Things I Have Watched

The Muppets (2011) movie review

2011-12-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: heartwarming characters, truly hilarious and well written humor that breaks the fourth wall, a touching story that anyone can relate to, vivid emotions and very human portrayals from the muppet characters, catchy songs, a simple story that appeals to all ages

The Bad: sometimes feel like two movies pasted together, dissonance in overall tone of the story

******************************Review********************
The funny and fuzzy sensation of a generation returns for one last hurrah in "The Muppets", a warm hearted musical comedy that acts less like a brand relauncher and more like a grand final act to a classic franchise. For years, the Muppets have appeared in TV holiday specials and movies but this movie returns to the original series that first jumpstarted the Muppes to fame: the 1976 Muppets Show. Self referencing humor, witty comedy and familiar characters pay the ultimate tribute not just to a well loved franchise but to the Muppets fandom as well. Why else would the main character be a muppet fanboy?

Meet Walter, the ultimate muppet fanboy (who is also portrayed as a muppet) who lives with his human brother Gary in "Smalltown" USA. The two grew up together and have been fans of the muppets ever since The Muppet show first aired in the 70s. One day Gary plans a trip to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary. Walter jumps at the opportunity to tag along and visit the muppet theatre, much to the dismay of Mary who was hoping for some private time with her boyfriend. But instead of seeing the muppet theatre of his childhood, Walter comes face to face with harsh reality: the muppets have disbanded, the theatre is in ruins and a greedy tycoon is looking to buy the location and tear down the place of Walter's childhood dreams. Undaunted, Walter tries to reunite the Muppets for one final show in order to raise the money needed to buy back the theatre.

Cute, heartwarming and absolutely nostalgic, "The Muppets" only downside is that it feels like two different shows pasted together; on one hand you have the plot thread about the Muppets getting back together for a final show, and on the other you have this disney styled buddy romance triangle between Greg, his girlfriend and his brother Walter. The tone between those two plot threads varies quite a bit, with the trio being like something out of "Mary Poppins". All saccharine and happy song and dance.

On the flipside, the tale of former muppet leader Kermit the Frog getting the gang back together is played more tragically and, believe it or not, more realistically. Yes he is a cloth puppet and so are the other Muppets, but this movie never panders to the kids. What we have is a story that adults can enjoy as well. The years have not been kind to the Muppets and Kermit is a performer past his prime, divorced from his former love Miss Piggy, with only memories and mementos of his glory days. As he tours the world looking for his friends, he sees the sorry state some of them have landed in. This story thread is both emotionally moving and ultimately satisfying. What's more, it would surprise you how vividly cloth and stick puppets emote. There is a certain warmth and realism present that even the best computer graphics animation cannot replicate. Despite having new voice actors, these are the same lovable characters from the original show, quirky personalities and all.

Throughout the movie, the ongoing tension between Walter and Gary references the real life balance between childlike passion and adult responsibilities. With its self referencing narrative, the movie works as a parable about growing up and taking on new priorities in life; something many fans of the original muppets show would have personally experienced.

But perhaps the main attraction is the movie's witty humor. Not even the fourth wall is safe as the characters lampoon everything from High school Musical style dance numbers to a time saving montage sequence. It is clever, well written comedy that pokes fun at itself and other shows. So hilarious that it has to be seen to be believed.

The Muppets covers all grounds for a good movie experience. The most human of characters portrayed by inhuman looking cloth puppets, cast chemistry that tugs on the heart strings and a simple story that anyone can relate to. Throw in some catchy songs and celebrity cameos with a healthy dose of nostalgia for those who loved the original Muppets Show and you have a sure winner that appeals to fans new and old alike. And once the curtain comes down, you would be clamoring for an encore. Here is a true tribute to a timeless classic that brings a childhood icon to a whole new generation of viewers. Let us give a standing ovation to "The Muppets", definitely one of the must watch movies of the year.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you liked the original Muppets Show and would like to see the ultimate tribute to it. If you like disney styled musicals or if you want a quick trip back to the more innocent days of childhood and have a good laugh.
Avoid it: if heartwarming and saccharine shows make your stomach churn

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Acting: A
Characters: A
Music: A-
Replay value: A
"Brains": B+

Some Comic book Animated movies that MUST be made

2011-12-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

The animation market. The less popular little brother to live action comic book blockbusters. Free from network restrictions, direct to video animated films adapted directly from comic books have been all the rage since the trend was reignited in 2006 by "Ultimate Avengers".
Previous animated films have been based on their respective animated series.

Both Marvel and DC have been churning out DTV animated movies. Some to rave reviews and strong sales, others to lukewarm reception.

So far DC is leading the charge with 12 movies and 3 more in production. Marvel is trailing behind with only 8.

But enough background talk. HERE are some direct to video animated movies that i would like to see made in the near future.

In no particular order

1) World War Hulk (Marvel)

Marvel did Planet Hulk. A direct, but slightly shortened, adaptation of Greg Pak's Hulk epic. It is only natural that they follow up with its sequel "World War Hulk". Same production team, same character designs. Madhouse did a great job combining western art asthetics with the dynamic feel of japanese anime. The story would place immediately after the events of Planet Hulk. The Hulk's peaceful life as King is shattered when the ship that brought him to the planet detonates, killing thousands including his queen. Overcome with a thirst for vengence, Hulk leads his former Gladiator allies back to earth on a mission to take down those he deems responsible: The Illuminati consisting of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mr Fantastic, and Black Bolt. It will be a sure fire hit, combining large scale action with a savage brutality that only the animation medium can do justice to.
My only tweak would be to get Fred Tatasciore back as the voice of the Hulk. His deep growling and wild roars fit the character better than Rick Wasserman's smoother more "civillised" performance.

2) Frank Miller's Ronin (DC)

In 2007, it was announced that Frank Miller's RONIN was picked up for a live action movie. Well.......no news so far. So how about this, since Warner has alraedy adapted Batman Year One and are making the animated "Dark Knight Returns", why not do another Frank Miller graphic novel? This could be a great opportunity to tap into the non-superhero comics in DC's library starting with this one.

Drawing its influence from old school manga like "Lone Wolf and Cub" as well as cyberpunk elements of Akira, Ronin is the tale of an ancient japanese warrior's quest to avenge himself against a demon named Agat. In their final battle, Agat placed a curse on the Ronin, causing him to be reincarnated into a dystopian future. Now on the run from the authorities and facing a world of underground mutants, roving street gangs and anarchy, the Ronin must once again track down his adversary. But is this truly the future? Is the Ronin truly who he thinks he is?
Like Batman Year one, RONIN should be a straight up adaptation fo the comic. It is inevitable that the designs be streamlined for animation but i would like to see a more subdued color palatte. A studio like Production I.G (Blood: The Last Vampire) who have done similar "lone warrior/wanderer" type of anime would be good.
Old school coloring, none of that sharp bright colors we see so commonly in recent anime. And hopefully they can keep the unique panel format of the comic by using split screens and other less-common transtion techniques. As long as they do not redesign everything and turn the characters into wide eyed bishonen with wavey hair billowing in the wind among falling sakura petals.
Speaking of split screens and dynamic animation framing, no other animator comes to mind other than Genndy Tatarovsky. Ronin was afterall one of the inspirations for his creation, Samurai Jack. It would be a major fan service there. And to top that, just get Phil Lamarr to voice the Ronin. There will be cheering in the streets.

4) The Darkness
Now why should just Marvel and DC dominate the animated movie market? Independent comic company IMAGE had a couple of animated productions in the past. Anyone remember "WildCATS"? Ok maybe not a good example. They made the most badass Jim Lee creation into something family friendly. How about the 2006 anime series Witchblade?? oh sorry, bad example. Those japanese turned a supernatural thriller series about a hot headed lady cop bounded to a cursed artefact into an overly emo semi-hentai with MILFs, bouncing........melons and sexual undertones.
So why do i suggest that Image should have a direct to DVD movie of THE DARKNESS?

For starters, with a Direct to DVD release, the company can control the written content themselves. No pandering to TV network moguls' whims. Best example of a past success? SPAWN
This show went directly to HBO with Image and Todd Mcfarlane having full control of the look and the content of the show. AND JUST LOOK HOW AWESOME IT IS.
If, given full content control, Image can pull off one badass supernatural horror comic title as animation, why not another?
THE DARKNESS is a perfect contender. I say the movie should just adapt from the first story arc by Garth Ennis and Marc Silvestri
It is already paced like a pilot movie complete with proper introduction of characters, development and conclusion. Mafia Hitman Jackie Estacado was both blessed and cursed on his 21st birthday when he inherited the power of The Darkness, an elemental force that allows those who wield it power over the shadows and control over the demons who dwell there. But this power comes at a price. Jackie is now hunted by the forces of the Angelus, the eternal enemy of the Darkness. Yet lurking in the shadows is a mysterious cult and its charismatic leader, Sonatin, who seek to control the Darkness for their own purposes.

As much as i like Marc Silvestri, i propose the show goes with Michael Broussard's style in the recent "Darkness: Accursed" series.
Silvestri's (seen above) is just too stylised and boasting too much intricate detail to be put into animation.

Broussard's on the other had is detailled enough but not as intricate as Silvestri's. But mostly the reason is in the coloring and shading. Broussard has a lot more blacks in the shading, giving it a very atmosphereic look that fits the atmosphere of the story
The animation studio that did Spawn, Madhouse, is no stranger to dark supernatural genre movies. Have them return for this production.
And i cannot think of a better person to voice Jackie Estacado than Steven Blum (Spike Spiegel, Wolverine) himself.

5) The Flash
We are back to DC for number 5.
After doing origin stories for Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and, in a way, Batman (Batman Year One), it is only natural that DC set their sights on the next member of the Justice league.
A "Flash" animated movie could have come a little earlier, perhaps to tie into the release of "Flashpoint", but it is never too late. Here will be an origin story similar in vein to "Green Lantern first flight". Hopefully Warner premiere will use a different art style again, but i suspect it would be either Sam Liu or Lauren Montgomery in charge, so best not to expect much changes.
Storyline will combine elements of the Silver age and the revamped origins of The Flash plus introduce Reverse-Flash. Why Reverse-Flash? Well he is technocally what Sinestro is to Green Lantern and a fair match for our crimson speedster. Unless you would want Captain Boomerang or Captain Cold, or perhaps the Weather wizard? No way. Speedster against speedster.
Unlike First Flight however, The Flash would not be a galaxy spanning epic. It should be tighter, more character centred and pay more attention to character development, especially to the rivalry between the 2 Flashes. It will be a personal conflict combining drama with superheroics.

6) Ultimate Avengers 3: Ultimatum (Marvel)
Another sequel, but a necessary one. As good as the first two "Ultimate Avengers" movies were, they ultimately failed to capture the gritty realism and darker tone of the "Ultimates" comic series. I propose that Ultimate Avengers 3 return the franchise to its gritty roots by first throwing out that saturday morning cartoon look

And replacing it with something more like what was showcased in the original trailer for the first Ultimate Avengers movie.

Notice that most of the footage featured an increadible amount of detail and fluid motion. THAT is what i am going for. Kick the previous animation studio out and bring in a better one like DR Movie or Gonzo who are used to high detailed artwork.
Now for the story. Although its called "Ultimatum", it will have little in common with Jeph Loeb's infamous 6 issue hero-cide. Instead, the movie will adapt its plot from Mark Millar's "The Ultimates 2"

Yet the theme of an "Ultimatum" resounds stronger than ever. In a controversial turn of events, the US Government turn the Ultimate Avengers into a superpowered black ops team carrying out raids on foreign soil in the name of American foreign policy. Their Ultimatum: cooperate or we'll sic the Avengers on your ass. The enemies of America retaliate with the formation of "The Liberators", the culmination of secret foreign supersoldier programs with one purpose: destroy the Ultimate Avengers and bring America to its knees. A superpowered cold war brews but the balance suddenly shifts when Thor is declared a traitor by his own team. At The same time, the Avengers are incapacitated one by one. Distrust and treachery rules the day as the Liberators gear up for a final campaign against USA. Little do they know that they are all pawns in an elaborate scheme set up by Loki, god of mischief.
Political satire, moral philosophy, epic violent battles; what's there not to like. I expect no less than a NC16 rating for this.

7) Swamp Thing (DC)
No not this atrocity

This
This image of a pensive, brooding Swamp Thing sort of actualises the direction i hope a possible "Swamp Thing" animated movie would follow: That is, ALAN MOORE's Swamp Thing. There is a big difference between Swamp Thing and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing is your typicaly "pity the monster" horror comic book. Scientist gets turned into a plant monster, tries to regain his humanity and faces down an evil occultist named Arcane who believes Swamp thing holds the key to immortality.
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is an ontological exploration of identity incorporating environmental themes, moral philosophy and a startling revelation: Swamp Thing is merely a plant with a man's memories.
No, of couse it is not going to be a all talk and no action kind of movie. The key ingredient would be atmosphere. Dark and forebodding. Make it more of a character study of Swamp Thing rather than a typical monster movie.
What movies like this usually do is that you have a generic main character who is supposed to be the "audience vessel". This character comes to the swamp and encounters Swamp Thing. But that is not how it should be.
A Swamp Thing animated movie should not be from a POV of an outsider encountering Swamp Thing, but from the POV of Swamp Thing himself. He is the main character, we delve into his psyche, his motivations, his humanity, his conflict. It is HIS story.
It would be awesome if they would take material from Alan Moore's first Swamp Thing Arc with Swamp Thing coming to terms with the truth behind his origin and his conflict with Jason Woodrue, a human plant hybrid with delusions of grandeur.
Why Woodrue?

(fine, we'll give him some cooler looking leaves)
Well because he is Swamp Thing in a dark mirror. Swamp Thing is a plant who believes he is a man but learns the truth of his inhuman origin. Yet he clings on to his humanity and seeks to discover his place in the world Woodrue is a man who forsakes his humanity and becomes plant, seeking only to destroy the world of man. Not only are they perfect opposites, but their final showdown in the comics could make for a great animated battle.
Animation can be done by DC's de facto studio "Moi" who have shown that they can handle dark and atmospheric pieces like Batman Year One.

8) A.B.C Warriors
Seven unique fighting machines, one mission

Precisely.
A famous comic book from UK published by 2000AD, ABC Warriors is easily described as "Seven Samurai on Mars". At the end of great war known as the Volgn War, veteran war robot Hammerstein is tasked with recruiting 6 other bots into a team in order to tame the now lawless Mars colonies. Each of the team members have their own unique personalities and powers. Think the main cast of Transformers. Now what would be even more fun is if we get Transformers voice actors to do the ABC warriors.
You have
-the fearless leader "Hammerstein" (David Kaye aka Optimus Prime in Transformers Animated),
-the lovable muscle bot "Mongrol" (voiced by Kevin Michael Richarson aka Bulkhead in Transformers Prime),
-black magic acolyte "Deadlock" (voiced by Corey Burton aka Shockwave from G1),
-"Blackblood" the schemer (voiced by Charlie Alder aka movie Starscream)
- dim witted but sadistic "MekQuake" (Voiced Gregg Berger aka Grimlock)
- cunning Marksman and assassin "Joe Pineapples" (voiced by Jeff Bennet aka Prowl)
- comic relief sewer droid Ro-Jaws (voiced Tom Kenny aka Spongebob Squarepants)

So for the movie, i believe that the story would have to be cut down a little into something like "Apocalypse Now, with robots, on Mars". The ABC Warriors are formed for the mission of travelling into war torn territory on Mars in order to assassinate some rogue general who has established himself as warlord over the planet. Along the way, the ABC Warriors have to deal with the aftermath of war, the people's unforgiving attitudes toward fighting robots, and their own conflicting primary programs as well as the suspicion that one of the ABC Warriors is a traitor. We get to see how in war, it is the civillians who suffer the most.
Already there seems to be CGI animated movie in production but other than this one trailer, no other news has been heard from it

I intend to go for a CGI standard that is more in line with "Transformers Prime". Sure its no where near movie level, but admittedly its much better than other recent CGI animation like Green Lantern

Besides, the premise of having a team of unique robots who are sometimes at odds with each other mirrors the premise of the Autobots in transformers.
Here's some trivia though. The main inspiration for "Transformers Animated" was indeed ABC WARRIORS.

9) Deadpool (Marvel)
This video is reason enough why there should be a DEADPOOL animated movie starring the merc with a mouth himself. If he's this hilarious as a side character, imagine what he'd be like in the leading role

To entice newcomers, it would be funnier to NOT do an origin story. Instead lets follow a common Deadpool format shall we? Some rich dude offers a bounty, mercenaries go hunting, Deadpool is nto invited but gets news of the offer and proceeds to eliminate the competition. One of the rival mercs would turn "fanboy" and throw in his lot with Deadpool, naturally. However the target in question is not the hardened criminal Deadpool expects. Maybe it could be a kid or a helpless lass whom Deadpool falls for. Personally i would prefer the kid. NOW Deadpool has a crisis of conscience.
He tries to reason with the rich dude but guess what not only does the rich dude REFUSE TO PAY DEADPOOL. Oh............. no.................. He sics his entire private army on the Merc With a Mouth.
Its moron massacre time when Deadpool has to race against the clock to break into the rich dude's fortified mansion and GET HIS CASH!!!
See, already it sounds like something big on action, big on violence, brimming with laughs but with a tender emotional centre that would help develop Deadpool as a more rounded character. Some flashbacks would vaguely tell DP's origin but thats not the main focus.
You can see where we're headed here? It would be fairly down to earth. We wouldnt want too many well known Marvel heroes in the picture.
And won't it be awesome that X-force and Cable make a cameo appearance at the end?

10) Kingdom Come (DC)

It would be Epic!!! A clever, metafictional tale of old vs the new. Set some twenty years into the future of the then-current DC Universe, it deals with a growing conflict between "traditional" superheroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League, and a growing population of largely amoral and dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes. Between these two groups is Batman and his assembled team, who attempt to contain the escalating disaster, foil the machinations of Lex Luthor, and prevent a world-ending superhuman war.
Conspiracies abound as the ageing Justice League has to deal with a world that distrusts superheroes.

The story is perfect as it is. And being only 4 issues long, it would fit well into 80+ minutes. The only issue is HOW TO MIMIC THE EXTRAORDINARY ART OF ALEX ROSS?

No i am not crazy. But everyone else might think so.
For starters, there is no way traditional animation can do justice to the awesome artwork of Alex Ross. Therefore, i propose that for starters, we do this in CGI (Computer generated images).

Not just any CGI though. I'm talking the high quality life-like motion capture CGI as used in productions like TinTin and Beowulf

Notice the insane level of detail and uncanny lifelikeness (is there such a word?)
Now imagine we give this a softer focus to produce a more painted look. You'd get Alex Ross' artwork in animation already.

And there you have it folks.

10 animated comic book movies that are just too awesome to be allowed to become live action. THESE MUST be made.

50/50 (2011) movie review

2011-12-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: clever mix of tragedy and comedy, never overly melodramatic, subject matter is handled sensitively despite the comedy, excellent cast chemistry, nuanced acting

The Bad: cliche story premise

Current Availability Status: in Cinemas 1 December

******************************Review********************
Adam Lerner has a pretty sweet life. He lives with his hot artist girlfriend, hangs out with his funny best buddy Kyle, and holds a cool job as a radio journalist. Life is good, life is normal, life could not have been better. And then one day, he discovers he has cancer. Now before you expect another tragic sob story full of teary emotions and melodrama, stop right there. And no, neither is this a light hearted buddy laugh fest. Adam Learner deals with his 50% chance of survival and the fallout which destroys the perfect life as he comes to terms with his fate.

We all know that "beats" of a typical cancer story. The five stages of grief form the narrative skeleton of the movie as Adam goes from denial through anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance of his fate. What is different here is how Adam deals with each stage. From befriending an inexperienced psychiatrist to going along with Kyle's suggestion of using the cancer to score chicks, Adam tries to live his remaining days to the fullest.

Central to the movie is both the characters and the actors portraying them. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam as the quintessential "everyman". Here is an actor who says a lot about the character without actually saying much. His earnest and increadibly nuanced performance makes it easy for anyone to relate to Adam's plight. The paranoia of an uncertain future, the sense of betrayal when someone dear to you betrays your trust or the frustration at an over-protective smothering mother is carefully yet lightheartedly explored.

How this film works is that it plays on the audience's stereotypical expectations then throws in a twist. You can see that in how it uses a familiar premise of a terminal illness but weaves an original tale. It is apparent in the characters too. Seth Rogan's Kyle is obviously the bumbling comic relief right? Well you might be surprised with the many layers to his character. Oh, Adam is so going to fall for his psychiatrist right? Perhaps, but not in the way you might be expecting.

"Natural" would be the proper word to describe the way all the characters are fully fleshed out. And rightly so since 50/50 has the advantage of being based loosely on the real life experience of screenwriter Will Reiser. It feels less like a story per se and really like taking a peek into someone's diary entry. Yet thanks to the awesome cast, timely humor and fresh dialogue, it never feels mundane.

In the end, we are left with a powerful message about the people who truly care in a crisis. The emotional spectrum never veers into the extreme, effectively balancing the tragedy and comedy. Criticising the unoriginal premise is easy, but 50/50 scores in its fun but bittersweet execution of a tried and true narrative.
*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you would like to see a refreshing take on the "I am dying from an incurable disease" genre of drama movies.
Avoid it: if a few dirty jokes would put you off

Entertainment: A
Story: A-
Acting: A-
Characters: A
Music: B+
Replay value: A
"Brains": A-

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995) anime series review

2011-12-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: many thought provoking themes, intense mech action, greatly improved coloring and artwork, incorprates politics and philosophy, catchy soundtrack, gorgeous character designs, excellent japanese and english voice acting

The Bad: under-developed characters, overuse of repeated footage, mediocre chinese voice acting,

Current Availability Status: none in Singapore.

******************************Review********************

The year is After Colony 195 and Operation Meteor, the plan to topple the oppressive "OZ" organization" on earth, has been launched. Five Gundams, each with their own strengths and flaws, piloted by five very different young pilots arrive on earth but their secret missions are already compromised from the start. What follows is a grand sweeping tale of conspiracies, betrayal, hidden motives and conflict of ideals set among the backdrop of a world on the brink of war.

Compared to previous gundam series, Gundam Wing starts off with a "flipped" premise. The Gundams are no longer the "good guys" defending against an onslaught, but the ones provoking attack. It can be easily argued that they are the antagonists and OZ are the protagonists, retaliating after the Gundams have struck first. The defining line of good and bad has never been so blurred. The "invincible" Gundams is another refreshing change for the better. It emphasizes the point of view that no matter how powerful a weapon is, it is the weakness of the soldier behind the trigger that causes it to fail; seen in the many instances where the "invincible" gundams are defeated due to the pilot's and not the hardware's fault.

The story also has a fresh style, focusing more on the larger scale political happenings in the war instead of the 5 main characters. Deceit, political backstabbing, secret uprisings, changing values and a lingering air of mystery lends to a highly intriguing plot. Each episode brings its own share of story twists as former allies become enemies and friends turn on each other in this era of distrust. In the way the series slowly unravels the varying plot threads and mysteries, it manages to hook the viewer into being interested in what comes next.

Easily the more "intelligent" of the Gundam shows, Gundam Wing revels in its philosophical ramblings. Every single theme you can think about with respect to war, politics, human nature, and purpose are all in there. This series challenges you to think. It feels like the creators whipped out every book they could find about war philosophy and threw in wholesale whatever they had. Its thought provoking nature is sure to be a treat for the more learned and knowledgeable viewers, allowing for a wide range of intellectual discussion.

A pity that so much time and effort is spent planning out the otherwise convoluted storyline and in researching the underlying themes that little thought is given to character development or entertainment value. The most well developed characters are only Relena and Zechs Merquise, their motives and personality evolving nicely as the series moves along to its conclusion; Relana matures from a shy rich girl just moving through life into an assertive leader figure and Zechs' convictions to attain peace by any means drives him to be a very compelling character.

Sadly most of the other characters are already presented less as people and more like "personifications" of ideas, ideals and unique perspectives on war. They seem to be just in the story to convey the numerous thought provoking themes inherent in the series through their personality, dialogue and sometimes even monologue. Their "larger than life" personalities and nature coupled with their "over-the-top" way of speaking in the japanese voice track make them very difficult to relate to. It is over-acting, pure and simple. Gundam Wing is no better in chinese where everyone sounds like actors in a stage play, over emphasising their lines and not even trying to sound natural. The english dub on the other hand is more subdued but plays it more realisticly. The campy dialogue is dialled back a notch, as is the over-emoting that commonly plagues the japanese voice track. Furthermore, most of the characters are Caucasian so hearing them in english just feels more natural. The downside is some roles are badly miscast making many characters sound older than they are supposed to be.

On the technical side, Gundam Wing is quite inconsistent in its artwork and animation. Take a look at these scenes for an example of such inconsistency

It suffers from an overuse of repeated stock footage and sometimes the same stock footage(like some re-used scenes of Mobile suits blowing up) can be played more than once within the same episode. Below are screenshots of one such repeated scene shown in episodes 7, 8 and 9.

Artwork is generally beautiful, although the occasional lazily shaded, flatly drawn scene does appear. Sunrise has learnt to incorporate dynamic lighting effects into the coloring of the Gundams resulting in pure mecha eye candy.

