want some popcorn to go with that movie ticket?

The Green Lantern Has No Shoes

2011-04-13T10:52:00.000+08:00

And so The Green Lantern has no shoes. Seen from these studio images of CG-suit on actor Ryan Reynolds, the folks perhaps decided that while the energy construct forms the outer-suit, it also decided to leave out "shoes". I know the Oan Gaurdians float in mid-air, but do they not know the concept of foot-wear? (Or were there no sneaker-sponsors?) *Those-Alien-Savages*

[Peep another pic on SuperHeroHype / via Breaking News USA]

PRIEST: Animated Prologue & A Bit of Manhua History

2011-04-10T14:26:00.002+08:00

Animated prologues are in! Taking a promo leaf off of the Sucker Punch animated series by Ben Hibon, the Korean-manga "Priest" gets adapted into a CG-fueled movie by Russian animation director Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Sym-Bionic Titan). Maggie Q does a video-intro and I'm already sold!

We previously blogged about PREIST on TOYSREVIL in 2010 circa SDCC. Here is the post, along with a little history of the story:

From Manhwa To Movie: Priest in 3-D:

Making it's "public" debut at San Diego Comic Con 2010 [tagged] was Screen Gems' PRIEST ~ a 3-D feature film adaptation of Korean manhwa / comic book created by Min-Woo Hyung. Starring Paul Bettany as "Ivan Isaacs" (Priest) and Maggie Q (as "Priestess" ~hur), and directed by Scott Stewart, "Priest" is scheduled for a May 13, 2011 release. Truth be told, it was the motorbike on show at SDCC which got my attention first LOL

[Event images via SuperHeroHype]

ABOUT-THE-MOVIE: Priest is an upcoming futuristic superhero vampire-western horror film loosely based on the manhwa, the Korean name for comics and print cartoons, of the same name. The film is directed by Scott Stewart and stars Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet and Maggie Q. [Wiki].

ABOUT-THE-COMIC: Priest (Hangul: 프리스트) was a manhwa (Korean comic) series created by Hyung Min-woo. It fuses the Western genre with supernatural horror, Gun fu, and dark fantasy themes and is notable for its unusual, angular art style. An interview with Hyung in Priest: Volume 3 states that the comic was inspired by the computer game Blood, which featured a similar horror-Western aesthetic and undead protagonist. Priest was published in English by TOKYOPOP. [Wiki]

DIFFERENCE-BETWEEN FILM-AND-COMIC:
Fans of the manhwa have voiced their heavy criticism against the movie regarding changes related to central storylines and core characters. Primarily how the protagonist and antagonists in the film have been altered. In the books, Ivan Isaacs was portrayed as a priest that turned into a demon possessed undead creature. In the film he's a human that's a priest and a vampire hunter. The books had him face a multitude of enemies, mainly demons, zombies, and angels with zero encounters with vampires. The main antagonist in the books was an angel called Temozarela. The film's antagonists are only vampires with a leader called Black Hat. [Wiki]

Actress Maggie Q is in it, so I'm absolutely fine with whatever differences to be had, IMHO.

Superbowl 2011 TV SPot:

The Social Network (DVD Review)

2011-04-10T13:47:00.004+08:00

Finally caught David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK on DVD (I was in Stroke when the movie premiered in cinemas, so gimme a break here lol) and as much as I did enjoy it, it was somewhat pedestrian and inevitably forgettable. I wish I could lord over it more - as everyone seemed to have had, along with a slew of film awards - but alas my attention is left wanting, when the film credits roll.

I have always been a staunch fan of Fincher's work, with Se7en and Fight Club et al firmly etched in my psyche (enjoyed Panic Room too but have still to watch Benjamin Buttons tho...), and am more amazed by this excessively "talky" film being captured and portrayed as such, as well the behind-the-scenes featurettes - which actually made me miss the days of filmmaking ... or rather, the "beautiful notion" of filmmaking anyways.

But perhaps my viewing of "making-of" diluted what I had felt for the film itself (the CG-element of the twins were such a surprise tho), as well the expectations heaped upon it by many a viewers, left me expecting more than what I saw, much more.

Or perhaps the "effortless" result of everyone's acting, put me off guard, and I could find nothing else on the screen to focus on, as immaculately banal and "regular" as the designs looked (the effort of which is only seen in the behind-the-scenes segment of the DVD). For sure Fincher crafts his scenes and shots, but perhaps this is the level of mature and exact filmmaking I have found myself currently less endeared to. Perhaps it spoke to YOU mores than it did me.

In the end, the film provided a slice of "reality" so close to the real world, the reel world product becomes a documentary about what we may or may not know of, or care about - even if we indulge in Facebook everyday, IMHO.

As remarkable, was that Social Network was shot digitally. Read more on Wiki.

RED (DVD Review)

2011-04-10T13:14:00.002+08:00

I was actually looking forward to watching this flick, first time I caught chunks of it while shopping for other DVD movies (in my then wheelchair, no less lol), as well featuring a trailer of which, on my TOYSREVIL blog.

I find myself fascinated with a concept of a comicbook mini-series story getting adapted into a full-length feature film. In the initial three-issue comic also titled "RED" (published in 2003/04 by Homage Comics - an imprint of Wildstorm), we had minimal dialogue from Warren Ellis, and always-sweet artwork from Cully Hammer, and featured the (mis)adventures of one retired agent "Paul Moses" (played in the film by Bruce Wilis). The comic never did go beyond the recruitment of other agents, like the movie did.

(BTW - both gents were credited in the movies' opening credit sequence too).

As much as I appreciated the spot-on- casting of Bruce as "Moses" (who else looked as good "bald"?), his constant whispering and calm+quiet demeanor was actually off-putting. His co-stars however, we great! Helen Mirren shined like the queen she was, as did the paranoid John Malkovich. Morgan Freeman had too short a cursory appearance, and Karl Urban was, well the ever-intense-faced "Karl Urban" from whatever film he has acted in.

[Production stills via SuperHeroHype]
The pedestrian romance between Moses and Sarah, Victoria's and Ivan, were distractions to the whambam-plot, but fair enough it provided excuses for scenes and plot-movements (what, they HAD to expand the 3-issue comicbook, didn't they? LOL)

Directed predictably by German film-director Robert Schwentke, I would dare claim this is highly enjoyable - mostly due to the senseless bullet casings expanded, and the efforts of the actors, Helen Mirren rocking them the most (as well Jon Malkovich) but ultimately forgettable, in a Hollywood slam-bang-sorta way. Decent watching tho, and don't forget your popcorn!

"RED" = means "Retired, Extremely Dangerous"

WIKI-LINKS:
- Red the movie
- Red the comic

PopcornX On Facebook

2011-04-10T12:16:00.001+08:00

"On a dark and stormy night, as the rain threatens to pelt mother earth with it's devious droplets, i shiver underneath a torn umbrella alongside the curbed urban belly of…" no wait! … "it was a sunny afternoon, clouds dancing against the blue skies, and birds chirping away a melody echoing at the back of my mindscape…" no, wait! …. "As I sat alone in my grotto of conundrums, I clicked away furiously on my laptop, memories of yesteryears still lingering…" no, WAIT! … aaaahh I just like to yak on about movies, is all :)

Join me on my dedicate Facebook page for PopcornX ~and let's talk movies :)

Green Lantern TV Spots Times Two

2011-04-04T17:09:00.000+08:00

Talk about a movie-PR-overload! The makers of the love-action GREEN LANTERN showcased a 4-minute teaser during WonderCon the weekend just, which was subsequently released to the public online via Apple.com. And not a day goes by when folks can breathe in the epic-nicity of the space-drama to come? We are bludgeoned with TWO TV Spots! And yeh, not to mention that new quad poster (first seen on the Apple.com page actually) … man, they are trying to turn the world "green" color aren't they?

Unscripted Sucker Punch - Featuring Emily, Vanessa, Abbie, Jena and Jamie

2011-04-04T16:51:00.003+08:00

This series of videos serve no other purpose than to see the ladies of Sucker Punch sans their on-screen reel costumes (no it does not mean they are nude) but dressed in real-world finaries, and yakking on about behind-the-scenes of the making of Sucker Punch. Seems the audio-synch might be off a tad, but hey, this is a series of gratuitous visual recordings of five attractive ladies, so chill and enjoy the eye-candy.

UNSCRIPTED 1

UNSCRIPTED 2

UNSCRIPTED 3

UNSCRIPTED 4

UNSCRIPTED 5

Sucker Punch Character Featurettes

2011-04-04T16:48:00.002+08:00

So have you folks seen SUCKER PUNCH yet? Regardless, here are a selection of video-featurettes showcasing each individual character from the movie, which you can essentially piece together IF you have seen the movie. If not? No worries, these are "story-free" moving visuals which you can fawn over and not need to cramp your brains worrying about the story. Yes, consider this a SPOILER WARNING of scenes to come.

BABY DOLL

SWEET PEA

ROCKET

AMBER

BLONDIE

Thor TV Spots

2011-04-04T16:42:00.003+08:00

Four numbers of THOR TV Spots released the day after WonderCon weekend in San Francisco (movies be taking over conventions more than SDCC it seems, and we be lapping them all up!) - each featuring edited scenes we have been seen before, and a coupla "surprises" (but none too drastic), and all featuring similar scenes from circumstances we have seen before. If it sounds like I am being a "whiney-wet-rag", then yeah, perhaps I am! I just want to see HAWKEYE in his costume, as seen in his cameo scene dammit ~ and I am not even a fan of the character! (Am such a sucker for hype, I disgust even myself... LOL).

But seeing one older spot on television (besides my smallassed laptop monitor) send me sum kinda goosepimples up and down my spine (moreso than the online variations), so perhaps that is a good thing? FORSOOTH!

TV SPOT #1

TV SPOT #2

TV SPOT #3

TV SPOT #4

Inception Impressionability

2011-04-04T16:32:00.003+08:00

I remember INCEPTION to be an absolute brain-screw, as I sat in the darkened cinema hall, and walking out with my skull bashed in with multiple pins. I remember missing the first 10 minutes of the film (which I am convinced that the beginning provides the answer to the end). And I remember the film provided an abundant amount of discussions between myself and my sister (who watched it with me), while we were having dinner afters (I no longer remember what we ate). The movie had made me think hard about what was real and what was make believe. And yes, predictably, the ending scene with the spinning top, provided loads of argument.

I remember all that and nothing else. Except for an intense Leonardo DiCaprio (who was more intense in Blood Diamond) and perhaps was more impressed by the stoic-nicity of Joseph Gordon-Levitt than anyone ever gave him credit for (I was a new fan after this flick). Other existed because they were scripted for (yes, even Ellen Page), and frankly that was all I had remembered, from Inception.

Inception screws with your brains and makes you question your reasoning abilities, but leaves not a mark, beyond a memory that i was a swell movie. And that's about it really. Will there be another movie like Inception? Perhaps. Perhaps there will be pretenders to the thrown. Will Inception be the celluloid legend that many claim to be? That is a question you know my answer for. What about YOU?

A while back, at the height of Inception's release and furor, much was made about it's story parallel to Satoshi Kon's earlier released animation PAPRIKA (for which I one the DVD of, an excellent film btw). And while I stand neither for or against whomever wrote what first, the mere fact that this concept is not original in the first place, stays with me regardless of the longevity of wither films. Brain-screws have been around since the days of Twilight Zone, and multiple-universed comicbook stories with faintly veiled excuses to crossover each comicbook companies. Satoshi had it assessable via animation (somewhat), while Nolan kept it obscure enough to fcuk with your thought-spaces.

For me, I remember Paprika moreso than Inception. But perhaps tis because I have watched Paprika twice (both on DVD) and do not own Inception on DVD, and do not plan to. Frankly, there are other more films that linger still in my memory-scape, and sadly Inception - as excellent as it seemed to be then - ironically was not that memorable enough for me.

[Inception Film credits on IMDb]

Immortals Panel @ WonderCon 2011 & Teaser Description

2011-04-03T23:46:00.001+08:00

A teaser trailer was showcased at WonderCon this weekend (alongside the panel posted above) and this is the excerpt from SlashFilm's report: "The trailer shows us beautiful women, including Freida Pinto as Phaedra. Shots of a huge showdown on a battlefield with thousands of soldiers, mythological weapons like fire whips and a bow and arrow which shoots laser-like arrows in machine gun-like rapid fire. A gigantic mountain collapses, a huge total wave coming towards land. There is a shot of the men fighting from an angle which appears to either be below the ground or if the men are suspended in air above the camera with the clouds upwards in the background. It’s beautiful, but I’m not sure whats going on. There is a lot of slow motion and tons of shots with computer generated backgrounds."

Expect the trailer to be released at a later date from Relativity Media. We've posted character posters here. Now here are some earlier released stills from the movie (via /Film).

This is a much longer Film Synopsis than the previously posted [via Latino Review]

“The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission.
“As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.”

Green Lantern @ WonderCon 2011

2011-04-03T17:38:00.002+08:00

We've shown you the toys and panel interviews for the live-action Green Lantern movie at WonderCon 2011 just yesterday, now Warner Bros releases the footage shown at the event, on Apple.com. And by the Oan-gods it is exhilarating! Mark Strong makes an awesome Sinestro, doesn't he?

The release of the footage above ("legit", btw) came a day after Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively appeared at a panel "live" in WonderCon (along with snaps of toys on display). Here are videos of the panel footage! (FYI: Audio goes dead at one point in Part 2, just so you know).

WonderCon Green Lantern Panel Part 1:

WonderCon Green Lantern Panel Part 2:

5+ Minutes To Opening Of Sucker Punch (Featuring "Sweet Dreams" by Emily Browning) SPOILERS

2011-04-03T17:37:00.001+08:00

First 5 and a half minutes of Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, featuring the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams" ~ as sung by Emily Browning aka "Baby Doll" in the movie. Essentially this is a montage of sequences that is the ONLY aspect of Sucker Punch that is filmed in it's "normality", sans the special juice fueling the madcap happenings of the much touted film. Theese series of screengrabs no doubt tells you want you need to know about what's going to happen next… or maybe not ... View the video to find out :)

I am also personally thankful for this video snippet, as I had neglected to really listen to the voice-over narrative when I watched it in the cinemas! LOL ! ..>Then the next question you might ask yourself is, whose voice is it exactly you are listening to?…

I would like to say this sets the pace of what to expect from "Baby Doll", but I have my theories that this may actually be the imaginations of Sweet Pea …. Full Movie Spoilers (and theories) HERE! But of course you can read the Non-Spoiler Review HERE instead :)

This Is A Spoiler Heavy Post About Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch

2011-04-03T17:36:00.001+08:00

A coupla days after my earlier-posted glowing review of Sucker Punch, I'm feeling a tad curious about what other folks may think of the film (although I still DO stand by my own review, thanks), and find a huge divide between the cinematic purists up in arms, against the selection of folks who enjoyed the ride for what it was, with not many folks actually straddling the fence. The "downfall of filmmaking" is most times a reoccurring threat, while most folks are in awe of the dragon, samurais and the girls in sexy wear, and that's about it really.

Interesting.

I've listed a selection (aka "not everyone is listed as I do not follow everyone on twitter") of review-links below, as well produced a small selection of "negative" points I have had about the movie itself, previous unmentioned in my earlier review (because I can no longer hold it in muahahahaha), now FULLY POSTED HERE AS SPOILERS! So please STOP READING AT THIS POINT if you do not want your view affected! Folks who have indeed watched the flick, please feel free to weigh in and geek-along with me :p

DO NOTE that all that is stated are of my own assumptions and impressions, without much research into the actual "behind-the-scenes" making-of the film, simply because I want to geekout and write some fun, and not compose a film-thesis. THis ain't that kinda blog, cheers :)

And no, none of the following might be in sequence, as frankly, there's no easy way to describe the movie ~ well, there IS the easy way, which everyone already has ~ but there is another level which geeks might see, but not necessarily the intention of the filmmakers.

FINAL WARNING TO STOP READING IF YOU HAVE NOT VIEWED SUCKER PUNCH!

(Okay, you have been warned!)

TIMELINING-IT: As a movie based on the 50-60s, you might wonder why anime-themed exo-suits and futuristic cities are imagined and manifested here? Don't think the director worried too much about that, and frankly, I do not think he ever needed to. There's a flying jet-pack looking like it's right out of Metropolis (the classic movie, mind) for gosh sakes LOL

The magic within the madness is what some folks see and embrace. Others ask "why", and hence cannot accept the notion, IMHO. But, if you've seen a few Stephen Chow comedies/movies from his early days, the timeline and constant conflicting conceptual conundrums here, are a cinch to embrace LOL

DANCE FOR ME: You will wonder where the cabaret dance sequences went to - if the teaser images had you leering for peeps, showcasing the girls and their lush … costumes … = No worries, you WILL get to see them, BUT until the very end of the movie! While after the key-credits roll, a montage of images show Carla and Oscar belting out the out-of-place campy-kitschy "Love Is The Drug" amidst a rah-rah musical performance that rivals that of GLEE. Hoping that sequence will eventually make it to the viewing public (somebody youtube that ,stat!).

But indeed if there ever WERE dance-sequences to be seen (especially Baby Doll's supposedly mesmerizing moves), then tis either a clever ruse to snip the takes, or just plain irritating, as that's what folks were looking forward to (do not lie, c'mon), but was necessary to attain a kid-friendly film-rating.

The costume design is divine. (Sorry, just an excuse to post the above pic). Blondie needs to be slapped hard for what she did tho … "street smart" my lardy-white-butt!

ACTINGLY: Frankly, the only three persons with actual character archs in the whole movie. They each get to flex their acting-chops (rather than just their "action moves") in a select variety of emotive states. Others somewhat breeze by with a grimace, a smirk, a determined look that does nothing to show their abilities.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW: You will realize that all that had gone on before in the entire show, was not exactly only Baby Doll's dream (she even said it outright at the carpark!) but was instead Sweet Pea's imagination piecing in the puzzle of what Baby Doll had achieve at the Asylum. Hence Bady Doll's sister's name and even the faithful event was never truly mentioned, and was perhaps conceived by Sweet Pea. Remember, there is also a point in the movie when ROcket asked Baby Doll if she ever had "family", but she did not answer? Might be the "dark haired" sister was either non-existent, or chosen to remain as a memory... but I digress...

COME AGAIN: What happened at the Asylum, probably did happen, but without the burlesque stage and costumes. The neck-stab wound was swell though. The lobotomy is quick cop-out which was the happy ending (one of it anyways) somewhat.

THE MEN KNOW IT: The bus-driver held the key to the movie. Everything else before then was partially an imagination from Sweet Pea's mind - so imagine the movie going backwards, with the few male characters being represented in the "dream sequences" (The bus driver as the Wise Man, the cook, the janitor as the Mayor, Blue in chic-suits).

Remember, Sweet Pea may well be screwed in the head (aka "drugged"), as we first saw her on the stage, in the "theatre" at near the beginning of the Asylum interiors. I reckon when Baby Doll and Sweet Pea exchanged stares/glances, their roles henceforth were immediately switched.

OLDER: And isn't it obvious Baby Doll is NOT "twenty years old" as scribbled by her step-father, simply because he wants to get jiggy with her after her scheduled lobotomy? I might be wholly wrong here, but what the step-dad wrote were never true in the first instance, is it?

Am still trying to figure out the "Oh, and one more thing" tagline came from, in context to the girls. (Can't remember now if the bus-driver said it tho...). Remember most times Sweet Pea and Rocket are "guarding" Baby Doll, so perhaps that was all Sweet Pea's own perception?

WHERE'S DA SEX?: You may wonder why an intense film like this actually has a PG-13 rating (in the U.S.) because none of the characters swear as filthily, and there were no sex even tho the girls looked sexy. There wasn't even much "pawing" of the ladies by the males (except for in the office). Where was the "Mayor's" hand craddling "Amber" booty? None! He had his hands oon her waist instead, for pete's sake!

Curiously, "Baby Doll" actually had a "nearly" sexy-scene with Jon Hamm's "High Roller" character in the movie. but was left on the dittoing floor, as the film needed to get a PG-13 rating. What a film THAT would have become! And frankly not something I might be interested in seeing (gosh do I sound like a prude now LOL). Read about it here.

iWONDER: You may wonder why this kind of film could ever get released, much less be made in Hollywood, amidst obvious luminaries like The Social Network, Inception et al ~ because NOW is the time to do it. NOW is the time folks will lap it up. Zack might be smart to do an octane-fueled film like this, but the studios are smarter to bankroll and back a film like this.

The posted teaser-videos in this post tout this flick as "Kill BIll Meets Inception" (can't see the quote credit source tho), but tis a claim I highly disagree with. Nowhere is this on the level of Inception cerebrally, and nowhere is this as bloody as Kill Bill. This stands on it's own no matter how folks slice and dice it, IMHO. Best description any film would need, is in the end of the day when the DVD is released, and it is placed under the "Action" tags on display shelves, innit? LOL

IN THE BEGINNING: Will this be the end? No, unfortunately this may yet be the beginning of the "end", if the box-office rings in the success, copies and likewise-maniacal parallels will spring forth to grab at the crown, and THEN, it would really mean the end of cinema. Just imagine 'B' to 'C'-grade flicks with names like "Sucked & Punched", "The Sucker and The Puncher" et al. Porn will have a field day with this property tho, and "Cosplay" will next switch into high-gear sensually. Can't wait to see what happens at SDCC this year tho, for when the DVD is ready! Read that somewhere, will link it when I remember when I read it laters).

