The Butler review

Upcoming Oscar contender perhaps?

The Butler review – Confession time - I can’t work too long at one place once I reach certain ‘boiling point’, so imagine my admiration towards Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) when he served as a Butler at the White House (prior to working in cotton field among others) for three (3) decade under eight (8) Presidents. He served through Kennedy’s execution and Nixon’s fall among others. He still survived after being oppressed all his life. Outsiders thought Cecil ‘made it big’ when he lands job at the Oval Office but little did they know the inside ‘silent battles’. This man may not have made big impacts like Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcom X but he played his little part so that ‘colored people’ could get the same ‘respect’ white folks were getting.

One man can make a chanrge

While Cecil was forced to show his ‘two face’ most of the time, his sons however had different ideas, his elder boy, Louis (David Oyelowo) was a freedom fighter going in and out of the prison most of the times trying to gain equal rights for all Americans while his younger brother Charlie, (Elijah Kelley) chose to fight for the country in Vietnam. Cecil’s wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) turns into an alcoholic and has a brief affair with their neighbor Howard (Terrence Howard) to cope with Cecil’s long hours but slowly recovers and stands by her man. We get to witness how America dealt with their racial problem, how the ‘Negros’ struggled for their basic human right years after Abraham Lincoln abolish slavery. The events portrayed will hit you hard and make you think how far we have become to be more acceptable (although I wonder if racism is really behind us during modern times) towards people of different colors.       

Ideal couple?

The cast….oh my God… I had a field day trying to spot so many talents in one awesome movie! James ‘Cyclops’ Marsden, Robin ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Williams, Mariah ‘barely recognizable’ Carey, Alan ‘Prof Snape’ Rickman all had minor roles but once you see them, you’ll go….oooo….eh….aaaa….hehehehe….I have no idea how the casting director managed to pull such amazing string of actors to contribute to this film. As for the main role, Forest might just deserve another Oscar for his role going back and forth from one room to another room at the While House. While, Oprah did a wonderful job as a wife and mother. I can’t mention any more names because I don’t want to spoil your fun at trying to name who is who when they appear on screen. All I can say is all of them gave their brilliant performance.

Just a glimpse of the cast

The movie is slightly more than 2 hours long so you might want to clear your bladder before stepping into the cinema but that is hardly felt because every second is fully utilized moving swiftly from one scene to another. I felt moved, angered, disgusted and so many other emotions while watching this because despite the so called ‘acceptance’, there are still some idiots going around trying to mess with people minds thinking one ‘race’ is better than another ‘race’.  These kinda idiots should be…I don’t…I just wish we all could be friends with each other without any barrier. Just because someone is not doing better than you (in whatever terms) that doesn’t mean you can look down on them. May there be equal rights among all humans one fine day. Hey, one can hope kan?    

P/s - Thanks Dian for donating your preview ticket! 

Malavita Review

No Ordinary Family this one!

Malavita Review – Hmm…after Killing Season almost ‘killed’ me with its non-existing plot, I was willing to go against the odds to pick another Robert DeNiro movie over Prisoners starring Hugh Jackman….wise choice? ermm…let me watch Prisoners dulu then I lechu know okies. In the meantime, the trailer for this flick was done rather interestingly with glimpse of Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron and Tommy Lee Jones, the movie however…well…that’s another story altogether though.

They got each other's back!

The story starts off with the Manzonis family moving for the untempt time from being hunted down by group of ruthless mafias. Fred Blake (Robert) was a former mafia-member-turned-informer under witness protection plan overseen by Agent Stansfield (Tommy). Fred can’t seem to kick his old habit of ‘whacking’ people which always gets the rest on the family into trouble. His wife, Maggie (Michelle) is no angel herself with some ‘explosive’ personality as well. Their daughter Belle (Diana) and son Warren (John D'Leo) are also in league of their own. They have to learn how to adapt to new environment whenever they have to move. The Manzonis ‘cheats’ death every single time they are so close to meet the Maker. Some innocent ‘victims’ unfortunately become collateral damage.

Get ready for some 'explosives'!

Acting wise, Robert was good with his usual Italian mafia demure trying to adjust life as an ordinary guy. He sure got loads of anger management issue to deal with. Meanwhile, Michelle played his side kick trying to keep the family from falling apart pretty well herself. Diana did no singing but there was touch of Quinn (Glee) in her character while ‘her’ brother was very street wise for a high school boy. Tommy also in his usual dead-pan look trying to keep the family from getting whacked. The rest of the quite French people gave the movie a slight…well…French feeling.

Don't let the 'picture' fool you!

It was pretty entertaining watch but for me the trailer was way better than the actual film. That appears to be the case for most shows these days unfortunately. They seem to focus more on the trailer compared to the end result, but don’t take my word for it. It still is somewhat might worth your time and money to invest in the name of getting away from reality for a bit. 

