Movies : CZ12 (Chinese Zodiac)

Introduction

Movie involving Jackie Chan will always be linked directly to action genre. In fact not that long ago, there was this other movie about chinese history, that still had its token moment of action. In CZ12, Jackie does not try to do any excess story telling or documenting but really goes out to be creative in the action genre.

To that end, you could actually even ask if the 12 Zodiacs are necessary, and to be honest, it is really has hardly anything to do with the story.

Probably the link that Jackie is trying to bring is that the most expensive zodiac character which is Long (Dragon) is also part of his chinese name. And as classic Jackie fashion, he says that this is going to be the last movie he directs and acts... of course reading it completely means that if we see him again next time, he might just be directing, or acting.. separately. But thats not what this review about.. this review is on the movie, so lets get started.


Storyline 3/5

The storyline is pretty ordinary, a bunch of people out to get some Zodiac statues for some big company that is trying to play the system. Its similar to spy flick, but i guess the aim of the whole show is just to provide all the opportunities for Jackie to look cool, in terms of his moves and his technology.

The show adds a few other little story lines in the picture but to be honest, none of them are fleshed out enough to actually add value to the show. They all seemed very half baked and random.There are also some background relationships that are not really elaborated on and just suddenly introduced.

As far as things go, this leans more towards a true blue action flick with the storyline being more of a medium to allow all these actions to take place

Character 3.5/5

The number of characters are actually pretty massive in the show. There are many introductions of new people to keep the story going on. Its just like in every major new location of the show, they will introduce a couple of new characters. Given the short time budget however, none are really fleshed out and even Jackie himself does have a background but it is not really elaborated on. Hence you probably will not feel much for all the characters even with their crying and all that.

The only plus point and characteristic that keeps it all together is that all characters are there to entertain. Yep, this is some kinda strange action comedy flick that keeps every thing cordial except the action.

Cinematography 4/5

Interestingly, the action in this movie is pretty well supported by the shots. There are also many different places that this movie brings you to and the action itself is at the very least, pretty impressive.

Hence if you wanna see how interestingly a person can fight in today's world, this could be a show for you. There is many innovative styles that JC employs to keep the fights fresh and non repetitive in that aspects.

Also the cinematography tries to keep the show entertaining and comedic and for that, it deserves its better then average score. Only qualm is that it is still not superb to those hardcore action flicks but these usually require a darker tone to the whole show.

Music 3.5/5

The music in this show is forgettable, but it is very visible in the shows. Only problem is the songs are not unique enough that people would want the soundtrack upon movie conclusion. But during the moments when you hear the movie, it does add to the overall immersion of the movie and this is pretty advantages in keeping the audience entertained.

Spectacle 4/5

This movie does well for an action flick and the comedic touch gives it quite a good entertainment value. However, if you are looking for a strong storyline full of twists or meaning in this show, this movie offers little of that.

Overall
Storyline               :3 (Average storyline, usually the type you see in action flicks)
Character             :3.5 (Too many characters, but at least they entertain)
Cinematography  :4 (Impressive shots all around that increase entertainment value)
Music                   :3.5 (Its there and it helps, but its not fantastic scores)
Spectacle             :4 (There is action, with some comedic spliced on top. Its fine and does the entertaining job pretty well)

Overall : 3.6 (This is an entertaining movie, able to keep you impressed and happy throughout the duration of the movie. Pity they didn't focus on a better storyline but they did take the safest route to appeal to the biggest market share. Its a good movie to past the time but its not something that you would be sad or regret if you let it pass over.)

Here we go, another review of a chinese movie. Add your comments if any below

Movies: Hobbit

Introduction

Finally, the next "installment" to the Lord of the Rings Franchise is here. Focus is no longer on the tall humans and pointy eared elfs, but rather on the cutsy hobbit and his dwarven friends.

None the less this show of the many vertically challenged people gives a different angle into the world of the Lord of the Rings. So should lovers of the LOTR franchise find 169 minutes to see the entire show? And if you see it, would you really get what you want? Read on to find out.

Storyline 3/5

Storyline... to be honest, it is really really similar to the LOTR. Basically the whole purpose of everything is revealed at the beginning, the whole gang wants to take back their castle. LOTR was, the whole gang wanted to get rid of ring. So on that aspect there is little room for twists and turns. Probably not a show for that either considering the books that have been out for a long time.

With that fact out in the open, the Hobbits is merely a show that documents the path that this gang takes all the way to meet their goal, and the many many things that they meet along the way. Considering that this is going to be a trilogy and the aim is already revealed, it would be pretty safe to say that they are going to meet with many many many many many things till they reach their goal.

Problem that is faced by the Hobbit is that the LOTR world is already so well fleshed out and shown previously, that there is little to really bring this show apart.. Yea they do go into big mountains where things happen but besides that there is not really a lot of new introduction to keep things fresh.

Actions scenes are relatively little and they tend to be really cluttered with nothing particularly unique happening unlike the previous LOTR that had the benefit of having giant epic war scenes to cater to the action fans. But storyline wise, these battles are expected and nothing really unique or with twists given the clear cut good vs bad battles.

At times, I would even go as far to say the storyline dived into being draggy with little extra entertainment value. Perhaps there are many aspects of the book that i missed out...

