I've been wondering, why Koyaanisqatsi Life Out Of Balance (35 mm), Powaqqatsi Life In Transformation (35 mm) and Naqoyqatsi Life As War (35 mm) never got a proper HD transfer/remaster.

Visual, I never liked Naqoyqatsi. It may had been a conscious decision of Godfrey Reggio (director of all three films) to make it visually jarring and tacky, while he broached the subject of war...

Also Chronos (1985) directed by Director Ron Fricke (who director both Baraka and Samsara, he is also the Cinematographer of Koyaanisqatsi, which visually I most appreciate out of the qatsi trilogy) was never properly transferred/remastered for HD

All the above are very good "tools" to "monitor" the state of mind of the viewers...

Am checking out Flight soon. I never miss a Denzel Washington movie

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jan 27 2013, 11:33 AM

Enjoy!

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Making an R rated comedy about the apocalypse isn't very profitable.

I didn't know anything about it.

Managed to watch it today and it is surreal??

Steve Carell headlines this and Keira Knightley co star.

As mention, surreal.

A meteorite is hulling to earth and all attempts to stop that had failed.

All the politicians, the rich and entertainer/sports persons, have left earth on the last space shuttle and all other little people on Earth to wait for end of days...

Steve Carell's wife had left him after the last fail attempt to deflect the meteorite, and he has no one. Keira Knightley his flaky neighbor.

Nothing about this movie makes sense and as stated above, poking fun at Armageddon isn't profitable.

The thing about Steve Carell's movie is... he tries too hard...

Half way thru, will update after the end

This is an utterly and thoroughly depressing movie.

It is a love story

It is DEFINITELY a chick flick

The further the movie progress, the more oppressed the viewer feels.

There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this movie

If you like depression, this is the movie for you...

My Two Sen

The Young Master 師弟出馬 (1980)

I LUV Jackie Chan stuff from the late 70s and early 80s...

There is something "eternal" about them

Case in point, The Young Master.

Having watched it for the first time many MANY years ago, I never notice how many Shaw Brother's regulars who are in this!! I believe in the 1980s, Shaw Brothers was "streamlining" their productions, and I suppose, actors have to eat.

I also notice that Jackie directed this, at the ripe old age of 26!!

As per his signature, comedy with Lion Dance, fighting scenes

The martial choreograph was good, maybe a little jade compare to today's standards, but seeing how they did everything practical back then (eg. not CGI) , I appreciate it.

The story is routine, and the highlights would be the fighting scenes

Like a blast from the past??, look no further.

My Two Sen

Flipper (1996)

Not sure if any of you remember this. I'm not sure if this was ever released on DVD (I first watched it on Laser Disc). It is now available on Bluray.

First thing first, seriously, Elijah Wood looks EXACTLY here (1996) compared to when he was in, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Sin City (2005), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), many many years later...

I not sure if I'm suppose to admire that or to be freaked out!!!

Paul Hogan does his usual sleep walk through the movie.

I'm still impress how they got all those shots from the dolphins(s).

Not a bad family affair

If you like the more recent movie, A Dolphin's Tale, you'll like this one as well.

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Feb 4 2013, 09:19 PM

Highlander (1986)

This is a cult classic.

And you know what is weird, it actually was alot better in my mind then it actually is!!

It does not have the nicest transfer, but it does have it's moment.

The concept, the music, Christopher Lambert and most importantly Sean Connery.

Apart from an interesting story line the effects are actually cheesy.

Some scenes on HD, I can see the wire works!! I kid you not!!

Again, a decent blast from the past.

My Two Sen.

House at the End of the Street (2012)

It is interesting to see Jennifer Lawrence outside of Hunger Games. Also Max Thieriot, whom I first notice in The Pacifier. He had since made some... interesting roles, first in undecipherable My Soul To Take and now this.

Not sure if he is trying to pull an Anthony Perkins, and have to add his choices have not been "conventional". Have to add that I am not suggesting that he does conventional.

This is a "different" movie.

It has been advertise as A and it turned out to be B...

Not sure if that help this movie in the box office (let me do a quick check). It did, it made money.