The colors themselves are comparatively subdued compared to other Gundam series. So dark in fact that in some scenes in the blackness of space or at night, you can just barely see the mecha's outline. This lends a gritty gloomy feel to the show that matches its tone.

Gundam Wing is not a series for everyone. Those looking for pure popcorn entertainment would be disappointed by this show. Think of this as the Gundam franchise trying to appeal to an older and more sophisticated western audience. The unique core team of gundams and pilots call to mind superhero teams like the Justice League. Through its story, Gundam Wing does not seek to merely entertain but to convey a wide range of ideas and thought provoking concepts that would hopefully lead to intellectual discussion.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if an intelligent, thought provoking series showing war on a grand scale is your cup of tea
Avoid it: if brainless action is what you usually go for

Entertainment: B
Story: A-
Characters: C+
Animation: C+
Art: A-
Voice work (japanese): B+
Voice work (english): B+
Voice work (chinese): C-
Replay Value: B
"Brains": A-

Gundam Wing remembered to appeal to the fan-girls

OBLITERATE!!!

What could be cooler than a gattling gun? TWO gattling Guns!
What could be cooler that 2 gattling guns?? Wait for the movie to find out.

This single exchange spawned a flood of yaoi fanfics.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1994) anime series review

2011-12-01T04:39:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 5.5/10

The Good: Awesome japanese voice acting, imaginative premise, a few terrific Gundam designs, upbeat background music and songs.

The Bad: sub-par animation, cheesy script, shallow characters with chiche'd backstories, mostly silly gundam designs, slightly insulting racial stereotypes, overuse of stock footage, contrived and predictable narrative

Current Availability Status:
On DVD but not available in Singapore

VCD now out of print.
******************************Review********************

An "alternate universe" in a franchise is a marketing ploy more commonly used in comic books. It either takes previously well known characters and places them in completely new settings or it takes the spirit of the original story and translate it into something fresh for newcomers to the franchise. Mobile Fighter G Gundam is the first Gundam series to apply this ploy. However, somebody took that whole "Alternate" bit a little too far. Aside from the Gundam's faces, there is absolutely nothing in common with previous gundam series; neither the spirit, feel nor the themes of war. A fresh start, yes. But is it too "fresh" to be considered "Gundam"?

G Gundam seems to cash in on the popularity of Hong Kong "wuxia" movies like "Stormriders" and fighting games like "Street Fighter" that had gained a huge following from 1991 to 1994. The story takes place in year 60 of the Future Century. During the 13th Gundam Fight tournament we follow Neo Japan's representative Domon Kasshu who's mission is two-fold: win the tournament for Neo Japan as well as track down his brother who had stolen the mysterious Devil Gundam from the Neo-Japan government.

Most of the themes center around the individual characters and their interpersonal relationships. The western philosophical waxings about ethics, warfare, politics and purpose have given way to more eastern schools of thought bordering on new age "Ying yang" stuff. There is a hint of a socio-political undertone around the middle of the series but it is never pursued. An environmental theme which seemed very common in the early 90s is also present.

Along the way Domon meets many bizarre characters and fellow fighters, some of whom he befriends. Too bad that almost the entire cast seem to be just re-threads of the usual stock literary characters; the strong silent type, the hyper active loud mouth, the calm suave thinker to name a few. But in what is possibly the worst case of political incorrectness ever, some of the side characters are just downright insulting to the countries they represent. Take the "SCUD" Gundam representing neo-Arabia piloted by borderline terrorist, or perhaps Neo Germany's Nazi themed Speigel Gundam.

The main characters only come across as mildly interesting with much of their motives(Fighting for his lost honor, fighting to free loved ones from prison, fighting to prove his manhood etc) seemingly "tacked on" just to provide some illusion of character development. There is even a attempt at a love story in the later part of the series but it soon takes a nosedive into cheesy territory. One wonders what monkeys wrote the script. A Lot of dialogue feel like some bad fanfiction; overdone, unnatural, almost like a self parody at times.

Thankfully the Japanese cast manage to take the script seriously and deliver a terrific and professional performance. Veterans like Tomokazu Seki, Kappei Yamaguchi and Yuri Amano bring much needed heart and passion to the otherwise wonky script, making even the silliest lines sound good. The English dub however was horrendous, which was a real pity actually. G Gundam's multi racial cast could have benefited from having different accents or even mixed languages(eg: Neo Japanese characters speak Japanese, french characters speak french, Chinese characters speak Chinese etc etc). Not only does the English dub for this series sound flat, everyone sounds.........Canadian; no effort at all is made to give the cast a variety of accents. A taiwanese chinese dub exists for the show but unlike the japanese cast, these guys obviously thought the show was a joke. Roles are over acted, lines are over emoted, and everyone seems to be shouting all the time in a constantly excited state.

Perhaps G Gundam's greatest crime is to fall into the trappings of typical shonen anime staples. The constant "powering up" and learning new techniques got really old back in Dragonball Z. Sadly, even the animation is as dated as Dragonball Z with some well animated stock footage inter-spliced with the mostly stiff and uninspired character animation. The art is very basic on G Gundam and has an overall low budget feel. Details like clothing folds and shadows are kept to a minimum making the characters look flatly colored. Even 1980s Gundam series like Z Gundam and V Gundam manage to look better than this 1994 series. Only the overused stock footage of Gundams preparing to fight or performing special moves look remotely decent.

Aside from its engaging character relationships, top notch acting, and an overall original look and feel for a Gundam series, Mobile Fighter G Gundam suffers from too many flaws, from its less-than-mediocre animation to the contrived story and satirical side characters. But if you are on the prowl for an over-the-top, entertainingly fun, action packed series that still has some of that "Gundam charm", then Mobile Fighter G Gundam is a great way to pass the time until something better comes along.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you like fighting games like Street Fighter or Tekken

Avoid it: if you expect anything similar to other gundam series or any of the elements common to the gundam franchise

Entertainment: B-
Story: B-
Characters: B
Animation: C-
Art: B-
Voice work (japanese): A
Voice work (english): C-
Voice work (chinese): D
Replay Value: B
"Brains": C+

PWNED!

Ooh! Gundam Up-skirt shot. Woof!

Fly!! Fly!! Fly!! Buzz off! AAAARRGH!! Fly!

Great Snakes! Its a great snake

Sometimes, the jokes make themselves

You really do not need a caption for this

Look, Up in the Sky! Its...............

We should stop with the captions now. These screenshots are hilarious as they are

Universal Century Gundam fan's reaction to watching G Gundam

ArgentoSoma (2000) anime series review

2011-11-30T06:51:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

The Good: well developed mystery element, realistic human drama, explores complex themes both personal and philosophical, awesome voice acting, believable emotional narrative, full bodied character development

The Bad: cliched premise, animation is mediocre for its time, art takes some getting used to

Current Availability Status:
In print on DVD from Bandai. Sadly No longer available in singapore

Used to have a VCD but (thankfully) its gone (along with the company that printed it)
******************************Review********************
(NOTE: The title is in GREEK. It is not a spelling error)

In an alternate future world, a failed space exploration program led to a major invasion by towering golden titans from beyond the stars. Though the initial invasion was repelled, isolated incidents of alien incursions still crop up, all with a similar M.O: the alien titans seem intent on reaching a location in known as "Pilgrimage point". The world governments set up the organization known as FUNERAL to repel invasions and prevent any alien from reaching Pilgrimage point. At the same time, ongoing research into the aliens have provided earth with defensive technology known as the SARG mecha.

Enter Takuto Kaneshiro, a kind hearted and extremely brilliant young man who, along with his girlfriend Maki Agata, assists their mentor Dr Noguchi in his alien research. Tragedy strikes when an experiment to revive an alien, artificially reconstructed with parts of other dead aliens, goes awry. Takuto is the only survivor, scarred both physically and emotionally. Convinced that the awakening alien killed his girlfriend, Takuto's kind hearted nature gives way to grief, regret and pain. One day, Takuto is visited by the mysterious, Shakespere quoting "Mr X", who offers him a chance at revenge. The revived alien has been taken in by FUNERAL and renamed FRANK (as it was constructed from dead body parts similar to Frankenstein's monster) to be used as a last resort weapon against other aliens. In exchange for agreeing to work for Mr X as a double agent, Takuto begins his new identity as Ryu Soma; the stoic, cold ace pilot and latest recruit into the FUNERAL combat team. He is a man with a hidden agenda, that is to sabotage the FUNERAL operations and ultimately destroy Frank.

Boasting a rich, character driven narrative, the story takes on a very personal feel as we "get into the heads" of the FUNERAL team members; their motives, what drives them and what connects them to each other. Every character is fleshed out with sufficient depth.Take Ryu for example, whose obsession for vengeance has blinded him to new friendships, and slowly eats away at the kind man he used to be. Ryu's frustration soon turns to delusion as his two personalities, Ryu Soma and Takuto Kaneshiro, clash. To make matters worse is the introduction of young Hattie Bartholomew, a blond girl who shares an almost magical connection with the alien Frank, and also bears and uncanny resemblance to Takuto's dead girlfriend. Ryu's cold determination stands in perfect contrast to Hattie's childlike innocence; she adapted to her past trauma not with bitterness but with a kind of psychological regression into her own world of innocent fantasy to the point of referring to Frank as an elf.

The characters are all really easy to relate to and through them, the show slowly explores themes of psychological withdrawal in the face of trauma, military ethics, political conspiracies and, later in the series, the ontological question about human identity. More common themes of trust, love and loneliness play out along the unraveling mystery right up to the startling revelation about the true nature of the invaders. Adding to the very "human" experience is a fine cast of voice actors who play their parts with utmost professionalism. The English dub cast wins out as being more enjoyable only because most of the characters are Caucasian or non-Asian to begin with. The more subdued english delivery, as opposed to the sometimes overacted japanese voices, fit the tone of the show and lend more realism. Some of the actors also gave their characters believable accents to match their nationality.

Yes, already the more hardcore anime fans would be screaming at how similar the story premise is to the famous anime Evangelion. But rest assured, the resemblance is only superficial. Similar to the alien Frank, ArgentoSoma is composed of familiar parts of different anime series, combined and given new life. The premise is Evangelion, the relationship between Hattie and Frank is as heartwarming as in the movie "The Iron Giant" and the shady alien conspiracies within the higher powers takes its influence from X-files. It is in this almost bizarre combination that Argentosoma becomes its own creature. A lot of attention is paid to making the inner workings of the FUNERAL organization as believable as a real military branch. The combination of personal little character arcs with a grand scale invasion backdrop works well despite its slow pace at times.

For a lack of publicity or perhaps a lack of audience interest, ArgentoSoma can easily be considered a "second tier" production no doubt overshadowed by SUNRISE's more successful mecha franchises like Gundam. And with good reason too. As clever, complex and emotionally engaging as its story is, ArgentoSoma does not hold that same level of proficiency in its technical aspects. The animation is generally passable for a year 2000 series, but the artwork takes a while to get used too. Just take a look at the screenshots

The characters look fine. But when viewed from a face front angle, their noses seem to disappear, giving them a very flat and sometimes inhuman appearance. Earlier episodes do move at a slower pace, but in this case it works in the show's favor, allowing the mystery and tension to build.

Credit goes to the fact that Argentosoma is an original anime screenplay not based on any manga or light novel. If it were only given a higher production budget and more publicity it might have become a true anime legend that withstands the test of time. Alas, most fans may just be content to pick it apart and deride its influences and homages as being "unoriginal", never giving ArgentoSoma a chance to touch their hearts and minds.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you are curious about one of the most underrated science fiction anime from the turn of the century which combines thought provoking themes with realistic human drama set against a mecha genre backdrop.
Avoid it: if you seek an original premise or if a generally depressing tone turns you off. Also if you have no patience for mystery plots.

Entertainment: B
Story: A-
Characters: A
Animation: B-
Art: C+
Voice work (japanese): B+
Voice work (english): A-
Replay Value: B+
"Brains": A-

Standing tall. Frank in all his disproportional glory.

The SARGs. Weapons born from alien tecnhology and used against their progenitors

Immortals (2011) movie review

2011-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: refreshing new portrayal of greek gods, hearkens back to classic greek myth epics, hints at deeper themes exploring the concept of immortality, stylish action sequences, beautiful production design

The Bad: deviates from the traditional Theseus myth, slow moving first act, minimal character development, falls into typical trappings of a shallow action blockbuster.

Current Availability Status: in cinemas 17 november 2011

******************************Review********************
What is Immortality? That is the question this movie "Immortals" seemingly sets out to explore from the film's opening quote about a man's immortal soul. Does one have to be a god to be immortal? Or can he live forever in the legacy he leaves behind? And with regards to that legacy, is the immortality gained from legacy of descendants any different from a legacy of great deeds kept alive through old tales? There is a gold mine of deep concepts and possible philosophical questions, both rare in today's high octane low brain blockbuster movie market. In that aspect, Immortals might seem a bit of a cop out; avoiding the interesting questions to thread familiar ground. Which is a huge pity since everything else about this movie had the potential to be something new and unique.

For starters, it is a unique take on the old Greek Myth of Theseus. Greek Mythology purists be warned, this is not faithful to the legends in any way except in name. This Theseus is a strong but skeptical young man who scoffs at the old tales of Gods and Titans. His peaceful life in his small cliffside town is one day shattered with the arrival of King Hyperion and his army. The king is seeking the legendary Epirius bow, hoping to free the Titans as vengeance against the Gods. As a captive, Theseus meets the thief Stravos and the beautiful oracle Phaedra who convinces him of the truth behind the old legends. After a daring escape, Theseus and his companions embark on a quest to stop Hyperion before he brings about the fall of man and god.

Immortals excels in how gives a new perspective to the mythologies we all know. For example, the Greek deities are merely people who can live forever and have special powers. Immortal magicians if you will. They are not "Gods" in the omnipotent sense. And rather than have them as aged beings in regal robes or a warrior race in elaborate armor, these gods are portrayed as lithe, beautiful and young; barely out of their 20s and dressed scantily in tiny gold loincloths. Similarly, mount Olympus is no heaven on a mythical mountain surrounded by clouds, merely a palace on a very high cliff overlooking the sea.

In the characters themselves arise more potential for such questions.
We see the concept of "Gods" being played around with, same with the concept of immortality. If Theseus, like the Gods, is remembered for superhuman deeds he performed, does that make you him god? You have Phaedra, the oracle who sees the future. Can one who knows the will of fate change fate? You have king Hyperion who's very act of castrating every male defector and killing all captive pregnant women brings us back to the very first question about immortality and leaving a legacy.

But alas these questions, philosophical or otherwise, are merely hinted at; touched upon like Socrates' quotes which bookend the movie. It is a fantasy action blockbuster after all. So out with the brains and in with the blood. Although the characters are pretty much one dimensional, the acting is spot on and the story picks up well after the slower first act.

The movie is very beautiful to look at from a production standpoint. Unlike the producers' previous greek legend film, 300, mostly physical sets are used here with CGI shots and backgrounds blended seamlessly. It seems intentional that the way physical foregrounds and CGI backgrounds merge mimic how a soundstage set would merge with a matte painting background in older greek myth movies. In fact story's pacing, the gritty yet stylised designs and the way the dialogue is written seem to be a homage to old fantasy epics like "Jason and the Argonauts".

Once again, instead of being truly unique, Immortals manages to only look fresh but feel like the same old thing that we are used to. It is definitely much more enjoyable than 2010's "Clash of the Titans" but lacks the energy and style of "300". Perhaps a long running time would have allowed the plot to breathe, the characters to develop a little and for the film to have a larger sense of scale. What could have been the most unique greek mythology movie is reduced to just another fun blockbuster.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you'd like a fresh new take on old myths that raises some deep questions. Or if you liked the classic fantasy adventure movies like Jason and the Argonauts.
Avoid it: if you're a greek mythology purist or never liked the "swords and sandals" movie genre in the first place

Entertainment: B+
Story: B+
Acting: A-
Characters: B
Music: C+
Replay value: B
"Brains": B-

The Adventures of TinTin (2011) movie review

2011-11-16T05:14:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: Sticks true to the look and feel of the original comic, exquisite 3D CGI, excellent acting, well played humor,

The Bad: deviates from the comics exact storyline, minimal character development, convenient plot twists, retains the flaws of the comic

Current Availability Status: In Cinemas 10 November 2011

******************************Review********************
Come on, admit it, if your first English comic was not Archie or Asterix, it most likely was TINTIN. The world spanning adventures of an intrepid young reporter as he takes meets unique people, unearths ancient secrets, brings corrupt businessmen to justice, travels to exotic lands and do what imaginative children can only dream about. Each book was a whole new genre including some that touched on horror and science fiction. Steven Spielberg's computer animated "The Adventures of TinTin" combines two books' storylines, and throws in some minor tweaks for coherence, but manages to stay true to the spirit of what made the original stories such a good read.

Purists would no doubt condemn the condensing of two stories, "The Secret of The Unicorn" and "The Crab With the Golden Claws", into a single movie. Why go through the trouble and change the story? Because, to be honest, adapting only a single story would not do justice to TinTin as a whole. The Secret Of the Unicorn is essentially a mystery tale like something out of Sherlock Holmes. No big action pieces, no worldwide adventure, no exotic locales. While the condensation of stories is jarring for those familiar with the originals, it is done in such a coherant manner that it seems like a single proper story.

Famous reporter TinTin stumbles upon a mysterious model of an ancient ship, The Unicorn, which lands him in the biggest case of his life involving a long lost pirate's loot, a clandestine plot to steal a royal treasure and an unresolved family feud. Along the way he meets Captain Haddock, a washed up ship captain with a drinking problem, who might hold the key to the mystery. If only he could stay sober long enough to remember.

Everyone is exactly how one remembers them either from the comic or the classic cartoons. The bumbling Thomson/Thompson twins, Captain Haddock's comical rage, TinTin's inquisitive nature, it is all there. Nostalgia is the order of the day as the film takes us back to a simpler time of childhood. The character chemistry, adrenaline charged chases and light hearted dialogue call to mind swashbuckling pulp novel adventures in the vein of Indiana Jones. Sadly, the flaws of the original comic are all there too. The film is so plot driven that little attention is given to character development. Like the comic, there may be one too many convenient turn of events.

Before you are turned away by the seemingly simplistic narrative, it will be the animation itself that would grab you back. Final Fantasy is yesterday's news compared to the animation in The Adventures of TinTin. Yes, they may have "cheated" by using motion capture, but the results are magnificent. Everything moves like how they do in real life; vehicles have a sense of mass, there is visible inertia in moving objects, and characters move like actual people. The stunning level of detail, right down to the pores on characters' skin and individual hair follicles, is coupled with designs very similar to the cartoony art of the comics.

Try thinking of Spielberg's "The Adventures Of TinTin" less of an adaptation of the comics but more of a homage to the entire franchise. The whole movie is littered with dozens of allusions and shout outs to other stories in the series. Fans would have a field day recognising all the Easter eggs and cameos. After a slow start, the show really picks up and never lets up; well written dialogue, excellent cast chemistry and timely humor providing endless entertainment. Whether you are a child endlessly pouring through TinTin comics in the library, or an "ex-child" who followed the cartoon on weekday evenings, The Adventures of TinTin is pure fun and a great way to see your favorite characters come alive.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you like adventure stories like Indiana Jones or have read/watched the classic Tintin comics/cartoons as a child
Avoid it: if even the slightest change from the original comic bothers you

Entertainment: A-
Story: B+
Characters: A
Animation: A
Art: A
Voice work: A
Replay Value: C
"Brains": C-

Real Steel (2011) movie review

2011-10-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: Solid emotional core, great cast chemistry, top notch special effects, a touching pro-family story, gripping fight scenes, excellent acting, endearing main characters, energy of the fights draw you in, rousing soundtrack, clever themes of satire.

The Bad: a little too "fairy tale"-ish, suspension of disbelief required, underdog story may seem unoriginal.

Current Availability Status:

******************************Review********************
"Real Steel". The title itself calls to mind loud, frenetic, bot-on-bot battles the likes of Michael Bay's "Transformers". Promotional material and trailers featuring quick cuts, bad ass one liners and humanoid machines beating the nuts out of each other only heightened that expectation for a souless, action heavy, gear grinding testosterone charged movie.

Take a look here

Surprisingly, Real Steel has real heart. It is less like Transformers and more like Rocky or Karate Kid. Simply put, it is an emotional tale about a down and out loser reconnecting with his estranged son over their passion for "robot boxing". You see, in the future, "Bot bouts" have replaced traditional fighting sports like boxing as a way to up the excitement factor. Robots can, after all, take a bigger pounding, and dish out more damage than any human can. Sadly for poor ex-boxer Charlie Kenton that means he's out of the job. Without a purpose He desperately tries to get into the Robot fights circles to relive his glory days but his bot is trashed, leaving him in debt and with shattered dreams. Charlie's stubborn dedication to a lost cause is broken when he is given custody of a son name Max whom he never knew he fathered. Things go from bad to worse but through a stroke of luck, Max discovers an old training Robot in a junk yard. Christening the robot "Atom" Max convinces his dad to retry for the robot fights.

This is where the movie throws its first surprise left hook: the robot fights are only secondary to the human story. The terrific chemistry of the cast, especially between Charlie (Hugh Jackman) and his son Max (Dakota Goyo), is full of old school charm. Jackman's Charlie is superbly developed; he starts off as a self centered and stubborn man who learns responsibility, patience and the value of family. In a way, he represents the common workaholic who aims too high and has lost sight of the little joys in life. Newcomer Dakota Goyo plays Max as the perfect foil to Charlie's thick headed immaturity; an endearing kid, full of spunk and energy which rubs off on his dad and gives him a new purpose to keep fighting for. They are a lovable pair, slowly opening up to one another.

But fear not fanboys, it is not all drama. There are the promised robot fights. And when they come, they come like glorious uppercut in slow motion. Shawn Levy's directing style is clear and even, yet energetic with none of the whiplash cuts and shaky cam; a welcome surprise seeing as how this is Levy's first time directing a sci/fi movie. Perhaps the most astounding aspect of the film is its special effects. The robots are a combination of computer generated images (CGI) and physical animatronics which give them a heightened sense of realism in both their look and the way they move. Furthermore, the fights were overseen by former boxing hall-of-famer "Sugar Ray" Leonard.

Real Steel is the tried and true underdog story set against a science fiction backdrop. Sure, it might seem unoriginal, but the writers weave in some clever themes to set it apart. Under the mechanical mayhem lies a clever jab at the commercialisation of modern sports. How the big money holders will constantly try to squash "the little guy" from reaching their dreams. It also advocates the old saying about how it is not the destination that matters but the journey. And lastly, it advocates a pro-family theme about how good old fashioned joy of sports bring people together.

This is a true family movie for everyone. Accompanied by Danny Elfman's rousing soundtrack, the atmosphere is so contagious, you just cannot help but cheer our lovable protagonists on. Action is exciting and the fights are intense with the outcome never clear. For fans of japanese anime, Real Steel incorporates some familiar stereotypes such as the immature adult/mature kid pairing and the designs of some of the robots. Plus, the whole gimmick of shouting out attacks for the robot to perform will remind any kid of something like Pokemon. Yes it is slightly unreal, it is wish fulfilment at its very best. What child would not want his very own fighting robot?

Like its protagonists' and their robot "Atom", Real Steel is "the little guy" when stacked against the year's big hitters like Transformers 3, Harry Potter 8 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. It only has a fraction of their budget and no franchise power to flaunt. Yet Real Steel comes through with incredible action sequences that are only secondary to what matters most: characters who are easy to relate to, a heartfelt emotional narrative and compelling themes.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see a robot science fiction film that has heartfelt emotional drama or if you liked underdog sports stories like Rocky, Karate Kid, Mighty Ducks etc.
Avoid it: if you really dont believe a word of this review

Entertainment: A
Story: A-
Acting: A
Characters: A
Music: A-
Replay value: A
"Brains": B+

Batman Year One (2011) animated review

2011-10-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The Good: Cinema standard animation and artwork, seamless CGI, extremely faithful to the graphic novel, well rounded character development despite short running time.

The Bad: Some instances of stilted voice acting, over too soon, seems to be aimed solely at Batman comic fans.

Current Availability Status: On DVD and Blu Ray in most good Singapore video stores

******************************Review********************
Named as one of IGN's 25 greatest Batman stories of all time and one of the books that any Batman fan would swear by, Frank Miller's 1987 classic Batman Year One finally comes to life as a full length animated movie. Besides inspiring elements in various Batman animated shows since the 1990s, Batman Year One is also the main inspiration for the blockbuster hit "Batman Begins". So with its influence seen in all incarnations of Batman in the last 15 years, the producers are hard pressed to come up with anything original. Instead of just retelling Batman's origins, drawing influence from Batman Year One, the creative team decided to stick as close as possible to the source material and literally transfer the book into animated form.

To date, Batman Year One is easily the movie that is most faithful to its source material. Barring a few lines tweaked to flow more naturally in dialogue, the script is almost exactly the same as in the book. Whole scenes are reproduced shot for shot, as if the comic panels themselves came to life. One could literally watch this movie and read the comic side by side. Sadly, the plot itself is weaker than what one would expect, mostly due to the limitations of the audio/visual media.

