Movies Reviews
‘Star Trek Beyond’ 2016 movie
In 2009, Paramount decided to reboot the long running “Star Trek” franchise with a new series of movies that scrapped the previous continuity and showed us a younger, less experienced Enterprise crew.
The results were largely positive, though it had its detractors (especially those who had been life long “Trek” fans.) …
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ movie
Star Wars movies that take place before “A New Hope” don’t have the best track record. When Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, however, they decided to take another crack at it.
Was this a way to milk the cash cow beyond just doing another trilogy? Yeah, …
Spider-man: Homecoming - (Movie 2017)
It almost seems every few years we have a new Spider-man franchise. While I’m definitely a fan of the days where Toby Maguire graced the screens as Peter Parker/Spider-man, Spider-man: Homecoming took me to a more refreshing look at Spider-man himself.
The Spider-man franchise starring Maguire and …
Moana - Disney animation movie
With two small girls in the house, it is inevitable that our movie selections revolve around animations that the kids can watch. Moana, the Disney animation movie about a little girl that gets “chosen” by the ocean to save their tribe is such a stunning movie that I don’t even …
Wonder Woman - Superhero Movie (2017)
In the battle of DC vs Marvel, Marvel has come out on top due to the high quality of each film they make. DC has suffered with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad- two movies that had all the necessary hype surrounding it but didn’t …
Yoga Hosers, horror comedy
I’m a fan of Kevin Smith’s work. I enjoyed the “View Askewniverse” movies as well as “Red State”. I’ve also enjoyed his podcast “Fatman on Batman”. I have yet to see “Tusk” but I was able to check out it’s sequel/spin-off “Yoga Hosers”.
The fact that this follows …
Doctor Strange, 2016 movie
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand with “Doctor Strange”. Not only does this movie introduce a new hero and defender of the Earth, but it even manages to expand the scope of the already epic franchise as a whole.
True, it is an origin story, but it …
The Insanity (2016 Chinese Comedy)
The Insanity is a 2016 Chinese black-comedy film directed by Rao Xiaozhi, starring Wan Qian, Zhou Yiwei and Wang Zijian.
*I suggest you don’t watch the trailer, because it contains spoilers.*
I am speechless. I still haven’t gotten over the impact of the movie although it has been 2 hours after I …
One of Us (2017 Movie)
One of Us is a horror, drama mystery film directed by Blake Reigle. It actually feels more like a thriller rather than a horror film as there is nothing horrifying or scary about it.
The story starts off with journalist, Melanie receiving a call for help from her friend, Haley.
Melanie …
Threads of Time (2012 Chinese Movie)
Thread of Time is a romance film with some documentary aspects that follows the life of a talented prostitute, Liu Ru Shi.
I don’t know what to make of this movie, it is the first of its kind that I’ve watched. It is atmospheric but awfully slow and mellow. The dialogues …
Bunshinsaba 3 (2013 Horror Movie)
Bunshinsaba 3 is a 2013 horror movie directed by Korean director Ann Byung Ki.
The story follows Lina, mental patient after she is released from the institute. The first thing she did after her release is to look for her daughter, Xiao Ai.
She was reunited with her daughter after an accident …
Mommy (2014 Canadian Drama Film)
Most often than not, small films like this one gets buried in a year full of blockbusters. Which is probably the reason why I was not able to watch this the year it was released. Admittedly, 3 years ago, I was not too much of a fan of smaller movies. …
Cities in Love (Chinese Romance Anthology)
This romance anthology is made up of 5 love stories that happened in 5 different cities – Prague, Shanghai, Paris, Hokkaido and Florence. The stories portrayed different kind of love relationships.
I am usually not a fan of romance films, the reason I watched this is because of a few …
The Vanished Murderer (Suspense Crime Action Thriller)
I guess I am on a marathon of Jiang Yiyan’s movies. I’ve previously mentioned why I became a fan of her and I won’t repeat myself here again.
A thing I realized about her movies is that, she usually has very interesting roles but the movie itself is always lacking somehow. …
The Four: Final Battle (2013 Chinese-Hong Kong Wuxia Movie)
Chinese-Hong Kong Wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the last of The Four trilogy.
I’ve finally finished my marathon of The Four trilogy and I feel… nothing much. To be honest, I don’t really enjoy the trilogy as much as I expected.
There are a number of …
The Four 2 (Chinese-Hong Kong Wuxia Movie)
The Four 2 is a 2013 Chinese-Hong Kong Wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the sequel to 2012’s The Four.
After watching The Four, I decided to watch its sequels as well (there are 2 sequels to it). I wasn’t expecting much from this sequel though, …
The Four (Chinese-Hong Kong Wuxia Movie)
The Four is a 2012 Chinese-Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the first film adaptation of Woon Swee Oan’s novel series Si Da Ming Bu aka The Four Great Constables.
The plot is about Zhuge Zhengwo who leads the Divine Constabulary is …
The Disappointments Room (Horror Movie)
I guess this film lives up to its title, it is indeed rather disappointing. It’s boring and not scary at all.
First of all, the plot is very overused. Dana is suffering from depression and is on medication after the lost of her baby daughter. Her doctor recommended that she moved …
One Step Away (Romantic Thriller)
I was bored on a Sunday afternoon and I decided to switch to the movie channel to see what’s on there. I am lucky because a movie is just starting so I can watch it without missing any parts.
The story is about the double agent, Jin Nian is working primarily …
The Girl with All the Gifts (Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Horror Movie)
The Girl with All the Gifts is a 2016 British post-apocalyptic zombie horror drama film directed by Colm McCarthy and written by M.R. Carey adapted from his novel of the same name.
To be honest, I knew nothing about the movie before watching it. I kept thinking that it would be …
VooDoo (Horror Movie)
If you ask me about my opinion of this movie. It is – “I just wasted 1 hour plus of my life! *Censored*! *Censored*! *Censored*!”
In fact, I did thought of naming this review “VooDoo - a movie to waste 1 hour plus of you life away”. But I guess, …
Yell for the blue sky (Japanese Youth Drama movie)
Yell for the blue sky (also known as Aozora Yell) is a 2016 Japanese youth drama film directed by Takahiro Miki, written by Yukiko Mochiji and based on the manga series of the same name by Kazune Kawahara.
The story is basically about 2 high schoolers, Tsubasa Ono (Tao Tsuchiya) and …
Tschick (German Movie)
Tschick is a movie directed by director Fatih Akin based on a best-selling Young Adult novel Tschick (translated as Why We Took the Car in English). It’s a shame I cannot find a trailer for the movie with English subtitles even though the film is released with English subtitles. So …
Perfect Blue (Psychological thriller-horror Anime)
I can’t believe it, the best psychological thriller-horror film I watched this year actually comes from an anime. I have never thought anime could be this good and thrilling, but Perfect Blue just proved me wrong.
Perfect Blue is a 1997 Japanese psychological thriller-horror anime film directed by Satoshi Kon and …
XX (horror and thriller short films)
XX is a film made up of a collection of 4 short films – “The Box”, written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic based on the short story by Jack Ketchum ; “The Birthday Party”, written and directed by Annie Clark, co-written by Roxanne Benjamin ; “Don’t Fall”, written and directed …
Kimi No Nawa (Your Name, 2016 Japanese anime)
Your Name (or Kimi No Nawa in Japanese) is a romantic anime film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The story centers on Taki, a teen boy living in Tokyo and Mitsuha, a teen girl who lives on a faraway countryside. At a very unknown reason, a peculiar event happens …
Maigret’s Dead Man (Mystery Thriller Movie)
Maigret’s Dean Man is a detective mystery thriller directed by Jon East. It starred Rowan Atkinson as Chief Inspector Jules Maigret.
The plot follows Maigret in his search for the reason behind the murder of an unidentified man who had actually called him for help from a phone in a bar. …
Anniversary (Hong Kong romance drama)
Anniversary is a Hong Kong romance drama directed and written by Patrick Kong.
The film starred Alex Fong and Stephy Tang - the model couple and in Hong Kong entertainment industry. They’re like the prince and princess in fairytale and everyone wished for them to “live happily ever after”.
However they broke …
Einstein’s God Model (Sci-fi thriller Movie)
Einstein’s God Model is a Science fiction thriller film written and directed by Philip T. Johnson.
I really don’t know what to make of this film. It’s confusingly interesting, if you know what I mean. It doesn’t matter actually because I don’t really get all the science mumbo jumbo physic theories …
The Witness (2015 Documentary Film)
The Witness is a documentary by James Solomon that follows Bill Genovese in his journey of uncovering the truth behind his sister, Kitty Genovese murder.
Kitty Genovese was murdered 50 years ago at March 1964, somewhere near her apartment. 38 witnesses saw the murder took place but no one went to …
Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe (Chinese Adventure Action Movie)
Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is a 2015 Chinese 3D adventure action film directed and co-written by Lu Chuan. The film is an adaptation of Tianxia Bachang’s 2006 best-selling novel Ghost Blows Out the Light.
I was reluctant to watch this movie because I’ve just watched a pretty bad Chinese tomb-exploring …
Ace of Sales (Taiwan Movie)
Aces of Sales is a Taiwanese drama comedy directed by Cho Li.
I’ve some time to pass before my appointment so I decided to watch a movie online. I don’t have anything in mind so I just pick one randomly. I don’t really know what to say of this film, it …
The Unknown Girl (2016)
The Unknown Girl (French: La Fille inconnue) is a 2016 Belgian-French drama film directed by the Dardenne brothers. Starring Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier, and Louka Minnella.
I actually think this film is more like a slice-of-life or documentary than drama, because it’s pretty mellow.
