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

Enchanting Farewell for Harry...

Without a doubt, The Boy Who Lived has become a phenomenal figure for the last decade. Millions of books sold, translated into billions of box office from 7 movies, and uncountable fans and readers, including me. If you happens to be an outsider, you may want to skip this thing. Otherwise, no worries, I'll try to make it as spoiler free as possible...but what the hell, you guys knew the story at least 4 years ago.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 is the top of the giant pyramid of J.K Rowling enchanting wizardry tale, the final culmination and conclusion, not to mention the end confrotation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldermort. This final installment wastes no time, starts right where it left us, bad-ass You-Know-Who, Voldermort got his strongest weapon, The Elder Wand right from Dumbledore's grave, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are still grieving from Dhoby's loss. Still have to find several Horcruxes, Harry has to break in Gringotts to obtain one of them, and of course, Hogwarts itself to prepare for the final between battle with Voldermort's army.

This second part of Deathly Hallows appears to be a totally different movie from the first one, with the story now is focusing more into the big action battle scenes in Hogwarts. The infamous school falls into ruins and all hell breaks loose. The Great Hall grandiose, the warmth of Gryffindor house, all the memories of how Hogwarts used to be a safe haven for Harry has been replaced with the great scale of destruction by The Death Eaters army. Lots of people died, both bad guys and our loveable characters. At least not until the final fight aftermath, there was none of that cheerful moments similar to the early years of Harry Potter’s journey.

While Rowling may not provide an epic the battle scenes described in words, I can tell you, David Yates did a magnificent job on creating a suspense battlefield (some articles even compared this with LOTR's Pellenor Field battle scene). Apart from long and intense battle, Yates added the value by slow-mo fighting, landscape and bird eye view camera movement, and of course, lots and lots of destructive scenes with great detail.

Harry Potter may be the lead character in the previous movies, but usually, his colleagues and other supporting characters used to have more screen time to show up their faces. On the contrary, this last movie can be deemed as Harry's sole movie, since he is so pivotal in every scene, complete all his depression, struggle, and triumphant moments. Daniel Radcliffe may just gave his best performance of Harry's characterization. He appears to be very comfortable and attached to Harry, which doesn't surprise me at all, since he has been playing Harry for almost 12 years. The same thing can be said also for Rupert Grint as Ron, and the loveable Emma Watson as Hermione. Due to the in-movie romance, they are inseparable and always appears in pairs. But that alone does not deter their performances on-screen, the chemistry was there, and finally, they have their own moment (yes, the long-have-been-waiting-for kissing scene). Too bad for Harry, his romance moments with Ginny (Bonnie Wright) was quite minimal.

Harry’s dominant presence does not just make Ron’s and Hermione’s screen time lesser significantly, but also cutting down the importance of his Hogwarts friends. Perhaps, only Matthew Lewis stands out as the heroic Neville Longbottom. Mind you, this character was kinda blurry and dumb in the previous movies. But that is not the case on these last two movies, where his character has matured enough to wipe the dumbness into a hero. His essential scene involving the Sword of Gryffindor was quite captivating. Tom Felton has his Draco Malfoy character became less threatening and bound to be indecisive, which ended up with his family allegiance to the Dark Lord became immensely equivocal. I’m a bit disappointed to see the rest of the Hogwarts students do not have much more screen role apart from one liners or involved in several seconds during the battle scene. Although the Weasley twin do have their own moment halfway into the end (no spoiler, but u know what I mean, don’t u?). Undoubtedly, these kids have been the body and soul, the main and irreplacable ingredients for the whole Harry Potter saga. To be involved in this project for almost a decade really needs dedication, hard work, and a high degree of commitment.

