But these rodents were pretty well engineered and looked real enough, and definitely cute enough. Yes, even the mole. But that shouldn’t be any surprise after Stuart Little.

Best thing I can say for this movie was that adults could enjoy it just as much as children. The jokes, the pace, the script were all entertaining and fun to watch. Especially the CGI which was flawless. But the story really wasn’t anything to shout about. It was very lightweight and predictable, just enough to move things along. And a strong protagonist was missing from start to finish. It was certainly a different approach but still wasn’t strong enough.

The actors didn’t have to do much here. Bill Nighy just had to look enthused about his creation, Zach Galifianakis was just to support the rodents, and Will Arnett didn’t have a lot of lines or jokes; he looked a little uncomfortable while trying to look serious.

But the voice actors however were spot on, except Penelope Cruz who I found quite distracting in her accent. I couldn’t recognise Nicholas Cage too so that was very well done.

Rating: 6 / 10

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But the story, however close to the truth, was a little dull. Much of the time we see Temudjin got captured, escaped, ran, captured again, and so on and so forth. It got tedious after the second time. And the action never picked up, not that I was expecting it, but there just wasn’t enough of anything to keep the movie interesting.

What kept Temudjin going was his love for his wife, which came as quite a surprise given how Genghis Khan’s ruthlessness preceded his name. And it was the actors, Tadanobu Asano as Temudjin, and Sun Honglei as his half-brother slash protagonist, that really kept the movie going.

There weren’t any great choreography for the bloody fight scenes, which isn’t a big complaint from me. But the final battle was just too weak, with ninja-like commando-warriors suddenly coming out of nowhere with some crazily intimidating long swords; going into the battlefield on their own and then suddenly retreating; and in the end getting killed by their own brothers. That was just weird and too “Hollywood” for me.

Rating: 6 / 10

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But how it has done well was the story of those group of people, and that’s where the difference between this and other Hollywood movies lie; though not by too much as many sub-plots reminded that of Hollywood.

The CGI however were done well enough to be believable. But it was how the visual effects were used to humour in some cases, were most impressive.

But before the CGI kicked in, it was quite a long waiting game in the first half. That’s where the characterisation of the people involved were important and they were done well enough to keep things interesting most of the time. Among the cast, Ha Ji-Won stood out being the most charismatic and likeable.

Rating: 7 / 10

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There’s a certain style, a swagger if you will, that is only Denzel Washington and John Travolta, but after so many years they have become their own style and you can be certain you will see that style in their movies. This can be a bad thing. No matter what role they play, they bring their signature style with them. It becomes typical. I think it’s time they reinvent themselves.

The plot wasn’t all that original, it was a remake though. The acting was just as expected. The film was carried by both Washington and Travolta as much of the scenes involved around their verbal sparring before the two meet eventually.

Tony Scott’s direction did well to provide the thriller but it was a little draggy in parts and felt like it took too long to reach the end. Plus the ending did not have a big climactic finish after all the suspense but it was still commendable, different in a way.

Rating: 6 / 10

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This was an action movie through and through. Audiences going for it expected it to entertain hard with action, and that’s exactly what they were getting, if not more.

The Hollywood formula for a movie like G I Joe came in a familiar packaging. Throw in a young cast of good looking actors, pump in enough budget to shoot almost the whole movie in CGI, and have explosions every other minute for the sake of grandiose.

The writers (Stuart Beattie, David Elliot and Paul Lovett) took the same direction as Star Trek and made this a semi-origin movie whereby Duke cobra2.JPGand Ripcord started off as outsiders and had to earn their ranks into the elite team of the Joes – wrong decision. One of the most unnecessary sequences was the training montage which is ineffective in storytelling; though it did give Brandon Fraser a very distracting cameo.What the movie did right was out of the 118 minutes running time, 100 of them were all about the action; and they were hard hitting and fast paced. Usually the action will take place simultaneously in a few locations so the scenes constantly jumped from one to another.

Credit must go to director Stephen Sommers for the smooth transitions and keeping the excitement on a high throughout the entire movie. His slow motions also came in all the right places, creating highlights such as Snake Eyes’ intro. Another impressive feat for Sommers was having the camera very still in an ambitious action movie like this so that the audience could see exactly what’s going on. Not many directors have done this lately.

What suffered most though were the characters which were not properly written and not consistent at all with the cartoons’ direction. The poor writing may also have contributed to the atrocious acting, apart from those who were fortunate enough to be wearing masks.

