Sanctum (2011) movie

It has been ages since I've done a movie synopsis but we just caught the movie in 3D this weekend at KSL city and I can't get it out of my head just yet.

Movie starts with billionaire Carl landing in New Guinea with his girlfriend Victoria whom he met on an Everest expedition. They are met upon disembarking from the sea-plane by young 17 year old Josh. Josh is the son of Frank who is an experienced cave diver who is presently exploring the cave system at the mother of all caves, a huge hole in the ground that Carl, Victoria and Josh helicopter into. There is a system that connects the base camps set up almost 2km underground with the surface which allows video conferencing. 1 of Frank's team-mates, George tells Frank who is about to go on a dive that another member Jude, who is supposed to go on the dive does not seem ready and when Frank questions Jude, she almost begs him to let her go on the dive. They both go, followed by a robot which transmits images of the divers and the surroundings to the video system. There is a narrow opening in the rock which they both have to squeeze through to get to a new cavern and they make a decision to leave their spare tanks behind. However while squeezing through, Jude's hose gets caught and tears, causing water to enter the tube and flood her face-mask. Frank shares his own mask with her for some time but then when she reaches out for his mask the third time, he pushes her away and she quickly drowns before his eyes. He makes his way to the decompression chamber underground while her body floats outside. The people at the surface and in the base camp watch with horror, esp Josh who accuses his father of killing Jude. Frank brings Jude's dead body back to the base camp just in time to hear Josh's accusations. George explains to Josh that the moment there was a leak in Jude's pipe, it was a qn of one dead body or two down there and Frank giving Jude the few moments of air with his mask of a heroic act.

In any case, Carl, Victoria and Josh have by then climbed down /parachuted into the base camp and Carl's intent is to explore with Josh the new cavern which Jude died in the next day. However, there is a storm which spirals quickly into a hurricane that night and 2 of the members of the base camp manage to make their way out. Josh is suppose to climb up with them and one of the local guides, Lugo, but both turn back instead to warn those left at the base camp - Frank, Carl, Victoria and George. They manage to reach the group but while trying to rescue them using a system of ropes which is secured by a large rock, the rock gives way and Lugo falls into the water and is sucked underwater underground despite Josh trying to hold on to his leg. The exit is also shut because of the rock. Realizing that they have to find another way out, the group make their way back to base camp to pick up whatever they can find for survival. Lugo's body surfaces and Josh grabs it, only to find that Lugo is still alive but horribly battered with just 1 eye left. Frank holds Lugo underwater to drown him in a mercy killing despite Josh's and Victoria's protests. George leads Josh away while Carl does the same with Victoria. Frank tells them that every bone in Lugo's body has been broken and there was no way he could have survived. Besides, the base camp would be flooded in a matter of hours and they had to keep moving. Frank then asks Victoria to put on a wet suit which he is about to remove from Jude's dead body but she refuses to wear it. So they set off swimming underwater to try to find the way out of the underground caves to the sea using the river. However, along the way after surfacing, George suffers from decompression bends and is unable to keep up. He asks Josh to go along first while he catches his breath, coughing. When he spits out blood, he decides to hide himself from the group. Frank realizes what has happened and goes back for him, calling out for him but he refuses to show himself, lying hidden in the dark with blood oozing from his nose until he dies. The group of 4 then presses on.

They come to an opening where the only way is across a churning round pit of water that appears like a bubbling whirlpool. Frank calls it a meat-grinder and wants to climb to the opening at the other side but Josh does the climbing instead as the best climber in the group. He successfully makes it to the other side, climbing the cave walls and sets up the belay system. When Victoria is crossing, Carl shines his light at her, causing her to be blinded and slip. Her hair gets caught in system of ropes and is torn/ripped from her scalp. In pain, she ignores Frank's warning not to use her knife to free herself from the ropes, and cuts through her hair. However, she cuts through the rope instead and plummets downwards, breaking her spine on the ropes below her and then tumbling into the whirlpool. Carl is half mad with grief, esp when Frank does not give him time to mourn but commands that they press on.

There is one rebreather left for the 3 because of Victoria's accident (she was carrying the load) and Frank tells Carl and Josh that he will use that to explore the underwater cave before them. However, Carl grabs it and takes off. Despite jumping in after him and trying to grab him, Frank fails to get the rebreather back. Josh smells bat droppings on one of the openings above them and they decide to climb up towards where fresh air is coming from. They make it out of the caves to where a Japanese tank is - apparently a result of the ground caving in. Everyone there is dead so they use the fuel in the tank to make torches for themselves and re-enter the caves to find another way instead of waiting to be rescued. They meet Carl along the way and Carl begs them for some food. Josh lets him have some. Frank walks towards Carl despite his protests and sees that Carl has been hiding Victoria's dead body. Carl explains that he couldn't leave her. Frank tells Josh to leave Carl and walk on despite Carl trying to explain that he would have come back for them. Frank tells Carl that he should not have brought Victoria into the caves, esp since she had no experience cave diving. He also says Victoria was responsible for the decisions she made - like choosing not to wear a wet suit to keep herself warm (her fingers were numb so she slipped when Carl shone the light at her) and using the knife to free herself. Carl does not respond and so they leave Carl and walk on.