Characters 3.5/5

As compared to the previous fellowship of the ring with the 4 hobbits 1 wizard 1 dwarf 1 elf and 2 humans, this movie just uses 12 dwarfs 1 wizard and 1 hobbit. 9 vs 12 people means that for the 12 people there is a lot less time to flesh them out.

Other characters do make a nice cameo and play minor parts in the movie but perhaps the only character that really added to the show would be gollum and his strange eccentric ways. The rest didnt leave much impression on me. Its more like a movie with 1 dwarf 1 hobbit 1 wizard and tons of filler dwarfs to put it clearly.

Cinematography 3.5/5

This is supposed to be one of the selling points of this movie, but as far as it seems, there could have been a lot more done to add to its action value. The current movie is just a mish mash of far away shots, and closed in shots, then back to far away shots and back to closed in shots. A bit of a waste given the ability and opportunities of this show to do much more then that. Not forgetting the large budget.


Music 4/5

Music however is still as fantastic as it was. Using original and rehashed tracks that still bring about the charm that we remember in the previous LOTR movies, the music really add to the feeling and atmosphere of the LOTR world.

Spectacle 3/5

Using two aspects to look at this show, action plus story telling, the show seems lacking in both. In honesty, at the end of the show i was thinking to myself, was that it? there was hardly any progress made in the movie. On the other hand, was there any action that made me say oh wow that's impressive... I would only go so far as to say some battles were just not bad but as a whole, pretty forgettable.

I would say that this movie has tough shoes to fill as it comes after the LOTR franchise. Had it been the other way, this movie would have stood out, but now it is nothing more then a simple side story telling with everything else toned down.

Overall
Storyline                : 3 (It's simple but really a bit too little for the time and content given)
Characters             : 3.5 (Too many dwarfs, but we have no clue who they really are)
Cinematography    : 3.5 (Expected LOTR shots, but could have really done more spectacularly)
Music                     : 4 (Good music as expected of a movie of this budget)
Spectacle               : 3 (Sadly, it feels really lacking and unsatisfying for me at the end although there still were many people that were full of praises for the movie. I guess I might have expected a bit too much from this)

Overall : 3.4 ( I would say that this score is pretty accurate. For LOTR real fans, this would be a good show to see even for the reason of passing the time because you can be assured u have 2 more installments in the movie to see. For those who do not care about the LOTR franchise, it might be a bit harder for you to enjoy this movie. For action fans, you could be moderately appeased but if you liked LOTR action, then this show might be a bit of a downer. Don't set your expectations too high and you probably still could enjoy this movie.)

Do you guys feel the same way? Share your comments ya :)

Trip: Krabi, Ao Nang

INTRODUCTION

Its been a while since I did a trip review, not because I didnt go on short trips but probably because those short trips were just 2 days long and could not warrant any substantial content. Also trips must have pictures! So there weren't too many pictures for those places and it probably would be too boring to do a review about it. Anyway, for those who don't know where Krabi is, its actually a state or province or city within Thailand! I am sure most of us know about Phuket and Bangkok. Krabi could actually be called a more serene version of Phuket, with about the same sights and things to do as Phuket. In fact, if you checked the map, you will realised that Krabi and Phuket are just right across each other, with Ko Phi Phi island being in the center, about the same distance from both places. That is why some of the Phuket tours to the islands are the same as those provided in Krabi.

For those who want info quick, this is what you expect and the highlights of Krabi.

Tom Yam, Plenty of it

Rocks sticking out of the sea.. plenty of this too

Clear waters, snorkeling spots

Beaches on the islands

A bit of  canoeing under rocky formations

Mangrove canoeing

Without further ado, lets move into the review part of this article!

By the way, I have modified the review scheme slightly to be able to give more essential details to those who want to go to the place. Will do an independent post some time, to actually explain these review points.

Activities

So what exactly are the things to do? Is there a good variety? Is there fun for everyone?!?! These are the questions that you would ask.

As stated above, Krabi is a less crowded area as compared to Phuket. However, the activities and things you do there are pretty similar. When you reach Krabi, or Ao Nang which was where I stayed, you will notice the plentiful activities and short tour kiosks spread all around. Most of the activities will be the same no matter which kiosk you use. From all my research that was done, these are the activities.

1. Scenic visiting to places. The first and more popular visit is to Phi Phi islands which was the one we went on. Besides Phi Phi island, the other 2 more popular visits are the 4 Island tour and also Hong Island tour. Below are some pictures of the Phiphi Island. These activities are mainly focused on just visiting, but there are snorkeling options as well as canoeing options provided.

Beach where they apparently filmed "The Beach"

Viking Caves

Some tiny beaches trapped between rock formations

This was Maya Bay, another beach stop

Name of the place

PhiPhi Island itself

2. The next activity that we went on was a Canoeing expedition at Bor Thor. I believe that there is another place to canoe but i cannot remember the name exactly. This would be more physically strenuous as it requires you to canoe for about 2 hours but of course you can always rest occasionally. There is also a longboat option which is like a speed boat and in this case you do not need to exercise as much but i believe one of the areas which is a lagoon surrounded by hills is only accessible by canoeing, however its not that unique in honesty. Anyway the main difference is that this is more mangrove based and adventurous feeling as compared to the open sea. Here are some pictures

Docks where you would set off from

Lagoon accessible only by canoe

Another shot of it, low tide you could stand up in the lagoon

Many Many rock formations inside the caves that you would canoe under

And at times it is pretty dark and adventurous feeling.

