Hitman: Agent 47 Review

Hit me with your best shot! 

Hitman: Agent 47 Review – Another reboot/remake. Call it what you what with fresh new cast.

Apa tengok-tengok?!

Agent 47 (Rupert Friend) is a genetically engineered assassin bent on completing his contract by hunting and killing the programme’s engineer. He teams up with Katia Van Dees (Hannah Ware) who is trying to find her father. Together they try to locate the engineer who is also wanted by an organization called Syndicate International.  The hunt takes them to Singapore for a final showdown between Agent 47, Katia and the Chairman of the Syndicate. Will Agent 47 able to fulfil his agreement and Katia finally finds out the truth about her father and herself? 

Again....apa tengok-tengok? 

Expect loads of killing with people dropping like flies getting whacked left right and centre. Those scenes are there to make you forget about the storyline which is pretty needs its own assassin. Same goes for the acting, nothing but merciless killer mode. One thing you can look forward is ‘seeing’ Singapore during the second half of the movie. 

Fine...tengok lar! 

Watch, don’t watch…it’s your choice because you don’t lose or gain anything besides being entertained a little here and there. 

P/s - Terima kasih Abam Budieydotcom for the preview pass. 

Inside Out Review

How are you feeling today? 

Inside Out Review – Have you ever wondered what goes on inside your mind that affects your outside behaviour?

One happy family! 

The story begins when Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) is born which awakes Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) in the ‘Headquarters’ aka Riley’s brain. As the name suggest, Joy is full of well, joy with her purpose of keeping Riley happy all the time. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, Joy is later joined by Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader) and Anger (Lewis Black). At the age of 11, her parents decide to move to San Francisco forcing Riley to leave her friends and wonderful memories growing up in Minnesota. Riley tries to cope with life at the new place but an accident happens at the ‘Headquarters’ causing Joy and Sadness end up at stranded at another part of Riley’s brain. This leaves Disgust, Fear and Anger trying to ‘control’ her emotions. Soon after all hell breaks loose causing misunderstandings between Riley and her parents.  With Riley’s childhood personality slowly collapsing, can Joy together with Sadness salvage what is left of Riley’s character?

Bing Bong meets Joy and Sadness! 

When it comes to animation, it is very important to cast the right talent to give ‘soul’ to the role. Am glad to report, the casting director did an awesome job. One can ‘feel’ what each of the emotions was projecting. At one point I was simply annoyed at Sadness for being so sad…like hello…cheer up a bit can ah? Why so sad wey? Another amazing thing about animation are the colours, remember Finding Nemo? Or any other Pixar animations for that matter? They are really the best to bring life to the shades. The music, the memories – be it happy, sad or otherwise…was well captured. My emo moment involved Bing Bong (no spoiler, don’t worry) which got me wondering how much of my childhood persona I still have with me.

Pick your favourite! 

I’ve got nothing more to say except that go watch this emotional roller coaster animation. 

Pointer - enter the cinema early so you don't miss this short film! 

P/s - Thank you klips and Says for the double preview passes. 

Fantastic Four Review

Sure Fantastic or not? 

Fantastic Four Review – Another reboot with updated younger cast. Is it worth it? 

Crap....now what?!

Starting off completely different from the 2005 release. we are brought back in time when Reed Richards (Miles Teller) was still trying to create a  teleportation machine in his garage with the help of Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell). They are ‘discovered’ at the school science fair by Prof Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) who is the father of Sue Storm (Kate Mara) and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan). The team work together with ‘government hater’, Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) to build a proper machine. Once they succeed, Victor gets pissed when the government tries to take over their project. In order to be the first human to travel to Planet Zero, Reed, Ben, Johnny and Victor decides to self-launch themselves with a bad outcome, leaving Victor behind. While they are transported back, the team gets stuck by the radiation which leaves them with unique defect. In order to find a solution, Reed escapes from the containment only to be captured a year later and create another machine. They return to Planet Zero and find out Victor managed to survive living in the treacherous planet. Victor aka Doom is bent on his mission to destroy Earth and it is up to Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Women and The Thing to take down Doom before he brings, well, Doom to the World.    

Doom? More like hurm...

I heard a lot of negative reviews for this remake (sort of) so I went in with the lowest expectation. However, for me personally, there is nothing wrong with the cast. They suited their roles well, what was lacking was making their part stronger. Each of the character could have been developed properly instead of just ‘touch and go’. The most disappointing role was Doom, his malicious intention could have been made even more wicked instead of appearing at the last minute just to whack our hero around and annihilate the Earth without a proper reason. It’s like… ‘I don’t like Earth so all of you DIE!’ Huh? What are you gonna do after that Doom? Didn’t think that far ahead now didcha? The storyline…or the lack thereof…was also done in hurry towards the ending without any worth. There was no moral of the story, no nothing…just like this review. Just be glad the special effects were somewhat up to the par while everything else was out of the window.

Ok...hands down...they win! 