A lot of the movie depended on the young shoulder of Max Thieriot, I know he had been brave with his role selection, but am not quite sure he pulled it off here...

So to reiterate, story is decent, advertising is wrong, and delivery is average so...

A few scares and surprises, but at more skilled hands (directors and actors) could have been GREAT!!

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Feb 3 2013, 11:31 PM

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

Okay, let's get this out of the way first.

This is a fairy tale movie, American is all for World Peace and all that Jazz.

As long as you understand THAT, all is fine.

The premise of this movie is that THINNEST of the whole die hard series.

The first movie is about his wife, so is the second. The third is is about losing his family, the fourth is about his daughter so the fifth... you get the idea...

If you are a car lover, I implore you to NOT watch this movie...

Car... CARNAGE... BMWs, Mercedes... Porsche... none were spared...

Action galore...

And have to add... I still like the fourth one better...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Feb 7 2013, 11:11 PM

The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

I don't think I can ever express, how BAD this movie is.

RZA says that he is paying homage to all the old Chinese Kung Fu movies.

In my opinion, he is insulting the genre.

This is suppose to be all star cast.

Jack Knife (Russell Crowe) thinks that he is tongue and check here, and have to add, in truth is both offensive and racist.



Lucy Liu cannot pull off Mama San.

Rick Yune can neither act nor good at pretending he can fight...

Dialogue, BAD.

Scoring by RZA is terrible.

Everything is seen from the POV of occidentals so, bad Bad BAD!!

Some of the fighting sequences are actually decent, even that, isn't enough to rescue is terrible, TERRIBLE movie

There seem to be some indication that they want to make part two...

Let's all pray, at your place of worship that, THAT does NOT happen....

Atrocious, simply ATROCIOUS!!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Feb 12 2013, 01:20 PM

Willow (1988)

In the 80s, George Lucas was at his peak.

The original Star Wars trilogy made him a ton of money.

The said movies' toys and merchandising (T-Shirt, Coffee Mug etc) is still making him tons of money.

Indiana Jones the first of another franchises was making him tons of money.

Industrial Lights and Magic, a company he founded, specialising in movie Special Effect, because of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, became the industry standard (was making him tons of money)

He started Pixar and then sold it to Steve Jobs... making him tons of money, so as stated he was at his PEAK.

One thing did allude him, the movie rights to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings!!

So much so that he said to himself, what the hey, I'm RICH and powerful, I'll write my own version of The Hobbit and the resulting product is Willow...

I do remember going to the cinema to see this and at the end I went... Meh!!

They wanted the Han Solo-ish main character (loveable Rouge) and selected Val Kilmer to be Madmartigan. Nobody and I say NOBODY can out Han Solo, Mr Harrison Ford...

In The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring, a bunch of guys basically said, Let's Go on a Road Trip, and did, Willow the main character (who interestingly resembles a Hobbit) in forced into a road trip whilst he is constantly always wanting to return to him family at his village.

There are too many elements from The Hobbit and The Lord Of the Rings, which inspires George Lucas while he was writing the script. As good a writer as George is/was, Tolkien he is not.

The RICHNESS which is in Tolkien's writing, is simply non existent in Willow...

More emphasis was place in, can we have a monster here, or, can we do Trolls and we make them walk on a ceiling (eg special effects stuff) rather then giving us rich story or fantasy...

Having said that, this is probably one of the first movie that used the computer's "Morph" effect (way WAY before Michael Jackson's Black and White).

Video and Sound transfer are good, but because of the age of the movie, there are two special effects scenes that seems a little cheesy compared to today's standards...

I also appreciate the fact that this movie introduces Warwick Davis to the world.

The 80s were a mini Golden Age for Fantasy movie. Ranging from expensive Big Budget movies like Willow, Legend and Dragon Slayer, to the more modestly budgeted Beast Master (I still like this), Sword and Sorcery etc (not a complete list, give an old guy a break. Writing all this stuff from memory)

I think with big budget movies like Legend (1985) and Willows (1988) which didn't lose money but made lower then expected returns and cause a drought for fantasy movie!! Movie executive basically went, but fantasy don't sell and would point to those two movies as example...