Suddenly along the way, Carl appears and jumps on Frank, impaling him on a minor stalagmite.Josh jumps at Frank and manage to over-power him, leaving him half-lifeless in the water. Josh goes back to Frank's side and sees that Frank is mortally wounded. Behind him, Carl rises up from the water and Josh tells him that the reason they have been alive for so long is because of Frank. Carl does not respond to that and jumps into the cave water without taking any equipment. In the meantime, Frank asks Josh to help him. Josh agrees and Frank asks Josh to help carry him into the water where he lies there in pain. And then Frank asks Josh to help him to make things faster. Josh does not understand and wants to wait with Frank until Frank expires. Frank tells Josh he would rather go faster and not like this in pain slowly, so after promising Frank that he would never give up, Josh holds his father underwater until he drowns. Josh then takes the rebreather and enters the cave water. He by-passes Carl's dead body (having to swim between the dead hands) and makes his way through the underground cave system following the river ie swimming. When he runs out of air, he sucks air from the air bubbles trapped in the holes of the cave wall leading upwards to the sun light and finally manages to surface along a sandy beach.

The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. While the setting was novel (divers in a cave), the plot certainly wasn't (much like Poseidon). The only 2 things that stayed with me after watching this movie is firstly, always listen to the one who has the most experience in the matter concerned (listen at least, not follow blindly), esp if one does not have the benefit of the experience that the person had. Secondly, all of us have to take responsibility for each decision we make, even or esp, those that have consequences that we never expect.

Shaolin (2011) movie

I prefer not watching Chinese movies so I never do on my own accord. And I'm glad a friend suggested watching "Shaolin" this evening out of the blue and that I didn't disagree. We both came away with different takes on what the movie was about, driven of course by our individual paramount thoughts/feelings and circumstances. Our consensus though was that this was a great shows. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Worth the 2 and 1/2 hours of your life spent watching.

I thought the movie was about the humbling of a man - how it takes losing the person one loves the most before one is brought to one's knees. About how wealth and power are not everything at the end of the day, even though these are what most of us strive for on a daily basis. And how really, life isn't just about experiences (even a dog can experience fear or anger), but also about lessons and trials （人生要有经验和磨练）. If one has not been baptized by the fires of loss, hardship and trial to emerge stronger and better, but has always taken the safe and easy way out, one's character reminds undeveloped, stuck in a cycle of selfishness and self-centredness. Sometimes to win, you have to lose.

Summary

The movie starts with a scene of carnage and shaolin monks burying the dead and rescuing the injured. 1 of the injured turns out to be someone of great importance of the city that has just been leveled by the lead character, a warlord named Hou Jie. Cao Man, Hou Jie's second in command whom he addresses as younger brother, goes to Shaolin Temple to demand that the monks give up this injured character and pulls a gun on the abbott when denied. Hou Jie appears then and the injured character begs for his life and offers a treasure map if spared. Hou Jie takes the treasure map and walks away before turning around abruptly to shoot and kill. As a final insult, Hou Jie writes on the door plague (which had fallen off during a fight with the monks), no big deal. As they ride away to meet Tiger Sou who is Hou Jie's sworn brother, Hou Jie advises Cao Man to always show no mercy when one has gained the upper hand.

Tiger Sou is shown to be a brute whom Hou Jie shows deference to. Tiger Sou suggests a marriage between his young son and Hou Jie's little 7 year old daughter (Sheng Nan). It is obvious that Hou Jie and his wife dotes on their adorable little daughter and Hou Jie wonders why Tiger Sou did not ask him about the treasure map. He concludes that Tiger Sou wants the entire spoils of the city and decides to kill him before Tiger Sou can move first against him. The arrangement with his wife is that if he hits the table, she is to get up and go with their daughter to the toilet. The movie then depicts the relationship between Cao Man and Hou Jie where Cao Man is testing out arms marketed by the Russians and is tempted to accept the Russian's offer to supply the arms free of charge in exchange for support to build a railroad. Hou Jie rejects the offer as he believes the Russians want Chinese land and when Cao Man tries to speak up for the Russians, Hou Jie slams him into a wall, squeezes his neck and face until Cao Man concedes Hou Jie's superiority. Also, when Cao Man questions why Hou Jie allows Tiger Sou to bully him, Hou Jie shouts at Cao Man that it is his not his place to question this. In any case, Hou Jie trusts Cao Man enough to inform him of his plans to kill Tiger Sou at the restaurant where they are to meet to discuss the upcoming wedding and this is when Cao Man takes the chance to betray Hou Jie by sending a note informing Tiger Sou of the plan. midway during the meal.

