DEAD SNOW (2009)

RATING 3.5/5

IN Hollywood, zombie genre had been milked dry and not even the master, George A. Romero himself, can save the day, judging from his lackluster back-to-back directing efforts in 2005's LAND OF THE DEAD and 2008's DIARY OF THE DEAD. But not so for an unexpected foreign country like Norway, which manages to keep this done-to-death genre with a refreshing tweak. How refreshing can it be? Well, check this out: a killer premise centers on a troop of Nazi zombies in a snowy mountain! And how come Hollywood never thought of that before? No doubt the basic premise itself for DEAD SNOW sounds exciting enough to keep horror fans in check.

The plot, however, is standard zombie stuff: A group of friends -- eight medical students, to be exact -- are heading out to the snowy mountainside of Oksfjord for a winter vacation. They are included the level-headed Hanna (Charlotte Frogner) and his boyfriend, Martin (Vegar Hoel) who is somehow afraid of blood; the bespectacled Roy (Stig Frode Henriksen, also one of the film's screenwriters); the movie-geek Erlend (Jeppe Laursen), the blonde-haired Vegard (Lasse Valdal) who is responsible for the trip; the blondie Liv (Evy Kasseth Rosten) and the flirty Chris (Jenny Skavlan). Once they arrive to their destination, they stay at a cabin owned by Vegard's girlfriend, Sara (Ane Dahl Torp), who has been here earlier but have gone on the other side of the mountain. And so, they begin to enjoy themselves, playing games and boozing at each other. Then that night they have a surprise visit by an old wanderer (Bjorn Sundquist) who passes by, demands for a cup of coffee. He begins to tell them a story about this particular place in Oksfjord. Apparently, 60 years ago, the place is used to be a place occupied by the Nazis in the German occupation of Norway during World War II. Led by Colonel Herzog (Orjan Garnst), these Nazis are responsible for raped and murdered the locals and stole all their gold, until one day the locals gathered up to chase them up to the mountains, where they are supposedly froze to death. Despite the old wanderer's warning, they treat it as a joke and go on with their fun. Of course, it doesn't take long before everything comes clear -- they find a box of gold hidden under the floor, which had belonged to the Nazis. And little they know is that the Nazi zombies has come back from their dead to reclaim their gold, at all means necessary. 

Despite the refreshing novelty of the premise, writer-director Tommy Wirkola actually doesn't break any new ground we have already seen in countless zombie genre. But what makes this film a cut above is how enthusiastic he has dedicated to craft an all-out zombie picture that nevertheless satisfy the gorehounds and horror fans alike. While the first half hour reserved for the characters development is rather cliched, it was the second half where the film really comes alive. Wirkola has certainly never shy away when comes to pushing the limit of excessive gore and violence here -- and that alone, this film absolutely delivers. You name it: there are plenty of body organs on display, including a couple of impressive intestine tracks, while the all-hell-breaks-loose zombie-killing spree is ranging from chainsaw, hammer, hatchet to snowmobile. Not to forget also, the zombie make-up is top-notch, and credit goes to the technical team for choosing practical effects over CGI for better result. 

A bit pity is how Wirkola actually determines to make this film a horror comedy in the vein of EVIL DEAD-style, but too bad most of the wicked sense of humor only worth a few chuckles. 

Despite the film's few setbacks, DEAD SNOW remains a horror fan's wet dream and no doubt one of the best horror films of the year.

READ MORE - DEAD SNOW (2009)

FULL THROTTLE (1995)

RATING: 3/5

NOMINATED for an impressive 10 Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture, but only won one for Best Film Editing, Derek Yee's FULL THROTTLE is nevertheless one of the best Hong Kong films of 1995. 

Despite the overall effort is predictable, Yee's extra cinematic touch for his film proves to be an affecting experience than one might suggests. 

Joe (Andy Lau) is a maverick motorcycle street racer who dedicated all his life in this sport so religiously, that he has regularly takes part in illegal racing all over the streets of Hong Kong. Joe is particularly fond of high speed and the sheer thrill of riding a motorcycle feels like a total heaven to him. One night he meets a younger racer (David Wu of MTV Asia), and the two later become friends. However, certain boundaries has subsequently jeopardizes their ongoing friendship -- Wu is a professional racer being sponsored by Joe's estranged father, Paul (Paul Chun Pui) and Joe feels  excluded and upset at the same time, considering he's determining to prove that he's the best of the motorcycle racing. But then something awful happens to him during a motorcycle night race where he loses control of his bike and injured pretty badly. Joe's decent girlfriend, Yee (Gigi Leung) has been long wanted him to stop motorcycle racing because she couldn't stand living in fear that she always have to pray for his safety concerns. The accident does reflected Joe's perspective to re-evaluate his life and he promises Yee that he'll never race again. However, Joe's racing close friend, Kar-Lok (Chin Kar-Lok) can't stand watching him not getting involved anymore. Of course, it's a matter of time before Joe realizes that he couldn't just quit motorcycle racing. 

Derek Yee and Law Chi-Leung's screenplay has every bookend formula all needed for this kind of sports-themed action drama but the beauty of this film is that Derek Yee knows well how to turn a very familiar story inside out into something provocative. Though the plot is straightforward, Yee blends his characters very well to compensate with the storyline that feels real and so much more involving. That said, the characters are flesh-and-blood human beings, not just typical stock roles that pretending to be one. It is this extra touch that gives this film a cut above -- all the characters presented here are profoundly human that gradually grows on you to care about. Andy Lau is passionate in his role as a dedicated motorcycle racer, Joe that his acting skill are getting more polished these days. The baby-faced David Wu is equally credible, though his role isn't much to shout about while Chin Kar-Lok is particularly impressive as Joe's racing buddy who just doesn't know where to cross the line.  
The crucial scene where he's trying to race off against David Wu in a high-speed pursuit between a motorcycle and a sports car, but ends up losing out of control when Kar-Lok fails to avoid the oncoming truck and crashed himself underneath -- is the film's most penetrating moment and he's definitely well-worthy for the Best Supporting Actor nod. Newcomer Gigi Leung is perfectly typecast as Joe's naive girlfriend, though admittedly her acting is rather wooden. 

The technical attributes are top-notch, with Jingle Ma and David Chung's nighttime cinematography perfectly rendering the intoxicating feel of the city landscape and the adrenalin-rush of the motorcycle racing sequences. Bruce Law's action choreography is impressive, capturing the thrill, tension and the claustrophobic feel of the high-speed racing sequences with such dramatic moments. The big action payoff, which both Joe and Wu race against each other in a long, winding road is particularly breathtaking and possibly ranked among the best motorcycle racing set pieces ever made in the history of Hong Kong cinema. 

A must-see.

READ MORE - FULL THROTTLE (1995)

C'EST LA VIE MON CHERI (1993)

RATING: 4/5

HONG KONG's answer to the evergreen Ali MacGraw-Ryan O'Neal's LOVE STORY (1970),  C'EST LA VIE MON CHERI (which means "That's life, my love") is one of the most popular tearjerkers ever seen that also boosts the career of Anita Yuen and Lau Ching-Wan as well as marked the highest reputation for director Derek Yee thus far. You can't go wrong with this one too, with the film raked up 6 Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Anita Yuen. 

The film begins with a depressed jazz saxophonist Kit (Lau Ching-Wan) who is recently breaking up with his longtime singer girlfriend, Tracy (Carina Lau) and moves out to a quieter residential area of Hong Kong where he rents a flat. Among the residents, is a family of music performers including a perky girl named Min (Anita Yuen) who is particularly so interested with Kit's composed music every night that she begins to hum as well. She later meets Kit and unexpectedly become friends, though Kit at first finds her rather annoying. Every night Kit will be accompanied Min to a night market where her family is performing requested songs for mostly older audiences. Min's childhood dream is always wanted to become a singer and sell records but her strict mom (Petrina Fung Bo-Bo), who is a former singer herself, refuses her to do so since Min needs to be helping for her family at all time. As Min and Kit gradually grow closer to each other, Kit's once depressing life is finally brimming with positive outlook. Thanks to Min's help, he is able to pull his life together and manages to let go of his sour relationship with Tracy and starts fresh. But as their love grows stronger, tragedy strikes when Min suffers from her leukemia again and everything seems to be falling apart. 

