Wah! Interesting spooky tales! Hope I get get my hands on those 2 titles. I actually prefer short spooky stories rather than one full length feature because most times, the full length ones falter before the ending.

Reminds me of one spooky tale that gets my vote, which is:

Rule #1 (2008)

This Hong Kong ghost flick is directed by Kelvin Tong and is a full length movie. I must say that this is one of the few full length spooky ones that I enjoyed watching. Rule #1 or Dai Yat Gaai in Cantonese tells the tale of one Sgt Lee Kwok-keung (Shawn Yue looking young here). Sgt Lee was injured in the line of duty when he inadvertently stops the car of a serial killer. The initial reason was that he noticed that the brake lights was not working on the car. Upon closer inspection he saw blood dripping out from the boot and that was when all hell literally broke loose for Sgt. Lee. A body was discovered. The serial killer fought back. Sgt. Lee got injured and the serial killer was dead at the end of the encounter.

When Sgt. Lee recovered from his injuries, he found himself re-assigned to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department (MAD) located in some back water district. He soon found out that the department had a head count of 2 with him being no. 2 and was headed by an Inspector Wong (Ekin Cheng). Unorthodox was an understatement for the department which investigates cases where things go bump in the night.

Soon after Sgt. Lee joins MAD, Inspector Wong drills into him about Rule #1 in the department. What was rule no. 1? It was that 'there is no such thing as ghosts' and Inspector Wong was pretty adamant about it and states that there was always a logical explanation for those so called paranormal cases. Sgt. Lee resigns himself to accept the fact that he was somehow 'demoted' to this department because he mentioned about seeing the body of the serial killer's victim rising from the boot of the car in his last case. What Sgt. Lee does not yet know is that Rule #1 is meant for the public out there and that ghosts not only exists but can pose a very real threat. Problem is only a handful of people can see them and Sgt. Lee is one of the few that can.

The story is quite original and contains a few twists and turns. It will grip you from the beginning and keep you guessing till the end. The actors all give decent and credible performances and the atmosphere is suitably eerie and spooky but never goes overboard.


Rating 3 out of 5 stars.

Escape Plan (2013)


Sylvester Stallone & Arnold Schwarzenegger team up in this movie. I'm happy to report that both are playing roles that fit their age - meaning their characters are not young but they do have massive physiques. They look like they are over their prime but are not pushovers either.

Stallone plays Ray Breslin, who's day job is to (legally) get into maximum security prisons and then try to break out from there. He then highlights the weaknesses and turns consultant for a pretty fee. Needless to say he's good at his job and makes a lot of money.

One day an offer comes from a CIA agent for Ray to try and break out of a new prison. Problem is this prison is 'off the grid' meaning it does not exist legally and is run purely for profits. No one can know where this facility is but the agent is paying a very high sum for the job. Ray takes the offer despite the many misgivings from his colleagues and friends. When he ends up in the prison, he finds out that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Fortunately he meets an inmate there by the name of Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) that seems to be able to help him escape.

This movie is a good distraction for a couple of hours. The story is pretty basic but is written well enough to keep you entertained. Plot holes do exist and some occurences are very plot convenient but if you are not picky, they can be pushed to the back of your mind and ignored. Just go along for the ride. Nothing great but not shabby either.

Rating : 2 and a half out of 5 stars.

They censored the ending??!!!
Then why even show it in the first place? It's like having a story with no ending...

Skyfall (2012)


Ever since Daniel Craig took over the Bond role, I have not been real enthusiastic about the newer Bond films. One of my friends said it best after Casino Royale. He said it was 'not Bondish'. I must admit I am a little old school. The Bond that I grew up with is suave and is a superspy straight out of the comics. I look forward to the outlandish gagdets that Bond uses in the movies. Daniel Craig's Bond did away with all that so it also did away my interest in the franchise.

I never did see any of the Craig Bond movies until Skyfall. I had not intended to see it either but my younger sister saw it in the cinemas and said it was good. Now, my sister is never a fan of Bond and having her say that Skyfall was good is a big thing. It piqued my interest.

Skyfall came and went in the cinemas. It was not until a couple of days ago that I dropped by my local DVD retail shop that I picked up a copy. That was also because Skyfall was one of the listed 'Buy One get One Free' promotion titles. My son wanted to buy a cartoon feature film and I picked Skyfall as the title that comes for free.

