Film 9 Review: Constantine

Sometimes I don't understand certain "professional" reviewers. When you watch a comic book movie like Constantine, what would you expect? A solid and realistic plot? Oscar-worthy acting? Come on, it's a freaking superhero movie, for God's sake. For me, it's simple... just entertain me! Cool special effects, mad explosions, crazy fight-scenes... whatever, as long as the film keeps me glued to my seat.

Constantine succeeds as a movie of its genre, because it catches my attention from the start and never lets go of it. The film is well-paced and its action scenes are pretty well-executed. Keanu Reeves is definitely a surprise choice for the lead character, since he is so different from the comic book version. Many die-hard fans may feel that he did not do the 'real' Constantine justice, but to me he is a suitable choice. Who else can personify superhero coolness as much as the post-Matrix Keanu? You can find traces of Neo in his John Constantine, which may not necessarily be a bad thing since John shares the same 'chosen one to save the world' character as Neo. In fact, I find his 'world-weariness' even came across as quite convincing... considering how much of an actor some critics think of him.

The rest of the cast probably do not deserve any mention since acting-wise they're pretty average. But this doesn't stop this flick from being one helluva enjoyable ride. Just concentrate on being entertained.

Who should watch: Casual comic book or superhero movie fans

Who shouldn't watch: Satan, if not he might get inspired

Rating: 7.8

Film 8 Review: Collateral

For once, Tom Cruise isn't the good guy. I was beginning to get sick of his typecast American Hero role in every movie, perhaps apart from the dismal Vanilla Sky. Then came the role of Vincent, a hitman who is ruthless and relentless, yet at times displaying streaks of compassion and empathy towards his hired taxi driver, played by Jamie Foxx.

Sometimes you have got to 'pity' Tom Cruise. Year after year, he's hoping to get a shot at the elusive Oscar, ever since he got nominated for Jerry Maguire. Last year's majestic The Last Samurai saw his hopes of landing an Oscar nod take a blow as he was completely overshadowed by Ken Watanabe, who deservedly landed himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nom. Similarly this year sees Cruise taking on an uncharacteristically villanous character in Collateral in hope of fulfilling his wishes, and yet again he gets trumped by the more impressive 'supporting' performance of Jamie Foxx (strange, considering 'supporting actor' Foxx takes up more screen time than Cruise). God, he must really hate Foxx... not one but two acting noms in a year. At the end of the day, what Cruise has are just his 20 million bucks paycheck per movie to console himself with. Poor guy eh?

I didn't find Foxx's role particularly memorable, so it is a surprise that he was nominated and will be a shock if he does get the gold for this show. The movie though, is masterfully handled throughout by Michael Mann, who in my opinion, deserves an Oscar nom more than Foxx for this film. A tight story, great action scenes, steady pacing and excellent chemistry between the two leads are all characteristics of this entertaining thriller. Even the much criticised ending, which I found was not that lame and unbelivable, fails to make this overall an enjoyable movie experience.

Who should watch: Anyone who doesn't believe that Tom Cruise can actually act 'evil'

Who shouldn't watch: Taxi drivers who do night shifts

Rating: 7.7

Foot of Fury

The most famous moment in soccer, bar none.

Long live King Eric.

Review lapse

Too many movies caught. With the smattering slate of new releases, I'm way too far behind in reviews. So it'll be a different format from now... instead of film review 8, it'll be film 8 review etc. Can't afford to review each movie anymore.

The number of movies caught so far since Dec last year tally 12... and here are the ratings for the remaining 5 I've not reviewed.

Film 8) Collateral: 7.7
Film 9) Constantine: 7.8
Film 10) Scary Movie 3: 6.1
Film 11) Love Me If You Dare: 6.3
Film 12) Million Dollar Baby: 7.9

"Can I...?"

It suddenly dawned upon me how many million times I hear this same question everyday... "Mr ****, can I go toilet (optional: please)?"

Being the nice teacher I am, I say "Yes" a million out of a million times. But what "Yes" actually means is "Huh, you want me to say no and risk giving you bladder malfunction and having your parents hounding me for the rest of my sorry existence on Earth? Not a chance. So yes, please go, even though you may not really be urgent but just wanna smoke pot in the loo."

Deaded

There is no explanation why you feel so "deaded" sometimes. Here I am, sitting in my class, having absolutely no inspiration and motivation to teach, or have any lesson with my students.

"I'm not feeling very well today, so please do your own work and don't make too much noise." Mini cheers from the class. Easy way out, but I don't care. At least for today, for now.

New Industrial Road

A look at archived photos do bring back fond memories of a place where many friends are made and much good times shared.

Film Review 7: Finding Neverland

If you think this movie is made up of only Johnny Depp, then you'll be seriously mistaken. Never have I seen Depp being actually outshone, at times, not just by one, but by two others from the cast. No doubt his presence is commanding, but his performance alone wouldn't be substantial enough to carry the entire movie, definitely not without the outstanding efforts by Kate Winslet and Freddie Highmore.

Kate Winslet has come a long way since her very prominent but not universally "well-accepted" role in Titanic. Frankly speaking, I thought she was crap. But she has really proven her acting credentials since then, taking on one challenging role after another. In Finding Neverland, Winslet touches hearts as a widow struggling to handle her four boys and her true feelings for the married Barrie (Depp). She brings the audiences along on her emotional journey and they in turn emphatise with her in her plight.

