thanhlienanh-vo Reviews

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Decent animation, bad Tintin movie

[7/10 · 14 November 2011]

Short review: As a regular animation, this is a decent one. Fluid motion, beautiful visual, fabulous action scenes, you got it on. As a Tintin movie, this is a bad one and I hate it.

Granted, the opening says "based on the story", so technically it's not a theatrical adaptation, just "based on". For all Tintin readers out there (I don't dare to say "fans" as I do not claim myself a fan, but I read Tintin throughout my childhood), the movie will not relive your memory in its glory.

The story do not follow closely with the original The Secret of the Unicorn. Instead, it uses the core idea of 3 leather scrolls and Red Rackham's treasure hunting, mixes up some elements from The Crab with the Golden Claws and Land of Black Gold, glorifies a minor supporting character into the main villain and thus completely change the essence of the story. I, as a purist, do not like mixed smoothies, thank you.

Visually the movie is stunning. I quite like the beautiful color palette. Life-like rendition of the characters and fluid animation more or less take off the minimalism flavour from the comics, but I can bear with that. After all, it gives the movie a fresh look.

The movie features some fabulous action scenes, as expected from any animation and as expected from Steven Spielberg. However, as I feel the essence of Tintin's adventures is more about wits and the story as a whole, having Tintin and Captain Haddock flying across Bagghar on a motorbike chasing a hawk is out of place. Lots of people will enjoy these fast-pacing and humorously breath-taking chase scenes though.

The rest of the complaint lies on Jamie Bell's terrible voice acting as Tintin which sounds flat and emotionless, the plain jokes that I find it hard to crack a smile, the unlikeness of Tintin as a whole (his facial expression is weird). But then again, what more can I ask?

As said earlier, this is not a terrible animation and I'm sure many will enjoy it. However, if you just want to watch this because of the original comics, you can skip it. Nothing will be missed. Or if you've watched it, like me, you'll have to find and read the original comics again, to purify yourself from the movies.

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High Fidelity (2000)

Watch this movie. I guarantee you will enjoy every minute of it.

[8/10 · 26 October 2011]

This movie is excellent, it is a perfect romantic comedy. For all ages, all genders, all kinds of whatever personality you have.

Rob Gordon (John Cusack) – a record store owner is dumped by his latest girlfriend. He asks himself: "What came first: the misery or the music?" and decides to investigate just how he is at fault to the top 5 all time greatest breakups in his love life. Despite the simple storyline, the movie is highly humorous, poignant, yet a very informative look at men, relationships and love. Top 5 breakups he went through are necessarily 5 stages of so-called love every boy must learn when growing up. It includes "childish love" from a little high school boy, crave for sex teenager, so-called love for an out-of-my-league university star, rebound relationship, and true love. Simple, yet creative, refreshing and original movie.

John Cusack was at his best in this movie. He portrayed the characters just like any ordinary man in real life. Anyone can relate to him. He's fun, cute, playing hard on the outside but fragile on the inside, simple and complex at the same time. The supporting cast were excellent. Todd Louiso and Jack Black – one music geek in the classic sense of the word and one cruel, ridiculous elitist – stole every scene they are in. They were fantastically funny, especially when they insulted customers.

Watch this movie. I guarantee you will enjoy every minute of it.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Nothing to remember

[7/10 · 25 October 2011]

I watched this movie like a year ago, and had no interest to re-watch it, so this review is totally based on my already faded memory. Don't get me wrong, my memory faded not because I have problems remembering thing, but because this movie has nothing much to remember.

To start, this Part 1 is totally different from the previous 6 Harry Potter movies. There is no Hogwarts, no Quidditch, no funny lessons. The film is set with very dark tone and theme, with visuals full of fear and loathing, doom and gloom. No more guidance from Dumbledore, no more protection from the adult wizards, it's the story of our three kids out on the streets, by themselves, trying to find and destroy something called "Horcruxes". Most of the time what they do is wandering in the forest, arguing, being jealous of each other, and our poor Harry sometimes hold his head in pain because of the Dark Lord Voldemort. The supporting cast did great, as usual, but too bad, the Trio takes most of the screen time and I can't get enough of my favorite evil side Snape by Alan Rickman and Bellatrix by Helena Bonham Carter.

Being Part 1 of 2, it goes without saying that there is very little closure come the film's finale, which despite being long-overdue within the lengthy 146-minute runtime, arrives with no climax. To be honest, there's still a lot of fun to be had, such as a gripping infiltration in to Ministry of Magic and a terrifying confrontation with Voldemort's pet-snake Nagini, and a fairy tale about the Deathly Hallows, but overall, it does not come close to expectation.