I popped the DVD into the player and for the next 2 and a half hours I was entertained. Skyfall managed to get me to like Daniel Craig's version of Bond.

Yes, it was not the Bond of old. Yes, they did change the franchise's theme but Skyfall made the transition easy to take for me at least. In Skyfall, we see that Bond is just human. He's prone to mistakes and not immune to the ravages of time. Spoilers will appear in the following paragraphs so stop reading if you do not want the movie spoiled. Skyfall is good. Just watch it. I rate it 4 of 5 stars.

Frozen (2013)


Good songs. Good visuals. OK storyline plus some laughs along the way. Frozen is a good distraction for a couple of hours. Disney's animated feature that is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen is fine for both adults and kids alike.

It tells the story of 2 sisters, Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) who are princesses in the Kingdom of Arendelle. They were very close as kids but Elsa has a secret that the royal family wants to keep hidden. Elsa has the power to turn anything she touches to ice and snow. When Elsa accidentally zaps Anna with her frost powers causing Anna to nearly die, the 2 sisters are separated as Elsa retreats to her room and seldom ever comes out while the palace gates are closed to keep everyone else out.

To make things worse, the King and Queen lost their lives in a mishap leaving the 2 sisters alone. When the time comes for Elsa's coronation as she comes of age, the 2 sisters are finally re-united but things go downhill when Elsa's powers are unleashed in front of everyone. Elsa runs away to the North Mountians to exile herself but she is unaware that she has brought eternal winter to Arendelle. Anna resolves to find Elsa, bring her back and put an end to the winter.

There's a little twist to the ending. Watch out for that. I am sure loyal Disney fans will be a bit surprised.

Rating : 3 out of 5 stars.

Insomnia (2002)

I caught a couple of Christopher Nolan's films over the weekend. They were Inception and Insomnia. It's just a coincidence that both titles started with the letter 'I'. Since almost everyone and their aunts know about Inception, I'll talk about Insomnia in this post.

Insomnia came out more than 10 years ago in 2002 and starred Al Pacino as Detective Will Dormer, Robin Williams as Walter Finch and Hilary Swank as Detective Ellie Burr. The movie takes place in Nightmute, a small Alaskan town on the Artic circle which has the 'white nights' phenomenon. This is where for certain periods of the year, the sun is always in the sky.

A murder of Kay Cornell, a local 17 year old in Nightmute has shaken the town. This is because the murderer has taken the pains to thoroughly clean the body to rid if of any evidence that might point to the perpetrator. The Nightmute local police, knowing that this is way out of their league, calls for help from the LA police and Detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are sent to assist. What the Nightmute police don't know is that both Dormer and Eckhart are being investigated by Internal Affairs. On their first day on the case, Eckhart told Dormer that he's accepting an offer from Internal Affairs to testify against Dormer.

Working on the Cornell case, Dormer managed to lure the suspect back to the murder scene but the attempt to arrest the suspect fails and the suspect flees into the fog. Giving chase, Dormer is fired upon by the suspect and as he pursue the suspect, Dormer returned a shot towards a figure in the fog only to find out later that he has accidentally shot Eckhart. Eckhart dies from the shot. Dormer manages to retrieve the suspect's handgun and hatches a plan to pin the blame on the suspect.

Detective Ellie Burr is assigned to investigate Eckhart's shooting as Dormer continues with the original murder case. Dormer falsely testifies that the suspect shot Eckhart but he isn't aware that the suspect, Walter Finch, has seen the whole thing. Thus begins the cat and mouse game between Finch and Dormer as both try to warp the case for their own benefits. Dormer does not want his accidental shooting of Eckhart to be uncovered and Finch wants to be free of the blame for his 'accidental' killing of Kay Cornell.

Both Pacino and Williams gave great performances in the film and the story is gripping. If you like a criminal thriller, then you should not give this film a miss.

Rating : 3.5 stars out of 5

The Amazing Spiderman II (2014)

Caught this over the weekend. So how was it? Here goes:

1. Nice special effects.
2. Movie was nicely shot. Loved how they showed the top down view when Spidey swings around.
3. Overall nice movie to look at

After saying the above, I have to say that this movie was just so-so for me. Won't say it's bad but won't say it's great either. The acting was good all around but I felt let down by the story. It's like they didn't have much to tell about and even got draggy at some point.

