Push (2009)

7/10

Push is a very exciting sci-fi, action, thriller that is definitely worth the watch. It is exciting and gripping, a mixture of Jumper and X-men.

I was quite surprised by how much I liked this film especially after seeing the low rating it received. The film is exciting, action packed and contains certain amount of mystery that makes it quite entertaining.

The cast consisting of Dijimon Hounsou, Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans and Camilla Belle are fantastic combination, with a appearance by Joel Gretsch (from V and The 4400).

The setting being in Hong Kong gives this film an interesting appeal. The flashbacks and dream like sequences are well integrated with the sci-fi aspect of the storyline. The cinematography and editing technique is choppy and has certain qualities similar to that of Chungking Express.

Push does have some down sides as its storyline lacks in depth, and there are some loop holes that goes unexplained. Overall, a very entertaining and action filled movie that kept me interested.

If you enjoyed Jumper, X-Men, or Mutant X(TV show) then I would recommend this movie.

Pawn (2013)

5.5/10

Great cast but too much coincidence made Pawn weak


For a low budget film, Pawn is succeeded in captivating and grabbing attention with the plot in the first 2 acts. The amazing ensemble (Stephen Lang,Michael Chiklis, Forest Whitaker, Marton Csokas, Ray Liotta) also helped strengthen the captivation of Pawn.

Sadly, despite these aspects, Pawn fell short at being completely epic. The film moved a bit too quickly, not allowing you much time to connect with the characters and completely grasping the complicated use of flash-backs, present time and flash-forwards. Pawn felt like it was going uphill in the first 1/3 as everything was coming together, but just before the climax was reached, it felt they ran short on budget and the story began moving fast paced. Dialogue was boarder-line cliche and somewhat entertaining.

--Spoiler below--
One of the biggest disappointment was the use of the character lying in the hospital bed. He played a major role in the entire cafe robbery set up as being 'the mole', but spent most of the film lying half unconscious in the kitchen. His character ends the film describing what went down in the cafe, but was half bleeding to death for a good 50% of the film. This might have been intensional, but being such an important character in the final reveal, I felt no attachment and couldn't relate to him at all.

-----

Pitch Perfect (2012)

7.5/10 [Recommended]

Witty, funny with a fairly good acting from a fair fresh cast.

Plot: Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.


 When I started watching this, I didn't expect to have liked it so much. I am not a fan of Glee, with the poor storyline and horrid dialogue, so I didn't have much expectations for Pitch Perfect. However, I was truly surprised by Pitch Perfect and its perfect package with the hilarious scenarios, witty dialogue and fairly decent acting.

The many FANTASTIC one liners, love those to pieces! Hats off to the writers ( Kay Cannon for screenplay and Mickey Rapkin for the book) and the cast for the perfect delivery. Here's a sample of some of my favourite lines:

• I ate my twin in the womb.
• I set fires to feel joy.
• Thank god I asked to go to the bathroom 3 hours ago.
• Lesbi-honest
• Im going to pip slap you so hard your man-boobs will concave.
• At least its not herpes or do you have that as well.
• Its probably just god punishing you for being a ginger. - watch this in the credits Sisters before misters.

Anna Kendrick, was awesome. She includes many small gestures and expressions in every scene to give the film dynamic, allowing this film to shine and escape the flatness that entraps many of these Cinderella type stories. and Brittany Snow, I fairly enjoyed her performance as well.

The ending is very predictable, but what was really classy about Pitch Perfect was the fact that the film recognizes its predictable ending.

Definitely rewatching this again :)

Lake Placid (1999)

6.5/10

What do you get when you throw interesting/wacky characters, chopper, gun fire, action, endless sarcasm, and one big croc? One fun Saturday movie night.

Here are the pros of this film: it almost feels like a wildlife documentary, lingered with a slight tone of horror, classy yet gross use of gore, and hilarious dialogue. I felt myself chuckling at the many sarcastic remarks and bantering of Shieff Hank and Mrs. Delores Bickerman. This film differs it self from many other creature features in the sense that the writers put focus on the characters of this film instead of just the 'horrifying monster'. OH and Betty White probably is the gem....

Starring Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White


Cons of Lake Placid: Bridget Fonda's character kelly was a bit of a nag, I found her more peeving at times. If you were looking for horror, this film doesn't really make you jump (I dont do horror well, so this is a pro for me hehe) but it does make you not want to go swimming in a lake for a while. Some action taken in this film doesn't really have much common sense, but then again that's what makes it fun


Overall, it was fun ride. Not overly epic, but has some funny as well as gross moments.

