Resident Evil 2

Everyone seems to be posting movie reviews here so I thought I'd jump on the band wagon as well.

Caught this show sometime back as I had free tickets from some magazine promotion in borders. For those of you who watched part I, this installment continues from where it left off. Alice (Milla Jovovich(sp?) )is captured, brought to racoon city and wakes up to an empty city (well, not really empty, more like empty except for zombies) and new found genetically enhanced superpowers. Anyway long story short, the movie plays out like the game, namely see zombie, shoot zombie and try to escape the city. Along the way she meets up with Jill Valentine (the original heroine in the Resident Evil game) who is an unlikely police officer (miniskirt and knee high boots? She looks more like a hooker or stripper.)

Enemies inclue zombie humans, zombie childern, zombie dogs ... you get the idea and Nemesis, Alice's friend from part 1, super modifed to scare the bejeezes out of those not dead yet.

Minus points - the plot is really lame and full of holes. Like why do the zombies eat only the living people? You mean they stop eating the moment the victim dies?

Plus points - you get to see Milla semi/half naked ... again. In fact in one of the scenes near the end of the movie, can see her nnp :P

Rating 3/5 for brainless violence and nnps

Oh yeah, the ending is similar to the first one, in that they are preparing you for part 3.

Spy Bound - Spellbound it wasn't

caught this french movie last friday because my movie producer wasn't able to make it to the preview. saw a few tv personas like guo liang from channel u and timothy from channel news asia. the gv theatre at plaza singapura was so small that it reminded me of school ava rooms. anyway, let's get on with the movie.

we went in expecting to test our reading skills since its a french movie with english subtitles. fortunately or unfortunately, there's no much subtitles to talk about. its a movie with very little dialogue and that's not the only thing that was lacking. there wasn't many action scenes which you will expect in a spy movie. the only big hooha scene i can recall is that of a very nice peugeot flipping on a highway. but even that was done with CGI. so what else was lacking? i would say the script was not fantastic but passable. it did makes me wonder what happen to spies who want to opt out. anyway, if the job comes with the kinda of babes that james bond get, who wants to quit? :p

so what's left of the movie that's good? the cast of course!. the two leading actors, namely monica bellucci and vincent cassel, are just....can't find a word for it...excellent. me going ga ga over monica is not surprising since she's got the looks and .....just put it as too-delectable. i was also pleasantly impressed with vincent's performance which i will say is only hampered by the script.

so would i recommend the movie? yes but not for the split second nude scene. instead for a different kind of spy movie and for vincent and lastly....monicaaaaaaa. =P~

rating: 3/5 (for fans of monica & vincent) : 2.6/5 (for non fans)

Motocyle Diaries & Saved!

Two movies that are quite highly rated this week. Both had some notion or meaning to life and people.

Motocyle Diary is in Spanish, is based on diaries of 2 argentines; of which one was "Che" Guevara, the guerilla leader who started the Cuba revolution. It depicts how this 8 mth journey around Latin (South) America had changed their life and perception later.
(Read more here.)

An interesting movie, and realistic look at life. It addressed the same emotion I had when I was studying Latin American culture in Uni. Disgust at how the Spaniards invade, conquer and eliminate the indigenious community. Sad to see how the "original land owners" are chased out, made homeless and jobless. No wonder Guevara revolted. It'll take a lot of courage, wisdom and perserverance to stand up for something you truely believe in. No wonder he is so so admired and remembered in Latin America and esp Cuba.

Saved! is not quite the typical college-high-school story. Borrowed from http://www.cathay.com.sg/cineplex/plexsub_NowShowing.html
"Good girl" Mary (Jena Malone) and her domineering best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), are starting their senior year at the top of the social food chain at American Eagle Christian High School – that is until Mary’s boyfriend tells her he thinks he might be gay. When Jesus appears to her in a vision, she heeds his message to do everything she can to help him and, to her horror, she ends up pregnant. Suddenly, Mary begins to question everything she’s believed in, and Hilary Faye and her devoted disciples (including Heather Matarazzo) turn against her as an outcast. Mary finds herself alone until she’s befriended by the school’s other pariahs: Hilary Faye’s cynical, wheelchair-bound brother, Roland (Macaulay Culkin) the principal’s skater heartthrob son, Patrick (Patrick Fugit); and the high school’s lone Jew, an exuberant rebel named Cassandra (Eva Amurri). In this sweetly subversive comedy, a group of outsiders band together to navigate the treacherous halls of high school and make it to graduation, ultimately learning more about themselves, finding faith in unexpected places, and realizing what it truly means to be Saved! "

