At Long Last, Apollo 18 Gets A Trailer

After a millenia waiting (well, it feels like a millenia), at long last Dimension Films had shown the trailer for their upcoming movie Apollo 18. It was released several days ago for public viewing and I must say the trailer looked good, tense and mysterious at the same time. You can watch it below.

Movie Synopsis: Apollo 17 that was launched on December 17th, 1972, was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it's the real reason we've never gone back to the moon.

Courtesy of Joblo.com

That Long Nosed Kid Is Coming Back

Thanks to Joblo.com I happen to come across this news and I must say it intrigues me a little bit. Do you still remember that wooden kid who came to life and whenever he lied, his nose grew longer?? Well guess what, he's coming back and Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro is at the helm. He's directing a 3D stop-motion version of Pinnochio! The best part is that it's going to be a bit darker. This should be good.

Here's what he has to say:

“There has to be darkness in any fairy tale or children’s narrative work, something the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Walt Disney understood,” del Toro said. “We tend to call something Disney-fied, but a lot of people forget how powerfully disturbing the best animated Disney movies are, including those kids being turned into donkeys in Pinocchio. What we’re trying to do is present a Pinocchio that is more faithful to the take that Colodi wrote. That is more surreal and slightly darker than what we’ve seen before.”

For instance: “the Blue Fairy is really a dead girl’s spirit,” del Toro said. “Pinocchio has strange moments of lucid dreaming bordering on hallucinations, with black rabbits. The sperm whale that swallows Pinocchio was actually a giant dogfish, which allows for more classical scale and design. The many mishaps Pinocchio goes through include several near-death close calls, a lot more harrowing moments. The key with this is not making any of it feel gratuitous, because the story is integrated with moments of comedy and beauty. He’s one of the great characters, whose purity and innocence allows him to survive in this bleak landscape of robbers and thugs, emerging from the darkness with his soul intact.” 

Del Toro is also writing it along with Matthew Robins and it's being built by McKinnon and Saunders, the company behind CORPSE BRIDE and FANTASTIC MR. FOX.

My Top 5 Comedies....So Far

Comedy movies are essential in our everyday live. When you're in a stressful period when you feel like breaking people's neck or drinking poison, these movies can entertain you. Sure, not all of them are funny since nowadays there seem to be a plethora of spoof movies where they take certain scenes from certain movies and make it painstakingly silly. They barely let out a giggle from me, serious. These are my top 5 comedy movies that I think you should afford the time to watch. We'll start with number......

5. SHOOT EM' UP (2007)

Clive Owen is a man who loves guns and he eats carrot for his main diet. But when he found a baby being hunted by hitmen when he was hanging about on a lonely road one evening, that's when the action and violence begin. Love it!

This is more of an action movie actually but there are also some funny scenes and lines mixed to it. Those are the things that make this movie a pleasure for me to watch. 

Paul Giamati as the bad guy is a perfect choice for this action piece. I like him as an actor and as an 'accidental' comedian for this movie. Plus, some of his lines throughout the flick really made me chuckle.

Monica Bellucci is the eye candy and she does nothing other that to look pretty and taking care of the baby, but I forgive her as she looked stunning as always. She's still wonderful to watch even though she plays an 'escort' in this movie.

You must be wondering....THIS IS a comedy??????

4.  GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

This is the type of horror-comedy that never bore me every time I tune to it. It can scare and make you laugh at the same time which not all movies are able to replicate nowadays.

It also has one of the best movie themes around. Who doesn't know the Ghostbusters main theme from Ray Parker must be living under a shell. "If there's something strange, in the neighbourhood, who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!." That music will always be a classic and will stand through time.

Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis will always be the Ghostbusters and no one can replace them. Rumour has it a new sequel to the Ghostbusters series is being planned out but they are facing some predicaments. One of them is that Bill Murray is refusing to return as Dr. Peter Venkman.

Come on man! I'd love to watch Ghostbusters for the first time on the big screen! 

3. KICK-ASS (2010)

I love superhero movies but when they make it funny I love it even more! Kick- Ass is a superhero/action-comedy movie based on a comic book with the same name which will blow your minds out.

