Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)

" Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" based on... Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" based on the beloved Guardians of Ga'Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga' Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones" - Rottentomatoes.com

At first instance, the idea of Owls battling Owls to conquer Owl 'kingdoms' appeared rather dumb. I mean, come on, birds? kingdom? fighting? soldiers? (yes, I do know that it is based on a novel) Regardless, the trailer was convincing enough (mostly thanks to 30 seconds to Mars's "Kings & Queens") to me. And so I decided to take the journey with these owls in Digital 3D. On a side note, digital 3D has become a necessity in movie-making these days and it is not always a good thing.



Well, the movie started rather cliched, with a father owl telling stories of epic battles of the Guardians to his owlets, embedding in them aspirations to one day be a Guardian themselves. Another cliche is that one owl happens to be less competent than his brother and turns jealous and subsequently evil. Well, to get to the point, the story was not THAT bad, a little boring, but still good enough to be a decent movie. The visuals were eyegasmic, down to the last microscopic detail. The Owls feathers actually 'looked' soft and movements on ground and in-flight looked really really true to life. The choice of voice-overs were good (Owls have British accent) and really fit the feel of the movie. The atmosphere of the scene were amazing, from the first scene right down to the last (at times almost feels a little bit LOTR-ish).


The storyline stayed interesting and up in the air only until the first 45 minutes, then it went downhill. The story got tired, boring and draggy, almost to a point where it would seem unbearable. It became confused about what it wanted to be. It wanted to convey an emotional tale while forcing in tired jokes that even a 12 year-old would not appreciate. It does not mean that there aren't any humorous scenes in the movie, of course there are, but most parts of it just seemed 'meh' (Jutt and Jatt were funny though).

However, fortunately, like most Owls plunging mid-air, the movie regained its flight and ended on a high - well, sort of - . The battle at the end proved to be of epic proportions with stylishly awesome slow-mos and the final blow by Soren was kind of awesome (though obviously predictable). Most of the good parts in this movie were its slow-mo effects scenes.


All in all, a very beautiful movie visually but fails to impress with its storyline. If there's anything to shout about its the stunning slow-mo effects with backgrounds and environment to die for. Story-wise it was draggy in the middle and overall quite predictable.


3D Verdict - Alot of 3D scenes but none long enough to actually embrace the 3D technology. In my honest opinion, not worth the premium price.

Favourite Scene: All the slow-mo scenes especially one where a Guardian attacks an owl from behind and only the Helmet is seen flying (slow-mo) in mid air. Sort of reminded of 300.


IN A NUTSHELL:
Pros: Eyegasmic visuals (environment, the owls, everything), very nice final battle scene, atmosphere of emotional and tense moments | Cons: Got a little boring in the middle, dry humour, predictable plot | Rating:

6.5/10

Up in The Air (2009)

A story about Ryan Bingham (Clooney), who flies all around America, firing people as a job. Along the way, a newbie, Natalie Keener (Kendrick) tags along to experience firing people upfront after introducing a new way via web-cam and Bingham meets a fellow frequent flier, Alex (Farmiga), and began to click.


The movie maintains a steady paced throughout and nothing seemed rushed nor dragged. The movie is also a decent mixed bag of emotions, from depressingly sad moments, to Bingham's quick-witted humour. Clooney did well with his role and made believable the loneliness of his character and the joy of reaching 10million miles of flight mileage. Kendrick also did a superb job and held a character rather well together with the likes of Clooney. The chemistry between Clooney and Farmiga was fantastic and it really worked.




The firing scenes were very interesting. It actually gave the audience a decent picture of what losing a job means to some people. Some people take it on the chin, some don't really take it very well at all. With that said, the movie is not solely focused on just the firing, but rather, how Bingham deals with his disconnected relationship with his family and how he finds trouble to actually tell where 'home' is.


If theres anything to fault about this movie is that the storyline is a little bit on the predictable side. Despite that little flaw, the movie never really had any boring moments. If I had to really find a flaw, it would be the unnecessary alphatech part, though I dont think its a 'real' flaw.


All in all, one of the best movies I've seen yet. Despite not being 'epic' in any way, I felt it was one of those movies which really conveys something different - from losing a job, to getting dump via text message, to having an affair etc. - to different sections of the audience. I can safely say that I really enjoyed this movie. And that 'Rocket Science' chick is a bit of an eye-candy.

IN A NUTSHELL

Pros: Very good acting, particularly by Kendrick and Clooney, the extras were good, nice balance of emotions to keep the audience interested | Cons: None worth mentioning except some unnecessary scenes | Rating: 8/10

The Crazies (2010)

The remake of George A. Romero's 1973 classic of the same title sees a small quiet town faced with a pandemic after its townspeople turned insane and violently aggressive due to water contamination. Four people try to make a run to the next town in an attempt to escape government officials who are wiping out the town to stop the virus from spreading.


