Saw V

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Miss Liana @ Cathay Cineleisure (26/10)
Snacks: None
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

"I want to play a game..." Again.. For the 5th time...

Trust me when i say this.
This is one review where i can give away anything at all people.

Basically this movie was one big flashback. Or make it several flashbacks.
I seriously recommend watching the first 4 Saw movies first before you catch this 5th installment. Seriously.
The whole series seems to be one giant jigsaw (pardon the pun) and this movie is just another piece of it

This movie actually takes a step back. So it's actually a sequel to Saw III and a prequel to Saw IV (read that again.. it makes sense...).
So we'll start off from where Saw III left off. You'll see Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) getting locked in that room with Jigsaw's corpse and then the movie will move on from there.
And of course we'll see other recurring characters like Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) & Jigsaw (Tobin Bell).
But this being a flashback you'll see characters from all previous Saw movies (even cop David Tapp (Danny Glover) from the first Saw movie)

And we of course have a bunch of people who play a whole new game with Jigsaw.
But this was just a mini-sub-scene and i honestly think it was a waste of time.

Well take my advice.
You can go watch this just for the gore (which was lovely).
But i'd advise you to go recap the first 4 Saw movies so that at least this movie will make a bit more sense to you.

And by the way.
Yes. They're making Saw VI.

Final Verdict:

RocknRolla

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Miss Alec @ GV Vivo City (22/10)
Snacks: Mixed Nuts & Sprite
Hidden Scene After Movie: Only Credits

Oh no how am I going to do this tactfully?

Archie (Mark Strong) works for Brit mobster Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) who owns pretty much half the city in terms of underworld dealings.
And suddenly business opportunities arise with a wealthy Russian businessman Uri (Karel Roden) and a big property scam should be a cinch with corrupt city official The Councillor (Jimi Mistry) in Lenny's pocket.

And on the other hand we have One Two (Gerard Butler), Mumbles (Idris Elba) & the rest of the lads. Some small time thugs who call themselves The Wild Bunch and just so happen to be involved in the whole scam via owing Lenny money AND also though the Russian's accountant Stella (Thandie Newton) who has a trick or two up her sleeve (or rather up her skirt).

So how on earth do we mix things up?
Throw in rock star Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) who happens to go missing. Who happens to be Lenny Cole's stepson. Who happens to be the very key person in this whole mess.
But he's so high on drugs all the time that even his managers Mickey (Jeremy Piven) and Roman (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) can't handle him.

Throw in typical Guy Ritchie British gangster flick style and voila you have a pretty entertaining movie.
But only if you liked Guy Ritchie's movies to begin with.
If you didn't like (or couldn't understand) Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch then I suggest you stay clear of this movie.

But then agian i reckon Guy Ritchie tries to cram too much into this one movie.
And worse still a lot of his regulars like Jason Statham & Alan Ford were unavailable for this movie and you just start imaging them in the roles y'know what i mean?

Final Verdict:

Max Payne

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Miss Q @ Cathay EHub (18/10)
Snacks: None
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

Valkyrja: Choosers of the Slain

Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is an angry cop.
Since his wife and baby got murdered he's been itching to find those responsible and make them pay.

One day he chances upon Natasha Sax (Olga Kurylenko) who seems to be a lucky break to leading him to more information about the case.
But when she is mysteriously murdered, her sister Mona Sax (Mila Kunis) comes after Max since he was the last person to see her alive.

So Max turns to his old partner Alex Balder (Donal Logue) and his old mentor and his late dad's partner on the force B.B. Hensley (Beau Bridges) who now works as Head of Security at pharmaceutical firm Aesir.
But things appear shady and all things point to Jason Colvin (Chris O'Donnell) a Head of Dept at Aesir.

On top of this Max is under investigation by Internal Affairs agent Jim Bravura (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and also there seems to be a psychotic figure by the name of Jack Lupino (Amaury Nolasco) who somehow keeps turning up during the investigations.

So can this really finally be a good videogame movie?
Almost.

I'll be honest.
This film is so stylish. It's so noir and dark and to be honest I really enjoyed the action scenes and all the trimmings that came along.
But boy oh boy did they really screw it up with the scriptwriting.
What started out so promising (and stylish) suddenly started to go downhill. And i mean REALLY downhill.
Why on earth couldn't they have written it better?

Well nonetheless. Like i said this film had a very nice style to it.
You should watch it.
And then later you'll probably be asking "Why the script like that?"
Just like me. Such a pity.

Final Verdict:

Tropic Thunder

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Mr Dopamine Dreamer @ The Cathay (17/10)
Snacks: None
Hidden Scene After Movie: During Credits

"You m-m-m-mmm-m-make me happy. "

Five actors are supposed to be making this bid budget war movie.
And somehow, with all the bickering and what nots, the make-believe war setting suddenly becomes a very real war zone.

The actors are
- Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller). An almost washed-up actor who needs something put his career back on track.
- Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.). An award-winning Australian actor who actually underwent an operation to make him black. For his movie role of course.
- Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) And insecure comedic actor with a very very very bad drug addiction.
- Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson). A young actor who pitches products like 'Booty Sweat' energy drink & Bust-a-Nut candy.
- Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). Another young actor who seems to be the sanest and most grounded of the whole lot.

