The Social Network, 2010

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

DRAMA

Upset after a breakup with his girlfriend, Havard student Mark Zuckerberg retires to his dorm for an alcohol fueled rant on his blog and hacks into residence hall databases to create a website where participants can rate the attractiveness of female students. Zuckerberg gains the ire of his female colleagues and a 6 month academic probation for the disruption to the university network.

Taking notice of the stint and its viral popularity, a group of seniors hire Zuckerberg as a programmer for their own social networking page, the HarvardConnection. Progress on the website is minimal and while the situation seems stale, Zuckerberg approaches his friend with an idea to launch Thefacebook, his own idea of a social networking website. The implications are soon realized and just as fast as the site expands, the legal troubles begin to stack up.

THE GOOD : Great performances, dynamic script, tight and fast paced.
THE BAD : A Story about Facebook has its doubters.

-9/10

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THOUGHTS / SPOILERS :

I admit I doubted the movie as well. I mean what could possibly have happened that could be made into a feature length movie and 2 hours at that?

I was wrong. The movie is a tapestry of memories and recollections weaving in and out of legal hearings where Zuckerberg and his opponents are trapped in a battle over egos and intellectual property. There's a dynamic about the characters that will have you dying to find out what's next.

14 Blades / 錦衣衛, 2010

錦衣衛
(cant. "Gam-Yee-Wai" / mand. "Jin-Yi-Wei" / eng. "Brocade-Clad Guard")
Donnie Yen, Zhao Wei

Action, Wuxia

Legend has it that the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty employed secret imperial police to keep order and stability within the empire. Trained in combat since childhood, these 'Jin Yi Wei' were bestowed the power to arrest and persecute in the name of the emperor.

During a time of corruption and incompetence in the late Ming Dynasty, the Jin Yi Wei, taking orders from the eunuch faction, struggle to maintain stability amidst a period of countless rebellions. Qinglong, the leader of the Jin Yi Wei, receives orders from the chief eunuch to kill a rebellious Imperial Councilor and retrieve a box containing a list of names deemed enemies of the state.

Qinglong and his team seize the box at great cost of life only to realize he had been used in a conspiracy to steal the Imperial Seal. The Jin Yi Wei leader finds himself on the run as he struggles to piece together who set him up and outrun his fellow Jin Yi Wei which are now hot on his tail.


THE GOOD : Interesting premise, some tense battles and nice action choreography
THE BAD : Too much CGI takes away from movie and the fight scenes, similar plotlines, Donnie Yen can fight but don't ask him to try romance.

-4/10

l'Immortel, 2010

L'IMMORTEL
Jeno Reno

ACTION, DRAMA

Once feared mob boss Charly Mattei turned in his life in the Marseille mafia for a chance to spend time with his wife and their two kids. Echoes of his old life come back to haunt him when he is gunned down in an underground parking lot.

Miraculously, he survives and a long recovery ordeal later, he is reunited with family but also with those who want him out for good.







THE GOOD : Decent actioner, crime drama. Poetic cinematography along with a good performance by Jean Reno.
THE BAD : Plot not new, tense but predictable.

-6/10

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THOUGHTS / SPOILERS :
L'immortel ain't no Leon but has Jean Reno in a similar role of menace turned civilian but encounters the criminal element and must do battle once more. Here, he's more the family man and to a certain point, you find Jean almost endearing in his role as a conflicted ex-mafia boss. Not a bad film.

Unstoppable, 2010

UNSTOPPABLE
Denzel Washington, Chris Pine

DRAMA, THILLER

A veteran engineer and a young conductor are out on field training at a locomotive yard when they are called to reign in an unmanned freight train set loose from an ill advised stunt by a worker trying to cut back on a shift.

The pair are put through a test of their wits and trust in each other as they race to stop the speeding freight train, loaded with hazardous materials, from barreling into their hometown of Stanton.




The Good : Great cinematography and the tense atmosphere doesn't let up despite the simple plot.
The Bad : Predictable story and the trailer spoils some of the good bits.

-8/10

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THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING :

This is director Tony Scott's latest film and probably one of his most successful pieces where the marriage of his trademark jittery camera work and fast paced editing help rampant up the tension and suspense despite what would be a simple and predictable plot.