Automatic gun-fire, slicing of enemies with katanas and generally killing everyone at the whim and word of a "Wise Man". This is their way of making a better life for themselves in the film, what more above-ground "morals" did you expect from this flick, in the first place? LOL

YAY
- First Showing
- Twitchfilm (Reviewed by Peter Martin)

NAY
- io9
- Twitchfilm (Review by Andrew Mack)
- Twitchfilm (Reviewed by Kurt Halfyard)

Sucker Punch Animated Short: Feudal Warriors by Ben Hibon

2011-04-03T17:33:00.000+08:00

With all the excitement of the Friday premiere of the movie Sucker Punch (and of publishing my review), the fourth animated short by Ben Hibon for the movie promo might have missed a few eyeballs … but fret not! For I am here with screengrabs! And as well a link to Apple.com for the original video source! Having already watched the movie, the stories in the shorts (particularly the one above) are somewhat more gratifying, and as well appreciated for, for not just stringing together restrung-scenes from just the movie! Enjoy :)

The Horns of Norse Gods: New Character Posters for THOR

2011-04-03T17:29:00.001+08:00

Tis all about the helms … and what you do with the horns or wings. Curiously, Thor has a hammer (somewhat like the spirit of a hardworking tradesmith), while his half-brother Loki, seems to have a staff (very swish and posh of him too). The divide is very clear, and the rivalry explicit, just hope the movie lives up to the intent. Would be interesting to see if Loki ever makes it as a 1/6-figure tho, with Thor and Odin being revealed thus far.

New poster images spotted on Latino Review (and we just posted about lacklustre poster images too). At the very least they are not the recycled front-faces we have been seeing ad nauseum in recent promos. THOR opens on May 6th, 2011.

Hammer? HAMMER? About That New Thor Movie Clip & Character Posters

2011-04-03T17:28:00.000+08:00

"New" clip from the Marvel Comic live action movie THOR features the Asgardian-God appearing on Earth disorientated an rambling like a mad God (too "cultured" a Norse God, for my tastes) amidst Earthlings consisting of one Natalie Portman. Do not ask if I am convinced, because a short snippet like this means nothing, and we've seen excerpts of this before. Event the news of Jeremy Renner as "Hawkeye" cameoing on this movie, could not move me. (Would be interesting to see his outfit tho, likened to his uniform in The Ultimates).

The new character posters posted above however, fall shameless behind on entertainment value of Rick Johnston's "Thor Story" posters posted below (spotted on Bleeding Cool). There are also new "quad" posters too (fancy language for "landscape format" which essentially reformats the exact same imagery.

Immortals by Tarsem Singh

2011-04-03T17:26:00.001+08:00

I am a huge fan of Tarsem Singh's visual decadence and imaginary. Ever since the epic brain-screw of The Cell, to the excellent breeze of The Fall, I had devoured each and every art directed frame. His sense of story-telling, while conventional and not too inspiring, does provide the framework in which the visual aspect of his movie-making, shine thru. And shine eye-gorgingly, it does.

I've read about his IMMORTALS in the past, with some hesitance to consider it, truth be told. Having scarred by the evocative "300" (for which this film shares the same producers, and hence the exact similar look to these posters) and the pedestrian "Clash Of The Titans" (the Worrington-flick, not the Harryhausen stop-mo classic), I am a tad tired of the "swords, sandals and man-skirts" schtick (for the time being anyways). And these character posters actually do not help it one bit. Now all I need are moving visuals ala teaser trailers to move me, yet again (I am easy like that :p). And seems a teaser (trailer?) was shown to the public during this weekend WonderCon in San Francisco, so maybe we'll get a look online soon?

Shown here are: Henry Cavill as Theseus; Luke Evans as Zeus; Kellan Lutz as Poseidon; Daniel Sharman as Ares; and Isabel Lucas as Athena. "Immortals" opens November 11th, 2011.

FILM-SYNOPSIS: "In Immortals, the ruthless King Hyperion (Rourke) leads his bloodthirsty army on a murderous rampage across Greece to find a deadly weapon that will destroy humanity. A mortal chosen by Zeus named Theseus (Cavill) must lead the fight against Hyperion and his evil army with the fate of mankind and the Gods at stake."

[Posters & Synopsis via /Film / via Fandango]

The Sounds of Sucker Punch

2011-03-24T18:23:00.003+08:00

[4:27mins Sampler of the Movie Soundtrack]
And while I am loathed to give away Spoilers for the Sucker Punch movie in my movie review (Non-spoilers review posted HERE), I feel my fellow-brethren's "pain" in Indonesia, who have yet to see a listing or premiere date of the movie. And while I am unable to rally everyone up for a group-viewing in Singapore (seriously wish I could tho), here are some song selections from the film ~ with the soundtrack listing from Music.IGN.com (released in the U.S.on March 22nd), and youtube embeds, for your collective audio-pleasures. The selection consists of uber-sweet mashups, remixed versions from their original past versions, as well the classics. Might have to make a trip out to snag the CD tho (I'm "old-skool" like that :p). Enjoy as best as you can, folks!

1. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" - Emily Browning
2. "Army Of Me (Sucker Punch Remix)" - Björk featuring Skunk Anansie
3. "White Rabbit" - Emiliana Torrini
4. "I Want It All"/"We Will Rock You" Mash-Up - Queen with Armageddon Aka Geddy
 5. "Search And Destroy" - Skunk Anansie
 6. "Tomorrow Never Knows" - Alison Mosshart and Carla Azar
7. "Where Is My Mind?" - Yoav featuring Emily Browning
8. "Asleep" - Emily Browning
9. "Love Is The Drug" - Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac

SWEET DREAMS - Emily Browning (30-sec Preview Only)

ARMY OF ME - Bjork feat Skunk Anansie

WHITE RABBIT - Emiliana Torrini

I WANT IT ALL / WE WILL ROCK YOU - Queen ft Armageddon

SEACRH AND DESTROY - Skunk Anasie

ASLEEP - Emily Browning

LOVE IS A DRUG - Carla Gugino & Oscar Issac
Additional Tunes:

PANIC SWITCH - Silversun Pickups

THE CRABHOUSE - Lords of Acid

And Your World Will Burn

SUCKER PUNCH (My Story-Spoiler-Free Movie Review)

2011-03-24T18:20:00.002+08:00

[I twitpic'd and twittered the image above, and stand by it]
From the moment Bjork's "Army Of Me" blared surprisingly out of the music player in the film, I knew I was "home", that the geek-doors to my life had opened and embraced me like a little manwhore ~ with it's every grit and textured-grime ~ fist pumping silently within my heart, a huge hiphiphurrah to director Zack Snyder (he of "300" - which everyone brags abut, and "Watchmen" - which everyone ignores on promos - all comicbook properties, no?), thanking him for being a geek, or at least knows what gets us geeks going, and blood chug-pumping.

Not that the opening sequence was a wasted trip, mind you, it was just that slightly 5 months ago I was downed with Stroke, and had not imagined then to be stepping into a darkened cinema, as I did today (my first after my Stroke), and it took a while for all the imagery and colors to soak into me - courtesy of "Sweet Dreams" by Emily Browning (who plays "Baby Doll" in the film) echoing in the background - and appreciate the deft story-telling shortcuts in a few key sequences without a word uttered. In a way, the "ending" of which perhaps explains the treatment of the opening sequence somewhat, but I am getting ahead of myself …

Here are my thoughts about the movie SUCKER PUNCH - watched on March 24th @ 12:45pm Singapore-time (right after my rehab this morning LOL) at Cathay cinemas in EHub, Pasir Ris (my fav place to watch flicks actually, you can't beat 15mins away by bus, yo).

I cannot say "you will either love or hate it", as that would be too simple a cop-out clause. Simply put, this film is not made for naysayers of the genre, or of being against Zack's filmmaking-style ~ I personally dig it to effin-bits, and hope to geek along with folks who do too.

Do note that this review-post is practically SPOILER-FREE (this one instead has hidden spoilers). Mild spoilers, mind you - as the film needs to be seen to believe, for the naysayers - but spoilers nevertheless :)

["Bosses" to kill, just like in the video-games, Wirework on overdrive!]

The illusionary aspect of the show, was such a simple ruse, which mindfcuked you till near the film's end, when things which seemed not what they had seemed to be, actually ringed true with an echo of cathedral bells, and what a surprising sense of triumphant that seemed. Without giving away any story clues, remember the opening voice over narration (can't remember the worse tho LOL) and the end would be such a sweet recap, if and when you recognize it, and the voice which spoke it. Cliched story-telling? Without a single shred of doubt. Cheesy plot-happenings? Who did not expect it? A slice of brilliance for nearly 2 hours? A sure bet. The end resolution IS the "sucker punch", as cliched as it may seem, but we don't care as much, because getting there, was quite the awesome-trip, IMHO.

But hey, if the end credit sequence was THE "sucker punch"? Hell, I'll be infuriated actually! LOL

Do not be expecting to find the answers to the Universe with this popcorn-flick (make that three boxes please! With butter!), and do not even think the story and plot will astound and awe you. Just go along for the celluloid-ride and choose to be manipulated into thinking and imagining what the film wants you to do (and believe you me, you do imagine quite a lot ~ along with BabyDoll, of course) and let the plot-endings take a little of your breathe away, and even leave you grimacing and smirking (it did me). But it was all worth it. Well, except for the end credit sequence, and the cheesy montage sequence and music - to which a small sum of promos have been teasing, to which you'll find it "WTF? This is it?". Yes, I did too.

Hot girls in skimpy clothing (real and imaginary). Blarring ammo with cases of bullet liken a traveling vacation of waterfall. Blade action a slice of paradise clean and quiet. In-you-face-punches (not kungfu chop-socky too!) CG-fest to test your attention-endurance and geek-tolerance, and a signature by now of Snyder's - the ridiculously inspired and awesome song / music choices, which has little to nothing to emote with with the visuals you see before you, but hella rocks your world! (Check out the soundtrack listing HERE). Yes, even his slow-motion-action was done with restrained-pizzazz and panache, which delighted more more than it irritated me.

A road movie with an imaginary path, mashed-up with a heist movie, all within the space of the locale in this story, and in your mind. This may not be brilliant, but this sure is excellent. I loved it when I read that Zack Snyder referred to Sucker Punch as his version of a "Heavy Metal" movie (the adult graphic novel series, not the audio genre / Read more on ComingSoon.net) and this is exactly what it was, infused skin-deep with kawaii anime tradition, and the honest-to-goodness concept of first-person videogame sensibilities. This is a movie for this generation of youths and pop culture-addicts. Not, let me rephrase that, this is one of THE movies to watch, and be vindicated of all your years of geekdom, silent or otherwise celebrated.

And in that respect, the B-52 Bombers, the bi-planes and exploding zepplins, the dragons, ogres and medieval knights, the robots, the giant samurai-styled warriors, the mechanized exo-armor-suit = all made perfect sense. and what a guilty-pleasure they were indeed!

[The tactics and precision in which they performed while armed, puts loads of cursory
whambam guns-on-show-flicks to shame. These girls rock with the automatics, yo!]

Will I watch it again? Hell yes. Will I buy the DVD? Count on it. I've covered it at length on TOYSREVIL, and as well relished and appreciated the promo animated shorts (swell promo-concept btw), and I've even reviewed the "Art Of The Film" book. Now I am aching to have the figures and whatever numbchuck products and memorabilia they might throw at me (but doubt this will ever happen, and perhaps my attention may fade as well when I wake up from my dreams, so do not going counting my words as concrete LOL), because like the "NOW" generation we live and breathe in, it may well be forgotten as soon as the next big thing arrives, but the echoes ring deep for this one, for this one is a keeper, if you can remember it, that is.

Oh, and one other thing…..

Not all will survive, and one will be set free.

[SPOILER: *The Opening Sequence in the trailer above is the opening segment for the film*]
(Text from the top-image reads) TOYSREVIL-SAYS: There is simply no other way to put it, Sucker Punch rocked my geekoid world drenched in awesomeness and drizzled in abject brilliance of a first-person videogame of my mindspace. Yes , the girls are hawt too. I am entertained. I am sated. I am in awe. I LOVE.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Trailer 2

2011-03-22T14:36:00.002+08:00

I admit, I actually throughly enjoyed the "Pirates Of The Carribean" movie series (never been on the Disneland ride tho, never been to Disneyland actually) and it's always been an entertaining ride with what I reckon is THE definitive role for actor Johnny Depp in his entire filmography (hey, I have more folks invoking the name "Jack Sparrow" mores than any other names, mind - tree story). But when they mentioned Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly would not be back for the fourth installment of the trilogy (no, wait…), I shed a silent tear (for Keira, but thanks gawks they got Orlando out of the way LOL) … nevertheless, we have "Blackbeard" on board now, as well actress Penélope Cruz = tis a "win" for me, anyway the sails turn!

[Snaps via Shaw FB]
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides stars Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Sam Claflin and Geoffrey Rush. The movie launches May 20th, and May 19th in Singapore.

But can we please get a toy OTHER than "Jack Sparrow"? LOL

PLOT: Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed adventure. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica, he's not sure if it's love—or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable Pirate Blackbeard, Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past. [Wiki]

A First Look Behind the Scenes of Deathly Hallows - Part 2

2011-03-19T12:11:00.003+08:00

A First Look Behind the Scenes of Deathly Hallows - Part 2 [HD edition] courtesy of Warner Brothers. I've yet to watch Part One (down with Stroke, I was) and really hope to catch at least the DVD before Part 2 arrives in Singapore ~ hey, I quite like the Harry Potter-movies = this a series where kids die, ya know? Release Date in the U.S. is 15th July 2011. The trailer for Part One is posted below.

http://www.facebook.com/harrypottermovie

Sucker Punch Animated Short: Dragon by Ben Hibon

2011-03-18T19:16:00.000+08:00

After the wildly enjoyable "The Trenches" animation, Ben Hibon continues with the next short inspired by Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, with DRAGON! Heathen Medieaval Knights and Fanatically-Religious Orcs, and a curse of the fire-breathing dragon guarding the gate ~ maaaaan, karma's a real bitch, innit? LOL

Here are some screengrags and as well check out the full high-res version on Apple.com. Here's the official website again: http://suckerpunchmovie.warnerbros.com :)

Sucker Punch Animated Short: The Trenches by Ben Hibon

2011-03-17T00:11:00.001+08:00

This Animated Short inspired by the new movie Sucker Punch is titled "The Trenches" where viewers get to see the war through the eyes of one of the soldiers, chucked deep within the trenches, where dead soldiers are reanimated via factory production-line tech and thrust back into the battlefield? GLORIOUS! Done by Swiss animation director Ben Hibon (Remember his Codehunters?). I certainly did not expect this! Are we be going to see more of these shorts? I certainly bloody hope so!

[Source: MTV]

I Am Not Kissing Zack Snyder's Ass / Disney Punch Mash-Up Trailer

2011-03-16T19:03:00.002+08:00

[Excellent Disney Punch Mash-Up Trailer spotted on Filmoo]
As i attempted to explain what the movie "Sucker Punch" was to my Chinese-educated acupuncturists, I realized I had been dwelling in my own make-believe world and blog for far too long.

"It's about a group of girls, orphans, who band together to fight monsters and dragons, in a magical fantasy sci-fi world".

And I believe that be the core gist of the movie actually! And as well that there are specific elements of game-play (like triumphing thru adversity in varied levels aka worlds) and even a musical ooh-lala-element in the cabaret segment of "reality". ("The Art Of The Movie" gives away quite an amount of geographic-concepts actually). And that's about what to expect what Sucker Punch has to offer, and oh yes, not to forget zombies, knights, WW2-zepplins, samurai warriors and a whole lotta robots. Who can ever deny this is a geekboy's wetdreams come true?

[Actual page-snaps will be posted soon!]

A whole lot of skeptics warn of the possible downfall of the film, to which I might even agree, but in the end, tis the visuals and notion that grabs my attention, and perhaps is the forte of director Zack Snyder, no doubt a person who understands geekology, and perhaps even lived it.

300 still held fond memories, and as well Watchmen required an acquired taste. The slow-mo overload has become a trademark of his films, and frankly they do not seem as irritating to me than they were before (John Woo utiiized that and flying pigeons to utterly irritatingly effect tho, and as well The Matrix movies utilized it to stunning effect LOL). Before even watching Sucker Punch, I am strangely looking forward to his SUPERMAN reboot too ~ do you see the obvious pattern immerging? Comicbook movies will be and are his playground, because he knows what turns on us geek-boys (Or I'd really like to think so).

I am not looking for celluloid genius. I am not searching for the answer to the universe. And as sure Zack might not now be within the pantheon of Ridley Scott and David Fincher (my two uttermost fervent favs), he seems to have carved out a niche amongst his film-decisions, and I reckon I am grateful for that, and I am grateful to be entertained, within my geek-realms where loads of other folks have failed to do, all these years.

No, you do not have to agree with me. That's the beauty of it, isn't it? :)

Cheers
Andy

P/S: The conversation started, as I had mentioned I hope to be able to be better by months' end, to be able to catch a movie in the darkened theatre. And I was asked what movie I was looking forward to watching, admist having acupuncture needles being embedded into my leg LOL

New Full Trailer of Super8 Movie from Director J.J. Abrams

2011-03-11T23:04:00.002+08:00

Director J.J. Abrams's SUPER 8 movie finally sees a full trailer, while revealing nothing at all of the "monster" (and hence avoiding the hoopla which surrounded Cloverfield, or perhaps folks be tired of rooting for monster-reveals), the trailer sets the tone and pace of the movie with it's retro-visuals, and yes, it looks real nice. The film's cine-cred is further bolstered by the crediting of Steven Spielberg as the "producer". Further "name dropping" includes having the "cargo" being transported via train enroute to "Area 51". Am liking the stark contrast between the hi-tech recording ability of Cloverfield in the modern age, versus the low-tech non-recoding ability (except for the Super 8 camera in question) of the late 70s = How cool is that? …. What? Train got derailed? And Cargo Escaped? Not so cool for the folks involved, innit? (Way cool for us tho muahahahaha)

Check out the movie via it's official website @ http://www.super8-movie.com, and was well their twitter stream @Super8Movie, where this trailer was twit-unveiled via twitvid online! Shown below was the TV Spot shown during SuperBowl in the States (also viewable in HD here). Super 8 releases June 10th, 2011 in the U.S.

PLOT: "Set in 1979 Ohio, a group of six young children use a Super 8 camera to make their own zombie movie. One night while filming near a remote stretch of railroad tracks, the children witness a truck collide with an oncoming train leading to a catastrophic derailment. Amidst the fire and destruction, something inhuman emerges." [via Wikipedia].

Sucker Punch: New & Retro-Styled Character Posters + International Movie Posters

2011-03-07T14:03:00.001+08:00

A delicious round of images from Zack Snyder's SUCKER PUNCH, fueled with pretty women, fantasy adventure and comicbook-imagery as well as a set of off-kilter retro-themed posters. Above are a selection currently downloadable via the movie's official Flash-bludgeoned website http://suckerpunchmovie.warnerbros.com/. Expect more promos to come leading to the film's launch by end-March (International folks have begun to post about their set visits, so you know the embargo's lifted and time is ripe for promos).

Directly posted above are retro-styled character posters originating from Kino Gallery, which I dearly lurve but are somehow veering a bit away from the movies' imagery (even though they feature the same grrrls in a quasi-WW2 setting). Below are a few random non-English text posters from around the world. Excited much?

With the host of movie imagery traveling thru the web, I reckon folks and I would have zero issues with the "fantasy" dream-scenes, and am looking forward to the dark and dank "reality" the movie has to offer (which, I hope relishes in the vibe of Zack's previous "Watchmen" movie). Sucker Punch launches March 25th, and guess what month this is? MaaAAARRCCcchhh!

Conan The Barbarian 2011

2011-03-07T14:01:00.001+08:00

Tis been a while the movie-scape has gone "skirts and sandals", with the recent "Persus" being one of the few pics which feature nekkid hairy man-legs (Prince of Persia doesn't count does it? The hippy-hero wore leather pants, didn't he?). Memorable flicks akin include "Troy", and of course the ultimate, "Gladiator".

And while most above deal directly with historical and mythical characters, we have yet to see "fantasy" characters done justice. One of such characters is "Conan The Barbarian". Sure we had our beefy Arnold Schwarzenegger movies from the 80s (Conan The Barbarian and Conan The Destroyer), as well our fair share of laughter (have you seen the musical yet?) but I have yet to see justice done to the Robert E. Howard-written sword-and-sorcery creation. I had actually expected the films to be more, well, "barbaric", innit? Fair enough there are limits to film-ratings and tolerance, but a lame-Conan might well be a regular television matinee.

["Hear The Lamentation of the Women"!]
And while the burning houses spotted on Shockya fuels the notion, the Empire magazine page scans spotted on SuperHeroHype of "Conan The Barbarian" itself (by way of Conan Movie Blog), reminds me of nothing BUT a tv-series, by way of Hercules or Xena the Warrior Princess. But hey, I am being unfair, as being "Ronon Dex" on tv's Stargate: Atlantis, he seemed to do well enough.

