Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts

The Expendables: Short review for the hungry addled brain.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Posted by Dils 1 comments
I'd watched the Expendables last weekend.

Warning: May contain spoilers. Nothing major though. 


I give it:

4 out of 5 sambal explosive rating. Explosion aplenty with a few generous shots of heads being shot to bits.

5 out of 5 of Pure Cheese.The amount of one liner that is just that is staggering.

0.5 out of 5 tender meaty goodness of a sirloin steaks in term of how bad the dialogue sucks.

1 out of 5 stacks of spaghetti, just how flimsy the plot are. It seems like the plot is being put there as an afterthought to mask the real reason of the movie - Blow stuffs up.

2 out of 5 fried wonton goodness, on the limited screentime and capabilities shown by Jet Li. Dissapointing.

3 fried chickens out of infinity, the number of hot chicks shown. Though seeing Charisma Carpenter name on the credit, made me squee like a Buffy fan nerd should.

1 Ramly Special Beef Burger - The amount of time you would finish a burger would be almost equal to the amount of time Bruce Willis and Arnie make their appearance here. (Unless you are a slow eater, and if you are why are you eating a Ramly burger slowly. Ramly burger is meant to be eaten while hot!)

Ok. Can't think of any food related things to relate to this movie. Basically go for it for the explosions and just don't pay attention to the dialogue or you will cringe, cringe, cringe. I thought right, I went for exactly that and went out of the cinemas satisfied at seeing all these 80s and 90s actions stars in one film.

And since people are comparing these 3 movies earlier on... I have to say personal preference goes like this. 

1. The Losers - Most of the characters are awesome or likable. And I like that fight scene in the rundown hotel. I have a girl crush on Zoe Saldana, so I maybe a bit bias.

2. The Expendables - Everything is fast,fast,fast. I am beginning to hate the slow motion things action movies got going on, and it just showed how incredibly hard the actors/stunt makers must work to choreograph the fights. The actors seems mesh well with each other. And the scene where Jason Statham give an ass kicking to the domestic abuser and the gang, while pointless is awesome.

3. The A-Team - The action is good. But I mostly hate the characters which is why I like it the least. The Mr.T subplot is tedious, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel story need not be there nor that they have chemistry. The only thing I like there is Liam Neeson (maybe because I am still madly in love with him after watching Taken. That movie is THE AWESOME). Mostly, I just can't remember how the story goes. It just shows how forgettable the whole thing are.

Ok stopping now because it may lead to a review of the A Team.
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Film Review: Exam

Sunday, August 8, 2010 Posted by dueng 1 comments
Hye there. Was busy, here and there..the usual stuff. However, still managed to slip in one great movie. The movie title Exam. First of all, it's not about usual assessment of student but rather "job interview" kind of exam. The synopsis as follows:

Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, a man gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. After the initial confusion has subsided, one frustrated candidate writes 'I believe I deserve...,' and is promptly ejected for spoiling.

Source: Wikipedia

My Review:

WARNING: May contain spoilers. Read at your own discretion.

1) I just love movies that wasn't use normal name for character name. Instead, they used places, colors, ethnicity etc to represent character. This movie used it extensively. (e.g. of other movies: Zombieland, Reservoir Dogs).

2) This movie that plays with lots of dialog. Don't get me wrong, it could be freaking boring at times at some other movies but well written lines in this movie could be very interesting to watch.

3) Exam using a small-space concept and focusing on the conflict rather than having broad set. The "exam" take place in a room that could accommodate around 20 people. Just like Phone booth and 12 Angry Men.

4) Twisted ending was my favorite thing. It could set you aback and keep make you thinking about the ending. It's the best part of a movie but it should be unpredictable cause otherwise it would be suck. The ending keep you thinking, I didn't see that coming.

5) Conflict and office politics. Everything summed up nicely in this movie, which make you said, Uhhhahh...I think I had seen this happened before. In real life I mean.

6) The revelation. Although I dig twisted ending, knowing the progress of the event and explanation bout it rather soothing. I appreciate the hint but seriously, you can't get enough of hint when you watch it the first time. By helping the audience understand the event and progress of it, it could create understanding and left no space for own interpretation. Otherwise, it would be not so favorable and understandable to the mass. I beg to differ in the case of Inception though.

7) Strong, in-the-character actor. I don't mind not so famous actors as long as the cast could really act. In this movie, the cast strongly brought up their character to the surface and having fun doing it. It's such a waste that the winner of the Exam wasn't a character that get much of screen time or witty dialogue but it would be perfect for the development of the story anyway.

