Movie Review – Page 11 – Vinko’s Thoughts On…

August 5, 2007

Movie Review: Transformers

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Transformers” at Broadway Theaters, Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sa Tsui.

For some reason I was never into Transformers toys when I was a kid. Although, I did see the cartoons on TV while living in Hong Kong.

The special effects were amazing, with only a couple scenes that did not match the real picture, where the blue screen was obviously in use.

There were so many product placements, ranging from HP, Apple Inc. and GMC. Fortunately, Dreamworks did not infect the movie with too many of its typical in-your-face humor, as they normally do with their animations.

There were enough action and humor to keep the audience on the edge of their seats while just the right number of breaks in between to let them catch their breaths.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

July 26, 2007

Movie Review: Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix” at UA IMAX Theater, MegaBox, Kowloon Bay.

The most amazing part of the movie is the IMAX experience. If you live in a city where this movie is shown on IMAX you MUST choose it. I think it gives a good preview of what HD or digital projection theater movies will be like in the near future, when it becomes more prevalent.

I thought with the price of the IMAX version (almost doubled the normal ticket price in Hong Kong), there would not be so many young kids in the audience as there was. Apparently kids of a certain age did not have to pay and they were allow to sit on their parents’ laps for the movie. This definitely was not good when we have to pay such a high price for the experience.

I never finished this episode of the Harry Potter book series, even though I started the book five times over the past 5 years. For those who are not familiar with this book, it is one of the thicker one in the series, but that is not my only excuse. I cannot say that I am those who read the book before the movie, but with Harry Potter, it had been the exception to my rule until now.

This movie skipped over many parts of the book like the previous adaptations; at least for what I’ve read. Within minutes it already reached the part where I had left off (chapter eight) in the book this past 5 attempts. I guess a picture does equate to a thousand of words, and if the screenplay had stayed any closer to the book the movie would have been much longer than 130 minutes.

As with the previous Harry Potter movies, I assume it was also a very accurate adaption. The visual effects were great as usual. The plot at times were a bit slow and I found myself noticing the number of kids around me talking loudly.

The last 20 minutes of the movie was in IMAX 3D. They definitely chosen the correct part of the movie for the 3D effect.

Aside from the interruptions of the “other people’s” kids, this movie was “okay”. like the previous movie, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire“, I found this movie mostly occupied with beautiful sceneries and special effects rather than an intriguing plot. In this particular case, I cannot say if it was due to the original book or the fault of the screenplay. May be I should finish the book and find out.

Of course, trying to top the book is also a difficult thing for the director, when he has to consider the fact that majority of his audiences will have read the book, hence familiar with the plot, and would be looking for other stimuli when they watch the movie.

So, if you are a Harry Potter fan, this is definitely a movie for you, but if you had yet to read the first book in the series, you may want to consider the IMAX experience as a reason to see the movie. Then again the DVD will come out very soon.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

July 21, 2007

Movie Review: Next

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Next” at UA Time Square, Causeway Bay.

This movie is amazing. It is the first movie I’ve seen that did not require an ending.

The writer and producer Gary Goldman co-authored the screenplay with Jonathan Hensleigh and Paul Bernbaum, who based the story on Philip K. Dick’s novel, “The Golden Man“.

The movie has enough suspense and action to keep you on the edge of your seat with twists and turns to keep you guessing until the “end”. Although, if it wasn’t yet another terrorist-against-the-United-States movie, I would have given it the 5 penguins rating that it deserves.

Without giving away the plot, I do have one advice before going into the movie; this movie can easily be classified as a “Sci-fi Thriller”. So don’t over analyze it and just sit back and enjoy.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

July 10, 2007

Movie Review: Ratatouille

My Rating:

This evening I saw the pre-screening of the movie “Ratatouille” at Golden Harvest Multiplex, Mongkok.

Yes, many of you who knows me may ask,

Why am I going to see this movie in Mongkok of all places?

Well for one thing, it is a special preview prior to the actual Hong Kong release date of August 2, 2007, and the tickets were free; as I had won them from a “BC Magazine” contest. Speaking of the contest, that is another blog entry of mine.

This is the first movie after The Walt Disney Company’s purchase of Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, which now becomes part of the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group.

It took 7 months, but I finally able to give a movie my 5 penguin rating. I am so glad that it was a Pixar movie. It is also the first movie this year that the audience applauded when the movie finished.

The animation in the movie was so accurate and realistic that each time a scene with rats swamping, it made the hairs on the back of my head stand on its end.

The story was also very original with the typical smart humor that Pixar is always famous for. The last movie with such great humor was “Finding Nemo“.