Batman Year One contains two parallel tales. One follows Bruce Wayne, a millionaire playboy with a tragic past who returns to Gotham City after many years. The other follows Lieutenant Jim Gordon, a cop transferred to Gotham Police Department. Crime and corruption run rampant through the city, driving both Gordon and Wayne to bring justice to this lawless town through their own means. Initially, they are powerless against against a world of vice and sin, a world that does not want their help and would instead seek to crush their bodies and spirits. But both men soldier on in their quest. Wayne decides to become a masked vigilante; striking from the shadows against those that the authorities are powerless to touch. Meanwhile Gordon, knee deep among crooked Cops, struggles to expose the corrupted powers that be.

When it first debuted in 1987, Batman Year One was meant to be a realistic reinterpretation of Batman's origins. No fancy gadgets, no Batmobile, no crazy freaks. Batman does not befriend the police, and is in fact wanted as a criminal at one point. Those expecting long drawn out Batman brawls might be disappointed by the lack of appearances by Batman. Remember, the story is less about the icon and more about the man behind the mask. Also, the voice cast is possibly one of the weaker ones from DC animation. None of the performances really stand out, especially Benjamin McKenzie's Batman who seems to be doing a bad Christian Bale impression.

In true comic book fashion, the story is the very definition of brevity. Despite running barely over 60 minutes, the movie does a wonderful job of getting to the point of how both Wayne and Gordon struggle to keep their beliefs in a world devoid of morality. The power of a comic's visuals in telling a story without words is reflected very well in the animation. Scenes are loaded with impact and potential interpretations. Sadly, in an animated medium, one cannot mull over a page or let the imagination "set" to fully appreciate a scene's impact. Perhaps some would feel that the movie is too "to the point"; giving the audience the story instead of letting it play out over time.

On the flip side, what the animated medium takes full advantage of is bringing motion to static artwork. The animation by Korean studio "Moi Animation" is so smooth and seamless, a standard usually only seen in big budget theatrical feature films along the lines of "Rebuild of Evangelion" and "Sky Crawlers". The fight scenes are definitely the highlight of the movie. Fully animated, without a single cost saving short cut, it is almost like live action combat sequences out of a blockbuster. The art is no pushover either. It is David Mazzucchelli's original comic designs and characters, combined with an asian anime flaire and aesthetics. This means small tweaks like giving characters more expressive eyes, sharper features and a less murky color palette. Purists would cry foul at the tweaks but they never detract from the original artwork's feel; it is still dark, gritty, and atmospheric as ever.

Being incredibly faithful to the source material means that one need not be familiar with the graphic novel to appreciate this show. If anything, this film allows those who would normally be averse to reading a comic book appreciate a timeless tale, integral to Batman lore. It is the same book, just a different way of reading it.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you have heard about the great "Batman Year One" graphic novel and do not dare to pick up the comic book. If you want to see the definitive comic book origin of a more realistic Batman brought to life or if you just appreciate good animation in general.
Avoid it: if you are more inclined to "cosmic" superheroics involving aliens, alternate dimensions, angry evil gods and people in colorful tights flying about.

Entertainment: A
Story: A-
Characters: B+
Animation: A
Art: A
Voice work(english): B-
Replay Value: A-
"Brains": B-

Transformers: The Movie (1986) review

2011-07-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The Good: a truly status quo changing story, extremely smooth animation, high level of art detail, excellent voice acting, goes beyond anything seen in the TV series, likable characters, decent character development, brisk narrative, some well written comic relief.

The Bad: requires familiarity with the characters, some minor animation errors in the theatrical cut,

Current Availability Status: on DVD in all Singapore video stores

******************************Review********************

The problem with so many anime movies that are spun off from a TV series is that the movie looks, feels and essentially IS, just an extra long episode of the TV series. Transformers: The Movie does none of that. Not content on just making a 84 minute long episode, the producers decided to up the show's ante and shatter the status quo, taking its action, animation, story and characters to new heights of excellence.

A word of caution: viewers unfamiliar with Transformers characters should go and watch the original TV series before watching this movie. If you cannot tell the difference between Starscream and Skywarp, go refresh your memory before watching this. There is little introduction to the characters as we jump straight into the thick of the action even before the opening credits flash across the screen.

Deep in the void of space, a monstrous machine planet is devouring world after world and is now making a beeline for the Transformers' home world of Cybertron. After years of stalemate, the evil Decepticons have taken over Cybertron and now launch a titanic offensive against the last Autobot city on earth. Although the Autobots manage to turn the tide of the battle, the death toll is catastrophic. Among them, the faction leaders, Optimus Prime and Megatron, lose their lives after what is easily the most brutal duel in Transformers animation history. As both factions try to bounce back from their loss, old foes return stronger than ever and ancient mysteries resurface. Amidst the end of one war the the start of another, a young Autobot named Hot Rod must come to terms with a destiny that he never desired.

In its time, Transformers: The Movie was both famous and infamous for its graphic portrayal of mass slaughter. A rarity among animated shows of the 80s was deaths of main characters. And in the tradition of this movie taking what "was" to a whole new level, the deaths are actually quite graphic and violent despite the characters being robots. There is one scene which could be the robotic equivalent of coughing up blood.

Shoots

Hits

HOLY CRAP!!

Know that prior to this, "injuries" were only temporary, no one ever died in the Tv series and if they were ever "deactivated" they were usually done so quickly and even off-screen. The deaths would hit harder if one were already familiar with the characters, hence why familiarity with the original TV series is recommended.

The story in the movie, however, is upgraded from the down to earth TV series style to an intense, action packed, sprawling space epic. The threat is larger than anything the Transformers have ever faced(literally). Sure it may share some elements of Star Wars but it is a huge notch up from the TV series it is based. One of the most epic stories in an animated movie based on a cartoon series.

As usual of Transformers, the characters are the main stars. The new characters introduced are extremely likable from their very first uttered line, thanks to a great mix of an engaging script and professional acting. A good measure of Character development, which usually takes at least a couple of episodes in the TV series, is present here and is very well handled with none of the characters coming across as bland or uninteresting. The script is as emotionally charged as ever, and its characters portrayed as humanly as possible, that its tragic climax would bring a tear to any one's eye.

The most obvious jump in quality would be in the art and animation department. Battle damage, metallic sheen, complex shadows, vivid colours and other little details make this movie very spectacular to look at.

Such art details stand the test of time and would even be able to measure up to the art standards of today's anime movies. Despite the sky high levels of the art detail, the animation does not suffer one bit. Every scene is fluid with hardly any short cuts used, characters are always in motion and so are some of the backgrounds; again a rarity among anime TV-series-to-movie films. The fight scenes are superbly storyboarded utilizing all the right shot angles, close-ups or wide pans, and lighting effects to add to the impact and cinematic feel of each battle. Unfortunately there are a number of animation goofs here and there; minor instances of wrong coloring in the background. Those mistakes however are not easily spotted until repeated viewings. They are not jarring and does not distract from the film at all.

To top it all off, there is the roaring electric guitar and rock soundtrack, a huge improvement over the bland musical cues of the original series. It is a huge improvement over the bland musical cues of the original series and really complements each scene very well; truly the icing on a great tasting cake.The vocal soundtrack, however, is really up to personal preference, featuring a number of songs by Stan Bush, NRG and other big 80s names.

On a whole, this movie is a real treat for all transformers fans, and an entertaining watch for the casual anime fan as long as one is able to keep up with the various characters. The plot never slows down, yet never acts an excuse to tie on action scene to the next. Both a major turning point in the ongoing Transformers storyline, and an important milestone in animation, Transformers: The Movie is a timeless classic which introduced a new level of maturity into what was once solely a children's toy franchise.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see what many consider the highest point of excellent in over 25 years of Transformers animation history.
Avoid it: if you have absolutely no idea who Optimus Prime or Megatron is

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Characters: A
Animation: A-
Art: A-
Voice work (English): A
Voice work (Japanese): A-
Voice work (chinese): C
Replay Value: A
"Brains": C+

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (2011) review

2011-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: Flawless special effects, intense action, witty comedy, lovable main character, numerous sci/fi fan references, clearer than usual shot angles (for a Michael Bay Film),

The Bad: contradicts backstory established in previous 2 Transformers films, numerous plot holes, unlikable female lead, superficial thrills, bloated story,

Current Availability Status: in theaters 1 July

******************************Review********************
Long, loud and proud of that fact, Transformers 3: Dark of The Moon is the ultimate testament to everything good and bad about a Michael Bay film. Superficial thrills, cheap spills and wham bam action abound in the supposed final chapter in the Transformers film franchise. Forget the coherent story, thought provoking themes or even any hint of human drama. Also forget the previous two films since this one tries to pretend they do not exist.

It is never a good thing to alienate one's core audience of devoted fans by literally screwing with both the continuity and the characters, but now Bay alienates even the fans of previous Transformers movies. The concept of two warring races of intelligent machines is kept but much has changed. The all powerful "allspark", the artifact of contention among the Autobot and Decepticon factions, is never mentioned and the war is now fought over a miraculous invention and its inventor stowed aboard a lost starship "The Ark". Where the first movie established that knowledge of the Transformers came from discovering a frozen Megatron in the arctic, this movie claims that Transformers were discovered on the moon by the Apollo 11 lunar landing. It also contradicts the second movie by revealing the lost inventor to be a "Prime" when it was established that all Primes other than Optimus died to defeat the Fallen.

So continuity be damned as the story opens with human protagonist Sam Witcicky, now hooked up with his rich new blond girlfriend Carly. Despite being recognised as a nation hero, Sam is down on his luck, unemployed and missing his days with the Autobots. But conflict soon comes a-calling when the Autobots discover the aforementioned lost spacecraft and its cargo. Cue the needlessly complex yet convenient series of events that includes human-decepticon collaborators, hidden conspiracies, illogical allegiance switching and more. What are the chances that Sam gets a job at the one place where his colleague is a target of assassination by the decepticons because he worked on the moon mission that first discovered the ark? What are the chances that Sam's girlfriend works for a dude who is working for the decepticons? The entire progression of events is way too convenient.

Then the story makes another critical error by not just failing to address unanswered questions from the previous films, but making new questions to be answered. This might not have been so bad with well written characters, but the main leads are as shallow as ever. The only highlight is the witty banter and jokes courtesy of Shia Le Beouf. Shia's timely lines and comedic nature makes for a rather endearing character. Yes the entire movie is funny, you will laugh, but no it is not "well written" from a character development standpoint. Characters are one dimensional and either intentionally or unintentionally funny, from the token muscular black dudes to the sneering haughty decepticon collaborator to the comic relief parents. In true Michael Bay fashion, the new female lead is less of a character and more of a boob and butt display whose only role is stand there posing and looking pretty.

Speaking of camera, here is the one improvement this film has and that is "less erratic camera movements". There are many scenes of Michael Bay's trademark jitter-cam and weird shot angles but thanks to the bulky stereoscopic 3D cameras used, such instances are reduced greatly from previous Bay movies. Bot on bot action could never have been any clearer. The many slow motion scenes allow the intricately designed robots and top notch special effects, possibly the strongest selling point of this film, to shine.

Long time transformers fans might sit on the fence with this one. On one hand, the whole movie combines elements from fan favorite episodes of the classic cartoon series (Ultimate Doom and Megatron's Master Plan) as well as plot points from 2008's "All Hail Megatron" comic story. Numerous shout outs to the cartoons, the comics and other science fiction shows like Star Trek are more than enough for the geeks to go gaga over. On the other hand, Autobots and decepticons get their characterisations screwed over again. The scheming backstabber Starscream is reduced to a snivelling lackey, the powerful and logic driven strategist Shockwave is reduced to a mere miniboss and the typically benevolent and peace loving Optimus Prime now has no qualms about massacring bots en masse and carrying out public executions.

By now, Transformers 3 would not be changing any one's opinion of the film franchise. The stuff that people hate about it are taken to whole new levels but so is the stuff that people love about it. It is shallow but fun, superficial but entertaining; The only intellectual talking point of the film would be the implications of a big metal planet entering into earth's orbit. Physics says that such an occurrence is supposed to cause widespread disaster and wanton destruction. But who needs a metal planet when you have Michael Bay's Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if cheap comedy, visceral thrills and loud action is enough to make your day
Avoid it: if you have any appreciation for elements of films that actually matter (like a good story, well developed characters etc)

Entertainment: A
Story: C+
Acting: A-
Characters: B
Music: B
Replay value: B+
"Brains": D+

Green Lantern First Flight (2009) direct-to-dvd Animation review

2011-06-20T05:57:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: Encompasses all aspects that made the comics such a hit, extremely smooth animation, excellent voice acting, decent level of art detail, well developed villian, unique musical score,

The Bad: Rushed origin story, bland main character, short running time

Current Availability Status: on DVD and Blu Ray

******************************Review********************
With the Green Lantern Live action movie hitting cinemas and being met with less than enthusiastic reviews, it is high time we revisit "the other" Green Lantern origin story.

"Green Lantern: First Flight" is a direct to video animated feature from Warner Bros based on DC's Green Lantern characters. It presents a re-telling of the origin of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, his recruitment into the Green Lantern Corp and subsequent first mission. Along the way he meets a variety of unique characters including Sinestro, a senior Green Lantern enforcer with a hidden agenda.

For an origin story, Green Lantern First Flight seems to be geared specifically toward the long time fans of the Green Lantern comic series. As soon as it gets the chance, it is bye bye earth, hello space faring adventures in a dangerous galaxy. Any fan of the comics would know that the more interesting and unique aspects of the Green Lantern mythos lie in the space adventures so First flight wastes no time over the actual origin tale and jumps straight into the think of things. How Hal Jordan got the Green Lantern ring is over and done with in the first 5 minutes. By the next 5 minutes he is already in full control of his powers and being brought before the Green Lantern council of guardians and on his way to becoming a full fledged member.

Running at a mere 77 minutes, This show tries to cram too much into too short a time. It has to believably develop the character of Hal Jordan, play out the plot involving Sinestro and the mysterious Yellow Lantern, AND familiarise the audience with the sometimes complicated mythos and backstory of side characters and the Green Lantern Corp itself. More time could have been devoted to letting the suspense and intrigue play out so that the whole "cop drama in space" feel can be fully appreciated. Sadly, the component that is hit hardest by the short running time is character development.

As the main character in his own origin movie, Hal Jordan is possibly the most under-developed character in the whole show. The only thing that sets him apart from the rest is his creativity with the power ring(and mind you, the things he makes with that ring are really cool and adds a little humor here and there.) Other than that, there is never any sense of Hal's story as a journey from "zero to hero". Sinestro on the other hand is given a refreshing take as a villain. His motives no longer come across as anything purely sinister. He is a soldier fed up with the indecisiveness of his superiors, the bureaucracy of the Corp and their unwillingness to take drastic action against criminals. With his Machiavellian philosophy acting as a perfect foil to Hal Jordan, Sinestro is a very well developed character overall; his motives leading very logically into his actions without the blakc and white simplicity of good and evil. Side characters like Kilowog and the Guardians are so much more interesting than main character Hal, punctuated by top notch acting all the way that lends to the believability and realism of the show.

Aside from a rather bland hero and a short running time, Green Lantern First Flight still manages to be highly entertaining. After the first 15 minutes or so, The story starts to shares a number of elements similar to "The Recruit". New guy gets recruited into a law enforcement organization, though there are those that do not quite trust him. What was thought to be a run-of-the-mill mission soon turns out to be something a lot deeper, encompassing betrayal, hostile takeover, and a bit of philosophical sparring. Accompanying the epic space action is a unique musical score that is quite different in feel from the other superhero animated features. This one uses an interesting mix of traditional instruments and electronic synthetic sounds, like a mixture of Star Trek with John William's influence.

What would stand out most of all is the gorgeous animation. The same high frame rate is applied here again, as with previous DC animated features. Characters movements are very fluid with none of the typical short cuts seen often, especially in japanese anime. The level of detail in the art has also been taken up a notch. One or two of the fight scenes could have been staged a little better though. The director, Lauren Montgomery, is good at what she does, except fight scenes which lack a sense of tension thanks to unimaginative shot angles in the storyboarding.

Character designs in Green Lantern are not as angular as previous DC animation styles. The men characters are more realistically proportioned, no longer overly muscle bound, and The Women characters bear a very feminine "European anime" look like in Totally Spies and Martin Mystery. The alien characters here are also something new for DC animation. They actually LOOK ALIEN, and not like humans wearing makeup and prosthetics like in the Justice league animated series. Most of the designs are really original though one or two look like they were ripped off from Ben 10.

A word of warning though. This film EARNS its NC16 rating. A little swearing in the dialog, some innuendo here and there and lots of violence. There are a couple of scenes that some people may find disturbing like a guy getting imploded and sucked out into space through a tiny hole for example. Definitely not for kids(and kids wont appreciate the complex story anyway).

All in all, Green Lantern: First flight is really a gem. A pity it was so short though, which seriously affected some character development and pacing issues. It plays out more true to the cosmic spanning feel of the comics than the live action Green Lantern movie does yet it is, to a certain extent, accessible for newcomers to the franchise.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see a Green Lanter origin story that encompasses the cosmic level action of the comics instead of the rather dull and cliched earth-based superheroics
Avoid it: if aliens worlds, different races, and Star Wars style of locales in the spirity of solid science fiction put you off immediately.

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Characters: B+
Animation: A-
Art: A-
Voice work (English): A
Music: A
Replay Value: B+
"Brains": B-

Green Lantern (2011) movie review

2011-06-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

The Good: Incredible acting, timely humor, likable main character, very true to the comic book look and feel, unique visual designs, mostly great special effects, clever references to other superhero films

The Bad: some scenes of inconsistent special effects, erratic pacing, underdeveloped side characters, lack of story focus, deviates from the comics in terms of story and characterisation.

Current Availability Status: In Theatres June 17

******************************Review********************
In Brightest day, In Blackest night, someone did not do Green Lantern Right!
With critically acclaimed, Green Lantern centered events like "Blackest Night" rocking the comic book world, expectations were sky high concerning the live action movie adaptation. It could have been the one non-Batman DC movie to be a major hit and the launch of a multi billion dollar franchise that would eventually lead to a much anticipated "Justice League" film. Perhaps the comics did too good a job of elevating the Green Lantern tale to epic proportions. For compared to that, and even compared to your standard superhero blockbuster, the live action adaptation of DC's favorite Emerald space man is an utter mess.

Ryan Reynolds effortlessly slips into the role of Hal Jordan, a hot headed, daredevil test pilot with a witty mouth. Other than the fact that he crashed a plane and was almost fired from his job, he seems to have a pretty good life judging by his hot girlfriend in bed and his expensive looking sports car. In another part of the galaxy, an ancient evil named after a visual displacement error (Parallax) escapes from imprisonment and seeks revenge upon the intergalactic peacekeeping force known as the Green Lantern corp. One member, Abin Sur, survives the initial attack and crashes on earth. Near death, he bids his power ring to seek a successor who is supposed to be able "to overcome any fear". That successor so happens to be Hal Jordan. Like any good wannabe superhero, Hal goes from disbelief to confusion, to rejection of his heroic calling and then to acceptance and embracing of his duty as quickly as he is spirited off to the alien world of Oa, then back to earth, space, then earth again.

The first mistake Green Lantern makes is that it feels like two different stories pasted together. On one hand you have the set up for this galactic scale conflict between an alien peacekeeping legion and an immensely powerful cosmic entity. On the other hand, you have a run of the mill earth based superhero origin tale complete with tacked on cheesy romance subplot, underdeveloped villain and too much dialogue. The producers chose to go with the latter since recent superhero movies that were comparatively more grounded in reality, such as Iron Man or Dark knight, did better than their less realistic counterparts. But any fan of the comics would tell you that Green Lantern is anything BUT down to earth; the galaxy spanning adventure is what sets it apart from most other superhero stories. The producers failed to realise that.

Then in perhaps the biggest misstep short of giving a romantic Victorian drama film to Michael Bay, they decided to have Martin Campbell be the director. Campbell's resume includes only spy thrillers like Goldeneye and realistic adventures like Zorro shot on physical sets; hardly the kind of guy you would want directing a visual effects laden, green screen shot space epic. Much less so a space epic written by FOUR different writers. Too many chefs spoil the broth. Too many chefs who are ill suited for the sci/fi superhero space genre make turd soup. Thanks to this, the movie cannot seem to decide what it wants to be. It embraces the out-of-this-world, comic book look of the aliens and the CGI sets but never the comic book "feel". Sadly, some of the special effects are painfully erratic with CGI scenes alternating between awesome and obviously cartoony. Thankfully the Hans Zimmer inspired score by James Newton Howard delivers space age electronic tunes with a militaristic beat which complement the sci/fi action perfectly. However, everything seems to screech to a standstill during the more conversation heavy or romantic scenes, even the music stops.

The pacing of the whole thing feels like a race car in a city road. The moment you hit a good adrenaline pumping speed, you got to pull over at the next red light. At least Ryan Reynold's enthusiasm and timely humor saves the conversations from being completely boring. Many scenes seem to be an intended homage to previous superhero movies. Hal invoking catch phrases like "by the power of Greyskull" to reacharge his power ring seems to be a reference to that scene in Spiderman where Peter Parker was learning to shoot web. There is even a very clever homage to the balcony scene in the old Christopher Reeve Superman movie but with a humorous twist. The writing however makes the Hal Jordan character likable, but not easy to relate to despite Reynold's stellar performance. Same goes for the other characters like Sinestro, Hector Hammond and even Hal's love interest Carol. There is a certain sense of disconnection between the characters and the audience relating to them.

Green Lantern is no doubt entertaining as a mediocre summer blockbuster, but serves as a bad case of the right movie given to the wrong people to do. It does the comic books little justice by providing only a cosmetic resemblence but few of the intrinsic elements that made them such a hit in recent years. This film is more intent on following pre-established trends than blazing new ones. Instead of getting "Star Trek with superpowers" we get a poor man's Iron Man with green energy suit instead of armor. What could have been a shining beacon among comic book blockbusters is instead reduced to just another lamp that flickers in the face of sky high expectations caused by over publicity and the critical acclaim the comics have been getting.

So much for the power of Green Lantern's light.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you are interested in seeing Ryan Reynold's best role to date or have not read a Green Lantern comic book and would like a bite sized teaser.
Avoid it: if you are expecting the epic level of action and story development showcased in recent Green Lantern comic book storylines

Entertainment: B+
Story: C-
Acting: A
Characters: B
Music: B+
Replay value: B
"Brains": C

X-Men First Class (2011) review

2011-06-02T01:15:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The Good: Great cast chemistry, believable character drama, top notch special effects, ample character development with equal focus on main characters, well shot action sequences, numerous references to previous x-men films,

The Bad: minor plot holes, pace too brisk at times, "tacked on" cheesy romance subplot, detracts a lot from comic book origins, look and feel of film does not match the intended 1960s time frame of the story

Current Availability Status: In Theatres Island wide 2 June

******************************Review********************
X-citing, X-travagent and X-tremely entertaining, X-men First Class explodes into theatres with a coming of age tale that digs deeper than your usual special effects laden blockbuster. Here is a rare creature, a prequel that may easily be one of the few that can hold their own against their original films. If the insipid X-men Origins Wolverine left a bad taste in the mouth, X-men First Class returns to the roots of what made the original X-men such a hit in the comic book world. Roaring adventure tales with lovable characters; epic in scope yet filled with heart and spirit.

One complaint against the otherwise excellent X-Men films by Bryan Singer was that it was less of an "X-men" film and more like a Wolverine film guest starring the X-men. First Class corrects that mistake and delivers a true ensemble film that gives ample development to all its main characters. Ironic that for the film which perfectly captures the team dynamic and chemistry of "X-men", it is not based on any one particular X-men comic title, not even the similarly named series "X-men: First Class"(the comic).

The movie works purely as a prequel set largely during the 1960s Cuban missile crisis. Before becoming Magneto the master of magnetism, Erik Lensherr was a bitter mutant seeking vengeance against the Nazi officer, Sebastian Shaw, who tortured him and killed his mother. Before he was professor X, telepathic Charles Xavier was a suave, wavy haired University graduate who, along with his adopted shape shifting sister, Raven, are put to work by the CIA to track down the infamous leader of the Hellfire club who so happens to be the Sebastian Shaw Erik is seeking. A fateful turn of events brings these unlikely individuals together and the discovery of Shaw's plans of nuclear war inspires the establishment of a team of mutant agents to end this crisis. Together, Xavier, Erik and Raven recruit a team of young adult mutants, each with their own powers, quirks and insecurities about their place in the world.

As the film moves along its brisk pace, the motivations, perspectives and unique personalities of each character are adequately fleshed out within a limited period of time. Themes of racism, alienation, extremist idealism and discovering one's calling in life, all themes inherent in the X-men comics and past movies, are explored. Tragic turn of events inevitably lead to questioning of one's allegiance and most courses of action that the characters take come very naturally, their reasons implied through dialogue and subtle cues . Audiences more used to explicit exposition and explanation for characters' motivations might feel that some of the characters' actions made little sense. Rest assured, it is all implied within the narrative but never feel at the forefront due to the film's pace.

Already at a whopping 131 minutes, X-men First Class does feel rushed only because it tries too hard to develop all the main characters. While each of them do undergo significant changes and growth by the end, this comes at the price of underdeveloped villains and a story that hops all over the world with no sense of a time frame; one moment, This leads to some avoidable plot holes especially in the middle and later parts of the film. And on the subject of time, this movie is meant to be set in the 1960s. However, aside from some old computers and archival footage of President Kennedy, nothing else feels like it fit in that era. The look of the various locales, the way the characters speak, even the clothing have an obvious 2000s feel.

