Illang aka Jin Roh The Wolf Brigade - Somewhat OK I think!!!

Based on Mamoru Oshii's 99 anime movie. A pretty faithful adaptation but hold your hands in connecting the complex storyline. The original anime was paced in similarly like Ghost in the Shell. You have to decipher what actually going on and soaked in the slow burn. Here they amped up the action scenes and over explained things a bit more. Wish they don't portray the last sewer sequence like a Terminator squashing his targets. Also what's up with the happy ending...

The original is the superior version as it has that John LeCarre tone to it and this one neatly tied the bow for you.

Well if you guys really wanted to satisfy the urge to see a badass one man army, do check out The Villainess. It's a better movie on a whole.

Blackkklansman - Powerful ending.

The first thing I appreciate of this movie is Spike Lee broke his dry spell for more than a decade. Inside Man was his last great movie back in 2006. This is a dramedy and not as cheeky as the trailer indicated. The subject is gut wrenching and there's a scene late in the movie where a polarising of two ideals clashing in a spectacular scene performed by Harry Bellafonte is unreal. Then the simple ending montages hits like a truck.

Apostle - Middling result.
The main draw is to see how Gareth Evans performed out of his comfort zone. Sad to say it didn't do to well for me. Maybe The Wickerman inspired storyline didn't leave too much room for surprise or the shift of the antagonist wasn't properly set-up. If you haven't watched the '73 cult masterpiece, this is worth a look but one too many movies about cult fanatics already rip-off that premise over the years.

Rampant - another neither here nor there.

Thought this would wash away my disappointment with Overlord. Yet hit on a wall again. The setting might be intriguing and some of the action pretty alright. Sadly it didn't have the full package with inconsistent plot contrivances and not a whole lot to say or show.

Outlaw King - Chris Pine entering his second phase.
Always under the impression Pine is all looks and not much of a true thespian. When he was in Hell or High Water, that was the first time seeing him flexing his acting chop for me. This is the next phase of him exploring the meatier role.

Mel Gibson's Brave Heart exaggerated Robert the Bruce act of betrayal. Here is the more palpable version of that story. He is a much bigger figure than William Wallace. Also given the fact sprawling historical epic no longer a thing in Hollywood, this movie will not match the sheer spectacle of Brave Heart. It is not a sequel to it and stood pretty solid on it's own

Endure the long set-up until second half of the movie where things escalate significantly. It's a solid excuse to keep subscribing to Netflix.

The girl in the spider web - how not to make a sequel.
Didn't bother to continue watching after sitting an hour into the movie. It just blasphemy with the moronic storyline and only so much assault I can take on the little intelligence left in my brain. The greatest sin is they have some pretty good actors in it but relegate to stereotypical role that wasted all their talents. It's so out of their depth.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Six very Coen-centric stories.
This is a much better experience than watching Hail Caesar. Six wildly different western stories that crafted with the Coen brothers brand of humour, irony and unpleasantness. It's not quirky humour all the way as some part of it pretty depressing. Once you've seen the very last story then the light bulb ignites in your head of what holding these disjointed tales on a whole. The scripting, word play and acting right on the money.

This post has been edited by 6so: Nov 27 2018, 08:28 AM

Widows - a close call.

I did like a lot of the things that got right in the movie but some plot conveniences got in the way from being the full package of the "do no wrong" movie.

First thing that I appreciate the most is the setting and character lifted out of a page from "The Wire" playbook. The in transition gangster to politician that doesn't insult your intelligence. A broken corrupted city that provide the backdrop for the heist. Every character has an interesting angle to explore throughout the whole movie.

It's easy to nitpick what didn't panned out but you can't discount the terrific performances on showcase here. Viola Davis is the 600 pounds gorilla anchoring the whole movie but Elizabeth Debicki stole the show for me. You are drawn in to her sorry state of life and rooting for the part she plays in the heist. Then you have David Kaluuya as the single most imposing antagonist you likely to see in this year's cinema. What he did in the bowling alley just gave me the shiver in the spine.

Whether the twist was earned or the gears and cogs doesn't align properly, it still far ahead of any crime caper you can catch this year. It's not the next "Heat" but still impressive.

On the lookout for a "cuci mata" scene with Elizabeth Debicki. After all the director did made Shame with Michael Fassbender... so you get the idea.

Shadow - Who's the doppelganger?

Deep down I was hoping this is a throwback to House of Flying Daggers or Hero but it plays closer to Curse of the Golden Flower. So it's a little bit of Alexandre Dumas's Man in Iron Mask and a whole lot of palace politicking between a king and his top general. So you have this elaborate scheme playing out to seize and defend power. This could be OK but in the age of Game of Thrones/Tudor/House of Cards where ruthless chess game being brought on to screen, it's a tad underwhelming. The action scenes didn't exactly vowed and in no form or shape to be memorable. It's a middling type of movie that didn't excel but neither incompetent.

Bodied - Nothing like 8 mile.

Just don't expect this is anything like 8 mile although it has the same genre. If you are into the state of affairs of US, this is an anti-PC message movie of cultural appropriation to what is being offensive or not. So a hipster nerd thrown into a battle rap by accident. From there it went full hardcore on the art of first class spitting offensive insults to his opponents. The moral quandary exploring whether is there a line where it shouldn't be crossed. Mind you there are some ingenious bars on display and downright offensive. So you have this explicit battle raps in between where the white boy doing the stereotypical white privileged things without realising it. So it sorted the same old sports genre of a movie where the victory is about figuring who you are and what's your worth.