Tiger Sou is enraged and Hou Jie has no choice but to kill Tiger Sou (who reveals during the meal that he doesn't want any part of the spoils of the city which Hou Jie leveled as Hou Jie would be leaving it to his daughter who would in turn share the same with Tiger Sou's son). In the meantime, Cao Man's men start hacking to death Tiger Sou's and Hou Jie's men with axes. Hou Jie's wife gets knocked unconscious while trying to fend off attackers from Sheng Nan. Hou Jie makes it out of the restaurant only to find his daughter running away from a group of attackers. He runs after them but is too slow/late to reach his daughter who runs into a path of a horse-drawn chariot. Hou Jie loads his wounded daughter in a chariot and an exciting chariot chase ensues. Hou Jie is badly wounded during the chase and loses control of his daughter's chariot. He manages to grab her before the chariot goes off a cliff and they both tumble and roll down the side of a slope. They then huddle in the dark and cold behind some rocks while the attackers search for them.

The horse's hoofs and then the tumbling around proved too much for the little girl. Hou Jie bursts into the Shaolin temple cradling his daughter and begging the monks to save them. They try but she dies in the presence of Hou Jie and his wife who was also rescued by the monks. Hou Jie is bersek in his grief while his wife weeps and blames him for all his evil deeds. Hou Jie is eventually subdued by the monks and when he awakes, his wife is gone, leaving him to settle Sheng Nan's funeral. He stumbles around outside and ends up falling in a boar pit dug by the temple's cook. The cook eventually becomes friends with Hou Jie who decides to cut off all his hair and join Shaolin as a monk after his daughter's cremation. The abbott takes Hou Jie in despite the other monks' protests and Hou Jie learns to do good deeds like dish out food to the poor, and to train with the other monks. He learns repentance and to let go.

In the meantime, Cao Man who had betrayed Hou Jie is a ruthless warload and allows the Russians to build their railroad in exchange for China's unearthed treasures. He kills those who oppose him without any mercy and even the laborers who dig up the treasures so they cannot breathe a word of his deeds. Hou Jie's cover/location is blown when one day he frees some of the laborers. Cao Man comes after Hou Jie with his men and Hou Jie goes with Cao Man to buy time for the other monks to free the other laborers and recover the treasure. But I should mention here that Hou Jie greets Cao Man with a face-turning slap which he says was for his daughter. Whatever happened to true forgiveness and letting go? Anyway, I suppose that was given at the ending of the movie when Hou Jie saves Cao Man's life not once but twice. The second time was fatal as it meant pushing Cao Man out of the way of a falling beam in the temple. The beam crushes Hou Jie so badly he dies wordlessly. A second blow to the temple (the Russians were bombing the place) dislodged the beam such that Hou Jie's lifeless body falls into the hands of the Buddha statue. Cao Man is then shown to go out of the temple wracked with remorse (Hou Jie keeps telling him to repent), esp when he sees the carnage around.

The movie ends with a scene between Hou Jie and his wife which is before the Shaolin temple is bombed to bits - he gives her Sheng Nan's ashes in a vase and the wife tells him that she likes him better now although she knows and accepts that they can never be together again. Closure.

Meet the Parents: Little Fockers (2010) movie

No surprise for guessing where we spent the New Year - in JB! I'd booked our favorite getaway place there for the weekend (Thistle) in anticipation of the overnight fishing we would be doing on New Yr's Eve but because of the bad weather, that was cancelled. So my CEB and I ended up shopping at NEX before gg back to my place to watch the DVD he had bought at Nex. There is more I want to say, but anyway, yeah...what a way to welcome the New Year. Heh.

The next day, we were at Jusco with the express purpose of changing monies but we ended up checking the movie timings at the cinema and buying tickets for the comedy. The Slog Reviews: 6.5/10. Jessica Alba appears to be in better shape than ever in her role as a well, temptress. The jokes in this movie are a tad re-cycled - you know, the 2 fingers pointing at the eyes "I'm watching you", "yeah I'm watching you watching me" but if one is out looking for a laugh, there are plenty to be had in the movie. Slap stick verbal humor mostly - think "Fockerised" and "Godfocker" but the rap during the credits is worth staying for. My humble opinion is that this movie should be watched on DVD rather than on the big screen since there is nothing remarkable about the movie or effects.