I'm ranting...

This is a passable movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Mar 6 2013, 11:56 PM

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

This movie, surprisingly, gets better after each viewing.

I have already watched this in 3D and 48fps 3D in the cinemas.

The little nuances that Peter Jackson pepper all over the movie is very entertaining and the more I watch it, the more I pick up!!

I have previously reviewed this and it is here:

The Hobbit Review (Mov Freak)

It is a shame that I do not have a 3D TV as yet and cannot relive the wonder, that is 48fps 3D.

c'est la vie

My Additional Two Sen

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

If you remember, pixelated game characters, you'll enjoy this little gem.

Gone are the days, when Disney (as in Disney, Disney) sucked at making good CGI animation (Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons, anyone?).

They were trying to dazzle people with their CGI prowess and in the process forgot to tell a good story!

The same thing happened to them after the death of Walt Disney and Disney animation went into a slum, before The Little Mermaid!!

And then something happened. Disney bought Pixar and along with that, came John Lasseter, who reminded everyone at Disney, the art of story telling...

Since then things had gotten better at Disney Animation and they made animation like Tangled and now Wreck-It Ralph!!

Nostalgia galore!

Nintendo and Sega kept popping into my mind when I was watching this!!

So lets do a check list

1) Good story √
2) Cute Characters √
3) All kinds of game related jargon from past and present that is actually cool √
4) Interesting villains √
5) Unconventional couple √
6) Heart warming sequences √
7) Unique movie √

So to keep this simple, great movie, check it out.

My Two Sen

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (documentary) (2011)

Magic

A great documentary about THE GREAT Ray Harryhausen.

I probably watched everything he had done (wait, I might not have seen The Valley of Gwangi and First Men in the Moon)

As Willis H. O'Brien (Special Effects wizard behind the original King Kong) inspired Ray, to be involved with movie Special Effects, Ray in turn inspired people like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg & Peter Jackson to be involved in Special Effect laden movies...

To date, when they have issues with special effects shot, they would still refer to Ray's work as solution to their effect problems!!

I have to agree with Ray, when a effects shot is film practically (eg with something that is solid) it tends to anchor that effects shot with reality...

On other words, the scene is sold to the audience!

With all the special feature we get with DVD and Bluray, the mystic/secrets of the movie is disclose, making present day movie goes more... jaded in a sense (aiya, CGI lah...)

We no longer suspend our disbelieve...

It is sad in a way...

If you are a Ray Harryhausen fan, please DO NOT miss this.

My Two Sen

G.I. Joe Retaliation (2013)

Well, this was a long wait.

After two huge movie (expensive) bombed in 2012 (John Carter and Battleship), Paramount got jittery...

So much so they withdrawed this movie from the 2012 schedule, and reworked it!!

First the bad news



The good news



So did Paramount get it right?

This movie is NOT gonna please everyone.

I have to say this though, Paramount did everything they could to make this work, and in a way, it does.

If you like the first one, chances are you'll like this.

As always....

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Apr 1 2013, 05:01 PM

The Croods (2013)

What a gem!!

Now, the paleontologists amongst us would have BIG issues with this movie and here is why (I'm putting this bit of information in spoiler so I don't put the majority of youse to sleep)



Good story, a little different.

Very imaginative (I love how Croods hunt). I also love how this is compared with how Guy does things (Neanderthals Vs Homo Sapien, please read spoiler). There are some scenes which are down right breathtaking....

I did not watch this is 3D, but now I really wish I had... Maybe a 3D TV....

Do I recommend this movie.

HECK YES!

Bring your friends, bring your family. Heck bring your significant others!!!!

Have fun and enjoy

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Apr 4 2013, 12:05 AM

Short Circuit (1986)



Ah... the 80s... is there a stranger point in time...

America was in it's hey days.

Reagan just sold the country (CBS was sold to Sony etc) to Japan and the country was flush with money

Walkman and VHS were the IN thing, and people actually talk to each other, FACE To FACE....

Good times....

The movie industry went through another transition....

