MOVIE REVIEW: TEENAGE MUTANTS NINJA TURTLES (2014)

“TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

 So those naughty pizza-loving turtles are back, in full throttle. Depending on your age, you can excuse yourself by saying that you grew up watching the amazing turtles, after which you head for a meal at PIZZA HUT’s. Plus a helping of ORANGE CRUSH of course.

Producer MICHAEL BAY knows a trick or two about making promotional bucks from his TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION experience. He practically snared the entire China Market full of eager followers.

Now, these pizza chomping creatures are going to rake in millions of dollars in  advertising dollars, courtesy of the film’s official PIZZA partner who will heap huge amounts to cash in.

Pause, and you will conclude three feature films in the Teenage Mutant Turtles trilogy. Which one is better?

This 2014 version is the third in tow, and it comes with a surprise explosion of the CGI splendor. The Director is JONATHAN LIEBESMAN.

For the turtles, their last big screen romp was seven years ago. Now, let’s move on with the encapsulated plot:

Movie opens on New York City. It is the home and cover-up for the misdeeds of the Foot Clan’s.

Beguiling Megan Fox takes on the role of April O’Neil, a naive reporter eager to prove her worth in salt to her bosses.

Out on solitary trip to uncover a scoop about the Foot Clan, she accidentally witnesses  a vicious attack by Foot soldiers against four shadowy figures. The four turn out to be our titular heroes the Ninja Turtles. And how does this come about?

These creature were once upon a time April’s teeny pets. They were part of a growing experiment conducted by April’s scientist father, alongside industry’s mogul Eric Sachs (William Fichtner). During a mysterious fire that cost her father his life, the young April set free the four turtles and a rat into the sewers. As the years roll on, the escapees grow into bipedal mutant creatures who observe the strict rules of the ninja.

The villain Sachs who has pledged to support the NYPD in their battle against the Foot Clan is thrilled to learn that the turtles are still alive for his own benefit. The reality is that the turtles’ blood contain a mutagen that every scientist is craving for.

You hear noisy battle cries of the good fighting the bad guys, destroying urban peace and scaring the hoot and holler out of the New Yorkers.

One remarkable scene is when the top of a high-rise building topples over with our heroes grappling on for dear life. 

Another major scene — a chase involving an 18-wheeler skids down a steep, snowy mountain as the turtles go sledding on their shells, choreographed in a complex, albeit heart-stomping way.

Finally, you’ll have to reckon with the scrumptious Pizza Hut pizzas and Orange Crush the turtles relish in the sewers — because the film will stop in its tracks to provide commercials for these products. More …..

 SPOILERS STOP HERE:

So do I enjoy this Movie?

Very much so.

It is a fun, silly, awesome, rollicking joy ride all the way!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Local Distributor: UIP MALAYSIA

MOVIE REVIEW: JU-ON 3 : THE BEGINNING OF THE END (2014).

 A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS?

IF SO, THEN THESE “TWISTED” VISUALS MIGHT WELL DELIVER THE MESSAGE.

These visuals are indecently scary, demented enough to evoke distaste and fear in the minds of the weak.

No, the movie doesn’t play nice, fair nor easy.

It is definitely old-school where the use of special effects is kept to a bare minimum.

To say the least,  “JU-ON 3″ is one profoundly disturbing film to boot.

 ” JU-ON 3 : THE BEGINNING OF THE END ” (2014) JAPANESE MOVIE REVIEW

For some inexplicable reasons, I’ve yet to establish a valid connection on the JU-ON series, from past to present.

Hence this Review presents an opportunity to level up on a non-comparative edge (as akin to the the old ones).

“Ju On 3: The Beginning Of The End” wastes no time in pushing viewers into the loop.

It sounds the gong that it is a horrific film of the macabre genre. If you have a faint heart, don’t see.

The ghastly boy ghost is still around to deliver shocks, to empower you with his sickly appearance.

He will trample upon the hapless albeit unfortunate visitors who visits his residence.

And curiosity kills the cat (proverbial saying).

His favorite trick is to twist his victims’ heads 360% around with a loud cracking click. As well as to “prise open” the human jaw by stretching the jaw upwards and mutilate the total jaw apart in an elongated manner. It is really disgusting.

For these sick pictures, please browse the visuals provided above.

We are told that this one  is the seventh film in the “Ju On” franchise.

If you are familiar with Japanese actors, here’s a neat line-up of Nozomi Sasaki (Yui Shouno), Kai Kobayashi (Toshio Saeki), Sho Aoyagi (Naoto Miyakoshi), and Reina Triendl (Nanami). They are here to be “bumped” off.

Some of these girls are really attractive.

 Let us have a brief rundown of the hideous plot:

In a peaceful residential area,three persons: a policeman, a child consultation officer and a local office staff assemble in front of a house with grim faces.