3. They also have inland tours such as visits to hot springs,  emerald pool and they would usually join this with elephant shows to make it a full day tour.

4. They also have scuba diving excursions which you can even book right there when you land on the island, probably for people with more time and budget

5. For the adventurous there is also options that are focused on white water rafting as well as ATV... which is off road driving with those vehicles.

6. Another famous activity in Krabi is the many spa and massages that you can have. There are many types of shops but many are not as private as I would like it to be.

Didn't have the time to do all these activities but for most cases, there are quite a variety of tours and things to do there.


Scenery

As per my experience, for Krabi, its scenery is probably considered above average. It has nothing majorly specatular such as giant structures or ruins, neither does it have very amazing natural structures like mountains or volcanos unlike Bali. Its unique points probably would be those Island rocks and mangroves but these are not that rare in the world.

Rocks.... 

More rocks!

Some caves that you can move around in

This was a natural swimming pool that people could swim in. Meaning there are fishes inside but no control on depth or ground quality.

The non-crowded beach of Ao Nang

Shopping

Lets just get this out there, Krabi is no Bnagkok. I stayed at the more popular town of Ao Nang in a hotel that advertises its pros as being near the Ao Nang town itself. There are no real giant malls in the entire of Ao nang area and the only other place that we did go for shopping was the night market down in Krabi town. Apparently the night market is only open during the week ends including Friday so take note of that when making your plans. Also the transport there might not be entirely cheap. A van ride there was 300 baht to and fro so probably you might need to consider tuktuk. But that would mean the ride would be not as comfortable unfortunately. Here are some pictures of the night market though :)

Night market.. its a bit smaller then it looks though

Has many food stalls...

This is the view of Krabi town.

A single shopping center that we found in Krabi town, next to the night market

In Ao Nang itself however, the shopping area is more of a horizontal style just spread along the road. Most shops are selling about the same things and due to the prevalence of food stalls that takes up the stall lots, there really is not much to shop. All in all, Ao Nang is probably not a shopping place and if you have to shop, your best bet is to try Krabi town although I am not sure how you would get around in Krabi town itself.

We also had a stroll out at about 2 am but at that time, it is safe to say Ao Nang city is completely non active. The roads are really pretty dark and lonely at that time so do take care.

Food

Now we move down into the food section! Food in Krabi is rather.... confusing.. there are plenty.. and i mean plenty of stalls that sell european food and ALSO thai food at the same time.. problem then is.. is the food any good.. there is macs and Burger king that is strangely expensive in the Ao Nang stretch and also has stuff like Star Bucks and Black Canyon. Of course when you are there, this is what you should eat..

How many Tom Yam do you see here...

So these were the food we ate. If you eat at those mixed euro-thai stall.. it would set you back at about 250 baht (10 SGD) per person. The bottom left meat platter cost an amazing 279 Baht that is good for 2 people as its a steak, porkchop, sausage and fish all in one. That was at the night market. There are also many seafood shops that displays the freshness of their food all around. All in all, there is some variety of food and you can find the traditional thai food especially tom yam in almost all the food shops. For comparison however, a road side (the store is basically a motorcycle with a cooking extension) tom yam soup that i would say was pretty nice costs 80 Baht (3+ SGD). Those at the shops will cost about 150 Baht (6 dollars).

People

As with many touristy asian destinations, the people are rather assertive and might just border on rude especially for those who want customers for food. They are generally able to speak english and you should not have big problems telling them what you want as long as its something common.

The guides are also english proficient but they tend to not be as nice as some tour guides that i know of, probably because they are just gonna guide you for a day. So they sometimes do show their annoyance and its not always CUSTOMER is always right. In the end they are basically functional and probably a bit jaded by the many tourists that they have served.

Here a pic of our driver cum canoeing leader cum tour guide

You will also see quite a few westerners around especially tending to those scuba diving shops. All in all the people are ok!

Accomodation and Ease of getting around

There are actually many hotel choices for all budgets and all types of people. We personally stayed in Ao Nang Princeville hotel which was a 4 star hotel that we chose because it was really in the city center and near the beach. In all honesty though, don't let the locality of the hotel affect you too much because the walking area is really very tiny for Ao Nang so even if you got a place at the outskirts, its really not that far from anywhere else. There is also no real need for a pool unless you are a pool lover because the beach is really pretty convenient and not crowded. Just note that if you are picking hotels at Railey or at Phiphi there is probably a need to consider how you can get there in the first place. Here is some pictures of the hotel

Beach right in front of us

Room is big..

Toilet has shower and tub

The hotel is also pretty smart in giving us umbrellas and even extra towels daily for all the water sports. They even have a bag for the towels so these are all pretty good perks. However at 100 SGD per night i would say that for this hotel it might just be a tad bit pricey. It is also considerably more run down and old. The food in the morning was average but i guess it should be pretty consistent across the other places.

Transport wise, for any tours that you get you will be assured you have some form of transport to bring you all around. Question to ask however is whether you will be alone on the tour. For us in the first day we had a big bus to bring about nearly 16 - 20 people out including the speed boat itself. I have seen slightly bigger boats which might affect how you enjoy the tour. 2nd day however we were on those open back vehicles with a 5 passenger cabin on the back. As a result we got to make friends with Natalia and Alfredo from Spain who were alot of fun on the mangrove canoeing ride. Someday my muscles will be as big as his. :) But if you are those who don't like to socialize too much.. consider this before you make your booking. They probably would not accede to your request though...

