This was definitely one of my most anticipated movies of the year and it surely didn’t disappoint. JJ Abrams did the series proud, and effectively managed to reboot the entire Star Trek universe by introducing an alternate timeline, while keeping true to the core TOS characters - albeit a younger version.

The casting was fantastic - everyone of the new actors carried their roles so well you’d identify with them automatically without introduction (if you’ve seen any of the original Star Trek that is). I’ve never quite been a TOS dude, having always preferred TNG but it was still fun associating the new faces with the old from the previous movies. Zachary Quinto was born for the role of Spock (compared to Sylar), Chris Pine was admirable as the wild headstrong Kirk, Simon Pegg delightful as Scotty (although a little weight wouldn’t hurt), Karl Urban pulled off Bones perfectly, and ohhh the amusingly weird Anton Yelchin as Chekov.

Despite an immensely entertaining romp, I still felt that something from the original Star Trek universe was lacking. And bear with me as I voice out my rants here (WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD).

- Extremely flawed science. Did they not consult any sci-fi advisors prior to writing the script? Couldn’t Kirk’s dad transport onto the escape shuttles after fighting off the enemy torpedoes? Blackholes do not behave this way - they tear ships apart.. (they sure don’t know anything about event horizons or they are confusing blackholes with wormholes). You also can’t transport aboard a ship with it’s shields up despite the hemmm twist about transwarp transportation. Shields down? I didn’t see any shields at all. And why so much red matter if all Spock needed was a drop? Romulans are an advanced race who power their warbirds with singularities - they could have stopped the supernova without requiring Federation assistance. Having the ability to construct singularities - why need a drill even.. :/ And the whole ejecting the warp core/shockwave finale was just stupid and dodgy.

- Extremely improbable coincidences. Kirk gets marooned on a strange planet at the exact same location to meet the future Spock and Montgomery Scott? Seriously, no way. If Delta Vega was so close to Vulcan that Spock could see it implode at that size, Delta Vega would have been sucked into the singularity’s gravitational pull as well. And what lightning storm!? The lightning storm in space only appeared because the enemy ship came through a singularity through time. It did NOT come through a singularity when it approached Vulcan - hence Kirk could NOT have known it was the same ship.

- Extremely shallow. Yeah.. most of all the other Star Trek movies had a story arc that dealt with philosophical issues on either humanity or the universe. Star Trek has always been great sci-fi because of this. None of the original ideals of a utopian society was shown in this new movie, and it had zero meaning/morale behind it’s plot. Instead, you have a bad guy with a big ship fighting underdog good guys - with a little Vulcan sentiment thrown in. The strength in this new movie boils down to the alien characters and scifi mojo - turning Star Trek into some sort of a Star Wars clone.

Okay rant over. Maybe I’m just nitpicking (I probably come off as an uber geek). Despite ALL of that, I’m still tremendously proud of what Star Trek has become. People are more open to it now, and perhaps with that - the missing critical elements can be introduced in the future movies.

Great script, great acting, great dramatic score, great pacing, great visual effects, great direction, great cinematography, great action = GREAT film. I have not yet met a single person who actually dislikes it. For a Star Trek movie, that is a first. Ratings and reviews and feedbacks are off the charts. I caught this in the cinema twice and I still enjoyed myself (although a little disappointed). You HAVE to go watch this as its potentially THE movie of the year.

Now can Terminator Salvation live up to Star Trek’s benchmark? I shall have to wait and see…

IMDB Rating : 8.6/10 (16,428 Votes) #62 on IMDB’s Top 250
Rotten Tomatoes : 95% (233 Reviews)

Blown away by Sin City, amazed by 300, I had such high expectations from Frank Miller. How the heck did he end up creating this piece of crap! I mean seriously - with such a stellar cast too… Gabriel Macht (The Spirit), Samuel L. Jackson (Octopus), Eva Mendes (Sand Saref) & Scarlett Johansson (Silken Floss). Sigh, this was such a complete let down.

I usually don’t doze off during movies - but I did for about 10 mins during this one (and had to force myself to rewind). There were ONLY 3 redeeming qualities about this film, and they were quite minor - the unique visual effects and both Eva Mendes and Paz Vega’s knockout bodies. Lame enough yet?