All in all, the storyline was strong and justifiable though the ending might get you into argument. In that defense, I would like to stress that the candidate had gone so much and given the rules of the Invigilator, who would dare to spoil their chance by answering it anyway - too much at stake to be spoiled by smart ass move. I see the ending just mere wrap up to the story and a justification on how do they doing it that way, you're not supposed to dispute about it anyway cause the most interesting part is the conflict rather than the ending.

Anyhow, my most favorable character would be Brown. He's sadistic and generally most smart of all of them. Download it and enjoy it. If you already watch it or have something to say, please share it at comment box.

p/s: It's a British movie.
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Make Up Entry #2: Kesetanan Lagenda Budak Setan

Friday, June 25, 2010 Posted by dueng 5 comments

I watched Lagenda Budak Setan last weekend. Having read the novel, my expectation couldn't be any lower. Come on man, it's like fantasy become reality. It's like for long watching porn and suddenly found out that you'll be in one. Ok...bad analogy but you get what I mean.

But ended up, I'm hugely disappointed by the facts as followed:-

Disclaimer: Spoiler alert. Writing in point form easier.

Disappointment Indicator (DI): 1 for no disappointment at all and 10 for WTF is this stuff doing here?

1) The setup was in college instead of high school. The college setup was unreal, it's more like college that didn't passed LAN (Lembaga Akreditasi Negara) or fake college. DI: 5

2) The vice chancellor talks with Kasyah at the corridor. One of WTF moment. FFS, do some research on how college should look like. Malay movies always make college and university student look retarded. DI: 10

3) The chemistry between Farid Kamil & Lisa Surihani. Another WTF moment. They look stupid together. Some might say that they look good together in I'm Not Single but not in Lagenda Budak Setan. DI: 8

4) Fazura was Katerina when I'm expecting her to be Amelia/Ayu. Marah sungguh. I'm freaking pissed when I realized that. DI: 10

5) However, Fazura acting looks more lively and genuine. Heck, she could act. Girl should be given more screen time. I love Fazura's acting, she had grown gracefully in her acting career. I love it! DI: -1

6) The prank (2 pranks only, WTF!) was half-asses done. Kasyah definitely not live up to "Budak Setan" title that he earned. DI: 7

7) They called Cikgu Loga. This is college, you don't call your lecturer as "Cikgu". Do you want to setup it as college or high school? Wrap your mind around it, Mr Director. DI: 9

8) What kind of college (I think a fake one at that) would allowed research grant to an undergraduate art student going away alone to remote area for a long time? Do your homework la, Production Team. Attention to details, please. Don't treat your audience like fools. DI: 10

9) Who-is-she, Amelia/Ayu is a tunggul kayu. She can't act to save her life. She shouldn't bare this huge of responsibility and shattered by imagination on how Amelia/Ayu look like. And she's not even pretty. Raja Farah could nail the role as Amelia/Ayu better than her. DI: 10

10) Kasyah should be very messy and distorted when he met with Amelia for the first time. Farid Kamil barely shows emotion and like tunggul kayu. He should lose weight also. Wasn't convincing at all that Kasyah was suffering from Ayu's marriage. DI: 7

11) Que Haidar as Azmi is great. He's violence and revengeful. Just a bit sissy at times though it does fit with his character. I loike it. DI: -1

There are few more details that should be paid attention by the production team however it's small enough to distract me from writing it here. The accumulation of half-asses work done make me losing faith in adaptation movies produce by Malaysian. When you can't pull things right for such legendary piece of work like Lagenda Budak Setan, it shows how much we're bothering in creating the hype and disappoint the audience rather than genuinely appreciating the value of the masterpiece.

I wasn't expecting it to be 100% according to original piece cause time is the constraint, however doing things right means so much in adapting the piece to silver screen. I could let go that the movie didn't shows side story of Sapi and Kasyah, the evil girls that tag-team with Kasyah and many more small things but even with so many short cut of the storyline, they still couldn't put it right.

I would love to suggest that Malaysian should stop adapting literature masterpiece to silver screen for once and for all but there will be some hasty idiots that will go out their way to offend the masterpiece lover again. In near future.

And I should support Malaysian movies? Come out with more believable things at silver screen and never treat audience like a bunch of fools. Be smart for once.
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#011 - Movies Mania

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Posted by Unta@Jitra 1 comments
Aaa...

Ok today I'm gonna write about movies review. For the past several days (weeks), I've been watching some of the latest movies. This is my personal opinion.

Iron Man 2


Was it great compared to the first installment? That's the first question movie goers will ask about a sequel. For me it was interesting, I would rate it just a bit below the first, but entertaining nonetheless. For those who are looking for some serious CGI, this movie is a must watch. I was quite pleased with the recent development of the local cinema improvement, they actually skipped the credit to show the after credit epilogue. Iron Man 3 or some other Marvel franchise will feature Thor, the guy with the lightning hammer.

