The Brothers Bloom is the feel good movie of 2009!

The Brothers Bloom tells the story of two orphan siblings that grew up conning people and often with the assistant of the silent Bang Bang, their muscleman in the scheme. One day, the little brother, Bloom wants to quit and have a normal life. But the big brother, Stephen, offers him one last con and then he’d be free to live his life. The plan was simple. They were to con a beautiful and eccentric heiress by giving her the time of her life, while sucking her money on the way. But there’s a problem: Bloom fell in love with her.

The story is simple and very effective. It feels like a movie from the 40’s or 50’s. It’s one of those feel good movies that’ll make you smile throughout the movie and make you sigh and smile some more when it ends. The storyline is also laced with twists and turns that will shock you and keep you guessing until the end.



The characters are so loveable and often funny. The acting is top-notch and even Oscar-worthy I might add. The star of the movie, I’ve to say, is Rachel Weisz playing the eccentric heiress Penelope. She really captures the souls of the audience and makes us fall in love with her character.

Mark Ruffalo did a great job playing Stephen, a slick con man, like he’s been doing it for years. Adrian Brody really shows us a different side of him by playing the little brother Bloom who gets slightly controlled by his brother and always does what he’s told. Another star of the movie is Rinko Kikuchi playing the silent Bang Bang without any dialogue save for one profanity and a karaoke scene.

The cinematography is very beautiful. It transports you into a different world, in a way.


I am shocked that this movie did not get the hype that it deserves. But if you would like to watch a movie that will make you feel happy and good, then this movie is for you. You can follow the crowd and watch a blockbuster movie, but watch this if you want true quality.

Terminator Salvation; Epic visual cinematography, but the rest falls apart.

Let’s keep it simple: For fans of Terminator, you might find Terminator Salvation disappointing. But for the rest, this movie is the one to watch.

Terminator Salvation focuses on Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row inmate, who is convinced by Dr. Kogan (Helena Carter) to donate his body for an experiment, and then finds himself in a devastated future. He then comes across a teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a little girl named Star (Jadagrace). The three of them avoid danger and certain death on a journey to find the future leader of the Resistance to the machines, the legendary character we all know from the past Terminator movies, John Connor (Christian Bale). John Connor, with the help of his wife Kate (Bryce Howard), on the other hand, is busy trying to stop Skynet using a new found soundwave technology that could “switch off” machines and also trying to convince the command of the Resistance not to bomb Skynet because there are still human prisoners there.

The storyline sounds interesting enough, yet there is no depth to it. It’s the total opposite of what the first two movies were all about. There are little development for the characters and the ending seems rushed. The first half of the movie is very promising, but the rest just says “Hollywood”.

The acting is a very good aspect of the movie though. Sam Worthington stole the spotlight from the rest. Seeming as an unknown actor, he works well being a confused person who was reborn into the future. We could feel his pain and suffering in some scenes. And with James Cameron’s Avatar coming up, I see a bright future for Worthington.

The rest of the cast were just good enough. Anton Yelchin has convincingly played a young Kyle Reese. He had probably watched and rewatched The Terminator (1984). Christian Bale really needs to drink some water and put off his Batman voice, while Helena Bonham Carter and Bryce Howard did not get enough screentime.

What really saves this movie is the visual aspect. The CGI effect is marvellous and epic. The camera angles and camera control are very engaging and not at all confusing or shakey.
We get to see a post-apocalyptic world, with a tone down colour that really gives a sombre atmosphere. And then the jets, weaponry and the submarine of the Resistance. And, of course, the terminators look so realistic. The action sequences were way above any summer movies this year.

To conclude, if you’re a die-hard Terminator fan, stay away from this movie – far away! – or you can give it a chance. But if you’re just a casual fan and wants to know what happens next, or an action movie fan, or just a casual movie-goer out for a bit of summer action fun, then Terminator Salvation is perfect for you.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is just another Hollywood big-budget sequel.

The reason why I went to watch this is because the first one was such a good family movie. It has humour, suspense, slight action and in depth plot and character development.