The Tourist (2010) Movie

I am a die-hard Angelina Jolie fan and instead of catching Gulliver's Travel this evening, I bought tickets for The Tourist instead. A not very detailed summary of the plot can be found here but why read it if you are going to watch the movie which has just opened in Singapore. The twist is right at the very end, but I'd guessed who Pierce was when the Inspector revealed that Jolie was a secret agent to him. Jolie is more lovely and stunning than ever - the epitome of classy chic and sexy with her slender shapely legs, tiny waist, womanly hips and oh so damn seductive walk. Her glorious mane, full luscious lips, clear wide eyes and high cheekbones are testimony to God's work.

Oh wait, I was suppose to be reviewing the movie and not the woman. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. No heavy stuff in this movie which is a really light-hearted and entertaining watch for a couple of hours. Jolie is beautiful in every single outfit she dons in this movie and....okay, I better stop here before I go off on her again. :P

Tron: Legacy (2010) Movie

I'd no intention to catch Tron given the extremely stressful past 3 weeks but my CEB had a couple of free tickets to the movie so catch the movie we did last Tuesday.

I've no intention to reproduce a synopsis of the movie here because a most detailed one can be found here. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. The graphics of the Light Cycle match make this movie a must-watch on the big screen or a large high quality television set. There isn't much substance or memorable quotes in the movie which is set in a dimension and time that has yet to exist. However, it is note-worthy that despite all that and the fancy futuristic feel of the movie, basic human themes like betrayal, ambition and sacrifice are explored.

The Cell (2000) movie

Last night, we went back to ou hotel rather early and I caught The Cell on HBO. I wanted to catch The Cell 2 also (which was scheduled to show right after The Cell) but my eyes just wouldn;t stay open. I suppose it was because I was too wiped out because I woke up at 7am for fishing.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. I absolutely loved this movie - the stunning visual effects are will etch themselves in your memory for some time to come, esp the 1 of which showed a horse being bisected vertically into many sections. The plot is about the exploration of the mind of a twisted serial killer, where he is both the evil king and an innocent abused young boy in his mind's realm. If you have watched the movie silent hill, the surrealism of this movie is comparable. And oh yes, the make up for lopez was incredible. The way her face was made up when she was playing different roles made her look like two diff pp. Esp when she played the evil persona. A good movie all in all

Jonah Hex (2010) Movie

Another movie that my CEB and I caught at Philea Resort on his netbook was Jonah Hex. My CEB fell asleep on my shoulder 15 mins into the movie but one shouldn't read too much into that given that my CEB was driving this road trip (for a change) and he had been up since 7am.

I managed to complete at least 67% of the movie on my own before the netbook's battery went flat and the movie was good enough that after we got back from dinner, I asked to borrow the netbook to watch the ending. However, my CEB fell asleep (yes, yet again!!!!) and his deep, regular breathing against my shoulder made watching the movie to the end a struggle. But I am glad I did because who doesn't like to see the good guys triumph, an occurence which sadly doesn't happen very often in real life.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. I can't do any better than the summary written on Wikipedia on this movie. The movie isn't a must-watch, the movie isn't outstanding but it is enjoyable as an action film and one gets to feast one's eyes on the delectable Megan Fox. And as I said, the good guys win in the end and save the world. What's there to hate about the movie? :)

The Last AirBender (2010)

I'm seriously short of this commodity called time. I haven't had time to watch a movie or a DVD the past few weeks and I only managed to get The Last AirBender on my CEB's netbook on Saturday afternoon when we were at Philea Resort while he was napping.

The Slog Reviews: 6/10. The movie is obviously part of a series, given its ending but I wouldn't be in too quick a hurry to catch the sequels if those are anything like this movie. The actors and actresses are mostly unknowns (actresses and actors) and there is nothing novel or deep about the storyline or plot. While the graphics may be mildly interesting, one can enjoy the graphics on a TV screen just as well.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) movie

We decided to take a leisurely drive back to Singapore after leaving Melaka about 3+pm. So instead of taking the North-South Highway, we followed the direction of the signboards that said "Muar" and from "Muar", we followed the signboards that said "Batu Pahat". We reached Batu Pahat Mall's cineplex about 5.45pm and because my CEB had watched almost all the movies showing without yours truly, he agreed to watch the only non-Malay movie he hadn't watched so far "The Owls of Ga'Hoole" although it had started at 5.30pm.

