Saturday, August 13, 2011

No. You’re not a pet.

Plot:

Will Rodman (James Franco) works hard to find a perfect medicine to cure Alzheimer, which his dad, Charles (John Lithgow) has suffered for some quite time. Using apes as test subjects, a female one showd a bright future and potential cure after showing an enhancement of intelligence, but not until she created havoc in the lab. Turns out, she gave birth, and indirectly the ‘intelligent upgrade’ was genetically transferred to the baby ape. Decided to adopt it, Caesar (Andy Serkis) grew up intelligently, and staying with Will. Can Caesar become both part of a family and society, or forever still being a pet and lab test?

Review:

The original 1968 Planet of the Apes was a cult classic, with several sequels followed afterwards which never came close both quality and money making compared to the original one. Tim Burton's remake in 2001 was even a disastrous one (starring Mark Wahlberg). So, when I read the idea of people try to bring this franchise again, in a prequel form, I was totally sceptical, it was doomed to fail big time!

Now, I have to eat my own words, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (RoTPoTA) is a great and superb summer movie, although I still think the title was silly. Story was good, stellar cast performance, plot pace was never boring and kept me on the hook, and what a brilliant CGI usage. Using an animals (in this case, apes) as test subjects is nothing new really, but the idea of make them smarter is a tough thing to deliver. Using real apes to perform many of human thingy convincingly of course can be totally difficult, but using a CGI to make them as real as possible is even more challenging. Apparently, RoTPoTA opted to go through the latter way, and it worked awesomely!

From the cast point of view, RoTPoTA actually has a stellar cast, ranging from James Franco, John Lithgow, Frieda Piento, Brian Cox, Tom Felto a.k.a Draco Malfoy, and lastly Andy Serkis as the magnificent Caesar. But halfway through, it was overwhelmed by the CGI apes. Overall, the movie is kinda divided into 2 halves, where the 1st one mostly filled up by the humans, before the apes took the whole scenes downturn on the latter half. This role maybe an easy job for Franco, but he is still mesmerizing and captivating as a young scientist whose goal was solely only to cure his father's Alzheimer. Even only as a supporting role, I think Lithgow's character is probably the scene stealer, as his performance was kinda heart-breaking one. While Piento didn't do much, only as Will’s love interest, nothing more...but she's cute, so I'm okay with it. On the evil side, Brian Cox as the nasty 'ape prison' warden, never fails me with antagonist roles, while surprisingly, Felton's character is much more hateable and irritating than his Malfoy's portrayal...let's hope he does not stick up with this stereotype (although he did a pretty good job on it).

The second part of the movie is like 80% dominated by the apes revolution. It was a well crafted plot, especially when most of the time the apes communicate through body language. Fast fact, the movie costs only $90M, and by looking the amount of CGI usage, I must say it's pretty damn impressive. The apes' motion capture, especially Caesar (thanks to the brilliant performance by Andy Serkis), and the fur rendering, even facial expression, was rendered perfectly, efficient, and most importantly, convincing! Andy Serkis' performance may not tops Gollum, perhaps on par or even better than King Kong. The best thing from him is that he gave a ‘personality’ to the character, which made us stick up with him. Caesar, being both the leader and smartest ape, shows lots of human emotions and intelligent body language, but still in the ape form. There will be some moments the distinction between CGI and real apes became undistinguishable...well done WETA, another good portfolio!

Stylishly directed by unknown Rupert Wyatt, he must be grateful to have a bunch of great artists such as Oscar-winning Cinematographer, Andrew Lesnie (Lord of the Rings trilogy), and of course the WETA team to render the whole magnificent motion capture CGI-apes. Storywise, I felt the third act was kinda rushed a bit, and the conculsion was not satisfactory (save for sequels, I assume). Half drama, half action, and partial moral message to save the apes. It’s far better than those mindless summer entertainment flicks, and although it’s not as grandeur and complicated as Transformers, the CGI is a technological marvel indeed. Pass on the banana!

My Review: 8.5/10

Friday, August 12, 2011

ONE DAY trailer...'Serendipity' wannabe?


ONE DAY starring Anne Hathaway (looking good with English accent, irresistible), and Jim Sturgess...it's a rom-com ala Serendipity I guess, combined with the idea of 'Friends with Benefits'...but this thing is a much more serious movie I guess. The trailer looks good and promising, and perhaps less melancholic or depressing compared with 'Like Crazy', similar theme but different plot...Directed by Lone Scherfig, she's the one who brought you 'An Education' (one of my 2009 favorites)...Make sure you don't watch this thing alone, bring ur loved ones!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Steven Soderbergh's CONTAGION trailer...


