Friday 22 November 2019

Movie review of Gemini Man

Gemini Man - 3.5/10

Ang Lee should really stop doing action movies. Every time he ventures into an action movie, it usually is shit. Hulk, nuff said. Just stick to movies, you are good at.

For an action movie, the action sequences were boring and ridiculous at times. The CGI was below par as well which makes the action sequences a little silly. I've always enjoyed watching Will Smith's movies. He always had a pretty good mix. An aging Will Smith doing action is not too bad. Though he ain't no Tom Cruise but still fun to watch. However, adding a younger version of Will Smith that looks like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air with weird lips (Think Henry Cavhil in Justice League) is just a plain no.
I love sci fi movies but sometimes you have to be a little, just a little realistic. Don't push it too far or it will just become ridiculous. Gemini Man is a fine example. The movie was going ok right until mid way it starts getting ridiculous and then towards the end, the plot twist was just rubbish. And then there was Clive Owen. I really did not understand what Ang Lee was trying to do with his character? Cos it was confusing and Clive Owen's acting did not help one bit as well.

Don't bother watching Gemini Man at the cinema. It's boring and a waster of ticket money. Wait for it to show on cable or Netflix.

Movie review of Zombieland: Double Tap

Zombieland: Double Tap - 5.5/10

I enjoyed the first one and I was pleasantly surprised they decided to do a sequel ten years later. Double Tap was still fun and had some pretty funny lines and scenes.

The cast is still the same and they added a few more to the mix. Zoey Deutch is one of the new addition and she pretty much steals the show every time she appears. It was pretty obvious that the rest of the cast could barely keep themselves from laughing. Abigail Breslin( Little Rock) used to be cute in the first movie. She did not age well. She looks very different now. Beside Zoey stealing the show, Woody Harrelson still maintains his comedic scenes to a tee. It was like Tallahassee hasn't changed one single bit. The cameoswhich have appeared for Double Tap had their moments as well. However I wished Columbus had "murrayed" another celebrity instead and it would have been hilarious if it was Dan Akroyd.
Do wait a while for the end credits where you will see a pretty funny clip.

Zombieland: Double Tap is a fun movie to watch. If you like zombie movies or have watched the first one then you will enjoy Double Tap. I enjoyed the names they came up with for the zombies as well. Hilarious.

Monday 28 October 2019

Movie review of Terminator: Dark Fate

Terminator: Dark Fate - 3/10

I tried to watch the new Terminator movie with zero expectations. I really tried. But it's hard for me cause I love Arnold Schwarzenegger a lot and he has always been my fav childhood action hero. Alas, it really is time for Arnie to stop acting in Terminator movies or they stop making Terminator movies all together cause Dark Fate pretty much sealed it for me.

Terminator: Dark Fate started on just fine. It was going on well despite some dumb scenes(will get to that later) and horrid acting. Linda Hamilton aka Sarah Connor's big entrance was not too bad and at this moment I was smiling to myself, thinking maybe Dark Fate might just be a proper sequel to T1 and T2. Well, all that went down the drain, the moment Arnie showed up, everything turned to shit. And I mean every fucking thing. From the plot, to the action, to the acting, it just became absolute rubbish.

I can't believe James Cameron approved, let alone produced this piece of shit, especially with how the story changed. Why the fuck would you change your fucking villains, from the infamous Skynet whom everyone knows to some shit called Legion? Cheebye, no other fucking villain company name to use ah?
And speaking of villains, Arnie's pivotal role, The Terminator. From the scary character in T1 , to the bad ass he was in T2, he has a fucking name now and it's CARL! Yup. They gave him a fucking name lah. And not just that, the pundei has a wife and kid also. Knn.
The dumb scenes I mentioned earlier was the killing of John Connor in the first 5 mins of the movie. Why? Just by doing that, you killed off the classic stories of T1 and T2. I was a little confused at the start but when the story unfolds later on, I realized that it was really a stupid move to kill off John and changing Skynet. So now you have new terminators, new villain company and of course a new resistance leader who goes by the name of Dani Ramos. The new John Connor. You also have Grace who is the protector of Dani. Grace is not a terminator, she's just an enhanced super human or some shit. Helping them out will be Sarah Connor.
Look, I'm all in with the girl power, empowering women and all. but if you want to make a movie empowering women, do something original. Not a sequel or remake of classic movies. That shit does not work. Haven't you learned anything from the last Ghostbusters or Ocean's 8? Idiots.