Getting to the hotel is also not free! So make sure you are prepared, but you could just get a taxi to whatever area you have at a reasonable price, it was more expensive to get a ride preplanned from the hotel actually. The taxi limo vehicles are pretty cool though. Still he was smart to stop as at a "Tourist stop" where some guy came down and asked us to book for a tour on the spot.. remember.. prices for tours using this style of selling... not particularly competitive...you could try to squeeze out a deal from him but at the very best it could just be reasonable only...

From Airport to Hotel

Cost


Overall I would say that this trip was the most expensive, but part of the reason was because of how late we booked the hotel and the tickets. Hotels and tickets went up to about 475 per pax for a 4 day 3 night stay, but the hotel price was considered rather steep.

Food was from 140 for a tom yam and phad thai combo, and the most expensive that we ate was a 600 baht at the black canyon, admittedly we did buy pretty expensive stuff there. Just put about 250(10 SGD) baht per person per meal and it should be fine. Stuff sold at the night market is considerable cheaper so put that in mind when searching for souvenirs. Burger king was particularly expensive. I tink its 250 baht per meal inclusive of drink.

Transport is not cheap also, considering that the taxi from airport to hotel was 600 Baht which is about 13 dollars. So dont be expecting Bali's cheap 1 USD tuktuk prices here.

When booking tours please make sure you check a few stalls. For example the Phiphi island tour flyer price was actually 1800 baht, but when we asked around we could get as low as 1100 baht per pax which is 44 dollars. For the 2nd trip it was supposed to be about 1300 baht for a Bor Tor trip but we managed to bring it down to 950 baht per pax. Note that most trips do include lunch during the tour which although is simple, but generally gets the job done.

Massages would be in the range of 200 to about 350 baht. We managed to go for a few different massages at about 300 baht a piece which is just above 10 SGD so its reasonable.

Overall we spent about 300 per person for the 4 days that we were there and the grand sum for airfare plus hotel plus tickets

Overall

Activities : 4 (There is a good choice as there are sea activities, land tours and things to do here and there. Lacking in night activities but if you were there for more then 3 or 4 full days you probably can still have many different tours to go for.)

Scenery : 3 (There are nice places to see and be at, but it just loses out to those places that were made for scenery.)

Shopping : 2.5 (Passable shopping, at least it still had the night market. This shouldn't be your choice for a place for shopping at all.)

Food : 3.5 (The extra .5 marks is for those who love Tom Yam, but in general you should only expect to see Thai food, European food such as pasta and pizza and thats about it. No jap or korean or variety in that sense. Food is pretty good tasting though if you go for thai cuisine.)

People : 3 (The people are at best ok. They aren't entirely genuinely there to please as they are there to get your business. They however are still able to get their job done and even will call you in your hotel room when your ride is here. The reason is probably cause other customers are waiting for you too)

Accommodation etc : 4 (The variety is there but of course hardly any of the accommodation will be considered extremely good as they are merely just trying to be as functional and efficient as possible. Transport is easy to obtain to get to anywhere but they won't be entirely cheap also.)

Cost : 3 ( Same as Bali i would say. Due to its touristy nature, nothing is really cheap and everything can be said to cost at best slightly cheaper then things here in Singapore. Except massage which is cheaper, but also not as professionally carried out in terms of the massaging shop)

Overall : 3.29 (Overall its a good place to go for a getaway of possibly up to 5 full days. So probably if you want to experience everything, set aside a week there and you would have enjoyed all that Krabi has to offer for the rest of your life. And probably would have relaxed sufficiently there too. Of course if you have been to places like Phuket, then Krabi might be just too similar so this should not be a choice if you want something different.)

This is my 3rd travel review that I have done! Comment if you want to know more!! Thanks for tuning it, hope i have many more trips to share with you about. Will publish it first and maybe make some changes if i tink about it

Movies: Looper

Movies: Loopers


Its been a long time since i last reviewed a movie... hahah it was probably cause of work and also lack of time to catch movies... BUT I HAVENT disappeared from the world! And although i did recently see shows like the assassin but nothing really that amazing for me to review because those movies were already towards the end of the running time and stuff...

Either way, heres a movie that I saw in place of Resident Evil that i wanted to see.. and a particular other movie that i cannot recall that also ended its running before i could see it.

So what was this show supposed to be about? I did actually manage to see some sort of trailer before i saw the movie proper, and as trailer goes, guy with shotgun, time travel, many scenes of shooting.. anyone would conclude that this should be a action flick with some time travelling elements.. In fact I was even thinking this could be like Jumper.... well..... Read on to find out if it was true....

Storyline 4/5

This is the kind of show that tries to intrigue you with the different world. It introduces you a new world with new concepts, new ideas, new lifestyles and new way of living. In this world, the future and the past are somewhat interacting together in a very interesting manner of body disposal.

Then it starts to add that since its only 30 years into the future, people that exist now are most likely existing 30 years into the future... which means that... YOU COULD THEORETICALLY KILL YOURSELF!

And thats how the show manages to last for the entire 2 hrs plus of the show.. i didnt really find out how long the movie was, but it did feel long.. whether long as in draggy, or long as in too much content.. that will actually depend on one factor.

Are you here to see an action flick, or a show with a interesting concept. So if you are here for the action bit... this movie will become draggy... because unlike the trailer, this movie is actually more focused on telling the story.

