Tuesday 31 December 2013

Movie review of American Hustle

American Hustle - 7/10
Directed by David O Russell
Writers - Eric Singer, David O. Russell
Cast - Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K

Plot Summary
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey power brokers and mafia.

Review
The first two scene of the movie pretty much shows what era the movie is and how the feel of the movie is going to be like. The whole 70s Disco vibe was through out the whole movie. from the sound track, the costumes and right down to the coloring of the movie.
I loved the casting for American Hustle. I have to say everyone did an amazing job. Jennifer Lawrence did such a great job on her character, you are definitely bound to get annoyed with her. The chemistry between Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Christian Bale was pretty good. Lots of animosity and love. My favourite chemistry between two actors was the scenes of Louis CK and Bradley Cooper. Louis was being Louis. He would have pretty much stole the show if Christian Bale wasn't acting in it. And of course Bale does his usual shit and its always amazing to watch him. Bale gained 40 pounds for this role and hurt his back from slouching too much. well, that's how hardcore he goes into his role. Mad props to him for that. As for the plot, it states at the start of the movie that some of this actually happened,so some parts may be true but just been "Hollywood"ized.
I really liked the costume designs for American Hustle, from the clothes to the hairstyles and especially those little curls for Bradley Cooper's character. They were really... dare I say it? Funky... The make up was pretty sleek as well especially for Bale. Direction for the movie was pretty good. David O Russell has had experience working with most of the actors from his previous movies, Silver lining playbook and the fighter. I liked that David O Russell gave the actors the freedom instead of a script which really makes some of the scenes really powerful. My favourite was the bedroom scene with Jennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale. I didn't quite like the camera works for certain scenes like there were sometimes a little too much unnecessary close ups. The other thing which kinda puts me off was the length of the movie. It was way too long but I kinda understand why the director wanted to do with such a timely length which was needed to pull off a stunt which was pivotal to the plot.

All in all, it is a good movie to watch and I would recommend it to watch on a weekend as well.

Best Quotes
Paco Hernandez: This whole thing is racist. Abscam? "Arab-scam"? It's completely racist!
Richie DiMaso: So what do you have to worry about, Sheik? You're Mexican.

Rosalyn Rosenfeld: We fight and then we fuck, that's our thing.

Sydney Prosser: You're nothing to me until you're everything.

Recommended movies done by the director
The Fighter
Silver Linings Playbook
Three Kings

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Movie review of Special ID

Special ID - 0.5/10
Directed by Clarence Fok
Written by Kam-Yuen Szeto
Cast - Donnie Yen, Andy On, Zhang Hanyu

Plot Summary
A cop and his team of comrades go undercover in one of China's most ruthless underworld organizations to stop a gang leader, only to put themselves in great danger after being exposed one by one.

Review
All along I have been witnessing the steady decline of Hong Kong cinema ever since it was integrated into China. I would dare say the last greatest HK movie ever done was the unforgettable Infernal Affairs (which is my favourite Chinese movie). Even that was ruined by making it into a trilogy. Which I steadfastly refuse to acknowledge. Part 2 which was a prequel is ok but definitely not part 3 because it was utter rubbish and it has that useless piece of shit fucktard Leon Lai in it.Fuck him and and Fuck Part 3.
However, after watching Special ID, I pretty much just watched the death of HK cinema. This is by far the worst Chinese movie I have ever watched. I felt cheated. What a waste of time. I wish I had Diarrhea instead of watching this.

From the get go, Special ID turns to immediate shit. First the make up looked fake especially the tattoos and all.Then the acting...My god the acting is just plain horrible. I understand that its a martial arts action movie but COME ON!!! you got to act at least a little man... I now know Donnie Yen can't act for nuts. And then  there is Zhang Hanyu, the female lead. This woman's acting is so bad that she makes those china KTV hostesses look like Shakespearean actresses. When she acts fierce, you want to slap her.When she cries,you still want to slap her. And she has that weird hair that either looks like a wig or it really is a wig. And my favourite... the gangsters. When you watch Special ID you will probably think that the gangsters have Tourette's syndrome or they are Bi Polar cause half the fuck time they are either shouting at one moment and the immediate next they are soft spoken. It's ridiculously funny till it becomes irritating halfway through the movie.

Direction is most likely done by an orangutan with Munchausen syndrome. One of the worst direction I have seen in a movie.So haphazard and badly directed that I have seen better direction in porn. Editing was bad also especially those shitty transitions.Camera works were horrible as well. Wrong focuses at times and unnecessary crane shots at the wrong time. Pretty much it's wrong shots at the wrong time. There are some scenes you would wonder what the fuck is going on because all three fuck ups are happening at the same time. Editing,camera work and direction.Bad acting is throughout the movie.At least that was consistent.
That 0.5 only goes to the fight scenes and they were poorly done as well.