I'm gonna rant and there will be spoilers so don't click the spoiler if you don't want the movie spoiled.



All in all this is an ok movie.

Rating : 2 stars out of 5

The Counselor (2013)

Stars Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt & Javier Bardem

Directed by : Ridley Scott

Just looking at the above 2 lines of names you would think that not much could go wrong with the movie, right? Those are some of the biggest names in show business for goodness sake! If you thought that then you'd be dead wrong!

My advice for this movie : DO NOT WATCH THIS!!

Yes. You read it right. Don't waste your time. This movie is bad. The story is beyond saving and you'll get confused at what's actually happening. Once you get what's actually happening you'll find out that nothing much is happening, really! Just lots of talking and talking and more talking.

The main character is played by Michael Fassbender and his referred to as 'counselor' all through the movie. There's no name for him. Should have been a warning sign but I missed that. *Sigh*


Rating : 1 out of 5 stars.

RoboCop (2014)

As we all know this movie is a remake of the original RoboCop that came out in the 80's. The old movie became a cult classic and anyone attempting to remake it will have his work cut out for him. Since nostalgia is always tainted with overly emphasised positives, it's no wonder that hardly anyone can measure up.

Having said that, I feel that the new RoboCop is a decent movie. I hardly remember the old one except for the main plot line so comparison is futile. The new RoboCop manages to entertain. It's not a great movie but far from being a dud. The story remains largely the same as the old one but the violence is toned down. Also the new black suit makes him look more like a cop in hi-tech suit of armor rather than a cyborg per se but that's a minor annoyance. This new RoboCop is much more agile and we can really believe that it is much more of a threat compared to the old one who's really lumbering around and behaves more like a tank than a humanoid cyborg.

The story diverge from the old one when we realize that this Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) retained his emotions, intellect and memory after his transformation. He is really a man inside a machine but the top brass in the company (played by Michael Keaton) that created him wants nothing more than him being a machine with a human face. Thus we have the conflict in Dr. Norton (Gary Oldman), the scientist who transformed Murphy, who really wants Murphy to be more human but has to make him more like a machine.

Overall this movie is watchable but don't expect too much and don't compare it to the old one. One note though, when it ended, I felt that it left a little too many things unresolved and hanging but then again, there's plenty of material for a sequel because of it.

Rating : 2 and a half stars out of 5

Black Swan (2010)

This is the movie that won Natalie Portman her Oscar for Best Actress and I must say that it's a legit win. Black Swan is directed by Darren Aronofsky and starred Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.

It tells the story of Nina Sayers (Portman) who is a ballerina who has just won the principal spot for the 'Swan Lake' production under a prestigious dance company in New York city. She has to dance both the White Swan and Black Swan roles. While Nina is great for the White Swan role, she could barely embody the Black Swan who is a seductress. The arrival of a new dancer in the company in the form of Lily (Kunis) puts more pressure on Nina as Lily is a better fit for Black Swan in terms of personality although Lily is behind Nina in terms of technique.

The movie shows us Nina's slow descend into insanity as she crumbles under the pressure which is painful but compelling to watch.

Those who like psychological thriller /horror flicks should not give this a miss.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5 stars

Life of Pi (2012)

I think most will know this Ang Lee directed movie. Yes. Yes. I'm a slowpoke and I didn't catch this in the cinema. I caught it on my satellite TV channel that so happens to allow the viewers to access all channels for some promotion. Seeing this on the TV will not have the same impact as seeing it on the big screen but still after watching it, I think that this movie is overrated.

The underlying theme beneath the story of Pi is one of finding God or faith no matter the religion. I get this but as a person that is not too religious to begin with, I took it with a pinch of salt. The movie is beautiful to look at. Some shots are breathtaking and a wonder to behold but the pacing to me is a little too slow to my liking.

Nothing much actually happens but when you're stranded in the middle of the ocean in a life boat, nothing much can actually happen. Despite the slow pacing, the story is captivating enough to prevent me from switching channels so I guess that's a good thing. The following paragraphs will contain spoilers but hey, I guess most people already know the story by now. If you don't want it spoiled, then stop reading and jump to the last line for the rating.