Not that there is anything wrong with how the characters speak. The writers bring a snappy rhythm and youthful beat to the dialogue, enhanced many fold by the excellent performances and impeccable chemistry of the actors. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender who play Charles and Erik respectively manage to channel the nuances of the roles previously played Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen. As a result, their characters feel familiar for the long time fans yet fresh to newcomers to the franchise. The only black mark on the script is the mandatory romantic subplot involving Raven, Hank and Erik which felt like it was put in there as an afterthought.

After two disappointing X-men movies, "evolution leaps forward". Compared to the other X-men films, X-men First Class out shines both X-men 3 and X-men Origins: Wolverine. One could regard this movie as almost on par with the first, delivering pure entertainment in the action but never forgetting its heart in the characters. It is easily accessible to new audiences while those who have watched the previous X-men movies will thrill at the many connections and references made. With a sequel already being planned, the X-men movie franchise is finally getting the jump start it needs.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you like an epic summer blockbuster with heart and unencumbered by comic book continuity or if you had been a fan of the first two X-men films, were disappointed in the 3rd or the wolverine film, and would like your "faith" in the franchise restored.
Avoid it: if complete adherence to the comic book is your top priority or if anyone other than Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier or Ian Mckellen as Magneto is near sacrilegious to you.

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Acting: A
Characters: A
Music: B-
Replay value: A-
"Brains": B

Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011) direct-to-DVD animation review

2011-05-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 5.5/10

The Good: Excellent voice acting, snappy well written dialogue, believable "sibling" dynamic between Thor and Loki, emotionally charged finale

The Bad: sub-standard animation and art for a direct to DVD feature, boring action sequences, obvious art errors, frivolous humor, predictable plot,

Current Availability Status: On code 1 DVD at selected DVD stores only or online. Code 3 release pending

******************************Review********************
Behold the innocence of youth. Before he became champion of Asgard, wielder of the mighty Mijolnir, Thor was the epitomy of dopey, pig headed, rich kid.

Likewise, before his brother Loki became Thor's archrival, God of Mischief and master of magic, he was apparently quite the genki fanboy

Before their fateful destinies could be realised, Thor and Loki were best buds, one craving adventure and the other content with a good book and magic lessons. Here was to be the coming of age tale of Asgard's greatest legends; a tale of hope, brotherly love and of innocence lost in the fog of war.

Instead, Thor Tales of Asgard comes across as typical kid friendly fantasy fare which, aside from the emotionally charged finale, would sit well as a disney channel afternoon special. Think Disney's "Young Hercules" or "Tarzan II" or perhaps "Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning". Unsophisticated, child friendly prequels intended for a cheap laugh and netting a little extra cash.

Delayed for almost a year in order to coincide with the release of the blockbuster live action THOR film, Thor Tales of Asgard, originally named "Son of Asgard" is neither a prequel to that film nor is it an adaptation of the stylish "Tales of Asgard" stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Instead of chronicling a pivotal event in the life of Thor, like his quest to prove himself worthy of wielding his enchanted hammer, or some important bit of unseen Asgardian history, Tales of Asgard feels like "just another day of adventure"; almost like a premiere episode of a TV cartoon.

Eager to prove himself to his (girl)friend Sif, Thor drags the unwitting Loki to stow away on a vessel belonging to Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, better known as the Warriors Three.

Thor intends to follow the Warriors Three to the frost giants realm of Jottenheim and find the legendary Sword of Surtur. Soon they discover that tales of the Warriors' adventures have been greatly exaggerated and after a laughable turn of events, convince the three bozos to to join Thor's quest. But Frost Giants do not take kindly to trespassers and a brash act by Thor threatens to plunge the realms into war once more. The only hope for this motley crew of males to return to Asgard is to seek help from the men hating Valkyries. Meanwhile, Odin and his dark Elf court official try to delay the war through diplomacy and deal with a hidden threat from within their own ranks.

Any one who has even the slightest knowledge of the fantasy genre would tell you that something called a "Dark Elf" is never good news. As if the elf's extremely helpful attitude, "smooth talking" british accent and overly humble demeanor did not already scream "I am hiding something and trying my best to look like a good guy". It is so obvious at first glance that it fails to be any sort of spoiler. The same goes for the rest of the plot. If you have seen a typical fantasy themed disney movie, you can spell out the plot here with no problem.

At least the writer, Greg Johnson, manages to pepper the otherwise boring narrative with sharp quippy dialogue. Particular mention goes to the way the brotherly dynamic between Thor and Loki is written, accentuated by the professional voice acting. Only Loki goes through significant character development however which climaxes at the finale and believably leads the boy down his dark future. The development is written as gradual and nuanced, a bright spot of maturity in the otherwise juvenile story.

Thor Tales of Asgard further enhances its "weekend afternoon disney show" feel through its visuals. The japanese "AnswerStudio" is the company behind the animation work and although their stuff is not as stellar as GONZO or Madhouse, their past work on direct to DVD animation like Doctor Strange and The Invincible Iron Man maintained a better that normal standard for a direct to DVD animation. This movie however showcases animation that is no better than an episode of Ben 10 crossed with a cheap imitation of 2002's He-Man animated series artwork. Backgrounds lack detail, sometimes looking no better than a Kindergarten picture book as seen in the picture below.

THe level of detail on characters is no more intricate than saturday morning cartoons and the colors are bright, shiny but at times flat. Even more shocking is the number of obvious animation errors. At some points, the background moves out of sync with the characters feet giving the impression that they are sliding and not walking. Then you have scenes such as the picture below. Look at it and try convincing yourself that the sword blade is not bent at the wrong angle.

Scenes like these are disappointing, showing a lack of quality control on the part of Marvel and stagnant directing on the part of the director Sam Liu. After awesome action heavy shows like "Hulk Vs" and "Planet Hulk", this movie is possibly Director Liu's least inspired piece of work.

With the success of the live action blockbuster THOR, no doubt Thor Tales of Asgard would net in some cash, preying on uninformed kids and their parents who would not know better. It might be worth a download just out of curiosity though. Lacking the thunder of a blockbuster, the quality of a direct to DVD animation and the epic spectacle of the comic books, Thor Tales of Asgard is a tale best left untold.

*****************************Review End******************
Entertainment: C+
Story: B-
Characters: B+
Animation: C
Art: C-
Voice work (english): A-
Music: B-
Replay Value: C+
"Brains": C-

Hammer FAIL

HADOUKEN!!!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) review

2011-05-19T18:11:00.001-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: Perfect casting, top notch special effects, timely slapstick comedy, natural cast chemistry, very professional acting, accessible for newcomers to the Franchise, darker in tone than previous installments

The Bad: little character development, somewhat predictable plot, one dimensional supporting characters and villians, thick accents, some exaggerated acting

Current Availability Status: In Cinemas 19 May

******************************Review********************
Making waves at the box office this summer is "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", the latest addition to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. With a new director and creative team, this movie discards the storm tossed continuity of the second and third Pirates films and starts off on a clean slate, making the story easily accessible for newcomers to the franchise. For those who have followed the series from Pirates of the Caribbean 1, the movie might come across as rather predictable thanks to the established Jerry Bruckheimer formula of comedy and chaos.

On Stranger tides opens with the eccentric pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow (masterfully played by Johnny Depp), in a bit of a tiff. Without a ship, without a crew, and narrowly escaping imprisonment Jack lands himself into a hunt for the mythical fountain of youth after running into his old love Angelica (Penelope Cruz). But she is not the only one after the fountain. Competition comes in the form of the Spanish armada, a British expedition led by none other than Sparrow's ex-rival Barbossa and the infamous pirate Black Beard. Along the way, we get a tacked on side story about a missionary falling for a mermaid, a surprising father/daughter revelation and a convoluted quest for a variety of items needed for the ritual at the fountain.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides seems like a return to the darker style of the first Pirates movie with voodoo magic, on-screen deaths, and a really disturbing take on Mermaids. However, it retains the needless "side quests" narratives and the unexplained magical mythologies. Stuff like Black Beard's voodoo powers, his magic sword or the fate of Jack's old ship, The Black Pearl, are merely glossed over and never explained. Instead, more time is spent on moving the plot along from on comedic action sequence to another.

Not that it is a bad thing since the comedy scenes, all involving Jack Sparrow, are the highlight of the movie. These include a gut bustingly funny chase through the streets of London and an over-the-top escape from a spanish prison camp. The downside is that Jack is once again reduced to just being "bugs bunny". He is the funny guy who gets into crazy situations. The deceiving, under handed, unpredictable, eccentric scoundrel side of his character is very much downplayed for laughs.

As a result Jack and the rest of the characters come across as nearly one dimensional. Character development is almost non-existent despite having so many characters to choose from. Black Beard could have done well with a sort of emotional redemption arc, or perhaps Barbossa could have been given more depth about why a pirate like him would want to "go legit". There was a hinting of a conflict of principles regarding fate and free will but it was never expounded upon. And of course, Disney has not forgotten about the eye candy vacuum left by the departure of Orlando Bloom and Kiera Nightly from the previous movies. The afore-mentioned missionary and mermaid (played by relatively unknown actors Sam Claflin and Astrid Berges-Frisbey) fill those shoes and deliver the passion-devoid yet mandatory romance subplot. Between the one-note villains and the simplistic heroes, "Predictable" would be the word to describe the plot.

What the film manages to deliver is what made its predecessors such fun to watch in the first place. The unimaginative script is pretty much redeemed thanks to perfect casting and professional, though slightly exaggerated, acting. The production designs, costumes and sets are beautiful as always, as well as the various on-scene locales. They maintain the realistic-styled slant with a gritty, well worn feel mixed with Disney cartoonish colors which succeed in truly immersing the audience into that world. It is a pity though that director Rob Marshall, whose resume encompasses only musicals and small romantic comedies, feels out of his element directing a summer blockbuster. Gone are the wide panning shots and the sweeping camerawork of Gore Verbinski, replaced by Marshall's rather run-of-the-mill directing that fails to instill Pirates of the Caribbean with much needed scope and scale.

More of a comedy with fantasy elements than a fantasy epic, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides is sure to entertain with its timely comedy and brisk pace. Compared to previous Pirates of the Caribbean films, it easily ranks higher than the second and third entries but lacks the character development, less complicated plot and scope of the first film "Curse of the Black Pearl". Still, "On Stranger Tides" does not feel like a major turning point or epic life changing event for any of the characters. Then again as Jack says, "It is not the destination, so much as the journey." And this is one entertaining journey which would at very least leave you with a different impression of disney singing mermaids.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see a return to the darker tone of the first film or if you have never watched previous Pirates of the Caribbean movies and would like to jump into the franchise. Also recommended for fans of good comedy and fans of Johnny Depp
Avoid it: if you expect any character development for the main characters or lack a sense of humor. Also if, heaven forbid, you actually preferred the convoluted, complicated, and "all-over-the-place" lack of focus of the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean films

Entertainment: A
Story: B-
Acting: A
Characters: B
Music: B-
Replay value: B-
"Brains": C

Priest (2011) review

2011-05-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

The Good: Awesome production design, well choreographed fights, atmospheric cinematography, clear concise directing, some underlying subtext and satire to appreciate

The Bad: Strays too far from its comic book source material, "neutered" PG level violence for a horror movie, thin narrative, uninspired dialogue, forgettable characters

Current Availability Status: In Cinemas 13 May

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Visual effects developer-turned-director, Scott Stewart, delivers his second supernatural action film that claims to be “adapted” from the comic book “Priest”. Supposedly based on a Korean comic or “manhwa” of same name, the movie “Priest” has NOTHING to do with the original, not even the name of the squinting “strong silent type” main protagonist played by Paul Bettany. Fallen angels, deal with a demon, multiple time frame storylines and all other interesting elements of the original be damned. And perhaps it was for the better since the manhwa’s multiple storylines taking place in the Crusades, the old west and the future would just confuse the heck out of everyone.

So they crafted a whole new premise to appeal to the superficial summer action lover. And the one thing they did right was to give us vampires that do not sparkle in the sunlight. These vampires are all teeth and claws who swarm across the world at night attacking from giant hives, a clear reference to the “Aliens” franchise. These savage beasts have been at constant war with mankind since the dawn of time. A beautifully bloody animated prologue sets the back-story of the film about how mankind’s salvation came in the form of the Priests, holy warriors who battled the vampire hordes to near extinction.

This story revolves around one of the veteran priests who lives among the other downtrodden human inhabitants of a walled dystopian city ruled by the now totalitarian church. When he receives word that his niece was abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, the priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out of the city and rescue her. He is joined on his crusade by his niece’s boyfriend, a young trigger-finger wasteland sheriff. But as the duo soon discover, reports of the vampires’ return have been greatly understated. With a powerful yet familiar threat is leading the newly reformed vampire hordes, the wayward Priest and his companion must fend off supernatural foes and contend with a group of fellow Priests sent to hunt down their rogue brother.

“Priest” is one cliché storm of a film that commits the cardinal sins of a paper thin plot and forgettable characters thanks to the inexperience of first time writer Cory Goodman. The characters are so forgettable that the writer never even bothered to give many of them names. Paul Bettany’s main character is just called “Priest” (It is not his name by the way). There is also “Black Hat” (because he wears a black hat) and “The Priestess” (because she is a female priest) just to name a few. They are less like actual characters and more like blank character archetypes thrown in for plot convenience. Archetypes like Cam Gigandet’s hot headed Sheriff Hicks (a second reference to Aliens perhaps?) and Lily Collin’s damsel in distress Lucy are just as forgettable even though they do have names.

Failing to provide interesting characters or a good story, the least the producers could do was to deliver a holy hell load of violence with a hard R or M18 rating. Sadly the animated prologue has more blood and guts than the entire film combined since most of the gorier battles take place in darkness or amid dust. The Fights are well choreographed but they tend to be more stylish than practical and sometimes border on illogical. For example, a duel on a high speed train is awesome but none of the combatants ever thought of kicking his opponent off the side?

But despite these failings of the flesh, some salvation comes to “Priest” in the form of an excellent production design. From the dark cyberpunk inspired Church city to the post apocalyptic western towns dotting the hostile desert lands, great attention had been paid to make those places as believable as possible. Perhaps most memorable would be the tech on display in the film which includes futuristic motorcycles, tricked out shotguns and the Priests’ arsenal of deadly cross-themed blade weapons.

Beyond the props, flawless visual effects and startling CGI, the movie tries as well to inject its narrative with deeper subtexts. The Priests themselves call to mind stories of War veterans who were shunned by society and unable to re-integrate, a theme made most famous in “Rambo: First Blood”. The film also makes fun of how some modern churches twist their religion into a means of control, the hypocritical “holier-than-thou” attitude of modern Christians and their single minded belief that they remain “saved from evil” as long as they worship God. It is not intentionally “anti-Christian” or “anti-catholic”. It is more of a clever satire but there will always be the more conservative ones who would cry sacrilege.

At only 87 minutes long, Priest moves at a brisk pace and at the very least it is not boring. It would no doubt entertain action junkies and fans of post apocalyptic thrillers although more time could have been spent developing the characters or delving into the underlying themes that were addressed. Priest is spectacular but soulless, with a nice looking “body” but barely enough “blood” and “spirit” to satisfy the more sophisticated movie goer.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you love post apocalyptic thrillers like Resident Evil Extinction, if you are game for some brain-lite man versus monster action or if you are sick of romantic vampires that sparkle in the sunlight
Avoid it: if you are a fan of the original Korean Manhwa, if you expect in-depth philosophical and theological sparring of religious themes or if you are a very conservative christian and can't take satire.

Entertainment: A
Story: C
Acting: B
Characters: C
Music: B
Replay value: B+
"Brains": B

All Star Superman (2011) review

2011-05-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

The Good: faithful adherance to the narrrative and artstyle of the comic book, epic musical score, timely comedic moments, top notch scripting, near perfect casting, goes in-depth into the characters

The Bad: too faithful to the episodic narrative style of the comic book, few scenes were cut or shortened for time, painted comic colors subsituted with standard animation coloring

Current Availability Status: NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD STORES ISLANDWIDE

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Media seems obsessed with the Death of Superman. He had a death in Superman Returns, a death in "Superman Doomsday" and now another death in the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison's "All Star Superman" comic book. A seemingly successful rescue of a Dr Quintum's mission to the Sun has saturated Superman's cells with too much solar energy. This is causing rapid cellular deterioration which would eventually lead to his death. With time running out for the man of steel, Superman sets about to put all his affairs in order before he goes while continuing to defend the earth against threats from within and without.

From the get go, All Star Superman feels like a multi episode TV series compressed into a single movie. But really, that is more the fault of the original source material which in fact was meant to be 12 seemingly standalone stories with some of the plot points finally "coming together" in the final issues. While this worked for a bi-monthly comic book series, it does not have the similar effect as an animated movie. Here the film just feels unfocused and rushed, cramming what is supposed to be a year's worth of events into 70 odd minutes. For example, a single fade out later and superman returns to earth after a couple of months to find it take over by a bunch of long lost Kryptonians. An episodic miniseries would have been a better medium to convey the full feel of the original story.

Thankfully The production team's faithfulness to the source material is not entirely a shortcoming. The animated movie not only sticks to the "self-contained stories" format but also the well developed personalities and timeless characterization. Everyone is perfectly cast, bringing the characters to life in a very natural way. James Denton's Superman/Clark Kent might not be the most well acted but thanks to a top notch script, he is possibly the most lovable Superman incarnation second only to Christopher Reeves's live-action portrayal. It is this faithful script, quoting exact lines from the comic, that imbues Superman with just the right level of noble superhuman grandeur mixed with a down to earth homely touch. He is the hero, and the farm boy at the same time. Similarly, Clark Kent's oafish demeanor is comedic yet sincere; his interview with Lex Luthor and subsequent escape from the prison riot caused by a supervillian's escape is possibly the most fun part of the entire movie.

Here is another strength of All Star Superman. It is not a brainless hero brawl like the Superman/Batman animated movies nor is it as dark and edgy as Batman: Under The Red Hood. The story plays out more like a character centered drama that is not afraid to tickle the audience with a few lighthearted moments. The main cast is given great depth and development as we get to know their reasons for doing what they do and the motivations that drive them. Even Luthor gets a heart wrenching moment once you find out that the reason behind his hatred of Superman goes much deeper than just "because he foiled my plans".

Special mention goes to Christopher Drake's soundtrack which is by far his best work to date. His music covers a great range, bringing out the best in the scenes it complements; it is grand, emotional and magical. One might go so far as to say that his score here is actually better than Shirley Walker's stuff from the 90s Superman Animated series, just slightly behind John Williams. (In what is possibly a nod to "The Mummy", the music takes on a very Egyptian Gothic style with the appearance of antagonist Bar-El played by Arnold Vosloo, who also played the main antagonist of "The Mummy".)

There is action, not to worry, a good deal of it. Moi Studios once again perform animation duties, maintaining the smooth character movements seen in their previous productions; smoother than Japanese anime at least and without animation short-cuts. While some backgrounds appear lackluster, The production team's faithfulness to the source material is seen in the character designs which is a slightly streamlined version of Frank Quintley's artwork. Too bad the painted colors by Jamie Grant have been replaced with a very "standard" color palate. The colors here look exactly the same as........as every single DC animated production featuring Superman.

It seems like a farce that the movie stuck so closely to the comic going to great lengths to even replicate whole scenes perfectly yet cut out and streamline a fair bit of material. Perhaps Warner Premiere and Bruce Timm might consider a "directors cut" in which they go back and animate the rest of those scenes like the Bizzaro world, or the visit by Superman from the future. At least the plot threads established throughout the movie are woven together nicely in the end.

There are two ways to see this movie. One, is that this movie is a "All Star Superman lite": a bite sized version of the great graphic novels for the uninitiated which will hopefully entice them to pick up the miniseries (now available in trade paperback form and an "Absolute" collectors edition). The other way to see it is that it is meant to cheese off the long time fans so that those fans will go around saying "the comic is better" and in the end help to drive up publicity for the comic. Both ways, a perfect win-win situation for DC.

Try to enjoy this movie as it is. Of the scenes that were not cut out in production, revel in its loyalty to the original comic. It covers the full range of comedy to tragedy, heroic to humble, life to death.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you would like to see one of the most faithful comic book animated adaptations to date or if you have not read the original graphic novels and would like to "jump in" without the threat of convoluted comic book continuity
Avoid it: if the few cut scenes would put off your purist heart or if you dont like animation in general

Entertainment: A-
Story: B-
Characters: A
Animation: A-
Art: B+
Voice work (english): B
Music: A-
Replay Value: B
"Brains": B+

Thor (2011) review

2011-04-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: Well cast despite most being relative unknowns, ups the ante on action, gorgeous set designs, costumes that are faithful to the comic, memorable characters, near perfect casting, well developed main protagonist.

The Bad: bad 3D conversion, abrupt ending, did not maximise potential for something truly epic, truncated in some parts, "Michael Bay style" camera-work

Current Availability Status: in Cinemas 28 April 2011

******************************Review********************

Blockbuster season thunders in with "THOR", the marvel studios live action comic book adaptation based on Norse Mythology. In a sprawling tale of Gods and Monsters, Marvel studio crafts a realistically human story in the vein of the critically acclaimed "Iron Man".

Stripping away years of convoluted continuity and multiple interpretations, the creative team has combined the best of Thor's comic book incarnations to deliver a film that is both easily accessible to the casual watcher and pleasing to the hardcore comic fan. The only ones it might not please are die hard purists of Norse Mythology, for this is not their noble Viking God of thunder. Marvel's Thor is a proud pompous muscle man with a chip on his shoulder. In his eagerness to prove his might, he shattered a truce between his home realm of Asgard and the dreaded Frost Giants. For his actions, Thor is banished to earth in hopes that his exile would teach him humility and the value of life. Lo and behold, it is revealed that this turn of events was just the first step in a grand scheme by Thor’s brother Loki, whose hidden agenda and ambiguous allegiance fuels much of the plot’s intrigue. On earth, Thor is found and befriended by Jane Foster and her science team while his hammer, Mjolnir ends up in the possession of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. In order to return to Asgard, and before he can retrieve his hammer, Thor must first prove himself worthy of his power.

Melding magic and science fiction with comedy and drama, the movie's first strength is in its narrative. It has spectacular special effects but never relies solely on that. Behind the top notch computer graphics beats a story about pride before the fall, about themes as basic as sibling jealousy and about some very human “Gods”. Although blessed with skill and power, Thor, Sif, Loki and The Warriors three never act like immortal deities. They are like Childhood friends, like regular people. They get angry, they laugh, they squabble and they each have their own little quirks that make them memorable. If not for the computer generated scenery and stylish costumes, one would easily forget that these are mythological gods. Though it might seem a bit rushed at points and slow at others, the many plot threads are easy to follow and tie up nicely by the end. Thor himself, played by Chris Hemsworth, goes through some well written character development on his journey to reclaim his godhood.

With near perfect casting, the acting is spot on though Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins (the two more well known stars) seem under utilised as Jane Foster and Odin respectively. The highlight is definitely Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki like an actor playing an actor. You never know if Loki’s words are truth or more trickery for all the world is Loki’s stage and every of his acts is a performance to advance some scheme.

The sharper ones in the audience would no doubt notice similarities between the Thor and Iron Man movies. Both feature a protagonist who is full of himself until he gets taught a lesson and humbles down, both protagonists have issues with their father, both encounter a threat from within their own ranks and both face off against giant machines in a climatic final battle. Thankfully these similarities are only fleeting. Both Thor and Iron Man also benefit from a good deal of well written humour which in Thor’s case involves the banished deity trying to adapt to human life. Much hilarity ensues.

Humour aside, the most important factor for a summer blockbuster is good action. In that regard, Thor delivers with wild abandon complemented by a remarkable soundtrack by Patrick Doyle. Doyle is no stranger to modern magical mythology movies, having scored the likes of Eragon and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Like the music, the film embraces its over-the-top comic book roots, as seen in the amazing production design and costumes. But while the action is big and poised to satisfy the adrenaline craving summer blockbuster crowd, director Kenneth Branagh seems to have become enamoured with the “Michael Bay School of Camera-work”. Tight close ups and shaky-cam neuter the otherwise epic battles. Action scenes like the flashback of Odin’s war, or Thor and his friends’ fighting their way through a Frost giant ambush, all lack a sense of scale and scope. Couple that with an ending that feels too abrupt and one gets the feeling that this is not the best that a “Thor” movie could have been, that Marvel is holding out on the audience, saving the best for later.

Will lightning strike the same spot twice? Will marvel pull off another blockbuster as successful as Iron Man? If the abrupt conclusion of Thor is anything to go by, Marvel seems more interested in generating publicity for their 2012 “Avengers” movie. And that is exactly what this movie feels like, a set up for something bigger on the way.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you have been a fan of Marvel Studio's style of adapting their comic book movies and would like to see the introduction of another key character in the much anticipated "Avengers" movie. Or if you loved the Thor comics and would like to see your favorite characters mainfested in live action.
Avoid it: if you are expecting a fantasy epic in the vein of Lord of The Rings or are a die hard Norse folklore purist. Also if you are watching for a romance subplot.