By the time we sat down, we had missed the start of the movie which usually sets the stage of the movie and we hadn't a clue what the movie was about at all but it didn't take along for us to cotton on - bad (the Pure Ones) versus good (the Guardians). The hero of the movie was, as with most movies these days, a young (and yes, don't we all bemoan the loss of our youth) owlet named Soran, who makes the decision to break free from the Pure Ones when he realises that the Pure Ones aren't that pure. His brother, Kludd on the other hand, buys into the Pure Ones' evil plans wholeheartedly.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. We didn't watch this movie in 3D (which after readings some reviews, is a far better watch than in 2D) and while we enjoyed it moderately, we felt that there was nothing novel or impressive about the movie - the plot or storyline. Both of us agreed that the movie reminded us of the epic "Lord of the Rings" movie even though the characters are of course, vastly different. I guess it is because of some of the scenes - the owls donning on battle gear aka the trolls, Kludd falling back into the flames aka golum It was also difficult to identify with Soren or any of the other characters too and although the owl-warrior-poet "Twilight" got some laughs from the audience, the humor was slapstick and far from witty. I am not sure about children's capacity for violence these days and although the fighting scenes were not gory, I'm not sure if I'll like my child watching talons being sharpened to a vicious shine, owls using their claws to tear at each other and brother turning on brother etc...

The Expendables (2010)

With a title like that, and a star-studded cast of action veterans from the 1980s to 1920s, it is no wonder that this movie opened at No 1 in the box offices of USA, UK and even China.

Now, this is strictly a guys movie IMHO. I grew up with Sly (short for Sylvester Stallone) who was my Dad's action hero of all times, and I adored Arnie (short for Arnold Schwarzenegger) ever since watching Terminator. Jason Statham is wicked (love his acting in Crank) and all Chinese know Jet Li of course. However, it took my learned colleague's explanation of how unique the fight scenes in this movie are (because of how the action veterans are paired up) before I could appreciate the movie, or rather, the purpose of the star-studded cast.

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. The plot is rather thin (you can read a review by clicking here) and all the "good guys" survive. Girly girls should give this movie a miss but guy guys would love this movie (esp the older guy guys)

Salt (2010) Movie

A superb action-packed movie. The Slog Review: 10/10. And if course, it doesn't help that Angelina Jolie is my favourite actress...hmmm, can't think of any movie of hers which I have dissed but Salt, Salt is a great movie with the story twists and non-stop action.

Salt (Jolie's character) turns out to be a Russian spy indeed - the major twist to the movie is that she has a change in heart, turns her back to the Russians and even turns on her mentor (kills him in retaliation for killing her husband in front of her). Another significant twist is that her boss/colleague turns out to be one of the hard core terrorist plants too by the Russians and whom she manages to kill too by strangling/breaking his neck with the cuffs around her wrists (she has to jump off the stairs to do this by the way).

Watch this movie to forget the real world out there (and to marvel at God's work of art - Jolie herself). :)

Toy Story 3 (2010) Movie

Ohhhhh, "Pixar has done it again" sums up this movie nicely.

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. My movie companion had to watch it in 3D of course and I'll have to say that we both went away content despite the price of the 3D movie tickets. I can't give the movie 10/10 because my taste in movies have somewhat changed and I found the animation just a little too unrealistic and young. Gosh, I AM growing old...might that do with my birthday coming up next month I wonder. ( I am writing this entry on 23 July despite the post date which was when I entered the title of this entry so I wouldn't forget). But enough about me. In this movie, the whole gang is back from Mr PotatoHead to SlinkyDog and the indispensable Buzz Lightyear, Jessy and Woody. The villians or the really bad villian is Lotso Bear, a bear who was once loved by his owner but accidently abandoned and then replaced. A really detailed synopsis of the movie can be found here so I won't write anymore about that. Watch, if not for the 3D (which is nothing too outstanding unlike Despicable Me), for themes of faith, friendship and moving on explored in this movie.

She's out of my league (2010) movie

I haven't updated so long for various reasons. Primarily because I was out of the country (and we all know which countries block access to blogs) and also because I have been so busy at work that I haven't had the time and juice/energy to write an entry on top of all the writing I have been doing.

I have a teleconference starting at 4pm, 20mins later from now and I actually have to backdate this post written today on 15 July so that my posts will be in date sequence when I publish. Am I even making sense? What I meant was that I have 4 entries in draft forms unpublished from June and if I were to publish this post with the current date, those entries will appear below this post which wouldn't make much sense. Of course, I could move this post by amending its date to the appropriate date later but I fear I'll be buried too deep under the avalanche of work to remember or do that. We'll see, like everything else.

