Captain America: The Winter Soldier review

The Captain is back yo! 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier review – Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Hulk, Black Widow and Ironman. This is the list of Avengers according to my preference of the cast. If possible I didn’t want to include Ironman because I don’t like Robert Downey Jr. (bite me!). I rather have Loki instead (actually more like Tom Hiddleston but I know of a certain person who won’t hesitate to murder me to get close to Tom!) To be honest, I’m a bit confused with the whole Captain America, The Avengers, Thor, Ironman movies timeline because let’s face it…they keep going back and forth with the whole franchise, I feel like I’m stuck in the 80’s (or was it 90’s?) show called Quantum Leap! We all know Loki stole the thunder-pun intended from Thor in The Dark World…will the same fate hit Captain America?

Name the character.....if you can

The story…err…if you were to call there was one…is about Captain America (hereinafter referred to as CA sebab malas nak tulis Captain America every single time!) adjusting the new world order after being frozen for 50 over years. CA (Chris Evans) is part of S.H.I.E.L.D. (go google for the full meaning sebab saya malas again) and works with Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to keep America save from its enemy, foreign or domestic). CA gets to work with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) on a mission and discover that it was a cover up for a larger plot! (jeng jeng jeng….didn’t see that one coming now didcha?) Soon enough things start unravel itself and it’s up to CA (who else) to save the World (by that I mean America in specific!). CA gets help from a new friend, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) but not before facing a new nemesis, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), so will CA manage to overthrow his foe or admit defeat once he finds out who The Winter Soldier actually is? Hey…hang on….so there is a story after all…hehehe

Don't mess with Captain America and his 'shield'! Ehem 

Chris Evans…I’m not sure if it’s just me or this man boy cutie pie seems to have gone from cute and handsome till I wanna get some (*wink wink) in this sequel. All he had to do was appear on screen and my heart skips a beat…dey Chris…why you so good looking one???...that was until The Winter Soldier came bursting with his frizzy hair and mechanical hand. Eh…hang on…who is this rugged dude? Don’t I know you from somewhere?...Sebastian Stan…oooo….another pretty pie from the movie The Covenant….yup….remember the baddie? Good to see you again and can’t wait to see you again. Screw the acting or whatever this two perfect man specimen does in the movie. All I wanna see is these drool worthy faces/body on the big screen while I have naughty thoughts later.  Don’t worry guys…despite my lack of interest towards Scarlett, I can guarantee you that she contributes equally for you to cuci mata kao-kao with her perfect hair sans her not being able to wear a bikini. (Just use your imagination for that part lor!)  Also look out for Kate/Agent 13 (Emily VanCamp) and Peggy Carter ( Hayley Atwell) for extra eye candy! I’m glad that Samuel L Jackson isn’t just the only black man in the movie anymore with the inclusion of Anthony Mackie. He is way more likeable than Samuel. Another addition is Robert Redford who provides the twist to this flick. Generally each of them had their specific role well written for them, be it major or small part. The CGI were however kinda overwhelming for me here and there but then what do you expect from a blockbuster movie?

#Yummy

#wasyummyonce

I have always wanted to fill the cinema with just my friend to catch a movie and guess what? It happened finally for this movie. My friend won a contest and we got the whole hall for ourselves (with complimentary popcorn and drink some more!). This Romeo celebrated his girlfriend’s birthday while having his friends and family around and it was simply awesome. There was a small cake cutting ceremony and get-together of friends…Cewah…tetiba rasa macam The Avengers punya gathering pulak dah. Thanks a lot for this amazing experience Hans and God bless the both of you. Perhaps can do the same for your wedding ey dude? *Note to self – bring present for the couple next time! 

Captain Hans and his girlfriend!
Check out the video
XOXO!

 

Mini-gathering!!! 

Movie watching more fun when you have your friends and family around! :)

P/s - on a sad note I lost a dear friend of mine just a day before the screening and couldn't help but think of her during this movie because it was the last film she saw before she left us in shock. I went to her wake after the screening and know she is in a better place and she will never leave from my heart. #RIPMEIANN. :( 

Rest in Peace #TVAddict. 

One of her Final FB posting

What turned out to be her second article on MSN and her final legacy....

You will live in the movie, music and tv show babe. Take care till we meet again. 

Divergent Review

...to divert or not to divert....