The film is actually a remake of an older Hong Kong film, LOVE WITHOUT END (1961) which starred Lin Dai and writer-director Derek Yee takes on the oft-familiar story into something uniquely heartfelt. 

It's a solid film nevertheless, especially Yee brings strong respect to the source material and crafts out plenty of meaningful themes that tugged deep into your heart. The film is also perfectly juggled between its first half's celebration of life and its second half's grim subject matter, while Yee takes great care to ensure his character feels real and involving so we can identify to their situation. Nevertheless the cast is great, with Anita Yuen being the main attraction in a surprisingly compelling performance that deservedly won her the Best Actress award. 

The film's second half is especially heartbreaking, once Min struck with her illness. You feel for her pain and anxiety she has to suffer all over again after years of battling leukemia successfully. Her doctor (Sylvia Chang) is regret to tell her that there's no hope because her cancer has grown too much and cure is highly unlikely. But Kit tries his best to make sure that Min stays strong no matter what and they will cherish each moment together. The meaning of the title is truly captured in a perfectly executed closing shot depicting Kit is coming back from a long journey just to buy Min's favorite dessert and arrives at the hospital ward to find Min has already passed away. The particular non-payoff in the very finale that might turned off most mainstream viewers requested for an otherwise happy ending, but Yee makes it works out very well. 

Despite its familiar route, this is truly a Hong Kong cinematic masterpiece not to be missed.

READ MORE - C'EST LA VIE MON CHERI (1993)

THE BEAST STALKER (2008)

RATING: 2.5/5

FOR every Hong Kong cinema enthusiasts, Dante Lam is forever best known for his 1998's career-defining and award-winning BEAST COPS, in which he has hardly topped ever since. 

His latest film, THE BEAST STALKER, comes close to return into form but it's hardly the kind of BEAST COPS-level one might expect. 

Still it is nonetheless a solid and effective genre film that delivers enough amount of action, intensity and suspense to be entertained for. Pity though, the film is also too melodramatic for its own good. 

The film begins promising enough with Sergeant Tong (Nicholas Tse), a no-nonsense and hot-tempered cop and his older partner, Sun (Liu Kai-Chi) engages in an intense car chase with a dangerous criminal Cheung Yat-Tung (Keung Ho-Man). However Tong and Sun ends up in a spectacular POV, slow-motion crash involving four vehicles and multiple individuals taking place in the intersection. With Sun suffering from broken leg and trapped inside their overturned vehicle, the bloodied Tong who is all dazed still able to crawl out and stops Cheung's getaway by firing a couple of shots at their escaping vehicle. But little he does know that he has unexpectedly shoots a young girl named Yee (Wong Sum-Yin) held inside the trunk, who later dies from the bullet wounds. Flash forward months later, we learn that Cheung is about to serve his sentence to prison for his part in an armed robbery that led to the getaway and the massive car crash. And the barrister happens to be Ann Gao (Zhang Jingchu), a divorced mother of twins, one of whom was Yee, who ended up dead in an accidental shot by Tong. During that particular months, Tong has spending his time befriended the other twin, Ling (Wong Suet-Yin) and is still racked with guilt over his responsibility of causing Yee's death. But on the event of Mother's day celebration in Ling's school, she ends up being kidnapped by Hung (Nick Cheung), who was hired by Cheung to extort Ann into destroying the crucial evidence (the blood sample) linked to his crime. Ann, in turn, afraid not to lose her remaining daughter, agrees not informing the police and agrees to do what Cheung wants her to do. However, Tong, who also happened to be there during the kidnapping scene, is determine to make sure that he will get Ling back into safety at all cost. 

The best thing about Dante Lam and Jack Ng's screenplay is the way they tell a familiar storyline in a refreshing perspective by overlapping three separate stories (Tong, Ann and Cheung's point-of-view) that is both dense and complexly structured. Earlier in the film, the story is engaging enough to hold viewers' attention and perceptions by including a series of unannounced flashbacks that seems to be taking place in the present, but they are hardly confusing at all since Lam and Ng cleverly blends this kind of tricky plotting device effortlessly. 

Adding the solid credit is the complex web of relationships of how Lam and Ng depicted both side of the characters with equal flair. Speaking of characters, the cast is excellent: Nicholas Tse plays his familiar hot-tempered cop role with such genuine aura, while Zhang Jingchu is similarly credible as the emotionally-depressed barrister. But it is Nick Cheung, who is simply excels as the repellent, one-eyed killer who may have been despicable person but a plausible human being with sympathetic value. 

All the technical credits are top-notch, including Stephen Tung Wai's intense action choreography and Lam's direction is noteworthy, in which he uses handheld camera to give the film a gritty and realistic feel. 

But too bad he can't sustain his film as he eventually gets overcooked with all the promises he has offered earlier and ends up everything being too melodramatic for the rest of the portions. The ending, which featured the weepy Tong is especially near intolerable. 

Still, given the lackluster year of Hong Kong cinema, this is as good as it gets.

READ MORE - THE BEAST STALKER (2008)

PROTEGE (2007)

RATING: 3/5 

DEREK Yee's much-hyped anti-drug epic, PROTEGE, isn't as fulfilling as it touted to be but as far as any Hong Kong film goes, this one manages to stand above-average effort.  

For seven long years, Nick (Daniel Wu) has gone undercover who managed Kwan's (Andy Lau) drug handlers but yet arresting him because he is unable to infiltrate Kwan's entire heroin operation and doesn't even know where the drugs come from, or where they are made. However, Kwan's health is declining these days especially when he's suffered from diabetes. He's looking forward for retirement and wanted Nick to become his successor because he's totally believing in him. Soon Kwan shows him all the tricks and trades, starting from the laboratory how the drugs are packaged and delivered and right down to its main source in the Golden Triangle, as well as introducing some of his loyal big clients. Such steps has enabled Nick to come so close to put out Kwan and his operation once and for all but Nick starts to hesitate to do so because he's unable to betray Kwan who trusted him very much. And that's part of Nick's problem. At home where Nick lives in a rundown apartment, he meets Fan (Zhang Jingchu) and her little daughter across the building in which they are suffered from hunger. Soon Nick helps them providing food and money. As their relationship grows closer, he learns that Fan has been long struggling from heroin addiction and desperately wanted to quit but unable to do so, especially when her loathsome husband (Louis Koo), also a drug addict comes back to mess up her life. 

The downside of the story is awfully familiar territory, especially that the film borrows primarily from the often-copied INFERNAL AFFAIRS. Derek Yee's screenplay is earnest, as he clearly wanted to press hard on the topical issue of anti-drug message but the result is more educational, at times preachy rather than compelling subject matter. It's also a pity that PROTEGE, which has widely tipped as Hong Kong's answer to both Steven Soderbergh's TRAFFIC and Mike Newell's DONNIE BRASCO all rolled into one, is entirely half-baked.

 

Still Yee has a knack to make a generic material into something worthwhile. Here Yee manages to deliver all the issue about drug trade and addiction in a satisfying cinematic form, yet remains interesting to watch for. On the other side, Yee also knows well how to build up dramatic tension with equal aplomb. This is especially evident in a showstopping set piece where Nick is cornered by a group of renegade customs officers (led by the ever-dependable Liu Kai-Chi) and followed by a frantic bust by the customs officers to raid the building where the drugs are packaged. The result is wildly intense and expertly staged with a hint of black comedy (the one where one of Kwan's men is stupid enough jumping over the window and falls to his death) and surprisingly burst of violence (the character of Liu Kai-Chi is losing his hand when he attempts to open the door).

And thanks to Yee's ever-sensitive commitment, the all-star cast are downright noteworthy. While Andy Lau's cool and calculating persona is really nothing to shout about, he has his moments especially in a darkly hilarious commentary when he explains to Nick that he's selling drugs because it's all strictly business to him, and has nothing to do whatsoever how those who gets abused by the drugs they buy. Daniel Wu is equally compelling in one of his better performances as the conflicted undercover cop who must chooses between loyalty and justice, while Louis Koo is sadly miscast in his first-ever role as a drug addict which sees him ditching his usual cool image in trade for dirtied-up looks and a set of false, stained teeth. His frequently overacting often resulted into more unexpected laugh than it should be. Too bad the long-absent Anita Yuen is offered a thankless part as Kwan's concerned wife. But the real deal here is Zhang Jingchu's raw, award-worthy and often devastating performance as the struggling drug addict. In one of the film's memorable moments, she is satisfying herself by taking a heroin shot, goes completely high and fulfilling her orgasm making love with the unsuspecting Nick on the couch.

