Movie review: The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Here we comes, to the last part of the trilogy of ‘The Hobbit’ which sets as the prequel to the famous ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy in early 2000s. After joining a group of dwarves on a never-before adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain as a burglar role and eventually awakens the powerful dragon Smaug, in this final chapter, Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit) found himself in middle of the battle of the five armies (hence the movie’s title), each with aim to claim the mountain full of treasures and value after Smaug is killed. Directed by Peter Jackson, the film starred Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, etc.

From the plot revealed in my previous paragraph, ‘The Battle of the Five Armies’ has a very interesting storyline. I’m happy that Peter Jackson didn’t decide to make two films from this last chapter which is the current trending fashion for most other trilogy fantasy films (Harry Potter, Hunger Games). He sticks to one film to conclude the story and it is done brilliantly well. If its divided into two parts, I already imagined that things would be draggy and not productive. Now, things went fast-paced and excitingly thrilling with good story development in this slightly over two hours long film. Even my friend who didn’t watch its first two films enjoyed this.

Watching this one reminds  me of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Well it should be. The characters, the setting and atmosphere, and the wars. In this one, the final war of the five armies (Goblins and the Wargs against Men of Dale, Elves, Dwarves, Eagles and a Shape-shifter) is just as epic as the final war in ‘The Return of the King’ from ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Is it only me or is anyone out there realize that Bilbo Baggins (the main character) has quite a little role or contribution in this final movie besides than the Arkenstone part. He is almost like useless in the battle, knocked down later, and then woke up knowing the war has ended and seeing the last moment of Thorin before he died.

I also actually wish to see more of Smaug in this final chapter too. He is immediately killed off by Bard, the dragon slayer in the first few minutes of this movie. I think he is too easily defeated despite his powerful force, ability and strength. Well, it is supposed to die early so that everyone can go take over the Lonely Mountain. But just not enough. We were shown many heavy CGI scenes in the beginning to conclude the life of Smaug. Mentioning on CGIs, I think the movie delivered wonderful visual effects (eventhough not the greatest yet I have seen). Some of the CGIs do look fake as I recalled. The sound effects are also good.

Everyone in the casts did fairly well in their respective role too. On the other hand, I’m also glad that despite all the intense and seriousness of the story, there were also some humors (hilarious scenes) added in to light or ease things up particularly from the scene where Thorin sank Azog beneath an ice block and from the Alfrid, a coward character whom acts nothing like a true man and hide away from the war. The movie also delivered in emotional moments and moral values. Generally, I’m quite impressed by this film that brings an amazing and memorable conclusion to ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ a total of 7.7.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Believe me…my father is more eager to watch this than me. Both me and my dad enjoyed the first one, 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes very much and it leaves a lasting impression to my father. My dad do often watched movies, but he usually don’t remember much about that particular movie after a while. This one is the exception. Then, last week, I told my dad that the sequel is out, and yes…he treat me for this movie today. And after the movie, I can certainly said that my dad loves it very much as he had a lot of opinions to share regarding the movie. I loved it too. ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ is a fantastic movie! Here’s why;

First of all, the plot is absolutely engaging. We were shown many down-to-earth moments with the apes as they lived peacefully, strong and united in their kingdom in the woods under Caesar’s leadership several years after what occurred in the predecessor film. On the other hand, there is some sort of a flu pandemic which had infected the whole world (from the first film’s ending) and had killed most of human population. However, there is still a group of people in San Francisco immune to that and are trying to rebuild their city and reconnect to the other parts of the world. So, it is like the apes have their homes, and the humans have their homes too, and both do not interfere each others until a group of people led by Malcolm had to repair a dam near the apes’ kingdom to regenerate power source for humans. Conflict began, and so war erupted. Fantastic storyline.

What’s made the story going further outstanding is that there are so much emotional depth in it that it successfully carried the audiences in. There are various messages from this film for us to learn and think of while going through the movie and it evokes a powerful humanistic statements and emotions. Moving and touching. Can’t believe an apes-film delivered that wonderfully good! Besides that, there are also the action parts to bring out intense development and tension throughout this two-hour long film so that nothing from the movie can make us bored. Quite a fast-paced story and character’s development too.

