Rating: 4.6/5
Review: "The Avengers 3D movie review"

For the first time, superheroes gather together for a movie. Although the idea is not new in the world of comic books. The Avengers is based off on the popular comic book from Marvel. But it's only now, we get to see an adaptation by Joss Whedon. I must say he's pretty good. He has also produced and written the recent horror comedy, The cabin in the wood, which is the best recent horror movie. In here, he has packed explosive action, tension and humour into one movie.

The story: It is pretty simple actually. Loki's bent on controlling the world. S.H.I.E.L.D has to stop him before it's too late. And that means recruiting superheroes. Time for the Avengers. For a movie like this, story is not as important as characters' development. Characters' development is very important in this as you see superheroes with different backgrounds working together for the first time ever. But Joss has never forgotten about the action. The movie starts off with a bang with Loki arriving earth. The major action pieces are cool and fun to watch. It even features the best action scenes in a Marvel Comic movie and sets the bar of the action high even for other superhero movies. Acting wise is alright. The superheroes are what they are from previous movies. Music is good. It, at times, is epic. Special effects are good.

3D: It is actually a mix-bag. I didn't expect a lot from it as it is post-converted. Well, the depth is there. You can see the characters separated from the backgrounds. The good 3D comes in when there is an action scene. No idea why. During the climax, the 3D is at its best. So overall, the 3D is alright but it could be so much better if it is filmed in 3D.

Overall: It is a solid entertaining blockbuster that set the bar high. It not only features explosive action and great special effects but it also has characters' development and humour. It is a great blockbuster to start off for the year. It seriously set the bar high for Marvel Comic movies in terms of action and decently-paced story. Avengers Assemble!

Rating: 4/5

Review: "The cabin in the woods movie review"

It's not exactly oscar-worthy material but for a horror movie, it is good. In fact, I think this is the best recent horror movie (the thriller genre is not counted). The whole movie has a sense of dread but it is notable for its black humor especially its tongue-in-cheek story. I like it in the sense that it is unpredictable. Of course, the first 45 minutes feature cliche stuff from the slashers movies. But the fun begins after that mark and the movie becomes a bizarre entertainment.

The story: It is pretty straight forward for the first 45 minutes. The roles of the characters are what they are being labeled. The Jock, The Virgin, The slut, The stoner and The smart guy. It is not a spoiler when they are being killed off one by one. But there are some interesting twists of how some of the characters die. After the movie hits its 45 minutes mark, it takes turn and become unpredictable and bizarrely fun. Nothing being spoiled. The ending will set tongues wagging. The acting is okay, the cast are good-looking. The special effects are great for a low-budget movie. Music is good for a horror movie. Only thing I dislike is some of the unnecessary shock scenes.

Overall: It should be worth to catch it in cinema. This movie is something like you will either love or hate it. I enjoyed it for what it is. Though it is a horror movie, it never take itself seriously. A rare horror movie that does that. I have no idea how this kind of movie gets to be on the shelf of the company for 3 years. Seriously a long time.

Rating: 4/5

Review: "Battleship movie review"

It is based on the Hasbro board game and I think this is the third new movie that is based on Hasbro following G.I Joe and Transformers franchise. Peter Berg, the director, keeps the whiz-bang action and shiny special effects for this early blockbuster (Singapore gets it one month before US). I can say Peter is not a bad director, his Hancock is a good anti-hero movie and his The Kingdom is an okay action movie. In this, it is obvious, Peter is used to big special effects and the movie with a budget of US$200 million shows.

The story: It is straight-forward as a big blockbuster movie. The movie features two brothers, the Hoppers, in the Navy in Hawaii. Taylor Kitsch seems to be a hot property for blockbuster roles. His previous role was in another big action blockbuster, John Carter and who knows other upcoming blockbusters. His acting isn't too bad, it is slightly better than his other role as John Carter. The rest of the cast is okay. Action wise is good. There are a lot of big action scenes merged with special effects. Peter is equally concerned with the relationship between the two brothers so action fans have to wait for a while to see those big action scenes. The action scenes not only big but are also intense and thrilling. But I wish they are also involved with more strategies. Music wise is good as expected from the same composer behind the Transformers movies.

Overall: It is worth a watch as it is interesting how Hollywood can adapt a movie from a board game. It isn't too bad but it could have been more than just a big blockbuster movie. This has everything you want from a blockbuster: big action with great special effects, electrifying music score, heroic themes and a hot girl. It is a movie to whet people who are eager for the blockbuster month. I am interested at how more board games can be adapted.

Rating: 4/5

Review: "Wrath of the Titans 3D movie review"

The sequel to the 2009 Clash of the Titans. Clash of the Titans 3D was the worst 3D movie experience I ever had as it was post-converted. So when I heard that they were shooting the sequel in 3D, I was excited. Clash of the Titans could have been great if not for the shoddy 3D effects. This is what Clash of the Titans should been. This has bigger and epic action and the 3D is a million times better than the first one.