I’m stumped on how to end my review because I can’t imagine Marvel actually screwed up one of its major franchise. If there is a sequel, they need to dig deep to make Fantastic Four, well, Fantastic again.   

Pixels Review

The games are aliveeeeeee!!! 

Pixels Review – What if your favourite childhood arcade games comes to life?  (*am talking to you 80's kids!)

The 'Players'! 

Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler) and Will Cooper (Kevin James) are childhood friends who meet Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad) at the arcade game world championship. There they befriend Ludlow Lamonsoff (Josh Gad) who is in love with Lady Lisa (the main character of the game Dojo Quest). At the end of the tournament, Sam ties the score with Eddie ‘Fire Blaster’ Plant (Peter Dinklage) who eventually ‘beats’ Sam in Donkey Kong to claim the title. At the event, the host informs that a time capsule will be launched into space containing elements of the championships. Fast forward to the future, Earth starts to get ‘attacked’ by aliens in the form of the arcade games due to the misinterpretation of the said time capsule. The aliens send signal informing the location of the attacks. Sam, Will (who is now the President of United States) and Ludlow combine their ‘gaming expertise’ to try and defeat the enemy with the help of Eddie using weapons developed by Colonel Violet Van Patten’s team (Michelle Monaghan). The aliens have already won two (2) battles and if the ‘gamers’ lose the Donkey Kong fixture, it’s pretty much ‘game over’-pun intended for Earth! 

'Dream Duo'!

Adam pairs up with Kevin once again with their usual slapstick jokes which are fast losing its charm. Don’t get me started on how on Earth did Kevin became the President of USA! Like wherttttttttt!!!??? Michelle was also reduced to play supporting role. Thankfully Peter provided some of the better lines for his role as the egotistical Fire Blaster. However, if you can overlook the stale banters and illogical election result, you will enjoy the colourful visuals along with the sound of the classic games. The locations for the attack are also interesting picked namely Hyde Park, Taj Mahal and New York. I almost felt like getting inside the movie to blast the aliens myself.

...is that you Serena? *watch out for some cameos! 

Overall I felt both like a kid and adult watching this flick. Till now I still drop by the arcade place to stack Tetris, chase and eat the Pac-Man ghost. Perhaps you could take your younger ones to play these games right after watching the movie, spend some precious quality time. 

P/s - Thank you Klips and Budiey for the preview tickets! 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Review

Who's your Uncle? 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Review – American and Russian spy working together? Could it be true?

Hurmm.....

Desperate times calls for desperate measures when Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) from United States and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) of Russian KGB teams up on a mission to stop a criminal organisation from producing a nuclear weapon. Their only lead is a missing German scientist daughter, Gaby (Alicia Vikander). Together the trio travels to Rome and discover another intelligent agency have already been trying to inflatrate the baddies. One wrong move could spell tragedy for the whole world. With such heavy price to pay can this odd collaboration work out in their advantage or end in disaster?

Friends or foes? 

Former Mr. Madonna, Guy Ritchie directs this super suave spy flick by recruiting current Superman (Henry) and The Lone Ranger (Hammer) in the lead roles. Sadly I didn’t quite get the feel for these two gentlemans. Henry looked more like auditioning for James Bond role rather than being an American spy while Armie’s Russian was not convincing either. They also lack the chemistry should there be one in the first place. The rest of ‘recruits’ were also did not shine much in their respective roles. The saving grace for me was the amazing background music with mixture of jazz and other genres which managed to change an otherwise boring scenes into an exciting ones. I really really enjoyed the music in trying to ignore the tiring spy-movie-saving-the-world-theme. Even the late 60’s backdrop was not much of an interesting.

New spy team?

Perhaps the recent flooding of spy films spoiled my apetite for this flick. Compared to Spy, Kingsman, Mission Impossible, this man from uncle failed to rise to the standard. 

P/s - Thank you Screenbite for the preview tickets! 

Vacation Review

Here they gooooooooo

Vacation Review – Family of four goes on a road trip for a Vacation of their lifetime.

Time to get wetttttttttttttt

Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) is a budget airline pilot who is happy with his wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate) and his two boys. For the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, Rusty decides to rent an Albanian made car and take a road trip across the country to Walley World theme park after he finds out that his family is not actually thrilled about their annual trip to the cabin at the lake. What happens next is something you wish and pray would never happen to you if you ever go on road trip. The family learn about the ‘button’ functions for the rented car, ‘marinate’ themselves on raw sewage, revisit Debbie’s old collage and learn some ‘interesting’ facts about her, almost get caught doing the ‘nasty’ at the Four Corners National Monument and so on. Getting far from the plan of enjoying the journey, will the Griswold family make it alive to Walley’s World?

Notice anything? Ehem ehem 

I had fun watching the movie with loads of laugh out moment, however felt Ed was a slight miscast for the role of Rusty. I mean, come on, how on Earth did he score Debbie-Do-Anything as his wife? He played the part sorta ok but I think another actor would have been a better choice. Thankfully Christina was on top of her games once again which reminded me of her role in ‘The Sweetest Thing’. It’s like she got married in that movie, settled down and took this role as a mother. Speaking of ‘Chris’...look out for Chris ‘Thor’ Hemsworth. He totally nailed his character and you may not look at his errr… ‘hammer’ the same way again. There are plenty of funny moments which will get you giggling non-stop. Throw the logic out of the window and just enjoy comics.