Memorable scene: That compact-mobile iron man suit and the laser 1-hit kill. Awesome!


Ip Man 2


Almost similar title with similar sequel number lol. I watched the first one, with mouth wide open. I am a martial-art movie maniac. Seeing another martial art movie (post OngBak) was a good time for me. Ip Man was a Wing Chun style kung-fu grandmaster, and the sequel brought us back to Hong Kong. With the no-nonsense flying fat guy Sammo Hung, it was quite interesting movie with some nice fights. Due to the lack of martial art movies, I'll recommend this one. But it will be better if you watch the first one first, because of some recurring characters in the sequel.

Memorable scene: Round table fights and the ending of course (Bruce Lee). Take that you fukken gwai-lo!


When in Rome


Another RoCo (Romantic Comedy) with a quite nice casts. Nothing special but if you have a girlfriend (or boyfriend) and some extra cash, it was worth it. Not by going to the cinema (old movie already) but a DVD would suffice. It was a story about love at first sight, some magic, hilarious incidents and a happy ending.

Memorable scene: That Napoleon Dynamite guy :D


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time


Gamers waited for this, and chicks loved that macho Gyllenhaal guy and I loved the princess. Was it good? Well it was OK for me because for me, casting an Arab guy will work better. It should be longer because I was not quite satisfied with the movie duration. Gamers would love all that jump roll climb action like they were playing the game. Great CGI. The brothers of the hero were a bit kayu. Overall it was OK.

Memorable scene: That slow motion deadly snakes attack.


The A-Team


I watched this series back when I was still a boy and the only thing I remember was Mr-T. The movie however was GREAT. With new casts (and old cast cameo in the end), it was action packed and hilarious at the same time. For those who never watch the series, it didn't matter because this movie was like a prequel.

Memorable scene: All BA Baracus scene involving flight, hilarious!


Will-watch list

1) Toy Story 3
2) Karate Kid
3) The Last Airbender
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Letters to Juliet

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Posted by Dils 4 comments


What is it about:
An American girl(Sophie) on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by a the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter. 

I took that from IMDB.com and the photo from : http://www.allmoviephoto.com/photo/2010_letters_to_juliet_001_big.html

Review in points because I am lazy to type in a flowing, easy to understand manners.

* A very sweet romantic comedy. Its more sweet than funny though. Not chic lit-ty enough though this maybe a good thing here in this movie.

* Amanday Seyfried is cute and have big boobs. Her acting needs polishing, though she is getting there. I absolutely adore her.

* Christopher Egan is ridiculously Aryan looking. His character is most effective and charming when he is in his most snarky self.

* At the start it kinda meander a bit and I was just wondering if I had made a mistake paying for a movie ticket. Then the delightful point in the movie happened just in time when Vanessa Redgrave came into the screen. She is like a breath of fresh air. Even at 73.

* The scenery shown here is absolutely breathtaking. I feel like going there and never coming back.

* Spoiler alert: I quite like that they show there is no real villain in Sophie failed relationship with her fiance.

* Sophie backstory (family background) would explained itself why she stay in the relationship. So where at first I was annoyed on how accepting she is on how her fiance treated her, I realized the reason afterwards though I did think she could have portrayed herself differently in that earlier scenes. Ah well.

* A nice lovely movie to watch if you get tired of seeing big action adventure, violence or depressing ending.

* Yes, it would be no surprise to anybody that everyone got a happy ending, because a sad ending to the elderly couple is just too heartless after time had teared them apart for 50 years. And it's just silly to not just put the 2 younger couple together after all the effort in putting the elderly couple together, right.  

* The Taylor Swift song "Love Story" should not have surprised me, though it is in place here with all its Romeo and Juliet reference rather than her songs in Valentine Day.

In summary: I came for Seyfried cuteness but was won over by Vanessa Redgrave subtle charm. Damn. Now I want to watch Camelot.



Passing thought: Though I did think it is a weird concept for me to think someone writing their woes and asked somebody else the solution? Like I was always perplexed, reading all these Aunt Agony advice columns. I always thought, they themselves know the answers but are just afraid of the solutions. And why would you want an advice from Juliet, a famed doomed lover and decidedly an awful decision maker.
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Good Musical, Bad Musical

Friday, May 7, 2010 Posted by dueng 9 comments
I'm not a musical person. I don't really watch musical per se. I found that most musical pursuing ballads, show music and theatrical kind of music. Those kind of music somehow not my cup of tea though I admit that I did listen to some ballads songs. However, I found that as long as the musical involved rock songs, I could accept it. I guess, it's all goes back to musical preferences. Bad musical is musical that having no rock music. I just can't tolerate it. Good musical need to have rock music. At least that's for me.