In some way, people tend to sterotype. We all have our standard and expectation of ourselves and others. The society too has its way of moulding what fit in or not. Nothing is absolutely black and white. There will always be exceptions. If only mankind can be lenient, open minded, flexible, and forgiving. (Easier said than done.) "Do what you want others to do to you" doesn't work anymore. (Maybe I lost the motivation cos so many had disappoint me.) My expectation of others is certainly too high. At this point, I look at mankind and understood why God had flooded the world then (when he was so pissed off). He said he won't do it again. I guess that day may come again, looking around.

Motorcyle diaries is worth 5/5, Saved! 3/5.

Wicker Park

Extracted from gv.com.sg (again) --

"Intricately moving back and forth in time and revealing the story from each character's perspective, Wicker Park is an intense psychological drama about a man (Josh Hartnett) caught in an obsessive search for a woman he fell deeply in love with - a woman who then vanished without a trace. Two years after her disappearance, he catches a fleeting glimpse of her in a local bar and begins a twisting search to find her and discover what really happened."

It felt like a romance thriller as Matt (Josh) uncovers clues as he traces Lisa (that gal in Troy who kissed Orlando). It is frustrating to watch how the lovers keep missing each other. (Sound like the chinese - Turn left, Turn right). I thot it's going to be a senseless-near-miss-romance story that Josh always acts in. But the way the film was presented got me sitting straight up through out the movie. It keep you guessing as you uncovers pieces of the puzzle. And slowly piece them up for the whole picture. And the whole movie builds up to the final scene that I felt was pretty full of impact even thou no words were exchanged.

It's worth, 3.5-4/5 stars.

The Terminal

Extracted from gv.com.sg --

"Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump") and Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Chicago") star in "The Terminal," under the direction of Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg ("Schindler’s List," "Saving Private Ryan").

"The Terminal" tells the story of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal’s international transit lounge until the war at home is over.

As the weeks and months stretch on, Viktor finds the compressed universe of the terminal to be a richly complex world of absurdity, generosity, ambition, amusement, status, serendipity and even romance with a beautiful flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). But Viktor has long worn out his welcome with airport official Frank Dixon, who considers him a bureaucratic glitch, a problem he cannot control but wants desperately to erase."

Very funny movie. Undeniable acting from Tom Hanks again. I think the romance part isn't the main focus of the movie. We see more of how Viktor survive in a foreign land, making friends and later wooing Amelia. It is not a fairy tale story, and that's what I like about it. It is realistic.

It is worth 4/5 of my stars.

LS Part II

Coincidentally, just got hit by a round of LS soon after seeing the previous post (voodoo anyone???).
Anyway, I think it's like 8-10 times in 1 night. Exactly 1 full roll of paper used :D
Turns out it wasn't bad food.. more stomach flu.
Anyone want pics :))

London Trip

Hi Guys,

I just got back from a short business trip to London. Thought I'll share some photos that I've taken over there. The weather there was great, cool but not too cold, and the company, fellow Yahoo!s, was wonderful.

I was also very fortunate to meet up with my cousin, Joanna. She was so kind to show me places which she has been for countless times. Jo who is married to Phil Askey, founder of Digital Photography Review also invited me to their lovely pad. I get to see Phil at work and almost have to sign an NDA for it. The hospitable couple brought me out for an authentic English Pub dinner which was amazingly good. A big thank you to Phil and Jo!!!

Check out the rest of the photos here.

LS anyone ???

Hi guys, been so long since I read/write this wonderful blog :)
anyway was wondering if you guys experiencing what I'm going through now....that is ... LS ??

Heard that many of my colleages, friends and relatives are having it.

If you guys forgot what LS means, can always ask Glutton :)

Open Waters

A couple went on a diving trip and were left behind in the open sea. The boatman did a miscalculation of the head count and left without them. They were deserted in a shark infested waters (in the Carribeans). The movie spans over a day. It shows how truamatised, stressed, and terrifying it can be.