There are a couple of things in the movie that ruined my suspension of disbelief and kinda wrecked the experience for me. First one was when Richard Parker, the tiger sprung out from under the tarp of the life boat and killed the hyena. Like what? Where was this Richard Parker before this scene? It must have been a couple of days on the life boat before the tiger showed itself and all the time before that, the hyena was happily camping under the tarp with said tiger and nothing happened? C'mon! We were also shown a couple of scenes where Pi found some supplies and food under the tarp and while he was fiddling down there he didn't notice that there was a tiger under there? Right.....

Another one that had me shaking my head is total disbelief was the scene where the sea was like a mirror. So calm that it perfectly reflected the skies. It was beautiful no doubt but I do not for one second believe that any sea can be that calm. I am convinced that this was a pool rather than a sea/ocean. That was what the scene did for me.

Other than the above 2 big whammies, there were little ones here and there that annoyed me like the one where the whale jumped out of the sea in between the life boat and Pi's self-made raft. The life boat survived intact when I think that if this happened in reality, the boat would have capsized or broken into pieces.

In the end when Pi asked the audience as well as Yann Martel in the movie which story we preferred, I had to throw both out the window. I saw them both as a recounting of a traumatic period that is filled with delusional events and most of them were hallucinations rather than facts. So with that regard, the movie failed for me but it was beautiful to watch.


Rating : 3 out of 5 stars

X-Men : Days of Future Past (2014)

Directed by : Bryan Singer

Cast : Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen


If you're a fan of the X-Men, then this is one movie not to be missed. If you enjoyed X-Men : First Class, then this movie is not to be missed. I must say that X-Men : Days of Future Past (DOFP) is one of the finest in the X-Men franchise, if not the best so far.

There is one caveat though : to be able to thoroughly understand this movie you will need to be able to remember the main plots of all the X-Men movie that came before. If anything, you would at least need to have seen X-Men : First Class as this could be positioned as the direct sequel to that movie.

DOFP starts out in the future and as most movie goes, the future is not a good place to be living in. Gigantic robots called the Sentinels are hunting down mutants all over the world and they are winning. Apart from wiping out the mutants, these Sentinels are now even wiping out humans that are potential parents or grand parents to mutants and any humans that are sympathising with the mutants. Talk about a paranoia gone wrong! Thus is it with the future world in DOFP.

Fighting a losing battle, a small group of mutants led by Bobby aka Iceman have found a way to evade the mercilessly efficient Sentinels. Whenever the Sentinels find out where they are hiding, Kitty Pride (Ellen Page) will begin to send the mind of Bishop several days into the past, into a younger Bishop's body to warn the group. Thus the group will then evacuate and find a new hideout in the past thus managing to stay one step ahead of the Sentinels. One thing is certain is that whenever the Sentinels and mutants clash, the Sentinels will win the fight. Problem is the Sentinels will always find out where they are hiding. It's all just a matter of time.

The next we see of Bobby's group, we see that they have joined with Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Professor X asks how far into the past can Kitty Pride project an individual's mind. Kitty replies that she could manage to go back a couple of weeks before the individual's mind will suffer irreparable damage. Wolverine then asks what if the mind can repair itself as fast as it is damaged, would she be able to send it way, way back. Kitty says it was possible. Professor X requests that Wolverine be sent back 50 years into the past to the 1970's to prevent the murder of one Bolivar Trask, the inventor of the Sentinels by none other than Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). This is because the murder will cause Mystique to be captured and the study of her DNA and mutant ability will enable the Sentinels to evolve to a point where they will be able to adapt to any attack and cause the future to become so bleak.

Thus begins the journey where Wolverine's mind travels to the past to his younger self to warn and enlist the help of the young Charles Xavier(James McAvoy) and Eric Lehnsherr(Michael Fassbender) to avert the coming apocalypse.

DOFP does not have a lot of mutant vs mutant or mutant vs Sentinels action scenes. What it does have is a very tight plot and good pacing throughout. Lots of dialogue but they are the meat and potatoes of the movie so if you are one to skip talky parts and yearn for special effects laden action scenes, then this movie is not for you. What began in X-Men : First Class is continued here in DFOP where we see 2 friends fighting for the same cause but are ripped apart by different ideals. They must now work together and save the world from its own future.

Fans of X-Men rejoice because after this movie, all of the mistakes made in the previous X-Men movies are erased and all is set well again in the X-Men universe.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5 stars

There's Something About Mary (1998)

This is the movie that propelled Cameron Diaz into the superstar limelight. It's a romantic gross-out comedy that stars Diaz, Ben Stiller and a host of other. If you haven't already watched the movie then I would recommend you to see it if you don't mind jokes/gags that are a bit on the crude side and heavy with sexual innuendos.