So, I found my love to musical bring me close to Glee. The adventure starts when I first listening to a friends music collection that contains musical mash-up of "It's my life" and "Confessions". And I thought, wow...that's cool. Ok, I been listening to "Don't stop believin" by Glee cast but somehow the mash-up get me attracted to Glee.

Another musical based movie that get me running high is Bandslam. Cool! I could see Vanessa Hudgens in different outfit than her High School Musical outfit. Aly Michalka is awesome, the songs selection just brilliant. I could just sing along and love the song. The storyline wasn't as bad as it could go but wasn't a masterpiece either. In overall, it did have few merits that could score point with musical crowd. Hint: The ska and indie crowd might having fun listening to the musical selection.

Now, I'm off to get the new episode of Glee. :P
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Reviu Filem: Up In The Air

Friday, April 30, 2010 Posted by dueng 4 comments

Perasaan saya masih berbekas, seolah-olah ada lompong kosong di hati saya sesudah menonton cerita ini. Realitinya, hidup ini indah. Dan terus indah.

Up In The Air; ramai antara kita mengenali filem ini dari pencalonan di Academy Awards a.k.a. Oscar. Mungkin bukan kamu tapi saya mengenali filem ini dari Oscar. Filem ini diarahkan oleh sutradara John Reitman; yang juga mengarahkan Juno dan Thank You For Smoking. Bagi mereka yang pernah menonton dua filem ini pasti mendapati terdapat cara Rietman mengendalikan filemnya supaya berkesan di hati.

Filem Up In The Air berkisar mengenai Ryan yang bekerja sebagai agen perubahan kerjaya atau dalam bahasa Inggerisnya; career translation agent. Apakah yang dimaksudkan oleh Agen Perubahan Kerjaya? Itu bahasa industri yang juga bermaksud dalam bahasa pasarnya; pemecat pekerja. Ryan digaji oleh CTC sebagai pegawai yang mewakili syarikat yang mahu mengecilkan operasi syarikat mereka. Dalam erti kata lain, Ryan bekerja dengan memecat pekerja lain.

Saya tidak mahu menyentuh bagaimana proses lantik luar (outsourcing) ini sedang berkembang maju tetapi kerjaya Ryan memerlukan beliau mengembara ke seluruh Amerika dan kadang kala ke Eropah untuk menjalankan proses pemecatan. Ryan percaya kepada hidup tanpa komitmen terhadap hubungan dan harta benda. Hidup bagi Ryan adalah seperti sebuah beg sandang yang sekiranya kita mengisi dengan pelbagai perhubungan dan harta benda (termasuk memori silam), kita takkan dapat bergerak ke hadapan.

Dalam perjalanan Ryan, beliau terserempak dengan Alex; juga seorang yang selalu ke luar kawasan demi urusan kerja. Antara Alex dan Ryan terbina hubungan kasual sebagai pasangan yang selalu keluar kawasan. Realitinya, Ryan amat menggemari hidup ke luar kawasan dan merasakan seperti di rumah sendiri apabila dia bergerak ke sana ke mari.

Keselesaan Ryan bagaimanapun terganggu apabila Natalie; seorang staff graduan Universiti Cornell cuba memperkenalkan sistem pemecatan pekerja melalui konferensi video. Ryan berasa terancam dan "mengalu-alukan" Natalie dengan memperkenalkan Natalie kepada relaiti industri yang dihuni Ryan selama ini. Akhirnya, Ryan diarahkan untuk mengajar Natalie berkenaan industri mereka dengan membawanya ke lapangan kerja. Pengalaman yang dikecapi oleh Natalie memberikan kesedaran bahawa industri ini adalah sesuatu yang sangat meletihkan dan mencabar emosi. Semacam kerja yang perlukan interaksi berhadapan yang tidak boleh dikecapi melalui sistem yang dicadangkan oleh Natalie.

Di dalam lapangan bekerja, teman lelaki Natalie memutuskan hubungan mereka. Natalie menangis teresak-esak dan di titik itulah pertemuan pertama Alex dan Natalie apabila Ryan cuba menenangkan Natalie. Natalie ditenangkan oleh Alex dan Ryan dan akhirnya mereka bertukar-tukar pandangan. Alex dan Ryan membawa Natalie untuk menyertai parti anjuran sebuah expo IT di hotel yang mereka diami. Natalie melepaskan segala beban dihatinya dan menikmati parti di hotel berkenaan.

