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Liu lang di qiu 2 (2023)
An opening scence to rival the best sci-fi Holywood flicks with a logical and solid storyline
I came to this movie from watching The Wandering Earth back in 2019 in cinema and I had to admit I was blown away by how good that first movie was re the directing, the writing and the storyline; and after finishing The Wandering Earth II, I was 100% convinced that it was not just a one-off stroke of luck or a one-hit wonder.
Written by Liu Cixin who is a brilliant author with The Remembrance of Earth's Past including the amazing The Three-Body Problem, this movie provided a deeper background into how the Earth was going to be engulfed by the Sun in 100 years if nothing was to be done about it. The premise itself is probably nothing special but how Director Frant Gwo turned this movie into a true spectacle of CGIs within the first 45' and the last 40' of the with 2 intricated plots and a bunch of characters without making it hard to follow was nothing short of a fantastic feast itself. If I had to be nitpicked about it, the second Act of the movie was a bit dragging but I understand it was for world-building purpose; however it did lose a bit of steam whereas the first one was a non-stop emotional ride through some of the most ridiculous and eye-opening sequences in modern cinema. What makes all of these stuffs stick was the acting itself and I was happy to report that this was something The Wandering Earth II did a much better job than the previous movie. Wu Jing did a solid job and reprising his role as a younger Liu Peiqiang with more emotional sides to his character's backstory. Surprisingly his co-actress Wang Zhi playing the late wife of Liu, Han Duoduo brought in some great moments which make Liu much more grounded as a husband/father. The addition of Andy Lau as Tu Hengyu was a welcoming one albeit occupying a tad too much of screentime in the second Act. But I'm willing to give him a chance as the new representing face of this series should there be a third movie (it sure looks like that there will be a third one by the ending Act and the post-credit scence).
Final verdict: 9/10. Highly enjoyable sci-fi with top-notch production values and a good story backed up by solid actings.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Huge step backward.
I went into this movie with high expectation since Captain Marvel has been such a beloved comic superhero and we all pretty much knew that she would play a big role in Endgame so the hype for me was real. And I was also aware of her drama with a certain demographic of critics but as an Asian it didn't matter much to me.
And boy was I disappointed. Not only did the pacing almost put me to sleep twice, the plot was also very confusing and left little time for the audience to get to know who Captain Marvel was. Brie didn't do a good job here, let's face it, may it be because of the script or the directing. She was too wooden and I felt zero connection to her character. Not to mention her build was a bit rough and to be frank she looked like a normal woman in a halloween costume rather than a strong superheroine lead. There were some scenes that I would not spoil here which gave the audience a hint that she was struggle with some action sequences, or perhaps the standards were raised very high in other Marvel movies that Captain Marvel felt just too clunky for me.
Other cast members were quite enjoyable though. I like Samuel Jackson in this installment as a young Nick Furry. He was likeable and quite the contrast to the old calculative Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Jude Law played a sufficient part albeit a bit underused. Ben Mendelsohn was a bit of a surprised here and a pleasant one at that. Aside from that everyone did their parts nicely, well except for Brie Larson herself.
It would be fine if this movie came out the same time at Phase One or at the end of Phase Two. But with the universe at stake in Endgame, Captain Marvel couldn't help but feel like a rush entry to introduce an overpowered character with little emotional attachment.
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Go see it!
Kubo and The Two Strings quick review (cause I can't wait to sit down and write what I think of it)
Coming to the cinema with my missus just to find out that we made the wrong date for the movie we intended to see which was "The secret life of pets", Kubo and The Two Strings served as a last minute backup plan. That being said we were pretty blind of what we supposed to see and let me tell you sometimes it is the best way to enjoy such a delightful and majestic animation.
Plots: I won't spoil anything rather than three words: GO SEE IT! Bring your kids, younger siblings with you because this movie is downright for family. Moral lessons were being taught in natural way as if they were parts of a brilliant story told in one of the most unique kind of way. There were a few minor plot twists here and there which served enough for the unpredictability. As how some of the mechanism of magic in Kubo's world worked, the movie was pretty self-explanatory in terms of allowing the audiences to use their own imagination to interpret how things unfolded in their own ways.