Special ID is so fucking bad,you may as well get Tsui Hark to direct and Leon Lai to act in it.
All in all I will not recommend anyone to watch this piece of shit movie in the cinema.Don't waste your money and time.Instead go rent Infernal Affairs Part 1.
And Fuck Leon Lai.

Best Quotes
None.

Recommended movies done by the director
Fuck him, Don't bother.

Monday 4 November 2013

Movie review of Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World - 5.5/10
Directed by Alan Taylor
Written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus
Cast - Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
 
Plot Summary
Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Review
I was never a fan of Thor when I was a kid reading comics nor the cartoons as well. Even when the first movie was out,I still wasn't a fan. So no surprises that I will still not be a fan of Thor after watching the second one.
I just wanted to watch Tom Hiddleston as Loki and that was it. Cause the first Thor movie, Loki pretty much stole the show. This time round there were scenes of Loki that were pretty cool. As usual Tom Hiddleston acted well and I guess everyone wants to watch more scenes of him. But to me it wasn't Loki who stole the show this time round. I felt that Christopher Eccleston as Malekith and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Kurse did. Despite the few scenes they had together they had chemistry and their make up and costumes made it even better. Chris Hemsworth was ok even though I'm not a fan of his acting at all. Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo were pretty much fodder despite their big names.But the worst is none other than Natalie Portman. A block of wood can act better than Portman. Everytime she comes onscreen, it's either I am groaning or yawning. That's how fucking boring she was. I doubt I want to watch her movies anymore.
Editing for Thor was good. The key point for Thor is definitely the special effects, the costume designs(especially the elves) and perhaps locations.I particularly liked the dark world of Svartalfheim where they chose Iceland for its black volcanic landscapes. Script however was kinda boring.The first Thor's script had some funny lines and scenes.In this almost all the jokes fell flat especially that scene in the train.
All in all fans and kids will definitely like Thor:The Dark World and there is probably gonna be a third installation of the Thor franchise and I will probably watch it when I am bored just like I did for the first two.Watch it out of boredom.

Best Quotes
Loki: Born to be a king, I ask one thing in return: a front seat to watch Earth burn.

Malekith: Thor, your bravery will not ease your pain. Your family, your world will be extinguished!

Loki: Trust my rage.


Wednesday 14 August 2013

Movie Review of The Conjuring

The Conjuring - 8/10
Directed by James Wan
Written by Chad and Cary Hayes
Cast - Vera Farmiga, Patrick WIlson, Lili Taylor,Ron Livingstone

Plot Summary
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

Review
Definitely my favourite horror movie in recent years. In fact The Conjuring right now is number 2 (No.1 is The Exorcist). Everything about this movie is near perfect. I got to know about this movie is through word of mouth. And it was getting a lot of positive buzz so I had to watch it. My girlfriend whom I watch movies with all the time abhors horror movie so she told me to fuck off even though I tried lying, telling her it was a family movie (which kinda is if you think about it). So there I was watching the Conjuring Saturday midnight all by my lonesome. Bought myself a packet of Twisties and M&Ms and I was ready to go.
Right at the start, the movie goes all out. From the interview scene to the hideous looking doll, the tension does not let you go. It just fucking grips you from there. And the doll is called Annabelle, if I had a daughter and I saw her carrying that doll... I would beat my daughter up. That's how the scary the doll looked. The actual doll which I looked up is a rag doll and doesn't look scary as the one in the movie.
As the story unfolds,the scares do get more scarier and I have to admit. A grown man like me did get startled on some scenes. Now the good thing about The Conjuring is that all the scare scenes do not use the now traditional way to scare you which is by increasing the volume whenever something happens suddenly which is like shock horror. What these guys did was the old school way of scaring the audience which is psychologically. It just lingers in your brain and you keep thinking about it. To me that's what a good horror movie should be.
Casting for The Conjuring was very good. All five daughters were chosen well for their frightened looks and screams. Ron Livingstone was decent as the dad. I really liked Lili taylor as the mother, her face nicely contorts to Bathesheba's face. And her acting was really good. Bathesheba is acted by the composer of the movie Joseph Bisara. For a music composer, that motherfucker looks evil and you can understand why James Wan asked him to act in this and in his previous movie Insidious as well. If you google for Bisara's picture, you will know why I said he looked evil. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have very good chemistry with each other although I didn't quite like WIlson's acting during the exorcism scene, I still think he did a pretty decent job overall.
Direction for the movie was fantastic. You can clearly see the inspiration of 70s and 80s classic horror movies. From The Exorcist, to Amityville, to Salem's Lot and many others were pretty obvious in the Conjuring. Sound and music were perfect. Creepy and yet not too loud and the three songs featured in the movie were good and a little frightening, nothing popular or poppish sounding. The last song was played by the band, Dead Man Bones which is fronted by Ryan Gosling.
But what really made me fall in love with the Conjuring was the camera works. I was awed and truly inspired. The use of steadicam was perfect. That awesome trackshot at the beginning while the Perron family were unpacking was beautiful. All the scary shots were either handheld or steadicam and the nervous movements of the camera fitted well with the tension building in the scene. Also noteworthy was the scene where the camera goes point of view (POV) and looks under the bed and to the door. And that scene where two things were happening at the same time towards the climax. Fucking Brilliant!

