Pic was taken @ Botanical Garden, Penang :)

30 November 2008

Movies in November 2008

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Cuti sekolah dan tayangan filem pun menerjah ke pawagam. Tak kurang juga filem yang keluar dalam bentuk DVD dan VCD.

Saya sebenarnya ingin menonton filem Twilight namun filem ini belum drakulat di pawagam pada hari tontotan. Jadi saya terpaksalah menonton filem kegemaran cinta hati saya 007. Nasib baik keesokkan hari filem Madagascar 2 berjaya menambat hati saya. Ini kali kedua saya membawa 2 budak kecil itu menonton filem. Legaaaaaa... mereka dapat mendisiplinkan diri. Mungkin cerita M2 itu menjadi tarikan mereka.


Quantum of Solace

They said they wanted to make "Bond for a new generation" but is that means James Bond has to be Jason Bourne? We now have the Bond franchise mimicking the Bourne franchise instead. How ironic!

They have taken away Moneypenny, Q, the gadgets, the humor and witticism, his "shaken, not stirred", the line "my name is Bond, James Bond." They even ditched the famous opening gunbarrel-sequence and you won't hear the James Bond theme right until the very end.

It's just an action movie with no character development. Meaning there is more action but the characterisation is integrated into both plot and action. Bond is once again on an emotional journey - forgiveness, believe it or not, is ultimately the quantum of solace of the title.
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Craig still owns the role impressively and Mathieu Amalric is one of the better villains with convincing acting skills. Olga Kurylenko not especially memorable female lead and Gemma Arterton as Agent Fields hold a small role that weak and stilted straight-out-of-stage-school acting.

There use to be a time when Bond movies where trendsetting... I MISS SEAN CONNERY!!!!!

Now that you played around with Bourne, can we have the original 007 back for Bond 23, please?

2.75* / 5*
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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

The animation is better, the story is stronger…

Madagascar is about the zany cast of characters and how they interact with each other and the conflict that is presented onto them. It's fun, entertaining and unpredictable movie that continues the zaniness that made the original a personal guilty pleasure of mine. (I haven't watch the original you know!)

The voice acting were decent. Alec Baldwin didn't have much of a chance to lend his comedic skills either. The penguins steal every scene they are in, no matter how mediocre the previous scene was. Cohen (as Julien) has an obvious knack for comedy and delivers every line perfectly, not bad at all. Ben Stiller had fewer chances at being funny, as they had to handle all the major slower moments. Chris Rock's role was surprisingly limited, especially for someone who did so well.

Better animation and hilarious humor makes this movie worth sitting through. And there were some ridiculous events going on in the movie. A shark out of water? A penguin in love with a hula bobble head? Even seems like Gloria (hippo) and Melman (giraffe) are in love? All of this silly and ridiculous humor equal big laugh out loud moments. This is a great movie for the whole family.

Ok everybody! You Got To Move It, Move It! I Got To Move It, Move It! He Got To Move It, Move It! She Got To Move It, Move It!

4.25* / 5*
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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

It is not much of a film - the same story as the previous ones and most of the stuff in the movie were taken from them as well. The movie itself is just a flat headed mess of bad visual effects with no soul.

Brendan Fraser was no life in his performance and looked if he was waiting from a call from his agent to get him out of the movie. Jet Li is about the only good thing about the film but he's hardly in it. Maria Bello looked goofy and miscast and the actor who plays their son makes Hayden Christensen from the Star Wars films look like an Oscar winner. John Hannah managed to bring some laughs but his trick is not as fresh as it was before and Michelle Yeoh does not really do much with her role.

It is obvious that Fraser didn't look happy to be in the movie and you can't blame him for looking miserable. He has no chemistry with Maria Bello, who was just awful (she's no Rachel Weisz, that's for sure) and he has even less chemistry with his own son played by Luke Ford, who looks just as old as both Fraser and Bello. Fraser has more chemistry with John Hannah, who is a welcome distraction from the lousiness of the movie.