The movie maintains a watchable enough plot throughout the whole 101 minutes. There are moments where I actually felt the suspense and horror of the four characters and there are some where I just felt lost. There was actually a decent atmosphere of fear when the government officials took people into confinement camps. There were some jumpy moments and when Sheriff Dutten pulled the knife out of his hand, I felt a little squeamish.


On the down side, the plot development appeared rather linear without much, if any, subplots or climax (or probably I missed it). The characters' personas were at times a little inconsistent (it could be intentional to show the effects of the virus). There weren't enough thrilling or horrific moments that will make you jump out of your seat. And truth be told, I was about to give this movie a good rating but the ending (mediocre CGI) really made me minus a mark from my final rating.


Nevertheless, the movie was sufficiently interesting to keep me glued to the screen. The fact that this sort of thing can actually happen (maybe, probably, I dont know) makes it all the more believable and watchable. Worth watching, but no epic stuff.

IN A NUTSHELL
Pros: Very watchable, great sense of atmosphere, the crazies do look crazy | Cons: linear plot development, insufficient thrill, poor ending scene | Rating: 6/10

The Night Chronicles: Devil (2010)

Devil is the first installment of the 3-part "The Night Chronicles" by the Thriller Mastermind (open for debate) that is M. Night Shyamalan. With flops such as The Last Airbender and The Happening, Shyamalan aims to give The Night Chronicles a good start by going back to his horror/thriller roots in the form of Devil.



The trailer did enough to make me want to watch the movie (which I eventually did) without giving much as to its idea. The story starts off pretty normal, nothing out of the ordinary just like any other movie. It only really kicked off when the 5 strangers get trapped in an elevator due to some technical problem, only to find out that the 'technical problem' is caused by a stronger force as the story unfolds. As claustrophobia and paranoia kick in, the victims start to question and doubt one another followed by a series of unexplainable events.


The movie did well to make the best of a totally restraint environment ie. the elevator. There are scenes outside the elevator as well but none as intense as those that go on inside the elevator. The plot development was good, though seemed abit rushed (the movie is only 1 hour 21 minutes) at times. The idea was great, the execution decent. As for the actors, I felt that Chris Messina (Detective Bowden) did well to juggle skepticism and a hint of belief as to the supernatural events that occurred before him. The 'good vs evil' thing can get a little bit tiring for some who have watched a little too much of these kind of movies. But I felt this movie did a little better in carrying it out. The other characters weren't developed enough in my opinion but the actors did a pretty decent job in making the audience guess who out of the 5 strangers is the odd one out.


[Spoiler]
The twist at the end was decent, a little predictable. But the lead up to the twist made me go "oh shit~~!" which was something I actually liked. Another thing I liked about this movie is also that the Devil never really showed itself, just glances and at the end in the form of one of the strangers in the elevator. I prefer it this way rather than the devil coming out and scream "Hi all!, I'm the devil!".
[Spoiler ends]



On the downside, the movie never really reaches heights it could have reached. The plot could have been more in depth and more detailed but for one reason or another it isn't. Character background were somewhat rushed. The first 15 minutes of the movie was dull to the point I thought to myself - " this movie is going to suck " -. But fortunately it regained its pace and turned out to be a pretty decent movie. In short, the movie could have done more with the concept it had but fails to do so.


All in all, this movie is -in my books- definitely worth watching. It may not be the best thriller film out there but it beats watching the other crap that is out right now in the cinemas. Did it redeem Shyamalan after the mediocre Airbender? I can't really say because I didn't sacrifice my time watching the crap that was Airbender, but I would like to think that it did.


Right now, my hopes are considerably high for what's next to come from The Night Chronicles (second film rumoured to be titled "12 Strangers").


IN A NUTSHELL

Pros: Simplistic thriller/horror, decent acting by the cast, nice concept with decent (could have been better) execution, nice atmosphere | Cons: a little too rushed, narrow storyline | Rating: 7/10

NUTSHELL REVIEWS

These are some of my nutshell reviews, in short, movies that I may have watched before and decided to watch them again, and also those which are not worth my time to write a full review on (and im lazy).

1) The Hills Have Eyes


Pros: Violently violent, kinda scary | Cons: Predictable plot, mindless storyline | Rating: 5/10

2) Slither


Pros: None | Cons: Everything | Rating: 2/10

3) Fired Up


Pros: Hot girls, mildly (very very mildly) funny | Cons: crappy, teenage flick, yet again | Rating: 3/10

4) The Omen (2006)


Pros: Nothing much | Cons: Julia Stiles, and the fact that the kid appeared more annoying rather than scary | Rating: 4/10


5) Hostel


Pros: Violent, nice concept | Cons: Stupid Japanese girl, looks B-grade | Rating: 5/10

6) Mysterious Skin


Now, this movie deserves a mini review (abit better than a nutshell review). The plot is clever and brave, on top of being very very original. Not one for homophobes but definitely worth the watch. Something different from the norm but very very real. Storyline is great, though a tad bit underdeveloped (it was'nt THAT extensive a story). Personally I felt the acting was pretty good and that the actors really got in their roles. Gordon Levitt did a great job with a very very hard role. All in all, a VERY weird but interesting movie.


