Crazy, Stupid, Love Review!

Crazy Stupid Love

I usually don’t watch romantic life style movies frequently, but since I am a big fan of Steve Carell, I was curious to see how he would perform in a serious role in a life story about a husband and wife getting divorced in the movie ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’.

The story is about Cal Weaver played by Steve Carell and his wife Emily Weaver played by Julianne Moore, who one night tells Cal ‘I want a divorce’. Cal reacts by not responding, except with silence. Later on he starts to hang out at a local bar, and begins to express his true feelings about the divorce to all, but no one cares, except Jacob Palmer played by Ryan Gosling, who is a local playboy. Jacob propositions Cal to get him out of his depressed state by teaching Cal how to be like him. Reluctant, Cal accepts, and Jacob begins to educate Cal on being a playboy. Over time Cal becomes Jacob, but Jacob falls in love with Hanna played by Emma Stone, making Jacob confused on how to deal with this new experience. This leads to an unexpected love triangle that impacts Cal’s family, Jacob and a realization Cal still loves his wife even after what she did.

For a life story, they brought together a great cast, delivering excellent performances across the board. There was a lot of emotional topics the movie touched on, from teenage crushes, to loving the right guy, and how a family copes with changes that are tied to a divorce. Without the talented cast, I don’t feel the movie could have expanded into other topics while keeping focus on the main subject of divorce.

Steve Carell did a good job playing a serious character, while still being likeable and funny. Julianne Moore performed admirably, and had a good onscreen chemistry with Carell. Ryan Gosling had no problems delivering a very confident playboy, presenting a buddy/mentor relationship with Carell. Emma Stone presented a serious, but adorable and likeable character that matched up well with Gosling’s character.

If I had something to complain about the movie, it would be spending too much time on other topics like teenage crushes. It just felt like this was a filler story designed to take a break from the main topic of divorce. If that was the goal then I can accept it for it was. It didn’t hurt the story; I just felt it was awkward timing.

Overall, the talented cast made this movie what is, an enjoyable and entertaining life story. After seeing this movie I have no more doubts on whither Steve Carell can play a serious character. He performed well enough, while keeping his likeable and comedic side that I enjoy.

War of the Arrows Review

War of the Arrows

South Korea has exploded into the film industry for many years now, releasing entertaining movies in a number of genres. What I enjoy most is the stories that tell about the history of Korea, especially in the timelines when the area of Korea was still independent kingdoms. When a movie is released based on ancient history I get intrigued. I don’t know why, but I sometimes wonder if I lived during ancient times, not necessarily Korea, but in that time period if you believe in that kind stuff. I’m not sure If I do or not, but it makes me wonder why I am fascinated by ancient history, which brings us to the movie I would like to introduce, a South Korean movie called ‘War of the Arrows.

The story is about Nam-yi played by Hae-il Park, who was the son of a skilled archer and officer of King Gwanghae, who died protecting his two children so they can escape. After several years later, Nam-yi grows up to be a skilled archer like his father. While hunting, Nam-yi realizes the village was being invaded during the time of his sister’s wedding. He rushes back, but finds out his sister Ja-In played by Chae-won Moon was taken by the Qing army, placing him on a path of danger and self-sacrifice to save his sister, while garnering the attention of the Qing commander known for his legendary archery skills.

One thing I enjoyed about this movie was the action scenes. Ninety-nine percent of the time, movies during these times periods focus a lot on action scenes using swordplay, this one does not. What it does focus on is the action scenes using archer skills, which was truly unique and entertaining to watch. To get an idea what the actions would be like, think of all the Robin Hood movies, minus the sword play and add all the archery combat scenes together, while thinking of other ways to use it besides being a range weapon. That’s what this movie does; it presents a cool look on how one would survive using archery with breath-taking cinematography to present the feeling of what an archery combat would be visually like.

