That ruffle frill which Nicholas Cage sported as a “hairstyle” in this movie was just screaming for a haircut. Whoever came up with that look needed to be on his hit-list; in caps, bold and underlined.

Even though the movie was shot in 2006 and only given a released date this year, and unless someone erased my memory of 2006, hairstyles from two years ago were never that bad.

Whatever made the Pang Brothers felt like they needed to revisit their own work from back in 1999 never really transcended through the screen from this udpated version. Instead it was filled with cliches that are usually found in this genre. If this was back in 1999, then it may have been more well received. Even if it was 2006, this would still have been stale.

Nicholas Cage’s acting also wasn’t anything spectacular here. In fact, he looked very stupid while trying to do some hand gestures when communicating with Charlie Yeung’s deaf-mute character. (And she’s deaf and dumb, not blind. How could anyone fall for that “hair”.)

Yeung became the weakest link in this movie. Her acting as a deaf-mute never looked natural from beginning to end. It looked like someone didn’t do her homework in character-study.

And the sub-characters, Kong and Aom, who became a major part in the second half of the story, had less than 10 minutes in total focused on them. There was just not enough foundation to build on in any of their relationships; and when the directors did focus on the emotional scenes, they were fleeting at best.

What were they even thinking when they wrote the part where Kong bought Aom a piece of jewellery and she immediately fell in love with him? She’s a stripper and he’s buying her expensive jewellery? True love just like that, sure. That’s just lazy writing from the Pang Brothers.

The silliest of scenes and certainly the most unnecessary one was when Yeung’s character performed on stage in a traditional group dance for Cage. Obviously the directors never saw how difficult it was for deaf-mute actress Marlee Matlin to compete in Dancing With The Stars.

Although the Pang Brothers’ trademark for a dark setting and a dark storyline, and their eye for capturing local scenery and flavour, did somewhat drive the movie forward; the main problem was with originality and ingenuity. Even the action sequences were not exciting as they never amounted to much of anything.

Rating: 3  /10

(all images from imdb.com)

I’ve never played the game nor do I know what it’s story is about but there’s nothing appealing about this movie, to be honest. Not even Mark Wahlberg can save it from boredom even though movies adapted from video games were never meant to be intelligent.

Director John Moore did well in making it look like a video game. But a little too well perhaps, that the story progression suffered a lot. The scenes felt disjointed from each other as they jumped from one to the other, cutting out a lot of in-betweens that would make you wonder what could have or should have happened. The protagonist moved from location to location in a straight line, as if some invisible force was guiding him (perhaps a person with a game controller).

The casting of Olga Kurylenko and Mila Kunis as sisters were also bad choices. One’s a supermodel and the other is just 5 feet tall. I couldn’t even decide which is the elder one. Both of them also lacked screen time, especially Kunis’ role which was never properly defined. And that’s more than I can say for Amaury Nolasco as the villain.

For the first hour of the movie, the storyline looked straight forward enough to be a crime / vigilante genre, but towards the ending it started becoming science fiction and fantasy - a la Constantine. I don’t think that’s what the game was about at all.

What this movie lacked was hard hitting action sequences. The pace was just too slow with not much going on that boredom inevitably set in very close after the opening and lingered throughout the entire movie. The only time when it got interesting was when those winged silhouettes showed up, looming with mystery, danger and menace.

But in the end, they didn’t add much substance to the story either and felt more like a gimmick because the whole movie would have tanked even more without them.

Mark Wahlberg gives a respectable performance as a tortured, lone avenger searching for revenge without over-acting his part, and without constantly sounding exasperated like he did in The Happening. However I hope the producers realise this doesn’t warrant a sequel.

Rating: 4 / 10

(all images from imdb.com)

Director D J Caruso teamed up once again with Shia LaBeouf after their sleeper success Disturbia. The result however was nowhere as outstanding.

As if inspired by Michael Bay, this action thriller has so many explosions that some were not even necessary or warranted other than for visual impact. Though I admit they did keep the entertainment level up and lure the audience in with some false sense of urgency.

The movie actually started out as a potentially good one but it soon becomes implausible and unbelievable. The movie suggested that in this day and age, every computer chip can be connected to one another and controlled — down to the most remote machinery like a standalone crane, even electric cables. It’s just too far-fetched.

It was not until nearer to the end before the audience realised that this story is based more on science-fiction rather than a realistic theme. But by then, it’s already too late. All the previous over-the-top events have already put a bad taste in the mouths of its audience and that feeling just wouldn’t go away that easily. What kept the audience in their seats were perhaps some very well choreographed action sequences and properly directed and coordinated by Caruso.

LaBeouf no doubt can play an action hero character but he also knows how to play one without channeling heroism, and he did that well in this one, playing the unlikely hero that saved the day in the end.

Rating: 5 / 10

(all images from imdb.com)

This adaptation of the Chinese legend Liang Zhu was a total waste. Jingle Ma and his co-writers have taken many liberties with this adaptation. They were wise enough to change the names of the main characters, seeing as how different this setting is; but they have failed to stay original with their cause.

As Liang and Zhu are the eastern equivalent of Romeo and Juliet, that alone should have discouraged the writers from copying elements from their western counterpart. Instead, you can see Baz Luhrmann’s masterpiece that is Romeo + Juliet from a mile away.

The biggest mistake in this entire production was the casting of Charlene Choi. Obviously the producers weren’t serious about making a proper movie. Come to think about it, any movie with Charlene Choi in it is not a proper movie. I still have no idea what she’s good for. She only acts as one character in all her movies. She has no depth, no substance, she can’t even act as a boy in this movie which is the main idea behind her character.

Obviously the producers wanted her appeal rather than acting skills. Or was there no other actress who would want to act opposite Wu Chun?

As for the direction, the action bits were well done and convincing enough. Even with the lack of execution from the actors, with good editing the action sequences looked quite believable and worthy of the “wu xia” title.

Harlem Yu is the only interesting character and brings with him the comedic side of things. Speaking in a jumbled mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin in every sentence, that alone has brightened up the screen every single time.

As a whole, the movie progression is badly done; certain events in the first half flies by too quickly while the second half is 30 minutes too long and drags on like mud. The story does no justice to the original, making the original theme towards the end feels very out of place. It should have been left out.

If you want a proper Liang Zhu movie, time to search for the 90’s version starring Nicky Wu and Charlie Yeung.

Rating: 3 / 10

(all images from sg.movies.yahoo.com)

I actually liked this movie. Knowing full well what it was going to be, I thought I’d be nonchalant about it at most, but I actually liked it.

I even laughed out loud a few times. Some of the jokes were original and well executed with perfect timing. The direction was good, the cast was interesting; yes it was predictable but if it’s entertaining, then hey, no complaints from me.

The success of this movie largely came from its writing, the duo of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who brought some equally entertaining movies under their belts including 10 Things I Hate About You. And for a moment I thought Adam Sandler was going to pop out after seeing this was a Happy Madison Production. But it’s twice in a row now that I’ve enjoyed the silly comedy from this label, the previous one being You Don’t Mess With The Zohan.

This role was written for Anna Faris and she pulled it off perfectly. However, the only concern is, now she is verging on becoming a one-trick pony - the optimistic dumb blond. It will be interesting to see what she is doing next.

Rating: 6 / 10

(all images from imdb.com)