The movie is made on a low budget, using mainly handheld cams (as it seems). So expect motion sickenss. Scripts doesn't flow and actors could only do well in pretending to be terrified and biten by sharks.

I've went up on a wrong boat when I was diving with my sister once. We rarely go down without any Divemaster but on that occasion, we had to do it on our own. It shows that our navigation was horrible. It was actually my fault cos I heard the bearings wrongly. Lucky for us, the boat belongs to the same company, and our boat was still waiting for us a kilometre away. We were rather anxious when we couldn't find the boat underwater. I surfaced to see a boat infront but our boat is infact behind me. At least we still had a boat then. We learnt from our mistakes, and through this movie, we've decided to buy torch, knives, dive watch and campasses. I'm also considering bring a bottle of water and musli bars for such emergencies. Haha

This is worth 2/5 stars. Not realistic enough and I was bored by their poor scripted dialogues and boring cinematography.

Anacodas 2

A group of scientists found a natural source to forever youth; a rare orchid that blooms once every 7 yrs. They made their way to Borneo in search of the flower but were met with the monsoon season. At the same time, its the mating season for the anacodas. On their search for the orchids, they were hunted by the snakes one by one. It's not difficult to guess who'll be eaten and what's the ending like.

Tyipcal suspense thriller.. nothing out of the ordinary. Actors were great at acting being terrified. Their dialogues sound so scripted. I felt it didn't protray the scariness of the big snakes.. not enough I think. But then, it is still entertaining with climaxes, and anti climaxes..

It's worth 3.5/5 stars.

13 going on 30

The movie I caught on the plane on the way back from Maldives.

A 13 year old had her wish come true and woke up being 30 years old. How will she handle the life of a 30 year old with her 13 year old life experiences? And thru this short detour of her life, she gain insights into her life as a 13 year old, and realise what she is missing.

Funny but not hilarious. Felt like over-acting to me. Maybe I'm just bias against that lanky actress. It like one of those cinderalla-expected-happy-ending sort of movie. Its an easy film to 'digest' but its not worth the money.

It's worth 2.5/5 stars.

Swimming Pool

Caught it on the plane to Maldives. Its a very artistic film that leaves you wondering and going through the movie in your head when it ended. The story tells a middle age English writer, being bored of her life, seeking inspirations at her publisher/lover's holiday mansion in France on a short vacation. The daughter, a liberal French babe, of the publisher dropped by one night and stayed in the same house with her. One is an uptight conservative English lady, while another is a liberated, sexy hot babe who comes home every night with a different man. How will she endure her 'loose' lifestyle, and can the Frenchie liberate her from her uptight world? The writer was so inspired by her that she started writing a new book revolving around this Frenchie.

That looks like what the movie is protraying, until the end of the movie. I still dont know what's the moral of the story. : There's a lot of nude scene and the hot babe is really one hot babe! Great body!!

It's worth 3/5 stars cos I can't make sense out of it yet.

Stepford's Wife

A family shifted to Stepford to get away from the stress of the big city. Nicole Kidman, while trying to recover from depression/nervous breakdown, slowly discovers the strange things about Stepford. For one, the wives are all perfect, sweet, sexy, blonde and capable. It seems more obvious when her friend in Stepford - Bette Midler was converted into the typical "Stepford's Wife". And so she went about and unravel the truth about the Stepford's wives and this village itself.

Suppose to be a thriller, but with dark comedy and witty lines. Nicole is great as usual. However, its not that great a movie, I feel. Maybe its the irony that I'm feeling..

I rate it 2.5/5

The Notebook

Extracted from http://www.gv.com.sg/Booking/movies/moviedetails_6673.htm

"... Allie, elderly and ravaged by Alzheimer's, lives alone in a nursing home, the memory of her passionate youth all but lost. Duke, a fellow patient, reads to Allie the story of her life from her own tattered notebook. She and Noah fell in love in the 1940's, but her parents tore them apart. Years later, when fate brought them back together, she had to make a choice between her first love and a man she was betrothed to marry. Who did she choose? As the story unfolds, it is clear that Duke is more than a patient, and in her rare moments of clarity, Allie can see...Noah. Spanning six decades, this visually and emotionally sweeping romantic saga is a testament to the enduring power of love."