Although it is somewhat old movie it has aged quite well. The jokes are still relevant and funny and great for a lazy afternoon. The movie tells the story of Ted (Stiller) who has been pining for his high school sweetheart Mary (Diaz) even though it has been 13 years since their first, very brief and last date that ended in somewhat of a disaster. After the incident Mary moved away and contact was lost. Still unable to let go Ted decides to hire a private investigator to find Mary to try and re-establish contact but problem crops up when the PI falls for Mary after locating her. What follows is a series of hilarious events as Ted and the PI both tries to win Mary's heart. As the battle intensifies, it is revealed that the two are not the only ones smitten by Mary.

Rating : 3 out of 5 stars.

The LEGO Movie (2014)

LEGO bricks. I dare say everyone has played with LEGO at one time or another and there's only one thing that you need while playing with LEGO and that's your imagination. The LEGO movie stays true to that. It's imaginative, it's funny and it's LEGO through and through in both body and spirit.

The LEGO Movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett and Morgan Freeman lend their voices.

You've seen this movie a thousand times before but not like this. This is the tale of the hero's journey told in LEGO style and it's thoroughly enjoyable. Emmet (Chris Pratt) is your very average LEGO joe construction worker that lives in a big city not unlike New York or Chicago. He tries to fit in and 'follow instructions' and he's so good at it that nobody even notices him. Emmet's life takes a drastic change when he comes across Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and inadvertently finds the 'Resistance Piece' of an old prophecy. Well, not that old actually but if you take the time period in LEGO years... well, you get my drift.

Taken into custody by the evil President Business' minions, Emmet is interrogated by Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) before he is broken out by Wyldstyle and taken to meet Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) the blind wizard who is the leader of the Masterbuilders who form the resistance group to Lord Business. Vitruvius tells Emmet that he's 'The Special' of the prophecy who would lead them to defeat Lord Business. Problem is Emmet is really just your regular LEGO guy and the only outstanding thing about him is that he is a regular guy through and through and cannot build anything without instructions.

The LEGO Movie has tons of references and pokes fun at other movies and there's a host of guest stars in it. Part of the fun is trying to spot all these references. Batman is one of the major characters in the movie and there's Superman and Wonder Woman guest starring. Star Wars also makes an appearance and there's references to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter too.

If you are young at heart or have children or enjoyed playing LEGO at one time or another or is a movie buff or likes comedy or spoofs, you should go see this movie. Why are you still reading this? Go see the movie already!

Rating : 3.5 out of 5 stars

G.I. Joe : Retaliation (2013)

How I wish that this was the only G.I. Joe movie. If that were the case then this movie may be better received. It is still your summer blockbuster movie which means it's loud, has lots of special effects, action and explosions with a plot that's more like an afterthought. Still it's a G.I. Joe movie that's based on a cartoon series that's based on action figure toys. Watch it like a cartoon and you'll be better able to enjoy the movie.

The story picks up after the first G.I. Joe where Zartan is now disguised as the US president and spreading Cobra Commander's evil plan. He tried to get rid of the Joes and succeeds in killing off Duke (Channing Tatum) which is the only good guy to return from the first movie. After that it's up to Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (DJ Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) to set things right. They seek assistance from a retired G.I. Joe instructor/operative General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis) and the silent Snake Eyes (Ray Park).

What is jarring is that in this movie the technology seems to have gone in reverse. The fancy weapons and suits and vehicles from the first movie are noticeably absent and we get the standard guns and absurdly explosive tiny robot fireflies.

Just check your expectations of story continuity and logic at the front door and you should be fine.


Rating : 2.5 out of 5 stars

Ender's Game (2013)

This is a sci-fi movie that tells the story of Ender Wiggin (Asa Buttefield), a teen genius when it comes to war tactics and strategy. The movie is set in the future where earth has survived a prior invasion attempt by an alien race known as the Formics. To prevent another invasion, the International Fleet is tasked to train young people for battle and command positions in the war against the Formics. Ender is picked by a Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) as a talented potential candidate based on his response to being bullied and his advanced tactical skills.

Ender begins his training but feels increasingly isolated and starts to despise all the violence and killing but he excels. He is selected for Command School and has to undergo a series of simulation battles against the Formics to graduate.

