Category Archives: movie

Movie reviews

A young motorcycle stuntman, Johnny Blaze, is tricked into selling his soul to the devil to save his sick father. However, the devil cures his father but turns one of their stunt into accident that lead to his father’s death. There was nothing Johnny could do. The devil had no use for him at that moment and so he made Johnny “invincible” until he needed him. As a result, Johnny, whom had promised to runaway with the girl he loved, Roxanne, decided not to in order to spare her from any problems that might happen. Years later, Johnny became a famous stuntman, famous for his death-defying acts, which sometimes do really lead to very bad results but he never gets hurt. Johnny is reunited with Roxanne when she, now a reporter, interviews him about one of his stunts. Unfortunately for them, their reunion was short-lived as Johnny’s contract with the devil is finally enacted has he becomes the devil’s “Ghost Rider”. His task is to find and capture Blackheart and his men, who are trying to gain power to take over the world. Johnny’s relationship with Roxanne turns sour again when he keeps going m.i.a. on her. However things come to light and she is caught in between him and Blackheart who uses her as a bargaining chip. In the end he defeats Blackheart. Even though this meant that he was able to break his contract with the devil, he decides that he needs to give up the love of his life to avenge his father’s death and vowed to fight the devil until the end of his days.

A rather dissapointing movie I have to say. Not very entertaining, not that well made, and not very well written.

Set during the late Tang Dynasty in ancient China, Emperor Ping at the height of his rule is the supreme ruler of both country and family. It is exactly this that is causing extreme power struggle between Emperor and Empress, as well as between the Emperor and his 3 sons. The Crown Prince Wan and the Empress, his stepmother, have had a liaison for years. However the Crown Prince also has been having an affair with the Imperial Physician’s daughter, Chan. With the return of Prince Jai, the second son, for the Chrysanthemum Festival after being away for 3 years comes the unravelling of all the lies, deceit, and betrayal within the family. As the fued between the family members heightens, it is difficult to tell who’s alligiance is to whom. And with the rebellion being plotted, Prince Jai has to choose who his loyalty lies with. Tragically, all these heat ends up with blood shed from all three sons.

This movie is really really twisted with mild incesteous plot and a lot of deceit. The story can sometimes be a little overwhelming to follow but nevertheless, it is spectacular in all ways. I felt the movie itself was not bad but too the plot was just so twisted.

I haven’t been reviewing any of the movies I’ve seen for a long time…. I think I’m really getting rusty…

The year is 1968 and Senator Robert F. Kennedy is running for president. 22 people from different race, age group, social and economic class converge at the Ambassador Hotel. Their lives intertwine as the primary election night party draw closer. This historic night is set against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences, which inevitably ends with the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

I felt the movie has a very good pace, slow but not too slow that it makes you want to sleep. I like how the story of written where the late Senator Kennedy, the glue that holds the whole story together was not portrayed as a character in the movie. I quite enjoyed the movie I have to say. Maybe not for everyone but for all serious movie goers.

Harold Crick is an IRS agent who’s life is calculated to the dot everyday… Everyday he wakes up at the same time… brushes his teeth the same way… takes the same amount of steps to the bus stop… goes to bed at the same time… That was until one day when strangely enough he hears his life being narrated… and he finds out he was about to die some time soon… but of course he is the only one who hears it… for a moment he thought he was going crazy as no one would believe him but after going to a therapist… he was refered to a literature expert… they figured that if his life was being narrated… his life must be like a book and if they could figure out what kind of story it was… they could figure out how he was going to die… As the movie goes on… Karen Eiffel… is introduced as the author who was writing Harold’s life… she’s having writer’s block and is trying to figure out how to kill him off… Meanwhile Harold comes to term that his life was about to end and decides to do everything he always wanted to but never got to… like play the guitar… and get the girl he loves… Then he finds out that Karen was the one who was “narrating” his life and seeks her out… to try and convince her not to kill him…

I was pleasantly surprised with this one… it turned out to be much better than I thought and I really loved it… funny… with a good bit of drama… but the best bit as Jun put’s it… was the cinematography…