The Conjuring is worth every single cent of your ticket money. It is a helluva ride and I will definitely watch it again in the cinemas and buy the blu ray when it comes out.
This my friends... is a must watch.

Best Quotes
Ed Warren: We've been called ghost hunters. Paranormal researchers. Wackos.
Lorraine Warren: But we prefer to be known simply as Ed and Lorraine Warren.

April: When the music stops, you'll see him in the mirror standing behind you.

Recommended movies done by the director
Saw
Insidious

Monday 24 June 2013

Movie review of After Earth

After Earth - 4.5/10
Directed by M.Night Shyamalan
Written by Gary Whitta and Will Smith
Cast - Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo

Plot Summary
A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.

Review
The moment I found out that M.Night Shyamalan was directing this movie,I knew in fact everyone knew it was gonna be shit. His last few movies have been shit so why wouldn't this be as well? I would know because I have been watching them in the cinemas grudgingly since unbreakable.All because of a stupid pact,me and my friend made that we would watch all his movies in the cinema with a bucket of KFC chicken. And with every M.Night movies, we were concentrating more on the chicken than the movie itself. So we had no choice but to watch After Earth and as usual we watched it with zero expectations.Surprisingly enough, the movie didn't suck as bad as we thought it usually would.
It wasn't spectacular or anything but just boring. The good parts of the movie were the camera works. There were some really fantastic shots and of course your trademarks M.Night shots which has that shock feel sometimes as well.
Acting wise, its bad. Will Smith had that constipated look throughout the whole film, you wonder what's been up his ass the whole time.The worst is Jaden Smith. That frown he gives through out the movie makes me want to punch his throat repeatedly. That boy is so annoying and he cannot act to save his life.
Script is equally bad and just plain lazy.For a science fiction movie,the plot was dull and unimaginative. Animals evolving to hate humans after just 1000 years is kinda dumb and you will see half hyena and half lion hybrids and a giant bird which is half vulture and half eagle.And that fucking bird scene was just so ridiculous,it made me groan.


It's a good thing that Will Smith was pretty much in charge of the whole movie.From casting to script and direction.He just let M.Night do his usual bit but at a minimum level. Because if After Earth is fully written and directed by M.Night, he would have made the fucking bird as Kitai's father as a plot twist cause that's the kind of stupid shit M.Night pulls.

Don't bother, just wait for cable to watch this.

Best Quotes
Cypher Raige: Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.

Recommended movies done by the director
Sixth Sense
Unbreakable

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Movie review of Man of Steel


Man of Steel - 7/10
Directed by Zack Snyder
Written by David S.Goyer
Cast - Henry Cavill, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon,Diane Lane, Amy Adams

Plot Summary
A young itinerant worker is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.

Review
Never been a big fan of Superman comics but I have always enjoyed watching cartoons and certain movies(Reeve) so I wouldn't really know the full details of Superman.What I do know is just the basic stuff like his real name,what his powers are and all that. The last superman movie directed by Bryan Singer titled Superman returns was awful. Also the last movie directed by Zack Snyder was Sucker Punch and that was awful. So I was rather skeptical that Man of Steel would do well. but when I saw the trailers and all,it seemed promising.
Well, after watching Man of Steel, I have to say it does have flaws but its an enjoyable movie for a non Superman fan such as me.
The special effects were pretty cool. I really liked the destruction of metropolis during the fight scenes.It was as though Hulk was fighting instead.Even though the fight scenes were great,it was a tad too long. Superman fights General Zod, Zod takes a break,goes back to the ship rests and then comes back for round 2?
The fathers did a good job acting. Costner did well whenever he was onscreen and Crowe as well.The thing that made me laugh was when Crowe was in control of the ship and he does those funny hand signs to close doors and the walking to one shot to the next.Hilarious.
Michael Shannon did a good job as Zod but he ain't no Terence Stamp.
This is possibly the most boring Louis Lane I've seen. They shouldn't have cast Amy Adams as Louis.However I do like Henry Cavill as the new Superman. He has a fantastic body and I hope he does well in the sequel as well.
Camera works were inconsistent. I hated the abrupt and yet constant zooming. The close up of Superman flying was fucked up. Script was ok nothing great. I fucking hated the church scene especially that shot where you see Jesus behind Superman.That was unnecessary and stupid. Costumes for the Kryptonians were cool even Superman's costume minus the red underwear was nice.
The explanation of why Superman's weakness for Krypton was not bad also. Though I'm not sure if it is in line with the comics. That whole kotex or codex bit which looks like a monkey's skull,I have no clue. Guess you have to ask a hardcore Superman fan whether that bit is part of the comics.