The sequel, unfortunately, is far from that. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is about Larry Daley who found a better job since the first movie and has now moved on to a different life. Little did he knows that his friends at the Museum of Natural History are about to be shipped and stored at the famous Smithsonian Institute. Long story short, he now has to save little Jedediah and Octavius from a pharaoh who is trying to take over the world. Sounds weird. Because it is. It feels like the writers were out of ideas.

So what they do was they throw in a hell lot of characters including Kahmunrah, a crazy pharaoh who is trying to rule the world, Albert Einstein, Abe Lincoln and even Darth Vader.


The story seemed rush and some parts didn’t make sense. For example, why did Kahmunrah threatens to suffocate Jedediah in an hour-glass when Jedediah is just a little statue who will most probably come back to life the night after even if he ‘died’ today?


But negativity aside, I have to say that the actor that really stood out was Hank Azaria, playing the villain Kahmunrah. He was loud and funny and not to mention he even voiced Abe Lincoln and The Thinker. Ben Stiller was just his usual self. And Amy Adams was fun and very adorable as the female pilot Amelia Earhart, but the gung-ho attitude gets old pretty fast.

The special effect and the score of the movie were okay. Not too good, not too bad.

Overall, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is just another Hollywood big-budget movie that has a massive room for improvement and really could’ve done so much better.

I Love You, Man; A new take on the “bromance” genre.

I Love You, Man is a whole new take on the “bromance” genre. It shows the love between two men and ho they build it up. Before anyone shouts Brokeback Mountain, here’s the deal: I Love You, Man is about what happens when a ladies’ man turn out to have no close male friends at all and have to befriend a very testosteroned-up guy just so he could have a best man at his wedding. The movie also shows how he tries out with a few different guys (even a homosexual man, by mistake) before he finally found his true friend.

Sounds simple enough. But what really made this movie was not the plot but the realistic dialogues, the funny intended awkward silences throughout and the whole concept of it.


The writers and filmmakers did a great job bringing us a not-so-usual romance movie laced with good acting and unfamiliar soundtracks. It doesn’t have anything you might expect from a usual Hollywood movie (I’m not going to spoil anything, but I’m sure you get it).

Funny man Jason Segel (Peter’s new friend Sydney Fife) did a great job. So did Rashida Jones (Peter fiancé), Andy Samberg (Peter’s gay brother) and the other cast members. But the star of the movie is, obviously, Paul Rudd. He plays Peter Klaven, a nice ladies man, who don’t usually drink, who don’t really hang out with dudes, and just not good with socializing. He can’t even make up a nickname. He's trying to be cool when he's really just not.


The jokes are pretty grossed out type (not those ‘smart’ ones). Some might love it, some may not. But all of them are mildly-amusing so the movie really doesn’t have any dull moments.

All in all, it’s a perfect comedy for anyone who just wants to “chillax” or just hang out with friends or significant others.

Angels & Demons; Effective for those who have yet to read the novel.

I know there has been a lot of complaint about the changes done in the movie Angels & Demons; from the twist ending even to the storyline. But as a person who hasn’t read the novel, I see the movie as a very effective thriller. The storyline is very complicated yet interesting. The suspense is intense. I love the twist ending. The acting, though not Oscar-worthy, is anything you might expect from a summer movie. The editing is done very well. And the special effect is marvelous (hint: the explosion scene). The movie itself is such an eye-candy (it’s like a tourism video of Rome). And the movie seems to be like a visualization of a novel. Watching it feels like you’re reading a book.



Angels & Demons is a sure movie for anyone who wants a bit of suspense, intensity and mystery, and also for those who like thought-provoking stories.

Recommended.

Star Trek; Phenomenal!

Director JJ Abrams has outdone himself this time with this new Star Trek reboot/prequel. It simply tells the story of the early days of Captain Kirk and Mr Spock from the Star Trek we all know and love. But the difference between this and the original TV series and movies is that this Star Trek has the privilege of special effect visualization whereas the old Star Trek are focused mainly on the narrative. So in a way, this Star Trek can actually show us what the original can only describe.


