[6.75/10] Ip Man 2 (2010)

Ip Man 2 (2010)

The long anticipated "Ip Man" sequel contained top-notch action sequences from the beginning to the end, yet unfortunately, it turned out it wasn't on the level of the original movie. The plot is generic, as expected - we get to follow Ip Man as he establishes and propagates Wing Chun in Hong Kong after escaping Communist persecution in 1949. Well, plot's not the main problem here, because "Ip Man 2" mostly suffers from poor script and undeveloped characters. Although we have action fight scenes, in the end the movie itself is like a collage rather than one full beautiful artwork. Fight scenes, while more in quantity and still enjoyable, are tainted by the obvious wire-fu on certain scene. And although it looks pretty amazing, it's also very inappropriate, because it just doesn't quite fit the era. The acting from the lead acotrs is passable. Both Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung deliver prime performance for their roles, although chemistry between their characters is lacking. Another big disappointment is the blatant stereotype and one-dimensional characterization of the British colonists and the Twister character. So, to sum up, "Ip Man 2" is nothing special! It's just another modern Chinese martial art movie, that is entertaining and enjoyable, but doesn't come close to the original in term of overall quality.

• My Rating: 6.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
  
• IMDb: 7.8/10

[7.25/10] La Herencia Valdemar (2010)

La Herencia Valdemar (2010)

"La Herencia Valdemar" is the first feature film of Spanish director Jose Luis German, a documentary film-maker, who is also very experienced in advertising. It is an intriguing, well-acted and beautifully-shot gothic/mystery with an interesting premise. The story of "La Herencia Valdemar" begins with the disappearance of Luisa Llorente, an expert on taxation of old buildings that had moved to the mysterious Victorian mansion Valdemar to conduct an inventory of the assets of the property. Maximilian, president of the company he works for Louisa, engages the services of Nicholas Tramel detective to find her. It is not the first disappearance. Not long ago another appraiser called Orquicia also vanished when he was sent to assess the contents of the mansion Valdemar, but the company 'Inmoberance' the fate of this employee seems to bring you not care. The detective goes to the scene and embarks on a terrifying journey into the past. "La Herencia Valdemar" is the first part of two which form the film to be released separately in 2010. It is based on a H. P. Lovecraft's tale. The acting is pretty solid from everyone involved - Eusebio Poncela Oscar Jaenada, Silvia Abascal, Laia Marull and Paul Naschy, all give above average and very credible performances. Technically, the film is near-perfect, especially photography, which is bleak, grim and neat, and suits perfectly to the overall atmosphere of the movie. The costumes are 'Gothically' fantastic! Interior, houses, all dark environments are very detailed and beautiful to look at, accompanied by hauniting soundtrack. The visual effects, most of which are physical not CGI, are surprisingly good. "La Herencia Valdemar" isn't exactly a horror film, but more a mystery movie, with supernatural twist, that is creepy, spooky and consistently entertaining.

• My Rating: 7.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 5.6/10

[8.00/10] Woochi (2009)

Woochi (2009)

"Woochi" is a rip roaring fantasy adventure taking place both 500 years ago and in modern day Korea and it's filled with humor, spectacular action, and a touch of romance. Woochi is a Tao wizard from the Chosun Dynasty who is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit and was banished into a magical scroll and kept for five centuries. He was then summoned in modern day Seoul to help capture the evil goblins that are wrecking havoc on the world. "Woochi" is a breath of fresh air, it's not just a good movie, it's straight out of left field and don't really adhere to any western fantasy standardization. There are no orcs or elves, just the goblins, who don't look like what you'd expect - the three goblins that we see are anthropomorphic animals, that is animals given human features and shape. There's not all that many scenes where we actually see the goblins interact with the humans in their natural forms, but there's at least one stunning fight scene between Woochi and one of the goblins and it's an entertaining, exciting and spectacular fight scene. It's not kung-fu or sword fighting, but more ballet-like action with heavy usage of wire-fu. Overall, the acting is good, there are some annoyances such as the three taoist gods that take up far too much screen time and the actress who serves no real purpose in the movie except to be annoying. But it's worth it for the four main characters of the movie and the story is really gripping. Visually the film is stunning, with the initial scenes contrasting blasts of color amongst a predominantly grey palette, while the scenes set in the past bear a breathtaking use of color and beautiful settings. With its weirdly entertaining story, quirky characters, beautiful visuals and spectacular action scenes, "Woochi" is fun, excitnig and consistantly gripping Korean fantasy flick, that delivers!