The acting is fucking horrible. Natalia Reyes (Dani Ramos) was just fucking painful to watch every time she is on screen. The moment she opens her mouth, I groan. Delivery of lines is just shit. I liked Mackenzie Davis( Grace), she was pretty cool in the action scenes but her lines were downright terrible. I dunno why Linda Hamilton is in this movie. She just looks bored and her acting is terrible. The scene she is sad sitting on a tree trunk was just damn cringe worthy. Gabriel Luna who is the new Terminator was pretty decent. Rev 9 or some shit, I'll just call him, the Mexican Terminator. I liked how he looks around, walks and talks. He ain't no Robert Patrick(T1000) but he's alright. Probably the only reason I am giving this garbage a rating of 3 is because of the Mexican Terminator and Grace. Well at least he was better than the Korean Terminator.

Surprisingly of all things, the CGI was terrible. In the day and age, it is hard to believe that the effects of the first 2 Terminator movies look so much better than the effects in Dark Fate. One example of shitty CGI is when the terminators come out from the beach.

All in all, Terminator Dark Fate was dreadful to watch. I have now fully given up on Terminator movies. Thanks to Dark Fate. For me, it will always be the first 2 and that's it. The rest all can fuck off and die. Was Dark Fate the worst of the series? It is a close second. Terminator 3, Dark Fate, Genisys and then Salvation. That's my rating for worst in the series. James Cameron can just fuck off and wait another 50 years to do his fucking sequel to Avatar for all I fucking care.

If you are a fan, do not watch this. You are only going to get high blood pressure and be very pissed. It is not even worth to watch it on a weekday. Fuck Terminator: Dark Fate.

Saturday 5 October 2019

Movie review of Joker

Joker - 9/10

As of right now, this is the movie of the year for me. Joker has surpassed all my expectations. Kudos to the director, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix for this beautiful, thought provoking masterpiece. Todd Phillips pushed this to Warner Bros and DC for almost a year to get it done for a R rating which was brilliant. I still can't believe that Todd Phillips, a comedy director known for the Hangover trilogy and other comedies did this beautifully violent movie and he got his cinematographer, Lawrence Sher as well.

There are a lot of things I love about this movie. The pacing was slow and at first I thought, it was perhaps a little too slow. But it was well worth the wait for the complete transformation cause when you see Arthur turn completely as Joker in all his glory, it was just breath taking. The color and tone was colorful yet bleak and you can feel the sense of dread and repression.

I have to say, the cinematographer, Lawrence Sher had some really cool shots. There were quite a number of them which can be really good posters or wallpapers. I loved the subway,  the staircase shot and the hospital shot with the footprints. You will get it when you watch it. Absolutely brilliant. The way the cameras captured the acting was essential to the story telling of Joker.

Casting. Let's talk about the supporting actors first. Robert De Niro plays a character which is like a role reversal of King of Comedy and he played it to a tee. A fitting tribute, I might add. It was perfect casting him as talk show host, Murray Franklin cause besides the King of Comedy vibe, there was another iconic De Niro character tribute as well. Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) was also great as Penny Fleck, Arthur's mom. And last but not the least,
Joaquin fucking Phoenix. Brother of the late River Phoenix. The cheebye Caesar from Gladiator. Johnny Cash from Walk the Line. And now Arthur Fleck from Joker. A very underrated actor who loves to choose weird or unconventional roles.
His portrayal of Joker will definitely be one to be remembered. To me it is up there, as a very close second to the late Heath Ledger.  The slow gradual transformation from Arthur Fleck to Joker was fucking amazing. Just notice Joaquin's eyes at all the pivotal moments. Just from that alone, you can see what a good actor he is. The crazy weight loss, and lines are a bonus. The most difficult part was the iconic Joker's laugh which Joaquin Phoenix mentioned was very tough. What was amazing was you can feel the pain and the anguish from the laugh which he created and it changes as the movie goes on. If he doesn't get any recognition or an Oscar for this, I'm very sure a lot of people are gonna be pissed. I sure will be as well, even though I think the Oscars are bullshit. This is truly acting at its finest. If a god like Robert De Niro approves  of Joaquin's acting, then you know shit just got real. Thank you Joaquin Phoenix.