Throw in a shitload of cameos from stars like Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Maria Menounos, Tyra Banks, Christine Taylor, Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Bill Hader & this really famous guy (whom you won't expect and whom i won't disclose) and I'd say you have a pretty okay movie.

But it's filled with A LOT of Hollywood in-jokes though.
So try and catch the quick quips and I guarantee you'll have a good time.
It's a fun movie. It's a funny movie.
Just watch.

Final Verdict:

The House Bunny

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Miss Q @ Cathay EHub (11/10)
Snacks: None
Hidden Scene After Movie: Yes

I TOLD you Anna Faris was hot...

Shelley Darlington (Anna Faris) is a Playboy bunny who's hoping to be on the next spread but is suddenly kicked-out of the mansion by Hugh Hefner because she's too old.

And with nowhere else to go, Shelley stumbles upon a group of nerdy misfits who make up the failing sorority Zeta Alpha Zeta who are about to lose their charter. So Shelley decides to become their house mother and help the girls transform themselves into popular girls who can handle their own.

So Natalie (Emma Stone), Harmony (Katharine McPhee), Joanne (Rumer Willis), Lilly (Kiely Williams), Mona (Kat Dennings), Carrie Mae (Dana Goodman) & Tanya (Kimberly Makkouk) are in for the time of their lives as Shelley brings them out of their shells and attempts to save their sorority from Mrs. Hagstrom (Beverly D'Angelo) & the snobs from another sorority.

And of course in the midst of all this Shelley still has time to fall for smarty-pants dude Oliver (Colin Hanks).

Well this movie brought on a few laughs. But not many.
Faris is as usual her ditzy funny self but this is more of a chick-flick overall.
I guess it was just going through the motions. But looks out for real personalities and bunnies from Playboy including Hugh Hefner himself.
But i suggest looking out for them on the DVD.

Final Verdict:

Eagle Eye

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Miss Hana @ GV Vivo City (09/10)
Snacks: None
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

No this is not a movie about birds.

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is a bright kid wasting his life who gets a wake-up call when his twin brother Ethan has just died.

But an on-going investigation by FBI Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) & Air Force Officer Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson) shows that Ethan's death is anything but normal and even involves a conspiracy involving member of the government including Defense Secretary Callister (Michael Chiklis).

When Jerry is suddenly framed as a terrorist, he starts receiving mysterious phone calls from an anonymous woman & this brings him together with Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) who is following the orders of the same anonymous caller in order to save the life of her son.

Is it really as simple as it seems?
Who is this mysterious woman who seems to now everything enough to give orders over the phone?

I'll be honest i don't really like Shia LaBeouf.

And despite having qualms about this movie I have to say i quite enjoyed it. It's not exactly the MOST mysterious movie ever and tends to get a bit predictable towards the end. But not predictable enough to the point that you get bored. There's enough action in this movie to keep you glued.

And here's a bit of spoiler trivia for you.
(highlight the white area in betweens the sections if you want to know)

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The voice of ARIA is provided by Julianne Moore.
(who chose to remain uncredited)

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Final Verdict:

My Magic

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Mr Rider @ Cathay Cineleisure (05/10)
Snacks: Boiled Peanuts & Coke
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

Abraca... errrr...

Francis (Bosco Francis) is a down-and-out drunkard. He is left to care for his son (Jathisweran) after the boy's grandmother passed away and his mother left.
All he has is his job at the local pub and that works out for him because he gets to chug down leftover drinks on top of his measly pay.
And his son despises him for being such a loser.

But Francis has a hidden talent.
He's good at magic. Performing his tricks and painful feats gets him noticed by the pub owner who promises him big money in return for performing his squeamish acts in the pub.

Francis sees this as a chance to make good on his son and at least provide him with money for his future rather than nothing but the memory of a drunkard father.
So it is not just money for his son that Francis seeks. It is also the respect of his son that Francis so desperately seeks.

Eric Khoo's film is the Singapore entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category for next years Oscars.
And i guess it is the kind of movie people would expect to see in that category.
(Take note: foreign language means this movie is entirely in Tamil and Hokkien so prepare to read subtitles.)

It touches on human emotion and also manages to give it a local feel.
Loosely based on Bosco Francis' experiences and his very real magic acts, I guess it is Bosco who manages to give this movie the special touch.
Overall a sad movie, i feel it lacked a certain something to set this apart from the rest. Obviously well done for a local movie but Khoo's sombre mood is really overwhelming.

But worth the watch definitely. At least for Bosco's magic if nothing else.

Final Verdict:

The Promotion

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Nobody @ Home (04/10)
Snacks: Long John Silvers
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

Gotta love those indie films.

Doug Stauber (Seann William Scott) is an assistant manager at supermarket chain. He and his wife Jen Stauber (Jenna Fischer) are saving up to buy a new home and the chance comes along when a new store is opening up hence creating a new opening for a store manager. And Doug is a shoo-in.

