scream 2 and 3, the revelation in Scream 4 does not felt forced and done in a manner for no other purpose but to outwit the audience. Scream 4 revelation also contain the best social commentary from a slasher flick and that was pretty awesome in my books.

In closing, Scream 4 felts like the true sequel to the original Scream movie. It's witty, intense and was a gory fun time. The best part would be how they didn't try to overcomplicated matters by making unexpected (far fetch) revelation. If the upcoming Scream 5 and 6 could be as good as Scream 4, count me in for the next two installments.

My Ex : Haunted Lover | แฟนใหม่ [ Movie Review] ★★

The Pitch

My Ex ( แฟนเก่า Fan Kao) was one of the top ten worst movies that I have caught in 2009 and now we are getting My Ex : Haunted Lover (แฟนใหม่ Fan Mai ). But apparently the original made a lot of money in Thailand (came in top of the box office on the opening weekend) and well received enough to get this sequel greenlighted. This sequel My Ex: Haunted Lover also did very well at the Thai Box Office. The same director Piyapan Choopetch who did the original film is back to helm this BGR gone supernaturally wrong movie and I got no idea what made me want to watch this movie. Perhaps it was to see if the director could improve on what didn't go well in the first movie or I was simply possessed.

The Plot

My Ex : Haunted Lover (แฟนใหม่ Fan Mai ) starts literally at the end credits of My Ex ( แฟนเก่า Fan Kao).  Cee (Ratchawin Wongviriya) and her girl friends just finished watching the first My Ex movie and they were there to support Cee's sister Bowie (Bowie Atthama Chiwanitchaphan ) who got a small role in that show (remember that school girl who was killed by a truck while making a phone call to her ex boyfriend?). They went on bitching about how rotten the male lead character in the show was and almost immediately, they spotted Cee's boyfriend behaving intimately with another girl at the cinema.

Someone Behind Me Again ?!?!?

The couple started to quarrel at home and her boyfriend Aof (Thongpoom Siripipat) assured her that there's no love between him and that girl, Ying (Marion Affolter). He is simply broke and needed to borrow money from her. Ying overheard what Aof said and was so heartbroken that she apparently jumped from the building.

After Ying's suicide, Cee broke off with Aof and started to pursue a film career with her sister Bowie's help. During work, the sisters were introduced to Karn (Pete Thongjua), a rich resort owner who is financing their new film project and loaning his resort for the shoot. When the good looking ladies mix with a good mannered rich man like Karn, a potential love triangle is bound to happen.

However before Cee could put her mind into starting any form of relationship with Karn, she got a loser ex boyfriend who constantly bugging her with calls, seeking reconciliation. Cee is also getting harassed from the supernatural forces too (courtesy of the recently deceased Ying). It all boils down to a showdown at Karn's beautiful beach resort.

Who would you look at? Me or that Fugly Bitch behind me?

The Perspective

My Ex : Haunted Lover (แฟนใหม่ Fan Mai ) certainly wasn't an improvement over the original film. In fact the gore / scare factor was pretty much tone down and the story was just as bad as the first one. The spook factor here felt meaningless except to remind the audience that this is a horror movie. You get the usual sudden loud sound effect with the sudden visual pop out scares. Nothing as scary as compared to the first one and the first one wasn't breaking any grounds in the spook factor.

Gone were the gruesome scenes like manager's "spectacular" death scene and the schoolgirl, phone booth & truck sequences. In place of it, we get the Ying's fall from a tall building and landing head first on the concrete beside a pool. It sound more gruesome than it's actually is. In fact it's quite silly if you think about it. A fall at such height with the head landing first would have done way more damage than it was portrayal here but hey we can't do with a headless ghost in Asian horror film nowadays.

Don't think for a moment that the series is shifting it's focus to the story build up. Wrestling screen time with the obligatory scare sequences, My Ex Haunted Lover didn't have much time or effort in building up these characters and the conflicts between them. They are pretty to look at but their character felt like one dimension characters. Such as the unspoken rivalry between the sisters were missing through out the whole movie until the final twisty revelation of the movie.

I'm Bored of You

Yes twisty revelation! The norm for most supernatural horror movies these days. While there are some great ones and some average ones, there are some that literally pulls the rug off your feet in a bad way. My Ex Haunted Lover twist belongs to the latter group. The twist just came out as an U-turn to all that's been established in the show so far. While 6th Sense twist was impressive, My Ex Haunted Love felt like they are forcing the twist down the throat and expect you to go with it. The excuse that this movie might give would be that the twist is the reason why Ying is haunting Cee instead of that loser they both "loved" but it's just so hard to believe why Ying is taking so long to take exact her vengeance and why is she doing it at the beach resort.

There are also subplots such as the dead woman that drown nearby the resort and how Ying is related to the resort owner that are conveniently forgotten as the show progress. One might argue that they are red herrings but personally, they felt like unnecessary padding or the director couldn't decide how to add those subplots into the story.
 
Like it's predecessor, My Ex: Haunted Lover is a forerunner for my list of top ten bad movies of 2011. Let's just see if there's other ten other movies that could top it's placing. But since both two movies did so well in Thailand, there's room for the third one and the final scene in the movie might just be the link for the third one. It's a cameo scene that is akin to how Wong Kar Wai's Days of Being Wild ended but here, it's just felt like a desperate hook to drum up people interest for another sequel. Strangely I might just catch the third one if it stars that actor who did the unexpected appearance in that cameo scene.

Here the trailer if you are still interested about the movie.

My Ex Haunted Lover poster from Malaysia

Pete Thong-jeur

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.