I am lazy nowadays, I don't write movie reviews anymore. But occasionally when I watched a movie there were so much thoughts flowing in and out of my mind I felt like I wasn't exactly watching the movie but distracting myself with my own thoughts. Earlier today, while I was sitting in the theatre and Beauty and the Beast was up there on the screen rolling, these were the 10 thoughts coming to mind:

(1) I watched the first episode of a TV series called Snatch last night starring Rupert Grint, and today it's Emma Watson as Belle. No matter how they tried their hands on different grown-up roles, I just couldn't shake off the image of the teenage Ron and Hermoine. It's really weird to think that he's 29 and she's 27 now (she's even a few months older than Jennifer Lawrence who had been playing mothers in a few movies). The selfishness inside of me wants them to stay forever in the Harry Potter era. And yes, that includes you too, Daniel Radcliffe.

(2) Speaking of the trio, who do you think has the best acting chops? I used to think it's Emma, but Beauty and the Beast proved me wrong. None of them can really act very well. I thought she was wooden in the film. She tried to conjure some emotions yet all I saw was emptiness.

(3) I'm glad Emma Watson dropped out of playing the lead in La La Land, because she is so British and so elegant she can never convincingly portray a sassy American waitress who's down on her luck. And no, she can't convincingly portray a French farm girl too.

(4) And while we're at it, let's get this straight: Emma Watson can't sing too. Hitting every note correctly doesn't make you a good singer, you have to sing it with feelings too. Emma Stone knew it, that's why despite all the flaws in her singing "Audition" was still the best song from La La Land.

(5) But all the supporting cast can really sing. Emma Thompson (why are there so many Emma in this post?) strikes me as a surprise, her rendition of the theme song beats even the Ariana Grande & John Legend version.

(6) All the supporting characters were more charming than the two leads, particularly the narcissistic Gaston. In comparison, the romance felt rush and suffered from the lack of chemistry between the two leads.

(7) Earlier in the film while Emma Watson was singing Madame Gaston, she ran up the hill. The scene felt ripped off of the first scene from The Sound of Music, and at that moment I really hoped I was watching TSoM instead.

(8) How many hours does it take for Dan Stevens to put on his make up everyday?

(9) The gay moment that everybody has been talking about... wait, which one was it again? The hugging one or dancing one? Or was it the "you are too good for him anyway"? Or was it the smiling face of the guy after he'd been dressed up in female clothing?

(10) In fact, the gayest moment in the film belongs to any scene involving both Lumiere and Cogsworth. Dude, his name is Cogsworth, how can that not be the gayest thing in the entire movie?

Random Thoughts While Watching "Iron Man 3"

Random thoughts while watching "Iron Man 3" (this is not a review, just random notes):


(1) I was actually growing tired of the movie even before it started. For the past few months, the trailer of this movie preceded every movie I watched; and frankly speaking, the trailer wasn't very good. I went to watch it because... well, you just don't not watch a big movie like Iron Man.

(2) Oh hello, the trailer of The Lone Ranger. Weirdo Johnny Depp and weirdo Helena Bonham Carter. Nothing beats that.

(3) The use of the song "Blue" at the start of the movie... immediately got me hooked. I used to love that song very much.

Random Thoughts While Watching "Oblivion"

Random thoughts while watching "Oblivion" (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) So henceforth begins the end of world / apocalypse / post-apocalypse movie event, which will be followed by After Earth, World War Z, Elysium & Snowpiercer, to name just a few. Guess some movie makers were really disappointed it didn't happen in 2012. Read it here for my full article on this:

http://pauljustinlean.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-end-of-world-sequel.html

(2) The trailer for this movie didn't exactly create much excitement for me, especially with all the same-old machines & shooting. Luckily for the movie, it's a big production which automatically goes into my watchlist. Luckily for me, the movie itself is so much more better than the trailer. Lesson learned: Don't judge a movie by its trailer.

(3) The last few movies of Tom Cruise (Knight and Day, MI4, Jack Reacher) had been so bland you couldn't recall the plot 2 hours after you watched it. I must write this while I still remember the movie, cuz' I have a hunch I will soon not be able to recall the movie. Maybe this is the problem of being a superstar: the audiences remember you more than the movie.

(4) The first 30 minutes of the film is kinda flat, nothing much happened except following Tom Cruise around the deserted area. But this will set up the plot for the rest of the movie. You'd have to be patient to sit through this part.

(5) Many years ago there might be lots of actresses hoping to get it on with Tom Cruise on screen. I don't think he's that much desirable nowadays. So watching Andrea Riseborough & Olga Kurylenko having hot scenes with him is just... eww!

(6) Forget team Edward / team Jacob or team Angelina / team Jennifer. It's team Julia / team Victoria. I'm team Victoria. Andre Riseborough made us feel pity for her. She cared about Jack deeply but did not get her happily-ever-after. The scene where she realized she'd lost Jack to Julia is 10x more emotional than other scenes intended to extract tears out of audience.

(7) Olga Kurylenko, on the other hand, is totally wooden. Throughout the movie. The end.

(8) Do you realize how good Morgan Freeman is at being the authority figure or someone who holds power? Few weeks ago he was in "Olympus Has Fallen" as Speaker of the House, and before that he was in The Batman series as President of Wayne Enterprises. Maybe it's the voice? When his voice first appeared in this movie (even before his face did) it was the moment this movie began to feel more exciting.

(9) Much like last week's The Host, this movie features a love story that is complicated and involves a non-human. Can Julia really love all the Jack Clones even if they are not really her husband? Even when she's aware that Jack 49 is not her Jack, and Jack 52 is not Jack 49?

(10) Final verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5. This movie has an advantage in which it opens earlier than other apocalypse movies, so we don't feel tired of the topic yet. This movie is surprisingly tamer than we expect a Tom Cruise's movie to be. No wild action, no crazy stun, just plain story telling.

Random Thoughts While Watching "The Host"

Random thoughts while watching "The Host" (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) I know I am not a movie critic, but I do want to pay my respect to the dearly departed Roger Ebert. While doing research for the movie before going into the cinema, I read that this movie was the last film reviewed by the famous movie critic, who passed away on April 4, 2013. He wrote "<The Host> is top-heavy with profound, sonorous conversations, all tending to sound like farewells." and gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4.

(2) And so it's a good thing that I know this film is critically panned, holding only 10% 'rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I went in the movie fully prepared. Hey, I'm watching a film adaptation of a novel written by the woman behind the Twilight series. What do I expect?

(3) This movie really should be renamed "The Kiss". There are like 10 scenes of kissing cramped in a 2-hour movie. Okay, I didn't actually count it, but you get my point. In Malaysia, this movie should be renamed "The Kiss: All Kissing Scenes Will Be Censored Out".

(4) Stephenie Meyer really can't resist to put in a love-triangle in her every book, and the parties involved in it are never all human. The love-triangle in this film is not really a triangle, as it actually involves four souls though only three bodies. You need to watch it or at least read the story to understand my statement.

(5) Saoirse Ronan, this lady is a treasure. Ever since Atonement she has consistently given good performances, even in not-so-good movies like City of Ember and The Lovely Bones. Her performance in this movie reminds me of her other film "Hanna", which is good as I love that film. Few actresses can convincingly be strong and vulnerable at the same time.

(6) Wonder if Twilight would be a good movie if they cast Saoirse Ronan in the lead. But that series' problems are way bigger than Kristen Stewart. It's the story itself, so you can cast anyone in the lead and the movies are still bad.

(7) Beautiful scenes make this movie more watchable. Have no idea a desert can look so beautiful.

(8) Beautiful music also makes this movie more bearable, especially in some cheesy scenes. The Melanie-Wanda goodbye scene, yes I'm talking about you. Additional note: the girl sitting two seats from me was crying during this scene.

(9) So there's no epic battle at the end. Diane Kruger was simply captured and her soul being sent away. The end. Really? Anti-climax ending. Oh wait, that's not the end, it's about the separation of Melanie and Wanda. Oh wait, that's also not the end... See, you need to watch the movie to realize the movie is dragging too long to end.

(10) Final verdict: 3 stars out of 5. True, it's not "Avatar" type of epic, but it's no "Twilight" type of disaster. There are some hits and misses, but mostly it is still watchable.

Random Thoughts While Watching "G.I.Joe: Retaliation"

Random thoughts while watching "G.I.Joe: Retaliation" (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) I am cheating on my first point, since I posted this before on Facebook. Can you call yourself a sequel if most of your original cast do not return, or if they return they die early in the film? To me, this is more like a brand new film starring Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis.

(2) The first G.I. Joe movie was released less than 4 years ago, but I've completely erased that movie from my memory. Try and try I did, but I can't recall the plot line of the film. Unfortunately you have to at least remember a bit of that film to get into this sequel faster. This movie experience is bound to be a disaster for me right from the start.

(3) They postponed the release of this film from the summer of last year, to convert the film into a 3D movie. News flash, there's not much in this film worthy of 3D experience. My suggestion is to spend that extra few bucks on another 3D film, like The Croods.

(4) Two consecutive weeks, two films with Channing Tatum dies early in the film (last week it was Side Effects). He must have been getting tired after highlighting so many hits last year, so he requested for minimal screen time?

(5) Let me get off topic a bit: Why do I always thought Channing Tatum, Chris Evans and Chris Pine are the same person? It doesn't make any sense. My only excuse might be they are about the same age, and their choice of films are quite similar as well. They have big budget franchises (G.I. Joe, Captain America, Star Trek), and they also do rom-com (The Vow, What's Your Number, This Means War).

(6) Another super productive actor - Bruce Willis. But apart from that Die Hard movie, he's been a supporting cast more frequently in recently 2 years. In this film, he has approximately 15 minutes of screen time. Damn movie trailer, they are so good at misleading us into thinking Bruce Willis is as "main" as Dwayne Johnson.

(7) Dwayne Johnson, you are better in The Snitch, though that movie itself is just a so-so film. One more thing: I like you better when you were called The Rock.

(8) The ninja at the mountain fight scene is one of the best action sequence in the movie. This is how you do action. Bravo!

(9) In one scene, the President of United States is playing Angry Birds on his cellphone. See, this is why postponing the movie is such a bad idea. Angry Birds is so last year. People were like: What? Still playing Angry Birds? He should be playing Candy Crush now!

(10) Final verdict: 1 star out of 5. Typical action movie, lame joke (okay, the Brenda joke got me, haha), typical cliché (that Point#9 from my last week's note on Olympus Has Fallen, about how our hero always shuts down the bombs or nuclear weapons last 3 seconds before it goes off, it happened here too. And they bring it up one notch, he stopped it at the very last second). Not a very good movie.

Random Thoughts While Watching "Olympus Has Fallen"

Usually I'll do a "random thoughts" piece after watching the movie, but while watching "Olympus Has Fallen" it occurred to me I should instead do a "cliché" piece, due to the fact that I was laughing so hard at every bullshit Hollywood cliché found in this movie.

(1) Why do they insist on using codes while speaking about everything related to the President? Olympus, Sparkplug, Mustang??? Do you honestly think just be speaking in codes the enemies won't realise you were talking about Mr. President?

(2) Yes, the Asian are the bad guys, and it always is North Korea (actually, I have no complaint for that) cuz' this is the only country Hollywood can afford to go against without bombing (pardon the pun) its own box office (yes, news flash, no one watches Hollywood films in North Korea).

(3) And so the bad Asian guys always speak fluent English. And they are always very intelligent when it comes to military and technology stuff, and they are always one step ahead of the national security team.

(4) Every control of every room and every chamber can be easily taken over. You just need a cool looking guy / girl sitting in front of the keyboard and type nonsense things without even looking at the keyboard. And he / she always types so fast that when you really look at it he / she might just randomly type !@#$%^^&* onto the screen but miraculously he / she gets control of the whole White House.

(5) The hero of this kind of action thriller always had some complicated Middle Eastern military experience or some background that is so hard to pronounce you'd believe they are actually true so the hero is indestructible even when he gets punched or shot repeatedly. Yes, all of these are just because of those complicated background so he's one tough guy.

(6) The enemy shoots the security team repeatedly and everyone is down. Everyone, except our hero. He runs and runs and runs but the bullets missed him every single time.

(7) When our hero roams in the dark around the White House, it is a very high risk that he will come across the enemies. But luckily for him, the enemies always seem to act or scout the place alone, so our hero encounters them separately and kills them easily.

(8) There is always a stubborn and think-he-is-the-best commander-in-chief who looks down on our hero and prefers to use his military way to solve the issue.

(9) Whatever bombs or nuclear weapons the enemy activated, trust our hero to shut it down... 3 seconds before it goes off, no less.

(10) It always ends with the President delivering an uplifting speech about how the crisis unites the people of United States, we are not falling down we will stand up again blah blah blah... accompanied by some cheesy background music.

Random Thoughts While Watching "Gambit"

Random thoughts while watching "Gambit” (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) I have not even heard of this movie before, and I'm pretty sure it has not being shown in cinema yet, USA or Malaysia. Yet I found this screener at my local store. Despite 3 recognizable stars at the lead, I wasn't too keen to pick it. But then I decided to give it a chance...