Just because the hero always gets the girl in Hollywood, Ripcord and Scarlett were duty-bound to induce some hormonal effects. The script was unconvincing and again inconsistent with the history of the Joes because Snake Eyes and Scarlett was the celebrated couple.

Snake Eyes is by far the coolest character but because of his silence, he couldn’t be effective in a movie. However, every time he was on screen, he was always doing something cool (credit to Ray Park). If only the writers had waited for a Snake Eyes origin movie before delving into his past with Storm Shadow because those two deserved a movie of their own.

But when the intent of a movie was all about big, flashy, uninterrupted action – bringing a cartoon to life for the old-school fans and action junkies – this movie achieved that, and more.

Comparing to the other recent Paramount release – Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen – though Bay is the better wizard and though both movies were big and loud, G. I. Joe was not a mess to watch.

The story was as straight forward as it could get; and even with terrible acting, ridiculous dialogue and cheesy one-liners, the unrelentless and mindless action will keep you gasping for air.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7 / 10

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Much was to be blamed on the screenplay by Mann and his co-writers, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. There’s a lot going on in the movie but there’s not enough of each.

There were enough bank robberies and enough prison breaks but the scenes flew by too quickly without much detail of what has happened. Some characters were introduced and then they disappear, only to come back an hour later with a few lines and then disappear again.

The love story between Dillinger and Frechette is unconvincing and the chemistry between Depp and Cotillard suffered as a result. A big part of Dillinger’s actions in the second half of the movie derived from his love for Frechette, but the audience will find it hard to relate because there was never any romance involved. All that transpired was Dillinger seeing Frechette and fell madly in love with her, that’s it.

And the story development for the entire movie was also weak. There was almost never a flow in the story and its characters. Things happened sometimes very randomly, as if Mann was really struggling to keep time even with 140 minutes, so he has to skip a few developing scenes.

Having said that, however, Mann did well in directing; particularly with the action sequences that were big and explosive but never out of reality. Working once again with cinematographer Dante Spinotti, the feel of the 1930s was ever dominant and ever real.

Depp once again delivered, though it felt like the script restricted his performance somewhat as he looked like he could have done much more. The only breakout performance was by Stephen Lang as the ruthless and hard lawman determined to shoot down Dillinger. He doesn’t have a lot of scenes but he stood out in every single one of them.

Cotillard fresh off her Oscar win did nothing here to show why she’s a winner. And this is the third movie in a row for Bale to under-deliver with the stoic and robotic Purvis.

But the thing that lacked the most in a movie that tells the story of larger-than-life characters was the story of the characters and why they mattered. Public Enemies should have been much more than this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6 / 10

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And with that success, producer and director Michael Bay planned to give exactly what the fans want in the second instalment, but on an epic level. How did that translate into the silver screen? Bigger robots, bigger explosions, and bigger action sequences.

In the first movie, the plot was so straightforward that the audience was able to fully enjoy the action and visuals without having to divert attention to the plot. Let’s face it, nobody would go into a Michael Bay movie expecting a heavy storyline.

However, in Revenge Of The Fallen, there was just too much going on and involved too many locations and differing agendas that constantly distracted the flow of enjoyment with their incoherence. Scenes jumped from action to comedy to melodrama whenever Bay felt like it without proper build-up or giving them enough time to reach a natural conclusion.

To Bay’s credit, this is his biggest and most explosive movie to date. There were a few set pieces which were really commendable. From the opening chase sequence in China to a sword-battle in the forest between Optimus Prime and three Decepticons, and finally to the long action sequence in the desert; the seamless CGI was at least a few steps above the first movie.

The only problem with the action scenes was differentiating the individual robots other than the more obvious ones like Optimus and Bumblebee, so what more the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. Because the sub-cast robots did not have significant roles, it’s impossible to tell who was knocking the spare parts out of who until one stood victorious. And Bay’s shaky camera movements only made things worse.

Even though we still see a few of the human actors a lot more this time, but their roles weren’t as prominent compared to the robots. In the first movie, Shia LaBeouf managed to constantly remind his audience that he was the main star of the movie – bringing the human touch, so to speak. But his character this time wasn’t allowed to flourish as before.

And those twin Autobots, “Huey and Dewey”, are irritating as hell. Why only Autobots have stupid personalities?

Bay’s signature move of swirling camera action was even more pronounced here but they were hits-and-misses at best. The soundtrack once again was cleverly inserted to emphasise the appropriate scenes. And the script has improved slightly, though tacky lines like, “I rise, you fall” still popped up one too many times.

