WINTER'S BONE (2010)

RATING: 3/5

Winner of the prestigious Grand Jury Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Debra Granik's WINTER'S BONE has quickly become one of the critics' darlings among the film festival circuits. On the outlook, WINTER'S BONE looks almost identical like the Coen brothers' award-winning FARGO (1995). Just like Coen brothers' authentic look of their hometown Minnesota, Granik portrays the rarely-filmed Ozark Mountains by successfully capturing a rural community filled with addicts, liars, lowlifes and innocents caught in a web of poverty and deception. Raw and unsentimental in its portrayal, it is no doubt that Granik creates a indie motion picture worthy all the special mention. But at the same time, the movie is also somewhat overrated. All the authenticity aside, the movie proves to be painfully slow-moving for its own good and there are times it's questionable that WINTER'S BONE is hardly qualifies as one of the best movies of the year.

We are introduced to a tough-willed but vulnerable protagonist, 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) who faced with an awful situation of caring for her nearly catatonic mother (Valerie Richards), young brother Sonny (Isaiah Stone) and sister Ashlee (Ashlee Thompson). When a local authority threatens to take over their house following from the bond her meth-cooking father has signed in the first place, Ree is given short notice to locate his missing father or else. Vowing to track her father down, she journeys across the mountains while gradually meeting a range of threatening peoples determined to keep their criminal activities a secret. Nobody seems to be opening their mouth about anything regarding about her missing father. Not even her drug-induced and hot-tempered uncle, Teardrop (John Hawkes) who is at first skeptical to offer any kind of help but gradually given her a hand in the end.

As an investigative crime drama, there's hardly any immediate thrills to be found here as everything moves at a leisure pace. The only time that the movie starts to feel alive is when Teardrop finally agrees to help Ree out, but really, Granik isn't particularly to create a stirring drama other than depicting an authentic lived-in quality remain best seen for some of the best performances of the year.

Relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence, who has previously proven her amazing acting worth in the little-seen 2009's THE BURNING PLAIN, lands another breakthrough performance as the tormented Ree Dolly. Her naturalistic performance is especially stunning enough to watch for. She is paired equally well with the underrated John Hawkes, who also excels with his work here. His wired and no-nonsense persona is definitely a disturbing force to be reckoned for, particularly in a memorable scene where he is ballsy enough to threaten the local sheriff when he and Ree are being stopped at the highway.

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THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

RATING: 4/5

When the project was announced that a semi-biographical movie about Facebook is greenlighted, I was pretty skeptical at first. But given the fact that the movie, entitled as THE SOCIAL NETWORK, the unique combination of talents involving screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (1992's A FEW GOOD MEN and TV's The West Wing) and visionary director David Fincher, my interest is quickly justified. And how is it exactly THE SOCIAL NETWORK fares? Let's just say, if this movie has its own Facebook page, you click "Like", "Share" and finally leaves a good comment about it -- because THE SOCIAL NETWORK is hands-down one of the best movies of the year.

Based on the book, "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, the story chronicles on how then 19-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) first started as an ambitious geek who wants to create history by making a social networking page. Told in non-linear fashion, we are treated back and forth -- from the attorney's office where twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer in dual roles), is suing Zuckerberg by stealing their idea after they hired to work on their similar Harvard Connection website, to the Harvard's dorm room where it is all began. After suffering a breakup with fellow university undergrad Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), who is sick and tired of Zuckerberg's arrogance, he returns to his dorm room a little drunk and posts nasty blog about Erica and ends up compiling students' photo IDs hacked from Harvard's computer network to create a Hot-or-Not rating site called Facemash. Within seconds, his blog site quickly grows popular and from there, things start to sparkle inside Zuckerberg's ever-creative mind. With the help of his best friend and eventual business partner Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), programmer Dustin Moskovitz (Joseph Mazzello), and graphic artist Chris Hughes (Patrick Mapel), Facebook is born. At the beginning, it's a social networking site meant for Harvard but thanks to the generous fund of Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), Facebook grows expansively from surrounding colleges to everyone around the world.

The best part about this movie is how director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin manage to sustain the viewers from the beginning to end with spectacular ensemble cast (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and of course a surprisingly solid supporting turn by Justin Timberlake -- all three deserved some award-worthy recognitions) and of course, the incredibly witty and entertaining screenplay that says it all. No doubt the movie is very talkative but Aaron Sorkin's perfect ears for overlapping dialogues are compulsively watchable. It's almost feel as if the entire movie could have been directed by Quentin Tarantino, minus all the violence.

Time after time, David Fincher have continuously proven that he's a versatile filmmaker who is not only good with visual but anything that is given to him. Back in 2008, he made a bold move by venturing out of his comfort zone to helm the effective drama of "reverse-aging" process in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008), and now he's making another breakthrough as a visionary director who also can pulled off a masterpiece without relying too much on fancy visuals. Technical-wise, Fincher knows well how to hook the viewers glued to the screen even though there's nothing really fancy about the overall visuals throughout the movie. Still it is undeniable that everything looks stunning to look at -- from Jeff Cronenweth's expressive cinematography (golden-brown interiors at Harvard and sleek, cold meeting rooms at the attorney's office); Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's cool-sounding music; and right down to Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall's airtight editing.

As flawless as it all sounds, THE SOCIAL NETWORK is still not without its few problems. We actually learn little about the life of Mark Zuckerberg other than pursuing his dream to create the ultimate social networking site and it's also a movie that is lack of proper resolution towards the end.

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HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (2010)

RATING: 3/5

Dark theme grows progressively darker at each installment, and this is evident for this seventh and first-half of the final chapter of HARRY POTTER series, entitled HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1. Once again, director David Yates took the helm after impressed critics and viewers alike with his two critically-acclaimed HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007) and HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009) with his measured character-driven storytelling and astonishing visual flair. However, in this chapter, David Yates took the biggest challenge yet -- by helming two-parters that the producers insisted not to squeeze the heavy material of the book into one movie. Such bold move is certainly a huge risk especially for an epic movie that have to end with cliffhanger hanging somewhere in the middle, and Warner Bros could have opted to condense the book into one movie instead. After all, isn't what HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX have been successfully done in the first place?

The movie begins promisingly with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), who are now living with anxiety, dread and anxiety following the tragic death of their beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) which is previously shown toward the end of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. So instead of returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their final year of studies, they opted to go out of their comfort zones and plan to avenge against their headmaster's death. With the help, among them, are Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson) and Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), they attempt to con Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his sinister gang of Death Eaters threatening to take over the Muggle world and at the same time, wanted to eliminate the chosen one, Harry Potter as well. In a following spectacular flying motorcycle chase from the dark sky and right down the busy traffic across the street of London, they manage to land safely somewhere in the remote area except that they are some of them who didn't make it alive. Now Harry, Ron and Hermione are on their own as they journey far away across the land in search of the remaining Horcruxes, which are actually shreds of Voldemort's soul, that give him the power of immortality all this while. The following scene where they use the magical potion to disguise as other people, they sneak their way inside the Ministry of Magic in an elaborate, yet quirky set-piece involving them confronting the pink lunatic Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). So far so good, and if Yates sustain the same level of confident pace throughout the movie, it could have been one of the best HARRY POTTER series yet since HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004). But once the movie progresses in the middle segment where Harry and his gang journey all alone trekking through a vast landscape of desolate cityscapes and eerily barren forests, it begins to lose momentum.