4 stories… intertwined… In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out–detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple’s frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost–lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves–as they are pushed to the farthest edges of confusion and fear as well as to the very depths of connection and love… (From Yahoo! Movies)…

I loved this movie… it was great… powerful… very stirring… Could very well win the Oscar…

Iris (Kate Winslet) is a journalist who lives in a little town in England… she is absolutely in love with Jasper… a colleague and ex-flame… when he annouces his engagement out of the blue… she suffers an anxiety attack… Amanda (Cameron Diaz) is a movie trailer maker who lives in Los Angeles, California… She has trouble committing to a relationship and finds out her current boyfriend is cheating on her… Both are desperate to get away from their current situations… Amanda finds an add for a house exchange program where two people can switch houses and cars for an agreed period of time… When Amanda arrives in England… she meets Iris’s brother Graham (Jude Law) and is immediately attracted to him… In LA… Iris is tries to heal her broken heart… she meets Arthur Abbott a retired and widowed screenwriter who is lonely and becomes friends with him… She also meets Miles (Jack Black) a kind-hearted movie score composer… As they spend time away from their lives… they learn to right the wrongs in their lives and find love on the way…

A great light-hearted romantic comedy… the review is coming a little late though… I think everyone has already seen it… but I enjoyed it… although I think Iris’s story is more interesting that Amanda’s…

A wonderful movie based on the real rags to riches story of Chris Gardner a portable medical machinery salesman who is having trouble selling the machines… played by Will Smith… Despite having a very hard life he has a great never-say-die attitude… However his wife is very unhappy and decides to leave… Chris having been abadoned by his father when he was young swore to himself to never do the same to his children if he ever had any… and so he looks after his 5-year-old son Christopher played by Will Smith’s real life son Jaden Smith (who is soooo cute!!) while he works… After a chance encounter with a stock-broker… he decides to apply for an internship program with one of the top brokerage firms in San Fransisco… and wins them over with his dedication and wit… in the mean time he went broke as a result of not paying his taxes in time and most of his money was taken by the government… he is subjected to lead a double life… an intern at the brokerage firm where no one knows his true state of life… and the single father who is broke and is subjected to fight for place in a shelter for homeless people and even sleeping in a toilet at the subway… Nevertheless after all the hardship… his hard work pays off and finally is offered a job at the brokerage firm…

A really amazing story and very touching… it makes you think how tough some people have it and they complain less than those people who have it easy… and also much happier… I do like the fact that the mention how happiness is something that is pursued… it doesn’t just land on your doorstep and can be a neverending pursuit… But like Oprah, Will Smith and Chris Gardner all agreed upon… this story could have only happened in America and no where else… that is the American dream…

Based on the first book of Christopher Paolini’s trilogy… In the land of Alagaesia the once mighty reign of the dragon riders is now taken over by Galbatorix a dragon rider who turned against his own… and is now the only dragon rider remaining… or so he thinks… A group of rebels called the Varden and their allies have long carried with them the egg of the dragon Saphira and to make sure it doesn’t get into the hands of Galbatorix and his men… Arya one of the rebels sends it away and the egg finds itself in the hands of a teenage farmboy, Eragon… Not long after the egg hatces… Eragon then hears of the lost days of the dragon riders through an old man, Brom, and is intrigued… the dragon Saphira grows at a phenomenal rate and soon turns into a fully grown dragon… Saphira and Eragon are bonded and can read each other’ thoughts… he is her dragon rider… Galbatorix sends his men to kill Eragon but he manages to escape with the help of Brom who turns out to be a dragon rider himself… Eragon learns quickly of his destiny and what he needs to do… They rescue Arya from the clutches of Durza, an evil wizard possessed by evil spirits who works for Galbatorix and they meet Murtagh who gives them a helping hand as well… When they reach the Varden they find themselves having to face Durza and Galbatorix’s army…

Ok I know what you are thinking… oh no not another Harry Potter/LOTR movie… but I have to say that I think even though some parts of the movie were a little cliched and that the magical language in Eragon isn’t as good as LOTR or HP but the movie was pretty well done… and is in fact quite good… I enjoyed it…