All in all I would recommended to watch it on a weekend. Man of Steel may not be great but it sure beats the last one.


Best Quotes
General Zod: [transmission] My name is General Zod. For some time, your world has sheltered one of my citizens. I request that you return this individual to my custody. To Kal-El, I say this: surrender within 24 hours, or watch this world suffer the consequences...

Jor-El: Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you.

Lara Lor-Van: He will be an outcast. They'll kill him.

Jor-El: How? He'll be a god to them.

Faora: [Beating up Cal-El] You have a sense of morality and we do not. And that gives us an Evolutionary Advantage. And if there's one thing that History teaches us it's that Evolution always wins.

Lois Lane: Welcome to the Planet.

Recommended movies done by the director
Dawn of the Dead
300
Watchmen

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Movie Review of Evil Dead

Evil Dead - 8/10
Directed by Fede Alvarez
Written by Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues
Cast - Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore, Jessica Lucas

Plot Summary
Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence possesses them until only one is left to fight for survival.

Review
Its pretty obvious that most horror remakes totally suck ass especially remaking the classic ones. They fucked up so many classics that I just stopped being bothered after awhile.so when I heard news that Evil Dead was gonna be remade,I naturally became skeptical and decided to pass it off. Then I saw the trailer.There was one scene that did kinda freak me out. I was still a little skeptical cause after all Evil Dead might still suck even though it had one pretty awesome scene. So I decided to watch Evil Dead with my best friend who was a horror fan as well. Basically we had to go by ourselves because our girlfriends told us to fuck off when we suggested to watch it together.

Right from the very start,the first scene wiped out whatever skepticism I had and I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. There are several reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed Evil Dead.

They didn't do that boring overused "shock horror" which American cinema often uses. Instead of shock,what they did was gore. All the kill scenes were gory and does make you groan.in fact the whole fucking cinema was groaning. I laughed out damn loud when a guy behind me was telling his female friend,"I don't want to watch this movie anymore." That was how brutal it was. And I loved the kill scenes.
Very little CGI was used for this movie. Most of it was the fantastic use of make up,props and clever camera works. There were a lot of still shots used which can be used for cool wallpapers and all.I was also happy that the classic track shot in the original Evil dead was used as well.
Acting was a little fucked up especially at the beginning part of the movie where everyone was still normal and all.But they all acted superbly when all hell broke loose.I guess the casting director chose these unknown actors for a reason and it was for the later.
Another thing I liked about the new Evil Dead is the little tributes for classic movies such as The Exorcist and the original Evil Dead. there were a few scenes, that really reminded me of my all time favourite horror movie, The Exorcist which brought a smile to my face.
I really liked the direction of this movie and would definitely check out Fede Alvarez's next movie. And I would definitely watch the sequel for Evil Dead as well.(Which was signed up even before the movie was released)
Of course the remake will never beat the original Evil Dead,however it was enjoyable and worth the ticket price.

Highly recommended to watch it on a weekend. just watch it with minimal expectations and you are in for a gory ride. Wait for the credits to end.

Best Quotes
Abomination Mia: Why don't you come down here so I can suck your cock, pretty boy?

David: Mia?

Abomination Mia: Mia's not here you fucking idiot! Your little sister's being raped in hell!


Cheryl: You will die! Like the others before you, one by one, we will take you!

[Mia becomes eerily calm]

Mia: You're all going to die tonight.


Eric: [reading from the Naturom Demonto] Kunda... Estrata... Montose... Conda.


Abomination Mia: Baby, little baby / It's time to live apart / Baby, little baby / I'll miss you a lot / Baby, my sweet baby / I'll write you every day / Baby, goodnight baby / I wish that I could stay


Groovy.

Monday 22 April 2013

Movie review of G I Joe: Retaliation

G I Joe: Retaliation - 2/10

Directed by Jon M. Chu
Cast - Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Byung Hun Lee, Ray Park,Ray Stevenson

Plot Summary
Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by the President's order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence.