It's a relatively easy flick to follow and understand. It tells the story of a teenage boy, Dave (Aaron Johnson) who wants to become a real life superhero and he calls himself Kick-Ass. But his exploits lead him to another superhero called Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and his daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) who are on a revenge mission by battling a drug lord who killed his wife and mother respectively.

This movie despite of it's funniness, is also very violent and absurd (that's why it's funny right?). Can you imagine a father who trains his daughther to be a ruthless killer? Or, have you ever thought of blowing your enemy to pieces with a bazooka??

Well, they got it all in this movie...almost.

2. AIRPLANE! (1980)

Yes, this movie was in 1980. That's nine years before I was even born. Had my best buddy not recommended this movie to me I wouldn't have known about the existence of this comical flick. It's a spoof movie actually but a really good one at that. Not like Scary Movie. It really is a genuine effort to make you laugh. This movie made me laugh and at times, hard with its absurdity. 

The premise of the movie is fairly simple, an ex-war fighter pilot hero, Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who is scared of flying has been left by his stewardess girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty). So in order to win her back, Ted has to brave himself and get aboard the plane that she's working on. Oh, there's also a food poisoning which left everbody in the plane feeling sick (including those in the cockpit!) and it's up to Dr. Barry Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) to cope with the problem...with hilarious results of course.

For those of you who loves comedies with a little bit of silliness, absurdity and corky characters..this is a movie for you.  

1. THE HANGOVER (2009)

This movie didn't even make it to the cinemas in Malaysia. I don't have the slightest clue as of why. This is a movie that every single movie buff SHOULD watch. It's probably the comedy movie of the century to me because it's simply hilarious. To justify my claim, it was the tenth highest grossing film of 2009 with various nominations!

The plot is this, four friends go to New Vegas for a bachelor party and the next morning they found that the groom is missing and they don't remember anything what happened the night before which leads to their hilarious adventure.

For those who haven't seen it, go check it out! There's a tiger in their suite, a baby, Mike Tyson and absurd moments that I won't tell you. You have to watch it to see what I mean.

Now THIS IS a comedy and I higly recommend it.

Check Out The Latest Fast Five Poster

Below is the new movie poster for this year's upcoming movie Fast Five, another sequel in the Fast and Furious series. Pretty sleek poster if you ask me. Simple yet elegant. Courtesy of IGN.

 

Fast Five will be the reunion of the casts from previous installments of the series. Expect more action, explosions and fast cars in this new movie. This will be a cool flick.

You can also watch the trailer below.

How The Green Bee Turned Into The Green Hornet

It's been a while since I last posted something to this blog. The reason is plain and simple, I'm busy! Now, here it is...my latest movie review for The Green Hornet.

Synopsis: After the death of his father, Brit Reid (Seth Rogen) teams up with his late father's assistant Kato (Jay Chou) to become masked crime fighting team...The Green Hornet and his unknown sidekick.

Review: I got in late into the cinema while the movie had past its 30 minute mark so I missed certain parts of the flick..a whole half an hour of it. But what I know is that Brit Reid's now the heir to his father's newspaper empire and he wants to battle crimes in the city with the help of his assistant, Kato.

From what I've been watching from previous years, Seth Rogen is no action hero. He tends to play this adult child that cracks you up, most of the time. So, with him being the main lead actor in this movie turned me off a little bit but luckily this being an action comedy it fits him well.

Sure, Seth plays The Green Hornet but he's not trying to be the hero here. The one who bashes and kicks bad guys in the movie is Jay Chou. All Seth do in the movie is make people laugh. There was this scene between him and a gas gun that makes me laugh so hard until tears came out from my eyes. That's what he do best.

Jay Chou on the other hand is the complete opposite to Seth Rogen. He's Kato and the unnamed sidekick to The Green Hornet and he's the one who beat up bad guys in the flick. I have to say that some of the action sequence performed by Kato in the movie really made my heart pumped. Whenever a fight is about to erupt Kato can slow down time and during that period he identifies his enemies weapons and what he's going to do next. It's really cool and something new in my opinion. The downside to his character is that I have difficulties in understanding what he said at times.

Now, to the main villain. It's played by Christophe Waltz (The Inglourious Basterds) as a drug lord called Chudnovsky. But when The Green Hornet and Kato had destroyed his dirty business he decided to change his name to Bloodnovsky. His name amuses me and later in the movie he wears a red jacket with a gas mask in order to strike fear to his enemies. Pretty hilarious given that I had hoped he would be a serious threat with a diabolical plan or two in his mind. It was disappointing a little bit but this IS an action comedy after all so what do I expect right?

Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case is Seth's new secretary and she adds that much needed fiestiness to the movie with him and Jay Chou battling it out to win her heart. She also becomes their 'advisor' for the pair when they were lost for thought on what to do. That's pretty much her role in the movie.

Well, I can say that this remake of The Green Hornet directed by Michael Gondry and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg is an enjoyable movie with good comedies and great action scenes. This is a good popcorn flick. I had a blast. Oh, for those who didn't understand the title of this post..Brit Reid wanted to name his alter ego as The Green Bee when Kato said that The Green Hornet would be better.

*Here's what other movie sites say about the piece:

Joblo Movie Network: "While I can't say THE GREEN HORNET is a terrific, or particularly original work, it's nevertheless a great popcorn flick, that does exactly what it sets out to do, which is entertain. I enjoyed this a heck of a lot more than the early trailers made me think I would. It's a good, solid action comedy, and a great showcase for Jay Chou."

IGN.com: "While it may not ultimately prove memorable enough to launch a new film franchise, The Green Hornet is still a fun action-comedy and clever superhero satire that's about as close to a cool summer movie as you're going to get in the dead of winter."

7/10

Can't I Review This Any Faster???

What is Faster in Bahasa Malaysia? It's 'kelajuan' or something like that right, but you can't directly translate that into 'kelajuan' because it wasn't fitting for the movie. Honestly speaking, I couldn't fathom any scene that has got to do with anything that's fast from the movie at all! Sure there were one or two car chase scenes but they're certainly not fast enough in my book. Before I keep on babbling about the movie, here's my review for Faster. But first, the synopsis.

SYNOPSIS: An ex-convict (Dwayne Johnson) is out to seek revenge for his brother's death while being tracked by a drug addict homicide detective (Billy Bob Thornton) and a contract killer ( OliverJackson-Cohen).

REVIEW: Faster is an r-rated movie starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Carla Gugino. What I can say about this movie is that it's not the worse movie I've ever seen but it's not that good either. 

Dwayne Johnson as the main lead of this movie in my opinion is an astute choice but, yes there's a but, all he had to do was to look mean, grunt and shoot the heads of off people..that's all. Plus, he's off screen for almost half the movie, which is unfitting since he's the reason why people go to watch this action flick in the first place. In addition, he doesn't talk much.

As for Billy Bob Thornton as The Cop, that's how the movie highlights his character, is also a fine addition to the movie cast but he plays in what I would say a cliche' type of cop. First, he's a drug addict. Second, he has an angry ex-wife with a kid. Lastly, he's about to retire. Cliche' right?

Then there's The Killer, a role handed to a relatively unknown British actor in Oliver Jackson-Cohen. I seriously have a problem watching this guy. I mean, what is he doing in this movie? Sure, the audience know him as a mega rich software billionaire turn assassin but did he kill anyone in the movie to justify that he's a killer? No. His character is basically needless and a downright torture for me during the movie. He only monitors Dwayne Johnson's actions most of the time and only got to neck in neck with him like three times and none of them were memorable.

Being an action movie, I expected more from Faster. I expected explosions, car chasing, and loads of shooting but what I got from my RM13 for a 2D Faster yesterday was disappointing, really disappointing. Now, if you'll excuse me..I want to shed some tears and punch on the wall.

Here's what other sites have to say:

Joblo: "The jury’s still out whether or not FASTER is going to be Johnson’s ticket to the action A-list, which is territory he wasn’t able to crack prior to his Disney detour. He’s about a burly as he’s ever been, and I’m sure that given the right vehicle he could deliver, but for my money, FASTER ain’t it."

IGN: "It may be a perfunctory action flick, but Faster is nevertheless worth a look for no other reason than it rescues Johnson from banal family fare. (If it tanks, you know we'll just get Tooth Fairy 2.) Sadly, the film's sermonizing (literally) about the perils of vengeance and the ridiculousness of some of its characters prevent Faster from being a better movie. For what it is, though, it offers offers fans of The Rock their money's worth of ass-kicking."

4/10