That being said, the story does not end up being too draggy for those who enjoy a new world because this movie talks about gangs, telekinetic powers, time travel and even put in some teachings about what is really important to a person and how it would drive someone to do extreme things. Because of that, the movie does have sufficient content to prevent it from being draggy or bland storywise. But for action, you got to look somewhere else.

Characters 3.5/5

The main characters should number about 2. They are the two guys on the poster on top. What this movie then moves on to do is that it introduces characters along the way so that most of the side characters are only  present in either the first half or the last half of the movie. This is probably because of the way the director wants to tell the story but as a result, for the side characters who do play important story line roles, it is a bit harder to feel too much connection to them or really understand why they do the things they do because they are not present for the entire show.

The two main characters however, because the story focuses so much on them.. its easier to feel what they feel and understand why they do things. They also do have some characters to add to comedic value so overall it is a pretty good job.

Cinematography 3.5/5

There are some good attempts to use perspective shots for the show and there are quite a few nice scenes in the movie. Aside from that, the movie pacing is also pretty good considering how much they want to show in the time allocated for them. That helps to make the show feel flowy and not overly draggy. However, there will be little bit of confusion because of the time travelling element that is common for many of these types of shows. But overall, the movie does put in effort to try to explain the story to the audience so that they will not completely be lost.. That being said, my companion still got lost by the storyline so if you do not really want to think during the show, you probably will not enjoy it much.

Also, there is one particular actor at the 2nd half of the show that adds alot of entertainment value because of the way he acts. However, to reveal who he is it would spoil the surprise of the show so i am going to have to leave it at that.

Music 3/5

There was some usage of music to add familiarity to the show, i.e to be playing our oldies or more western songs that we would have heard a long time back to contrast the past with the future. But besides that, there is nothing too unique about the music choices and it is on the whole pretty forgettable.


Spectacle 4/5

Finally, for the spectacle part, I have to be clear with you. If you expect to see an action movie and just enjoy the scenes, you will be sorely disappointed and this is clearly a show you should not see. Unless, you do have some appreciation for time travel, and also are willing to think and draw the lines between past person to future effects and then you can enjoy the show. This should have been the way the show was marketed and not using action scenes like some kind of action flick. On that aspect however, the show does a pretty good job of making the show entertaining till the end with the introduction of fresh concepts slowly during the show and not everything at one go.

Overall

Storyline                : 4 (Different storyline even when you compare with other time travelling show)
Characters             : 3.5 (2 main characters but the rest are really a bit too shallow)
Cinematography    : 3.5 (Good attempts at shots, perspective story telling, good actors but slightly confusing)
Music                     : 3 (Normal music, did have attempts)
Spectacle                : 4 (Its a different take to the time travel genre whereby the time travelling guy comes back into the past instead... so its a pretty fresh take and interesting introduction to a new world.. But this is no action movie)

Overall : 3.6 (A good attempt into the time genre sci fi genre that is able to stay interesting right from the beginning all the way to the end. For those who are going to see it, as long as you already know that this is not a true blue action flick, and are willing to go for the story, this movie should be able to keep you entertained for a fair amount of your time. Just be prepared for the slight headache that might come with too much thinking and understanding the whole flow of the story)

So hopefully i can get back into writing reviews if i have the time:) Tell me if you have any other movies that I should watch :)

Movies: The Dark Knight Rises

Movies: The Dark Knight Rises

Finally, after a long stretch of emptiness and voids of great movies, the blockbusters are starting to return again. Besides Spiderman, i guess it would be pretty safe to say that this is one of the other few very anticipated movies of this year and the fact that it is a third of a trilogy that is released 4 years from the previous adds to the anticipation... provided you remember what actually happened a whole 4 years ago or even 7 years if we are talking about the first batman installment in this trilogy.

Still blur about what is happening? all you need is this picture!

Batman, on top of many many cars

If up to now when you hear the name Batman and you think of this..

Baseball batman?

Man with bat??

Then its time to get out of the cave your living in... or you probably should not like this show..... if your batman is this guy however....

The real baseball batman

I would say you can still be saved....

So just a brief introduction to those who have forgotten, the first of the series, Batman Begins talks about the league of shadows and this fella called Ra's al ghul... Its focus is mainly on how Batman became batman and to be honest i myself find the villian in this movie pretty unimpressionable... at least its no one i remember and know well.. Read more here

Then we move into the next movie, which is probably one of the most memorable movies of all times.. "The Dark Knight" where we have the ever famous 

Why still so serious??

So this is the joker and one of the sad but memorable issues is that the actor Heath Ledger is touted to be one of the best and true to life Joker ever for a batman movie for being able to portray the psychotic joker so very very well.. read more on the movie here but this movie highlights and draws the mutual relationship that Batman actually has with his villians.. and this is something that will not exist in short hero movies unlike the Marvel and DC franchise. There is also a bit of how Harvey Dent came to be in this movie which is more popularly known as Two-Face...

Finally we come to the third movie.. which if you are lost... is this one that you could see in the theatres now... and it focuses on the villain Bane... I would say this is not really as popular a villain as the other two, but in the context of the movie, the mystery surrounding this Bane person helps keep this long long movie relevant and interesting till the end... Ok now into the movie review proper...

