Movie Review - Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 : On Stranger Tides

Went to check out this movie last Monday night. One minute I was sleeping with my hands on the table and my head on my hands, the next, my phone vibrated and I saw a message saying I won two tickets to the premiere of POTC 4 courtesy of MIX.FM. Free movie, what else should I do? So, I asked my Dad out on a date with me but he declined and then I asked my brother. We were planning to go watch POTC 4 in the weekend with my other brother and BBunz but I thought it's best if we check out the premiere first and if it's worth it, we can go see the movie for the second time in the weekend with the others.

By 8pm I arrived at MidValley with my brother. I saw some familiar faces but they're there courtesy of Nuffnang. I didn't enter the contest under Nuffnang but still lucky that I won two tickets. Phones and cameras are not allowed to be brought inside the cinema and while inside the cinema, there was some quizzes where  the winners get POTC 4 merchandises. I didn't answer any question because I didn't know anything about Mix.FM or their radio shows. LOL! I'm more of a Hitz.FM and Fly FM listener. (Oops, don't tell them that!)

So, Captain Jack Sparrow is back. What do I think about this latest instalment?

In all honesty, I had hoped for something better. I was yawning twice throughout the movie - something that happens very very seldom - which I never do if a movie captures my attention. I know there's Captain Jack Sparrow and inasmuch as I love Johnny Depp to bits, I can't help but wish there's Elizabeth and Will. Heck, I even wished these two loonies (photo below) would be in this latest POTC just to spice things up a little.

Mackenzie Crook (Ragetti) & Lee Arenberg (Pintel)

I prefer Ragetti and Pintel's sarcastic jibes and humor in comparison to Jack Sparrow's very fake and trying-too-hard-at-humor in this latest one. I also did not find the so-called relationship (or past relationship) between Jack and Angelica (Penelope Cruz) any convincing. I think focusing on the mermaids too much is also a waste of time, not to mention letting "love" come in the way between one specific mermaid and the missionary Philip Swift (Sam Claflin) is so pretentious.

Philip kept repeating the word, "Such beauty.." whenever he looks at the mermaid Syrena's (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) face. I mean, come on, if you're really a man of faith and your eyes has been opened with the experiences and the real world, then the last thing you should be so captivated with is the beauty of a woman (even if half of her is a fish). If a man of faith like that can be so blinded by beauty, how can we normal women feel secure with these men around us? *gasp*

Then there's Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Blackbeard was so unmemorable that I actually wished Davy Jones would pop-out onto the screen and save the day. Maybe he'd bring his other new pet Kraken and eat Blackbeard or something! I don't know, I just wished something exciting or surprising would come up and save everyone from boredom. At first I was happy to see Barbossa because he has always been Sparrow's frenemy but suddenly the exchange between him and Sparrow is just stale. All the explosive dialogues from the first three parts of this movie is gone. How sad...

But not all is in vain...

The music score is still fabulous. I also think the cinematography is just as good as the past three movies. Rob Marshall has the magical touch and that never wanes. I mean, look the photo up there where Jack's pushing the boat, don't you think those sands and waters are just beautiful? Don't you just feel like going to that tiny white sandy island?

I think if you LOVED the last three instalments and expect the world with this latest one, you'll be disappointed. But if you just miss Johnny Depp and want to see him in action, then you surely must not miss this movie!

Movie Rating : 6/10

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LADYJAVA

Movie Review - Burlesque

I went for the movie premier of Burlesque about a week ago at GSC MidValley. However, even though we came on the dot - 8pm, we still got the front row. That gave us quite a stiff neck but I suspect my brother was more than happy to see close-ups of scantily clad girls shaking their booty. LOL!

The storyline is classic - girl from out of town came to the big city to pursue her dreams, found a place to make it come true, got turned down and pushed around in the beginning, there's a hot man who's always there to give moral support, then she made the dream turn into a reality and bagged the hot man along the way. Nothing new, but always good to know that if you worked very hard, you will find success in the end. And once again let me remind you, BAG the hot man too.

Burlesque. Do you know what burlesque really is? To me, the one person that portrays the art of burlesque is none other than Marilyn Manson's ex, Dita Von Teese. Oh yeah, she is such a tease too! Damn, if I were a guy I'd probably wet my pants. LOL! I have to give credit to MM, although he usually looked like he just ate a dead crow, his taste in women is undeniable. Hmm, maybe I should learn a thing or two from Miss Von Teese, for future reference.

The small-waisted Miss Dita Von Teese. (envy!)

There are quite a few funny scenes in the movie, laced with euphemisms and witty dialogues. The songs and dance routines are quite catchy, however right after Ali (Christina Aguilera) found her voice, the music just doesn't stop. From one dance act to another, it leaves you little time to appreciate the music the way you should. Oh, but the absolutely funny part was when Jack (Cam Gigandet) got buck naked, flashed his ass to the screen and covered his willy with a box of cookie. Now, that's a yummy (cookie) way to entice a woman! And I also love to hear Cher sing - although she only sang twice throughout the movie - the slow song had such a deep meaning, I loved it very much!