Freddie Highmore is even more amazing; a young boy his age overshadowing the famous, Oscar-nominated Johnny Depp is truly no mean feat. Even Depp himself endorsed the massive potential this kid possesses. Forget the "has-been" Haley Joel Osment and the progressively irritating Dakota Fanning... this boy is the real deal. He is so matured and convincing beyond his years that you wonder if he's constantly possessed while acting. Or is he even acting? He is that scaringly good.

I've concentrated purely on the extremely strong cast simply because the film is really just about those characters. Finding Neverland is a simple, uncomplicated and beautiful biopic that tells a story as pure as Peter Pan the play.

Who should watch: Fans of simple story-telling through great acting; day-dreamers searching for more inspiration

Who shouldn't watch: Day-dreamers who have killer bosses; better not unleash the "potential" and risk getting the sack

Rating: 8.2

Hiatus

Caught so many movies lately, but can't find the time nor energy to review them yet... crap. Teaching is sapping every ounce of writing inspiration outta my mind.

Films to review: Finding Neverland, Collateral and Constantine. Even managed to squeeze in the spastic Scary Movie 3... so that makes 4 outstanding reviews. Apart from the spastic one, all pretty entertaining in their own way, I should add. So watch this space for the upcoming movie afterthoughts ;)

Have decided to stop writing about my (mis)adventures of teaching on a weekly basis. Will update whenever something 'interesting' pops up. Like the school swimming carnival I'll be attending in 3 hours. Never been to a girls' school's one yet. Let's see... tissue, check... nose plugs, check... ok, should take care of the potential nose-bleedings.

And hope everyone likes the new look of the blog. Figured that I have enough 'blackness' in my work already, so better cheer myself up more!

Bumpings

The tininess of our little island is "magnified" by the sheer ease of bumping into random people u know at the most unlikely of places.

Where: Clarke Quay
When: Lazy Sat afternoon
What: Day before an inter-school raft race

The GF and I were happily walking along a bridge at CQ, generally minding our own business and pretty much ignoring the rafts we were walking past, when...

"Mr ****!!!" Hmmm... a very nice chorus that consisted of... wait a minute... my surname?! We turned our necks and were duly greeted by a group of grinning girls sitting by their raft. Yes yes, my students. The GF was visibly traumatised; I kept my composure and managed a few sentences with the giggling convent girls.

Well there you go, one of the many perks of being a noble moulder of the nation's future.

Film Review 6: Everybody has Secrets

Hmmm... why would I even bother? Well, if only to keep check of the number of movies I guess.

A Korean romantic comedy that I thought was worth watching, given the slightly above average reviews it managed to garner. Needless to say, it was a letdown.

The plot managed to sustain itself for a while, but gradually loses steam before it even reaches the half-way mark. Lee Byung Hun provides the megastar presence in the show, and it isn't tough to see why. With his chiselled good looks, suave moves and passionate gazes, which woman (or maybe even some men) can resist him? Heart-throb, yes. Convincing actor, nope. The acting's painfully exaggerated, but having said that, it doesn't mean that other Korean romantic comedies aren't. It's just that this one's perhaps not that appropriate even for an absurd story such as this. Which all adds up to this comment: over-rated.

Who should watch: A hot-blooded male whose girlfriend has 2 hottie sisters.

Who shouldn't watch: A hot-blooded male whose girlfriend has 2 hottie sisters and 1 butcher daddy.

Rating: 6.4

Film Review 5: Wimbledon

Erm... no offence to Tim Henman and his fans, but here's one hell of a sporting fantasy for you: a professional British tennis player actually winning Wimbledon. Wow. Well, as all tennis fans know, such a scenario can only happen in the realm of movie magic.

Paul Bettany stars as Peter Colt, a fading tennis player who is resigned to retiring from the professional circuit with the fact that he'll have nothing to show for it. The only time I've seen Bettany was in A Beautiful Mind, which elicited a rather haunting performance from him. And so it was to my delight that he managed to fit into this role with such ease and charm, as if he had been doing romantic comedies all his life. He displays the typical British dry wit and slightly dark humour effortlessly, almost to a fault (excuse the pun). Not the best performance from Kirsten Dunst, but she does give a pretty convincing portrayal as the brash American world number one female player.

Speaking of brashness, it's a pleasant surprise to see the notoriously foul-mouthed John McEnroe in a cameo appearance, as a commentator giving his two-cent's worth during the tennis matches. His presence adds a nice touch, giving a certain "real tennis" feel to the ficticious tennis players in the film.

Despite not having real professional tennis players in the acting roles, the action sequences in the matches do look very convincing, thanks to the amazing cinematography. You certainly realise how far cinematic technology has progressed over the years when you see Bettany and Dunst belt out those groundstrokes and smashes almost as beautifully as the real-life, seasoned pros would.

All in all, an entertaining date flick that holds even more appeal for tennis fans.

Who should watch: Those who don't mind suspending their belief about British tennis to simply enjoy a lovable romantic comedy.

Who shouldn't watch: Tim Henman, all English tennis players and English tennis fans. They may actually believe they CAN really win a grandslam.

Rating: 7.5