The movie may be a little slow in the beginning and one can feel that the actions never actually starts but the story is tight and if you pay attention to the dialogues, it's quite an engaging movie. Fine performances from all the leads and decent special effects. The ending however can be a bit abrupt and feels a little rushed.

Rating : 3 out of 5 stars.

I have to disagree with you on this one. Hollywood did get it very wrong in many places on this one. I cannot take the whole movie seriously and I thik if it was a parody I could swallow it better.

It's a big budget movie and the production values are great. Special effects are great but the plot line lost it for me.

My complaints in the spoiler though I doubt many have yet to see it.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

A note of caution for those who still haven't seen this movie : Atheists STAY CLEAR!! You have been warned.


This is essentially a love story. If you are the romantic kind, then this could be for you with a little twist. Starring Matt Damon as David Norris and Emily Blunt as Elise Sellas, Damon's love interest and I mean serious love interest, this movie is about the 2 above mentioned characters with a few action scenes thrown in.

The movie starts with an interesting premise but never really goes anywhere with it. I guess they were a little to timid to tread where no man has gone before with a subject that is quite universally sensitive. It asks the viewers to believe in God or a higher power or whatever you want to call it and sets up an interesting framework. Too bad the producers dare not run with it.

Anyhow, it's a nice distraction for a lazy afternoon if you don't wanna go too deep.

Rating : 2.5 out of 5 stars

Get Smart (2008)

If any of you have seen the 60's spy spoof comedy sitcom on TV then you will be familiar with the premise. The series features a bumbling secret agent called Maxwell Smart that somehow solves cases through dumb luck.

This movie however is more like a refresh or update to the series. It features Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) as a modern day CONTROL (the spy agency) analyst dreaming of becoming a field agent.

He gets his chance when CONTROL is attacked by its nemesis organisation KAOS, and all of the existing agents are compromised. So Max becomes Agent 86 and teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to solve the case.

The movie plays more like the old fashioned Bond movies but with a comedic touch. Agents with some fancy gadgets and old fashioned fisticuffs. There's quite a number of callback to the old TV series but if you haven't seen the TV series, you would miss much of them.

I remembered well the scene where Max needs to get through numerous security doors just to get to the entrance to the CONTROL headquarters. Then there is the Bill Murray cameo. Ah, yes. Brings back memories.

All in all, Get Smart is an enjoyable movie that reminds me of a time when movies does not have to have a chock full of special effects to be smart and cool. I quite like the pacing, the way Max stumbles through but shines in his own way and Max's chemistry with Agent 99. Steve Carrell performs very well as Maxwell Smart and Anne is always a joy to watch.

If you're a fan of the TV series, you should not miss this.

Rating : 3 out of 5 stars.

Interstellar (2014)

Christopher Nolan's sci-fi... well, how should I put it?

It feels a little dry.

That's right. Feels a little dry and I felt a tad cheated after walking out of the cinema hall. This is not a summer blockbuster. This is not an action movie. This is more like drama but the premise is a little weird. Interstellar feels like a movie written by quantum physics undergraduates. Problem is Nolan's no science major and I'm sure a lot of the theories and hypothesis are not even close to reality but that's how the movie feels like.

For the layman, it might be too technical. A little too much science-cy mumbo-jumbo. There's no clear cut answers when the credits rolled but that's what we expect from Nolan. What feels out of place is the slick presentation that is absent from this movie.

Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper more like a western cowboy than an astronaut. We seen a lot of corn fields and dust. Practically the first half of this sci-fi movie is shot on a corn field. We see very little of outer space and what do see is nothing we haven't seen before in some TV science documentary feature. Heck, I would say that some of the documentaries had more glitzy special effects than this film and that's quite disappointing. We get some vague references to some planets that's in another galaxy but when we see those planets, the scenery is just as bland as the shots of outer space. Interstellar is less than stellar when it comes to cinematography.

So what about the story? The story is quite engaging. It held my interest (just barely) and had the signature Nolan twist but for this one, I spotted the twist before it was revealed so it's not that jaw dropping. I felt that the movie was a little too long and some parts just didn't gel very well with others.

Thus I felt Interstellar falls just short of being stellar.

Rating : 3 stars out of 5 ( after 0.5 star bonus added because Anne Hathaway was in it)