Nam-yi played by Hae-il Park, performed very well, delivering great action moments, and what little lines he had, he displayed it with his physical performance winning Best Actor. Ja-In played by Chae-won Moon had an excellent performance, delivering an innocent and helpless sister that won her Best New Actress at the 48th Grand Bell Awards.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I was very entertained by the cinematography with the action scenes. Although, the story wasn’t anything new, it wasn’t bad either for the acting was enjoyable even for a subtitled movie, which at times can be a distraction. This movie is available on Netflix; check it out if you don’t mind foreign movies and subtitles.
I give War of the Arrows 3 out of 4 smiles. Worth Seeing!

The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch Review

The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch

Imagine you’re a rich individual in your late years, but for some reason you don’t have a wife, relatives or children. Would you adopt to pass on your wealth and business? That’s exactly what happens in this French movie ‘The Heir Apparent: Largo Wench’. This movie was released in 2008, but recently made its way to the US in December 2011 and was nominated for Best International Film at the 2012 Saturn Awards.

Billionaire Nerio Winch lived a reclusive life style, but ends up being murdered. The board members of the corporation he built believe he was not murdered and left no heirs. Little did they realize Nerio adopted a child named Largo played by Tomer Sisley. Things unfold and Largo investigates the murder of his father and uncovers a conspiracy that threats his life and everything he holds dear while he proves he is truly the heir to the Winch dynasty.

Largo played by Tomer Sisley is amazing, presenting an over-confident, street wise, but well-educated character who can brawl. I was surprised to see this much action, for I was expecting more of a drama story, but I was thrilled. Tomer could almost be considered a martial artist for he delivers some amazing fight scenes I wasn’t expecting. The way he presents his character is truly entertaining, displaying a likeable and seasoned actor. The supporting cast also presented noteworthy performances, especially the character Ann Ferguson played Kristin Scott Thomas and a few others who made this movie even more enjoyable to watch.

I truly enjoyed the acting. The amount of action scenes was not something I expecting, for I went in thinking this was a drama story, but no complaints for the fight scenes were awesome. I also didn’t have any issues with the subtitles for it was presented well enough to not be distracting.

Overall, I was very entertained by this movie. I was expecting a drama story, but received a drama action movie full of twists that kept me interested.

I give The Heir Apparent: Largo Wench’ 4 out 4 smiles! A must see!

Boy Wonder Review

Boy Wonder

Imagine you’re just a kid, about 7-12 years old and you witness the murder of your mother, would you be able to move on with your life? That’s a question that cannot be answered so easily. Thanks to our unique personalities, to the life we live, and how we are raised the answer will defer from person to person.
That’s what the movie ‘Boy Wonder’ tries to explore with one of many possible answers. Don’t let the name fool; this is not the story of Robin, Batman’s Sidekick. The story is about a teenager named Sean Donovan played by Caleb Steinmeyer. In his youth he experienced the death of his mother. He grows up with a friendly but reserved personality. He is a student that receives straight A’s and even helps out at the police station by looking at mug shots in hopes of remembering and identifying his mother’s killer.

After working on a long case leading to an arrest, Teresa Ames played by Zulay Henao is promoted to Detective. She joins the homicide division at the same police station Sean helps out at. They eventually bump in to each other and Teresa gets curious and tries to help Sean with his research, but gets pulled away due to recent murders, where people are praising the killer as hero. As Teresa investigates the murders, she begins to question who the hero is and everything around her including Sean that leads to an unexpected turn of events and an outcome that breaks all the rules.

Caleb Steinmeyer did a superb performance that you will grow to love, hate, and feel empathy towards. Zulay Henao’s performance as rookie detective presented a brash, straightforward, no-nonsense by the book cop that was likeable, but annoying too. After seeing her in the movie Takers and Fighting; playing the sexy girlfriend roles, I wasn’t sure if she could deliver a believable cop. She proved me wrong and delivered an excellent performance.

