Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Definitely a game worth watching.

Sherlock Holmes (Robert D Jr) returns for another adventure- against his fiercest and in par nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with his loyal sidekick, Dr Watson (Jude Law). In the collision between two great minds, there are possibilities of collateral damages, and this itself makes the movie more thrilling on top of its crime busting, mystery solving forte.

The movie begins rather choppy but when it reaches the high gear, it is exhilarating. There are many scenes which pulled me to the edge of my seat. The train action scene is one to be reckoned with- i suppose train scenes are now favourites for high octane acts. While Watson heads to his honeymoon, little did he know he had fallen into a trap set by Prof Moriarty. Fortunately for him, Holmes followed him, in disguise- and you will laugh here, to rescue him and his newly-wed wife. Another scene that wow-ed me is when Holmes and his team are escaping through the forest. This movie absolutely has pitch perfect timing, especially for its slow-mo added with incredible sound effect. You can see the bullets flying across the screen, the men running and chasing. Lots of gunshots, lots of explosions.

With Robert D Jr playing Holmes, there are hilarious scenes- right until the last moment, he will tickle your heart with his creativity and perfect use of punctuation. It is nice to see when the bromance magic between Holmes and Watson returns in the second half of the movie, after his wife is thrown overboard to safer grounds. Knowing how strong a team they are together, Holmes and Watson complements each other, and watching them tells the importance of understand others' brilliance, skills and talents like in the movie: Watson's medical viewpoints, and Holmes' time management and peculiar behaviour.

Whether you need to think in this movie, i can tell you it is not as much as a thinking game like Inception. The plot is masterfully crafted, straight-forward paced that is enough to keep you engaged from start to finish.

Year: 2011

My rating: 7.7/10

Genre: Adventure, action, crime

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

As the title suggests, i was prepared to join Tintin in a ride of adventure.

Voiced by Jamie Bell as Tintin, he bought a model ship which hid clues that ultimately forced him into a feud between two families (Haddock voiced by Andy S and Sakharine voiced by Daniel C) in search for the hidden treasure. Tintin with his adorable pet Snowy, investigated the mystery surrounding them, deciphering the clues along the way and met Haddock after his kidnap by Sakharine. They escaped and raced against time and Sakharine to retrieve all three pieces of the puzzle. In the start, it felt like an animated Sherlock Holmes with Snowy playing Watson. When they boarded the ship, it felt like Narnia 3: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and when Haddock recalled the story his grandfather told him, the scenes pictured that of Pirates of the Carribean. Not that it wasn't good or original, but just that the scenes felt familiar.

I thoroughly enjoyed the graphic and visual of the movie. The faces of the characters looked so real i had to remind myself that it was an animation. One of my favourite scenes in the movie was when Tintin and his gang were in Morocco and they were running away, at the same time snatching the scrolls, from Sakharine's men and bird. It flowed well with fast-paced action and humour. Another scene that captured my attention was the fight between Haddock and Sakharine using cranes. It was intense yet entertaining to watch.

How could an animation movie like this go wrong? It doesn't. It is a progressive story with mystery intertwined that blends well action with adventure, humour with intensity. Good visual and adorable characters. I was dumbfounded that Tintin was not a kid and what i thought to be a childish movie had the characters holding guns. I was wrong, but i was, to say the least, pleased. The adventures of Tintin gets a green light!

Year: 2011
My rating: 7.4/10
Genre: Animation, adventure, action, mystery
You'll like this if you like: Sherlock Holmes, Up, Narnia.

Celda 211 (Spanish, Cell 211)

This movie likens that of a gemstone- raw, real, unique, crafty and incomparable. I watched this movie, my first Spanish movie in cinema, with English subtitles and frankly, i was impressed. Though now the only regret i have is not mastering the language before the show. If only i could pay more attention to the movie instead of the translated words running at the bottom.

This is a story of a prison guard, Juan Oliver (played by Alberto A) who decided to go to work one day before he actually begins to 'make an impression'. What awaits him later is a riot, which forced him to be locked in Cell 211 after suffering an injury to his head. He knows the only way to live is to be one of them, and so he acted as an inmate. But until when can he keep it to himself? He has to make peace with the rest of the inmates and gain the trust of their 'leader' Malamadre (played by Luis Tosar) as they take hostage of high profile, terrorist-prisoners. He later learns an ugly news of his pregnant wife outside prison and his life is never the same again.