Plot. This stand alone origin story is one of a kind. Don't think of it as a comic book movie. If all those comic book fans who are gonna hate this for not being true to the comic, I say fuck you and fuck off. There never was a proper origin story for the Joker to begin with and there have been several. So shut the fuck up and enjoy the movie. The good thing is Todd Phillips has said that it will not have anything to do with any upcoming Batman movies. And to be honest, I truly hope there will not be a sequel for Joker. As much as I want to see more of what Joaquin Phoenix can do with Joker, let's just leave it as it is.

I really loved the 70's feel. From the soundtrack to the set and costume designs. Another fitting tribute to an iconic 70's movie was Taxi driver. Another iconic De Niro character, Travis Bickle which was why adding De Niro into the casting made total sense. I really loved the reference a lot cos it has always been my fav " hand gesture". I even have the fucking poster of Travis Bickle doing it.

It was also damn cool of them to do a tribute to the late Heath Ledger's Joker. Ace in the hole and the police car bit. Solid.

All in all, Joker is a magnificent movie and you have to watch it in the cinemas. Well worth the weekend price as well. It has been a while since I have been this excited for a movie and will definitely be watching it for the second time.

Piece of advice when watching Joker, watch it without any disturbance. No food or with someone asking you 5000 questions about the fucking movie. Devil is in the details. Enjoy the experience. Send in the clowns.

Friday 4 October 2019

Movie review of It: Chapter Two

It: Chapter Two - 6.5/10

It: Chapter Two is a pretty decent movie and you have to watch the first one to understand what the fuck is going on. It's not the kind of movie where you can just watch the sequel without watching the first. 
I did enjoy Chapter One when I first watched it as I was curious on how it would turn out. Would it be as good as the mini series done during the 90's? Would it be as crazy as the book written by Stephen King who apparently was on cocaine when he wrote it? 
I was also apprehensive on how Bill Skarsgard would portray Pennywise the Clown cos Tim Curry did an excellent job in the mini series. Got to admit, Bill Skargard was fucking excellent and creepy especially when he does his eyeball thing and that wasn't CGI at all. The fella really could do that.

The casting for the kids in Chapter One was good. And the adults version of them were good as well in Chapter Two. The ones who stood out for me were Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgard and James McAvoy. Bill Hader and James Ransone (Eddie) had some funny lines and good chemistry. James McAvoy was perfect as adult Bill Denbrough. Even Jessica Chastain acted well. One of the funnier scenes, was the cameo none other than the master of horror himself, Mr Stephen King. That scene was hilarious.
Now all the scare scenes were done well and there were some creepy fucking scenes. One of my fav was the head scene. That whole scene was like a big tribute to John Carpenter's The Thing. Even Bill Hader said the classic line from The Thing. 

All in all, It: Chapter Two is a decent movie to watch but watch the first one for the full story. It isn't really a very scary horror movie but good enough.

Monday 30 September 2019

Movie review of Rambo: Last Blood

Rambo: Last Blood - 6/10

Last blood, I would say is a fitting end to the Rambo franchise even though it was the shortest movie of the series. Read that the movie was heavily edited after test audience and it was still being edited even right before opening day. It was very obvious especially early part of the movie. 
The first part of the movie was a tad bit boring. The things Rambo does after he came back to America (Rambo 4) were weird. Taming horses and digging tunnels? Really, John? 
The action however comes towards the end and it was glorious violence and gore. There were some really solid kill scenes especially the very last bad guy. Brutal yet typical Rambo. 
I didn't really give two shits about the rest of the cast and Gabrielle was annoying and deserved what she got. Fuck her. I'm here only for Stallone. Fuck everyone else.
It was pure nostalgia when you see Rambo go apeshit and starts prepping. The whole prepping scene was awesome and you get to see his iconic bow as well. That's the Rambo I knew when I watched first blood as a kid. 
Because of the violence and kills, the end scene is worth the ticket money itself. Never mind how the bad guys got there or how ridiculous it got cos at this point, all I wanted to see was Rambo doing what he does best. Kicking ass and taking names. And that is exactly what he did only in a very violent way.

