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Very stylish. A lot of neon colours, then a lot of barren colours. Charlize Theron is also super stylish and fashionable for late 80s (I want her red coat). Music from the 80s as soundtrack in this action- filled film (though I liked Guardians of the Galaxy's selections better). Realistic and rather violent fighting sequences (John Wick style). People talk about the staircase fight scene, but for me the best is the (first) kitchen fight.

First two acts were good. Act three got really confusing with abrupt ending. A lot of espionage mystery/reveals, perhaps one too many too quickly.

I haven't felt this good coming out of a movie screening in a long time.

This movie spells F-U-N.

Fun characters, sure most of them are cliché, and it is deliberate! Just look at their nicknames: Doc (the mastermind), Buddy (the friendly muscle), Darling (the bubblegum-popping fierce gal), Baby (literally babyface kid), and Bats (the crazy one).This is played so perfectly to a point.

Fun chase scenes. Familiar? Maybe, we've seen enough Furious movies. Smart? Most of the time. Fun? Absolutely.

Fun romance. Ain't nothing more fun than an innocent teenage first date with a flirtatious (on both sides) counterpart in a laundromat. And they didn't even have to cheapen it with a sex scene. What a breath of fresh air there. Fun heist plot. It's almost like a different version of Ocean's eleven.

Fun banter. A lot of pop cultural references. That Mike Myers joke is gold.

Fun choreography. If you liked the opening sequence, it is followed by a fun MTV style of a character lip syncing and dancing timed perfectly to the lyrics of song - playing in Baby's headphones - literally written on the walls.

Fun style. I am a sucker for 50s stuff - classic diner, classic mix tapes (well.. more 80s in that sense), classic cars, and a long drive to the west.

Fun music. All I want to do now is to download the whole OST album. They stretched the final showdown a little bit but they nailed the ending. I leave the room a satisfied customer.

Don't know if this is an actual easter egg: The disguise outfit that Baby took from the shop, ie. blue baseball cap and denim jacket, is the same outfit that Ryan Gosling's driver (in "Drive") wears when escaping police pursuit.

Dunkirk: Based on real life events in Dunkirk France in 1940, 300,000 English soldiers were stranded on the beach awaiting help. Meanwhile, the French army (allies) blocks Nazi advancements and both the English and the French soldiers are running out of time and must get out of the beach, or be "sitting ducks".

In terms of story, there's nothing to spoil, really, but in the case you don't like reading up about movies at any cost, well.. there would be some minor spoiler ahead.

Dunkirk is a war movie. But more that that, it is a survival movie. There isn't much plot twist or clever reveals like the typical Nolan film. It is simply about men trying to survive, help, or fight the enemy. It's a short and efficient film (only 78 pages of script). There isn't any excessive blood or gore or blown up body parts, no soldiers praying or crying in vain. There is just surviving and escaping death. And death did not come in the form of evil German soldiers. I mean, fact dictates that the German soldiers were trying to kill them, but you see them as planes, unseen bullets, bombs, torpedoes. You don't actually see an actual German soldier.

That is not to say that this film is not clever. Nolan's storytelling technique is still there with intertwining stories that meshes at the end. With little dialogue, the film expects you to pay attention and understand what is happening without too much exposition.

If you think that Nolan films are sterile or devoid of emotions, in this film the choice is made on purpose. Not because there aren't any emotion, but because the emotions stirred in the audience is not manipulated by actors emoting sadness with tears or using sad music. You feel it as you see the things happening on screen. You worry, you fear, you find hope, lose hope, together with the characters. This is not a melodramatic film trying to make you cry.

This movie was filmed in IMAX and if you're not watching it on IMAX at least watch it in a big screen. Aerial shots looked amazing, especially when your eyes are set on the plane body chasing and shooting down enemy bomber planes.

I saw this in an IMAX cinema, and again the visuals looks amazing, but the score needs a mention. Hans Zimmer is again composing for Nolan, and this time there's no melody that you hum to by the end. But the tension is built by this pulsing music that feels like either bombs falling or loud heartbeats of the soldiers when enemy planes are passing.. honestly I can't quite tell them apart anymore, and also because the bass in my cinema is too loud. The screen actually jittered on loud tones. So the loud sound works well in most cases, but in a few cases the over bearing bass kind of ruined the visuals. However I think on a better calibrated cinema you won't see this happen.

Another note was also the fact that I was looking forward to seeing Harry Styles in this film 😆 I'm not a particularly big fan of his or One Direction, I just thought he has a good expressive actor face and I wanted to see him in a movie. I expected him to die within two minutes (coz cameo roles work like that) but he got more screen time than I expected and his character reveal is unexpected too.

The main character, well.. the first character we root for anyway, I don't know what his name is but he's beautiful! I mean, his facial features are so prominent and just.. gorgeous. Hope to see this young actor in more movies.