From here onward, the pacing of the movie is quite a challenge for viewers to sit through as we are treated to various scenarios of quiet affection and full of silent longing. Make no mistake, there are some genuine touch where Yates manage to present some emotionally-penetrating moments amongst Harry, Ron and Hermione. Scenes in which the increasingly paranoid Ron suspecting foul play against Harry and his girlfriend, Hermione has that distinctive aura of psychological vibe but Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves have made a lot of mistakes by dragging the scenario involving their inner conflict until they almost suck the life out of the entire movie to near standstill. No doubt, for a movie which doesn't have a proper ending, the 146-minute length is simply overlong for its own good. Which is way, the producers should have opted to make this entire chapter as a one movie and still can prove beneficial.

Cast-wise, all the regular actors are progressively well-performed, particularly for Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson who have grown extensively as fine young actors. Others, like Ralph Fiennes is featured more this time as the evil Lord Voldemort and his extensive role is certainly a blessing for fans and viewers alike.

As for now, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 is a hugely uneven movie that one can only hope that the next chapter, which is scheduled for July 2011, can redeem this largely unsatisfying outcome.

READ MORE - HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (2010)

INCEPTION (2010)

RATING: 4/5

Up until now, all of the recent summer 2010 movies failed to live up their original expectations (e.g. IRON MAN 2). Excluding amongst the most satisfying summer movie of the year which is TOY STORY 3, the other one here is Christopher Nolan's eagerly-awaited INCEPTION. Just like his groundbreaking comic-book epic extravaganza, THE DARK KNIGHT (2008), his follow-up here serves him another breakthrough as a cinematic triumph of popcorn fun and brainy thriller.

In this epic extravaganza about the world of dream, we are introduced to Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a seasoned thief who works alongside his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), where they steal information from victims' dreams while they are asleep. In the beginning of the movie, we learn that they fail to accomplish their recent corporate espionage job which ends up their intended target, Saito (Ken Watanabe) makes Dom an offer he can't refuse -- an easy ticket back to United States to reunite his two children. This is something that Dom have been longing to do so, but legal problem that involved him being a prime suspect over the tragic death of his estranged wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard) has been prevented him all this while. All Saito wants Dom to do is to plant an idea into Robert Fischer Jr.'s (Cillian Murphy) mind in order to break up the empire of his dying father Maurice (Pete Postlethwaite) who also turns out to be Saito's main corporate rival. Such task is called "Inception", a somewhat difficult task that is deemed impossible but Dom believes he is capable enough to do so even though he knows it's going to be the biggest risk of his life. Since the mission is more complicated than all the previous jobs he's ever done in the past, he must need a whole crackerjack team to make this work. Aside from his regular right-hand man, Arthur, he starts to assemble the rest which includes ambitious architecture student Ariadne (Ellen Page) to be in charge of designing the dream; thief and forger Eames (Tom Hardy); and chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao) who will be responsible for sedating them to certain level of dream.

Christopher Nolan first pitched this highly-ambitious movie to Warner Bros, right after the completion of his third feature INSOMNIA (2002) and it took him nearly eight years to realize the whole screenplay. But the wait is certainly worthwhile -- his labyrinthine script is no doubt one of the most original and thought-provoking ideas ever conceived for a major motion picture. In fact, INCEPTION requires a lot of thinking and full concentration to appreciate the kind of puzzling approach Nolan has been definitely working very hard to achieve it. The story works like a Pandora's box where each puzzle doesn't define in a spoon-feeding manner. Such move might be too puzzling for viewers who demand for easy-to-digest entertainment but those with patience will be ultimately rewarded how superlative and richly textured Nolan has crafted a distinctive sci-fi thriller that is completely out of the ordinary. More than often, Nolan has successfully combined striking visuals and compelling storytelling that even though most of the scenes require suspension of disbelief, they are remain convincing enough to lead us believing into such thing. Make no mistake, the movie is full of expository dialogues as we go through step-by-step process of how Dom and the rest explaining various situational matters that how a dream really works or the phase where a person is forced to go deeper through stages of dream within a dream. For conventional filmmaker, too much exposition can bored out the viewers that also means it will drag the movie considerably as well. But that is rarely happens to Nolan's story here as every single dialogues and scenarios that occur throughout the movie is to be accounted for. This is one of the remarkable achievement that Nolan truly excels as a visionary filmmaker who really knows how to sustain viewers' attention even though everything is supposed to be make-believe.

Another part of the reason why a movie like this works so well is Nolan's powerful ensemble cast. Leonardo DiCaprio is the main anchor of the cast here, who gives an emotionally-compelling performance as the tormented Dom Cobb. He's certainly the right guy for the job to play the kind of haunted role with sheer vulnerability. We really feel the enthusiasm and heartfelt pain he's been going through, especially in many emotionally-penetrating scenes where he have tough time trying to forgive himself over the tragic death of his wife, Mal. Speaking of Mal, Marion Cotillard is genuinely sympathetic as the ill-fated wife. The rest of the supporting cast are equally superb -- from Joseph Gordon-Levitt's suave turn as Arthur to Tom Hardy's star-making performance as the lively Eames and right down to memorable cameo appearance by Michael Caine -- every cast here are just as crucial as the whole movie itself.

Technical wise, INCEPTION is certainly a visual masterpiece that is totally a must-see in the theaters for full-blown cinematic experience. Aided by the ever-sweeping and infectious horn-blowing score by Hans Zimmer and majestic cinematography by Wally Pfister, Nolan has crafted some of the most memorable set-pieces ever seen in recent memory. Among them are the scene where Ariadne tests her architectural skills by imagining a busy cityscape folding on top of itself and of course the spectacular action scene where Arthur fights against a villain within the rotating 360-degree hotel corridor.

While there are scenes seriously needed to be edited -- something of a habit that Nolan likes to extend his vision a bit too long for its own good -- INCEPTION earns its place as one of the best summer movies ever made. This is the kind of movie where Nolan depicts the ultimate dreamscape for the viewers to dissect the puzzle that lies within and continuously debate them long after the credit ends. Like THE PRESTIGE (2006), he's certainly knows how to manipulate the viewers with his trademark open ending that will spawned a lot of questions -- in this case -- the soon-to-be legendary "spinning top" scene towards the very finale. Is Dom awake in the end? Or is the whole scenario is actually a dream after all? Who knows, and this is the rare beauty that makes this movie so special.

READ MORE - INCEPTION (2010)

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (2010)

RATING: 2/5

An unlikely sequel that is wholly unnecessary. Back in 1987, Oliver Stone's WALL STREET defined the era of its time which also included Michael Douglas' Oscar-winning memorable role as the oily Gordon Gecko and his phenomenally popular catchphrase, "Greed... is good". In this sequel entitled WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, Oliver Stone made his first-ever sequel in his directing career and it's almost sounds like a distinctive comeback for this once-maverick filmmaker after a continuously losing streak of poorly-received efforts (2004's ALEXANDER, 2006's WORLD TRADE CENTER, and 2008's W). While the movie is slickly-made and released in timely manner to capitalize on our current economic downturn, it's sad to say that Oliver Stone we once knew has gone too soft for his good.

