The original plan was for me, Ravin, Raymond, Kwang Yang and Keith to meet up to watch Hellboy 2. But after Ravin bought the tickets, Keith informed me that Eric will be joining us as well. Next time tell me earlier la. Luckily, they still managed to get a seat for Eric! I was fearing that he would have to sit somewhere up front and endure neck pains while the rest of us lounge at the back!
After meeting up with Kwang Yang, Keith and Eric at McDonald's for my dinner (the others have eaten beforehand), we went to Star and met up with Ravin and Raymond. There, Kwang Yang told us that Dark Knight will be opening at 10pm last night and not tonight as was originally presumed! A quick check with the ticket staff revealed that Dark Knight is showing RIGHT AFTER Hellboy and in the SAME CINEMA. So what's there to stop us from watching two movies, one after the other? ;) So we did.
First up, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army!
Running time: 2 hours.
The movie wasn't brilliant, but it was okay. The action scenes were quite fun to watch and the story is considered to be rather typical, as typical as fantasy yarns go. There's the long lost prince coming back for revenge, the super powerful ancient weapon that must never be unleashed, yada yada yada. You don't need to watch the first movie to understand the second one! I didn't watch the first one.
And the ending was a bit flat. I mean, after all the action from the beginning, one would expect a SPECTACULAR scene at the end to wrap things up. And there was promise of that. But just as things really heated up, the director threw in a wrench and everything ground to a halt. Totally unsatisfying!
What I do like is the art style. Hellboy 2 was directed by Guillermo del Torro, the same director of Pan's Labyrinth. Anyone who has watched Pan's Labyrinth will support my claim that this guy must be a little wrong in the head. It's hard to describe it. I mean, his vision of creatures of fantasy isn't in the least horrifying or scary of the likes of Aliens or Mimic. There's just a degree of wrongness in them, that little bit of morbidity in each and every one of them that conjures up images of forbiddingness. Despite this, there's a fascinating quality in them that makes me like them.
My score: 7/10
After the movie we went for a short toilet break. One can only hold it for so long.
And then it's back to Cinema 3 for The Dark Knight.
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes (yeah, VERY long by today's standards)
What can I say? This movie is simply BRILLIANT. First off, this is a Batman movie, from the same director who directed Batman Begins. I must say that Christopher Nolan is one visionary director. He's managed to deviate from the superhero movie template of "all-powerful good guy beating up all-powerful bad guy and oh, shall we throw in some emotional crisis just to show that the hero's human too?" And he's made this movie so relevant to the context of the modern world. In fact, this movie is so different from the other superhero movies out there that you'll be forgiven to think that you're watching Mission Impossible, with Batman in it.
Meet The Joker. He's easily the vilest, cruelest, most no holds-barred and most psychotic incarnation of the Joker yet. In the Hall of Fame For Villains, he's probably way up there with the likes of Hannibal Lecter! Kudos to the late Heath Ledger for his brilliant acting! I won't bring in any spoilers of the Joker's deeds. You just gotta watch the movie and get blown away each time one comes along.
And the best thing about the movie? It keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. And when you think that it's all over, the bad guy's down, the chick is safe, good triumphs over evil,the movie brings in yet another twist (another Joker card, if you will =P) and you're back on the edge again.
This movie's a masterpiece.
My score: 10/10
Side order: Results will be released tomorrow! Pressure pressure. Hahaha. I'm worried about certain subjects okay... The final exams weren't exactly a breeze~
16 comments:
I'm looking forward for The Dark Knight ...
Dav Didi,
Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Yeah, Dark Knight is a REALLY good movie. I think it should be somewhere in that list of 100 things to do before you die. Hahaha...
AISEH...
how could you left me out when it comes to movie! lol.. kiddin kiddin. yea, i will drag myself to watch dark knight. will wait till it reaches rm5.. wuahaha.. or i should wait Astro broadcasts that movie at HBO. By means one more year from now....:(
Haha, you watched the Dark Knight unplanned on Wednesday too? My friends and I originally headed to the cinema that day to catch Kung Fu Panda. When we arrived, we decided that Batman was better. xD
"Brilliant" is an apt description. Authors/scriptwriters who can weave a story together like that are rare nowadays. I'm kicking myself for not foreseeing the Flippin' plot twist! The movie might be "long", but not a single moment of it was wasted (unlike King Kong).