The visual effect is astounding! JJ Abrams managed to create something as massive as a planet and the USS Enterprise look so real. It is like we are there. To add to the realism, there are creative uses of lens flare (those lights that are reflected at the screen throughout the movie) that makes it look like the camera is actually out there filming the scenario.


The soundtrack is epic. It has the combination of orchestra and choir which really complement the sequence shown.


I also like the fact that there are several silent scenes showing the outer space. One where the Romulan drilling vessel is attacking the Federation starship. The Federation starship is damaged, a silhouette of a crew member drifting in outer space with explosions and shooting still going on in the background, yet there is no sound. And when Kirk and Sulu dive from the Enterprise to enter Vulcan, there was only silence until after they enter the planet’s atmosphere. Usually, a sci-fi film would ignore the fact that sound can’t travel in vacuum to make a scene seem cooler. But the fact that Star Trek acknowledges this just adds more to its realism.


Regarding the acting; everyone was great. The star of this movie is, obviously, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, showing off the character’s rebellious and cocky, and ultimately, leadership side. Zachary Quinto playing the iconic Spock was logical. He may not have the same deep and commanding voice Leonard Nimoy has, but the other resemblance of characteristic is undeniable. The rest of the crew -- Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as McCoy, John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, and especially Simon Pegg as the babbling Scotty – did a appraisable job forming a team that would make Star Trek lasts throughout the ages. And of course Leonard Nimoy himself had no problem taking back the role of the original Spock.


This movie is for everyone. No matter if you’re a trekkie, a film-addict or just a casual movie-goer, you will be purely entertained as I did.


The directing by JJ Abrams is superb. The editing and camera angles are sleek. The storyline and the storytelling itself is very engaging; holding your breath and grabbing your attention in the most mind-numbing sequence, Star Trek is everything a summer blockbuster should be like.

Deadpool Spinoff is a Go!

This could be good news for some, or it could be the worst.

But it’s official according to Yahoo! Movies.

After (the dreadful) X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox has announced that Ryan Reynolds will reprise his role in his own spinoff movie.

The 32-year-old Canadian actor will again star as Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool, nicknamed the "Merc with a Mouth", who is a high-tech mercenary known for his wisecracks, black comedy, satirical pop-culture references and willingness to break the fourth wall.

Fox also announced that the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine are already in works. The sequel, which marks the fifth time Hugh Jackman playing the animalistic mutant Wolverine, will focus on the X-Men comic's samurai storyline; the Japanese locale setup for which is teased after the blockbuster film's end credits.

Aside from that, Ian McKellen will also reprise his role as the main villain in the X-Men universe, Magneto, in his own spinoff movie X-Men Origins: Magneto.

And that's not all. Also in work right now is X-Men: First Class, intended to be about the young Cyclops, Jean, Beast and others who attended Xavier's school with them, written by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz.

In my humble opinion, Fox really need to slow it a bit.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine; the workprint

I've finally got the X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked workprint. I know it has been out there for a while now. I just decided not to ruin the movie experience by watching it. But now that I've watched the movie, I guess it's okay to see the workprint.

Here's a quick review:

If they actually released the workprint (rather than the movie itself) into cinemas, the review that I'd write for it would pretty much be the same as the review I wrote for the movie.

The end.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine has great storyline, but poor story-telling

X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the story of Logan a.k.a. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who grows up as a mutant who can regenerate himself and has bone claws sheath in his hands. He kills the man who killed his father before finding out that the murderer was his real father. His brother, Victor a.k.a. Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), ran away with him. They stick together until they’re adults and fought in countless wars throughout the ages before ultimately joining a team of mutants a man named Stryker (Danny Huston) put together. This team however is not what Wolverine thought they would be and left. Six years passed, and Stryker comes up to Logan with a favour to ask because most of the team members are found dead. And that’s pretty much the basic storyline.

THE GOOD: The storyline itself. This prequel/spin-off is what fans of the franchise had been waiting for. It supposedly answers the question about Wolverine's origin that was brought up in X-Men 2. The acting is also a good aspect of this movie. Hugh Jackman really embraces the character Wolverine and he really unleashes his anger so effectively that we can feel his rage.