Storyline 4.5/5


The storyline is pretty strong in this movie, not only talking about the appearance of the main villain, but rather even emphasizes on two important other supporting characters of the Batman franchise. As a result, this 160++ minutes movie is able to stay interesting all the way to the end and this makes the show worth the time and the money.

Another thing of interest is, for this movie, it is not 90% of Batman all the way... in fact i would say that batman is on screen maybe for only about 75% of this movie and this movie starts to delve into many other aspects of the Batman universe and how it came to be with its focus on the other characters that are relevant.

Of course being a Bane based movie however, you will realise that it has slightly less thinking complexity and relationship between batman and the main villain,but you will see that the show has a lot more chances for action and for emphasis on a terrorist like takeover of the city, which is what Bane's character is all about. This works out better for the action loving crowd and those who like to see a entire city in a hostage situation.

This is bane for those unaware that actually included me

Furthermore, this movie is pretty realistic... what i mean is that unlike other super heroes movie and action flicks whereby the hero and all associated seems to always make good progress in whatever they want, this movie does not hurry and shows the characters in the movie failing in many aspects. You will get what i mean when you see the show but i shall not speak to much to allow the movie to remain fresh.

To top it off, the movie has quite a bit of background story telling and also has pretty good twists here and there. All in all, thanks to the great budget of time for this movie, the movie does not rush and takes its time to ease the people into the world of Batman. The only tiny qualm I would have is some of the proceedings are not entirely realistic or explained well enough (Read: Plot holes)... but on the whole these issues are still not massive enough to have that significant an impact.


Characters 4.5/5


As stated above, due to the large amount of budgeted time, the movie takes its time to talk about the background of quite a few characters and takes its time to build them up. This works to the advantage of the movie. There are still some characters that are somewhat neglected but they still do have a bit of background, just that to use even more time on them would probably have a negative impact on the action bits of the movie as it would make it a bit too draggy. Their approach is entirely fine to be honest and would just need a bit of refining to be polished well enough.

For those wondering if seeing the previous movie is a requirement to enjoy the show, I would say that as this movie introduces a new villain, you will be able to enjoy the whole story.. the only difficulty you would have is the reference to the league of shadows and Ra's al Ghul which was in the first movie... but besides that, you should have plenty to take in for the duration of this movie

Cinematography 4/5


Cinematography is pretty strong in this movie.. which plenty of overhead shots to show the exact Gotham situation and even has quite a bit of iconic shots. It even has nice epic battles although the 1 on 1 battles lack a bit of gadgetry from batman's arsenal that could have put more thrill into the fights.

That being said, for an action flick, I would still think that this aspect could be even more futher improved, possibly putting the audience into the driver seats of the vehicles, adding some perspective shots, and lengthening the action scenes a tad bit and making them more grander in nature.


Music 4/5


Its the kind of movie where by the music builds up a relevant atmosphere for the viewers and helps them get into the mood of the movie. So it definitely deserves a positive score for this aspect


Spectacle 4.5/5

To be clear though, this movie should not be seen as a merely action flick, because it is an action flick with a very strong storyline (i.e. many things to say). Action wise this movie would probably just a get 3.5 or a 4 at best. But like for the batman shows, this movie is about the story of batman, and thanks to the introduction of Bane, this movie allows for a stronger action component intertwined into the storyline components.

Overall


Storyline              : 4.5 (Strong storyline especially for such a long runtime)
Characters           : 4.5 (Many characters, all has quite fair bit of focus)
Cinematography  : 4 (Not to true pure action standard, but still very strong)
Music                   : 4 (Adds to the experience very well)
Spectacle              : 4.5 (A real good story driven action flick)


Overall : 4.3 (This would be a blockbuster for this period of time that i believe pretty much everyone could see and enjoy. Plus the long run time makes it more worth the money and the fact it remains fresh throughout the movie. The only person that would dislike this show would be those that just hate violence completely... but we know how rare that is in today's world... So I would strongly recommend everyone to see it, especially if you have free time during the weekdays whereby the cheap ticket prices more then justifies the amount of movie time that you would get. If you want to really enjoy the storyline in all its essence however, you probably should read a bit on the previous movie so that you understand some of the underlying issues in this batman universe)


Please comment should you have any! And seems like there are a few seemingly nice movies coming up also, so I hope to be able to review them and share them with you when the time comes :)

This is batman and bane saying see you soon :)

Movies: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Movies: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

What happens when you put this

together with this

Hes just a picture for vampires if you dunno...

Well you end up with a movie like this

No comprehende?? Well it is no easy task to try to combine a historical figure who is entirely political with something that is really fantasy... (Please dun kill me just cause i said twilight and edward cullen are fantasy)
But is this show able to combine these two seemingly unrelated stories together? Read on to find out..


Storyline 3/5


The concept is pretty unique, in that the vampire show is not just entwined into our normal day lives similar to underworld or true blood where by the focus is on vampires in our present world. But rather, trying to put vampires as a part of history along with the associated hunters. Hence whether the show is able to succeed or not rests on how well the show is able to incorporate Abraham Lincoln into the world where vampires are included, and not only incorporate them convincingly, but it has to be placed in a way that can entertain the audience.

Sadly, besides the fact that the two angles are pretty far apart and hard to join together, the show also does not really make use of the strong points of both genre to be able to piece together a movie that history lovers will like, or an action flick that action lovers can enjoy.