(2) According to Wikipedia, this is supposed to be a remake of the same-name 1966 movie starring Michael Caine & Shirley MacLaine. But I read the plotline of the original film, this remake changes a lot of the original story, only re-uses a few of the characters's names.

(3) Love the animated credit at the beginning of the film, reminded me of The Pink Panther and Honey I Shrunk The Kids. Though it might not sound like a compliment to compare the movie to these two movies, it is.

(4) So Colin Firth's career post Oscars wasn't really a stellar one. But still... this silly movie? Perhaps he just wanted to have some good fun? Which he absolutely did have. The one where he tried to steal the vase, you have never seen a Colin Firth like this before.

(5) Cameron Diaz, she must've done this in her sleep. It's the same ol' silly lady which she had done like, 1000 times before.

(6) Speaking of Ms. Diaz, I'm not from Texas, so is this really how Texas residents speak?

(7) All of the actors were having fun filming this, but I'd say Alan Rickman had the most. He was so funny as the abusive boss I have never realized he is capable of such comedic role. You think Prof Snape is a nightmare? Try working for Shahbandar and you'll think Snape is a pet.

(8) Lame joke that made me laugh out loud: "So how do you find London?" "Well, everyone knows the answer to that one. You turn right at Greenland." haha.

(9) And then I found out this movie was written by the Coen brothers, which brought us the also very silly Burn After Reading. This one... more like burn after watching?

(10) Final verdict: 1 star out of 5. The 1 star was awarded for getting Alan Rickman to act evil and crazy, and also because it is still better than some Adam Sandler's movies. Watch it only if you are extremely free. Otherwise, skip this.

Random Thoughts While Watching "Side Effects"

Random thoughts while watching "Side Effects” (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) Steven Soderbergh, the super productive director behind the Ocean's series, was recently telling reporters he's retiring. Yeah right! I thought he said that few times before, and yet he kept churning out movie after movie. And I read the other day he's directing Matt Damon in an upcoming movie. Dude, what retiring?

(2) Back to this movie, it's so low profile I almost missed it. I didn't even realize it's showing here in Malaysia until I checked the showtime online. Why such a low profile? It's not like there's no big star. Come on, Jude Law can sell tickets, right?

(3) That poster with square boxes containing the 4 actors' and actresses' faces, it's so bad I almost thought it's some crappy B-grade movie. So unattractive and unoriginal.

(4) Catherine Zeta-Jones's lips are kinda distracting. Did she look like this before?

(5) So you hire Channing Tatum for a role, and you had him on screen for what? 30 minutes? So some random movie-star-wannabe TV actors are not available?

(6) Rooney Mara. Yes her name is weird. Some people said her brief appearance in The Social Network was eye opening, but I didn't pay her too much attention there. Many said her Lisbeth Salander was great, but back then I suspected it was a fluke, the greatness was the character not the performance. Now I think yes, this lady can act. When you realize what really happen and you think back, alright she left traces for you early in the movie, and that's called acting.

(7) Jude Law once again proves he can bring a seemingly boring character to life and makes you root for him. Yes he's always got the less interesting part compared to his co-star, Sherlock Holmes, Anna Karenina, Closer..., but he always gives his best performance. It's unlikely he'll get award buzz for this movie since it's an early release and it's a quiet performance. Too bad, I think he's under-appreciated.

(8) So you think this is a medical drama? It started as one, but it soon becomes something else. Go watch it and you'll find out. It's more complicated than that.

(9) The ending is a bit rush. I still don't understand what was the last 5 minutes about. What did Jude Law do to tie up the loose ends? Maybe I was blur, or I missed something in between? If you watch this, can you explain it to me?

(10) Final verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5. Not as boring as it may seem, and good drama is so rare nowadays you'd appreciate this.

Random Thoughts While Watching "Warm Bodies"

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 Thoughts While Watching "The Croods"

Random thoughts after watching “The Croods” (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) This movie officially opens next week, but like so many animated movies before it, they have three shows per day (actually nine, three for the normal, three for the 2D, and three for the 3D) one week earlier. Just out of curiosity, does this happen universally or just in Malaysia? Is this a special preview?

(2) I love how DreamWorks Animation keeps playing with its logo, customizes it to suit different movies. Sometimes the penguins come out and slap the boy (Madagascar 2) or a UFO abducts the boy away (Monsters vs. Aliens), sometimes it's in Chinese style (Kung Fu Panda), or Jack Frost is the boy (Rise of the Guardians). In The Croods, it's done as a drawing on the wall of the cave. Creativity always win me over.