Schreiber makes a good animalistic Sabretooth that would hunt down anything he is pointed at. And Ryan Reynolds got Deadpool spot on with some witty lines and a great action scene. The action sequence is another factor. The fight scenes are only a few minutes in length, but it was good while it lasted.

THE BAD: The CGI looks very cheap! It looks like they started it well (the opening credits was real art) but then fell short on money. Never had I seen Wolverine claws look so fake. The teleportation ability of Wraith (Will.i.Am) looks like something from the 80’s sci-fi. What happened to the way Nightcrawler teleports in X2 (which was a CGI masterpiece)? And furthermore, just like in X-Men 3, a lot of characters are killed of pre-maturely and/or badly miscast.


And although I said the story itself is good, the way it is being told is not. They didn’t make good use of the flashbacks, or twist or anything that will keep the suspense. None of the scenes are as dramatic as they should or could have been.


Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), another factor that made fans eager for this movie, was so downplayed. He only uses his card-charging power in one scene. The rest are just him using his staff to jump and run around.

Now about Deadpool. He is a cool character with a cool and funny actor playing him. They got mostly everything about him spot on (save for the costume). The witty lines and the characteristic are there. But they didn't handle the character correctly. Deadpool was never develop throughout the story. We know nothing about him except that his name is Wade and he's really good with swords, and suddenly he became an abominaion with the combined powers of Cyclops and Wraith and some other mutants.This movie didn't do Deadpool justice at all.

THE BOTTOM LINE: X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a movie that only fans should see. It’s nowhere near X2, but good enough if you just want to know about Wolverine’s past. Another good thing about this movie is that it makes you want to watch X2 all over again.

Fast & Furious; The same old but slightly enhanced formula.

Fast & Furious, the fourth in line of The Fast and The Furious franchise, uses the same old formula that makes the first three movies good and then trimmed off the little things that make them bad.

The story kicks off with the return of some familiar faces, namely, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his band of brothers – and girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) – in an attempt to steal some petrol, in which they succeed. But Dom is a wanted man. And being an honorable wanted man that he is, he left his friends in hope that the cops would come for him instead of them.

Skip a few years later, Dom gets a call from his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) telling him that his beloved girlfriend is murdered. And that is generally the plot of this movie: Dom’s out to find the person responsible for Letty’s death.

And then in come another familiar face, the undercover cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), in a very fast and adrenaline-rushed chase scene. That is, on foot and from rooftop to rooftop. That is one of the most exciting scenes in the movie.

Brian is on a hunt for a drug-dealer, who is actually the same guy that Dom is trying to find. So they teamed up... just like old times.

Fast & Furious is really for fans only. New-comers might not understand the connection between the characters, but the story itself is quite easy to follow, with some surprising twist in the plot.

But it was a disappointment to see that some of the action sequences are done in CGI, namely the tunnel scenes. This really takes away the excitement that the first three movies offer. And also, this movie is way too serious. Instead of the cars and races, we’re focused on Dom’s quest for revenge which could be a drag after a while.

If you just let go of the bad dialogues and some plot holes, and probably the lack of action, Fast & Furious is actually not bad. It’s still fast and still furious, and with a more matured storyline.

But if they’re planning for a sequel, I suggest that they get back to the original theme of the franchise, which is racing and cars.

Knowing (2009): How to watch and actually enjoy it.

Knowing is a 2009 movie directed and produced by director Alex Proyas (I, Robot) and starring Nicolas Cage as John Koestler, a teacher who found some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- from a time capsule, that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Many people are not liking this story and complaining about it. So let me tell you how to fully enjoy it.

*this is meant as a joke, not to be taken seriously.
** may contain SPOILER!!

-- SPOILER ALERT --


1. Put on your “I HEART NIC CAGE” cap because haters would want to stay far away from this movie. This movie consists of almost 90% of Nic Cage mumbling, and running around, and doing his “WTF?!!” face expression... Well, pretty much being himself.

