Movie Review: Taken 2

Taken 2

My Rating:

  Rent it on iTunes

This evening I saw the movie Taken 2 at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

Like most sequels that have difficulties living up to the standards and expectations of their respective original episode. The sequel to Taken is no exception. All the suspense and originality from the original are gone and surprisingly the writers did not attempt to introduce anything new.

The movie feels more like a Bourne sequel than Taken. Fortunately that is the saving grace of this movie and earned an extra penguin in my rating.

Although, I did not want to give it a single penguin rating, this is definitely a miss if you have to pay to view this movie.

Rating Legend:

  Must watch before you die  Must watch before you die

  Wait for the DVD  Wait for the DVD

  Buy from iTunes Store  Buy from iTunes Store

  Rent it on iTunes  Rent it on iTunes

  Waste your time elsewhere  Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Act of Valor

 Act Of Valor
Act Of Valor

My Rating:

 Buy from iTunes Store

This evening I saw the movie Act of Valor at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

This movie is very realistic mainly because all the action sequences were done by real Navy Seal and stunt men.

The story is simple and the dialog very amateur but the purpose of the movie is to show off the the tactics and maneuvers of Navy Seal. If you’re into military stuff and particularly war games then you will like this movie.

Even though you are the demographics above you should still consider other options at the box office.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: The Avengers (2012)

 Avengers, The (2012) Poster
Avengers, The (2012) Poster

My Rating:

 Buy from iTunes Store

This evening I saw the movie The Avengers at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

A highly anticipated movie ever since the appearance of Robert Downey Jr. with a cameo in The Incredible Hulk (2008). After seeing the actual movie I am starting to think this was over hyped.

This motion picture version of The Avengers reminds me so much of movie Transformers. The plot is predictable and slow, the dialog is poor without any chemistry among the characters.

Definitely not a movie worth watching in 3D or IMAX. If you have other options at the box office go with them.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Contraband

 Contraband
Contraband

My Rating:

 Buy from iTunes Store   

This evening I saw the movie Contraband at JP MLC Theater, JP Plaza, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

First of all I will never go to JP MCL Theater again. The design of the theater is such that the seats are way too close to the screen of the cinema. It gave me a headache after only 15 minutes into the movie.

Aside from the headache from seating too close, the movie is fairly good. Mark Wahlberg plays Chris Farraday, an ex-smuggler who turned legit, with a wife, two kids and a custom alarm installation company.

The plot is not that original and some what expected. Farraday’s brother-in-law got in trouble with a gangster after a failed smuggling run, forcing Farraday back into the business he promise his wife and himself not to get back into just to save his family. Telling you any more will just give away the entire movie.

If you have other options at the cinemas definitely save this one for iTunes.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows

 Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes

My Rating:

 Rent it on iTunes

This evening I saw the movie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

This is the first sequel that I wish there will not be another.

It stars the “always nominated but never wins”, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Now with this movie the audiences can clearly see why.

Downey returns to play his ever eccentric and love-thy-self Holmes and Law plays the trusty sidekick who wants to give up on Holmes but can’t bare the thought of doing so. There are so many scenes in the movie that I still cannot figure out the purpose of them being in the movie. Given the movie is center around Holmes’ ultimate rival, Professor Moriarty, I find the plot to be too weak, and there are not enough excitement or intrigue to keep the audiences at the edges of their seats.

The movie is so unmemorable that I have already forgotten the ending. Unfortunately, there’s not many movies to choose from during the Holiday breaks, but this is still one to avoid at the theatres.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

 Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

My Rating:

  Wait for the Blu-ray

This evening I saw the movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

It has been 5 years since the last edition in this version of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Unlike the previous two movies this one is worth the wait. Again it stars Tom Cruise as “Ethan Hunt“, only Simon Pegg returns from the previous edition, Mission: Impossible III. The favorites: Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan, also earn cameo roles in this movie.

Without leaving fans hanging from previous editions or loose new audiences, it continues the story from the last movie in the franchise, and slowly develops the characters we are not familiar with.

In the past movies I complain that they lost the “clever trickeries” of the original TV shows, happy to say that this movie brings back all the cleverness while retaining the light and appropriate use of technologies throughout the movie. One exception is the Minority Report style screen in the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics that really did not serve any purpose other than nostalgia for Cruise fans.

Overall it was an exciting and action pack movie that will give anyone an entertaining movie outing, not just the Cruise fans.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
  Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
  Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II

My Rating:

  Wait for the Blu-ray

This evening I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II at AMC Cinemas, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list, and the following is my movie review.

This brings the last of the Harry Potter movies franchise to quite a nice ending.

The 7 books in the series they transpose into a 8-movie franchise are: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and finally Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Unlike Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that feels dragged on, this sequel has the right amount of action, storyline and most importantly final answers to the plot of the franchise. To cut up a novel that J.K. Rowling painstakingly written in 784 pages; the longest of the 7 books, is a difficult and challenging task, but the play writes did a fairly good job.

Over the 10 years that the movies spanned, we see improvements in the three young-teen actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson; who are now in their early 20’s, with Watson improves the most among the three.

Not wanting to give away the plot, I will not tell you who dies or who are reviewed as good guys. I personally did not read book 7 before going to see the movie so I had no expectations. Although having seen all seven previous movies I am very familiar with the Harry Potter story. As a result I was very satisfy with how this latest movie addresses all the open issues in previous movies.

Before going to the movie I have heard a lot of negative feedbacks on the quality and quantity of 3D effects in the movie. So I was trying my best to locate a cinema showing the regular version of the movie. I was even ready to skip this edition of the franchise because I was not able to find a cinema close enough or a show time that is convenient.

In the end I still watched the 3D version, which I recommend movie goers avoid if possible. It just just not worth the extra ticket prices that cinemas charges. The 3D effects and quality were not great or affective, but the movie is filmed very well and it will be a waste to watch it at home on my home theatre.

Rating Legend:

 Must watch before you die
Must watch before you die
 Wait for the Blu-ray
Wait for the Blu-ray
 Buy from iTunes Store
Buy from iTunes Store
 Rent it on iTunes
Rent it on iTunes
 Waste your time elsewhere
Waste your time elsewhere

Movie Review: Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time

Poster

My Rating: 4Stars

This evening I saw the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at UA Cinema, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

The video game Prince of Persia was created by Jordan Mechner for Brøderbund in 1989, and ever since it has been refined and republished by different game companies over the years, with Ubisoft being the last to do so. Now in 2010 a movie had been released staring Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame. Aside from Ben Kingsley the rest of the casts are mostly unknowns.

Continue reading “Movie Review: Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time”

Movie Review: Robin Hood (2010)

Poster

My Rating: 3Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie Robin Hood (2010) at JP Theater, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. One of the movies from my Must See Movies

Before I begin, I need to set the mindsets of all potential movie goers for this movie. It is not a “Robin Hood” movie of the traditional sense, but what they refer to as a prequel to the Robin Hood saga. This movie describes the background of the person who will eventually be known as “Robin Hood”. In this movie this character is played by Russell Crowe.

Continue reading “Movie Review: Robin Hood (2010)”