Divergent Review – When I saw the poster for this movie, I thought….oh no….not another star-crossed-rebel-teenage-adult-love flick. We already had Twilight saga (thank God it stopped at 3 books), The Host (alien gone softie), The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (even cheesier than Twilight) and The Hunger Games (this I like!) and now this? I even forgo preview tickets only to find out later that it was not such a bad watch. I also got to know that it was based on best seller and there’s a total of 6 books altogether under this franchise. Another intriguing catch was the Producer managed to get Kate Winslet to play not her usual pleasant role…..hmm….interesting….ok. Berkorban duit sikit lah tengok gambar ni with my crazy nut movie buddy.

....can you say CASH MACHINE??? 

Just like The Hunger Games, the setting was post war scene with focus on Windy City, Chicago! The people in charge have decided to separate societies according to faction namely Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent) so ‘things’ will remain ‘in order’. Those who don’t belong to any faction are known as faction less (duh!) and then there are those who don’t fit into any of the faction known as Divergent. They are feared by Erudite as they worry Divergent will interrupt the ‘faction chain’. In comes Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley), born as an Abnegation but somehow doesn’t carry the selfless ‘value’. Her chance to switch faction comes when she reaches 16 years old and had to take an exam to determine which group she belongs to. The test however reveals something else and she finally ends up with Dauntless. She had to go thru rigorous training to become an official member. Tris had to learn to adapt to her new living environment fast and with the help of Tobias ‘Four’ (Theo James) manage to survive. Both of them develop chemistry and discover a bigger scheme brewing for a hostile take-over. Will Tris and Four able to stop plot in time before innocent lives are lost?

...to survive Dauntless....

Except for Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Maggie Q and Zoe Kravitz, the main cast are not actually big names but my guess is they will be once the Divergent fever diverts the teeny boppers and those alike to this franchise. Despite being fairly un-known, main cast consisting of Shailene Woodley did a decent job playing a confused girl trying to fit in while Theo was just drool-worthy no matter what he did. Add Jai (with Macklemore kinda haircut) to the mix and it was like…yum yum yummy. The well-known actors however were reduced into playing supporting part which was just enough to highlight their talent. Ashley was a convincing mother, Maggie was….well…she was in the movie. While Kate was hot as women hungry for power! Her strong character simply made it hard for me to hate her. I love you Kate! I love you long long time! The set and mood for the movie was captured appropriately with minimal special effects. Stunt job was not bad too with the Dauntless hopping and jumping here and there.

....I would 'eye' this cutie too!!! #yummy! 

....nak join Dauntless gak for this hensem man! #drool

From the reaction of the movie goers, they seemed like they enjoyed themselves. Heck, to be honest so did my friend and I. There were some annoying moments here and there but we were most bumped when an important scene were snipped off.  The cinema also sighed in agreement! Haiyaaaaa!!! Apa la lu!!! Overall it was a reasonable watch not counting the running time of almost 2 hours and 20 minutes. It did felt kinda draggy at some parts but you will forget/forgive it once you see Theo/Jai. Those two man….Jacob and Edward who??? Hehehe….go catch it if you can while I wait for the sequel to come out soon.  

Take Me to Dinner Review

What's for dinner dey?

Take Me to Dinner Review – After the awesomeness that was Kolompu, Kami Histeria and The Journey, I convinced myself to watch another local picture. Plus it starred Uncle Patrick and Susan Lankester. Both of whom I ‘listened’ and ‘watch’ growing up. I was glad these two finally combined force to be in a film. I always wondered how it would feel to go out on dinner with them so let’s see if my imagination tallies with the movie…

....your order pls....vodka? JD? Jim? Johnny? 

The story is about a burned out hit man, Edward (Patrick Teoh) final gathering with his buddies before he ‘leaves’ them for good. It starts with Edward trying to mend broken ties with his daughter Sarah. He does not explain clearly what he did and he is going do to his daughter. I was left puzzled just like the daughter with this scene which was not explained what the purpose is for. Fast forward to the scene at a bar where Edward ‘meets’ Jennifer (Susan Lankester) and tries his luck to ‘hit’ on her. His old school style works its charm and they start to go out. Their relationship blossoms as they start to see each other more often. Not bad Edward! Not bad at all! Hehehe! Skip scene to the ‘dinner’ where the ‘old gang’ talk cock about silly stupid things which was the big annoying portion of this movie. What is the purpose wey? There is no flashback scene about the previous ‘job’ done by Edward or his posies. All they did what smoke, drink, cuss and diss. Bluergh…what the heck is this wey? If not for the scenes between Edward and Jennifer, the whole damn movie would like a snooze fest! How long will they continue this dinner? Till supper? Till the next day breakfast? Zzzzzzz...sorry…I dozed off a bit there…

...just shoot me and get it over with pleaseeee.....

