Mell Says

Director: Martin Campbell

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard

Runtime: 1 hours 45 minutes

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Location watched: Empire Cinema

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:

Hal Jordan is an irresponsible and cocky pilot who quickly learns the meaning of overcoming his major insecurity of fear when he is chosen by the ring to be a Green Lantern Corps member. When a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, Hal as earth’s Green Lantern has to step up to the occasion.
Mell Says:

(3/5)

I read and heard from a few candid reviews that this movie was stupid (i.e. sucked). I was prepared to walk into the theater feeling dragged to do a review.  All hopes for uninfluenced thoughts were lost.

Funny enough, my guard came down as the movie went by. It didn’t suck. And it wasn’t stupid. I mean, when you think about Iron Man, Transformers and other CGI or Marvel-Comics-turned-movie flicks, their premises are actually stupid. Yet they get away with it because everything else was well-played.

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Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Bill Milner, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence.

Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes

Genre: Action / Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi

Location watched: Empire Cinema

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:

Piggybacking on the history of the Cuban Missile Crisis, we are told the story of Charles Xavier (Dr. X), Eric Lensherr (Magneto) and other mutants who come out and discover the strength of their powers long before the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.

Mell Says:

(4.5/5)

Should you have any qualms about the antiquated feel of this movie (since this is supposedly set in the 60s) and the storyline of the mutants’ discovery, be pleasantly warned that it is worth the 2+ hours of watching in on the younger Magneto and Dr. X we are so well-acquainted with today. The movie is very well-paced that you revel in watching the reason for these mutants today (the who, where, why, when and how) as if grandpa was giving you a travel through time and you’re standing in as one of the characters.  The setting has a lot of respect for the circumstances of the time but you’re reminded that it’s history class.  Much like a little boy playing with toy soldiers and he just goes with it because it matters there and then.

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Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Stars (voices): Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogan

Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes

Genre: Animation / Family / Adventure / Comedy

Location watched: Empire Cinema

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:

Po and his fellow Kung Fu comrades are living the life protecting the Valley of Peace when Po’s inner tranquility is threatened by bouts of his murky past no thanks to the presence of a villain threatening to take over the whole of China with a new and modern weapon.

Po and the Furious Five journey across China to destroy the secret weapon, while Po comes face to face with a formidable enemy who goes to the heart of his identity insecurities.

Mell Says:

(5/5)

I hate to say it, but an animation sequence actually manages to grab my attention for the whole hour and a half! Thinking that this would just be a favour to my niece and nephews, I was overwhelmed with both joy and embarrassment that the experience turned it into something very positive for me.

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Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush
Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy
Location watched: Empire Cinema

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:

Johnny Depp returns to play the iconic character of Captain Jack Sparrow.  This available-in-3D-adventure witnesses Captain Blackbeard, Captain Barbossa and the Spanish fleet racing to find the Fountain of Youth with Jack as their compass, crossing paths with deceiving mermaids on their way.  Penelope Cruz makes her appearance in this film as his love interest.

Mell Says:

(4/5)

Highly entertaining and mindless are things that come to mind when I try to recollect this movie I watched last night.  In most cases, that would do the job for me. After all, cinema-going is meant to be a form of escape. But the good things that were supposed to stand out in this movie could actually be turned inside out to be a one-star loss for me.

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Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Genre: Action / Thriller / Adventure / Suspense
Location watched: The Mall Cineplex

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:
A seemingly trapped Sergeant Colter wakes up to find that he is part of a government experiment called the “Source Code” where his mission is to prevent an explosion attack on the city. Colter is made to reawaken multiple times on the Chicago bound train as we soon discover that the science of today (or tomorrow) is able to connect his brain synapses to that of a Sean Fentress for the last 8 minutes of his life during the commute. Colter returns each time as Sean to gather clues of finding the perpetrator and preventing the next deadly attack.

Mell Says:

(3.5/5)

Here we have an example of a preposterous premise that is both perplexing and seat-edging. Colter’s confusion of assuming another man’s identity transcends between that of the experiment and the 8 minutes he has on his train mission, and it is smartly left for us to ponder throughout just as urgently as it’s on his mind.

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Director: Catherine Harwicke
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas and Gary Oldman
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
Genre: Fantasy / Horror / Mystery
Location watched: The Mall Cineplex

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:
Valerie finds herself caught between the man she always loved and the man she is to marry, against the backdrop of an unsettling truce between her village and an increasingly vicious werewolf. The people call upon Father Solomon and his troops to expel the werewolf only to be faced with a rising death toll and other unintended consequences.

Mell Says:

(2/5)

Catherine Harwicke must really be reminiscing her directing days of Twilight, ‘cos her obsession for men with ubiquitous hairspray and blood red was rampant in this movie.

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Director: Kenneth Branagh
Stars: Chris Hemworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman
Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
Location watched: Empire Cinema

Showtimes | Trailers

Synopsis:
The Marvel comic “Thor” comes to life in this action-packed adventure as Thor, an arrogant warrior, goes on a journey to being dethroned by his noble father, has to reconcile his existence in the universe while exiled in earth and falling in love with a mortal who seeks scientific truth. In the meantime, the dark forces of neighbouring Jotunheim find their way to Asgard’s realm by way of a sinister force living amongst the house of Odin.

Mell Says:

(3/5)

So I walked into the cinema on Saturday night thinking how much of a dud I am for not knowing anything about viking mythology or the slightest bit about the comic. I made a note to myself to google it after the show. But it was a good signal to me that I could finally write a review on something I know peanuts about (so-called objectivity).

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