Reasons I'll be watching New Moon (2009)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon tells the story after Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family. However, a minor accident during the festivities results in Bella's blood being shed, a sight that proves too intense for the Cullens, who decide to leave the town of Forks, Washington for Bella and Edward's sake. Initially heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in reckless living, as well as an even-closer friendship with Jacob Black. Danger in different forms awaits.

I just copy/paste'd that from IMDb.

Here are the top three reasons why I'll be watching it.

First, the beautiful Ashley Greene. Don't judge me.

Second, being that the director is Chris Weitz. I was not happy with his adaptation of The Golden Compass (2007). Mainly because I've read the novel and he cuts out some of my favourite parts. But now, I'm more matured about movies, I think he did a great job and I have faith in him directing New Moon. And I love About a Boy (2002).

Third, I have seen Twilight (2008) and I feel attached to this. Whenever I start a series, I need to finish it. But I haven't read New Moon and most of the time, when I watch a movie based on a novel before reading that particular novel, he movie would be good. So I'm planning to catch this and then read the book.

I've seen the trailers (yes, plural), and they look good. Chris Weitz directing it -- I'd say this is a safe bet.

Here's the first trailer. To anyone who hasn't seen it yet, enjoy:

James Cameron's "Avatar" is our future

This December, the future of film-making arrives.

Deathly Hallows set pics are bloody wicked!!!

Okay, I found these a while back, but only decided to upload them here now. So enjoy. See if you can recognize any scenes from the book. IMHO, Deathly Hallows is going to look great after some serious Half-Blood Prince kind of editing.

Can't wait!

District 9 is a Powerful and Disturbing Movie with a Message

Every not-so-often comes a movie that is disturbing and holds such a powerful message that it will definitely leave an impression on you. Whether you enjoyed it or not, it will certainly cling onto you. District 9 is original, realistic, and powerful and it definitely delivers the message.



District 9 tells the story of what happened when a malnourished and weakened alien race is stranded on Earth. Our people give them a place to stay, yet, like any normal human, we fear and hate them. Thus ‘racism’ is the main subject even after two decades since the aliens landed.


As the story goes, Wikus, an MNU (Multi-National United)agent, is sent to evict these ‘prawns’ to a new place – or rather, a concentration camp – where they can no longer make human feel uneasy. But during the eviction notification process, conflicts arise and Wikus is accidently exposed to a biofuel that slowly turns him into the ‘prawns’. He then experiences what it feels like to be surrounded by people that hate him.

The movie is way more realistic that – in its own term.

It’s told in the form of a documentary, using snippets of ‘real and raw’ footage of when the alien first came, interviews with people, and also hand-held and even security camera all put together into one beautiful piece of work. The second half however is shown in a clean and edited movie picture. It is so well done that you won’t even notice the shift in the story-telling process.

The acting are top-notch, even Oscar-worthy I might add, and not to mention that the movie is made by a first-time big-budget movie director with a cast of unknowns.

But enough of that.

What I love the most about the movie is that the ‘prawns’ are depicted not as aliens but as a minority race living on Earth. People hate them. We run tests of them. Abuse and even kill them. Racism and intolerance is a bad thing. And through Wikus we will feel how it’s like to be hated. For example, in one powerful scene, Wikus is forced to kill a prawn. He hesitates and was electrocuted.

I won’t say any more. You just have to see it for yourself and really catch that message it’s trying to deliver.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; Do NOT underestimate it!

After Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, most people weren’t getting their hopes high for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It wasn’t even screened for critics fearing that they might and will bash it. But it is, however, something completely different. And will most probably exceed, if not meet, expectaions.

First, the storyline itself is ‘smart’ for this type of adrenaline-filled action movie. It has one long storyline that starts at the middle, then goes back to the beginning with the efficient uses of flashbacks, and it finishes off with all the questions answered at the end. This way, you’ll keep guessing throughout and the twist is also great – if you haven’t read the spoilers, that is. I also love the fact that most of the characters have their own backstories and some even intertwine.

Next, the action and visual effect is really fun to watch. The editing is neat and camera angles are superb. Some scenes might not be as realistic as others but that is okay because it makes the movie looks like a real live-action cartoon. There’s plenty of choreographed hand-to-hand and sword fights, shootouts and an awesome car chase scene where the Joes are trying to stop the Baroness from destroying the Eiffel Tower – and the Joes are not even in a car.

The acting, honestly, is nowhere near Oscar-worthy. It’s cheesy and awkward most of the time. But it fits because it gives the movie a B-movie feel to it. Super-evil villains trying to take over the world, a great leader, a wise-crack, add in some philosophical lines, silly one-liners and scientific jargon nonsense and it will spell ‘FUN’!