A love story, expectable plot, nothing out of the ordinary. But its the thot of love so lasting and sacrificial. Such a touching story that a guy next to me was sniffing kinda hard. I walk out feeling sweet, and wondering if love can last so long, will I find one like that?

I give is.. *sniff* 4/5 for its simplicity.

Collateral

Story here > http://www.gv.com.sg/Booking/movies/moviedetails_6650.htm
Gist of it: "boring" cab driver picked up a contract killer who sort of hijacked his cab. So you'll wonder what the cab driver will do to try to free himself. He did try to get away. He succeeded finally but there's more at the end as he tried to intervene with the killer's plan.

Tom is cool.. but the movie is still boring. There isn't sparks or climax, not for me at least. You could see the twist coming. Cinemagraphy or sound isn't fantastic. I think they used handheld cams a couple times to simulate the shakiness and rush. Wasn't impressive.

It's worth 2/5, I give Tom cruise face. :P

The Village

Another M. Night Shyamalan's work and you can expect his style of interesting ending, full of twists. Can be rather slow but just flow with it and feel the emotions building and enjoy the twists. I find that the story is quite interesting and the way Shyamalan put it on screen is very engaging/entertaining in a way.

The story is about this village, that looks almost perfect except something is lurking in the forest beyong the village borders. No one dares to venture out into the forest, until one man voiced out his intention to cross the forest. This eventually will lead to the truth about The Village.

Starring, Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver (as his mum) and Adrien Brody.

It worth 4/5 of my stars.

Singapore Idol

Anyone watched Singapore Idol? I thought Singaporeans would be too shy to make a fool of themselves... I thought wrong...

Cringe cringe

I Robot

I caught it weeks ago and forgot to blog on it.

It is a futurist story when robots are everywhere on the streets doing what some bangladesh indians, philippinos, indonesians, china chinese, thais are doing in S'pore. A new breed was developed to replace the older version. And then it happened. These new breeds started to rebel and started to take over the world, almost.

Fantastic graphics! The martial arts moves are so fluid and pretty natural on the robots. Very nice moves too. Interesting although somewhat predictable story, but has a great twist that keep you guessing. It's entertaining!

It's worth 4/5.

Michael Chiang´s Private Part

Caught the highly acclaimed (or publicised) play at the Esplanade. Verdict: Over rated.

It addresses the issue of transsexuals in Singapore. A story of 2 men becoming women, a woman to a man and a man who injuired his manhood and having it fixed. They met at a sex change medical center somewhere in Indonesia (bintan?) and became friends. One man->woman even started developing feelings for the man-with-fixed-dick. However, it did manage to put in the issues that transsexuals face in a society in S'pore. It may open up some eyes/opinions of some, but not much since homosexuality are more open now.

So that's the simple story. The Straits Times did a very good review about it. The story seems flaccid. Too long/many pauses between scenes. Lousy actors except for the men-turn-women. I liked the stage artwork but I also agreed with the critic that it doesn't quite show the distinction of different scenes.

What I liked about the play is the opening and closing dance/sing performance by 3 macho transverstites. They are really good, even on those 4-inches heels.

Mean Girls

Hot college girls!! Another funny show. Usually I'm not into college-sweetie-britneyspears-bubblegum movies.. but this one is rather fun to watch. Its not those emotional-lovey-dovey-high-sex-hormone show. I would think it's more realistic-bitchy-sexy-unscrupulous-scandalous show. Well, that's what it's about anyway. Girls bitching about each other, using underhand methods to sabotage, trying to be in the "in" group, etc. Hmm. that's what most college students are facing.

Story: A newbie to the school, who eventually joined the most popular girls of the school but for ulterior motive. That is, to get the boy she admires in class. So she went about to sabotage on the "Queen" of that group. Before she knows it, she has become one of them, and landed herself in more problems. But of cos, such movie always ends happily with a prom. ;) No need to guess, everyone bcomes good friends again. (Duh!) Hhaha

Well, I think this is about 2.5/5. Funny, but it's a teen movie! and teen movies cannot go beyond 2.5.