And Tom Hardy as a pilot.... my gosh there was one shot where I could feel everything through his eyes only, at one point he changed his face from comfort to worry, through micro expression of his eyes.....! because the rest of his face was covered with his pilot mask. That's how good he was 😱

The other pilot is played by a lad named Jack Lowden, a younger and handsomer version of Simon Pegg 😂 sorry

My only complaint: (MAJOR SPOILER)

it's a bit too nice a bow tied at the end. I guess I was expecting a Saving Private Ryan-sort of film where everybody is dirty and downtrodden and hopeless and dying.

(END SPOILER)

Conclusion: enjoyable movie, thrilling and filled with tension. Not my favourite Nolan film, but a good film nevertheless. Everybody was clapping by the end. 8/10

I think I might've put my expectations a bit too high, the film feels a bit standard for marvel. It is up to par with Dr. Strange, for example, but not as memorable as.. er.. I guess Marvel's standards are pretty high. This one feels more down to earth. Spiderman fights his villains on his own, and so isn't bogged down by the large scale and heaviness of films like the Avengers. I particularly liked the opening scene with Peter Parker making a little video diary, with some scenes from Civil War in it. Totally what a 15 yo teenager would do.

Tom Holland, as he did in his appearance in Civil War, is the perfect Spider-Man (and I'm a Tobey's version fan), and Tony Stark makes a pretty good mentor/father figure. I like that they only mentioned the fact that Peter lost his uncle just recently (we don't really need another spider bite and uncle death story). I wish there were more Aunt May scenes.

Even though the general feel of the film is upbeat, I have to say that Tom delivered his rare emotional scenes perfectly. You feel his loss when he fails to be what he wanted to be. He reminded me of his excellent work in "The Impossible" (must watch).

The changes in this version of spidey takes him to a completely different universe. He still lags in school due to his "other" responsibilities. But now he's the smart science nerd with his smart IT nerd friend, not the reporter-to-be kind of Peter Parker (I still remember Tobey's Peter taking pictures of MJ when he got bit). His suit and abilities are a bit different and mostly made by Stark, and I think spidey fans didn't like that idea. And I'm not sure I like the in-suit AI either (even though she sounds so soothing... it was Jennifer Connely's voice). But on the other hand it was pretty cool to see the different web effects the suit enabled him.

Michael Keaton as the Birdma.. I mean Vulture.. he's menacing and vicious when he needs to be. Excellent play between him and Peter Parker.

It's good. Fun, light, with some emotions interspersed throughout. The only bad thing.. well.. it's every other marvel standalone movie (well that's not bad actually because most of them are good too) and I guess we've seen those before.

Transformers: the Last Knight is a movie which I also hope to be the last transformers movie. Michael Bay is like a kid with too many toys and unlimited money who throws all the action figures, cars, choppers, submarines, EVERYTHING, into this ridiculous mess he calls a movie. It is too long, too messy, too choppy, and jumps everywhere his whims takes him.

Okay so if you're a transformers fans maybe you will like it, you will get your action hero, your sexy girlfriend, your robots, your race- cars and tanks and all the things you boys like.

~~~~~Begin rant, possible spoiler~~~~~

Incoherent storytelling, overused film tropes (for example: sexy- British-professor-lady vs muscular-fast talking-American-action- hero), unnecessary sequences, jumpy locations, cringe-worthy jokes that we still laugh at because they're the only ones presented after an hour of exploding dead cities. I mean, who wrote this movie.. and why isn't anybody stopping Michael Bay from his never ending thoughts being vomited out and then jumbled together.

At one point I even thought maybe Michael Bay did this on purpose, just to see how far he can go.. make it as absurd as possible and as ludicrous as it can be. Make it worse than the Fast & Furious' unbelievable action scenes. How about use an English mythical legend story and put robots in them! Yes! That'll do it! No money? Take some Chinese products and put it so distractingly in focus so everyone can definitely see them. Oh, this movie isn't going to be set in Hong Kong again? Meh.. just add some leftover HK shots we got from last year's Transformers. There, you got your global disaster. Sure, we still need some of the old faces from the previous movies, get them in this film even though they're in a completely different location, let them help save the world via a phone call. A PHONE CALL.

The butler robot is the most interesting, and even that was wasted when Bay decided to let the robot be emotionally off at the end. A butler, you say? Yes, a C3PO lookalike. Don't worry, they somehow got to reference him in the movie as C3PO. I wonder how much extra money they had leftover that they could still throw some at Disney. They had so much money that the female professor can change clothes so many times even though they are in a hurry to save the world. She changed her work clothes into a bodycon dress (to show off her curves to the American hero character, duh), went back to the house to look for clues and changed into a white blazer, white shirt and pants combo still with high heels, then get in a submarine, takes off the blazer, and for some weird reason, because the submarine is from WW1, changes into a linen cloth Indiana Jones kind of outfit with horse-riding pants.

AND WHAT IS UP WITH THE CHANGING ASPECT RATIO!!! It keeps changing from 4:3 to 16:9 to I don't know how many different aspect ratios were used (8 different ones in the trailer).. so your field of view goes from tall to wide to tall to medium tall and back to wide.. gahhh!

I get it, some shots were done in IMAX.. some others in RED cameras.. no actually I don't get it. WHY!! Couldn't the editor crop the final cut so that the top and bottom black bars can at least be of same size!

What is this!!

