Random thoughts while watching “Warm Bodies” (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) This has to be my first point: the soundtrack of this movie is really cool with lots of really nice songs, though some of them I have never heard of before. Note to self: Go find the list of all the songs in this movie.

(2) This is Nicholas Hoult's second movie in 2013 which he falls in love with the girl out of his league. In Jack the Giant Slayer, he is a farm boy who falls for the princess. In Warm Bodies, he is a zombie who falls for a human girl. Ill-fated love story seems to be his specialty now.

(3) Many have compared this movie to the Twilight series, where a human girl is in love with a non-human boy. But let me tell you this, while Twilight so self-consciously serious and romantic and shit, Warm Bodies doesn't mind to be silly at all. Oh, and there's none of the agony-inflicting love triangle plot line Twilight is so proud of.

(4) And speaking of Twilight, Teresa Palmer does look like Kristen Stewart from some angles. While she is no Meryl Streep, rest assure that she can do more than biting her lips, or twisted her face like she's suffering from constipation the way Ms. Stewart did in the Twilight movies.

(5) Question #1: If all the zombies live at the airport, why is it that R is the only one living in that airplane? None of the other zombies is interested in this private space?

(6) Question #2: So zombies can be out at broad daylight? I thought zombies can't stand the sunlight? Then again, this is no conventional zombie movie so maybe that rule doesn't apply here.

(7) Poor Nicholas Hoult, he's been wearing the same outfit throughout the whole movie (save the last scene where only appears about 1 minute). I hope they wash the shirt often.

(8) The final battle against the Bonies ended even before it began. Just one line of voice over by R explaining they wiped out the whole clan of Bonies. Too bad, they could at least showcase some 5 minutes fight?

(9) Have you ever envy your sibling's achievement, cuz' it makes you relatively less successful? Last week, we watched James Franco carried the whole movie. This week, his brother Dave Franco... well, let's just say he has 10 minutes of screen time in this movie. Luck is a funny little thing.

(10) Final verdict: 3 stars out of 5. If you are looking for Twilight kind of movie, this is not it.

Random Thoughs After Watching "Jack the Giant Slayer"

Random thoughts after watching “Jack the Giant Slayer” (this is not a review, just random notes)

(1) Nicholas Hoult is all grown up. Does anyone remember that weird and lonely boy from “About a Boy”? I do. That’s one of my favorite movies. But he’s no longer weird and lonely; instead he’s the handsome and charming hero now. What 11 years can do to a boy.

(2) It seems like every year there’s a fairy tale being resurrected and having a good year. Last year it was Snow White with two movies and one TV series (Once Upon a Time). This year it’s Jack, the Giants & the beanstalk (Once Upon a Time recently had episodes involving Giant and beanstalk). Next year? It’s Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent (I suspect Once Upon a Time will again be the TV series to participate).

(3) I’m surprised the bean pun didn’t run through the whole movie, and I can only remember two (he won’t spill the bean & you’re barking at the wrong beanstalk). Come on, you make such a silly movie and you can’t find ways to insert “bean there, done that” or “it’s the giants versus human beans” into the movie?

(4) I pick the same day to watch this movie and “Beautiful Creatures” back-to-back, and now realize they’re actually not much different: it’s the story of two young lovers who could not be together because of their different background. Just that this one has better looking leads.

(5) Speaking of better looking, the highly promoted performance-capture and special effects, well it doesn’t strike me as real at all. The CG effects including the giants look cheap and fake. Nothing’s beautiful. In fact, the only beautiful thing in this movie is the two lead actor and actress.

(6) And the best acting goes to… no one! I understand this is the kind of movie that requires no acting at all, but Ewan McGregor? Shame on you. Stanley Tucci? Too bad. Ian McShane? You’ve been in better movie before. Okay okay, I’m being unreasonable; but to think these actors cashing in loads of money but being so lazy in their performance makes me mad.

(7) The final battle, isn’t it a little too short and too rush? Suddenly the giants surrendered before even attacking the king and his armies. Jack killing the two-headed giant? It happened in 2 seconds. Give us more actions if you cannot give us good visual or good acting.

(8) Why did they kill off the funny characters early? Elmont’s assistant & Roderick’s assistant are both funny. Should keep them longer to deliver more one-liner jokes.

(9) Whatever happened to Jack’s uncle? Maybe this is not important and I’m too obsessed with details. But we never did see him hanging around when the king and his armies camped under the beanstalk, a.k.a. the place where his old house used to be.

(10) Final verdict: 2.5 stars out of 5. Watch it for some good laughs (yes it is so silly you will be laughing at some scenes that are not meant to be funny). If you are looking for some epic fairy tale film, this is not it.