READ MORE - PROTEGE (2007)

MURDERER (2009)

RATING: 1/5  

ON the basis of the highly-anticipated MURDERER, the film looks set to be another winner for currently in-form Aaron Kwok. 

During production, it was reported he went extreme method acting by portraying his role without sleep to convey the most disturbed emotion. He would end up not saying much for nearly a day and often sit in a corner without saying a word, while looking very vicious. Crew members are warned against each other not to go near him. After the film has wrapped up production, he did not sleep for three days even though he feels completely exhausted. Kwok's dedication is definitely pays off especially when the film's movie poster depicted him with a convincingly vicious look on his face. That particular photo was taken by famed photographer, Wing Shya, who aimed to capture Kwok's exhausted look and insanely vicious eyes. The poster itself went on to become controversial, especially for MTR, which runs Hong Kong's subway system, finds the image was terrifying and nearly put a ban to it. 

MURDERER is certainly potential, with a crew full of recognizable and talented professionals involved here including cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Ban, art director Man Lim-Chung, composer Shigeru Umebayashi and notable screenwriter Christine To. Again, with two-time Golden Horse winner Aaron Kwok in the lead, the film has simply positioned itself as one of the year's must-see. 

Too bad for the final product itself. It's really hard to believe but it's true -- Roy Chow's directorial debut (formerly an assistant director of 2007's LUST, CAUTION) tries very hard to delve deep into psychological territory of this serial killer thriller and ends up something else entirely. Just about everything here cries "overdone" and not even the caliber of award-winning actor of Aaron Kwok can save this terrible mess. Short to say, this one qualifies well as among the most absurd and unintentionally hilarious Hong Kong film ever made. How is a supposedly disturbing psychological thriller ends up hilarious? The fault mostly lies on the unbelievable plot itself. 

A vicious killer is out there somewhere bleeding innocent people to death with a power drill, and the latest victim is a cop named Tai (Chen Kuan-Tai), who's been drained of blood and tossed from the seventh floor of an apartment complex. Fingers are immediately pointed to number one suspect, Ling (Aaron Kwok), a respected officer found at the crime scene with no memory of why he was even there. With Tai lying in a coma, Ling must piece together the mystery. Unfortunately all the evidence points back to himself as being the killer. And there lies several question: Is he actually a serial killer before he loses his memory? Or is he being framed by someone? 

At this point, the film looks intriguing enough but it plunges quickly with a series of convoluted and unconvincing situations. Once the plot starts to unravel piece by piece, the film goes wide open with unbelievably amusing characters start to act unconvincingly. Yes, all the actors goes haywire with their over-the-top performances that it's hard to fault whether they are intentional or trying too hard in the process. 

But none of them fare worst than Aaron Kwok himself. Despite his extreme method acting, his emotionally-disturbed cop role goes all for the wrong reason. He's definitely goes "all-out" here -- literally -- until it's so wildly over-the-top you just have to hand him a special award for "best unintentionally comic performance of the year". 

In the meantime, Chow's direction is a total mixed bag, ranging from decent to bad. He's clearly has no sense of restraint and every subsequent plot revelation leading to a so-called surprise twist ends up sillier than before. Speaking of the surprise twist, the result might have been refreshingly original but with the plot this silly, it's hard to take everything seriously. 

What a major disappointment.

READ MORE - MURDERER (2009)

LIFELINE (1997)

RATING: 3/5

HONG KONG's answer to Ron Howard's BACKDRAFT (1991). Though not as great as that Hollywood counterpart, director Johnnie To's insider's look of the dangerous profession of firefighters is a credible and solid entertainment nonetheless. 

Of all the fire station in Hong Kong, the Chi Wan team, headed by the no-nonsense veteran firefighter, Yau Sui (Lau Ching-Wan), is branded as a notoriously unlucky and "jinx" squad of lifesavers. Their "jinx" doesn't more worse after their current superior is seriously injured during a supposedly simple rescue in a falling construction lift and ends up with half of his body entirely paralyzed. Then along comes their new superior, a notoriously by-the-book Cheung Man Kit (Alex Fong Chung-Sun) who is particularly dislikes his disorganized team. At the first part of the film, we learn about this group of close-knit firefighters going through their usual ordeal of rescuing jobs as well as their personal lives. That includes Yau Sui, who is subsequently falling in love with a pathetic doctor named Annie Chan (Carmen Lee Yeuk-Tung) after rescuing her from an attempted suicide jump. Then there's the only female firefighter in the team named Sunny (Ruby Wong Cheuk-Ling), who has a marital problem with his frustrating husband demands her to have sex without using condom because he wants them to have baby. But Sunny doesn't want to fulfil his wish yet since her line of profession requires a lot of sacrifice and full commitment. Cheung Man Kit, in the meantime, is frustrated that his ex-wife demands him to take over their English-speaking daughter since she is going to remarry soon. 

Yau Nai-Hoi's screenplay is pretty much concentrates on these characters' slice-of-life and really this film isn't much of a plot-driven kind of structure. 

Still we do feel and related to the trials and tribulations these characters has to go through with recognizably human emotions, though the word "melodrama" remains somewhere in place. The cast is thoroughout credible, with Lau Ching-Wan and Alex Fong Chung-Sun perfectly typecast in their common heroism roles. But newcomer Ruby Wong Cheuk-Ling is certainly promising as the conflicted Sunny who is forced to juggle between hectic job and her personal problem at home. No doubt her emotionally-intense performance deserved a recognition of Best New Artist nomination (who lost to Sam Lee in Fruit Chan's MADE IN HONG KONG). 

Johnnie To's direction is assured and evenly paced while the film's most memorable highlight is none others than the blazing 45-minutes finale set in a burning warehouse where we follow a series of harrowing moments as Yau Sui and his team struggled to seek for trapped victims while coping with the uncontrollable rage of fire. Though not as epic as BACKDRAFT does so admirably, the scene alone remains spectacular in its own right and no doubt the most realistic fire sequence ever staged in HK cinema, especially given to its relatively smaller budget. 

Nominated for 6 Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (both lost to Fruit Chan's MADE IN HONG KONG), LIFELINE is certainly one of its kind. Like BACKDRAFT, this film stands out something out of the usual norm that is refreshing to watch other than the usual cop genres often dominated in HK cinema.

A must-see for all film lovers.

READ MORE - LIFELINE (1997)

INVITATION ONLY (2009)

RATING: 1/5

HAILED as "Taiwan's first slasher film", it should have been saying a lot for INVITATION ONLY. Unfortunately rookie director Kevin Ko's directorial debut is nothing more extraordinary than being one of those listless and increasingly tedious "torture porn" sub-genre in which he borrows heavily from HOSTEL (2006). 

Not surprisingly, the plot is as typical as it goes: Young and handsome loser Wade (Bryant Chang) works as a chauffeur who is one day shows up late for work, and then accidentally catches his boss CEO Yang (Jerry Huang) making love in the backseat of his limo with a model, Dana (Maria Ozawa). So in order to shut Wade up, Yang rewards him with an invitation card to an exclusive party strictly reserved for the wealthy people. All Wade have to do is to pose as Yang's cousin, and at the same time he could ask what he wants for in that particular night. Once there, Wade is looking socially awkward at first until he meets with a cute girl in pink dress named Hitomi (Julianne), also a newcomer as well. Soon it doesn't take long before he gets the hang of the situation and enjoys himself to the last, including manage to fulfill his greatest wish -- a brand-new Ferrari ; a large amount of money for gambling courtesy from Yang; and of course a night of sizzling dance and fulfilling sex with his dream model, Dana herself. So far, so good until these newcomers to this exclusive party, which includes Wade, Hitomi and three others are slowly subjected to stalking and slashing from a masked assailant. What follows next is a series of gruesome violence and murder as they attempt to survive and escape from the party. 