The film is deepened by the steady revealing some of the history behind the two main characters and adds a lot more emotional weight to the story. The soundtrack is a another great Harry Gregson Williams addition chiming in at the right times to ratchet up tension or go in for the poignant piano stretches.

Overall, it's not a overly deep or complex film but what it has, it does very well.

Resident Evil : Afterlife, 2010

RESIDENT EVIL : AFTERLIFE
Milla Jovovich

ACTION, SCI-FI

Hot on the tail of Umbrella Corporation, Alice and her clones tackle one branch of the elusive operations after another. Picking up traces of an old friend reignites her search for survivors and plunges Alice back into the zombie infested mayhem that has engulfed much of the planet.

THE GOOD : Bullet splicing 3D/CGI slow mo shots are a visual delight. There's a few scares (predictable) and enough cheesy cliches to garner a few chuckles.
THD BAD : Plot a hamfisted mess, characters are uninspired.
THE UGLY : The dog with the splitting jaws and mutated heads is a nasty visual.

> 2/10

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THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING :

Overall I found little reason to watch this movie other than the fact that it was filmed at our school causing for quite the ruckus and arousing the curiosity of an otherwise apathetic student body. So I shelled out for the movie ticket when the film finally came out to see just how producers ended up portraying the particulars on the campus and I was delighted with not one, but two scenes, the latter was filmed at the more famous Robarts Library at St. George.

There were some chuckles like the casting of Wentworth Miller as a very expressionless Chris Redfield who ironically is found in a jail cell during his character's debut in the movie. (Prison Break, anyone?) The rest of the movie is just one blunder after another, story wise and in and of itself. I doubt any fan of the video games even bother to follow the movie series at this point.

The gratuitous usage of CGI benefits the movie's post apocalyptic renditions of cityscape and frequent special effects shots but in this day and age, many video games are actually outclassing movies with respect to story, cinematics and characters. The previous episodes were better but the series as a whole is on a downhill slide and with room for a 5th installment, I hope they use it wisely or not at all.

Shinjuku Incident, 2009

SHINJUKU INCIDENT, 2009
Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu

DRAMA

Harsh times in rural China and an absence of communication from his sweetheart prompts tractor mechanic Tietou ('Steelhead') to go to Japan to search for her whereabouts.

Upon arrival, Steelhead catches up with his contacts in the underground Chinese community, many of whom have resorted to working illegally on low income jobs like cooking and sanitation to get by. During a night shift at a restaurant, Steelhead is devastated when he spots his fiancee with a local Yakuza boss.

Determined to make something for himself and his comrades and fund legal citizenship in Japan, Steelhead organizes money laundering operations which garner a new found prosperity for the impoverished group. The events do not go unnoticed by authorities and other factions of the criminal underworld and set off a chain of violence that none of them saw coming.

THE GOOD : Tense & dark atmosphere well maintained, plot holds up for the most part.
THE BAD : Acting could be more inspired.
THE UGLY : Some scenes were very gruesome, be prepared.

-7/10

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THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING:

I thought this was a interesting departure for Jackie Chan forgoing his usual blend of slapstick action for a more dramatic role while not overly challenging, he succeeds for the most part. The movie captures some of the hardships endured by pioneering immigrant generations and the obstacles they face on both sides of the law.

Jackie's character, Steelhead, saves Inspector Kitano early on in the movie from drowning during a police raid on illegal migrant workers during a night shift cleaning sewers. The decision to save the cop earns Steelhead respect from the lawman who later on serves as a source of hope and guidance. Every money laundering efforts by Steelhead and his crew are marred when a misguided turn to rigging slot machines drops the innocent Jie into the hands of the Taiwanese gang who are quick to make an example of him. (Close your eyes or lose the food.) Seeking revenge for his friend, Steelhead sneaks into the rival gang's headquarters and instead overhears a plan to assassinate the Yakuza boss and ends up foiling the plot. Thankful for the intervention, boss Euguchi allows Steelhead some time alone with his sweetheart and even takes him in as a hitman to eliminate opposing figures within the hierarchy.

The movie is dark and tense with Steelhead progressively fouling his conscience and his relationships as he takes on job after job to make ends meet. Much of it will leave you gripping your seat handles (maybe even squirm) when rather violent retributions build up as Steelhead struggles to keep separate his dealings with the Yakuza and his attempts to lead his people to legal citizenship in Japan.