The muscled man with thick man-titties and a rock-star haircut (Motley Crue would be proud) is seen here brandishing his fancy sword with aplomb and panache, while sporting a weather proof mascara ~ or I am simply reading too much into these magazine scans? No doubt this might bring more of the younger generation into cinema seats, as Jason Momoa looks like a swell-slice of a quasi computer-game-generated "Conan", at the very least in the glamor page-shot. Catch the 3D-motion poster on http://conanthebarbarianin3d.com. Sorry, posted here is a still-version instead (the moving clouds does not mean much to me LOL / above image-right).

"Conan the Barbarian" is directed by Marcus Nispelv(2004's "Pathfinder"), and stars Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Bob Sapp, Leo Howard, Ron Perlman, Said Taghmaoui and Rose McGowan. The movie is scheduled for an August 19, 2011 release, in 3D. Hey, you mention Rachel and Rose, and that put a smile on my face :)

Seeing Star Wars

2011-02-25T22:17:00.002+08:00

Listening to this 1999-released Japanese "Miko Disco" version of the Star Wars theme, suddenly reminded me of the first time I saw "A New Hope" (although "back then" it was just known plainly as "Star Wars") in a darkened projection hall in the then hostel cinema on the campus of Nanyang University (now possibly demolished in NTU venue, I never did check) and being enthralled in it's visuals. I must have been a young kid at that time, and thinking back, I might not have fully understood what I saw then, and it was not until much later when I watched Revenge of the Jedi, did I truly appreciate what I had seen before.

Decades later, The Phantom Menace managed to start to sully the sci-fi lore for me, with Revenge of the Sith, putting a certain finality to the series (I reckon seeing Darth Vader forming made the real difference), which started with one of the "original" celluloid trilogies. As different an experience as it is for different people, curiously I wonder if any of you folks reading have actually seen the very first Star Wars movie?

Third Trailer for Sucker Punch: Trailer Painter & Featuerette

2011-02-23T10:50:00.003+08:00

Third music-fueled movie trailer for director Zack Snyder's SUCKER PUNCH (also viewable in HD on Yahoo!Movies / via First Showing) - featuring the track "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups (cheers to Ritzy Periwrinkle for the headsup!). Yes I am still excited than I have ever been, even more so when I chanced upon this featurette (posted below - I heart featurettes) on YouTube (circa Dec 2010):

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (TV Spots, Screengrabs & Synopsis)

2011-02-21T23:14:00.002+08:00

I will not lie. I nearly man-weeped at Transformers 1, especially when Blackout first turned from helicopter to Decepticon and laid an air force base to waste, the cartoon-sound effect of his transformation as evocative as the EM-pulse embraced the base and crushed the control station's windows … then T2 happened, and I was underwhelmed unto disgust, I will not lie. Then I have been seeing trailer and tv spots for TRANSFORMERS: Dark Of The Moon (aka T3 / www.transformersmovie.com), and my faith for director Michael Bay, had returned, with both excitement and desire for giant effin' robots!

The above is a "Nascar Daytona 500 TV Spot" spotted on Topless Robot, while the other Super Bowl TV Spot and earlier teaser, is simply just breathless … One day I might post about the toys too (but they tend to disappoint, so I'll stick to the videos for now :)

Super Bowl TV Spot:

Teaser:

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (First July premiere): The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle. (IMDb]

"The Autobots Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide and Sideswipe led by Optimus Prime, are back in action, taking on the evil Decepticons, who are determined to avenge their defeat in 2009s Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. In this new movie, the Autobots and Decepticons become involved in a perilous space race between the U.S. and Russia, and once again human Sam Witwicky has to come to the aid of his robot friends. There's new characters too, including a new villain in the form of Shockwave, a longtime "Transformers" character who rules Cybertron while the Autobots and Decepticons battle it out on Earth. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is expected to hit theaters July 1st, 2011 in Real D 3D and IMAX 3D."

Battle: LA (Final) Poster & Movie Stills

2011-02-21T22:45:00.003+08:00

IGN posts the final BATTLE: LA movie poster. It is nice. As well grabbed a few movie stills featuring basically destruction of mankind (or rather, the city of Los Angeles), as well a sewer-snap, of a bunch of soldiers waddling in shitwater towards some action, more likely eventually discovering the alien hive. "Why" the Marines would ever do such a silly thing, perhaps is what the film is about.

Funnily and admittedly, as I was prepping images for this particular post, I had actually looked forward to see how the general masses get slaughtered by the aliens ~ not because I deplore humanity, no! ~ but because you know for a fact that they are nameless in the movie, and are simply there to be ray-gunned and disintegrated! Muahahahaha ! Hey, tis an alien invasion and genocide, innit?

Second Official Trailer for Thor

2011-02-18T16:55:00.000+08:00

Thor got tazered! ahahahahaha And I love that Thor does actually speak his native tongue amidst the mortals, and should like an mentally-challenged man. now THIS I like! This has been a presentation of the live-action THOR movie from Marvel Comics, for which this is the second official trailer of ~ Forsooth!

FYI: THOR has been covered on the TOYSREVIL blog here, starring Chirs Hemsworth as "Thor", and Anthony Hopkins as "Odin". Natalie Portman as the mortal "Jane" helps the movie shine, as far as I am concerned :)

Here's the Super Bowl TV Spot recently making it's round on the internets (posted on TOYSREVIL early Feb):

Pages from The Art Of The Film by Zack Snyder by Titan Books

2011-02-18T12:48:00.003+08:00

Hong Kong-based Neon Punch generously shares pages from the Sucker Punch: The Art of the Film by Zack Snyder hardcover book (available at Amazon) featuring behind-the-scenes,production designs and as well portrait photography of Clay Enos (dude who did Snyder's WATCHMEN movie). Yes, basically everything which I gag for! Check out the pilfered-page snaps posted here (althop we did not grab all the pics tho ;p).

The book releases February 22nd, and yes, did we mention about the "Special Edition" of the book? Info at bottom of post :)

Seems in addition to the "Regular Edition of the hardcover mentioned above, there is yet an existence of a SPECIAL Edition, as featured on artist Alex Pardee's blog, where for US$75, you will be able to possess the book in a hardcover case, which also includes an additional signed Giclee print (With one of Alex's designs in stark black&white), and the director Zack Snyder's autograph. Amazon has the Titan Book on order, limited to 750 editions only.

Grammy Awards TV Spot for Sucker Punch

2011-02-18T12:44:00.003+08:00

MTV Blog posts the above new TV Spot, as seen in the recent Grammy Awards. Director Zack Snyder sures has gotten my attention here! Who could ever argue with cute ladies with cuter short skirts, giant robots and unlimited ammo? Cosplay-fest on an anime adrenaline-rush? SUCKER PUNCH the film premieres March 31st.

FYI: I have been all over Sucker Punch The Movie on my TOYSREVIL blog for a while now, and with this post, I carry over the madness to PopcornX! muahahahaha

Superman On The Cover of Entertainment Weekly

2011-02-18T12:20:00.002+08:00

From "intense speculation" to "printed fact" ~ Entertainment Weekly has on the cover of their Feb 25th issue Brit-actor Henry Cavill, who will star was "Clark Kent" aka SUPERMAN, in the new reboot-movie directed by Zack Snyder. Yes, we are all pretty quick to forget Bryan Singer's version (sorry Brandon!). Nevertheless, the new ish covers the new guys in spandex (or "superhero suits") Green Lantern, Spider-Man and The Dark Knight! Below is the entire write-up found in my inbox, for which you can read more at online via Popwatch.EW.com - althoiugh nothing beats buying the book - hey! I used to be a fervent fan and collector of, okay? LOL

NEW YORK – Henry Cavill is Hollywood ’s newest superhero thanks in part to an all-star team of filmmakers (including Christopher Nolan and Zack Synder) that are set to relaunch the truest and bluest of all superheroes: Superman. This week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly brings an exclusive look at the British man in tights, whose career may break the speed of sound.

To become Hollywood ’s new Man of Steel, Henry Cavill had to pass the Laugh Test. To wit: Could he wear the Superman suit without anyone giggling? And not just any Superman suit. To shoot his screen test last month, the 27-year-old British actor donned a replica of the costume Christopher Reeve wore in director Richard Donner’s classic 1978 film. By today’s standards, those sky blue spandex threads with the iconic S shield on the chest look dated—and hence an effective yardstick for the team now charged with making Superman fly for 21st-century moviegoers. “If you can put on that suit and pull it off,” says director Zack Snyder, “that’s an awesome achievement.”

As an assistant helped him into the suit, Cavill was feeling less than super. He certainly has the face for Superman—solid chin, defined cheekbones, piercing eyes, dark hair. He’s also 6' 1" and radiates intelligence, maturity, and all around good-guyness, though he’s too humble to say so himself. But Cavill worried that the rest of him wasn’t up to snuff. He had recently lost the muscle tone he gained to play a loincloth warrior in the mythic fantasy "Immortals", due this November. “All I could think was, Oh, God, they’re going to look at me and go, ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance,’ ” recalls Cavill, best known for playing Henry VIII’s buddy Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors. “The actor inside me was going, ‘You’re not ready! You’re not ready!’ ” Snyder saw something different. “He walked out and no one laughed,” says the director, a geek pop idol for his work on Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen. “Other actors put that suit on and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, ‘Wow. Okay, this is Superman.’ ”

And with that, Superman’s Hollywood relaunch is up, up, and almost away; shooting on the as-yet-untitled Warner Bros. film begins this summer under Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan (whose two Batman flicks have grossed nearly $1.4 billion at the box office worldwide), and screenwriter David S. Goyer, who also wrote Batman Begins, three Blade films, and Dark City. The result of their collaboration, due late next year, will be a must-see event, one the studio hopes will leave audiences in a must-see-more mood.

Arkham: The First Sneak Peek at Dark Knight Rises?

2011-02-18T12:04:00.006+08:00

The existence of this "sneak" of the external main entrance to "Arkham" has it linked to a set from the third Batman movie, uninspiringly titled" "The Dark Knight Rises" (courtesy of io9.com) which springs to mind a myriad of thoughts, chief of which is that this might be the reason than a slew of folks have been casted (or rumored to have been) for the film, including Anne Hathaway as "Selina Kyle" (aka Catwoman? Seriously?). Someone asleep me to trust in Chris Nolan, to which I answered; "I respect the guy. I do not trust him still." (Or some derivation of, somewhat less fancy, on tweeter and within 140 characters). Am trying very hard not to think of Nolan's excellent INCEPTION tho, but it would be nice to finally see the celluloid minds of the super-powered and criminally insane folks of Arkham Asylum, accurately depicted on the silver screen, even if they are cameos!

"Arkham Asylum" also denotes a particular memory for me, and it is bound to the 2D-realms, to the hardcover graphic novel, as painted by Dave McKean, and written by Grant Morrison, published way back in 1989. I still remember getting the book alone, was as well an epic adventure to (I scored only the second print). What is appealing for me, is that the current darker, realistic tone of the films, somewhat mirror that of the comicbook, some 15 years ago. If you have not read the GN, go get it soon from the library or buy it. The film may take some time to come anyways :)

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie Official Website Launched

2011-02-15T13:02:00.001+08:00

"Web-site", gddit? Web? Nevermind :p

Introducing the official website for the new SPIDER-MAN big-screen "reboot" (yes, there seems to be a hyphen) @ http://www.TheAmazingSpiderMan-movie.com/, featuring not links beyond a jazzed-up snap of the web-shooter posted above (*THWIRP* added by myself ;p), and speaking of "web-shooters", seems the mutant arachniac will be utilizing mechanical ones in this movie? (Forgot where I read that news-nugget tho). No teasers nor trailers as yet, but seems the behind-the-scenes sneaky-snaps by a variety of sources sees a spandax-clad stuntman running around jumping on cars and robbers. No I will not post them here, as I realize they may well put a dent on expectations on the upcoming movie, and we KNOW how color-corrections in post makes tinges a whole lot better, don't they? (I remain in hope). Shown below is another stills-release, of a gone-and-f**ked-up Spidey, for your considerations.

THere's also the Spiderman movie Facebook page for info as well future grabbing of movie stills, if need be. Produced by Columbia Pictures, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN premieres in theaters July 3rd, 2012.

"Actor Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man (via @SHH) in the big-screen reboot of the successful franchise (by Sam Raimi, starring Toby Maquire as "Peter Parker"). I really do not see the need for a reboot, but I reckon with this "new" possibly-Ultimate version, the franchise begins in school and may well drag on much longer, and no doubt keep the cash-tills ringing, and of course fanboys around the globe in geekery-glee .. hopefully…"

[Blog-commentary first posted here]

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

2011-02-11T21:18:00.003+08:00

REVIEW-POST-CONTENTS:
- Character / Acting commentary
- Minimal Plot / Story Reveals
- Minimal Character Arcs / Developments
- Viewed in Cinema in 2010

With the title "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" this movie had a heck of a long title to remember, but I ended up remembering the film and characters instead, even after viewing it in 2010. A few obligatory news-info and tidbits to get everyone up to speed: This film is adapted from a mystery novel by Lin Qianyu, and is the result of a co-production between China and Hong Kong, from a screenplay written by Chen Kuofu. Celebrated HK-director Tsui Hark returns to helm the movie (after his urban outing "All Aobut Women"). Interestingly, Sammo Hung was credited for both Fight Choreography and Art Direction for the film.

Watching Detective Dee, I had this weird sense of both wonder and pride, at how far Chinese filmmaking has gone, and at the same time, why it never left the stratosphere. Make no mistake, Director Tsui Hark did an excellent job on this kungfu-slash-CSI-epic (cliched indistinguishable fighting closeups notwithstanding) with Andy Lau decently (finally) casted in this outing, as well the gorgeous Li Bing Bing as Jing'er - exuding the chambers and allure of Ling Qing Xia at many an occasions (i swore I could see cleft-chins). Even the guest casting of Teddy Robin was a treat (go wiki him)! Let's not forget the emotive performance of Tony Leung Ka-fai as "Shatuo" - the only thespian walking amongst these entertainers. Everyone else was rudimentary, as they were going to die eventually from the get go.

Speaking of walking dead, Deng Cao's role as the albino-sque "Longhai" had me puzzled for quite a duration of the show. Neither memorable in looks or character design (besides the irritating thick makeup), nor distinguishable from the commoners (gotta dig his platinum's, yeh? Heh), I had expected him to die a wretched death much, much earlier in the show. Irritating twerp he had tried to be in his role, I could not figure him out to a person with an albino-syndrome, or a pasty-white eunuch-come-minor official, in this film. It was only until his death-by-suntan near the end of the flick, that got me missing him a tad (and what a hero's death too!). And if you forget or know not the actor, do not blame yourselves here. But he sure had the rad-est of weapons though!

One other character of contention, was Carina Lau's stint as "Wu Zher Tian" The Empress of China. I had watched Detective Dee with the Heng Family (ie with Dad, Mum, Bro and Sis) and everyone felt Carina's turn was insipid and decidedly "non-regal" (although the "chubby" part fit the mold of the Tang Dynasty period quite decently). Everyone, including me, felt that actress Gong Li would have done that role justly.

But I too realized that role would have outshined Andy's role in the film, drastically so. And in a film such as this, a decent balance need to be had, for the resultant product be "balanced" and watchable. Certain roles and happenstance were meant to be fillers - good fillers, no less - but never need to outshine the main cast, or even main character, IMHO.

I've always admired Andy Lau for his handwork and positive attitude in this cut-throat industry, but the man is the same throughout whatever roles he take on. Be it the deadpan stoic stare, or the charming-chottle grimace, dude is the same, from urban streets to kungfu back alleys. Be that as it may, he plays the character here quite straight forward, and without a hint of discomfort or anger - which bugs me so, as he had been illegally detained for such a long period of time for his hair to grow into a mess (not longer than 5 years is needed to grow hair that long, I know for a fact as I had grown my hair that long) within the scripted 8 years.

What would be interesting to see, is that he was such a smart character - detective, if you will - that he thinks everyone else are idiots, and that disdain he might have, might have given him the edge in being a memorable character. As such, Andy's "Di Ren Jie" is 3 steps below Robert Downey Jr in Sherlock Holmes, and a step and a half above James Bond in this outing (Roger Moore Bond, mind).

The ending part when his hair was fully let down whilst silently grimacing in the effects of the flame/fire-beetles, was pretty much an interesting surprise, and no doubt points the film to it's sequel. Nice one, this. But the goatee, oh man the goatee - and seems only Andy could carry it off without it looking wholly like a caricature … sort of …

I Love Li Bing Bing. 'Nuff Said.

Forgivable was her white-hair witchy role in Forgotten Kingdom (that wretched cliche starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan mentoring a white boy with rod skills), but as "Shangguan Jing'er", her cheekbones smiled and looked exceptionally handsome, and nigh desirable - no doubt heating up the loins of may a male viewer, even with her androgynous turn. Exceptional casting this, too bad she bit the dust and may never come back in the sequel. How a skilled martial artist such as her died in the forest tho, is as mindboogling as it happened. That particularly felt convoluted and was a hastened scripted death than anything else … oh my poor Jing'er …

[Obligatory skin-snap…]
And then there was Tony Leung Ka-fai, the acting thespian. He who, with a slight change in grimace, gave gravitas to the film, in that single moment when Dee confronted Shatuo with the film's "truth". Shoulda known he had a bigger role when we first saw him in the beginning, innit? And that is as much as we need to say about him - awkward martial arts fighting with Dee notwithstanding.

Characters are what make movies interesting. Designs and sets are what makes them look epic. And this was an epic film, in more instances than one, but unfortunately, not all.

And what this film had in spades, was a decent design sense, and a decently high sense of art direction, from the detailed backgrounds to the hand-props, and of course the computer-generated elements. But to be sure, there were plenty more hits as there were misses, but overall a huge leap from the days of Hark's "Magic Mountain" escapades.

The controlled CG-element in the giant sculpture could be much better, as did the overall landscape shots of the film. The one distinguishable difference between Chinese style of CG versus say, American, is that the Chinese tend to go "bright", and cast lesser shadows. So much so, the blacks are very seldom "crushed", and often err on the side of "grey" - which to me, discounts depth. Having said that, the standard was pretty amazingly well done this time, but yes, it could be better.

Another thing oft noticed, is the need for the widest of the CG-element, which most times remind me of stop-motion effects - "don't wanna waste the time and energy, so see them all!" - maybe? Regardless, more control would be welcomed, methinks.

A single bone to pick, for me, was the fight sequence in the faux temple (whose name escapes me, but look out for the maniac flying stags, where obvious film-effects were used to replicate "liquid floor" (or some such ludicrous effect). Looked like something I do in photoshop. Please do not do it anymore Mr Hark. It looks like the budget ran dry at that point and you had to make do with whatever the editing suite could give you.

Moving on.

Costumes were yummy to say the least. The actors look a tad uneasy in them (which to me makes a slight edginess to the result, as I feel they shouldn't be so comfortable in period clothing, innit?) while looking splendid in them. Awesome fittings no doubt go to Li Bing Bing (yes, I am biased) with the rest merely meaty clothes-racks to fabric. And why is Andy Lau so unnaturally slim? Give him an unearthly aura both supernatural and dreaded-ly healthy-modern, IMHO. And perhaps that's what makes Detective Dee tick, and tick well - the fine balance of a traditional period kungfu-fighting spectacle, along with characters infused with a sense of modernity, folks can relate to them, without the trappings of tradition holding them down.

Credit must be given hugely for Director Tsui Hark, for his deft control and command of this massive ship, navigating thru controlled emotions from actors, as well a not-too convoluted effects of an epic this requires. I have had the opportunity to work with Hark in a national music video, in my early misbegotten years, and my experience then was that of a director fluid with his surroundings, and both mindful of what he had wanted to portray, and how to accurately get that shot, without sacrificing his initial ideas.

Which does not say it was a great experience, but no doubt a humbling one. Spending a few moments with him in a conference room, both of us frantically sketching out storyboards while he was late for a local press conference, was invigorating. As well as the person who delves deep into doing whatever work was needed for the project. Well, that was decades then, and I am coming off as name-dropping from-the-past (and that, always, is ultimately "sad").

One thing that stuck with me, from viewing the film in a darkened cinema, to the now, as I type this, months on, was that the element of classic "period" martial art setting sometimes was not as obvious as I had expected it to be, with loads of visual cues and dialogue elements that unconsciously coerces me to think that the film was somehow set on present day. Or maybe I am too earnest for this film to "work", for it to be an improvement from the past, to be one of the "lights" that help Chinese cinema transcend to the next level, to be again on par with what they are, and not "can/could be". Or perhaps I am simply naive in my celluloid-quest.

Regardless, Detective Dee was a well-intentioned and executed film outing, with it's fair share of glaring faults and even convoluted script. But it was a nigh enjoyable viewing, and I would perhaps consider grabbing the DVD, if it were to appear in the discount bin. 3 x Popcorn Boxes out of 5!

I remember right when the roller credits appeared, I had wished to sequel immediately afters, right there and then. And to me personally, that is a mark of a good film. IMHO.