Pros: Something different and brave, great acting (especially by the kids), nice plot development | Cons: Nothing worth mentioning but its definitely not an epic movie | Rating: 7.5/10

Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D (2010)

The fourth installment of the Resident Evil (film) series continues off from RE: Extinction where... well, actually, I cant for the life of me remember the previous RE movies. They're just THAT forgettable. Midway through Afterlife and I know this one will rest with the other RE installments, in the 'Forgettable Movies' storeroom.

But, fortunately, forgettable does not equal boring. The movie has enough action scenes to keep the audience on the edge of their seats (especially in 3D). The duo of Jovovich and Larter actually worked out pretty well.


Basically all the positives that I can squeeze out of this movie are from its 3-dimensional effects. The 3D is by far, the best I've seen in a movie (and I've had my fair share of 3D movies - Clash of the Titans, Alive in Wonderland, Avatar etc. - and all these movies did'nt exploit the 3D technology enough). There are a few 'in your face' moments and also some pretty cool 3D effects on satellite images.


However, like all the previous Resident Evil movies, it falls short of being a good movie. It lacks the most vital part of what RE is all about -Zombies-, not to say they are'nt any - there are - , just not enough. And the 'boss battles' in this movie are downright poor and clearly showed the lack of creativity. The plot is draggy and some parts just appeared unnecessary. The ending was dragged way too long and the continuity of it made the movie ridiculous.


Simply put, if you plan on watching this movie in normal cinemas, be prepared for a draggy and dull ride (unless you love the series of course). But watching it in 3D will be money well spent.

PS: Wentworth Miller started in a cell... But he doesn't have a map tattooed all over his body.

PS2: during the 3D trailer, Sammy's Adventure: The Secret Passage (2010)'s 3D effect looked really really cool.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Pros: Best use of 3D technology I've seen, yet, Loads of bullets | Cons: messy, boring storyline, ending is mediocre and draggy, forgettable | Rating: 5/10

Silent Hill (2006) | The Fatality (Thai-2009)

Well, this is another one of those game-to-movie adaptation. And as far as these kind of movies go, they usually suck. Point of note: This is my second time watching this movie.

Pyramid-head looking oh-so-kewl

Silent Hill isn't all that bad. In my opinion, its actually one of the better games-movies adaptation. Characters from the game are well portrayed and at times, does give that eerie, scary feeling to it. But the plot could do with some work. Its a tired, boring plot which appeared a little messy.

There's ALOT of CGI in this movie, but understandably so. I wasn't too fond of it, but i guess the directors didn't really have much choice.

Look! I can touch my head with my feet!

Well, I won't write to long on this movie due to the fact that I've watched it before so theres really nothing much to say. Fans of the game may butcher the movie. Neutrals will probably like it enough to give it a thumbs-up.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Pros: Nice "Silent Hill" feeling, character portrayal is Good, When darkness falls | Cons: tired, predictable and messy plot, over-the-top CGI | Rating: 6/10


________________________________


I bought some DVDs to watch because streaming online with a 1mbps line is torture. So my main target was Asian Horror Films. So i stumbled upon 'The Fatality', a Thai-Taiwan collaboration film. Basically its about a guy who kills himself in Taiwan, gets his soul transferred to another guy, Asanee, in Thailand who is apparently a 'Death' who stamps peoples' Death Certificate so they can cross-over to the other side. Confusing? I thought so too.


I wasn't hoping for much. Just a decent horror film would suffice. Fortunately, this movie isn't THAT bad. Surrounded by so many negatives, it scores some pretty good points (but not much).
The actors/actresses were dull, without any character to the point where it seemed so scripted (especially when they 'try' to speak in English). Often at time the plot would seem to get lost, but regained its path soon after.



Another BIG disappointment is: SPOILER
This isn't much of a horror film. The 'ghost' were squeezed within the first 30-45 minutes of the movie and thats it. It's more of a drama (with a hint of horror) to me. The storyline revolves around a wife who wants to get rid of her husband so that she and her lover can make off with her brother-in-law's assets. Drama? YES.
SPOILER END.


The good thing about this movie though, is the concept of stamping Death Certs to kill people. Its quite a nice concept but gets tired very fast. I also felt that the Taiwan-Thai connection was a really good idea.

But alas, too much disappointment makes it but a normal Asian Horror film. But worth the watch if you have too much time on your hand or if you love Thai-Taiwan collaboration flicks.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Pros: Smart idea of a collabo, decent enough concept to the film | Cons: Acting, supposedly 'scary' scenes, camera-angle can get a little annoying at times (with the blurred edges) | Rating: 4/10