What makes the big screen version of Potter even better for all these years is the supporting cast, which contains British best of the best. Ranging from Ralph Fiennes (Voldermort), Alan Rickman (Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius), Richard Harris and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore),Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), and the list goes on…

No one can deny the antagonist talent of Ralph Fiennes. I watched “Schindler’s List” not long before I did the Harry Potter marathon, and my gosh, this guy fits into Voldemort shoes naturally. I mean, even if he didn’t have the CGI-snake face on it, he would still be damn terrifying. Not to be left behind, Alan Rickman showed a more emotional Snape in this one, which I haven’t seen before. Well, if you know the story, this latest part is the moment of truth of Snape’s real allegiance. Heartbreaking and devastated, the scene involving the Pensieve and his past should have been a tearjerking moment. But, too bad that particular scene was a bit rushed compared to the book, but Rickman still did a pretty good job of transforming Snape into a loveable personality. Last but not least, I was hugely impressed by McGonagall valiant leadership during the Hogwarts siege. One particular scene where she fought Snape to help Harry gain control of Hogwarts was purely entertaining (Coming out from nowhere, she was just awestruck with the dragon-shaped fire magic to kick Snape out of the room).

Harry Potter saga is an incredible journey for its fans. No doubt, we all felt the same magical experience first time not from visual enchancement, but just by traditional storytelling with words. The translatation is a mere transferring the media into an audio-visual experience (not to mention the big franchise money making factory). A decision of cutting the movie into two parts may be questionable. A grand 3.5 hours long of the part 7 may be sufficient, but hey, if one Harry Potter movie can easily get 3 billion dollars, why not make two?

The journey finally comes to an end, and it has been a triumphant for Harry Potter production team. For the kids, these 8 movies have been a massive portfolio for their future reference, and I have no doubt, their journey do not stop here. While for the older cast, I believe their kids and grandchildren will be very proud with their involvement. David Yates’ final Potter movie is the way how the saga was meant to end. It has something that usually other Hollywood movies do not have, which is -- the power of goodbye, I mean, a really ‘the end’. Deathly Hallows part 2 is an example of how to give the audience the feeling that we all have been sharing the magical experience for the past 10 years, with a bittersweet farewell. The grand finale is truly epic, and enchanting.

My Review : 9/10

Super 8 is Superbly Good...

Plot:

Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his sci-fi gang freak are making an amateur zombie movie. Since they need a female character for the movie love interest, they recruited Alice (Elle Fanning), whose father was involved in a freak accident costing the life of Joe’s mother. Thus, this band of kids were shooting a scene in a railway station, when a train had suddenly derailed and causing havoc in the neighbourhood. Apparently, there is ‘something’ in the cargo which belongs to the military, and it was set loose in Joe’s small town. Accidentally recorded the whole train crash thing, these kids notice strange happenings going around, and begin to investigate it. Local deputy, Jackson who happens to be Joe’s father (Kyle Chandler) has to deal with the town anxiety and uncover the creepy truth behind all this catastrophe, after people starting to went missing.

Review:

It’s been a full year since that incredible train-crash trailer hit up the screens, left many people with imaginations on the new J.J. Abram’s project. Fear no more sci-fi and movie geeks! Super 8 is here, the waiting time is over! And believe me, it’s totally worth every damn penny and your time. Go to the cinema and catch it!

Foreword, J.J. Abrams is a truly gifted director and writer. I happen to follow some of his previous works, from TV (Alias and Lost), and his big screen flicks (M:I 3, Cloverfield – as producer, and most notably, Star Trek reboot), and I must say, he has a bright future ahead. Abrams seems like creates this thing from the heart, as if it’s a personal project from his childhood dream. Backed up by the maestro Spielberg, Super 8 is an emotional movie about friendship and characters dealt with love and loss, all wrapped up with the secretive creature as the backdrop story. Master of story-teller and quite comfortable with big special effects, Abrams is also capable of displaying the heart and arousing the audience with his ‘wow’ factor.

Watching Super 8 brings out the sci-fi memories of 80’s flick such as E.T, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and the Goonies (one of Spielberg’s triumphant period). Using the children (unknown stars except Fanning) as the main character reminds me of the classic Stand By Me. The whole monster/alien character and the train crash is the engine for a greater emotional plot. There are many relationships between characters which are explored by Abrams, 2 single fathers with their children, a circle of besties, and not to mention a triangle crush affair between the kids. If you watched the incredible Korean The Host, I can probably say Super 8 got some influences from it, since The Host also focusing on the family issues, and even the monster didn’t show up early.