Griswald at Walley World! 

Despite the disastrous run-ins, Rusty’s intention was for his family to spend quality time together. Perhaps you should do the same by bringing your family and spend some quality time to watch this hilarious flick.  

P/s - Thank you Cinema Online and Klips for the preview tickets! 

Mission: Impossible (MI) Rogue Nation Review

One last mission? 

Mission: Impossible (MI) Rogue Nation Review – Your mission should you choose to accept is to watch the flick after reading this review. Like really. Go watch!

Ready to shoot buddy? 

Where do I start? The latest installation is packed with action from start to finish. This one even takes boarding a cargo plane into a different level. With William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) trying his level best to keep IMF alive despite strong resistant from CIA Director, Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), Ethan Hunt (Ton Cruise) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are on the field trying to retrieve dangerous material from falling into the wrong hand. In true Ethan Hunt’s way, they succeed in their mission. Brandt however bares the bad news that IMF has been disbanded. Out to proof that IMF existent is essential to prevent baddies from creating their own well, Rouge Nation, Hunt takes it upon himself to proof that the terrorist organization called The Syndicate are responsible for latest ‘random’ events happening around the world. He gets captured by The Syndicate but able to escape with the help from Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Their path cross again few times until Ethan comes face to face with Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), the head of Syndicate. What is Syndicate’s mission and with CIA hot on IMF’s trail can Ethan prove his innocence and get the team back together to fight this new foe?

Yup....that's what am talking about....her skills! 

Yeah yeah…so we know Tom did most of his stunts …yada yada yada but check out the real hottie, Swedish latest import in the perfect form of Rebecca Ferguson. She simply sizzles every time she appears on screen either jumping off a roof of a building, riding ‘em bikes, coming out of the swimming pool, stretching her long legs aiming at her kill target, kicking ‘em baddies arse, walking and talking with that British accent…ops sorry…went off track for a bit there but you get my drift? SHE IS HOT AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! Ehem! The storyline this time was better crafted than the previous Ghost Protocol. Even the music sounds better this time around. One bad apple was the baddie, Solomon Lane. He was just not…bad enough. It kinda failed to reach Philip Seymour Hoffman’s level of evilness. Other than that I was focused on Rebecca Ferguson. Errr…yeah…

Can you believe he is 53? 

With James Bond getting too serious, it’s good to see Mission Impossible still holding on to its charm while introducing us to hot ladies who don’t just depend on their beauty but comes with a brains. Read: Rebecca Ferguson! Now I only have one question, how do I find her Agent Hunt? Please bring her back on your next mission. Tack (go google translate!) Over and out! 

Southpaw Review

Southpaw is a boxing term that designates the stance where the boxer has his right hand and right foot forward, leading with right jabs, and following with a left cross right hook.

Southpaw Review – This generation’s Rocky? Well almost but not quite.

Perfect life....well, almostttttt.....

Billy "The Great" Hope (Jake Gyllenhall) is on the top of the boxing world as the reigning Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion. Growing up in the ‘system’ (that’s foster care), he meets his wife, Maureen (Racheal McAdams) from the same place and together they have a lovely daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence) and lead happy life. The fame and fortune is however is not easily attained because every time Billy enters the ring, Maureen is faced with the nightmare of getting back a whacked up husband. Her concern grows strong after Billy’s last fight almost caused him to lose his left eye. She puts on a strong word to his manager to back out from another fight. Just when things seem to go well, an unfortunate circumstance turns Billy’s world upside down. Frustrated, angry and grief-stricken, Billy gets into trouble with the law that takes Leila away from him. Billy has to prove that he can be a good father to her. Left with no choice, Billy finds solace by joining a gym and starts his training back with the guide of Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker). Another opportunity appears for Billy to regain his lost reputation. With the world appeared to go against him, can Billy take control of his life once again? 

Can you take the punch? 

Jake has always played supporting roles before this so it was nice to see him stepping up to the ring-pun intended as the main character. He does justice to the part as a boxer, husband and father. Despite the short screen time, Rachael also shines as much as possible before she gets ‘taken away’. The breakout performance however is the young Laurence as Leila, who acts beyond her years in the film's most tender moments. Forrest enters the movie late but brings his charm as usual to the big screen. As for the storyline, it’s fairly predictable yet entertaining. The fight parts left me achy. Every blow to the face with blood oozing can be painful to look at sometimes, so if you are squeamish, heed this warning. Take note of the music as it’s by the recently departed, James Horner, perhaps this will be his swansong.    

One more chance for redemption. 

Moral of the story from this flick is in-your-face, how to get back up once life knocks you down. One can either wallow in the past or get up and get going stronger than ever once again.