~~~~~~~~~end of rant~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good parts: CGI was excellent. But as with previous transformers films, the action sequences are so dazzling (dizzying) that your eyes won't be able to keep up. That said, I feel this time we can still see clearly who's fighting who.

Anthony Hopkins: nobody can make a film sound more serious, even though it is a mindless summer blockbuster, other than sir Hopkins. and maybe Morgan Freeman.

Mark Wahlberg: what are you doing man...

I liked the robot butler character. A bit too much but still somewhat likable.

Bumblebee is still very cool looking.

Optimus Prime is still very much full of himself. (He goes into pre- battle speech 2-3 times at the end.... starting each speech with "I. Am. Optimus Prime.") This is the part where I rolled my eyes. Yeeees, we know you're optimus prime.. yeees we know you're gonna save the world..

Everything else is just sh..

Truth (2015): saw this film on FX just now, starring Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace. A compelling story about journalism and the advent of internet journalism. A bit slow at start, then moves to a false ending when we see the reporters made a successful "60 minutes" show about G. W. Bush's alleged receipt of preferential treatment in the National Guard, weeks prior to his re- election in 2004. Scandals arise when it was pointed out that the documents presented in the show is possibly a forgery, the last half of the film deals with how the reporters must now try to fight back in defense to their report.

Cate Blanchett is perfect as usual. She's strong but fragile at the same time. Her portrayal of Mary Mapes, the producer of the "60 minutes" show, on the verge of losing her job while standing up to the multitudes of 'bullies' trying to discredit her is the main drive of the film. She just brings so much depth into her characters. I can't get enough of her.

That said, due to the possible political bias in the movie itself, there are some assumptions that the movie is trying to feed the viewers, and I'm not sure it is as politically neutral as it can be. The movie speaks in volumes about what the general crowd thinks now of investigative journalism, and our (dis)ability to separate truth from fiction.

A piece of film worth thinking about, but somewhat not super satisfying at the end.

The Whole Truth: courtroom drama with Keanu Reeves starring as a lawyer trying to defend a young man who allegedly killed his father but refuses to speak.

It has a pretty interesting script. The plot twist, somewhat predictable near the end, is just almost good enough to offset the monotonous first half of the movie.

Keanu's wooden expression actually worked. Rene Zellweger looks so sullen... but then we get a reminder of why she won an Oscar many years ago.

All-in-all the premise of the movie is interesting and the tidbits of facts thrown in between the court scenes reveals just enough at the right time.

It's a passable lawyer movie, if you can get past the talking-heads first half of the movie. After three consecutive witnesses were put on stand, I heard some snoring in the theatre 😆

After the disappointments of Man of Steel, BvS, Suicide Squad.. I still had my hopes up for Wonder Woman, because she was the only thing that made BvS bearable!

And finally this movie made it. It is a simple origins story, but that is beside the point. Gal Gadot brings to it a simple innocence and 'clean slate' sort of feel to the whole DCEU. For once, this hero had no excess baggage and just wanted to do the right thing.

There's a lot other positive things that can be said about WW, but mainly the fact that we finally get a female superhero as the lead, in her own solo film, and what a good film it is, who is not seen as the sexy character, or the stupid 'i don't know how the world works' character, or one who needs help from her man (although she did get help, it wasn't because she needed it, it was because the world needed it). Thank you Patty Jenkins. Thank you for bringing us a strong independent woman, not afraid of bullies, or emotions!

I don't know why I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I should. The story is a bit everywhere, from robbery to young love to adrenaline-inducing scenes of police chases and extreme sports.

Keanu Reeves definitely shined bright in this film, although it's a bit difficult to forget his Bill and Ted demeanor when he starts talking in his "yeah dude" speak.

The shots of surfing waves and beauty of the earth from 10000 feet up is amazing to watch and you can't help but feel the rush that the characters also do in the film. However, I feel that Keanu's motivation is a bit blurry (maybe it was intentional) as he sways between being a good cop and being an adrenaline junkie that Patrick Swayze was about. I didn't get it. I didn't get what he wanted to do. I didn't even get why he kept on following Patrick Swayze's whims even though he finds out that they were the robbers (this part is pretty expected).

But from a Keanu fan, my oh my was he beautiful (still is).

Its a beautifully written one night love story between Nick and Brooke who met and spend the night together trying to figure out what the next step in the night (and in life) should be. It's wonderfully done, with Chris Evans directing himself and Alice Eve. The chemistry between them is wonderfully sweet and gentle, as if watching two best friends finding out about each other.

The music is soft and complemented the film beautifully. The night lights of New York adds the romantic mood. The story itself is revealed layer by layer. I thought I'd be watching something predictable but it isn't.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Lovely film.

The best was obviously the first, and this one comes really close because of the existence of Ilsa Faust, the Femme Fatale. Really, Ethan Hunt could use a female accomplice that can fight her own.