Lost Room (2006)

8/10 [highly recommended]

Despite some flaws, still mindblowingly awesome.

A detective investigates a mysterious motel room, which acts as a portal to alternate universe after he lost something precious in the room.

The Lost Room had me completely engrossed from the first episode, I was pulled in and couldn't turn away until it ended.

Premise of The Lost Room is astounding. Without giving too much away, Lost Room is about a motel room and the many contents that it came with. The room and each item has a different/very unique abilities that is attached to it. The mini-series is built around these items and the people who covet after them. I was completely absorbed by the different qualities given to the items and the way all the items comes together.

Despite the fascinating premise, there were certain flaws that made it hard for me to give this series a perfect 10. The mini-series had way too many characters and sub-plots that didn't get developed enough. The character relationship was lacking in material and emotion. The main character, Joe Miller, felt kind of one-dimensional and we aren't really told why he was so special in comparison to the rest of people whom were once involved with the mysterious hotel room.

Joe Miller's relationship with the different characters, eg with the girl interest Jennifer Bloom, was thin and rushed. Besides being a cop and single father, we aren't given much background about Joe  and yet almost everyone he meets seemed very inclined to help him.

Also the gun, the way he points it at people at such close distance can be so easily swatted away, yet no one seem to be capable of disarming him....(i know, this is just me being picky but nevertheless bothersome).

Overall, I did enjoy this mini series and highly recommend it. The main focus of the film (the special abilities of the motel room/items premise) does overshadow the flaws (the undeveloped characters/relationships).  Very entertaining and will keep you at the end of your seat!

Injustice (2011) Mini-series

8/10 [Highly Recommended]

Holy awesomeness batman!! Such a good mini-series!!

Plot: On the surface William Travers is a picture of success. An accomplished criminal barrister happily living with his wife in rural Suffolk. However, Travers is still recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system

Hats off to the writers of Injustice, who created a complex masterpiece through flashbacks, multiple intersecting story lines from different characters and many twists.

The series starts off a bit slow, but give this mini a chance and sit through the first half of episode one; You'll be thankful that you did. This 6 episodes 300minutes long mini-series is filled with unexpected twists, clever dialoge, interwoven stories, suspense and great acting. I was truly amazed by suspenseful and thrilling adventure that was Injustice.

James Purefoy (from TV series Rome) and Charlie Creed-Miles both gave superb performances in the lead roles, giving an edge to this mini that otherwise wouldn't have been as great.

The rating on IMDB.com must have been the result people who can't tell the difference between great television programming and jersey shore.

Recommended to those who enjoys Law and Order, Sherlock Holmes, Mr.Brooks (movie) or just a great police/court/character-driven film.

The Last Castle (2001)

3/10

The premise sounded good but the dialogue, storyline and scenarios are stupidly ridiculous and overly exaggerated

All the characters are very one sided and simple minded. The dialogue is shallow and cliched. "The Castle prison" doesn't even feel like a real prison. All these bad-ass dangerous prisoners, who get food/beverages/free time/family visits, all act like babies whining about mistreatment and minimal issues making this film feel like a high school drama.


The prisoners and prison is built up at the introduction of the film to be dangerous and strict, however the film does not deliver this atmosphere at all. Also to add to the stupidity of the film is the "forbidden salutes" rule of the prison.

Bad film, it had potential but failed to create much emotion or thought. The action in this film is bare minimum, so I won't even recommend it as a brainless action flick.

Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire (1972)

6.5/10

Slow paced, quirky, funny

Plot: Hapless orchestra player becomes an unwitting pawn of rival factions within the French secret service after he is chosen as a decoy by being identified as a super secret agent.

I stumbled upon this French film accidentally and found it fairly entertaining.  The concept of this film intrigue and the introduction grabbed my attention right away. This is not a film to take too seriously as it is very quirky and full of ridiculous moments.

It wasn't as exciting or thrilling as I had hoped but there were numerous scenes that was ridiculously amusing and funny.

A remake of this film titled "The Man with One Red Shoe" was made in 1985 starring Tom Hanks.

Parents (1989)

8/10

A morbidly creepy yet funny film that will make you think twice about eating meat again.

Parents is set in 1950's about a boy who began to question where his parents is getting their dinner meat from. A comedy/mystery/horror/drama, the entire story is told from the perspective of the little boy, Michael.

