Blended (2014)

Okay, let's cut through the chase.

How bad is this movie?

Frankly, it is pretty up there!!!

Okay, if you had watched The Love Guru (2008), this is almost as bad...

Bottom line, Adam Sandler tried SO hard to make this funny and it ended up counter intuitive...

It does have two (2) good parts
And the absolutely worst thing about this movie is
Well, if you watch it after reading this, you cannot say I did not try to warn you...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Aug 20 2014, 01:29 AM

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

I am an avid Disney fan.

Disney as a movie company isn't "perfect".

There are some older movies that played on, lacking a better "racial stereotype", so much so that the company does not even contemplate releasing them on home video (VHS, DVD & Bluray. A movie comes to mind is Song of the South [1946]). Don't know which movie I am talking about? Without that movie, we would not have the Academy Award winning song, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah!!

Don't get me wrong, this is not a racist movie (er.. there is that German scene), what I want to impress on you here is that there are older Disney movie, that I find.... coining a more current vocabulary, meh!!!

While Disney was making Mary Poppins (1964) even when producing the movie, Disney did not get the book to movie rights from the author (Saving Mr Banks [2013] anyone?). In one of these desperate moments where Disney feels he cannot get the rights to Mary Poppins, the Sherman Brothers who were working on the music for Mary Poppins where ask to work on music for another book. One which Disney had gotten the movie rights to, namely Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

A few songs were written, and then Disney got the rights to Mary Poppins and it was full steam ahead for Mary Poppins.

After Walt's passing, the Sherman Brothers left Disney, and in 1970, they were invited back, to further work on Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Disney was hoping for another family oriented movie like Mary Poppins. The movie was completed in 1971, and one week later, Walt's brother, Roy, passed away....

What am I going on about?

The story in this movie is plenty HAPHAZARD!!!

Supposedly, the lady lead Angela Lansbury, because of the special effects was told how to act, and she was very unhappy about that, and it shows...

Another issue which I think could have made the story so, was that they cut a three hour movie into less than two, so that the theaters could play the movie more often during the release....

Just a very clunky movie...

The bluray version have alot of extended scene and cut scene and instead of putting them back into the movie, they was put in the supplementary section instead...

Clunky.

I can see how the movie can be appealing to the really young'un.

I cannot remember if I saw this when I was young...

I however remember watching it on TV... so....

Clunky. Not a great classic in my books. And I am saying this, as an AVID fan of Disney movies....

Please understand that this is JUST an opinion.

My Two Sen

The Internship (2013)

I don't like Vince Vaughn. I just don't!!

Having said that, I was actually surprise I like this.

In this bad economic times and with jobs getting scarce what happened to Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson is occurring more and more often.

What I like most about this movie is the can do attitude of Vince Vaughn's character, even when the chips are down.

An entertaining comedy, with actually really good life learn.

Watch it if you haven't

My Two Sen

Hungry Ghost Ritual 盂蘭神功 (2014)

Nick Cheung directorial debut and... he chose a ghost story??

First Simon Yap now him?...

Do they really think that horror movies are easy to make??

The interesting thing was it was actually filmed in Malaysia (Why do Hong Kies thinks that Malaysia's spooky??). The thing that shocked me most was... seeing a Proton Waja in one of the scenes!!

Movie revolves around an Cantonese Opera Troupe.

There is a twist at the end, and I think there lies the issue...

Nick Cheung in his directorial debut, tried to pull an M Knight Shamalyan!!!

Did not quite work.. At least not to me.

I do have to add, that the very last frame of the movie is actually... poetic!!

Not the best horror movie by far, Nick Cheung needs to attend film school....

I'm mean, I know.

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Sep 21 2014, 09:00 PM

Ghostbusters II (1989)



Frankly, I was not a fan of this movie when it first came out. I thought it was a little tacky.

Having said that and having a chance to watch it again, I actually dig this now.

The interaction between Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver & Harold Ramis is just priceless...

Not to forget Rick Moranis & Ernie Hudson.

Harold Ramis will be solely missed in the third installment (they are supposedly making part 3)

The pre CGI effect as cheesy as they are are actually quite good!!

They sure don't make em like they used to...

Really enjoyed the interview with Dan Aykroyd and director Ivan Reitman in this one.

Don't know what I'm going on about?

Watch this and you'll see.

My Two Sen!!

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 2 2014, 08:42 PM

Million Dollar Arm (2014)

Life's got you down?

Need something inspiring?

Well, for something more recent, I would recommend this!!

Based on a true story.

Please be advise that this is a drama, story driven movie, without explosion and multi-million dollars special effect.

