Crank (2006)

So give me epinephrine

I have to tell you the truth. Crank is out of this way. Crank its like a video game (think GTA) and (not to be sexist) Crank is not for women. Its for men with raging hormones and pumped up testosterone. Crank is simply 2 words: Non stop.

Jason Statham is Chev Chelios. Cood blooded hitman with an attitude to boot. He made his name as a hitman for mob boss, Carlitos (Carlos Sanz). Life's been good until he screwed up on one particular job. And in return, he is bring injected poison by Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo). This venom can slow down one heart rate. As the minute goes by, the heart gets weaker and weaker. To survive, Chev needs plenty of adrenalin; and this movie is all about adrenalin, tons of it. We then follow him fighting, killing, making love (yes, i'm not kidding) and creating mayhem on the streets of Los Angeles.

Like a video game, it sucks you into its gameplay and like every game fanatic, my eyes stay glued onto the screen. To keep this post short, to the nature of this movie, this is the fast and the furious for the video game junkie.

3.5/5
txq

The Guardian (2006)

HELP! Save me from being punk'd!




Hello folks I'm back again. Man its been fun writing (don't worry I will keep on writing) and maybe its time to post my review on this film.

The Guardian stars Kevin Costner (the eternal Kevin Costner, look this dude don't age!) and the next eternal-dude-in-the-making, Ashton Kutcher. Costner is one hell of a coast guard. In fact, he's a legend. However, after a freak accident that left his crew dead and himself injured, he find himself back into A school. This school is where all the coast guards are trained. Where the next heroes are born and where only the fittest survive. Enter Kutcher. Kutcher is among the new recruits and aims to break all the records Costner set in the past. Of course, Costner teaches Kutcher the true meaning of being a coast guard; to save lives, not to break records. The rest of the story? Watch it yourself!

Well, you no need to be Einstein to understand the rest of the story. This is a typical movie about the greater good. Personally, i feel that this show is too predictable and it really didn't work out for me. But, if you like the two dudes, you might like it. Oh, the training regime at the school was tough but the F word is used only once in the entire show, so much for a school of elites. Then again, who says vulgarities can inculcate? After all those dudes are the ones who saved lives during Katrina. They deserve a salute.

ps: sorry if the above post has full of grammatical errors, I just finished watching Crank. Heart is pumping too damn fast. Stay tuned for Crank.

3/5
txq

The Departed (2006)

The arrival of the departed (duh)

Martin Scorsese is finally back to his best but will this be is ticket to the elusive Oscars?

For starters, this movie is adapted from the blockbuster Hongkong flick, Infernal Affairs. While the main gist of Infernal Affairs remains, The Departed is not identical to Infernal Affairs. New plot and style are being introduced. So don't worry if you have watched Infernal Affairs, The Departed is a different ball game.

Jack Nicholson stars as Frank Costello, the kingpin of Boston. To gain an upperhand on the police, he plants a rat with the police. This rat is Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) and his job is to tip Costello when and where the next police operation will be. Think Costello is genius? Think again. Unknown to him, there is a rat in his gang of Irishmen too. Rat number 2 is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). As he is from a complicated and shady background, he is the perfect candidate for the job. Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) and sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) are the only people in this world who know about Costigan identity. Both rats lead almost parallel lives and to make things worse, they both fall for a smart and beautiful psychiatrist, Madolyn (Vera Farmiga). Who will win this rat race or just survive this rat race?

Jack Nicholson has to be the scene stealer for The Departed. With his mad and savage way of potraying Costello, he is devil in the flesh or to put it in his own words: " the ultimate incarnation of evil". His psychotic performance makes me shift uncomfortable in my seat. His portrayal of Costello is so volatile that you can't figure out his next step. His emotions change so fast that you will not know what hit you. His character complements DiCaprio's Costigan. When Costello's outbreak occurs, you will just feel worried for Costigan.

DiCaprio's character is different from Tony Leung's one. Costigan seems more edgy and somehow inexperienced than the original character from Infernal Affairs. No doubt Costigan is a strong guy but again, he is working for Costello. Maybe Tony Leung might crack under pressure too. Eric Tsang's mob boss character just seems to pale in comparison. Another stellar performance from DiCaprio and proves to critics that he can act, yes i can repeat myself again, he can act. This might just be his break through role.

