Category: Movies

I told myself that I won’t watch any horror movies anymore after Evil Dead.  But what do I know?  I couldn’t say no to a friend especially when that person made a cute little plea.  I guess some people do really have that strong sense of commitment of not watching The Conjuring after hearing so many feedback that it was so damn scary.  My friend didn’t have anyone to watch the film with.  I watched the film out of friendship.  I knew that I will end up having sleepless nights if The Conjuring end up to be a good horror flick.  Hayyy…. the things I do for my friends 🙂

The Conjuring is based on a true story.  The Warrens (played by Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga) are paranormal investigators.  They came to help the Perron couple (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) & their 5 kids who are experiencing disturbing events in their new home in Harrisville, Rhode Island.  This was way back 1971.  The Conjuring is a classic story of ghosts and demons.  The different scary scenes are things that can really happen in our lives (or the film made us imagine that those eerie things might actually happen!).  Haunted house type of horror isn’t something new but what separates the Conjuring from the rest of the horror flicks is that the film didn’t overdo it.  There were no gory stuff at all.  The filmmakers executed the movie perfectly!

The Conjuring already scared the heck out of me even from the first ten minutes of the movie.  The scare continued scene per scene until the end of the movie.  Yes, I could have gotten myself a heart attack.  I screamed and jumped from my seat several times.  It was embarrassing!

The Conjuring stays with you for a while.  In fact, after 1.5 weeks, I continue to sleep when the sun is already up, my bedroom lights open, and TV open.  I wonder when I can get over it.

So if you end up being curious about the Conjuring, you are warned.  The movie is too good, too well-acted, and story well-played.  Watching it inside a moviehouse will make it more horrific.  Watch at your own risk and oh, better go to the washroom first because I don’t think you’d ever want to leave your seat and go to the washroom all alone.

Let’s play hide-and-seek *creepy*!

My Rating for The Conjuring: 5 out of 5 stars

Red 2 brings back a team of top operatives for a quest to track down a missing nuclear weapon.  In order to save the world, they have to rely on their wits and skills.  They also need to face several assassins, terrorists and other bad people who wanted to get their hands on the dangerous device.  The team had to do all they can to survive and save the world.  The movie was inspired by a limited series comic book of the same name, written by Warren Ellis.

Watching Red 2 was part of my weekend plans last week.  I was planning to watch it with a friend.  As things go sometimes, a plan can get cancelled.  Luckily another friend suggested we watch it.  I came in the theater not having any idea what the movie is about.  All I knew was that it was a Bruce Willis & Catherine Zeta-Jones movie.

What I like most about the movie is that the lead stars are all A-level celebrities who already proved themselves in the industry.  Most movies these days highlight young rising stars in Hollywood.  Red 2 is very refreshing in a way that we get to see Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Anthony Hopkins, Mary-Louise Parker & Catherine Zeta-Jones strut their stuff again.  Adding one my favorite Korean hollywood star (Byung-hun Lee) in the mix is a nice bonus!

In all honesty, the movie didn’t have a solid plot but I didn’t care as I enjoyed the movie thoroughly!  Red 2 was sooooooooooooooo funny!  I was really laughing all throughout.  While Red 2 was marketed as an action-comedy movie.  I would say that it’s 80% comedy and 20% action.  No complaints there because for me, we watch movies to entertain.  Red 2 did just that and more.  I left the movie house with a huge smile on my face and a good mood to boot!

My Rating for Red 2: 4 out of 5 stars

It’s so fun to watch a movie when you are a big group!  We consumed 1.5 rows of the movie theatre and we even hanged out just to discuss what we thought of the movie afterwards.  It was just full of fun, fun, and fun!

Everyone voted for Man of Tai Chi when there were bigger movies showing in the cinemas.  The consensus is that people tend to want to watch those blockbuster movies with their special someone and leave the not-so-popular movies for night outs with colleagues.  You know what?  Man of Tai Chi turned out to be a very entertaining movie that we ended up enjoying a whole bunch of it.