• My Rating: 8.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 7.0/10

[6.25/10] Snarveien a.k.a. Detour (2009)

Snarveien

a.k.a.

Detour (2009)

Short review: "Detour" is the debut feature from director Severin Eskeland and yet another well-made, intense and gripping horror movie that comes from Norway. This country is having a horror 'boom' right now thanks to 2006 "Cold Prey" and the more recent "Dead Snow", and "Snarveien" is another proof that Scandinavians are pretty good at making solid horror flicks. This grisly and bloody horror opus concerns Martin and Lina, a young Scandinavian couple driving home to Norway through Sweden. En route, they run headfirst into a roadblock, take an ill-advised turn into the woods, and wind up stranded in the middle of the forest, at the mercy of unseen predators who seem hell-bent on testing the limits of the pair's survival. The acting is one of film's highlights, with Marte Cristensen as Lina being the best. Cristensen gives honest and very emotional performance, and she's consistently believable throughout. Sondre Krogtoft Larsen is also good as Martin - you can often see the fear in his eyes. Production values are solid across the board, and work well in the expansive forest setting. Despite it has two or three really silly moments and it's often predictable, "Snarveien" well-shot and well-acted Norwegian slasher flick, that accomplishes in seventy seven minutes exactly what it sets out to do.

• My Rating: 6.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 5.4/10

[4.75/10] Green Zone (2010)

Green Zone (2010)

Those expecting something as great as "Bourne" movies will be sorely disappointed as the only things that "Green Zone" has in common is Matt Damon and the trademark jerky directing by Greengrass. Yes, the hand-held camera-work is great for verite, but there comes a point where you would welcome watching a sequence where the camera stays still. The constant jiggling camera-work becomes profoundly wearisome when it continues throughout the entire movie. You'll be squinting through half the scenes in the movie either because it's too dark to see what's happening or because you're reaching for a bin to throw up in. The overall message is powerful although being several years too late it's a tad predictable to make a real impact. The performances are decent enough. Matt Damon is credible in his role, everyone else does their job well enough. Best of all the actors is Khalid Abdalla who plays Freddy, an injured Iraqi who gets caught in the intrigue and becomes Damon's translator. The film contained only two intensive action sequences, neither which were very exciting. The overall cinematography was unimpressive. On the positive side, the settings were authentic, and there was a genuine sense of danger on the Iraqi streets. In the end, the title is likewise misleading , because the "Green" Zone itself never plays a major part in proceedings. The movie definitely doesn't have the finesse of the "Bourne Trilogy", so don't be fooled and expect any! "Green Zone" fails to excite, intrigue and even makes you cringe when it attempts to shoe horn something meaningful in at the end.

• My Rating: 4.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 55% (6.0/10)
• IMDb: 7.2/10

[5.50/10] Nowhere Boy (2009)

Nowhere Boy (2009)

Short review: This is Sam Taylor Wood's drama about John Lennon's teenage years and relationship with his errant mum, Julia and his aunt, Mimi. "Nowhere Boy" feels a bit overlong and it is mainly padded out with tedious scenes of banal domesticity portraying John's rebelliousness, his mother's immaturity and flightiness, and his prim aunt's strictness. The acting is spot-on, and definitely film's only saving grace. Aaron Johnson, Kirsten Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff, all work together to create a triumvirate of acting perfection - each part is entirely naturalistic and believably-portrayed. Though the first half of the film is slow and flat, the intensity of the second half makes up for it, although the film is let down by a descent into sentimentality towards the very end. "Nowhere Boy" ranges between great and mediocre, but at the end, it's just OK look at John Lennon's adolescent life.

