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.

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.

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.