Abrams and Spielberg are people who are able to maintain the secrecy surrounding the whole movie. Even we don’t have a clear picture of what’s really happening on the trailer. I guess their objective is to gain people interest not just by showing off the monster/creature, but also they try to sell the story simultaneously. In the end, I got more than what I’ve expected, and trust me, Abrams still has lots of thing hidden in this flick to throw into your amazement.

One of his great skill is to bring out the unknown actors. Courtney, the lead kid, truly shines in all scenes (mind you, this kid has all the burden in order this movie to be successful). What even makes it better, the chemistry of Courtney and the so talented (and gorgeous) Elle Fanning is so spot on and astounding. I mean, after watching this, who does not love Elle Fanning? The scene when she faked the zombie thing toward Courtney was so cute. Who’s Dakota again? Another great cast must be the Joe friends of amateur movie maker team. The hilarious Riley Griffiths as the director and not to mention Ryan Lee as the pyromaniac/fake zombie kicks me out for lots of laughter. Probably the best kids’ movie since Stand By Me, I really amazed on how these kids acting look so real, natural, and so bound together despite the insanity of the situation they are trapped within. All I can say, it’s been rare since Hollywood is able to produce a mature movie with a bunch of kids with it.

On the technical side, I gave my thumbs up on how a $50 million movie can come up with a fantastic, net, and efficient CGI usage. The train crash is probably one of the craziest scenes due to its level of insanity. And Abrams’ trademark is back with his signature lens flare and shaky camera techniques. He uses them a lot, but don’t worry, you won’t be left nauseating or having glare issues. They worked perfectly and adequately well.

However, I mentioned above that Super 8 is kind of homage of 80’s flick. The lowdown, there’s nothing new from Abrams here, feels like he’s making a some kind of tribute (a proper one, of course) for Spielberg’s magnificent movies back on that 80’s era. All those emotions and experience of watching Jaws, E.T, or Close Encounters are brought back by Abrams. Suffice to say, if there’s anyone who is capable to fit in Spielberg’s shoes, look no more, Abrams is the perfect guy for it.

Super 8 perhaps is not a movie for all viewers, the first half-hour may bore some, and the weak ending may leave you a bit disappointed (like me for one). Abrams successfully builds up the tension and suspense, but pity the paying off doesn’t go well. But for me who have lived through 80’s movies, reminiscing the old era in this modern flick brings some excitement which I haven’t felt in recent Hollywood movies. It’s fresh, something different, and not your ordinary monster movie. Last but not least (not trying to be paedophile), I gotta say, I have a crush on Elle Fanning.

My Review: 8.5/10

Peace was never an option...

Plot:

X-Men First Class takes place around the 60's, set in the middle of Cold War and where racism was common. As both Jew and Holocaust survivor, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) held a nasty grudge, and tirelessly chasing Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a former Nazi officer who exploited his mutant power. On the other side, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) just made a breakthrough in mutant study, and FBI made an approach to him in order to stop mutant-alike threats. Charles found Erik accidentally, and by mutual consent, together they formed a band of mutant people to team up against Shaw and his gang. The cold war culmination toward WW III is in the horizon, and only they can put an end to it.

Review:

X-Men was considered as gambling project back in early 2000, where comic and superhero movies were not money making business. 1st movie was received quife well, while 2nd one was, I must say, one of the best superhero/comic book adaptation. X2 has propelled the notion that superheroes are good for business (after $214 million US box-office). Unfortunately, the legacy was ruined by the disastrous X-Men: The Last Stand and the failure of Wolverine, first of many X-Men: Origins series (and the last one, indeed).

Then, X-Men: First Class came up as the solution on how to fix the whole mutant series. As in Star Trek, Batman, James Bond, and other remake projects, continuation was written off, a fresh new start began. Hopefully, this can clean up the tarnished image and open up new story line.

