Back to haunt every parent's wallet - the new Transformers Animated! Haven't seen a single episode yet, but based on the artwork on its site, the style is just not right in conveying the metallic giant robots' mass and weight. Looks more rubbery and plasticky, just like the toys, but maybe that's the intention. Anyway, I was quite skeptical about the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series' use of Powerpuff Girls' art-style, but the cartoon made me eat my own words by having Jedi battle scenes that are far, far more awesome than any of the live-action movies'. Maybe this Transformers will be another Clone Wars-type of awesome. Who knows?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New Transformers cartoon
Back to haunt every parent's wallet - the new Transformers Animated! Haven't seen a single episode yet, but based on the artwork on its site, the style is just not right in conveying the metallic giant robots' mass and weight. Looks more rubbery and plasticky, just like the toys, but maybe that's the intention. Anyway, I was quite skeptical about the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series' use of Powerpuff Girls' art-style, but the cartoon made me eat my own words by having Jedi battle scenes that are far, far more awesome than any of the live-action movies'. Maybe this Transformers will be another Clone Wars-type of awesome. Who knows?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
An (unedited) review on I am Legend-comparison between old and new
HI Guys,
Before I proceed to the review, I do admit that living in solitude with all the cool stuffs in the world is rather cool.
This movie is based on based on the 1954 novel "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson. The first silver screen adaption of this book was the 1971's 'OMEGA MAN', with Charles Heston (a.k.a the NRA Taiko in USA) as Richard Neville. In this version, Richard Neville,the doctor,due to an experimental vaccine, is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves "The Family". The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic. In this version, Richard Neville is trying to get out of the city and find a human colony. In terms of execution, the movie is somewhat similar to sic-fi movies of its time, esp. Planet of the Apes etc.
Fast forward to 2007, in latest adaption of the novel, the producers decided to name the movie as the novel title, I AM LEGEND, and I do have to admit, it is definitely an improvement in comparison to its predessor. In this version, The movie begins with a newspaper interview with Dr. Kripper (Emma Thompson) who is speaking about the her scientific breakthrough. She has taken the Measles virus and altered it at a genetic level so that it attacks only cancerous cells. The treatment has proven 100% effective in over 10,109 clinical trials. The film then cuts to three years later and we see that New York is deserted. Grass is breaking through the concrete, cars are rusting in the streets, and entire buildings are covered in titanic sheets of plastic with Biohazard signs plastered all over them. Our Hero, Richard Neville (Will Smith), comes blazing in his Mustang GT500, hunting deers in downtown, run down NY (In Omega man, Charles Heston breaks into a deserted dealership and drives out the Mustang from the store window).
As in the earlier version, Neville is the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- 'The Infected' -- lurk in the shadows
In a nutshell, the special effects of this movie is ok, not that it is bad or anything, but after watching Beuwolf, playing countless gory video games such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill etc; 'The Infected' looks nothing more that 100% CG characters, fresh from the PC. I really wished the Director paid more attention on this. As for the storyline and cinematography, the pace was good and there were times I was on the edge of my seat, especially when Neville was entering an Infected hideout trying to get his dog back. The other character are Alicia Braga (Anna) andCharlie Tahan (Ethan), though their contribution didn't matter to the to the movie plot, they were in the movie till the end.
The movie centered on Neville's coping with his solitude life, that is constantly in battling to stay away from 'The Infected'. And by potraying the effects in embarking in risky genetic biotechnology projects with inadequate safety protocols, I believe the movie highlights the state of our modern hightech biotechnology industry, where company rush to produce cures for major ailments from the most unlikely sources, in order to claim novel discoveries and patents, in order to attain instant fame, glory and monetary rewards that comes with it.
In short, I would say that this is one cool movie, and I am definitely getting a DVD copy of this movie.
spoovans
Before I proceed to the review, I do admit that living in solitude with all the cool stuffs in the world is rather cool.
This movie is based on based on the 1954 novel "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson. The first silver screen adaption of this book was the 1971's 'OMEGA MAN', with Charles Heston (a.k.a the NRA Taiko in USA) as Richard Neville. In this version, Richard Neville,the doctor,due to an experimental vaccine, is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves "The Family". The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic. In this version, Richard Neville is trying to get out of the city and find a human colony. In terms of execution, the movie is somewhat similar to sic-fi movies of its time, esp. Planet of the Apes etc.
Fast forward to 2007, in latest adaption of the novel, the producers decided to name the movie as the novel title, I AM LEGEND, and I do have to admit, it is definitely an improvement in comparison to its predessor. In this version, The movie begins with a newspaper interview with Dr. Kripper (Emma Thompson) who is speaking about the her scientific breakthrough. She has taken the Measles virus and altered it at a genetic level so that it attacks only cancerous cells. The treatment has proven 100% effective in over 10,109 clinical trials. The film then cuts to three years later and we see that New York is deserted. Grass is breaking through the concrete, cars are rusting in the streets, and entire buildings are covered in titanic sheets of plastic with Biohazard signs plastered all over them. Our Hero, Richard Neville (Will Smith), comes blazing in his Mustang GT500, hunting deers in downtown, run down NY (In Omega man, Charles Heston breaks into a deserted dealership and drives out the Mustang from the store window).