Sung In and Carolyn Lin's screenplay obviously follows every template from the usual "torture-porn" sub-genre you have seen many times and plays everything in a straightforward, formulaic manner. The result is strictly foreign, and director Kevin Ko could have added some local zest to give this film an otherwise refreshing angle. Technical credits are nothing special, since the film was made in low-budget cost with the production design is shoddy at best and the camera work are a mixed bag.

The most annoying thing of all, is Ko prefers to jerk his camera a lot during the chase sequence. There are plenty of gore and blood here, though there are hardly the one that are done better than their like-minded Hollywood counterparts. 

Not surprisingly though, the cast are strictly cardboard cutouts: Bryant Chang may have been good-looking enough for a leading man presence, but his acting is way wooden while popular Eurasian AV starlet Maria Ozawa made her first and gratuitous mainstream cameo appearance in nothing more than involving in an obligatory sex scene designed for the sake of exploitation. 

Though the film fulfills its genre trapping with a generous dosage of good-looking people, blood, gore and sex -- INVITATION ONLY remains a forgettable cinema that could have done better than just being a mere copycat.

READ MORE - INVITATION ONLY (2009)

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)

RATING: 2.5/5

BACK in summer 2006, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND has shocked and disappointed (every) fans and audiences alike by abruptly killing off some of the important main characters in a row -- e.g. James Marsden's Cyclops and Patrick Stewart's Professor X -- but the film managed to make decent money in the box-office. 

 

Three years later, the X-MEN universe is back on the big screen again, with Fox gambles to lay out some of the most important characters one by one by telling each of their origin stories, beginning with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. 

 

The film's project is certainly ambitious but likewise, as for the notoriously-troubled Fox studio, it is not without a few share of problems. There's a report that original director Gavin Hood (who got the job after Zack Snyder, Len Wiseman and Brett Ratner have passed) got "fired", following from the angry dispute against the studio, citing for "creative indifference". In the end, Fox have to bring in veteran Richard Donner to doctor most of the film. Despite the troubled production history does end with a complete film, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE continues to be a film stamped with "bad sign" all over the place. On March 31, 2009, a full length DVD-quality workprint of the film without a timecode or watermark, with some unfinished CGI shots, a missing 20-minutes footage, a different typeface for titles and casting, alternate sound effects, and a temporary soundtrack, was leaked online. Not long after, the leaked version quickly became the most downloaded film in the internet, and prompted the studio to take legal action via FBI and MPAA to investigate the illegal posting. The evidence is found that the leaked print contained a reference to Rising Sun Pictures, an Australian visual effects company working on the film. However, the company denied that they ever had a full copy of the film. Then there's FoxNews.com columnist Roger Friedman, who is fired from his job after confessing he has downloaded and even reviewed the leaked version. 

 

When the film is finally out for release, it is clear that X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE indeed a troubled film that doesn't feel like a satisfying whole. As a fanboy perspective, it's sad to announce that this film is mostly a hack job streamlined for undemanding, mainstream audience -- much like the ill-fated result of how X-MEN: THE LAST STAND has ended up. 

 

Anyway, the story is originated back in 1845, Canada when young and sick James Howlett (Troye Sivan) is shocked to witness his father John (Peter O'Brien) killed by Victor Creed's (Michael James-Olsen) father, Thomas Logan (Aaron Jeffrey). James got angry and instantly kills Thomas using his bone claws which emerging out from his knuckles. Before he dies, Thomas confesses to James that he is also his son. But before anything needs to be resolved, James and Victor are forced to run away, with Victor has particularly vowed that they shall look out for each other. Throughout the era, ranging from the American Civil War, World War I, World War II and finally the Vietnam War, adult brothers James (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) make use of their regenerative powers to keep them from being killed in the battlefield, thus allow them to go for long periods of time without aging. While James learns to control his animal rage, Victor has gone increasingly berserk and kills a superior officer during the Vietnam War. Both James and Victor are sentenced to death by firing squad, but nevertheless they still alive. Enter William Stryker (Danny Huston), who arrives just in time to offer them a way out for a privilege to join him in his special Team X group, compromising a few member of mutants including Frederick Dukes (Kevin Durand), a super-strong muscleman, John Wraith (will.i.am), a teleporter, Bolt (Dominic Monaghan), a trickster who can manipulate electricity with his mind, Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), an expert marksman, and sword-wielding mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). The brothers agree to join the group, and are later senr to the team's first mission: Infiltrate a diamond operation headquarters to retrtieve a meteorite used by the leader of the dealers as a paperweight in Lagos, Nigeria. Unbeknownst by most others, Stryker is actually pursuing the rare meteorite for his top-secret Weapon X project to enhance the mutant's superpower ability. But James, who is tired of mindless killing in the operation, quits abruptly in the middle of their mission. Six years later, James, who is now going by his last name, Logan, lives peacefully in the Canadian Rockies with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) and works as a lumberjack. But his peaceful lifestyle cuts abruptly short when Stryker manages to locate Logan, and claims someone is out there killing members of the now-disbanded team. He wants Logan to help him out, but he refused. Still it doesn't take long before Logan is forced to be back in his killing instinct again after discovering Kayla is brutally murdered by Victor.  He manages to find Victor and fights against him, only to lose in the end. Stryker offers Logan a chance to vow revenge against Victor, by agreeing to take part in the Weapon X experiment by fusing his bones with a powerful metal alloy called adamantium, which makes him virtually indestructible and gives him enough strength to defeat Victor. As Logan, who is now called himself as Wolverine, seeks revenge against Victor, he is also subsequently betrayed by Stryker where everything is not what it seems at the first place. 

 

From the non-fanboy perspective, the film is definitely fast-paced enough to deliver the necessary action, drama, character and wit to satisfy most of the crowds looking for a popcorn entertainment. The action is particularly a standout, with director Hood (or is it Donner?) knows well how to orchestrate numerous exciting set pieces with equal flair. Among two of the spectacular sequences to look out for are the now-infamous chase scene involving Wolverine being pursued by a helicopter, a tank and several Hummers, is exhilarating stuff. Another one is of course, the climatic three-way fight with Wolverine, Victor and Wade Wilson's Deadpol squared off against each other on the edge of a nuclear reactor. This is nevertheless a refreshing look for those who have gone tired of watching the ADD-infused, notorious shaky-cam filmmaking method that have flooded many like-minded films these days. 

 

Still the film can't escape many of its heavy flaws: David Benioff and Skip Wood's screenplay is more of your typical, operatic storytelling method we always seen in mediocre "origin" stories mostly found in comic book-themed genre. Despite some juicy balance striking between plot and action throughout the running time, the film remains way too streamlined and especially too convenient to tie up whatever complicated chain of events. There are just too many problems surrounding the film, like the way how the origin of Wolverine is cut too short to make quick way for the "Weapon X" storyline. Then there's the way how most dialogues are written in such cheesy way it could have done better for the '80s or the '90s action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger or other action stars. I mean, this is a film about Wolverine, for crying out loud! It certainly doesn't hurt for a few witty and wisecracking one-liners, but too bad the script almost flooded them all over the place and turned the film mostly a lightweight affair not meant to be taken seriously. 

 

Speaking of lightweight, whoever really approved a final cut to include an embarassing scene involving Wolverine squaring off against Dukes, also known as The Blob, in the boxing ring, is so laughably out-of-the-place. 

 

Despite blessing with $150 million budget tag, the special effects are mostly too spotty anf feels like a rushed job all over the place. 

 

The characters, in the meantime, are a mixed bag: Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is certainly at ease reprising his famous role but too bad he doesn't carry much emotional weight necessary to make his so-called painful journey from what he is destined to become for. Instead, he is seen more on wisecracking dialogues like he's channeling Schwarzenegger or even Clint Eastwood's alter-ego. Schreiber, on the other hand, does make some lasting impression as the monstrous Victor who manages to inject certain aura of dramatic acting chops previously missing from Tyler Mane who acted as Sabretooth in the original X-MEN. Danny Huston is perfectly typecast as the two-faced evil William Stryker, while fans will be rejoiced to see their long-awaited favorite short appearances of Ryan Reynold's Wade/Deadpool and Taylor Kitsch's Remy/Gambit strutting their stuff. 

