Xpress Reviews: Edge Of Tomorrow [2014] & Maleficent [2014]

Summer movie season. Lots of movies to see. Yet extremely busy & so little time.  A quick (read lazy) review will have to do then.

# Edge Of Tomorrow [2014]

"What I'm About To Tell You Sounds Crazy"

Directed By: Doug Liman

Written By: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton

The Story: Major William Cage (played by Tom Cruise) is forced to fight together in a war against aliens but gets trapped in a time-loop. He seeks the help of Special Forces soldier Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt).

The Verdict: After seeing so many Tom Cruise movies throughout the years, it was pretty hard in the beginning to believe that his character was pretty much a coward. With the movie being about a time-loop and going all 'Groundhog Day', editing needed to perfectly done to keep us entertained. The movie succeeded in not only doing that but also provided us with impressive action and also comedy.
I've said it before, no matter how wacky Tom Cruise's real life is, he has real on-screen charisma and his films are mostly value for money. Edge Of Tomorrow is without doubt an entertaining and bona-fide summer movie! (now if only I were in a time-loop myself, perhaps this would have been a better-written review)

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

# Maleficent [2014]

"Oh Dear. What An Awkward Situation"

Directed By: Robert Stromberg

Written By: Linda Woolverton

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple

The Story: Maleficent (played by Angelina Jolie), is powerful and vindictive fairy who casts a spell on the kingdom's newly born princess, Aurora (played by Elle Fanning)

The Verdict: The ratings for this movie before I saw it was pretty low. However about half way through, my mind was made up -- I disagree with the critics! This is a fresh retelling of a classic fairy-tale, it was both dark and sweet at the same time. Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is a majestic presence presence through out the movie and steals the show!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review: X-Men - Days Of Future Past [2014]

"Lead Me. Guide Me. Be Patient With Me"

Background:

Release Date: 22 May 2014 (Malaysia), 23 May 2014 (USA)

Directed By: Bryan Singer

Written By: Simon Kinberg,  Jame Goldman, Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Evan Peters, Ellen Page, Omar Sy, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry

Duration: 131 minutes

In A Nutshell:

In the year 2023, mutants face the threat of extinction with Sentinels hunting each and every one of them down. The X-Men decide to send Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) back to the year 1973 to change the course of history.

Thumbs Up:

+ Impeccable story, engaging characters, and heart-pumping action scenes all come together in perfect balance and harmony. The humor is well-timed and supplements the story perfectly too.

+ Powerful performances all-around, but James McAvoy (playing a young Professor Xavier) in particular is truly top-notch.

+ Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters) dazzles in every scene he is in. I initially wasn't fond of him after watching the trailers and photos. In fact I thought the Quicksilver which will be shown in next year's Avengers 2 [2015] seemed much better. But it looks like Evan Peters has set the bar high.

+ One for all the geeks out there: A large mutant universe featuring returning familiar characters and exciting new-ones.

+ Another reason for comic fans to rejoice: an after-credits scene that will surely wet your appetite!

Thumbs Down:

- How Professor Xavier came back from the events in X-Men: The Last Stand [2006] is still left unexplained.

- With so many mutants on display, some of my personal favorites are given very little screen-time. Would have loved it if Scarlet Witch made an appearance too.

The Verdict Is In:

Rarely does a movie simultaneously impresses me with its story, characters, performances, and action. X-Men: Days Of Future Past succeeds on all fronts. The story was immersing, the action was thrilling and exciting, and the characters was engaging -- you'll feel a genuine emotion connection with them.

I'll be honest, this is a very biased review. I'm a fan of the X-Men and simply love superheroes. Heck, I even slightly enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand [2006]. Yeah, I know... let the backlash come in... but I did hate X-Men Origins: Wolverine [2009] though.

So as a fan, I found this movie was uber-awesome to me! A nerd-nirvana. A geek heaven. Yeah, X-men rules!!