In the meantime, the movie opens promisingly with Gordon Gecko (Douglas) walks out of prison (among the quirky reference involved the heavy-duty mobile phone), and finds nobody there to pick him up. Cut to 2008, we are introduced to Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), a young and ambitious Wall Street trader who is very eager to hit big-time in his career. He is strongly believes that green technology is the next big thing. But all that promise is quickly toppled over when his trusted boss and mentor Louis Zabel (Frank Langella) literally jumps in front of a train after hedge fund manager Bretton James (Josh Brolin) refuses to save his troubled company. Driven by hatred and vengeance in his mind, Jake tries to seek professional help from Gordon, who is now a successful book author of "Is Greed Good?". Jake meets him in a local university, where Gordon is lecturing about the ugly side of current financial climate (one of the best scenes in the movie) and immediately impressed by his enthusiastic speech. On the other hand, Jake is also happens to date Gecko's estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), who works as a journalist. He informs Gordon that he and Winnie are engaged. Gordon make a deal with Jake that he will tipped him on how to get back at Bretton in exchange for getting his daughter to see him again. While Jake is slowly working his way up to avenge Louis' death, Winnie wants nothing to do with her father as she still blaming him for the overdosing death of her older brother Rudy. She also believes that Gordon is not to be trusted at all. With Jake actually being blindsided one side after another, Gordon begins to manipulate him into getting access to Winnie's 100-million-dollar trust fund for his own benefit.

From the outlook of the movie, Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff's screenplay actually has something intriguing to say about this otherwise unnecessary sequel. For some moments there, the sequel does offer some juicy direction that Stone have been sorely lacking these days but at 136-minutes long, the whole movie feels painfully overlong. While the technical standpoint is impressive -- courtesy of Rodrigo Prieto's magnificent lensing -- as well as Stone's playful mix of split-screens and CSI-like POV shot of financial trade market, much of the movie is a tedious slog. Once the setup is established, the narrative takes a hard nosedive that ultimately slowing down the pace and begins to wander around in circles. It is this ultimate weakness that the movie grows increasingly uneven and loses momentum to a near standstill. Make no mistake, there are bursts of lively moments once we witnesses Gordon is back to his old oily self right but that scene alone takes too much leisure time to get to the point. What is Stone thinking anyway? Blame him for being too ambitious, as Stone attempts to weight his movie with lots of long-winded subplots.

As for the cast, Shia LaBeouf is magnetic as the enthusiastic and career-hungry Jake Moore. His ever-present neurotic acting is always incredible to watch for, and continues to prove that he can tackles adult role with equal flair. In what could have been a thankless role, the multi-talented Carey Mulligan is absolutely stunning with her well-calculated role who exhibits great deal of genuine vulnerability and honesty vibe. Not only that, her thick American accent is spot-on impressive and very convincing as well. In a small but crucial role, Frank Langella is particularly memorable as the tormented and ill-fated Louis Zabel. His simple but effective scene alone is downright electric -- we finds him waking up the next morning, having a quiet breakfast with his wife and goes to work as usual. After buying newspaper and a bag of chips, he takes his time enjoying it sitting at the bench inside the subway platform. Once finished, he is ready to make his way amongst the crowd waiting for the incoming train for arrival before casually jumping off the track to his death.

Unfortunately it's disappointing to know that the villains in this movie are surprisingly lackluster. Josh Brolin may have the despicable charm in his presence but his role is somewhat hollow, but the most disappointing of all is none others than Michael Douglas himself. Reprising his famous role as Gordon Gecko, it's actually good to see him slipping back to his familiar acting territory that the viewers always come to enjoy performing in such role. While Douglas make some effort to make his Gordon Gecko an involving character who grows considerably along with his old age. But his softer side proves to be too much, and viewers who is long for his trademark ruthlessness will be sorely disappointed. Lastly, an unexpected (very brief) cameo appearance by Charlie Sheen, who reprised his role as Bud Fox is more of a stunt casting than a necessity. His particular interaction with Gordon in one scene is anything but ordinary.

Ultimately, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS is one of the most disappointed major motion pictures of the year. It's a huge missed opportunity that could have put fading artists like Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas back into Hollywood spotlight, but what we have here instead, is a terribly half-baked effort.

READ MORE - WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (2010)

TRON: LEGACY (2010)

RATING: 2/5

When the original TRON (1982) first released in the theaters back then, it was a box-office flop. But critics has heavily regarded that TRON was a groundbreaking sci-fi movie in term of its visual medium, though it's very dated by today's standard. Still by the late 1990s, TRON has slowly prove its cinematic worth and ultimately gained its cult status thanks to healthy video market and favorable word-of-mouth. Then came the time where Disney decides to plan a sequel known as TRON: Killer App, but the proposed movie never materialized. Much of the concept ended up instead into a video game called TRON 2.0 (2003), in hope that it will re-ignite public interest for a possible theatrical sequel. Unfortunately the video game approach failed as well and the underperformed sales has again prevented a movie to be greenlighted. Everything is laying low until the infamous test footage of a de-aged Jeff Bridges debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2008 has somehow re-ignite interest among sizable audiences that a movie sequel is workable after all. Twenty-eight years has passed since the original TRON, and Disney has definitely took a huge gamble ($300 million including massive marketing campaign) for a long-awaited sequel that is seemingly looked very promising, judging by its endless stream of advertisement and trailers. The good news is, TRON: LEGACY is every bit as technically dazzling as the original version and the filmmakers behind this movie has definitely worked very hard to achieve spectacular and eye-catching visual feast that is no doubt a top-notch quality. Too bad that is just about it -- all the large sum of money that is heavily spent on making the epic production beautiful to look at but the movie fails miserably in term of its story and characters.

Still the movie begins promisingly with a 1989 setting where the young Kevin Flynn (Bridges, shot in CG), a wealthy game designer and software pioneer who owned ENCOM International, disappeared without a trace. Haunted by his father's whereabouts ever since childhood, 27-year-old Sam (Garrett Hedlund) doesn't seem to care anymore until his father's old business partner Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) receives a page from Kevin's old arcade/office. Sam is given the key by Alan to the abandoned Flynn's Arcade so he can do his own investigation. Once there, Sam encounters an old TRON arcade machine and happens to discover there's a hidden passage behind it. The hidden passage is apparently leads him to an underground office, where there is a computer available. Next thing he knows, he finds himself being zapped by a laser that sends him into the techno-world of the Grid. He is immediately caught in a tense situation where he is forced to play deadly game of life-and-death as he battles his way in the Grid. From here, this is where the movie really highlights all the best and most exciting moment, as Sam encounters in a few acrobatic disc-fight battle, before proceeding into a breathtaking and visually spectacular "light cycle" chase sequence. No doubt the action, together with ample use of slow-motion and well-staged camera angles, delivers the necessary kinetic flair as well as all those cool "wow" factor which is amplified with Daft Punk's pulsating techno score. It's a first-class entertainment, and if director Joseph Kosinski (making his ambitious feature debut) sustained the same level of breathless and confident pace, the movie would have been a cinematic triumph.

Too bad right after the scene where Quorra (Olivia Wilde) comes to the rescue and saves Sam off the Grid, the rest of the movie quickly nosedives into a series of uninspired moments. Quorra is apparently a pupil of Kevin Flynn, who is actually still alive but has already grown old. Sam is then discovers that his long-lost father is now somewhat a Zen-like hippie who lives peacefully far off from the Grid. Through a long and tedious flashback, we learn that Kevin has become trapped to the techno-world when he failed to make it to the portal that able to transport him back to the real world. Back then, his alter-ego digital creation named Clu, has somehow turned his back against him and wants to take control of everything. Now Sam plans to take his father back to the real world at all cost, before Clu and his army manage to get their hand on him.