2. You must like I, Robot because it was Alex Proyas’ last movie. And it has kind of the same vibe coming from it. All apocalyptic. All CGI. All human-should-not-be-saved.

3. You must also like Indy 4 because remember how they set the story just like any other Indiana Jones movie, and then – BAM! – UFO grand finale?

4. You must like numbers and scientific jargons because this movie is littered with that stuff. And if you don’t have a mind strong enough for it, you may experience a few headaches.


5. You must accept the fact that the Sun will always triumph over Rose Byrne because again, just like in the movie Sunshine (2007), she will burn!! Although quite different than in Knowing (2009), she is yet to defeat this mass ball of heat. So final score...
The Sun: 2 – Rose Byrne: 0

6. “OMG!! THE PLANE CRASH SCENE ROCKS!!” because that’s pretty much the best part of the movie.


7. You must believe in Angels (if not, skip to no. 8) because those blue dudes at the end are angels.

8. You must believe in Aliens because those blue dudes at the end are aliens.

9. You must forget the first half of the movie; because that’s the only way you can enjoy the second half.

10. 2 kids + 2 rabbits = A new start for humanity ... ??? Beats me.

11. Be sure to refill your “suspension-of-disbelief” to the max because, boy, believe me, you’re going to need a hell lot of that.

Follow this simple steps and I'm sure you will love Knowing. If not, well...

Dragonball Evolution; Don't get your hopes high.

In all the interviews before the movie was released, James Wong, Justin Chatwin and even James Masters told us of how much this movie will remained faithful to the manga and anime, but also with an added bonus such as the modern city and the realism so that it looks like it is set in the real world. Thus, I had my hopes high.

Walking into the cinema, I sat down with my popcorn as the reel started to roll. A fast prologue explains that 2,000 years ago, the evil Lord Piccolo tried to destoy the world with the help of his montrous demon and was only imprisoned by a brotherhood of men. The film then skips to present day, as young Goku spars with his grandfather. As a gift for his 18th birthday, Grandpa Gohan gives Goku a dragonball, briefly explaining that only seven of the balls exist and when they are united a dragon is summoned which can grant one perfect wish.

Okay, it still sticks to the original story. Fair enough.

But on the some day, Piccolo emerges, freed from shackles, with his lady assistant in an airship, trying to find the Dragonball. All the while, Goku is at a school party tryng to woo his high school crush, Chi Chi and has a fight with some jocks, when his grandfather is killed by Picollo who couldn't find the Dragonball. With his last breath, Goku's grandfather tells him to find Master Roshi, who lives on a small island (in the middle of town) and find the rest of the Dragonballs to save the world.


Okay, maybe some few changes. I can live with that.

Goku then went on a "Wizard of Oz"-like adventure, where he seeks the Dragonball and meets a few friends along the way. At least the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion have more character development than Bulma, Master Roshi and Yamcha.

Everything happens too fast. Goku had his training with Roshi on the way to find the Dragonball and learns the Kamehameha "theorically", because Roshi just tells him how to do it and in the final battle, he did it!

The actor that really (or, almost) lives out the character is James Masters playing Lord Piccolo. We can feel his anger and vengeful drive towards the Earth, though we still do not know why, or how he was freed. And unfortunately, he gets so little screen time that the moviemaker could have just use CGI and spare Masters from wasting his time. Chatwin was also a great actor... if Goku was such a moody and one dimensional character.

But I guess what saved the movie is the special effect and the storyline itself (which is from the manga; the "Demon Lord Piccolo" Saga). The special effect is really awesome (no where near Transformers or Watchmen, but still); everything looks real. From the background to the slow-motion fight scene and even the Kamehameha. Although it could have been done way better.

Dragonball Evolution looks like a B-movie, or something straight to DVD or TV.

As soon as the movie ended, I was speechless.

But there was a short scene during the credits. Stay if you want, but I know a lot of Dragonball fans would already know what it is.

Dragonball Evolution: I would only recommend it to those who would like to just kill some time off the weekends.