However, the movie does contain a lot of flaws. I mean, sinking ice? What? But you have to remember that this movie is based on a toy franchise, and a cartoon and comic series whose sole purpose is to sell those toys. So it could easily be forgiven.

All in all, if you’re seeking a fun, action-spiked, filled with testosterone movie that you just want to watch, laugh, be awed by the visual and just to turn your brain off, relax and enjoy, then G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is just the thing.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; a Beautiful Epitome of a Perfect Summer Movie

Playfully mixing several genres such as comedy, horror, romance, action, adventure and even a bit of a detective story, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth Harry Potter film and the second from director David Yates, is a fun and thrilling summer movie dealing with fear and tremors --of teenage love -- and the battle between good and evil.


In this sixth instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry begins his sixth year at Hogwarts knowing that the world is now in serious threat because the Dark Lord Voldemort and his fellow Death Eaters are on the loose, causing havoc, death and destruction to the wizarding and the muggle world. He then finds an old potion book mysteriously marked “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince” and, with Dumbledore’s help, begins to uncover Lord Voldemort’s dark history.

First and foremost, this is undeniably the most gorgeous-looking movie this year. Thanks to the graceful directing of director David Yates and the genius of the director of photography, newcomer Bruno Delbonnel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gives us an outstanding visual effect and cinematography. With much control of the CGI and special effect, David Yates shows us a whole exceptionally new atmospheric world using bigger set pieces that actually help the flow of the movie without really showing too much that it was edited by computers and thus making it a total eye-candy. And the choices of camera angles, extreme close-ups and the editing were very impressive. Furthermore, the score, consisting of orchestra and choir, really complements the movie and give each scene more emotion and a sense of nostalgia with the hint of the memorable sounds from The Order of the Phoenix.

Next, we can definitely see that the three main actors had grown up, not only physically but emotionally and also in the sense of acting skills. The story has to follow JK Rowling’s increasingly mature and darker books, and so have the actors. The sense of longing and raging hormones, plus the tense feeling towards danger and death makes this a more adult movie in the Harry Potter series thus far. But the PG rating seems fair. In The Goblet of Fire, Cedric Diggory’s death was shocking, but in The Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort is at full power, making us feel the constant presence of danger and evil and that anyone on screen could die at any moment (but do not fret, body count: 1).

But the thing is, this movie does not only deal with the three actors like the films before it. They are a few outstanding performances. One, by the amazing Tom Felton (who plays Draco Malfoy) who shows true emotion and sadness in what he was forced to do. And then there’s Jim Broadbent (who plays the new Prof. Slughorn) who could actually received an Oscar Buzz for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. He plays the old yet loved professor effortlessly and did the best with his time on screen without having to drown the other actors around him. A natural.

As for the action: yes, some action scenes were omitted from the movie, but those that were left behind are astoundingly thrilling. The most outstanding and chilling sequence is perhaps the cave scene. It is layered with horror, sadness and suspense and not to mention top notch special effect. The extra 7-month post production did the movie good!

Despite its long running time, over 2 hours and 30 minutes, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince seems adequate as David Yates pushes the movie to a running pace and some of us might even crave for more. But after entering the first two hours, you might already forget about the titular Half-Blood Prince. The mystery of the owner of the book is gone and drowned by some needless fillers (hint: too much romance is never good). The storyline itself missed some key points that made the book such a masterpiece.

If you see this movie as an adaptation, then, yeah, it’s not that good. But as a movie on its own, then Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a beautiful epitome of a true summer movie. Epic is definitely the word for it.

Public Enemies is an epic story told in a slow manner.

Public Enemies tells the story of John Dillinger, the 1930’s public enemy number one and how the Feds tried to take him down along with his friends. Or better yet, it just tells the story of how Dillinger was taken down. The story didn’t start at the beginning nor did it tells us about John Dillinger, it just skipped to the middle of his ‘career’ and showed us how he escaped from prison and went on a bank-robbery-spree. So, in a way, the story was not in depth and, of course, it didn’t really follow the real history with some changes made. But the storyline is gripping nonetheless.

The acting is brilliant. You can expect nothing less from the casts of Johnny Depp, who played public enemy number one convincingly; Christian Bale, who is obsessed to take Dillinger down; and of course the lovely Marion Cotillard, who played Dillinger’s girlfriends. Cotillard however didn’t get a very long screentime but she used every second of it to give us her best, and one of the best stand out scene is the interrogation scene.

The movie is shot with a shaky “hand-held” camera. It feels like we are chasing the action as it happens. And the tone of the movie is bright making it look like a documentary without the use of CGI or such. Everything about this movie looks realistic from the costumes to the buildings and cars in the background.

The soundtrack really fits the movie and I love the shooting scene, which most of the time is just silence with only gunshot ringing in the theatre hall. The gunshot sounds realistic. Not the usual "BANG BANG!!" sound. And not surprising since this movie is made by Michael Mann, the director of Heat (1995). It's like a symphony to the ear in a form of bullets.