The action is as crazy as Tom Cruise could go for, putting my butt at the edge of the seat most of the time, and humor provided by Benji was just enough to neutralize the adrenaline-driven ride.

The music for this particular episode was excellent, as it incorporates most of the original soundtrack from the TV show, including the "Mission accomplished" soundtrack and others which titles i know not of. But, you will definitely recognize the melody when you hear it mixed into the various soundtracks in the movie.

Ilsa Faust even has her own theme song based on Turandot, and made her the classic female character, reminding me of Ingrid Bergman.

The only thing I wasn't happy about: the disavowed IMF. Again? Can't the IMF have a better leader and get normal jobs like the CIA or the MI6? I hope the next MI franchise doesn't put IMF as disavowed organization again.

If you're looking for thrilling action, this movie is the one to go to this year.

I don't know what the critics saw (or didn't see) because this film is one slick stylish spy movie that James Bond could've been.

The story is pretty standard for a spy movie (extraction, infiltration, secret stealing, and a bombing finish), but what's interesting isn't just the story. The characters' banter between the American and Russian spy with the additional female wit was amusing! The style is all there, beautiful cars, boats, costumes, hair, set, and music was top notch. I had to find the soundtrack immediately after watching this show.

It also helps that both the leading men were sexy in their own way, much more than Bond himself. Sexual tension between Ilya and Gaby was so strong I could not take my eyes off them.

And it is fun! If there's one thing to take off of this movie it is the fun that's lacking in most spy movies nowadays. This is entertainment. Do not be discouraged by the critics, I suppose they were looking for something heavier.

Assembling 6 avengers, plus Nick Fury, was a tough feat in the first one. How Joss manages to outdo himself by adding everybody.. And I mean EVERYBODY even if they only had a short screen time.. Into a 2.5hrs movie is beyond me.

People take for granted good scripts. Having more than 5 strong characters to talk or have a funny banter is just plain crazy. Add action, explosions, backstories, humor, wit, in a coherent and cohesive way without letting the audience lose the train of thought is simply an amazing feat.

The dialogues are amazingly clever. By clever I mean they dumb it down enough for non comic readers to pick up where things were and St the same time assumes the audience are intelligent enough to 'get it'. The conversation between Banner and Romanoff was deep and the build up was all between the lines. Everything is implied and never in your face (except after you already got it).

The film runs slightly on the long side, but I can't think of how it could be shorter. Everything builds up just enough for the finale. And the last 30minutes after the creation of Vision made it all worth it.

If you haven't seen it you should, because this is the biggest most marvellous mega jumbo huge blockbuster of the year. Just look at the destruction! I have no idea how they are going to top this.

SPOILERS/RANT BELOW

The humor! Oh! Iron man saying that high pitched sorry was hilarious!

The deaths (including Romanoff lost chances) made me scream "Nooooooooooooo!" inside. Each had their own build up very well written and shown so that we care a lot when they died.

Anyone else sad when Jarvis, the computer programme, died? Noooooo

And Vision. Well what a vision! I need to rewatch this.

I kinda regret not seeing this in the cinema.

Nightcrawler is an excellent disturbing drama thriller. The twisted story is not as twisted as Gone Girl, but it's close.

Everything is driven by Gyllenhaal's character, Louis Bloom, need to succeed. His is an intense and disturbed character who at the start of the movie seems to mean well. He needed the money, it seemed, and figured out ways to find some. Since normal route didn't work (ie. he applied for a job after selling stolen wires, and the boss of the company made it clear he would never hire thieves) he found a better way of making money by becoming a news cameraman (with no moral ethic in mind).

His sickness/psychotic madness is slowly revealed when he wants more and more, without us ever be able to think ahead of him, and he will stop at nothing.

It's scary. Gyllenhaal himself is transformed into this nerdy*/autistic*/socially depraved man with eloquent talking. He charms and yet you feel uneasy around him. He can convince anyone to do his liking and you won't even see it coming. He's determined to get what he wants. We root for him, and then hate him, and then be appalled by what he did.

*I don't really know how to describe his condition.. sorry if it was way too far from what he is.

The intensity translates well into the movie. Pacing, camera work, banter between characters. It's a movie that is definitely worth your while.

‪Cinderella‬ was colorful and magical right from the first shot of the randomly-flowered-colorful meadow. The tone of the whole film is warm and dreamy and very much like a classic BBC series.

I kept wondering who Richard Madden (the prince) was. I knew Cinderella's mom was marvel's agent Carter (in case you were wondering).. And almost didn't realize Stellan Skaasgard as the Duke. Now I know that Prince Charming is actually Prince /king Robb of the Game of thrones!

And how did they make that humongous blue dress look so light? (hint: it's magic!)

Cate Blanchett is awesome as always. Her stepmother's laugh was spot on. Helena Bonham Carter's teeth looked a bit weird.. I'm being really picky here.