The next aspect to compliment is the stunning visual effects. I believed many knew how Andy Serkis (as Caesar) and other actors portrayed as the apes in the film. Of course, most of the outcome came from the sophisticated computer technology, but still it is the apes’ facial expression, body gesture and eyes’ emotion that elevated audiences’ liking to this film. Those things make us more connected to the film. Realistic visuals accompanied with exciting sound effects. What more you can expect?

The main actor is no longer James Franco, but he do appeared for a short moment in a video clip and in a photograph when Caesar returned to his home (opps..sorry for a little spoiler here). No disappointment as the new male lead, Jason Clarke as Malcolm delivered her role amazingly too. For the others, there isn’t any much opportunity for them to shine here in acting. People will just concentrate themselves on Malcolm, and mostly, the apes particularly Caesar and the villain, Koba. I already knew Koba is going to be the bad apes from the first film.

So…yup…I’m praising everything about this film. Exceptionally well. The first film which was the reboot of the Planet of the Apes movie franchise was already great, and this one even did better according to my opinion. The third film is in planning and I’m sure me and my dad are very excited for it. With intelligence and emotional resonance to match its stunning special effects, this sequel expands on its predecessor with an exciting and ambitious burst of sci-fi achievement. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ a total of 8.0. Remarkable, one of the best films this year so far.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

 

Movie review – Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

This latest installment of the highly popular ‘Transformers’ film franchise must be one of the anticipated movies this year to most people. Who doesn’t like seeing awesome-looking gigantic transformable robots battling and destroying our cities in a movie? Especially boys. We totally like it. The first one was great, the second one (Revenge of Fallen) was a bit of a let-down, the third one (Dark of the Moon) was going back on the right track, and now we come to this latest fourth installment (Age of Extinction). And my first reaction after watching it was; ‘Ahh…this is not good. I’m having a headache now!’.

To say it in a much straightforward way, this is by far the worst ‘Transformers’ film compared to the earlier three. Michael Bay (the film director) should have stick to his early decision to have the 3rd installment as the last of the franchise, and not creating much more sequels that are getting lousier. Nevertheless, I’m sure this movie is going to make it big on the box office intake worldwide too (predicted to reach over 1 billion grossing), but in terms of quality, almost everything ends in disappointment.

The story is weak and not engaging. To be honest, I’m totally not interested on the issues between the main character (now changed to Cade Yeager portrayed by Mark Wahlberg) with her daughter and her daughter’s lover. But that’s one of the major storylines that dragged the whole thing and got us bored most of the time. Those are intended as to put in some moving human-centred elements instead of showing all robotic fights only, but in the end, it didn’t worked out well. No effort is put on the plot. I also realized that there are some hilarious scenes added in to crack things up (are okay) but still those don’t save the movie from becoming a disaster. The outcome is we have a movie that took over 2 hours and 30 minutes. That’s too long and it seriously wear us down.

 

I can say only the last thirty minutes or so were interesting when things finally lead to massive battle at the city of Hong Kong. Only that part are crazily awesome, but by the time we reached that moment, our mood had gone downhill already. The actions are still great (as expected from Michael Bay) but sometimes, too much of that lead to mess and discomfort for the audiences to watch. Those action sequences should be done in much more organized way, only then it would be perfect. Now, it made me having a headache after watching it. Nevertheless, the visuals are great as usual, particularly some slow-motion effect scenes. But if you want me to compare the battle at Chicago in the ‘Dark of the Moon’ to this one at Hong Kong for the final climax, I prefer the former.

The familiar robot figures returning to this film are Optimus Prime (of course), Bumblebee, and only few others more. Many new transformers are added; some are great while some are pointless to be introduced here. The Dinobots are cool too. And one of the bad transformers, the Galvatron (actually is Megatron himself) survived and escaped. Hence, that indicates there may be more sequels coming in. Didn’t know whether it is a good or bad idea as they have turned this into something quite terribly wrong. On the other hand, in terms of acting, everyone performed fairly. Extra credits to Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci as their performances stoo out than the rest.

Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ a total of only 6.9. That’s quite a low rating from me. Disappointed. It’s not that I came with high expectation. No. The film is excessively long, boring and incoherent. Not everything is bad. There are good points about this film too, but not that much. Still the worst in the franchise so far. Now, we have to wait to see whether the mess continued on its next sequel planned for release in 2016 or not. Hope it’s not.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

This year is filled with great animation movies! First, we have ‘The Lego Movie’ of which many claimed had raised up a bar on the standard or quality of animated productions. Then, we have an entertaining ‘Rio 2’. And now, we have another film I can called utterly satisfying and well deserved of a huge thumbs up from me. It’s ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’, a sequel to the first film in 2010. The first one was great, and I can assured you that this sequel is no less better (or some say, even better).

The story starts five years after the event on the first film (have to watch the first one before continuing on this to know better on the progressing story flow and characters). Now, Hiccup and his best buddy, Toothless (Night Fury dragon) love to travel far to discover new lands, and they do…an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider (whom turned out to be his mum…opps, warning…more spoiler ahead). They have also learnt of a group of people planning to control all the dragons with evil intentions, and so they have to find themselves in the center of another battle to protect the peace.

This is an interesting story. The plot as it develops is engaging and had everyone paying attention including the adults. Yes, this movie is more for the younger kids, but I’m sure the older demographics will enjoy this as much as the children too. There are some cool scenes (especially of Hiccup flying with Toothless beyond the clouds). Those moments are magical and wonderfully displayed as though I can feel the same as they are. There are also a lot of hilarious parts that are certainly making this very entertaining (but some of those are lame and cheesy). Also showing more on dragon-to-dragon interactions this time which are lovely and mostly funny to watch too. The movie also didn’t disappoints with good amount of emotions and dramatic climax scenes particularly in the end. (how good it is that Hiccup’s family is reunited as he found back his mom whom was thought to be dead earlier, but later on in this film, his dad, the chief was killed). A lot of ups and downs, that contributes to an exciting adventure for the audiences. A solid story that makes this as successful as its predecessor film.

The visuals are great. The sound effects are good too. And I’m glad that part of the soundtrack is reusing the tracks from the previous film (but with a bit different tunes) which brings back nostalgia to this film. The voice-over performances are outstanding and the wonderful addition of new characters make this sequel fresh and captivating. It looks like there is nothing bad of this film that I can reveal. There are only some minor not-so-good issues here or there. Everything is positive generally. No wonder the film now had been receiving near universal critical acclaim. Truly deserving. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’ a total of 8.0. (I very seldom gave a rating of over 8 points to a film). Hence, this is a remarkable achievement I gave to this animated movie. This sequel retains or even replenish the charm from the first film to another level. I’m glad that the third installment of this successful franchise is going to be out by 2016. A two-years wait.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: Godzilla (2014)

Time for the King of Monsters to smash the big screen! The film release of ‘Godzilla’ coincides with the 60th anniversary of the film franchise. This is certainly one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Had just watched it just now, and I’m leaving the theatre with great satisfaction. 2014’s Godzilla meets my expectation and delivers.

The story is great, engaging and suspense-building, hence leaving us no time to get bored as we followed closely to the plot development. The film starts 15 years ago when Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) lost his wife in a strange incident of explosion and radiation leak of a nuclear plant they were working in. 15 years later, his son, Ford Brody, a military technician convinces his dad to let it go as his dad was still struggling to resolve the mystery behind the accident that killed his mother. And then, comes the revelation and the arrival of two MUTOs and Godzilla of course, fighting each other while humans are powerless in between.

There are some good human elements added into this movie (felt particularly sad over the death scene of Joe’s wife when Joe had to shut down the door to prevent radiation exposure) and this is what made the movie livelier. Bryan Cranston’s solid performance contributed much to this. Only focusing on the monster attacks will make the film shallow. What’s surprising (considered a twist) is that the Godzilla is the hero now, saving the city of San Francisco from two MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), but their fights lead to massive destruction of the city. Well, that is what we are looking for actually.