When I look at Matt Damon, I can only see a nice goody 2 shoes kind of guy. But boy, he proves me wrong. This is the first time I've seen him act like this. His character Sullivan just stinks. Sullivan is one big fat rat and when I see him on screen, I just cannot help but squirm. He is definitely more cunning than Andy Lau's character. Damon is not the Will Hunting i know of anymore.

While Infernal Affairs preaches on style, The Departed is more graphic and straight forward. Fashion wise, you can forget about the nice suits in Infernal Affairs, T shirts and baseball caps are the way to go here. Superb dialogue and impeccable acting might push this Scorsese vehicle to Oscar glory. Will the Oscar arrive or will it depart? We wait with bated breath.
Infernally yours,
txq
(4/5)

World Trade Center (2006)

Not a masterpiece, not a disaster either.

World Trade Center (WTC) focuses on the emotional point-of-view rather than hatred.

9/11, a date when the world saw evil. What were you doing then when the planes struck the WTC? I could still remember what i did that day. I was hanging out at my friend's house. We were watching Roma vs some other team (Sorry i forgot). Before the match started, we noticed the players and fans observing a minute of silence. Sensing something amiss, we switched to Channel News Asia. The image of the WTC crumbling down like a house of cards was mind blowing.

Mind blowing, however, is not an adjective in this new Oliver Stone motion picture. WTC starts fairly well for the first 20 minutes. The building up is spectacular and tasteful. You cannot see the planes crashing into the buildings but imagination can do wonders. The remaining of the movie is a slow burning affair, like how officer John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno (Micheal Pena) fighting to stay alive and escape a slow torturous death.

The story unfolds around the PAPD. Officer John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) led a team into WTC. Before they could start their rescue mission, the tower collapsed and the team were trapped under tons of rubble. McLoughlin and Jimeno survived. They began their fight for survival and talked with each other to stay alive. The cameras then focused to their women in their lives. Oliver Stone alternates the story line to add a feminine side to the movie.

The movie ends with a nice heart warming note. Again focusing on not revenge but on the good in human. A comfortable movie but don't expect sparks to fly. For once, Oliver Stone steers clear of controversy. But is it really a good idea?
3/5

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Get ready for the road trip of your life

Truth to be said, Little Miss Sunshine (LMS) is a gem. There are not many motion pictures this year that can make you feel so many emotions in 2 hours. While you get sad or happy or frustrated, LMS takes on several social issues. LMS is not really a family movie you see.

The story starts when Frank (Steve Carell) gets discharged from a hospital. Frank is a gay and the reason why he ended up in the hospital? He broke up with his boyfriend and got sacked from his job. Thus, he chose the easy way out, slitting his wrists. But, alas, its not to be. He survived and moved in to his sister's (Toni Collete) place.

Sheryl, Frank's sister, is married to Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) and have two kids, Dwayne (Paul Dano) and Olive (Abigail Breslin). The family jigsaw is completed by grandpa, Edwin Hoover (Alan Arkin ). To say this family is disfunctional is an understatement. Let's see what do we have? We have Richard a stuggling motivation guru, who kept emphasizing on the 9 steps to become a winner. Oh and theres Dawyne, who did not speak a sentence for more than half of the movie. (He had a vow on silence) He's a pretty angsty lad and he hated everyone. Well i guess his only friends are the notebook and the pen. Grandpa Hoover is a trash talking and full-of-life-stories-to-tell old man. He preached orgy and drugs to Dwayne and thinks that you don't fuck 1 woman in your life time. You fuck a lot of women. Rounding the family up is Little Olive. She is a beauty queen wannabe and she had a chance to participate in Little Miss Sunshine, an annual beauty pageant for kids. In order to participate, the entire Hoover family, including the suicidal Frank, had to take a road trip via a bus to California. Thats where all the fun begins.

The movie effortlessly blends humour and sadness together. You can be sad for this minute and laughing along the next. One of the funniest scene in the movie involves the entire Hoover family pushing their bus. Funny scenes aside, this picture touches on the social issues that families are having. This is one touching movie that can warm your battered heart. Don't be a loser, be a winner. Watch LMS.

(4.5/5)