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Trespass (2011)

Unbelievably terrible

[2/10 · 24 October 2011]

I always love Nicholas Cage, though he's quite bad recently. I adore Nicole Kidman ever since she won the Oscar for her performance in The Hours. And I love thriller. As a real fan does, I looked forward to Trespass – a thriller starring two Academy Award winners. Having said that, I kept in mind that "Expectation can kill". I tried to be cautious, kept my expectation low, as the IMDb ratings was not good. And guess what, the movie turns out real bad. It's not simply bad, it's annoyingly bad.

First off, it's a whole 90 mins of screaming and crying. It's all noise, without bringing you any emotions other than annoyance and irritation. There is a whole bunch of retarded robbers, coming to a big fancy house owned by our 2 stars, trying to take home some money or diamonds. The operation is conducted by a very elite team of one insane guy longing for love, one violent man trying to clear up his debt, one hunky man whose main job may be in wrestling, and one high-on-drug woman who is constantly showed trying up lingerie or Nicole's clothes. Don't be surprise if the next morning, newspaper reports it to be the most messy and stupid robbery on earth.

Oh, the movie even tries to be multi-layered. They say "Let's confuse the audience, surprise them". They add some twists here, twists there, try to make the audience think that it is A, then reveal it to be B. Unfortunately, it's simply not working. The only thing they successfully do is making the movie last longer than it seems. It runs for 90 minutes, but I feel like I have been wasting my 3 hours. It just drags on and on and on, and I can't stop checking my clock if it's going to end soon.

Some say forget the plot, how about the performance of our 2 leads? Nicholas Cage is OK. In fact, he has some shining moments and some interesting lines. But Nicole Kidman, her performance is weak. When she's scared, she screams, she's shaking; when she's angry, she's scream louder. There is nothing subtle in her moves. Her emotions are laid out plainly.

This movie is unbelievably bad.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

The epic ending!

[7/10 · 23 October 2011]

Finally, a long-anticipated final chapter of the Harry Porter series and yes, it's good. An epic ending.

Harry Porter 7, Part 2 is kind of an adventurous ride, started with daring venture, then came the series of startling discoveries, and end with an epic fight. It's intriguing, tense, full of emotions, and it's fun. Unlike other blockbuster, high budget movies where a large sum of money is spent on stunning visuals but not on the character development or storyline, Harry Porter 7 excels in both – spectacular views with outstanding plot. It's an understatement if one says the movie's success is all due to the fame of J. K. Rowlings' novel. No it's not. In fact, they did a bit of modification to the original story, and it turns out even better than the original story, in my opinion. And don't forget to mention the pacing, the music, the settings, everything in the movie is brilliant. It really gives you the feelings of a dark, frightful atmosphere

The whole casts are good, and Alan Rickman's performance of Snape is excellent. Besides acting, voice of characters are superb, from the mumbling of Snape to the shady intimidating sound of You-Know-Who. And my quirky lovely Helena Bonham Carter, i adores her in her role of Bellatrix. Personal favor, though.

The only setback is you need to go back either Part 1 or to the book, to fully appreciate Part 2. Personally, this Part 2 makes me want to go watch the whole series from the beginnings. It's well worth it.

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Up in the Air (I) (2009)

Great movie with George Clooney being perfect for the role

[8/10 · 22 October 2011]

I didn't expect much from Up In The Air. I hated George Clooney and the poster didn't look so promising to me. In the end, the movie turns out much greater than I had thought. I don't like George still but the movie itself is great! George was perfect in this role: a smart handsome middle-aged man who has a mouth that works, who has nothing and lets nothing to tie him down. A perfect salesman who is a total ass-hole. That is, until he meets two women that change him somewhat.

The first 30 minutes or so are annoying to me, mainly because we only get to see the annoying aspect of the characters. After that the movie picks up nicely. The movie tells a part of Ryan's life with people he meets. Nothing more, nothing less. It poses some issues about what young people wants and what older people wants, how people feel when they get fired, what are the attitudes of people about a free lifestyle's like Ryan. But that's it. Nothing really gets solved and answered, as life goes on.

There are great camera works and editing, as well as some smart lines along the, although some parts (Keener's enthusiasm about the work) feel a bit too forced or straight forward. Love Vera Farmiga from Source Code and love her still. Anna Kendrick does well as the young ambitious and naive girl who just enters life. Overall, a great movie that you should watch. Try getting past the first 30 minutes and George Clooney's flat face.