For now, I just want to talk about something else other than work so what better topic than a rather senseless comedy with no big names which I watched last night till 2pm "She's out of my league". Don't ask me why I stayed up watching this show - it's just one of those movies required for major "de-stressing"where my brain cells can take a 2 hours break.

The Slog Reviews: 6/10. A girl who is rated a perfect 10 (figure, face, law degree and event planner that makes at least 15 grand per event) selects a rather wimpy kid who is not a college graduate to be her bf because, as she admits, he is safe, he wouldn't hurt her like her ex who cheated on her did. She is attracted to his honesty, his goofiness and just when they are about to do the dirty, they have this huge fight because he admits to being disappointed that her flaw (webbed feet) is so minor. She screams at him that he is insecure yada yada and he walks out on her. In fact, he goes back to his ex-gf who had initially left him for another guy but now wants him back when she sees the perfect 10. And because it's a movie, the perfect 10 actually chases after this geek and tells him that in her eyes he is a 10 and he likewise at the same time decides he is good enough for her. This show is only good for some laughs...and moments that make you cringe and thank the stars you aren't anything like that wimpy kid.

Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang (2010) Movie

My movie companion wasn't keen to watch this movie which is a family film but having watched and enjoyed the first movie (Nanny McPhee) way back in 2005 (was it that long?), I had my way and despite his initial reservations, we enjoyed this movie quite thoroughly.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. The positive reviews (click here for the plot too) for Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang which is a spin off (and not a sequel since the plot and characters (save for Nanny Mc Phee) are different), are quite well-deserved. Despite the target audience being children, the movie managed to effectively engage and elicit laughter from the adults in the theatre throughout the movie. I particularly loved the ending of the movie, ah, now if only life would be just like such feel-good movies. A very good Brit movie to conclude and well worth the time spent watching it.

A-team (2010) Movie

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Everyone close to me is raving about this movie but while I found it full of action and humor with a decent enough plot (again, another movie attacking the integrity of the CIA), I wouldn't give it a 10/10 because one doesn't quite manage to connect or identify with the 4 characters. A movie that would be bettery enjoyed when watched on the big screen because of the action. If you want to read about the plot of the movie, click here.

The Ghost Writer (2010) Movie

We missed the earlier timing for the movie and ended up catching the 9.20pm show. On a weekday, watching a movie this late after a long day at work turned out to be a pretty bad idea because I couldn't stop yawning and coughing throughout what has been a pretty well-received movie.

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. A CIA-spy thriller movie set in the UK. Plot is simple - a ghostwriter (the Ghost) is chosen (after a convincing speech to the editors how the biography has to be about "heart") to complete the memoirs of a former UK Prime Minister, Adam Lang after the previous ghostwriter is found drowned. The Ghost is flown to the island where Adam and his wife, Ruth Lang stays. During that time, there is talk that Adam will be tried in the International Court of Justice for war crimes for his role in handing over certain terrorist (suspects) to CIA to be tortured. There are also protestors camped outside Adam's gated complex. Anyway, Adam decides to fly to Washington against the advice of Ruth, where he is greeted warmly by the secretary of state and where he will be safe from prosecution. In the meantime, the Ghost discovers in the room of the former ghostwriter, a telephone number and some photos of Adam's school days in cambridge. He also decides to check out the beach where the previous ghostwriter was found washed up and is told by locals that the current couldn't have been strong enough to wash up the body and that the woman who saw flashlights on the beach on the day of the drowning is now in a coma. Ruth goes to look for him and they have dinner where she tells him that Adam used to listen to her but now rarely and in turn he tells her his suspicions. She goes out for a walk in the rain and looks for him in the night when she is all dripping wet. He goes to the bathroom to get her a towel and finds her naked in his bed. In the morning, the Ghost packs his things to leave as he is horrified that he has slept with a client's wife. He gets in the car that the housekeeper told him once before was used by the previous ghostwriter and drives to the hotel. However the built in GPS system keeps pointing him in another direction and he decides to follow the GPS. It takes him to the main island and to the house of a Profesor Paul Emmett, whom he identifies as one of the people in Adam's photos. Paul agrees to meet him and denies any association with Adam. When shown the photographs, he says that that summer was a blur and too long ago. When The Ghost leaves, a black car follows him all the way to the ferry. The Ghost flees his car and stays in a hotel on the main island. He calls the number on the previous ghostwriter's effects and is met by a former minister whom Adam Lang sacked. Adam also calls him to say he is flying back and wants to meet The Ghost. On board Adam's private jet, The Ghost confronts Adam with his suspicions that Paul had recruited Adam to work for the CIA. Adam laughs and the denies it all angrily - saying that every political decision he had made was done on his own. When they get off the plane on the tarmac, Adam tells The Ghost they need to have a meeting later and right after that, is shot and crumples to the ground. The shooter is one of the protestors whose son was killed in Iraq and the shooter gets gunned down by Adam's men. The Ghost is taken in for questioning as a witness reported Adam shouting at The Ghost on the jet. It is later revealed that Adam died and the Ghost completes the memoirs which goes to print. At the book launch where he meets with one of Adam's previous assistants, Amelia, she says something about beginnings which triggers The Ghost to take the original manuscript written by the previous ghost writer and go through the first page of each chapter. He underlines the first word of each page and discovers that Ruth Lang is a CIA agent who was recruited by Paul Emmett. The Ghost passes a note to Ruth revealing that he knows the truth and on his way out of the book launch, is run down by a car.