Entertainment: A-
Story: B
Acting: A-
Characters: A
Music: A-
Replay value: B
"Brains": B-

Death Race 2 (2010) Unrated review

2011-02-27T02:32:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: great action despite small budget, solid production design, clear concise camerawork, stylish

The Bad: almost a clone of its predecessor, under developed characters, little substance

Current Availability Status: on DVD and Blu Ray in most good DVD stores in Singapore

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The 2008 Death Race film (itself a remake of the 1975 B movie Death Race 2000) was definitely not avant garde cinema. Critics drided it with mixed to negative reviews. It was a loud, visceral, simple action movie; all style, little substance in the grand Paul WS Anderson tradition. Death Race 2 is the cheap direct to video prequel, not a sequel as the title might seem to imply, and it is just more of the same. Even the main characters looks the same only with different names.

Now fans of the 2008 crash and burn thrill ride of a movie are in for a treat here. In Death Race 2, we discover the origins of the dangerous game; how it went from a simple prison fight caught on camera to a full blown TV ratings dependent gladiatorial combat. And then, to boost ratings, they added cars, a military arsenal and the brutal Death Race was born. Anybody remember the cool sounding masked Driver "Frankenstein" who appeared at the beginning of 2008's Death Race? Well here is his origin story. Before he became the famous Frankenstein, Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) was a getaway car driver for a crime boss Markus Kane (Sean bean). A heist gone wrong landed Carl a life sentence at Terminal island penitentiary, a prison famous for its broadcasts of "Death Match". With ratings of Death Match plummeting, one of the organizers "September Jones" witnesses Carl's driving skills and decides to revamp the games into "Death Race". Nine cars, three rounds, five wins to freedom. The no holds barred car-nage has just begun. As Carl puts his skills to the test, his former boss is planning his death, and he has someone on the inside to do it.

Synopsis sounds familiar? To say that the writers were lazy is an understatement. They basically took the exact same character types from the 2008 film and changed their names to be new characters. In other words, we got all the uninspired lines, one dimensional (and slightly racist) characterization, and minimal character development of the original show, but none of the star power the likes of Jason Stratham and Tyrese Gibson. Star power alone was what made the original character bearable and now with that gone, they are not as interesting to watch. Fans would recognize Robin shou and Frederick Koehler reprising their roles of "14K" and "Lists".

The main attraction here has always been the cars and the carnage. Despite having less than one third of the budget of Paul WS Anderson's 2008 film, Death Race 2 does a wonderful job of replicating all the excitement and adrenaline of the races. Perhaps too good a job as some scenes look 100% copied and pasted from that film complete with similar camera angles, same chain of events and even similar lines of dialog. The cars themselves and the sets do not look as well designed as its predecessor but remember, this took place before the 2008 film, and as such cars get rebuilt and the place gets upgraded as the days go by.

With the target audience being those who loved the brainless 2008 Death Race, Death Race 2 delivers no more than what they expect. If you thought its predecessor was bad, Death Race 2 would not change that impression. It is fun, it is violent, it is a glorified B movie just like Roger Corman's DeathRace 2000 and Paul WS Anderson's remake, and it is surprisingly well shot for a direct-to-video film. Definitely worth at least a rental but do familiarize yourself with the 2008 movie before jumping into this.

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Go For it: if you are a fan of the original 2008 Death Race movie and would like to see the events that led up to that film
Avoid it: if you expect anything deeper or thought provking than simple, straightforward car on car action

Entertainment: A
Story: B-
Acting: C
Characters: C
Replay value: B
"Brains": C-

Monsters (2010) review

2011-02-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: awesome cast chemistry, impressive visuals despite low budget, solid emotional core, very effecting directing,

The Bad:policital and social commentary ineffectively conveyed, slow moving plot,

Current Availability Status: Coming soon to DVD and blu-ray

******************************Review********************
The one thing worse than a misleading movie trailer that gives one false expectations, is a misleading movie title.

For a movie entitled "Monsters", there is VERY LITTLE monster appearances. There does not even seem to be a hidden second meaning in the title (a smarter man would make a movie titled "Monsters" and have it refer to the monstrous nature of humans who mete out atrocities on one another.). Therefore, calling this a monster film with a hidden social commentary is stretching it at best. Here is a human interaction drama of two strangers thrown together by unforeseen circumstances, facing unknown dangers against the backdrop of a world at constant war with a race of giant alien squid creatures.

Six years have passed since a NASA space probe brought alien life to earth. The aliens have been quarantined to an "Infected Zone" between Mexico and USA. Into this world comes news photographer Andrew Kaudler who is tasked to safely bring his employer's daughter, Samantha Wynden across the Mexican border back to USA. A series of mishaps leaves them with only the option of traveling through the monster infested zone where danger lurks within the deep jungles. So in what can only be described as a homage to Jurassic Park and Apocalypse Now, the duo take a perilous journey upriver into the heart of the Infected Zone.

Apparently shot on a shoestring budget of barely half a million dollars, "Monsters" would feel like a Discovery Channel travelogue if it were not for the amazing chemistry between the two core characters. This very realistic interplay as the two characters get to learn about each other saves this film from becoming just another road trip flick.

Director Gareth Edwards has a keen talent for maintaining a palpable sense of tension and danger in slower scenes that would otherwise be considered boring in less expert hands. Allowing the camera to linger on a scene while the sound fades until only the haunting musical score is audible serves to add a great emotional impact to such scenes. Edwards uses a very "documentary" style of filming that revels in properly fleshing out the sorry state of a world in constant fear of the unknown and border towns who live in the shadow of death; again, much like a travelogue. There are some hints of jabbing at American immigration policies, USA's reliance on high tech warfare to solve international problems and the intolerance toward "alien" immigrants but these are only hinted at and barely given emphasis. Stuff like "District 9" handled those themes a lot better.

Do not expect a movie the likes of Cloverfield or Godzilla when going to watch "Monsters". It is less like a monster movie and more like a very satisfying, emotional human drama about an unlikely couple bonded together by the desire to return home to their loved ones. We get a look ingo their anguish, their sorrow, their hopes and dreams that they go through along the way. Here is a showcase of the very best of what can be achieved in an independent film, easily besting many of its bigger budgeted counterparts.

(Oh, and there are giant enemy squid creatures conveniently appearing only in murky night time darkness to conceal the low budget CGI rendering.)

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if an independent film filled with human drama, tension and a character centered story are your cup of tea
Avoid it: if you are expecting some big action packed monster mash like Godzilla or alien invasions like Independence Day.

Entertainment: B
Story: A-
Acting: A
Characters: A
Replay value: B
"Brains": B-

Tron: Legacy (2010)

2011-01-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: imaginative production design, clear concise directing, charismatic acting by most of the cast, unique soundtrack, filled with homages and references, more underlying complex themes than a typical disney movie, satisfactory emotional core, originally filmed in 3D

The Bad: mediocre acting from main protagonist, truncated first act might be difficult to follow,

Current Availability Status: Coming to video soon

******************************Review********************
In 1982, "Tron" gave the world a vision of a world unlike any other. A world within a computer where programs exist as actual living beings who race along freeway style circuits. A world that defied human imagination and piqued the obsession of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), computer programmer extraordinaire. In an opening narration, Flynn, who is now the head of the ENCOM company, tells of his adventures in the original Tron movie and his motivations for using the computer world which he calls "the Grid" to benefit mankind.

With this little bit of exposition, barely sufficient to bring newcomers to the Tron franchise "up to speed", Kevin Flynn disappears one day, leaving his son, Sam, who grows into a rebellious young man. Sure he is the major shareholder of ENCOM, but he'd rather play cyber pranks on the greedy ENCOM CEO and outrun the Cops on his bike than sit in board meetings. He is a punk slacker in every way, and smart mouthed to boot, living each day with no discernible purpose until he is approached by his father's long time friend over a mysterious "page" from his father's old office in an arcade. Yes a "page", from a pager. OLD school tech. Sam discovers a supercomputer but an accident lands him mysteriously transported into the Grid which is ruled over by the tyrannical (and equally smart mouthed) "Clu" who bears a striking resemblance to Sam's father. NOW the movie begins in earnest with Sam fighting his way through gladiatorial combat, making a daring escape during a "lightcycle" death race and meeting new allies while searching for his father. Hidden secrets will be revealed and expect some surprising twists in this otherworldly digital domain of peril and adventure!

And what a world it is! Carrying on the legacy of its predecessor, Tron Legacy once again presents imaginative production design coupled with cutting edge computer imaging. It is worth watching purely for its visuals, 3D or otherwise. Newcomer director Joseph Kosinski peppers his action with wide angles and sweeping cinematography, a fresh feel indeed from the frequent close-ups and "shakey cam" used by his other more "experienced" compatriots. Breathing life into the Grid is the similarly surreal soundtrack by "Daft Punk". It is mixture of electronic and orchestral music that serves to highlight the "synthetic" aspect of the Grid world while paying homage to the electronic synthesizer tunes used in the original Tron movie. The masterfully composed score blends eerie with Epic in the action scenes while toning down into warmer traditional tunes in the more emotional scenes. Like the directing style, the electronic soundtrack is a welcome change from the typical percussion and bass heavy action movie music.

Without putting up spoilers, one has to admit that the story works on multiple levels for both newcomers and sci/fi fanatics alike. For example When Sam first enters the Grid, it is one big tribute to classic spaceman stories like Flash Gordon. (Stranger lands on a strange world ruled by a tyrant, he is captured, made to fight as a gladiator, breaks out and joins the resistance). It might be a tad hard to follow at first as many concepts might be lost on viewers without some smidgen of tech savvy-ness or those not quick enough to get the little narrative homages. A lot happens in little time but once things slow down near the middle, the story has room to breathe. Under all the light and flashy spectacle is a very down to earth father/son tale that anyone can relate to. Between the lines lies an almost biblical parable relating to mankind's rejection of God in his quest for his own perfect Godhood. Present too is a running theme about how well intentioned legacies left to the wrong people become corrupted by those it was left to. Rather complex for a Disney movie to incorporate such themes.

One little byte to pick with this film would be the acting. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn as well as the villain program Clu and does a wonderful job of just becoming his character. He exudes a charisma and charm that his son, Sam, seems to lack. It is very ironic that the digital characters like Olivia Wilde's Quorra and Michael Sheen's Castor seem so much more "alive" and real than Garret Headlund's snarky Sam.

Needless to say, Tron: Legacy is epic storytelling that challenges the boundaries of imagination. It is a fun and exciting ride with a satisfactory emotional center. The more learned viewers would be happy to dig into the underlying themes that can be easily related somewhat to ontology and even biblical theology, while the the rest of you can just sit back and enjoy the visual spectacle and human father/son drama. Unlike stuff like Inception or the Matrix, tron Legacy does not force feed you the complex stuff, thus making it very accessible to viewers of all ages.

With an animated series in the works (as of writing this review) here's hoping that the legacy of the Tron lives long for ages to come and goes from being just a Cult classic to a full fledged sci/fi epic franchise.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: If you were a fan of the original "Tron" or would like to witness one of the best and most imaginative disney action movies to date
Avoid it: if you just don't like this genre of movies and would prefer some romance slop anyday.

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Acting: A-
Characters: B+
Replay value: A
"Brains": A-

Love Hina (2000) review

2011-01-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: Emotionally deeper than other "harem" genre anime, bettern than usual TV animation, exceptional japanese voice cast, well timed humour, well developed characters, beautiful artwork and character designs

The Bad: Cliched premise, unoriginal plot, over reliance on budget saving animation short cuts, weak final act, some humour borders on the nonsensical.

Current Availability Status: some VCDs available in singapore. DVD not available

******************************Review********************

Poor Keitaro Urashima, the dude just cannot catch a break. Having Failed the Tokyo university exam twice, Keitaro was kicked out of his home and forced to take up residence at an inn run by his grandmother. Little does he know that the inn has been converted into an all-girls dormitory and that his grandmother has left him as the dorm manager. As expected, the girls are not too happy with the arrangement, but they get a teeny bit more sympathetic once they discover the poor bugger's plight. Madcap wacky boy-meets-girls adventure with a sweet romantic twist follows in one of the better romance comedy anime series out there.

More an ensemble piece than other shows of this genre, its main selling point is definitely the characters. Each of them is given a unique and multi-layered personality making them both easy to relate to and incredibly lovable. Keitaro is THE guy that the intended target audience (single male who wastes his life either studying or watching anime like this) would die to be. He is a bumbling idiot, a complete loser, yet his tenacity and optimistic outlook would either inspire or disgust you; one would not be blamed for wanting to slap some sense into Keitaro. But give the guy a break, he has got a promise to fulfill a promise to a forgotten childhood sweetheart and get into Tokyo university.

Naru Narusegawa is the "main" female protagonist here. Her fierce demeanor toward Keitaro and hot headed attitude (not to mention, hot body) belies a secretly insecure neurotic looking for her place in the world. You see, the girl is studying to get into Tokyo university too. And the fact that she bears a startling resemblance to Keitaro's childhood sweetheart causes some inevitable sparks to fly. It is the "unlikely couple" scenario seen in so many romance shows: he likes her, she hates his guts, she cracks and shows her vulnerable side, he so happens to be there for her. etc. We all know where this goes. But no romance would be right without a proper love triangle and we get that in the form of Mutsumi Otohime, a simple but adorable ditz introduced later, who claims to be Keitaro's childhood friend.

Though the central tale is a little cliched sort of a coming of age thing for Keitaro and the surreal love story, each of the other girls are given ample development of their very own character arcs. Timid little Shinobu learns the value of trust and how to assert herself, carefree Kitsune gets a lesson in responsibility, the icy Motoko learns to open up her heart and even the wild and sprightly Kaolla Su learns to grow up. As said before, all very lovable, all easy to relate to.

Created at the turn of the 21st century, Love Hina was among the first shows to be colored by computer. The result is some beautiful artwork and cute, albeit slightly simplified, designs with a color scheme that uses the unlimited palette offered by software without looking overly bright and saturated. The animation itself is pretty standard anime stuff; it has its decent share of animation short cuts, lazy scene panning, some stiff character motions, but they only crop up occasionally per episode. On a whole, the quality is slightly better than the typical TV series with more attention given to maintaining a consistent high level of detail in the artwork.

In contrast, the voice acting is superb throughout. Veterans like Megumi Hayashibara, Yui Horie, Yuji Ueda, among others, totally sell their characters, playing them with the same diversity that fits their personality. A bit over the top at times, but it fits in with the very nature of the show. A Chinese dub and a USA English dub were released as well but neither can hold a candle to the original language. Though, in comparison, one might favor the English version over the Chinese version purely for the superior acting standard; at least the English version is not downright terrible or miscast like the Chinese one.

The more conservative types would be glad to know that fan-service is only teased and not blatantly tasteless like many recent anime. Comedy is well written, jokes are timely and in good taste with only a twinge if innuendo. Its shortcomings in its animation is forgivable but a hastily written and seemingly lower quality final few episodes earns it a couple of demerits. Definitely "cleaner" and emotionally deeper than other shows of similar genre, Love Hina is a fun filled gem of a series filled with truly emotional drama, romance and crazy comedy complete with giant robot turtles, mysterious island kingdoms and a little bit of magic.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: for a cleaner, better written romance comedy anime that puts the focus on the characters' personalities and not just on the characters' bodies
Avoid it: if you are a staunch "the manga is always better" kind of person

Entertainment: A
Story: B
Characters: A-
Animation: B-
Art: A-
Voice work (japanese): A
Voice work (english): B-
Voice work (chinese): C
Replay Value: A-
"Brains": B-

Did i mention slapstick (or more like slap Keitaro) humour?

Did I mention the giant robot turtle?

Did i mention..........YIKES, wat the hell is this??

Childhood sweetheart, an undying promise

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (1988) review

2010-12-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: Resolves all hanging plot threads of previous gundam series, high quality animation, professional voice acting, philosophically deeper than most mecha anime

The Bad: requires knowledge of preceeding Gundam series to fully appreciate

Current Availability Status: No available in Singapore. DVD available from online sources.

******************************Review********************

Mobile Suit Gundam. The legendary anime series of the 80s by famed director Yoshiyuki Tomino astounded millions of fans by offering giant robot combat action with a very realistic portrayal of war. Then, its darker sequel Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam delivered a tragic tale of love, loss and hidden conspiracies as the body count mounted to an all time high, earning Yoshiyiki Tomino the nickname "Kill them all Tomino". Now, the final chapter of an anime legend, the Universal Century Gundam saga, comes to its mind blowing conclusion.

Char's Counterattack is the culmination of years worth of Gundam storylines, in particular, the rivalry between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable that was established in the 1979 Gundam series but was never really followed through in the sequels. Seemingly having defied death once again, the famous Char Aznable has resurfaced to lead the Neo Zeon movement against the tyranical earth Federation. Slowly but surely, the movement is winning the hearts and minds of the space colonists, but Char has an even darker scheme planned. By crashing a colony on to earth, Char intends to force all human beings into space in hopes of ridding the earth dwellers' bigoted prejudice against space colonists. In order to quell this threat, the Earth Federation sends their "Londo Bell" task force led by Bright Noa and the ace pilot Amuro Ray. The battlelines are drawn once again as the world gears up for its greatest conflict ever.

As a stand alone Gundam movie, Char's counterattack does not do much for the newer audience. It expects that the viewer is already familiar with Gundam lore and the established rivalry between Amuro and Char as it immediately throws you into the thick of the story and the heat of the action. A couple of new characters like Quess Paraya and Hathaway Noa are introduced but they come across as uninteresting and seem like throw-away characters whose only purpose is to fill up screen time when we are not focusing on Char or Amuro. There is a very uncomfortable attempt at creating a shaky love triangle story but the execution of that plot thread was not as good as it could have been.

Poor attempt at romance aside, Char's counterattack features a number of other themes that the viewers can easily relate to. There is a coming-of-age theme in how Hathaway Noa desires to step out of his father's shadow and forge his own identity, and there is a good deal of wartime pholisophical rhetoric thrown about by Char. That being said, only once Amuro and Char take center stage does the movie finally find its footing and delivers an engagingly entertaining experience. They are the perfect opposites, each representing widely differing views on war and the idealistic pursuit of peace. How far is one willing to go to end a war? Does an objectively good end justify unethical means? Can the obsessive pursuit of ideals turn men into monsters? Questions like these pop up during the course of the narrative which challenges the viewer to think and question.

Some fans have complained about the lack of character development of many of the cast, but it seems further development of the characters was not the director's intention. It is not a movie to develop the characters further, but a movie to bring about a RESOLUTION to the characters that have been developed over the course of the previous Gundam series. Char's Counterattack should not be viewed as a stand alone movie. As such, it is highly recommended to re-watch at least the original Gundam 0079 TV series or compilation movies before watching this movie. Re-watching "Zeta Gundam" would also add to a better understanding of Char's character and his bitter inner struggle with his own ideals over the years.

Jam packed with epic action sequences thanks to a higher budget and more experienced staff, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is the exciting concluding chapter in the grand sweeping tale of Amuro Ray and Char Aznable. Here is a high point in the history of Gundam that subsequent shows had never surpassed.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: to witness one of the must watch anime movie classics that inspired a generation of other creators to follow i its footsteps. Or if you are a Gundam fan and would like to see the best Gundam had to offer.
Avoid it: If you really have no pre-knowledge about the original gundam series and would not even bother reading up wikipedia

Entertainment: A
Story: B
Characters: B-
Animation: A-
Art: A-
Voice work (japanese): A
Voice work (english): A-
Replay Value: B+
"Brains": A-

Clash of the titans: Amuro's Nu Gundam and Char's Sazabi go head to head

Amuro and Bright Noa prepare for battle

Char Aznable. Hero of the people or anti-earth terrorist?

Awesome animation reflects the chaos of actual warfare

Noteworthy video releases

2010-12-26T16:14:00.001-08:00

Avatar - 3 disc extended edition DVD and Extended collectors edition Blu-ray

Resident Evil Afterlife - DVD

Twilight saga: Eclipse - DVD

Inception - DVD and Blu-ray

Salt - DVD and Extended Edition DVD

Knight and Day - Extended edition DVD

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) remake review

2010-12-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good: better than usual acting for a horror movie, intense chase sequences, lots of blood and gore, atmospheric cinematography

The Bad: too much blood and gore, bland story, few genuinely scary scenes for a horror movie

Current Availability Status: banned in Singapore

******************************Review********************
Ah! the vast Texas countryside. Rolling plains, long stretches of road, quaint little towns. It is 1973 and what could be more fun than going on a road trip with a bunch of friends to catch the biggest Lynard Skynard concert of the decade? Nothing could go wrong. Well for Erin, Kamper, Morgan, Andy and Pepper, every "wrong" starts to happen when they come across a blood drenched and obviously traumatised young girl. Being good hearted teens, they try to seek help first from the local sherrif. However, the unreasonable sherrif suspects the teens of foul play forcing them to turn to some residents of an old house for help. But those Texas residents have a gruesome little secret hidden in their cellar, and it carries a Chainsaw. Naturally, "massacre" will follow.

Produced by Michael Bay, this remake revolves around a retelling of "actual" events involving a group of teenagers and their tragic run-in with the deranged Texan family of killers and the murderous Leatherface. In true slasher movie fashion, the characters are just there to look pretty until they get offed one by one in the most gruesome ways. The acting is actually praise-worthy, better than the usual horror film, but it suffered from an uninspired script and flat story.

As a stand alone horror movie, this Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake is actually more horrific than horror. Where the original show banked on the tension and scared by teasing one's inherant primal fears, the remake does not scare by actually scaring but by making the audience cringe in terror thanks to gratuitous amounts of gore and prolonged scenes of suffering before the eventual death Many times, the film leaves the genre of horror and falls into more a "torture porn"-like genre.

If there was anything scary about the film, it was not the Leather-face killer. Rather, it was the overall sense of helplessness felt by the main characters. As the movie goes along, the characters try to turn to other townsfolk for help. But they soon realize that the townsfolk, and even the sheriff, are not only unwilling to help, but have a much darker agenda planned.

Flipping through Marcus Nispel's short resume of films(he directed the Friday the 13th remake and Pathfinder) and Platinum dune's list of horror remakes would pretty much tell you what to expect; a tendency to focus mostly on gory killings. Nispel himself seems more capable of directing a frenzied chase scene or a bloody body carving as opposed to anything remotely scary. At least the film looks great with a stylishly worn yellowish tinge to every scene that complements the "1970s" setting.

Despite its shortcomings, the film was rather popular at the box office. Perhaps action is indeed more successful at netting a wider audience than actual horror. And like many action movies, Texas Chainsaw Massacre exists solely for that unauthodox sense of escapism. Showing it to your more chicken-hearted friends and watching them gross out is also a good way to use this movie. It is a cringe worthy thrill ride of a splatter-fest with better than usual acting. Not the best of horror movie remakes, but not the worst either.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you desire a more faster moving, more savage version of the 1978 classic
Avoid it: if you were happy with the tension and fear of the original classic

Entertainment: A-
Story: B-
Acting: B
Characters: C+
Replay value: B+
"Brains": D

King of Fighters (2010)

2010-12-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

Overall verdict: 1.5/10

The Good: guaranteed to make you laugh at how terrible it is

The Bad: It is really that terrible

Current Availability Status: on DVD in all singaporean DVD stores

******************************Review********************
Two words describe this movie. The last word is "up" and the first word starts with an "F". And no, it is not "Fighter". The two words make up an insult much like how Hong Kong Director Gordan Chan's "The King of Fighters" is an insult not just to the fans of the King of Fighters (affectionately abbreviated to "KOF") video game series, or video games in general, but it even manages to be an insult to bad video game movies.

Cue the sensless plot that completely rips-off "The Matrix" while sounding more confusing than the entire trilogy combined. The premise of this movie involves a secret tournament that is held in some alternate dimension in which fighters from around the world "log in" to via special earpieces. Think jacking into a big matrix-like video game world, complete with "I-know-kung-fu" wire fighting and bad computer composited special powers. Its all fun and games until Rugal (Ray Park doing his best Darth Maul meets The Joker impression) steals some sacred artifacts with a plot to free something called "The Orochi". Why free the orochi? Because Rugal wants to hack the alternate dimensional video game, give himself god-like powers and ultimately be the champion of the game. (Seriously) Out to stop him are undercover agents Mai, who is working for Terry Bogard in the CIA, and Iori Yagami, a man with a past connection to Rugal. Together they must seek out a third artifact called the "Kusanagi sword" which has been passed to Kyo Kusanagi, a white boy with Japanese name.

Alternate gaming dimensions, ancient snake ball demons and mythical artefacts. Oh My. To quote Maggie Q's character of Mai by saying "Its not Logical", would be a major understatement. An illogical, confusing and plodding plot is the least of this movie's problems. In trying to mix mysticism with hardcore science fiction would have worked in the hands of a skilled creative team. Here it turned out like oil and water, making the entire movie very difficult to follow and bordering on absurd.

The most basic criteria for a just "passable" video game movie is that either the story has small resemblance to the game (Silent Hill, Max Payne, Hit-man) or the character has some similar appearance to their game counterparts (Mortal Kombat, Tekken). King of Failures has NONE of these mere basic elements! The least Gordan Chan, the director, could do was to give some good ol fashioned hong kong kung fu but even that is missing making King of Failures an absolute chore to sit through.

The pacing is thrown off by having too much talk and not enough fight. The needless exposition and banal dialogue is not even interesting nor does it develop that silly excuse for a plot. Kyo's so called "hero's journey" has been done in umpteen other shows and every character's lack of charisma is made even more painful by stilted acting and laughable dialogue.

