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Could have been better

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 14 April 2008 05:04 (A review of Vantage Point)

The trailers billed Vantage Point as a fast paced action/thriller but what you get is more of a slow burn as each viewpoint brings in additional pieces of the puzzle.

The first few re-tells get a bit repetitive but the once more information is given things start to pick up. Plus there are some great action sequences (the car chase with Dennis Quaid will get your adrenaline pumping).

However my main fault with the movie is the twist near the end. It totally spoils the film because it comes out of left field. There is no explanation or logical reasoning for why this particular character would do such a thing.

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Predictable but still fun

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 4 March 2008 07:01 (A review of 27 Dresses)

Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) is the perennial bridesmaid until she's faced with having to plan her sister's wedding to the guy she's secretly in love with.

Yes, 27 Dresses is thoroughly predictable (name me a romantic comedy that isn't!) but it's still a fun, sweet movie. The chemistry between Heigl and James Marsden is spot on and there are some great one-liners that will have you cracking up with laughter.

What made the movie for me was James Marsden - so earnestly adorable even with his cynicism, I probably would have enjoyed the movie less if someone else played his character.


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Leave the romance out

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 20 February 2008 06:29 (A review of Jumper)

David Rice (Hayden Christensen) discovers that he has the ability to teleport anywhere in the world but later finds out that he isn't alone and that there are a group of people who have sworn to kill him and all other "Jumpers".

The concept of Jumper is interesting - what would you do if you could be anywhere you wanted? And what are the consequences of your actions.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't delve enough into why there are jumpers and why they're being sought after. It spends too much time on developing the romantic interest but Rachel Bilson is terrible and I found myself tuning out to this part of the movie.

Far more interesting are the interactions between Christensen and Jamie Bell - the action sequences involving the two are fantastic! As are the special effects of jumping.

I also liked the relationship between Christensen and Micheal Rooker who plays his father.

If Doug Liman had focused more on these two aspects than on the romance Jumper would have been much better movie.



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Pointless

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago on 14 December 2007 04:47 (A review of Resident Evil: Extinction)

The first Resident Evil was genuinely scary. The sequel was over the top but managed to give me a few scares. With that in mind, I was still excited to see Resident Evil: Extinction. However, I was majorly let down by this movie. Can someone tell me, what was the point?

Alice (Milla Jovovich) spends much of the movie living in a Mad Max-type world, on the run from the Umbrella corporation, away from her friends because "they have a habit of dying on me". Meanwhile, Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and LJ(Mike Epps) (two of the survivors from the second movie) have joined a convoy of humans trying to find a safe place from the undead. And of course, the nefarious Umbrella corporation is still trying to figure out a way to take control of the world using the zombies but since there's not much of a world left, why would they want to?

Character development is nil - so many new characters are introduced - but we don't learn anything about them that when they're inevitably killed, so what, who cares.

Resident Evil: Extinction isn't scary and it doesn't offer anything new, preferring instead to wander aimlessly through the desert and give us more fights with zombie dogs.

At the end, my only question, aside from why they made this movie, is how Alice's t-shirt manages to stay so clean in the harsh elements of the desert. A sorry state of affairs indeed. If it weren't for Oded Fehr this movie would only rate a 2 and that's for the visual effects and make-up.

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Much better than I anticipated

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago on 14 December 2007 04:38 (A review of Nancy Drew)

I am a huge fan of the Nancy Drew books but when I saw the trailer for the big screen adaptation I was sorely disappointed. I didn't like the decision to skew for a younger audience and the Nancy Drew on-screen was nothing like what I pictured - she was a miss goody two shoes, a know it all, in a word, obnoxious.

But after someone recommended giving the movie a try I checked it out and I'm glad I did. The basic story involves Nancy Drew accompanying her father, a lawyer, to Hollywood for a few months with the promise of no more sleuthing. But soon Nancy is knee-deep in solving the mystery of a movie star's death some 20 years earlier.

Though the mystery is more on par with Murder She Wrote than CSI, I still had fun watching it. There are some cheesy scenes - a few of them appeared in the trailer that caught my ire but still it doesn't detract much from the movie. Even more surprising was how much I liked Emma Robert's portrayal of Nancy Drew - she's an independent, determined girl with a cool sense of fashion. A bit obsessive compulsive at times but still adorable and spunky.

In spite of my initial reserve towards this movie, I actually wouldn't mind seeing a sequel.

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Skip the middle 30 minutes

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago on 14 December 2007 04:34 (A review of The Kingdom)

The Kingdom presents a very real view on cultural differences and highlights how people are fundamentally alike than they are different. The performances are all top notch but my favorite was the actor who played the character of Colonel Faris Al Ghazi, the FBI team's guide and guard during their time in Saudi Arabia. His sense of fairplay and justice really rang true and I like how his friendship with Jamie Foxx's character develops from misunderstanding to mutual respect.

The major let down of The Kingdom is the pacing. Things get off to an unsettling, emotional and thrilling start but gets bogged down by delving too much into the political background of Saudi/US relations as well as posturing by various big wigs.

But still once the investigation gets underway, The Kingdom is choc-a-block with action and by the time of the last act, I was at the edge of my seat.

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Delightful

Posted : 2 years ago on 26 November 2007 04:43 (A review of Enchanted)

Enchanted puts its own spin on the classic Disney princess story with great charm and humor.

The characters were all well cast with Amy Adams being the standout - being likable and innocent without being cloying.

And the musical numbers that you would expect from any Disney movie are a treat. I dare you not to sign along when Giselle starts singing "That's How You Know".


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Great Dance Moves. Boring Story

Posted : 2 years ago on 26 November 2007 04:28 (A review of Stomp the Yard)

This is the first time that I've come across this type of street dancing and the choregraphy was great.

But the overall story was boring and I just couldn't feel anything for the main character.

A great ending couldn't make up for the rest of the movie which is a shame because Stomp The Yard could have been much better.

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So So Film

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 15 September 2007 09:02 (A review of Blue Crush)

Blue Crush is a halfway decent film until the introduction of the love interest. I don't know why Hollywood movies feel the need to ram a love story in a film when it's just not needed.

If the director had made the movie more about Anne Marie's love/fear of the waves it would have been more nuanced. As it is the whole romance totally sidetracked the film.

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An eye-opener

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 24 August 2007 04:56 (A review of Imelda)

A look at the life of Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. Diaz mixes archival footage together with interviews with dissidents, journalists, friends as well as the "Steel Butterfly" herself.

That Mrs. Marcos comes across in a less than flattering light has less to do with any critic than what she has to say about herself. Try as she might to make you believe in her innate naivete and innocence, Mrs. Marcos shows herself to be out of touch with reality and who couldn't see how her childish sense of entitlement nearly derailed a country.

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