JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (Malaysia, 07 Jun 2018)

Genre: Science Fiction / Adventure / Thriller

Running Length: 2:08

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Ted Levine, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Isabella Sermon, BD Wong

Director: J.A. Bayona

Screenplay: Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow, based on the novels by Michael Crichton

What's this movie about? 

Three years after the closure of the Jurassic World theme park, the island's dormant volcano threatens to erupt and would wipe off all the remaining dinosaurs there. Claire (Bryce) and Owen (Chris) return to rescue the dinosaurs but in the process, discover a group's unlawful secret plan.

Highlights!

• The first 1/3 of the movie. One of the best opening scenes ever in the Jurassic series leading to the erupting volcano sequence, as shown in the trailer. What a ride! 
• The movie direction. Director J.A. Bayona does a good job with shadows and silhouettes to create a horror-like atmosphere. He does a competent job in pushing the action forward too.
• The dinosaurs. I read that most of these dinosaurs were a mixed of animatronics + CGI. They look real and fantastic! And there is a variety of them in this outing. Ooo...the Indoraptor is one nasty predator.  
• Ethics and social commentary. Although some of these themes were heavy handed, I thought it was necessary. Some of it actually got me thinking.  
• The ending. Pandora's box. Wow. Enough said.    

Lowlights

• Nothing we haven't seen before action scenes. It was still a thrilling ride to see screaming people running away from hunting dinosaurs but after a while, it becomes predictable (except the escape from the erupting volcano sequence). Smart nasty dino goes around hunting for frightened kids? Seen that. Evil hearted villain deservingly gets eaten up? Check. 
• The performances. To be fair, they are not forgettable but just serviceable. Chris is more subdued in this sequel but still as charming as ever while Bryce has more to do this round. In fact, the interactions between the humans and dinosaurs were more believable than the human ones.  
• Humanizing the dinosaurs to tug at the heartstrings. I don't remember tearing at a Jurassic film but some of the scenes were designed to manipulatively open the floodgates. Animal lovers, you've been warned!   

In summary

I like how the filmmakers took the risk in this 5th installment (of the Jurassic series) to a brand new direction. Meant to be a trilogy, I have no idea where the filmmakers will take the third Jurassic World to - and that's a good thing. In my opinion, the overall Jurassic series has just been recycling itself but FALLEN KINGDOM felt fresh. This film managed to successfully mix nostalgia with a new story. 

   

RATING: 8.5/10

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Malaysia, 25 Apr 2018)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:29
Cast:  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Bradley Cooper, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista
Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Screenplay:Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely

Passage taken from the Scriptures regarding the Rapture:

"Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."  Matthew 24:40-42

Indeed AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was a spiritual experience for me! It felt like watching Armageddon unfold in-front of me, where the conflicts and battles are of Godly proportions. And the lives of the human race and other beings in the universe are at stake as our heroes are running out of time to save them.

What's this movie about?

Earth's mightiest heroes and other heroes from the galaxy have to team-up to prevent Thanos (Josh Brolin) from acquiring five infinity stones; which, if united, will give him so much power he could wreck the entire universe with the snap of his fingers.

What I like about this movie?

• The wait (10 years in the making) was worth it! This overall film is just one big satisfying climax. 
• Thanos. A protagonist is only as good as the antagonist. To me, this is actually Thanos' movie. He is not your traditional big bad villain who's out for power and dominion as his higher calling for his madness is definitely debatable. He's like this tragic Shakespearean figure. He's way more complex than what we've seen in the trailers. Brolin's performance here is very memorable. 
• The danger is real. I was complaining that Captain America: Civil War had no consequences whatsoever. Despite the massive trashing and bashing, no one really died. But in this movie, there are major deaths right from the start (kinda reminds me of the animated motion picture Transformers opening scene) and it sets the tone for the entire movie. Whenever Thanos appears, you know sh t is going to happen.
• The continuity is excellent. All the superheroes from Thor to the Guardians of the Galaxy carried the same style they had embodied in their standalone movies. These characters just picked up smoothly where they left off. The Russo brothers deserve high praises to be able to juggle all the different characters in this mammoth of a movie while still maintaining their unique personalities. 
• The pairing choices. It's a brilliant decision by the filmmakers to put different characters in a few core groups and sending them off in their own mini missions before getting them all back together. The choice of which hero to pair with whom made a lot of difference. For example, the banter of the egos between Iron Man (Downey Jr) and Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) was fun to watch. 
• The battle scenes. In most Hollywood movies, one can't really see the fight scenes with all the shaky and stylistic camera work. But in this movie, you can clearly see what's going on.
• Balance. There seems to be a good balance of almost everything; a solemn mood with fun bantering, loud mindless battle scenes with quieter dramatic moments. 
• The surprising ending. There was no evil "ha ha ha" gloating. Just like that, it was all over. 

What I didn't like?

