Pacific Rim

It is rare that I watch a movie and I don't have any complaints or things I find weird, things that takes me out of the movie experience. Pacific Rim is not an exception. For the first time, I was taking notes on parts of the movie that I thought was strange, or just bothered me. I don't think it's being nit-picky. Maybe it is, but still, I think movies should be seamless and engaging and immersive.

If you hate spoilers then read no further. That aside, I will try not to give too much away.

So the synopsis of this movie is big giant robots, controlled by a pair of humans fighting giant alien creatures hell bent on destroying all life on earth. As story lines go, I guess that's passable but if you're going to have big giant robots controlled by humans, do it right.

Big Giant Robots
They call the robots Jaegers. If you follow shingeki no kyojin, you recognise that name but I digress. If you're going to have Jaegers controlled by humans, at least give them seats to sit on. Gundam and Evangelion have showed us that a neural link with the machine is more versatile than having the humans perform actual actions that the machines replicate in real life. It bothered me that they were just suspended there doing all these moves. I think it would be cooler to have them sit on a chair, their neural network tapped and maybe access to some controls where their fingers will normally lie and maybe some voice commands. I would have expected that because that's what we are used to and playing on that would have made it more natural, more modern and approachable. Those Jaeger were like scrap metal pieced together by a skunkworks team. Is that really the best humanity could come up with? Please give them chairs.

I guess playing into this scrap metal scenario, one person could not handle the jaeger so you needed two people to sync their brain waves and fight as one. Again those anime I mentioned showed that one person is perfectly capable to operate a machine of that size and even navigate it in space. With the help of a sophisticated on board computer of course but it's the future, those capabilities should be there already.

One more thing about the Jaeger. Initially I thought there was no eject system but later in the movie we found out that there was. Why didn't the pilots eject when they were in grave danger. Why go down with the ship or jaeger in this case? I didn't get that.

Stereotypes
So Mako is Japanese. Not only that she's a girl. And because she's a Japanese girl obviously she has a noticeable Japanese accent and she's a tad shy. I thought this was unnecessary. The moment she came into the picture, I knew instantly where it would lead. There was even a James Bond moment in the end when they were together and the voice on the radio was like guys...? Of course the camera took a wide angle shut and I expected them to pucker up but they just hugged. Mako can be Japanese and she can be a girl but she does not have to be a stereotypical Japanese girl.

The Australians were an interesting much but half the time I couldn't make out what they were saying. There were subtitles in BM and Chinese but I can't read those so I have to try to get what they're saying.

And the scientists? A dynamic duo but guys, you went too far there.

Hannibal Chou was cool. Until he got eaten.

Striker. What I couldn't make out was if he was with the US or the UK or some kind of alliance. Idris Elba did a good job with Prometheus but his English accent got me confused in this one. Besides that I like the dynamic between him and Mako.

So did I even enjoy the movie? Absolutely. I thought the action scenes and the non-action scenes were well balanced. The ending was quite nice. Overall it's a good movie worth watching.

There was a scene where little Mako was sobbing and the people behind were laughing. What's up with that?

-ONWARD!

Oz the great and powerful

I've not done a movie post in a while simply because for a while I just stopped going to the cinema. Either that or I didn't feel the need to say anything about it. Anyway I watched Oz the great and powerful last night in 3D. I love 3D minus the headaches.

movie poster: Oz the great and powerful

As is usually the case with these movies, I prefer the old Wizard of Oz movie. But in many ways that is a different movie in that it is set before the Wizard of Oz and told the story of Oz the man, or Oscar, the man and how he became the 'Wizard'.

First of all, just to set your expectations right, this is a Disney movie. So keep that in mind. There will be a good ending, it's going to leave you feeling good inside. Children can even watch it, as was the case last night. Which seriously, I don't get. I watched quite late at night and there were kids in the hall. But I digress.

I think James Franco was perfect for the role of young Oz. We get to see how his life was in Kansas, before he came to Oz thanks to surprise, surprise, a tornado. I didn't like that he was something of a Casanova character but I guess that's necessary to make him the man he eventually became.  