Based on the comic series by Will Eisner of the same name (which I’ve never read, and probably won’t ever), The Spirit’s storyline is a weak cliched piece about two ‘immortals’ duking it out in a city, both polar ends of good and evil. The narrative is almost like a direct copy from Batman, while the script was tedious and lame to the extreme. The jokes weren’t funny at all. The Spirit’s character was an unlikeable playboy, while Octopus was more cheeky than menacing. I really don’t get why they decided to make such a film - some sort of a tribute perhaps?

Either way, AVOID AT ALL COST.

IMDB Rating : 5.0/10 (14,961 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 14% (105 Reviews)

This movie was a little bit late in the coming to be honest - due to some disagreements during the initial production. Four friends decide to travel across America and break into the Skywalker ranch in order to steal/see the workprint for Star Wars Episode 1. Besides being hardcore dorks, their other motivation for doing this was because one of them was dying from cancer..

Well, a wacko comedy is still a wacko comedy despite a the slightly melodramatic premise haha. Dumb jokes abound and this is a pure geek film, with tonnes of jibes at dorkism and Trekkies. And they sure don’t let off insulting them Trekkies - I sure hope someone comes up with another version that pokes fun at the Star Wars fans instead. Seth Rogen’s multiple cameos were welcome but wasn’t quite as entertaining as I expected. William Shatner’s cameo was though..

It’s overall decently watchable ONLY IF you are in anyway associated with either faction of the ‘Star Geekdom’. Otherwise a lot of the inside jokes will fly by you, and you’ll just be watching a dumb flick about a bunch of dumb coming of age guys doing dumb stuff. I was actually hoping for more intellectual geek debates in this film, but they were sorely lacking. Oh well, seeing Kristen Bell dressed up as Princess Leia was well worth it at the end. *drools*

BTW, Han Solo is a Bitch!

IMDB Rating : 7.2/10 (3,676 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 31% (81 Reviews)

The 3rd installment of the Underworld franchise is set in the past and tells how Lucian (Michael Sheen) came to be the leader of the Lycans. Kate Beckinsale’s Selene doesn’t really make a reprisal here - replaced instead with Sonja (Rhona Mitra) as the daughter to Viktor (Bill Nighy), the leader of the Vampires. The Lycans in this era are slaves to their vampire masters, which poses a problem as Sonja and Lucian happen to be secretly in love with each other. Viktor’s merciless actions after discovering the truth forces Lucian to stage an uprising of Lycans to fight for their freedom (ala Braveheart)..

It’s interesting to note this is the director’s (Patrick Tatopoulos) first movie, while he was in charge for the creature effects in all 3 Underworld films. When a fellow geek like that crafts a movie, sometimes you can at the very least expect a decent fare. And he did not disappoint. The pacing and especially committed acting from both Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen carries this movie all the way till the satisfying end. It’s grim, it’s dark (really dark) and it sure as hell beats the other fluffy vampire/werewolf movies making the rounds now.

Well, the darkness does make some of the action scenes and special effects a little messy, but there’s sufficient violence and digital blood to keep even the hardcore action fans entertained. And I know it’s typical with the whole forbidden love and oppressed uprising against the tyrants for freedom plot, but it still gets pretty epic and has an ending that blends nicely into the first two Underworld movies.

Now I feel like rewatching them.. ROAR!

IMDB Rating : 6.7/10 (12,683 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 32% (73 Reviews)

I’ve been hearing good stuff about this romantic drama but I’ve always thought it’d be just another chiq flick. I mean come on, it has Ryan Reynolds in it! Oh man, it’s so good to be proven wrong here Had someone came and told me it was written by the same guy that wrote Love Actually, I would have been much more enthusiastic and caught this way earlier.

The movie starts off with Will Hayes (Reynolds) getting a divorce letter, and getting pestered by his 10 year old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) to tell the story of how he fell in love with her mother. For the sake of mystery, they don’t reveal who he actually got married to keeps you guessing as the story unfolds. Will is a lucky dude charmed with good looks, and ends up having 3 gorgeous women falling for him - college girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks), college girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend (Rachel Weisz *wow*), and the photocopy girl at work (Isla Fisher). Anddd none of them really turn out to be flings. Man I’m jealous. They all do end up breaking his heart somehow - including his idol Bill Clinton, but yet everything works out at the end (as expected lar).