 

At a compact 107 minutes, and with so many characters introduced here and there, most of the film's credibility are heavily compromised in the filter of the Hollywood filmmaking machine. You will be really doubtful if whatever shown in this theatrical version of X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE doesn't seem like what Gavin Hood has originally envisioned in the first place, and it's more of a result hacked by none others than the Fox studio executive bastard Thomas Rothman who has a long history of single-handedly ruining potential comic-book franchises including X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, DAREDEVIL, ELECTRA, and FANTASTIC FOUR. 

 

And like most comic-book film these days, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE must have been made history by showing "multiple endings" for the first time ever in the theaters. Stay tuned in between-the-credits, where Stryker is found walking along the highway with his feet bleed after being possessed by Kayla, who has ability to seduce and control people's mind, and end up being stopped by a group of military soldiers taking him in for interrogation. Of course right after the credits, depending on which theaters you are watching from different states or countries, you will get two different endings: the first one involves with Wolverine ends up in the bar, drinking to "remember" in Japan and another one is the still-alive Deadpool who emerged from the ruins, taking his decapitated head and breaks the fourth wall by saying "Shhhh...". 

 

Whatever gimmicks Fox has trying to pull out from their bag of tricks to lure audiences watching the film, it's sad to see X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE is more of a missed opportunity.

 

This first summer film of the year doesn't really take off, and let's hope next week's much-anticipated STAR TREK can live up to the ever-demanding expectation of a "summer movie extravaganza" tag.

READ MORE - X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)

TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009)

RATING: 3/5
 

WHEN Halcyon Company greenlit a new, proposed TERMINATOR trilogy a year ago, I was pretty much skeptical how the franchise is going to work out especially since Arnold Schwarzenegger has no longer involved leading the cast as the iconic T-800 character whatsoever. With Schwarzenegger already quit showbiz and concentrating on politic running as Governor of California, the TERMINATOR franchise (at least at the fanboys' perspective) looks might as well -- dead. 

 

Whatever the circumstances is, the company gives it a get-go anyway and the result is TERMINATOR SALVATION. Instead of repeating the same formula previously told in THE TERMINATOR (1984), TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991) and TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003) -- where all three films focusing on a plot set in present day with only a few glimpses of the dark future, this fourth entry sees writer John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris and David Campbell Wilson are smart enough to move forward with a rather fresh approach on concentrating the aftermath of the Judgment Day (which is previously shown at the end of TERMINATOR 3). 

 

It begins with a brief prologue circa 2003, where condemned prisoner Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) is about to be executed at the Longview State Correctional Facility. But before his execution, his cancer-stricken doctor, Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter), who works for Cyberdyne Systems, attempts to convince him to donate his body for a scientific purpose. Even though he isn't really looking for a second chance, Marcus signs the consent form anyway since he has nothing else to lose. Cut forward to the year 2018, we learn that the world is already in the brink of mass destruction as man and machine are at war. The now grown-up adult, resistance fighter John Connor (Christian Bale) is leading a raid to battle against the Skynet. On the other side, there is Marcus, reappear somewhere in the wasteland. He suffer from a memory loss and tries hard to figure out where he has been for over a decade until he runs into a teenage warrior Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and mute kid Star (Jadagrace). They both subsequently teams up together to fight for their survival against the killing machines everywhere. When word spreads from the radio that the people of the resistance are gathering together to take on Skynet headquarters, the three of them set out to find the transmitter -- which is none others than John Connor, unknowingly Kyle's future son. 

 

When McG was announced as the director of this fourth entry, critics and fans are quick to condemn that the studio has making a huge mistake. It's not hard to blame them anyway, since McG's track record isn't favorable at all, especially how he has single-handedly ruined his career and reputation he previously helmed the ultimately trashy and forgettable CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE (2003). In fact, it wasn't a walk in the park on bringing TERMINATOR SALVATION into fruitation at all. First and foremost, it was difficult to cast Christian Bale in the lead role, who reportedly not fancied working with McG at the first place especially after feeling dissatisfied over the lackluster script he has read. In a return for favor, McG agrees to Bale he brought in Christopher Nolan's brother, Jonathan, who previously worked with Bale before in last year's mega-successful THE DARK KNIGHT to re-tool the existing screenplay. Then more are brought in to doctor the screenplay further, which is includes Paul Haggis and TV's CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker. 

 

But for all the hard effort McG is attempting here, it's pretty ironic what is shown in the final product is different from what most might expect in the first place. What you see in the screen instead is a rather minimal plot that sadly recycled the same old theme previously dominated in the first three TERMINATOR trilogy. Whether this is a cause of studio interference is really anybody's guess because the plot, which could have been better, is really disappointing. 

 

The cast, in the meantime, are also surprisingly lackluster, especially Christian Bale himself who seems like a fussy actor wanted to make a great role for himself. But on screen, it's a totally different story -- his John Connor role is nothing more than an one-dimensional character. More than often, he doesn't require acting much other than repeating his same old trademark tortured growl and believe it or not, his supposedly pivotal role is disappointedly felt like second fiddle. Much of the rest of the cast are wasted, with talented actors like Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter are all appeared in thankless roles. Despite a couple of uneven performances all around, there are still several notable exceptions: relatively unknown, Aussie-born Sam Worthington steals the show from everyone else as Marcus Wright. With an idealistic build and a bad-ass attitude to boot, Worthington's no-nonsense performance is energetic enough to make him the next action icon for future to come. Fresh from a memorable performance as the often hilarious Chekov in STAR TREK earlier this summer, Anton Yelchin excels again in an important role as the young Kyle Reese. As the pilot Blair Williams, Moon Bloodgood is suitably tough and fetching enough to fit herself nicely against his male counterparts. 

 

As for McG, I was really surprised he has changed a lot after all these years of bad reputation he has to endure. Clearly as a director, he really knows how to use his camera. Together with cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, he has created some of the most exhilarating action set pieces ever made that seamlessly blend with cutting-edge special effects. Among the highlights is the well-staged battlefield helicopter crash sequence, where McG shoots almost in the first-person perspective, given the kinetic aura of a true adrenalin-rush. The other one is a high-octane chase sequence in the highway against a bunch of cool-looking and deadly Mototerminators, which lead to a breathless run-in on a narrow bridge, is one hell of an ultimate cinematic experience an especially must-see in the theaters. 

 

All the technical works are top-notch, with Danny Elfman's pulse-pounding score and McG has certainly make great use of the mammoth $200-million budget to create a dark, grim vision of a destructive landscape that is perfectly captured in gun-metal palette. Being a die-hard fan himself, he doesn't forget to pay tribute to the past three TERMINATOR films, especially the obligatory borrowing of some of the most famous catchphrases ("Come with me if you want to live", “I'll be back" and many more). 

 

On the plus note, stay tuned for the climatic battle sequence in the Skynet headquarters where John Connor faces against none others than the surprise cameo of a CGI version of Arnold Schwarzenegger (though look a bit fake, especially shown in close-up) which is certainly a blast for die-hard fans.

 

As a summer movie extravaganza, TERMINATOR SALVATION has certainly fits the bill and this is definitely a bright step ahead for the once-condemned McG as a great action director to look for. Sad thing is, there are still more room for improvement in term of plotting and characterization, and one is hoping if the fifth installment ever get made (depending on this film's box-office performance), it can be better.

READ MORE - TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009)

DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)

RATING: 4/5

HERE'S a very important question: When was the last time a horror film that manage to scare the hell out of you but at the same time also draw some worthy dosage of cheeky laughter as well? 

Not since the EVIL DEAD trilogy jump started the horror-comedy genre that still remained crucial staples to these days, it's good to see DRAG ME TO HELL hits the near-perfect score we have come to miss for so long. Not only that, this horror film also marked director Sam Raimi's favorable return to the very genre that first made him a household name after flirting with big-budget Hollywood blockbusters beginning with 2002's SPIDER-MAN, 2004's SPIDER-MAN 2 and 2007's SPIDER-MAN 3. 

