Zombieland (2010)

8/10
(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)

LOVE IT

Zombieland is a very smart film that intertwines many genres with the outcome of pure awesomeness. It is action packed, scary, thrilling, hilarious and heartwarming.

Zombieland offers you tips on how to survive in the event of an actual Zombie epidemic and if you follow the guidelines...you should be ok. The cinematography and sound effects works perfectly to create an eerie atmosphere with humor and romance sprinkled throughout. At times I wasn't sure whether to laugh, awwww or just jump (horror elements).

Great cast! Emma Stone, Abigail Berslin and Jesse Eisenberg all had fantastic performances. Absolutely love these three. My favourite was the cameo of Bill Murray, who plays none other than himself--Bill Murray.

Two parts that bothers me; a) why did the girls jump out of the car?? they could have drove gotta there. b) Bill, dressing up as a zombie and scaring the sh!t out of someone during a zombie epidemic...not smart...but hilarious!

If you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz then Zombieland is perfect for you!

Despicable Me (2010)

8/10

Funny and cute!

Hilarious and just adorable!

Despicable Me is about a criminal mastermind uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, he finds himself profoundly changed by the growing love between them.

I love the concept behind this film of the protagonist being the antagonist at the same time.

I loved the Minions! Fred, Dave, Jerry, Tim, Mark, Stuart..... The rest o the characters had more unique names that I have never (or rarely) heard of such as Gru, Edith, Agnes....but the minions balanced out the names with their generic names.

I watched this back to back with Toy Story 3. I enjoyed both on different levels. Despicable Me was funny, impressive and a light animation. Toy Story 3 is a wonderful, heartfelt and absolutely amazing addition of the trilogy.

Highly recommended if you want a funny, adorable, laugh-out-loud and with many 'Awwww" moments movie...THEN definitely check this out!

The Lazarus Project (2008)

5/10

Slow but builds up towards the end

The Lazarus Project is about a former criminal is drawn into a criminal endeavor and subsequently finds himself living an inexplicable new life working at a psychiatric facility.(imdb)

The storyline feels similar to Shutter Island, except this is not apparent until the later half of the movie but before you can state the similarities The Lazarus Project takes a turn. The movie is fairly slow but despite the slow pace the movie kept me intrigued.

The strong dialogue and multiple use of canted camera angle makes this film fairly interesting and engrossing. Together these elements create a suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere.

Give this movie a shot, plow through the slow bits and you may find yourself liking this film.

Easy A (2010)

8/10 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)

Funny, well written dialogue and not your typical teen movie.

Easy A is about a clean-cut high school student who accidently falls into the on the school's rumor mill and resulting in her advancing in her social and financial standing.

Easy A brings together the current day teen films and the 80's teen flicks. It brings together the 80's sweet and innocent romance as well as the present day scandals.

I love Emma Stone in Zombieland and after watching Easy A, she only rose further up my top 10 favourite actresses. She is witty, incredibly sweet and a savant in getting out of difficult situations. The supporting cast is amazing as well. Amanda Byne, though I am not used to her being the antagonist, is still lovable. Aly Michalka is fantastic as the clueless best friend. Thomas Haden Church, Cam Gigandet and Dan Byrd are all worth noting for this performance.

The narrating method used to tell the story works perfectly for this film. Both moving the story along and is very educational, referencing and poking fun at literature throughout. I am one of the ones who never read or watched "The Scarlet Letter" so Easy A has brought that to my interest. The direct referencing of Mark Twain towards the end made me laugh.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (I can't stress that enough) for those who enjoys a witty, hilarious and sharp romantic comedy that actually requires audience to be (at least) a bit book smart ;)

Toy Story (2010)

10/10 [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

Very Heartfelt, sweet and fantastic follow up of a great story

Toy Story 3 is about the toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home.

The old gang is back together and it brought back a lot of memories. There are elements for both adults and kids in this film. There are tons of humor sprinkled throughout. This film plays with your emotions, tugging at your heart strings as well as poking your funny bone.

Toy Story 3 is my favourite of the entire three and it took my breath away. I felt I could relate to it as I am in University and had to donate some of my old toys. I grew up with this trilogy and felt that the storyline grew as well.

All in all, Toy Story 3 made me smile. I recommend this to everyone! If you haven't seen this ( I frown at you) GO SEE IT! Completely worth it!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

8/10

A fun and hilarious movie that intertwines video and comic books resulting in epic epicness!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is about Scott Pilgrim who must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

The movie really plays with the line that separates video and comic books. The use of graphics and cinematography is absolutely fantastic to bring together motion as well as comic book picture. The supporting cast makes Scott Pilgrim vs. the World one of the most hilarious films I have seen all year.

During the movie many sound effects are emphasized by the use of onomatopoeia. You can hear the phone ringing as well as see the word "ringgggg" in the film. This ties together the comic book appeal as well as the movie, setting up a new way to express comic-turned-movie in a way that has never really been done before.

The use of split screens and drastic changes of location between shots is very unique and creative making the movie fun to watch. At times during the movie, I actually wanted to play a video game.

I felt more attached to the supporting characters than the main character, Scott. I absolutely loved the characters Wallace Wells, Knives Chau, Julie Powers, Lucas Lee, Todd Ingram and G-man...they created the humorous elements of the movie and the cast choice of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brandon Routh, Kieran Culkin, Audrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Ellen Wong and Jason Schwartzman are dead-ringers for the comic book characters.

Highly recommend Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It is very unique in it's editing and cinematography approach as well as full of quirky characters that you will fall in love with. Fantastic film! Love it! GJ Edger Wright!