If you are patience and like to see a feel good movie, please consider

Nice to see Suraj Sharma outside of Life Of Pi!!

My Two Sen

Zoolander (2001)

'



Yes, this is a dumb movie.

It is SO dumb in fact, it is actually very good!!

I really think this is Ben Stiller's best work to date.

The amount of talent in this movie is staggering!!

Owen Wilson
Christine Taylor (Ben Stiller's Wife)
Will Ferrell
Milla Jovovich
Jerry Stiller (Ben Stiller's Father)
David Duchovny
Jon Voight
Alexander Skarsgård
Donald Trump
Christian Slater
Tom Ford
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Tommy Hilfiger
Natalie Portman
Fabio
Lenny Kravitz
Gwen Stefani
Heidi Klum
David Bowie
Vince Vaughn
Tyrese Gibson
Billy Zane
Wynona Ryder
James Marsden
Etc, etc!!!

Mainly cameo's and all tongue in cheek!!

Malaysia is mention here, in a way you'll never guess, and I wonder when this was release was it banned in Malaysia? (Anyone??)

From "looks" (eg Blue Steel and Magnum) to self inflicted wedgies (ouch) this movie is ridiculously entertaining.

If you have not seen this, watch it. It is a very VERY good comedy!

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 13 2014, 01:00 AM

A Haunted House 2 (2014)

Okay, chances are, if you are reading this, it means you have either watched A Haunted House (2013) or you are familiar with Marlon Wayans' movies.

This is a comedy/horror that is R Rated.

R Rated not because of the horror elements but because you'll see many sides of Marlon Wayans you never wanted to see....

Movie this movie take the mickey out of are

The Conjuring (2013) (I will NEVER look at Annabella the same way again...)
All the Paranormal Activities

I think too much focus is place on Marlon Wayans...

So if you are a fan of his...

My Two Sen

More like Communist China!!

Color of Night (1994)

I recall not liking this movie when it first come out.

After all this years, revisiting it, I STILL do not like this movie...

The story is cookie, and I believe this is the... "TRASHIEST" movie, Bruce Willis is in, to date.

The crazy thing is that there were alot of talents here

Scott Bakula
Lance Henriksen
Rubén Blades

etc.

Yes, I consciously left Jane March out of the list of talent.

I suppose after Fatal Attraction, that kinda started a wave, and this is one of the results from the said wave.

Really really... trashy...

My Two Sen

A.K.A. Sinatra or Denzel

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 26 2014, 11:31 PM

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom 白髮魔女傳之明月天國 (2014)

*Ouch*

Really???

Seriously??

Is this a recipe of how to lose USD 65,000,000??? (You read the number of zeros correctly, I've double checked)

The first two acts of the script was actually decent.

Trying it to the Mystery Of The Red Pill during the Ming Dynasty is also clever.

Casting is decent.

And then the end of the 2nd act and the 3rd act...

And the ending!!!! What the...

Also, paying Homage to Leslie Cheung (who was in a pretty successful adaptation of this book in the 90s...) at such an "awkward" spot is no homage...

Disappointing...

My Two Sen

Step Up Revolution (2012)

Okay, the Step Up series had evolved to a point that it has absolutely nothing to do with the first Step Up.

Okay, this movie probably has the WORST storyline.

Supposedly, America LOVES an underdog.

Which serves as the basis of this movie's storyline.

A greedy developer wants to re-develop a stretch of property that is considered a "dump".

A dance crew (The Mob) happen to live at this dump and they created a Youtube sensation with their "Flash Mob" dance routine....

Can you possibly imagine how this would end??

The ending is Highly Improbable, because as much as the American like an Underdog, they LOVE money much MUCH more.

Having said the above, the dance sequences are good, and much different from the previous movies, a bit of Performance Art, A bit of Cirque... So if you enjoy these you'll enjoy the movie.

Did miss Harry Shum Jr... Not sure why he was not invited to participate in this.

My Two Sen.

Step Up All In (2014)

They really REALLY should retire this series...

Each one becomes less and less of a shadow of it's previous self...

They brought back alot of fan favorite for this movie, with the exception of Channing Tatum (too expensive)

How so?

I cannot pay my rent to I can afford the stage set at the end of the movie???? Stage set grows on trees?

Too Cirque Du Soliel...

My Two Sen

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Put this on a couple of weeks back and was really excited.

It is not usual for me to find an Alfred Hitchcock movie I have not seen before.

I have to tell you, my expectation was high... and after watching the movie...

This is a strange movie...

The plot is so... overly convoluted, it absolutely makes NO SENSE!!

In my opinion, I believe Hitchcock had made so many similar movie, he got bored, and this movie suffered for it...