I like the transformation of Theodora but I felt kind of sad. I always wished that there will be some kind of redemption for her. She looked such a sweet girl. Let that be a lesson to all you guys out there. Don't go breaking girl's hearts. It doesn't end well.

My favourite character has to be China girl. She looks so adorable. Although she's quite tiny compared to everyone else, you can't accurately judge how old she is. She could well be much older than is portrayed or really young but very courageous. 

While I loved the movie, and had a good laugh. I would have loved to see an Oz the great and powerful that is not done by Disney. One that has more. That is not afraid to take chances. One for the adults. That said it's a good movie, go watch it if you can.

-ONWARD!

The Amazing Spiderman

This post includes a lot of spoilers so if you have not watched the movie yet and you don't like spoilers then you probably don't want to read on.

I finally got to watch the Amazing Spiderman today. It does not follow the previous series starring Toby Maguire, its kind of a reset or a new series if you like. A few things bugged me about this movie. I enjoyed it, no doubt, I thought it was very fun almost like a Disney movie but I was not drawn into the story, I was just puzzled most of the time.

The first thing I noticed right from the start is how long it took for the movie to get started. They went into more details about Peter's life as a boy when his parents were still alive. It was nice to get to know his parents, I don't think the previous series concentrated on that part of the story but I feel like it was unnecessary to go into so much detail. Pretty much the first hour of the movie was all this pre-story before he became Spiderman. I felt quite impatient with this approach, I think with the Toby Maguire series we kind of know the Spiderman story so it didn't require a whole hour to reharsh the story we already know.

I felt this Spiderman is a little too reckless, he took off his mask so many times revealing his identity too early. I'm surprised they allowed that. The part where he saved the kid was fine and when he was cornered towards the end, I guess can't be helped but the other times I thought it was uncalled for. I guess the directors wanted to show the juvenile Spiderman but I thought it was too reckless.

In the animated series I watched while I was a kid, Spiderman relied on his spidey senses and Its nice to see them bring a bit of that out in this movie. I thought it was a nice touch. He's spidey senses have clearly not matured yet and that could be an area to develop in any subsequent movie.

Finally the thing that I didn't quite think about until this movie was those darn webs. Are they bio-degradable? Or do they stick around after they have been spun? And another thing, why didn't anyone from OSCORP recognise what is effectively their research being used in such a public way. Someone must have seen those webs and thought, hmm, that looks familiar.

All these aside though, I thought it was a nice movie. I get the feeling that its geared towards the younger generation. There might be more movies in this series since we haven't met Maryjane yet. The Spiderman story is not complete yet without her, forget Gwen.

-ONWARD!

Prince of persia: the sands of time

Watched prince of persia: the sands of time after dinner, after shopping for the praise and worship night. I think it was a nice movie. I really preferred it to the new clash of the titans. I think the story is better told and even though I didn't play the sands of time game I like the acrobatic stunts and the girl was well nice too :)

7/10 for me.

-ONWARD

wolfman

Kong Hei Kong Hei. So a whole bunch of us went out yesterday to see Wolfman. After seeing the trailer i could not make up my mind if it was a horror movie or not.

Before i go any further i must say that the vampire/werewolf genre is saturated already. We have seen everything from twilight to blade and there's no more story there so hollywood, move on.

I don't have much to say about the movie except that it tries to be scary but its not. It certainly is gruesome, there's a lot of blood and arm ripping by a renegade werewolf. Not much in the way of humour also. There's no real story. Again they try to add a love story but it didn't really hold.

Overall it was a disappointing experience. I guess all 14+ of us were tired of house visiting and wanted a change in pace. I will rate the movie a mediocre 4.5 out of 10.

-ONWARD

avatar movie

Avatar basically means an alter ego. Yahoo has this thing where you can create a virtual you and fill it with a nice background, style your hair and what not. Same idea as the movie. But in the case of the movie, the alter ego is biologically engineered to look like the Na'vi the natives of planet pandora where an obviously american corporation has base and mines unobtainium. Cool name if you ask me.

Without revealing too much i must say its a nice-ish movie. Its almost 3hrs long so be prepared if you want to go see it and you should. There's a lot of cg in the movie. So much that i wondered why they didn't just make it an animated movie like titan ae. There was something about the water, i dunno it felt weird for me like it was not real.