The film opens with a bang as a nervous-looking, farm-working parents (Alexis Cruz, Ruth Livier) brought their terribly-ill son (Shiloh Selassie) to see a young gypsy, Shaun Sen Dena (Flor de Maria Chahua) to break a deadly curse. Unfortunately the curse that plagued inside the innocent boy is too powerful for Shaun to vanquish it whatsoever, only end up witnessing the inevitable damnation of the boy literally being dragged into the bowel of hell below. Years later, this deadly curse awaits the next victim, and the unfortunate person is Christine (Alison Lohman). But at the beginning, she doesn't look like kind of person who deserved such fate since she's a sweet-natured young woman who work very hard as a loan officer at California's Wilshire Pacific Bank in hope to fill in the seat of a vacant assistant manager's post. However, she is not without her competition, another fellow loan officer named Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee) who also wants the position so badly as well, and their boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer) are having tough time trying to decide who is among the best candidate to fill in the seat. Outside her profession, Christine has a wonderful and caring boyfriend named Clay (Justin Long) who is recently landed a professor's position. So far, their life goes so smoothly until one day, an old hag Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), who is happened to be a gypsy, appears at her desk to beg for an extension on her home loan. At first, Christine really wants to help her but not until she starts to realize that being too kind isn't going to land her a better spot for the assistant manager's position. Believing she is making the right choice, she ends up politely rejected Mrs. Ganush's request. "I beg and you shame me?" Mrs. Ganush replied with such an upset and threatening voice that security guard have to drag her out of the bank. Later that night, while getting into her car, Christine is violently ambushed by a vengeful Mrs. Ganush. A series of struggle ensues until Mrs. Ganush manages to rip a button off from Christine's coat, and starts to place the curse of the Lamia against her. And so this is where all hell breaks loose for poor Christine, who is about to lose her sanity suffering from all torments of the damned. Together with her boyfriend, she seeks the help of a spiritual advisor named Rham Jas (Dileep Rao). She is later learned the curse of the Lamia she had upon her is also known as the "Black Goat", a dreaded demon that likes to play around with their victim for three days before erupting from the earth's crust and literally dragging its victim to hell. 

Written way back after Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi completed the EVIL DEAD trilogy with ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992), this excellent horror film is certainly a rollercoaster, cinematic experience equivalent to those big-budget action extravanganza staged for summer movie season. 

Opened with the old Universal logo, the one used in the 1980s when Sam Raimi got his career start with the first two EVIL DEAD films, DRAG ME TO HELL is a highly entertaining homage to B-movie, particularly those classic curse genre. All the production values are purposely made in a pure old-school form: homey art direction and production design, as well as mixing on-location juxtaposing with shots of attractive and frequently atmospheric backlots. Peter Deming's cinematography is equally top-notch as he and Raimi brilliantly incorporates various cinematic tricks using tilted angles, close-ups and well-staged setups so effectively it's much better than those today's horror film enhanced their fright via extensive special-effects wonder. Then there's Christopher Young's intensely nailbiting, string-laden music score that perfectly echoes the great work of the late Bernard Herrmann. 

Completing the horror perfection is the brilliantly multilayered sound effects design -- creaking gates, tapping fingernails, a buzzing fly -- are so intimately depicted to give the film a terrific sense of sinister aura it's especially best seen in big-screen theaters for ultimate cinematic experience.

But best of all is of course, Sam Raimi himself. No doubt a true master of the genre, he knows well about timing is everything to make a great horror film. All the horror scene are genuinely frightening that some of them almost made me squirm and jump out of my seat (e.g. the highly suspensful scene set in an underground parking garage and the violent attack inside Christine's house where she is mercilessly pushed to limits by unseen force of evil). Not to forget also is Raimi's hilarious trademark of morbid humor that is so tongue-in-cheek, and at the same time delivers with such level of lunacy camp it's fun to watch. Such scenes are a gross-out scene set in Christine's tool shed equivalent those in Looney Tunes cartoon, particularly the one inspired from Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner-like lunacy together with the appearance of an anvil into the action, and the possessed handkerchief scene -- all a must-see to be believed. 

Amazingly, for all the frightening set pieces and those the one with onslaughts of various bodily fluids including phlegm, projectile nosebleed and such, depicted throughout the film, it manage to retain a PG-13 rating. In recent years, horror fans as well as critics has blasted  today's mainstream genre films are plagued with family-friendly PG-13 rating that usually end up with disappointments. But Raimi has clearly proved even a PG-13 rated horror film has its own potential to fright the audience that put most R-rated horror genre to shame, as long as they done right. 

Although it's sad to see cult favorite Bruce Campbell failed to make the cut due to his busy commitment with his TV show, Burn Notice, Raimi still able to craft some of the most energetic performances ever seen in years: Alison Lohman (a role originated for Ellen Page, but surprisingly dropped out prior to filming) is pitch-perfect. Both pretty and fragile, Lohman plays her character with sheer enthusiasm that we really root for her sweet-natured likeness, right down to her playful energy she has clearly shown as she forced to deal with the curse. Equally credible is Justin Long, who could have been written as a thankless role but he manages to turn his stock part into someone worthwhile. He and Lohman are particularly convincing as loving couples truly in love for each other, and no doubt their chemistry are someone we can really root for. Lorna Raver, on the other hand, is unforgettably frightening as Mrs. Ganush who is simply terrific as the vengeful gypsy that I'm sure she is qualified enough to place her as among the most memorable horror villains ever graced on the big screen. 

While the last scene is somewhat losing steam, together with all-too-grim finale that might a turn-off for some, DRAG ME TO HELL is a genuine rarity -- a mainstream horror picture that simply earned a distinctive place as among the finest genre ever seen in a very long time. 

Welcome back, Sam Raimi!

READ MORE - DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

RATING: 2/5

THE first TRANSFORMERS (2007) was a gargantuan hit, grossing at a whopping $319 million in the domestic box-office alone while reaping an even bigger money of $706 million worldwide. And shortly after the film won Best Movie at 2007 MTV Movie Awards, an inevitable sequel is quickly gets underway. The good news is, the second installment, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN delivers the kind of summer popcorn-fueled extravaganza people has come to expect in the first place. But this heavily-anticipated sequel also reeked of a rotten egg: Michael Bay's "bigger and louder" filmmaking motto takes the whole "so bad, it's good" category into whole new level. Just imagine all the previous flaws surfaced in the first film are now doubled up in a spectacularly annoying epic proportion. 

The film opens with a brief prologue dated way back 17,000 B.C. where we learn the alien robots, particularly the Decepticons has long existed before our time. Here, we also introduced to the original leader of the Decepticons called the Fallen (voiced by Tony Todd), whom we later seen him exiled off the face of the Earth and never seen or heard ever since. Cut to the present day, the U.S. Army Force has now co-operate with the Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) to seek and destroy the Decepticons found hidden across the globe. The specially-organized team is called NEST, an elite squad which also manned by the now, two promoted Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Master Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson). So far their mission proves to be successful until the rest of the Decepticons, especially Starscream (Charlie Adler) is making their comeback to free their former leader Megatron (Hugo Weaving) from the underwater grave of the North Pacific. In the meantime, the now 18-year-old Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is looking forward to move towards his college life in Paris. But all hell breaks loose again when he finds a shard of the All Spark cube inside his sweatshirt and starts to have strange vision about alien symbols that is potentially lead to something very important. Still he doesn't want to get involved with trouble anymore and decides to live like any normal kid. So he leaves behind the shard to his hot girlfriend, Mikaela Burns (Megan Fox), who is now working for his father as a mechanic. Despite their long-distance relationship, they agree they will regularly keep in touch via webcam chat. Once in Paris, Sam lives with a geeky and highly paranoid roommate Leo Spitz (Ramon Rodriguez), who apparently knows a lot about the so-called "government conspiracy" theory about the existence of alien robots. Adding to the mix, is a mysterious but insanely hot blondie named Alice (Isabel Lucas) who happens to be sexually interested for Sam. Unbeknownst to Sam, Alice is also an evil-in-disguise waiting to reveal herself in no time. It doesn't take long before Sam and Mikaela crosses path at some points, where they are forced to join forces with the Autobots again to stop the Decepticons once and for all. 