(3) Emma Stone's voice is so recognizable. I swear when I watched this movie, sometimes I was distracted by the visual of the actual Emma Stone standing there speaking the line, with her face expression and all.

(4) The opening breakfast scene has got to be the weirdest sequence in the history of recent animated movies. Funny and lively, this sequence sets up the tone of the movie.

(5) Yes yes, the Croods are supposed to be noisy and annoying. That's what they are, that's what defines this weird family. But gosh, loud and annoying they really are. You'll have a brand new appreciation of your family which you previously thought was annoying.

(6) When the Croods finally entered "the new world", for a moment I thought they are making the animated version of Avatar, as the design of the jungle, all its fauna and flora, and all its color reminded me of Avatar. This is a very rare occasion where I hated myself for not going for the 3D version.

(7)  One of the running jokes in the movie really makes me laugh out loud: the face expression of Grug when he, for a moment, mistakenly thought he finally gets rid of his mother-in-law, or his face expression when he thought by getting new idea out of his brain he would have the chance of killing her. I know this is bad for wishing an old grandma to die, but damn this is funny and that grandma is annoying.

(8) So the word "hug" was invented by Grug, cuz' it rhymes with his name. Haha.

(9) The song played at the end credit - Shine Your Way is performed by Owl City and our local girl Yuna. So this lady really has made it to international, good for her! The song sounds really nice and catchy, but will it be nominated at the Oscars next year? They did nominate a lot of songs from animated movie in the past. If they nominate this song, it means Yuna will be performing it at the Oscars?

(10) Final verdict: 4 stars out of 5. This movie does what an animated movie should be doing: entertain kids and adults with very good laugh and beautiful visual. Mission accomplished.

Random Thoughts After Watching "Oz The Great and Powerful"

Random Thoughts After Watching "Oz The Great and Powerful"

Random thoughts after watching “Oz The Great and Powerful” (this is not a review, just random notes):

(1) ALICE IN WONDERLAND! The Tim Burton version, not the novel. One is the sequel and one is the prequel, both are colorful and visually stunning fairy tales, with big stars in luxurious makeup acting evil and crazy. Oh yes, and both directors used to direct their own superhero franchise. These 2 movies are distant relatives... in fact I would say close relatives, maybe even siblings.

(2) So the visual effects are great, like really great. Even the black & white part of the movie is beautiful. The porcelain city, the emerald city, and the dark wood are great visuals. Learn from the expert, Jack the Giant Slayer.

(3) Alice in Wonderland is not the only movie connection. How can we leave out The Wizard of Oz? In the original 1939 film, multiple actors / actresses played several parts, one from the reality and the other from Oz. This movie uses the same concept, with Oz's assistant in the circus acting as his "assistant" in Oz (that cute but mostly annoying monkey), the girl in wheelchair is also the porcelain girl, etc. Since Michelle Williams appears in the reality world, why can't they let Mila Kunis be the eager assistant as well? It makes sense, since Theodora is quite obsessed with Oz in The Land of Oz too.

(4) Speaking of Mila Kunis, so we know she plays the witch even after she transforms. But with that heavy makeup and green skin and all, we barely recognize her (well, we know it's her because... err, go watch the movie and you'll know what I mean). It leaves the "fresh-face" Mila Kunis appearing in the movie for about 30 minutes. Such a waste.

(5) If Oz is indeed not a wizard but just an illusionist, did they explain how he perform his first trick after he cut off the wire, and then made the girl disappear? A lot of the tricks in the movie were left unexplained. It will be interesting if the movie can use a little time to do that, which bring us to...

(6) The movie runs at 130 minutes, but the simple story does not require that long to be told. If they could make the story shorter, it will be much more entertaining.

(7) James Franco did his best to carry the film, and he didn't fail. He's charming and funny, but like Johnny Depp in most of his Tim Burton movies, this character is underwritten so it leaves James Franco no choice but to act like a clown most of the movie. Okay, that is not as bad as it sounds, at least you laugh exactly when he wants you to laugh.

(8) So the above-mentioned porcelain city is conveniently named Chinatown, haha. Good thinking, good pun.

(9) Cameo: The cowardly lion & scarecrow from the Dorothy story, Okay, the lifeless scarecrows are not exactly the scarecrow from that story but at least it's scarecrow. Did I miss Tin Man? I don't think I did. So he missed the shooting?

(10) Final verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5. Watch it if you like The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. Or even maybe Your Highness (you know, that crappy movie where James Franco & Natalie Portman & basically everyone else acted silly).