After some break, Steven Soderbergh is back with a new disease outbreak thriller....Soderbergh is quite famous on assembling great A-star cast (Ocean's Trilogy)...this one is no exception...Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne?

Looks good though! At first glance, I thought it's gonna be another zombie movie...and frankly I dunno whether I should be happy or disappointed...anyway, it also comes with a good looking poster as well...CONTAGION is coming out 9 September worldwide...and lucky me, it's premiering in Singapore a day earlier...

check the trailer below....

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I'm just a little kid from Brooklyn...

It was WWII, America was recruiting and rebuilding its military power to overwhelm Nazi's resistance in Europe. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a young kid from Brooklyn, had been refused to join the army because of his physical disability. Amused by his determination, Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a German miltary scientist who crossed allegiance to the US, decided to admit him into a special group. Admitted into the 'Super Soldier' program, this was the point of no return for Rogers, a start of something heroic, in the name of America.

Finally the last piece of the Avengers puzzle has been thrown to the audience. Following the similar trend of previous Avengers member team (that being Iron Man, Hulk , Thor, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury himself), I found Captain America is quite fun and entertaining. but sadly that's all. In term of action, plot, characterizations, I hardly found something new and exciting. Previously, Iron Man's suit was awesome, Bruce Banner's Hulk was intense and emotional, while Thor was elegant and action packed. In short, Cap is not as mesmerizing or even captivating as a super hero icon. True he got the bulky body. agility, and the infamous shield, but what this movie offers is something that we have seen many times in many other movie. Nevertheless, this is a comic book adaptation, and I never read any of Cap’s comics, so who am I to judge whether the story sucks or not?

The action scenes were okay and entertaining enough. I was expecting Cap doing amazing things with the almighty shield, and it turned out to be quite good and versatile enough. Okay, perhaps it’s not as destructive as Thor’s hammer or as cool as Iron Man Suit, but the idea of a very strong shield which can withhold any projectile? Gotta see that in the Avengers for sure!

The plus point of the movie perhaps lies in the retro vibe feeling. I think Joe Johnston (director) is doing a good job at creating the 1940ish scenes, reminds me of ‘X-Men: First Class’ production. Perhaps that’s why some of the action scenes were kinda old-fashioned blockbuster movie. Although I must say, Red Skull hideout and war factory are a bit to modern for that era.

On the bright side, I think Chris Evans is a good cast for Cap, he embodies the physical character and embraces his patriotic attitude convincingly. Although I think his face is a bit to boyish, but nevertheless he delivers well. Sometimes I tend to think Rogers being both himself and Captain America is being too good-hearted and naïve. I like the his intention and determination before he was being submitted into the Super Soldier programs, which can be a great plot afterwards. Before the incident at the lab which costs (SPOILER!) Dr. Erskine lab, he made Rogers promised to still be the old himself. Too bad, I think the plot went haywire afterwards, until he jumped into the action to save his bestfriend, Bucky.

Every superhero needs 2 elements, the villain and the chick. In this case, we got Johann Schmidt/Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). As the main villain, Red Skull probably the worst from all previous Avengers movie. Poor in character and undeveloped, and not to mention it’s a waste of Weaving talent. His bad antics are not menacing nor intimidating, it’s like old school James Bond villain. I thought he built a good tension, by creating super weapons and a massive army, but how come they are so easily infiltrated, trespassed, and defeated. Give me a break, I cannot even remember seeing these bad guys in action let’s say, threatening the Allied forces or occupied important cities. All we got is their secret hideout maps, and one by one was taken down by Cap and the gang.

While on the counterpart, Hayley Atwell might be the strongest female character I’ve seen compared with Pepper Pots or Betty Ross, but lack of chemistry. As Peggy Carter, she was really captivating, I really enjoyed her presence in every scene (her appearance with the red dress made me drooling). But her love interest with Rogers was a bit rushed, or even forced in halfway through. But it turned out better near the end, which has lots of potential to be a tear-jearking moment (such in Star Trek opening), but it didn’t.

Tommy Lee Jones, in my opinion gave the best performance as Col. Chester Phillips. He’s both funny and not to be messed up with, especially with his one-liner jokes. The scene where he was interrogating Zola, Red Skull main scientist, was hilarious. It’s just that I can’t believe he really looks old, but I guess he has been that old since I saw him at ‘The Fugitive’, almost 2 decades ago. Another strong performance was delivered by Stanley Tucci. That man was the heart of the movie in the early part, and unfortunately his character didn’t last long enough. Dominic Cooper also made a short appearance as Howard Stark, but effective enough to bridge this movie with Iron Man.