Yes, this Joker was disturbing. Then again, the original Batman had always been dark and gothic, so Nolan was bringing Batman back to his roots.
P.S. Good on ya on not revealing spoilers. Unlike Sam. =)
Johnson,
Sorry! Again, it's a spur of the moment thing. Nowadays we always seem to decide stuff at the very last minute and you're always not around so... This time it was at Keith's place. Kwang Yang, Keith and I were watching Anwar's debate when we decided to go for the movie. Hahaa... Sorry la. At least we asked you to CS that day =P
Axfangli,
Sam has been revealing spoilers? Hahaha. Nasib I watched the very first show so there are no spoilers that she can reveal to me!
Yeap. The show has transcended the normal limits of movie goodness. Hopefully the next Batman movie will raise the bar even higher! Is that even possible? Haha. An equally disturbing Riddler, perhaps?
I watched it on Thursday.
I couldn't take my eyes off the Joker.
Your review is SPOT ON.
PS: Notice how Chekov's Gun is played out very cleverly in the story? The story of the smile, the flying spikes in Batman's armour, the COIN!
My God. Brilliance.
:( You guys watched my favourite shows without me...
By the way, I watched Hellboy I though and I think it's 9/10 for that. The only thing not good is the.. U better watch it yourself. :p
I can't wait to watch it. Hopefully Riverside has Batman. =D
Dienasty,
YES. The story of the smile, especially. It wasn't there just to fill up thirty seconds of screen time with dialogue, it served to further expand on the psyche of the Joker! Movies with lines that talk a lot but say nothing (e.g. Bloodrayne) should pick up a thing or two from this...
Ezekiel,
You were at work! We didn't know your shifts and this was a spur of the moment thing.
3sa,
I'm sure Riverside is showing Batman too. But you MUST go watch it in Star Cineplex 3. Only there, in the full glory of its awesome sound system (and er.. popcorn-ed seats), can you experience the full brilliance of the show!
Now all we need is an IMAX theatre showing Dark Knight...
Unfortunately I can't. My mum says that STAR is bad because people do drugs over there. So obviously I can't. =(
3sa,
... If only your mum knows of half the 'stuff' that goes on at Riverside. She'll probably let you go Star for your movies after that!! On second thoughts, it might backfire and your mum might not allow you to go to the movies AT ALL.
Really??? There are things happening at Riverside as well? Oooh, enlighten me!
And for the record, it's only her that gets banned from STAR. Not me. Muahahaha.
But I don't really like both the cineplexes in Kuching for those reasons. Hopefully, these problems can be sorted out sooner or later or could we just have a new place to watch movies?
Tracy,
Obviously the drug problem exists there too. Gang meetings, crack parties, etc. It's just a shady place to be. But I think that the cinemas themselves should be okay. Just avoid shady places in the buildings! And trust me, these problems will probably never be solved.
News for you: there have been talks between people from Golden Screen Cinemas and The Spring, and word has it that GSC will be opening early next year. HOWEVER, there are also rumors of GSC pulling out of this agreement due to the Kuching population's lack of spending power/willingness to spend. We'll just have to wait and see.
But then, I would think the problem at Star to be more blatant and obvious, no? It's weird isn't it that Riverside has all those high end stores like MNG, Hush Puppies and Times but at the same time play host to such unsavoury activities?
About the problems, I would think it were possible to solve although rather difficult. I mean, look at Tun Jugah, Spring and Hock Lee. Surely there must be a way...
Yeah heard about it too, but then, I have learnt to never take these plans at face value because there are always problems and delays. Very exhausting to have high hopes when these circumstances happen.
Haha, should be fair to her lah... it was an incident that happened long ago. Other people have given me spoilers too, but I just found it easier to pick on her. *innocent smile*
Speaking of innocence, my goodness... I was completely unaware of the behind-the-scenes happenings in Kuching cinemas. Unknowledgable, much?
Tracy,
Sure, it is easier to SEE those problems at Star because it is more obvious, and there is no high class facade that the problems can hide behind. But the truth is that they happen in Riverside too. I blame the stupid stairway designs!
Axfangli,
Knowing the both of you, it probably involved books. Most probably Harry Potter. Heh. When the newest book came out, I ASKED people for the ending. Not a HP fan, hehe.
Hmm. I thought you would know better about the Riverside thing.
Post a Comment