20 posts tagged “movie review”
MOVIE REVIEW : WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
Category : Comedy / Starring : Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher
Plot seems like a successful recipe for a great comedy. Boy meets girl. Hate each other's guts, but realize they both got married during a drunken one night stand in Vegas. However, one of them eventually wins a USD3 million jackpot using the other's quarter. A series of plots and games entail between the pair to annoy each other and to get hold of the USD3 million. The movie's trailer was unreal.
Verdict? Although it's a fun movie to watch, I felt it was a bit corny. The plots, the dialogue, somehow just did not match what 27 Dresses gave us. We can see that the movie was using extreme plots to highten the tensed relationship between Diaz and Kutcher, but somehow certain attempts just came off as corny and amateurish.
While we're all in love with Diaz's usual antics and charm (which is no different in this movie), Ashton was not exactly a charmer throughout the story. Not sure why, but halfway watching I just felt like grabbing his head and cutting his ridiculous hair off LOL. Overall, still a good movie to watch, but don't expect it to be as good as 27 Dresses or As Good As It Gets.
Rating : C+
MOVIE REVIEW : THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (English)
Category : Drama, Adaptation / Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson & Eric Bana
The story of the Boleyn family has been told from many angles. This movie follows Anne and Mary Boleyn's struggles being driven by their father and uncle's ambition to court the affections of the King of England. Scarlett plays the more innocent Mary, who initially wins the king's heart, and bears genuine feelings for the king. She is pushed aside however by her more aggressive and cunning sister, Anne, played by Natalie Portman. Anne relentlessly pursues the king and will stop at nothing until she becomes the Queen of England. While the two sisters battle for the heart of King Henry, one driven by true feelings while the other by blind ambition, England is torn apart.
Natalie Portman is definitely a treat to watch. She plays the part of Anne Boleyn with perfection. I am not a fan of Scarlett, but I must say she fits the role of Mary quite well. This movie definitely works because of the acting. Other casts like Eric Bana and Kristin Scott Thomas (who plays the Boleyn's mother) also did a good job in this movie.
To watch trailer CLICK HERE
Rating : B
Pics courtesy of Yahoo!
MOVIE REVIEW : NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (English)
I've heard a few disappointments after watching this movie, especially when it was advertised to be bloody and violent, but viewers need to realize this is no action movie.This movie won the Oscars for Best Movie after all. Story tells a cat-and-mouse chase that begins when Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) bumps into a suitcase of two million dollars. Joining in the chase are Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) and psychopath Anton (Javier Bardem).
Did the movie need a superstar like Tommy Lee Jones for the role? I didn't think so. His role in the story was pretty much too ordinary and forgettable, not sure why he took it on. But if there is one thing you would want to watch this movie for, it's Javier Bardem. His portrayal of the cold-hearted monster, his disturbing serenity in his every gut-wrenching killing scene, is simply remarkable, and leaves us stunned until the end.
To watch trailer CLICK HERE
Rating : B-
Pics courtesy of Yahoo!
MOVIE REVIEW : THE ORPHANAGE (Spanish)
Category : Foreign, Suspense/Thriller / Starring : Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Geraldine Chaplin
I am quite a fan of Guillermo Del Toro, especially after he achieved such brilliance in his work with Pan's Labyrinth. The Orphanage tells a story of a woman who purchased the orphanage she grew up in, planning to start a new home for disabled children. Strange things start to surface especially when her son starts to befriend 'someone' from the old mansion. Being the only one convinced she was not seeing things, she starts digging into the long-kept secrets of the place and unravels something that could threaten her own life.
Hmm..sounds pretty typical, right? As usual I won't give away too much about the movie, but it is a good movie to watch. Although it's a thriller/suspense, the movie is filmed more in a drama mode, which is good. And although it is filmed in a drama mode, it still contains a few scary moments here and there to keep you on the edge of your seats. And also because it is drama, you get a better ending for the final twist, unlike a typical horror/thriller movie.
Trailer of The Orphanage:
Rating : B-
MOVIE REVIEW : AWAKE (English)
Category : Suspense/Thriller / Starring : Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard, Lena Olin
The trailer was mind-boggling, and the story theme was interesting, about people who experience "anesthetical awareness," a condition when anesthesia fails during surgery, leaving one completely conscious and feeling every incision, but paralyzed and incapable of doing anything about it (quoted from Yahoo!). And with Terrence Howard in it, I had much anticipation of this movie.
Did the movie meet my high expectations? Not really. But don't get me wrong, it is still an entertaining movie to watch. For once Jessica Alba does something different, and not just be there in the movie with a beautiful presence. However did the movie needed a good actor like Terrence Howard for his role? No, the role did not do him any justice. Not sure why he took it, he has been quite good in role selections recently, in movies including Crash, Ray, Their Eyes Were Watching Gods and The Brave One, where his roles were more impactful & challenging.