Sex and the City 2 (2010) movie

The Slog Reviews: 4/10. A "should not waste time watching in the theatre"movie. Unless one is out with one's girlies/gaylies or one is really into designer clothes and fashion (esp shoes!). I'd quite liked the first movie so I suggested watching this movie with my movie kaki. I'm not sure what the deal is with SJP - I've read someone's blog describing her as dead ugly and while she doesn't hurt my eyes, I have to agree that there are better looking actresses who can pull off the Carrie Bradshaw character too. Mr Big on the other hand, becomes more charming and sexier 2 years later in this movie, just the man that I for one, wouldn't mind rushing home to every single night - even if, as in the movie, he wants to eat just take-out night after night and to lounge around in bed. Samantha is my favourite character in this movie - "I am woman, hear me roar". In this movie, happily single, toned and attractive, she is obsessed with regulating her hormones and reversing the ageing process through chemical means. She also gets the 4 gal pals flown to the Middle East in style (first class cabins, a limo each and the jade suite that costs 22K/night at a fab hotel) when a wealthy Arab meets her at an event and wants her to promote his country. Charlotte on the other hand, is the character that I thought I wanted to be when I was younger - the fairy-tale happily ever after marriage with a doting loving man and 2 adorable children. Miranda is the character that I am most uncomfortable with - some part of me identifies too strongly with her - and her quitting her job in this movie when faced with a tyrant of a boss made her character more appealing for being able not to take bullshit when it is dished out.

Although the movie makes an attempt to explore the challenges of married life and close bonds of gal relationships, has its fun moments and gives one a peak at the lifes of the truely rich and famous, as mentioned earlier, this movie can be watched on DVD instead of the big screen and one isn't missing much when waiting for the DVD to be out.

The best part of this movie, IMHO is this part - "I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore. And I know too much to go back and pretend. Because I have heard it all before, and have been down there all the floor. And no one is ever going to keep me down again...oh yes, I am wise..yes I have paid the price but look at how much I have gained...if I have to, I can do anything. I am strong. I am invincible, I am woman..."

Shrek Forever After (2010) Movie

This movie is the fourth and final movie in the Shrek series where a new villian, Rumpelstiltskin is introduced, aided by broom-flying witches and an assassin, the Pied Piper. Rumpel wants to take over the kingdom of Far Far Away and Fiona's parents almost sign away the kingdom away to him in exchange for Rumpel breaking Fiona's curse (orgre by night) but Shrek saves the day. The movie then cuts to Shrek leading a domestic life with Fiona where life seems to be a routine of baby burps, farts and entertaining friends and family. It gets all too much for Shrek one day at his children's first birthday party where the pigs have eaten the cake, and he loses his temper, pounding a giant fist in the substitute birthday cake. Fiona follows him as he stalks out and reminds him that he has 3 lovely kids and a wife who loves him. Rumpel who is hiding in the bushes then stages an accident where Shrek rescues Rumpel and they share a drink or two in the carriage. Rumpel then offers Shrek the chance to be an ogre for a day in exchange for any day of Shrek's childhood. Shrek agrees without thinking and is seen to enjoy letting his orgre self out and terrorising the villagers. However when he reaches back home, he finds that Fiona and his children are gone. He is then captured by witches who take him to Rumpel in a carriage drawn by donkey who clearly doesn't recognise Shrek. Shrek confronts Rumpel who is now king of Far Far Away and Rumpel admits he took the day that Shrek was born which meant that Shrek never saved Fiona and he never had kids. Also, at the end of this day, Shrek would dissolve into nothingness. Shrek refuses to back down, breaks free, hops on a witch's broomstick and snatching donkey, flies out of the palace. Donkey tells him that there is a way to break the contract signed with Rumpel and after folding the paper that the contract is signed on, discover that it forms 3 words "True love's kiss". They interpret that to mean that Shrek and Fiona must kiss for the contract to be rendered void. Quite co-incidentally, both of them are captured by a band of rogue ogres when Donkey is unable to resist eating a plateful of waffles dripping with honey in the middle of the forest. The band of rogue ogres is led by Fiona who does not recognise Shrek and spurns all his attempts to get her to kiss him. Fiona plots an attack on Rumpel who will be passing by the forest but Rumpel sends a decoy and the Pipe Piper who plays a tune rendering all the ogres helpless. Fiona and Shrek too dance to the tune but Puss in Boots (whom Shrek meets at Fiona's tent) and Donkey carts them away. Shrek tells Fiona things about her that only he would know and she allows him to kiss her. However, at the end of the kiss, nothing happens. Fiona walks away and is eventually captured by Rumpel together wtih the rest of the rogue ogres. Shrek surrenders himself to Rumpel in exchange for the freedom of the ogres but Rumpel does not let Fiona go because she is not a true ogre. He also gets her nemesis, the fire breathing dragon to attack both Shrek and Fiona. Both of them coordinate spectacularly to chain the dragon and capture Rumpel. Shrek then falls to the ground, his body fading to gold because the 24hrs are almost up and he is to fade to nothingness. Fiona kisses him and the curse is broken because this is indeed true love's kiss as opposed to a kiss without love. Shrek is then brought back to the day of the party just before he smashes the cake and he doesn't smash the cake this time but appreciates everything that he has.