I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is that they did not censor anything - thus the full view of Cam Gigandet's bottom! LOL. If you love musicals, this one would be great for you. But if you're not so crazy about musicals, you might get tired of the expected next plot. But hey, seeing those sexy ladies dancing those suggestive moves might be more than enough to satisfy quite a number of viewers!

This movie will be in Malaysian cinemas by 17th February 2011 and is rated 18SX.

Movie Rating : 6.5/10

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LADYJAVA

Movie Review - Faster

Actually, I watched this movie more than a week ago but didn't have the right mood to review it. It was a premiere screening and I got a seat quite close to the screen - thanks to arriving at the cinema a little late. 

Note to self : Make sure to come before stipulated time for best seats or risk going home with a cramp neck. 

FASTER

As the title suggests, this movie shows how fast Driver (Dwayne Johnson) - after being released from 10 years of incarceration - tracked down his brother's killers from a botched bank robbery which also led to his imprisonment. However, it's definitely not going to be an easy breezy job for Driver or it won't be a very exciting movie. So, thrown into the picture to make his life harder is a Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and a Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

 Driver

Cop

Killer (and his half-naked girlfriend)

Personally, I think the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan is much more entertaining than the whole movie. What's a Ruger? It's the gun that's in Driver's hand. I like movies that show the guys kill in one clean shot. No need to talk much, just shoot and get it over with. Things sure work easier like that in real life. You want to kill someone, you kill someone. You don't scream or yell or torture the person with endless yapping. 

After that, there's the Killer - a super smart and sleek looking dude who's also egocentric and probably slightly wrong in the head. Awesome. It doesn't matter that I hardly know who this dude was. I just love the setting he's in. The huge glass-paned house that I have always loved and imagine to have some day (oh I've got big dreams), killer cars that make me drool and a gorgeous girlfriend who knew what he's doing and is still there with him. Don't matter that he didn't get the chance to showcase ALL those beautiful weapons in his garage. They're just his trophies. Pretty much like his girl.

Other than the story line being vague and not connected to the audience much, I also did not like the flashbacks of what was the real reason to all this chase. You see, I've had a bit of an idea already  who was the snitch when the cameras zoomed in at the photo on the mantel at Driver's mom's home. There was a photo of three guys and three girls so there's no doubt that one of the girls is the one (since the guys are all dead). But having them linger in that fact for another half part of the movie was making the storyline quite stale.

Finally, they had to give Driver a conscience - which made him hesitant and finally decided not to kill the pastor whom years before that was one of the four who was involved in his brother's murder. OK, I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm sure some people DO need that sort of conscience instead of running amok and killing like nobody's business. So yeah, that was a good decision, Driver. I applaud that. 

Although I'm not a fan of this movie, I would still recommend a popcorn session at home, sitting or lying down on your most comfortable sofa and imagine yourself being in that great car or that girl (whichever you prefer). I doubt however that this movie will be one of the best Action Movie of 2011. No harm in checking it out though, right? Have a Happy Movie Session!

Movie Rating : 6.5/10

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INCIK RESTNRILEKS

Movie Review - Season Of The Witch

Went out with B-bunz and my brother to The Gardens, MidValley to catch this movie. I bought the tickets online using my Maybank2u for Premiere Cinema at GSC Signatures, Gardens. The price of three tickets for adults (including surcharge) is RM 70.50. What is it that I like about GSC Signatures compared to GSC Cinema? The seats. Me loves!

Witches, the history of witch burning and the Vatican's intervention on disposing them had always been an intriguing subject to me. I love reading books on this matter and I always feel strongly on the arguments that the Church gave to murder the alleged witches. I understand that these are things that happened centuries ago whence the beliefs and life back then were different from present day. So how can I argue with that? As far as I am concerned though, if tortures like this arise today, we will fight for proper justice. At least, I know I will.

However, when I saw that there's a twist to this story, that the movie's actually about a demon instead of a real witch, my anticipation went into the drain. I don't know why they had to make it about a demon. I don't like demonic twist stories. To me, having demons in movies like The Exorcist or The Exorcism of Emily Rose are fine because those movies are based entirely on demonic possessions or it showcases what demons are about. But when a movie's title is about something else and then halfway throughout the movie, something else pops up, it'll bore me quite easily.

In the beginning of the movie when they show the Crusaders hacking all the "enemies of Jesus Christ", I was already losing 40% interest. The dates of the wars were correct (thank God!) but the location of the wars and the obvious fake backdrop was making me sleepy. Luckily B-bunz was there to feed curry puffs into my mouth once in a while. LOL!

Dialogue 1: What do you think? Am I good looking or what?