As I mentioned earlier, I was excited when I found out two of my idols coming together in one movie till I dragged my friend to accompany me to watch. Turned out they were the only saving grace for this….movie? Was it a movie? I don’t know…Uncle Patrick was charming when he needed to be but even those wanes as the show progress. Susan pulak…was still at her best. Giving the best she could with her limited scene. The rest of the cast….hmm…I don’t even want to bother to mention them. Let’s just say…there was a gay, lady chaser, an old cow and another prop. These four with their weird accent and pointless background story just add insult to the injury. The mood was sombre, the camera work were shoddy, the music….you get the drift right?

..............................smoke, talk, cuss, diss.......

I honestly feel like I was cheated into watching this picture. Just when I was trying to convince myself to support local film, this dud lands itself on the screen. Despite its limited screen time at the cinema, I feel like it should have gone straight to the small screen instead. In fact, here is an even nastier thought…the budget used to produce this could have been spent for some other more useful purpose. I’m not being mean but this is just my view. Those who know me, know I take my movie experience seriously and Take Me Out for Dinner almost killed my buzz and support for local flick save for my faith in Uncle Patrick and Miss Lankester. 

....should have done another season of 2 + 1 instead of this Maam... 

....worry not....I still love you Uncle Patrick!

Mr Peabody & Sherman Review

History comes to life!!! 

Mr Peabody & Sherman Review – I thought The Lego Movie took the cake for this year’s best animation but after ‘travelling thru time’ with Mr Peabody & Sherman; I would like to amend my earlier statement. This movie is one heck of a feel good film that will get you smiling from ear to ear. Another confession I made earlier was my lack of love for history but after this fun-venture-flick, I feel like picking up a few history books and plant my nose inside it. Now let’s see if you would dig this animation as much as I did.

Here we go.....

Very often we ‘see’ people adopting dog to be their pets but the table is turned around when World’s smartest dog, Mr Peabody (Ty Burrell) stumbles upon Sherman (Max Charles) and adopts him. Despite being provided everything, Sherman, the human boy was still kinda ‘lembab’. Once the time comes, Sherman goes to human school and gets into trouble with a girl, Penny (Ariel Winter) on the first day. In comes ‘Jabatan Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak’s’, Miss Grunion (Allison Janney) to take Sherman away from Mr Peabody. In order to set things right, Mr Peabody invites Penny and her parents, Paul and Patty Peterson (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann respectively) over to their house. While ‘Mr Peabuddy’ was entertaining the grown-ups, Sherman tries to befriend Penny and bring her to see Mr Peabody’s greatest invention, the WABAC machine. Persuaded by Penny, Sherman activates the machine and hence begins their adventure travelling back and forth to and from French Revolution, ancient Egypt, Trojan War and some of other important time in history. The fun exploration somehow messes with the current space and time continuum thingy magigy causing some major ripple in some history events. Will Mr Peabody and Sherman able to ‘restore’ things as they were or change the cause of history? Jeng jeng jeng….

...walk like the Egyptian

Unlike The Lego Movie, most of the voice cast for this movie are not so well known. Their voice however matched nicely to their corresponding roles. There were some recognisable voices, such as Allison Janney and Leslie Mann yet their lesser known cast gave their best. The best part about the movie was of coz ‘meeting the historical figures in person’ and getting first account of what really went down in the past. From the famous Leonardo’s trying-to-capture Mona Lisa’s smile to Marie Antoinette’s obsession with cakes to King Tut’s wedding plan. Everything just felt awesome! Add that with Mr Peabody’s pun-jokes and colourful capture of the timeline scenes. I wish I could have learned world history thru this way.   

Mona Lisaaaaaaa.....

I was right to be excited when I saw the trailer for this movie. Despite it being an animation feature, there is a lot of ‘lessons’ to be learned from it. ‘Deep regard’ for each other although being a different species. Absorb knowledge about history in a fun and enjoyable way. Having faith in one’s ability. Yup….all that and more are served in this one entertaining vibrant show. Since the school holiday is just around the corner. Parents and kids alike, please get your butt over to the cinema to journey across timeline with Mr Peababa…eh… Mr Peabody and Sherman while having fun trying to spot the important peoples who shaped our word’s history! 

Movie and makan! Me likey! :) 

P/s- Thank you Churp2 for the preview tickets and special appreciation also to NuffnangMY for the extra passes! 