When some action does come once in a while, it is an utter let down and a complete joke especially when one knows what kind of stunts Hong Kong is capable of. The fight choreography is generally uninspired, almost dull; Many B movies have had better fights than this. Ray Park and Will Yun Lee were the only two actors who had some convincing fighting moves thanks to their martial arts training background. But the biggest sin here is Gordan Chan's wonky camera-work which uses way too many slanted angles, headache inducing tilted shots and an irritating purple lighting in the alternate dimension scenes that seems reminiscent of "Battlefield Earth".

For all the times people have lambasted hollywood for video gam movie flops like "Legend of Chun Li" and "Super Mario", Hong Kong has now topped all that. Some might argue that this is worse than the stuff from the infamous video game movie director Uwe Boll (House of the Dead, FarCry). But on a lighter note, this movie would make great subject matter to be laughed at on a boring movie night. It might even scare off video game companies who are thinking of selling the rights to make a movie.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: To see how horrible a video game movie adaptation can get
Avoid it: if you refuse to believe that this is a hong kong movie. Or better yet, just avoid. Nuff said.

Entertainment: C-
Story: D
Acting: C-
Characters: D+
Replay value: D
"Brains": F

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse [2010]

2010-10-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: detailled Artwork, smooth animation, top notch voice acting, sticks relatively true to the original comic

The Bad: minor deviations from the comic, lacking much emotional aspect, truncated narrative, , relatively inaccessible to viewers unfamiliar with DC comics lore and characters.

Current Availability Status: on 2 disc special edition DVDs in singapore stores now.

******************************Review********************

The Superman/Batman comic stories' main attraction has always been the character interplay. How the two famous superheroes, different in every aspect like oil and water, lend their perspective on similar situations and in the end, pull together for the greater good. In that respect, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" does not disappoint as Superman, Batman and even Wonder Woman bring their unique personalities to the table when they face their latest little "problem".

The "problem" in question is the unexpected arrival of Kara Zor-El (Summer Glau), Superman's cousin who crash lands to earth, disoriented, unclothed but unhurt and lost in Gotham. In perhaps an intentional homage to Glau's previous Terminator character in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", She "procures" a coat from a trio of overly eager warehouse workers, but not before almost accidentally killing them. The unintentional destruction she causes while trying to flee from the cops alerts both Batman and Superman who take her into their custody. While Superman is overjoyed at finally meeting a fellow survivor of his home planet, Batman is skeptical and naturally suspicious (she did trash Gotham without even trying). More trouble follows when Superman tries to get Kara assimilated into earth culture but Wonder Woman has other plans for her as she too fears Kara's lack of control over her powers. But on the burning planet of Apokolips, the dreaded DarkSeid has his sights on the young kryptonian girl to be the latest addition to his warriors. What follows is a perilous incursion into Darkseid's palace with one deadly confrontation after another with the forces of Apokolips.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse adapts the "Supergirl" story arc of the Superman/Batman comic series by Jeph Loeb and the late Michael Turner. It is a rather faithful adaptation, barring a few very minor changes here and there, and as such shares both the good points and the shortcomings of its source material. For one thing, the story proceeds at a very fast pace, which is good as it keeps things from getting boring. However that means the time frame of the tale is difficult to follow. For example Kara was supposed to have been training with the Amazons for a few months but it seemed like only yesterday. We only know about the time skip thanks to some mandatory exposition.

Rather than its truncated story, it is the snappy character interplay, well written dialog and a top notch cast of actors that carry this show. Tim Daley, Kevin Conroy and Susan Eisenberg return comfortably to their DCAU roles of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Everyone else is perfectly cast, especially Summer Glau, lending much emotional weight and realism to the characters. The only role that did not seem to fit as well was Andre Braugher's unmistakably African American sounding DarkSied. The tone of voice was right but a more neutral accent would have fit better.

Judging from the way the characters are handled, the target audience is most definitely long time fans who are already familiar with the personalities of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. That is because the "DC trinity" get little character development here, allowing Supergirl to take most of the development spotlight. That is not to say that the main trio do not get their chance to shine. Their differing views on life clash often which sheds some light on their individual inner natures. There is even a dramatic introspection by one of the villians regarding Batman's questionable methods in contrast to that of superman and, ironically, more similar to that of the villian himself.

Viewers who have watched the previous "Superman/Batman: Public enemies" can treat this as a sequel despite the differing art styles. As the previous movie replicated Ed McGuinness's stylishly muscular artwork, this one manages to translate Michael Turner's bold character designs barring a slight drop in art detail. The animation by "MOI Animation" is very fluid considering the "higher-than-usual" level of art detail, with no visible short cuts and a high frame rate throughout. As a result, the intense action and superhero battles are vivid and violent. Those who love some good hero on villian brawling would love what is in store for them here.

For DC animation fans, readers who loved the Superman/Batman comics and superhero action junkies, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" would no doubt be a hit. More time could have gone into letting the story "breath" a little or making it a smart anecdote about growing up, stepping out from under a overprotective sibling/parent's shadow and finding one's place in the world. Then again, since those themes were never present in the original comic, here is a case where straying from the original source might have turned out a better product. But no point lamenting what it could have been. Rather, enjoy it for what it is.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you are a fan of the "DC Trinity" in action, have read the original Superman/Batman comics or used to be a fan of the popular Bruce Timm DC Animated universe shows (Justice League unlimited)
Avoid it: if the name "Darkseid"(pronounced "dark Side" by the way) brings thoughts of Star Wars instead of DC comics. In other words, if you are unfamiliar with the characters, it is recommended you get acquainted first via other DC animated productions or the comics themselves.

Entertainment: B+
Story: C
Characters: A
Animation: A-
Art: A-
Voice work: A-
Replay Value: B
"Brains": C

Love In Disguise 戀愛通告(2010) review

2010-10-07T04:16:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 3.5/10

The Good: Convincing acting, well cast roles

The Bad: cliche ridden, evidence of author self-glorification, bland jokes, one dimensional characters, generally uninteresting main character.

Also know as: Lian ai tong gao, 戀愛通告

Current Availability Status: coming to DVD

******************************Review********************
Either Chinese pop idol Wang Lee Hom had a breath of inspiration to try to break into the film making business, or music is not bringing in as much dough as he would like. Either way, it must take some gutsy person to make a movie, not a documentary or biopic, about......himself.

Wang Lee Hom writes, directs and stars in what is easily a glorified fan-fiction about himself. Lee plays Du Ming Han, pop idol extraordinaire with an over active imagination and adored by millions. Along with his loyal manager, Joan (played by actress....Joan Chen), each day is a routine of performances, evading the paparazzi through the use of disguises and partying at night with his band-mates. One night after giving the press the slip, Ming Han's posh Van literally runs into a female music student named Song Xiao Qing. Miraculously unhurt, Xiao Qing checks her "GuZheng" string instrument for damage. This is when Du Ming Han's overactive imagination kicks in as Xiao Qing's tune conjures up images of badly CGI-ed butterflies in his head. Immediately smitten by her, though he claims he is only her music that he is in love with, Du Ming Han and his lead guitarist Wei Zhi Bai track the talented girl to her school. Donning a couple of silly disguises, they enroll in the schools music department so that Ming Han can have the pleasure of hearing Xiao Qing play once again.

As much as Du Ming Han daydreams of flowers, butterflies and beautiful hilltops when he listens to Xian Qing's music, the entire movie seems like a wishful daydream of writer/director/main actor Wang Lee Hom. The characters that populate the story are either played too over-the-top for anyone to take seriously, are utterly unlikable or generally lack a certain presence. The first flaw falls on every single side character from the school principle (who happens to be Xiao Qing's father) to even Wei Zhi Bai. They are all played for laughs basically, and nothing more. "Utterly unlikable" goes to the character of Mu Fan, a perfectionist top music student who Xian Qing has a crush on. Played like a complete jerk rival to Du Ming Han, his eventual change of heart comes without any reason other than to move the already plodding plot along. And lastly there is Xiao Qing, played by actress Liu Yifei, who feels like a blank slate. Where the other actors ham it up to the max actress YiFei does not even seem to be trying, rendering the character of Xiao Qing an expressionless bore.

But perhaps the greatest flaw is the flawless main character himself. He is a "Mary Sue", perfect in every way. He's got the looks, the cash, the charisma, and is talented in both pop music and classical Chinese instruments. And we as the audience are supposed to like him and feel sorry for him even though it was by his own dishonest actions that put him in a spot in the first place?

Every single "twist" in the plot is easily predictable and the forced humor gets old really fast. It really is unclear whether the story is to be firmly rooted in reality or fantasy. While it gives a very satirical look into the life of a superstar, there are too many moments where suspension of disbelief has to be called into play.The story even defies logic at times, expecting the audience to believe that a person can slip out of one disguise and into another AND run from the toilet to the performing stage, all under ten seconds (unless super-speed is another talent of the main character).

There was one moment where this movie could have set itself apart. A subplot about the concept of "soul-mates" as something mutually exclusive of "lovers" could have been developed more fully. Perhaps exploring the different types of love that need not be just romantic love, or expounding on how a Soul Mate might indicate a more metaphysical connection than a merely emotional one. Instead, after a small tease, the narrative conveniently lumps "romantic partner" and "soul-mate" together again and we are back in cliché land.

As much as Clark Kent's glasses is an absurdly thin disguise for Superman, so is Du Ming Han's disguise in this film. That same thinness translates to the plot, the characters and even the dialog. "Love In Disguise" feels like a lazy vanity affair. A self promoting tale of a musical Mary Sue that offers nothing new to the genre, not even some new laughs.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you are a Wang Lee Hom fangirl or are in the mood for some extremely shallow laughs. Or if your girl pal insists on dragging you along.
Avoid it: if you are a general fan of good romantic comedies.

Entertainment: C+
Story: C
Acting: B
Characters: D-
Replay value: C-
"Brains": D+

Noteworthy DVD/blu rays of the month (OCT 2010)

2010-10-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

NOTE: "Bare Bones" = no extras, just the movie

Iron Man 2 (single disc edition DVD or two disc edition BluRay)

Prince of Persia (Single Disc edition DVD, single disc blu-ray or "just movie" bare bones DVD)

Tekken (Single Disc bare bones DVD only)

The Karate Kid (Single disc bare bones DVD and single disc Blu-ray)

The A-Team (coming this week)

The Killers (DVD only)

Robin Hood (Director's cut DVD)

Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming (single disc DVD only)

Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic (single disc DVD only)

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

2010-09-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good: Avatar-style stereoscopic 3D, intense action scenes, stylish cinematography, contains a lot of elements from the games, excellent creature effects

The Bad: no character development, erratic paced story, over usage of slow motion, "borrows" shamelessly from other action movies, not scary as a horror film.

Current Availability Status: In Theatres NOW

******************************Review********************
It really is funny how the titles for the Resident evil film franchise are almost self-descriptive of the movies themselves. Though the first film featured none of the game's characters, it captured the intense thrill and fun of the game. Then, like the apocalypse in its title, the second one was messy, chaotic and brought on the wrath of fans who hated that their favorite game characters got sidelined for the franchise protagonist, Alice. Extinction saw the franchise like the last of its kind on a dying planet, desperately trying to stay alive by scavenging parts of other movies (like Day of the Dead and Road Warrior) but at least it went out in a blaze of glory. Now it seems the Resident Evil Franchise has not been a good boy, and we all should know where bad boys go. Thats right, the powers that be saw fit to send Resident Evil Afterlife straight to hell.

Paul WS Anderson returns to his franchise baby with a new toy. Amazing stereoscopic 3D the likes of which was used in AVATAR. And like any kid with a new toy, he goes overboard sacrificing all substance for all style. The silly excuse for a story begins immediately after Resident Evil Extinction left off. If the movie was truly a video game, Alice would be that idiotic hacker who got her hands on every single cheat code. She got "GODMODE", "AIMBOT", "/KILLALL" and even a cheat for "Allied NPC Spawn". For the benefit of non-gamers, this just means that Alice gots superpowers and a super-powered clone army too. Within the opening minutes, Alice and clones stage a daring incursion into the Tokyo facility of Umbrella corporation, causing chaos and ultimately facing down the T-virus powered chairman, Wesker. The writer, also Paul WS Anderson, must have known by now how quickly the movie would be over since Alice could just pop the guy's head like she did in Resident evil Apocalypse. So through some stupidly convenient plot device, Alice is superhuman no more and all her clones are gone. Now on the run, she proceeds to Alaska in the hopes of reaching the last safe haven where her friends fled to, a place named "Arcadia".

The mystery thickens when all she discovers is an empty landing field and a deranged Claire Redfield (Ali Karter) under the control of some weird biomechanical device. After saving Claire, the duo proceed to Los Angeles where they encounter another group of survivors holed up in a prison. With zombies all around and a new dangerous giant axe/hammer wielding threat heading their way, Alice, Claire and the survivors must find a way out ASAP. Their last hope may rest with a prisoner named Chris.

It all sounds a lot better than it turned out. Story-wise, this seems to be a very standard action movie narrative with maybe only one good twist. The characters are the main problem. Anyone who is not Alice is relegated to being a one-dimensional stock character common in zombie apocalypse movies. You have a conniving asshole in a business suit, a damsel, a rough-n-tough soldier, a big strong African American guy and a token Asian dude. Claire Redfield takes over from Alice's initial appearance in the first movie as the amnesiac who slowly regains her memory and conveniently reveals the plot twist. As for Alice, the only thing that set her part from the other characters in the past was her mysterious developing powers. Now that she has lost them, she has possibly become one of the most boring action chicks in movie history

Paul WS Anderson, the baby with the 3D, must have spent so much time making his wife look good on screen that he forgot not only to write a good story but to direct good action. He blatantly rips off The Matrix trilogy, Dawn of the Dead, and possibly Ninja Assassin. And by "blatantly" it means lifting whole scenes to the point where it should usually be considered a copyright violation. Almost 90% of the combat scenes are in slow motion, easily reminding one of Uwe Boll's "House of the Dead", complete with painful over usage of 360 degree panning and other matrix bullet time effects. As a resident evil movie, Afterlife commits the worse crime possible by having more humans fighting humans than Zombie killing action. The very sci/fi-ish set up, the CGI cityscapes, lack of Zombies and Milla Jovovich doing Gun Kata makes this feel more like "Ultraviolet 2" than a Resident Evil film.

Perhaps the one redeeming factors is how the franchise is trying its damnedest to move back on track with the games. There are numerous references especially to Resident Evil 5 and Code Veronica; the Executioner, Wesker's appearance, even that P30 bug thing just to name a few. A real pity that no explanation is given for their appearances; is the Executioner a mutated zombie or the latest Umbrella corporation bioweapon? Where did the P30 bug come from? When did Wesker start having superpowers? Anyway, Alice no longer dominates the screen as Game characters like Chris and Claire get their fair amount of time to shine. No doubt the fan-boys might be more pleased than usual about this. Oh yes, and there is Avatar-style 3D which just shows how weak the movie would be without this gimmick.

Like a shambling zombie, Resident evil Afterlife now plods through the movie underworld. A sad Frankenstein's-monster pastiche of past films with an erratic pace and no soul left in its shell. It has got action, lots of it, which when coupled with the slick 3D would no doubt please the millions of simple-minded adrenaline junkies populating this planet. It would find warm reception too perhaps from fans who desire something closer to that of the games (compared to past movies), and maybe existing fans of the Resident evil movie franchise. With the promise of a sequel, one wonders how much lower can the franchise go now that its already all gone to hell.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you have an idea about the Resident evil film franchise and expect the stylish but extremely shallow, action heavy product that you are going to get. Also if you have played the REsident Evil 5 game and want to see some of the mutated creatures in live action form.
Avoid it: if you expect something that exceeds the standards of the previous resident evil movies or any form of emotion closure for the characters.

Entertainment: A
Story: C
Acting: B+
Characters: C-
Replay value: A-
"Brains": D+

G. I. Joe: Resolute (2009) review

2010-08-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: almost movie quality animation, characters are exactly as fans remember them except better developed, keeps the good points of past productions and improves on the bad, talented voice cast, well written narrative and dialogue, realistic and gritty.

The Bad: too short, violence may put off those expecting something kid-friendly

Current Availability Status: not in singapore. Code 1 DVD available from online stores.

DVD features:
- 20 minute long interview with director, producer and art designer
- original internet promotional video
- character gallery and information

******************************Review********************

The classic G I Joe cartoons have always been the poster boy of sorts for non-violent, almost campy "good team versus evil team" type of story. Despite the toyline being based on the actual military, being marketed to children meant a certain degree of pandering to the kids. As a result, the original show from the 80s featured increasingly bombastic science fiction plots, villians who got dumber each episode and a military unit versus a terrorist organization using stun laser guns fighting a war in which absollutely nobody got hurt (save for some collateral damage and robot destruction). Suspension of Belief was the order of the day. Three TV series and two CGI movies later, "G I Joe: Resolute" was quietly released as a series of ten minute long videos online, designed to ride the publicity wave of the live action G I joe movie.

Ironically, this little gem of an animated movie recieved much better fan critical acclaim than its live action counterpart. Where the live action movie stuck with the cartoony nature of the G I Joe cartoons, G I Joe Resolute remained faithful to the concept of the toyline and the comics while reinventing the franchise in a more mature light.

Either set in a new continuity or as a loose sequel to the original animated series, G I Joe resolutes opens with a literal bang as the G I Joe team's main Aircraft carrier base is nearly destroyed in a terrorist bomb attack. Following this, key installations around the world are seized with lightning quick effeciency and one of Cobra Organisation's head honchos turn up dead on the steps of City Hall. What has happened is that Cobra commander, yes that cowardly bombastic buffoon from the classic cartoon, is back. Now a cold, calculating tyrant, he has seized command of Cobra by force. With a deadly new superweapon, a fool proof plan to hold the world hostage and the G I Joe team all but crippled, it falls on the remants of that team to pull together and launch an ambitious multi-pronged stealth counterattack. Their mission is to retake the seized facilities, shut down the orbital superweapon and discover the wherabouts of Cobra's base. But with time running out and their most crucial member, Snake Eyes, off to settle a personal vendetta, will the G I Joe team pull through in the end?

Clocking at only 60 minutes total, one would expect a truncated and watered down story. Not true. The story in G I Joe Resolute plays out very nicely over its allotted time, never feeling rushed at all, and has a decent conclusion which leaves some space for a sequel. The writers on this one seem to really know their stuff and have went for a more realistic portrayal of the titular paramilitary team. G I Joe members plan combat strategies, use actual military jargon and weapons that actually shoot bullets. Supporting the team is a huge collection of intelligence officers and maintainence crew, unlike the original series in which the G I Joe team were on their own yet all vehicles were always properly maintained and all battle plans were always at the ready.

The focus of the story is more on the main team of Duke, Scarlett and the ninja Snake Eyes, all of them exactly as one would have remembered from the old 80s cartoon series but with added dimensions. Gone is the all American Good guy boy scout, "do no wrong" Duke. Here, he is a "take charge" leader, but not without his flaws; he allows personal feelings to get in the way of his judgement and puts himself at unnecessary risk often for the sake of his team. Its those flaws that make him ever so much more human. There is a visible love triangle between the 3, but thankfully it is only implied and does not descend into anything overly sappy. Snake Eye's backstory is the only one that is fully fleshed out though, from his days as a ninja trainee to his vendetta with Storm Shadow. Many of the original characters that existing G I Joe fans would recognise reappear in this show too. The amazing thing is that Only five voice actors performed the roles for over twenty characters, yet each character manage to sound unique.

Special mention goes to Charlie Alder(the voice of Starscream in the Transformers 2007 movie and Revenge of the Fallen) who carries on the tradition of a Starscream voice actor doing the voice of Cobra Commander. This Cobra Commander is very much in keeping with his toy description and his comic portrayal. A ruthless, tyrannical, scheming overlord with no qualms of killing his own troops should they refuse to obey him. His portrayal here can be compared to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight' or perhaps Hannibal Lecter. He is merciless and his new voice just reeks of evil. No more over the top schemes of world domination, this Cobra Commander cuts to the chase: surrender or die.

Similarly, G I Joe Resolute is an amazing technical achievement for OVAs. The artwork retains the designs of american comic books but with an attention to detail that rivals the best Japanese anime. The animation itself is smooth with dynamic shot angles and near perfect blending of CGI with the cel animation. Few animated shows can pull off a convincing 360 degree pan around a character or a believable slow motion shot without the scene looking jumpy but this one is an excepton. G I Joe Resolute has definitely set a new benchmark in animation. The battle scenes have also been taken to a whole new level. No more stun laser guns or shots missing at point blank range. No more "its only a scratch" or "he got shot but its just a flesh wound". THIS IS WAR. The battle scenes are very realistically planned out with the effects of war clearly visible in all its bloody glory.

Alas, with all these excellent aspects of this movie, its only flaw is that it is too short. Sure, it does not feel truncated or watered down, but a more visible build up in the tension and the story would have been a welcome additon. It is how one would like an enjoyable thing to last, but sadly this movie did not last long. Both long time fans and new comers to animation would love this latest G I Joe production that is easily the most realistic and mature entry into the franchise so far.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see G I joe at its very best. Incorporating everything that worked in the past while getting rid of every aspect that did not work. Also go for it if you felt let down by the live action movie and would desire something more "true to the original"
Avoid it: if you expect the campy kid-friendly nature of the 1985 cartoon series

Entertainment: A
Story: A-
Characters: A
Animation: A
Art: A-
Voice work (English): A
Replay Value: A
Brains: C+

Seamless blending of traditional cel animation (the runway personnel) and CGI (the plane).
In fact the plane looks completely like a cel animated plane, but it really is a computer generated model

The G I Joe team, assembled.
Same old recognisable characters given a modern makeover

Ninja Assassin!
G I Joe team member Snake Eyes prepares to dispatch an opponent

I Know Kung Fu
The action in G I joe resolute borrows stylisticly from "The Matrix", "Equillibrium" and other big hollywood action movies.

Macross missile massacre or Robotech rocket rain. Either way, its way cool.
Other influences come from famous anime like Macross, Sword of the Stranger and Jin Roh.

Halloween (2007) remake review

2010-08-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: Excellent acting, full character development, psychological insight, satisfying kills (the victims deserved it), does not "reinvent the wheel"

The Bad: not scary, might be too much gore and sex, lacks the tension filled mood of the original

Current Availability Status:
-discount priced DVDs in most Singapore DVD stores.
-Unrated Directors cut available in limited supply from HMV singapore

******************************Review********************
Remaking the much adored classic horror film "Halloween" is no easy task. A devoted fanbase who have been let down by a series of increasingly disappointing sequels, guard their beloved franchise like rabid dogs. Any attempt to tamper with the original story of Laurie Strode and the mysterious killer named Michael Myers would be met with immediate negative reaction. Heavy Metal Musician-turned-film director, Rob Zombie, knows this well. As a result, he does not even both rehashing Lauri Strode's horrific encounters with a killer. In this remake, Michael Myers himself is the focus of the story as his tragic origins are traced right from his tortured childhood, thus giving birth to the souless evil that has become a famous horror icon.

The movie can be essentially be split into to distinct parts: Myer's childhood and incarceration at Smith's grove Sanitarium right up to his escape years later, and then the second part would be his return to Haddonfield to carry out his grizzly murders; this being a loose recreation of the original classic movie only with the focus on the killer instead of the victims.

Growing up in the town of Haddonfield, young Michael Myers is bullied at school, teased by his sister and continually insulted by his stripper mother's boyfriend, Ronnie. Though he tries to hold it all in, he is Pushed to the brink. One day he snaps; His psychopathic tendencies finally manifest resulting first in the grizzly murder of the school bully and then his sister, her sex partner and Ronnie on Halloween night. Michael is then placed under the care of Dr Samuel Loomis who tries unsuccessfully to "cure" the boy and then makes a career out of him by writing books based on Michael Myers' deteriorating psychological condition. Following the suicide of his mother, Michael grows ever more distant and remains in Smith's Grove for the next fifteen years until he escapes by murdering the employees as one of them were attempting to rape a fellow patient.

It is in this first segment where we get to see how the director, Rob Zombie, manages to craft a world as seen through the eyes of a killer. Hate drove Michael to kill and similarly every single character, with the exception of Dr Loomis and Michael's mother, is portrayed in such a way that you just MUST hate them as much as Michael did. The girls are complete bitches, the guys are foul mouthed retards, every single character is just so easy to dislike; it is a skewed world that Michael Myers sees and one of the reasons why he has no qualms about killing everyone who inhabits it. Aside from Michael, Dr Loomis is also given a much better character development here than in the original. He is a more sympathetic character who genuinely wants to help Michael Myers and for a while, the two actually form some sort of bond. Much better than the obsessively driven Loomis of the original who was more like a crazy Captain Ahab after Moby Dick.

The second part involves Michael returning to Haddonfield and going on a bloody rampage while searching for his long lost sister. This part is the "horror story" remake proper and depending on how you look at it, might seem very disappointing. For one thing, it is not scary at all; you'd know it every time Michael is about to kill someone so that takes away a lot of tension. But then again, seeing as how this movie is from the killer's point of view, Michael Myers is not scared when he kills and thus neither should the audience be.