After 132 minutes (pretty long for this genre), I can only say, WOW!

Amazed, First Class is truly incredible, a top notch execution from Matthew Vaughn, who also did a pretty good job transferring Kick-Ass into the big screen. With Bryan Singer, now as producer, and Sheldon Turner (Up in The Air) developing the story, backed up with scripts from Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz (both did Thor), Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) and Vaughn himself, X-Men: First Class has a great reboot story line, and magnificent start of something fresh.

As a summer flick, it rocks, and it delivers all the good ingredients: great action, humor, effects and a strong connection between heroes, villains and those developing in between. On the production side, the retro design is suave and making this a period piece gives it a cool and unique flavor, reminds me of Mad Men. Another good plot is that the way it seamlessly integrated with actual Cuban Missile Crisis back in the 60's (using Kennedy's memorable speech was awesome).

But, the true gems is the performance of both Fassbender and McAvoy. Each played his own part brilliantly, Fassbender who always looks menacing and ambitious, while Charles is the naive, light hearted, and the calmer persona (not to mention flirty also). Most of the movie reveals their relationship which started as friends, partners, and mutual coalition, until they explored each other vision, thus opens up the rift and in the end starts the eternal war of soon-to-be Professor X and Magneto. Xavier may not have shown exaggerating power on-screen, but he's cool enough every time he's touching the forehead, while Magneto really shows what he's capable of with all the metals. Not as exquisite as the previous movies, but one particular scene involving a knife was stuck in my mind.

No Wolverine (not yet), Cyclops, Jean Grey on the good side, but we get Raven a.k.a Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Darwin (Armando Munoz), and Havok (Lucas Till). Each mutant possesses raw mutant ability, until Xavier trains them to control it. While on the dark side, we have Emma Frost (January Jones), Azazel (Jason Flemyng) and Riptide (Alex Gonzales). A decent supporting cast, where Lawrence, Hoult, and Jones who gets more screen time and lines. Thanks to the latest CGI technology and the proper and smart use of it, the mutant power is much more better exploited in this flick. Raven's changing shapes and Azazel teleportation is as good as the previous one, while Havok and Basnhee provides something new and cooler.

X-Men: First Class is not just a dazzling flick, but the serious tone and moral message is still relevant. To compile it into a whole package of superhero/comicbook translation shows that the team behind this movie are showing intention that they are not only making big budget crap. An effective reboot, strong script, backed up with powerful performances of the cast, the whole production was first class.

My Review: 9/10

We're in Bangkok?!

The Hangover was truly a game changer in comedy business recently. It was hilarious, a great script complemented with fresh ideas, and of course, those R-rated scenes. A rare film which kept us thinking what is happening in that 'blank timeline', without losing its funny and unpredictable plot. The power of Hangover lies in the trio of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Each person comes out its own distinctive character, always come together, and separating it's not an option. $400 million in box-office, a sequel is highly anticipated. 2 years later, the same creator and director, Todd Phillips answers our summer movie wish, but does the new adventure live up the hype?

Unfortunately, Hangover 2 in my opinion is not as great as I have expected before. The same creative team seems like just re-uses and recycles the whole concept from the first one, and put it in Bangkok. To call it lazy sequel perhaps an understatement, but somehow it surely can't escape the repetition fact. But again, if the story changes, they might as well can't keep the 'Hangover' title, could they?

Storyline is the almost remain the same, no further introduction to the characters, since most of them are back.Heather Graham is a big loss, but Jamie Chung is a proper replacement though. Our lovely dentist, Stu is going down to the aisle with his hot girlfriend, Lauren (Chung), and he tries his best to avoid the same disaster couple of years. Wedding party held in Thailand, Alan's utter jealousy toward Teddy, Lauren's brother, father in-law is totally a jerk, all combined as pre-disaster ingredients for havoc. As stupid as it is, the night before the big day just turns out to be another un-recalled memories. (Smart enough, Doug, the missing guy from the first movie, managed to avoid it).