Dialogue 2: Oh my God, are you for real? Arghhhhh!!

I hated the demon. This is because the director tend to visualize the demons as some deformed man who was bit by some type of radioactive insect and turned into a worse-looking being. Oh wait, that was Spiderman. I didn't like that they made this demon man-sized with bat-like wings which closely resembled those winged vampires in the movie Daybreakers. I also didn't like that they made the demon weak. I mean, seriously, it's a demon for cheese sake. We understand demons as very evil and it's an entity beyond the grasp of human understanding. So why must you downgrade the demon's powers and make it look somewhat human? Isn't it better if you just make it a human with a little bit of magical powers instead? *Sigh*

Yet, if you still want to check out this movie, it isn't so very bad. It's quite entertaining sometimes. It is only in my opinion however - due to the fact that I prefer demonic movies to be strictly on demons and not described as something else - I say this movie is OK. Not too bad, but not an A+ either.

Hope you'll enjoy the movie more than me!

Movie Rating : 6/10

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MARIUCA

Movie Review - The Social Network

Went to watch The Social Network movie at GSC MidValley on Tuesday, 9pm courtesy of R.AGE. I won the tickets from their FB page. What a coincidence isn't it, winning tickets of a movie that is about Facebook on Facebook itself? Oh, and I won myself a "The Social Network" T-shirt too. Nice right?

Anyways, this movie is awesome. Although the beginning of the part seeing Mark quarreling with his girlfriend and talking like a speeding bullet can make you slightly dizzy, but later, as you warm up to the character and understand the things that comes out of Mark's mouth, everything starts to become AWESOME. If this story is true and he really completed Facebook in just a few weeks, then there's no reason why he shouldn't be as rich and successful as he is now.

Facebook is worth $25 billion as of today.

Damn. I need a plan. Because as of now, I feel like I'm crawling on my knees to even make $25,000 a month. OK, I don't make that much a month actually. I wish it was as much as that. So, the amount of $25 billion is out of this world for me. Damn.

It's a little sad what happened between Mark and his best friend, Eduardo though. It must be very painful for Eduardo when his shares was diluted to as little as 0.03%. He must feel like he's being backstabbed many million times by his own best friend, whom he believed in right from the start. If I was him, I'd sue my best friend's ass too, and keep my name on the masthead just to rub it in my best friend's face.

I love the cast of this movie and I think they played their parts well. I certainly wouldn't mind watching this movie again. 

I guess the lesson here is always thread carefully in what you do or say because you don't want things to bite you in your soft spot in the near future. Also, be very wary of some people who might only be there for a ride on your success. Know who your real friends are and don't turn your back on them.

Movie Rating : 8/10

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SHEMAH

Movie Review - Unstoppable

I just watched this movie last weekend when I was out with B-bunz and my brothers. It was a long Saturday. I had to go Uni in the morning to let go of my VP post and then the car I drove broke down. It was frustrating because I thought driving my brother's car would be best compared to my car with the problematic brake pads but apparently I miscalculated. So we only arrived at The Gardens MidValley at 6pm and watched the 8.30pm show.

Seriously, in my opinion, this is a good movie. There are some gripping actions here which are a little more than what really happened in Ohio in 2001. Still, although most of the time in the movie there are only trains and chasing another train from derailing, the movie was not boring. I think this movie is much better than Takers and Skyline.

The real incident happened on May 15, 2001 when an unmanned CSX yard train consisting of one model SD-40-2 locomotive, 22 loaded, and 25 empty cars, 2898 gross trailing tons, departed Stanley Yard, which is located in Walbridge, Ohio. The uncontrolled movement proceeded south for a distance of 66 miles. And then, near mile 67, the crew of Q63615 successfully caught the runaway equipment and succeeded in coupling to the rear car, at a speed of 51 mph. By the time the train passed over Route 31 south of Kenton, the engineer had slowed the speed of the train to approximately 11 mph. At the crossing,Trainmaster Jon Hosfeld, who was able to run along side the unmanned locomotive climbed aboard. After immediately shutting down the throttle, the train quickly came to a stop.

So how did this happen?

Apparently, while the train was still moving at a speed of approximately 8 mph, the engineer dismounted the locomotive and ran ahead to reposition the switch before the train could run through and cause damage to the switch. The engineer was successful in operating the switch just seconds before the train reached it. He then ran alongside the locomotive and attempted to reboard but instead of the speed decrease as the engineer expected, it increased to 12mph. Due to poor footing and wet grab handles on the locomotive, the engineer could not pull himself up, instead was dragged along for approximately 80 feet until he released his grip on the hand rails and fell to the ground.

You can read the report of the incident here.

I have always loved to see Denzel Washington's movies and this one is no different. I think the collaboration with Chris Pine is also great. If you're bored or thinking of going to the cinema, check out this movie, it is worth your money.

Movie Rating : 8.5/10

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MONICA