As much as I love watching Stallone as Rambo, Sly has gotten old and it's a good thing he ended the Rambo series with Last Blood. This movie is solely targeted for Rambo fans. Even the credits scene hits you with a wave of nostalgia. You'll remember all the classic scenes and it makes you want to go back home and revisit all the previous Rambo movies again. 
If you have never watched Rambo before, don't bother.

Rambo: Last blood is worth watching on a weekend. 

The last lines were poignant and perfect.

Rambo: I've lived in a world of death. I tried to come home, but I never really arrived. A part of my mind and soul got lost along the way, but my heart was still here where I was born, where I would defend to the end the only family I've ever known, the only home I've ever known. All the ones I've loved are now ghosts. But I will fight to keep their memory alive forever.

Movie review of Ad Astra

Ad Astra - 5/10.

Ad Astra which means "To the stars" in Latin, is a visually nice movie to watch. The production level is very high and there were some scenes that were nicely done. However I found the pace of the movie a little too long and draggy. Whatever emotions I felt from the characters were waned out by the pace and the length of the movie.
Casting was good for Ad Astra. Brad Pitt was pretty decent. Although I felt he was kinda bored and didn't really go all out. There were two scenes I felt he was solid was the one with his father and the tear scene. That was good. 
For a brief moment, I felt Ad Astra was a sequel for Space Cowboys cos there were 3 actors from it. Tommy lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and the captain of the space shuttle who couldn't land at Mars. I can't remember his name. There were very little scenes of veteran actors, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. Although Tommy Lee Jones looks damn old. he is so old,his eye bags looked deflated. Still he is a brilliant actor.

All in all, Ad Astra is a decent Science fiction movie but it is forgettable. I wasn't wowed nor was I bored after I left the cinema. It is a kind of movie which you will only watch once and never watch it again. 

If you wanna watch Ad Astra, watch it on a weekday if you have nothing else to watch. If not just wait for the cable release.

Movie review of Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame - 8.5/10

Finally time to write the review for Avengers: Endgame. A 3 hour rollercoaster of a movie. Wow. Just wow. What an end. The movie was near perfect and I would love to buy the blu ray and I have watched it in the cinema for the second time. A feat that hasn't been done in a long time. There is a high chance that I might even watch it in the cinema for the third time.We'll see.

Got to hand it to the Russo Brothers for an amazing job directing Infinity Wars and Endgame. It is definitely no easy task and they did a great job. The emotional ride was one of my favs for this movie. You have scenes that will evoke different emotions. You have tear jerkers, wow factors and scenes that makes you go WTF.
The tear jerker scene would of course be the ending. Robert Downey Junior has been pivotal as Ironman and it was sad to see him for the last time as Tony Stark but that scene was necessary.
Wow moments are definitely the battle scenes and fucking Thanos being an absolute bad mofo. I was squealing with excitement when Cap wielded Mjolnir and I went absolutely apeshit when everyone came around and Cap said Avengers Assemble.

Endgame is one of those movies I can watch countless times and be thoroughly entertained.

Monday 25 February 2019

Movie review of Lords of Chaos

Lords of Chaos -  6/10

Lords of Chaos is basically the story of Norwegian black metal band called Mayhem. If you are a metalhead, I'm pretty sure you know the story and you have probably read the book. When the book first came out, it was controversial as well and a lot of people including members of Mayhem and others involved were against it and said not everything in the book was true and all. It is after all a tragic yet interesting story and it was a matter of time when someone turns it into a movie. That someone was none other than Jonas Akerlund. A well known music video director who has done countless music videos for big names like Madonna,U2, Lady Gaga and many more. His recent movie before Lords of Chaos was the Netflix movie, Polar. He also happens to be ex drummer for Bathory. So he knows his metal history well and is probably the right person to direct this movie.

