You know what would be interesting? Watching 300 (2006) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) on the 300" projected Screen...

Wow. Which Projector is this again?

I'm afraid with my eyes, I get rainbow effect with DLP projectors...

Yup, That's what I'm afraid of...

Have you read the graphic novel?

Alan Moore, the writer swore up and down that this graphic novel of his can never been adapted to a motion picture... And I think Zack Synder did a decent job at it.

Wow!! Cannot say you see THAT everyday...

My Lucky Stars 福星高照 (1985)

Well, color me surprise, there are actually old Hong Kong movie that I have not watched (or forgotten)

My Lucky Stars Collection is now available on HD, namely Winners & Sinners 奇謀妙計五福星 (1983), My Lucky Stars 福星高照 (1985) & Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars 夏日福星 (1985).

Apart from having Jacky Chan & Sammo Hung in the movie, the highlights of the movie is having veteran Hong Kong actors like Eric Tsang, Richard Ng, Sibelle Hu, John Sham, Pat Ha & Stanley Fung.

The storyline is actually quite simple, namely a group of con artists are conned by the Royal Hong Kong police to do some undercover work for them in Japan.

It is an "action/comedy" and the humor is typical 1980s Hong Kong comedy.

Sometime a little force, sometime a little vulgar and have to add, entertaining nevertheless!

I had watched this out of sequence, the first in the series is actually Winners & Sinners 奇謀妙計五福星 (1983)... Something to catch up on tonite I suppose...

Again for the life of me, I do not recall having seen this, and yet I am pretty sure I have watched MOST stuff coming out of Hong Kong during the period... Curiouser, curiouser....

If you want to watched stuff that signify Hong Kong in the 80s, please consider watching this!!

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jun 25 2014, 04:25 PM

Rosemary's Baby (2014) Part One

I have never read Ira Levin novel, though I have watched the Rosemary's Baby (1968) movie.

The movie took place in New York city, and this mini series occurs in Paris, France.

In the movie, Rosemary's psyche is being question. (Eg. is she delusional??) where as in the mini series, that is place out of the door and things that go bump in the night is never questioned (at least not in the first part)

Also in the movie, Rosemary is very isolated, where in the mini series, things are more... lacking a better term, "tactile"...

The cast is stellar in the mini series,

Zoe Saldana as Rosemary
Patrick J. Adams (of Suits fame) as Guy Woodhouse (surprising casting actually)
Carole Bouquet as Margaux Castevet
Jason Isaacs as Roman Castevet

I have only watched the first part and is looking forward to watching the second part tonite.

My two Sen... for now

Yes, for some odd reason, I like this movie too.

It is almost electric to see Christopher Reeve in screen!!

I thought I wrote a review here after watching it, and have to add I did not...

Here is an interesting question



This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jun 27 2014, 01:52 PM

Il Volo Takes Flight: Live From The Detroit Opera House 2012

Il Volo consist of three very young (17yo in 2012) & talented Italian chaps, Piero Barone Ognibene, Ignazio Boschetto & Gianluca Ginoble.

They are termed as cross-over artist, meaning they are doing traditional/operatic music but with a modern twist (Popera?).

They are indeed three very talented young men.

They sing, play musical instruments and write they own stuff (Gianluca Ginoble).

Vocally, Piero Barone Ognibene takes the cake. How does a scrawny 17yo Italian kid have such a power house voice?... I don't know!!!

Alot of Italian music most notable O Solo Mio & Funiculi 'funicula'.

The pièce de résistance for me is is the re-interpretation of Claude Debussy most beautiful music, Clair de Lune, into Notte Stellata (The Swan).

B e a u t i f u l . . .

If you are into cross-over stuff, you know what to do.

My Two Sen

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

I confess.

I have never went on the record to say that I like 300 (2006)...

The issue is the brutality. They made brutality into "art". They beautified the killing scenes and I do not agree with that.

So when they announced they were making "Part Deux"... I was not expecting much...

Just finished watching it and all I can say is, do people even remember The 300 Spartans (1962)?

That movie is 52yo and from a story point of view, still run rings around this movie!!?!

Style over substance ladies and gentlemen. Style over substance!!!

From casting (not sure if Sullivan Stapleton is the best choice for Themistocles), why is Eva Green's character Artemisia even here? And the fact that Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) led the Spartan retaliation... My goodness, do they even know the source material (eg history)????!? (In Sparta, women are basically a baby factory, full stop...)

History about this matter is pretty straight forward, Athens (which had the best Navy force in Greece) and the rest of Greece met Persia at the sea, forcing the Persian army to try to enter Greece through Thermopylae (Hot Gates) where the Spartan met them.

So having said that, 300 (2006) historically is actually more accurate, whereas this movie...

This is based on the comic Xerxes and surprise surprise, you DON'T see alot of HIM!!!?!

Okay, credit where credit is due, the way the Greeks did sea battle, is actually by the book (eg according to history books), and have to add, apart from that...

I am sorry, I think this is a very poor attempt at a movie and have to add, I actually approached the movie with very low expectation, even then I truly and thoroughly disappointed!!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jun 28 2014, 12:50 PM

Devil (2010) Addendum.

Reviewed this in 2010 (My Original Review)

It is suppose to be the first part of a trilogy, nickname The Night Chronicles.

I still like this movie and wish that M. Night Shyamalan would stop dicking around and get the 2nd and 3rd The Night Chronicles done!!