This movie lacks the creepiness of the first two Mummy movies and the stone warriors of this movie don't hold a candle to the ghouls of the first two films at all. Not to mention the fact that the visual effects in this film look even worse than the second movie (The Mummy Returns). The movie itself seemed toned down in the fun and thrills and not to mention the dialogue, which seems like it was written by a five year old.

It fails at being entertaining. It doesn't live up to the first or even the second. It is boring, confusing and the characters are bland. It is just an all round failure and should be buried in the Tomb of the title, never to be re-awakened. The production seems did not even cared about what they were making.
2.5* / 5*


WALL-E

The best way to describe this movie is a science fiction, comedy, dramatic love story. Wall-E as a character has dimension, personality and heart... pretty impressive given that he is essentially a trash compactor. It is true that there is little dialogue in this feature but I personally did not feel it detracted from the story at all.

The animation is flawless. Absolutely flawless. Especially scenes on earth and the robots. It looks real. Much of the time it's hard to tell whether or not it is real. The few slightly-shaky styled shots that appear a few times in the film only makes the animation that much more amazing and realistic.

Thumbs up for Wall-E as well, he is such a cute and adorable character that you will fall in love with him immediately.

The story is brilliant. There are many little things in the film that have so much meaning. There are things that will be nostalgic to older viewers and things that younger viewers will love to look at. The movie is perfect for everyone. Literally, everyone. There are things in it every person can enjoy, no matter who they are.

You will remember Wall-E as you remember Ratatouille and Finding Nemo.

But if we were really becoming like the humans in the movie, how ironic it is… the organic human race has become soulless, mirthless, artless, jaded, self-centered in a machine of blind consumerism but yet still respond to their surroundings like a toddler or pet with curiosity, wonder and delight in communication. I really hope we will not becoming such human race. I still believe in human touching and contacts hehehehe

4.25* / 5*
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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Hollywood has done it again… turning Jules Verne masterpiece into something so incredibly boring! Where's the story? It just vanished into the thin air. The script is just awful. There certainly plenty of acting talent but it's too bad it was wasted on such a vapid screenplay but the sets are colorful and that's about it!

Brendan Fraser may not be the best actor but he still has the same charm that makes him likable in the Mummy movies. As did the newcomer, the Icelandic lady - Anita Briem. Somehow, I never seems to think of her coming from Iceland but she is worth to watch. She looked good with Fraser, neither added or took away anything from the movie, though. I suppose that can be blamed on the script as she is not well developed. Seth Meyers provided some laugh scenes at the beginning and end of the movie. Josh Hutcherson whose character was Fraser’s nephew is possible becoming a great young actor.

Overall, it was just the regular adventure-movie. It's so plain that parents will have nothing to worry about! This is the ultimate perfect film for small children.

2.5* / 5*
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Senario The Movie: Episode 1

Apa yang boleh saya katakan tentang filem ini??? Tengok sekali pun ok dah…

Ada beberapa babak lawak macam dibuat2 dan sedaya upaya dibuat2 supaya kita ketawa seperti babak 3 pelawak itu sedang berlatih untuk uji bakat mereka ; Azli menakutkan seorang budak kecil perempuan dan Lan pula sedang bercakap berseorangan di tengah jalan. Bagi saya itu antara beberapa babak yang sungguh nampak berlakon (apa aku cakap nih??? Pretentious kata orang Penang hehehe) Bukan salah pelakon tetapi mungkin skrip filem ini yang sedemikian.

Namun saya menyukai cameo yang dibuat berdasarkan filem MIG Production yang lain seperti Rem-It dan Jangan Pandang Belakang. I like Mat Rempit... hehehehe

Cuma harapan saya kalau sambungan episod 2 atau 3 nanti, lawaknya janganlah terlalu slapstick. Kasihanilah orang macam saya yang lebih gemarkan Harith Iskandar dan Jit Murad. :P

2.5* / 5* kerana filem Malaysia untuk Malaysia juga kan???? Kalau filem Hollywood sebegini saya bagi 0.5* sahaja untuk penat buat filem.





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Award by Solelymylife on 14 April 2009

Award by Solelymylife on 14 April 2009

Award by Solelymylife on 14 April 2009

Award by Solelymylife on 14 April 2009