Pendapat saya:

Filem ini memberatkan penceritaan berkenaan nilai kekeluargaan. Nilai kekeluargaan yang berkurangan di dalam diri Ryan akhirnya berjaya merubah Ryan. Walaubagaimanapun, setiap perubahan yang terjadi pasti terdapat harga yang perlu dibayar. Adakah kita bersedia melepaskan keselesaan kita dan membayar harga untuk perubahan itu?

Dari segi komersial, filem ini amat menghiburkan. Lebih komikal berbanding Juno dan tidak terlalu perlahan biarpun ada beberapa adegan perbualan yang agak membosankan. Secara keseluruhan, skripnya ditulis dengan baik sambil diselitkan unsur humor yang santai dan menyenangkan. Perhubungan antara Ryan dan Alex amat serasi menyaksikan perhubungan mereka berjalan lancar sepanjang cerita. Hubungan Natalie dan Ryan juga berkembang secara mantap menyaksikan keserasian antara Ryan dan Alex.

Kesimpulannya, saya amat mencadangkan filem ini untuk tontonan ramai. Sebuah filem santai yang membina minda. :)

Untuk lebih lanjut (keterangan jalan cerita a.k.a. SPOILER, sila skrol ke bawah).

Terima kasih.








[SPOILER ALERT]

Ryan dan Natalie berada dalam perjalanan pulang ke Omaha apabila Ryan terfikir berkenaan perkara yang dibincangkan dengan Natalie. Ryan mengambil keputusan untuk mengajak Alex ke perkahwinan adiknya di Wisconcin selepas bertemu dengan Alex di Vegas. Ryan merasakan hidupnya terasing dari hidup adik beradiknya. Situasi janggal memenuhi sepanjang situasi Ryan di Wisconsin. Ryan cuba untuk mengembalikan dirinya ke posisi ketua keluarga mereka dengan menawarkan untuk menemani Jill ke altar di hari perkahwinan Jill. Walaubagaimanapun, Jill telah memilih keluarga jauh untuk menemaninya.

Semasa Ryan membawa Alex ke sekolah tingginya untuk berpacaran, Ryan dikejutkan oleh panggilan telefon oleh Kara memberitahu bahawa Jim; bakal suami Jill mengalami ketidaktentuan fikiran berkenaan proses perkahwinannya dengan Jill. Ryan diarahkan oleh Kara supaya cuba berusaha untuk mendekatkan diri dengan keluarga mereka dan inilah peluang Ryan untuk menebus kembali pemisahannya dari keluarganya. Ryan selama ini bercerita dan menjalani hidup seorang diri dan terasing merasa tidak yakin dapat meyakinkan Jim untuk mengahwini Jill tetapi demi menebus kembali dirinya kepada keluarganya, Ryan akhirnya berjaya meyakinkan Jim.

Ryan dan Alex berpisah ke rumah masing-masing di lapangan terbang. Ryan tiba di Omaha dan menjalani proses peralihan di dalam bidang kerjanya apabila sistem yang dicadangkan oleh Natalie diterima oleh syarikat mereka. Ryan mula merasai hidupnya kosong apabila dipaksa menetap di Omaha tanpa dapat mengembara lagi. Di suatu majlis motivasi, Ryan seharusnya memberikan ceramah mengenai hidup tanpa komitmen tetapi merasakan tidak sesuai dan berlari keluar dari dewan ceramah. Ryan menuju ke Chicago untuk bertemu dengan Alex.

Apabila sampai di Chicago, Ryan tiba di hadapan rumah Alex dan mendapati Alex telah berumah tangga. Ini adalah tamparan besar bagi Ryan yang berada dalam proses merubah hidupnya. Ryan pulang ke Omaha dan dalam perjalanannya, dia mencapai 10 juta batu perjalanan di dalam program "Frequent Flyer" oleh syarikat penerbangannya. Inilah masa yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh Ryan selama ini tetapi disaat-saat seperti ini, Ryan merasa kaku. Ini adalah titik kesedaran dalam emosi Ryan bahawa hidupnya selama ini adalah yang terbaik untuk dirinya; bersendiri dan mengembara ke seluruh Amerika memecat pekerja.

Sampai sahaja di Omaha, Ryan diberitahu yang Natalie berhenti kerja apabila seorang pekerja yang dipecat oleh Natalie membunuh diri. Program yang dirancang Natalie diteliti balik dan CTC mengarahkan Ryan kembali mengembara untuk memecat pekerja. Di akhirnya, Ryan memberikan surat rekomen kepada syarikat dimana Natalie memohon kerja menyokong bakat dan kesungguhan yang dimiliki oleh Natalie.

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