Ninja Assassin

You know those kind of movies, where not a minute can go by without a single drop of blood being spilled?

Bingo. This be one of those flicks.

So you have Rain, who plays this rogue-renegade-me-against-the-world Ninja named Raizo. For some very, VERY ambiguous reason, he's harboring a vendetta against the clan of assassins that raised him. I know, not the most grateful of children.

Then you have this forensic researcher Mika Coretti (played by Naomie Harris, who was Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean) who in a very kepoh (nosy) manner, obligates herself with the task of investigating Ninjas. The problem here is that Ninjas are not meant to be discovered. So, inadvertently, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Naturally, the two develop a tag-team (although Mika is only useful for like, a quarter of the movie?), and the story rolls out from here.


Funny thing is, there is literally no story to the movie.

As aforementioned, 98% of the movie is devoted solely to swashbuckling, gruesome, gory, action. No, they did not recreate blood very well. It was very clearly red paint. Although I must say that the graphics and special effects were very nicely done. From the ways in which ninjas appear and disappear, to the manner in which Raizo wields his... Umm... Chained-dagger thingamajig? Yeah. Uber cool.

And while most of the Asian characters- no, wait, all of the Asian characters have Japanese names, and being a Ninja in itself is Japanese, the characters resolve to speaking Chinese. Two words, at that: "Xiao xin ah, xiao xin!".

Where on earth is the connection? What are we, globalization-conscious all of a sudden?

The plot and dialogue was extremely dreary and dry for me, and while the beginning was considerably interesting, everything went downhill after the first 10 minutes.

I prefer Rain's acting in 'A Love to Kill' and 'Full House' over his portrayal in this movie. Too much sword-swinging-dismemberment clouded this budding actor's skills. But then again, the movie is called Ninja Assassin anyway, not Ninja Drama.

Naomie Harris too, paled in comparison to her performance in Pirates of the Caribbean. That said, she was definitely the gem of the movie, and was the only cast member whose acting i found tolerable all the way through. Called me biased and what not, but that's the way I see it.


So, to conclude? Ninja Assassin is probably going to end up being classified as one of those movies which you should not waste time watching in cinemas. Unless of course, you're hunting for a hardcore, adrenaline-saturated action flick. If that's the case, this is worth the watch, I suppose. Don't expect anything great though.

All in all, Ninja Assassin gets 6.5 out of 10.

Oh!!! K-Pop fans!!! GUESS WHO WAS IN A MAJOR PART OF THE MOVIE?!

Click on the picture to see who the meditating guy is. =) *Hint hint* He's from MBLAQ.

Quote from the movie: "You sure this guy is an assassin? He looks like some boy band member."





Cheerio.

leer más...

Twilight: New Moon

The legions of die-hard fans screamed, and no, not for Edward Cullen.

Rather, each time Jacob Black appeared, and worse still, lifted up his shirt (or stood topless), numerous gasps and shrill cheers filled the dark cinema.

Which makes me wonder, which was more interesting? The jeers of teenage girls who couldn't control their waltzing hormones, or this much anticipated movie as a whole?

Taking off from where Twilight left off, New Moon once again zooms in on the inter-species romance between a vampire and well, a mortal. Except this time, there's a werewolf in the mix. When Bella Swan is left to fend for herself by her blood-sucking lover, Edward Cullen, she can't help but suffer. Screams, nightmares, pains, drama, drama, and oh, more drama ensues.

Then comes along Jacob Black, who gives Bella a shot at a new life; a new hope. This in return, tears of protagonist apart. Does she keep wishing for Edward's return? Or does she take Jacobs hand (and Greek-god like body), thus leaving her past behind?




Best not to reveal any spoilers here. Then again, assuming 5 out of 7 people have read the book, most of you already know the storyline anyway.

All in all, the movie wasn't all too bad. But neither was it a masterpiece. Noticeable improvements could be seen in the graphical aspects of the movie, especially in those scenes where werewolves emerged. The oh-so-graceful acrobatic movements of the vampires were also nicely touched up and finished, leaving no loose strings in the special effects department.

Another favourable trait would be the Volturi's appearance. Aside from the prominently fake eye colours, one must credit the casting director for appointing apt actors with matching characters to play, hence breathing life into the Volturi (Ironic indeed, seeing as they're undead).




My favourite was definitely Jane, the young female vampire equipped with power to induce pain by merely staring at her target. Guess who played the part?

Dakota Fanning - who's becoming so much more gorgeous by the day. *Grins*




Action scenes were fairly distributed, and all were more or less intense. Compared to the prequel, there's much more suspense and fighting this time around. And my oh my did them outrageously large wolves look real. The plot in itself was interesting, although praise for this should be given to Stephanie Meyer anyway.


However, the movie did have it's fair share of cringe-worthy moments. For starters, there was just too much drama (Once again, this depends on individual taste. Some of you may appreciate this trait). Now don't get me wrong, I think drama is all good. The world would be all too monotonous without it. But the thing about drama, is that it's like a rich chocolate brownie. While a few pieces are heavenly, too much could very well make you throw up.

What exacerbates things is the fact that at certain times in the movie, the desired effect doesn't quite come across. When Edward left Bella, for instance, some people were laughing in the cinema. Personally, I didn't find the scene moving in the slightest bit. Blame my standards perhaps, but it was just.. too.. fake?

And could somebody please explain to me why Bella was holding her stomach half of the time when she was in pain? I mean, he left you with a broken heart. Not gastric pains, for God's sake. (My mother says that stomach cramps could be caused by a broken heart. True?)


Of course, it could be conveniently concluded that Kristen Stewart is growing as an actress. Oscar-worthy? NO. Not at all. But she has incontrovertibly improved in quality from the last time we saw her.

Robert Pattinson looked like he was in pain half of the time. Yes, I know, many will argue that Edward Cullen is in a horribly painful conflict. However I can't help but wonder if his pain was acted, or if playing the role really did pain him. Trying a little too hard perhaps?

And ah, Taylor Lautner. A lot of work to do, young man. Acting-wise, of course. Physically, well, just stay the way you are right now, okay? And everything will be just fine. As it is, tons of fans had their heart broken when Edward Cullen turned out to be less good-looking then predicted. The least you could is maintain that figure. (Mind you, I do believe that at least half of the audience was there for his body and not the movie itself. Hello, 13 kg of toned muscle? Admirable by any scale, thank you)


A little treat for you Taylor Lautner/ Jacob Black lovers.

So how did the movie fare? Out of 10, I'd give it a 7. While it is far more furnished and enchanting then Twilight, there seems to be room for so much more. Let's just hope that the directors sense that potential. It really does capture this though: things can go horribly wrong and blown out of proportion at times. Even if they are the simplest of pictures or messages. If you need that imprinted in your brain, I do recommend this show.

By the way, if you hate cliffhangers, you're gonna totally despise the ending of this flick.

And well, for those of you who have totally no idea what New Moon is... perhaps watching this would help?



Cheerio!

leer más...