The story follows a doctor, Jenny …
I am a Hero (horror, zombie apocalypse Japanese movie)
‘I am a Hero’ - is a horror, zombie apocalypse movie based on the manga series of the same title by Kengo Hanazawa.
*Note, this review contains spoilers, gore and disgusting graphics.
When I heard the title of the movie, I thought it’ll be like Will Smith’s I am Legend. Well, I …
The Lego Batman Movie (2017 Animated Film)
I can still remember the time 3 years ago, almost the same day, I rushed to the nearest cinema because every critics loved The Lego Movie the moment it was released. I had no intention of watching it before but the reviews were so glowing that I was really tempted …
64: Part 1 (Rokuyon: Zenpen) (Japanese Movie)
64 Rokuyon Zenpen based on the award-winning novel by the same name by Hideo Yokoyama.
The film starts with the kidnapping of a young girl during the Showa Era Year 64 (1989) in Gunma Prefecture, Inspector Mikami and his team is put in charge of the case. The victim’s father …
20th Century Women (2016 Comedy-Drama Film)
The moment the trailer of Mike Mills’ latest film “20th Century Women” arrived I became immediately excited. The sense of nostalgia in recreating the 1970’s again (even if I was born in the 90’s) excites me in a way that I felt euphoric just thinking what the film could be. …
Don’t Knock Twice, horror movie
Don’t Knock Twice is a Horror/Thriller movie directed by Caradog James.
The story revolves around an urban legend on an abandoned house own by a witch. The legend has it that if you knock on the door once, you’ll wake her from her bed, twice and wake her from her …
Prophecy (Yokokuhan) (Japanese manga based movie)
Prophecy is a Japanese movie based on a manga series by Tetsuya Tsutsui, starring Toda Erika and Ikuta Toma.
A man who wore a mask made of newspaper (known as Shinbunshi) had been making prophecies of his own crimes online. The prophecies are usually about how he plans to punish someone …
Evil Dead (2013) Movie
Remakes of classic horror movies don’t have the best track record. Yet, we live in an age where they are common place due to…I’m not sure.
I was skeptical when I heard that they were remaking “Evil Dead”. I’m a fan of the original trilogy and doing …
Confessions (Japanese Movie)
Confessions (Kokuhaku) is a 2010 Japanese drama film directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, based on Kanae Minato’s 2008 debut mystery novel.
A friend of mine recommended the movie to me, she is very excited about it and is practically chanting “must watch” over and over again! Knowing that we’ve quite similar …
Embrace of the Serpent (2015 Colombian Adventure-Drama Film)
There is always this magnificent beauty that the nature emits. It is something so rare especially for people like me who have lived in the city for so many years now. Away from all the trees, untainted rivers, and the calming sound of the creatures that add peace to the …
The Edge of Seventeen (2016 Coming-of-Age Film)
Seriously? Another coming-of-age/young adult movie? Well yes, that is what I expected when I watched this film last night. However, when the film ended, I accused myself of immediately judging the book by its own cover. What happens inside this movie is structurally the same as almost any young adult …
Speak (Movie)
Speak is a 2004 American independent drama based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson.
First of all I must say I really love Youtube, it’s a great source for movies and TV shows, although the videos may be a little low resolution.
I was bored and …
Tiny Times 1-4 (Chinese Movie)
The Tiny Times is a romance drama movie series based on novels by Guo Jing Ming. It’s made up of 4 movies (Tiny Time 1-4). The movies are all directed by the author himself.
The series is glamorous and beautiful. And I mean the costumes, locations and casts, not the …
Lion (2016 Drama Film)
Some movies are really made to catch awards attention. They often fail because the process becomes terribly inorganic, instead of telling a good story, they somehow focus in smaller details in the film - and while on paper it sounds good, the end material is always somewhat disappointing. Take for …
A Monster Calls (2016 Fantasy Drama Film)
Some films are mistakenly advertised as fantasy movies - and you expect to watch these movies with that fairytale-ish ending you thought you deserved but instead you end up crying your heart out because of just how sad they are. I remember watching a 2007 film called Bridge to Terabithia …
Sword master (Chinese Movie)
Sword master is a 3D martial art movie by Derek Yee. It’s based on a novel by Gu Long.
I didn’t catch the movie when it was out in the theaters as it didn’t attract me in anyway. I didn’t like the cast nor the plot(from what I understand from the …
Jackie, 2016 movie
Grief is universal. People can be rich; can be poor; can be famous; can be no one; or can be a first lady like Jackie Kennedy - all of whom will experience the loss of a loved one. You either cry or you try to act like a strong person …
Manchester By The Sea (2016 Drama Film)
Just before the film ended when Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) finally acknowledged the guilt that manifested inside him I hit the pause button. I went to the bathroom and let the faucet running - it was the first time I had an emotional breakdown while watching a film. I just …
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