BRIEF MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CASUAL MOVIEGOERS


Friday, August 26, 2011

Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I had no hope that this movie would work, until I saw the reviews, which were unexpectedly very positive. Like X-Men: First Class, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (ROTPOTA) is a 'prequel' to the 40-plus-year-old Planet of the Apes. Not a familiar movie to these parts of the world, but familiar with most Americans and considered a science fiction milestone by some. A prequel of a decades-old movie that lacks familiarity, ROTPOTA was destined to fail. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise to find a rousing (no pun intended), heartwarming tale of a genetically intelligent simian who would eventually become the catalyst to the events in the original movie. It's a simple story that relies a lot on performance and direction, and here all of it worked amazingly, even the ape CG. A little bit of Lassie, King Kong 2005, 28 Days Later, and The Great Escape (or Prison Break for you young fellas), the best big movie of 2011 so far. Really!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Review: Cowboys and Aliens

An OK Western science fiction hybrid from the director of Iron Man and Zathura, the best thing about it is having James Bond and Indiana Jones occupying the screen together. The title suggests a gimmicky, pandering-to-the-masses type of movie, but instead surprises with its serious tone and gritty, sweaty portrayal of the American Old West. This is one instance where a movie could have done with a little more humour and cheese. Nevertheless, the movie still manages to squeeze in cowboys, aliens, spaceships, ray guns, Paul Dano and Sam Rockwell. The story is also rather vanilla and straight. I would have preferred a "what if The Man With No Name fought aliens" movie where bounty hunters actually hunts aliens in the Old West. Cowboys and Aliens played it a bit too safe, I felt.
Violence: A bit too much blood and bludgeoning for the kids.
Sex: None, unless a brief shot of someone's buttocks counts.

Saw it at: Golden Village Jurong Point on a weekday
Cost: $8 for two tix, using GV's Buy 1 Get 1 Free member's birthday special

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Movie is brilliant - brilliant in squeezing every last cent out of fans and moviegoers by splitting into two parts. I can't think of another good reason for doing that. I have not read the book, which is supposed to be the last chapter in the series, but judging from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (or Harry Potter #7.1), the split is highly unnecessary. Part I meanders after the events in The Half Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6) where a key character is killed and the three witchy heroes, the titular Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), smart and resourceful Hermione (Emma Watson) and near-pointless Ron (Rupert Grint) are off to find lost artefacts that could help them defeat the evil wizard Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Instead of hurrying on a quest full of adventure and thrill to save the world, the kids mope, quarrel and brood across gloomy wintery landscapes for almost the entire running time. Add gratuitous bloodletting for flavour.

I'm not sure if it was the original intention of the book to drag out events that transpired in Part I. Intended or not, it doesn't work onscreen. You don't do "character development" for the sake of doing it if the material is lacking punch (the good stuff all went to Part II, I heard), or that the young cast is not capable of handling the acting baggage (Part I devotes most of its time to melodramatic, talky scenes). Basically, they just didn't have enough interesting material for two movies to share. I also missed the whimsical tone and melodic score of past Potter movies. This darker, violent, gloomy, dull sequel just doesn't feel like a Harry Potter movie.

Regardless, you'll need to watch this anyway if you have been following the series up till now. Good luck to Part II.

Definitely not for newcomers.

Not cool: The amped up violence; one nude scene that felt a little inappropriate.

Saw it at: Golden Village Jurong Point, weekend morning show.

Cost: Free (courtesy of HSBC Reward Programme)

Review: Moon

If you like your science fiction smart, you can't go wrong with "Moon". In the near future, when mankind has depleted all sources of fuel and energy and put the world in turmoil, The Lunar Corporation concocts a brilliant solution - harvest the untapped source of Helium 3 from the surface of the moon. One brave astronaut miner Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has the unenviable task of running the mining facility all alone for three years straight. Not very cost effective to be shuttling back and forth Earth and the moon, you see. When his contract is about to expire, strange things start to happen. These events threaten to ruin his long-anticipated family reunion on Earth.

"Moon" borrows ideas from other science fiction stories, and doesn't really have anything groundbreaking to offer except that it is executed really well. It's also a great demonstration of what you could accomplish with just a $5 million budget and one really good actor. The entire movie is held up by Rockwell's central performance. If it were another actor of lesser talent, the whole movie would have faltered. Worth a watch.

Format: DVD, anamorphic widescreen.
Source: Rental (Arts Brother, Jurong Point 1 Level 3)

Experience: Home, 47-inch LCD with home theatre surround system
Cost: SGD $4

Review: The Detective

A good take on the well-worn detective genre, brought to you by the people behind the Hong Kong horror hit, "The Eye". Following very closely to formula, the movie starts off with an odd character named Lung (Shing Fui-On) who engages the help of private investigator Tam (Aaron Kwok) to find a mysterious woman named Sum, who may be trying to kill Lung. Typically, the P.I. follows a trail that leads to one dead body after another before the horrific truth is unveiled.

There is nothing much here that you couldn't find in another detective story, but the movie is visually intriguing, and entertains with the central relationship between Tam and his Thai police connection, played with great relish by prolific Hong Kong supporting actor Liu Kai-Chi. There's also a rogue's gallery of TVB familiars taking up various supporting roles.

Frankly, I'm surprised the whole endeavour holds up so well. The direct Cantonese translation of the title is "C-plus Detective", which is a word play on the Cantonese equivalent of "Private Investigator". The movie is easily a "B+". Recommended.

Format: DVD, looks like a 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen.
Source: Belongs to my brother.
Experience: Home, 47-inch LCD with home theatre surround system
Cost: Apart from electricity and hardware depreciation, none.