I probably should wait before publishing this because i really don't know what to make of the movie. There are stuff going on that i don't know where i stand on them. This has got to be the strangest thought on a movie i've done but i will say this. Its a very engaging movie and watch with your eyes open and your brains working. Questions some of the way things are done and let me know what you think. As ratings go its an 8/10 for me.

-ONWARD

2012

Right from the start let me say that i think its unlikely that the world will come to an end in 2012. The movie is almost 3hours long but you don't feel it. Its been beautifully written so that nothing seems like its not suppose to be there. Everything matters. From the crazy charlie to the unreal narrow escapes from danger and destruction.

Since its a newish movie i dont want to spoil it too much but i noticed a strong sony+microsoft presence in the movie. If there's one thing the movie tried to highlight its human sacrifice and the importance of relationships, family. And even though its about the destruction of the world there are a few moments where you can laugh and at least one moment where you might want to look away :)

Overall i will give it a 9/10. Go see it.

-ONWARD

G.I JOE

Its been a while since i wrote about movies so lets remedy that with this amazing movie. I don't know much about G.I JOE prior to watching the movie but a quick look at the wikipedia article tells me that it started off as a line of action figures following the success of barbie in the early 60s and then there was a cartoon, a comic and now movie. Oh and G.I stands for Government Issue. That one i knew back in the days when irc was popular. I spent a lot of time in the quiz rooms answering all kinds of general knowledge questions.

The movie was action packed, we missed part of the beginning but it slowly became clear who the bad guys were and who the good guys were. I must say i love all the hi-tech weapons, and thanks to miri star cineplex's renovation of their notorious cinema we can actually hear the special effects though my friends complained it was too loud. I just thought it was okay.

I must say the best part for me is when duke and his partner where running around Paris in the cool suit. They look so cute. My favourite character has got to be the guy with the blades, the one in black i think he's cool especially with the vow of silence thing he's got going.

There's a lot of cliche in this movie, in dialogue and characterisation. Whoever wrote the dialogue seemed not to put a lot of effort into it. There's not much in the way of humour unlike transformers 2. I feel like the movie lacked any kind of story, it was just raw action and technology. But this is just the beginning, there will be more G.I Joe in the near future.

Overall i can't say its the best movie i've watched this year, transformers still take the cake but if i'll rate this movie i'll give it a 7.5 out of 10 and thats not bad at all.

-ONWARD

movie spoilers

Couldn't help it. Hahaha too funny to pass.

-ONWARD

seven pounds

Before i say anything i must say that its not a good idea to commit suicide no matter the circumstances. You cannot pay for your sins with your life. You will go to hell, literally.

This movie on the surface is a nice movie about a man trying to seek redemption for the choices he has made and the life he lived, for the mistakes he has made and on the surface it looks like a man trying to save people, he looks like a good man, a nice man but his motives however well crafted are sinister. 

Why such strong language? Because stealing, impersonating, deceiving, and self righteousness will get nobody no where. When people look at his life post transformation they will say what a man, it ends with him, they will be grateful for his 'good' deeds and they will honor him for what he has done. They will forget the hurt he left, the relationships he has neglected, ignores, the broken heart. What good is a heart if your hope if deferred?

No matter what happens we have someone who has already paid the price for all the evil we have done or will perpertuate in our lives and thats Jesus. He died so that we can have life and have it in abundance. We don't need to pay for our sins because they have been paid for. It doesn't matter how grave the evil. 

However its not wrong giving hope to those who need it. Its not wrong to donate your organs for those who are in need. Its not wrong to give your heart away, its not wrong to give everything you have lived for to some stranger. It is wrong to think that doing all these things will somehow go to pay for your mistake.

I'm sorry for being so strong but it has to be said. And in case you're wondering the name seven pounds was taken from the shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice, in which a debtor must pay a pound of flesh. In this case it amounts to parts of Tim's body donated to seven persons deemed worthy by his judgment. They are the recipients of his heart, a lung, part of his liver, and his eyes, among other things. And jelly fish are dangerous.

