Reviews

Filmed in China and set in the Ming Dynasty, this 2010 film stars Michelle Yeoh as Drizzle, an assassin with the Dark Stone Clan led by the their mysterious leader Wheel King (Wang Xueqi). Along with her comrades Lei Bin (Shawn Yue) and Magician (Leon Dai), they steal the mummified remains of Bodhi, an Indian monk supposedly with magical powers. However, Drizzle steals the mummy and flees where she encounters the monk Wisdom (Li Zonghan).

In his efforts to enlighten her, Wisdom allows her to kill him. This cause Drizzle to become grief stricken and finally decides to leave her former life for a 'fresh start'.

Set in the Warlord Era (1916 – 1928), Lau plays the warlord Hou Jie who finally seizes control of Dengfeng in Henan Province but is afraid that his sworn brother, Song Hu (Shi Xiaohong), could take advantage of him and take everything. He then plans an ambush for Song. However, his deputy Cao Man (Tse) has other ideas and orchestrates a plan to eliminate both warlords, ultimately taking control of their armies.

Losing his daughter in the attack, Huo Jie manages to escape and seeks refuge in a Shaolin Buddhist Monastery where he becomes the disciple of cook Wudao (Jackie Chan) and later progresses to become a warrior monk with assistance from his seniors Jingneng (Wu Jing) and Jingkong (Xing Yu). He also learns to control his anger and finally find peace. However, his former ally cum enemy Cao Man learns that he is still alive and sets out to kill him.

Jason Statham steps into Charles Bronson's shoes in the remake of the 1972 action thriller The Mechanic. Statham stars as an elite assassin who abides by a strict code. However, when his mentor and friend becomes the next target, her starts to re-evaluate his own code. The remake co-stars Donald Sutherland, Ben Foster and Tony Goldwyn, and is directed by Simon West. The film was released by Millennium Films in February oft his year (2011).

Arthur Bishop (Statham) is known as a 'mechanic', a professional assassin that specializes in making hits look like whatever the clients want. When his friend and mentor Harry McKenna (Sutherland) becomes the next target, the agency sends in Bishop to do the dirty job. Bishop does the job, making it look like a car-jacking gone wrong. But things change when McKenna's estranged son starts looking for the killer (s).

McKenna's son, Steve (Ben Foster), angered at the death of his father, sets himself as a target for potential car thieves with the aim of killing them as revenge. However, Bishop stops him before he does and, seeing the potential in him, trains him to become a 'mechanic'.

Statham is brilliant in 'tough guy with a heart' roles. His character, Lee Christmas in The Expendables had the same characteristics and so did his character in The Transporter, and he has maintained his quirky British accent in all of them – bravo! It is also good seeing someone bald in such roles. Most action heroes of the 80s and 90s were mandated to have hair (except Bruce Willis). In other words, he has managed to make action heroes look like the average Joe. However, a lead is only as good as his support and Foster also takes this one by the balls.

Foster puts a certain energy into his characters that makes them seem too real. The sombre face mask he puts on in this role makes you believe the character he plays and the emotions he portrays. A few minutes into meeting his character Steve and you start to get a feel of the person. The film world can rest assured we will be getting more excellent performances from this actor.

The plot in this film is average if you are expecting a complicated storyline with lots of twists and turns. Although there are a few twists in the film, there are always clues hinted in the film that sheds light on what happens next. However, that does not stop this film being a great action flick

RED or Retired, Extremely Dangerous, is the tag given to Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), a retired Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) black ops operative who spends most of his days chatting on the phone with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). However, that changes when his former employers try to have him eliminated.

This film is probably a better version of 'The Expendables'. All the main characters are retired and no further use to the agency except for Sarah who has become an unwilling (at first) party.

The best character in the film is Marvin (John Malkovich) who is paranoid but seems to be right about his paranoia more than half the time. Together with Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Victoria (Helen Mirren), a former MI6 agent and Ivan Simanov (Brian Cox) a Russian agent; the team set out to find the reason for the sudden hit on Moses.

RED, once again, shows us that class and experience never dies.

This film is a tragic Turkish love story set in Germany. Cahit and Sibel are two lonely souls trying to find an escape who incidentally meet at a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide.

Cahit, having lost the love of his life is lost and thinking that he has nothing else to live for, he is constantly drinking and one night drives his car into a brick wall. Sibel is a young woman imprisoned by tradition and family. In her attempts to free herself from their prison, tries to take her own life.

In a bid to remove her family's (especially her father and brother) stronghold over her, she coerces Cahit to marry her. The marriage is a convenience where they both see each other as roommates and pretend to be a couple when Sibel's family are around. However when they begin to know each other better, they start to fall in love, and that's when the trouble begins.

The film begins with a band of Turkish folk singers singing what I can only assume is a love song. The band appears several times during the film and set the mood for the coming chapters.

This film is a tragic love story that has so many twists and turns and does not have a Hollywood ending. However, the photography is superb and the storyline is very touching.

Miss March is the tale of Eugene who has a freak accident on his prom night and ends up in a coma for 4 years. Upon awakening, he finds out that much has changed and his once virginal high school sweetheart, Cindi is now in the centerfold of the March edition of Playboy magazine.

Eugene and his best friend Tucker set out to win back Cindi but get into all sorts of hilarious situations along the way.

This film, although comedic, is an uplifting tale of finding true love in the most unlikely place or people. Now, I must warn you that there are graphic images and there is a moderate use of profanity that may shock or upset you in this film.

Comic characters are making a major comeback especially in the film industry. We have the Man of Steel, Superman; Batman; The Incredible Hulk; Green Lantern and now The Losers.