X-Men: First Class Official Trailer Debuts

2011-02-11T10:31:00.002+08:00

After my initial ravings, this seems like a decent movie to be watching, even tho folks seem to be speaking in the Queen's English, and the harnesses / straps on their uniform still seems irritatingly unnecessary, IMHO. Other than that, the trailer seems to be filled with characters and mutants galore - quite an (clandestine) active bunch mutants in the 60's innit? I stand by what I have said earlier, although truth be told, they've given me slight pause with this trailer (I'm a sucker for trailers, what can I say!).

Check out or join in the public commentary on their Facebook movie page.

My Apprehension With X-Men: First Class

2011-02-10T22:27:00.005+08:00

What is it about the X-men that makes it hard to produce the awe of the comicbook, on the silver screen?

The first two installments were helmed by director Bryan Singer, who jumped into the age-old concept where the X-men were adults, with a smattering of chosen characters defused into the adolescent category - which off the bat was confusing and somewhat irresponsible to the fictional lore, especially to the comicbook reader, which in any case reveals the need to adhere to the story premise in the first place. But yes, we all know steps were needed to prolong the celluloid-longevity of the soon-to-be-trilogy, it seems.

[James McAvoy as "Professor Xavier" - back in the day when he had hair]
Regardless, Parts 1 and 2 took their course, stirred up emotions (it sure did in me hahaha) and plodded along with a hunky Wolverine by Hugh Jackman, which turned out to be the most popular character in the series (ironically based on a comicbook character creation that does not look like the comicbook character, well, at least in height). SNIKT goes the claws, and riiiiing goes the tills. So much so he even got his own first spin-off movie (which I have not watched, and swore never will - WHY).

[James McAvoy as "Professor Xavier" with hair, trying not to mentally cheat at chess]
In a situation where the X-Men felt more like a family drama and less of an epic film (in intent), it felt weirdly "comfortable", if not subdued - which was one of the main complaints I had when both films came out. Then came X-Men: The Last Stand aka Part Three of the trilogy, this time helmed by Brett Ratner - who delivered a piece both bursting with fanboy-powers, as well wrought with the pain of adaptation. More characters were re-invented and introduced, more mutants started wearing leather, and the entire movie turned out to look like a motorcycle-gang-clash flick. Ironically the resultant film felt different and separate from the first two outings by Singer. But hey, I enjoyed it for what it was! And that was the only way I could watch it till the end. That was the only way I could cope with what I saw, Storm's new funky 80's hairstyle not withstanding.

I am also painfully aware that the trilogy was written by a whole host of folks who I choose not to list, nor care much about. And that there is a different writer now for First Class. Yes, I am being utterly shallow, but I do not care. What I do care for is, is to be proven wrong with my assumptions hopefully, I really do.

In the world of Joss Whedon's first run of Astonishing X-Men (the comic's best run to date, IMHO), and the world of Ultimate X-Men, the crossover concept stood proud when it was first introduced, and has since doubled-over and lie amidst the wet ground of despair, a footnote in celluloid history - a relishing footnote nevertheless.

Joss is now attached to direct The Avengers comicbook movie, a film with all adults, no less.

[The lineup of First Class, looking much like a bunch Suburbian Desperate Mutant-Folk]
And as all movie-pushers realized in the past decade, comicbook movies actually do make money in the long run (most, anyways - of course including the all-might DVD/Blue-ray arena) and is a highly achievable concept with adapting stories already written (how they adapt and if they do it well, is often a pain of contention in my book), and the high-tech resources to support the notion.

Who would have thought The Watchmen would ever get made? Who would ever thought Chris Nolan's Batman and Dark Knight would rock the industry on it's four-color-foundation? And Iron Man becoming the success it turned out to be? (I would quote Transformers too, but that's an 80's cartoon). And who would've thought Bryan Singer's Superman Returns would bomb, and Fantastic Four would turn into a mockery?

[The uniform that broke the mutant's back. Who could
ever blame Magneto for getting back at humanity?]
By now, no doubt movie-mogols also realized, there were less longevity for the characters to develop and grow, along with tickets sold and the evolution of the generic average man who grows up on these staple of movies. And then we now have "X-Men: First Class". "Prequels" had become the next dirtiest word right next to "trilogy".

One parallel to this event is that Director Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy would now be superseded with a rebooted and a knocked-back age category. Marvel Comics is aiming them young nowadays, aren't they?

Make no mistake, I heart my trilogies and prequels (the term "sequel" seemed abolished in the filmmaking vocab), and look forward to extremely well made films, like the Harry Potter series, or even Lord Of The Rings (but I stop my passion at "The Hobbit"). And "First Class" looked to be a desperate reach for that market, IMHO.

[Kevin/Sebastian about to break into song, while January/Emma is the only saving vavavoom-grace]
"X-Men: First Class, due for release on June 3, 2011, is directed by Matthew Vaughn. It stars James McAvoy as the young Professor X,[21] and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, who becomes Magneto. It is a prequel focusing on "the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where their relationship took a wrong turn." The villains of the film will be the Hellfire Club, featuring Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, and January Jones as Emma Frost." [Wiki]

[Now THIS is the sort of awe the film should exuded - even within a room with grids]
[Image above from Entertainment Weekly - released a day ahead of the trailer release]
"The film, set during the 1960s, will focus on the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. The film stars James McAvoy as Professor X and Michael Fassbender as Magneto. It also stars Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, the antagonist of the movie. Other cast members include January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Till. The film is mostly being shot in England and parts of the United States. Fox envisions this film as the first in a new trilogy." [Wiki]

Woah. Sudden flash of "Austin Powers Is A Ruddy Mutant Innit?" - yes, but of course I am utterly unfair here. Forgive me if you take offense. But feel free to chuckle along with me, I wouldn't mind, really.

Ironically, or perhaps tis but The Will Of The Celluloid-Cycle, Bryan Singer is back, this time producing the film instead of directing it. This does not fill me with hope nor excitement. In a notion of a "prequel" or dare I even say it, a reinvention, I would rather see someone else wholly, attached to the movie to make it different from what we have witnessed before. The saving grace thus far is Matthew Vaughn, who had earlier helmed the awesome "Kick-Ass" (which always was a comicbook adaptation from an indie comic - seeing the trend now?).

This is the first time I am ever addressing this film, primarily because every other image from the film (posted here), failed to excite me, and drag me away from the "OMG-What-Are-They-Doing?" doldrums the picture is exuding. And having just read there were "reshoots"? Does not instill "desire-to-watch" in me, yet again. Because a high-concept movie franchise like the "X-MEN" demands excitement, and not a faint vibe of a "growing up" movie it is so much synonymous with now. Keep the "reality-teevee" vibe to television, and bring some lustre and bam-pow-panache back to the silver screen, particularly in this genre, IMHO. But if the teaser images attached to this blog-post excite you, then you have nothing to loose. And thank you for reading thus far.

[Best part of the film so far is shown above]
Credit: All film promo stills via LatinoReview.

About Battle: Los Angeles and Launch of Viral Site "Unidentified Enemy"

2011-02-10T22:23:00.001+08:00

In a celluloid nutshell, "Battle: Los Angeles" "is an upcoming 2011 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena, Ne-Yo, and Bridget Moynahan. The film is set in modern day Los Angeles and follows a platoon of Marines and Airmen during a global alien invasion." [wiki / www.BattleLA.com]

Yes, both cliched plot and cheesy as heck - essentially this is everyone's fantasy / dread of an alien invasion - this time from the eyes of U.S. Marines - supped up to modern times, memory-inspiration by way of earlier invasion flicks like Independence Day, War of the Worlds, and even District 9 (Heck anything alien invasion in urban streets on Earth is game lol). And the trailer seen thus far, is breathless. Shown above is the recent Super Bowl TV Spot, with both the Teaser and First full-on trailer posted below, and hope that you'll love it as much as I did/do.

And while no doubt the movie will garner it's fair share of fist-pumping accolades on it's 3:11:11 premier henceforth, it is the launch of it's online viral site for which this blogpost is primarily about: http://UnidentifiedEnemy.com/.

Now, I am a pure sucker for online virals (Dark Knight, District-9 = I heart them all), it was discovering the site while searching for alien transportation design and weaponry for the movie, that guided me to the site - which touts: "Visit the UNIDENTIFIED ENEMY site for priority access to the archive of declassified military data pertaining to the study of extraterrestrial life forms, alien physiology, and biomechanical weapon and propulsion systems."

And while I reckon there is nothing needed to be solved here (nothing's gonna stop the invasion innit? … unless …), there's plenty imagery and machinery to gawk at. I wonder who'll be picking up the merchandise on his flick tho? And some categories are still "locked", hence more to be revealed in time, as the days drag on closer to it's US premiere. Seems Singapore will get the show opening on March 17th instead.

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world - Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's greatest cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.

- Movie Stills via Facebook
- First Posted on TOYSREVIL here.

The Watchmen

2010-01-12T03:58:00.003+08:00

First and foremost, WATCHMEN - for all intents and purposes is a "genre" movie. Make no mistake, this may not be your run-of-the-mill popcorn flick for the masses, nor a generic date movie for the uninitiated. And with a M18 rating in Singapore ("Mature 18") it sure isn't meant for the kiddies demographic, and rightly so.

From the fanboy point of view, expectations are high, not just the question of it being faithful to the revered source material, but of it's ability to adapt it unto the silver screen - to awe and astound the harshest of pop culture perusers.

What's in store for the uninitiated? An accessible story? An entertaining movie experience just seventeen minutes shy of three hours? Is it worth all the hype it's been building up to be? Does it have as much slow-motion moments, as it did director Zack Snyder's 300? The answers are varied.

The hype will bring both fanboys and the curious to the cinema. The current superhero-slash-costume celluloid-parade will ensure cinema seats be filled, and popcorn overflowing, cascading down the aisles. Let's be frank, folks couldn't get enough of The Dark Knight, had developed a taste for metallic with Iron Man, and can't wait for Wolverine to snikt-pop his claws.

Flawed mortal men and women performing non-mortal feats wearing dark-tight-leather and muted spandex is the eye-candy rage and guilty-free fantasy escapade for the near-decade old millennium, and looks set to last longer than anyone would have dared expect nor imagined it to. We like our heroes (super or non) in costume. Regular joes with superpowers are so reality tv reruns (But I still like me my HEROES ;p). Fanboys rejoice. Everyone else gets a taste of geekdom long since buried under a hush-cloud of shame and ridicule.

FYI: Trailers for TRANSFORMER Revenge Of The Fallen and STAR TREK showed before the Watchmen screening. Man, it's such a great time to geek-out now!

SHORT-VERSION:

- It was as faithful as it could get (IMHO), in an uncomfortable marriage between comicbook-brilliance, and cinematic cheese-cake. Tasty tho. Oh so tasty.

- It was too faithful to a fault, to be able to let the adaptation breathe on it's own. But if you hold your breathe til you turn Dr Manhattan-blue? All will make sense.

- If you dislike ("hate" is too strong a word, but if it be so, then you'd hate this film) Zack Snyder's slow-motion style from 300, then this might irk you. But I heart it to bits, and feels it's justified in the context of freeze-framing a moment within a sequence of moving visuals, very much like the 2D illustrated panels within the pages of comicbook.

- Even I who is familiar with the source material, found it hard at certain moments to catch up with what the movie was trying to tell me, which I fear would alienate those who do not know the story beforehand. The Dr Manhattan-flashback was one key moment which I felt did not transition as well.

- The apprehension of seeing a glowing blue-schlong is softened by the supple nakedness of a femme crime-fighter. I feel dirty after typing that ... actually no, not really.

- The exclusion of costumed super-villains, I feel, waters the movie down a tad.

- Some significant story-tweaks and changes that bugged me at first, but upon gentle reflection, seems the better possible way to engage the audience given the context in modern times, versus the two decade old source material. More geo-political rather than conceptual.

- The pop soundtrack positively glows with nostalgia (I smiled when 99 Red Balloons blared), while the score was a strange and somewhat uneasy fit with the visuals, some parts dragging e back to Vangelis' Blade Runner. Still can't decide if that's good or bad.

- The costumes are darned cool. The actors are quasi-flaccid, with the distinct exception of Jackie Earle Haley as "Walter Kovacs" aka "Rorschach", and Carla Gugino as "mummy" Silk Spectre.

- Yellow is the new Black.

- Is it worth all the hype. Yes, and then some! But then again, I am thoroughly biased in this regard. *cough*

[March 5th 2009 / 2:35PM screening]
[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL 5th March 2009]

The Dark Knight (Spoiler Review)

2010-01-12T03:56:00.003+08:00

***BE WARNED: THIS ENTIRE POST IS FILLED WITH MOVIE PLOT / STORY SPOILERS***

And so for months, the rumor mill and sneak-machines were on over-drive, pumping and leaking info and pics thru the cyberhighway - along with the online virals and "official" marketing hype - perpetrated by all and sundry (of which I'm guilty of, as well) in an information onslaught not dedicated for a mainstream movie for quite a while in my muddled memory, along with Transformers and literally any retro-based genre-flicks in the last 5 years ("Awareness" plus "Memory" is a powerful concept indeed, IMHO) ... and today - on July 17th at 3:50pm (GMT + 8hrs) in a darkened cinema hall at Downtown East, Singapore - ALL my built-up queries were answered within a 2 and a 1/2 hour juggernaut that was THE DARK KNIGHT (REVIEWED HERE - sans spoilers) ... and this particular post will serve specifically as a SPOILER POST for those who do not intend to catch the film, but have questions that needed to be answered immediately.
(NOTE: there are no images contain within).

*STANDBY FOR SPOILERS BELOW*

*Note: Spoilers attached to individual characters instead of directly to story ... gotta leave some for folks who may change their mind to watch the flick, innit? HAH.

BRUCE WAYNE / BATMAN:
- Wayne nearly gets his identity exposed, and nearly outs himself as The Batman willingly.
- has the fortitude to court someone else's (Dent's) girlfriend aka Dawes, but nearly chose to ditch his role as the Batman ... what a dog LOL
- changes his suit becoz he needed to be able to turn his head, and protect himself from dogs - the barking kind, not the skirt-chasing ones.

THE JOKER:
- yes, it is white face-paint.
- no, the facial / mouth scar wasn't that obvious actually, altho he talks about it constantly.
- does dress up as a nurse (to coerce Dent) and a policeman (to kill the Mayor).
- did disguise himself as a dead body in a black body-bag (to kill a mobster), but he was not dead then.
- did not die in the end.
- Heath Ledger was brilliant, altho not genius as everyone has him hyped up to be, IMHO.
- Joker was anarchy personified, but hell, he made a lot of sense in some warped way.
- no, I do not condone his actions.

HARVEY DENT / TWO-FACE:
- does turn into "Two-Face" and not just for a little end sequence cameo - Dude goes around and does shitte in both broad daylight and at night.
- Dent's / Two-Face's face was burnt by flames, not acid.
- yes, it was Dent lying in the hospital bed when Joker visited.
- the leaked images of the Two-Face make-up does not do justice to the final version - not as juicy as peeps indicated tho, but hella scary.
- does use his coin (a little too often, IMHO). and tis a "trick" coin with both heads on each side. one side does get burnt.
- Two-Face will not be in the next Batman movie as he did not have the power to defy gravity ... or did he?

COMMISSIONER JIM GORDON:
- lives to star in the next Batman-movie.

RACHEL DAWES:
- eventually joins her former boss (last "seen" in Batman Begins) for a permanent vacation.

SCARECROW:
- appears only in the beginning of the film and has no relation to The Joker.

TUMBLER / BATPOD:
- The Batpod DOES emerge from within The Tumbler.
- I heart the Tumbler.
- I heart the Batpod.

BATCAVE:
- if there ever will be a Bat Cave, it very nearly was at the basement R&D Department of Wayne Enterprises.
- Other than that, tis a underground bunker near a wharf ... will there be a Part 3 of the franchise to see the completion and operation of the infamous Bat-Cave?

OTHERS:
- Edison Chen shouldn't have bothered with his blink-n-miss cameo, really.
- Chin Han does Singapore proud with loads screen-time with Freeman and Oldman - altho he clould brush up a tad with his Mandarin, spoken amidst the Cantonese-speaking guards (altho no one mentioned he was a HongKonger lah :p)
- mobile phones will rule the world.

[above image via myspace]

[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL on July 17th 2008]

The Dark Knight (Non-Spoiler Review)

2010-01-12T03:55:00.003+08:00

HOW do I accurately describe THE DARK KNIGHT? Tis labeled a "comicbook movie" primarily because of the characters adapted from said genre. But as a motion picture? It transcends that boundary that separates fiction from our pop-culture saturated world, divided by the cinema screens and of our collective imaginations. And in this day and age, if you cannot "imagine", one will be choking from the dust left behind by the concept trail-blazers. And from the get-go, an flashback expositions to Batman Begins is either so subtle, or practically non-existent ... I just sat in silence and let myself be sucked into the void of the Dark Knight.

TDK does not reinvent, it turns everything we might think we know, and expect, on it's heads, grenade in one hand, trigger-pin clenched tight in teeth. Or perhaps that was what I'd felt throughout the two and a half-hour film ... this ain't no feel-good dramedy, and this sure as hells ain't your garden variety superhero-chop-socky popcorn flick either. This could be a serious social movie, dressed up in a bat-suit, a purple coat with smudged theatre make-up, and burnt crisp from the tragedy that drenches the movie in pathos ... but no one has claimed it to be. And perhaps I'm taking this flick way too seriously for what it is supposed to be ... or not.

Whether this impedes an individual's enjoyment and understanding of the film, well, depends on the individual. Convoluted plot to some, direct slice to the jugular for others, and I'm left bleeding. Batman Begins was a Sunday matinee jaunt compared to it's sequel.

A feeling of abject dread & dire hung heavily throughout the film, buoyed no doubt by the numerous hype and built-up sneaks and leaks during the journey from the first press quote to the final walk thru the doorways out from the cinema halls, light flooding thy path and senses ... and yes, I would be the first to admit here - that perhaps the sneaks along the way may not have helped me in enjoying the film in it's sum total. Sure, there are surprises and twisty-knots galore peppered throughout, but by itself, the film didn't just rawk my world, it pulled the rug from underneath me.

I "hate" Chris Nolan and crew now ... becoz now, all other genre flicks may pale in comparison. Good luck to any and all comicbook movies who tries to thread this path in the future, sincerely. Even to Nolan himself, who would be hard-pressed to top this, methinks.

Bale was subtly effective but forgettable. Ledger was brill - tho not as genius as the hype puts him (which is not a bad thing). Eckhart performed his function admirably. There will never be another Gordon other than Oldman. And Caine has the BEST lines of the movie - besides being the moral guide, as well. Gyllenhaal probably affected the principal characters more than anyone would care to admit, the catalyst, if you will...

And really, you can hardly fault the bat-vehicles ... and the suit makes sense, for which they admitted it as much in the film. cool.

Other than that, I am finding it hard pressed to knock the flick off it's by-now-legendary pedestal of public revelry, and I feel I do not need to. To say the movie was breathless, would be a gross understatement. Riding the razor-edge of reality and public expectation (the most dangerous weapon in the Modern Media World, IMHO) - this fictional tale of a caped crusader of the night will echo for quite a while more down the hollowed halls of filmmaking, I reckon. And the bat-ears weren't that obvious after a fashion...

The only moment of falter (for me personally) was the end sequence and words uttered, that reminds everyone (or at least me) that tis a "comicbook-movie" I am and have been watching. Neither good nor bad, tho a tad cliched.

Watch it for what it is, not for what it can be or will be. I have not rated anything on this blog of mine ~~ever~~ for a long while now, but I would bestow a hearty 8 upon 10 for The Dark Knight, only becoz I feel this would and should be the end of this franchise ... anymore and it may not measure up ... I hope I am proven wrong too tho ... heh.

- all images via myspace
- credits on IMDB

[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL on July 17th 2008]

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

2010-01-12T03:53:00.002+08:00

HELLBOY2: THE GOLDEN ARMY [tagged] is basically a monster-fest. A gloriously gorgeous monster-fest, no less! - courtesy of an indulgent Guillermo del Toro. Make no mistake, sometimes "indulgence" is good, and in this case, it balances out the humdrum acting from the main cast.

/// READ MORE

One can argue that this is "comicbook-movie" in the first place, and not a platform for thespians navigating the shifty craft of "acting" ... And perhaps if you look beyond (or rather close one-eye) the facade of everyone's monster-makeup, it is indeed a pretty enjoyable and most times fun celluloid ride, which frankly ended way too quickly for my warped-tastes.

"Eh? Finish already ah?" - But of coz the ending (or rather end-premise) of the film warrants a third HB .. altho I am pretty liberal with the "warrants", moreso an "excuse" to start one, IMHO - and thinking now (as opposed to what I'd felt a week ago when I first watched it) - if they had proceeded with that story-thread, perhaps it would not be a movie I would want to watch. Not too down with [family] action-adventure type flicks - as inevitably the [offspring] would near ALWAYS be in jeopardy .. and off [Daddy-Red] goes to save [Baby-Red]!

Redemption lies not in salvation. I want to see the HB-world BURN for once, yeh? And it would be glorious at the hands and horns of Hellboy muahahahaha!!!!

