friendios Reviews

Sunny et l'éléphant (2008)

This movie is horrible, do not waste your time

[3/10 · 14 July 2016]

MINOR SPOILERS, not like it matters anyways

I saw this at the 2016 Thailand Film Festival, and so I'll be reviewing this movie from a Thai moviegoer's perspective.

There are two main problems why this movie is not worth your time: the dialogue and the way Thailand is portrayed.

The movie choosing to make characters speak English is really distracting. Not only does it not make real-life sense because poor elephant herders aren't good at English, it doesn't make sense within the movie's own realm either. The daughter and father character, coming from the same region, has different accent of English. The dialogue itself feels like predictable movie dialogue and not how real people speak; for example, "We're not going to accept your money because we love our elephants!" when realistically folks will just say "Nah thanks mate" and walk off. And the two main villain with their silly fatness and bowl hair cut, HA!

The way Thailand is portrayed, in my opinion, is not realistic either. Yes, people do believe in spirits; however, not in the form of "master's spirit comedically comes back to train apprentice for karma points and whines about alcohol". Yes, there are companies using elephants for tourism; however, not in the form of "stereotypical evil corporation's silly fat guy has infinite money and persistence for just one elephant". Many more in accuracies about Thailand.

If you really hate good movies and want inaccuracies about Thailand, at least the second Hangover movie is occasionally funny. Three stars are for the film crew's money and my country's economy.

Police Story: Lockdown (2013)

Wasted potential... could've gotten a Fincher treatment, instead backs out

[31 July 2014]

Starting good, the pros: good writing, good acting, good direction, good character, good action. There is nothing really wrong with this movie(except for a few times where the shaky cam is just too much).

However, it could've turn into an exceptionally amazing film, but the director/writer/producers/studios played safe on the ending. All this movie, the dark, gritty tone and the characters, builds up to the final showdown(gunshot on the train-track). It made me feel the same feeling(kudos to the director and writer) as I did with Se7en's showdown: the moral conflict within the character. Could've gone Se7en's route and leave an emotional impact on the viewer by killing off Chan's character, but they instead backs away, and instead gave us a minor fight and a happy ending.

What a wasted opportunity.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Nothing short of brilliant

[3 July 2014]

Before I start, I watched this without any clue whatsoever about the plot or story-line. the only two things I saw related was the poster and that Kevin got an Oscar for his role.

It was brilliant. Everything about it was top-notch. Writing keeps you in the dark most of the time, making the ending even more worthy of the wait. Acting is overall very fine; everyone played their part out convincingly.

Did I see THE twist coming? Yes(of course, why else would Kev get an Oscar, for simply narrating the story?). Does it make the movie any less better? No. I think what makes it stand out for me, even when I know who the true villain is is the direction. It's fast-paced and tense; tight close-ups everywhere. Keeps the audience from catching a breath. No time to recall on previous spoilers, because all the time the movie gave us is already used to think along and solve the puzzle.

Overall, brilliant writing combined with tight direction keeps this movie mysterious and worthy of its ending.

The Protector 2 (2013)

Fun flick, nothing more... also, horrible 3D conversion.

[25 October 2013]

First off, your eyes will BLEED if you watch this in 3D, and man, I know I am good with 3D. I've been through The Hobbit, Gravity, The Wolverine, and other 3D movies, and I'm fine with all of them and enjoyed them more with 3D.

For the record, I'm a Thai, so I have a chance to see it in cinema in Thailand(of course in 3D). At the time I'm writing, it's the opening week and it's doing great.

Now to the movie.

It's a fun movie that has good action, whatever script, occasionally confusing storyline(but who cares, you come for the action), good acting, and excellent stunts. The action scenes are great for what they're worth, and are fun if you plug out the logic processor in your head.

The only problem I have with it(other than the 3D) is when the story took itself too seriously and the plot starts to get complicated. At one point an action is going on, and the plot is in the same time complicating itself, and I'm like "what the heck is this". My point is, the plot is confusing and complicated when it shouldn't be and might pull you out.

Overall, good action way too much plot.

Rating: 7/10

Meridian (2012)

A good fun

[11 August 2013]

This is a three part short by Joe Penna, in other name MysteryGuitarMan. He commonly makes music covers with his friends using cool techniques, but this is not too much out of his league, and most definitely doesn't fail to deliver.

The plot is not a point to complain at; it's complex and thought- provoking enough for a short film. The production value is great; if you watch MGM's videos regularly you will know that his production value is never a problem. The script is not great, just good, as well as the acting.

The only thing I have problem with is the climax, the one between the main character and the old guy in the museum. I think it's a little too short. That's it.

Overall, solid short and is a good fun.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

I do not approve this a good Disney animated film, never in a thousand years

[29 July 2013]

When I see a Disney animated I look for 3 things, just 3 simple things, the original songs, the humor, and the theme. I think that this movie failed miserably at all of these.