Actually, I kinda like that they move setting into Thailand, and Bangkok in particular. Things of course are less glamourous and messier, including the culture clash (which is heavily exploited). Drugs, monkey courier, Mr. Chow's John Thomas a.k.a dick, transvertite stripper, even monks are put into the mix of this catastrophy R-rated journey. When I mention R-rated, I'm telling you Hangover 2 is pretty close to the limit boundary. Some of Alan's antics and treatment to the old monk is pretty daring, or even insulting. And for those who haven't heard or seen Thai she-male thingy, well, it's learning and knowing time, folks!

Overall, I still enjoy the funny and hilarious moments, which is the main menu. The surprising elements perhaps are a bit predictable, but they still bring out laughters. Chow gets bigger role, and the inclusive of Paul Giamatti as Kingsley, the mob, was spot on. Too bad, the over hyped tattoo artist cameo did not amuse me (from Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, to Nick Cassavetes, who is he??). Mason Lee is a good addition as the missing Teddy. Again, there's another wasteful cameo in the end, which I won't spoil it here (He should be banned from the next sequel!).

In conclusion, Todd Phillips is basically creating the same thing, except what was fresh and surprising in Las Vegas turns out to be a bit dull and predictable in Bangkok. I don't blame him though, since I think the same recipe proves to be working (it garnered $138 million in first week). Bottom line, did I laugh? Yes surely, although I was hoping a smarter and inspired storyline. In the end, you might still enjoy rewatching previous Hangover over and over again, but that's not the case with the second one.

My Review: 7.0/10

The Return of AWESOMENESS...

Po (Jack Black) is back, with his same old gang, the Furious Five. This time, he has to face not just a much powerful enemy, Shen (Gary Oldman), but also his recurring nightmare and painful memory of his childhood. Nevertheless, he still got the awesomeness and big tummy to fight the any evil kind. It's amazing how such short and simple plot can be developed further into a 90-minutes action animated complete with all those kung fu fighting scenes. The first movie garnered $215 million in box-office, which propelled the studio to release the sequel. Basically it's the same old cast, with many more villains added.

Po is the heart of both movies, full with his antics, 'awesomeness', kinda brainless, but determined to achieve greatness. Frankly, the role is perfectly scripted for Jack Black, who sadly couldn't turn up in other decent roles recently. From the Furious Five, only Tigress (Angelina Jolie) which I felt has been given a much bigger role, as she's involved in many pivotal moments in the movie, while the rest of the entourage are probably good enough with their one liners (I'm looking at you Jackie Chan!). There's some hints here and there showing that the relationship between Po and Tigress may evolve later on. Additional cast such as Danny McBride, Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, and even Van Damme provide fresh faces, although I felt the latter didn't add much value (too bad).

The opening sequence was pretty much spot on, revealing the new villain, and the script was quite smart by connecting Po's past and Shen's ambition without us being told blatantly. Well, for all those who are still curious how Po's dad is a damn goose....rest assured, this sequel is the answer for it. And surprisingly the flashback scene is quite touchy in spite the whole movie was made not even close into any kind of serious thing.

On technical side, the animation is superb, a much better improvement, more detail on the fur and lighting rendering. Almost in every scene we are being spoiled with the amazing Chinese landscape renderings and its lush green grass and trees. The whole fantasy ancient China is gorgeously designed. A lot of Chinese tradition and symbolic story telling have been infused altogether, and I like particularly how the 2D scenes are combined to enhance the flashback scenes.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is full action packed which won't leave you too much wandering around, the plot is as simple as an open book, fighting scenes are done well, many of the jokes are hilarious, although I must say, most of them are quite predictable. The final act where the major big brawl happens is a crazy scene, where Shen put all his armies to fight our heroes (I'm kinda wish Oldman would say, "SEND EVERYOOOONEEEE", remember 'Leon'?)