The actor that played “Remy” was Patton Oswalt, whom I’ve seen in the TV series “The Kings of Queens“. Fortunately, I did not know or remember that, since I did not like his character in the TV series. Here Remy’s sad cuteness is adorable and lovable by the entire audience young and old.

I will definitely purchase the movie for my digital library and may even go see it one more time. Since these tickets were free from the contest at BC Magazine (yet another article for my blog).

So far this year, if there was any movie you must see, this is definitely the one.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

July 1, 2007

Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Live Free or Die Hard” at UA Cinema, Time Square, Causeway Bay.

One simple word, WOW!!

If the plot of this movie was a bit more different than the previous 3 movies in the franchise, I would have easily given it my 5 penguins rating.

The special effects in this movie is very similar to the up coming movie “Next” with Nicolas Cage. You can find the exact release date in Hong Kong from my Must See Movies list.

I do not want to get into the plot, as it will give it away. I was presently surprised that it can be better than the previous 2 movies: “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” and “Die Hard 2” in the series. Of course, very few sequels can be better than the original. So if you like the Die Hard franchise you will like this movie.

PS: the “Mac Guy”, Justin Long, from Apple’s Get a Mac commercials co-star in this movie with Bruce Willis.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

June 28, 2007

Movie Review: Shrek The Third

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Shrek The Third” at JP Theater, Causeway Bay.

This has not been a good series and I really don’t know why I keep going to see it. Unfortunately, this latest movie in the series did not break that trend.

I think my main disappointment with the series is its sense of humor in the movie. The writers at Dreamworks seem to worry that the audience will not get the intended humor, so they make the joke very obvious so much so that they are no longer funny. It is what I called, the “in your face humor”. In comparison, Pixar’s humor is much more subtle and more my liking.

The plot of this movie was weak and was nothing special. There is a great deal of expectation for the audience to know about western fairy tales to be able to get all the subtle inferences to these fairy tales. But this may not be necessary for the numerous young audience that this movie was intended. Judging by the young audiences in the theater, Dreamworks was very successful in entertaining them.

So my 3 penguins rating above is merely for the adult audience. If I was under the age of 10 I may give this move a 4 penguins rating.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

June 24, 2007

Movie Review: Zodiac

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Zodiac” at UA Cinema, Time Square, Causeway Bay.

After watching the trailer for this movie I was anticipating a movie of intriguing plot with a difference, but fifteen minutes into the movie I realized my assumption was incorrect. The plot does have the twist and turns of a murder mystery, unfortunately this was only evident on the surface.

Much has to do with Jake Gyllenhaal’s acting and his character “Robert Graysmith”. Graysmith is very similar to the obsessive nature of the character, “Anthony Swofford” that Gyllenhaal played in the 2005 movie, Jarhead.

I am now batting 3 for 3 in bad movies. Is it time for me to review my criterions before choosing the next movie to watch?

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

June 16, 2007

Movie Review: Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” at JP Theater, Causeway Bay.

The first movie, “Fantastic Four” of the series was not so great. I particularly do not like the actor, Michael Chiklis who played the character “Ben Grimm”. Chiklis is most recognized for his role as “Vic Mackey” in the TV series, “The Shield“. That is the character I keep associating him with, and his character as “Ben Grimm” in “Fantastic Four” was not distinctive enough to change that for me.

One good thing about latest movie in the series, is that Chiklis was only himself; without “The Thing” makeup, in two short scenes. The rest of the plot was a bit weak. They expected the audience to have seen the first movie, which I believe is always a bad thing to assume for a sequel.

The other good thing with this movie was the CG. Unfortunately, that is the only thing one can look forward to.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

June 8, 2007

Movie Review: Ocean’s 13

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Ocean’s 13” at UA Time Square, Causeway Bay.

Unfortunately, this is yet another movie that fell into the sequel hole. In my opinion the only one from the series that’s original was the first one “Ocean’s 11“, which was a remake of the 1960 original.

Yes, the clothes on George Clooney and Brad Pitt, but other than that there is really no surprise in this one and the plot is even weaker.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere

June 1, 2007

Movie Review: Premonition

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Premonition” at UA Windsor Palace, Windsor House, Causeway Bay.

Another movie from one of my favorite actress, Sandra Bullock. She did not disappoint me with this latest movie. She plays a character that no one believe, like “The Net” and “Murder by Numbers“, and the seriousness as in “The Lake House“.

I cannot tell you any more about this movie, otherwise I will give away most of the story.

All I can say is that it reminds me of the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray and the ending is a bit like the ending in “The Terminator“.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it if you can
	Waste your time elsewhere