Labor Day Review

No Leo nevermind, got Josh oso can lar

Labor Day Review – I love Kate Winslet, not so much on Titanic but since then she have blossomed into a beautiful leading lady. I look forward to her movies and this was one of it after her Oscar winning performance in The Reader. Josh Brolin pulak not so much after the disaster that was Men in Black 3. As for the director, Jason Reitman, I liked his Up in Air but not Juno. Let’s see if this threesome combo worked or not.

...not your usual grocery shopping this was....

Adele (Kate Winslet) is a single mom raising her son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith) after her husband ditches her to marry his secretary. Upon the abandonment, Adele suffers from serious depression. She even have hard time to go to the grocery and one fine day gets caught up by escaped-from-prison, Frank (Josh Brolin) who seeks shelter at their home. What was meant to be a one night refuge develops into a ‘relationship’. Frank turns out to be quite helpful around the house, making meals, fixing up the car and other ‘manly stuff’. Soon enough Adele ‘falls’ for Frank and plan to their getaway to start life over at a new place. With the cops hot on the heels to catch Frank will they be able to fulfil their dream?

Let's 'play' a game! 

As I mentioned earlier my draw towards this movie was Kate and I’m glad to say she didn’t disappoint me. She was simply brilliant at being a vulnerable and a person longing for love. As cited in the movie, she was in love with the idea of being in love. Adele background story tells the story how a bubbly person became such a train wreck. You can observe her transformation from being a happily married woman to depressed lady into somebody who falls in love all over a stranger. Josh on the other hand fit the role as broad man looking for ‘raise’ his own family despite being on the wrong side of the law. The ‘son’, Henry - also was a well-played role by Gattlin Griffith having to protect his mother while noticing the changes in his mother. These three main casts were enough to get the story going. The music for the movie did a lot of favour capturing moments can’t describe by words and set the right mood.

Preview tickets courtesy of hot magazine

All  the praises aside, I did somehow feel this movie was kinda too draggy at some part and I dozed off during few scenes. The thing that kept me awake was few idiotic audience who couldn’t keep their pie hole shut. There was Malay translation to an overly excited reaction from a moron sitting in front of me. Some idiots are not designed to watch movie at the cinema but what to do. Such is life, just like the movie, some a good, some and bad, some are so so as was this movie.  

Before

....during

.....jeng jeng jeng....after

P/s - Not just a typical preview, this time it was also A Ladies Day out event and check out the fun I had getting all dolled up against my will. It was jointly organised by Cathay Malaysia

Reward for our effort

Everybody is a winner!!! Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii

3 Days to Kill review

Mr. Bodyguard is back on the big screen! 

3 Days to Kill review – Kevin Costner is back yo! I gotta admit he is not really my favourite actor (who can forget the disaster that was Waterworld!) but nobody should forget that he also won an Oscar for ‘Dances with Wolves’ (credit should be given when the credit is due right?). Kevin has so far appeared in 3 movies recently, as Clark Kent’s Dad in Man of Steel, as Harper in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and this latest flick which is the better one of all 3 in my opinion.  Now let’s have a read why I liked him better in this flick.

I second the review. 

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is a dedicated CIA agent. His job took too much of his time so he’s been neglecting his family consisting of wife, Christine Renner (Connie Nielsen) and daughter Zoey Renner (Hailee Steinfeld). During one of his mission, he finds out that he’s got cancer and decides to return to Paris and mend things while spend his remaining days with his family. Little did he know that he have to ‘finish’ one last mission before he can hang his badge forever. In comes Vivi (Amber Heard) with her multiple wings offering Ethan an experimental drug to overcome the cancer in exchange to catch a criminal called Wolf. With his family situation hanging by the thread coupled with his deteriorating health, will Ethan succeed in his final mission or lose everything he cares about?   

Swapping car rides Mr. McG style! 

After two ‘come back’ movies, Man of Steel and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, I’m glad the third outing was much better for Mr Costner. It was heart-warming to watch him trying to connect with his teenage daughter and make up for lost time. All while trying to catch a crook and stay alive long enough to complete his mission. Kevin portrayed enough passion as a father and loyal agent. Hailee was a perfect annoying adolescent who makes everything hard. From her hair emergency to getting harassed in the club to learning to ride a bike. The international woman of mystery in this movie, Amber Heard…damn that is one hot chick yo! She was ‘deadly’ in her own ways which made me envy of Johnny Depp for being her fiancé! The rest of the cast and story just fell nicely into places. Starting with the chase for the bad guy, getting in touch with the accountant, dealing with juvenile issue and bringing the family together. Mr. ‘Charlie’s Angel’ Director, McG simply shined with his new effort.