• There isn't much actually except perhaps knowing that this is a comic book movie after all. I just hope the filmmakers don't undo much of the satisfying and ballsy ending of this film in the as-of-yet unnamed "Infinity War" sequel (2019).
• Okay maybe one more. I'm sure some audience who doesn't know much about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies could still follow what's going on but I think they will be bored out of their mind as half of the time, they would be wondering who's who. But this film was made for the fans or at least for movie goers like me who have been following the MCU movies. 

Despite being filmed simultaneously with the sequel, Avengers: Infinity War doesn’t feel like half a movie like Hunger Games or Harry Potter. Eventhough not much is resolved, it still feels like a complete movie. One thing’s for sure, I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel!

RATING: 9/10 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:16
Cast: Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Debicki, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone
Director: James Gunn
Screenplay: James Gunn

When Vol 1 was first released in Aug 2014, I was probably the minority who didn't really enjoy it. No doubt it was a fun and bright outing but I didn't find it as humourous and engaging as most laud it to be. That's perhaps why I enjoyed GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 better as I went in with very low expectations. It's still not a very good movie but it's not terrible either.

I realised it's probably because I am unable to appreciate writer and director James Gunn's sense of humour. His jokes are politically incorrect and somewhat childish (just check out his YouTube's shorts - PG Porn). Eventhough it has more pointless gags this round, fortunately, some of it does lead somewhere when it's explained at a later stage (like why Cooper's Rocket always behaves likes an a-hole)

Although Vol. 2 is significantly more CGI heavy, I'm glad Gunn also doubled down on the character development too. Vol. 1 focused on assembling a group of misfits to save the galaxy and as a result, I didn't know much back story of most of the team. But this round, there are more quite moments where the characters are given more breathing space to reveal their vulnerabilities. As a result, I care more for the characters especially Michael Rooker's Yondu and Karen Gillan's Nebula.

The final emotional scene with Cat Steven's Father And Son soundtrack - that was where everything landed beautifully.

There are a few standout action set pieces especially the introduction scene with Baby Groot doing an impromptu dance routine and Yondu's escape. As I'm not too familiar with the songs used here compared to Vol. 1, I didn't really dig it much here. In conclusion, eventhough Vol. 2 delivers more of the same provided by its predecessor, it doesn't feel like a retread. 

RATING: 6.5/10

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016)

Genre: Western / Action

Running Length: 2:12

Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Byung-hun Lee, Vincent D’Onofrio, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard, Hayley Bennett

Director: Antoine Fuqua 

Screenplay: Richard Wenk & Nic Pizzolatto, based on the screenplay for “The Seven Samurai” by Akira Kurosawa & Shinobu Hashimoto & Hideo Oguni 

This updated version of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN brings nothing new to the table except to literally update it for today's generation since the original is more than 50 years old (the 1960 version was also a re-imagination of Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai (1954)).

To be fair, the first act was a good set-up where we witness the chief villain (deliciously played by Sarsgaard) struts into a church of a small frontier town with his men and forces the villagers to sell their land for cheap. Of course, things went south and helpless peasants were brutally killed. As a result, one of the widowed decided to go against these aggressors by recruiting a fighting force. The plot is simple enough to follow but yet when the credits rolled, the entire experience just felt like an exercise in futility. 

The "seven" characters were underdeveloped and thus I didn't care much at all when the odds were stacked against them in the loud and chaotic final act. One interesting thing the filmmakers could have focused on is to invest a little bit more time to give a proper backstory to our heroes so that their purpose of assembling together is more believable. It felt like Suicide Squad ie. what's in it for a bunch of misfits to get together to save the world?   

Washington is fine as the ringleader. Come to think of it, Denzel has always been playing a "cowboy" in his action movies eg Equalizer, Man on Fire, The Book of Eli. Pratt is as charismatic as ever. There are hints of the iconic score from the 1960s version (dum, dum, de-dum, dum dum dum da-de-dum) but you will have to wait till the closing credits to enjoy its full glory. 

Overall, despite its slick production, the diverse cast and fun shoot 'em up scenes, this popcorn western is forgettable. Towards the second half, I had this nagging voice in me that I should have just watched the original version or even the Japanese one.  

Rating: 6/10

JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Running Length: 2:04
Cast:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Screenplay:  Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Colin Trevorrow & Derek Connolly, based on the novels by Michael Crichton