First, the songs. They're not original, as most of them tried to be something that has happen in other Disney's classics already. For example in Quasimodo's love song, I can hear the chemistry - the beat sort of - from Be Our Guest running. The songs aren't original.

Second, the humor. The only gags are slapstick and not even the good kind. Their humor is cheap, just lots of guys getting hit in the balls. The best of all the humor is probably the 3 stone stooges, which is no where near its past, like Lumiere and co.

Last, the theme. Disney movies are supposed to have a simple and just purely good theme. Let's say Beauty and the Beast's redemption from evil, or Pocahontas's love can overcome anything, this movie is no where match. The theme is what, religion and hellfire. I call that bullsh-t.

In summary, this is no where near anything Disney has ever done and is terrible at being a Disney family everyone loved.

The Expendables (2010)

Bullets, Explosions, Old Dudes, and Camera Shake: The Movie

[20 July 2013]

I think my title explains enough already, if it is not, then here is the extended edition.

This guy Stallone plays goes to this island with his 4 friends to take down an army of evil people. That's all for the plot. And let's face it here - nobody gives a s--- about the plot.

Now for the action, there's lots of bullets, explosions, old dudes, and camera shake. It's all cheesy and stupid, but it's fun. The guns make no sense, but it's really fun; in the very end Stallone has two handguns, kill four(I think) dudes with big guns. The explosions are satisfying; the things they have exploded are worth the watch, all the cars, the longs line of gas, the helicopter, the obviously CG house. The old dudes still got it, they kill like crazy. The camera shakes, however, is quite a letdown to this explosion-fest; you can't really make much out of anything.

But all and all, I liked it; it was a nice joyride and extremely satisfying.

Spiders (2013)

It's a dumb and bland movie, and you are warned.

[10 July 2013]

First, it's dumb, because of everything. The mom and the daughter are the screaming idiots in the movie. The dad is the invincible hero. The general is the arrogant plot-device. The spiders aren't even actual spiders, they're some ancient revived monster thing. The soldiers are stupid, doing nothing with guns and torpedoes.

Second, it's bland. For a stupid movie like this, the nothing is bad in quality. The plot wasn't bad, the script wasn't too awful, the production wasn't terrible, the effects were quite good actually; the thing is, everything are on a normal scale nothing gets me excited. It was boring because all are generic and so bland. So that's my second complaint.

The thing I wanted to compliment on is the effects. DANG! They are the real gem in an ocean. In a long time a stupid, low budget thing would even have ANYTHING AT ALL outstanding, but this one, the effects are. Kudos to all who worked for such little money and still nails the effects right.

Overall, it's a dumb movie, but if you have absolutely nothing to do and you want to see some good effects in a pool of stupid crappy movies, see this one.

Mulan II (2004 Video)

No where near first

[1 July 2013]

I'm too lazy to explain too much on this:

Pro:

1. It's more of your favorite characters. Seriously, if you watch this, it means that you like Mulan so much you want more of her content. You have it.

Cons:

1. The animation is way cheaper. I don't know how, but you can tell.

2. The songs are even worst, from the already bad amount of songs in the original.

3. It's rarely funny, and that's why I really liked the first one - they're funny.

4. Making a likable character a douchebag is a really ballsy move, and it failed here. Shouldn't have made Mushu the bad guy, should've been the under-developed Mongols instead.

5. The themes are far worse. The last one teaches them to believe in themselves and make sacrifices. This one teaches to break your words and be rebellious. There's a fine line between believing in yourself and being rebellious, and this one perfectly crossed it.

6. Voice acting isn't as good. Mulan is drier, Mushu is less comical and excited.

7. The ending, too easy.

Never the less, I got what I asked for, that is more of my lovely Mulan, and I have it. I'm quite happy now. Also for the fact that there's no more sequels.

Odd Thomas (2013)

All blends pretty good

[30 June 2013]

I just finished watching this movie, and I say, it's pretty good. It's a great blend of thriller, heist, crime, dark comedy, and romance. It's got a bit of everything. The plot was unexpected, but in a good way. I had first expected this movie to an action fest, but what I got was a really great think-along plot, which is a nice surprise. The only downside to this is probably the inconsistent pacing and a bit of bad dialogue.

This movie is about a guy named Odd Thomas. He sees ghost and helps them. He sees an apocalypse coming and tries to save the town, using clues he finds along the way.

Everything in this piece is great. The chases will make you be on the edge of your seat. The totally dumb jokes will make you chuckle. The romance(especially the ending part, it might emotionally kill) will be you feel so warm and good. The couple's chemistry is golden.