I liked all the scenes involving the mighty Godzilla and the two MUTOs. Eventhough most of them were cut short and interrupted with scenes back to showing Ford Brody, the main lead, but their time on screen is still epic! Totally intense and climax-reaching. Honestly, many may complain that Godzilla’s presence in the movie is not sufficient (I wish for more from the monster too) but this wouldn’t absolutely helps to bring thrills to the movie. Now, the movie is still getting very exciting despite the short fights. This one focuses more on quality than quantity. The last battle between the monsters are fantastic! The atomic breath from Godzilla is awesome and unexpected! (Sorry for the spoiler)

As mentioned earlier, Bryan Cranston delivered outstanding performance here. Elizabeth Olsen is also not bad as Ford’s wife. The only minor comment is that Aaron Taylor Johnson, the main lead of the film lacks a bit of energy and always appear wooden or flat in this movie. On the other hand, the visual effects are definitely cool! The attention to details of the monsters is great and the depiction of the widespread chaos and destruction caused by the monsters is impressive. Another thing to compliment is the chilling and intensifying score and sound effects. All that sum up for a great monster film!

If I am to compare this to 1998’s Godzilla film, I would say that the 1998 version is different and that one reveals more of the predator-looking Godzilla. However, this 2014’s film is more suspenseful and stays to the original Toho’s Godzilla story. Godzilla’s time on screen is lesser, but everytime it comes out, everything gets bold and epic! So, 2014’s Godzilla is better. Out of 10 points, I would rate ‘Godzilla’ a total of 7.8. Highly recommended especially for those who are fans of monster movies! Roar…I wonder why Godzilla like to ‘scream’ so much. But its roar is absolutely powerful, fearless and heartstopping! Great depiction of the monster. Wait…It’s not a monster! It’s a God. Godzilla rocks here!

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Gilded Chopsticks; my review to this food-themed palace drama.

‘Gilded Chopsticks’ is a 2014 palace drama by Hong Kong’s TVB that starred Wong Cho Lam, Ben Wong, Nancy Wu, Joey Meng, Louis Cheung, etc. The 25-episodes series follows the adventures of a lazy but gifted “golden-tongued” imperial chef Ko Tin-po (Cho Lam), whose clumsy activities lead him to befriend Emperor Yongzheng (Ben Wong).

This drama somehow reminds me of another TVB series produced over a decade ago which sets in a dynasty and revolves around food and palatial chefs. The drama had Bobby Au-yeung in it. I couldn’t remember more. Of course, this ‘Gilded Chopsticks’ is on similar theme but with different storytelling. This 2014 drama tend to focus more on the political fight while Cho Lam’s character as the chef only acts to support the development of the main story and also to put a little comedic touch here and there. Quite a vital role also.

I am also surprised of how the story had Tin-po met Yin-Zhen (4th prince) before his innocence and kind heart helped the latter to rise to the throne over the rival, 8th prince. A very interesting plot to keep us engaged all along. Due to that particular emphasis in the plot, I find the need to look into more food-related issues. Perhaps, adding few more episodes to this drama with inclusion of more of such content would make it much better and stays true to the food theme.

The casts generally did a very good work here. I felt like ‘Inbound Troubles’ (a successful modern drama last year) was transported few hundred years back to Manchu-led Qing dynasty for this ‘Gilded Chopsticks’ because most of the casts from the former were here (Cho Lam, Joey Meng, Louis Cheung, May Chan, etc). Looking at Stephanie’s role as Mai Siu-yu here reminded me of Ivana Wong’s character from ‘Inbound Troubles’ too. Their first acting role, and some may find them performed very well, while some may get annoyed easily by the over-acting and fake expression. I’m on the latter side. Ben Wong contributed another outstanding performance here too as the 4th prince and later as the emperor. Also not to forget Power Chan’s great performance in the first few episodes.