The BEST part is that it sticks to the original of the story. God bless Kenneth Branagh for not changing the story of the first feature animation/fairy tale movie I've ever watched in my life! (I had it on VHS.. or was it hifi beta.. when I was a kid.) No plot twists, no kungfu fighting, no turning the baddie into the fairy godmother (*cough* Maleficent *cough* I hated the fact they "updated" the story by not really telling the story and in fact telling another completely different one). It is actually HARDER to remake a movie without changing the story, and still give you a new images and impressions of the same story. Sure you know what will happen, but how it happened, why, that's what this story tells. Not, "Oh, actually it didn't happen that way, here's my version".

Branagh's Cinderella delves a little deeper into her relationship with her father, their love for each other as they depend on each other for courage and kindness (a message strongly delivered in the film). At the same time, prince Charming (Kit) also gets to show his motives and relationship with his father, another loving and wise figure fit for a king and we see his wisdom being passed along to Kit.

Stepmother's cause was also implied, leave it to Cate to bring the subdued emotions and motives to us viewers. We don't hate her, we sympathize her. (And she can still be evil at the same time! Marvelous! Sorry Maleficent, i used to like you when you were unapologetically evil)

The actual magic only really happens when Fairy Godmother appeared (i'd prefer an older, more mother-like version, but Helena was fun). Unbelievably beautiful horse carriage and glass shoes! This is live- action fairy magic at its best.

I must say that I still preferred the cartoon version of the dress transformation. This one felt a bit too long and melodramatic. The cartoon one was short and to the point but still magical and always made me wondered how they animated the sprinkle effect (did they really draw the sprinkles frame by frame.. They probably did). No wonder it is Walt Disney's favorite scene.

The ending was also a little short of thrills for me. The cartoon version had the cat chasing the mice who were trying to save Cinderella from the attic. This added a lot more suspense, which is a bit lacking in this version's ending. The overall length of the movie was a bit too long as well.

Conclusion: It's a charming Disney classic, thanks to Kenneth Branagh. If your child hasn't seen Cinderella in cartoon form, this is the updated version to instill a sense of magic in her mind.

Boyhood is literally 12 years packed in about 2.5hrs.

It gets boring for some people but for me it is fascinating to see a kid literally grow up in front of my eyes.

Dialogue is so well written that everything flows naturally and in place and at the same time tells you everything you need to know about whats happening in the boy's life. The lost childhood friends, the half siblings, the bullies, the teachers, the girlfriends.. the embarrassment of a bad haircut, the quaint time spent with father, the glimpse of a step father's questionable habit, the rejection of a mother's kiss at school..

Over the course of two hours we are shown what mattered and was memorable in the boy's (in fact any person's) life. Mom's speech about life as "a series of milestones" was almost right on point. This is what the movie was about, almost. It was not about milestones exactly but of what we remember of our childhood - a series of moments and memorable events that eventually shape us into who we are today.

Those who got bored said it was boring (although they also said it was interesting) found it rather hard to keep focus because there were no up and downs, no build up or climaxes. But isn't that what life is? A series of events, some had tiny climaxes, then it goes on. There's no "the end" after a success/ failure, life goes on.

Think about your own boyhood/ girlhood, what do you see? A series of moments disjointed and yet linked up because you were there, leading to where you are now? That's what this movie is, the Boyhood of a kid named Mason Jr.

I had high hopes for it. The trailers promised a fun entertaining spy story that takes modern Bond's seriousness, and adds a bit of Austin Powers' silly humor.

The fighting were fun and entertaining. Sharp, crisp, quick, and clean. The kingsman showed what it was to be a level above the others. Everybody did great. EDIT: I just found out I've missed a whole sequence of in-church fighting due to Indonesian censorship. Bummer.

The evil plot: out of this world, and yet.. understandable. Sam L. Jackson was spot on with his delivery and the reasoning behind his evil deeds. And he was scared of blood.

The downside: some of the jokes were... well.. unfunny, especially at the end with the *SPOILER ALERT* head explosions and butt f***. The explosions were done as a joke, with every head blowing up in sync and Technicolor to match the fireworks music. I kinda cringed at this.

The offer from Princess Tilde was completely out of the blue. And the fact that young agent Eggsy accepted enthusiastically was very uncharacteristic of the young lead character. I mean, he had the best character and personality among all other cadets and him jumping at this odd chance is very.. unlike him.

Basically the whole thing started off great (save for the cutting in half, I was a bit shocked, but.. I could live with that) and then there was a few shockers in the middle, and by the end it gets a bit random. Although, overall it was an entertaining film.

Bottom line: I should like it more, but I probably had too high an expectation.

The Maleficent I know is like Disney's version of Joker. She's evil, for no apparent reason. She just is.

This Maleficent, on the other hand, gives you an idea why she's evil.

Spoiler: I don't like it.

I don't like the fact that she's actually a good fairy, actually misunderstood, actually regretted her evil doings.

I understand that this is a re-imagining and it's a good one at that. It gives a different perspective, like how there's always two sides to a story.

But is it necessary? No.