The downside is that the sequel is mere a 'safe project', and I still felt it lacks a bit of originality and fresh ideas compared to the first one. However, I was quite satisfied since the overall quality is close enough with the previous one (I must say the first one was damn awesome!). In a harsher tone, thanks to the 3D animation, this movie perhaps will go directly to DVD without it. It's pretty exciting to see there will be more Po movies in the future, but I really wish they can do a much better sequel with better story line, since I don't think 3rd time is the charm if they are keep using old stuff (remember 'Shrek'?). Nevertheless, it has excellent voice acting, still has the charm. Not top of the notch, but Kung Fu Panda 2 surely won't waste your time.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Fifth time's the charm

Question, any movie which has reached its 4th sequel but still watchable and worthy of your time? Hint: exclude Star Wars and James Bond please...Not many rite? 'Saw' series has lost its path, 'Final Destination' is not getting its 'final'. While others have been rebooting themselves (a.k.a starting fresh), and they haven't even reaching no.5 yet. The remarkable U-turn of 'Fast & Furious' (FF) series was when they recalled all the original cast into making FF4. Producer has learned from no.2, Paul Walker is not a solid main action hero. While no.3 has failed to introduce a fresh start. In the end, it was concluded that FF is soulless without its main star, Vin Diesel. FF 4 was a huge hit, and its open ending was giving a new storyline to tell.

10 years since the release of 'The Fast and The Furious', here comes no.5, using the same recipe, using not just the old, but all previous characters. Now Diesel gets 8 people to do the so-called last big heist job. Of course to make it better, Diesel needs a proper nemesis from the white side. Meet Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, as ruthless and fierce super agent Hobbs. Yes, FF 5 feels like the bad-ass hip-hop metaphor of Ocean's Eleven, just with cars and guns.

Don't expect a logical storyline, cause you won't find it here. As careful as they can be, they always leave lots of wreckage. The car racing and chasing never fails to impress, so they make it even better (or becoming more nonsense). Just watch the last car chaing scene involving big vault, then you'll get what I mean. Some scenes are ridiculously cool, you even don't have time to comment 'that is so bullshit'! Changing the scene to Rio provides some variations, and it helps the story also regarding the main villain character plot. Clearly, to take out the most powerful drug lord whose money was put into police station is clearly a mere stupid and brainless idea, but not according to Dominic Torreto (Diesel). He appears to be invincible, cocky, and arrogant...but he is THE man, you can't deny it. After all those misfire, Diesel is back to do what he does best, being a total jack-ass. O'Conner (Walker) is a grown up and more mature character, especially now he is joining the 'other' side. Mia (Jordana Brewster) is given a stronger and more important role. The rest? Well, they are good complements, every one gets their own moments to shine (even their own endings). But surely for me, Elena (Elsa Pataky) and Gisele (Gal Gadot) provide the eyecandy everytime they show up (synonym = hotties). The only downside is the unrealistic $100 million catch, which is so unambitious (even Dr. Evil made a ransom of that same value last decade!), I bet Danny Ocean will choose to walk away from this job.

It would be wasteful if you have 2 big guys but not caging them altogether, rite? Don't worry, you'll get spoiled with old fashioned macho big brawl between Diesel and Johnson, something that has been missing in modern action movies. (Ridiculously, even all of the cuts and blood on Hobbs and Dom disappear immediately after their fight). I can say this is the most suitable character Johnson has ever been playing, it looks like his muscles are ready to explode anytime.

As I mentioned before, shallow and predictable storyline are not big issues, since they are covered nicely with spectacular and well-choreographed (read: over the top) action scenes. You won't even realized that this flick runs for 2 hrs 10 min, thanks mainly to its fast pace story-telling. Overall, FF 5 is rollercoaster ride with mind numbing experience, testosterone overflown, visually absurd yet entertaining, but last but not least, it delivers what it supposed to. The upside is that the journey does not end here (hint: easter egg after credit title+surprise hottie introduction). The downside? Making drag racing even more cooler...watch your kids!

My Rating: 8.5/10

I need a horse!

