A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (2014)

Genre: Comedy
Running Length: 1:52
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman
Director: Seth MacFarlane

It's strange that lately I'm getting my Stephen Chow fix from Hollywood movies. The very brilliant The Grand Budapest Hotel was one of it and now, A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST. It's filled with nonsensical laugh-out-loud scenes, randomness and clever references/parody of pop culture. It also features a number of cameos (two of it are brilliant). That's where the similarities end. As I'm not familiar with Seth MacFarlane'a credentials (yes, I have not watched TED and Family Guy), so it was pretty refreshing to see him "whine" through some very cleverly written monologues about the western frontier and references to today's lifestyle and living. Not everything works though as some gags are pretty funny at the start but it drags on and becomes tiresome after a while. And the toilet-bodily fluids humour are juvenile and crass. Despite its raunchy and racial references and the sudden burst of graphic violence, the movie is grounded with an honest sweet romantic story between MacFarlane and Theron's character. Theron is wonderfully natural and she gives MacFarlane more humanity and likeability. Without her, I suspect I will start to loathe Seth MacFarlane (like half of the world's population); watching him here is like watching him host the Oscars/doing a monologue for a late night talk show. He seems way too impressed with himself. A special shout out to the technical aspects of the film as it looks and sounds like a classic western; the sun-burnished views of Arizona and the evocative score.

Rating: 7/10

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:42

Cast: (voices) Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Djimon Hounsou, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kit Harrington

Director: Dean DeBlois

When How To Train Your Dragon came out in 2010, it was the best movie experience for me. It got everything right; the flight sequences in 3D were exhilarating, the story had a lot of heart and of course, the super adorable Toothless. So, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 had an impossibly high expectations to clear no matter how hard I tried not to have one. Well, I didn't walk out with the same wonderment I experienced from the first movie but that said, HTTYD2 is a superior sequel considering how the film making industry works (Anytime a movie especially an animated one scores big at the BO, it instantly becomes a "trilogy". Creativity goes out the window but who cares as long as it hauls in the money). Thankfully, rather than retreading more of the same, the film makers chose to expand the scope and yet retaining all the elements that made the first one a success. The events in this sequel takes place 5 years after and thus, it explores the theme of growing up and finding out "who am I and what's my calling." Fortunately it didn't go all Shakespeare as there are plenty of action scenes, but the tone is darker and more complex than the original. There is a "everything's not going to be all right" feeling throughout the movie. Visually it doesn't offer anything groundbreaking but there is one BIG standout "mano-a-mano" battle scene which was jaw dropping. That scene itself justified the IMAX 3D surcharge. The relationships between the key characters are properly fleshed out especially the incredibly touching bond between Hiccup and Toothless; so much so it mattered deeply in the film's single most powerful scene.

Rating: 7.5/10

MALEFICENT (2014)

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Running Length: 1:38

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley

Director: Robert Stromberg 

MALEFICENT continues the trend of Disney retelling its classic animated fairy tales with new twists to appeal to the Internet generation (everything is edgier, the villain is the victim, "what you know is wrong"). However, those expecting Sleeping Beauty told from the point of view of the villain would be disappointed. Instead, this movie pushes the feminist agenda where our “evil female” is turned into a victim because of a male. I was hoping for a more interesting motive for Maleficent to break bad but it's the same "story". I get it that men these days are not playing their role as man but do we deserve to get bashed forcefully over our heads, over and over again (in such movies) for being the true "monster"? Frozen did the same thing; Anna falls in love with a man who turns out to be taking advantage of her. I really am tired of males being continuously shamed this way. This will paint an unrealistic portrayal of boys and love relationships for our youth. That said, the visuals in this movie look great and Angelina Jolie owned the show as our deeply tragic and conflicted protagonist.   

Rating: 5/10

EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Running Length: 1:53
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Director: Doug Liman
 
Here's the good news for Tom Cruise haters. In his new film, EDGE OF TOMORROW, he dies! In fact, Cruise's character dies dozens of times over and over, often in creative and comical ways. The movie unfolds in a straight fashion manner where in the near future, an invading alien race threatens to wipe out humanity (just like any other sci-fi film). Cruise's character is a military PR spokesman who has never set foot on the battlefield suddenly found himself stationed in the frontline for a battle which looked like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. And here's where the plot gets smarter and sharper than one would expect. Minutes into the battle, he dies. But a funny thing happens. He wakes up to discover that he’s back at the beginning of the previous day. No matter what he does, his death returns him to that same point, forcing him to "live.die.repeat" the same period of time again and again. This is "Groundhog Day" with heavy firepower. Another good change from a typical Cruise's flick is that he doesn't dominate it but shares equal screen time with Emily Blunt's "full metal b****" character who gets all the best one-liners. If there's anything disappointing about the film, I would say it's the weak resolution because everything leading to it was smart but I felt the film makers could have been more bold with the ending. Nevertheless it's an entertaining movie as the plot keeps moving forward (albeit in circles).

Rating: 7/10

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014)

Genre: Action/Science Fiction
Running Length: 2:11
Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage
Director: Bryan Singer

"The past: a place of potential promise, and possibility. We are the sum of our choices, as what we do now defines what we will do. Infinite decisions mean infinite consequences, for the future is never truly set." Professor X

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is a film of grand ambitions and epic achievements but yet managed to retain an intimate scale. It doesn't feel like your typical superhero movie ie. no final grand showdown where our hero/heroes beats the pulp out of a bad guy. In fact, there is no single readily identified villain; the main characters have legitimate reasons for their behaviour. Days of Future Past is a very intelligent (aka Nolan's Dark Knight series) film and it plays out more like a sci-fi film aka Terminator, where our distant future is horrific and grim; mutants are massacred and graphically killed by the Sentinels - machines without soul or conscience. The only way to reverse the apocalypse is to travel back to 1973 and undo it all, where the meat of the film rests. Thankfully, Singer occasionally cuts the doom and gloom tension by inserting in some wit especially a jaw-dropping playful action sequence. Michael Fassbender, who dominated X-Men: First Class, is once again magnetic here but this sequel is truly McAvoy's show. The most powerful scene for me was a quiet sequence involving the past Charles Xavier who was desperate to numb his pain and failure and the dystopian future Charles Xavier who's wiser and hopeful; "The greatest gift we have is to bear their pain without breaking and it comes from your most human part, hope."

Indeed, hope is a function of pain/struggle.

Rating: 8.5/10