Whenever Cho Lam is around, there must be many hilarious scenes going around. Yes. I’m happy he is here. But I had something in mind that Cho Lam’s acting couldn’t excel any further. Anyway, I had just watched its’ ending and I’m quite satisfied. The only bit of disappointment is that I can see TVB is trying to pull off some unpredictable twists particularly when the series nears its end, but it is quite obvious to know what they are planning. Hence, in the end, there is still no surprise or shock. But I still appreciate the effort on doing so to get things more interesting and climax-reaching. Generally, this is one of the very few good dramas by TVB in recent time. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Gilded Chopsticks’ a total of 7.4.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: The Hunger Games – Catching Fire (2013)

A good Friday ends with a great movie! What more can be better than that. Another film franchise based on novels that I love very much, just like how much I miss Harry Potter series. And similarly, I don’t read those novels as I find delivering a story through motion picture is much more efficient, interesting and quick than reading pile of books. The first of ‘The Hunger Games’ film released last year kicked off with a very good start and that introduced me to this wonderful story. And now, here came its sequel; Catching Fire.

The story continues from previous instalment that after winning the 74th Hunger Games, both Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) whom are representation of hope sparks a rebellion or uprising in the Districts of Panem and become target of the Capitol. The centerpiece of this sequel is the Quarter Quell, a special version of the Hunger Games every 25 years of which  all tributes are selected from the existing pool of victors. This forced the love couple to be back in the games for survival and for more challenges ahead on them beyond the arena.

The first instalment is already a good one, and this one as a sequel works out better and beyond my expectation. The story is great and very engaging eventhough it is taking a bit too long to be presented. The movie took up two and a half hour but I didn’t realize that much time passed as I watched it. Every single scene is strong and thoughtful. There are several noticeable parts that captured us with impact. The gown scene is fascinating (and that actually reminds me of Black Swan). I knew that the games itself where most actions are will only commence after almost half of the movie just like the first film, but surprisingly, no parts are boring or pointless. One thing I like most is that there are much more intensity and excitement offered to audiences from the various challenges (poisonous fog, mandrills, etc) in the Hunger Games. The actions are great, but I find the action part before Katniss electrocuted in the end slightly confusing.

Jennifer Lawrence, the Oscar-winning actress delivered an outstanding performance as Katniss. She carried out and commits to the dashing role so well that she is worth nominated for best actress again in upcoming Academy Awards, eventhough is  unlikely for a character in a science fiction adventure film. . Josh did a good work too, but his character appears to me to be too weak and always needed to be saved. This pairing is so sweet together. From first film, I can see Katniss felt in love to Peeta was just for act. Here, in this sequel, I can see true love started to blossom and even deepens. Couldn’t wait to see their relationship further develops. Sorry to Gale, Katniss’ former love. I also noticed there are too many kissing in the film. On the other hand, the supporting casts performed very well too.

The visual effects are great as usual. Same goes to the heart-stopping sound effect and background score. I couldn’t find any major mistakes or disappointments from this movie. It is filled with actions, adventures, love, friendship, conflicts and emotions. A brilliant movie and a very successful sequel. It delivered strongly and effectively from a perspective of a poor young girl from District 12 whom continues to fulfill her destiny as an inspiration and as a revolutionist. I couldn’t wait for the final chapter, Mockingjay which will be split into two films just like how Harry Potter franchise concluded. I rate ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ a total of 8.1. One of the highest points I have awarded to movies released this year. Similarly to other movie critics or reviewers, this film garnered overwhelming positive feedbacks and this movie done full of effort deserved it.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: Thor – The Dark World (2013)

Not long after the event in ‘The Avengers’ film last year, we observed the comeback of Iron Man again on its third solo instalment early this year. On that one, we saw Tony Stark of course and also a bit of Hulk (remember the post-credit scene in Iron Man 3?). Now, before the year ends, here came another Marvel’s production; this time a Thor sequel and named ‘The Dark World’. This, the superhero must be Thor himself, but surprisingly, audiences will also got to see a bit of Captain America (you will know when you watch it).

In ‘Thor: The Dark World’, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reunited with Jane (Natalie Portman), his lover and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), his half-brother to face an enemy known as Dark Elves that not only wish to destroy Asgard but also aim to bring darkness to the whole universe. The movie begins with storytelling of what had happened several thousand years ago to the Dark Elves that will eventually unleashed on this day to take revenge and to fulfill their ruthless ambition. Then, the story develops and frequently switches from events on Asgard, then on Malekith (dark elves leader)’s ruined home world (I forgot the name…it started with ‘Sva…’), and also on Earth, and back and forth.

Not only did the various strange names of places or people that got me a bit blurred, the heavy plot that runs from this planet to few others also had me slightly confused. I would prefer for a simpler plot but still with effective villain and a solid story. There are also quite a number of unnecessary lengthy scenes especially some long boring talks. Replace those draggy parts with more thrilling action scenes, then this Thor sequel would be much greater. There are a number of battle sequences but mostly are not intense or exciting enough to call it Thor’s challenging adventure even with his powerful hammer. Some funny scenes are good, but that’s not the main thing we are looking for.

Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman delivered solid performance as usual, but the one I wish to highlight the most is Tom Hiddleston, portraying ‘Loki’. After being given a heavyweight villain role in ‘The Avengers’, there is a strong appeal on his character continued to this Thor sequel as a prisoner freed by Thor to help him save the universe. Tom nailed this character on which at this point is quite complicated as he stands on line between good and bad. He tend to be quite funny in several scenes here and I enjoyed it. It’s quite interesting also to watch him, once a supervillain, now working together with his half-brother to do something good instead. The last scene before rolling credits involving him is very surprising. I don’t wish to reveal much more spoiler here.

I couldn’t feel any spark between Thor and Jane, hence their romance storyline here is poor. On the other hand, the visual effect is splendid and it has to be for a superhero film like this that required several alien planets and involves odd-looking structures and machines. Generally, this Thor sequel is slightly better than its predecessor but compared to other Marvel’s superhero films, Thor still lacked in power. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Thor: The Dark World’ a total of 6.9. If you have not watch it, remember to stay for a while after the last scene as there is a mid-credit scene on which I don’t get it. Hmm…the next Marvel’s superhero film should be ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ which will be up early next year.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web).

 

 

Brother’s Keeper; a series I enjoyed till its ending yesterday.

‘Brother’s Keeper’ (巨輪) is a Hong Kong’s TVB series that depicts the moral life struggles of two half-brothers Tin-seng (Ruco) and Wai-son (Edwin) during the late and post-colonial periods of Hong Kong and Macau between the years 1980 and 2013. It ran in 32 episodes and had just ended yesterday’s night with a rather satisfying and meaningful finale. The drama which is one of TVB’s grand production of the year starred Ruco Chan, Linda Chung, Edwin Siu, Krystal Tin, Louise Lee, Louis Yuen, Susan Tse, Leanne Li, etc.

The first point I wish to compliment on this drama is the inclusion of true historical events that were set against the era, including Hong Kong’s 1980 Touch Base Policy, Macau’s relaxed immigration laws of 1982, the 1991 goldsmith robberies, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macau to China in late 1990s, the 1998 Hong Kong financial crisis, the 1999 Macanese triad wars and chaos, the 2003 Hong Kong SARS outbreak, and the 2008 Hong Kong financial recession, of which serves as some of the key plot vehicles that drive the changing fates of the brothers and their families. It is a very good, interesting and logical approach to develop the story.

As for casts’ performance, the one that stood out is none other than Krystal Tin. She had a very good and appealing character and she nailed it. Often nicknamed as ‘Shrewish Ying’ in the drama, she delivered outstanding performance that should be recognized with award end of this year. As for Linda Chung, her character here is a bit too sloppy and thoughtless and it is not a breakthrough role for her. However, she did improved a lot on her expressions and crying scenes that I find not annoying anymore. Nevertheless, she is regarded as the top contender for best actress this year. Ruco Chan also did a great job as the main lead with convincing acting. He is no doubt a solid lead actor. As for Edwin Siu, he carried out his role well but not good enough. And I had to dislike his character at the part when he treat Ah Ying so bad with no emotion and had been wasting her youth for a decade.

