It is a worthy movie to like indeed!!

I truly remember watching this in Australia in the cinema.

The only thing I appreciated from that is the concept that even dogs can get impregnated by the face hugger...

It was a disappointment for me....

The Croods (2013) Addendum

For my original review, please goto The Croods Review

This is now release on bluray and would like to add, it is probably one of my favorites CGI animation of the year. The other being Monster University (2013). Frankly, I like this a bit more because it is an original. Having said that, Monster University has a dash more... heart!!

Imaginative story telling. Good taking on the Neanderthal (Grug) vs Cro Magnon (Guy). I'm sure some would even argue that Grug is Cro Magnon and Guy is modern man, but the point is moot. Because you don't have to be specific to enjoy this movie...

But the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea thing, is pushing it because the separation happen 200 million years ago and modern man only existed... again never mind. Not important to enjoy the movie.

So in short ENJOY the movie

PQ is BREATHTAKING.
AQ is really good

My Added Two Sen

Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)

Apparently, Kevin Bacon's character got married and wasn't interested in a get together for this...

Fred Ward's character is the lead and Christopher Gartin's character makes a poor replacement for Valentine McKee...

This time, Earl Bassett figures out a way to kill Graboids.

Buy mounting dynamites to RC car and having Graboids swallow them and then kaboom!!!!

Michael Gross is also back and am not sure I care for the "evolving" Graboids...

My Two Sen

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

The more things change, the more things remain the same.

This is definitely true with this movie.

It take place again in the little town, Perfection.

Michael Gross is now the lead!!

This time with sidekick Shawn Christian.

The old casts from the first movie, returns (with the exception of Victor Wong & Kevin Bacon & Fred Ward...)

Movie is okay, but again not quite sure about the evolution part again...

My Two Sen

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

This is more of a prequel rather then a sequel and I like it!!

The cast consist of many ethic group and each one gets their time to shine!!

Michael Gross is back to lead again, playing the great grand father of his previous role!!!

Is actually fun again and not bad.

Give this a spin if you have not already on a lazy Sunday afternoon why don't cha...

My Two Sen

Psycho II (1983)

Sometimes being a hit, is a curse.

For Psycho, the curse it two folds...

Anthony Perkins is pigeon hole to the Norman Bats character...

And any sequel is... doom... still born even.

If you notice the year this movie was release 23 years after the original...

The writers used that as the time Norman Bates was locked up in a Mental Asylum... and after 22 years... the doctors decided the Norman is sane...

They also managed to persuade Vera Miles to reprise he role as Lila Loomis (the sister of the victim in the original movie).

And that is where the intrigue of this movie ends...

Because Alfred Hitchcock so masterfully made the first the is absolutely not way anyone can equal... let alone surpass his in an sequels...

They start the movie but cutting in the shower scene from the first, trying to remind the audience what Norman did...

And then any chance they get, they re-shoot all the good bits in the original but with the new characters....

I need to permanent save this line, the more things change, the more things remain the same. Even the twist at the end...

As I had said, doom even at the beginning...

Universal had alot of hopes for this movie... and based on the strength of the original, this movie made USD 35 million (it cost them USD 5 million to make) and have to add, this movie you would watch and just as soon forget...

It pales in comparison to the original...

So as I had stated above, cursed...

And then Universal went ahead and made 3,4,5...

My Two Sen.

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

This is really REALLY old movie. Not only is it black and white, it is also silent!!

Quite dedicatedly restore and the background orchestration recorded!!

This has all the elements of an Arabian night story.

A beautiful princess and cheek and handsome rouge thief who has the audacity to dream he could win the princess!! Flying carpet, magic apples dangerous quest!!

Also very interesting to see, the transition from traditional theater to cinema, which Douglas Fairbanks, whose movements were exaggerated trying to make sure the person at the back of the cinema hall can see that he is happy, sad etc...

If you are into silent movies, give this a go!!

Bring on Nosferatu!!

My Two Sen

Virtuosity (1995)

Before The Matrix (1999), before CGI was the goto technology for Special Effect, there was this little gem...

It introduces Russell Crowe to people outside of Australia and also the concept of virtual reality to the general public!!

Looking at it now... the story is still passable with some decent CGI effects!!

Densel it seem always plays the decent guy who is caught in a complex situation...

Also remember this is the early days of email adoption, so things that we take for granted now, was actually high tech then!!

This beats tech movies from the same period Sandra Bullock's The Net (1995), Angelina Jolie's Hackers (1995) and gosh even the much later Ryan Phillippe's Antitrust (2001) out of the water.