All in all, i would say that you could conclude that this movie is just an ordinary action flick, with perhaps just slightly above average story line basis due to the usage of Abraham Lincoln, and also with average action scenes and shots. Yes there are historical touches like certain battle locations but aside from that the storyline is merely just giving a slightly more familiar background and tries to add vampires inside.


Character 3/5


The movie does try to put some emphasis on the background and character of Abraham, and this attempt is necessary since the movie wants to use Abraham as the attraction factor for this movie. But the rest of the characters are pretty forgettable and not distinct enough. Add to that the attempt for Abraham's love interest then you have a movie that has too many things to try to cover i.e. history, fantasy and love story aspect that it cannot really focus on anyone aspect enough.

As a result the characters are really bland and it is hard for the audience to feel for the character or be immersed into them.


Cinematography 3.5/5


Strictly speaking, if you were to look at this movie from an action perspective, you could conclude that at least this movie was filmed to be an action flick as the focus on cinematography is somewhat there. However, it does pale in comparison to other true action flicks out there which is probably because this movie is still trying to do too many things with too little time.

One example is that this movie will have less action scenes as compared to true action flicks because of the fact that they have to try to tell a bit of history because of Abraham Lincoln. The pacing of the movie is also somewhat too fast as they want to go from little Abraham all the way to President Abraham and squeeze all the vampire storyline and stuff inside. Its a good attempt, but you probably need to try to enjoy the movie, to actually enjoy the movie.


Music 3/5


Music is forgettable and ordinary, but it is there and does not hinder the flow of the movie. So I would have to give a pretty neutral grade to this movie


Spectacle 3/5


Yep, as you can see here... there is just too many focus points that the movie cannot excel in any... maybe at best, the movie can be said to do averagely well in historical fantasy?!!! Does that even make sense? hahah So that probably justifies the 3 score as it is probably one of the rare attempts at a unique genre. It probably could do better if given more time and skipping the love story part to just try to combine history with more personal action scenes from Abraham or even putting more emphasis on the major large scale battles to attract those epic war scenes lovers... as of now it cannot really attract and hold the attention of history/action/drama lovers...

Overall


Storyline               : 3 (It is a unique concept but when you see the whole show it feels pretty ordinary)
Character             : 3 (Slightly more focus on Abraham but the rest is really just too ordinary)
Cinematography   : 3.5 (They do have attempts on the action part of the show but it is not unique and special enough)
Music                   : 3 (Normal Music)
Spectacle             : 3 (Too many perspectives with none of them done particularly well)


Overall   : 3.1 (The best way to try to enjoy this movie is to first realise that you are seeing a action movie first... a history movie next... don't be expecting any historical revelation or anything too mindblowing. But even then, just remind yourself that since they wanna put the historical twist to it, they are also unable to emphasis as much on action. Yea... its not that easy to enjoy the movie if u are a big fan or lover of the history or action genre. You can only enjoy it if you see yourself as a mixed "unique storyline with some action lover")


So did you see this movie? What was your opinion? Please share it with me :D

Abraham Says night... p.s no werewolves here

Movies: Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted

Movies: Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted

Its already the third installment of the Madagascar series and to be honest, i wasn't really expecting too much from this show. Like many people, there is a common understanding that when a movie gets to the third installment many of them become very rehashed and boring. This is what you expect to be seeing....

And here is the proper poster

So as you can see, as usual the cast of Madagascar is huge and colorful and even more then that they are in a circus! So will you, the audience be as entertained in the movie as you would when you see a real circus? Or is the movie just 3 times too many...Read on to find out!

Storyline 3.5/5


The storyline is pretty simple, but it is entirely usable and coherent with their aim, which is to entertain audiences in how these animals try to return back to their home zoo. It is simple as it is not complex and super easy to follow, but a pretty high score is deserved because the entire storyline is suited for their tale of making friends, building trust, and working towards the same aim together.

Now if the above statement is a bit to cheesy and mushy for you... you are probably an action fan and you will not like this show. The show does have action, but its those typical chase scenes that are there to make you laugh and smile. Its nothing too serious. Which is advantageous because there are many things in the movie that don't make sense and I honestly didn't have any clue what the significance is. For example watch out for the singing police woman....


Characters 4/5


Continuing the idea of fun, there are many colorful characters and maybe possibly too much. With so many characters all whom have their own distinct personalities there is a little bit too little screen time for a few of them. Notably the penguins.. who sometimes goes missing and just appear as and when they are needed.

Still, based on the fact that all the characters can be seen as distinct with unique personalities, they are pretty well done. Still... too little of this....

Especially private...

Cinematography 4/5


There is pretty good shots all show round and the circus portion is actually pretty well done. Their focus is really on entertainment factor and this shows via the more close up comedic shots as compared to epic scenic shots. So overall the cinematography does a good job in making the show a lot more enjoyable and shows us the beauty of what teamwork can do.


Music 4/5


It is a typical Dreamwork movie complete with all its musical score from Hans Zimmer. Music from all these movies are always very well placed and well paced to further improve the movie entertainment and enjoyment value. You will notice the music in this show and see how it nicely fits into the movie.


Spectacle 3.5/5


In all honestly, this movie did a pretty good job in following up what was portrayed in the first two shows. But still.. in some way or other it wasn't entirely a refreshing experience. It is fun and enjoyable, but I cannot really say that it has reinvented or stuck out from the genre too much to be anything entirely unique.