In the 50s... MGM (MGM was so big that Warner, Fox, Disney, Paramount, put together, weren't even near the size of MGM!!) was brought down by TV and it was feared that VHS was bring down Warner, Fox, Disney, Paramount!!

Blockbuster sprang out of nowhere (a chain of video rental shops) and made a TON of money. This also taught the movie studios that this new format can actually bring them in further revenue!! This was a happy marriage!!?!

It is also in this period where people was talking about blockbusters!

Jaws, Raiders and Star Wars were big hits in the 70s and were release on video.

This new stream of revenue also encourage sequels to be made Jaws 2, Raiders 2 etc

And what am I going on about!!?!

Short Circuit was made during this time, a modern retelling of Frankenstein, with a happier ending. To understand the existence of this movie, you have to understand the 80s!!

The Asian invasion had already begun in America (Ben Jabituya??).

I have watched this on SO MANY Format

VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and now in HD!!

It doesn't have the nicest picture and sound transfer

This movie is ALL ABOUT NOSTALGIA!!!!

I really don't know if young'un would like this movie or just find it tacky!!!

Here is a horror story young'un.... to get general knowledge during the 80s.... you have read to something called.... THE ENCYCLOPEDIA!!!! Things made out of paper, usually is several volumes... You might still see samples of it in Libraries (if you are lucky) Here is the horror part... there was NO internet in the 80s (well, not much access and information anyway)!!!!!!????! No, internet cafes, not handphones, no iPad. NOTHING OF VALUE TO YOUSE!! And yet, we survived!!?! I hope you are able to sleep tonite...

Me, this is a guilty pleasure of mine!!

To each their own!!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Apr 9 2013, 06:04 PM

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)

Okay... anyone who has been paying attention would know by now that I'm NOT a Twilight fan

I have given my reason for this.

I've also explained in my previous posted why I continue watching the series even though I do not appreciate this.

Here are additional why the storyline is problematic to me



I have to say I have had NO expectations going into this movie and surprisingly, there WAS one surprise!!

I knew what the ending was going to be.

And yet the author of the books had a "twist" I did not figure on.

Picture and sound is good.

Storyline had a passable twist.

Am I a diehard Twilight fan now?

Don't hold your breath.

My Two Sen.

*** Repeat ***

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Sep 23 2013, 01:21 PM

Oblivion (2013)

Hahahaha!

It takes alot to entertain current movie viewers.

Science fiction movies have been around since the 50s.

Many a science fiction writers have given us so many angles to science fiction storyline, I truly believe, that is really isn't an original idea, for a very VERY long time.

The writers of this story had thrown in EVERY theme of science fiction there is, THAT in itself, truly remarkable!!

Alien Invasion, End of the World, Last Man and Woman on the planet, Utter destruction (on a planetary scale), cloning, ultra modern living to living in the gutters...

I notice that many a people had compared this movie to a particular movie (from few years back). Personally, I see influences from, Independence Day, 2001 The Space Odyssey, anything by P.K. Dick, episodes from The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits!!

The homage paid in this movie is mind boggling!!

This is an AMBITIOUS movie!! Too some extent, I feel, overly ambitious.

Credit where credit is due, the designers in this movie, deserves special mention!! Very VERY manga, and their actually look like they work!! (Flight ship and collapsible motor bike)

Here is the kicker...



This is really REALLY hard for me to say.

I would really REALLY like to say that I absolutely positively LOVE this movie...

I can see that the story writers and director put their heart and soul into this project...

Tom Cruise is really invested into the movie as well...

Pacing... the pacing...

... I can only say that is movie is slight above okay...

My Two Sen...

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Apr 18 2013, 12:27 AM

A Haunted House (2013)

It has been quite sometime since the Wayans had done any low brow comedies.

The last one I can remember, Marlon Wayans in was Little Man...

This movie makes fun of all the paranormal movies and then some...

I've notice Marlon Wayans likes to make fun of homosexuals and have to add, this movie takes THAT to a whole new level...

For a low brow comedy, there are actually some spooky bits in this one...

If you like the first two Scary Movies, White Chicks and Little Man, chances are you will find this enjoyable...

As always...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Apr 18 2013, 07:54 PM