Thursday 17 September 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)


Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-fi

Language: English

Director: Joss Whedon
Main Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Cobie Smulders, Paul Bettany, Claudia Kim, Samuel L. Jackson & James Spader

Rating: IMDB 7.8 | Rottentomatoes 74%




The sequel to the highly anticipated Marvel film, The Avengers, is also a must watch especially by fans of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). This story shows the life of the avengers after eliminating most of the threat of the face of the Earth. They are on the way to stop what was believe to be the last Hydra base. There they manage to stop Baron Strucker, a Hydra loyalist, however things go awry when two genetically enhanced beings, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff decides to disrupt the avengers' mission. Tony 'Iron Man' Stark is force to endure a vision created by Wanda about a dystopian future. From these events, Stark is influenced into building a safeguard system to protect the world if things should go wrong. With the scepter that was brought in from Strucker's base, it gives Stark the knowledge to build an artificial intelligence to control his army of Iron Legions. However, things didn't go as expected when the A.I. created seem to have gain self-awareness and starts causing distress to the avengers. Once again, despite the differences they face, the avengers must come together as a team to fend off the evil narcissistic Ultron that proves to be a threat to the planet itself. Fairly decent plot line going on and as for the actors, they really portray the characters really well. Good visual effects and great funny lines, this show is a recommendation although it scored fairly lower abit compared to the previous installment, however it is still a good show to watch!



Fantastic Four (2015)


Genre: Drama/Action/Sci-fi

Language: English

Director: Josh Trank
Main Cast: Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell & Reg E. Cathey

Rating: IMDB 4.0 | Rottentomatoes 9%



Another rebooted superhero flick my 20th Century Fox, and re-imagination of Marvel's family of heroes held by director Josh Trank (Chronicle) that portrays a group of young students who  developed an inter-dimensional doorway that allows them to travel to an alternate reality. After a freak accident while the group is at the other dimension, the group of youngsters gain superpowers as their physical form was altered in shocking ways. Reed Richards became extra stretchable, his pal Ben Grimm became a huge golem like creature known as the Thing, Johnny Storm turned was into the human torch where the name already tells everything and lastly his sister, Sue Storm became the Invisible Woman giving her the ability to turn invisible ann telepathic skills. All is well except one lad, Victor Von Doom, which lost and trapped in that zone for enarly a year. And if that wasn't bad enough, he gets turned into this freakish being with weird physiques (almost as worst as Ben), likely because of his suit fusing to his body because of the accident, however he does gain some pretty sick moves which made him real deal. The story then continues where a new machine is developed and the team are forced to get involved in the voyage to the other dimension once again. A group of people are sent in to investigate this time and they discovered the poor lad that was stuck there for 12 months. They then proceed to bring him back, typical, trying to do some research on him before him going havoc. In spite of that, this show gets really disappointing as he only appears for about 10 minutes? maximum. Doctor Doom goes around violently killing people, making heads explode and decides to that he wants to go back to his home on the other side. Before anyone thinks that this is might get better, it gets worse. The fantastic four followed Dr Doom back into the other dimension and had a little fight there where Doom himself vouch to destroy planet Earth. the groups gets beaten as usual because Doom is too powerful, later realize they need to work together and finally get to stop him. the whole scene was pretty fast, therefore did not show any connection together as a team despite this show focusing on character building in the first half of the show. The group then ends back up at Earth in front of a huge big crater created by Doom as celebrates their victory. Story wise was an epic disappointment as plot is stale and not unique. There were also not much focus on the characters build-up despite the creators stating that this show will show us more on the background of the superheroes. CGI was also not that impressive but they manage to look decent at least. Overall, this show is poor and should only be watch if you people had too much free time. Highly un-recommended as the first film was actually better than this.


Furious 7 (2015)


Genre: Action/Drama

Language: English

Director: James Wan
Main Cast: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson & Jason Statham

Rating: IMDB 7.4 | Rottentomatoes 81%

Latest installment in the Fast & Furious series, depicting the great heist from the crew of car stuntmen. The story picks up from where the last one ended. After defeating international terrorist Owen Shaw, the crew goes back to their normal lives but is soon threatened by a new antagonist Deckard Shaw, Owen's big bad brother who is out for revenge on behalf of his younger brother. The crew must once again go on a last job to ensure that their family is able to lead a new life. The plot is rather straightforward but has great action scenes, especially flying a multi-million dollar car from a tall building to another as well as loads of awesome cars! The last great acting from Paul Walker (Brian O'Conner) will always be remembered in this film. A great icon to the franchise along with the cast will definitely make this movie a must watch!    




Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)


Genre: Action/Comedy/Sci-fi

Language: English

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Noel Fisher, Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Johnny Knoxville, Tony Shalhoub & Whoopi Goldberg

Rating: IMDB 5.9 | Rottentomatoes 21%


The group of infamous pizza-loving, mutated ninja turtles from the sewers have finally been rebooted, this time with the help of Jonathan Liebesman as well as Michael Bay. Without much surprise, it is pack with glory of action and explosion as well as a really really big bad villain as the antagonist, Shredder. With much of the story being retold, Master Splinter, the rat and his adopted turtle sons have been genetically mutated by a lab experiment gone wrong. They soon grow to live in the sewers under New York city where they had their moments of peace, til the evil Shredder decides to hunt them down for their valuable blood. Great action scenes with Megan Fox acting as April O'Neil, this show gets a better upgrade in graphics, however the story only received mild reviews from people. The turtles also look less child-friendly creatures. Not the best of the movies but still worth a watch if you haven't.




Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)


Genre: Action/Sci-fi/Fantasy/Comedy

Language: English

Director: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace & Michael Rooker

Rating: IMDB 8.1 | Rottentomatoes 91%

A fresh entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a more fun side featuring a group of inter-galaxy travelling mercenaries known as the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting against a greater evil force to stop them from gaining absolute power of the universe. Funny and ingenious, don't let its audaciousness fool you, as this is by far one of the best Marvel movies out there.


Lead by Peter Quill or known by his nickname Star-Lord (Pratt), he and his team of different beings are pulled into what seems like a galactic war for power between the god-like race of the Kree's, where their leader, Ronan the Accuser who is rallying his forces to hunt for an ancient power known as the Orb. In order to defeat Ronan, the team of misfits are forced to side with different allies which involved inter-galactic bounty hunters and the forces of Nova Corps to protect the things most valueble to them.


The Prestige (2006)


Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Sci-fi/Mystery

Language: English

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson & Michael Cain

Rating: IMDB 8.5 | Rottentomatoes 76%


The story of two witty magicians, Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) in a bitter fight to be the best illusionist in 19th century London. Angier and Borden both friends, at that time, were magician assistants whereby conflict started when a love triangle goes wrong and Angier blames Borden for the death of his wife Julia. Angier and Borden then separated and proceeded to be famous magicians besting one another in various illusion acts. Angier's obsession over his rival's successful tricks eventually led him to a dark secret as well as dire consequences.



Great acting from Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in portraying two competing magic performers. Storyline is captivating and gives us audiences a sense of mystery and thrill. From director, Christopher Nolan, the man that brought us Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar, this is a show to watch especially for those that crave a story line with a unique plot. Plot twists are guaranteed.




Ant-Man (2015)


Genre: Action/Drama/Comedy

Language: English

Director: Peyton Reed
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas & Corey Stoll  

Rating: IMDB 7.8 | Rottentomatoes 80%


2015's Marvel movie about a small yet powerful superhero known as Ant-Man. It all started where small time thief Scott Lang is pulled into a world of organized heist when he stumble upon the Ant-Man suit which was set-up by formal SHIELD member and also the previous Ant-Man, Hank Pym. In an attempt to stop his protege Daren Cross from selling the world his specialized shrinking tech, Pym hires Scott Lang to be the new Ant-Man in order to stop Cross and steal back the serum that allows human to alter their mass. 


This show is surprisingly addictive and funny as it catches people's attention to the yet humble superhero in the much vast Marvel Cinematic Universe. Earlier reviews about this movie was average but when the trailer came out, this movie gained a good review as well as for the story itself when it was released in theaters. It is a must watch for those hardcore Marvel fans out there as it contains more easter eggs in the movie on upcoming Marvel films. It is also recommended to who haven't seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it overall an entertaining production.  


Interstellar (2014)


Genre: Drama/Sci-fi

Language: English

Director: Christopher Nolan
Main Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, MacKenzie Foy & Matt Damon

Rating: IMDB 8.7 | Rottentomatoes 72%


Yet another sensational blockbuster by renowned director Christopher Nolan in depicting the future of mankind where space travel is necessary to preserve the remaining human race on a dying planet Earth.


In this film, the ingenious plot of showing the life of former NASA pilot Cooper played by Matthew McConaughey after the Earth is infected with a blight knowned as the Dust Bowl where crops are dying and thus, rendering the Earth inhabitable. The population of the human race is also greatly decreasing while the remaining dwellers will have to work on preserving life, known by the people as the care-taker generation.  One day, while going with his daily activities, Cooper came across an old NASA base where there he meets with NASA physicist, Professor Brand (Michael Caine) where he tells him that there is still hope for the people of Earth. Somehow somewhere, a wormhole or a rip in the space and time continuum is discovered where it will theoretically give the populace a second chance at life.


Hearing the sounds of hope, Cooper now lands in a difficult choice where he either choose to leave his children behind and embark on a probably one-way voyage into space or stay back on Earth and see his children suffer as the planet will most likely not survived the next generation. As a loving father, Cooper chose to save his children and also the fate of humanity by taking the risk of exploring deep space into a galaxy unknown in search for a habitable planet.


This film gives us many mind blowing theories about wormholes and the space-time continuum as given by theoretical physicist Kip Thorne. The on and off relationship between Cooper and his daughter also adds a mundane element to great sci-fi flick. This show is definitely worth a watch as it contains great story line as well as good line of casts. This film also won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.


Wednesday 16 September 2015

8 Mile (2002)


Genre: Drama/Music

Language: English

Director: Curtis Hanson
Cast: Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer & Taryn Manning  

Rating: IMDB 7.0 | Rottentomatoes 76%



The movie is about a young rapper Jimmy B-Rabbit Smith Jr (Eminem), who struggle every aspect of his life and also his last chances to become a successful rapper. He lives in a violent city called 8 mile with his alcoholic mom. He was focused on getting his rap career started but then he decide to put his music dream career on hold because he wasn’t welcome and got booed off stage. Jimmy also has to take care of his younger sister and mom. Jimmy was having a really tough time due to work and also being harassed by the people over there for being white as he lives in the ghetto area, whereby there is some racist issue between the white and black. However, that did not stop him instead he starts to stand up for himself and challenge the blacks into rap battle tournament to prove himself. Eventually, he won the battle tournament and was given a position to host a rap battle. Although, he refuses the position but he gain his confidence back.


The Avengers (2012)


Genre: Fantasy/Science-fiction/Action/Adventure

Language: English

Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Colbie Smulders, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgard, Clark Gregg, Gwyneth Paltrow & Samuel L. Jackson   

Rating: IMDB 8,1 | Rottentomatoes 92%



The Avengers for the first time marvel has gather up all the famous heroes to form the Avengers which includes Iron man , Thor. Hulk .Captain America. Hawkeye and Black Widow.  The movie is sort of continuation of all the previous marvel hero movie. Whereby captain America is not dead but frozen up for half a century. Thor is also there to search for his brother as his brother wants to destroy earth. Hence, The Avengers is formed to save the planet from being destruction. The movie is decent to watch if you enjoy watching super hero movies then this is something new as they were many heroes inside. The action in the movie is also really awesome as we get to see every hero in action. 



Despicable Me (2010)


Genre: Animation/Comedy/Drama/Science-fiction/Action

Language: English

Director: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud 
Cast: Steve Carell, Chris Renaud, Russell Brand, Jason Segel & Pierre Coffin 

Rating: IMDB 7.7 | Rottentomatoes 81%



One of the all time favorite wonderful Disney movie is “Despicable Me”.Gru (Carell) a master conman or also describe as the villain in the movie has a bad reputation that he needs to improve on. Vector (Segal) a new criminal in the business has managed to steal the Pyramid of Giza making Gru theft a shame. Thus, Gru has to come up with one large theft plan that will change the way the world looks at him. However, in order to achieve that, Gru would need the Shrink Ray, which is currently owned by Vector. At the same time, they were three orphaned girls, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier) and Anges (Fisher) who sell cookies and Vector like the cookies as well. Hence, Gru plan to use to them so that he can enter to vectors facility. The movie is really funny and is something that you would not want missed out. There were also some really weird minions which makes the movie even more hilarious. 


Monster Inc. (2001)


Genre: Animation/Comedy/Adventure

Language: English

Director: Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich & David Silverman
Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi & James Cobum 

Rating: IMDB 8.1 | Rottentomatoes 96%


The show is regarding about monsters who is living in another parallel world. The monster goes to school, drive cars and does almost everything that humans do except for one thing. The monsters power their world through human scream. The scary monsters that have the potential to be frightening will enters the bedrooms of children and scares them in order to collect their screams into the canisters which used as resources to power the monster world. James P.Sullivan (Goodman) is one the scariest monster at Monster Inc. The monster Inc is basically a power generation company whereby the monsters works there and collect scream. At the same time, James P.Sullivan has a partner who is also his best friend known as Mike Wazowski (Crystal). The duo works together and became one of the best performing employees in the company. However, there is also Randall Boggs (Buscemi) the rival of James, who is consistently trying to get better than them although it fails. The humans are prohibited from entering the monster world and consider as highly contagious toxic. However, a two year old girl eventually enters the monster world and somehow it takes a liking for James. Thus, James and his partner are faced with difficult choices whether to send the girl back without anyone knowing or being banished from the monster world. The movie has a great story line whereby there exists another parallel world. The bond between human and monsters is also very touching. Animations were good as well the whole movie is just something that you cannot miss.