I'm not sure how to tell more about this movie without spoiling its twists. Let's just put it as a few twists, a few gory surgical scenes, and a few romantic moments between Hayden & Jessica. Despite giving a few surprising twists, the movie does leave you asking "Is that all?" after watching.
Awake movie trailer:
Rating : C+
MOVIE REVIEW : THREE KINGDOMS (Mandarin)
Category : War/History, Drama / Starring : Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Sammo Hung, Maggie Q
Directed by renowned Daniel Lee, Three Kingdoms tells the story of a young soldier named Zao ZiLong (Andy Lau) during the history period of China, where the country is suffering from extensive internal wars which divide the nation into three kingdoms, namely Wei(魏), Shu(蜀) and Wu(吳). Zao despite coming from humble roots, fights hard and through his deep courage & passion in believing he could help unite his country, he triumphed and becomes a legend amongst the warlords and armies.
Critics have attacked the movie from all angles, starting from the story-line running away too much from the original Three Kingdoms novels, to poorly written scripts and unimpressive fight scenes. It is a war movie and audience will want to see great fight scenes. To me there wasn't much of that. It is still however an entertaining movie for the older generation to go watch, as they can relate well to the best selling epic novels of Three Kingdoms which most of them have read, and have a chance to see some old stars like Ti Lung making cameo appearances in this movie. Newer generation teen idols including Vanness Wu and Andy On also join the impressive list of casts. The movie does boast some grand scenes and beautiful sceneries.
Three Kingdoms movie trailer:
Rating : C+
MOVIE REVIEW : NIM'S ISLAND (English)
Category : Action/Adventure, Family / Starring : Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler
I went to watch this movie not knowing what the movie is all about. Saw the poster, it looked very 'Indiana Jones', and it has one of the best actress around, Jodie Foster and newcomer Abigail Breslin, so I thought 'Why not!'. The movie turned out to be nothing like Indiana Jones' adventures, as it evolves between two worlds, one where Abigail lives with her father on an unfound, beautiful island, and the other the reclused world of Jodie Foster, living in fear of even leaving her own aprtment in the city.
This show appears a little too 'kiddie' for me, as I was benchmarking it to adventure/fantasy movies like Indiana Jones or Spiderwick Chronicles, where audience of all ages can relate closely. Don't get me wrong, it is still an entertaining movie for the younger crowd, it'll make a good trip to the movies for the family. Jodie and Abigail's acting is definitely a plus point to this adventure movie.
To watch trailer CLICK HERE
Rating : C
MOVIE REVIEW : 27 DRESSES (English)
Category : Romance, Comedy / Starring Katherine Hiegl, James Marsden, Edward Burns
Those who love Katherine Hiegl in Grey's Anatomy will definitely not want to miss this movie, as Katherine delivers well in her character as the selfless, romantic woman who dwells deep into the wedding scenes, happily-ever-after beliefs, and becoming the most dependable bridesmaid in town, 27 weddings altogether, but finding herself most unlucky in love.
The movie is funny, light-hearted and definitely a treat to watch. Katherine fits the role very well, she looks beautiful, and although looked quite good pairing up with James Marsden, I felt they don't look like a perfect match (if you know what I mean). But they pulled it off, thanks to good story line and scripts.
Rating : B+
27 Dresses Trailer:
MOVIE REVIEW : GONE BABY GONE (English)
Category : Drama, Crime / Starring : Casey Afleck, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman
When I saw the three big names in this movie, I knew it's a must watch. Then when it started I saw it was directed by Ben Afleck, I thought "Hmm...", but luckily, it didn't disappoint me. The movie tells a story about two private detectives (happen to be lovers as well) investigating the disappearance of a little girl. What seems to be a simple kidnap case turns out to be much more than any of their expectations.
Lots of twists for those who love it. The movie gives us a conclusion to the puzzle, but only to later reveal another piece of mystery yet unsolved. What I love about this movie is that it slowly peels layer by layer the actual truth about the case, and at the same time testing the main charatcers on issues like religion, humanity, what's right and wrong, and also their relationship.
To watch trailer CLICK HERE
Rating : B+
MOVIE REVIEW : THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE (English)
Category : Suspense/Thriller, Horror / Starring : Mike Vogel, Christina Cole, Jaime Murray, Bill Nash
This is an English production, where the plot firstly intrigues me a lot, it tells a story of Ian Stone, who encounters with a strange creature, and dies in a tragic death, and wakes up realizing he's living a totally different life. The plot thickens as this scenario repeats in a vicious cycle, where Ian finds himself being pursued by mysterious and evil presence, and dies again only to wake up into another new life.
This movie, unfortunately failed to give a good ending which ties all these twists and suspenseful knots altogether. I just didn't buy it. We were also introduced to creatures who were dressed up with suits that mimic The Matrix, how unconvincing. However, I do need to give the actor Mike Vogel some credits, he does put up a decent act, having to die tragically a few times, showing us his desperation being clueless why he is going through this ordeal, not bad.
To watch the trailer, click the below to activate:
Rating : D+
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