The plot is real great. {soft spoiler} Many amazing twists on the revelation on the cult group's member, although I guessed one of the dudes in there right. :D

The only downside to this thing is probably the inconsistent pacing. It gets fast in town, then slows down in the creepy house, then fastens up again. It doesn't confuse me, but a more consistent one would be a hella better. Some randomly bad lines of dialogue, but no big deal.

Summary: Great story and blend, but inconsistently paced.

Mulan (1998)

Nailed it perfectly - well, not counting the music

[26 June 2013]

Disney nailed it this time, just perfect on my scale.

Before proceeding, I'm an Asian and totally understand the stupidity of some parts of Chinese culture.

They had me cracking up for all those references to Chinese stuff and show so much that "THIS ALL ARE Chinese". All the honor, family, woman below man, dumplings, dragons, crickets - so much to talk about. I didn't mean that it was racist or anything, but it was so clear to me that it unintentionally had me laughing.

The only - only - down point to this movie is the music. Disney commonly have at least 2 or 3 good music is their musical. Even The Little Mermaid, a story about a teenage mermaid falling for a guy approximately 10 (TEN RIGHT!) years older than her, has 2 good music! This movie has only one, Reflections. They had to work harder on that department.

Overall, this thing had me cracking up the whole damn time and it was great.

Upstream Color (2013)

Confused but very full in my mind

[23 June 2013]

I find it to be very dream-like. After the movie ended, I felt very confused, but still content with what he gave. Kudos to him on that.

Now, this is what I understand about the movie, just throwing it out there:

-The Sampler is a controller and observer to all, just the matter of subconsciously or not. -The pigs are the way he control and observe some specific people. -The songs are the way he interacts with the people. -The worms are like his controllers, like Wii to Wiimote; used it to link the people with the pigs that are nearer to him -The Thief is subconsciously controlled and observed by him; thinks he beats the Sampler by harvesting the worms' good but simply a tool to spread the Sampler's control. -The Couple is just a narrative of one of the people under the Sampler's control. -The orchards are a way that the Sampler's subconscious control leaked for people to see.

First, it was the music that get the Couple to realize the controls, that's why they go to music shop and trail their ways into the Sampler. Then it was the book that got people under control to come together, since the Thief subconsciously used the same book on all of the people he spread the worm to. And that is I think how they all realize and come together to kill the Sampler. Afterwards, the Thief is scared because the worms are not there anymore; he can't harvest the goods off the Sampler. The Orchard collector is not as scared as the Thief, since they are now free.

I think this is how it went. You can link it to religion if you want.

Beijing Blues (2012)

Another view on China's "immoral cops"

[15 June 2013]

Before continuing, I am not a Chinese, I inform as a foreigner watching a foreign film.

From an outsider's point of view, China is just a place where pickpockets and just bad people do crimes for everyday life and the police could never try to get rid of them. Also, cops are lazy and they just blackmail commoners everywhere.

In conclusion, this film gave a new perspective on being a cop, of how it's just not going lazy everyday but to fight not only the outside's negatives, but the inside's negatives too.

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SPOILERS SECTION IS BELOW, READ BELOW ONLY AFTER YOU'VE FINISHED THE FILM!!!!!!!!

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SPOILERS!!!!!!!

This film gave us a new perspective of the police force just doing their jobs, and how tiring they were, catching these people that would redo their crimes again and again. There's one point in the movie where the main character just says that he's tired and he felt sad because he took in negative energy again and again and it never end.

Another new perspective is the morality of his job. There's another point into the story where the Gold-digger guy says that he's going to rob and give away money to the little kid, and the main cop just smashed his phone to the ground. It's fair for the cop. He's protecting the law and this guy is just trying to get rid of him. If he get the Gold- digger, the people won't respect him since he is trying to stop the guy from giving the kid money. On the other hand, if he did not catch Gold- digger, he's not doing his job, therefore not qualifying as a cop. It's the fights inside him that makes you think and feel for the cop.

Sync (III) (2012)

You get what you pay for. As said, it exceeds expectations in every way.

[10/10 · 11 June 2013]

Acting: Suburb, every lines are believable. All the stunts and the actions are amazing. All seem legit.

Plot: Complex, or at least better than most of the summer movies out there. It kind of fall straight to hell in the last episode. It shouldn't be that open-ended kind in my opinion, but a big action-packed feast.

Action: Big part here. The opening act was great, just lots of guns and blowing up stuff. The rest were so so, then it got to the end action that was great. Overall a big plus on this one.

VFX/SFX: All great. The effects were believable. The sounds are great, they were real and give you lots of bumps into your chest. The tracks are great too, got along with the scenes real good.

Overall, 10/10, considering I paid only time on this. :)

iSteve (2013)

The poster said it will be f*cking stupid, and it is f*cking stupid.

[9/10 · 28 April 2013]

What I hate about movies these days are that they cannot live up to what they commercialized. Die Hard 5, Oblivion's plot, or Movie 43. This movie's poster is totally dumb and goofy, so is the movie.