The story began in a quite an exciting and interesting pace, but then as usual to TVB’s pattern, everything will be dragged and slow in the middle portion while the final few episodes are a bit too rushed. The story is developed through flashback that went quite consistently but illogically. In 1980, Tin-seng and Wai-son roughly aged between 10 – 18. By 2013, they should be at least aged between 43 to 51, and they were still that energetic just like their younger days (especially Tin-seng that had to do all the actions to capture the triads) and they were all still ‘waiting’ for relationship outcome. The production team surely didn’t look into this error.

I’m quite happy and satisfied with the ending of the drama. I’m happy that Tin-seng didn’t really turn bad and I do get the impact at the part when the others realized they had misunderstood him. The finale basically highlights Tin-seng’s situation, how others view him and more importantly how he views himself. Eventhough the ending provides not much of climax or intense scenes, but it still delivered with solid conclusion to all characters; everything solved while leaving open possibility only in the love relationship as well as Tin-seng’s unknown future. The last few dialogues in the finale leaves a meaningful message to our life. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Brother’s Keeper’ a total of 7.6. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It’s a very good one, and is considered one of the best this year. Next on my watch list would be the upcoming medical-themed sequel series, ‘The Hippocratic Crush II’.

(All images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

Movie review: Gravity (2013)

After learning of overwhelming positive feedbacks and critical acclaims to the recently released film entitled ‘Gravity’, I was wondering how could a science-fiction space drama film could achieve this kind of successful result. There is this urge in me to watch it, and the wish fulfilled today. I am speechless and excited that this film truly shines and achieves beyond my expectation. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, it stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and depicts the story of a medical engineer and an astronaut working together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

The first thought in my mind after going through its movie trailer few weeks ago is that how is it possible that a story can gets further interesting and developed into a full movie once the astronauts were left floating in space. Things are confined, and events are limited to mostly only an engineer within the ‘silent’ outer space. After watching the film, I am stunned and impressed. The story is carried out extremely well, with breathtaking events after events taking place that gives a hard and intense time to Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), intersected with some light moments in between to ease things up. There are intense climax-hitting scenes and also heartfelt emotional moments.

This is something that will keep us at the edge of our seats. The storyline is very engaging. I personally felt the fear and loneliness of being in that state of floating in space reaching for help faced by the main characters. There is no part for boring character development, and things get straight to thrilling and intense scenes to keep our continuous concentration to the movie, eagerly wanting to know Dr. Ryan’s fate till the end of the movie. There is also a bit of well-placed slightly funny moments here and there and also an unexpected frightening scene involving dead people. Be prepared of that if you have not watched it, but it’s only in a few seconds. A thrilling and tension-hitting ride for both the character in the movie and also to the movie audiences.

Sandra Bullock delivered an outstanding performance as the only lead in the movie. Her convincing expression and brilliant acting in such a difficult setting and state is one of the major praises to the film. She is in almost every seconds of the movie and she nailed it so well that I had nothing else to say. On the other hand, the visual is no doubt spectacular! Truly remarkable visual. The view of the Earth is beautifully captured in the movie, and the scenes of space stations getting destroyed by flying debris are awesome. The heartstopping background musical score also helps a lot to create that kind of exciting atmosphere to let us immerse into many of the tense situations in the movie.

At one moment you’re inside Ryan’s helmet as she looks outside with panic-ridden breath heard, then in a subtle shift you’re outside to check on her reaction. Brilliant usage of two points of view to further grasp the feeling of Dr. Ryan. Eventhough I don’t really get some technical aspects in the movie, but I truly enjoyed what the movie offers. The last few minutes of the movie is finally back on the land, and the ending is a great one. Sorry for a little spoiler here. Everything is good from this film. Out of 10 points, I rate ‘Gravity’ a total of 8.3. A dazzling film. This is certainly one of the best movies of the year. A shouldn’t be missed and highly recommended space drama film.

(The images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)