It's quite a fun movie to watch and the creative insults being thrown at each other is a blast to watch.

Bad Times at the El Royale - Strong beginning with weak ending.

Drew Goddard, the next big thing supposed to blew up but didn't happened. Here he is with a Pulp Fiction-esque movie that sees some legit Hollywood star power lining up to be in this film. 7 strangers with hidden agendas and identities converge in the hotel. So a train of twist and turn kept you glued to find out what's next. It plays a bit like a stage play with each character took their turns to show the why, what and how they are at this hotel. There's powerful chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Cynthia Erivo. That bar scene is some serious display of great acting. Then Chris Hemsworth appears where the whole movie derail itself. He is the weakest link to the whole ensemble cast. At this point Goddard wrote himself into a corner where the mystery became too derivative to be clever.

I would still recommend people to watch this for the not your usual Hollywood brain dead movies. The strong beginning and middle portion of the movie still one of the unique experience you can get. Maybe you enjoy more than I do about the ending.

Roma - Netflix first tangible contender at Oscar.
At this point I would say Cuaron is crushing best film director, best cinematography and best foreign film for the Oscar. On a whole this is not a big movie with big messaging. Under the normal movie circumstances, this will be a full blown family drama focussing on the father and mother, but here the focus is on the maid instead. With just enough information for you to draw conclusion on what's happening in the household. Then the maid storyline is not an unique one but essential to seal the emotional payoff during the beach scene. By then either you are on-board or already left the hype train. A lot of time, film director like Tsai Ming Liang or Terrence Malick who dwells in arty naturalistic narrative can come off as pretentious. Here the shots does not overstay its course and pretty snappy to move to the next scene. You don't see a lot of those masturbatorial empty long shots of nothingness.

Having said that, adore the aesthetic and appreciate the pay-off of the storyline. Like it but not loving it like Cuaron's other output. Only wish we could watch this on a big screen for the full immersion factor.

Vice - The most despicable figure in the history of US politics.
Like last year's Churchill, a great performance showcase but not a great movie on its own. The man responsible singlehandedly for shaping the global landscape of government surveillance on citizens, ISIS formation, Guantanamo Bay, fake WMD report of Iraq invasion, PMC prominent role in Middle East War, etc...Basically the worst ever human being in the modern history of the current state of affairs. Donald Trump just a greedy stupid asshole but Dick Cheney is the power hungry hidden hand in the Bush administration that actually holding power and getting away with murders.

The movie focused a lot on the surface of the events and doesn't dwell deeper into the inner workings of all those immorality actions. It just dishing out public knowledge of events in relation to Dick Cheney but nothing more. Also the movie lacks of comedic touches like Big Shot so it felt a tad too square to be enjoyable.

You need to watch Armando Ianucci's Veep, his HBO show. The same savage dark humour being used throughout. The rapid fire insults and slapstick situation is done to perfection.

Suspiria - A chore to watch.
First off, the aesthetic is very good. Art direction, 70's fashion and the long forgotten filming techniques from that era. The movie itself drenched in authentic retro vibe. Secondly, the A+ actors in it. Tilda Swinton playing 3 wildly different roles. Dakota Johnson pretty decent as well. Pretty much the original plot points were preserved until the added backstory and a different ending. It's a long ass movie that can be challenging to sit through with all the extra information that came with it. In totality, only two horror scene in it. One is pretty effective while the second one underwhelmed. The problem lies in overly dragging the narration, filling in unnecessary story details and a tad too much self indulgent. The original is more straightforward while here they are trying to give it a more complex treatment. It's not my thing but still warrant a look if you are bored with the current jump scare horror movies.

This post has been edited by 6so: Jan 16 2019, 10:40 AM

The Guilty - Single best thriller you can watch right now.

Remember Locke with Tom Hardy, this is the steroid version of that movie. Nothing but just the main actor talking over the phone to carve this sublime thriller that had you on the edge of your seat. The scripting is tight and does not felt a single wasted moment. Your blood pressure will simply shot up during those intense scenes. A twist you simply don't see coming. This is a must watch! A very unique experience.

Also this is on Oscar's ticket for best foreign film category. Furthermore Jake Gyllenhaal acquired the US remake rights.

Burning - Terrific performance from the 3 leads.

At first you can't pinpoint where the story is going. Is it a Y Tu Mama Tabien thingy or a more sinister undertone developing beneath it all. This is a testament of the tremendous work put on screen that just kept you invested on the strong character study. Steven Yuen of TWD fame basically upgraded his status to a legit actor here. I will look at him at a different light now. It's one of the best from last year's releases.

Along With The Gods 2: Korea answer to western superheroes movies.
Didn't see the first movie or read the manga. All this while had the impression this gonna be those shallow action fantasy that usually not my kind of jam. Was surprised there was some deeper than usual characterization and not overtly dependent on video game action set-pieces like any marvel movies would. It's entertaining to a degree and some depth to the plot line which you don't see in this type of movies anymore.

Velvet Buzzsaw - Not quite the "horror" type of movie.

The short version is this flick reminded me of Final Destination. Random death inflicted on deserving assholes that profited from the mysterious paintings. It's ok to watch to pass time but not entirely original. You are watching pompous snobbish douches in the art gallery where they stab at each other for fame and wealth. That is until the gallery assistant discovered a bunch of cursed paintings in her dead neighbour living next door. It plays out more like an episode of Twilight Zone. The acting is a little off-putting as everyone is a caricature of an unlikable person and nothing particularly inventive about the deaths inflicted by the paintings.