The opening exposition was frankly, pretty unnerving, especially with the [teenage Hellboy] and personally, one of the more "fake" and irritating sequences in the entire movie ... not a great start, I suppose ... but said exposition was a quick way to get the lore out of the way, with sweet-ish animation to boot, IMHO.

The story is "straight-forward" and predictable at times - which was fine for me personally, so I could oogle the gorgeous film designs, innit? The amount of details put into every scene - particularly the Troll Market, was a visual-orgy, and a kick-in-the-nutsack for me ...

Why? Becoz this is the sort of movie I'd live to do, in my "previous day-job". But yes, kick-rump designs all around - from wardrobe, down to the fabulous hand-props. Didn't care for Big Baby. Didn't care for The Samaritan. Actually, now that I'm here, I didn't really care for Hellboy himself, really ... I mean, Ron Perlman rawks it, but Red's still Mr. Whiney-Pants. I'm sorry, but "Average-Joe" would still be more dimensional that a flat Hellboy - but I'm sure fans lurve him like he is (:p). And is it just me, or has Hellboy bulked-down since the first flick?

[ditch the square-tit red-monkey. c'mon...]
Frankly, I couldn't help but constantly stare at Liz Sherman. Not just becoz she's a hottie (okay, now I feel dirty for admitting that LOL), but also that her character development since the first movie, sorta felt like it jumped a movie in-between. Besides the obvious wardrobe change and Posh-Spice-hairstyle, I just couldn't vibe with the Liz I remembered from Part One - now tough as nails and rough and ready ... Or maybe I could not take the leap of celluloid-faith as I'm expected to ... pity for me :p

Abe Sapien gets more screen-time and a chance to stretch his gills, eerrr, i mean, acting-muscles - which frankly, was fresh-water refreshing [the toilet-seat joke was funny-ish until they milked it] ... Abe gets to wear nice leather stretchy-pants and look all rockstar-ish (*cool*) and our beloved fish-face gets to [fall in lurve]! Nice touch tho, IMHO.

In an attempt to humanize the boys, both Red and Abe get [drunk] one night and do a [Barry Manilow karaoke] - which was charming for all of the first 15-seconds or so. With the exception of the "newbie" Johann Kraus, everyone else's character arc is near non-existent. Well, except for Liz who finds out [she's pregnant with a hellbaby-bun in the oven].

One thing bothered me quite a bit throughout the film, was the "tone" - swinging between mystery, to laid-back everyday life of BPRD, to the fantasy world - it felt directionless, and yet effortlessly relaxed. And tis not about the pac of the movie, moreso the music they utilized, the multitude of influences made it very much a sitcom than "epic movie" (altho no one did mention "epic", innit?).

The eclectic sounds of David Lynch's Twin Peaks series popped into mind ... hhhmmm ... (but hell, I loved me my Twin Peaks, yo!)

But you can plainly see where all the effort went into: the designs, oh the glorious designs! For both monsters / characters, environments and the fantastical fantasy world of Hellboy! Frankly I'd rather they leave the "humans" out of the equation, becoz they pale too much to even mention. "Monster-fodder", I call them...

And of coz the FX, for which Guillermo pulled out all the stops for, utilizing a multitude of visual imagery to get his story across. Fans of special FX and/or animation would be in for a treat of treats, I dare say.

A week ago I was literally gushing at Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - mindscape bombardment of stunning visuals ... and a week later, I can barely remember parts of the movie - which I had to squeeze out of my senile brain, to attempt to write ~~this review~~ my personal impression of this movie. Altho the ride was indeed sweet and magical when I first sat thru the movie - now I am hard-pressed to rave about it. Not that it was that bad, but perhaps to me - forgettable, regrettably speaking ...

But to be sure, I'd recommend this to anyone who are fans of this genre, for which it is pretty hard to place actually. All action and adventure, comedy at the best of times, flimsy-homage at the worst (Is it just me, or is the Men-In-Black parallel at BRPD-HQ a tad disconcerting?). And the kungfu-chop-socky bewildered me a little - neither here nor there, with Prince Nuada rawking the pugilistic world of Faeries, Elves and Trolls ... Pathos reserved for the monsters, gut-wrenching in it's quasi-subtility, IMHO ... but yes, the visuals are beautiful. I may just go get the Behind-The-Scene book instead of the DVD ... maybe?

And frankly, maybe I'm just taking this flick more seriously that I should, remembering that I'd not had high expectations of it to evolve beyond the enjoyable (but dismal) first movie - for which it HAS evolved beautifully - aesthetically, I insist ...

And at the end of the day, I may well consider getting the DVD for keepsakes ... and of coz to oogle at Liz Sherman/Selma Blair ... heh.

[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL on July 16th 2008]

HULK

2010-01-12T03:52:00.000+08:00

This is all I have to say about the new re-invisioned HULK:

"Hulk thought it was "costume-crossover"? ... ... Hulk hate puny toysrevil..."

*heh*

Iron Man

2010-01-12T03:50:00.002+08:00

Even before stepping into the cinema hall, i knew the only way to enjoy this movie is if you're either (A) a FAN-Boy or FAN-Girl (FB/FG), or (B) the General Public (GP) - I have left out the distinct category of any wannabe-celluloid scholars or thespianed-traditionalists, who seeketh celluloid enlightenment and brilliance in a fantasy-make-belief world on the Silver Screen, who would perhaps find this movie a harder morsel to swallow (based on the numerous detractors I've been reading in local print) - especially with a predictable plot filled with bullet holes, somewhat cheezy-dialog and even a sheer lack of common sense - much less enjoy for what it is, which is a live-action adaptation of a comicbook superhero character who wears an iron-suit of armor (oops, excuse me, "titanium alloy") who can fly and beats down on bad guys ... BUT that is not to say that this movie is brainless or without recourse, NO - for this IS a smart film on the brill-side, with a thumping heart at the core of it (Arc Technology or otherwise :p).

And if you be a fan, I am happy to say that you may not be disappointed, and perhaps even surprised at the thoroughly enjoyable ride (at least I did) - with the taste indeed sweet and perhaps even with a memorable lingering after-taste, manifest by that smile on your face and even a spring in your step (Repulsor-technology, notwithstanding, of coz). And if you be an esteemed member of the General Public who happen to wonder by this blog? All I dare say to you folks is - to prepare yourselves for a really cool ride, IMHO :)

REMEMBER TO WATCH THE MOVIE UNTIL AFTER THE CREDITS ROLL, for a "Surprise Prologue Sequence" - and it's a doozy, IMHO :)

INTRO
The anticipation of watching the IRON MAN Movie had kept me awake for the better part of the early morning, until I popped awake barely enough to make it to a 11:30am-screening at Cathay @ Downtown East E!Hub. The journey took less time than it was to wait for the bus. A cinema 15 minutes away from home is a very welcomed development indeed and a precursor to more expenditure, I reckon :p

Superhero/Comicbook-adapted movies has come to the forefront of the general consciousness and media acceptance (altho not totally "understanding-of") and has never been as hyped and marketed as they do in this day and age, what with multiple Viral marketing, promotions and a deluge of coverage that threatens to engulf online netizens (least of me my humble blog LOL) who dwell in this particular www-realm, for sure the genre is carving out it's own niche in celluloid-history, it remains some time before it's acceptance into the pantheons of "recognized filmmaking" (via the traditionalists and thespians) is as accepted and welcomed, as the fans of this genre, IMHO. With vaulted peers as The Dark Knight, Hulk, The Watchmen and it's ilk, IRON MAN stands poised to go down in history as the movie that did ... as for what it actually did, I'd only dare to speculate on it's intent and reactions, by my own personal opinion. And hopefully, when YOU folks have seen the movie, we could all geek-out over it together :)

GOOD TRIUMPH OVER EVIL
GP will no doubt be entertained "effortlessly" with this feel-good morality tale. Good heart triumphs over Evil. With loads of hi-tech and a tinge of (both manufactured and natural) sass thrown in for good measure. But of coz this is my own biased opinion, and it is hard not to be biased, as evident in my coverage of the movie's progress on this blog and the dedicated fanblog, innit? So i'd not pretend much to know what it truly feels to watch this as a third-party observer.

In the ideal-www-world, I would have the funds and/or ability to invite varied members of the public (ie: folks who don't give a shit) and reader-fans (ie: friends who give a shit and reads my blog too LOL) to watch this flick together, followed by a rousing post-mortem session, but alas, my resources are practically non-existent and here I am going on about my lone experience of the movie... heh.

FANMOVIE
To wax lyrical about the coolness of this fanboy-movie would be "tricky" - because there is very little one could do to pull a fast one over a FB or FG. To me, the filmmakers and actors had fun doing this, and it came out feeling so too, not that it was tomfoolery all around, but the vibe and jazz seeped thru, IMHO. There is a subtle spring in every step, a nod here and there, and the occasional *wink-wink* without the obvious in-your-face-wink-wink, that perpetuates comedies or even Rom-Coms.

Although, make no mistake, this is not a Comedy (per se). This is a straight forward dramatic telling of a story of a Man's fall from his charmed pedestal in life, to the redemption of his soul, via technologies that empowers him, literally. Tinged with both good natured and dark humor. A Vwry nice mix indeed, IMHO. And remember, this is a live-action adaptation of a comicbook character, understandably not as well known as say, Spiderman, Superman or Batman - but well known enough by his fans, and perhaps providing more leeway in terms of development, without the burden of past history (IMHO) - NOT to say tis warranted a discount on quality, for this product is an excellent example of said product done right. And for sure, FBs and FGs are not forgotten in this incarnation.

NODMENTS & AUTHENTICITY
"Nods" pepper the film. From the Mandarin-inspired "Ten Rings" = the name of the terrorist organization which kidnaps Stark (for the uninitiated, one of Iron Man's main foe was The Mandarin, who wielded ten rings of differing powers) - to Stark's mildly-sarcastic A.I. with a British-lit named "Jarvis" (Jarvis was the name of The Avenger's butler - someone mentioned "Paul Bettany" but I've yet to be able to find a confirmation for tho).

EFFECTS
It's a fun ride because it felt authentic to the source material. The suspension of disbelief is especially tricky for a film such as this, which I felt was carried off effortlessly (as mentioned above) - primarily due to the special effects, which were convincingly addictive. I'd stopped trying to pick apart the effects the moment I saw MARK-2 glistening in the workshop's spotlights. It was subtly oblivious and a wonder to behold, so much so I'd stopped looking out for them, and just went along with the ride. And the more I saw, the more I wanted to see.

CG-effects and real-life mecha-constructs merge as one. Besides the obvious flying sequences, the "Armor-On" and armor-specific sequences were exceptional and had this fanboy's heart pounding (no, I will not confirm woody-status). Kudos to Stan Winston and Co. Nothing more I can add to the gushing already, I reckon. Dammit, if only the toys were just as awesome, IMHO :p

PACING A COMICBOOK MOVIE
The pace was pretty evenly spaced out, which helped the film "breathe", I reckon. The set pieces were insanely FB-cool, especially with the MARK-3. When the fully-functioned armor was put thru the test in foreign soil and being intercepted by the US Air-force. The final confrontation with the Iron Monger was too short (but because I am greedy) and ultimately ended sooner than expected, and perhaps less than satisfying, but only in terms of duration, for the actual fight was pretty fast and furious, and to the blunt-point, as one may expect from a coupla dudes decked out in high-tech battle-armor - no nancy-boy shennanigans, this, IMHO ... although I wondered, how the heck are "they" going to top that? LOL - But I appreciated that it was a straight forward slugfest and beatdown, without intellectualizing it too much (Villain monologing notwithstanding).

BELIEVING ORIGINS
A problem that perhaps quite a number of past flicks fall trap to = "over-intellectualize" the origins of the powers and story, trying to explain it to the masses and the hardcore theorists, while loosing it's wonder and awe of a fictional fable of people imbud with powers beyond mortal men. No, I'm not saying glossing over the story and take the viewers as idiots to be fed byte-sized deep-fried nuggets, but neither is feeding them a posh steak going to help them digest it better, IMHO.

SUPERHERO MOVIES ARE FASTFOOD
If push came to shove, I'd consider superhero movies, hamburgers instead. Fast food / Junk food, no doubt, but enough as a meal, without any guilt of expenditure or excuse needed for it's consumption. For as sure as Tony grabs a cheeseburger out of an obvious Burger King paperbag (enroute to his press conference after being rescued from terrorists), this film came out as a satisfying meal, flippantly so.

For the fans, there is already a built-in understanding of the story and how the plot moves, front or back - the Opening Sequence with the flashback is comicbook-worthy and inspired, I have to say, which i relished with abandonment LOL.

FORESHADOWING
Attempts to discover "Foreshadowing"-elements of the movie, would perhaps be pure speculation on my part - but hell, tis fun to speculate (at least for a FB) and one of the many include Stark holding unto a glass of liquor in the opening sequence, and even Jarvis asking Tony (after MARK-2's test flight) about compensating the armor for outer-space adaptability (Skull/Kree-War anyone?)

CONFESSIONS OF A NON-TRUE IRONMAN FAN
I've never been what may be called a true hardcore-fan of Iron Man. In fact, i've always felt he was pretty weak as a superhero, not becoz of his technology-based powers, but of his limitations due to said technology. In the "powers" arena, once the juice runs out, or better still, an EMP hits (Electro Magnetic Pulse), dude's left with a heavy clunker of an armored suit, struggling to stand straight with the weight of the suit, no less. So the charisma of the character lies with who wears it instead, innit?

THE MAN IN THE IRON ARMOR
And for sure, Tony Stark's comicbook character-arc is not too multifaceted, and may even be argued to be 2-dimensional (IMHO), so there really isn't a stretch of imagination to see him "develop" or even evolve (current comicbook incarnation circa Civil War notwithstanding). With this movie, it is simply "Pre-Terrorist-Capture" and "Post-Enlightment-Upon-Escape" - Stark "grew" during his period of capture, and "evolved" along with his tech, so to speak.

And with this, i have to admit, the Iron Man character (as much as it wowed me) took a slight second seat next to Tony Stark (weird primpy eye-liner/lash makeup on Stark, notwithstanding - looking ever so slightly enhanced) who is played to a sweet-T by Robert Downey Jr. There is no one i can imagine being in this role, so don't even try. Casting brilliance, even.

But Stark as an intentional mass murderer? This was a pretty hard aspect for me to swallow, especially when he'd acted nonchalantly after the fact, and even brazenly killed thereafters. The moment he walked out of the cave in his Mark-One suit, and fired into the terrorist occupied grounds, Tony killed without remorse. And when he flew into foreign grounds, this time in an upgraded Mark-3, and killed even more terrorists, no one held him accountable. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D. for sure, the character may be living out the fantasies of general populance, with regards to non-sanctioned action in lieu of geo-politics and red tape (i've certainly had my fair share of fantasy / imaginery justice met out to those i've felt deserved their fates) - perhaps the more level-hand would be well advised, IMHO ... altho one thing to note, no spilt blood was shown throughout the film, in my memory tho. wow.

SUPPORTING CAST
Jeff Bridges as "Obadiah Stane" was excellent and wrought with relish, whose life ended by the movie's end (Or did he?). Gwyneth Paltrow as "Pepper Potts" was pedestrian, and may have been replaced by anyone. Make no mistake, she was good in her role, and perhaps with someone else cuter in her position may make for a different vibe, but that role isn't as fleshed out as it could (which they nearly did, with a failed veer into Rom-Comdom) and may be in subsequent sequels (with the by-default possible/nearly romantic-interest mascarading as the anchor of Stark's heart) - pretty girl tho she may be (I have to say tho, her wardrobe was atrocious, no fault of her, I reckon) ... And frankly, I personally did not warm up to Terrence Howard's "Jim Rhodes". No commanding presence (of course he had to play second fiddle to Stark, granted) and saddled with a somewhat whimpy-dismeanour, the straight-man to Stark's nonsense - as evident by this numerous reactions to Tony, like whining over a bottle of wine on the jet-plane, the "military-exercise" press conference etc.

When he looked at the silver MARK-2 armor hung up in the workshop, after seeing Tony fly off in the MARK-3, and said (something to the effect of) "next time baby" (an obvious nod and prelude to WAR MACHINE), it was contrived and perhaps not as effective as when Jim Gordon said "I gotta get me one of those!" as Batman drove the Tumbler down the narrowed streets of Gotham ... but that's just me. Or perhaps that is or will be one of Rhodes character-arc? For when he ponies up to be a military-man with an-iron-suit and combat-mentality and training? Now, that'll be a scenario to look forward to, IMHO.

OFF THE WAGON
Much has been said about Tony Stark's alcoholism, especially soundbytes in media, in reference to authenticity of source material. Fair enough, because they are but soundbytes after all. From non-fans. Even if the foreshadowing of Tony, glass hand, as he rides the "Fun-Vee" may escape folks.

And if anyone wants to witness the hero's dismal fall into the abyss of destructive alcoholism, perhaps may be sated with the next installment? Permit me to speculate, for a "hero" has to discover his/her "heart" and ideology first (Part 1), followed by his/her fall from grace due to whatever factors, personal or external (Part 2) and of course ends with the inevitable redemption and rise to glory once again (Part 3). So enough with the alcoholism tagline already! ... Although that may fuel the actor to go further into his acting range (and would Downey ever get a nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Role in a Feature Film?).

THE BEGINNING OF THE END
By the time the credits rolled, it felt too soon, as if you've had a taste of the appetizer but the main course denied you - fair enough, for this is, for all intents and purposes, an Origin Tale - which attempts to "educate" the masses, to ensure putting more "informed" butts in seats in the sequel subsequently. And I personally adore good appetizers, so this works enough for me, for now, to tempt and tease me for the future to come (and how delish the "promise" of it may be - peep bottom of post)

WHAT A GOOD MOVIE MAKETH
Although my personal gauge for a "good movie" is wide and has become very forgiving, points given to being "entertaining" rather than "technically proficient" (hang-ups from my "previous" dayjob, no doubt) - One of my main barometers these days, is if after viewing the film, I would still want to buy the DVD (for the making-offs etc). This movie does not feel like it for me, unfortunately (for the filmmakwers perhaps, but my wallet;s not complaining much LOL). Or perhaps tis my wallet doing the thinking instead? Or maybe I need to be brainwashed even more, by playing with the TOYS! LOL

SURPISE PROLOGUE END SEQUENCE YOU CAN NOT MISS
When Samuel L Jackson's "Nick Fury" appears in Stark's living room by credit's end, the wee bantering were but a faint memory (for me) except for the key phrase: "I want to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative" - man, i nearly wet me pants! (and I Meant it literally, because I was holding-it-in for dear life by the end of the film ... loadsa soda + freezing cinema = personal storm-in-a-tea cup) ... and that was a pretty sweet sendoff to the fans, if ever were the intention, IMHO. If this be a faint premise for an eventual Avengers Movie Collector's Box-Set a decade from now, maybe I would have to consider getting the DVD? HAH.

Go watch Iron Man, and then we'll geek out together :)

[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL on April 30th 2008]

Sneak Preview of Transformers Movie

2010-01-12T03:45:00.003+08:00

the e-invite wrote thursday morning 930am.
the event: a 22-minute sneak preview of Transformers.
the mood: anticipation and utter jubilation for the opportunity.

There were 4 scenes in all, with the UIP-rep mentioning that they are generally incomplete, with temporary music and effects/CG to be polished. these are the scene breakdowns, as clear as i can remember them:

:: BLACKOUT ATTACKS AIR FORCE BASE ::

- we start with a squad of soldiers enroute back to camp via air transpo. the camaraderie is set-up (which i can only assume will be manifested in the later part of the flick) with Josh Duhmel (Las Vegas / aka Mr. Fergie :p) and Tyrese Gibson 2Fast 2Furious) and their crew giving Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break) schtick for speaking Spanish all the time and not being able to understand him. Duhmel speaks about just wanting to go home to see his newborn daughter (which awkwardly sets up the premise of "hope" and family - aka. "something to fight for", IMHO :p)

- blame it on Hollywood or even Ridley Scott, but whenever i see helicopters flying thru a desert, i'd immediately reference Black Hawk Down - and not that that's a bad thing really, becoz tis the military-macho adds somewhat to the tension and anticipation that ultimately builds up to the first transformation by Decepticon BLACKOUT that literally took my breath away.

- plane lands and we see soldiers chillin' out everywhere, and i mean "everywhere". the air force base looks like a giant holiday summer camp. i'd understand setting up the "calm before the storm"-premise, but this was borderline "staged" (but then again, i've never been on an US air base before, haven't i? HAH) ... of coz the not-so-subtle foreground shot of a Stealth plane as the camera cranes down to soldiers walking the air-strip, reinforces the "military" power aspect ...

- Captain Lennox/Josh Duhamel speaks via webcam to his wife and new born daughter at the entrance of the command centre. the sense of "family" and love is instilled at this point. all this transpires amidst the chaos brewing slowly in Ops Command, where an unidentified helicopter had been spotted. attack planes have been dispatched to escort it to the air base.