• My Rating: 5.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (6.8/10)
• IMDb: 7.0/10

[4.50/10] A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

The new remake of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" doesn't offer much creatively because it is basically the same story as the 1984 film with better special effects. What mars the first half of the film is an insistence on not developing characters. We assume these are high school kids, who mysteriously are devoid of personalities, and then... they die. The biggest problem of all is that the new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is not scary at all. Scare tactics all center on sound effects and it gets old fast. No one will jump at fright every time Freddy appears on the screen; maybe some will jump at the surprise. This is silly, outdated, and uncreative. Also, despite the modernist take on the narrative, the script still falls back on carbon copies of the original's most memorable sequences and imagery, lazily recreated with unconvincing CGI. This movie is the first time someone else besides Robert Englund has played Krueger, and Haley is without question the best thing about this movie. Unfortunately, the movie's story falls victim to so many horror movie clichés that Haley's creepiness actually suffers because of it. The acting, while stale, is not too shabby. Rooney Mara gives a decent performance. We don't want the character Nancy to die and we, for the most part, are anticipating what happens next. While in some scenes, she can under-act, for the majority of the film, she does her job. Kyle Gallner is probably the best actor of the teenagers, although that's not saying much. He's a very likable character and very interesting. Thomas Dekker isn't too bad, he's just alright. He's neither annoying, nor really exciting. Overall, Samuel Bayer's version of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" is far from terrible, but it's rather bland, dull and unnecessary remake of Wes Craven's 1984 classic.

• My Rating: 4.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 13% (3.7/10)
• IMDb: 5.4/10

[3.75/10] When in Rome (2010)

When in Rome (2010)

What could have been a clever, charming and romantic film was thoroughly debauched in this predictable, terribly-made and poorly-directed bomb. While the scenery and production design were great, one wonders why the budget does not reflect on the mediocre script. The jokes are corny and stale. Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel make a good romantic team though they're not always given ample time to make their pairing completely believable. Anjelica Huston was the film's only saving grace in the talent department. The other supporting actors are solid, with Dax Shepard, Jon Heder, Will Arnett and Danny DeVito giving some good chuckles along the ride. Full of clichés and gimmicks, "When in Rome"'s setups fall flat across the board. Beth's job being in peril and Anjelica Huston's mean boss are predictable, watching her newlywed sister in Rome cooking naked with her new husband unoriginal, and the lame attempt at making us think that somehow the two romantic leads won't end up together in the end is pandering. Kristen Bell is always a delight, but in "When in Rome", I'm sorry to say, she just did not make an impression this time. And Josh Duhamel, I don't doubt that he is a good actor, but him doing comedy looked awful - he came across trying way too hard. We've seen enough of guys and girls fall head-over-heels in a slapstick kind for way over two decades now, and "When in Rome" proved once again that Hollywood really needs some new ideas when it comes to romantic comedies.

• My Rating: 3.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 16% (3.3/10)
• IMDb: 5.1/10

[6.00/10] Youth in Revolt (2010)

Youth in Revolt (2010)

Miguel Arteta's "Youth In Revolt" tells the story of Nick Twisp, a sex-obsessed teen who falls hopelessly in love with Sheeni Saunders while on a family vacation. Sheeni is a beautiful, free spirited girl, but family, geography and jealous ex-lovers conspire to keep these two apart. Michael Cera break out of the shy, soft-spoken mold he's created for himself and venture into more challenging territory. This new role tests his range as an actor - the Nick Twisp character is similar to his normal acting style, however the character of Francois is like nothing we have seen before – a confident character, a type of character Cera has never played. Cera as Francois is very amusing to watch and it really works in the film. Newcomer Portia Doubleday is as flawless as she is adorable playing Cera's love interest; her future certainly looks bright. Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi nail their roles as his conceited parents. Ray Liotta, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Long are also great in their roles. "Youth In Revolt"'s not a sex comedy, it's something more than that. It's not trying to be funny all the time, mostly using subtle witty humor. Once Nick Twisp gets his alter ego, the movie gets very interesting. Despite having its flaws and areas in which it could have improved upon, "Youth In Revolt" ultimately prevails as another competent coming-of-age teen flick that is centred around the holiest of teenage sanctities: sexual intercourse. Film's biggest problem is that it feels a bit overlong, perhaps more a function of uneven pacing than the actual running time.