Since the announcement that Thor was gonna be made into the big screen, it has been raising some eyebrows. 1st, who the hell is Chris Hemsworth? 2nd, Kenneth Branagh on the director seat? FYI, that guy is famous for making Shakespeare movies. And 3rd, last but not least, I heard lotsa people asking me, who the hell is Thor? Is this some kind of old mythology thingy? No worries, when u finished watching this 114 minutes flick, you'll be get more satisfying answers and Hemsworth's 6-pack (and the girls go 'whhooaaaaa')

Meet Thor, son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), future leader of Asgard, a one bastard arrogant prince, likes to have fun and kicks asses. While his brother, Loki, is the anti-Thor, and holds lots of grudge deep within his heart (a.k.a. jealousy). After years of peace between Asgard and Frost-bite, Thor just simply drops by, creates havoc and useless brawl. Then, feared he will misuse the power, Thor is cast out to the Earth realm (along with his mighty hammer, Mjollnir), hope he can learn from his mistakes. Turns out, he got hit by a hot chick/researcher, Jane (Natalie Portman), and her gang, Erik and Darcy (Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings). Together, they try to find the hammer, and things just get a bit out of hand when, S.H.I.E.L.D interferes. Back to Asgard, Loki has his own agenda, and just like any other cheesy villain master plan, he's up to no good.

Well, among the Avengers (I assume you all already know what it is), I must say Thor is one of the strongest guy, but probably not as famous as Iron Man or Captain America. Nevertheless, his most prominent feat is that he's the son of Odin (simply he's a god). Now my friends, Thor is the answer of that easter egg right at the end of Iron Man 2 credit title (if you waited long enough back then). Luckily, Thor does not suffer from the 'Avenger hype' which happened on Iron Man 2. I still hold the grudge on Tony Stark 2.0, since it does not represent a true comic book movie (it only has 2 action scenes and 1 lousy domestic disturbance). It was like a more pre-Avenger movie afterall. But I can assure you, Thor provides more eye-candy and spectacular scenes. Well, not as grand as Avatar perhaps, but consider this is a mere superhero movie, the result is magnificent and beyond expectation.

Hemsworth clearly is the main attention as the Thor himself, and he is not disappointing after all. I like the additional beard, since the original does not have any. It adds the more manly appearance, and also to cover the boyish face of him. Natalie Portman may not gives her Oscar performance, but hey, this character is an easy money for her, but still captivating. The addition of 2 senior actors (Hopkins and Skarsgård) clearly brings some quality which we don't usually see in a typical comic hero movie. However, the goddess of the movie is clearly Jaimie Alexander, as one of Thor entourage crews, even hotter than both Natalie and Kat. So guys, rest assured, you also get your eyes get some hottie treatment. For easter egg, yes, we get a glimpse (but wasteful) of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and last but not least Nick Fury himself (Sam Jackson).

I really enjoyed the whole Thor experience, I admit that I clearly underestimate this before hand. Kudos to Branagh who did a great job, I guess he adds some of his Shakespearean chops texture into the movie main elements: pride, paternity, and honor. Thor also has its balance in term of seriousness and funny moments (some of the lines are really really hilarious), and it has also some touchy moments, regarding father and son relationship. Thumbs up also for the CGI team, to deliver magnificent Asgrard mythical realm and those action fighting scenes. Thor has all the elements and wow factors to be the next super hero franchise. And by Odin's beard, I really hope the Avenger won't screw it in the end. Suddenly, Hollywood just transforms the second-string superhero into the A-list.

My Review : 8/10

Eight minutes, and then I blow up again...

Time travel has been a boring topic lately, especially since Hollywood has exploited it many times. Aftereffect? The idea has been some kind of dumb and lack of innovation (even China has recently put strict NO for any time travelling related movies). Then, coming out from nowhere, Source Code delivers not just a new paradigm of time travelling purpose, but also a fresh and smart narrative storyline. Here, the time travelling idea is mixed up more with sci-fi rather than fantasy approach, and to be frank...Source Code is basically a series of 8-minute movies.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in a commuter train heading to Chicago, but his last memory recalls that he was supposed to be in Afghanistan, riding a helicopter. After a series of meeting strangers, a different person in the mirror, and many awkward moments, including hooks up with a hottie named Christina (Michelle Monaghan), then KABOOM...the train blows up...and he wakes up (again) inside a black capsule...