Overall


Storyline               : 3.5 (A above average storyline that provides the basis for entertainment)
Character             : 4 (Many many characters, all are distinct)
Cinematography   : 4 (Good shots to improve entertainment value of the movie, good laughs)
Music                    : 4 (Good music from a well known composer for this genre of movies)
Spectacle              : 3.5 (Overall it is above average in the genre, but using the same forumla, it can't really stick out much from all the previous animated movies.)


Overall : 3.8 (Overall, animation fans and lovers of the series will definitely be entertained. In fact, if you are looking for a bit of simple happy time wasting fun, this is the show for you. Just don't expect a great complex plot with over the top action scenes. Probably best for a weekday time waster for best economical value given the 1.5 hr play time)


So seen this show? Any comments? feel free to share :) BTW The i like to move it song is kinda getting irritating already :P

Movies: Prometheus

Movies: Prometheus

There has been many space movies in the past, where by people get sent to far away places for reasons such as looking for a new inhabitable place, or running away from a destroyed earth, to mere science discovery. This  movie is titled and pictured to be something to that effect, with nothing more to reveal except this in the poster

Yep you see it is nothing more then a giant head. The vagueness of this movie helps to keep the entire movie fresh and allows you to see the movie in all its innovation and creativeness without any prejudice... at least till the end of the show where you will see something pretty interesting, and for many, it will mean little, but for a select few, you will know what i mean. Either way here is the review that I would say stands alone for this movie with no outside prejudices or biasness or influences.

Storyline 3/5


Like I said earlier this genre and the general storyline has been explored pretty extensively with most of them sharing a common storyline i.e. Have some reason to visit another planet, suddenly meet with issues on the new planet or on the ship itself, crew starts to get killed due to various reasons, some fine character will survive and solve the issue of people dying.

So this show does nothing extra ordinary as it really follows this line pretty closely. It also seems to be closer to the sci fi thriller genre as compared to an action flick as there is generally not too much action action as most of the kills or deaths are clearly one sided. So read... THIS IS NOT STAR WARS... there is no light saber no beam rifles that kinda stuff ok!


This show also does not feed you information and keeps many things ambiguous for your own creative juices to keep flowing. Up to the end, there is still little information on what exactly happened. Cruel in some way but if you really understand where they are coming from you will be able to appreciate the whole thing. Furthermore, this should be the reality of sci fi where by you might not always get answers because we don't really have all the answers in the first place. Of course whether this makes for a more enjoyable show is however pretty debatable.


Character 3/5


It is pretty clear during the show which are supposed to be the important characters.... and then they start to kill off characters and suddenly even the seemingly thought to be important character dies. This is the advantage of this kind of show being that it can be more realistic in the body count.

There are also some characters who from the beginning to the end stay very mysterious. There are many other supporting characters that are averagely distinct from each other but due to their short screen time, it is understandable that many of their backgrounds are not very well introduced. I guess this would be because the real focus of this show is not the people, but rather the introduction of a new notion of possible outer space life and what it would possibly be like.

There are also several things that happen to particular characters throughout the show that people might find somewhat impossible or at least improbable. So this detracts slightly from full immersion into the show due to the sense of things happening just for story sake.


Cinematography 4/5

This is one section whereby this show does very well actually. In fact at the beginning it could even double out as a tourism advertisement given the grandeur of the shots. However, as the show continues to go on, the show loses focus on trying to give the audience improved perspective and loses the chance to add immersiveness and overall enjoyment of the show which i feel is a waste. But overall, the epic shots in the show are still pretty good, and the CGI are done pretty well to give the sci fi feel about the show.


Music 4/5


This is another surprise for the genre in that music is actually pretty prevalent in many scenes of the movie, and even plays a single major part in the plot of the show. As a result the immersiveness is somewhat increased in that knowing that it is a completely different environment within the confines of the space ship as compared to when you are really out there on another planet.


Spectacle 3.5/5


With regards to spectacle, this show does pretty ok when you look at the other movies of this genre.Then later when you reach closer to the end, you realize a sudden bigger picture that will probably impress you if you understand it. As a result the true score should be like a 3 for those who won't get the full picture, and the rest who see the big picture would probably rate is a 4 or a 4.5. I would say that it is still better to not spoil the story and to watch it yourself because it will help to view this movie independently as a sci fi exploration movie which is what it is supposed to be in essence. Unfortunately, this would mean that fans of the action genre lover would not be as entertained by this movie.

Overall


Story                    : 3 (Storyline is generic, but it is really an introductory piece if you know what i mean)
Characters           : 3 (Character development is tiny, and some stuff are a bit out of place but like what i said, this is probably not the focus of this movie in the first place)
Cinematography  : 4 (Good shots all around, but can be improved)
Music                   : 4 (Good use of music to add immersiveness)
Spectacle              : 3.5 (In between depending on whether you can understand the whole story of the show)


Overall                 : 3.5 (Overall this show is hard to advertise because of the fact that people who know the bigbig story of this movie are probably the only people who can really understand this. If you don't understand the main story or overarcing story, this will merely be just a simple space exploration show with just a bit too little action then usual. Overall I would say the best way to enjoy this is just go there and expect to be introduced to a new notion of space and planetary life of the future. Don't be expecting anything too much besides then. Then when the show end and if you understand the whole context, then it is just a bonus for you.)


Seen the show? Any comments? Don't hesitate to share it :D