• My Ratin: 6.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 69% (6.3/10)
• IMDb: 6.9/10

[5.25/10] The Losers (2010)

The Losers (2010)

Short review: "The Losers" follows a group of five elites in service of their country who are betrayed during a mission and declared dead. Many years later, they are approached with the job of a lifetime - find and kill the one who betrayed them. There are a large number of plot holes in "The Losers", but logic doesn't fall into this films list of qualities anyways. The performances are rather good. Evans, who provides most of the comic relief but also seems to be the only one who really gets it and plays up the over-the-top-ishness to perfection. Jeffrey Dean Morgan delivers another strong performance. He's not as impressive as he was as in Zack Snyder's "Watchmen", but he still manages to steal a few scenes. Zoe Saldana is sexy, lethal, and you're drawn to her nearly every time she's on screen. Well, Jason Patrick is downright distracting. His attempt at being an over-the-top super-villain was just painful to watch. The plot is kind of all over the place, the situations are ludicrous, and there is an absence of likable characters. The action isn't nearly explosive enough or exciting enough to be all that memorable. While the film is occasionally entertaining, it's also heavily clichéd. "The Losers" tries to be cooler than it really is, and it makes for a bit of a yawning affair.

• My Ratin: 5.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 46% (5.2/10)
• IMDb: 6.6/10

[4.75/10] Eyes Wide Open (2009)

Eyes Wide Open (2009)

Short review: Directed by Haim Tabakman, "Eyes Wide Open" is the story of Aaron, played by Zohar Shtrauss, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish butcher in Israel. Enduring a joyless conventional life of work, worship, and family, Aaron slowly comes alive when, played by Ron Danker, a homeless yeshiva student with a checkered, mysterious past, starts working for him and takes up residence at the shop. Director Tabakman focuses first and foremost on the personal drama and never attempts to tackle front-on the moral and religious problems generated by the gay central relationship. But since lust is what really draws his two characters together (love is not in evidence here), and as they are never too concerned with the clash between their faith and their actions, interest in these two individuals sadly runs aground. Aaron’s pangs of conscience, at least concerning his family, are visible, but Ezri seems immune to any internal conflicts. Tabakman's directing is minimalistic and uncreative - for large parts of the film, no clients enter Aaron’s butcher shop; his children rarely feature; the streets are empty and deserted. It all seems unreal, a feeling which is strongly reinforced by the two protagonists, who seem often at loss navigating their parts. Overall, "Eyes Wide Open" is neither the passionate male love story it pretends to be, nor the portrait of a serious moral and religious dilemma it could have been.

• My Ratin: 4.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (6.8/10)
• IMDb: 7.3/10

[6.75/10] Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Prince of Persia:
The Sands of Time (2010)