3/10

~shalom~

ip man

As a movie it was incredible but there's a bigger story here. The movie is a story of honour, respect, humility and above all diligence. In proverbs there's something like this ...seest thou a man diligent in his work, he will not stand before mean men, he will stand before kings.

Yip man is from the Fo shan province known for its martial arts schools. Basically anyone who could perform some kata opened a school and had disciples. This man was the master of the masters but he never opened a school, he never thought, never had a disciple but humbly trained in his humble home day in day out determined not to be too far from his son and his lovely wife whom he respected and did everything in his power to protect. That for me is inspiring.

Unlike most kung fu movies thats all action and no fun, this one is quite funny, the hall was a mix of mostly chinese, some bumi, i counted one indian and this nigerian fella all laughing at the humour that director wilson yip slipped in to the otherwise serious affair of how the chinese protected their pride against the influences of outsiders especially the Japanese. In this movie i caught a glimpse of the chinese pride that you see so much in the older generation and a bit in the newer generation in this country. Its a pride that is not boastful but defiant against subjection and oppression.

For me the movie was very good, well laid out, well directed and the actor was superb in his rendition of the life of the Yip man but what i will take away, more than just the humour and the courage is the life of this man, lived in quietness but did not shy away from responsibility and rose up like a sleeping giant to defend his honour and protect those he loved. For me it deserves a 5 out of 5.

~shalom~

the day the earth stood still

I'm a fan of science fiction. I remember the times when the bbc would show blake 7 on sundays and i wondered why they chose the day i needed to be in church to show my favourite sci fi series. But then there was always star trek and Dr. Who. 

These days i hardly watch any tv so i don't follow any sci fi series and heroes season 3 just ended so my weekly series consumption has been reduced to watching the anime bleach which just reached its 200th episode and going strong.

Without giving too much away, the day the earth stood still or "the movie" is quite interesting. I'm sure if i read the book my brain would have been more creative to draw the mental images it needs to draw to make the movie more exciting. In case you didn't get me, i just said the movie is quite boring. Yeah there are shootings but nothing action-y if you get what i mean. I think match of the pengiuns had more action that this movie, i didn't feel any high point or low point. It kind of reminded me of Quantom of Solace which was bland to say the least but at least i didnt sleep while watching it which is more than i can say for Madagascar Return to Africa. I guess i was too tired or the movie really sucked.

The movie was interesting indeed. If you believe that we evolved as part of a once primitive lifeform then it makes sense. If you believe we were made by God then the movie is just another escape from boredom this holiday season because we are not answerable to some advanced civilisation some where out there in a world outside of yonkers... They do not decide if we live or die and they do not exist as far as i am concerned. But we are answerable to a superior being who one day will decide the fate of not the earth alone but its inhabitants and the choices they have made with respect to his Son Jesus and thats the truth, even though for some it might be an inconvenient truth but its the truth regardless.

What did i learn from the movie? Nothing much really. It didnt excite me, it didn't educate me, it sure didn't entertain me so i'm kind when i give it a 2.3 out of 5.

~shalom~

the happening

Yesterday we had a night out, my housemates and I and decided to go see a movie after my late late meeting hehe.

Its always difficult for me to watch movies here because the cinema is terrible. But we got there and there was kung fu panda, indiana jones and the happening. The choice was between these three and after much persuasion we all agreed to watch the happening at cinema 4.

Please, if you want to watch a movie at star cineplex in miri, make sure its not in cinema 4. My goodness we had to wait so long for the technicians to fix the sound, it was more than crappy, and at the end when it started working it was not consistent and at best only the front row speakers were working. At one point it sounded like a jammed up cassette tape. Remember those?

Anyway, i didnt think the movie would be nice, and even though its not the kind of movie i would watch in the cinema, it certainly was interesting. I won't try to go through the movie but the part the i guess interested me the most is the way Russel was with children or at least this one child that was difficult to get through to but he found a way. I liked that. And the way he was so patient and kept his cool in the midst of the mayhem that was all around, how he can be calm and speak with so much patience. But above all his capacity to love and to forgive the one he loves, reminds me of the verse in 2 Corinthians. I want that too.