I found it very light hearted and inspirational - teaching us to take things one step at a time and never to cling too much to our past. When there’s a will, there’s a way, don’t stay bitter and in the end, love overcomes all obstacles. Ah, that sounded really cliche and emo for a bit hehe. But honestly, this is one of the very few chiq flicks where I could actually connect with the lead. It’s not just for the ladies - guys will actually enjoy this too. And boy does it give you a wonderful feeling when its over. Love actually, is all around us.

IMDB Rating : 7.4/10 (23,658 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 72% (134 Reviews)

Yet another awesome horror movie from UK. Jenny & Steve are a couple who decides to spend their weekend camping at the edge of Eden Lake. However, their idyllic trip goes from bad to worse as they encounter a gang of young louts who end up terrorizing them - with fatal consequences.

The whole tone and atmosphere, from the escalating chaos, great music score, and unexpected ending comes very close to The Descent - which is a damned good thing by the way. In fact I thought they could have been written and directed by the same guy who did Descent, but I was wrong. Turns out the director for Eden Lake (James Watkins) will be writing and assisting directing The Descent Part 2.

Both the awesome and horrifying part about this movie was the realism portrayed by all the characters including the kids. There is no strange creature / supernatural / paranormal incident here. It’s just a situation where punks, chavs, or whatever you want to call a bunch of arrogant teenagers with nothing better to do (and nothing to lose) decides to have some fun with an innocent couple. Stuck in the wilderness with nowhere to run, and noone to see, one thing leads to another until it all reaches the point of no return. And it’s really a whole lot more worse than it sounds.

The movie is also a little controversial as some say it depicts the current state of youths in the UK. Having something like the events in this movie happening in real life isn’t too far fetched at all (which is what makes it all the more terrifying).

Kelly Reilly & Michael Fassbender both play the couple while the young Jack O’Connell plays the leader of the pack. And I’m not kidding when I say these 3 gave awesome performances - especially Kelly Reilly’s transformation from the kid loving sweet highschool teacher into a desperate madwoman fighting for survival. Extremely riveting, extremely thrilling, extremely recommended.

IMDB Rating : 7.0/10 (7,271 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 83% (24 Reviews)

Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), one of the few Germans who conspired to assassinate Hitler and bring down his evil regime. It’s not the first movie made about Stauffenberg, but it sure is the one that got the most audiences to sit up and take note on some of the more underrated historical facts.

I didn’t really think much of Cruise’s acting. He was mostly just being typical Tom Cruise, did not improvise much, and was generally quite bland except for when CG came into affect (replicating his missing right hand, left fingers and eye). The other actors did a much better job with their respective roles.

What I really liked was the attention to detail and fact. It was mostly shot in Germany, very few embellishments were added, and almost everything shown actually occurred. What I disliked was how the whole movie was shot in English, with American accents (yeah I’m one of those purists). I ended up having clashing moments when I wanted to believe this WAS German soldiers, those WERE Nazis, but then they opened their mouths and I was thrown back into Hollywood world.

Valkyrie is NOT an action movie. It’s is a taut thriller on scheming and manipulation. If you’ve studied history, then you probably already know how it is going to end. Nevertheless, it was still a pretty suspenseful watch. And when the bomb goes off and all the initial plotting goes into action, Valkyrie transforms into a tense ride right up to its tragic finale.

IMDB Rating : 7.4/10 (24,470 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 60% (172 Reviews)

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, and possibly biggest flop of his career. Elliot (Mark Wahlberg) and Alma (Zooey Deschanel) plays a married couple attempting to survive the spread of a toxin/plague.

What could be more horrifying than an unseen agent that kills? An unseen agent that makes us kill ourselves that’s what.. It’s another apocalyptic movie, with another lame sci-fi attempt intended to befuddle the audience into believing such a thing is even possible. But who cares? Shyamalan’s objective is to introduce something both new and horrifying to keep us entertained. Well, I was entertained.