Turns out, he is in mission part of Source Code, a military secret project where a very sophisticated equipment is able to put him in within the last 8-minutes of the unknown person mind (I'm gonna skip all the technical parts here, sorry). Bottom line, Stevens has to identify the train bomber since there will be another incident in the future. Therefore, he has to re-live and go back and forth the incident, getting more clues each time, identify the bad guy, prevent the future bombing, also to make a sense out of his situation. Supervised by another hot chick, Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) and nasty project leader, Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), they don't spill out every detail to Stevens, since apparently, there is some hidden agenda behind the whole project.

In short, Source Code is a very smart, and well crafted yet satisfying sci-fi thiller I've seen in a while. From the same director who brings us 'Moon' (which I think is one of the best movie of 2009), Duncan Jones does a very good job, and turns out he is able to make a great flick (with a bigger budget, of course). Watch this space guys, he's the next big thing, I'm sure of it.

There's a lot to be loved from Source Code, apart from it's mind blowing concept and twist plots, Jones also introduces some human emotions in it, such as Stevens' relationship with his father, and also idea how he also wants to become a 'hero' in the end. Concluded in a very touching way, I felt so both relieved, sad, and satisfied to see how the story ends, and believe me, halfway through will all those twisting and surprise elements, I just couldn't figure it out how they will finish the movie (but still it's pretty predictable on the 'good ending' possibility). Perhaps the low-down falls on the illogical sci-fi explanation on how the Source Code actually works. There is some loop holes and they may leave some question marks in our head, but hey, fortunately the story pace won't keep you wandering too long.

This is a better role of choice for Jake Gyllenhaal, compared to the last year so-so 'Prince of Persia', but he still needs some improvement if he wants to be a lead action star (somehow, he's a more dependable actor rather than to be a superstar guy). Nevertheless, he's truly the real asset of this movie, along with decent cast. Monaghan and Farmiga add the eye candy thingy, although the latter provides more meaningful role, while Monaghan who plays as Gyllenhaal love interest, some time can be a bit distracting, but since she's a good looking brunette, I don't mind that.

Perhaps I can underline, Source Code is basically a simple love story, with complicated situations. On the other hand, I like the new concept it brings for the time travel thing. It's not as complicated and grand as 'Inception', but Jones creates this movie the way as it's supposed to be. The repetition of the 8-minutes always brings something new, which makes it interesting to watch, it's like the puzzle is being resolved bit by bit. If you watch the classic 'Groundhog Day', try to combine it with 'Time Cop'. Source Code is a good pace thriller yet brilliantly handled, and foremost a good looking flick of 2011.

My Review : 8.5/10

Chinese New Year...without angpao

2 things...

1st...can't believe I haven't updated my blog since November...crap, that was like about 3 months?

2nd...can't believe for the first time, I'm not receiving angpao...there goes my additional CNY income.

Thus, I'm fixing the 1st issue with this update. 2nd, well gotta grow up, dude. It's time to 'pay it forward' a.k.a giving angpaos to kids and ur relatives. Hmm, kinda being a prick, I guess that's one of many reasons why we decided not to go back to Jakarta this year (other reason: costly airplane ticket). I promise I'll make it up for next year CNY.

So, what's gonna be our plan in the deserted Singapore on CNY? For me, updating blog is a must, there has been tons of good movies which I haven't written any single review out of them. Other thing must be finishing some games (I just cleared up Metroid: Other M, felt so good). I was thinking re-playing Dragon Age, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Mass Effect 2, but then again, will it be just another waste of time?

I guess Suri's gonna spend her time better than me, since she will try lots of new cupcake design, new cooking recipes, or playing around with her new sewing machine. Gosh, why does she has so many new 'toys'? I gotta ask something from her when she gets her first commission payment (I rephrase, she MUST buy me something!)

Okay, happy CNY everyone!!!