Rating:

9.5 out of 10

Review: Godzilla [2014]

"Let Them Fight!!!"

Background:

Release Date: 15 May 2014 (Malaysia), 16 May 2014 (USA)

Directed By: Gareth Edwards

Written By: Max Borenstein, Dave Callaham

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn

Duration: 123 minutes

In A Nutshell:

Joe Brody's (played by Bryan Cranston) wife died 15 years ago in a horrific incident at a nuclear power plant in Japan. He believes there is more to the story and the government are hiding something from everyone. His son, Ford (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) doesn't believe him. They soon find out something indeed has been kept secret all this time. Something HUGE.

Thumbs Up:

+ Just like how our buildings now dwarf those during the same era, this Godzilla make the original one from Gojira [1954] seem like an infant.

+ Fire-breathing monsters. Yeay!

+ Godzilla's final kill.... money shot right there baby!!

+ David Straithairn (playing Admiral Stenz). I always love seeing him on screen. Small role but a commanding presence as usual.

Thumbs Down:

- Nice try with the human drama. I could see what they were attempting but to me it was extremely lackluster.

- Despite the huge crisis, and people loosing their love ones, I didn't get emotionally-attached or root for any of the characters

- So a thumbs down on the drama and characters, what about the action? The CGI was great but the action was sparse and weren't as exciting as I hoped it to be.

- A movie about Godzilla which has very little Godzilla. This is supposed to be a monster movie, people!!

The Verdict Is In:

What happened July last year = "Wow, I just saw Pacific Rim [2013] and it was awesome! Hey, isn't there a Godzilla remake coming out next year? After seeing this movie, I can't wait for that one!"

What happened last Week = "The new Godzilla is coming out next week, boy, am I excited! The trailer and poster looks cool too. I'll hype myself even more by watching Gojira [1952], King Kong vs. Godzilla [1962] and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla [1974]."

The three movies I watched last week

What happened in the cinema while watching the movie = "Trailers! Wow, the Ninja Turtles. Megan Fox is hot! ...... The movie is starting, I'm excited ....... all this teasing of the monster is suspenseful ..... hey, Aaron Taylor-Johson and Elizabeth Olsen are playing husband-wife and making out! Gonna feel weird when they play twins in Avengers 2 next year! ...... all this drama is kinda boring.... yup, still boring.... getting even more boring..... GODZILLA!!! .... boring again.... GODZILLA!!! ..... hmm, somehow the action isn't as good.... why am I thinking of Pacific Rim right now? .... boring .... Pacific Rim was great last year.... boring.... GODZILLA!! ... ermm, that's it? ..... boring again.... I wanna watch Pacific Rim again after this for the umpteenth time... bored again.... Darn it! this movie sucks!!! I was hyped for this? Thank God X-Men is coming out nest week!!"

Rating:

5.5 out of 10

May 4th: Star Wars Day And Audrey Hepburn

photo from www.etsy.com

Today, May 4th is Star Wars Day.  So, being the geek that I am.... Happy Star Wars Day folks and May the 4th be with you!!

Today, is also what would have been Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday. I love Audrey. Sure, I don't personally know her, but I think she is the most elegant woman to have ever graced the planet.

So, I've decided to give tribute to both today. Luckily, I found the photos above and below that combines the two. Audrey is know for having said some great quotes in her life. One of them, "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I'm possible!" could have easily been given as advice to Luke Skywalker. Apparently Yoda agrees with Audrey, hence his advice "Do, or do not! There is no try!" given to Luke in Return Of The Jedi [1983]

Both photos above from www.etsy.com

I've always been a huge Star Wars fan. Its the movie that I quote the most (I quote movies in my conversations every single day). Plus I always joke around that 23.5% of George Lucas' wealth has come directly from me. I've lost count on how many action figures, lightsabers, VHSs, DVDs, Blurays, replica of the Millenium Falcon, Darth Vader helmet, and other merchandises that I have owned throughout my life.