The biggest problem surrounding the movie is Edward Kotsis and Adam Horowitz's bloated screenplay that doesn't make much sense. It doesn't help either when the story is also lazily-constructed to the point that they offer little explanation on some of the plot points happened throughout the course of the movie. For example, what is ISOs anyway? Why does Clu turn on his maker? There are actually more baffling questions begging for answers, and this is where Kotsis and Horowitz's screenplay fails to deliver.

Another blame is of course lies heavily on director Joseph Kosinski who apparently doesn't know how to sustain a momentum lasting until the finish line. Halfway through, he is suddenly running out of steam and everything else is just painfully routine. Not even the sheer amount of visual can redeem the weakness so glaringly obvious. He may have been succeeded as a talented visual stylist, but he's still too far off as an accomplished filmmaker who mastered the art of storytelling and directing his actors the right way. Which comes across as a shame, that a seasoned veteran like Jeff Bridges is somewhat wasted in his dual role as Kevin and Clu. Although there are some authentic moments we come to experience from Bridges' enthusiastic performance, his character as Kevin Flynn remain greatly undermined. As Clu, the CG-version of his young self, is surprisingly lifeless especially his vacant eyes which is looked as awful as the one we first seen in Robert Zemeckis's THE POLAR EXPRESS (2004). For a movie that is blessed with such a budget, it is somewhat unacceptable to see a bargain-bin CG effect as bad as Clu. Earlier in the movie, there are some cool-looking moments involving the light cycle that Kosinski could have been smart enough to show more of them instead of just restricted them in the one and only sequence. There are further damages throughout the movie, especially the mid-section involving Castor (Michael Sheen), a flamboyant owner of the colorful End Of Line Club. That particular scene is simply painful to watch for and it could have trimmed off altogether. Not since the irritation of Jar Jar Binks introduced in a new STAR WARS trilogy, Michael Sheen's Castor is downright annoying and very intolerable. Others, which include plenty of long-winded moments between Sam and Kevin as well as stilted romance between Sam and Quorra and of course, the equally uninspired finale, seals the deal that this movie is indeed in desperate need for proper reshoot (which is actually being conceived partially by David Fincher and Pixar's head honchos, but with little effect).

Acting-wise, aside from Bridges, newcomer Garrett Hedlund has the rugged charm of a young rebel but his acting is mostly wooden and at times his puppy-dog expression is a tad bothersome. In the meantime, Olivia Wilde is absolutely stunning but her hollow acting kills off the interest most of the time.

Overall, TRON: LEGACY is a huge missed opportunity that could have been better. All the production, visual and sound quality (except for the horrible CG-faced Clu) are right for the money. What a shame, a movie that is dazzling at first before it turns into a near-boredom experience.

READ MORE - TRON: LEGACY (2010)

SOMEWHERE (2010)

RATING: 3/5

Billed by some as a companion piece to the 2003's minimalism breakthrough LOST IN TRANSLATION, Sofia Coppola's fourth feature, SOMEWHERE, sees her returning to her familiar filmmaking root that made her famous in the first place after the mixed reception over her colorful period-piece of 2006's MARIE ANTOINETTE.

SOMEWHERE opens with a long single take, where we watch a black Ferrari circling the same isolated desert race track several times before coming to a stop. We see a man gets out, and starts walking around the car. The man, as we come across, is Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), a burned-out action star in his 30s who is temporarily sidelined by a broken arm. He is now holed up at the Chateau Marmont, nursing for recovery while spending night after night watching pole dancers in the bedroom and several party hook-ups that usually end up with lots of booze and casual sex. Then every morning he wakes up, his schedule is consisting of press junkets as well as other appointments related to his next movie. To him, everything is all plain routine until of course, we learn that Johnny has an 11-year-old daughter named Cleo (Elle Fanning), who's dropped off for irregular visits by his ex-wife Layla (Lala Sloatman). Johnny doesn't bond much with Cleo like every regular father-and-daughter relationship, as Johnny is regularly busy with his routine. When Layla is out of town, Cleo is ultimately handed over to Johnny for time being. Soon Johnny and Cleo slowly getting along well for each other, as they spend their quality time together around the massive suite as well as going for a brief press tour to Italy.

Winner of the coveted Golden Lion at the recent Venice Film Festival, SOMEWHERE lays thick on heavy symbolism and everything is favored on an opaque style of European art-house sensibility that is all restrained to a bare minimum. Quite simply, Sofia Coppola's minimalist direction doesn't have the same wry charm that her award-winning LOST IN TRANSLATION receives so well by critics and viewers alike. Instead she has muted her filmmaking style that goes as remotely still as watching the paint dry. Harris Savides' cinematography is mostly stationary shot that only moves a few times if necessary. Many shots, e.g. the opening shot, linger for quite amount of time that it's almost a test of patience especially for regular viewers.

It's also not surprising that some viewers might accused Sofia Coppola's screenplay for being too self-indulgent about the subject matter she tackles here. It was reported that her inspiration here comes from her own real-life experience when she once accompanied her father Francis as he made movies around the world and lives in numerous hotels. In SOMEWHERE, nothing much happens here. In fact the whole movie is basically about nothingness and of course, the sheer boredom experienced remarkably by the aimless Johnny. Such radical move is either make-or-break, depending on how sustainable the overall effect Sofia manages to pull off here. The result doesn't work entirely well, since Sofia tends to go a bit too far over her filmmaking style.

While not exactly up to the cinematic triumph as successful as LOST IN TRANSLATION does, the movie remains a fairly intriguing experience, thanks to two intimate performances by Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. Dorff, who is best known for playing bad guys in many movies in the past, gives a surprisingly restrained performance who spends most of the time reflecting his acting talent via telling body language and little dialogue. His given role offers the viewers the different side of Dorff we hardly come across before, and his Johnny Marco character is definitely serves him another breakthrough as an actor. Matching him equally is the very talented Elle Fanning, younger sister of Dakota, who is also impresses with her well-measured performance. We really feel the naturalistic flow between their onscreen father-and-daughter relationship together, yet convincing enough at the same time.

READ MORE - SOMEWHERE (2010)

BURIED (2010)

RATING: 3.5/5

Dig this out: a movie that set entirely in a coffin. It's as simple as that, and it wouldn't be a surprise if there's (most) people out there end up thinking it's impossible to make a movie with this kind of setting. But Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes's Hollywood debut, BURIED, manages to defy all the odds and comes up one of the most startlingly inventive little thrillers ever made in recent memory.

The plot, in the meantime, is deceptively simple: Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), a civilian truck driver contracted to deliver kitchen supplies in war-torn Iraq, finds himself wake up buried inside a wooden coffin after an ambush. Equipped only with a cell phone, a Zippo lighter and a pencil, he has no idea where he is located or why he ends up being buried in the first place. He's in the midst of panic attack, and wants nothing more than simply digging his way out of the coffin but fails to do so. So he relies heavily on a cell phone to call for outside help -- including the State Department where a Hostage Working Group's person-in-charge Dan Brenner (voice of Robert Paterson) attempts to calm his nerves while helping him to get through this at the same time. Then Conroy gets a call from an Iraqi man (voice of Jose Luis-Garcia Perez), who demands him to wire transfer $5 million within two hours, or else.

Chris Sparling's screenplay is tight and involving, while Ryan Reynolds is basically a one-man show throughout the movie. The first thing people thought of Ryan Reynolds, he's hardly known as a dramatic actor who is good with acting other than being more particularly well-known for his handsome charm and beefed-up physique. But here, he defies all the expectation and proves the people wrong that he has somehow delivers a tour de force performance of his career. As Paul Conroy, we really feel his frustration, anger and sympathy as he goes through painful ordeal buried inside the coffin. He is often shot in extreme close-ups, where we see mostly of Reynolds' emotional facial expression and he succeeds that level of acting demand with a big wallop.