If the plot sounds awfully familiar, that is because returning screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Ehren Kruger, doesn't bother the little thing called "subtlety". The plot is wafer-thin at best, and the dialogues are terribly cheesy. In fact, just about everything presented here is a lazy rehash of the first film. Only this time the story is unnecessarily stretched to a bloated 147 minutes desperately needed for a proper trimming. 

While the first film has at least invests some quality time on his characters development, they are almost non-existent here since everyone are relegated to stick figures. Even Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who both likable in the first film, are now going through the blind motion. LaBeouf's increasingly neurotic acting really gets into one's nerves as if he's on overdose or something, while Megan Fox continues to parade around as a distracting sex symbol who does a lot more worse in her "acting" skill. Other than looking insanely hot in her revealing dresses, she doesn't have a clue how to emote in a least convincing way (one particular scene requires her to act sad after finding a presumably dead Sam lying on the ground in the cliffhanger finale, is especially laughable). The rest of the supporting actors are all throwaway characters with people like Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson reduced to thankless parts parading around looking all tough and little else. In the meantime, Kevin Dunn and Julie White, are surprisingly given bigger roles as Sam's annoying parents who both mainly appear as filler in between scenes. Julie White is particularly cringe-worthy, where a painfully unfunny scene involving her running all amok in the college after overdosing a bag of weeds. If that's not enough, the inclusion of Ramon Rodriguez's Leo Spitz fares even worse than one might ever imagined. Not since Jar Jar Binks was introduced to our consciousness, Ramon's unfunny performance is so terribly annoying that his character is best to be cut off altogether. Newcomer, Australian-bred Isabel Lucas gives a run of money for Megan Fox for being such a hottie here. But like Megan Fox, her "acting" skill leaves little to be desired of.

The biggest problem about this film is Bay's over-the-top decision to make his film as broadly outrageous as possible. While being over-the-top isn't wrong as long as the result is fun, there's no such case for the film here as everything are cranked up to such intolerable level it's an ultimate test of patience even for most jaded viewers who used to this kind of trashy fare. 

At some point, Bay also goes AUSTIN POWERS-like filmmaking style here, complete with sexual and racist overtones involving the ghetto-talkin' Autobots duo Skids and Mudflap (both voiced by Tom Kenny, of TV's Spongebob Squarepants fame), and some out-of-the-place humping jokes: the one involved a Chihuahua and a pug, and another one between a tiny Decepticon and Mikaela's leg! 

As for the robots, only Peter Cullen's Optimus Prime stands out against the rest. The others are sadly reduced into mostly come-and-gone, forgettable appearances. The introduction of the Fallen, which is supposedly the main point of this sequel, proves to be more of an afterthought and his character is also criminally underwritten. Hugo Weaving, who proves to be so devilishly fun as Megatron in the first film, is surprisingly reduced to a second fiddle. As mentioned earlier, the film is way overlong for its own good. The last scene, which set in the Egypt, is particularly a test of patience where Bay seems to be losing control of his direction altogether and doesn't know how to put a full stop at the right moment. Commenting further is the long-awaited, fan-favorite's appearance of the gigantic Devastator which supposed to be the film's highlight but the filmmakers is taking things for granted by making him all too brief. 

Worst still, it's hard to believe an ultimate alien robot like Devastator is so easily defeated, not by Autobots, but by a mere missile fired from the U.S. Army force. The scene grows lazier, with Optimus Prime easily eliminated Megatron and particularly the Fallen so briefly that at least the filmmakers can do is to make the Fallen character more difficult adversary to be dealt with. 

With a huge $200 million budget to burn, director Michael Bay knows well how to distract the viewers with all the cool stuff but have little clue to invest least credible moments in term of story and characters development. Where everything else fails, it's still relieved that TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN remains a worthwhile summer popcorn fare (in the mindless way, of course). Together with cinematographer Ben Seresin, Bay has crafted some of the most spectacular action set pieces of the summer so epic it's best watched in the theaters for the ultimate cinematic experience. All the technical values are top-notch, while the special effects of the robots are so seamlessly blend against the background and even more lifelike than ever. Among the highlights are the opening scenes featuring the destruction of the Wheelbots in the city, and a memorable duel involving the sword-wielding Optimus Prime battling against three Decepticons in the open forest. 

Overall, it's a huge disappointment for most people expecting the second installment a better improvement.

READ MORE - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

THE HURT LOCKER (2009)

RATING: 2.5/5

AFTER scoring low with back-to-back disappointments of K:19 - THE WIDOWMAKER and THE WEIGHT OF WATER (both released in 2002), Kathryn Bigelow's long-awaited return to the director's chair sees her back in a near top form. 

Winner of 4 awards (Human Rights Film Network, SIGNIS, Sergio Trasatti and Young Cinema) at 2008 Venice Film Festival, Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER is first and foremost a raw, gripping and well-mounted action thriller, and an intimate character-driven study of the daily routine of bomb disposal technicians. The only shame is this would-be perfect film is crippled by its unnecessarily overlong narrative (clocking at 130 minutes) with a plot that is rather slim and uneven. 

The film opens spectacularly with lead bomb disposal technician Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce), trying to defuse hidden bombs buried somewhere in the ruins at an open area but fails to accomplish his mission and instantly killed on the spot. After the demise of Sergeant Matt Thomson, rebellious Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is called in to take over as the head of the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) squad stationed in Baghdad. Thus, there goes James' 38-days job countdown with his fellow colleagues, Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) in their Bravo Company's rotation. But upon the first duty, Sanborn and Eldridge has already feel an uneasy alliance over James' stubborn behavior. Still James manage to get his job done, even sometimes without a proper job protocol. To his fellow colleagues, James is like a suicidal, walking timebomb who doesn't blink a second about whether he make it alive or not when defusing any bombs. Day by day, the pressure between James and his fellow colleagues gets higher and higher against each other, as well as increasingly dangerous duty one after another. Things get out of hand when a native 12-year-old boy called himself as Beckham (Christopher Sayegh), a pirated DVD seller whom James has befriended is presumably brutally murdered and turned into a human bomb, James  breaks protocol and willing to risk his own life to find out the truth about the matter. 

As a slice-of-life drama about how a specialized military group of bomb disposal technicians going through their dangerous daily routines, Mark Boal's script has particularly nail that target well. It's just too bad he have to resort into stretching his rather thinly-drawn narrative which should have been excised instead. The second half is especially where the film gradually losing steam. 

Still, the film remains a first-rate triumph in its technical prowness and of course, Bigelow's ever-skillful direction in helming action genre. Here, she and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd brilliantly incorporates handheld cameras and her trademark of intimate shot of slow-motion is seamlessly crafted with such nailbiting tension that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. On the plus side, the absence of a score in key scenes is smart enough to give the already-heightened sense of action-packed moments an additional sense of documentary-like gritty realism. 

On the acting front, a trio of performances excel with top-notch acting moments: Jeremy Renner's devil-may-care, gung-ho Sergeant William James is no doubt his most breakthrough performance to date. Not only that, he also brings a certain complexity in his heroic and perfectly flawed character that we actually root for him. Equally credible and memorable as well are Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty. Cameo appearances from some of the better-known actors also shined in their respective roles given -- Guy Pearce, David Morse and Ralph Fiennes are all memorable in their brief performances that doesn't feel like stunt casting at all. 

Though the film is hardly a classic for an Iraqi-set military thriller by any means, it remains a worthwhile cinematic experience. Best of all, it's good to see the long-missed Kathryn Bigelow back in her usual game that put most of her male counterparts to shame.

READ MORE - THE HURT LOCKER (2009)

PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)

RATING: 3/5

NO historical and cultural aspects of America's real-life crime saga will ever goes unnoticed without mentioning the famed bank robber John Dillinger, the most publicized figure during the rise of 1930s Depression-era whose appearance subsequently prompted the rise of the FBI. Ironically though, for all his mass popularity that Hollywood will definitely love to craft a great story out of him, there are only two previous features: both low-budget and largely unnoticed of 1945's Max Nosseck's and 1973's John Milius versions which both are titled as DILLINGER. 

But the arrival of PUBLIC ENEMIES looks set to be most fully-realized version of John Dillinger to date -- especially with Michael Mann on the helm, a dream cast of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale team up together for the first time, and a $100-million budget to boot. 