The "highlight" of the movie was so... unbelievable and the last frame of the movie was basically a US poster for selling War Bonds (this movie was just before Pearl Harbour incident) so am actually puzzled by this.

This movie actually deminish Hitchcock a bit in my eyes...

I was disappointed, or could it be, I expected too much...

This movie was release the same year as Rebecca (1940) (Hitchcock first American movie) and I love Rebecca much much more...

My Two Sen

North by Northwest (1959)

For the life of me, I cannot understand, how I had watched this movie a couples of time and not posted a review of this movie here...

I am really REALLY getting old.

My, Hitchcock sure liked Cary Grant. He had appeared in Hitchcock's, Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) & North by Northwest (1959).

SO much so, that one would question if Cary Grant knew that it is actually director Stanley Donen who directed Charade (1963) (a Hitchcock-ish movie) and not Hitchcock!!

Being one of Hitchcock's best known works, I don't know if there is any additional information I can add to this except for

1) Paramount Pictures contracted Hitchcock out to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to do this, and after the success of this movie, Paramount supposedly pressured Hitchcock for another "North by Northwest-ish" project for Paramount and Hitchcock said no. Hitchcock then approach Paramount with Psycho and because of the subject matter, Paramount refused to fund the movie, and Hitchcock himself had to come up with the money for Psycho instead but he was under contract to make another 2/3 movies for Paramount... A solution was devised, Hitchcock would fund Psycho and Paramount would distribute and they would split the profits (if any). Allegedly, the movie was made under USD 1,000,000 and it went on to make USD 32,000,000. So, everyone was happy!!

2) After this movie, Hitchcock did offer Grant another role in his movie, namely, Torn Curtain (1965), and Grant declined, on the ground that he was already working on his last movie, Walk, Don't Run (1966) and would retire after that. Paul Newman got the role in Torn Curtains instead and allegedly, Paul and Hitchcock DID NOT GET ALONG.... Hitchcock swore he would never work with another "big star" after that, and he never did...

Oh, one last thing... If they had handphones back then, this movie's plot would not had worked...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Dec 8 2014, 05:19 PM

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Gosh James Stewart is really young in this one.

For a movie that was made in 1939, it's view about political system is still quite poignant.

Mr Smith is a young gentleman, who was selected to be a Senator, to replace another Senator who had passed away.

because of his youth, the people who selected him, thought he would be easy to manipulate, so they can push through the stuff they want through the House Of Senate.

Mr Smith turned out to be more than they could bargain for...

I like this.

It is drama, but I like it.

My Two Sen

Kung Fu Jungle 一個人的武林 (2014)

Okay, Donnie Yen made a name for himself in the Ip Man 1 & 2.

Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) was okay, but every other stuff he had done so far...

This is supposed to be his "comeback" movie and it is only decent...

The Good

1) The Fighting scenes are very well done
2) Bring fist fights into modern era again is handled well
3) Paying homage to as many past and present actors/action coordinator/directors/stunt persons is greatly appreciated
4) Slick production

The Bad

1) Donnie "need" to be seen as the peoples' person comes across as forced (especially after all the "rumors about him being a prima donna, in real person)
2) The villain motive is so flimsy that you cannot even break tofu with it!!!

The Ugly

1) The minute Donnie leaves prison to help the police, I could already see the "twist" for the movie, and that is only 15 minutes into the movie, talk about anti climatic....

I can only chalk this up as nice try.

My Two Sen

The Boxtrolls (2014)

Although this movie is produced in the US, for some odd reason there is a decidedly "English" air to it!!

Think Wallace and Gromit!?!

The stop motion animation is done flawlessly! I have not be so impress since A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The story is engaging and the delivery is good.

The voice actors all brought their A game.

If you want to watch something different, and it is for the whole family, this is a great recommendation.

It starts slow but by the second act you are sold, hooked, line and sinker!!

My Two Sen.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)

Studio Ghibli has done it again.

Isao Takahata latest is best described as ART.

From the Chinese Watercolor approach to the animation.

Every brushstroke so effortless and care free. But make not mistake, nothing about the artwork for this animation is happy happenstance. Everything is merticulously planned and executed.

Based on Japanese folklore, supposedly, the reason Mount Fuji is called Mount Fuji, is because of this Princess.

The first act is so full of joy, wonder and the innocence of youth.

The second act, more sedated and muted (er... winter is coming?? )

Still watching it, not sure how the third act would end

BRB

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am back.

Just finished the movie.

There is nothing pretentious about this movie.

Everything is done from a pure PURE heart.

Breathtaking!!

Now, I have to look for the Original Sound Track...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Jan 3 2015, 11:22 PM