All in all, the emotional ride that is Public Enemies is not for everyone and the 140 minutes long run does not help either. But if you want realistic drama and sweet shooting scene, plus great acting from a cast of brilliant actors and maybe a bit of history lesson, then this movie is for you.

How to Review TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen

Ever since Michael Bay stepped into the filming industry, the whole idea of a movie is divided in two.




There’s the usual movie-type movie where there are in depth plot, character development, solid lines and sophisticated twist and even some exploration of the humanity, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Jaws, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction... heck, even Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back or better yet some of the newer movies like The Dark Knight and even The Hangover.

And then there’s the Michael Bay-type movie where there are massive plotholes that are so big that you might fell off your sit, huge explosions, slow-motion sequences, and people running around acting scared and hysteric. Oh yeah, add in a dash of dirty humour and a bit of racism, why not.

Now let me tell you a story.

I have a dream. I have a dream that Transformers will be a legendary cartoon show that will amazed the generations to come. I have a dream of the younger generations watching it and be awed by the storyline and the characters themselves. I have a dream. But then someone came up with the idea of a live-action Transformers movie. Still, my dream remains. I have a dream that one day if that movie was to be made, it will be made by some genius directors that can do the franchise justice. Yes, I have a dream. And then it was announced that Steven Spielberg has something to do with it. My dream almost came true. I felt that my life was somewhat complete. But no, he wasn’t directing it. That job was given to Michael Bay. I did not put my hopes high.

Then the first movie came out. The effects were brilliant. I didn’t love the storyline or the characters etc, but there were enough action and suspense to keep me watching. I told myself, “Heck, that wasn’t as a bad as I imagined it’d be.”






Two years later, Revenge of The Fallen came out. I gave it a chance and went to see it. Thus, I lost all hopes for the Transformers movie franchise and for Michael Bay himself...

I asked myself, "How the heck am I supposed to write a review for this?"

But still, my dream remains. I have to do justice for the franchise. So I will now write a non-biased review.

If you see it as a movie-type movie, of course, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an epic fail. There were no character development. The storyline – I won’t even call it rushed – was a mess! So much plotholes that you can shove Optimus Prime in them and back again. There was too many missed opportunity for a better plot such as the “Sam-as-a-fugitive” storyline which could’ve been more in depth or even “Jetfire, the old Decepticon turned good” deserves a better back story than that. And a lot of WTF moments. And one more thing, I remember the filmmaker saying that they had to write in Shia LaBeouf hand injury -- that was also one of the WTF moments.


But the only way to write a good review for this movie is that you have to see it as a Michael Bay-type movie. Then this is the best movie ever made. His best effort yet. There were plenty of explosions that your ears could go numb, slow-motion sequences that most probably made up half an hour of the movie, and some more explosions! There are also random Transformers running around that you won’t even know who is fighting what. I don't think anyone is capable of making a better Michael Bay-type movie than this. Heck, I don't even think Bay himself can top this.


And now, an exclusive quote from Megan Fox :

"I mean, I can't s--- on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's a--. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting."

(taken from an interview in the Us Magazine, full article on Yahoo! can be found here: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/us-magazine-megan-fox-bay.html )

Yeah, Megan, that's the reason why Mr. Bay hired you in the first place. Now how about telling us something we don’t know.

Drag Me to Hell; Sam Raimi brings back the Horror Genre

Drag Me to Hell tells a story of a loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) who “has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future” as the tagline says. But one day, she had to order an eviction of an old woman, Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) from her house. After failing to convince Christine for an extension, the old lady cursed her and Christine finds herself being haunted by supernatural powers and her life is now a living hell. Desperate, she finds a seer and will try anything to save herself from being dragged to hell.

Sam Raimi, after the long years of making the Spider-Man trilogy, has come back to what he's good at and bringing along with him the horror genre, something that is long gone in Hollywood. The thing about this movie is that we know what’s going to happen in the end. Hence, the title. But the journey to get there was the real deal.

The soundtrack and camera angles really complement each other. We barely get to see the demon pursuing Christine, but we could feel the intensity. The jump scenes (the scary shocking scenes) are so effective; it gets you every time like a buzzer placed on your sit, unlike in recent Hollywood horror movies. The special effect is good, and the cinematography and atmosphere of the movie is perfect.

Of all the actors, Justin Long, playing Christine’s boyfriend Clay, was the standout. His reactions and especially towards the ending were priceless. The others were mediocre. But in a good way. It reminds me of the fun horror B-movies from the 80’s or so.

Drag Me to Hell is horror, plus fun, with a dash of comedy in its purest form. I had the most intense movie experience of my life. It is definitely a classic. I recommend it. And you HAVE to watch this in theatre to get the full experience.