Acting is superb! Bryan Madorsky is very genuine in his portrayal of the confused/scared Michael who is unsure who to trust. Madorsky's only acting gig and he gave a fantastic performance. I wish I could have seen him in more films. The parents, played by Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt, are very believable and very creepy...I had the chills every time they smiled....

Parents is very deceiving as it uses sit-com music and a warm family appeal giving viewers a false sense of safety and just when your guards are down the film will plunge into the horrific scene. The realization that you are actually watching a scary movie comes so quickly that it is chilling.

The cinematography creates the horror and element of fear. The film focuses on using high and low angles to give the illusion of the petite-ness of Michael and the towering built of the grown ups. The film also uses a lot of spins and turns emphasizing the idea of confusion and loss that Michael feels. In the scene where Michael is tied to a chair, the entire room is turning but the camera remain fixed on the people-- this shot is quite entrancing. The film has many short cuts, blending dream and flashback sequences and reality together further creating a sense of confusion and fear.

The blending of scenes into scenes and scenes into a solid screen of red makes this film really scary. Red has been contrasted and saturated quite a bit in this movie, making it loom over all other colours. The scenes are not overly gore, but is able to gross you out nevertheless.

I highly recommend this film to horror/comedy/mystery lovers. It is not your typical slasher or ghost film. It uses the element of safety (your parents) to create the sense of fear.

Primal Fear (1996)

6.5/10

Gripping, disturbing, great performances

An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.

Primal Fear is heavily revolves around a huge case inside a court room. An alter boy is accused of murder, a hot shot lawyer with a great track record takes the defence pro bono,  and a case that is steeped in one mystery after another.


Richard Gere comes back with a stellar performance as the lawyer defending the alter boy, played by Edward Norton. Norton is absolutely amazing in this film (without giving too much away) capturing the innocence and fear of his character.

When the final act and the ultimate conclusion is revealed, many clues that was left throughout the film suddenly made sense. I didn't feel completely absorbed in the story as parts of the film are fairly slow. However, the performances by the cast and the final conclusion (can't say what it is) did help recapture my attention

Not the most exciting or realistic court based film, but worth watching for the cast and the concluding twist.

Intouchables (2011)

9/10 [Highly Recommended!]

Fantastic story, funny and touching

Intouchables is based on true events about the relationship between a quadriplegic and a young man from the projets that is found to be his caretaker.

If I was wearing a hat during the film, I would take it off for the amazing performance by the cast. François Cluzet and Omar Sy made their characters come to life on screen. I would say I am now a fan of Cluzet, because not one moment in this entire film did I think of him as Alexandre Beck (Cluzet's able-bodied character from Tell No One).

Intouchables holds some very important key life lessons and  meticulously presents these lessons with humor. This film is able to not only capture the suffering of Philippe but also the joy of his pain. What I absolutely love is how Intouchables is able to overcome hardship/pain with comedy...and does so in such tasteful and delicate manner.

One of the most beautiful and strong friendship brought to life.

Please do yourself a huge favour and go watch this film. I fully enjoyed every second of it!

Point Blank (aka À bout portant) (2010)

8/10  [Highly Recommended]

Terrific!

Point Blank or À bout portant (original title): Samuel Pierret (Gilles Lellouche) is a nurse who saves the wrong guy -- a thief--which sends samuel's life into a state of chaos 

Point Blank is an action packed French thriller/crime/mystery that will have you so engrossed that you don't realize you have been gripping onto the arms of your chair for the entire film.

I started the film having not read any plot summaries or even have the slightest idea what it is about. About 5 minutes into the film, I knew I was in for an exciting ride. The movie starts off fast and edgy with a chase scene, which doesn't allow the audience to sit back in their seats.  You know you are watching a good thriller when you can feel yourself hyperventilating with the characters as they dash across busy streets--I sure felt the adrenaline pumping.

I am very happy with the casting for main character Samuel, played by Gilles Lellouche. Having seen Lellouche in Little White Lies and Tell No One, I was not disappointed in Point Blank. He carried the storyline well and greatly captured a man desperate to save his wife.

If you want action/thriller and good story line to wrap yourself in, then stop making excuses and give this movie a chance!

Kontroll (2003)

6/10

odd film about subway life.

Plot A tale about a strange young man, Bulcsú, the fellow inspectors on his team, all without exception likeable characters, a rival ticket inspection team, and racing along the tracks... And a tale about love.