We also had our picture taken of us having a tai chi pose.  The bonding was that successful and we all enjoyed the night, the company and yes, the movie 🙂

Photo by my colleagues Carlos & Anna

Spoiler alert!

Man of Tai Chi is the story of Tiger Chen, a Tai Chi student.  He works as a courier by day, learns english on his way to work by listening to the radio and lives a very simple life.  In his off hours, he meets with his Tai Master from Lingkong School of Tai Chi in a 600-year old temple to further hone his Tai Chi skills.  Like superhero.

Tiger joins a martial arts competition to show the world that Tai Chi is not being used just for exercise.  During that competition, he’s discovered by Donaka (Keanu Reeves) and lures Tiger to join his underground fight club as a fighter.  Tiger Chen initially rejects Donaka’s offer but was forced to participate due to an urgent need of cash to save the Tai Chi temple that his master has guarded for years.  As Tiger continues to join the illegal fights, the killer instinct in him is released.  Will he be able to control it?

Overall, I really liked the film.  I guess I went inside not having any expectations apart from seeing Keanu in the screen again after a very long time.  If you’re someone who analyses films that you watch and wants to further understand each major character’s story then you’ll be disappointed.

Man of Tai Chi is a very simple film.  Actually, I think it’s a collection of different fighting techniques which most martial arts fans would love.  If you love action, wresting and martial arts, then you will definitely love Man of Tai Chi because 80% of the film is all action, action & action!

For girls who swoon on Keanu Reeves, you won’t be disappointed!  He didn’t change at all!  In fact, if there is someone who mastered the fountain of youth, Keanu must be it!  Boy, he didn’t age at all.  Upon watching the film, I was actually laughing my heart out because in spite of several punches to his face, he didn’t seem to have any scars, blood or anything, it’s like his face is insured or something.  It was really funny!  You’ll notice it when you get to watch Man of Tai Chi.  But of course, this is not new to anyone, Keanu still has the same emotionless expression 😛

This is Keanu’s directorial debut.  While lacking in plot, I believe Man of Tai Chi is a decent film to watch.  It’s good to know that Keanu made the movie in honor of Tiger Chen (coincidentally same name as the film character) after having worked with him in the Matrix franchise.  Tiger was Keanu Reeves’ trainer and was mostly responsible for the stunts in movies like Matrix and Kill Bill.

As a bonus (at least for me), I’m very happy to see my favourite Chinese stars acting on the big screen (i.e., Karen Mok and Simon Yam).

My Rating for Man of Tai Chi: 3.5 out of 5 stars

In an attempt to relieve stress, I invited a friend to watch a movie.  However, on the way, we got into a car accident wherein a truck hit my car 🙁  A saddening experience that I do not want to ruin my day for.  So I decided to go through with the plan and end my day watching Will Smith & his son, Jaden Smith on After Earth.

After Earth is the second movie that starred the Smiths.  I wasn’t able to catch Pursuit of Happyness but glad that I didn’t miss to watch After Earth.  I always have a soft spot for father & son/father & daughter movies.  This film definitely fit that genre.

The story came a thousand years after a tragedy made humans escape from the planet Earth.  Nova Prime has become a new home for humans but it’s not completely safe.  An organization called the Ranger Corps are trained to keep humans on Nova Prime safe from the S’krell, a group of aliens that kills humans.

Kitai (Jaden Smith) is a 13-year old son of Ranger Corps General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) who continues to try to prove to his dad that he can be a ranger like him.  In an effort to build a relationship with his son, Cypher tagged Kitai on his last mission before retirement.  However, an asteroid damages their spaceship and they eventually crash-land on earth.  The unfortunate accident kills everyone except Cypher and Kitao Raige.  With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must explore across the dangerous planet to recover their rescue beacon and save his dying father.