As in the earlier version, Neville is the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- 'The Infected' -- lurk in the shadows
In a nutshell, the special effects of this movie is ok, not that it is bad or anything, but after watching Beuwolf, playing countless gory video games such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill etc; 'The Infected' looks nothing more that 100% CG characters, fresh from the PC. I really wished the Director paid more attention on this. As for the storyline and cinematography, the pace was good and there were times I was on the edge of my seat, especially when Neville was entering an Infected hideout trying to get his dog back. The other character are Alicia Braga (Anna) andCharlie Tahan (Ethan), though their contribution didn't matter to the to the movie plot, they were in the movie till the end.
The movie centered on Neville's coping with his solitude life, that is constantly in battling to stay away from 'The Infected'. And by potraying the effects in embarking in risky genetic biotechnology projects with inadequate safety protocols, I believe the movie highlights the state of our modern hightech biotechnology industry, where company rush to produce cures for major ailments from the most unlikely sources, in order to claim novel discoveries and patents, in order to attain instant fame, glory and monetary rewards that comes with it.
In short, I would say that this is one cool movie, and I am definitely getting a DVD copy of this movie.
spoovans
Monday, December 31, 2007
Merry Belated X-mas and a Contented New Year!
Well, after Bhutto's very recent death, and reading other people's round-up of 2007, full of embarrassing events like athletes getting exposed for using drugs, celebrities using drugs, celebrities getting exposed, terrorists all around the world trying to outdo each other (truly believing their every pointless mass murder would bringing them a step closer to world domination, essentially ripping off S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s idea), weather's going crazy all year and polar bears are drowning because we listened to Bush and because Chris Weitz screwed up The Golden Compass (I thought this was a sure-win movie that would have popularise the polar teddies and save them from Man's stupidity, but it turns out you can't really fight one stupidity with another), I can't really say "Happy New Year" now, can I?
The year 2007 also seems to be sort of an above-average year for the movies. True, there are much more stuff that worked and entertained than 2006's, but I don't remember seeing a single movie that knocked me over with a big wow, like what V for Vendetta and Borat did. Then again, I haven't seen the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Superbad yet, nor have I taken a glimpse at any of the Oscar baits of the year (Coen Bros' No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Away From Her, I'm Not There, Sean Penn's Into The Wild, etc.) Oh wait, there's Eye in the Sky from Johnnie To's crime movie factory, which did wow me, so it's not a total lost!
But 2008 looks to be one exciting year for movies. It's still smothered with sequels and remakes, but these sequels and remakes are far more interesting, because 1) there's a new Batman sequel from the guys who did Batman Begins, 2) there's Lost's J. J. Abrams doing a Star Trek reboot, 3) like McClane, action veterans Rambo and Indy are back for one last hurrah, 4) Rambo 4, Indy 4, Batman 2, Hellboy 2, Sin City 2, Craig's James Bond part 2, Harold and Kumar 2, Harry Potter 6 and X-files 2 aren't exactly sequels we're not excited about, and 5) there is also a pretty interesting line-up of originals and adaptations like Stephen Chow's sci-fi CJ7, giant monster flick Cloverfield, Iron Man, the Wachowski's Speed Racer, Valkyrie, Pixar's Wall*E and, err Dragonball (but it's produced by Stephen Chow!).
What else can a Big Movie Freak say but please, please don't f*** it up, 2008?
The year 2007 also seems to be sort of an above-average year for the movies. True, there are much more stuff that worked and entertained than 2006's, but I don't remember seeing a single movie that knocked me over with a big wow, like what V for Vendetta and Borat did. Then again, I haven't seen the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Superbad yet, nor have I taken a glimpse at any of the Oscar baits of the year (Coen Bros' No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Away From Her, I'm Not There, Sean Penn's Into The Wild, etc.) Oh wait, there's Eye in the Sky from Johnnie To's crime movie factory, which did wow me, so it's not a total lost!
But 2008 looks to be one exciting year for movies. It's still smothered with sequels and remakes, but these sequels and remakes are far more interesting, because 1) there's a new Batman sequel from the guys who did Batman Begins, 2) there's Lost's J. J. Abrams doing a Star Trek reboot, 3) like McClane, action veterans Rambo and Indy are back for one last hurrah, 4) Rambo 4, Indy 4, Batman 2, Hellboy 2, Sin City 2, Craig's James Bond part 2, Harold and Kumar 2, Harry Potter 6 and X-files 2 aren't exactly sequels we're not excited about, and 5) there is also a pretty interesting line-up of originals and adaptations like Stephen Chow's sci-fi CJ7, giant monster flick Cloverfield, Iron Man, the Wachowski's Speed Racer, Valkyrie, Pixar's Wall*E and, err Dragonball (but it's produced by Stephen Chow!).