Review
Sometimes there are certain types of movie which I call"no brainer" movies where you don't give a fuck about the plot or anything, You just leave your brains out and get entertained by the actions and explosions(for example,Michael Bay's movies).
Sadly G I Joe: Retaliation isn't one of those movies. The first one sucked ass and this one sucks ass as well.Definitely one of the worst sequels, I have watched. Not even The Rock can save this movie. Heck..Not even Bruce Willis could save it.What a disaster. Wasted money watching this shit of a sequel.
Acting was bad....really bad. Direction was horrible and worse was the editing.Fucking lanjiao editing.Script was shit also.All the jokes are so bad,you wouldn't realize they were jokes.
GI Joe fans must be really pissed.First movie fucked up,now the sequel also. Within fifteen mins, You kill off Duke which was the main character for the first one and for GI Joe.Wasn't Channing Tatum,one of the top billing for this movie? Bruce Willis acted like he was still pissed about doing the fifth Die Hard(which was shit also). The women in the movie were just there for eye candy and showing off their fake tits. Cobra Commander has lesser screen time than you taking a shit.But hey at least he has the proper mask on unlike the bubble wrap looking mask from the last movie. Even lesser screen time was Destro. You could miss him in a fart. Zartan is in disguise 95% of the whole movie so its pretty much double acting by Jonathan Pryce. Ray Stevenson who is British acts as Firefly who has a Texan accent...Sigh...
Then you have Storm Shadow and Snake eyes who possibly are the reason why I give this movie a two instead of a zero.
Rock may have revived the Fast and Furious franchise but he is sure as shit not gonna do GI Joe any saving.


In fact Fuck GI Joe. I will never fucking watch any more GI Joe movies anymore.



Best quotesJoe Colton: You alright?
Lady Jaye: Yeah. Are you alright?
Joe Colton: My cholesterol is a little high.


Recommended movies done by the director.
None.The fucker directed Justin Bieber's never say never. So he can fuck off and die.

Movie review of Oblivion

Oblivion - 8/10
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Cast - Tom Cruise,Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough

Plot Summary
One of the few remaining drone repairmen assigned to Earth, its surface devastated after decades of war with the alien Scavs, discovers a crashed spacecraft with contents that bring into question everything he believed about the war, and may even put the fate of mankind in his hands.

Review
All I can say after watching Oblivion is Cruise is back!!! What an awesome movie and a pleasant surprise, Oblivion turned out to be. I enjoyed it right to the very end.
Oblivion has a very good storyline which I cannot reveal anything as the spoilers will fuck the ride up. I will be as vague as possible. The effects are really good. I also liked the costumes for the movie. It has a mix of both futuristic and apocalyptic feel to it. I also liked the script and the direction was good as well.
Acting was fantastic. Cruise as usual did a fantastic job. His last movie, Jack Reacher was utter rubbish. I'm so glad he did this movie cause I don't think any other actor could pull it off. Morgan Freeman was at his usual best. The guy rarely gives a mediocre performance and he chooses his movies wisely as well.The surprise for me was Andrea Riseborough. I have not seen her any of her other movies but she pretty much stole the movie each time she was on screen. The only letdown for Oblivion was Olga Kurylenko. Her acting was atrocious. I kept cringing and groaning whenever she was onscreen. Her acting was so bad that even the drones acted better.My only flaw for the movie was Olga's acting.
I'm not gonna say much about the drones but to me, they are the stars of the movie. They are bound to creep you out. The drones had this 2001:Space odyssey vibe to them which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Worth watching on a weekend. You can also watch it with a loved one and get ready with a fantastic ride to Oblivion.
Just take note...after the movie,you will never look at a red light the same again.

Best Quotes

Jack Harper: 60 years ago, Earth was attacked. We won the war, but they destroyed half the planet. Every one's been evacuated. Nothing human remains. We're here for drone repair. We're the "mop-up crew".

Jack Harper: If we have souls, they're made of the love we share. Undimmed by time, unbound by death.

Jack Harper: Fuck you, Sally.

Sally: Are you an effective team?

Recommended movies done by the director
Tron Legacy

Monday 4 March 2013

Movie review of Bekas


Bekas - 7/10
Directed by Karzan Kader
Cast - Zamand Taha, Sarwar Fazil

Plot Summary
This is a story about two homeless brothers (Zana, 7) and (Dana, 10) who live on the edge of survival.