With the title Boy Wonder, you can easily confuse this movie to be a superhero flick with action. I almost thought it was, but I was surprised and thrilled it was not. With so many superhero movies that have been released this year, any more would have received horrible reviews given how high my expectations are. Thankfully this was not.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It delivered a very entertaining and dramatizing crime story with a few action scenes. It had a few confusing moments, but slowly unfolds to piece it all together to provide an unexpected ending.

I give 'Boy Wonder' 3 out of 4 smiles. Worthy seeing!

The Raid: Redemption Review

The Raid: Redemption (2012)

I grew up watching martial arts films with poor dubbing, so when a foreign movie is released that I am interested in, I prefer to watch it with subtitles. Thankfully, most of my favorite martial artists are mainly in the US now, so subtitles are not required to often. But every now and then, some new martial arts actor appears making noise outside North America, and one did. I heard a buzz about this new martial arts actor named Iko Uwais. I hit the web and YouTube to find out more, which led me to the movie ‘The Raid: Redemption’.

A few things on why I was curious and excited to watch this movie; first, the movie introduces the Indonesian martial art ‘Pencak Silat’. How many movies have you seen use that style? Second, Iko Uwais is a true practitioner, studying for over 10 years, and is an exhibition champion of the style, so we can expect a great performance, which many already compare him Jet Li and Tony Jaa. Exciting!

The Raid: Redemption is the story about a crime lord that has bunkered down in an apartment building, who has been defending the building from gang rivals and cops for years making the place a no-go zone. Eventually, a rookie cop named Rama played by Iko Uwais and a 20 man SWAT team lead by Sergeant Jaka played by Joe Taslim is ordered and guided by Lieutenant Wahyu to take out the crime lord. Things end up badly where it turns into a fight for survival full of action, gunplay and body counts.

Iko Uwais delivers an outstanding performance. His presents a creative fighting style that can remind you of Jackie Chan’s stunts and antics, but graceful and quick to the eyes like Jet Li (The Expendables). He can easily turn up the heat, resembling a ferocious and brutal style like Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior), but has a unique enough style that can distinguish himself from other martial artists, especially when he is using a knife and police stick.

Don’t watch this movie for a story, for its nothing ground breaking or new. What makes this movie amazing is in the action and fight scenes. With the help of the supporting cast, they deliver a well-rounded performance of intense fight and gunplay scenes that is an accelerating ride full of non-stop action.

Overall, this movie was awesome and entertaining! To see the Indonesian martial art ‘Pencak Silat’ in action was inspiring. It resembled a number of styles, but had a unique enough style that I am curious to learn it. Also, watching the movie with subtitles didn’t really bother me, for there is very little dialogue during the action scenes to distract you from enjoying.

I give ‘The Raid: Redemption’ 4 out of 4 smiles. A must see!

Total Recall (2012) Review

Total Recall 2012

As much as I love and hate remakes, expecting a movie to duplicate the original story will likely cause disappointment. Expecting a similar visual presentation will probably produce complaints about using too much computer graphics and these are the types of complaints viewers had with the new Total Recall. It’s been 22 years since the original Total Recall was released. Do you really think the original story and visual presentation back then would be acceptable in this day age? In my opinion, NO! I expect better visuals and story, not an exact duplicate of the original.

The story starts very similar to the original movie, where Douglas Quaid played by Colin Farrell lives with his wife Lori Quaid played by Kate Beckinsale. Douglas keeps having mysterious dreams that lead him to RECALL; a place that implants memories for people to experience. Upon his visit they scan him for issues, but instead activate his abilities that help him to take out a security force. He starts to question who he is and returns home to his wife, but she is out to kill him leading to non-stop action, gunplay and the search for the truth. At this point the movie starts to branch away from the original movie, and begins to tell its own story.