On the technical side, Most of the cast do a decent job of acting their parts. Special mention goes to Malcolm McDowell as Dr Loomis who does an incredible job of fleshing out his character's inner torment; he feels responsible for Michael's actions but at the same time cannot bring himself to kill a man that he pities more than hates. None of the supporting cast are every fully explored though, with only Michael Myers and Dr Loomis getting the most character development; perhaps again a side effect of focusing the movie on Michael. Rob Zombie does fall back on quick cuts, cheap shocks, and other typical camera tricks of horror movies but it does not take away from the enjoyment of the film. There is also a good amount of gore and nudity here to satisfy the casual slasher movie fan too.

Not everyone will be happy when a horror movie not just humanizes its main "monster" but fails to be scary. But other would love the fresh new direction that the remake decided to go which adds a whole new dimension to the slasher film killer stereotype. Though not entirely perfect, Halloween 2007 is a lousy horror show but an excellent psychological drama that delves into the mind of a killer, effectively reminding us that behind every face of evil, there was once an innocent child.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you are open to an actual reinterpretation of a classic horror icon that adds a new level of depth
Avoid it: if you expect something as creepy or scary as the classic that inspired this remake

Entertainment: B
Story: C+
Acting: B+
Characters: A-
Replay value: B-
"Brains": B-

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985)

2010-08-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: creative directing that hides animation limitations, easy to follow character driven narrative, well paced war story, realistic character portrayals, philosophy as a "side dish", emotionall compelling.

The Bad: a few "far out" concepts about psychic powers, skimps on the politics that made its predecessor such a treat to watch.

Current Availability Status: "Anime legends" edition boxsets available online. Not available in singapore.

> Below: Limited collectors edition. Out of print.

DVD extras: trailers

******************************Review********************

7 years have passed since the events of the original MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM and the battles lines have shifted once again. Yesterdays heroes are today's oppressors as the once heroic Earth Federation has degenerated into a fascist ruling party whose iron law is upheld in the space colonies by the "Titans", an elite task-force created to quell any form of possible insurrection. Opposing them is "A.E.U.G", formed by a number of ex-ZEON members including the legendary Char Aznable. It is an underground group of freedom fighters slowly gaining support and power among the colonies. Enter the brash and hot headed Kamille Bidan who, during the events of an A.E.U.G attempt to capture some experimental mobile suits, lands up piloting the newly developed Gundam MK2. A series of tragedies occur which forces Kamille, who already harbors a dislike for the Titans and the Federation, to join up with the A.E.U.G as they make their way to earth. While the Titans are determined to stop the AEUG no matter the cost, the AUEG themselves are planning an all out attack on the Earth Federation. However, as the two factions tear at each other, a more dangerous threats looms in the form of the "Neo Zeon" movement.

The first thing that would strike any viewer of Zeta Gundam is how the various players in the war were portrayed. Instead of going for a morally ambiguous stand and make each side seem "good" in their own way, this show is quick to bring out the "ugly face" of each side, ally or enemy; it is the viewers' choice to either root for the devil or the demon. Even the heroes do some morally questionable things over the course of the story, but it all plays into some very well thought out character development.

This series focuses more strongly on its main character of Kamille Bidan, his point-of-view and how me meets the various different characters as the story advances. Kamille starts off as, quite honestly, a self-centered brat with an identity crisis and a dysfunctional family relationship. But his development over the course of the series is heart warming and emotionally engaging as he matures and is given a crash course in "growing up" and being a responsible soldier. Without spoiling anything here, but let us just say that the poor kid experiences quite a good number of deaths, especially involving some people close to him. Some of those deaths were a result of enemy action, but others came as a result of Kamille's own childish stubborness.

How the characters react to their situations are realistically logical, in a style that one would expect from any real life person thrust into that situation, and lead up well into their subsequent actions, be it a subtle change of attitude or even defecting to the other side. From the inner turmoil of Kamille Bidan, to the crazed obsession of Jared Messa, to even Quattro Bajena's loss of faith in his leadership capabilities. All of them are equally compelling and fully developed. Character from the original MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM series return, all grown up and a little differnt in their outlook toward the war, but the same people that the fans remember. However, it is Kamille's story and the narrative manages to keep its focus despite the ever growing cast.

The story moves along at an excellent pace with enough twists to keep you coming back for more. It may start off a little slow for the first few episodes, mainly just to get all our main cast into place, but manages to pick up after that. The episodes never seem to drag and the intrigue just keeps building especially after the introduction of the cyber newtypes and "Axis Zeon". Though not as in the forefront as other Gundam productions, politics play an intergral role in advancing the plot and giving a sense of scale to the ongoing conflict.

Created in 1985, Zeta Gundam's animation is actually quite good for its time. It can hold up to many anime series up to those in the late 1990s thanks to its detailed artwork. The director does use a number of stock footage and repeated scenes especially in battles, but he does it in such a way that it is never really obvious the scenes are re-used. Little things like using a stock footage in mirror-image or re-coloring the background of a stock footage or even playing with the speed of the animation all helps to "mask" the re-used scenes and animation. A very shrewd bit of directing there that allows the animation to look great while saving on cost. In fact, one can argue that the style of the art and animation here lends a very "gritty" look to the show that goes well with its darker storyline. Thanks to that, the action in Zeta Gundam is intense and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

At times however, the saturated narrative does seem to lose its focus. Near the latest parts of the series, psychic powers start to manifest. The concept of a "Newtype" initially was a person born in space with the ability to fully understand, almost metaphysically, the intentions and actions of others. Now, a "newtype" is anyone who exhibits not just enhanced perception and low level ESP, but actual psychic powers that allows one to predict an opponent's next move and even used in the form of a psychic attack. Thankfully other concepts fare a lot better, particularly the differnt points of view and philosophical rhetorics about the nature of war.

Conceptual shortcomings aside, MOBILE SUIT ZETA GUNDAM is very much and enjoyable anime series; a timeless tale that can appeal to any modern audience who are willing to look past its vintage. For those that can not look past its age, Sunrise and Bandai saw it fit to remake the series back in 2005 into three movies featuring updated animation and artwork. However, any Gundam fan will tell you that nothing beats the"classic charm". With animation beyond its time, a dark but highly engaging story and an emotionally identifiable cast with strong characterization, it is no wonder many long time Gundam fans regard MOBILE SUIT ZETA GUNDAM as the best Gundam series ever created.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you'd like to experience a milestone in anime history; a sweeping galaxy spanning tale that takes the time to focus intimately on its characters.
Avoid it: if technical age is a factor that would affect your enjoyment of a story.

Entertainment: A-
Story: A
Characters: A
Animation: B-
Art: B-
Voice work (Japanese): B
Voice work (Canada english): C+
Replay Value: B+
"Brains": A-

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994) "Uncut, Uncensored, Unleased" edition

2010-08-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: Superbly choreographed fight scenes, highly fluid animation, detailed artwork, characters look exactly like in the game, great voice acting.

The Bad: unfocused narrative, cheesy dialogue,

Current Availability Status: "Uncut, Uncensored, Unleadhed" edition available at most Laser flair and MJ outlets in singapore.

DVD Features:
- Japanese, US and UK versions of the film
- interactive character dossier

DVD Value for money rating: C-
******************************Review********************

Many fans will argue that Group TAC's"Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie" is THE Street Fighter movie. The prefect adaptation of the popular fighting game franchise. Compared to the two live action movies, the American animated series, the Japanese anime series and three other anime OVA movies, it is definitely the best in that it is almost exactly like its source material, flaws and all.

Like its source material, this movie delivers all the flashy fighting moves one would expect from Street Fighter while mixing it up with realistic fight choreography courtesy of professional Martial Artists. Every punch from wind up to the hit to the follow through is thoroughly animated. Close ups and long shots are used appropriately to give a very dynamic viewing experience. Characters act and react to their opponents like how real fighters would and unlike other fighting anime like Dragonball, special powers are not thrown around. In fact, special powers are very rarely used in this movie and only as a last resort. Most of the time, we have one on one duels that look better than some big budget kung fu movies.

All this is set to the gorgeous animation and artwork by Group TAC. It break free from the stereotype of anime utilizing more animation short cuts and lower frame rate than western animation. The frame rate here is so smooth, it almost looks rotoscoped. Even in non-action scenes Characters are always in motion with expression in the faces and body posture portrayed very nicely in the art. Now One would think that with a higher frame rate and smooth animation, the detail of the art would suffer. This is not the case here. The artwork is beautiful and finely detailed. Shadows and blacks are heavy lending to very nice gritty look and feel for the show. And the painted backgrounds are works of art on their own. The character designs are true to the game and pleasing to the eye, though some like Guile and Balrog tend toward looking exaggerated. In Balrog's case, he loooks downright off-model (check out those eyes)

On the flip-side the Street Fighter games were never known for deep narratives. As a result, The story of the movie is weak and cliched, teetering between juvenile and just plain silly. A power hungry dictator, M Bison, has been capturing the world's greatest fighters to turn them into his own private army. He seeks out one particular fighter named Ryu after he defeated Bison's second in command, Sagat. Ryu's life as a vagabond wanderer makes him hard to track, so Bison goes after Ryu's best friend, Ken, whose power level is also "over 3000". At the same time, Captain Guile of the US air-force and Chun Li of Interpol are looking for leads to take down Bison's Shadowlaw crime empire. The story plays out very straight forward with no hint of intrigue or build up, and hearkens back to the cheesy spy movies of the 60s with evil crime empires and giant sky ships. At the same time, the quasi science fiction elements of "power levels" and "mind control" never seem to blend with the more fantasy aspects like "Chi powers". It is almost like watching three different shows cut and pasted together.

Street Fighter II The Animated Movie also suffers from trying to introduce too many characters in too little time. Aside from Ryu, most of the characters are one dimensional stereotypes of different cultures or races. The motives of the other characters are never explained or only briefly touched on and they are never developed as the movie progresses. Even Ryu gets little development beyond being a guy in the wrong place at the right time. Then there are appearances by Zangeif, Blanka, Sagat etc who seem to be just there to make the game fans happy. They lend nothing too important to the plot, especially Zangeif and Blanka whose appearance is totally non-essential to the story and could have been cut out; that time and money could have been used to actually further the plot.

Lastly, The scripting and dialogue is undeniably plain. The games never had much dialogue aside from characters' "post stage" win quotes. Cheesy lines and over the top speeches abound in this movie. Thankfully, unlike other anime, characters do not spew lengthy monologues in the middle of fights. The Japanese voice actors deliver a solid performance and generally seem to have a lot of fun with their lines. The English version has more realistic, subdued acting and some lines are changed to make them less cheesy and more "adult". Plus it is more believable to have the majority of the characters, which are non-Japanese, speak English. Not to mention that the animators never bothered to properly sync the lip movement to the Japanese dialogue in the first place.Different music also accompany the different language tracks. The Japanese language tracks comes with a synthesizer composed score, very mellow and harldy noticable. A good point is that it never distracts one from the animation. The english language track comes with a heavy hitting grunge rock style soundtrack, no doubt inspired by the soundtrack of Mortal Kombat. It is more "in your face" than the japanese one, adding to the whole "badass" feel of the show. In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

Overall Street Fighter II The Animated Movie greatly enjoyable movie that captures the spirit of the games and likely to please fan and newcomer alike. Aside from the simplistic story and cookie cutter characters, the animation and fight choreography definitely sets the bench mark for fighting genre anime.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: to get a taste of what is essentially the best on screen adaptation of the famous fighting game.
Avoid it: if you expect this movie to give any further insight into the deeper workings of the various street fighter characters.

Entertainment: A
Story: C-
Characters: C-
Animation: A
Art: A
Voice work(Japanese): B+
Voice work (English): B+
Replay Value: A-
"Brains": D

Pull that strap for a nasty surprise.

My third "facing De-feet" joke in a single week.

ITS OVER 9000!!!

Come'ere I'm gonna EAT YOU!

Ryu comes close to De-feet (seriously i should stop with the feet jokes)

Full Metal Panic (2002)

2010-08-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: above par voice acting, lovable characters, attractive designs, coherant narrative with a more mature feel that usual, realistic portrayal of semi-futuristic military combat, well written comedy, excellent cast chemistry, blends various genre seamlessly, high animation production value in the early episodes

The Bad: inconsistent animation, visible animation "short cuts" and downgrade with subsequent episodes, rushed conclusion,

Current Availability Status:

*above* hard box Region 1 "Complete Collection" from ADV films: Out of Print

soft box "re-release" edition by Funimation: still available from any major online DVD stores.

Bu-ray edition featuring remastered truHD audio: available september 2010
Comments: Do not expect true HD video for the Blu-ray release. This being a 2002 anime, it was not created in a HD 1080pi Master. It is not even widescreen.

Singapore Region 3 by Blue Max Entertainment: still available at most Blue Max stores islandwide.

DVD features USA R1: all versions of the USA DVDs contain the same features
- Clean OPs and EDs animation and songs
- production sketches
- comicaly original copyright warnings (the characters themselves warn agains copyright infringment)
- ADV DVD previews

DVD Features Singapore R3:
- just the TV series.

DVD Value for Money grade:
USA R1: B-
USA Blu Ray: C
Singapore R3: D
******************************Review********************

Remember back in chemistry you had to mix the various volatile chemicals in the right proportions or it will all go up in smoke? Full Metal Panic is a daring experiment that mixes serious military style action with high school humor and romance with mech battles. Dangerous combination there of serious and light hearted: too serious and the comedy loses its flavor, too comedic and no one would take the show seriously. So many anime have tried mixing genres with less than satisfactory results. Full Metal Panic on the other hand maintains its perfect balance of serious and silly, making for a very unique anime series.

Full Metal Panic takes place i a world not to different from our own. However in that world, there exists "Black technology" and selected special individuals called "The whispered" who possess enhanced cognitive capabilities. This Black technology allowed the mass production of giant humanoid mecha units called "Arm Slaves" which soon fell into the hands of terrorists. A secret organization called "Mithril" was formed to combat this rising threat of and to protect the Whispered from being captured and exploited by the terrorists. Mithril Operative Souske Sagara, only 17 but already a battle hardened soldier, is assigned to protect a newly discovered "Whispered" named Kaname Chidori. Along with his teammate, the wisecracking Kurz Weber and team leader Melissa Mao, Souske enrolls undercover as a student in Kaname's high school. Kaname's seemingly normal life comes crashing down as Souske tries to protect her in the only way he knows how: violently, decisively, like a well trained soldier, even employing some common battlefield strategies usually used to take down armed assailants. Hilarity ensues as Souske, who has only known a life of warfare since birth, tries to integrate himself into "normal" society and to fulfil his mission, much to the chagrin of Kaname. But just as it seems like the story is becoming a typical romantic comedy, a mysterious terrorist organization has discovered Kaname's whereabouts and is out to capture her by any means necessary.

Adapted from a series of novels as opposed to a manga aimed at kids or teenagers, the writing on Full Metal Panic stands out as decidedly more mature than its contemporaries. Every character is fully fleshed out and given a decent amount of development as the series moves along. Even side characters that would usually be just one-dimensional stock archetypes end up rather likable. Central to the story is the excellent chemistry the emotionally suppressed yet tenacious Souske and the hot headed Kaname. Though at first Souske only regards Kaname as a "mission objective" and likewise, Kaname regards Souske as "sergeant Psycho", the two grow closer as they get to know one another. There is definitely a theme of romance yet it is tastefully played out without any of the cheesy mushy stuff.

The way the dialog is written and lends a stronger feel of realism to the entire story. This top notch script, full of wit and charm, is complemented by equally top notch acting. Of particular note is the English voice acting by ADV films which matches the quality of the Japanese track tone for tone. Some of the roles may even come across as more natural in English such as Chris Patton's role of Souske Sagara in which he peppers his dialog with military jargon and maintains a stoic drill sergeant type of tone. There is also a Chinese dub track released in Asian countries but that one is plagued by serious miscasting of roles and a certain lack of actor enthusiasm. All in all, Both the Japanese language track and USA English track are equally enjoyable and sound equally natural.

For a 2002 production, Full Metal Panic is among the better looking ones, yet it has not aged too well despite being so recent. Boasting a beautiful level of art detail and an adequate frame rate animation by GONZO studios, Full Metal Panic's quality gets inconsistent as the series progresses. Badly rendered CGI is thankfully kept to a minimum, used only on a Submarine and some aircraft, but the show has its fair share of obvious cost cutting techniques in the later half, almost as if the production went over budget halfway through. Seen here are two screenshots of the same "Arbalest" mecha. The one o the left is from episode 6, the one on the right is from episode 24. Notice the dramatic drop in detail, the absence of any metallic like sheen and even a change of design.

There is a stark contrast between the animation quality seen in the first episode and the last episode. Quite a disappointment coming from the same studio that produced some awesome animation in Samurai 7 and Afro Samurai.

Animation flaws aside, Full Metal Panic is a rare series that manages to feel as good as some of the best Hollywood blockbusters of all time. This makes it easily accessible to viewers who have not watched anime and is a great series for "newbies" to jump into anime fandom. Two anime sequels, a couple of manga spin offs and a dedicated fan base despite its young age, Full Metal Panic might just end up a modern classic, talked about for years to come.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you love both comedy and science fiction action that is nicely blended and perfectly balanced, jumping between the two different genre seamlessly. Both down-to-earth realistic and humorously unreal at the same time.
Avoid it: if science fiction anime for you has to be dark and depressing, and comedy anime has to involve a harem of girls.

Entertainment: A
Story: A-
Characters: A
Animation: B-
Art: B-
Voice work (Japanese): A
Voice work (USA english): A
Voice work (Chinese): C
Replay Value: A
Brains: B-

Aliens Vs Predator: Requeim (2007) Unrated Extended edition review

2010-08-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 5.5/10

The Good: numerous references to the past Alien and Predator films, a return to the R Rated level of violence, roaring musical score,

The Bad: overall "cheap" B movie feel, overly dark cinematography, cliche filled story, shallow characters

Current Availability Status: on discount priced code 3 DVD in Singapore

DVD Features:
Disc 1
- Directors commentary by the Strauss Brothers
- Commentary by special effects crew on the more technical aspects of the film
- Trailers

Disc 2
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
· Prepare for War: The Making of AVP-R
· Fight to the Finish: The Making of AVP-R
· AVP-R: The Nightmare Returns – Creating the Aliens
· Crossbreed: The PredAlien
· Building the Predator Homeworld
- Design art gallery
- Picture reference guide to the Aliens and Predators species

DVD Value for money grade: B+
******************************Review********************
Despite negative fan reaction and harsh reviews, 2004's Alien Vs Predator went on to turn a profit. As usual, with any profit comes the production studio's desire for a sequel. Another promise made by the producers was that this sequel th PG rated "Alien Vs Predator" film would return to the R Rated violence of the original Alien and Predator movies. That promise was delivered wholeheartedly, but the bland story, flat characters and initial gaping plot holes, all flaws of the first AVP film, still remained. The "extended combat" edition reviewed here corrects some of those plot holes and adds more violence, but does little to improve the overall story.

Set immediately after AVP, the body of the dead Predator has been recovered by his brethren. But unknown to them, he had been infected by an alien facehugger during the events of the first film. Before long, a baby alien/predator hybrid explodes out of the dead one's chest and stows away aboard a scout ship that detached from the main mothership. The hybrid makes short work of the crew and causes the craft to crash land back on earth, this time in Gunnison county, Colorado. Despite this, the hybrid survived and released the other aliens contained in stasis. In a last ditch effort, a automated distress signal is sent back to a certain Predator warrior on the Predators' home-world. This warrior, who is supposedly a battle hardened veteran and an expert in dealing with Alien breakouts, proceeds to earth where the Aliens are slowly encroaching upon a small unsuspecting town.

While the Alien films took place in a future of space travel and the Predator films brought the viewers to exotic jungle locales, urban or otherwise Alien Vs Predator: Requiem "(AVPR) takes place in a "isolated small town" setting that is so common in Sci/Fi horror B movies. Populating said town are characters who are either there just to be killed off or are, again, homages to past films: the main character of Dallas Howard is a reference to Dallas in the first Alien film and "military mom" Kelly O'Brien is almost a clone of Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley. There is some attempt at developing the characters such as the mother/daughter relationship between Kelly and her estranged daughter whom she hardly spent time with in the past, but that is never the main focus. In fact, delivering the violence and the numerous fan-friendly references seem to be all that this film sets out to do.

In that respect, AVPR does not disappoint addicts of R rated horror films. Heads are blown open, guts are spilled, someone is even slowly melted by acid while he is still alive and screaming as his eyeballs leak out of their sockets. Though the film was censored somewhat for its theatrical run, all the cut scenes of violence have been restored for the "extended combat edition" DVD release. No Man, woman, child or baby is safe. Predator fans who were let down by having their favorite monsters offed within 10 minutes in the first AVP can rest easy in the knowledge that this new Predator is no pushover. Packing a mean arsenal that includes double plasma launchers, laser mines and a razor whip, this Predator, nicknamed "Wolf", tears through alien xenomorphs like they were harmless puppies. His most challenging foe though is the "PredAlien" hybrid that possess all the genetic traits of the aliens plus the brute strength and hunting instinct of the Predators.

This theme of hybridisation is carried in every aspect of the movie but is most evident in the rousing music score by Brian Tyler. The young composer masterfully blends the fast paced wind orchestra style of the Aliens franchise music with the heavy militaristic percussion sounds of the Predator franchise. The result is an epic soundtrack that pays homage but never copies its predecessors, one that is fit for a modern film masterpiece.

Sadly, AVPR is anything but a masterpiece. Colin and Greg Strauss, both self-proclaimed fans of James Cameron's "Aliens" and John McTiernan's "Predator" make their directorial here. They too desire to carry on the theme of "hybridization" and their love for the two monster franchises shows in the way everything from the characters to the sound effects and the filming style all pay homage to the original films in the franchises. There are even entire scenes lifted wholesale from the past movies: for example the National Guard getting taken out by the Alien swarm is reminiscent of the same slaughter involving the space Marines in 1986's "Aliens". This is evidence of either a near obsessive desire to "remain true to the original" or of a genuine lack of experience in the directors to craft their own film. Instead of taking the best elements of each franchise and combining them, they chose to copy and paste wholesale.

At times however, the Strauss brothers' strict adherence to their favorite films and attempts at hybridization is their stumbling block. For example, in the Alien and Predator films, quick cuts and extreme close-ups are used to create a sense of tension and frantic action. The creatures were kept in the darkness in order to maintain an air of mystery and fear; you can hear the screams, you can see snippets of silhouettes, but never the whole creature or what the creatures are doing and how they are killing their prey. Those quick cuts, close-ups and lack of lighting are all present in this film, except that people come to watch something titled "Aliens Vs Predator" to see exactly that; aliens and predator mashing it up with each other, which is almost impossible without manually tweaking the television's brightness.

On a whole, the lack of lighting never allows the full glory of the creature effects or the "full gory" of the violence to shine. Calling the film "unoriginal" is an understatement. The way it "references" the past films could be considered mild plagiarism and whatever original aspects of the show are merely B movie staples complete with a cheesy teenage romance scene. While it might thrill the fans to be able to slowly pick out the various references to past films, it makes Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem little more than pastiche of scenes from great movies past set to a familiar "B movie" feel and thus never developing its own identity.

For the review of AVP, the film that precedes this movie, click here

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you didn't mind the flaws of the first AVP film but would like to see something darker, gorier and more violent. Also if you are the kind that loves trying to pick apart movies and point out the various references to previous film works in the narrative.
Avoid it: if you expect a masterpiece the likes of the original films by Ridley Scott or James Cameron that inspired this crossover.

Entertainment: B
Story: B-
Acting: C+
Characters: C+
Replay value: B
"Brains": D+

Tekken: The Motion Picture (1997) review

2010-08-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 3/10

The Good: great voice acting that fit the characters, characters look exactly like from the game

The Bad: overly short running time, underdeveloped characters, inconsistent animation, off model artwork,

Current Availability Status: Internet only. DVD out of print.

******************************Review********************
In 1994, the success of "Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie" rocked the anime world. Three years later, ASCII and studio deen collaborated on "Tekken: the motion picture" in a possible bid to replicate the success of the previous video game anime adaptation. The result however was less than satisfying: a sub par product that was inferior in every way as an anime movie.

If the opening monologue about the nature of "the tekken" (supposedly the "complete knowledge of one's flesh, blood and fist" that would be the "key to life") does not confuse you, the rest of the movie might. The story somewhat follows that of the first two Tekken games: Special investigator and martial arts expert Jun Kazama, who is operating out of Singapore, is made to join the "Tekken" tournament hosted by the mysterious Mishima corporation under Heihachi Mishima. This is a pretense for her to infiltrate Mishima's island fortress and ascertain whether they are producing dinosaur-like bio weapons. In another part of Singapore, Kazuya the rogue son of Heihachi Mishima is attacked by an assassin Nina. This prompts him to stowaway aboard a ship destined for Mishaima's island in order to exact his revenge upon his father.

Along the way, it is revealed that Jun and Kazuya have a shared history. When they were young, Kazuya tried to help Jun. His father Heihachi saw that act as an act of weakness and, believe it or not, THREW KAZUYA OFF A CLIFF! All the while, waxing philosophical about how Lions throw cubs off cliffs as a test of strength. Thats to that event, Kazuya is now a cold heartless fighter obsessed with vengeance.