- for me, the anticipation was building up to fever pitch, which in a way deprived me of the joy of "surprise", as i'd read about the preview online much earlier and hence knew what was going to happen ... but happen it did and i was still breathless LOL

- from the fleeting flicker of the helicopter's pilot's face, to the second the helicopters' rotor blades flick back = the transformation of BLACKOUT is awesome cool, IMHO. with mondo-more transforming gadgets that i'd expect and that for me, raises the bar in terms of "transforming robots" other than the regular cartoon transforms transfans've been used to all these years ... actually, Blackout takes quite a while to transform (more gears and parts to move).

- what was "retro-cool" was the sound of the transformation, likened to the familiar "ek-or-or-ek" of the cartoons! LOL dunno if they'll eventually keep that in the final movie version tho :p

- BLACKOUT peppers the base with missiles and gunfire, tanks are flipped and soldiers are still firing unsuccessfully at the Decepticon. an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) is is unleashed and crashes the electronics of the base.

- BLACKOUT rips into the command HQ and reaches for what seem to be the central core and siphons data (intelligence) of what seems to be details of Sector Seven (unconfirmed, just a hunch). the close-up of his mecha-hands reminds me a tad of the ABC Warrior Robot in Judge Dredd, not polished mecha-work, but rough and rugged bruiser-ish vibe. *nice*

- Tyrese somehow gets himself beneath BLACKOUT, literally at his foot and nearly gets stomped on, but suppression fire from fellow soldiers covered his retreat/escape. a quick release scene of SCORPONOK out BLACKOUT's back sees him burrowing into the desert ground.

:: SAM AND MIKEALA'S FIRST OFFICIAL ENCOUNTER COURTESY OF BUMBLEBEE THE WANNABE MATCHMAKER ::

- Sam Witwicky and his bud drives thru and into a park area. they get out of the car and walks up to a buncha Football jocks , with Mega Fox/Mikeala hanging about. macho posturing words were exchanged and Sam is embarrassed. Mikeala eyes Sam intently (dunno why leh)

- Football Jock makes a comment about girls riding in the backseat like "good little bunnies" when Mikeala asks to drive his car. Mikeala dismisses the notion of being a bunny and decides to walk off by herself.

- Sam hesitates, while the Car's "Drive" is pumped out of the car stereo. his bud asks: "so what are you gonna do?", to which Sam replies that he'll "drive her home". Sam rushes his bud out of the car ... "Bros Before 'Hoes" works not, in the case of Megan Fox (which i can't blame Sam tho LOL)

(*note* = Bumblebee speaks not a word in this movie, he uses music from the stereo to provide both his "voice" and as comedic effect and it sorta works lah)

- Mikeala accepts Sam's offer of a ride and drives off together in his beat-up old 1974 Camaro (Bumblebee). there's a literal cartoon bumblebee hanging off his rear-view mirror, with BEE-OTCH written on it (*snicker*). thru their conversation, Mikeala has never noticed Sam before, even when Sam has been around her since the first grade. heart melts slightly for him, in the cheesy teenage-angst-movie-way (LOL)

- they end up driving to a cliff-side location, when Bumblebee decides to "break down" ("car breakdown", i mean) Marvin Gaye's music pumps from the stereo ... oblivious to the "romantic" set-up, Mikeala gets out of the car to inspect the engine. the hood is popped and Mikeala shows that she knows her mechanics (inherited from her dad). Sam fumbles like nobody's business LOL

- gratitous shots of Mikeala. Sam drools. my nose bleeds.

- deciding she couldn't fix the car, Mikeala decides to walk off by herself (again), while Sam pleads with Bumblebee to start up and he does, while playing Player's "Baby Come Back" from the stereo. cute lah.

:: TRANSFORMERS HOUSE PARTY ... NOT! ::

- Optimus Prime, Bumblebee (who is by now the supped-up brand nw Camero), Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz drives down subarbia towards Sam's house. they park at the side and Sam rushes off into the house, while telling Mikeala to look after the Transformers. at this point both of them know about the Transforming robots and are searching for Sam's grandfather's glasses (which contains the Allspark-code), in his bedroom.

- Sam's parents talk about grounding the boy, while watching television and generally creating another round of confusion for him. standing at the door way negotiating with his dad while Bumblebee and Optimus Prime had converted into Autobot mode sneaking around the backyard was quite farnie.

- personally i "appreciated" the concept of Bumblebee not being able to speak, as he would be able to portray more "animated" gestures (for communication) as compared to the other Autobots. Optimus speaks (and yes, he had a "mouth") and so did Ironhide.

- Dad goes back into the house, while the rest of the transformed Autobots roamed the big-ass garden, with Optimus stepping on (and crushing) the garden fountain (he says: "my bad" = cringeworthy) and Sam's little chihuahua pees on Ironhides feet, whereby he trains his weapons on the little pooch. okay, cheesy farnie, i admit ... *heh*

- Sam goes up into his room and searches frantically for the item. Mikeala was then carried unto the window ledge by a Optimus. one of the more farnie scenes was when the Autobots transformed back into cars and basically parked randomly at the backyard. "this is not a truck stop" ~ shouts Sam.

- Autobot-searchlights food the house, alerting Sam's parents and they burst into Sam's bedroom. the chaotic banter between parents and Sam was pretty farnie, with his mum asking if he was masturbating (LOL) and suggesting calling it "Sam's Happy Hour" (or was it "time"?) Shia LaBeouf is excellent here, IMHO.

- Autobots scamble in the backyard to keep quiet, while Ratchet clumsily trips and falls unto a electrical-tower, causing a blackout in the neighbourhood.

- black government-type vehicles races down the street and pulls up outside Sam's house. John Turturro's Sector Seven anal-retentive team-leader knocks on the door and invites himself in, while the rest of the team search around the house. after a "radiation check", it was determined that Sam has had "direct contact" with the robots and was cuffed and led away.

- personally, even tho the effects and CG was yet to be completed for some parts of the robots, it was a sheer surprise and delight to see the Autobots "come to life". i enjoyed it moreso becoz i'd since given up on the notion that these Transformers were not going to be anywhere near the designs of the cartoons of my childhood, and what i saw made me want to see even more dammit LOL

:: SCORPONOK ATTACK ::

- the squad we first saw in the first preview scene were patrolling the desert (why i dunno). we first see Scorponok's sharpened spike directed at the back of Capt Lennox. the squad opens fire at the Decepticon and are then chased to a desert-town. muncho-fire power and explosions ensue. this is basically the action-packed segment of the preview.

- Lennox escorts a little boy (first seen in scene one) into his house and asks for his father's phone and using the mobile phone tries to call the pentagon for support, to which a Middle-Eastern Call Operator calmly delays the conversation, asking for a credit card number to facilitate the call. farnie the first time round only, im afraid.

- the call gets thru and Tyrese briefs the ops personnel on location. Jon Voight appears in this scene.

- attack jets are scambled and destruction is rained down on Scorponok, who beats a hasty retreat, leaving behind a severed tail-end in the struggle.

BONUS TRAILERS:

we were treated to big-screen versions of the recent TV Spots, "HIDDEN" and "DESTINY" - which were a tad too pixellated and seemed to finish faster then seen online! (big screen effect, i reckon) - nice treat tho :))))

WRAP-UP / OBSERVATIONS:

- i couldn't genuinely gauge the audience reactions, with the vibe generally of folks who might not have been aware, if not "transfans", as the reception to the images were generally mild. no wild cheers. quite a bit of laughter where they are supposed to be and gentle applause.

- i had a couple sat next to me, with the lady clapping politely. a dude sat behind with his mates were irritatingly rattling off the names of the Transformers as they appeared. were his mates really that clueless? as much as i wanted to cheer and shout, i realized that this might not be the crowd to be in. for sure they might catch the movie (Singapore's Hollywood-intake is undoubtable) but i know not for sure how Transfans would react to this movie tho.

- As a casual Transfan (i dare not claim otherwise, as compared to the "hardcore naysayers"), i enjoyed it immensely, becoz as mentioned, i'd given up on the notion of the old cartoons and have decided to enjoy it for what it is, and not what it could be, IMHO.

- I had a conversation with one of my film students today (he's in his early 20's), and he immediately panned the movie, based on Michael Bay's involvement alone. which i think it's a pity, for regardless of his style (which folks either love or hate) this movie i reckon is gonna be one of them blockbuster hits irregardless and i reckon tis gonna be a wild ride!

- the UIP-rep (i assume) mentioned that the movie was gonna hit in June, which i thought was 4th of July? anyways, regardless of the timeline, and that i've already read about the preview prior (which did take away a bit of the surprise), it was fabulous to see it with my own eyes and it sure whet my appetite for Transformers even more than it already had and i'd definitely be counting down the days leading up to it's debut!

- i wished i'd thought of offering to buy the Autobot ink-stamp used to identify the preview folks who were invited:
*heh*

my sincere thanks to Deborah of UIP for the preview opportunity and look forward to Transformers definitely :))))

linkies:
- Cowboy Caleb's summary
- Images of Qatar Set on location
- Primary Reference and Support Details on Seibertron

added:
youtubed-trailers for HIDDEN and DESTINY (wif no watermarks - but sorry about the "stretched" format tho :p)

HIDDEN (brightened version here)

DESTINY (brightened version here)
[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL on April 20th 2007]

Cloverfield

2010-01-12T03:42:00.002+08:00

MY POST-MOVIE OPINION:
if the success of the movie Cloverfield [tagged] was JUST about the monster, than you may be a tad disappointed (i was ever so slightly) but thankfully it wasn't just. it was also about the people involved and who were caught-up in the circumstances of the situation. the "found footage"-concept worked really well, in this respect, IMHO ... i remember being utterly nauseous during Blair Witch Project (which i actually hated with a vengence) but this "technique" worked really well, at least for my warped tastes (*cough*) - altho there were many a times i found myself nearly shouting out to Hud (the cam operater) to point the blardy cam towards the ruckus where the creature might be! LOL - that said, i was immersed into the feature as events unfolded in rapidly and unrelentlessly, and all i can say is, time flew by ever so quickly and i nary had much time to take a prolonged break from the frantic sequences. well done to everyone involved in the making of the movie :)

altho far from being the spectacular movie that everyone seems to be so hyped about, "surprisingly" including myself (*cough* - or maybe im just jaded this way), it was nevertheless an enjoyable flick, surviving the hype, as it were (and im both a sacrificial-lamb for hype as well as naysayer LOL). and if you plan on having popcorn? please do finish them before Lady Liberty's head lands on the streets, becoz after that, your attention would be on the screen and the motley group of folks trying to survive it. and im not talking about the cliched celluloid heroes or the soldiers - im talking about the "everyman", the Joe-Blo, you and me. what would WE do if this had happened to us? what would we do to survive? but does everyone walk out of it alive? watch it til the bittersweet end.

although i haveta say, my initial rendition of the Cloverfield-monster was waaaaaay off LOL (even tho it was done tongue-in-~~butt~~cheek :p)

caught an afternoon-screening alone and have been racking my muddled-memory since, for at least a decent sketch of the creature (where my photography-plans fell thru ggrrrr) which i'd still feebly attempt here in this post

***SPOILER ALERT*** AHEAD!
THE STORY:
straight forward with slight twists that we may have recognized from countless other horror/suspense/monster-flicks, but seen in a "new light", or at least different POV (which is not a negative). Rob Hawkins is leaving the country to go to Japan for a new job. his bro Jason and girlfriend Lily sets-up a surprise party for Rob. Hud's the appointed "video-documentarian" - who at times is a real pain (the sorta friend you wanna smack in the head LOL) especially when he meets his crush, Marlena. Beth turns up with her date. Rob is devastated (he slept with her priors - she is hawt, reminds me of Megan Fox = yumz). Hud tells EVERYONE about Rob bangin' Beth (head-smacking worthy move, that was LOL). Rob and Beth exchange words and she leaves the party. Jason and Hud confronts Rob about his feelings on the fire-escape. from then on, the action starts and is unrelenting.

from when the head of Lady Liberty crashes unto the streets, everything goes nuts. the shitte hits the fan and when it does, you go along with the frantic ride. everyone heads towards the bridge to get out of town, and Rob receives cellphone call from Beth, who says she's trapped in her apartment and cannot move. tragedy ensues next.

THE MOVIE & MANGA CONNECTION (a Side Note):
at one point in during Rob's party, when the earth shakes and lights blackout for a moment (after the fire-escape scene) - everyone is glued to the telly, with the news report going on about "an oil tanker capsizing" - this ties in very neatly to the online Cloverfield Manga [read more via ComicBookResources] - where the last page of the manga shows a chained creature coming from beyond the depths = which may essentially be a prequel to the movie? = *sweet*

via Hud's camera was a quick-glimpse of a beached and destroyed (possible) tanker on-shore. with a headless Statue of Liberty next/close to it! so mayhap the manga showed the rise of the creature, whereby it promptly laid waste to both the statue's head and the tanker, before it climbed on-shore to wreck havok in the city? *noice*

meanwhile, the entire movie-storyline is revealed on Cloverfield's wikipedia-page, in near detail (no less) LOL :p

COVERT CLOVERFIELD-MONSTER SHUTTERBUGS TAKE NOTE:
whatever glances of the creature are quick and swift, lasting no longer than 3-4 seconds (at least for first half, 1/3-ish of the flick). i didn't keep track of most of the "earlier" appearances (i was too riveted with the action! LOL) ... but whatever little sequences i can remember; are as follows:

(1) creature captured on plasma-screen via News telecast in the electronics store (when Rob goes in to look for spare HP-batteries). pretty exciting, IMHO :p

also see the parasites captured on telly. soldiers get mangled. alien-hugger but much, much bigger LOL

[closest approximation image / via Slashfilm.com]
(2) when Rob, Lily, Marlena and Hud gets out of the electronics store to go look for Beth, and the military scrambles down the streets firing everything they've got at the creature. slight but decent-ish glimpses, especially when they run towards the subway stairs (hard to anticipate when, so standby cams during street-fight-scene, yo!). the creature faces head-on at Hud's camera for about 2-3 seconds (looked like a rattle-snake's to me tho, at least in teeth and facial-form, IMHO)

(3) not main creature, but it's "parasites". walking down a darkened subway tunnel - which ain't the brightest thing to do, especially when you see hoardes of rats scampering the other way. the rats know. follow the rats and RUN! but of coz, our intrepid group stares back into the darkness, until Rob turns on Hud's camera's night vision. fuck me.

(4) parasite-alert! everyone makes it to a make-shift shelter and emergency hospital, and a parasite is wheeled past the camera, encased in a glass-box. guess who doesn't make it to the next scene?

(5) Rob, Lily and Hud climbs 49+ stairs up a building, to jump across another (who has since been toppled over and leaning against the one they are climbing) to get to Beth's apartment. and when they go back after getting Beth? guess who's rampaging in the background? standby cameras, yo! LOL

(6) dateline to get out of Manhattan is 0600hrs, where the last helicopters will leave, before the hammer strike decimates the city. from there on in, loads of creature appearances. snap away, my celluloid-friends!

(7) seen from atop a helicopter was a top-ish shoot of the creature, prolonged about 10-seconds on and off (i may be wrong in my estimates and may be longer)

[sketched in cinema when the lights came on. the face/head should be a tad "longer"]

[sketched later at home, based on faded-memory - more snake-like]
seen from top: creature has a V-shaped body (quasi duck-webbed-feets/membrane sorta feel :p), with nigh-elongated arms/forearms, and when he moves, tis more like crawling with front arms and hind legs rather than just on hind legs (which you do see quite a bit first half of movie-appearance). the shoulder-region is arched back - which again reminded me loads of Dark Crystal's Landstriders. you could see the spinal-column reaching all the way til the tail. the tail is not sharp-ended but with a quasi-fin at the end, but i cannot remember it that well now to do a sketch tho (dammit). and i really can't recognize nor remember the humaoid-ish hands out of the creature's body (as seen in sketches thus far tho :p)

and it's fingers are extremely long and skeletal-floppy LOL - which you can see clearer when the creature gets shot at with drop-bombs and his hands brace against an entire skyscraper and dammit tis huge!

these are from the design sketches floating around the www now, which i've approximated certain portions of which may resemble the creature on screen.

[note the highlighted areas]
(8) and just when you thought the creature was nullified and that everyone's in the clear, guess who takes a swipe at the helos from amidst the dust-clouds? i had an honest-to-goodness OMG!-WTF-WTF?!-moment here LOL

(9) once the helo goes down, get ready your cameras. from here on in, tis loads of close-ups of the creature, lit by daylight (day-break, remember "0600hrs"?)

[Camera looks up on the creature, guess where's Hud standing? *yikes*]
i kick myself for not whipping out my digi-cam. kick really, really hard. becoz the camera stays on the creature's face, long enough for it to look at Hud, imagine how Hud'll taste like if BBQ'd, or deep-fried, or sauteed, or ... (you get the picture) before he decides it's humans-tartare-time and opens up it's mouth. the face reminds me quite a bit of Predator's tho (whereas 2/3rds of the movie, a quite-flash of it's head looked like a rattle-snake's - mentioned above)

[creature staring straight into the camera!]

my coloring is off, tis more dark warm grey than brown. the reds at the side of the temple actually pulsates (like breathing) and returns to it's original skin-tone thereafters (before having making breakfast out of Hud).

you can guess the ending. a nice little cliche made bittersweet. and the credits roll. the only time you hear a soundtrack/music (other than during the party itself) is when the credits roll. and it was goose-pimple-inducing, for me anyways ... but unfortunately the lights had already gone on in the cinema during this time, and the cleaner-dude sashayed past me a few times clearing folks' discarded drinks ... so much for the complete celluloid experience, ennit? *heh*

"Incredible":

[all colored creature sketches via Slashfilm.com]

UPDATED 16 Feb 2008: images of the Cloverfield Monster has surfaced online, as well as a 14-inch tall Cloverfield Monster TOY from HASBRO! [peep]

[First Reviewed on TOYSREVIL January 17th 2008]

viddily so, perhaps

2008-01-03T15:31:00.000+08:00

i suppose i ought to be grateful the power went out the night before, and that when the lights returned to the void, the wireless was found to have died a premature death, with nary a whimper, just a dreadeddullclick and the worldwideweb remained a vaccumedvoid, spasmic fingers in death-throes clickclickclickityclack... i suppose i ought to be grateful becoz i'd turn to ye old dvd for solace and entertainment and entertained i was, for i'd finally had the chance to partake of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, where before i could not bare to even sit thru even 15 minutes of unease (and mind you, i believed i'd have the staunch stomach for anything *burp*), as painful to watch as it was before, it was now a sheer delight from beginning til credits' end. old Ludwig Van had never sounded so triumphant and majestic and MacDowell is unto celluloid godhood, even if it was for those paltry xxx hours. invigorating i was. viddily so, even. /// READ MORE

unsure to react appropriately, i type these words haphazardly, in a desperate attempt to capture thy escaping mindscaped moments, but alas i am left with dismal words and jumbled thoughts, swishing around in the rapids of thy mind, a mind emptied as the credits rolled and immediately filled up once more, like sewage gushing into the dank darkened tunnels leading to thy brain, invigorated i was. i didn't even notice the smell.

with half-opened eyes and stank leftover cigarette breaths, i exhale and the words filling up the page may perhaps be indecipherable the morning afters, but i reckon it couldn't be avoided... it needed to be expunged and quick, for a nightmare filled night awaits me, brimmed with tainted violence and scarlet blood and orchestrated sex and bare breasts heaving in languid motion, perhaps? ... or perhaps i may yet slumber like a wee kitty, or a wee dogget, obliviously filling the space with rhythmic snores, a twisted symphony, a top-ten elevator-hit .. or perhaps it may only be a sillied smile on my face? i certainly hope so.

and thy morrow doesn't seem to matter now (not as much as it was yesterday) just the inescapable thoughts which i fear may still be swishing in the mindmuck within, afloat on a piece of crumble, veering down the tunnel of infinite imagination, dulled like a butchers' knife unto molten rock, cleaving thru the membrane of sanity disguised as a sweet smelling rose, a tulip perhaps (but not an orchid, for orchids are but a vile product of thy country's commercialization), or just a dewdrop on a single fragile leafygreen, cascading lonelily down the ash-soaked waterfall at the edge of the tunnel (yes that same tunnel, do forgive the smell luv) gushing unto the collective wastes of humanity, stacked up unto the clouds, sunshine peering thru the skeletal remains of forgotten cultures and fossilized traditions, cradled amidst blackened soot that rises up from the train of thy thoughts, careening down the tracks where the bolts have been loosened ... aaahh but what a ride it would have / will be, viddily so, my readers, viddily so.

altho i hope i don't have to pay the train-conductor, for my pockets are filled with nothing but dreams i've yet to dream, and unspoken promises of a better morrow, when today is as important as yesterdays ... but i'd forgotten what i dreamt the night before ... or perhaps i didn't dream at all ... and Ludwig Van is on self-repeat on the dvd and i realize that mayhap i already am asleep and i am sleep-typing, for i've heard it has happened in some parts of the dreamworld, perhaps so, perhaps so ... but i have no pockets in my pants. and if they are, they be sewn tight as a whistle, a steam of air escaping into the subconscious of the traffic outside the window, oblivious to my typing. my mind spilleth forth but the silence is utterly deafening, can't you smell the sewage?