This movie plays around the humanity of man and how corruption and distrust can affect a man's freedom and ultimately, his life. There were moments in the show. Obviously, the prison riot. The police riot scene later was well delivered straight to its core, which led to the falling domino pieces in the movie. The turning point of Juan's character was when he received the news about his wife. Fine acting by all the cast with amazing characterization, awesome cinematography and directing at every scene!

The development of the plot is great, at points where it creates suspense left me on the edge of my seat. The blossoming relationship between Juan and Malamadre is well crafted, and believable- that i don't see in many other movies these days. It felt like Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Walking out the cinema, i was left to ponder at many questions with respect to the show. Why was Juan left in Cell 211 at the first place? As if a curse is cast to the cell. It will be interesting to watch the Hollywood remake of the movie in two years time and i hope it does remain to its authenticity. Definitely award-worthy, it accentuates prison drama at its best- pulling heartstrings despite its violence and vulgar language.

My cinematic experience has truly broadened. And i am sure yours will too after watching this movie.

Year: 2009
My rating: 8.4/10
Genre: Drama, Action
You'll like this if you like: Prison drama movies.

Enchanted

The first time i watched this movie, i did not enjoy it. The reason: bad quality (hence poor movie experience). I heard it was good but because of my mistake, i did not like it as much as the others did. That was then. Until the television showed this movie and i was all in to watch it again, in better quality, and smiled after watching. Lesson learned.

The movie begins with Prince Edward meeting Giselle in a fantasy world, Andalasia, and proposes to marry her. However, his evil stepmother tricked Giselle- as she does not want Prince Edward to marry Giselle and take her throne, into a well which connects to our world, in New York. Unlike her fantasy world, Giselle tries to find her way back to Andalasia to return to the arms of her, then, true love. She meets Robert and soon learns the real meaning of love. In a 'boom' ending, since this is a fairy tale, expect an all's well closure.

The cast of the movie is great. Amy Adams has the ideal princess look. The development of the story is well- intertwined with comedy and music. The score and soundtrack is good listen too. The costume is stunning- especially Giselle's. In short, nothing could go wrong with this movie if one looks for an escape into a true fairy tale type story- and if you believe in happy endings!

My rating: 7.5 / 10

Year: 2007

Genre: Fantasy, adventure, family

You'll like this if you like: Any Disney fairy tales

The Three Musketeers

Before i dive into my review of the movie, allow me to bring you, in a gist, through the summary of the story.

The first thing that comes to mind of 'The Three Musketeers' is the three musketeers- Athos, Porthos and Aramis. We know them for their threesome companionship. We know about their glory days, serving their country. In their last quest, Athos gets blindsided by the love of his life, and the three musketeers sort of lost interest, hope and faith in themselves. Then comes d'Artagnan, a child of another musketeer, who meets the three musketeers in a very scheduled manner, boost their long lost spirit of a musketeer and the three becomes four. A quest to save the French from going into war in the Europe is thrown to them. Romance ensues. Trust is put to the question. Bam, bam, bam, the movie ends oh-so well.

Now to the review. Firstly, watching through this movie, i felt it was very much like a crossover between Pirates of the Carribean and Zorro. The settings. The ships. The acting. No doubt, this movie boasts great cast (Matthew M as Athos, Luke Evans as Aramis, Ray S as Porthos, Milla J as Milady, Orlando B as Duke of Buckingham, Logan L as d'Artagnan). Orlando's role as the Duke felt like Captain Jack Sparrow in POTC, only less drunk. It's nice to see Milla out from her high-octane roles; nevertheless her character performs dangerous moves as a many-faced villain. The three musketeers are definitely fun to watch.

Next, the fencing scenes are exciting, especially when d'Artagnan meets the three musketeers and the four of them are forced to fight against the guards because of his reckless action. The storyline is rather predictable. The climax is short and leaves not much impact. The good part is, to me, when they plan for their quest. Then, it just fall flat. No twist except for the moment before the credit is rolled.

The Three Musketeer is not that bad, and not that extraordinary either. But it does make me want to be in that era- to be a musketeer, with their fancy swords, too. It is comical, which is a good reason why you might want to watch this. Or if you are a fan of the three musketeers. Truthfully, i did not know what the three musketeers are other than the fact that there are three of them. It is a good introduction. Otherwise, you might want to give this a pass.

My rating: 6.7/10

Year: 2011

Genre: Adventure, action, romance

You'll like this if you like: Pirates of the Carribean franchise, the Zorro franchise, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

A Walk To Remember

My rating: 7.9 / 10

Year: 2002

Genre: Love, family, drama

You'll like this if you like: The Notebook, PS I Love You

Sanctum

My rating: 6.9 / 10
Year: 2011
Genre: Action, drama, adventure