They discover the corpse of a murdered boy, dangling from a rope in a garbage-strewn room within the abode.

The boy has been dead for some time as the air is smacked of rotting flesh ordor.

Yui Ikuno (Nozomi Sasaki) is a teacher at an elementary school.

She is asked to take over Year 3 Class 3 following a sudden departure of their form teacher, Mr.Konishi.

Yui has no experience as a teacher but willingly accepts the offer. On her first day of class, Yui notices an unoccupied desk in the classroom.

The desk belongs to Toshio Saeki (Kai Kobayashi).

The class register shows that he has been absent for 7 days. She learns from the Vice Principal that the previous teacher, Konishi, made a home visit but did not see the boy.

Shortly after, he resigned.

Determined, Yui decides to visit Toshio. She may be bold but she is courting trouble.

No spoilers here as the VISUALS have already shown you that “JU-ON 3 is made with brutal fascination and skill.

Go enjoy the movie from here.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5.

LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR:  GSC MOVIES

MOVIE REVIEW: THE TEACHER'S DIARY (2014)

THE lovey-dovey MOVIE POSTER

PLOY CHERMAN the Actress.

She slips effortlessly into the role of a plain Jane.

Or if you will, she can play the beguiling tempress.

Poster boy BIE (SUKRIT WISETKAEW) is not just a cute singer.

He can really act as well.

 THIS IS THE KICK-ASS MOVIE TRAILER

His STORY starts on this derelict ISLAND that’s devoid of total POWER and INTERNET communication.

This love-struck teacher reads “I MISS YOU SO MUCH” through a diary that unintentionally connects.

STUDYING is SO MUCH FUN when THE TEACHER demonstrates to the small class.

When DARKNESS falls, the NIGHT is seemingly long.

That’s where LONELINESS creeps in.

(Lady) “Is it POSSIBLE to LOVE without MEETING the other person?”

(Man) “I LOVE, I CHERISH and I will WAIT …”

SHE IS DEDICATED TO HER JOB

“THE TEACHER’S DIARY” (2014)

Thai Movie Review

Hey Baby, do you know what’s like to be lonely?

The year is 2012.

Song (SUKRIT WISETKAEW) is a cute hunk, an ex- wrestler who’s maimed by the physical  and emotional demands of his wrestling job and opts for a change. He accepts a one-year contract to teach in a “floating houseboat” moored alongside an enormous lake, amid the lush forestry of Chiangmai.

To his dismay, he has an odd intake of four naughty students for a start.

These brats give him a hard time, despite his patience and endurance to educate them.

One day Song stumbles upon  an illustrated diary belonging to Ann (PLOY CHERMAN), an attractive teacher who has taught the same class the term before him.

Reading page-by-page into the diary, he is fascinated by Ann’s regular goings-on. Most importantly, she is lonely too.

Nightfall after school can be boring and draggy. And leafing through Ann’s diary and penning his thoughts onto the book is the only pleasure that fertilizes Song’s mind and makes him forget about his extreme loneliness.

Of course, Ann has her fair share of frustrations and miseries when she was teaching the term before.

These she recounts in her illustrated diary. As time rolls on, Song finds himself falling in love with Ann though they have never met.

It is therefore natural that Song seeks Ann, yet when he eventually finds her, fate has it that she already has a boyfriend.

Both Ann and Song both are enduring unhappy relationships.

Song’s girlfriend is cheating on him.

Ann’s boyfriend is just another regular controlling jerk.

 We all know that it will be a matter of time when Ann and Song, having connected through the diary, sparks would be ignited, and they’d fall for each other.

Would this be the case?

In 2013, Ann returns to her old teaching job at the same rural houseboat.

She retrieves her diary only to find Song’s responses to her past entries.

Ann is clueless about the mysterious Song who has since resigned from this houseboat school.

Where is he is now?

For two lonely souls, this houseboat school is swarmed with lovey-dovey remembrances.

Admirably directed by NITHIWAT THARATORN,”THE TEACHER’S DIARY” is exuberantly funny with loads of poetic indulgences and tender moments.

This Reviewer loves it!

FOOTNOTES:

 The floating school based shown in the film is for real.

It’s called “Bann Ko Jatson School (Floating Classroom Branch)” at Li District, Lamphun Province in Northern Thailand.

The actress PLOY CHERMAN handles her role well, but it is BIE (SUKRIT WISETKAEW) who steals the thunder from her.

BIE has Chinese looks and if his management does a good job, he will soon have a stronghold of followers in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.

That, provided he brushes up his Mandarin skills.

 RATING: 4.5 out of 5 (for telling us that love is a many-splendored thing).

Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES

“LION MEN 2: THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE” 2014《狮神决战之终极一战》 (1) Malaysian Press Conference (2) Movie Review

JACK NEO : PRODUCER , FILM DIRECTOR, ENTREPRENEUR, TALENT MANAGER

Clock backward to Chinese New Year 2011.