Reactions to Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange - circa November 2nd 2007

Citizen Dog

2007-12-31T06:31:00.000+08:00

from the moment Pod walks out of his house with the gorgeous mural, to him losing his finger in a canned sardine, to him finding his lost tapping-index-finger, to the enigma that is Jin (who buries her face in a book she cannot understand), to the streets filled with maid-uniforms, to the smoking teddy bear and the little grownup girl, to the licking-man, and the bus-squeezing couple, to the mountain of recyclable plastic bottles, to the reincarnated grandma, to the zombie motorcycle-taxi-rider, CITIZEN DOG had me thoroughly enthralled from opening singing sequence to the last.
TRAILER (In Thai with Eng-subs):

with a production design so vivid and subtly dynamic, the art direction immaculate, right down to the costumes (gotta be diggin' the tees Pod rawks), it puts my heart to solemn tears, equalled-mixed emotions of inner joy and abject sadness ... a script with a simple message that fills every nook and cranny of the screen with an abundance of quirkiness and charm, that it threatens the message itself with it's own irreverence. a meltingpot of cliched-goodness and a heap tinge of originality, it charms still. /// CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

admittedly, a small part of me wished i hadn't watched this movie, as tis a production which i've longed to be a part of; to design for, to feel for, is slapped down hard by the current reality of it probably never being able to be realized in this lifetime for me ... but a huge part of me is grateful for the opportunity to see this movie, to feel and bathe in it's visual-splendour, and somehow (however minute) instill in me a wee bit of "hope", if not for my own lamented and forgone passion for a continued-career in films, at the very least in the fact that a film such as this flawed-gem, simply exists.

i have become an unashamed commercial-movie-lurvin'whore ... my mistress; art films losing my favour as of late (too many caught up in their own artsyness to be reverent by any token), indie-flicks my concubine still ... but with this, i thee wed, and happily so (altho not necessarily in script-sickness and in box-office-health).

now, im not going to begrudge that Citizen Dog was a 2004 Thai-movie but we've only gotten on our local screens in end-2007, im just grateful it did. currently showing @ The Picturehouse, tis a movie i would heartily and sincerely recommend to anyone with a penchant for fairytale-tomfoolery and to say it is "quirky" is to belittle it's immense "heart" (on the same token, tis like asking if Tom Cruise is short, so...), and yes, tis "off-the-beaten-track", as opposed to the commerciality that confounds (and entertains, no doubt) the current crop of celluloid-offerings on Singapore-screens. and don't try to unravel the intent nor logic (or lack thereof), just go along for the ride and hopefully you'd be able to find yourself smiling throughout, as did i :)

if you've watched and loved Tears Of The Black Tiger (for which Wisit Sasanatieng is the director for both), you would enjoy this immensely - atlho make no mistake, as polished an effort as it is compared to Tears, it too has it's fair share of cliches, some not quite making the mark, but thankfully most do (but of coz im glossed over and blinded by the visuals to be totally non-biased, im sorry LOL) ... moving away from the inanity of the pseudo-Thai-cowboy outback to the modern bustling streets of bangkok, where people grow tails and the tone and mood is drenched in kitschy-retro-goodness.

SYNOPSIS [via wiki]:
Mah Nakorn (English title: Citizen Dog) is a 2004 Thai romance film, directed by Wisit Sasanatieng and based on a story by Wisit's wife, Koynuch (Siriphan Techajindawong), which was illustrated by him. The second film by the director of Tears of the Black Tiger, it is a colorfully surrealistic story set in contemporary Bangkok, where a boy (Pod) without a goal in life falls in love with a girl (Jin) who lives for her dreams. The movie is frequently compared with the French movie Amélie. One of the main themes of the movie is that people will only find something from the moment when they stopped looking for it.

i'd mentioned to my movie-date (and bless her for choosing this movie) that this was the sort of movie that i'd miss from earlier Japanese flicks, and somehow the notion remains still, altho i cannot quantify it enough to be written/typed down ... and yes, Amelie comes very close to a comparison (with Delicatessen coming up real close, IMHO)

PLOT:
Pod is a country boy who moves to Bangkok, despite his grandmother's warning that he'll grow a tail. He finds a small house to live in and takes a job in a sardine cannery, getting rides to work on the back of a motorcycle taxi, the rider of which has been made a zombie after one day it rained motorcycle helmets and he wasn't wearing one.
One hot day the assembly line at the cannery malfunctions. In the confusion, Pod chops his index finger off and it ends up in a can that is trucked away to a local grocery store. He searches everyday, buying can after can of sardines. Eventually he sees a can jumping around and opens it to find a finger. He attaches it simply by pressing it into place.

Wisit has been attached to a local (Singaporean) project: ARMFUL (to be produced by One Ton Cinema) but unfortunately has been put on (indefinite) hold, awaiting further funding (read more here - under "Projects in development"), to which i have to add: "give them the money so we could all revel in more of his story-telling!"

the movie has been released on DVD and i can't wait for the opportunity to track it down :)

OPENING MUSIC SEQUENCE:

CREDITS ROLL MUSIC SEQUENCE (performed by Modern Dog):

which has become my fav movie-song of the year ~ *heh*

Casino Royale

2007-12-27T19:36:00.000+08:00

have you ever felt the exquisite discomfort of needing to pee very badly in the middle of watching a movie (onwards), but couldn't tear yourself away, even tho you're bladder's like a yangtze-river-flood waiting to burst forth, crushing the damn-dam, becoz the movie was just too exciting and filled with non-stop surprises?

well, i suffered and suffered gladly, and i have Casino Royale to blame for my bladder-issues. Bond was an arrogant and egotistical dick. Bond pouts every opportunity he gets. Bond just got updated in this prequel set in the year 2006, when he had just gotten conferred double-O status = ie. this is not your father's/grandfather's or even your old Bond, this is a new updated fearless action-man and full of raw-animal kills and alpha-male oozing out of it's celluloid-pores. /// IS IT REALLY SHAKEN & NOT STIRRED?

dude doesn't even have much lines/dialogue, does he? and mayhap that's good in a way, coz "James Bond" the character has become such a cliche - altho an icon, the kitschness+cheeziness he possessed needed a change (altho longtime fans might disagree) and Daniel Craig is the result. a good looker he is not and inastead of oozing with charm, he's but pumped full of action and silent gruff, i don't really care much myself, IMHO. altho we might be seeing a My-Fair-Spy-Lady-transformation in the obvious sequels to come? ...anyways, just gimme the Bond Babes ...

in a nutshell, if you haven't deduced that Eva's the Bondgirl that (broke Bond's heart) and her attempts at intelligence were pausible if not coerced ... Eva Green looks gorgeous without makeup on (hotel bathroom scene), while the regular overkill eye-shadow and gorgeous glamourous gowns make her look like a starving vampire about town hankering for a suck'o'blood, IMHO.

Martin Campbell (director) worked it and worked it well, with loads of cheeky Bond-references flung about and some sensible and unpredictable Bond-action/reaction-pieces, bolstered in tremendous form by the decent to fabulous/lush cinematography = pushes Bond to the forefront of modern-cinema excess = makes for great eye-candy, yeh?

other than that, i'd give away not the plot and would recommend you go watch it and form your own opinions instead. personally, as bland as the characters provided me, it was still quite an enjoyable movie-exprience, IMHO ... and seriously im just thankful they didn't go cast a young actor to re-start the franchise, innit? plus someone should consider using this movie to brand the upcoming ~~casinos~~ Intergrated Resorts in Singapore, innit? *heh* :p

[first reviewed circa 17.11.06]

Ultraviolet VCD

2006-09-14T10:59:00.000+08:00

the only ~~other~~ reason to watch Ultraviolet is for Milla Jovovich. 'nuff said,

/// CLICK TO READ FULL POST
i'd missed the movie on the big screen and had resisted getting the DVD (waiting for price to go down :p) but was compelled to get the VCD (pre-loved) and unfortunately, i did not like what i saw (except for Milla, of coz).

mayhap my expectation was too high? at the very least i expected to be entertained. the plot / premise was a unique combination of my pet favs: vampirism and the (apocalyptical) future in bright shiny lights. and Milla Jovovich as a vampire? too delish to believe! ... and in the end, all i got was "bright" and "shiny". gawd, the colors were so bright, my eyes and senses were blinded so ...

/the plot - simple but unsatisfying.
/the directing - director Kurt Wimmer had a winner (it rhymes!) in Equilibrium. (and i enjoyed The Recruit quite) Ultraviolet was a futile exercise in excess. this is a prime example of: "trying too hard"
/the acting - lacklustre. loadsa passion but no craft. the Vietnamese-speaking segment got at least a chuckle and a raised eyebrow from me (like, WTH?) tis like a fan-film, but with loadsa budget.
/the visuals - everything felt a tad "european", in terms of treatment and flavor, and hence dialogue felt as if dubbed for some reason ... the colors become a huge wad of a deformed rainbow. quite painful to watch actually (but then again, i watched it on VCD, innit?)
/the design - competently executed (altho there is a somewhat retro-80's neon-thing going on for a bit which confused me) and i haveta give kudos to the costume and styling-team (purple hair notwithstanding) = they made Milla HAWT. real HAWT.

so hawt that she needn't take her clothes off to be sexy. and that's saying a lot.

and that's all i haveta say about the glam-sham that was under-delivered-promise of Ultraviolet. thank you for reading this far.

(review circa 27.08.06)

Dragon Tiger Gate

2006-09-09T02:55:00.000+08:00

i really wanted to like this movie. i really did. the behind the scenes were encouraging and the anticipation of an Asian/HK comicbook adaptation is too delish to ignore.

Dragon Tiger Gate (Lung Fu Mun) is really an individual creature unto itself and should be "judged" and enjoyed for what it is (and not what i hopes to be), IMHO

/// CLICK TO READ MORE

the good bits:
01. sound design gets top honors, for me. you feel each and every punch. every power-up. every bone crunch. and that for me lifts this flick above the rest.

02. inspired costuming (styling consultation by William Chang!) and art direction (tho at times contrived) ~ which provided a parallel universe (to ours) in which the characters live and fight. (altho i haveta say i hated the singapore-movie poster ~refer insert~ wtf have them posing within the concrete skyscrapers?) appreciating the efforts to create said universe. and yes, even the hair.

03. Donnie Yen (Dragon Wong), Nicholas Tse (Tiger Wong) and Shawn Yue (Turbo Shek) equip themselves with the neccessary skills to kick, punch and pose tough throughout the flick ~ well , mayhap just Nic and Shawn lah ~ Donnie's the "action director/fight choreographer" and the dude "naturally" pumps his pecs hard here.

04. the moves and fight scenes are ~~top-notch~~ slick and hard and are what makes the movie and definitely worth watching on the big screen. 'nuff said.

the not-so-good-bits:
01. why must the villain wear that stupid-mask? dude looks like a vagabond dey. hard to respect an opponent who doesn't groom himself, is all ima sayin' ...

02. attempts were made to layer the motivations and actions of the characters, via ~~tacky~~ flashbacks and probably comic-styled dialogue and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. always the tricky-bit when crossing comics and movies ...

03. as much as they try to infuse emotional depth within the storyline, with exception Donnie's and his assassin-lover's ~ it comes off slightly contrived and forced and all i could do was shudder in my shoes. other than that, the themes of "revenge" and "redemption" were what drove the movie forward, which is not that bad a thing really ...

with alla that said, technically, this film is as brill as it can/could get, in this genre ... but sadly the "soul" is lacking ~ but hey, this a comic-adapted movie, innit? and with that in mind, it really was an enjoyable watch for me and yes, it is recommended for the big screen, for it's epic scope and grandeur. and personally, it even is worth the weekend price of the ticket :)

linkies:
detailed feature on loveasianfilm (contains plot spoilers)

(review circa 10.08.06)

CLICK

2006-09-09T02:54:00.000+08:00

what i've always liked about Adam Sandler-flicks are that they are what i call "non-commital-movies" ~ ie: no investment of emotions or attachments are neccessary to enjoy/watch them. with that in mind, i've always liked (most) of Sandler's movies (which is ironic, becoz i expect to be "entertained") /// CLICK HERE TO READ IN FULL

the basic premise of Click intrigued me so, with what promises to be unrestrained (sort of for a general PG-rating anyways) fun-flick, lasted all of the first half of the movie, whereby the second half uppped and pulled a "fast one" on me/us.

the humor is trademark-Sandler, IMHO. Sandler is Michael Newman. ~~Newman has an uber-hawt wife and this appalling fiction could only happen in a hollywood-flick~~ Newman is the "everyguy". the everyguy trying to do good. the everyguy who isn't perfect (but tries to be and fails). the everyguy who loves his wife and kids and even his job. the everyguy who tries to get by (something we could somehow all relate to, yeh?). the everyguy gets a miraculous mechanism which allows him to be in control of everything around him. of the environment and most importantly, time ~ and he rewinds, pauses and fast forwards thru his life (now, i would llllluuuuurrrvvvve to have that remote, i promise i will use it well, i would) ... and of coz throughout the whole proceedings, he screws up but eventually makes good. the everyguy learns from his mistakes and triumphs upon himself at the end of the day. this unmistakable Sandler-movie-formula never disappoints and it does not here ... but things are not they seem ...

from frat-boy humor to a deeper exploration of basic human core and emotions, centered around love ~ and suddenly, Click has an emotional depth ~ which chugs along quite sluggishly (becoz you'd never expect a A.Sandler movie to go this direction) initially, but gets you up along with the ride and makes you look within yourself and ask that basic question: "have you told your loved ones you loved them, recently?" (and then Sandler pulls the finger unto his ex's new husband *bwahahahaha*)

from not wanting to invest any emotions in this movie, to actually "feeling" more than just plain ol' laughter ~ Click succeeds (if this ever was the plan) in more than entertaining me, it actually made me feel for the movie and to heed it's voice and i reckon that's a pretty cool surprise. (not that i'd ever be expecting more from Sandler from this point in, mind :p)

i watched this in the new Cathay Cineleisure, in the beautiful big hall, second row from the screen (*urghz*) and the hall was full. it was a friday night (i think?). and as much as my gut tells me "it wasn't worth the price of near-weekend admission and still watchable on small screens" ~ my ~~heart~~ head tells me it was money decently spent for a enjoyable one and a half-hours ~ you decide ~

(review circa 10.08.06)

Napolean Dynamite VCD

2006-09-09T02:52:00.000+08:00

watched Napolean Dynamite for the first time just, with a crooked brow for the entire duration (but of coz i exaggerate), one hand on me tummy (from the laugher) and the other hand on me forehead (wondering "WTF is going on here?") ~ with a constant wonderment about this obvious non-movie which has become a cult-MTV fav and cultural reference, and of how brilliantly it's all been planned and played out. /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

the only obvious "production value" of this entire flick was in the opening title sequence, whereas the on-going day-to-day life of N.D. is chronicled as mundane and as visually "realistic" (meaning: no high fashion ~ altho i dig his tees alot) as this feature could afford. nothing seems glamorized (but of coz my interpretation of USA is via teevee, films and music videoes, 'natch) and a "dear-diary" approach, as far as the vignettes guide the narrative and a semblence of a "plot". peppered with quasi-~~retarded~~dysfunctional folks in what is a thinly disguised celebration of nerdhood. a shout-out to geekdom and really, after a while - becomes a tad tedious and bordering on irritation, if not being hilarious at the same time. this weird parallel universe-conundrum is giving me a headache *ouchie*

cue hero in brown suit, the friend-in-need with his smooth dance grooves. and Pedro becomes president. cue gangsta homies in tricked-out ride. cue brother in bling-bling, lickin' it with La Fawnduh. cue retro-80's muzak.

watch it and be not left out in the geekery-movement that has been made hip for the new millennium, and of the manipulation of middle-american folks by the media ... all i can say is: "thank gawd i bought this VCD @ $7.95"

(review circa 10.08.06)

The Fast And The Furious : Tokyo Drift

2006-09-09T02:51:00.000+08:00

dunno if it's just me, but the taxi trip i took after watching The Fast and The Furious : Tokyo Drift was akin to sitting in an unlicensed rally car, with the driver going on-and-on - and as he attempts to "drift" down round the ECP-turnabout, i hold my lunch within and can't help but feel that im still in the movie. mayhap that is the single triumph of the flick? /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

one noticable difference FF3 has from 1+2 is the complete lack of CG-enhanced closeups of engine pistons, no glorification of the nitro-burst experience, but rather in place we have loadsa closeups of hgands on steering wheels, hands on hand-brakes, on shifts and feets/shoes on pedals (in short, the technical art of "drifting"). director Justin Lin attempts to "keep it real".

and i walked out of the cinema hall with:
01. thumping/kickin' tracks on loop in my subconscious (for which i satisfied my inner desires with the purchase of the CD-soundtrack)
02. quick random flashes of japanese ladies in hawt, lil criminal minis (but why can't i remember any "faces"?)
03. mediocre-looking zhnged-cars (for which was such an inspiration in the first two installments that it led to me amassing Barbie-cars to zhng/customize eventually for me own 1/6-version of F&F)

~ and that's about the size of it really ~

"To avoid jail time, street racer Sean Boswell is sent to live with his father in Tokyo. There he discovers drift racing. After losing a race to Yakuza-connected D.K., the Drift King, Sean has to enter the Tokyo underworld to find a way to pay his debt." [via]

righteous-troublemaker Lucas Black, with his southern-drawl sticks out like a yakuza-cut thumb in this bad-boy-done-good fable, paired with Bow Wow ("lil" no more) ~ sidekick-extrodinaire, with a kickin' Hulk-mobile (probably the BEST looking vehicle in the whole darn movie, IMHO) and the ~~irritaingly~~ square-jawed but near-hawt-ish Nathalie Kelley and of coz, your usual garden-variety cliched yakuza-ish dudes. dun forget DK (aka "Drift King") and the F4/Ken Chu-lookalike ~~college slacker looking~~ hustler; Han, slumming about in the underground garage and by a ship-wharf. and then there was Sonny Chiba. go figure ...

does Justin Lin score with this 3rd installment? mayhap more than anyone thinks (what with "new-found" emo-depth *HAH*) but is a serious deviation from the prior two cinematic outings - which accumulates full circle with a guest appearance near the end (Vin Diesel) as a new gaijin-DK drifts into parking-lot-eternity ...

personally, i enjoyed the ride (NOT the taxi-ride i mentioned in the beginning, mind) and appreciate it for what it is/was. objectively? i'd say: watch it in the cinema for the full thumping music. anything else makes for a mindless contentment easily satisfied on the home googlebox, IMHO.

my proposal for Part 4:
Fast and Furious meets Initial D (they're in the same neighbourhood now, innit?) ~ and let's see who gets thrashed, yeh?

(review circa 08.08.06)

Lady In The Water

2006-09-09T02:50:00.000+08:00

i recognize what my problem was. i was waiting for the infamous Shyamalan-twist, when instead it was unfolding itself as Lady In The Water went along serendipitously, resulting in a moment of dumbstruckness when the credits started to roll and i turned and said/asked: "huh? that's it?" /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

the only thing remains unchanged is the mood and pace of M.Night's movies ~ slow, languid and mood-building ~ which it did, alas the anti-climax. to be fair, the maturity shown as a filmmaker is constant, as does his also by-no-infamous ~~ridiculous~~ cameos ~ this time a full-blown role with plenty of speaking parts and blank expressions-in-place-of-acting. personally, i'd be more than happy if he just stuck to his dayjob.

the subtle acting in this ensemble cast is also commendable, with the loser-ish-hero with a scarred-past in Paul Giamatti's Cleveland Heep gunning for top credit. Bryce Dallas Howard's Story just looks like she's in a perpetual deer-in-headlights-about-to-be-banged-mode (there's a thin line between "hauntingly-beautiful" and "haunting", yeh?), while the rest of the other tenants of the apartment complex (very much like 50-60's Chinese movies leh) provide appropriate comedic and nuanced performances ~ and maybe some NOT so nuanced - ie: Korean student neighbour Young Soon - and the film-critic with his hilarious monologue! *farnie*

mayhap a "mould" was what Night was trying to break out of ~ instead this HBO-ish offering (not that it's bad to be HBO-ish, mind) falls short of expectations (the movie posters were deceptively alluring and intriguing) but doesn't mean this is a bad movie. on the contrary, it is a decent piece of celluloid, which unfortunately does not measure up to his 6th-Sense, or even Unbreakable (which i quite very well liked, actually) ... heck, i couldn't even finish Signs, much less like The Village (becoz i figured out the twist, halfway thru the flick) ~ but of coz, that's just me...

but viewed on it's own? sans expectations? it's decent-ish enough for a weekday viewing ($7), but on a weekend? be patient and go rent it instead.