The first Transformers movie proved that a loud, gimmicky movie can be fun. But with Revenge Of The Fallen, Bay just wanted to make things as big and as loud as he possibly could; ignoring logic and substance for flashy and style. The result, a soulless piece of machine.

Rating: 6 / 10

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When the beginning of the movie cued to the year 2018, a short action sequence ensues with the outcome ending badly for the humans. But what we got to see for the first time was the post-apocalyptic lives of the survivors and their relentless war against the artificial intelligence of endoskeletons.

Judgement Day came and went, leaving Earth in a bleak, desolate and barren state. And that feeling of solitary desperation really transcended through the screen into the hearts of its audience. When John first went into a life-and-death battle with a Terminator, the scuffle looked so real that it took its audience into its world. And this is where director McG really shone.

Long time collaborating writers John D Brancato and Michael Ferris both return for seconds. Their greatest achievement was creating a mystery that was Marcus Wright, in which the audience couldn’t help but guess till the end which side he belonged to.

But their greatest failure, apart from derailing once too often from the main storyline, was not having enough of John Connor’s presence in the whole movie as he was getting closer and closer to becoming “the one”. Because of that, Bale seemed to be playing second fiddle to Worthington instead (a déjà vu for Bale).

As for the few female characters, they also lacked soul with their limited lines. The little girl, Star, didn’t speak at all. Howard could pass as a cyborg with her disappointingly emotionless portrayal – good thing she has that big bump on her tummy that proved otherwise. And Bloodgood just looked like a miscast.

Nevertheless, it was still a story well told and well directed. The action and special effects were beautifully created and executed. And there were even enough robots here to challenge the upcoming Transformers movie.

Rating: 7 / 10

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Compare this to Monsters, Inc., this one didn’t stand a chance. But as it is, it’s entertaining enough.

I would say this movie was aimed more at the kids than adults. The characters are cute at best but the CGI work was commendable. There were a lot of action sequences and as an animated movie, the creators came up with a few thrilling action pieces, though nonsensical as they may be.

As for the laughs, it wasn’t downright hilarious. It was just entertaining and once-in-a-while funny. And that must be the most disappointing part because the trailer looked really good. It had interesting monster characters, an interesting premise (who can resist the idea of monsters versus aliens?); but the plot just didn’t come through enough as it bordered on boredom more than a few times.

The side plot of Susan and her fiance, Derek, was annoying to watch. It just wasn’t entertaining nor interesting and it was the main side plot of the movie, so perhaps that’s another reason why this movie didn’t sit so well with me. Especially the character of Derek voiced by Paul Rudd, who usually plays the annoying guy. But this time the character was overdone and, with Rudd in the mix; he’s like a vacuum sucking out all the fun from the movie.

But other than Rudd, the rest of the cast was good, with the right voice actors. I particularly liked Will Arnett, but perhaps only because he’s still quite unknown and not popular enough to be pegged into a cliche role.

And what the movie as a whole did very well was paying tribute to the old school monster movies. The older generation would find that very enjoyable.

Rating: 5 / 10

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Like the new series of James Bond and Batman movies with Daniel Craig and Christian Bale respectively, the writers reviving this franchise have decided to go further back in time and start off with the origins of the two leads, James T Kirk and Spock.

The movie paced out steadily with almost the right balance between storyline and fast-paced action. The set pieces for the new Enterprise compared to the old had the familiar feel but with a modern facelift, and looked technically more up-to-date. Gone are the dorky and dull costumes as these new uniforms, though remaining faithful to the old designs, looked less of an eye sore.

James Kirk had the cocky and roguish air about him early on but grew rapidly as the story unfolds, and Chris Pine brought him to life with charm and confidence. The unemotional Spock was delivered spectacularly by Zachary Quinto with subtle emotions that spoke louder than words.

The unrecognisable Eric Bana stepped into the protagonist character with much devotion and conviction, making Nero looked less insane but fuelled by the mission to avenge his planet’s destruction.

However the script wasn’t perfect. Like the weapons used should have been of the future but instead there was a fencing sword involved. (This was where lightsabers were truly missed.)

Science and logic also seldom was an issue as more often than not the action sequences took over to become planned distractions. One good example would be when James was chased by an unimpressive alien monster which was at least four times his size and yet had trouble catching up to him.

But with the talented young cast who were virtually unknown delivering interesting characters that were affectionately true to the TV originals; and with a very fresh and remarkable script that was surprisingly matured and sophisticated, J J Abrams has given all Trekkies the best instalment yet, and a new lease of life for the series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8 / 10

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