Hwayi : A Monster Boy
The essential Korean revenge movie, this time around 5 criminals raised a child they kidnapped. Hwayi inherited all their criminal skills as they became his surrogate fathers. When he discovered the truth behind his identity, the road to vengeance starts. Avoid the trailer at all cost as it's misleading. The less you know about the flick, the more enjoyable it is. To me personally Hwayi reminded me what Leon The Professional sequel could have been. Imagine Mathilda became Leon. It's more of a thoughtful action drama than a bland loud movie. A Korean revenge movie plot won't complete without a sick twist, so be ready for it.
If you dug Chan Wook Park vengeance trilogy, this one belong to the same category.
Hollywood has purchased the rights to remake this awesome flick.

This post has been edited by 6so: Jul 2 2014, 08:22 PM

Did you watched the uncensored or the censored version?
I have a very disturbing questions about Eva Green's body and specifically her nips if you've watched The Dreamers vs how it's like in 300 ... Entirely 2 diff pair of tits

movie of the year Transformers 4

Uncensored...

One word... Photoshop... No actors or actresses do any form of photo shoot with out "post production" nowadays...

Sad really. How the "fashion" and "entertainment" industry pushes the idea of "perfect" on the general public with "post production" trickery.

How else would "doctors" be able to sell botox treatments to 17yo as "preventive" measures....

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Okay, is Transformer a good material to reboot after the disastrous Transformer 3?

Maybe not

Is this a good reboot?....

...

...

...

Maybe to some...

I actually like the first act, where they introduce all the new players...

The second act was half half, I like the beginning of second act and half way through it started to lose me...

The third act, sad to say, is rehash of Transformer 3....

The Good:

1) The premise of the movie, is actually decent, the way in which the reboot of franchise is plausible/logical...

2) The Cinematography, Amir Mokri really made this movie look good!! The wide open space of Texas is beautifully shot!!

3) The lack of US military is actually refreshing (eg Not a US Army/Navy/Air Force recruitment film)

4) Stanley Tucci character (believe it or not, he is Shia LaBeouf replacement... I kid you not).

5) The work they did in Hong Kong is CRAZY!!! And a few familiar Hong Kong actors cameo was actually amusing!! Even paid homage to Jacky Chan's stunts!!

The Bad:

1) Too many... "villains"

2) Really an "ancient" township right smack in the Hong Kong between the mountain range... Come on....

3) The fact that the movie had to "pander" to the bible belt in America and also to the Chinese audience.... Sad...

4) Once they left the US country side and back to big cities, things started to go downhill

The Ugly:

1) I miss Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman screenplay

2) After all that Hoo Har about the All Spark in the first movie, they had to go mess with the origins of the Transformers... (They even tied it to the extinction of the Dinosaurs) *Sigh*

I suppose the movie would have it avid viewers.

I just don't think I was the market segment the producers of this movie were aiming for...

Watched this in a 3D Atmos Cinema, sound was good (especially in the actions scenes) and have to add the 3D is nothing to shout about.

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 3 2014, 11:12 AM

It's a fool's errand to do digital boob on that particular scene. While the technology is there does not mean it's the wisest choice to do it. It's far more cheaper to get a real boob job or prosthetic effects than rendering it digitally. The basic reason to do it in "post" is when you couldn't film it on camera in reality or cheaper when render digitally.

Photoshop only does correction on a single frame. A sequential footage contains 24 fps. So if that scene plays out for 5 minutes there gonna be 7,200 frames to touch up. Not counting realistic 3d construction,physique tweaking,motion matching,lightings and colour matching. I simply do not see the logic to spend that kind of money on such tedious undertaking.

There are many types of post-production enhancement and it does not work mythically at the push of a single button.

Well, case in point, The director/producers must have deem the post production work necessary. And yes, it probably cost a pretty penny.

I know it is silly, and have to add, in this day and age, that seems to be the normal!!!

Ridiculous really...

Another case I can quote here, The Star Trek Into the Darkness. If you have watched that movie, you know how many lens flare scenes there are in the movie.

JJ Abrams thinks that they are cool...

Did you know that when he finished that movie, one of the first people that got to watch it was his wife and her comments was, why are there so many lens flare scenes in the movie. Very irritating...

He then went thru the movie again and used post production to remove lens flare from scenes...

So as irritating as the scenes with lens flare scenes there are in the movie, originally there was ALOT more... And they spent money removing them...