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The Hangover Part II (2011)

It's the Hangover - Bangkok version

[6/10 · 22 October 2011]

It's not The Hangover Part II. It's The Hangover – Bangkok Version. This 2011 Hangover is exactly the same as The Hangover – Vegas Version 2 years ago. Yes, the plot, the cast, the character, the pacing, the music, everything is EXACTLY the same.

The movie starts off with the phone call, when the guys tell their wives that they are stuck in quite a disastrous situation. Then it rolls back to a few days ago, when the story of their bachelor party begins. Then comes the series of familiar events – one drunk night – morning hangover – one missing member of the pack – running around collecting bits of memories, though in fact none of it do any help to find their missing guy – etc etc etc. Ohhh, surprisingly one guy remember somethings, and bring back the whole pack right on time for the wedding. The end! No no no wait, still got the series NSFW photos of our boys going wild and high. Put it in the credits and now the movie can officially end.

It is not to say that Part II is bad. No, it's not. It's only bad when compared with Part I, as it does not offer the brand new style and crazy situations like Part I does. Part II is more perverse, more crazy, and more boorish. Big fans of Part I may be disappointed with this sequence, but those who like comedy genre and have not watched Part I will surely enjoy it.

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Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America is Private America

[6/10 · 21 October 2011]

One of the blockbuster in 2011, with the handsome Chris Evens who's been having his good share of being the leads in superheroes movies. Overall the film isn't too bad, but compared to other superheroes movies, it can only received an average weight.

The movie takes place in the 40s when WWII were being real bad. However, it has one simple story line. To support war, the American and Germanic scientists was working to create a perfect solider. Steven Rogers (Chris Evan), who was born with an unimpressive physique, is continuously denied to join the army. However, his persistence catches the attention of Dr. Erksine and he let him join the army. With help from Dr. Erksine, Steve goes through the transformation and begins his story of being the leader of American army, fighting against their nemesis – Johann Schmidt Red Head – to protect their country and bring peace to the world. Unlike other works by Marvel, Captain America is unexpectedly simple, with a linear story, 2 sides of good and bad guys, and a predictable ending.

Despite being a blockbuster and set for commercial appeal, the movie doesn't get a good cast. Except for the hunky Christ Evans, we have Hugo Weaving and Stanley Tucci in supporting roles. Main female lead (Hayley Atwell) is of little fame, and the relationship between her and male lead is quite redundant, to color off the movie. Characterization is dull and dialogues are unmemorable.

Captain America is a superheroes movie, but it lacks a superheroes feeling. The fight scenes are nothing sort of fabulous or spectacular, the powers are not supernatural like X-men, Spiderman or Superman, the technology are not futuristic as in Iron Man or movies like James Bond and Mission Impossible. Fighting scenes with guns and big guns are similar to what you've seen in other action movies, while melee combats are like fights between medieval soldiers. In one sense, this makes the heroes more human and related. Too bad, the characters were developed so poorly that audience can't feel anything.

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The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

The film sets an example for line of large budget, low quality movies.

[3/10 · 21 October 2011]

1. A very corny movie. It tries so hard to be romantic, everywhere, whenever possible. Every time when the male and the female characters met (not only the main characters, but also the supporting ones), we are flooded with romantically fanciful scenery. The fantasy works well for the first time, but second time onward, it falls flat. Indeed, I could not help but burst with laughing for some scenes.

2. The movie uses too much sex appeal. Right at the beginning, we see two human-snakes frolic around, sometimes smile amorously at the audience. Then comes a series of beautiful faces showing scenes of our white snake character. Not enough, they even bring the whole ancients dancers wandering around the sorcerer on scene, for entertaining purposes

3. Too much of CGI kills the movie. They tries to bring in as many stunning visual effects as possible. The green forest looks similar to the one in Avatar, while fighting scenes looks like it's taken out from some action game. Some scenes even remind me of 2012. Having said that, it's a disappointing surprise they did not spend more effort in designing two snakes. The snakes look like toys people use to play just to scare some little babies.

4. Very simple storyline. In fact, the story gets too simple, that the director tends to forget to develop his characters. They are all one- dimensional. For the sorcerer, the only thing he knows on earth is to wipe out demons. The two females snakes know nothing but to smile gracefully every time they appear, and to fight relentlessly when their lovers are taken away from them.

5. In whole, the movie has it all: funny lines, corny moments, tear- jerking love story, fanciful scenery, break-the-ground tear-the-sky fighting scenes, and last but not least, beautifully sexy young ladies. The film sets an example for line of large budget, low quality movies.

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