Tag: Movie

Movies watched recently…

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Rambo


Vantage Point


Indiana Jones:
Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull.


Horton Hears A Who?

Rambo:
I thought Fatal Move [夺帅] was bloody, and I was wrong. This is even worse, and even Saving Private Ryan pales in comparison. But where Saving Private Ryan is realistic, Rambo is definitely exaggerating. If you loved mindless violence, and seeing people getting ripped apart in 101 means, this is definitely the show for you. In fact, the last 10 minutes has endless scenes of mutilation: flying body parts, many heads and limps getting blown off et al. Definitely a movie you want to avoid after a meal if you have a weak stomach.

Anyway, this time round the mission takes Rambo to Burma (Myanmar), where he (on the trail of a group of mercenaries) rush to the rescue a group of missionaries who has run into some ‘domestic trouble’ with the Myanmese military in the Karen tribal areas. I wondered whether it was watching this (and Stealth), that caused the junta to be have such an irrational fear of Americans.

By the way, I don’t even know if the movie has a point at all. Most of the missionaries who were doing some good with their humanitarian efforts to bring health care and some simple education to the Karen people all met with a terrible end. The only message I got was from the fact that most of the mercenaries died except for the one who came back for Rambo and ‘finished the mission’… perhaps a subtle reminder to the American people they should stay the course in Iraq or face a terrible end?

I definitely hope Stallone won’t make another Rambo because it is going to be quite a joke seeing how this man continually kick his enemies’ ass. In fact, Rocky Balboa was done way better than Rambo. At least it Rocky didn’t beat the young champion, and it showed that even older people can have a determination to do what they intend to do.

Vantage Point:
I got quite bored and annoyed with the start of the movie, where the scene of the American President getting shot was repeated three times from several different perspectives – vantage points. I was wondering if that is going to be the way in the whole show and if blogger Mr.Malique was kidding me when he said this is a good movie.

I was glad I didn’t write it off from there because the storyline began to unravel after that, and that’s where it tied in the three vantage points to reveal to the audience what was missing in one but present in the other to allow Agent Barnes (Dennis Quaid) to be hot on the trail on the conspirators to rescue the President. There wasn’t very much of Sigourney Weaver in the movie, as she was seen only in the earlier part of the movie. As for what is Forest Whitaker’s role in the movie, you have to find out for yourself. Of course it comes with the usual intrigue, car chases and gun fights though probably not as exciting or super-human as a James Bond or XXX movie.

All in all, I liked this movie, it was refrenshing to me simply because I don’t recall ever watching another movie made similarly. If you have missed it I do suggest you get the DVD.

Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
It appears to me that it is the general sentiment that this movie was made a little to long (19 years!) after the last one, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). (It beats the record held by Star Wars, which was 16 years.)

Anyway, since it was such a long time after the last movie, the villians of the movie are no longer the Nazis, but the Soviets. (I wonder if another 20 years later whether it might be Communist China, since now they already have a Chinese Mummy – Jet Li.) The movie started with Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) captured by a Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and is forced to assist her in recovering a crate in a Hangar 51. It ultimately led Jones on a competition against Spalko in a race to find the Crystal Skull and lost Akator – also know as El Dorado.

In my personal opinion it was a little disappointing, just like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I had a feeling I maybe watching ET Part II, actually. Retuurrrn…. ET Phone Home… You will get what I mean after watching the movie. However, unlike George Lucas, at least Steven Spielberg had the courtesy not to sell out the fans by making it into a kid’s movie so parents will be held hostage and turn up in droves. The storyline is not really captivating, and fortunately the action and a lot of army ants made up for that. In fact I had actually hoped that more emphasis was placed on the son after his identity was revealed, so at least the action can be carry on in that person in future Indiana Jones movies. (Personally I wondered if that wasn’t hinted at the end of this movie.)

Anyway, last I heard was that there are plans for another Indiana Jones movie. And Harrison Ford making another Indiana Jones movie is still alright, as long as they cut down more of the action and increase more of the archeology and riddle aspects. After all, Dr. Jones isn’t all action. He has brains too. But I can’t say the same for Rambo… because I can’t imagine him sitting in a control room directing all the action of maybe a section of mini-Rambos in his place.

Horton Hears a Who!:
Also known as Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! , this is animation based on the book of the same name. In this animation, Horton the Elephant (Jim Carrey) heard a yelp coming out of a dust speck when he was taking a dip in the pool. After placing it on top of a clover that he holds in his trunk, he finds out the speck harbors the city of Whoville and all its inhabitants, led by Mayor Ned McDodd (Steve Carell).

The story is about how Horton tries to defend his knowledge, and to help the people of Whoville by taking and placing the speck atop Mt. Nool, the safest place in the jungle. Of course Horton was ridiculed because the other animals in the jungle couldn’t hear the people within the speck. Led by Jane Kangaroo, a lynch mob roped and caged Horton, in their attempt to end Horton’s delusion and destroy the speck once and for all.

I believe I have already revealed enough about this story so I’ll leave the details for you to find out on your own. Though I won’t recommend you to give it a miss, there’s nothing so captivating on inspiring in it that you should watch it either.

Movie: Fatal Move [夺帅]

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Fatal Move [夺帅]
This has to be one of the most meaningless and perhaps one of the more gory HK ‘Triad’ movies I have ever seen.

The story is about a triad founded by two brothers (played by Samo Hung and Simon Yam). The triad itself is watched by the HK Organised Crime Division which seeks to arrest the leaders and completely neutralise it. Naturally, there were car chases, pitched gun battles etc. all over the movie.

Also challenging the Triad is not the law enforcers but other Triads which are technically competitors. As such, there were several scenes of gory gang fights for the purpose of territorial control. These fights comes complete with digits and limps severed, throats slashed, people stabbed through the belly and lots of blood being splattered all over the place. In one scene, there was even a close up on an arm which is cut off half way, plus another showing how a woman was tortured in a gruesome manner.

There were also several scenes of murders which leave people wondering if Hong Kong is completely lawless. Definitely not for the faint hearted and please avoid watching after eating a good meal if you have a weak stomach.

Beyond that, there’s an element of ‘Infernal Affairs’ in the show, where there is a Triad plant within the police force itself, attempted betrayal and blackmail by the wife of a member of the Triad, and also internal dissent and infighting within the Triad itself. And in the end the infighting brought the Triad down, and all members were killed – even though who ended up in jail – in the end.

So what’s really so bad about it when there’s obviously quite a rich plot? It’s the fact that it is trying to do too many things at one go and it’s trying too hard to impress with all these gory scenes and sub-plots. In the end, none of them were done really well, and most people we left wondering who was behind the plot to kill every single one member of the Triad in the end.

If you have a liking for Hong Kong Triad movies, then this might be the one for you. But in general, there are better Triad Movies which is less gory being made. There is nothing really impressive in this movie and it’s best you give it a miss if you intend to get a VCD or DVD.
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