Watching it as a film fan, it was not too bad. The acting was alright especially Jack Kilmer who just happens to be the son of a certain Val Kilmer. Kilmer's portrayal of Pelle Olmin aka Dead was pretty good. His last scene was gruesome and the way he acted it out was brilliant. Rory Culkin as Euronymous was not too bad either. There are some shots where he does look like him. 
Casting was good as they got actors who resembled their characters pretty close. Hell hammer was dead on. However I don't remember Varg as a chubby kid. Emory Cohen's portrayal of Varg wasn't that great. his expressions did not convince me and the movie made him look like an idiot. But then again the real Varg is a weird fucker who says dumb shit at times so yea.. Idiot. I laughed out loud when the journalist and the photographer called him a fucking idiot for letting them take photos of him.
I didn't like the way it was edited as some parts of the movie felt like a music video. But I guess that's the style Jonas Akerlund wanted. Most of his movies have very similar edits. Thankfully, the edits didn't hamper the acting.
The kill scenes are brutal and I have to give credit to the sound department for that. Every stab sound, you can feel it and it did make me a little uneasy. 

Lords of Chaos is definitely a thought provoking movie especially if you are not a metal head and you do not know the history behind Norwegian black metal.
My biggest peeve from the movie is the accents. The movie is in Norway, its about Norwegian black metal, Norwegian band, Norwegian teenagers. So shouldn't the actors have a Norwegian accent at the very least? Making them sound American is just lazy to me. I've always had problems with movies that don't get the accents right. From Valkyrie to Enemy at the gate.

All in all , Lords of Chaos is a decent watch but I highly doubt that it will be playing here in Singapore, so stream it if you can.

Thursday 17 January 2019

Review of Green Book

Green Book - 8/10

A feel good movie which is kind of based on a true story. Directed by one of the Farrelly Brothers(Peter Farrelly). Yup the guys who did Dumb and Dumber and Something about Mary. The Green Book is something a little unexpected coming from the movies they usually do and it turned out to be a gem. 

Green Book is a wonderful story about friendship with two guys who are complete opposites and at a time where inter racial friendships are rare. Story is well paced and it made me research about the two guys portrayed by the ever wonderful Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. Viggo as Tony Lip, an Italian who used to work as a bouncer and becomes a driver. Mahershala as Dr Don Shirley, a famous black pianist who plans to tour in the south. The chemistry between Mortensen and Ali is fantastic and it was always a joy watching them onscreen. Mortensen put on weight for this movie and not even halfway through the movie, I knew why he had to. Tony Lip loves to eat. That scene where you see how he eats pizza. That's how the real Tony ate it. it made me laugh so hard.

Green Book is definitely highly recommended and worth watching at the cinema on a weekend. After watching the movie, I did a quick research to find out who Tony Lip is. Boy was I surprised to find out who he was.

Thursday 10 January 2019

Review of Apostle

Apostle - 6/10


Written and directed by Gareth Evans, the mastermind behind the Raid 1 and 2. Apostle is his venture to horror. I have to admit it was a welcoming surprise.
Quite a number of actors I have never seen before except for the unforgettable Michael Sheen. It is truly a delight watching Michael as always. The main guy was pretty decent. His acting was alright but I guess they chose him for his facial reactions which were really good.
Script was a little weird cos sometimes it varies from normal English to periodic English.
Cinematography was excellent. There are some really beautiful shots and I loved the camera works. I guess it's a norm for a Gareth Evans movie now. There was "the raid" feel to it especially all the violent parts. Editing was OK except for a bit which seems like a mistake and I loved the colour.
Apostle is a slow burner. Slow at the beginning then it fucking grips you all the way to the end.

I would highly recommend to watch Apostle for its cinematography and the fantastic kill scenes of course. Well done, Gareth Evans. I will continue to watch your movies.