Review
I remember watching the trailer for Bekas while watching a movie in the cinema 2 months ago and I immediately told myself that I must watch this movie when its out. Last Saturday, when I found out that the cinemas were finally showing Bekas( limited timings and cinemas though), I quickly bought tickets to watch it.
I have to say Bekas which translates as Parentless in Kurdish is a touching movie with beautiful scenic shots and some very good acting. Within 5 minutes of the movie,you will be endeared to the  2 main characters, Zana and Dana. The boys are the main characters and they have fantastic chemistry with each other that you will believe that they really were brothers. Zana played by Zamand Taha is the scene stealer of Bekas. Every time he is onscreen,you will laugh and feel sad for his innocence. The shenanigans, the brothers do to get by and all are funny but at the same time you will feel pity for the plight they are in.
I liked the direction of Bekas and Karzan Kader definitely did a fine job writing it as well. I haven't seen any of his earlier works but I will look forward to his future projects. i liked the camera works even though some shots were kinda over used. There some really good shots of the boys showing their emotions and you can feel it. Editing was also pretty good. Captured the story well. I have to admit there were some flaws of the movie I did not like but that's just a very slight technical part of the movie.

For a small budgeted movie with a pretty small production crew, what I enjoyed most from Bekas is the acting, the story and the script.

Really worth watching this movie on a weekend with a loved one. Unfortunately, there are limited cinemas and show times available for Bekas, so watch it quick. Truly worth my cinema ticket.

Movie review of Flight


Flight - 5/10
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Cast - Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle,Nadine Velazquez

Plot Summary
An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.

Review
I've always enjoyed Denzel Washington's movies.The dude can act. And to find out that Flight is directed by Robert Zemeckis, it got me pretty excited for this movie. Furthermore this is Zemeckis's first live action movie since Cast Away. Sadly, my excitement was pretty much dulled out. I wouldn't say that Flight was a shit movie but it wasn't great either. There was simply nothing fantastic in Flight.Of course Denzel Washington acted like how he normally would but that was it. Cause I'm starting to feel that Denzel is starting to turn into Al Pacino. Why Al Pacino? let me explain. Now if you have been watching good old Al, despite being a good actor, his main talent is pretty much shouting. You can say, he shouted his way to an Oscar. And Denzel Washington? Well,his main talent is stammering and twitching of his lips either in a manner when he is about to cry or get angry. And he did that to get his Oscar. And if you realize, he has been doing that stammer and twitch move for awhile now.
Direction was decent as well.But that is expected from a director such as Zemeckis. Plot wise I kinda like the message they were trying to put out. but I think leaving the whole flying the plane upside down would be better. I'm no pilot but that was just a ridiculous Hollywood stunt to attract people to the cinema. That scene shouldn't be the highlight of the movie.The message should be the highlight.
I liked the colour and tone of the movie, it had kinda of a retro 80's feel to it. Too bad the movie wasn't based on that timeline though. Soundtrack was cool. As much as I love any Rolling Stones songs in a movie, but if you kept repeating the songs whenever a character appears, it could be a little overkill but hey its the fucking Stones so its all good.
It was also nice to see John Goodman and Denzel Washington together (last was Fallen). Goodman has all the best lines in the movie. He just lightens up the crowd whenever he was on screen.Good job, Goodman. It was also nice to see Don Cheadle as well even though I felt his character was alittle too subdued against Washington's character. It would have been nice if they really had gone head to head.

All in all, Flight is a decent movie to watch. Go watch it on weekday if you have to.

Best Quotes
Harling Mays: Don't touch the fucking merch.

Harling Mays: Oh! Oh, almost forgot- I got you some stroke mags. Been in the hospital, know what you need. Got Jugs, Hot Milfs and Eat Ass Masters. You just stroke it all day- you're a hero. If I was you, I'd just lay here, pulling on that thing all day long.

Avington Carr: Makes me wanna sniff some lines and go fly a jet!

Harling Mays: See y'all on the dark side of the Moon.

Recommended movies done by the director
Forest Gump
Cast Away
Back to the Future

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Movie review of A Good Day to Die Hard


A good day to die hard - 3/10
Directed by John Moore
Cast - Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch

Plot Summary
John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.

