Movie Review – Page 15 – Vinko’s Thoughts On…

May 18, 2006

Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

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My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie The Da Vinci Code at JP Theater, Causeway Bay.

Another great performance by Tom Hanks. I had always liked movies staring Tom Hanks. That was one of the reason that this movie was on my Must See Movies list.

I had not read the book of the same name by Dan Brown., but after seeing the movie I can understand why the book was so popular.

This movie had a lot of deep concepts and one must really pay attention to keep up with what’s going on in the plot. This is especially true; as I was told, when one is reading the Chinese subtitles, as the translation is a bit complicated.

The only reason I gave this movie a penguin short of a perfect score, is the complexity of the terminologies used in the movie to keep the audiences’ attention and interest.

For those who do not mind reading the book before seeing the movie, I would recommend doing so. Especially, at the moment when most theaters in Hong Kong require two days advance booking if you want to purchase a seat that is not two rows from the screen.

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

May 4, 2006

Movie Review: Mission Impossible III

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My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “ Mission Impossible III” at Broadway Cinema, IFC II. Another one from my Must See Movies list.

Simply… “Well Done!”.

Like most sequels I go to, I tried not to have any expectations. One thing I did do, as I normally do for movies I definitely want to see, is to avoid all trailers. In the past, the Mission Impossible series with Tom Cruise usually showed most of the most exciting parts of the movie in the various trailers they air. Hence, I made a point not to watch any of these trailers.

Not even knowing who was in the movie or the general plot was, helped add to the freshness and surprise of seeing the movie as the director laid it out. I actually had a feeling of excitement sitting in the theatre waiting for the movie to start, which is something I had not had in a long time for movies I am about to watch. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed.

There were the typical cheesy dialogs and the typical Tom Cruise trademark smiles through out the movie, but the plot had many twists and turns and the action were ample. They added more of the traditional Mission Impossible trickery compared to the previous two episodes of the series.

The sexy Maggie Q was okay in this movie, her Cantonese dialogs were horrible. They did not match the English translation nor were they typical phrases one would say. She did had a very sexy dress and car.

As usual I purposely did not describe the plot of this movie here, as there are many professional reviews of this movie already published. If you are a Mission Impossible fan; no matter you’re the Tom Cruise series or the original TV show, I would suggest you try my method of approaching this movie if you can. Avoiding the barrage of advertisements for this movie and just go into the movie with the pure intention to just enjoy.

Oh… you may want to make sure you visit the washroom prior to the movie, as it is a long one.

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

April 15, 2006

Movie Review: Nanny McPhee

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “ Nanny McPhee” at UA Cinema, Time Square.

Since I have not read the book I do not know how accurate was the screenplay. Given this I enjoy the movie, particularly with Emma Thompson’s performance. The whole thing reminds me of Harry Potter and Edward Scissorhands.

It does have all the elements to entertain both kids and kids at heart.

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

April 5, 2006

Movie Review: The Pink Panther

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My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “The Pink Panther” at UA Cinema, Time Square.

I had always like the Pink Panther movie series with Peter Sellers back in the 1970’s and 1963:

This new movie had the same spirit and I cannot think of any one better to play the role of “Inspector Jacques Clouseau” than Steve Martin.

For the Pink Panther fanboys this is definitely another must have for your DVD collection. Unfortunately, if I talk about the plot of this movie too much I will ruin it for you. That’s one of the reason why I have I only gave this movie 3 penguins.

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

March 5, 2006

Movie Review: Firewall

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “Firewall” at UA Cinema, Time Square.

Harrison Ford played his typical role of the underdog honest guy, as he did in “Clear and Present Danger“, “Air Force One“, “Patriot Games“, “The Fugitive” and “Frantic“. Of which I’ve seen them all.

If it was not for the twist and turn of Firewall; again typical of this series of Ford’s work, one would be bored with the movie.

For some reason, I for one, cannot get enough of Ford’s series: “Indiana Jones” series, “Jack Ryan” series and “Star Wars” series.

Although I am a fan I think this one can wait for the DVD with this one.

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

November 6, 2005

Movie Review: The Legend of Zorro

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “The Legend of Zorro” at Broadway Theater, Olympian City Plaza.

Antonio Banderas plays a perfect Zorro, as he did in 1998 with “The Mask of Zorro“. I am not sure whether it is because of the humor or Catherine Zeta-Jones that made this movie of Zorro more enjoyable. The cinematography of Martin Campbell also helped a lot. You can see Campbell’s James Bond style hinting through, as in Golden Eye“.

Overall, for the fans of Zorro this is another movie for the video library. For those who are introduced to Zorro for the first time, you get a more humble introduction to the character of Zorro.

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

November 5, 2005

Movie Review: Doom

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “Doom” at Broadway Theater, Olympian City Plaza.

When I played the video game many years ago it always made me dizzy. I guess it was the First Person nature of the game. For some reason I get dizzy watching the movements on the screen.

So, when I saw in the trailer for this movie I was worry that watching the movie in theatre will make me sick to the stomach.

Fortunately, there was only a short scene where First Person camera angle was used.

I think if you like the game Doom you may enjoy this. If you have no idea what the video game Doom is like than you may think this is just another one of those “special forces going against incredible odds to save a bunch of people” type movie.

For one thing, I was surprise by The Rock’s character in the movie. Although, to tell you the truth I did had a idea near the beginning.

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

October 20, 2005

Movie Review: Flightplan

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “ Flightplan” at Broadway Theater, Olympian City Plaza.

There was a lot of controversy in the States with this movie. Mainly from the Flight Attendant Association. This was not the reason I went to see it though.

I went into the movie with a lot of expectations just from watching its trailers before hand. Plus Jodie Foster stared in it, and she normally does not involve herself in bad movies. Well there is always an exception to any rules. I don’t know if it was my overly high expectations or the fact that the movie was simply not good.

I particularly hate the fact that they pretended Newfoundland was part of the United States. Instead of having Canada’s Royal Mounted Police go on board the plane they had FBI.

There are also other areas of the movie which does not make much sense. For example, the space utilization of an airplane is usually very valuable, aircraft designers would design it as efficient as possible for full utilization. But in the movie they made the avionics area look like a modern day Data Center with machines that looked like Cray computers as avionics panels.

Movie studios in the past, had done as much as possible to make their movies as accurate as possible. Even when they talk about technologies or setting for the future, they would research all aspects of the technologies in question so to make it believable. Unfortunately, this movie was not one of them.

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

October 11, 2005

Movie Review: Transporter 2

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My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “Transporter 2” at Broadway Theater, Olympian City Plaza.

Yet another sequel in the many that I had seen this past year and a half. Unfortunately, this is not one of the better ones. I feel that a good sequel needs elements of what the original had, but offer more original play and twist to the story.

This movie offer more of what was in the original Transporter, but I find that it did not deliver enough original and twist to the story. It is some what predictable. Unlike, “Ocean Twelve” or “The Bourne Supremacy“.

So if you like action movies and had not seen the original Transporter, this is one to go see at the theater. Otherwise, follow my recommendation in the rating I gave this movie.

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

August 24, 2005

Movie: Stealth

Poster

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “Stealth” at Broadway Theater, Olympian City Plaza.

What can I say, I should have known from the cast in this movie and the numerous bad press I heard from its theatrical release in the United States. Although, may be it is because of these low expectation going into the movie that I actually enjoyed it. Or it could be because I did not have to pay for it; it was on Broadway Theater, from completing a customer service survey this past Sunday.

So, if you like me and do not have to pay for this movie, and not have much of an expectation, you may too enjoy it.

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