Please note this is R Rated so there are some... skin.

My Two Sen

Prisoners (2013)

Okay, if you want BIG EXPLOSION, DAZZLING SPECIAL EFFECT and GIANT ROBOT/MONSTERS/ALIENS/SPACE CRAFT... Sorry bud/budette, this is the wrong movie for you...

If you are looking for a good drama/suspense movie, well, look no further!!

This one has, Hugh Jackman (What??? no claws????!), Jake Gyllenhaal (I want to be the lead. I WANT TO BE THE LEAD) & Terrence Howard (I would have been Iron Man 2 & 3 if only I had fitted in the War Machine armour... ). It also has Viola Davis & Maria Bello whom I feel is WAY under used...

Story, well written.
Cast, very good. (Jake Gyllenhaal is a method actor... Still think he forces his character onto people... I don't know...)
Direction... some minor flaw... very VERY minor...

The gem for me in this movie would be Ms Melissa Leo!! Very well done!!!

The ending is NOT original, but at this day and age, I believe it would probably surprise some people...

With the movie drought we are currently having, this is really a good offering!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Sep 22 2013, 09:51 PM

Hi Gruntz99. Wow, you really REALLY like the offbeat, unusual and existential materials!!! Alas, I do not believe I have had the chance to go through the movies you had stated. I'm currently retiring my DVD collection (I LITERALLY have to many DVD to retire...) with HD copies and are going through the HD copies as I get them. Having said that, I recently bought

The Lost World [DVD] (Restored Edition) (1925)

Keeping Score: Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring [Blu-ray] (2013)

So, I believe our preference are actually quite different. I'm more into "popular movies" rather then "existential movies".

The closest I came to the genre of material you like would be The Draughtsman's Contract [Blu-ray]. It is full of symbolism and is beautifully shot, and have to add, I'm afraid that movie was WAY TOO high brow for me... My Review

Other I have come in contact with, which are more unusual are Arabian Nights [Blu-ray] & Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom [Blu-ray]. I did not put any review for these two movie because frankly, I would not even know where to begin!! (I was actually VERY appalled by Salo's depiction of human most... based behavior...)

May I point to QuickFire. He seems to enjoy the type of movies you enjoy (existential). Please, please let me know if you have any other question. It is refreshing to know there are people in Malaysia with more unique preference in movies!!

Cheers

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Sep 24 2013, 03:20 PM

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)

Tsui Hark is back!!!

And I'm appreciative!

Extravagant production.

Chang'an, (the capital Tang Dynasty) is very IMPRESSIVE. The Tang Dynasty was known for it's "openness" to foreign influence. So much so, Buddhism flourish in China during this period. (In the movie, we can also see the Persians had their own "quarters" in Chang'an). The Tang's Naval was quite renown during it's time and I believe Tsui Hark was able to capture that here.

Okay. I've "lost" track of the thespians in the East of forgive my ignorance.

Mark Chao is very convincing as Detective Dee. William Feng plays Zhenjin, (think Dr Watson to Sherlock Holmes)!! (Mr Tsui Hark has the audacity to go there, and it works.)

Chen Kun plays Yuchi (Chief Commissioner of the Supreme Court) who is both adversary and partners in crime with Detective Dee!!

Okay, Okay, Angela Baby is in there somewhere...

Throw in impressive kung fu (wire works which is the best I have seen), bewitchment through... "Asian" alchemy, "mutant" human and sea creature, this movie is mucho addictive!!!

More.

MORE!!!

Bring on another remake of, Zu, Warriors from the Magic Mountain!!!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Sep 30 2013, 01:44 PM

Yes, Andy Lau is good. I believe that is to be (at least as far as Tsui Hark is concern) Detective Dee "last" case. With Young Detective Dee, sequels can be in great number! Since it is only his "first" case!!

Kim Bum, I believe will not be in episode two...

Tales from the Dark 1 (2013)

This is an adaptation of three short stories from a renown Hong Kong author, Lilian Lee.

Stolen Goods

Directed and performed by Simon Yam

Claustrophobic and moody are the best ways to describe this. Supposedly Simon Yap's debut, as a director. Interestingly, this short explores the fringe of Hong Kong society. We are so used to seeing how the effluent live in Hong Kong and when confronted with this very RAW portrayal of the downtrodden, it is eye opening. It also "interesting" to see, how desperation can drive people to do... very interesting things (in this case grave robbing).

