Underworld: Awakening (19 Jan 2012)

" Dark, fast-paced, and exhilarating. "

Underworld: Awakening is slightly better than its two predecessors, the first Underworld and Underworld: Evolution (not counting the crappy Rise of the Lycans) least by a tad. Style of the direction is pretty much the same, plot is somewhat boring but the dark mood and setting brings forth the theme that gives out that "mysterious crusader" feeling, and the action scenes are fast-paced and satisfying to watch.

Underworld: Awakening in conclusion is a movie best watched for its action scenes rather than the plot. If you start to focus on its plot, you will leave the cinema unsatisfied. Just let the actions blur your mind for an hour and enjoy the movie.

Movie ratings: 3.5/5

Happy New Year 2012!

Welcome to 2012!

2011 has been a great year for many memorable movies. Some met/exceeded our expectations as one of our top recent movies, while others did not. A year where some Marvel characters are brought to life like Thor and Green Lantern; we've seen an awesome reboot to X-Men; and many more.

And what awaits us this year? For starters we'll have The Hunger Games (trailer page here), envisioning a young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. The novel received positive reviews, and the trailer's quite interesting to watch so we'll definitely keep an eye for this one.

Then we have the long awaited Avengers (trailer page here) where we'll finally see some of our favorite Marvel heroes group together. So obvious that everyone will be anticipating this one.

The Dark Knight Rises (trailer page here) this July, and we'll see Bane re-imagined in real life as we did with Joker. Let's just hope it would be as good or better than the previous movie.

Plus some other movies to look out for is Snow White and the Huntsman, The Amazing Spiderman, The Hobbit, and of course, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (though we doubt it'll receive good reviews).

So which will be a top recent movie this year? Well, we'll just have to wait, book our seats at the cinema, and give our verdict.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (18 Nov 2011)

" .......................... "

Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a joke, though Twi-hard fans might not think so. Director Bill Condon turned what is supposed to be the critical part of the Twilight saga into a slow, boring, uninspiring movie. 

However, not all is a loss. The wedding scene proved to be worthy of praise: with a great setting, Bella's beautifully designed dress, Edward in a handsome tux, and hot kiss-the-bride. Kristen Stewart should be commended too. Projecting Bella's suffering, her worn out look from intense child-carrying experience and labor pains, is no easy task. 

Breaking Dawn Part 1, as with all its predecessors, is best immortalised in the books. Your own imagination makes the best movie.

Movie ratings: 2/5

The Thing (13 Oct 2011)

"Its name describes the movie review."

One of the top recent movies this year, The Thing takes place 3 days before the 1982 film. This new movie tells about a discovery of an alien spacecraft in Antarctica. Dr. Sander Halversen (Ulrich Thomsen) recruits paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to join the Norwegian research team to study the frozen alien organism inside. The alien soon bursts out of its frozen cage and starts imitating each team member, one by one.

The new movie is a reboot of John Carpenter's 1982 version. There's nothing much to say here, for the plot and experience between the two is pretty much similar. Spoilers alert: Cold and deserted setting, hideous monsters and its gruesome transformations, panicking people, one surviving hero/heroine. That pretty sums up the entire story. The use of CGI makes them a little less frightening. 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead's performance stands out as the protagonist. She keeps her head cool while the other characters panic until one of them turns into, well, the Thing. Ulrich Thomsen also did a great job portraying the head scientist.

This recent movie is exactly like The Thing it contains, a replicate. It is intense, scary, entertaining... and brings back memories too.

Movie ratings: 4/5

Avengers 2012 Update

As you may know by now, the new Avengers trailer is on YouTube. What can we expect putting together the big guns of the Marvel universe: Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Hulk and Hawkeye? Guess we'll have to wait for next year.

The Avengers (2012)

Real Steel (7 Oct 2011)

"Well-made and exciting, definitely one of the top recent movies this year."

Real Steel sets in the near future where robot boxing has become the no.1 popular sport. This new sport made Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) lost his job as a boxer, and works as a small time promoter. When he finds a discarded robot in the junkyard one day, he teams up with his son Max (Dakota Goyo) to rebuild and train the robot to participate in the championships.

Director Shawn Levy is a name that would remind us of The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum, and Cheaper by the Dozen. Its not a name you would expect to see in this recent movie. But thankfully, there's more to what meets the eye. Real Steel is exciting and thrilling to watch as it has a solid plot, good character developments and great CGI effects-take Transformers for example.

Hugh Jackman's acting can be well expected from watching his previous movies. Dakota Goyo's character is a little annoying, but he still delivers a great performance.

Overall, definitely one of the top recent movies.

Movie ratings: 4/5

Contagion (9 Sept 2011)

"A highly contagious movie with argumentative points."

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) falls ill after returning from a business trip in Hong Kong. When she dies, and her infected son soon after, her husband Mitch discovers that his wife is the start of a global pandemic. Doctors at the U.S. Center for Disease Control must race against time to find a cure as the new virus spreads every minute.

Contagion is a very good representation of a global pandemic. Though not very exciting with a thin storyline, its still a great movie to watch. This is because the movie contains some very thought provoking moments and makes one wonder if our governments are what they say they are. Conspiracies abound. As Steven Soderbergh specializes in directing commercial films, he's the right man for the director's seat.

This new movie also has some very good collection of talented actors/actresses. Namely Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishburne, Jude Law... the list goes on. 

Nevertheless, its one of the top recent movies of 2011.

Movie ratings: 4.5/5