Unfortunately what could have been Mann's most ambitious crime epic to date since his 1995's HEAT is sadly a missed opportunity that could have been turned into a great masterpiece. 

 Based on 2004's Bryan Burrough's book of Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34, the film concentrates on the final one-year period in 1933 where we first see John Dillinger (Depp) and the rest of his fellow cohorts staging a daring escape from the Indiana State Penitentiary. Shortly after their jailbreak, they soon get down into business of subsequently robbing banks across the Midwest with repeated success. With all the crime wave peaked at an alarming rate caused by the unstoppable Dillinger and his gang, Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) is hellbent to fight against it once and for all. So he created an entire federal task force specially devoted to his capture, and Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) is appointed as the lead, after making a great impression of killing one of  famous criminals named Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum). In the meantime, Dillinger finds his spare time attending in some swanky nightclubs and this is where he meets Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), a middle-class beauty who is quickly fall in love with him. Dillinger's legacy as famed bank robber is soon found subsequently subsided, especially with Purvis and his men are constantly hard-pressed to bring them down at all necessary force possible. That ultimately lead to the death of Dillinger's two of his best gang members including Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff) and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). Dillinger doesn't live long as well, as he is eventually shot to death by the agents on the night of July 22, 1934 while exiting Chicago's Biograph Theater, where he had attended a screening of Clark Gable's MANHATTAN MELODRAMA. 

The good news is, Michael Mann is in near-top form here after suffering from an overblown disappointment of MIAMI VICE (2006). Together with a talented team of technical professionals, he has successfully re-created an authentic look of the Depression-era 1930s with such meticulous detail right down from its costume to its splendid production design. Dante Spinotti's unusual choice of HD cinematography may have look awkward at first, especially since it was used for a period crime setting like PUBLIC ENEMIES but Michael Mann's continuous approach to push the era of high-definition video since COLLATERAL (2004) has surprisingly brings a fresh angle here. Shot in CineAlta F23 high-end HD camera, the film is certainly great-looking with every pore on the faces of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale are noticably present in significant detail, while enhancing the vibrancy of the overall background. The action, in the meantimes, always Mann's specialty is top-notch. One particular memorable scene, which involved an exhilaratingly violent shootout by Purvi's team on Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and others holed up at the remote Little Bohemia lodge, is  captured with great attention to the realistic quality of the gunshots where the deafening sound really pop as if you were there on the scene. Here, the usage of HD cinematography also helps rendering the darkest possible nighttime blacks upon which the gun blasts explode with bursts of white light, is especially great to look at. 

Despite all the attention devoted in this film, it's rather disappointed to see Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman and Michael Mann's script leaves little to be desired of. Anyone who is anticipating for a meticulous look of Dilinger's life will be disappointed by their largely brief and surprisingly unfocused narrative thrust that doesn't happen to scratch beyond its surface. We all know that Dillinger is a popular folk hero who rob banks, but we hardly learn anything beyond his course of action and it isn't surprising at all Johnny Depp's much-anticipated performance comes across more of a one-note, shallow figure. Though his swaggering charm is magnetic enough to make him a perfect Dillinger, it's such a waste his supposedly Oscar-baiting role offers little depth other looking cool and suave the whole time. As Melvin Purvis, Christian Bale fits the no-nonsense and solemn character well but his performance more or less, the same old gruff self we have seen him one time too many from last year's THE DARK KNIGHT and his recent TERMINATOR SALVATION. Fresh from winning Best Actress Oscar in 2007's LA VIE EN ROSE, Marion Cottilard does what she can to excel in her thankless role as Dillinger's lover but too bad her character is largely underwritten. The rest of the large cast, with mostly recognizable faces including Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup, David Wenham and others, are all appeared more of stunt casting than dedicated performances. 

It's hardly Mann's finest hour by any means, but at the very least, PUBLIC ENEMIES remains a good cinematic antidote worth watching this summer, especially with all those loud films around.

READ MORE - PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)

DISTRICT 9 (2009)

RATING: 4.5/5

WHEN comes to sci-fi thriller, it's either the one that has to be star-studded or mega-budgeted blockbuster event filled with state-of-the-art special effects extravaganza to lure the audiences. But DISTRICT 9 is one of those genuine rarities that defies the opposite of a sci-fi thriller doesn't have to be both expensive (made at a modest $30 million) and also relying heavily on popular actors to carry a film. It's also a great, once-in-a-blue-moon film that is both original, inventive, compelling, captivating, frequently hilarious and refreshingly out of the norm you normally come to expect from a sci-fi genre. All in all, this is a huge little surprise you never seen it coming. 

For 28 years, the city of Johannesburg, South Africa is distracted by the enormous sight of alien spacecraft came to a standstill. With the spacecraft literally run out of fuel to get back where they belong, the now-exhausted alien inhabitants, referred to as "prawns" -- four-legged insect-like beings that walk upright and speak in grunts and gurgles (with subtitles in English), have no choice but to learn how to survive and adapt to their new world. Local authorities ushered them out of their spacecraft and set them up in District 9, a makeshift refugee camp that quickly became a disgusting and overcrowding slum. Then it doesn't take long before the locals begin to show some protest and want the aliens gone out of their sight. This is where a private firm called MNU (Multi-National United) is involved for an assignment to evict them out of District 9 and relocate them to a rural concentration camp. The task of this mass relocation is conducted by a recently promoted MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), who is required to go each of the aliens' filthy shack homes in District 9 to deliver eviction notices. While performing his task, he discovers an illegal lab inside the shack run by an intelligent alien named Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope). There, he also discovers a precious black liquid in the canister that accidentally sprayed onto his face. Soon he begins to grow sick and within a short time of period, he feels his entire body completely out of norm. Then one of his hands started to grow into a hideous-looking prawn's claw. It is doubt that his human DNA is increasingly infected by the alien virus. After the MNU finds out about his condition, the scientists want to harvest his organs because his claw is the only valuable thing that can operate state-of-the-art alien weaponry. Of course Wikus ultimately escapes and seeks refuge in the District 9 camp, where he is later forced to cooperate with Christopher in order to find way for reverting his physical changes back to normal. The MNU, in the meantime, quickly dispatches a team of heavily-armed enforcers, lead by the heartless chief-in-charge, Koobus (David James) to locate Wikus at all cost. 

Based on an award-winning short film ALIVE IN JOBURG (2005) by writer-director Neill Blomkamp, this feature-length film version is a daring genre mishmash that combines the best of the elements from E.T. (1982), THE FLY (1986), and ALIEN NATION (1988), shot partly in a faux-documentary style with a keen social commentary about the ever-controversial apartheid and a refreshing look that the alien isn't one of those typical creatures seen as a deadly threat but more of a victim of circumstances that we actually grow to care about them. 

With the help from producer Peter Jackson, who is initially impressed with Blomkamp's savvy filmmaking skills and set him up to direct the much-anticipated HALO film but fell through because of huge budgetry cost, there are also elements that fans will be delighted with Jackson's long-missed trademark of tongue-in-cheek humor and disgustingly over-the-top gore thrown into the mix as well. The result might sounds uneven at first, but Blomkamp is one of those rarities who knows how to blend a genre-bending film with a smartly structured script that grows increasingly interesting and exciting at each passing time. 

The overall cast, all relatively unknown, are surprisingly credible, especially newcomer Sharlto Copley in a likable and emotionally-devastating role as Wikus who is first seen as a cheerful chap to an intense and depressing tortured soul faced in an ugly truth where he has to deal with his grotesque physical transformation that makes him so profoundly human. 

And despite its $30 million budget, Blomkamp also proves that even with that kind of amount of money can still be able to craft a visually compelling experience. Lensed primarily on the revolutionary Red-One camera, the film is no doubt a top-notch result in term of its technical prowness. The special effects, conducted by Weta Digital, is very impressive, especially how the interactions between the aliens (a combo of digital effects and old-fashioned prosthetics) and the humans are handled so convincingly realistic as the one we have seen in the bigger-budgeted TRANSFORMERS films. 

If there's ever a flaw, the third-act action sequence, though eye-popping, goes a bit overlong but that's really minor picking. DISTRICT 9 is one of the best summer films of the year and certainly a must-see for everyone who wants something of an extraordinary experience.

READ MORE - DISTRICT 9 (2009)