Running at 60 minutes, it barely has enough time to develop the main story of Jun and Kazuya. To make things worse, other fighters like Lee (who is jealous of his brother Kazuya and wants to kill him), jack (who's story seems ripped from Terminator 2 about the machine who values human life) and Nina hog the screen time with their own little story arcs. This leads to none of their characters being fully developed. Although the voice actors do a great job, Cheesy lines about "grasping your own truth with your hands" and "don't let the darkness in your heart take over" permeate the entire narrative. Along with some drivel about machine self-awareness, justice and truth and the purpose of fighting, it gives the feel of an anime desperately trying to sound as complex as its contemporaries. Instead it all sounds very silly and juvenile once given a little bit of thought.

And then there is the animation, which looks no better than a standard 1997 TV series animation. It does not do justice to the quality of anime movies which are meant to have a bigger budget. Character movements are lazily animated, frame rate is barely adequate and the fights lack a certain energy. Every motion comes across and stiff but at least the level of detail in the art is consistent. Cost cutting techniques are obviously used. For example, Conversations involve a long pan over a still scene, Motion lines on a still picture and there are even some repeated scenes thrown in.

Fans thinking that this could not be worse than the recent live action Tekken movie, think again. This is worse. Though the characters look exactly like they do in the game, the entire thing is ludicrous. Invisible dinosaurs, boxing kangaroos, cyborgs, psychic powers, devil energy, genetic alterations and Jun's ability to sense a "fighter's spirit", all concepts that are never explained. Even the final duel between Kazuya and his father is sadly anti-climatic.

Tekken The motion picture fails in every way to mimic the success of Street Fighter The Animated movie despite even lifting some scenes wholesale from that anime: A nude shower scene, an attempted assassination in a bedroom and even a sumo wrestler character that parodies Street Fighter character E Honda. Overall a major disappointment, not even worth the time to watch on youtube.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you do not mind bad animation and insist that an anime adaptation can be no worse than a live action adaptation of a video game
Avoid it: if you have better things to spend 60 minutes of your life on.

Entertainment: C
Story: C-
Characters: C-
Animation: C-
Art: C
Voice work (japanese): B
Voice work (english USA): B
Replay Value: D+
"Brains": F

ZOMFG!!! ITS SINGAPORE!!! IN AN ANIME!!!

"Jahn Cahnnah. I appeer to harv fallen."

Kazuya faces De-Feet.

Definitely Singapore back in the 90s.
But WTF is that crappily drawn boat??

Tekken (2010) review

2010-08-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good: brutal fight choreography, interesting dystopian future backdrop, fully fleshed out main protagonist, faithful to the game characters' looks, pulse pounding soundtrack.

The Bad: story diverges from that of the game, many narrative cliches, short running time, underdeveloped side characters, predictable plot twists.

Current Availability Status: in cinemas and DVD in stores now.

******************************Review********************
One lesson anyone knows by now is to never expect a movie adaptation to have an EXACT copy of the source material; not just for games, but for any other adaptation. For example, in the comics, Iron Man got his injury in Vietnam, the movie changed it to the middle east, yet not many people seemed to complain. If one were expecting 100% faithfulness to the game, one would not even watch a movie. Instead, one would just go and play the game or watch someone else play the game and pretend it is a movie.

In making the film more accessable to audiences who have not played the game, a good deal of backstory has been cut out. While the familiar science fiction elements were kept, the more convuluted superatural elements were left out. Moving the action into a dark dystopian future controlled by eight mega-corporations, Tekken follows the story of Jin, a strong hot headed street urchin living in the slums outside "Tekken city", scavenging, stealing and fighting just to get by. This is no big problem for Jin since his mother had trained him from birth to be a gifted fighter. But one night, his mother is killed in a police raid ordered by Kazuya Mishima, the son of Tekken's head honcho, Heihachi Mishima. Among his dead mother's belongings, Jin finds a Tekken Fighter I.D, indicating that his mother, despite her pacifist nature, had at one time participated in the famous fighting tournament "Iron Fist". Obsessed with vengeance Jin joins the "Iron Fist" Tournament as "the people's choice" representing the slums of "Anvil" in hopes to one day meet Heihachi Mishima in person and exact his revenge. The young protagonist soon proves himself a capable combatant under the guidance of one Steve Fox and makes it to the finals held in the center of Tekken city. There he must battle eight other fighters, each representing one of the eight powerful megacorporations. But unknown to everyone, even Heihachi himself, is a dark secret shared by Jin and Kazuya Mishima; one which Kazuya would do anything to protect.

Despite the few changes to the backstory and setting, Tekken has more respect for its source material than many previous game adaptations like Legend of Chun Li, House of the Dead and FarCry (and possibly the upcoming King of Fighters movie). For one thing, most of the actors look exactly like the characters they are playing, right down to the unique outfits. Even their fighting styles are lifted directly from the games. Some of the changes actually work well such as presenting a more sympathetic side to Heihachi Mishima who in the game was a one dimensional villain. The supernatural elements involving demons, devil genes and colorful special powers would have been jarring against the bleak dark gritty setting which borrows elements from other dystopian bloodsport movies like DeathRace and The Running Man. Jin's journey seems to have more in common with Rocky than with Street Fighter. Though Jin fights for vengeance, he represents hope for the people in the slums that even a street rat like him can rise to challenge the powers that be.

The main characters are given very distinct reasons for doing what they do. A clear purpose drives the actions of each fighter representing one of eight powerful megacorporations. Some fight for glory, others for money, vengeance, honor or just out of jealousy. Although their relationships and interactions have less-than-expected chemistry, the acting manages to pass muster; a huge surprise considering the lack of recognizable big names in the cast.

Director Dwight H Little is no big name in showbiz himself, his directing resume being mostly in TV series like Dollhouse and his small list of notable films include much maligned sequels Halloween 4 and Free Willy 2 and Anaconda 2. Yet his directing style is clear and concise, making each showdown a thrill to watch. Fights are choreographed realistically with minimal kung fu wire-work in order to maintain that brutal, down to earth feel. All this is then set to a pulse pounding electronic rock soundtrack reminiscent of Mortal Kombat.

To summarise this movie in a single sentence: "a combination of Mortal Kombat and Rocky by way of Rollerball, Running Man and Blade Runner."After all is said and done, there is little left in the film that would stand out to attract a crowd. Prince of Persia had raised the bar on video game movies by being both true to the original and massivelty budgeted. Where Prince of Persia at least had an insanely high budget which was put to good use, Tekken feels like a cheap made-for-TV flick despite claiming to have cost 35 million dollars. More time could have been spent fleshing out the sad futuristic world of Tekken or the inter-company politics between the megacorps. Then again, clocking in at only 87 minutes, it barely has enough time to fully develop Jin's stor in between all the fights. As a result, the other characters do not get any development other than being one dimensional opponents or allies to Jin.

Fans of the game would be disappointed at the changes from the source material, others would be put off by its cheap feel. At most, those who like brutally choreographed fighting films and dystopian future movies might be satisfied to a certain extent. Though not a true winner or "the people's choice", at least Tekken put up a decent fight by having some of the most brutal bouts in fighting game movies.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you like movies taking place in dark dystopian futures where money talks and power belongs to the rich, or enjoy some good old fashioned brutal throwdowns as well as a couple of hot babes
Avoid it: if you had expected a 100% translation of the video game story to the big screen or if you want to see an emotional drama about a boy who lost his mother instead of violent hand to hand combat.

Entertainment: B+
Story: B
Acting: C
Characters: C+
Music: B
Replay value: B-
"Brains": C

An unused pre-release poster. Honestly this poster evokes the look and feel of the game a lot better than the poster that was eventually used (see above)

Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li (2009)

2010-07-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 4/10

The Good: frantic fight scenes, realistic setting

The Bad: cheesy dialogue, no explanation for sudden inclusion of fantasy elements, cliched story, lack of deeper themes, contrived narrative.

Current Availability Status: on discount priced DVD in singapore

DVD features:
- just the movie

DVD Grade: C-
******************************Review********************
A bold idea with a failed execution, "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li" is obviously going for a "re-imaging" of Street Fighter. In a re-imaging, one takes a storyline and makes it realistically believable. A number of movies adapted from comic books, cartoons and games have succeeded in that aspect; choosing to disregard the more far fetched and fantastical concepts and replacing them with aspects that are more rooted in contemporary reality. That much should be a big cue to any viewer to NOT expect something true to the original video game.

It is not surprising that the creative team decided to go with this decision. Previous game adaptations that stuck with its more "unrealistic" concepts(Dead or Alive, Street Fighter 1994) never did as well as those that underwent a realistic re-imaging like Tomb Raider and Resident Evil. Even unrealistic comic book movies like Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider did not do as well as those more grounded in reality like Batman Begins. In fact, it would be a breath of fresh air to have a Street Fighter story taking place in the real world and without all the campy goofiness that made its 1994 predecessor such an embarrassment.

The idea and The concept were good, but the execution was horrendous. Story-wise, "Legend of Chun Li" is a simple "hero's journey" type of tale. At Twelve years old, Chun Li, a talented pianist and martial arts prodigy under her father's tutelage, witnessed the violent kidnapping of her father one night by an international crime lord named Bison. Though the memory of that night remained with her, Chun Li managed to suppress it and move on with her life, eventually becoming a respectable pianist many years later. One day after her eighteenth birthday, her mother passed away. Lost and trying to find direction in life, Chun Li discovers evidence that her father might still be alive and an ancient scroll that leads her into the heart of the Bangkok slums in search of a mysterious man named Gen who might hold the answers to her father's fate. There she witnesses first hand the sad state of the town and the cruelty inflicted upon them by the local crime syndicate which Chun Li soon discovers, happens to be run by none other than Bison himself. Determined to ascertain the fate of her long lost father and exact vengence on Bison, Chun Li apprentices herself to Gen, who so happens to be a master of a mystical form of martial arts.

Now if its one thing that director Andrzej Bartkowiak seems to be able to do,it is staging a fight and working a camera to bring out the best in that fight scene. Each kick and punch is shown with such vivid impact, yet wire stunts are used with restraint so as to not take away from the realism of the show. Whats more, the director is in familiar territory. With crime syndicate/revenge/martial arts movies like Cradle 2 the Grave and Romeo Must Die in his resume, Legend of Chun Li is right up his alley.

So what went wrong? Everything else, basically. The series of events that lead to Chun Li's run in with Gen and to her finale showdown with Bison felt too convenient and contrived, at times almost like it was lifted from a cheesy kung fu B-movie. She conveniently gets sent an ancient scroll, conveniently runs into Bison's secretary at a night club, conveniently meets Gen; it is an entire string of convenient plot holes. The dialogue seemed awkwardly cartoon-like, despite the best efforts of the cast, more the fault of juvenile writing than with the acting. But the real crime comes when the producers took what could have been one of the MOST grounded-in-reality story for any video game adaptation, and threw in some of the most unbelievable, far out elements from the game.

The movie was going strong until 30 minutes into the film when you see a character tossing a "special power fire-ball" around. Yes the game characters tossed special power balls around like pies among clowns but against such a down to earth setting and backdrop, such a concept would be ludicrous. They changed Bison from a power hungry, "psycho power" wielding dictator in charge of his own terrorist nation, into a more realistic underworld crime lord who works through blackmail and subterfuge. Then they had to go and throw in "ancient dark arts to rid a person of his conscience by transferring it into a baby". Those concepts and more........are just there. There is no explanation as to how they come to exist. Is Chun Li a mutant with special powers? Are people hurling fireballs at each other such a common sight that civillians in the movie do not seem to be surprised at it? All of it sounds like something out of a bad 1970s cartoon.

So, Unable to decide if it was going to be a straight out adaptation or a re-imaging, this movie failed to define its target audience and instead delivered a half baked product that was all over the place but not where movie goers want it to be. It pissed off the fans of the game, a game that is the absolute definition of "unrealistic". It alienated blockbuster fans thanks to its low budget look, incoherant story and juvanile dialogue. Lastly, it even put off lovers of realistic martial arts movies by throwing in the unrealistic game elements without so much as an explanation. Overall, it is an entertaining but slightly clichéd cop/criminal organisation/martial arts/revenge story that barely even gets the basic elements (a good story for example) right. This movie had potential for great things. At very least, the ever attractive Kristin Kreuk provides good eye candy .

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: to see a daring attempt at a realistic reinvention of an unrealistic video game and imagine everything it could have been
Avoid it: if you are a fan of the Street Fighter video game who would rant bloody murder if just one hair on a character's head was hanging in the wrong direction or if martial arts movies were never really your thing.

Entertainment: B-
Story: C
Acting: C-
Characters: B-
Replay value: C
"Brains": D-

Predators (2010). Of Monsters who Hunt Men.

2010-07-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 7/10

The Good: stay's true to the spirit of its predecessor, intense action, believable tension among the characters, expands the scope of a languishing film franchise, underlying themes make it smarter than your average sci/fi creature film.

The Bad: characters more memorable as archetypes than by their names, some underdeveloped parts, geared more toward long time Predator fans rather than newcomers.

Current Availability Status: in cinemas

******************************Review********************
After the stunning success in of John McTeirnan's "Predator"(starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) in 1987, the franchise has spawned a decent range of video games, novels and even a long lasting comics run. Sadly that same success has not been replicated in the movie side of things; one lackluster sequel in 1992 and two crossover "Alien Vs Predator" films that many fans consider to be utter disappointments. Twenty three years after Predator's premiere, producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal finally serve up their vision of a true sequel to the classic sci/fi movie.

Within moments of the movie's opening, it immediately drops the audience into the thick of it, which in this case involves a the literal "dropping" of a mercenary named Royce and eight other people into a strange jungle. Despite being complete strangers, every one of them have a bloody history of violence and killing with occupations that range from CIA and Black Ops Commando to Yakuza hit-man and Drug Cartel enforcer; the only odd one out being Edwin, a bespectacled wimp of a doctor. Naturally, the motley crew of killers do not get along well; disoriented and distrustful, they turn on each other at first. But just as they put aside their differences and decide to work together, they discover that they are being hunted by a dangerous alien enemy armed with high tech weaponry, near perfect camouflage and inhuman strength. Back on earth these humans were hunters and killers of their own kind, now on this strange new world, the hunter has become the hunted.

Smarter than your average sci/fi thriller, "Predators" manages to weave in a couple of intriguing themes into the tension filled narrative. Writers Alex Litvak and Michael Finch portray the alien Predators as dark reflections of man's own monstrous nature. Their cruel hunting tactics like making traps to maim instead of kill, and leaving a wounded victim in the open as bait to lure in compassionate comrades, are the exact same strategies that the human characters admittedly used on their quarries back on earth. There is also a subplot about a rivalry between two different clans of alien hunters that mirrors mankind's nature to turn on their fellow man in the pursuit of own interests. The cast's excellent acting creates a very memorable set of characters archetypes despite their names being easily forgotten.

The people who worked on this movie have admitted to being big fans of the original Predator and that love for the franchise shows in every single facet of the movie. Fan-favorite scenes are re-created, little bits of familiar lines are slipped into the dialog, even the music by John Debney recreates many of the original themes by Alan Silvestri that any fan of the franchise would recognize. While newcomers to the franchise might not understand "Predators" as much as those who are already familiar with at least the first movie, they would no doubt enjoy the solid sci/fi action it presents. Nimrod Antal's camera-work during fight scenes is clear and concise; none of that jittery-cam effect that so many action directors (see: Michael Bay) are addicted to.

Overall, "Predators" is a like well worn hunter's blade, just like the original classic. Although like any blade, a couple of parts could have used some "sharpening". The first act for example manages to maintain a constant state of tension, but viewers expecting wall-to-wall action might end up bored. Events like the civil war between the two tribes of Predators are only implied, leaving the viewer to put the pieces together. Also Laurence Fishburne's deranged Vietnam veteran Nolan, who has survived on the planet for "ten seasons" could have used more development.

Robert Rodriguez's intention was that 2010's "Predators" be to the Predator franchise what James Cameron's "Aliens" was to Ridley Scott's "Alien". Like the rival tribe of alien Predators, this movie is a bigger, meaner and fiercer affair that successfully fulfills the creative team's intention by expanding the scope of the Predator's fictional universe. Not to mention, a much needed jump start to a waning film franchise.
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Go For it: if you are a long time Predator fan disenchanted by the 3 other lackluster film sequels or heard great things about the Predator film franchise from friends.
Avoid it: if you never did like sci/fi creature films to begin with or think that such movies should not come with anything deeper than "kill", "blood" and "violence".

Entertainment: A-
Story: B
Acting: C+
Characters: B-
Replay value: B-
"Brains": B

The Karate Kid (2010)

2010-06-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: endearing protagonist, story is easy to relate to, natural cast chemistry, amazing stunts, near perfect acting, more insightful than it seems

The Bad: stunts are "unbelievably" good, title discrepancy(he learns kung fu, not Karate), less true to the original.

Current Availability Status: in cinemas

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One might get the wrong impression when a film’s title has nothing to do with its subject matter. The film in question is called “The Karate Kid”, presumably a remake of the 1984 coming of age classic starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita which has absolutely NOTHING to do with karate. The martial art featured in the film is Chinese kung fu and barring a few similarities in the broad story strokes, 2010’s “The Karate Kid” bears little resemblance to its source material. So instead of “Karate” we have Kung Fu. Instead of a high school senior love triangle with teenager testosterone rivalry, we have pre-pubescent puppy dog crushes, playground bullies and the very familiar “new kid in a strange new land” story combined with a garden variety underdog tale of a bullied protagonist who gets back on his feet and perseveres against all odds to come out on top. Now the underdog tale is nothing new, all that is different is the “sport” that serves as the story backdrop; Rocky had boxing, Fast And Furious Tokyo Drift had drift racing.

In “The Karate Kid”, A heartwarming opening montage introduces us to Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) who is made to move from Detroit to Beijing when his widowed mother gets a job transfer. Back home, he was well loved by his friends and neighbours, but now in China, Dre is a true “fish out of water”, unable to speak the most basic of Chinese or even get the building’s maintenance man, Mr Han (Jackie Chan) to fix his new home’s broken water heater. Before his first day at school, Dre develops a cute crush on a demure Chinese girl called Mei Ying and manages to incur the wrath of the school bully, Cheng, who so happens to be a top kung fu student. Dre learns that last fact the hard way by getting beaten up, bullied and humiliated every day. Determined not to back down, Dre decides to stand up to his adversaries. But that only results in a near lynching until he is saved by Mr Han who reveals himself as an ex-kung fu master. After easing Dre’s injuries, Mr Han takes the boy to go and make peace with Cheng’s Master, Li. However, the cruel Master Li, who teaches his students an exceedingly brutal form of kung fu, threatens Han and forces Dre to competing in a Martial Arts tournament. With no other choice left, Mr Han begins to teach the boy "real kung fu", which is far from being just a means of fighting.

"Karate Kid" is a rare type of film that plays very close to the heart without giving the impression of forced melodrama. Anyone who has ever been through childhood would probably be able to relate to the trials young Dre goes through; from wanting to step away from his parent's overprotective shadow to learning to assert his own individuality. It is a painful but valuable lesson in growing up that Dre goes through and his turmoil is effectively conveyed thanks to the superb acting by young Jaden Smith.

The twelve year old son of veteran actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith shows off his wide acting talent in his first lead role. He brings a natural sense of earnestness with just the right mixture of attitude to his role. As a result, Dre comes across as very easy to relate to and a likable protagonist whom the audience might gladly cheer on. All the other child actors are impeccable in their roles tothe point where it is easy to forget that they are acting and get totally absorbed into the story and its characters. Special mention goes to Jackie Chan in his role of Mr Han. A departure from his usual comedic roles, Mr Han is played as a stern middle aged man whose quirky ways and wise traditional kung fu teachings masks a tragic secret. Easily the most interesting and well developed character, maybe even more so than the protagonist, and a solid effort by Chan.

Hidden beneath "Karate kid's" layered narrative is a smart jibe at China's modernisation and increasingly competitive education system. The contrast between Mr Han's traditional ideals of Kung Fu as a skill that leads to self mastery and Master Li's dogma of kung fu as a merciless means to dominate one's opponent highlights the very real system where everyone would do anything, even playing it dirty, to get to the top; where tradition is regarded more as a hindrance, where parents expect nothing but the best from their children and where second place means utter disgrace.

As realistic as the story and characters are, some suspension of disbelief is required when it comes to the actual kung fu fighting. Seeing young boys, years away from breaking their voice, throw flying flip kicks with a level of professional expertise beyond any world class Olympics champ, puts a great strain on anyone trying to take the film seriously. The stunts are perfect, the fights are beautifully choreographed, but perhaps it was too good a job that resulted in a lessening of the realism factor.

Complemented by a roaring soundtrack by James Horner, "The Karate Kid" has all the makings of a timeless classic just like the original film it is based on. It is fun, smart and touches on themes that anyone who has ever had a childhood might be able to easily relate to. All one has to do is put aside the discrepancy between the title and the featured martial art in order to fully enjoy this gem of a movie.
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Go For it: if you are a fan of feel-good "underdog" triumph stories, if you had a childhood or if you want to see the breakout role of a bright young star in he making.
Avoid it: if you expect a faithful recretion of the old Karate Kid film or if you cannot look past the errornous title.

Entertainment: A
Story: B+
Acting: A
Characters: A
Replay value: A-
"Brains": B+

The A-Team (2010)

2010-06-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The Good: Never-before-seen action sequences that defy expectations, commendable casting, witty humor, incredible character chemistry, extremely true to the original, well developed themes of trust and camaraderie.

The Bad: choppy camerawork, overly complex conspiracy plot, retains the flaws of the original show (convenient plot twists, "A-team firing", formulaic story), poor use of CGI.

Current Availability Status: IN CINEMAs

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Remakes are big business in Hollywood these days. Disregarding horror movies, classic TV series have had their fair share of remakes ranging from great to terrible. Mission impossible, S.W.A.T, Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, the list goes on. "The A-Team" is based on a popular 1980s TV series famous for its over-the-top cartoon-like violence, formulaic episodes, memorable characters and "Mister T". Barring the mandatory re-setting of the film in present day instead of the 80s, the creative team manages to craft a remake that remains extremely true to its roots. Instead of following the trend and going for a more realistic, gritty feel with a darker storyline, A-Team shamelessly embraces the over-the-top nature of its source material, cheesy flaws and all.

Eight years after a fateful (and explosive) mission in Mexico united four unlikely Army Rangers,
the "crack commando unit" led by Colonel Hannibal Smith(Liam Nesson) and stationed in Iraq are sent on one final mission by CIA agent "Lynch"(Patrick Wilson) into the heart of Baghdad to retrieve a set of stolen money printing plates that are a threat to national security. Hannibal and his team, comprising of suave con-man "Faceman" Peck, burly B. A Baracus and comically insane "Howling Mad" Murdock, succeed in their mission. However, upon returning to base, their superior officer General Morrison is seemingly killed in an explosion, along with all evidence of the team's mission. The team, in the wrong place at the wrong time, are charged with "a crime they did not commit", dishonorably discharged and sent to separate prisons. Six months later, agent "Lynch" meets with Hannibal Smith and offers him a chance to escape, break his teammates out of their respective holding facilities, and attempt to clear their name by tracking down a mercenary named "Pike"(Brian Bloom) whom Hannibal had a bitter history with.

What follows is one of the most spectacular jail breaks in the history of modern cinema culminating with our heroes in a free falling tank taking on two sub-sonic combat UAVs in mid air. Now, still wanted by the government, and pursued by Faceman's former flame, Captain Charisa Sousa (Jessica Biel)this team of four must uncover a secret conspiracy involving the printing plates. A conspiracy that originates from within the CIA itself.

Though slightly convoluted, "The A-Team" highlights every single aspect that made the original TV series such fun to watch. For starters, the characters are marked by very distinct personalities complete with their own individual quirks such as Baracus's intense fear of flying. The A-team members themselves are an extremely likable bunch, with impeccable chemistry. Their witty banter, peppered with familiar one liners, is the highlight here particularly Sharlto Copley stealing the show as the loony Murdock. Helped along by spot on performances from a perfectly cast set of actors, the movie totally sells its theme of trust and camaraderie among the most unlikely of allies. Another improvement over the original series is that the main characters are given more depth, such as Baracus's crisis of conscience and Hannibal's disillusion at being betrayed by a country he fought so hard to protect.

But just before the film gets bogged down by drama, another spectacular action sequence is throw in, and followed by another, never allowing the adrenaline pumping pace to let up. The near unintentionally funny, but thoroughly epic opening sequence in Mexico sets the tone for the entire movie that follows; ridiculous, over the top and absolutely awesome. Audiences would thrill to see how each member of the team brings their unique set of skills to a mission in order to make a plan "come together".

The one thing A-Team suffers from is its camerawork, Extreme close-up shots are used once too often during frantic combat scenes making the action a little difficult to follow. Also, A number of the bigger set pieces were rendered in CGI that seem to clash with the scenes of real practical special effects.

But that being said, "The A-Team" might be one of the most entertaining summer blockbusters to come by; lots of action with a sharp sense of humor, just like the original show. It captures the sense of fun and enjoyment that seemed to have been all but forgotten amidst the many recent movies going for the "darker and edgier" feel. Those expecting a realistic rendition of the campy 80s TV series would be sorely disappointed as 2010's "The A-Team" manages to take every single element of the original and ups the ante on them. For a film that banks solely on its action, characters and comedy, it succeeds at every turn.

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Go For it: if you loved the original TV series and or would like an entertaining high octane action flick with a sense of humor.
Avoid it: if you never did like the original TV series or if you prefer more serious action movies.

Entertainment: A
Story: B-
Acting: A
Characters: A
Replay value: A-
"Brains": C-