(review circa 08.0806)

Thank You For Smoking

2006-09-09T02:49:00.001+08:00

Thank You For Smoking was an enjoyable watch, most for the ensemble cast, fast and sharp laughs and dark irony that which is the charm of this flick and that's about it really. some flicks are worth watching on the big screen and others would do just as good a job on the small-screens (~~pirated~~ dvd/vcd) ~ as thoroughly enjoyable as this was, it falls into the latter category, IMHO. /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

altho the part where they try to introduce a skull-n-crossbones and a "POISON" warning label on cigarette packs was quite a good "nudge-nudge-snigger", to wit:

like, how "forward thinking" are singaporeans, innit? *muahaha-bleh* ;p

go to anutshellreview for a "proper review" lah thank yew berry much :)

(review circa 01.08.06)

The Lake House

2006-09-09T02:49:00.000+08:00

maybe t'was that becoz i've watched Il Mare (the Korean-version) prior and had shed "sensitive manly tears" before (*ahem*). or maybe t'was me half expecting both Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock to somehow board a bus together *snigger* (but at least Keanu nearly got knocked down by a bus, innit? :p) or maybe t'was becoz i was staring too hard (unintentionally, mind) at both their double-chins ... regardless, i was distracted somewhat by everything else except for the sweet movie that i imagine it to have been. /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

"How do you hold on to someone you've never met?" [via]

The Lake House is a "simple" story of love, separated by time and circumstance. forget the obvious time paradox (with the mailbox as the time-nexus) and concentrate on the connection between the two lovelorn folks ~ which i personally feel was quickly glossed over and not developed further (just a hollywood way of quickening the relationship between the two), or a simple matter of two lonely folks sharing companionship that which becomes a "love" that transcends time and the universe. and in the end, tis the mailbox that connects the two, (the dog, the gatekeeper? :p) the lake house serves only as spacial context for which the two bonds. (wonder why they didn't call it; "The Mailbox" instead?)

two decent leads, matured by time and experience, makes this a surprisingly watchable fable and in the end, that is what it remains, a "fable" - where it clings unto our collective fantasies, rather than a reality we could understand, recognize and relate.

at this point in time,. i could barely remember the ending to Il Mare (as compared to the lovey-dovey sweet happy-hollywood-ending in Lake House) - faint memories indicated that the male lead died (hence the "manly tears", i think :p) and unrequited heartbreak set to the repetitive theme song (as ALL Korean love-films have) plays to eternity (or at least till the credit rolls) ... am i wrong here? :p

linkies:
Movie Trailer
a nutshellreview

(review circa 01.08.06)

Johnny Mnemonic DVD

2006-09-09T02:48:00.000+08:00

with a screenplay by William Gibson (based on a short story), starring post-Speed/Little Buddha+pre-Matrix Keanu Reeves as Johnny - and guest starring "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, Henry Rollins and Ice-T, in a cyberpunk fest directed by Robert Longo, Johhny Mnemonic is Bladerunner in anime-colors, with grounded '90's-movie-sentimentality, a great design touch (for that era) and a lingering Akira-drenched atmosphere. tis a B-Grade action flick thinly disguised as a cyberpunk adventure, drenched in kitschy-effects at times and nostalgic-retro visual effects ala Tron. /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

my memories of this flick was faint, but the core gist was that it was good enough to spur my desires toward the realm of cyberpunk, what with multiple teevee-screens ingrained into my psyche, so much so i'd wanna have that set built and in my designs before i pass beyond the mortal realm ... aaahhh ... those where heady days ... and now years-on in, i have re-found the movie again (with exceptional discount no less) i am again humbled by it.

for sure the concepts seem mediocre, backdated and rampant nowsadays (*cough*), but imagine them conceived and executed a decade ago. ironically "low-tech" compared to now (as the LoTeks in the film were as advanced then) and for that simple reason, i've enjoyed the ride the dvd could afford me.

surprisingly Keanu "over"-acted, Kitano was subdued and Rollins sprouted his lines as deliciously as he does his works and Ice-T was no different as he was as the mutant man-kangagroo; T-Saint, in Tank Girl ... and yep, Dolph Lundgren was a cybernetic-ham.

and i lurve this line from Henry Rollin's "Spider" character, when asked what causes the "Black Shakes" (NAS = Nerve Attenuation Syndrome - a wholewide health-"plague")

"This causes it! (points to machinary and computers) This causes it! This causes it! Technological fucking overload! But we still have all this shit. Because we can't live without it." [via] ... don't we all?

(review circa 04.07.06)

Lords Of Dogtown DVD

2006-09-09T02:47:00.000+08:00

Lords of Dogtown is pure visual gravy only, a feature-length music video without the "music", a trio of autobiographies mashed into one choppy narrative; quick cut and slice ~ weaving in and out of the movie, like the boys on their decks ... and even tho the action shots are near breathtakingly beautiful, it doesn't hide the fact that the substance that is whole-heartedly absent from this movie; like a missing wheel of the deck, teetering sometimes on "WTF-is-going-on-here?" to "and it's going somewhere where again?" and it all climaxes when old friends become friends again and re-discover their passion and as cliched as it may be, it is the single heartwarming sequence of the entire flick ... /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

"A fictionalized take on the group of brilliant young skateboarders raised in the mean streets of Dogtown in Santa Monica, California. The Z-Boys, as they come to be known, perfect their craft in the empty swimming pools of unsuspecting suburban homeowners, pioneering a thrilling new sport and eventually moving into legend." [via]

with alla that said, i still enjoyed it for what was on-screen and the subtle notion of an innocence lost, to commerce and time and while i dare not parallel the boys' plight to my own, i can only envy the freedom they had, while they were n their decks, even tho t'was only on the silver screens ... and the intense colors were nice, yes they were :)

linkies:
wikipedia entry
trailers

(review circa 23.06.06)

Scary Movie 4

2006-09-09T02:46:00.000+08:00

4 reasons why i watched Scary Movie 4 (instead of X-men 3):
01. it was closest to where i was at, at time of screening. (yes i was lazy)
02. it was a brainless alternative to a good laugh and time.
03. the trailers were actually quite farnie.
04. remembering having a good laugh with Scary Movie 3.

4 memorable movies they parodied:
01. Ju-On (innocent little devil caught in ridiculous situations)
02. War Of The Worlds (milked beyond comprehension)
03. Brokeback Mountain (hilarious revival of Lionel Ritchie's Hello)
04. The Village (vague reference) /// CLICK TO READ IN FULL

4 reasons why i should've made the effort to go watch something else instead:
01. compared to SM3, it wasn't as farnie or even smart (considering the content even) ... or maybe it was the movies they parodied did not resonate as much.
02. the trailer was farnier. as vignettes go, maybe it could've been just loosely strung together parodies instead, ala SNL :p
03. main lead just wasn't farnie (at all) and Anna Faris was a tad off-babe (compared to SM3)
04. could've waited for the ~~pirated dvd~~ second-hand VCD instead.

4 "best" sequences of the film:
01. all SAW references. farnie lah :p
02. Mr Koji giving Cindy a tour of the house where she'll be working.
03. Cindy Campbell's cheeky one-liners. ("i've taken balls to the face before")
04. Fahrenheit 9/11 parody and all President scenes = never fails to get laughs about the stupidity of the President of the USA (Leslie Nielsen, i mean) *muahahahaha*

(review circa 24.06.06)

Love Story

2006-09-09T02:45:00.001+08:00

*artistic-renaissance versus mediocrity-preference-of-the-masses*

go read about the movie here and watch the trailer here.

(review circa 14.06.06)

Unarmed Combat

2006-09-09T02:45:00.000+08:00

*personal-disappointment versus support-local-cinema*

go read about the movie here and watch the trailer here and teaser here.

(review circa 14.06.06)

Westworld DVD

2006-09-09T02:44:00.000+08:00

finally got ahold of WestWorld (budget discount DVD, 'natch) and watched it with one eye near-closed (*sleepy*) and still i managed to enjoy this marvelous (i use that term loosely here) and imaginative 1973 movie written and directed by Michael Crichton. it was with wonderment and awe at how they/he managed to pull-off some visual effects (tis claimed that tis "the first feature to use digitized images" = pixelated images) as well as some retro-title-graphics, visual cues and even script treatments that we still see on the big screens today. *fascinating* /// CLICK FOR MORE WESTWORLD

everything was pacy in the beginning but begun to slip near the middle to end, altho do bare in mind it wasn't the age-of-MTV and quick-cuts, but more atmospheric sounds and a bit of fore-shadowing. the actors were hohum and not as emotive ~ fair enough given the genre ... as was Yul Brynner with a slight killer smile and a cowboy/badboy swagger that turned farnie = walking with both thumbs in belt-buckles are understandable given their "initial-cowboy-programming", but quite farnie after a bit when he quickens his pace lor :p.

altho thru it all, i couldn't help but wonder how come no one has tried to do a remake of this? ... until the concept of an android relentlessly hunting down his prey until the bitter end revealed itself in my own muddled memory banks:

IMHO, of coz :p

and then a little sleuthing around the interweb revealed more possibilities that seemed to have been waylaid by time and circumstance ... "Tarsem Singh"? bring him on! (loved The Cell to efffin' bits) ... heck, if Logan's Run's getting a remake option, i dun see why this'll not work out, innit? for this is the age of retro-revival, innit? ... and while we're on that track, what other 70's movies would YOU like to see a remake of? :p

(review circa 08.06.06)

War Of The Worlds VCD

2006-09-09T02:39:00.000+08:00

chaotic acting from all, including Tom "Da Running Man" Cruise and sometimes effin' downright irritating screaming lil girls and pertulant teens that needs to be smacked (hard) in the face and the psycho-who-lives-in-the-basement (how i wished the alien discovered him and devoured his ass), coupled with a ridiculous (non) script (on par with the infamous Godzilla-fiasco) = makes this sci-fi-world-catastrophy-fest by Steven Spielberg barely bearable, but still watchable ~ not least coz of the fantastic visual effects (Independance Day-aliens notwithstanding) and that's about it really.

/// CLICK TO READ ABOUT THE WAR WITH MY DELICATE SENSES

i've been wanting to watch this for quite a while (can't for the life of me remember why) but had only managed to scrape by with a secondhand $4 VCD - which helped not in the visual experience but i reckon it would've only helped a little bit more for this ham of a sci-fi-actioneer, which in any case would benefit from a alien-tripod leg slamming down hard on it and that would've made a much better movie-excuse for than this lemon. *pity*

*heh*

(review circa 06.06.06)

Nightwatch DVD

2006-09-09T02:38:00.000+08:00

oh what a world of difference a DVD-resolution versus VCD; a movie experience maketh ~ the Night Watch-VCD-review i did a whiles back? /// READ MORE OF MY GUSHING

ixnay the negative, for the superior DVD-resolution gives form to more details and other visual nuances that the VCD have left out. the visuals now are stunningly crisp and intense, with only one single (the most important, IMHO) irregularity, is the absence of the intergrated and designed subtitles, that was a major part of the charm of the VCD (and actual movie). which is really, really quite a pity.

the current 2-disc set (region-3) comes with a shitteload of extras, with quite a few intriguing deleted scenes (which actually explains quite a blardy-bit about some sequences!) and making-of-featurettes, pity there's only mandarin and korean subs (altho they did mention there were english subs, i could NOT find any, dammit!) ~ it would have been perfect if they did (besides the missing designed-subtitles) :(

but what's gotten my fanboy-blood pumping were the trailers and promos galore for the sequel; Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor) and they are gorgeously action-packed insane-O-wild! LOL ~ check out some trailers HERE, while the movie makes it's way to our cinema-screens (hopefully) or at the very least, on DVD.

(review circa 05.06.06)

The Da Vinci Code

2006-09-09T02:37:00.000+08:00

*WARNING ~ Spoilers Ahead*

i reckon it helps heaps that i've not read the Dan Brown book for which this movie had been adapted from. i carry not with it all the burden of a pre-conceived "history" nor image of the story or book that the folks from all over the globe have already seen in their minds. and i am thankful becoz i did enjoy the movie for what it is on the silver screens. /// DECODE THE MOVIE HERE

for sure, Tom Hanks did a decent tho pedestrian job as Robert Langdon ~ looking angsty and constipated for most of the time, while Audrey Tautou (as Sohpie Neveu ) cruised by with her english and slight-charms (if only at the end of the film). Jean Reno's Captain Fache looks even more constipated, as did the extremely-constipated Paul Bettany as the tortured-Opeus Dey-monk; Silas, while Ian McKellen (as the history+conspiracy-mad Sir Leigh Teabing ) shone thru as he normally does. but the main actor of this piece falls to the story, which i reckon gave as much as it could, under the deft directorial-hand of Ron Howard. the twist of "the Teacher" was quite a surprise (and here i thought i was clever and all :p), with [Sir Teabing] instead of the suspected [Fache]. and altho the end revelation of [Sophie Neveu] as [Christ's Heir] was expected and not too much of a shocker, tis the little clues that lead to each and every revelation that makes this movie an interesting watch.

much less the hooha about the religious-context and "scandal" that this flick is emboiled in ~ in the end, tis just a movie folks (im not a Christian nor am i totally apathetic, mind) and how could anyone dared compare the Dan-Brown book to the words of the Bible? IMO, anyways :p

clocking-in at 150 minutes, it does feel a tad longer than it should, altho there seems a great effort not to have a rushed ending and instead there's a slowing down of pace to the final reveal, which was apt, i reckon. and while it doesn't prompt me to go read the book nor buy the DVD, it is overall recommended for the hype and for the decently good movie made.

(review circa 04.06.06)

Nightwatch VCD

2006-09-09T02:35:00.000+08:00

the thing that struck me most about Nightwatch (Nochnoy Dozor), was the integration of subtitling into the visuals. english subs appear in-synch with the (Russian) dialogue and disappear creatively, be it in a puff of smoke or desolved = very much a visual treat and am highly appreciative of the effort. /// CLICK FOR MORE BLOOD-SUCKING MOMENTS

"Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day Moscow the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, the movie's protagonist, try to control them and limit their outrage." [via]

had wanted badly to watch Nightwatch on the big screens when it showed here (a short run, unfortunately) last year, having read much about it ... and let's face it, when ya say "vampire" and "modern russia" in the same sentence, it sure as heck's enticing for this "vampire-flick-fan"! but alas, work schedules conflicted and months later, i stand before the cashier-counter with a VCD in-hand. (couldn't wait for the DVD-release lor *hahahaha* :p)

< VCD-cover

as much as i'd love to rave about it, t'was not that exceptional, but still ~~mildly~~ entertaining and enjoyable. mayhap t'was in Russia ("foreign film") and hence imbudded with a certain "art-iness" about it, coupled with a sense of Gen-MTV-style visuals and cuts, together with a simple but awesome premise = makes for a ~~great~~ decent watch (pardon the pun) ... or maybe i couldn't fully "appreciate" the movie as t'was the resolution of a VCD i had to contend with (as opposed to a DVD, innit?) ~ regardless, there was loads of clever ideas and surprisingly effective effects and i reckon tis leaves an undeniable mark on celluloid-history.

watch a condensed 2-and-a-half-minute version of the movie here! :p

the Tim Bekmambetov-directed Nightwatch is the first installment in a planned trilogy (latest cinematic trend, innit?). Day Watch (Dnevnoy Dozor) has just been released [via] - while the third; Dusk Watch (Nochnoy Dozor 3), is in currently in production.

(review circa 19.04.06)

Underworld : Evolution

2006-09-09T02:34:00.000+08:00

what? you're looking for a "serious" vampire-flick? then dun really bother ... but if you're looking for "fun"? /// CLICK HERE TO READ ON

make no mistake, when you watch Underworld:Evolution, leave your .. outside the cinema entrance and you'd be overwhelmed by the juggernaut that is the commercial vampire lore for the modern age.

not content with the ability of inhuman strength, enhanced senses and sucking on humanoid-blood, the vampires nowsadays wield automatic rifles and rapid-burst-handguns. and the bullet-count by far outweights the body-count.

the story of UW:E continues near-directly after the climax of the first film, Underworld (that much i appreciate) - which might be a tad difficult for the some who've not watch the first (even with the irritating flashbacks). for sure the effects are grander and cinescape bigger now. more explosions. more gunfire. more effects (the delicious Markus in full vampire-mode is a sight to behold) ... anything more than that; i'd just prove myself to be a poser and teller of tall-tales, innit?

for sure it is a thoroughly enjoyable celluloid trip, wraught with near-gripping suspense and excitment, random gasps of awesomeness, nods of coolness and muffled reactions to Kate Beckinsale's (near) nekkid body ...

Kate Beckinsale is Hot. Uber-Hot. Scalding-HOT. and that just about wraps up the movie, innit? *bleh*

in short, tis a definite recommended watch for alla youse Underworld-fans. and the dvd would sit comfortably next to the first installment. and at the end, it all points to a third installment (of the current trend of "trilogies") and i will await with baited breath.

(see more production pictures here)

(review circa 20.03.06)

Tom Yum Goong VCD

2006-09-09T02:33:00.000+08:00

the only thing you need to know about the movie Tom-Yum-Goong; is that it stars Tony Jaa and the dude can truly kick-ass. 'nuff said, i reckon. one of the better ex-video-rental-purchases i've had for a while. a pure kungfufighting-guilt-pleasure /// READ MORE HERE

he kicks. he punches. he deliciously breaks bones. and he does so without even a word of English. *crack-crack-crackle* ~ from the back-alleys of Thailand in Ong-Bak, to the streets of Sydney ~ dude got game and he flourishes with his moves (excepts when he sheds uneven tears over dead mammals) "story"? does it matter? (*heh*) ... go watch the trailers to have a gander (if you've not watched the movie as yet)

and oh yes, the "other thing" about the movie is Bongkuch Kongmalai. she is HOT. 'nuff said.

yah, that's about it for the movie. *yep*

(review circa 17.03.06)

King Kong

2006-09-09T02:31:00.000+08:00

i've been sitting on this King Kong movie review for quite a while now ... perhaps uncomfortable with what i wrote or if it made sense (even within me) ... so mayhap i'll relate my feelings and reactions in another way = via pictures! /// CLICK HERE TO VIEW

yeah, tis lame, i know, i know ...

to wrap it up: this movie is ~~highly~~ recommended and is worth a watch on the big screens (you dun wanna miss the details on the small-screen/teevee set, IMHO) - an experience not to be missed = even if it's worth only a single viewing ...

(review circa 04.01.06)

Tigerland DVD

2006-09-09T02:28:00.001+08:00

managed to (finally) catch Tigerland on DVD and personally, i think tis the best film about the vietnam war ~~that it ain't really about it~~.

mucho-kudos to (a very surprising) director; Joel Schumacher, who collaborated with cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Pi, and Requiem for a Dream) for a pseudo-docu-feel of the movie, as captured on 16MM film and shot in 28 days ... and the result is effin' awesome and emotive. [read about making the film here] and after a while, you'd actually forget that they're on handheld, and drawn into the story and men you will be (IMHO) and you'd "feel" along with the fine acting, most notably Clifton Collins Jr as the insecure Miter. and of coz there's the main-man; Collin Farrell as Roland Bozz, who plays "a fool fighting the system". and with a texan drawl and rebel attitude, Bozz is Tigerland. (or the heart of it) personally, this is one of Colin's better screen outings, as compared to his subsequent lacklustre performances in recent memory ... dude, wtf happened? /// READ MORE HERE

feeling very much like an "indie flick" (and it was! decided by "budget" anyways) , Tigerland is a deceptively simple story/plot that belies the feelings of the soldiers in training to enter Vietnam and Tigerland is the "final training frontier" that the recruits haveta survive [read more of the story here]. tis at the heart of it all, a story of friendship and responsibilities to your "fellow man" (as weak as that may seem, tho i'd like to dream).

or maybe i feel for it strongly, as i do national-service, where us boys/men in singapore are "required by law" to serveout between 2-to-2 and a 1/2 years of "army training", altho truth be told; without the imminent and "looming" threat of war/conflict ... and the treatment and attitude us recruits were/are subjected to, as similar to what i saw on-screen in the DVD, (of coz dumbed-down ever so slightly) = to build "character" and "discipline"? ... and i wonder how effective this treatment might have been, to different folks, with differing mental capacities and tolerance levels ... but i guess in the end, tis the "mass" that matters more, rather than the "minor upsets" ~ "acceptable looses" be damned? ... coz in the end, it ain't about "fools fighting the system", for why can't the system "assimulate" the folks instead of oppressing them? "positive conditioning" rather than "by the power of the law" ... IMHO, of coz ... and of coz im not making much sense here, am i? *heh* *i effin' HATE the army. 'nuff said*
personal opinions aside, do check out the trailer for a taste of what the movie is about and if ya can get your hands on it? *go fer it* = regret it you will not.

(review circa 28.12.05)

press play

2006-09-09T02:28:00.000+08:00

as much as i wanna put the blame on blogger, i haveta admit t'was my own choice for going with 'em. for as easy as it is to use, it lacks a vital function for which it had led down many a darkened-blog-days for me = "TAGS".

so too am i a tech-idiot.

yep, there i said it.

and so alla these wannabe-reviews you're gonna be (hopefully) reading onwards, were posted in another one of my myriad online personas, moons ago. and being the "wannabe" that i grudgingly admit to be (and have since reconciled with my subconscious-desires), this review-blog is born. a collection of all my views and reviews from before and now. a mild manifestation of my desire to talk cock about the movies and dvds/vcds i've watched and am going to be watching (yer know da drill lah)

disclaimer-city: i may ply my trade in the local film/media industry, i sure as heck ain't a professional film-reviewer ... so if my words give y'all a chuckle or three? im happy already :)

and until i move to another online-blog (which allows me tags and a decent template i dun need to be techically-proficient to adapt lah) - have fun here and enjoy the read :)