FANTASTIC FOUR

3/5
ioan gruffudd, jessica alba, michael chiklis, chris evans, julian mcmahon

another marvel film. i heard people saying the story was pretty dry, and that the characters were very cardboard. and they were probably right. but to the film's credit, the script and timing of certain dialogue worked perfecting, eliciting a laugh of an "awwww!" all at the right times. at the session i was at, the audience was very responsive.

i've never read a fantastic four comic, nor had i ever seen the cartoon... so what i was watching was completely new to me. the film though seemed more like prelude than an actual movie as it mainly focussed on how they got thier powers and the immediate aftermath. there was no real gripping story, it was as if the film existed in isolation to the rest of the world.

but anyway... i think performance wise, FF was good. although the characters were VERY archetyped, the cast pulled them off remarkably well. a particular mention goes to mike chaklis for his protrayal of the Thing; all his scenes, to me at least, were the emotionally heavy ones, and being in a huge organe suit didn't stop him from executing those emotions perfectly.

johnny storm AKA the human torch (played by evans, "not another teen movie" and "cellular") is the literally hot-headed loose cannon that can't wait to use his powers. contrast that with sue storm (alba) who is the conservative, rational, but bold type. then there's richard reeds (gruffudd), the guy who analyses everything before taking one step. these archetypes provide a good foundation for conflict and resolution, but they seemed to caluclated too be truly believable.

victor von doom (mcmahon) is the power-hungry billionaire who is pretty much the typical bad guy as well - all he wants is power, world domination, blah blah blah.

stand-out performances were by chalkis as previously mentioned, and evans as the human torch, proding both comedic relief, and a perspective on what most people would do with their powers: show them off!

SFX were integrated well into the film; they were placed throughout the entire film instead of having two or three huge sequeneces that were full of them. i think that made their powers more 'real', since they used them for every day thigns and not only for crime fighting or whatever. there were obvious blue/green screen shots, but they can be overlooked since the human torch SFX were stunning (in my opinion).

ultimately, i liked this movie. the story (or lack of) was very "A to B", but i enjoyed its simplicity. i would probably see it again and it's one of those movies - you don't really have to pay attention to get something out of it. that, and jessica alba "takes it off" a couple o' times.

-LOki

LIFE AS A HOUSE

4/5
chris klein, hayden kristensen, jena malone, kristen scott thomas

i can't remember if i've already reviewed this film, but even if i have i think it's worth a second mention. the film centres on george (klein) in his attempts at not only building a house, but also building (or rebuilding) himself and those around him. after being laid off from work and being diagnosed with cancer, george sets out to fulfill his life long dream of building a house, a house he'd be proud to give to sam (christensen), his son.

the only problem is though, sam doesn't want anything to do with him. furthermore, george's ex-wife robin (thomas) has become disenchnated with sam as well as hostile towards george. it's just onebig happy family.

but george forces sam to help him work on the house during the summer, and it is during this time that sam and george rekindle their relationship. not only that, the relationships of all the characters take a turn for the better as a result of george taking charge of his life and building the house.

all actors did an awesome job, apart fom jena malone who i thought was a little bland. kudos expecially to kirsten scott thomas whose subtle expression convey so much emotion.

this film is a real tear jerker and i love it. its about following your dream and finding what you want. go see it, and you'll know what i mean.

-LOki

WAR OF THE WORLDS

3/5
tom cruise, dakota fanning, miranda otto

i remember watching the original version of this film late at night a few years ago, and all i can remember the amount of close-up shots of women screaming their lungs out. like really, really loudly.

the film opens with a voice over by morgan freeman, who says since the beginning of time earth was being watched. and humans, in their infinite complacency, allowed themselves to be watched... and to their own peril. in a series of freak lightnight storms, aliens descend upon the earth and operate huge machines in attempts to annihilate human kind.

the re-make by steven speilberg has retained some of that screaming - well, a lot of it - but packs in a very visually stunning package. i don't even remember the character's names but overall the film was quite enjoyable. the special effects were a mixture of CG and live action, put together almost flawlessly.

acting-wise, it hink everyone we believable. props particularly to dakota fanning ("i am sam") who never ceases to amaze. the directing wasn't as good or fluent as i expected from spielberg, but still bareable. i don't usually like tom cruise, but in this film he was alright. although he did play the lead role, it was as if he could've been ANYONE in that situation. for instance, he hada no special skill or there was nothing particularly exceptional about his character - he was literally an average joe and that allowed him to viewed as such - as opposed to "tom cruise who went off the rails oprah styles".

all in all, a good movie. i prob wouldn't see it again but for it was, i had a good time.

-LOki

BATMAN BEGINS

4/5
stars christian bale, katie holmes, liam neeson

i saw the ads for this movie well in advance and thought to myself that it looked alright. but then i remembered that's what i thought when i saw the Episode III (2/5) trailer, so naturally i was quite apprehensive. and after Batman and Robin, i wasn't expecting much from the lastest batman film. thankfully, i was woefully mistaken.

the story traces the beginning (really? oh my god!) of bruce wayne's (christian "best-batman-ever" bale) path into becoming th dark knight. the film starts off with a series of flashbacks that shows us where wayne first encounters the bats. the film also pays tribute to bruce's parents and portrays them as noble and righteous. a saying that has been passed down the wayne family line is one that epitomises the notion that one person, if they wanted to, could make a difference.

"why do we fall? so we can learn how to pick ourselves up"

the story takes its time to get to the real action when bruce returns to gotham city after exiling himself after the trial of the guy who murdered his parents. he returns with a hope to bring gotham to salvation, and to prove to the world that gotham is a city of heroes, a city that is worth saving.

enter liam neeson (i mean ra's al ghul) and his minions who are hell-bent on destroying gotham, a society which they believe have reached its decadent peak and must be extinguished.

diretor christopher nolan (of "memento" fame) creates a world that, while being slighly over stylelised, that is believable and very much real. the backdrop of economic depression and corruption is one that all audiences, both local and global, can relate to. the film takes a very X-Men/X2 approach by making the film look as though it could actually happen in real life. all the gadgets are explained this time round, as are the histories of the main characters.

micahel cain does a fantastic job as alfred, as does liam neeson as ra's al ghul. all performances were top-notch, even katie holmes as the outspoken assistant district attorney rachel dawes. i usually don't like holmes, but in this film, equipped with a awesome script, she does fine:

"...he's been missing for two days, which in this city means i should start looking at the bottom of the river."

christian bale also proves he's got more than an american psycho in him. he plays the part perfectly, being the reluctant playboy billionaire and as the caped crusader. it's ironic in a way that "bruce wayne" is his mask, and batman is who he really is. and as rachael says, "it's not what's inside - it's what you DO that defines who you are." this could not be closer to the truth.

my only criticism of the film that it was a bit long; at 141 minutes the viewing experience does become somewhat arduous. even with this said, the film kicks arse so badly we can almost forget about the other aboniation of batman films... almost.

i wouldn't see this film again any time soon, but from my first viewing, i loved it.

-LOki