Good movie, besides the trauma we had in the cinema with they crappy equipment, a solid 3.5 / 5.

chronicles of narnia: prince caspian

Just watched the movie and oh my was it better than the first one. Although the sound was surprise, surprise not good. I really don't like the cinema here so i didnt get to hear what they were saying. So i may actually buy this movie so i can follow it.

So we see the 4 royals come back to Narnia at a time of turmoil, war has broken out and narnia has changed a lot. Peter trying to live up to the name of King and makes some rash decisions. Edmund is so much different, grown up, more mature. Lucy is still the same, lovely and all and Su falls in love with a prince. Haha hope i didnt spoil too much for you ;)

For me, after watching the movie i feel like i want to read the book. Yeah i know, funny considering i hardly finish any book but i honestly feel like i want to read the book la. But something special about this movie is the way "everything" came together to fight for Narnia. The trees, the tikus, the centurs... everything even the sea came together to fight.

Aslan who was not very visible in this movie came at the right time to finish the work. I kind of felt thats the way we are, even though we don't see it. All of creation is created by God and is at our disposal, at his control, thats why the seas path ways when the people of Israel needed an escape from the Egyptians, thats why the ravens fed Elijah, thats why the donkey spoke to balaam. These "things" are under his control and they are all on our side.

I feel one day we will see all of creation coming together to fight the last battle against evil. I think it is going to be really cool and i thank God for this movie and for showing me that. Go watch it. I give prince caspian a 4.8/5.

~shalom~

iron man

How do you express excitement with words? I'm ecstatic from watching Ironman. It was for lack of a better word, amazing! I feel like going arrggh! And i can't believe how someone told me its not nice. Pleeease.

Ok the things i love. I love the technology, i mean wow. Even the window is a screen, the visuals were gorgeous, simply sublime. Yeah it was commercialised, what isn't these days? There was LG, apple cinema displays, and i think there was a Nokia somewhere there. There was also visible an Audi R8.

Unlike transformers that some machine action, this movie did waste time with a lot of dialog but even the dialog was quite funny and didn't really distract you from whats really important.

Alright to the story. So stark industries provided the milltary with the fire power they needed to protect themselves and keep the peace but some how the enemy God their hands on it and used it against mr stark himself. He went through and ordeal and decided something needs to change. That news was not welcomed by the stakeholders of his company and so there was a whole lot of fighting both in and out of the boardroom.

I'm being careful not to reveal too much for those of you yet to watch the movie but trust me its nice. I'll give it a 4.8 over 5.

~shalom~

10,000 BC

How do you like the new look? I'm still trying to fix a few things i don't like at the moment but its good to have a fresh look.

This evening i had the opportunity to watch 10,000BC with my friends. My first time watching a movie in the Cinema here in Miri.

First of all, forget what people say about the movie that its not nice, I won't go into details as usual but just to let that out up front.

The movie has a good story to it. A story of respect, honor and responsibility in early times. There's also the story of unfailing love and loyalty and that what i'll talk more about.

As the star does not move, so are my feelings for you. Who was it that says love conquers all? Love drove a man to defeat a great beast, to travel many difficult roads, rescue a spear tooth, make new friends, forged new alliances, defeated the gods and brought peace and prosperity. Love also cost the lives of a few good men, i guess love does have its tragedies.

We also see the story of oppression, slavery, idol worship and lust. If I won't have her you won't have her too. Its interesting the things love will drive you to do and the extent to which jealousy and lust can be destructive.

I like the ending, even though i don't believe in it, the girl was restored and became the mother of the new generation of hunters. In the end what did i get from the movie? When you love someone, it somehow gives your life purpose and direction and everything you do is then driven by that love that you have. Same thing can be applied to our relationship with people and with God. I will give it a 4.3 out of 5.

~shalom~

AVP 2

So on christmas day after the service we went to see AVP2. Not willing to just go back home and sleep on Christmas, i mean its christmas!

I watched AVP and thought it was an ok movie. Of course predator was way better with Arnie running around in the jungle with big guns and really sharp knives and stuff. AVP2 on the other hand pretty much sucked.

The story started out in space where an alien was running tests on other alien species and one of them escaped, killed him and crashed on earth where they went on a rampage killing every human they could find and using them as hosts to reproduce.