I was expecting JURASSIC WORLD to be another soulless CGI fest, but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Sure, it wasn't able to recapture the awe and magic of the original but that's actually a very tall order, isn't it? Even Spielberg himself couldn't pull it off in The Lost World. Although it's directed by a relatively newcomer (Trevorrow has only done one small movie before), he did really well here. It follows quite closely to the pattern of Jurassic Park; where the first 1/3 of the movie takes its time to establish its characters, the park and our "hero" dinosaur while the remaining of the film is dedicated to carnage and great action scenes. To be fair, it's not really a bad thing as it feels like an updated version for today's generation, but yet keeping the heart of the original intact (And speaking of heart, there is a moving scene which involved an interaction between man and dinosaur, that reminded me not to peel onions in the cinema).  In fact, this film is almost like a homage of sorts where all our favourite dinosaurs are back and even John Williams' iconic theme is fully embraced here too by composer Michael Giacchino. I actually like what he did with the subdued interpretations of the original score when it was used at appropriate scenes. And speaking of action, thankfully there is a sense of inherent danger and thrill in the dinosaur attack scenes but it doesn't come close to the memorable Raptors in the kitchen or T-Rex in the rain from the original. As for our actors, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard here are dependable with the former fairing better with his charisma, humour and caring heart all wrapped up in a rugged and imposing physique (ladies...awww~). Pratt is truly a legit and mega-star in the making. Overall, although the climax comes across as too neat and convenient, this sequel/soft reboot is a solid piece of entertainment. (Oh! And see if you can catch the little social commentary "wink at the audience" satirical jab at movie sequels needing to be bigger, badder and have more corporate sponsorships)

Rating: 8/10

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Running Length: 2:02
Cast:Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin
Director: James Gunn

I was so looking forward to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and really wanted to enjoy this film – it seems to be a fun movie, has quirky characters, looks visually good but most of all, I was extremely curious to know more about this non-"household name" group of superheroes from the Marvel universe. But it's over-frenetic and not as witty as I imagined it to be. The CGI was over powering. And the plot involves some all-powerful orb which everybody wants is riddled with inconsistencies and a tad bloated. Thankfully, the characters develop a nice rapport and the '70s and '80s songs used was a nice touch. Speaking of characters, the cast is well chosen except the main baddie (Ronan played by Lee Pace) who isn't as nasty as I wished him to be. However, Josh Brolin's interpretation of Thanos (who makes a short appearance here) made me wish that he, instead of Ronan, had been the main villain. And finally the resolution; some may argue that it's anti-climatic and corny but I thought that was genuinely the funniest (and smartest) scene in the movie. (It reminded me of the same kind of irreverent humour used in Stephen Chow's Out Of The Dark climatic scene. Sue me...I'm corny)

Rating: 6/10

THE LEGO MOVIE (2014)

Genre: Animated/Stop Motion
Running Length: 1:32
Cast: (voices) Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller 
 
THE LEGO MOVIE is indeed for ages 5 and above. In recent years, not many animation/stop-motion films have successfully catered to both kids and adults but LEGO fits right in there. And I dare you to see this and not want to go directly to Legoland JB or go to the store to buy a box when the credits roll. The script is smart and satisfying. The humour is delightfully random and the pace is infectiously energetic. The plot is simple; an ordinary Lego "man" discovering his calling to save the world as he's the Chosen one. But how the story unfolds is OTT and bordering mayhem, with many different random characters from the Lego universe coupled with explosions, horses and spaceships -  it looked like something out of a mind of a creative child placed in a room filled with Legos. This is done intentionally as the emotional last act reveals there is more to things than initially meets the eye. The world of Lego should match the expectations of fans as everything looks like it was assembled using Lego blocks; when the main character takes a shower, it's "Lego water." When fire erupts, it's "Lego fire." Although The Lego Movie seems to be preaching an anti-capitalist message but it's a sly move from the toy makers - the film seems to be marketed as an "animation to entertain small kids" but it's actually designed to sell more Lego toys and expand (and diversify) the Lego empire. And now, that's smart.

Rating: 8/10

HER (2014)

Genre: Science Fiction/Drama
Running Length: 2:00
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson (voice), Rooney Mara, Amy Adams, Matt Letscher, Chris Pratt, Olivia Wilde, Portia Doubleday
Director: Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze has a beautiful mind indeed. His latest film; HER, is an ambitious cinematic endeavour which explores the unconventional relationship between human and sentient machines.  Jonze's universe seems to suggest that technology brings us closer but yet it also drives us further apart. We yearn to connect but yet somehow technology has literary driven a wedge between us causing our inability to connect in a real intimate face-to-face way with other human beings. It's only when we are engaging behind a "screen", we are our true self. This is heavy stuff and causes viewers to reflect on their relationships. The technical aspects of the movie is brilliant. As the events in the movie transpire at an unspecified time in the near future,  much details have been put in to ensure realism throughout; from the beautiful city skyline to the fashion and choice of furniture (it has a 70s feel). Viewers actually do not question the plausibility of Joaquin Phoenix's character having an intimate relationship with an operating system (OS), voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Phoenix gives one of his best performance - his character is vulnerable, sympathetic and lost. But Johansson (or her voice) steals the show as even a simple ‘sigh' is done with so much sincerity and ache. Also, the film is visually pleasing to the eyes (the little moments are never lost) and Arcade Fire's score is beautiful. All these aside, I felt the film would have been more powerful if it was a shorter, perhaps a 1 hour feature. Nevertheless, for those who enjoy 'contemplative science fiction', you'll thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Rating: 8/10