What else can a Big Movie Freak say but please, please don't f*** it up, 2008?
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
(Unedited) review on fantastic 4- rise of the silver surfer
Hi guys,
Before I start, allow me to confess that I am not a big fan of fantastic four, but I will be as objective as possible.
I do have to admit that I have enjoyed the first installment of the Fanstastic Four, as I wasn't a die hard fan of the comic book, hence I took it as any other action movie, simple storyline of good versus bad, with the good guy being a brilliant doctor (Dr.Dean Richards : Ioan Gruffurdd
) pitching a high risk space project to a successful industrialist (Victor Von Doom : Julian Mcmahon), who happens to be his uni buddy, he agrees and ropes in his assistant (sue storm : Jessica Alba) and also ropes in Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and of course, lets not forget Ben Grimm (Micheal Chicklis). They are up in space and a freak cosmic storm hits them, they are back home and they realise that they have superpowers.
In the meantime, while the Fantastic Four team is gelling, Victor Von Doom is facing real world corporate problems, looming bankruptcy and drought of financial backers.
The first movie was nice due to the special effects, Julian Mcmahon performance as Victor was not bad though the human torch, aka Cris Evans was rather over the top at times. Though I personally did not find Dr.Dean Richards performance as a nerd, entertaining at all.
With the Rise of the Silver surfer, It was actually much better compared to the first, especially in the beginning when you have planets being destroyed and a white light zooming through space. And Dr.Doom's return to movie, just when we though he was finished, was not too shabby either.
The downfall of the movie, in my opinion, is the ending of the movie. Especially when the silver surfer has a change of heart and decised to save earth by destroying himself and his master. I really found the Silver surfer character rather cool, as he is invincible and all powerful, totally focused in destroying planets for the singular purpose of serving his master and has no conscience or feeling so to speak, or thats how the movie made you believe at the start of the movie.
Another archillies heel of this movie is the sappy romantic moments between Dr.Dean Richards and Sue Storm, rather sad actually.
And I found the human torch entertaining when he was a torch, not as Jonny storm.
The sucky moments is when they unveiled their 'Dodge' flying 'Thingamagic', and when it splits into four pieces and drew the no.four in the sky, that just 'killed' the movies for me.
All in all, a rather average movie, suitable for those who either loves Jessica Alba or are die hard fans of Fantastic Four
Spoovan
Before I start, allow me to confess that I am not a big fan of fantastic four, but I will be as objective as possible.
I do have to admit that I have enjoyed the first installment of the Fanstastic Four, as I wasn't a die hard fan of the comic book, hence I took it as any other action movie, simple storyline of good versus bad, with the good guy being a brilliant doctor (Dr.Dean Richards : Ioan Gruffurdd
) pitching a high risk space project to a successful industrialist (Victor Von Doom : Julian Mcmahon), who happens to be his uni buddy, he agrees and ropes in his assistant (sue storm : Jessica Alba) and also ropes in Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and of course, lets not forget Ben Grimm (Micheal Chicklis). They are up in space and a freak cosmic storm hits them, they are back home and they realise that they have superpowers.
In the meantime, while the Fantastic Four team is gelling, Victor Von Doom is facing real world corporate problems, looming bankruptcy and drought of financial backers.
The first movie was nice due to the special effects, Julian Mcmahon performance as Victor was not bad though the human torch, aka Cris Evans was rather over the top at times. Though I personally did not find Dr.Dean Richards performance as a nerd, entertaining at all.
With the Rise of the Silver surfer, It was actually much better compared to the first, especially in the beginning when you have planets being destroyed and a white light zooming through space. And Dr.Doom's return to movie, just when we though he was finished, was not too shabby either.
The downfall of the movie, in my opinion, is the ending of the movie. Especially when the silver surfer has a change of heart and decised to save earth by destroying himself and his master. I really found the Silver surfer character rather cool, as he is invincible and all powerful, totally focused in destroying planets for the singular purpose of serving his master and has no conscience or feeling so to speak, or thats how the movie made you believe at the start of the movie.
Another archillies heel of this movie is the sappy romantic moments between Dr.Dean Richards and Sue Storm, rather sad actually.
And I found the human torch entertaining when he was a torch, not as Jonny storm.
The sucky moments is when they unveiled their 'Dodge' flying 'Thingamagic', and when it splits into four pieces and drew the no.four in the sky, that just 'killed' the movies for me.
All in all, a rather average movie, suitable for those who either loves Jessica Alba or are die hard fans of Fantastic Four
Spoovan
Friday, December 21, 2007
Dragonball live-action movie!
Producer's Stephen Chow, director's Final Destination director James Wong, and stars' the kid from War of the Worlds, Spike from Buffy, the Phantom of the Opera's love, and, what the hell, Chow Yun Fat as the horny old man, Master Roshi?? This should be really interesting. See the cast and cartoon comparison below. Tentatively opens on 15 August 2008.
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