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 3 2014, 11:14 AM

Removing lens flare is a simpler endeavor when comparing it with realistic 3d body renderings. Technically a double passing colour correction technique with simple masking. If you are doing Spiderman performing midair stunts I can understand, but not because to make Eva Green's boobs firmer and larger. I can buy with smoothening her skin or even scaling her feature a bit but not compositing 3d elements to a constantly on the move scene. Bear in mind The Dreamers was a movie released in early 2k as she just started. Over the years the amount of moolah she made can easily use to enhance her body or attributed by hormones. Then there is a question how agreeable of her to allow them to digitally enhance her boobs. It's a reputation thingy as she is known to partake in saucier roles.
The matter is not about what is normal or not normal. Movie making is a precise and controlling exercise when comes to budget. Unless that movie has leeway budget with really big names attached to it. 300 not exactly that type of movie.

Hahaha!

I'm am sorry, you seem very fixated with her assets....

I'm fixated at your shallow answers.

Haha

My apologies

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 3 2014, 02:38 PM

Evidence (2013)

You are gonna hear alot of negative reviews about this movie.

It is pretty low budget and for people who HATES hand cam, please give this a miss. There are plenty of hand cam scenes.

This is a Horror/Gore/Thriller genre.

I kinda sorta figured out the ending and have to say that you either like or hate this movie.

Personally I appreciate the director's approach to the movie, there is a dash if trying too hard, and have to add I still think the approach interesting.

Also interesting to see Stephen Moyer outside of True Blood.

If you like thriller and you don't mind hand cam scenes, give this a try.

This runs rings around movie like Prom Night!!

My Two Sen

Locke - The art of one man show

What we have here is a bold performance and storytelling precedence. The whole movie plays out in real time where Tom Hardy juggling multiple crisis via his speakerphone. The magic is everytime the phone rang, we get a peak on his personality and information pertaining his crisis solely on the conversation he's having. As we get to know more about him, the more intense those conversations get. Everything adds up to a life changing journey he made on that particular night. An early contender for best actor nod comes the award season.
Will catch this again on cinema if they ever screen it here.

This post has been edited by 6so: Jul 4 2014, 02:57 PM

That Demon Within 魔警 (2014)

Wow. Pretty decent movie.

Script is actually solid.

Director Dante Lam does do good stuff.

A big budget (Hong Kong standard) psychological thriller.

I do disagree about how some parts were directed (I would have done the "reveal" differently)

I don't think that Daniel Wu have the acting chop as to handle the lead role...

Even with the two negatives I enjoyed the movie.

They even spend money of properly scoring the movie!!

Again, Hong Kong movies are showing potential again!!!

For that I am glad.

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 5 2014, 09:26 AM

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Pure Rubbish - nuff said - 1.5/10

Airplane vs Volcano (2014)

A tiny movie company call The Asylum made this movie. It was shot in 5 days with a non existing budget.

You know what is shocking about this movie, Dean Cain and Robin Givens are in it!!

I suppose EVERYBODY has to eat...

Okay this movie is TERRIBLE. Directed by The Kondelik Brothers (James Kondelik & Jon Kondelik).

Why am I emphasizing this?

Remember New Line was a tiny movie company in the 80s!!

They have since made 3 LOTR movies and 3 Hobbit movies with box office receipts in the billions!!

What I do appreciate about this company is that the people in it, genuinely love making movies, and I think that is an important ingredient!!

Give them a few years. Who knows with a little bit of luck and the correct script, maybe they can make something great in the future. Now, looks like they make filler stuff for the SyFy channel...

My Two Sen

Deliver Us from Evil (2014)

Just got back from this movie, and I like it!!

It is formulaic, no question.

It is not the most fast paced movie. Just right for character development, and story.

Only famous "star" here is Eric Bana, and have to add, all parts here are well acted by the actor/actress cast!!

Story is supposed to be based on actual case, and I would actually loved to see more adaption of the two leads!!



So, in conclusion, despite the chair kicking, chair shaking, bf & gf regurgitating the plot between themselves and is not shy to let other people hear, and also the modest budget of the movie, I found this movie engaging and interesting.

Oh, another observation, director Scott Derrickson should stick to horror and leave Scifi alone...

My Two Sen.

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

Snow Piercer (2013)

Human race devastated earth and survivors live on board a high-speed locomotive that runs across the globe revealing the harsh conditions of the climate and what remains.

Story tells of free loaders on board the last compartments surviving and making its way up the hierarchy to fight for a decent living standard.

Towards the end, the plot is revealed to a mind blowing conclusion. An end to the unexpected journey.

Spoiler: If you don't fancy eating cockroaches, don't watch.

4.4 stars

Life itself - Thumbs up!

A deeply touching and mesmerizing look at the life of the most influential film critic of our time. The filming took place during the month of his departure. There's full access to his difficult time at the hospital bed which are a joy and heartbreaking to watch. He constantly put up a jovial facade to face anyone who drops by to see him and yet the documentarian does not shy away from showing the amount of pain he's in. In between the hospital scenes we are given a detail look at his life stories unfolding on the screen. There are interesting behind the scenes look at his love-hate relationship with Gene Siskel that show their good and ugly side of things. A fitting tribute to a towering figure.