About Time Review

Smile for the camera!!!

About Time Review – Here’s a sweet deal. Imagine turning 21 and your father telling you that you have the ability to ‘time travel’ only to the past to change something about/in your life, would you risk taking such a chance? That is the subject matter of this flick. Personally, I sometimes wish I could ‘go back in time’ to change certain things but then again if those ‘things’ didn’t happen to me, I would not be where I am now isn’t it? Till then, let’s just stick to the review shall we?

Jackpot!!!

Movies from across the pond (UK) usually offers quirky actor and match them up with cute American girl, think Notting Hill for example and you know what I mean. In this movie we get to witness how Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) cope when his Dad (Bill Nighy) break news of worth of ‘mother-ship’ informing him that he could now travel back in time to ‘fix’ things that he is not happy about. Tim starts to experiment few times in order to score a girlfriend after his sister’s friend ‘rejects’ him despite several attempts. That’s when Tim realizes despite his new found ‘gift’ he can’t make someone fall in love. However, as luck would have it, he stumbles upon his girl of dreams, Mary (Rachael McAdams) and after a few false starts he finally captures this American girl’s heart. They go on date, get married, have few tots and if anything goes wrong in between, Tim just have to ‘step into the closet’ and Voila….minutes later, its back to how he wanted things to be. This ‘gift’ however does not guarantee that life goes the exact way Tim wants it to be. He learns that sometimes he have to let nature take its course and make the best out of the situation.

Like Father, Like Son!

The cast picked for this movie is fun to watch. You have all kind of behavior and awkward situations you can imagine. You will find yourself rooting for some while the rest just simply annoy the heck out of you. Domhnall is lucky to be paired with Rachael because somehow their combination worked. Him with his British accent and she with her sweet American twang. It’s almost like they are meant for each other in a strange way. Bill was his usual eccentric demure as the cool Dad. The others just made the film feel good. No big story, no huge hoo haaa….just plain simple warm hearted love story.

Not the ending you hoped for? No problem, just 'step inside the closet' for a while!

If you are looking to unwind from all the big bang flicks and just chill, catch this before it leaves your timeline. You might like it, you may not like it, most British film tends to do that so it’s really up to you to decide if it’s worth your money and time. If you ask me, I’ll say it’s ‘About Time’ for Rachael to move on from her girl-next-door roles into something much better. Just saying. 

Watch not included! hehehe!

Once again thank you Churp Churp for the preview screening tickets!  

Closed Circuit Review

Yes 'they' do!

Closed Circuit Review – Have you ever wondered ‘who’ is ‘watching’ you whenever you come across a CCTV? Do you make funny faces when you see one because I tend to do that sometimes just to entertain the ‘person’ watching me! Hehehe…anyways too much surveillance is not good as it might just backfire. You never know who might take advantage and use it against you.

Say 'hi' to the camera!

The story begins when a bomb goes off at the busy borough in UK and in a world post 9/11 guess who gets blamed? Of course a Turkish migrant suspected of drug dealing and involved in a terrorist cell is there and gets locked up while top barrister is appointed to represent him. However, this lawyer suddenly dies under a suspicious circumstances and that’s when Martin Rose (Eric Bana) steps in to take over in open court while Claudia Simmons-Howe (by Rebecca Hall) gets selected by the Attorney General (to argue in closed court). These two lawyers were involved romantically before they cross path again in this case. Both of them try to figure out what actually happened to prove their client’s innocence but instead get tangled in a conspiracy bigger than the bombing incident itself. Their lives were put in danger as they get closer to the truth.

All they want is to find the truth...

There’s not much action sequence in this flick but the storyline is very intriguing, for me at least because I work in a legal firm maaaaaa…you get to witness how those with authority use and abuse their ‘power’ for the benefit of some and cover up their blunder. The Brit accent used throughout this film made it even more interesting. Eric Bana was in his usual demure trying to connect the dots while Rebecca Hall also did a decent job. Both of them carried the movie and kept it interesting. The rest of the cast helped to make the movie more interesting.

The cast...

The story is very relatable with recent events around the world, heck…leave rest of the world aside. It’s more relevant with what’s going on in our own backyard (think of current cases such as Althanthuya, Teoh Beng Hock, death in police custody, the shooting spree…you get what I mean?) It’s kinda scary to think what some corrupt cronies would do to save their live. Innocent people become victims for the sake of a few. We can only hope that there are some honest individuals left to uphold justice and bring the REAL CRIMINALS to face their crime. Till then be vary of who is watching you thru the CCTV!   

Thank you Cinema Online for the preview tickets!