The Da Vinci Code (2006)

So dark the con of Ron

As the headline suggests, 'Ron' refers to Ron Howard, the director of this eagerly anticipated movie. And when i was typing 'the con of Ron' i certainly felt cheated.

This is the most anticipated film of the year. Millions had read the book. They love it. Religious groups had read the book. They loath it. You can see the impact of the book on us. Imagine what can a movie do. But sad to say, this film falls flat.

Howard tries to take the short way out. I was appalled when i see Tom Hanks decipher the anagrams by just looking at the sentences. Aren't there more trial and error? The entire scene at the Lourve seems fast fowarded and lacks the punch. Since its a some how like a scavenger hunt, there should be more excitement injected into it. The pacing of the movie is a bit slow and there seems to be no climax at all.

Well at least the cast is well essembled. Tom hanks looks himself (less the hair), Audrey Tautou is very lovable, Silas (Paul Bettany) loves S&M and last but not least we have Sir Ian Mckellen, the scene stealer.

All in all its a OK movie but if you are a fan of the book, prepare to be disappointed. And now we know why they cover the mouth of Mona Lisa in this poster. She is not smiling.

txq
3/5

Paradise Now (2005)

Will there be a paradise?

This film is about the last days of 2 Palestinian guys, Said and Khaled. Well this is no 25th hour (Spike Lee's movie), because we are not talking about just jail terms here. We are talking about their last days on earth.

Sick and tired but the 'occupation' of the Israelis, they are both 'chosen by god' for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Seeing it as a chance to join God in paradise, they are overjoyed by it. However, things get out of hand when they reach the border and things get a little complicated. Both now have the chance to think whether carrying out the operation is good and whether the bombing will end the animosity between the Israelis and the Arabs.

I personally think this is a interesting movie, as it is a take on the Palestinian point of view. Like Munich, it forces you to think hard and again demonstrates that violence will not change anything. As for Said's point of view, he hopes his life will erase the wrong doing of his father and that God will lift them to paradise.

This Israel and Palestine conflict, from my view, can only be stop by peace. And peace, is paradise.

txq

Poseidon (2006)

Oh that sinking feeling...

I am going to try to make this review as exciting as possible.(I know i cannot) So hold your breath and let's go... "under the sea under the sea"

Poseidon is in a class of her own. Enormous, luxurious and enough safety boats to prevent a titanic 2. BUT this is a disaster show. The disaster is going to come so how. This time it is in the form of a tsunami. (Damn those script writers, they always have something up their sleeves.)

So there you have it, the ship capsizes and all hell break loose. See how Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and others escape from the underwater hell. Well, for once, hell is freezing not burning.

Mission Impossibe 3 (2006)

Classic soundtrack, classic Cruise and classic mission.

Okay, after watching this show, i proclaimed that JJ Abrams is my favourite M.I director. He keeps the movie tight and tries to keep us LOST with Tom Cruise ALIAS Ethan Hunt being smash in the first scene. (Sorry folks, i have to include these 2 cult series.) When can you see the invincible Hunt being bash? I think a lot of people is thanking Abrams for that scene. HAHA.

Back to the story. Well this is a mindless summer block buster, so do not expect too much. After all this is mission impossibe, so try to digest the implausible. Hunt gets a call, off to the mission and safe the day. That is the typical routine in the M:I franchise. Throw in some twists and turns and some "awkward" sex scene in the hospital and the movie will get more interesting. A particular scene of Julia (Michelle Monaghan) giving CPR to Hunt is a reminiscence of LOST (Jack saving Charlie).

Oh i almost forgot about the eye candies of the show. Guys get ready to be mesmerised by Maggie Q and girls, you can choose between Cruise and newcomer Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Mature ladies, you can definitely go for Lawrence Fishburne. (Fishburne's every line sounds like Morpheus and that's sexy)

Gadgets? Checked. Eye candies? Checked. Mission? Checked. Movie tickets? Unchecked? What the hell are you waiting for? This message will self destruct in 5 seconds.

Election 2 (2006)

Do you honour your blood or money?

This is the sequel to the 2005 sleeper hit, Election. Johnnie To remains as the director and the characters are left untouch and the story picks up where it left.

2 years had passed and Lok's (Simon Yam) era as the Wo Shing Triad's boss is coming to an end. It is the time for another election. Of all candidates, Jimmy (Louis Koo) has the highest chance of being the next kingpin. However he is more interested in the business world than the secret society's internal struggle of power. Things change when Jimmy realise that if he is the triad boss of Wo Shing, the Chinese police will give him more leeway in his business in China. To be the next boss, Jimmy must fight against Lok, who wants to compete for a 2nd term. This is where things get nasty, as both sides began an all out war.

Johnnie To again uses human weaknesses in this film. The weakness over power and money. The lure of both is too hard to reject. Once someone possesses them, he will do anything to hold on to them. This is what happen to Lok in the first film and Jimmy in the second. One defining scene sees Jimmy hacked one of Lok's assistants into pieces and fed them to the dogs. Though brutal, the pure determination in Jimmy's eyes cannot be hidden. Just to get things done, just to prove a point and just to be the the boss. One particular scene shows wads of money stained with blood on the floor. What is the director trying to say? Money is earned the hard way. Blood shed is inevitable.

txq
4/5