On the technical fronts, Rodrigo Cortes' skillful direction (who also edited his movie) is impressive and he's clearly shows a labor of love in crafting a claustrophobic thriller in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. Working together with his cinematographer Eduard Grau and sound designer James Munoz, they create a series of escalating tensions (among them, the snake encounter) via abrupt zooms, tight POV shot and of course the riveting music score from Victor Reyes. It's also particularly amazing what Eduard Grau can do to light the movie in different ways (as well as shade of colors) depending on what Paul is using for light (e.g. Zippo) at any given moment.

All the genuine novelty aside, the movie also benefits from Sparling's often witty screenplay especially when Paul is having a series of difficulties in his various phone calls. Among such scenes is where he is being constantly "put on hold" during most calls he made.

BURIED is an overall gripping experience not to be missed, but it's also not without its certain flaws. Despite running at a scant 95-minutes, the movie still feels somewhat a bit too long. There are times the movie tends to grow repetitive and seriously needed for heavy trimming. And there's the ultimate twist towards the crucial finale, which is actually quite unexpected but at the same time feels somewhat like a cheat.

READ MORE - BURIED (2010)

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (2010)

RATING: 1/5

Released in theaters with little fanfare that flies under most people's radar, AND SOON THE DARKNESS is nothing more than just another low-budget little thriller that is all about cliched formula. Despite being headlined by recognizable talents by the likes of Amber Heard, Odette Yustman and Karl Urban, this Hollywood remake (which is actually lifted from the 1970's little-known British thriller of the same name) is painfully routine.

The plot, in the meantime, is strictly by-the-numbers: Two young and sexy Americans, Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie (Odette Yustman) are biking through the remote side of Argentinean country area where they stop to spend the last night of their vacation in a secluded hotel somewhere inside the village. After a shower, they head over to the nearest bar, where a handsome local buys them both a drink. The flirtatious Ellie is immediately charmed by that local and it doesn't take long before she decides to have some naughty fun with him. In the meantime, Stephanie heads back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep since they have a bus to catch next morning. Unfortunately her sleep is interrupted when Ellie returns to the hotel with the local, caressing each other outside the window. When the local tries to force her for sex, Ellie tries to resist. Luckily a kind American expatriate Michael (Karl Urban) comes to the rescue and manages to stop the situation. After a long night, Stephanie and Ellie finally manage to get some sleep but doesn't realize the following day they have been late and ultimately miss their bus. They have no choice but to head back to where they come from, and later, decides to spend a day sunbathing in a bikini somewhere nearby a remote area. But their quiet time alone with the nature quickly turns sour when they get themselves over a heated argument, which prompted Stephanie to leave Ellie behind. Still it doesn't take long for Stephanie that she grows concerned when Ellie fails to show up at a nearby restaurant shortly after her SMS apology. Then coincidentally, Stephanie meets Michael again. Apparently Michael is so eager to help to find her missing friend but to no avail. Stephanie ends up reporting Ellie's disappearance to a local policeman named Calvo (Cesar Vianco), who immediately dismisses her suspicions of foul play. Instead Calvo tells Stephanie to take it easy and somehow makes little effort for even organizing a search party to find Ellie. Still the ever-helpful Michael continues to show more concern to assist Stephanie in searching for Ellie, although Stephanie begins to suspect that Michael might have something to do with her friend's disappearance.

Marcos Efron and Jennifer Derwingson's adapted screenplay from the original movie is awfully slow-moving, which takes too much leisure time to find proper footing to get to the point. And sadly, there's hardly anything particularly riveting waiting to happen. Even by the time the movie reaches to the point where the motive becomes increasingly clear, Efron, who also made his debut feature here as the director, just doesn't know how to sustain the escalating tension with some worthy thrilling moments. Instead everything here falls flat. Despite the fact that Efron is more interested to build psychological suspense than displaying all the gratuitous gore that often associated this kind of genre, he is simply tone deaf in this area. The only thing that comes close for some thrilling set pieces is the climactic finale but they are simply not enough to justify the entire whole.

Meanwhile the cast are totally forgettable, with Amber Heard and Odette Yustman displaying little acting talents other than showing off their scantily-clad bodies. Karl Urban is equally wasted here as well, and so do the rest of the supporting actors.

On the technical fronts, only cinematographer Gabriel Beristain impresses with his handsome photography over the Argentinean countryside that is certainly nice to look at. Too bad everything else is just shockingly dull.

READ MORE - AND SOON THE DARKNESS (2010)

RABBIT HOLE (2010)

RATING: 4/5

When comes to explicit material as proven in such controversial movies by the likes of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2001) and SHORTBUS (2006), director John Cameron Mitchell is certainly no strangers to that. However, his third feature comes as a huge surprise -- a complete departure of his usual genre norm by tackling a somber adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's play RABBIT HOLE. There is nothing explicit or particularly controversial of any manner surrounding his new movie here which is a very odd choice of direction for John Cameron Mitchell but he's quick to prove that he's a versatile filmmaker after all. It is reported that John Cameron Mitchell first came attracted by the script that reflected his own personal experience when he was a 14-year-old kid. Back then, he lost his 10-year-old brother to a heart problem. And his experience in the past has clearly shows genuine subtlety in this movie here.

After the accidental death of their 4-year-old young son eight months ago, grieving couples Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are trying hard to pull themselves together to continue with their mundane life. Both of them have their own way to sustain from losing out their emotions -- Becca spends time isolating herself from most people by doing a lot of meticulous gardening work, while Howie spends every night watching videos of their son on his phone. Like any other grieving couples, they also attend group therapy session with other like-minded parents. But all the emotional confessions does little effect to Becca, where she finds them completely useless. On the other hand, Howie has subsequently befriends a fellow grieving woman named Gaby (Sandra Oh) and slowly develops an emotional bond that can jeopardizes his relationship with Becca one day if he takes the wrong step. In the meantime, Becca is seeking unexpected solace by subsequently meeting up a teenage boy named Jason (Miles Teller) who is responsible for her her child's death.

Movie about grief and overcoming the death of a loved one (in this case, a child) is nothing new at all, and RABBIT HOLE is all about familiar territory we have come to see countless times before. No doubt it's a downer of a movie that is elegantly paced but surprisingly, John Cameron Mitchell's take on this familiar route is surprisingly mesmerizing. Instead of what would be a completely depressing experience likely to offer here, there is an unique balance of emotional rollercoaster and understated sense of humor -- both warm and incisive -- that makes RABBIT HOLE is downright intimately personal and simply poetic enough without being melodramatic than most like-minded genre. Everything in this movie is straightforward, as John Cameron Mitchell paints a remarkably honest canvas that is all about raw and involving without manipulating the audiences for sympathetic tears.

Apart from John Cameron Mitchell's meticulous direction, the cast here plays a major contributing factor that succeeds the movie as well. Both Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart excel in one of their finest performances to date, and certainly deserved a lot of award-worthy recognitions especially come Oscar time next year. Kidman is genuinely powerful with her perfectly understated, yet layered performance. Her icy demeanor and telling gestures alone speaks a thousand word that make her role all the more captivating to watch for. Eckhart is similarly remarkable, while contrasting perfectly with his emotionally-boiling role against Kidman's icy presence. The rest of the supporting actors are also top-notch, with such reliable turns by Sandra Oh and Dianne Wiest as Becca's estranged mother who can't get over her late brother's death.

