He's Just Not That Into You

Genre: Romance / Comedy
Watched With: Miss Q @ The Grand Cathay (22/02)
Snacks: Green Tea

And finally. The movie everyone's been waiting for.

9 people. All believe in the same thing - love.
Problem is that love means something different to each one.

Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) believes in the perfect courtship.
Alex (Justin Long) believes that no such thing exists.
Beth (Jennifer Aniston) believes in marriage.
Neil (Ben Affleck) believes commitment is enough.
Janine (Jennifer Connelly) believes love is truth.
Anna (Scarlett Johansson) believes in taking a chance.
Ben (Bradley Cooper) believes he doesn't know what he wants.
Conor (Kevin Connolly) believes he has it but he doesn't.
Mary (Drew Barrymore) believes she doesn't have it. And she's right.

Well let me tell you.
That's a stellar cast made up with a whole load of beautiful women (if that's not enough for me to want to watch the movie)
But i guess it was a pretty nice movie. Predictable. Laughable.
But overall very nice. And some good performances.

Just take it as a rom-com with a difference.

Final Verdict:

The Wrestler

Genre: Drama
Watched With: Nobody @ The Cathay (14/02)
Snacks: Green Tea

I heard 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper cried after watching this.

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a wrestling god in the 1980s. His stardom was monumental and everyone loved him.
But it's been 20 years and now Mickey is working at a supermarket. He still wrestles though - at weekend wrestling shows in small towns.
The newer and younger wrestlers show him the respect he deserves and the people who still recognize him still love him.

But Randy doesn't kid himself.
He spends a good amount of his time at a stripclub where he pines for Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) - one of the dancers.
And she likes him too but rejects his advances because of her own personal policy of not getting involved with her customers.

One day a promoter pitches him an idea.
To stage a re-match between The Ram and his arch-nemesis from the 80s - The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) because people would pay good money to see it.
And The Ram of course agrees to it.

But along the way The Ram suffers a heart attack.
And the doctors tell him to stop wrestling or else the next heart attack will kill him.
But wrestling is All that Randy knows. How can he possibly stop?

The heart attack (and the break from wrestling) gives him a chance to re-evaluate his current state. And Randy decides he'd like to re-connect with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) whom he abandoned when she was a child because he was too busy with his career.
Randy also decides he doesn't want to be alone anymore and also reveals his true feelings to Cassidy hoping she'll accept him.

So giving on wrestling is a good thing for The Ram.
Right?

Critics are saying this was the best movie of the year.
People are saying that it deserves all the Best Picture awards.
I say nonsense.
Aronofsky is a good director. But awards? I don't think so.

But what i will agree with is - Mickey Rourke is a genius.
And he deserves to win all the Best Actor awards he's up for.

Maybe it's because this film is a self-reflection on the state Rourke was in not too long ago after being down and out and cast out of the Hollywood limelight.
And he slowly made his way back up.
And performance in this film shows you that side of him.
And it is probably that factor that allows him to give him one of the best performances I've seen in a movie.

It's like you're watching Mickey Rourke play himself.

Maybe a bit draggy at parts. But it is worth watching.
For Mickey Rourke if nothing else.

Final Verdict:

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

Genre: Action/Adventure
Watched With: Mr Baps Saigon @ GV Plaza Singapura (11/02)
Snacks: Green Tea & Kacang Putih

Kahp! Kahp!

Half vampire. Half Lycan.
So let's rewind a little bit here.

It is the very beginning of the story.
Viktor (Bill Nighy) - the King of Vampires has made all lycans (werewolves like duh) his slaves to serve his vampire race at night and protect them by daylight.
And this was a time where lycans could not transform back to human form after taking on the form of a werewolf.
That is until one day Viktor chances upon Lucian (Michael Sheen) - the first of his kind to be able to transform back to human form after taking on his werewolf alter-form.

But little does Viktor suspect that his only daughter Sonja (Rhona Mitra) the vampire princess and huntress and Lucian are in love.
And it is only a matter of time before they are found out.

But with both the wild werewolves and slave lycans getting more and more restless, it is getting harder and harder for the vampires to maintain order in their favour.

What more now that Lucian is growing stronger, how can his father-figure Viktor tame his inner-beast and protect his daughter from contaminating the vampire bloodline.

Okay so this a prequel. Which means the events in this movie take place before Underworld 1 & 2.
And the problem with prequels is that you know what's going to happen because it's either explained in the earlier movies or you kinda piece it together on your own.
So unless you wanna spend an hour and half telling yourself what's going to happen before it actually happens onscreen - then i suggest you just rent the DVD.

PS. Black lycan suara deep.

Final Verdict:

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Genre: Drama / Romance
Watched With: Miss Q @ GV Vivo City (07/02)
Snacks: Green Tea & Strawberry Pocky

*sniffle*

Caroline's (Julia Ormond) mother is on her death bed. And with Hurricane Katrina threatening to sweep everything away, she decided to stay with her mother til the very end.
And it is then that she is told a most wonderful tale.
A tale about a clockmaker Monsieur Gateau (Elias Koteas) who is stricken with grief after his son is killed in the war. And so he makes a creation that helps him to remember his son as best he knows.

World War I has just ended and times are still hard.
Thomas Button (Jason Flemyng) rushes home to find that his newborn son is horribly disfigured and looks more like a wrinkly old man than a newborn baby.
He then decides to get rid of the baby and eventually leaves it on the steps of an old folks' home.
Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) is the orderly and caretaker at this old folks' home and decides to take it upon to care for the baby no matter what the condition.
Everybday said the baby was showing severe sign of old age and would surelt die soon. But he did not.

Benjamin (Brad Pitt) does not die. Instead it seems like he is growing younger and younger with each passing day.
And it is with this sense of gratefulness of life that he decides to live life at its fullest.
Meeting his first love Daisy (Elle Fanning) when she was just 7 and his was... well... technically 70.
So Benjamin goes off into the world. Leaving everything behind.

It is then that he experiences so many wonderful things. And some not so wonderful. And eventually he returns home. And returns to his one true love Daisy (Cate Blanchett) - now all grown up and a ballet dancer.

But as Benjamin grows younger everyday - everything else around him grows old. Just the way they're supposed to.
At first Benjamin is able to understand this. But it gets harder to cope as time goes by. And thus is the problem.

How do you carry on when everything is going the other way?
How do you go against the natural order of things?

This film was based upon a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald of the same name. And even though the premise seems too incredible to believe - I guess it helps to just abandon yourself to the movie and enjoy.

At times the movie may seem a little draggy but a superb performance by Pitt is worth the price of admission.
The best way I can describe this movie - just like Forrest Gump.

Only sadder. Much sadder.

Final Verdict: