Meet Lucy

After watching some trailers, I thought Lucy looked quite interesting. Not really a fan of Luc Besson, the subject matter seemed original enough. So, I convinced Anita to come along to watch the movie with me after we were done with furniture hunting.

It lived up to my expectations. And the guy behind the counter who sold us the tickets wasn't joking when he said that the movie was not suitable for children. He was spot on. The action were rather brutal. But the narrative was good. Illogical, but I was game for the ride.

After enjoying some trailers, there was an announcement for everyone to stand up for Negaraku. I read about this somewhere. Slowly Malaysia was turning into North Korea, but maybe the Menteri got their heads screwed on right and knew what they were doing. Personally I felt that this was a hollow gesture, but who am I to judge. I was here for a movie after a long weekend.

Would I recommend everybody to watch it? Well, I would definitely watch it again if it played on Astro, but I don't think that this movie would be everybody's cup of tea.

Divergent

I became interested in the book after reading that it would be made into a feature film. And if it was half as good as the Hunger Games trilogy, then I would be in for a treat.

I went into Audible and downloaded the book. It was rather gripping listening to it on the way to work. So, earlier this week, Anita and I went to watch the movie at the cinema.

The review was not that great, but I must say that the movie was better than expected. The director did take some creative liberty in the storyline but it was clear that they plan to film the whole trilogy and must still needed to be explained in the end.

Great night out. Whether knowing the storyline beforehand made the movie less enjoyable? I wasn't too sure. I would be listening to the rest of the trilogy before the next instalment most definitely.

I would definitely recommend it to whoever who was into Hunger Games.

Lego Movie

As part of Irfan's birthday weekend, we took the boys for the new Lego movies. And a few of his buddies attended as well. We filled up a couple of rows and caused mayhem to those who were there. But it was great fun.

The movie itself was something unique. It featured Lego animation. And by animation, I didn't mean stock motion stuff. It was difficult to describe actually. One of my friend saw it in 3D and felt that the effect was seen a lot more.

It was a standard fare, with beautiful graphics although the storyline was rather a disappointment personally. It did its job however as all the children screamed for Lego toys at the end of the movies.

In terms of recommending the film, it wasn't exactly the worst movie I've seen in the last couple of years. Decent entertainment value, but that was just about it. Nothing special. I was also surprised by the fact that it was rated PG13. Maybe because some of the dialogues were quite crass.

Now that the movie was over, we could get on with the rest of the weekend festivities ...

Elysium

I wanted to catch this movie when it was playing in the cinema but for some reason, I didn't have the chance to do so. In the end, I got a copy of this movie at my usual supplier and watched it last night.

It was a foreign, uncensored copy and it was more violent than I bargained for. But the plot was rather interesting, although I felt that the director could have taken a different approach to the storytelling. As it was, the plot seemed rather straightforward and predictable.

It revolved around Matt Damon's character, a petty criminal who chose a straight path. After an incident at his workplace, he had to return to his underworld past as he had only 5 days to live without treatment at a future habitat in Earth's orbit populated by the wealthy ala Wall-E.

The journey to get there formed the bulk of the plot, when he came across a childhood crush. They ended up helping each other out, leading him making the ultimate sacrifice.

The special effect was top-notch and the acting was appropriate for the characters and the cast were fantastic. Unfortunately the payback at the end was rather predictable. The backstory offered so much more and the screenwriter could've told the story from a different perspective, rather than taking a narrow look to the story development. The stake felt lighter than it ought to be due to the choices the director took.

As for the violence, I felt that some of them was not warranted and did little to progress the plot. It was pure gore and indulgence in the end.

I would definitely recommended it for the sci-fi fans such as myself, but a summer blockbuster this may be not. The story arch could've been different and itbwoukd have served the audience better. The backstory definitely was stronger than what was portrayed in the film. And I could boldly suggests that they could've developed it into a TV series in the future. Have a look and see if you agree...

Mechanically Frozen

As mentioned, my boys had been keen on watching Frozen for the last couple of months. Since it opened last week, they had been harping on about it. And with Idlan going for his bersunat on Wednesday, we had to do it sooner rather than later.

So, off we went on a late night show last Sunday evening.

It was a 3D show. Armed with the oversized goggle-glasses, we took out seats and was immediately stunned by the opening short-video to warm us up before the main event. And might as well.

I left the theatre with mixed feelings after the show was done. Yes, I didn't hold my attention enough that I actually dozed off for quite a bit. The story were both mechanical and predictable. It stuck to the tried and tested Disney animated fantasy of yesteryears to the T. As a result, it got boring pretty quickly.

Pretty princesses. Checked. Charming sidekicks. Checked. Plucky tunes. Checked. Lived happily ever after at the end. Checked. But unfortunately, it was no Little Mermaid. No Ariel. No Sebastian. No "Under the Sea". Great effort, but failed to fulfil the high expectation that Disney themselves created.

I would still recommend it to young families as the trip would no doubt still be enjoyable. The animation was nothing short of spectacular, but in the end, they were all just eye candy. And the 3D effect was A-MA-ZING!

Verdict from my boys? Idlan was amazed at the 3D but for Irfan, not so. They would still get the DVD later when it comes out though.