As a conclusion, Captain America is a happy-go-lucky superhero thing, easily digestible, but nothing revolutionary. A lousy mid-part may prevent this thing being the best of recent Marvel adaptation, but with great cast and an attempt to take the character on faithfully and without irony works more often than not. In the end, the moral message we can get from the Cap is his undisputed determination, loyalty, and lastly never-run ethos. Finally, after a great run from all the Avengers member, I must say I’m a bit burnout by them. I’ll see you all in the next summer.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

You're like the maid of dishonor...

Plot:

Annie (Kristen Wiig), a lovelorn just got broke, was picked up by her long time and soon-to-bride buddy, Lilian (Maya Rudolop) to become one of the bridesmaids. Seems to be problem-free thingy and Annie is quite confident on showing that she’s the best of the besties. But things are getting raunchier when Annie has to compete with Lilian’s other bridesmaid, Helen (Rose Bryne)who happens to be rich and love preparing big events with enormous level of detail (read: perfectionist). Let the catfight begins!

Review:

When I read 'R-rated comedies', people often relate 'em with: boobies, d*cks, and American Pie...Usually guys are the main target audience, too offensive for women, and mostly sex oriented. There's Something About Mary, Hangover, Hall Pass... see the trend?

Bridesmaids on the other hand offers something new albeit still using the same DNA, but smarter. For a start, it has lots and lots of adult and sex jokes, added with pretty much different propositions...one thing for sure, no boobies (sorry guys), and as I recall, there was only one awkward sex scene involving the guy from Mad Men. Actually, I don't even see the plus point on doing those stuffs coz Bridesmaids is already entertaining enough without having to show any nudity.

Secondly, it shows that raunchy and sex jokes do not always come out from guys' mouths. Hey I think even girls hanging around together also get the chance to spill out dirty jokes from their heads, doesn’t it? As far as I concern, I've seen enough Hollywood movies which exploiting women as mere object of sexuality purpose, but not giving them bigger portion to stand out and say 'd*ickhead' and still looking good. Thirdly, why women can't have their own 'Hangover' moment? Guaranteed, this is not your ordinary chick flick, this has lots of good femme-fatale moments.


Kristen Wiig (a regular Saturday Night Live cast) has been the heart and soul for the entire movie, since she's both the front runner and the girl behind the screen. Her script is not just daring, but also provides something different from the popular and usual Hollywood menu. I mean, c'mon guys, a story about couple of women, bridesmaids, runaway bride...perfect recipe for a damn boring one (esp. for guys). Turns out, Wiig made an excellent script by combining some of those chick flick clichés and makes them into a smarter and better story line (not to mention, hilarious). Okay, perhaps the 'bachelorette party' thingy might be borrowed from the Hangover, but nevertheless the women’s version has never been done before, at least in the modern era. Added with Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40-year old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad, etc) sitting as the producer, Bridesmaids maybe one of the best flick with his name associated with it.

A well round up cast is also the pivotal element which keeps Bridesmaids never lost the charm. She assembled a well-balanced strong cast consisting different types of women. Annie’s and Helen’s competitive rounds were always tear-jerking (in a funny way). I can’t stop laughing during their take turns in the bridesmaids’ speech session, top notch hilarious moment. Apart from Annie and Helen, we still got Becca (Ellie Kemper from ‘the Office’); Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), and my favorite, Megan (Melissa McCarthy) as the other bridesmaids. Each has different character and personality, and they complement each other jokes. One particular funny scene involving all these women was when they had the bachelorette dinner, and then went to try up the dresses, when suddenly the dinner ‘re-appears’ again, in the worst nightmare that women can’t imagine.

But hey, even a good cast of women still need guys rite? Notably, there’s only lead 2 actors, and both related with Annie. One is Ted (Joe Hamm), her f*ck buddy with no strings attached, and the other one is officer Nathan, (Chris O’Dowd) Annie’s love interest with love-hate relationship. The chemistry works fine between Annie and these two guys, it’s just that Nathan is being too good and generous on some parts, but hey, chick flick does need a prince charming somewhere, rite? Only this time he does not have a big house, sports car, and 6-pack body.

It's quite uncommon for this kind of movie has 2-hour running time. Fortunately, the story is rich enough with several sub plots which kept people stay on their seats. Sharply written and performed well by great cast, Bridesmaids brings laughter more than any comedy I’ve seen this year. Although, the second half of the movie is more like exploring self loneliness and poignant turning point. Nothing revolutionary perhaps, but it has genuinely funny laughs out loud moments. Give the crown, ups tiara for this one, best comedy of the year!

My Ratings: 9/10