This past week, news broke out of the confirmed cast for Episode VII. Made me even more excited for the movie that is coming out next year. And I honestly believe J.J Abrams will do a great job on it.

Oh, and check out my list of Favorite Star Wars Characters that I made in February 2012. This blog was still in its infancy back then, and I believe that my writing, well STILL HASN'T improved!! But again happy Star Wars Day!!

Photo from here

Photo from here

Now on to Audrey. In my blog post 100 Film Facts About Me, I wrote this down: "Forget the origin story of Captain America, here's a true story. At sometime during the 1920s, scientists performed a top secret genetic engineering experiment to create the perfect female specimen: An exceptional woman with a face radiating with explicit beauty, mannerisms that illuminates with elegance, and an accent and speaking voice of unequivocal delicacy. The result was Audrey Hepburn. Even with those high standards, I think they actually over-achieved by creating her!" 

I still believe this is true!! Other than being the most elegant woman ever, she is also a very good actor. This despite Emma Thompson previously saying that "Audrey Hepburn was twee, mumsy, and really couldn't act" (read that story here). You're a great actress yourself Emma, but I overwhelmingly disagree with you on that matter.

I've mentioned above that she made some great quotes throughout her life. Here are a few of them below. I particularly love the last one as I share the same feelings too.

Photo taken from here

Photo taken from here

Photo taken from here

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 [2014]

"I like to think Spider-Man gives people hope"

Background:

Release Date: 1 May 2014 (Malaysia), 2 May 2014 (USA)

Directed By: Marc Webb

Written By: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinker, James Vanderbilt

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti

Duration: 142 minutes

In A Nutshell:

Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield) faces a great dilemma. Either embrace being his alter-ego, Spider-Man, or spending more time with his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone). Doing the latter proves to become more difficult with the emergence of Electro (played by Jaime Foxx) and the return of Harry Osborn (played by Dane DeHaan), who takes over control at Oscorp.

Thumbs Up:

+ An indie-romance feel to the movie -- the camera shots, music, storyline, etc. Although I enjoy that particular genre, it feels weird to me seeing it a superhero movie. I need to see the film again, but for now this is a 'Thumbs Up' (see also 'Thumbs down'). Just by the skin of its teeth.

+ A Spider-Man with good wit and humor (well most of the time). Just like in the comics.

+ The Green Goblin. He's just awesome! Much better than the one in Sam Raimi's original.

+ Max, before he turns into Electro. Jaime Foxx plays him extremely well.

+ The love story angle has a very emotional pay-off at the end of the movie. 

+ Cinematography. Didn't I mention earlier that the camera shots were beautiful.

+ Hints of future supervillians at the end of the movie. *cough... cough... spoiler... Vulture, Doc. Oc... cough*

+ Mid-credits preview of the upcoming X-Men movie

Thumbs Down:

- Although the it pays-off in the end, the love-story angle and indie-romance feel often feels like interrupting with the 'Superhero' aspect of the movie. Yeah, I know... how could this be both 'Thumbs Up' and 'Thumbs Down'? Well just like Peter and Gwen's relationship.... IT'S COMPLICATED!!

- Other than interrupting, the romance is also guilty of being over-melodramatic at times.

- Too much reliance on CGI during fight/action scenes..... just felt off to me.

- The movie is at least 20 minutes too long.

- Rhino. I expected to see more of him!

The Verdict Is In:

If this was entirely an indie-romance, it would probably pass as a good one. Not surprising as director Marc Webb also made one of my favorite films, (500) Days Of Summer [2009]. But when thrown into what is largely a superhero movie.... I'm still undecided on this. Will still need to see this movie for a second time to make up my mind.

I wasn't a fan of the first movie (review here). I felt, it tried to hard to be different than the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire versions. While this sequel can be considered an improvement, Raimi's version is still better.

Rating:

6.5 out of 10