As I much as I enjoyed the original, the new Total Recall presents a non-stop action with amazing visuals and over-top scenes that would make Arnold loss weight given the amount of calories burned by the three most active characters. It also tells a different storyline without mutants, aliens and Mars that the movie shouldn’t be considered a remake, for I think the title doesn’t give the movie justice for its new presentation.

I will always enjoy Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall, but he doesn’t hold a candle to the two new talented and gorgeous actresses, Lori Quaid played by Kate Beckinsale and Melina played by Jessica Biel. Kate was superb! Seeing her play as villain was surprising, entertaining and sexy. Jessica was also amazing and her one-on-one fight scenes with Kate were entertaining and hot! Although not as muscular as Arnold, Colin Farrell did an excellent job. His smaller body size presented a more agile and versatile character, which delivered more action and martial arts choreography not observed with Arnold’s character in 1990.

I was surprised to read viewers complain about the movie using too much computer graphics. Without the use of CG, the visual presentation in the movie would not be possible. We don’t live in the days of using props or low-level graphics, so we should strive for better CG quality rather than complain about a tool that is commonly used in our film productions today. Also to hear viewers complain the movie was too much like a video game. What movie were you watching? At what point did the movie portray it was a video game. Yes. It had a lot of action and over-top visuals, but it never tried to be like the movie Doom, where it actually had scenes in first person view to mimic what players do in a video game.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this movie. Like in most remakes, I expect an improvement in story and presentation. The new Total Recall delivers just that. It’s visually amazing and action packed. Although the story isn’t as thrilling as the original, it has different take in the story that I enjoyed.

I give Total Recall (2012) 4 out of 4 smiles. A must see!

American Reunion Review

Ever since the debut of the American Pie movie, I could not help but to continue watching the next adventures of the American Pie cast. Even the none-original cast related movies; I went out of my way to watch. Yes! That includes the American Pie present movies that included some horrible story lines.



Some American Reunion Cast Members

The original cast with Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Sean William Scott, Eugene Levy and the rest of the original cast is the group I find most enjoyable to watch. Their high-school antics, humor, sex topics provided some of the funniest moments in the series. Who can top Jim and Nadia’s webcam moments or Michelle’s line ‘in band camp”, to Stifler’s unexpected responses to everything? I don’t think anyone could have delivered a better performance than the original cast. So when American Reunion came out I was curious to see how the original cast would translate to an adult lifestyle. 

The movie definitely isn’t American Pie in high school. That’s probably apparent in the title since ‘Pie’ is no longer referenced, and the pie was the trade mark for the first movie. I mean, who will not forget Jim’s pie grinding moments? Hence, the story of the American Reunion is more about how they all ended up.

Stifler’s character played by Sean William Scott probably had the worst time in translating into adult life. After all he was the most arrogant, and overconfident teenager who thought about sex more than any cast member. His antics didn’t quite deliver in the movie, but then again he is an older version of Stifler who really did not know how to fit in. However, Sean still delivered a memorable performance of Stifler that we have all liked or hated during the series.

Noah played by Eugene Levy probably stole the show for his antics felt more acceptable compared to Stifler’s crazy moments. Since the movie is presenting a more mature view of the American Pie cast, Eugene provided a good balance to keep the movie entertaining, where Stifler’s antics didn’t deliver the craziness he had during the first and second movies. Eugene still had it in him, for Noah was still the memorable character we expected as the father.

If you watched the previous American Pie movies, you will have a better understanding where each cast member ended up in the relationship and love department. For the remaining cast, the story was more about the relationships and love they had for each other.

Overall, American Reunion isn’t American Pie in their high school years. The cast is too old to deliver that type of performance and it showed when Stifler tried his antics. It just felt awkward given the direction of the movies story.  The cast still delivered a fun movie, presenting characters the way we remembered them in the series, but also gave us a good look into how grown-up they are now. If you are looking for a movie that is in high-school with a lot of sex talk and craziness, then I don’t recommend this movie. You are better off watching the movie Project X.

I give American Reunion an impression score of 2 out of 4 smiles.