Jumper (2008)

7/10

Action packed, great cast, entertaing and not your typical superhero movie.

Watching Jumper for the second time today I noticed multiple elements that I never noticed in my first viewing. I paid more attention to the cast of the film as well as the characters portrayed. There's a message hidden in the movie that is different from the other superhero movies (Spiderman, X Men and Batman).

Casting is one element of this film that made me notice and liked the film. Hayden Christensen's portrayal is adequate and is able to keep the movie entertaining. Jaime Bell has always been one of my favourite actors thus I noticed him more in my re-watch of Jumper. Samuel L Jackson gives a fantastic performance as the much hated 'arch-enemy' type role in this film. His simple facial expressions tell so much. During one scene when he is stuck in the canons, you can read disbelief, humor and impressed look in his expression.

The concept of the film is simple but quite captivating. The action is non-stop, especially coming from the director of the Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs Smith. The special effects are not stunning but is believable and captivating in it's simplicity.

What I love about this film is all the different destinations the film takes you. We travelled the world within the two hours span going to Tokyo, Egypt, US and so forth.

I never liked the main character David (played by Hayden Christensen). I found him selfish and hot-headed. But his sly characteristics, I believe, is the hidden message that this movie is trying to unravel. Jumper questions whether if we had superpowers would we use it for the greater good and save the world? Unrealistically, everyone would say yes, but realistically we most likely would have done what David did with his powers.

At one point, when David is watching the news on TV he see footage of a flood. In superhero movies, the hero would go and save the day but David just smirks and flips off the TV. His actions demonstrate the exact opposite you would expect from a superhero. This is the beauty of this film, it doesn't play off typical 'save the day superhero' movies. The 'arch-nemesis' Roland (played by Samuel L Jackson) may be cruel in his actions but he is actually the guy trying to protect the world.

Overall a not-so-typical super power movie that is action packed, with a great cast and a fun concept that is definitely worth watching!

Dan in Real Life (2007)

7.5/10

Heart-warming and realistic

Dan in Real Life is about a widower who finds out the woman he fell in love with, while on a family gathering, is actually his brother's girlfriend.

I have seen the movie cover for this movie, but never really noticed it until it was shown on TV couple days ago. With barely any expectation for this film, Dan in Real Life surprised me. The acting, soundtrack and storyline caught my attention and made me fall in love with this film.

Steve Carell had a very different role than that of The Office and his other films. He plays a father who is trying to find a balance in his life while raising three daughters. He is very natural in his portrayal of a father who is still trying to figure things out for himself.

One of my favourite actresses, Emily Blunt, had a brief appearance in this film. Though her character is not significant, I still wish she had more screen time.

Dan in Real Life captures the love and conflict of family perfectly, allowing viewers to go into Dan's life to see happiness, mistakes and pain.

Simple cinematography accompanied by a playful soundtrack, which neatly emphasizes the tone of the film.

All together a love romantic comedy that wraps nicely around family.

Death Becomes Her (1992)

8.5/10 [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

Hilarious, quirky and very clever!

Death Becomes Her revolves around a woman who learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival [only for things to go horribly wrong.] (imdb)

Great acting, hilarious dialogue, great special effects (especially for 1990's) and quirky storyline makes Death Becomes Her a very unique comedy/fantasy.

This movie won an Oscar in 1993 for its visual effects and it sure deserved it. The effects are fantastically balance that it does not over use special effects but has enough of it to create a realistic and believable appeal.

The acting is spotless and made the movie powerful. The combination of Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn is perfect in their portrayal of two rivals trying to out-do each other.

The script and dialogue is witty and fairly well written creating a side-splitting and very engaging atmosphere. Every scene focuses on the idea that beauty does not mean happiness and this is emphasized by sharp and witty writing.

Many creative uses of mirrors and shadows in this film shows how much thought was put into this film to make this film not only entertaining but artistically appealing.

Every time I watch this movie, I find it more hilarious then the previous time. Death Becomes of Her will keep you staring intensely on the screen while bursting out in laughter.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Sophie's Revenge (2010)

6.5/10

Is it madness or is it love? I'd say, you can't have one without the other.

Sophie's Revenge is about two ex-lovers work together to win back their lost loves, but not everything goes according to plan. (IMDB)

The storyline is predictable and typical lover's triangle, but what romantic comedy isn't? However, what made this film very appealing is the post-production editing, the quirky characters and the funny dialogues.

A lot of cute animation is put into this film to support the quirkiness of this movie and emphasize Sophie's profession as a picture book artist. Toys come to life and thoughts are described as drawn caricatures. All very cute and funny when put together with the acting.

The animation/acting/dialogue together made me laugh out loud multiple times during the movie.

I am not a big fan of Zhang Ziyi, but she gives a fantastic performance in this movie as a wacky-cute-jealous girl who has lost her fiance to another girl. Ziyi is very genuine and balanced in her portrayal making Sophie lovable yet annoying at the same time. Her awkward facial expressions are hard too miss and impossible not to laugh at. The supporting cast Ruby Lin and Ai Wan as Lucy and Lisa, Sophie's bff, made the film even more crazy and funny.

Use of flashbacks and dreamlike-states is frequently used in this film, requiring viewers to pay close attention and not take things at face value.

If you like romantic comedies then definitely watch Sophie's Revenge. The movie is in mandarin and the subtitles are a bit fast to read as the dialogue moves along quickly, so it may take a second watching to fully appreciate this movie.