Then there was the alien who took it upon himself to eliminate the other aliens and any other humans in his way. Long story short, it just didn't make sense. It was just a movie about a bunch of people getting killed, beat up or beat up and then killed while there's the cliche chaos and no happy endings.

My christmas was good, the movie didnt spoil it but it earns a deserving 1.5/5 from me.

~shalom~

alvin and the chipmunks

I wasn't too pleased when I was told that instead of watching I am legend, we'll be watching Alvin and the Chipmunks. I used to watch the cartoons when it showed on tv and liked it. Those chipmunky sounds the little critters make. Think of the sound of Akon's song lonely times 3 with more melody and dancing. Man cg has come a long way.

I enjoyed the movie very much. It follows a very predictable theme of lost, found, taken, rescued, happy ending. Yay. I guess i'm getting old quickly, or maybe i need to loosen up and really enjoy myself.

Was talking to one of my close friends and she said I don't have much to say these days and I find that she's right. i dunno, the world just seems more serious these days.

Oh yeah the movie. What would you do when three talking beavers, sorry chipmunks follow you home in a basket full of stolen muffins? Show them off? Well that's what anyone would do, and that what Dave did and got disappointed when his once hysterical chipmunks became pitiful, possibly abused animal in front of other people. Think about the cute sorry face the cat in Shrek made time 3 with a scared demeanour, priceless :D

The rodents are cute and the movie was fun and funny. Good if you have young ones lying around with nothing better to do. So i give it a 4/5. And I was glad we didn't watch I am legend since i heard its quite boring.

~shalom~

the kingdom

The kingdom is about a story that we are all to familiar with, we see it everyday on cnn, youtube, al jezeera and other sources. Its a story of hate, of a few idealist who think killing others can be justified because of some religious obligation clouded by personal beliefs in cultural influences.

We'll kill them all, the phrase that drives the entire movie. Yes there's Jamie Fox and Jen Garner and they... well he acts well convincing the Saudi's to allow his elite team go investigate the killing of Americans in a Saudi camp who's only crime was enjoying a family time out in the baseball field in the glorious sunshine. Despite the restrictions imposed on them they were able to work pass that to get what they wanted, who they wanted.

I was really scared of the reality of people who will go all out to eliminate 'infidels'. Young, old, and the in betweens. I guess i'm glad i'm on God's side.

The movie does not feel like a movie, it felt quit real like something you would watch on a CNN report, the camera shakes a lot in some scenes which can make you dizzy but i was alright.

At the end of it, you don't feel wow that was a nice movie, you think, you are sober, at least i was. At the end of it you feel thank God I don't have to worry about a bunch of people trying to take me out when i'm enjoying a family time out.

Thank You God for the peace we enjoy.

~shalom~

hitman the movie

After playing the game though never completing it I was excited to learn only just recently that there's a movie coming out. Ok lets get the obvious out of the way, there's a lot of shooting, a lot of blood, some swearing and a few adult scenes though largely censored in the cinema.

If you like that game it would be easier to follow the movie although the story does not follow the game strictly but it uses elements from the game to form an ok movie. Yeah i said ok. I was not sure what to expect with the movie, i guess i was not disappointed at the same time it was not wowed either.

There are a few reviews around so as usual i will not try to write a review however I would just highlight some parts of it I found interesting. For one, 47 has a soft side. That is something you will not find in the game. In the games he's more focused having no family except the padre that was kidnapped, in hitman contracts. In this movie there's a girl and i'm not sure what her role was suppose to be in the movie but she made 47 have a soft side, stopping him from killing inspector Michael and for some reason her tattoo created some kind of bond being tattooed himself at the back of his head.

47 was contracted to kill this guy and he did but somehow it turned out to be s set up that saw interpol and the FSB looking for him. There was a witness to the assassination and thats where the girl comes in. Mr B who hired 47 and then framed him had a secret that only 47 and the girl knew about so it was no surprise that he wanted them dead but if the actor died there wouldn't be much of a movie now would there? I liked the way the movie progressed once the plot has been layed out.

But beyond the seriousness there were moments of humour and like all new movies these days i could spot at least one sonyericsson phone being used.

Overall it was a nice movie minus the violence. A solid 3.5 over 5.

~shalom~