Joker Movie Review

Joker is your standard villian in the DC universe, often seen battling Batman, and in this movie, it is a reboot of the villian in a different way. We use to see Joker as the man who fell into a vat of acid in the comics, but this movie adds a new twist.


And I like it.

"Joker" is set in Gotham, in an era, kinda like 1980's New York. Arthur Fleck, the main character in the movie is a disturbed man with a series of unfortunate incidents happening to him, transforming him into the Joker.

He starts off as a part-time clown, and gets beaten up to show the grim world where life is hard, unemployment is high and the city has no budgets for services. Yet there are Billionaires like the Wayne family living a a very different world.

The title Joker does not prepare you enough on how dark the movie is going to be. The whole movie has no humor and it is kinda depressing to watch Arthur getting into these situations.

Although this is a different story altogether, you still get to see Bruce Wayne and the death of his parents, which is pretty much expected. The twist of the movie blends in well with the problems we face today -- income inequality, and portrays it in a slightly manner.

It is indeed a bold movie, highlighting the plight of the villian as he becomes the joker, and a justification exercise on why the Joker ended up that way.

The pace of the movie was good. It did not feel preachy and there was not too much gore and violence. I did not feel that there was a high enough body count, but as most of the movie, it was just Arthur and not the Joker, it was ok.

I really enjoyed the movie, but I have to warn you. This movie is really depressing. It just gets worse. This is more like the beginnings of the Heath Ledger, and an interesting take indeed. 

If you are a batman fan, this movie is highly recommended.

-- Robin Low

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain - Movie Review

Initially, I was like "Who is Kevin Hart?"

When I see his face, I was like, that is the dude in the scary movie, and I did not think much of the movie. "Kevin Hart is the short black guy, that is kinda funny, right?"

So after checking Youtube, I found that he has 1.8 million views on one of his videos which was pretty funny, and since I was given these preview tickets, I gave it a chance.



At the theater,I realized that this show was packed! Nobody told me he was that famous? I mean, did I miss something? And apparently I did! The demographics of the crowd was 90% African American, and I guess I was at the right place to watch an African American comedian...

So apparently, this was his sold out performance at the Madison Square Garden, and various other clips put together, to be "milked" into a movie. Brilliant idea right? My thoughts were, is this going to be worth the money to go to the cinema to watch this?

HELL YEAH!

This is basically paying to watch a GOOD stand up comedy sketch. It is very crude, with lots of swearing though. A lot of original stuff, very entertaining. And most importantly, you get to learn about new stuff...

LAB - Local Ass Bitch

This is something I can call a lot of people I know... right?

Overall, this would make a great matinee, great energy, loads of fun and very interesting!

Rating: 7/10

Legend of the fist - Review

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

This is the new Donny Yen movie, and yes, it is with fast punches, parkour, and of course... Super Heroes.

Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death (Huo Yuanjia) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese.

Not to be confused with the Fist of Legend, this new Gordon Chan movie is about Chen Zhen, after he returns from France, being a "war labour" and somehow also a hero, and he is indeed a Superhero.

This is the sequel to the Fist of Fury, made popular by Bruce Lee, and is set in Shanghai before the Second Sino-Japanese War, seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after avenging his teacher (Huo Yuanjia).

In the spirit of the good old Bruce Lee movies, it brings out the incompetence of White people, and the arrogance of the Japanese, and how all of them should be killed with the fist!

To make things more interesting and Superhero like, Donny Yen puts on a ridiculous fake mustache or a black mask (like the Green Hornet), and the action in the movie is also making Chen Zhen look like just another invincible Superhero.

I must admit, the action is quite interesting, however, it fails to deliver much message like Ip Man, and the characters are indeed pretty flat. There are a few characters(Shawn Yue) in the movie that does not do much, and are simply a distraction.

Many of the action scene are simply over the top -- like Crank, and simply too hilarious. It is a good action flick, and should be just taken as that if you intend to go catch it.

I've watched it a few days ago, but decided to review it only after a few requests.

I would give it a 7.5/10 for action and 3/10 for story.

The last villian fight is indeed fast like any other Donny Yen movie, and I feel like when you watch Ip Man, you probably recognize some of the similar scenes. I`d say LEGEND OF THE FIST is a damn solid Donnie Yen movie(If you are a fan), and a kung-fu extravaganza to please all fans of the genre. While I prefer both IP MAN films, as well as SPL, and FLASHPOINT, it would be a great way to de-stress and watch Donny beat the Japanese to a pulp...

If you love Gore, you will love this movie! (It needs lightly more blood... to qualify as a B-movie)

-- Robin Low

Ip Man 2 Review

The long awaited sequel is here, Ip Man 2.