The Slog Reviews: 10/10. A typical feel-good movie filled with laughs ("Ri="don"culous) and where it is clear that good will prevail over evil.

The Blind Side (2010) Movie

My colleague recommended this movie to my boss and me and by sheer co-incidence I had bought the DVD but hadn't watched it yet. My colleague said that the movie was a must-watch and was about the power of helping others. I lent the DVD to my boss who opined later that the movie was not quite believable. Surprised by the differing views from the 2 legal birds, I decided to watch the movie this weekend.

For the reason behind the movie's title and a really good and concise summary of what the movie is about, click here.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10. I'd known that Sandra Bullock had swept a number of prestigious acting awards for her role in this movie so I was watching out for her acting and even I, a layman, was blown away by her protrayal of a plucky wealthy upper-class white woman with a heart big enough to take in a large young black man who hadn't a place to call home. The film contrasted the "haves" and the "haves-not" with the protrayal of a wealthy white family living in a palatial home and being a real family in every sense of the word where the parents are involved actively in the children's lives and the family is shown to spend quality family time together. On the other hand, Big Mike never even had his own bed till he moves in with this family, he was taken away from his drug-using mother and moved from foster home to foster home where he ran away each time to look for his mother. He sleeps on friends' couches for the nights as his mother has been evicted out of the housing projects, and has no clothes except for those that he has in a small plastic bag. When Sandra Bullock's character first meets Mike, he is trudging in the rain heading for the school gym because there is heating there. It truely is heartbreaking to know, that this is the reality for some people out there - that they do not even have a bed, a place, a family, all the basics we have taken and still take forgranted or worse, as if we were entitled ( a sense of entitlement) to all that we have. With this show which is based on a true story, one is reminded of how rich one is (not in terms of wealth alone but in relationships, families) and how we should be reaching out to those whom fate has dealt a harsher hand from birth.

And this part of the movie, an essay written by Michael Oher, stayed me long after I'd finished watching the movie.

"Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or mistake, but you're not supposed to question adults, or your coach or your teacher, because they make the rules. Maybe they know best, but maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are, where you come from....That's why courage it's tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you're doing something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason for you either do something or you don't. It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too. "

Iron Man 2 (2010) Movie

1 of my movie kakis cancelled watching this movie with me last min because of all the negative reviews he'd read about it and after watching the movie with another friend, both of us could not fathom why anyone would write anything bad about the show! They say birds of the same feather flock together and I suppose in this case, both of us legal birds enjoy flicks where there are hot chicks in body hugging outfits (Oh, Scarlett!), fast cars (car race at Monaco) and lots of action where the good guy kicks ass...again and again.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10 - Definitely a movie that should be watched on the big screen - Whiplash/Backlash snapping his electricity charged whips slicing through racing cars, Natalie Rushmore (Scarlett) in a outfit that shows off her lithe but womanly frame executing the most sexy poses ever while taking down the bad guys and Mr Oh So Bad But Dont U Want to Just Be The 1 Girl to Change Him,Tony Stark himself. Robert Downey Jr I must say, plays the role to perfection, quite a departure from how I remembered him in 1 of my favourite serials - Ally McBeal. As for the storyline, you can find it here but if you are looking for a mind bending plot or an emotional rollercoaster, this show can't give you that. It's action, action and action!