I didn't necessarily have to know why Joker is Joker, why he had to be Batman's nemesis, why he had to be crazy. He just is. He's the villain, he's the bad guy. Sure sometimes it's nice to know a villain's motivation, and in the Dark Knight, as twisted as it sounds, Joker had a motivation, he wanted to show the world that people are evil too and can destroy one another if survival is at stake.

Now, Maleficent? She's a women who got cheated, had a moment of anger, and made terrible choices. She's not really a villain, just a victim who got lost.

Sure, if this story was an original story, I'd have accepted it for what it is, but for me personally, the Sleeping Beauty story is so much ingrained in my mind that somehow I'm unable to accept this second view.

So, it's not really the filmmaker's fault, just my own, as a biased audience.

In conclusion, for you who's planning to watch it: forget Sleeping Beauty. Remember, this movie is called Maleficent, not Sleeping Beauty's Villain. Understand that you will be standing on her side, that you'll be told a story from her point of view.

Personally I like the evil one better.. one who said "You didn't invite me to a party? I'll curse the baby. That'll show you."

On another note, I wished the filmmakers would've develop more about Aurora and Phillip. They were so adorable together, shy teenagers falling in love without knowing it. aww..

Firstly I'm an Indonesian, so without a doubt, both the first movie and this one makes me very proud. Good job everyone!

Secondly, I'm going to be as subjective as i can.

The first movie had a very simple plot (maybe even too simple..?) but that simplicity made it super exciting and had me on the edge of my seat for 80% of the time.

This second movie however, does nothing of the sort.

The fight scenes were perfect, shots were beautifully choreographed with appropriate slot- mo effects, awesome sets (mud prison fight! Woohoo!), and pencak silat skills were pitch perfect.

Car chase scenes seemed to need more tight editing. Every time we return to Rama's car, it feels like they were replaying their fights a couple of times. I thought the guy on his right was tied up with the seat belt, but no, the next time we see them he got tied up (again) during the fight. Nevemind the odd geography (who cares if they can transport themselves from south Jakarta to north Jakarta just though a tunnel and back, or drive in oddly empty otherwise jammed roads!) but the speed of things, the rush.. Just wasn't quite there. I DID solely go to see the Raid 2 to watch them ruin a bus-way station, and it was awesome!

There's a sense of too many story arc, back-stories, too many characters, too many names we can't remember. Too many for one movie.

Everybody next to me was wondering who Reza was when the Japs mentioned that he was in Bejo's restaurant. I can see how the back-stories help, but by doing them, we lose focus of the main characters and each story becomes somewhat underdeveloped. Hammer girl and baseball guy were one example.. Are they lovers? Siblings? Friends? Frenemies? (And where can one get a baseball bat in a non-existent baseball community in Jakarta? Nevermind, lets not nitpick.)

I get the idea to use Indonesian sounding names but Uco? Bejo?? Can't the young master, son of a mafia boss be named something cooler or modern? Ah, don't nitpick.

Eka's final confession reminds me of the same car confessional scene in Infernal Affairs. Lets also get that out of my system.

All of that up there were jarring (yes i did not mention mad dog because everybody knows it already) but the worst and unforgivable was the snow. In. Tropical. Jakarta.

Snow.

That one minor detail pulled me out of the movie, broke the fourth wall, because i thought hey maybe they were in Tokyo to attack the Japanese mob. No, wait, there's Mie Ayam (chicken noodles) stalls nearby. Which means that the scene was physically/ weather-wise impossible.

The kitchen fight was superior than that of any other i've ever seen. Best showcase of pencak silat ever.

Otherwise, the too ambitious movie presents a convoluted story and characters and felt somewhat unfocused. I did not get the same adrenaline rush as i did in the first movie, ie. remember that scene where Rama was hiding behind a wall and almost got killed by the sword that nipped his cheekbone? (Yes, notice the scar on his cheek, good detail!) I almost died watching that scene. But here, there's a sense that Rama won't die. Either because he doesn't, or because the scenes just weren't life threatening enough? I really don't know, but i was calm. And you don't want me calm during a life-and-death fight scene.

Overall: great fights, albeit lacking rush. Convoluted mob plot with lots of pit holes. And snow. That damned snow.

This is by far the best Bond movie yet.

I don't even like Daniel Craig to start with, but he delivers so well. The script is very well written, delving into Bond's past, his insecurities & fears. There's not a moment where I felt bored in the movie.

Characters were great: Judi Dench's M is impeccable, as always. Ben Whishaw & Finnes were also top-notch. Javier Bardem is going to be one of the best villains in movie history. He's creepy and annoying and cruel and unpredictable. I also have to applaud Berenice Marlohe, one of the Bond girls in the film. Her subtle but emotional performance is way beyond any other Bond girls before her. I would love to see her films more! This is the only Bond movie where I actually felt that all the characters had depth and purpose, and made me feel attached to each of them.

Action-wise is definitely nice too. Unlike previous Bond movies (I'm referring to pre-Daniel Craig films) I always thought Mission Impossible's Ethan Hawke was the better spy, but now James Bond is just badass.