“Fear is not real.  It is a product of the thoughts you create.  Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real.  But fear is a choice.”

If there is something to take away from After Earth, that is to remember that we can choose not to be afraid.  It’s a state of mind and I must say, I’m guilty of such.  We just have to believe & have faith and we’ll eventually gather enough strength to overcome our fears 🙂

After Earth is a very simple film.  Actually there were no twists to the story.  It was straightforward but I love how it was panned out.

Effects are not something I would rave for but it was pretty decent.  I liked the chase with the gorillas and the high tech features of the spaceships.  Other than that, the CGI effects are just alright.

The film is definitely family-oriented.  There were some tender moments wherein I shed some tears.  True love for family specifically father & son relationship was the main theme here.  Will Smith was brilliant!  In spite of his role, you will be able to feel his love for his child.  It was heartwarming!

It was also nice to see how Will Smith took the backseat and let his son, Jaden, carry the whole film.  It’s such an irony considering that Jaden’s character was trying to save Will’s character on After Earth while in real life, Will was just there to help launch Jaden’s career as a box office star following his lead.

My Rating for After Earth: 4 out of 5 stars

My friend wanted to watch Fast & Furious 6.  However, I watched it already so we ended up checking out Now You See Me.  The poster looked good but what really caught my attention was its plot.  I got to read a short description of the movie while deciding which movie to watch.  I didn’t really have high expectations as Now You See Me wasn’t packaged the same way as movies like Fast & Furious 6, Into Darkness and Hangover 3.

Before I say anything further, I would like to convince you to go catch Now You See Me.  I know reviews online weren’t good.  In all honesty, I think the professional movie reviewers are doing injustice to the filmmaker of Now You See Me.  The film was awesome, exciting, entertaining and unpredictable!  The actors were amazing and perfect for their roles.

If I have to criticise the film, I would say that they should add another hour to build on some characters on Now You See Me.  Otherwise, the 2-hour movie is a must-watch!  Don’t be swayed by the naysayers.  Let you be the judge!

Now You See Me is about the Four Horseman, a group of magicians who rob from corrupt businessmen during their Las Vegas high-tech live shows and give the stolen money to their audiences.  The Four Horsemen aren’t just magicians but they are highly talented individuals with specific specialty.

• J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) – a brash magician with motto: the closer you look, the less you see.  He’s arrogant & egotistical cardsharp professional.  He serves as the leader of the group.
• Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) – Daniel Atlas’ former assistant turned sexy escape artist & illusionist.
• Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) – a mentalist who can flesh out secrets of people with specialty in hypnosis.
• Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) – a street magician who is also a pickpocket, con man and skilled lock picker.

The four magicians are brought together by a mysterious person who offers a reward if they team up and carry out the deception.  Also watching the shows are Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), an insurance company tycoon who acts as the horsemen sponsor and Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a former magician who now exposes professional illusionists for his own reality TV show.

After the Four Horseman first performance, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and new interpol agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) started tracking them down.  The chase started from Las Vegas then to New Orleans then to New York.  Will they be able to catch the horsemen?

Now You See Me has an all-star cast and each one of those stars performed perfectly well!  Imagine combining Mark Ruffalo (Avengers), Woody Harrelson (Hunger Games), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman!

Funny to say but I kept imagining the Hulk to come out of the movie.  It’s just hard to separate Mark Ruffalo from his hulk’s character in the Avengers.  Having said that, I must say Mark Ruffalo performed brilliantly again.  He is now becoming one of my favorite actors in Hollywood.  He’s such a believable actor and very funny too without trying so hard!  I enjoyed watching him and would probably watch out for any future films that he will make!

Storywise, I was totally surprised at the ending!  I guess the story went by too fast that it didn’t give me enough time to analyse.  Now You See Me blew me away upon knowing who’s the mastermind and how all the pieces connected together.  I had a great time watching it!

My rating for Now You See Me: 4 out of 5 stars.