The story: It is pretty straight-forward. The action starts soon enough when the movie opens. The action scenes involving some creatures are few but are great. But it is the climax which is almost the third act that stands out from the whole movie. It is filled with special effects and brawls between gods and demigods. Another scene that is noteworthy is the maze scene. The whole scene is intense as the maze is constantly changing its path to confuse the characters. The maze scene almost take up the second act of the movie. The movie is worth a watch just for these scenes. The music is alright, it can get epic at times but on the whole, Clash of the Titans' music is better than this. Acting is alright. Special effects are good.

3D: It seemed that the director changed his mind about shooting it in 3D and opted for post-conversion later on. And my hopes were dashed. Fortunately, I gave this a try as there are reviews saying that the 3D is definitely better than the first one. To my surprise, it is pretty good. It can be the best 3D post-converted movie I have seen. It even tops Alice in the Wonderland which was the best 3D post-converted movie before this. There are scenes which things like flying debris pop out from the screen. But most importantly, the characters never felt flat. They felt like 3D dimensional.

Overall: It is a cool epic movie. This is what Clash of the Titans could not be. It has the 3D to immense the audience into the world of gods and monsters. People should give the 3D version a chance and forget about how horrible Clash of the Titans'3D was. I hope there will be a third movie and this time I pray hope they will shoot it in 3D.

Rating: 3.8/5

Review: "The Hunger Games movie review"

It is based on the widely popular teenage book and it is the first in the trilogy. People are claiming it to be the next Harry Potter or Twilight series. I could say it is different from the other movies based on the book as this contains more implied violence and the moral isn't exactly for children. It is also far more intense than all of the movies in Harry Potter and Twilight.

The story: It is positioned somewhere in the future and there are different districts. Each district, a male and a female are chosen to participate in a cruel game, The Hunger Games. The movie moves briskly with the runtime of 142 minutes. Unfortunately, the action fans will have to wait until the last half where the game takes place. The first half is about introduction of characters and the starting of the games where characters train for the game. As a action fan, I happen to enjoy the first half as it is more intense than when the game has started which is a surprise. There is a lot of blood and deaths and implied violence for a teenager movie. There are some neat action scenes but they are brief. The camera does shake a lot but it didn't bother me a lot. Music is good, it sets the tone of the movie. Acting wise is fine.

Overall: It will bring in loads of money as it is based on the widely popular books. And this movie is for both male and female unlike Twilight. Though the movie isn't morally right but the sense of Hope is prevalent. As the movie ends with a cliffhanger, we can expect a sequel or even a trilogy. With the movie raking in cash, it won't be long until we see a sequel.

Rating: 2.4/5

Review: "Shadowland DVD review"

It is not a very bad Direct-To-DVD movie but it is the first half of the movie that ruins the whole of it. The first half is kind of cheesy and slow-paced. The second half turns out to be better than the first half by having bits of action and special effects and some 'not bad' camera shots. The movie could be better if it looks better and have a bigger budget. But of course, since this is a low-budget movie, the shots look dull most of the time. The only thing impressive is the special effects. Even the acting is not very good.

DVD special features-Rating: 3/5

To my surprise, it has load of special features. Its special features are really extensive for a low budget Direct-To-DVD movie. There is a making of (29 minutes) which shows behind the scenes. There is a featurette on the special effects in the movie (27 minutes) which shows great use of puppetry and other practical effects. Such a pity that it cannot save the movie. There are deleted scenes (26 minutes) which include an alternative boring opening scene and a bit of outtakes. There is a preview of another movie (2 minutes) which I can't remember the name. But it is something to do with shadow. Lastly, a featurette about the movie's rating (2 minutes) where the given rating to the movie is R and it is being discussed.

Rating: 3.6/5

Review: "Reel Steel Blu-Ray review"

It is a little slow at some points but overall, the pace is bearable. Action is not very prevalent in this robot boxing movie. Family drama seems to be more important as the story is about Charlie played by Huge Jackman dealing with his son after his ex-girlfriend passed away. Hence, it is a little slow at some points. The robot boxing action scenes are alright; they are portrayed realistically rather than over-the-top featured in the Transformers movies.

Blu-Ray special features- 3/5

There is a commentary but I didn't bother. There are two deleted scenes (17 minutes) and one of them is the added story of the butterfly clips from Charlie's ex-girlfriend. I am glad that it is deleted as I felt that it would drag the movie down. There is an useless mocumentary on Charlie's life (14 minutes). Pointless and boring to me. There is a featurette on Sugar Ray Leonard (6 minutes). It shows him teaching Huge Jackman boxing. There is two featurettes about the movie. One (14 minutes) is about setting and shooting a major scene where the two main characters find robot parts. Another (5 minutes) is about the making of the robots. Lastly, the slightly funny bloopers (2 minutes) round up the special features.