What I love the most is the cinematography. It is beautifully crafted, with many scenes involving silhouettes. You'd have to see it to understand just how beautiful the colors are when projected on screen.

Adele's theme music is also great, combined with again the best opening titles as of yet. Just the opening titles itself was worth the ticket (probably also because i'm an animator)! It's a fascinating combination of 3D and 2D, story symbols, and classic Bond colors/themes.

It's been so long since the last movie came out, I basically forgot all the storyline. However, this did not matter, as the story is basically a new one (of course you have to know what the neurolyzer does).

Josh Brolin was an excellent choice. As the young K, he owns it. He's suave and slick, and yet as charismatic as Tommy Lee Jones. I hope to see more of him as an agent in black.

Will Smith is as entertaining as he could be. It's good to see both him and Josh banter back and forth.

I saw this in 3D and although the glasses in my cinema sucked (it was the small type, with slight color run if I tilt my head), the time travel sequence was exciting! I had to hold my breath at some point before breathing again. The sequences with the unicorn guy showing probable futures were also interesting.

Only a small thing that I didn't like: the last plot twist. (SPOILER) Why didn't Will Smith just jump back in time to kill young Brutus like he did when killing old Brutus? Of course the filmmakers did point out "where there is death, there will be death". But still, he could've saved his own father.

And why K start singing "Empire State of Mind" in the end baffled me.

But overall this is a highly entertaining movie, recommended for a weekend fun!!

This would've been an 8 or 9 if Snow White was not played by Kristen Stewart. I have nothing against her personally.. she was cast perfectly for Twilight (though it's not in my list of good movies). But for Snow White, I expect someone who has the face of kindness and innocence. A fair lady, but with a purpose. With Kristen it's all angst.

It was all good at first. Kristen plays a repressed Snow White, stuck in a tower and being strong for herself. When she meets the Huntsmen (Hemsworth) she was both frightened and cautious, and Kristen did that. But....

There was a scene in the movie where she found the fairy tale land and met the fairy tale king, and I felt that every thing else, the lights, the music, the moment, very beautiful. But Kristen had to force a smile. It didn't seem like a smile Snow White would give. I'd expect Snow White to be beautiful, overwhelmed and joyful at this point, with a hint of fear and amusement. It was a point in the movie where we would fall in love with Snow White, for all her beauty and grace that the queen (Charlize Theron) had envied. But with Kristen.. there's none. There's no fragile beauty in her.. no sense of joyful adventure.. just angst, and a bit of smirk.

*****SPOILER STARTS HERE******** My problem was also with the plot device of William. The filmmakers used him as the weapon Charlize Theron used to feed her the apple. I thought this character could be taken away altogether and instead use Hemsworth as the plot device. Or for that matter, any other character.

The love triangle between Hemsworth and William was also confusing. I would guess that Snow White would wake up by the kiss of true love, but we were left dangling when Hemsworth kissed her and she did not show a sign of return in feelings. Does the kiss mean anything? Or was it another plot device? *****SPOILER ENDS HERE********

Theron was excellent. I see a lot of Disney's Maleficent in her. But again she also showed a frailty about her, the reason why she was who she is. And Charlize just nailed it. Bravo.

Chris Hemsworth was also good in his portrayal of the drunk huntsman. As do the other dwarfs (though more comedy would be nice).

The CGI was impeccable. For me, this was the tipping point between a 4 or a 6 in my scales.

I guess my only problem was with the script and Kristen.

As much as I love both Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Weisz, I watched this film with a sense of forced emotions.

The dialogue seemed too theatrical/staged. In some moments, Hester and Freddie's banter seem so natural, but in others it seems very forced. Like they had a line to say, so they did.

This felt very strong during the scene with William's mother. "Oh no, she will pour the tea, wouldn't she?" The whole scene felt very stagey. I don't know what to say to that.

The story is simple. I do understand the feelings of each character, wanting to reach some place but unable to do it. Hester who wishes for love and freedom, yet yearns for the cultured companion. William who simply doesn't understand why Hester left him. And Freddie, I don't really know what to say of him. At times he seems childish, but in the end he was the adult who made the first move towards their (better) ending.

The movie started in the present and tells most of the story in flashback, which at first startled me (Why? Why flashbacks?) but by the end of the movie I understood that there's no better way.

There are also moments which I thought would've been better told using film language instead of 'theatre language' - words. Some parts which should've been done by action rather by talking. I think that's my biggest problem. Although Tom and Rachel did very well for their characters, the fragile eyes and clenched emotions, the way they had to speak it out loud makes it rather shallow.

The musical score.. a bit too jarring to my senses. I don't quite know what to make of it. Not my favorite part of the movie.

Overall, it's a movie of emotional entrapment. And I feel it, but I can't quite feel empathy for the characters.

OK, let me start by praising Iko Uwais. Of all the actors, this guy fits the character flawlessly and is a highly likable actor. I thought I'd root for Joe Taslim (Jaka) better because of his better looks and taller figure but Iko is perfect.