Not too sure how I feel about it. Kontroll has a wide range of quirky/funny characters and situations. Entire film shot underground in a subway system, with no day light. There is not much of a storyline, we just follow Bulcsú around as he work, played and slept in the underground system. We learn little bits about him throughout his wonderings but we never get the complete picture.

This film gives the audience an inner look at the subway system, giving a tour of what we normally do not see. The concrete walls, empty train tracks, the air vents and transfer tracks. The cinematography does a good job of creating the wonderment of this underground world.

Will take a special person to really appreciate this film.   It does not have much of a solid story line. It has action, some very dull moments, some dreamlike scenes and gore. The gore comes from the subway train running over people. Not for the weak stomach.  There are certain scenes where the situation is so ridiculous that it was actually fairly funny.

Pretty much all of your fears about riding public transit (be it bus, train...) all put together in this one film.

La môme (2007)

8/10 [highly recommended]

Stunning film all around!

La môme is the life story of singer Édith Piaf.

Our attention are gripped not only by the story but we are carried away by amazing music, brilliant make up and one amazing French actress, Marion Cotillard.


Love Me If You Dare and Inception are the first films I saw starring Marion Cotillard. With those films I was already in love with her performance. After seeing La môme, Cotillard has become one of my favourite actresses. Her performance as Edith Piaf is so stunning that, at times during the film, I forget I am watching a portrayal. Capturing the singers walk, gestures, facial expression, quirky, tone of voice and stance. Cotillard won the Oscar for Best Actress for this film, and damn did she ever deserve it!

The story is told out of sequence in a mix of flashbacks, memories and 'present' day. We follow Piaf's life in a classic fairy tale of the ugly duckling transforming to a beautiful swan. However, what most fairy tale fails to do is tell you that transformation into the beautiful swan, is not the ending of the story. As we can see in Piaf's story, her shining transformation came with a price.

Towards the end of the film, we find out a vital event that occurred early in the singer's life, which seems to finally shine some light on Piaf's later statement mind that was depicted early on in the film. A mix of songs at different stages in Piaf's life is knitted together by a non-linear storyline of her life. Throughout the film, I found myself slowly starting to piece together the story. It is as if each minute that passes, we are receiving a piece of puzzle building up to a mystery image.

The music is beautiful. It didn't matter that I didn't understand what the songs were about because music and singing had a way to sweep you away.

The second Oscar that this film won was for make up. The detail and realism that was involved in making Cotillard to look like Piaf, succeeded. The make up department was able to capture the singer in the late stages of her life looking ill, weak but still with energy to sing. It is not too difficult to make someone look old, BUT it is mighty hard to make someone look not only 1) old 2) resemble a different person 3) realistic. What really was impressive is the fact that the make up team was able to make the singer look like she's wearing make up to cover her ill stricken skin.


I highly recommend La môme! It is a work of art. Pieced together by a talented/dedicated actress, a great make up team, unique storytelling and pure beautiful music.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

8/10 [highly recommended]

Daring, unique and brilliantly epic

Plot: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.

Inglourious Basterds doesn't try to find forgiveness, to be historically accurate or to please the audience. It is full throttle on being a dark, fun filled comic fantasy film about an alternative WWII where people fault back. I loved the dark humour and gore that filled this film from bottom up. The film uses all the human emotions and takes a shape of its own.

Tarantino knows exactly how much gore, crudity and length of each scene. Giving you enough to laugh while gagging. He toys with cliches and uses unexpected as well as expected moments to put together a piece of art work.

All the Basterds are a bit mad, which gives the film an edgy appeal. My favourite characters would have to be Donny Donowitz (aka bear Jew played by actor Eli Roth) and Hugo (portrayed by Til Schweiger) as they have real dynamic to the group.

Go watch it! It's a crude, gory, unsympathetic and very daring film that is just plain awesome! Not recommended to the squeamish and the weak hearted as it is gory.

Oh and don't take the film seriously because that's not the point of it.

Little White Lies (2010)

7.5/10 [recommended]

Made me laugh, smile, cry and appreciate all that comes with friendship A fantastic film.

I don't even know where to begin telling you how much I enjoyed this French film. The amaxing casting, great writing, witty dialogue and heartfelt story makes this film SHEER CLASS.

Guillaume Canet did it again by writing/directing another phenomenal film that. Canet has a way of taking something simple (a group of friends on vacation) and making it into a heartfelt gem (their bonds and appreciation for one another). His focus on character development and simple witty dialogue exchanges makes him stand out from other films. 