Yes, "Prince of Persia"'s story may have been weak and shallow, with a bit of a dry and predictable script, but some in places it was surprisingly witty due to the great romantic chemistry between Jake Gylenhaal and Gemma Arterton. There are some pretty edgy and funny lines one could enjoy. "The Prince of Persia" has its fair share of beautiful CGI and fan-tribute scenes that hark back to the games. Also, the cinematography was beautiful - the scenes in Persia are fantastic and Alamut, the city the Persians invade, looks inviting enough. The action is satisfying - the sword fights, in particular, have a real sense of immediacy, which is aided by the use of the shaky camera technique. You feel disoriented in a good way; you can still see what is going on in the fight, and you feel like you are involved. Gylenhaal makes a surprisingly good action lead. His performance as Prince Dastan is quite impressive and he had not only the acting, but physicality to pull off some amazing stunts. Arterton brings an authoritative grace to the role of Tamina. She isn't an all-out warrior, but she ain't no damsel in distress either. Ben Kingsley as villain Nizam was excellent, whilst the almost unrecognizable Alfred Molina was superb as an ostrich racing money maker. He was hilarious and very charismatic, and definitely stole the show. However, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" does have its fair share of flaws. The pacing feels a bit rushed and the film does try to cram everything into the script - from ostrich races to snake attacks in the desert to an assassin's creed style chase. However, the film does have its high points too - the fight between the Sudanese knife thrower and the Hassansin blade-thrower was sheer awesomeness. The camera angles do get a bit frustrating during the parkour scenes, but the parkour does justice to the game so it's all fair. Overall, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" does what its supposed to do - delivering some action-filled, fast-paced entertainment, to keep the attention of the audience during its 116 minutes running time. And it does it well enough.

• My Ratin: 6.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 40% (5.0/10)
• IMDb: 6.9/10

CineMarvellous Preview: Stunning CG Samurai Action "The Cup of Tears" to be Full-Length Movie

The Cup of Tears (2010)

Good news for those of you who just couldn’t get enough from "The Cup of Tears." The amazing trailer/short film from Irish director Gary Shore that hit the net last October and raised some eyebrows is about to be turned into a full-length film! According to "Heat Vision", "Universal" and "Working Title" have acquired the rights and are bringing writers to work out the script for the film while Shore is supposed to direct.

The narrative follows a scorned geisha who creates a magical cup made of tears that causes any man who drinks from it to fall under a stasis of permanent sleep. One night the cup is stolen, setting off a chain of events that threatens civil war amongst the clans. Taro, a once gifted samurai, and his companion Jin set out to find the cup and the one who can break the spell before inner turmoil.

The trailer (watch it below if you haven’t seen it yet), which never made it clear if it was for a movie or a video game, made its debut last fall just as Hollywood’s most recent fascination with shorts was beginning. It offered stunning visuals of Japanese castles, samurais and ninjas — not to mention missiles and spaceships.

Source: Heat Vision / Affenheim Theater

[5.50/10] The Wolfman (2010)

The Wolfman (2010)

To start with the positive, "The Wolfman" looks great. Production design is excellent, and physical and CG effects are very good. Also the werewolf transformations were excellently-done. The film is very bleak and shot with barely any light to fully see what we are being exposed to. The atmosphere works really well. It completely sweeps you into a classic monster movie, which tells a tale of the impossible and the horrific. With a film like this, atmosphere is tremendously important. The mood has to be set so you can fully grasp the terror in the images on the screen. Looking at pure visual style, the film accomplishes just that, but there were some qualities that removed me from the atmosphere, one of which is the violence. Body dismemberment may be grotesque, but the fact is, it is not scary at all. "The Wolfman"'s plot is somewhat serviceable, though the lack of a strong villain is glaring. Not that Man-vs-Himself wouldn't work in this situation, just that they attempt to include a weak villain that never really grabs attention. A lot of the fault is on the characters. Del Toro plays it straight, which may have been the wrong choice for this film. Blunt is plenty ladylike and gorgeous, but forgettable. Hopkins is horribly disappointing as Lawrence's father, spouting off wannabe-epic dialogue that mostly falls flat or seems random. The best performance comes from Hugo Weaving as Detective Freddy Aberline. He gives his character the life he needs to appear as both a concerned inspector of the law, while also a figure that could potentially see his duty as above common humanity. Overall, despite being mediocre, Joe Johnston's werewolf flick is moderately entertaining and visually compelling. "The Wolfman" definitely has claws, but they are just not as sharp as one would like them to be.

• My Rating: 5.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 33% (4.8/10)
• IMDb: 6.2/10