That is until Richard Wehlner (John C. Reilly) comes along from their sister company in Canada and now Doug has a rival for the new manager spot.
And so the 2 try to maintain cordial relations and try to be civil while trying to impress chain and board head Mitch (Gil Bellows).
But how long can you maintain your cool especially when it's your one big chance to move up in life right?

You know what?
This was actually a very good movie. In fact - it's brilliant.
I'm sure pretty much everybody can relate to this movie because it's something that we witness or even participate in at one point of our lives.
The feeling of wanting something so badly. To want something better. For ourselves and for our families.
And it was pretty funny too.

Indie films are always sleepers.
Sometimes they suck shit. And sometimes they're great.
Like this one.
And it's nice to see John C. Reilly do some proper acting again. His movies have been shit since he started hanging around with Will Ferrell.

Final Verdict:

Burn After Reading

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Nobody @ The Cathay (04/10)
Snacks: Green Tea
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

"Appearances can be... deceptive."

CIA analyst Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) unceremoniously quits his job much and decides to writes his memoirs to the annoyance of his wife Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton).
Little does he know that she's cheating on him with another government agent Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) who in turn is cheating on his wife.

In steps Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), an employee at Hardbodies Gym who desperately wants to get plastic surgery but can't afford it.
So when her friend and colleague Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) chances upon Cox's memoirs, they decide to blackmail him to exchange his confidential information for money.

Throw in a couple of divorces and guns and Russians now all these characters suddenly manage to get involved with each other somehow or other and everything starts to get messy.
Or does it?

Now i have to say. This is a typical Coen Brothers' film.
You REALLY have to follow every twist and turn or you might end up wondering "What the fuck does this have to do anything?"
Clever storyline that tends to get a little too over-complicated at times and it does not help with the movie's short running time.

But the acting is brilliant. Simply brilliant. All of them.
Especially Brad Pitt. Wahahaha.

Might not be everybody's cup of tea though.
Pretty okay over all if you feel like a thinking movie.
If not then just go watch something else and get this movie on DVD.

Oh. and to show how hilarious Brad Pitt was in the movie.

Final Verdict:

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Nobody @ The Cathay (01/10)
Snacks: Nachos & Lemonade
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

Ole.

Best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) take a break from their lives to go live with Vicky's relatives Mark & Judy (Kevin Dunn & Patricia Clarkson) in Barcelona.
And despite being best friends they have very different ideologies.
Vicky is the more practical and logical type and engaged to be married to Doug (Chris Messina) in the fall.
Cristina however is more volatile and spontaneous believing that love is more of a fallacy that anything else after a failed relationship.

It is there that they chance upon Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) - a local artist who is charming albeit a little weird.
Cristina is almost immediately smitten but Vicky is not. But over time both women take liking to Juan Antonio but it does not help that he has a rather trouble past involving a psychopathic ex-wife María Elena (Penélope Cruz) who is also an artist.

So how on earth is such dysfunctionality going to affect everyone?
Can the perfect love story suddenly turn into tumoil? Oh you bet.

This is a typical Woody Allen movie.
From the narration. To the flow of the movie. To the brilliant direction.
And Javier Bardem still looks scary and i was really impressed with Penélope Cruz's performance in this onel. Simply brilliant.
The cinematography was lovely and it is little wonder everyone is praising Barcelona's beauty after seeing this film.
I think that Spain's beauty is only overshadowed by the beauty of Scarlett Johansson in the end.

So it's kinda like weighing the artsy (and simple) life versus the rough and tumble of the corporate (and serious) life.
And i guess this movie was worth the watch although it does tend to be a bit ambiguous at times. It's the kind of movie that makes you evaluate your life and makes you wonder whether the road you're on right now is the one you want to be on.

Final Verdict:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Nobody @ Home (29/09)
Snacks: Water
Hidden Scene After Movie: No

Sarah who???

Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is a behind-the-scenes kinda guy.
He composes "dark and ominous" music for a TV show and just so happens that he is lucky enough to be the boyfriend of the show's star - Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Well he WAS lucky to be anyways.

Sarah decides to break it off to be with british singer and all round weirdo Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) and Peter is obviously having a hard time with it.
So he takes the advice of his good friend and soon-to-be-brother-in-law Brian (Bill Hader) and takes a trip to Hawaii to put Sarah behind him
The problem with that - Sarah's there with Aldous (worse type).

But there Peter meets the kind hotel receptionist Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) who feels sorry for the big lunk who's stuck in such a predicament.

So will Peter still be hung-up over his ex?
Or will he put this aside and move on with Rachel?

Well i'll tell you one thing.
This another movie from the guys who brought you 'Knocked Up', 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' & 'Superbad' so you can expect to see a few familiar faces.
Paul Rudd wasn't too bad but that Jonah Hill is just so bloody irritating. It's just no point at all to have him in the movie.

Well it does have its moments but this movie ultimately fails.
Even though Mila Kunis us surprisingly hot after shedding her ditzy That 70s Show persona, no way jose in terms of laughs.
(But the Dracula musical was pretty clever though)

WARNING: Prepare to see some sausage in this movie.

Final Verdict: