First Official Thor Photo Released

Check this out. Hot on the heels of the release of Iron Man 2 in cinemas this past weekend, Marvel have just released one picture from their next film, Thor, scheduled for release next year. Playing the lead role is Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth. Name sounds familiar? That’s because he played George Kirk, Jim Kirk’s dad in last year’s Star Trek.

So what do you think of the casting of Hemsworth as Thor and what do you think about the photo below? Leave your thoughts.

Thor hits cinemas May 6, 2011.

Iron Man 2 Review

[This review may include tiny spoilers]

Coming up with a sequel following a massive success for the first installment for any franchise is never easy. Marvel has had some hit and miss in this regard with Spider-Man 2 being the better of the first two and somewhat failures with Fantastic Four and X-Men sequels. Following last year’s major disappointment with Transformer’s: Revenge of the Fallen, I thought I would have been at least a little apprehensive about Iron Man 2. But fortunately for me, I loved it, even more so than the first movie. And I’ll tell you why.

The one mistake Michael Bay made with the sequel to Transformers was that he gave the audience more than they wanted. We were happy with the amount of CG giant-robot battle scenes in the first one. But in Revenge of the Fallen, it was just overkill. The excessive robot battle scenes were unnecessary and I wish he had focused more on the plot and characters. Something Jon Favreau does very well in Iron Man 2.

In the past couple of days, I’ve been seeing people complain about how Iron Man 2 was not as good as the first one because there were fewer actions scenes and more of what people call ‘talky-scenes’. I completely disagree with them and I think the sequel is the better of the two. I love how in this one, there is more focus on both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Robert Downey Jr. gives another outstanding performance, more so than in the first movie. He manages to pull of the charismatic persona without looking too cocky.

Another thing this movie does well is it sets up the S.H.I.E.L.D. story brilliantly. As you probably know, Marvel has this plan for some sort of continuous storyline in every one of their films, also known as the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. As seen in the trailers, Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) plays a more substantial role in this film which is a bonus. I’m grateful Marvel didn’t hold back too much on the teasers for the upcoming films. I won’t tell you what they are so don’t worry about spoilers. But I will tell you there is a good amount about S.H.I.E.L.D. in the movie.

Another thing I found myself loving was the cameos. Just to list a few, there was Stan Lee (as always), the late Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein, director Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and not to mention the several superhero hints/teasers/cameos. As for the villain/s, Mickey Rourke is quite convincing from his Russian accent to his evil laugh. However, Sam Rockwell does a great job as the idiotic, rich, bad guy, just like how @techsupremo said.

A couple things I don’t like about the movie: Scarlett Johansson doesn’t ‘act’ enough. She’s capable of good acting. Which is why it’s such a pity she’s being used as a ‘Megan Fox’. Just stand there, look pretty/sexy/hot. OK la, she pulls that off well. I don’t like Don Cheadle as Rhodey, but I like War Machine. I don’t like how Whiplash was defeated so quickly.

All in all, I think Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel to what is turning out to be an incredible franchise. Now bring on Iron Man 3 and The Avengers!

P.S. Because you read this review all the way to the end, you get to be reminded to stay back AFTER the credits for a little surprise. [HINT] It's got something to do with Marvel's next films, releasing next year.

How To Train Your Dragon Review

With Pixar winning 5 out of the last 7 Best Animated feature awards at the Oscars, it’s hard to take Dreamworks animated films seriously. I can name only a handful of Dreamworks films that I liked, namely Antz, Shrek, Chicken Run, The Prince of Egypt and KungFu Panda. I’m glad to add How To Train Your Dragon to that list.

This movie takes place in Viking times and is about a boy named Hiccup. Yes, I know, that’s not a very Viking name. In the process of the movie, he sees another side to the vicious dragons that terrorize his village and starts to understand them.

They waste no time jumping straight into the plot. You’re introduced to the dragons right from the get-go. The subtle narration in the opening bits of the movie helps with the introduction to the back-story and is a great starting point. Other than being thrown right into the mix in the first 10 minutes, I found myself being struck by how good the voice acting was. If I had to pick out one thing from this movie that made me like it, I would definitely say the voice acting. Big props to the casting director for getting it spot on with Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson.

Another thing I like about the movie is how they dealt with the accents. There’s a fair balance of Scottish and American thrown in, keeping the Viking flair but at the same time making it mainstream and more understandable with the American accents.

Apart from the stand-out voice acting, the visual effects are well done but nothing mind-blowing. Everything looks very rounded, just like in other Dreamworks movies. I’m disappointed with the art design of the the supposed best and most powerful dragon of all, Night Fury aka. Toothless. I know it’s meant to be cute at times, but at times when the dragon is supposed to be vicious and frightening, it just looks lame. It’s too rounded and looks nothing like a dragon. More like a black cat with wings. The best thing about ‘Night Fury’ is that it’s like the fighter jet of the dragon. It’s fast, stealthy and shoots awesome fireballs.

In a nutshell, the How To Train Your Dragon is a an easy-on-the-mind, feel-good movie. With plenty of cute ‘awww’ moments and decent humor, this is definitely a highly recommendable movie. Everyone should go see this movie. Bring your kids, your siblings, your parents, your grandparents, your aunts and uncles. It will be worth the money you pay. But it’s definitely nowhere close to Pixar standard. This movie barely evoked any emotions in me, something Pixar films do all the time.

I shall give How To Train Your Dragon a rating of 7 out of 10 Popcorns.

Final Robin Hood Trailer

Here is the last trailer for Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe as the title character. The first trailer for the movie was incredibly epic (because of the heavy metal music) but now, this latest trailer tells us more about how the movie is going to look like when it gets released May 13.

Check out the full-length trailer below.

In 13th century England, Robin Hood (Russell Crowe) and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power. And whether thief or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people.

Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.

With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.

Source: /Film

3rd Red-Band Kick-Ass Trailer

With every poster and every trailer released, I get more impatient. I really, really want to watch Kick-Ass. Here’s another red-band trailer for your viewing pleasure.

Sorta NSFW and definitely NSF Kids.

Click here to check out previous posters and trailers on Kick-Ass.

Official Full Length Tron Legacy Trailer

Disney are back with another, better trailer for Tron Legacy. Check it out. It features new Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, who was also in the original Tron.

Watch the trailer below. It is one of the better trailers I’ve seen recently.

Tron Legacy will hits cinemas at the end of the year.

Kick-Ass Character Posters

I don’t feel like writing today so I’m just gonna post up some cool posters from the upcoming superhero/comedy film, Kick-Ass, based on the graphic novel. Enjoy!

Kick-Ass gets an April 16 release here but I won’t be surprised if it gets pulled from distribution here in Malaysia. It is, after all, an R-rated movie. Even if it does get shown here, I doubt it would be worth ten bucks to go see in the theaters.

2010 Oscar Winners

Here is the full list of Oscar nominees and winners of each category:

Best Supporting Actor:

• Matt Damon - Invictus
• Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Feature Film:

• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Secret of the Kells
• Up

Best Original Song:

• “Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
• “Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
• “Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
• “Take It All” from Nine
• “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart

Best Original Screenplay:

• Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
• Oren Moverman and - The Messenger
• Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man
• Pete Docter and Bob Peterson - Up

Best Animated Short:

• French Roast
• Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
• The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
• Logorama
• A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Documentary Short:

• China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
• The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
• The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
• Music by Prudence
• Rabbit à la Berlin

Best Live-Action Short:

• The Door
• Instead of Abracadabra
• Kavi
• Miracle Fish
• The New Tenants

Best Make-up:

• Il Divo
• Star Trek
• The Young Victoria

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Neill Blomkamp and - District 9
• Nick Hornby - An Education
• Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche - In the Loop
• Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
• Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air

Best Supporting Actress:

• Penelope Cruz - Nine
• Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
• Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart
• Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
• Mo’Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

Best Art Direction

• Avatar
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nine
• Sherlock Holmes
• The Young Victoria

Best Costume Design:

• Bright Star
• Coco Before Chanel
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nine
• The Young Victoria

Best Sound Editing:

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Pixar’s Up

Best Sound Mixing:

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Cinematography:

• Maurio Fiore - Avatar
• Bruno Delbonnel - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Barry Ackroyd - The Hurt Locker
• Robert Richardson - Inglourious Basterds
• Christian Berger - The White Ribbon

Best Original Score:

• James Horner - Avatar
• Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders - The Hurt Locker
• Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes
• Michael Giacchino - Pixar’s Up

Best Visual Effects:

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek

Best Documentary Feature:

• Burma VJ
• The Cove
• Food, Inc.
• The Most Dangerous Man in America
• Which Way Home

Best Film Editing:

• Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron - Avatar
• Julian Clarke - District 9
• Bob Murawski and Chris Innis - The Hurt Locker
• Sally Menke - Inglourious Basterds
• Joe Klotz - Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Best Foreign Language Film:

• Ajami - Israel
• El Secreto de sus Ojos - Argentina
• The Milk of Sorrow - Peru
• Un Prophéte - France
• The White Ribbon - Germany

Best Actor:

• Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
• George Clooney - Up in the Air
• Colin Firth - A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman - Invictus
• Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker

Best Actress:

• Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren - The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan - An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
• Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia

Best Director:

• Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron - Avatar
• Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
• Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Best Picture:

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

What I'm happy with:

Best Supporting Actor: Cristoph Waltz
I thought he thoroughly deserved the win for that excellent performance in Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'nique
Again, Mo'nique thoroughly deserves this Oscar. She will never play another role this well again in her life. You have to watch Precious just for her performance in the film.

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Although this movie may seem small and insignificant in comparison to Avatar, it takes nothing away from the quality of this movie, which ultimately gave it this win. I have always liked The Hurt Locker, ever since I saw it and reviewed it- here.


What I'm not happy with:

Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Sure The Hurt Locker had an excellent screenplay and would deserve this win any other year. But it was in the same category as Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Inglourious Basterds. I just think Basterds had a far more superior story than The Hurt Locker and I'm just a little disappointed it didn't win.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious
I just think Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell did a better job with District 9 and should have take this award home for their efforts.

Best Visual Effects: Avatar

Yeah, yeah. Stop gasping. I wasn't blown away by Avatar's visual effects. Not that I'm saying it wasn't anywhere near game-changing for cinema, because it was. I'm just saying I connected more and got more out of the effects in District 9. And when we talk about bang for buck, District 9 (budget: $30 million) blows Avatar (budget: $250-300 million) out of the water.



Well, congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker people for racking up a total of six out of a possible six Academy Awards. I thought they really deserved each and every one of them. I am, after all, team Hurt Locker, no matter what people say about Avatar.

Source: /Film

Iron Man 2 Trailer #2

The first Iron Man 2 trailer premiered almost three months ago and it's about time the second one came out. Here it is on YouTube after it premiered on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

In this one, there a lot less humor but we see a lot more action with the suit. Whiplash gets more screen time in this trailer and we see Nick Fury once again. Also, we get to see more of James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine, played by Don Cheadle.

The end sequence of the trailer is the best part, so watch til the end! Enjoy!




Iron Man 2 hits our screens April 30, a whole week before the USA. Woohoo!

10 Movies That Made My 2009

In 2008, I talked about my favorite movies of the year. It's only apt that I continue in that vein this year and talk about the 10 movies that were my favorites of 2009. The following movies are ranked based on multiple factors like how much I enjoyed the movie and how good I thought the movie was.

Also, it's important to bear in mind that I'm making this list without having seen many movies that would make this list if I had seen them. If that even makes sense. For example, I have yet to see Up, Avatar, A Serious Man, Crazy Heart, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans, Precious, Up In The Air and (500) Days Of Summer. I will eventually watch those movies but until then, shall we get started on the movies I did watch last year? Let's go!

The following content contains spoilers.

#10. The Hangover

The Hangover has definitely got to be the comedy of the year. It may be a little bit stupid but it’s amazingly funny as hell thanks to a good plot and a great cast. If you have not seen this, you have to see it.

 

#9. Star Trek

What made Star Trek such a good movie was the fact that it not only was a film for the Trekkies but also for the general public. Also, I thought the performances by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto were top notch. Has this movie turned me into a Star Trek fan? No it has not. But it definitely makes me anxious to catch the next J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek. Check out my Star Trek review right here.

 

#8. Knowing

This film might not be on many people’s lists, but it’s on mine because I was too blind to see the twist at the end of the movie. In the end it really took my by surprised and gave me all the more reason to love this movie. This may not be a very good movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you want to check out my full review of this film, click here.

 

#7. Moon

2009 was a year for sci-fi lovers with movies like Star Trek, Avatar and District 9. Another sci-fi gem to come out of 2009 was Moon. This is a one man show and is carried on the shoulders of Sam Rockwell and his incredible performance. I really believe he deserves an Oscar nomination. Seriously, check this film out.

 

#6. Adventureland

Adventureland is really sweet and funny in parts. But the best thing about the movie is how it hit home with me and how it has the ability to connect with you on so many different levels. Unfortunately, Kristen Stewart’s performance was no where up to par with the rest of the cast, especially Jesse Eisenberg’s and Martin Starr’s. But that doesn’t take much away from an excellent movie.

 

#5. District 9

What Neill Blomkamp did with District 9 blew minds, mine included. The visual and sound effects in the movie were just incredible considering the budget for the film. Not only do the visuals hit you really hard but the story is so compelling it drags you in emotionally and you start to really feel for the main character Wikus van der Merwe along with the Prawns. Check out my review of District 9 here.

 

#4. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker was, without a doubt, the most intense and riveting film I saw in 2009. Everything, right down to the nerves and danger, felt so real. Ultimately, in a war movie, that’s what you want. And The Hurt Locker definitely delivers in that regard. Also, great performance by Jeremy Renner. Check out my short review of the movie here.

 

#3. Watchmen

I’m not a comic book fan so I had never heard of Watchmen before the movie. So I had no expectations coming into the movie. I absolutely adored the movie and am glad I watched the movie without having read the graphic novel. If I had read the novel first, I would not have enjoyed and appreciated the movie for how good it was. I was also glad the movie was rated R because it would not have worked any other way. All in all, Watchmen had an awesome gritty and compelling look to it. I got so much satisfaction from watching it. Check out my review of the movie here.

 

#2. Zombieland

Producing so many laughs and also delivering satisfying zombie gore and violence makes Zombieland one hell of a zombie movie. That aside, the performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson only made this movie better. The cameo by Bill Murray was amazing. 2009 could have very well been Jesse Eisenberg’s break out year with his success with the two ‘land’ movies and landing the role of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. At the end of the day, Zombieland proved to be the most enjoyable and entertaining movie of 2009.

 

#1. Inglourious Basterds

I simply adored Inglourious Basterds. Everything about it was right. The opening sequence to the movie is just about the best opening to any movie out there. And I loved how the film had few action scenes but had plenty of controlled, intense one-on-one conversations scenes. Brad Pitt did an excellent job, as usual, but not as excellent as Christoph Waltz who made such a believable and epic villain in the film. This film, I think, is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece and will last for a long time.

 

Special Mentions

The following are a few movies I liked but could not find space for in my top 10.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The 6th installment to the franchise was arguably the best of all 6 so far and one of the best movies of 2009. Tom Felton gives a stand out performance and the plot of the 6th book really gets transformed well for the silver screen. Read my review here.

 

Drag Me To Hell

Drag Me To Hell was not only scary and terrifying but also quite good fun. The sense of humor meshed in with the terror did great for the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a fun movie. Check out my review here.

 

Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity was probably the success story of the last year, if not the decade. It was so simplistic, yet genuinely scary. A well made movie considering it was made for only $11,000.

 

Let The Right One In

OK so this movie might not have been made or released in 2009 but I saw it in 2009, so sue me. I was so impressed with this Swedish movie about 12-year old kids, one of which is a vampire. If you’re looking for brilliant child acting, Let The Right One In is the movie for you. This movie takes you on an emotional ride among other things and I implore you to get your hands on this movie before Hollywood remakes it and releases Let Me In this year.

So that’s that. I hope all of you had a great 2009 and here’s to hoping 2010 will be even better, both in the movie world and otherwise.

Happy New Year!