The movie in terms of story: interesting. The premise is very simple, a bunch of cops trapped in a hellish building filled with the devil's men who knows silat and dead set on killing the cops. However, I can't really tell whats going to happen next, and there's enough twists that actually works, even if they were rather cliché (the rookie, the corrupt officers, the help from a friendly neighbor, the .. i should stop.. or i'd spoil the movie). There's nothing new in terms of plot, but that's not really a big problem. I sure do hope Gareth can find better writers to write the story next time.

What I do like is the pacing. It goes boom boom boom boom! and then it rests a bit before going into suspense mode, scary mode, and then boom some more.

Line delivery? Not very good. Some lines were obviously translated from English (it's written by Gareth himself) and some sounds quite cheesy (overused in other movies), like A: "Why us? why now?" B: "Why not?" Or "I need to get in, my wife is sick" And a bunch of others..

Secondly, some of them are not professional actors and as an Indonesian watching an Indonesian movie without subtitles, I couldn't catch most of the things they said! I wished there were subtitles!! I wished there were Indonesian or English subtitles so that the foreigners in indo can enjoy the movie as well! (although there's one guy with a manado accent who talks funny, obviously a joke which will not be noticed by foreigners) They either talked really quickly, or had poor articulation/enunciation that I couldn't hear what they said and had to ask my sister, who also didn't catch what they said, and had to ask her boyfriend. The only one actor whom I can hear clearly even when talking fast is the gang boss (Ray Sahetapi).. A veteran actor, obviously trained for acting.

By the end of the movie we also concluded that the Indonesian vocabulary in terms of curse words is so very limited. The word "anjing!" (means "dog") is used over and over, by everybody.. And the word "bangsat" (a bedbug) a few times.. "Babi" (pig) once, "kampret" (a small bat) once... They all basically means the same thing "Bastard"... So, this either means we are a really polite culture.. Or that they're trying to avoid censor.. Or that the translator for gareth's script has not enough vocabulary list... or maybe I really didn't get the badness of those animal curse words..

I mean I can think of many English curse words that is not too dirty.. Like.. Scum, filth, bastard, jerk, son-of-a...., prick, damn, what the heck, slime.. OK I don't really know how to translate those words into spoken Indonesian either so...

The fights were great. I can't comment on the choreography because I'm not a professional, but it puts you on the edge of your seat, so I think that speaks for itself. They hit hard, they fall hard, they kill hard, they die hard. I thought that some fights could be sped up a bit, as some moves looks like it lags a bit in terms of syncing, but only by a bit. If not, it adds a real touch to the physicality of the movie.

Most of the girls shrieked and made wriggling sounds during fight sequences (yes, one really shrieked out loud), and many sighed a relief, almost awkward laugh, when those fight sequences end. Which, in my opinion, means that the fights were a great success.

As an animator I felt the CG was a bit...hmmm... CG blood is slightly overused, but still acceptable, but one shot stuck out like a sore finger to me, the one where one guy falls over and lands on a balcony ledge. I really wanted to fix that animation.. Hahahaa... But again, that's because I'm a trained animator, as other people in the cinema gasped in their seats thinking that was real etc.

All I know is, it lived up to my expectations (a minimal story fight movie). I look forward to Iko, Yayan, and Gareth's next collaboration, which is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0hYVksfyrQ Again, if you're an action movie fans, you'd probably like it.

I'm Indonesian and I'm super proud of this movie. It's the first to showcase a young Indonesian action hero, with unique Silat martial arts, and top quality movie making among problematic Indonesian cinema.

Having said that, there are things where it can be better. And I will try to be fair.

The pacing of the film gets slow at some points. Some shots could've been cut shorter and scenes can flow snappier, some dialogues more to the point (there isn't much dialogue, but when there is some, they lag), even some fighting scenes could be shorter.

The establishing scene of Yuda leaving his home is well presented, although a bit unnecessarily long. Stories about his brother (which we never actually see interact with Yuda other than a meal montage and a throw at city girls) seems a bit.. useless? Stereotypical roles of westerners as bad guys with not much motives.. (a scene did try to explain their motives, but vaguely.. and I have no idea why the western brothers seem.. gay-ish?) and maid in distress needing help from the protagonist hero. And the typical story of a guy from a village finding trouble in the city.

I'd very much like to see more romantic side of the story, and more funnier/relaxing moments just to take a breathe. This is not to say that there isn't any (ie. wallet stealing scene, towel scene) but not enough. The chemistry is there between the male and female lead and the kid, but it seemed not utilized enough. I guess if this was a straight forward fight film (like The Raid, I'm assuming) then the lack of chemistry/comic relief is fine. But with this it seems a bit more of either would add value to the movie.

Fighting scenes were actually good! They hit strong, they fall hard, and they fight ferociously. Again, the last fight scene could've been shorter.

I guess my problem lies mainly with the pacing. I wish it was snappier and instead of waiting for the fight scenes to begin/end it would just naturally lead the audience. So.. a 6.7 out of 10 for me.

Great start to a new style of martial art movies. Can't wait to see The Raid!