Visual and audio: This one is a feast for the eyes with the combination of both stop motion and CGI. Surprisingly they worked very well together as the stop-motion side brought life to the characters while CGI did a solid job at bringing effects to some of the fighting scenes. Overall the stop-motion played a majority part of bringing the spectacular of out Kubo's world and attending to even the tiniest details of each visual.
About the soundtracks: There are distinctive and memorable songs everywhere. The use of Kubo's three-string guitar was smartly integrated into creating some of the most sensational sounds without overuse feelings. It made the audiences actually care and see how much emotion he put into each of his performances like each of them count for something.
Overall judgement: 10/10.
The Maze Runner (2014)
Haven't checked out the books yet but this film really made me want to do it!
To be honest, I went to the theater without any high expectations. Dare to say I was not in a good mood either. But the film did not let me down alas, which was a good thing.
First of all, I really like the approach of "The Maze Runner". It was direct, intriguing and straight up to the point. However I did find it a bit confused at first when everything was displayed in front of my eyes without much explanation about the context behind it all. All truth to be told, the I-have-a-set-of-rules-which-you- probably-gonna-break-anyway thing was getting a bit too tiresome and unconvincing, since we were not left with the impression that those rules were made to last. But the film did manage to pull out some pretty touching moments as well as some small twists, which in my opinion were quite appreciating. Overall I did enjoy the plot, though I still could point out dozens of holes in it.
Next, talking about the cast. I really did not enjoy the 2 main actors and actresses. They acted very forced as if they already knew what was going to happen next. But the supporting casts did quite a plausible job. Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt played a believable character whom seemed to be smart and encouraging. And the young Blake Cooper really gave quite an impression though the playtime of his was not so long. Last but not least, Kee Hong Lee as Minho also did his part very well in term of being a leader of the Runner team. Since the film does not possess a real villain aside from Mr. Nice Guy Will Poulter, I can safely assume that this guy could not, I repeat, COULD NOT play a bad guy. Even being a confusing one at that.
To come to a conclusion, let's just say that this film is good enough for me to start picking up the books and see what happens next to the characters.
Mathayom pak ma tha Mae Nak (2014)
A total mess!
I have never seen such a bad movie like this one. The script is a huge load of illogical and absurd events which in the end collapse together into an anti-climax ending. And the acting even manages to out-worsen the completely trashy plot. Every actors and actresses in this film seem to worry that the audiences might not be able to hear them clearly enough so they just yelled at a maximum volume and it was not pleasant at all! The the slap-tick humor could have been able to save this film from becoming a total disaster but frankly it didn't work at all.
Trust me, there's literally nothing good about this cheap piece of B-rated half-ass movie. Save your money and never give it a go!
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Quick review on Transformer 4: Age of Extinction
Well another Bay's movie about the Transformers and as expected, everything blows and shatters into pieces while giant robots fighting tooth and nail against each other. Can't say that formula worked out well this time around but the film itself is more or less better than the previous installment "Dark of the Moon". The bold choice of something similar to a reboot of the series with a whole new cast of both humans and Transformers is indeed a double-edged sword. On one hand it somewhat manages to introduce some interesting characters though the number is too few to be a shinning beacon of the film. However I particularly find the character Cade Yeager whom is portrayed by Mark Wahlbergh is quite a nice change to the series, since he both possesses the toughness and a real passion towards the Autobots (unlike that clumsy crybaby Sam Witwicky). On the other hand, people who are new to the series might find it a bit hard to follow the who-did-what-at-where- and-why on the screen since the introduction and execution were somehow sloppy and confusing at times. About the plot, well, it's a Micheal Bay's production so basically there are 2 sides fighting as usual: Autobots and Decepticons with a mix with an outer space army of Bounty Hunters. The little twist about the Autobots not having the support from the human race seems a little flat and illogical. Also Galvatron, the upgraded version of Megatron was nothing but a big cliché of how the bad guys always vow to return to fight another day (or shall I say at least until Bay could come up with another Transformers movie ?)
In a nutshell, go see this movie with an open mind and do not hold your hope high for some complicated storyline or Oscar-worthy performances and you shall have a pretty good time. I know I did.
P/s: Dang, the scene when Optimus Prime was riding Grimlock can definitely make up for all of the film's Transformer-sized plot holes. Too bad it felt a bit too short on screen time.