REVIEW: Independence Day - Resurgence

I actually can't believe the original Independence Day is already 20 years, and it actually took Roland Emmerich 20 years to make a sequel to a beloved sci-fi alien invasion movie. However, is it any good? Not really.

Basically, Independence Day: Resurgence take place after the event of the original, where humanity is at peace globally and alien technology influenced human innovation. However, the aliens are lurking in the dark prepare to strike back and take revenge for the second time. This is pretty much the repeat of the first Independence Day plot in premise, only bigger in scale (literally) and more technological advanced, but the execution of the sequel pales in comparison in almost every single way.

First thing, the good of the movie, Jeff Goldblum. He's an incredible actor, and well-established in the acting arena as one of the good actors in the past and he still got it in Resurgence. He is the only actor in the movie that actually showed enthusiasm and fun to be a part of the movie. His comedic timing is perfect and most of the time him being the classic Goldblum is just fantastic.

Now, the bad ones. The movie is never fun, it was complete dull throughout. The sequel tried to grittier approach compared to the original, yet tried to keep the wittiness ended up being flat and incredibly boring through the entire run time. I had some laugh with some jokes and that's it! I never feel like cheering for humanity and the characters when they are taking on the alien invasion.

It seems like the charisma of Will Smith is really lacking here, as his character is replaced by his character's forgettable and sleep-inducing son (I don't even remember his name!). Besides him, even the former president is never engaging enough. Basically, almost every damn character besides Jeff Goldblum ones felt extremely flat.

The plot, what do I say about this? As the plot of the first movie was extremely dumb, I can't really criticise Resurgence being dumb, that would counter my own argument. However, the addition of [SPOILER ALERT, highlight the words to see it] another alien race to aid the Earth is incredibly dumb. Independence Day is about the celebration of humanity's strength against foreign foes, that's the lesson, adding another alien race just dampens the mood. Not to mention the ending, of wanting to setup another sequel really makes me groan. Hollywood, please, focus one movie at a time!!!

In conclusion, the original Independence Day was dumb but it was exciting and fun to watch. The sequel, however, is just as dumb but it lacks the charm and fun, it was an incredibly boring and joyless. It was not really terrible, but not really decent either. Look at the clip below of the originals to show you what's missing.

Score: 2/5

REVIEW: Batman v. Superman

The long awaited on-screen clash of The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel is already here! This film is directed by Zack Snyder, the director of Man of Steel & 300, and it stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. It takes place 18 months after the event of Man of Steel, the world is both cheering and questioning the existence of Superman on Earth, whether he should be a hero or be restrained.

To me, the movie was okay. I was definitely excited about seeing Batman and Superman on screen together for the first time, duking it out, sounds so excited. After the movie, my feelings are mixed. Part of me love this, part of me dislike this film. This definitely feels like a Zack Snyder's films, but it is not hard to think that it is time for someone else to sit on the director's chair to take this franchise into new direction.

Let's talk about what I like about Batman v. Superman.

First of all, the castings. I think Batman v. Superman has one of the best casting lineups in recent summer blockbusters. Henry Cavill is solid as Superman, Ben Affleck proved his doubters wrong and Gal Gadot got her Wonder Woman right. Plus, there are Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne & Amy Adams are great actors too.

Ben Affleck is a really great Batman, not the best, but a really great one. I was on the fence about his casting when the news was announced, but after the movie, I am impressed by his performance. Gal Gadot, despite her lack of screen time did convince me that she can be a great Wonder Woman in the future. Alfred, played by Jeremy Irons, is a different interpretation, but a amazing performance nonetheless. Jeremy Irons' Alfred is smart, knows his stuff around the tech around him and timing of his sarcasm is really spot on. All of them are spot on.

Similar with other Snyder's films, action set piece takes centre stage in Batman v. Superman. The action sequences are mightily impressive and the visual effects are dazzling. Seeing all the characters going all out is a great cinematic experience and exciting to watch. Batman facing off Superman are impressive and believable, it feels immersive.

Now, move on the things I dislike.

The film lacks cohesiveness. Throughout the movie, me and friends think that the movie doesn't know where it wants to focus more on. At one moment it feels like Man of Steel, Batman origin at another, Lex Luthor the next, Justice League movie right after. There are many scenes that felt like it should be left out so that the relevant plot points have room to grow. I wish that they focus more on the continuation of Man of Steel, where the world wants Superman to face the repercussions of destroying half of Metropolis while fighting General Zod, but this story was never mentioned again in the second half of the movie.

The movie really feels like a movie made just to introduce the audience to the Justice League world. Whilst focusing aspect of Batman v. Superman, the Justice League somehow felt like an afterthought. I'm not trying to spoil anything, the way the film trying to tie in other characters from DC Comics felt so forced and shoehorn that it felt unnecessary. I would rather remove that scene and trade for more Man of Steel and Batman moral aspects of the movie. Not to mention that the movie forgets to challenge Batman's moral code with no remorse. I don't mind the killing, but there's no justifications.

Despite its stellar castings, some of them were bit off. Jesse Eisenberg was unconvincing as Lex Luthor, his performance was constant overacting on almost every aspect of the movie, very unnatural and cringe worthy. The movie also doesn't know how to balance out Amy Adams' Lois Lane. at one moment she is a strong character, and after that she's a damsel in distress. Some of the scenes don't really need her presence really.