No, this movie is not about computer networking, or any internet or networking protocols. This is actually a martial arts movie starring Donnie Yen as Ip Man.

The story continues as Ip Man (Donnie Yen) flees Southern China (Foshan) and arrive in Hong Kong in 1949. Life was still hard in the post war period, and Ip Man starts his Wing Chun School. There are many adversaries in the movie, such as other martial arts school and the British...

Without revealing too much of the plot, I would say that this movie will promise to evoke emotions, and you can have the "Rocky moment" and really feel for the movie when victory finally comes.

The fights scenes are pretty intense, and it is no doubt a Sammo Hung directed movie. From choreographing the Wing Chun style to the other authentic Chinese Martial arts style - Praying Mantis (Which seemed to look like monkey style) and Hung Gar -- the movie is packed with fantastic fight scenes. The directing of the action is fantastic, and the editing keeps the movie script tight.

Without initial knowledge of what would the movie be about, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of emotions felt throughout the movie, even though you would think that all of these Chinese martial arts movies follow the same scripts, I can promise that Ip Man 2 can deliver the impact better than the other ones by far.

In this, Ip Man does get hurt, and be prepared to be blown away by the action, and feel "Chinese Pride" and other range of emotions by the end of the movie.

The fight scene between Donny Yen and Sammo Hung is quite a spectacle too. The story I felt, was well though out, and the action scenes and minor details in the movie really does bring it all together. This is not a mindless action flick!






Go watch it!

Rating 9/10

-- Robin Low

Kick-Ass the Movie Review

Kick-Ass directed by Matthew Vaughn, proves to be an interesting movie. Highly anticipated, and yet did not fail to deliver action, character depth and a moral behind the story.

I've not enjoyed a movie this much, and Kick-Ass certainly plays with your emotions, making you really feel for the characters in the movie. There are lots of ups and downs, and the action is pretty graphic and brutal, yet it is humorous with sort of a comic book feel. (Yeah, superheroes)

The story focuses on Dave Lizewski, your average teenage kid, whose obsession with comic books inspires him to create his very own superhero, Kick-Ass, despite his lack of superpowers. What he makes up for is passion and heart.

Dave's attempt to be a vigilante crime failed initially but he did not give up, and his tenacity and "never give up" attitude propelled him into stardom when he saved a man on the streets and got recorded and placed up on YouTube.

Chloe Moretz then enters and steals the show as Hit-girl -- with her incredible skills and boldness. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is Red-Mist and is the son of a crime lord, and though his part was not that big in the movie, his character is interesting, sort of like the Green Goblin / Spiderman kind of way.

The soundtrack is fantastic, and it compliments the movie well. I especially love the scene when Kick-Ass sprays the room full of bullets. You've gotta watch it, and I'm not going to say more.

The movie is indeed a lot darker than the trailers, and be prepared for gore, humor and a mix of emotions as you go through the 2 hours worth of action and adventure.

This is a must watch. 9.5 / 10

-- Robin Low

Clash of the Titans Review.

This is the remake of the 1981 movie of the same title, it is much anticipated and the trailers for the movie does make the movie look very impressive.

"The Clash of the Titans" is set in the Greek city of Argos where a war is about to explode between man and the gods. Persesus (Sam Worthington) raised as a fisherman, but is actually a demi-god. Persesus is the bastard son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is about to take on the gods after the death of his family. Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) was the one who kill his family, and Persesus wants to kill him. However, it is Persesus' destiny to rescue the city of Argos from the ruthless rage of Hades and his Kraken monster. With nothing to lose, Persesus leads a band of soldiers on a quest to defeat the Kraken. In doing this, Persesus will prevent Hades from overthrowing Zeus and in turn destroying mankind.



In my opinion, this movie is watchable, but I need to better quantify this:

The special effects and CGI is pretty good, the action in the move, and the pace is definitely your Hollywood standard and will hold the attention throughout the movie.

Plot wise, it follows your standard story arc where Perseus fights giant scorpions, visits the witches, travel across the river of stix, fights Medusa and the Kraken.

There are a few attempts to bring homage to the 1981 movie and a brief appearance of the mechanical owl, much of the plot does not seem to make much sense. I mean, Zeus raped a human queen, and the baby (Perseus) was born in a day? -- Huh?

Plot holes aside, the movie is action packed, and the 3-D effects are pretty awesome and enjoyable. The movie does feel heavily edited and a little short as they managed to pack all the adventures within 2 hours. But with today's technology, I felt that the CGI and effects do not make up for the lack of a solid script, as I did not feel for any of the characters.

I give this a 4/10, but if you are there for the action, this is worth it to watch.

-- Robin Low