Emotionally moving, heartfelt and funny, RABBIT HOLE is one of the best movies of the year and I'm looking forward for John Cameron Mitchell has to offer in the coming future. As for the title itself, it actually refers from a comic book created by Jason.

READ MORE - RABBIT HOLE (2010)

THE TOURIST (2010)

RATING: 1/5

Boring is the right word to describe entirely for a supposedly ambitious movie called THE TOURIST. It does sounds impossible because on paper, THE TOURIST seems to be a shoo-in for box-office favorites -- a classy genre movie in the vein of a lighter Alfred Hitchcock romp (e.g. TO CATCH A THIEF); two of among sexiest Hollywood A-listers (Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp) working for the first time together; and a caliber of behind-the-scene talents (director Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck of 2007's Oscar-winning THE LIVES OF OTHERS, and screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie and Julian Fellows). On the plus side, the movie is also shot lavishly on location in Venice with some gorgeous costumes as well. With a blessed budget as high as $100-million tag, what could have gone wrong? And that is exactly what Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck's first Hollywood big-budget feature has done -- by making the impossibly boring movie into something possible after all.

The first act of the movie, on the other hand, does shows some promising setup. At the beginning, we follow mysterious Elise (Jolie) elegantly sipping tea and orange juice in her favorite Parisian cafe while agents from Scotland Yard, lead by the no-nonsense Acheson (Paul Bettany) monitoring her every move. Apparently her boyfriend named Alexander Pearce is a multi-millionaire scam artist has made a fortune swindling big-time criminals while owing 700 million pounds in back taxes. Then a courier delivers Elise a letter from her boyfriend instructing her to take a train to Venice, and on the way there, find a man with the same build as he has and confuse the agents to lead them believe that the particular man is him. The unlucky man turns out to be an American tourist named Frank Tupelo (Depp), a math teacher from Wisconsin who is headed to Venice all alone. In an instance, they quickly get to know each other as they flirt against each other on the train. It doesn't take long before Elise manages to convince him to stay with her at one of the city's most elegant hotels, except that Frank have to sleep on the couch. It sounds too good to be true for Frank to get himself in the hand of such a beautiful stranger like Elise he can't simply resist temptation at all. But all the would-be romantic elegance turns sour at the next morning when a group of henchmen of a ruthless criminal named Reginald Shaw (Steven Berkoff) wants to take his money back. An elaborate chase ensues as Frank finds himself in deep trouble.

With a killer premise that would oozing a charming personality of an espionage tale told in elegant and lighthearted fashion, THE TOURIST is bound to be a fun experience. But it's a huge surprise that Christopher McQuarrie and Julian Fellows' s script can't figure out what makes this like-minded genre movie really works in the first place. No doubt everything is in the order but the entire execution is so blandly put together that the movie hardly set proper footing once the setup is established. The ongoing story is terribly transparent, with awfully corny dialogues (mostly from Johnny Depp and Steven Berkoff) and lame character interactions that borderline into parody territory.

Speaking of characters, it's truly a bug-eyed surprise to learn that a caliber of A-list talents of combined star powers watching Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp acted together for the first time ever, can be terribly mundane after all. Originally a star vehicle for both Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, Jolie and Depp's onscreen presence alone is enough to produce immediate interest among sizable audiences. No doubt they are very photogenic to watch for but that is just about it. Both of their performances are simply routine and instantly forgettable. Jolie spends too much time parading around in a collection of elegant costumes that are surprisingly less classy after all. Make no mistake, she is one of the most beautiful and sexy actresses of today's generation but over time, Jolie is somewhat losing her edge already. In this movie, she is as erotically charged as always but she looks hideously awkward in her heavy makeup that makes her skeletal figure all the more obvious. For Depp, it's actually refreshing to see him stepping out of his comfort zone (flamboyant role, that is) with a rare everyman performance we don't usually see. But Depp is surprisingly out of place here -- his scruffy look and his inevitable quirky appearance reminds me he still can't get over with his popular Captain Jack Sparrow character from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN trilogy coated in a modernized role. Worst, there is hardly a sparkle in their would-be sizzling chemistry performing together. As for the rest of the supporting actors, seasoned talents like Paul Bettany, Steven Berkoff, Timothy Dalton and Rufus Sewell are merely reduced into strict caricatures.

The action, in the meantime, are totally lifeless with a silly rooftop chase and the supposedly highlight motorboat chase provides little entertainment and lacking the certain kinetic flair to justify the entire whole. If that's not insulting enough, the long-winded ending is perhaps among the laziest finale ever staged for an espionage movie.

Perhaps the biggest blame of all is Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck's misguided direction that he doesn't know from the get-go on how to sustain a lively pace throughout the movie. Again, it's really hard to believe THE TOURIST is one hell of a train wreck that should gone back to the drawing board. This is simply one of the worst movies of the year.

READ MORE - THE TOURIST (2010)

THE CHILD'S EYE (2010)

RATING: 1/5

Like it or not, it seems that the Pang brothers still haven't grown tired of their increasingly inferior "EYE" horror series. After beginning life with their 2002's phenomenally successful THE EYE, which starred the incomparable Angelica Lee and to some extent, a better-than-average follow-up -- 2004's THE EYE 2 (which starred Shu Qi in one of her best dramatic roles) before the franchise turned officially sour with the curiously-titled THE EYE 10 (2007). In this fourth entry titled THE CHILD'S EYE, the Pang brothers have upped their ante by (proudly) creating Hong Kong's first horror movie shot entirely in High Definition 3D. The result is no doubt a novelty factor that earns the Pang brothers a plus point for trying something out of the ordinary. But for all the massive 3D buzz surrounding this much-anticipated horror film, Pang brothers' THE CHILD'S EYE adds nothing more than just a cheap gimmick. That said, the movie is a huge disappointment -- it isn't scary enough for a horror genre and isn't impressive enough to justify for its 3D technology.

While vacationing in Bangkok, six Hong Kong travelers -- Rainie (Rainie Yang), Ling (Elanne Kwong), Ciwi (Ciwi Lam), Hei (Izz Hu), Rex (Rex Ho) and Lok (Shawn Yue) -- find themselves in the midst of political unrest and chaotic riot all over the street that they are unable to get pass the airport to head home. Instead, they end up stranded in a rundown Chung Tai Hotel and forced to lay low for a time being until the riot subsides. Once there, they immediately sense something is not right with the hotel, beginning with the curious appearance of three kids and a little dog. More unexplained circumstances continue especially when Rainie sees a female ghost and Ling finds a hovering hand trying to grab her during the daylight riot outside the hotel. Then it gets worse from there -- Rainie's estranged boyfriend, Lok, in which both of them are suffering in the verge of break-up, is mysteriously disappeared and so the rest of the three men. With the aid of the little girl and her little dog named Little Huang which capable to see ghost, Rainie leads the girls to locate their disappearances around the hotel's underground passages and subsequently learn about the appearances of a female ghost (Jo Koo) and a strange dog-human mutant hybrid. Added to the mystery is the gimpy and grouchy hotel owner, Chuen (Lam Ka-Tung) who seemingly has to do with a series of strange occurrences.