Review
I love the Die Hard series, every single one. I am a big fan of John McClane and I always watch the Die Hard series once a year. That's how much I love Die Hard. Now when I got to know they were making a fifth one and this time it involves his estranged son, I was excited. But when I saw the trailer, somehow it didn't convince or excite me in the least bit. And true enough after watching the movie,I was disgusted with A good day to die hard.
First I do not know who's bright idea it was (MDA or distributors) to censor this movie. This is by far the worst form of censorship I have seen. What are they trying to prove here. You censor out all the profanities and then use a word like "Cheap Pet" which Willis says to cover it? I cant believe I paid money to watch this.Fuck you very fucking much! you can cut out the profanities but leave kill scenes alone? are we living in fucking Iraq or the Soviet? this clearly shows how far up their asses they have been. You seriously think its ok for a child to see blood and exploding heads and shit but you must never ever say the word Fuck? Well... FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING FUCK AND GO FUCK YOURSELF! We, the paying audience are not imbeciles, the very fucking least you could do is at least open up one cinema with an uncensored cut and adults can watch it.
Its bad enough about the shitty cuts and to make it worse the movie doesn't really justify the Die Hard title. The only good thing about A good day to die hard was the car chase scene. That was well shot and the stunts were fantastic. All my 3 points goes to this scene. Other than that the whole movie was shit. What little of the script that can be heard, I'm pretty sure was written by a constipated monkey. The acting is horrendous. Jai Courtney who is McClane's son is fuckall and has zero fucking chemistry with Bruce Willis. Mr Bruce Willis, please stop ruining the Die Hard series instead go do Hudson Hawk 2 or something. You can clearly see that Bruce Willis was bored and just sort of tagged along in this movie.
Also the pathetic attempts of doing classic DIe Hard shots were very laughable...in a bad way. Direction was absolute shit and John Moore should go fuck himself...Plain and simple. Editing was shit as well, the cuts were so fucking horrible and cringe worthy. I also suspect that the constipated monkey who wrote the script had a brother and that monkey was addicted to crack cocaine definitely must have been the cameraman. The zooming ins were all so sudden and irregular. And boy does he love zooming in. Every fuck thing also zoom in.

All in all I urge every Die Hard  and Bruce Willis fans in Singapore to avoid this movie at all cost. The censors fucked this already fucked up movie. Go download or rent the DVD when its out. Just do not give your hard earned money to these fucks who obviously doesn't care about avid movie fans like us.

The bastards even cut out Yippee Ki Yay......  Shame on them!

Best Quotes
None.

Recommended movies done by the director
Behind enemy lines

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Movie review of Cloud Atlas


Cloud Atlas - 8/10
Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings
Cast - Tom Hank,Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Doona Bae, Jim Sturgess

Plot Summary
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

Review
What a brilliant movie. I had a fantastic time watching Cloud Atlas. I was moved with sadness, anger, laughter and joy throughout the different parts of the movie. Cloud Atlas is truly a gem. Fantastic direction, a good soundtrack and fantastic make up.And I couldn't ask for more as the casting for this movie was perfect.
I have to give it to the actors for Cloud Atlas. Acting in different roles within one movie is no easy task and the cast here did a fantastic job even the supporting cast doing minor roles as well.One who exceptionally stands out is Hugo Weaving. This guy is just too cool and every role he does, you are bound to remember him by. Halle Berry, Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant were pretty good as well. The chemistry between all of them was good. I really liked the costumes and make up for Cloud Atlas. You also have a pretty decent script as well. Direction is fucking awesome. Why? Because you have three of the greatest visionaries as directors directing in one movie.Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings (its no longer Wachowski brothers anymore cause Larry Wachowski has had a sex change and is now known as Lana Wachowski) are great stand alone directors. But for this project they did quite alot of research and really took their time from what I read. I think their efforts paid off and Cloud Atlas is truly a masterpiece. This is what I would call story telling at its finest. At almost 3 hours long, you will not feel the time go by as you get totally immersed into the story. Perhaps you will wonder what the fuck is going on in the beginning but as the story or stories unfold, you will start to understand.

Really worth watching on a weekend with a loved one and get the dvd when it comes out. Check it out.

Best Quotes
Isaac Sachs: Yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today. I feel like something important has happened to me. Is this possible? I just met her, and yet... I have fallen in love with Luisa Rey.

Robert Frobisher: A half-finished book is, after all, a half finished love affair.

Sonmi-451: Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.

Abbess: [in a trance] Bridge'a'broken, hide below, Hands'a'bleedin', can't let go, enemy sleepin', don't slit that throat.

Recommended movies done by the director
Tom Tykwer
Run Lola Run
Perfume
The princess and the warrior
Wachowski siblings
Matrix
Speed Racer

Movie review of Gangster Squad


Gangster Squad - 7.5/10
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Cast -  Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Plot Summary
Los Angeles, 1949: A secret crew of police officers led by two determined sergeants work together in an effort to take down the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen who runs the city.