Overall, Batman v. Superman is a mixed movie. In one hand, it is an absolute visual treat to the audience. It was dazzling seeing these heroes duking it out! On the other, the movie itself lacks cohesiveness and consistency to tell a good story, as there are too many major plot points felt forced and rushed. It's such a shame really, this material has potential. It's really a Zack Snyder's movie, a very good visual director, but he is very inconsistent in telling stories. If DC and Warner Bros. want the Justice League movie have a great layer of depth, Zack Snyder might not be the person to bring the franchise forward. However, they have another good director right in front of them that worth considering, Ben Affleck.

SCORE: 2.5/5

10 Favourite Movies of 2015

Well, 2015 came to an end few weeks ago and it has some great films. The films shown in 2015 are generally better than 2014 as I enjoyed a lot more dramatic movies and better blockbuster offerings all round. I still couldn't be able to watch Creed, Steve Jobs, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight and The Big Short as some of them are not even released in Malaysia yet, so this now I am going to rank the movies I watched as of January 2016, with a small summary on why I put it in the list. Please do take note that this is my personal Top 10 and it does not reflect anyone else's opinions.

Here we go:

1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Is this any surprise to anyone? Probably not. Ever since 2012 when the movie was announced, I was really hoping Star Wars would be exciting again, after the inconsistencies in recent years and the abomination of Attack of the Clones, The Force Awakens really met my expectations in every way imaginable.

A good cast, entertainment, humour, and basically Star Wars going back to basics to where it mattered puts Star Wars back in the map. While there are certain parts of the movie I wished it could be better, The Force Awakens is the best cinema experience I've had in years. I watched it during first screenings, I was laughing, cheering and clapping along with every other fan in the theater. When John Williams' score kicked in and the opening crawl started scrolling, it was the biggest cheer ever in cinema, and we all stayed till the credit finished.

Despite watching it three times already in cinema, I always want to go back again, and again. Episode VIII and Rogue One, bring it on!

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

In the age where action movies are over-complicating themselves, Mad Max: Fury Road is a breath of fresh air in the action genre. This post-apocalyptic pic starring the titular character is a fairly simple movie, yet the execution in terms of visual effects, cinematography, audio and picture quality are excellent.

Besides that, the core element of action movie, the action sequences, are top notch. It makes you grip on the edge of your seat as the brilliant set pieces really gets the adrenaline pumping from the start of till the end of the movie.

3. The Martian

I went into cinema expecting The Martian to be good, and I am not disappointed. It is good.

What I'm surprised about The Martian though, that it was funny. "A man stranded alone on Mars while a group of scientists figuring out ways to send out rescue team" never sounds like a funny thing to me. Well, at least Golden Globes did. The Martian features a great cast, strong direction and execution that  makes The Martian one of the strong films in recent years.

4. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Tom Cruise + action movies = perfect

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is another strong entry to the Mission Impossible franchise. This is probably due to Tom Cruise, who insists on doing all or almost all of the stunt works himself, which I seriously impressed and respect. It makes the film feels genuine and gets the adrenaline pumping.

5. Inside Out

Pixar in recent years have been slow, Cars 2, Brave and Monster University by Pixar's standards, have been 'meh' at best. With Inside Out, they are back!

Inside Out looks like Pixar, sounds like Pixar, felt like Pixar. Those ingredients alone made Inside Out a fantastic film.

6. Bridge of Spies

Like Pixar, Steven Spielberg have been slow too. He put more of his focus on being producers of other films lately and his recent film just not to my personal liking.

However, Bridge of Spies is my kind of Spielberg's film. The historical drama focus on a less talked about part of the Cold War, the prisoner exchange behind the scenes. While Bridge of Spies did elevated some of the elements that made the film more intense than the history depicted but Spielberg arranged it really well. It is a well-written and well thought out film.

7. Marvel's Ant-Man

At first, I prefer Age of Ultron. However, after second viewings of both films, I think Ant-Man is a better superhero film.

This is due to the charm of the film. As an unknown outside Marvel's fandom, this movie could have flopped, but people flocked into cinema nonetheless because Disney did really well with the Marvel universe. In many ways, Ant-Man played out like the original Iron Man, feeling wise and script wise, where we all never expect it to be good, yet turned out really well. Plus, the casting of Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas really helps Ant-Man to develop into one of the year's proper blockbusters.

8. Ex Machina

At first, this movie looks really, really weird. I mean, a futuristic sci-fi movie in a middle of a jungle?? The movie is, to me, pretty slow at first.

Once I get used to the pace, the movie ends up pretty great for me. The writing, pacing, acting and the theme centred around the film is top notch. The interactions between characters of Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander are top notch. This movie questions human's compassion and aggression towards artificial intelligence. After watching this, I was really looking forward to Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was brilliant!

One of the highlights of the year.

9. Kingsman: The Secret Service

A film that knows what it is and its intended target audience, a James Bond movie for the younger demographics.

It really has the elements from the famous British spy, the cast is British, action set pieces, high tech gadgets, exotic locales. Surprisingly, the casting was on point with the characters, who would've thought actors like Colin Firth and Mark Strong could be humourous. The movie feels a lot more playful and less intense, as it never takes itself too seriously, that's why this movie is so fun to watch.

10. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Despite not being as good as the original Avengers, Age of Ultron is still an entertaining film on its own.

With all of the characters returning on saving the world from the evil AI Tony Stark created, the team's chemistry, interactions and banters with each other is getting better and much more natural than the first one, that was the reason the movie is so entertaining. The set pieces and visual effects are so well made, that it makes you rooting for your favourite hero to kick the villain's ass.

Despite all that, the movie's plot and the characters did not grow that much from the first Avengers. The superheroes are basically the same people from the last scene of Avengers, despite the fact that most of them have their individual adventures elsewhere.