Lady in the Water (2006)

4.5/10

Nice visually but slow story that is easily forgettable.

The Lady in the Water is about an apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.  (imdb)

Lady in the Water wasn't as good as I hoped. It has a neat concept and puts emphasis on the fact that it is a fairytale story..BUT sadly, the execution and pace of the story is slow and boarders boring. I felt myself distracted away from the movie quite a number of times throughout the film. The stories tries to make itself different in the sense that it refers to itself within the movie. This film is definitely bizarre one that left me bored but pondering.

The casting for the film is solid and believable. I am definitely a fan of Bryce Dallas Howard after watching the Village, but I'm not sure how to feel about Lady in the Water.

The cinematography is visually appealing in this film with nice choice of angles, pans and unique use of camera focus. The shots make the audience aware of the fact that a camera is present, which emphasizes the idea of the story referring to itself.

Overall, mediocre story with nice visuals that sadly didn't hold my interest. I guess this film takes a special kind of audience, who enjoys the slow bizarre plot and the neat camera angles.

Ironclad (2011)

4.5/10

Honor and blood....a ton of blood

Ironclad is about in 13th-century England, a small group of Knights Templar fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.

Ironclad is a straight forward story of a medieval siege with lots of action. The Acting and battle scenes in this film is believable and in tone with the film. James Purefoy as the lost soul and Kate Mara as the supporting are both gives a dramatic performance.

I don't blame the minds behind Ironclad for the slow-mo moments, dramatic die-hard elements, some cheesy dialogue and romance that was thrown in. A somewhat historical film with a simple storyline requires these addition to spice things up. Of course, Ironclad filmmakers did not fail to include a dramatic climax where all hope are lost but our hero saves day (oops, did I spoil the film for you? I mean it's pretty obvious something like this would occur..no?)

Oh and there's gore....don't say I didn't warn you...there's a lot of gore. The special effects make up team did a fantastic job of gore and brutality of the battle scenes that it can make your stomach cringe. I felt very uneasy as the effects of the killings are so realistic and gruesomely repetitive. Pretty much you can expect hands lopped off, bodies hacked in half and guts slashed open everywhere.

I'm not going to lie, this film is very entertaining... it has fight scenes, a love story, gore and explosions (yes, explosions. how you ask? watch the film and find out)...but this film is not very epic. It is made from the same cookie cutter that created Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and other action-packed movies with the exception that it is medieval and very very gory.

Don't expect too much but don't write this movie off either. Enjoy it for what it is...a blockbuster Friday night entertainment.

Prime (2005)

 2.5/10 


Cute, not funny and could have skipped

Prime is about A career driven professional from Manhattan is wooed by a young painter, who also happens to be the son of her psychoanalyst. (imdb)

Great cast led by Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and one Bryan Greenberg. Their performance makes this thin storyline film not completely slow. Streep somehow, in every film she's in, gives an amazing performance.

Prime is an ok movie but not a very too memorable one either. Overall not a film that will make you gush or make you to want to rewatch it.

The cinematography is very mediocre, with no spectacular scene.

Overall, blah mediocre film....don't feel much about it

Letters To Juliet (2010)

5/10Beautiful landscapes, a sweet story but a bit too cheesy and cliched

Letters to Juliet is about An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by a the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter.

This film is very sweet with cute characters, however Letters To Juliet is slow paced, a bit too cheesy and cliched even for a romantic flick. This film's storyline came from the same cookie-cutter that formed many other romantic comedies, where the story and ending became apparent the moment the movie started. The characters are all pretty simple and wear their emotions on their sleeves that it became a bit boring to watch. I felt the dialogue, though sweet, is too cheesy and fairytale like.

Don't get me wrong, this movie is quite charming and the locations in ths film are breathtaking. The landscape choice alone is worth giving this film a chance. Sadly, the landscape could not help make this film a stunning one as this movie put too much emphasis on wanting the term 'awwww' to be used that they over did it resulting in a giant 'cheeseball' of a film.

I really wanted to like this film as I adore Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls and Christopher Egan is awesome from TV series Kings. But the writing just didn't keep my interest level. I came into this movie with expectation of a Nicolas Sparks book/movie, which this movie did achieve but went a bit overboard in wanting to keep it sweet.

I recommend this film to romantic movie lovers who just want a sweet charming film and to those who love seeing the sceneries of Italy. Christopher Egan is definitely great addition to this film. Though, this movie wouldn't be one I'll be watching again