My press colleagues and myself interviewed thespian JACK NEO on his come-back role in HOMECOMING. (笑着回家). It was reported that he had taken a hiatus then, due to stress burnout.

In this movie JACK NEO was at his cross-dressing best.  He played a real “she” – as AH NIU’s mother. That was when I started to notice this versatile actor who self-challenged himself to take on the difficult role of a full-blown woman. And a hilarious one at that.

His screen character stole the thunder from the rest of the cast.

But “HOMECOMING” was directed by LEE THEAN- JEEN.

Fast forward to present day 11th July, 2014 (Friday) at the GENTING HIGHLANDS GALA PREMIERE.

Looking dapper in  suit to meet the press, JACK NEO sits confidently opposite me for a tete-a- tete interview.

“Have you seen any of my movies?” he politely asks.

“Some,” I truthfully answered, without hesitation.

This scenario takes place in GENTING HIGHLANDS where the local film distributor MM2 ENTERTAINMENT graciously transports some of  us ( Media) by private coach to the resort. It is a welcome respite, from a humid spell in Kuala Lumpur to a cool change of climate.

Anyway, back to JACK NEO. He is eager to share his shooting experience with THE LION MEN double features.

“There are cultural differences in style with the lion dance taught by various institutions. Different strokes for different folks. If only someone can connect all the regional schools and form a cohesion, a singular discipline, and develop it just like the art of kung fu.

Please pass this message around, JACK NEO implores.

At the heart of every lion dance, there is a soul within, waiting to be fortified and understood.

Pay attention and you can feel the pulse and see the beauty embedded with every drum roll.

For now, it’s the mixed lion dance. Hopefully the day will come when different schools can amalgamate to offer a singular art, just like kung- fu.

Other revelations:

Every year actors come and go because fame is transient and memories are small in the entertainment scene. Audiences always want something new.

(JACK NEO wears several folios : Producer, Director, Entrepreneur and Talent Manager).

He enjoys ribbing, but is in fact a serious professional.

Over the years he had ridden the storm, and overcame business betrayals and setbacks, but he dauntlessly plodded on.

“Those were trying times of frustration, of course. But if you want to lift your head up high in this industry, rather than to living a mere existence, you’d need all the drama you can get.

I have never attempted slapsticks, not yet.

I take pride in directing my own brand of commercial comedy films with a moral to boot.”

But slapstick or otherwise, JACK NEO will never refuse a great script.

And good money in the offering as well, of course. (guffaws).

“I am after all, a businessman,” he trails off.

 

“The Lion Men: Ultimate Showdown” Movie Review

《狮神决战之终极一战》

The entire team returns to continue where they left off in Part 2.

Shi Shen (Tosh Zhang) is seething with jealousy with Mikey. Especially after he discovers Mikey is secretly in love with his girlfriend Xiao Yu (Eva Cheng).

Aiming to win the lion dance championship title, Shi Shen spends every waking hour in strenuous training and neglects the emotional needs of Xiao Yu.

As the dance final approaches, Xiao Yu begs Shi Shen to withdraw from the competition, since he has injured himself in a sabotage attempt.

Her pleas has fallen on deaf years and she has to reckon with Shi Shen’s cocky attitude.

So no prizes for guessing  who will eventually win the fair lady’s heart.

In all JACK NEO’s productions, you can expect a mixed bag of audience reaction, fan adulation and critical reception.

But his films have always boasted impressive box office returns.

And to NEO whose vision is “film making is a business”, this reality factor reigns supreme.

“You don’t like my films?  Then don’t go! Despite whatever the worse critic may chide, I like to think I am laughing all my way to the bank with a box-office clout.

Action paves the way, not just sweet talk."

 LION MEN2 is smartly written and superbly acted by a relatively unknown young cast from across the causeway. With JACK NEO at the helm, these guys may soon be household names.

Never undermine good talent. Just give it a break. And that is exactly what he is doing.

THE FILM DIRECTOR, THE CAST AND THE EAGER MM2 ENTERTAINMENT STAFF.

HIP HOP DANCE PERFORMANCE BY GUEST ARTISTES

COME ON, JUST SAY IT WITH PUNCHES!

THE GENTING INTERNATIONAL SHOWROOM IS A REAL BLAST!

IMPRESSIVE AUDIENCE AND PRESS TURNOUT.

BEFORE SHOWTIME, AT THE GENTING INTERNATIONAL SHOWROOM.

YOU HAPPY,  I HAPPY, WE ARE ALL VERY HAPPY!

THIS ONE’S FOR KEEPS.

ALL SMILES… AFTER A TRULY ENJOYABLE GALA PERFORMANCE.

Movie Soundtrack Song

- THE END -

Movie Trailer