I got what I expected. Just things that are goofy as hell and off-the-top stupid. I had the best laughs in a long time with this movie. The fight scene was just completely stupid, with Bill and Steve T-Rex slapping at each other. The sex scene blew my mind, I did not expect it to happen, and when it did, it's not even sexy or anything, it's just so goofy and dumb it's hilarious.

Overall, I got what I want from it, and it cost me nothing but time, so i rate it a 9/10.

Movie 43 (2013)

Expecting awful, got even more.

[2/10 · 27 April 2013]

I've heard review of it before going in. People said it was really bad, possibly the worst of this year. I went in because on the good cast and living the history of seeing theatre "the worst movie of the year".

Basically, if it's not your type, it sucks. In a sketch, they give you one joke, then slaps you with one more of the same tone, then one more, then one more. If you don't get one, you'll hate the rest. And basically saying, most of their jokes sucks. The only reason I gave it a 2 stars is because I liked blue humor, and the basketball it a 5 minutes job of it pretty well. Then again, I paid to see an hour and a half, and got only 5 minutes of goodness, which is pretty dumb. I didn't walk out because of that, and if I have had torrented it, I probably delete it in the first 5 minutes of the movie.

To summarized, it sucks; if their jokes don't hit, the movie doesn't, and most of them don't.

One Piece Film Z (2012)

Disappointing 1 and a half hour of fan-service...

[4/10 · 27 April 2013]

This film is super disappointing, due to many reasons.

First, what makes One Piece a good series? Basically, all the characters has a heart and a good backstory to it, and it makes you rooting for them. This film has the opposite, the villain's motivation is bad, and his backstory is trying too hard to be complex. It is not, and it falls flat.

Second, too many random stuff are happening, basically just to please the fans here and there. You want Nami boobs shot, you got it. You want a really crazy villain, you got it. You want the cute, young Nami, you got it. You want Robin's lap dancing in her teens, you got it. You want Luffy kicking-ass with some black, strong arms, you got it.

To summarized why it's bad, the writing is bad. The characters doesn't have a heart to it, and too many random stuff are happening. Also, as I haven't mention above, the plot is trying too hard to be complicated and mysterious; it just confuses the audience. Like, seriously, Kuzan just suddenly be there, just to give an exposition the Marines already did? That's pretty pointless. I don't know if you'll have to be a fan and understand the series well enough to understand this, but for a not-so- big fan like me, going as simply just a moviegoer, this film has too many nonsensical random stuff that just baffle me.

All and all, this film doesn't have what One Piece need for even the basics, and it deserve a 4 stars.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Charming and very relatable...

[10/10 · 8 April 2013]

No Spoilers can be given, so I will try to write the most vaguely possible.

There's this island, where two pair - Sam and Suzy - are entangled in a deep trouble related to all in this island.

First thing's first, the characters are relatable, since these two characters are very near to me, because my little brother has the same brain problem, and I can imagine him talking those lines back and forth to himself, making these two seem more real. I'm not saying that the other characters aren't charming, they equally are.

Second, acting. I would like to compliment the girl Suzy the most, since people with that kind of problem, as I know my little brother, will talk back very directly and their actions would be directly from their heart(the beach) without any second thoughts, and she delivers that well. Also, you have to keep total straight face when you talk, and she did that well too. The other guy is a no-brainer, Bruce Willis. Just having him in a character with authority saying those lines makes the movie a thousand times more legit.

Lastly, how it came out. I don't know if you can feel it, but between this couple there is a kind of a charm that stays with them, the way they talk and how much trust and honesty for each other. Also the cinematography made the whole movie looked like children's storybook, which adds up to that charm. Also, it felt weird through the whole movie, but it was made so good it's just the right amount of weird to be really funny.

Overall, this is not the greatest cinematic achievement or anything, but it is a very much worth of your time and I really recommend people watching it.

Sound of My Voice (2011)

An investigation that will forever change their lives - and yours.

[10/10 · 30 March 2013]

This movie is really good, and I say is, because it IS still good and not WAS good.

The plot line could be confusing for some people, but remember, it's not for everyone, but when it's for you, it delivers. Nearly everything was open ended and could be hilariously fun debate, it makes you think. I like it and it delivers to me.

The acting was amazing. Everyone was very convincing and amazingly played their part, especially Brit Marling, when she said a line like: I just from the future, not God. It hits me.

The editing was really fast paced and tense throughout the movie, not a moment to catch your breath. The overalls are awesome, considering it being made on a shoestring budget.

This is SO much better than Brit's last movie, Another Earth, since the last one did not deliver to me and this one did, I think she improved a whole lot.

In the end, this movie is amazing and I look forward to seeing more Brit in the future.