In term of 3D, the Pang brothers does make effective use of its technology to literally poke a couple of scenes with inanimate objects right in front of your face but it's just too bad the rest of the movie is as mundane as it gets. The biggest problem of all is the Pang brothers' awfully weak script that is obviously recycled from the same old horror elements they have done before in the past. Sure, the rundown hotel setting is always a novelty for a horror genre but the Pang brothers is totally running out of steam to create least effective scary scene at all. Instead they rely too much on amplified noises and bombastic score to convey the horror feel but none of them come close to achieve something that is worthwhile.

Cast-wise, all of the actors are basically average at best and none of them are particularly a standout. Not even seasoned actors like Shawn Yue, in a glorious cameo, reduced to his typically brood-to-the-max role and the always-reliable Lam Ka-Tung in a wasted role as the hotel owner. For Rainie Yang, who spends more screen time than all of the actors combined, performs quite decently except that she tends to get too melodramatic once she requires to emote a lot.

Somewhere in between, aside from its 3D novelty factor, the Pang brothers does boost some interesting ideas here -- including the dog-human mutant hybrid and the extraordinary world of Chinese "paper-burning" funerals. There are also a time where the Pang brothers make good use of the current hot-button issue regarding political unrest in Bangkok but all this would have matter if they know how to put things together into a cohesive whole. It just doesn't happen in this movie. The whole movie is too pedestrian right down to a boring finale and also lazily-constructed (especially the routine flashback of the whole occurrences) and if that's not insulting enough, the Pang brothers goes haywire by smacking last-minute twist out of nowhere during the dying minutes that make you go "Huh?"

READ MORE - THE CHILD'S EYE (2010)

MY SOUL TO TAKE (2010)

RATING: 1/5

It's been five years since the undisputed master of horror, Wes Craven has directed a movie. His last feature was the 2005's RED EYE, a radical departure out of the norm but Craven does know how to spin a nail-biting suspenseful thriller. But die-hard fans will always appreciate his effort in tackling horror genre, which is why it's particularly a delight to see him make a much-awaited comeback in MY SOUL TO TAKE. Not only he returns to SCREAM-like teen slasher territory but this is also his first movie he has both written and directed since NEW NIGHTMARE (1994), which is quite frankly, that's really saying a lot. Unfortunately, it's an eye-popping surprise his long-awaited movie here is a confusing mess that is partly inspired but mostly dumbfounded.

The opening 9-minute prologue though, does manage to inject some lively sparks that sets the tone right: During one fateful night in a sleepy town of Riverton, a tragic killing spree by a schizophrenic man who was driven by the voices in his head ends up killing his wife, doctor, and a number of emergency workers. Although his body was never found, the townspeople were given a reminder of the violent slayings in the form of seven babies who were all born during that particular moment. If Craven have sustained that kind of sheer momentum, the movie would have been interesting. Instead once the movie flash-forward sixteen years later to the present day, everything goes downhill. The particular seven children, are now at their teenage years and they are about to celebrate their birthday in some sort of folklore tradition of the so-called "Riverton Ripper". According to the legend, the "Riverton Ripper" invades the soul of chosen victims and make the particular person turning into an evil killer. Among the seven people are the offbeat Bug (Max Thieriot), bullied Alex (John Magaro), insolent jock Brandon (Nick Lashaway), religious Penelope (Zena Grey), popular blonde Brittany (Paulina Olszynski), blind Jerome (Denzel Whitaker), and Asian Jay (Jeremy Chu). Nevertheless one by one end up dead in unexpected circumstances. In the meantime, Bug sets his sight over Brittany and subsequently discovering something about an underground high school crime ring as well as the ugly truth behind his own family history. Not only that, he has some kind of psychic connections that related with the rest of the seven. As bodies starts piling up, Bug begins to wonder whether he's the actual killer himself or there's someone else out there preying the victim.

On the surface, the movie actually has its potential, particularly on how Craven uses the psychological theme of schizophrenia and multiple split personality disorder as inspiration. Such approach is supposed to be fascinating but why Craven ends up making everything jumbled up into a series of confusing mess is anybody's guess. The biggest problem here is Craven's heavy-handed plot that spends too much leisure time on exposition-heavy and lots of cringe-worthy dialogues (one particular laughably silly moment involving Bug's show-and-tell session about California Condor in the classroom). Despite all the setup, the movie is surprisingly light on thrills while the blood-and-gore are significantly reduced into bare minimum. Not only that, Craven seems to forget how to stage effective suspenseful moments other than throwing the regular, cheap-looking jump scare.

But nothing comes worst than the movie's particularly long-winded finale. Shot in a single house interior at an unnecessary long duration of time, you'll be left dumbfounded to see how the killer is subsequently revealed via exposition-heavy scenarios that is so bloated, yet confusing it's almost a yawner. The climactic ending alone is no doubt one of the worst of its kind ever seen in recent memory, and definitely a test of patience for those who can sit through trying to figure out what really going on during the course of the scenario. In the meantime, the killer is nothing inspiring at all while the teen actors are basically average standard. But of all the actors, Max Thieriot is particularly laughable with his over-the-top performance as the schizophrenic Bug.

This movie is definitely an all-time low for a master of horror like Wes Craven himself.

READ MORE - MY SOUL TO TAKE (2010)

FASTER (2010)

RATING: 2/5

With a title like FASTER, a kick-ass poster, and an equally captivating tagline that reads "Slow Justice is No Justice", you can almost bet that Dwayne Johnson's long-awaited return to an action-packed role after a short stint of Disney comedies and dramas, is his definitive comeback as well as something that action fans really like to look forward to. Well, at least the beginning of the set up delivers in a very promising manner -- a convict known only as Driver (Johnson) gets out of prison after ten years. Accompanied with a kick-ass theme song of "Good-bye My Friend" by Guido and Maurizio De Angeles (which is taken from a 70s Franco Nero's Italian crime movie called STREET LAW), he wastes no time by running across the freeway under the scorching heat before finally picking up a sweet-looking muscle car. Inside his car, he has a big revolver with big bullets, and a list of names of people he's going to kill. He drives off his car straight off to locate his first target. Once there, he walks into a building and puts a bullet hole in the head of an unsuspecting guy (Courtney Gaines) before leaving the scene. What a dramatic opening scene to begin with, but what follows next, is a surprisingly slow-burning plot that doesn't particularly justify the title at all.

Once the real plot kicks in, it's quite a downhill from here -- a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) who is just ten days shy from his retirement, is called upon a murder investigation to work alongside with a no-nonsense detective Cicero (Carla Gugino). In the meantime, a hotshot killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is hired to track down Driver and kills him. But he has a psychological issue of his own, and his hot girlfriend, Lily (Maggie Grace) is hoping that he will stops killing so they can have a fresh start. As for Driver, he continues to track down the remaining people he wants to kill in the list, only to be subsequently sidetracked by the cop and the killer along the way.

From the look and feel of the movie, there's no denying that Joe and Tony Gayton's screenplay and George Tillman, Jr.'s direction pays homage to the 70s exploitation bad-ass revenge cinema. Too bad the word "bad-ass" alone isn't enough to justify this entire whole. The movie could have been leaner and far more interesting if George Tillman, Jr. chooses to play it straightforward. But he tries so hard to be ambitious, and clearly wants to make Driver's appetite is not just about all-out vengeance but a road to redemption as well. If that's not enough, it's also a few more subplots about the cop's inner struggle with his personal demon as well as his shaky relationship with his estranged wife (Moon Bloodgood). Topped up with that is another story about the killer and his girlfriend. The result is a long-winded drag that ruins the momentum of the story. Frankly, the whole subplot thing is really unnecessary, especially when it doesn't help much to build a better movie here.