A Word in the Palm

Directed by Lee Chi Ngai

Performed by Tony Leung Ka Fai & Kelly Chan

A more lighthearted approach to ghost stories. It is always a pleasure to see more experience thespian selling their wares, and Tony Leung sure deliver!! Kelly Chan wasn't half bad herself!! So, in short Tony Leung here plays the role of Melinda from Ghost Whisperer... somewhat halfheartedly...

Jing Zhe

Directed by Fruit Chan

Performed by Susan Shaw, Lo Hai Peng & Dada Chen

Again, really appreciate the veteran in this. Susan Shaw is excellent!! A small cameo by Lo Hai Peng. They make acting look so... effortless... Dada Chen is very... haunting here... I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the term Tar Siu Yan (Cantonese, roughly translate to "Villain Hitting") and Pak Fu (White Tiger). Supposedly, an ancient belief dating back to the Han/Tang Dynasty... I actually have some personal experience with this. When I was in Form 1 or 2, there was a period in time when all dogs I met, gave me a chase..., or because of awkwardness, I got burnt, scratched and fell over, one after another... It was decided that I had "Fan Tai Sui" and that I should appease the Pak Fu... So it was arrange that a friend of my family (an aunty) brought me to a Chinese temple to do prayers and make offering to Pak Fu (meat, fats, eggs and sweet cakes) and "Villian Hitting" was done (paper effigies where beaten with a shoe). Interestingly, dogs stop chasing me after that... so when "revisited" with this short I was amused until the I saw the ending...

So, I like the 2nd the 3rd stories the best.

If you like horror, why not give this a spin.

My two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 3 2013, 01:14 PM

Tales from the Dark 2 (2013)

Three more short stories from a renown Hong Kong author, Lilian Lee.

Pillow

Director: Gordon Chan
Cast: Fala Chen, Lam Ka-tung

Wow, a very psychological piece... with a twist. I think the explicit scenes between Fala Chen & Lam Ka-tung is what shocks me most, because that means this movie cannot enter in to the Chinese market (not legally anyway)!!

Hide and Seek

Director: Lawrence Lau
Cast: Chan Fat-kuk, Sham Ka-ki

This segment actually... bore me, because it has been done to death (no pun intended )!! And they do not elaborate of the interesting bits (why one of the girl students is still thinking of a male teacher who had perish during the SARS outbreak...)

Black Umbrella

Director: Teddy Robin
Cast: Teddy Robin, Aliza Mo

Surprisingly, not many people like this, but I do. This explores the world of Taoism, where people perfected themselves through "practice". Here Teddy Robin portrays a 100+ year old man who has been practicing for 129 years. If he manage to do one last good deed, he would ascend to the heavens... but alas... there is a fine line between an angel and demon (eg... a state of mind)

Many a people prefer the Tales from the Dark 2 compared with the first. Myself, I prefer the first!!

If you had watch part one and found it to your liking, give this a go.

It is good to know that movie production in Hong Kong is attempting to recapture the glory days (80s & 90s) of movie making.

My two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 2 2013, 03:29 PM

If you like horror you'll dig Tales from the Dark 1 & 2.

I have not watch Rule #1. Will look out for it.

Absence (2013)

Wow, this movie is widely criticized... for being bad.

I don't know.

If there are so many people who loves Paranormal Activity (2009),... what a difference 4 years makes!!

Same premise, same genre (horror), same camera work and have to add different subject matter.

In Paranormal Activity, the supernatural is explored, whereas here, it is more of an X-Files phenomenon...

Some might even argue, that they are the same (Ancient Aliens anyone... )

The difference here is there really is not one storyline that the "movie" follows, hence the criticism.... Also, the characters do not seem to review their video recordings....

If you do like Paranormal Activity, give this a go!

Do be warn, it is NOT for everyone (especially is you did not like Paranormal Activity)

My Two Sen.

It actually does not "say" that, but you better believe it!!

Welcome to the Punch (2013)

Okay let's point out the elephant, right of!

This is NOT a big budget Hollywood production.

It is a "modest" budget of USD 8,500,000.

Having said that, having seen what they were able to put on the with THAT budget, I'm actually impress!!

It is also an English production, so the "beats" (timing) is different.

A decent, Cop & Robber movie, with James McAvoy and Mark Strong.

The themes of the movie are family, friends and what people from different background, think is.... just.

PQ and AQ are actually quite impressive (again taking into consideration the budget they have)

Script is good, acting is excellent from a group of gifted thespian.

If you want a "feels like Hollywood" but not quite movie, give this a go!!

My Two Sen

You are welcome. I'm no god, just plain old Mov_freak...

I'm assuming the " " is for the story, Pillow...