Part two was supposed to be filmed in 2011, and the latest news is it is starting filming in 2013 (Reincarnation, written by him not directed, like Devil).

Now it seems he is working on Sundowning (2014)....

Frustrating thing is there is actually a website for the trilogy but nothing is updated to date (since 2010)....

Tease....

The Night Chronicles Website

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

55 Days at Peking (1963)

A beautifully transferred and remastered movie from the 1963.

Unfortunately, it is a story about The Boxer Revolution from the P.O.V of the Westerners...

They (Westerners) are the victim of circumstances and their presence in China at the turn of the 20th Century was for the the peace of the world...

This has the same sentiment as the last British Governor in Hong Kong in 1997, while living Hong Kong, made a statement about the Opium Wars, asking to world not to blame the British for producing and supplying Opium, but blame the Chinese Merchants who were selling it...

PURE FANTASY!!!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 6 2014, 10:50 PM

Godzilla ~ Gojira (1954)

What all the fuss about this year's release of the latest and greatest Godzilla, I thought it would be a blast to to visit the original!!

I have to admit, apart from the Kurusawa stuff, Shogun and Kwaitan (1964), I really do not watch that much stuff from Japan.

The only actor I am familiar with is Takashi Shimura who plays Prof. Kyohei Yamane-hakase ((he played Kambei Shimada in Seven Samurai (1954)).

Only nine year after Japan was bombed by two nuclear bombs, Japan made this movie, obviously still fearful about nuclear fallout!!

They fear is epitomized by this mythological creature they call Gojira, who is irradiated and breathe nuclear breath!!

Look, remember this is 1954, LOW budget and special effects = man in a monster rubber suits and miniature buildings, boats and planes.

They even have an eccentric inventor who builds the "ultimate" weapon!!

I actually enjoy this much much more compared to this year's version!!

My Two Sen

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

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Studio Ghibli is known for it's fantasy works!

Valley of the Winds (1984), Castle in the Sky (1986), Princess Mononoke (1997) etc, are what people talk about when Studio Ghibli is mentioned.

I did fall into that category.

After watching this movie, I am glad that my mindset is somewhat shifted.

This studio's ability to take the everyday mundane, through sheer observation and make it into artistic... it is breathtaking!!!

What do I mean. The attention to details. Umi making a meal, when the students went to Tokyo to meet up with the businessman behind the plan to tear down their dorm rooms, and on goings in the office etc.

Also this is one of the animation by Studio Ghibli not directed by Hayao Miyazaki. SO I am quite confident that the Studio would move of from Hayao Miyazaki retirement.

Once I saw this I HAD TO find a copy of Ue o Muite Arukou (Sukiyaki) song because that is how involved i got with the movie!!

Very simple storyline. Very beautifully done. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in cinema, namely a good story very well told!!

My Two Sen.

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

Shame on you Hollywood.

Shame on you!!

Stealing from people and not giving ANY credit to the original.

Shame on you.

Epic (2013) rip of the idea of this movie and did not even give it credit. I can also see elements of Croods (2013) here, again, no credit given. Shameless!!! And at the start of every blu ray disc, an FBI warning states that piracy is not a victimless crime!!! Hypocrites!!!!!

Another beautiful movie from Studio Ghilbi!!

Everything is immaculate!!

Again, attention to details... Just note the sound design, when Arrietty's father brought her to the large house... Amazing...

I don't want to take too much of your time reading a review of this movie.

Do yourself a favour, go watch this is you have not already.

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 30 2014, 10:40 AM

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

A guilty indulgence of mine.

The first thing that jumps at me is the video transfer. The movie never looked so good.

As for Audio, well, we only get PCM stereo, so the studio is not putting alot of eggs into this release. I do have to add, beggars cannot be choosers.

This movie has an "Asian Sensibility" to it, and not in anyway condescending.

Alot of flack was given about the character Chiun was played by a white, namely Joel Grey. I personally can think of many more atrocities made in many other movies (Hollywood production). I kinda like Joel Grey as Chiun.

It is a vehicle for Fred Ward to make it as an action hero, unfortunately, it did not happen.

I really like this movie.

It is... unusual, and funny and you actually care for the two main characters.

Oh, note a very young Captain Cathrine Janeway (for the Star Trek fans).

Interestingly, this movie is actually MORE relevant today then it was in the 80s...

I will be watching this again, and again, and again...

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jul 29 2014, 09:36 AM

Sabotage (2014)

What do you do when you are the IT Action Hero of the 80s/90s and are looking to do a comeback?

Well, you look for scripts like Sabotage...

It is both and action movie and also a dramatic role.

Is this the right vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger to do a comeback?

It kinda is.

Personally, after The Last Stand (2013) & Escape Plan (2013) I'm not sure he has found his "groove" yet...

He has never been a good "actor" per se. He was always a person, guys aspire to be (physically speaking) and girls hope their significant other can be (again physically).

His command of the English Language has always been a stumbling block.

Having a run in California as governor, being associated with the Kennedy family (Maria Shriver), his English has improved, time will tell if his comeback would be a success.

This movie is actually good from a script point of view, and most of the cast are well cast, again, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead, may not be the best thing going for the movie (because it is a dramatic role)...

I do add, if violence is your cup of tea, this movie serves that in spades.

So, I humbly present to you, My Two Sen