Adapted from DC Comics/Vertigo series created by Andy Diggle, Jensen (Comms & Tech specialist), Pooch (Transpo & Heavy Weps specialist), Cougar (Long-range Elimination specialist), Roque (Demo & Tactical specialist) and Clay (Operational Control) are a CIA special black ops team sent to Bolivia to eliminate a drug and arms dealer. However, the mission goes south when the person, who sent them, Max, tries to have them eliminated.

This movie is a feel good action comedy which has so many similarities to the A-Team. If you've seen the A-Team, then you know what I'm talking about. The almost impossible escapes from certain death situations and of course the love-hate relationship the characters have for each other. But unlike the A-Team where you don't see any blood, The Losers has minimal bloodshed and big bangs.

Following the traditional plot, the team then tries to find the elusive Max with the help of a mysterious young woman.

For the action buff, this is a great flick to watch with your mates over a few beers.

Although, the title indicates a supernatural theme, the plot is actually a mystery. Five strangers: a mechanic (Logan Marshall-Green), and old woman (Jenny O'Hara), a guard (Bokeem Woodbine), a young woman (Bojana Novakovic) and a salesman (Geoffrey Arend) are trapped in an elevator and under very suspicious circumstances, one by one they die. Those that remain start speculating each other as the possible culprit.

Then there is Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) investigating a suicide (we are told in the beginning of the film that "it begins with a suicide"). The trail leads him to the very building that the Devil is preparing to take his souls.

The film has all the classic M. Night Shyamalan style of storytelling. If you've seen the "6th Sense" which starred Bruce Willis then you know what I'm talking about. He teases you with the mystery until the very end by which everything becomes clear. In the same manner, the people trapped in the elevator have "sinned" and have no idea that the Devil is among them. The only person that seems to catch on quick is a security guard watching via CCTV(probably the one narrating).

The detective suspects that one of people stuck in the elevator could be a killer so he starts to investigate every individual. As his investigation progresses, we begin to get a glimpse into the lives of these strangers and the things that they have done. Unlike, most traditional film making, there is only a flashback to the last survivor's 'sin'. All the others are revealed as dialogue between the characters.

And true to Shyamalan style, the ending has a happy twist. Much like "The Happening", this film sees a bright side at the end of all the tragedy.

If you are a Shyamalan fan or just love supernatural mysteries, then this film is a must.

This Thai film tells the story of a young boy named Jan whose mother dies in childbirth. The boy's 'father' seems to hold a very strong hatred for the child and does not pass an opportunity to mistreat him. As he becomes of age, he starts to learn about life and sexuality. His view of sex becomes more like a sport. And as he continues his life he starts to become more and more like the person he despises the most – his 'father'.

This film is told as a narrative and explores the customs, taboos and traditions that many societies bare. As we get deeper into the film, we begin to understand the pressures Jan is faced with and consequences of his actions.

In the end as he begins to understand his origins, we also understand why his 'father' hates him so much and why his aunt Waad seems to love him as he were her own.

Overall, this film is a dark melodrama filled with high sexual tension, depravity and moral decay and is definitely not for the conservative and religious zealots.

Freshman Year is the third installment of the very funny and very popular Van Wilder and is directed by Harvey Glazer. It is the prequel to the original series, Party Liaison, and stars Jonathan Bennet as Wilder, Kurt Fuller as Dean Reardon and Kristin Cavallari as Kaitlin; Wilder's love interest. The movie revolves around Coolidge College campus.

Wilder just having graduated from high school follows the family tradition and attends Coolidge. Upon arrival he discovers that his father's fun loving school is not longer what it used to be. The institution has become militarized by Dean Reardon who seems to hate the Wilder's and makes Van a target.

Van's attempt to party seems to go wrong as the institute has become chastised and all manner of earthly pleasures are considered a sin. His first attempt leads him to the Daughters in Christs' Kingdom (D.I.C.K) having misguided by the acronyms. However, Van fights back with a 'God works in mysterious ways' prank.

Reardon suspects Van of being behind the prank but cannot prove it. As a result he forces Van to join the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) he commands and orders his 'dogs', Lieutenant Dirk Arnold (Steve Talley) and Corporal Benedict (Nic Nac) to crack Van. Van responds with his own brand of outrageously comedic revenge.

For those seeking originality, you will be disappointed. This installment follows the first two in quirky detail. The joke and punch lines is basically a carbon copy of its predecessors. And you may also note the use of high tech gadgets that were unavailable in the first installment, notably the iPhone.

Overall, this is great movie to hang out with friends and have a laugh.

Everybody's favorite bad guy from Undisputed II returns. Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins) is a disgraced, disabled former champion prison fighter, having had his right leg broken by George 'Iceman' Chambers (Michael Jai White) in a Russian prison.

Boyka learns of an international prison tournament (SPC) and enters to regain his honor and prove himself as the 'most complete fighter'.

Adkins once again animates the character with his energetic, acrobatic martial art stunts. But this time the role of the character is just more of a fighter. Boyka (Adkins) has learned a lot in his defeat and humiliation – what it means to be a true champion.

After Life explores the beliefs about the soul and what happens to it after we die.

The film is about Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci), a school teacher who supposedly dies in a traffic accident. She wakes up and finds herself in a mortuary with the undertaker, Elliott Deacon (Liam Neeson), talking to her, explaining that she is dead.

However, as time goes on, it becomes evident that not everything is what it seems. Deacon always locks the doors as if afraid that she may escape and every attempt she has made to communicate with her boyfriend, Paul Coleman (Justin Long) is disrupted by Deacon.

Is Anna really dead? Or does the undertaker have a more sinister plan for keeping her?

The film keeps you in suspense and guessing until the very end.