As for the action, there are some gritty moments here but again George Tillman, Jr. just doesn't know how to make full use of Dwayne Johnson's physique and his action-movie role charisma to elaborate the action set-pieces than just an occasional simple shootout.

The ending is especially disappointing, with lack of central villain to root for. What's worse is the bloated third-act twist that reveals the true mastermind behind Driver's imprisonment. Seriously though, is it really that necessary?

FASTER is actually a hugely potential movie to bring back the glory day of action-packed genre but George Tillman, Jr. just hit too many ideas for all the wrong reasons. Even though Dwayne Johnson lives up to his credit playing an ideal character who have nothing to lose, nothing really matters anyway since he's given little opportunity to realize his full potential.

READ MORE - FASTER (2010)

THE WARRIOR'S WAY (2010)

RATING: 1/5

At the first glance, THE WARRIOR'S WAY sounds like a fun movie not to be missed -- a comic-book like structure that mixes with classic samurai tale, spaghetti western, and a dash of Tod Browning's FREAKS (1932) thrown in for a mishmash of genre-benders. Topping that is the movie shot in hyper-stylized way like a live-action anime with a touch of 300-like filmmaking style to boot. No doubt an odd mix all over the place, but New York Film School professor-turned-writer/director Sngmoo Lee still deserves some applause for a wild hybrid in his debut movie here. Too bad THE WARRIOR'S WAY is surprisingly mundane with only a flick of entertaining moments simply not enough to call this as a guilty-pleasure fun.

At the beginning of the movie, we follows the story of a brilliant Asian swordsman med Yang (Jang Dong-Gun) who easily slaughtered most of his enemies with a few slashes of his sword. After killing his entire enemy, he still needs to terminate his enemy's newborn baby as well. But for some reasons, he has a sudden change of heart and decides to become the guardian of the baby. And so he flees from his Sad Flute master (Ti Lung) and heads off to the dusty town somewhere in America where he finds a small populations consisting of freaks, circus performers, an old drunk named Ron (Geoffrey Rush), and a feisty knife-thrower named Lynne (Kate Bosworth). He is immediately accepted by the locals, where he is soon bonding a subsequent tender relationship with the baby as well as enchanting Lynne along the way. It doesn't take long before Lynne starts to like him a lot. In return, Yang takes Lynne as his student to learn the art of sword-fighting and knife-throwing skill. Trouble arises when Lynne's sworn enemy, The Colonel (Danny Huston) returns to the town to wreck havoc. But there's more to come -- an army of highly-trained samurai warriors along with the Sad Flute master is looking forward to kill Yang for abandoning their clan.

The premise is simple, and pretty much straightforward. But Sngmoo Lee doesn't know how to sustain a confident pace throughout the movie. As a result, much of the bulk of the movie is wasted with too many melodramatic moments between Yang and Lynne, as well as the colorful people in the town. It doesn't help either especially when the plot is too pedestrian, yet painfully overlong and hardly good enough to generate much interest here.

The movie only comes alive once the climatic finale takes place. Even with all the glorious slow-motion assault in the 300-like style, most of the action set-pieces generate little excitement with mediocre CGI effects. And anyone expecting a classic mano-a-mano showdown between Yang and the Sad Flute master will be gravely disappointed here.

Acting-wise, Korean superstar Jang Dong-Gun does make a few worthy impressions as the noble assassin with few words. Danny Huston is typically fun to watch for as the despicable Colonel, while Kate Bosworth is lovely enough in her feisty role as Lynne. But it's such a waste to see veterans like Geoffrey Rush and Ti Lung reduced to glorious cameo appearances with little thing to do.

READ MORE - THE WARRIOR'S WAY (2010)

DEVIL (2010)

RATING: 2/5

Poor M. Night Shyamalan. Whatever he touches these days turned to box-office poison. His recent highly-anticipated big-budget summer movie extravaganza, THE LAST AIRBENDER, was heavily pounded by critics and viewers alike and the box-office return wasn't particularly impressive as well. And now, it's actually refreshing to see him returning to small-scale horror genre. What's even more a sigh of relief is Shyamalan's latest venture here sees him giving the directorial job to John Erick Dowdle (2008's QUARANTINE) while retaining as writer and producer of the movie.

For some reasons, this first movie, DEVIL, in "The Night Chronicles" trilogy which involves the supernatural force within modern urban society opens with a bang: the main titles playing out over a claustrophobic aerial montage of downtown Philadelphia's bridges and high-rises shot in 180-degree upside down while accompanying with Fernando Velazquez's Bernard Herrmann-like thundering orchestral music score. It's simply pitch-perfect and it doesn't stop there as the movie proceeds with a few more nail-biting tension -- a jolting scene where a headphone-wearing janitor waxing the floor inside the office building before a man is seen suddenly plummeting down sky-high atop a van outside. From there, Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) is called upon for investigation to find out the cause of the man's suicide from the office building of 333 Locust St. But this is just the beginning. What follows next is a random group of five strangers -- a mattress salesman (Geoffrey Arend), a security guard temp (Bokeem Woodbine), a well-dressed businesswoman (Bojana Novakovic), a mechanic (Logan Marshall-Green), and an elderly pickpocket (Jenny O'Hara) -- become trapped on a malfunctioning elevator stuck halfway above. As the rescue crews are trying their best to get them out of the elevator, the only form of communication is via security cam where Detective Bowden is working out every possible angle he can to rectify the situation. Then something sinister happens: each time the elevator goes into temporary blackout, one of them inside will turned up mysteriously dead. One of the building officers, Ramirez (Jacob Vargas) who is particularly religious himself, suspects there is a devil within five of the strangers inside the elevator especially after he spotted what looks to be a demonic image superimposed over the elevator's surveillance recording.

No doubt the little premise itself is captivating, and director John Erick Dowdle is certainly the right man for the job to helm a dramatic horror thriller set in a confined space. For the first few twenty-minutes, Shyamalan and Brian Nelson's TWILIGHT ZONE-like script is creepy enough to draw the viewers' attention but that doesn't sustain longer to last right until the end. The biggest problem here is the obvious stamp of Shyamalan's trademark of whole-nine-yards turn of slow-burning narration and heavy exposition all over the place. It doesn't help either when the movie shifts too much focus outside of the elevator scenario, expanding the scope to concentrate other characters (e.g. Chris Messina's Detective Bowden). Had the movie sticks entirely inside the elevator, the result would have been claustrophobic. But the movie chooses to wander around back and forth, thus making the five characters inside the elevator little less developed and more like an afterthought.

Then there's the usual annoying third-act twist Shyamalan just can't help resisting on putting his favorite trademark on. He doesn't seems to understand the nature of certain horror genre that it's not necessary every like-minded movie have to end up with lots of heavy-handed explanation. What follows here in the subsequent scenes is the needless flashback that explains the characters' motivations that leads the exposure of the Devil's identity itself. Speaking of the Devil, there is little surprise here whatsoever.

As for director John Erick Dowdle, there are some worthy moments of suspenseful set-pieces especially in the earlier part of the movie, but he seems to surrender his visual flair too quickly to make way for repetitive scenario inside the elevator where the characters goes panicked against the brief blackout and creepy sound starts to take place. For a horror movie like DEVIL, it' s a shame that it has to reduce into a timid PG-13 rating.

Meanwhile the characters are all standard horror-movie type, and the rest of the movie is pretty much a long-winded yawner.

READ MORE - DEVIL (2010)