I 'heard' me! Amber is hot hot hot! 

I saw the movie listed but since I didn’t score any preview tickets, I opt to not watch it. Not until my friend suggested catching it since we have already watched every other movies in the list. Not a bad decision I might say. I went in with no expectation and came out after the movie satisfied. Some if not quite a number of the scenes in the movie ‘touched’ me in more ways I anticipated. Especially the bonding moments between Ethan and Zoey. If you are having trouble to connect with your busy Dad, clear both your schedule and watch this together. I wish I could catch with my Dad…sigh. 

300: Rise of An Empire Review

Seize it indeed! 

300: Rise of An Empire Review – Here we go…another confession by yours truly, besides horror movies; another genre I avoid is all these Greek mythology and anything that falls along that category. Heck, I watched Clash of The Titans just for Sam Worthington because he was still hot from his ‘Avatar’ form. I even stayed away from the first ‘300’ starring Gerald Butler despite people raving about the Spartans. It was only natural I also wanted to shun this new feature film. Dah ler screenplay by Zack ‘the-man-who-spoiled-Man of Steels-for-me Snyder. It made me resent this movie even before I watched it. Tengok-tengok, my friends won like a gazillion preview tickets and forced me to folo them….haiz…ok ok….fine!!! Jom gi tengok!

Nice neck! Can I slash them? ;) 

Where do I start? As I mentioned, Greek thing is not my thing, because me no likey History, me more into Geography. From my understanding, Greeks and Persians are like sworn enemies who are always at each other’s throat – like literally! If they don’t like you, abis dia slit your throat! ERK! Ganas kan? These stupid Persians kenot duduk diam and wants to concur all of Greece so they go from one district to another killing whoever that fight against them. Their King Darius finally gets defeated by this dude called…Thermometer (as referred to by my friend!)…eh kejap…it’s actually Themistocles’s (Sullivan Stapleton) deadly arrow.  Darius’s son, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) witnesses his father’s death and vow to avenge him. His vengeance is fuelled by Artemisia (Eva Green), Greek by birth but sworn to destroy her homeland for betraying her. What follows next is an epic battle in the rough ocean trying to defend each other’s land.  Themistocles seeks help from all over Greece, even from Spartans to unite and defeat their common enemy. Will they succeed? *que topless man running around with shield and sword!

Yes it will! Burn baby Burnnnnnnnn!!!! 

The only person I recognise from this movie was Eva Green (she was a Bond Girl!) but then I noticed this sweetie pie, Rodrigo…macam kenal je…macam kenal je…tapi gamba apa ek? Lepas tu baru ingat…lerrrr…he played ‘Karl’ in ‘Love Actually’! Mak datuk hang! Hampir-hampir tak recognise lepas kena shave kao-kao from top to bottom (bahagian ‘tengah’ tu not so sure lar! Hehehe)! They made him look like a dominant gay man (no offence my gays friends) with his bling-bling’s covering his head! (Kalah pengantin perempuan in an Indian wedding tau!) Tsk tsk tsk…Y Rodrigo YYYYYYY??? Anyways, acting wise, most of the cast played they manly or woman acting manly role to almost perfection. Eva Green was simply brilliant as a women seeking revenge and commanding a ship full of broad mans in her super awesome cloths! Sullivan however was less convincing except during his ‘kata-kata semangat’ speech! All they did in this movie was bagi kata semangat, fight, fight, hack the enemy’s head, slash sana, tusuk sini. Stop to recover, count their loses pastu ucapan semangat again then…guess what? Kill or get killed lor. The beauty however or should I say the icky part was watching people head’s getting cut like fruit ninja game with blood gushing out from every corner of this movie! If you have low tolerance for blood, you better stay away wey. If not, silap haribulan, you will spew your food out your guts! Despite all the gore, I must admit I kinda enjoyed watching it. Maybe sebab I had a bad day at the office and already imagined. If I could kill my enemy, how would I do it! Well…watch this and you will never want to mess with me! Ngeh ngeh ngeh!!!

From this......

....to this.... *tsk tsk tsk...give this man his HAIR back pls

I’m thankful to my friends for compelling me to watch this movie. I seriously had a bad few days and somehow this flick manage to perk me up a little. Let’s just hope the scene in this movie will forever remain a fiction because I can’t imagine modern people going against each other in such manner! I don’t think even animals act such way! After watching this I’m tempted to look for the first 300 movie DVD while look forward to the next sequel, prequel or whatever quell you call them! Bring it on SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!   

Krezi Spartan Sewel friends of mine! :)