Lots of cheap scares and chapters here. However, I actually thought the atmosphere was as suspenseful as the one I felt while watching the first half of Knowing - one filled with dread and a little mystery. I know, the script was bad, the pacing was worse and the logic was completely off kilter but somehow it was still pretty fun. Maybe it’s because I know better than to take Shyamalan’s work seriously (Signs or Lady in The Water are good examples).

I suspect a lot of people hated it for it’s grim and unfulfilling ending. Shame on them for only wanting happy endings. I always love a good depressive one. I was only really disappointed with the lack of a proper twist that’s typical of Shyamalan’s other movies. Now let’s see what he can cook up next - this guy has a style entirely his own.

IMDB Rating : 5.3/10 (56,113 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 19% (166 Reviews)

Technically a sequel to X-3, this takes place roughly 20 years before the events in the X-men movies and tells the tale of how Wolverine came to be about. X-men fans, be prepared because I’m gonna lambast this movie in my review.

Let’s start off with the story. Little explanation is given to how and why many of the events took place to non comic readers. Comic readers themselves might be disappointed with the portrayal of some of the other mutants here, coming off as either corny or unfaithful to the originals.

And I didn’t for ONE second feel any of the pain or anger in Wolverine, or his conversion into ‘an animal’. No doubt Hugh Jackman tried his best, but the lines were just too predictable. Half the time, I was completing their sentences in my mind even before they said the words. There was zero chemistry between Logan and Kayla (bigtime miscast), and William Stryker looked perpetually shocked at everything that happens. I also personally thought that Ryan Reynolds was also miscast as the awesome cool Deadpool - he’s much better off courting hot chiqs in his comedies. Let’s not even get started on will.i.am…

My suspension of disbelief was stretched pretty thin here.. The movie had two critical missing components - an immense lack of blood, and an immense lack of understanding on the laws of science and nature. The adamantium bone fusion scene was just lame and too rushed, while no blood ever sprays or sticks on Wolverine’s oh so shiny claws. And just like in X3, no matter how many times they get blasted and plastered, their clothes are always near pristine except maybe for a few bullet holes. And a cameo by a certain famous person near the end - edited to look 20 years younger, only succeeded in making him look androgynous.

And the CGi was plain out horrible. Those claws looked like plastic, while all the zoomed out panorama shots were unfocused. So many cliche moments.. “I’m your father!”, walking away from green screen digital explosions, etc. etc. urghhh. Okay, the action scenes were decent, and some moments were pretty cool - but those in itself does not make a good movie.

Only two types of people would enjoy this film in all honesty. Those who just want brainless action (including some of the mindless comic readers), or the die hard Wolverine/Hugh Jackman fanatics. To me, it was just entertainment without substance.

And no. I did not watch the workprint. And yes. There is a scene after the credits (but its crap and ain’t worth waiting for).

IMDB Rating : 7.1/10 (6,160 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 67% (12 Reviews)

I’m way early here, and I predict a major drop in both ratings once this movie opens in USA and the rest of the world.

I totally didn’t see this one coming. I thought it would be a typical Hollywood romance about some couple breaking up and having the dog bring them back together again, or some cliche drama about the dog saving the day. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Owen Wilson (John) and Jennifer Aniston (Jenny) both play a happily married couple going through their stages of marriage and parenthood. Along the way, they are accompanied by a faithful adorable and impulsive Labrador retriever (Marley). The chemistry between all three of them was amazing, spattered with John’s witty comedic remarks, and Jenny’s parenting stress outbursts. And through it all, from John’s unfulfilled career dreams and them raising children, Marley is always there playing his part and touching their lives in ways they cannot imagine. My only complaint was that not enough screen time or bonding between Marley and the kids were shown.

There isn’t any over dramatization or melodrama here. The approach taken was more real and subtle, and gets under your skin for its simple realistic portrayal of an ideal relationship. And the tear inducing finale is gonna bound to break a few hearts for sure. A great relationship drama between us and dogs. Now let’s see them make a movie about a cat this way. Ha!

IMDB Rating : 7.1/10 (16,427 Votes)
Rotten Tomatoes : 61% (122 Reviews)