Review
When I first watched the trailer, it didn't do much for me. I didn't like the make up and the colour tone. And Sean Penn's make up looked like some villain in a Dick Tracy movie.
But after watching Gangster Squad, I was pleasantly surprised. Turned out better than I expected and the trailer did not do the movie justice.
The casting for this movie is good. Sean Penn was an excellent choice for the bad guy role as Mickey Cohen. Despite the Dick Tracy-esque make up, his acting was great. For the good guys, you have a pretty good team of young actors in roles which are pretty much suited for them. You have Giovanni Ribisi as the Tech guy, he was decent. Ryan Gosling as the hero's number two guy.I liked the way he spoke. Josh Brolin as the hero was good as well. Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte really do look alike. They could do a father /son movie or something. There were other cool guys like T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick and Michael Pena as well.
I liked the plot alot. Its a traditional mobster story with a healthy dose of violence. The direction was nice. Some of the camera works were pretty impressive. And the script was fantastic.There are some pretty cool lines, Brolin's and Penn's characters spew out.

Definitely worth watching on a weekend, its an added bonus if you love mobster movies. Check it out.

Best Quotes
Grace Faraday: Where have you been all my miserable life ?
Sgt. Jerry Wooters: Shooting gangsters.
Grace Faraday: That's no profession

Recommended movies done by the director
Zombieland
30 Mins or less

Monday 7 January 2013

Movie review of Intouchables


Intouchables - 8/10
Directed by Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
Cast - François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Audrey Fleurot, Anne Le Ny

Plot Summary
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caretaker

Review
I watched this french flick on the plane on my way to London. Its definitely one of the best feel good comedies for 2012. I was laughing out pretty loud also. It wasn't like a typical french art flick or anything. Just really good movie with a good story,funny script and a great cast with chemistry.
The casting for this movie is excellent. The chemistry between the two main actors, Francois(who really looks like Dustin Hoffman) and Omar is absolutely brilliant.  There are so many scenes when they are together, you are bound to laugh to your heart's content.My favorite scenes are the ones at the opera and the classical music scenes. There are also moments which are a little sad fo each character as well. I really liked the script even though it was in french, it was simple and very witty.
The direction for the movie is pretty good as well and I liked the way the movie was edited. There are quite a few nice scenic shots taken as well.Its the plot which I cared alot for. 2 completely different people meeting and filling each other's life with hope and love.Thats really beautiful and its based on a true story as well.

Worth watching on a weekend and even purchasing the dvd. You are bound to leave feeling good and a smile to your face after watching Intouchables.

Best quotes
Driss: 100 euros says I can lose them.
Philippe: You're on.

Philippe: Hope well and have well.

Philippe: My true disability is not having to be in a wheel chair. It's having to be without her.

Driss: Its a singing tree?

Thursday 3 January 2013

Movie review of Jack Reacher


Jack Reacher - 4/10
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Cast - Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, Robert Duvall

Plot Summary
A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims.

Review
This is possibly the worst Tom Cruise movie I have ever seen. I tried so hard to like the movie but I just can't. There were so many flaws in Jack Reacher.Despite a reasonably good cast,the movie still sucked. The blame should go to the director and writer of the movie, Christopher McQuarrie. Now McQuarrie won an oscar for writing The Usual Suspects and has written some pretty good screenplays but he is a fuckall director. Its pretty obvious he doesn't know which kinda direction should Jack Reacher go. Some moments of the movie it becomes a comedy and then some moments it becomes serious and a tad bit silly. If he had just stuck to one direction, this wouldn't have been a not too bad movie.
Casting was ok. It was really cool to see acclaimed director Werner Herzog as a villain who does pretty much nothing but talk in a Batman-esque voice. Robert Duvall is horribly old but it was nice to see him pair up with Tom Cruise just like in Days of Thunder. Sadly there wasn't enough screen time for Duvall. Rosamund Pike on the other hand was just there to show her tits.Sorry to be crude and all but yea thats all Rosamund Pike is.Tits. whenever she is on screen,you wouldn't hear her talk and do anything cause the first thing you will notice is her tits. The woman cant act to save her life but sure as hell her tits will. Rosamund Kwan, the old school chinese actress is a better actress than her and possibly better tits as well. I hope not to watch any movies of Rosamund Pike as well. Rosamund...what a stupid fucking name. Tom Cruise did his level best to save this movie but couldn't. Mr Cruise,I sincerely hope you don't do shit movies like this as it will tarnish your godlike reputation.
There is an awful scene which was trying its hardest to copy out the famous telephone scene from Taken but failed miserably but the only good thing about Jack Reacher was the car chase scene.That was filmed and done very well.Tom Cruise pretty much did his own car stunts as well.

Just wait for the television debut of this movie to watch if you haven't.

Best Quote
Jack Reacher: You think I'm a hero? I am not a hero. And if you're smart, that scares you. Because I have nothing to lose.

Recommended movies done by the director
Way of the gun