Review - Flat 3A

Flat 3A tells the story of Fiqah (Intan Ladyana), a factory worker who is pregnant. Anas (Adey Shafrien), the boyfriend, forces Fiqah to undergo abortion. After that, Fiqah is overwhelmed by guilt and remorse that she moved to another flat with her friend Ratna (Shasha).

Unknown to her, the house she's moving in was the base of a black magic shaman, Kang Suman (Zaidi Omar) and people there suspected Kang Suman was responsible for the disappearance of a little girl named Fatin.

Fiqah is then haunted by a little girl in the house, who she says looks like Fatin. But Ratna dismisses her claims because Fiqah is still traumatised.

Meanwhile, Fatin's mom (Kathy Azean) and uncle, Wahyu, who is an exorcist, carry on searching for her.

Yet another horror movie... this one's from Azhari Mohd Zain, who brought us Santau and Mantra. Flat 3A's slightly different from the other two, but still kinda the same... especially the whole shaman/bomoh theme... guess he really can't run away from those elements...

For me, this was an entertaining movie... not too scary, but it has its moments... unfortunately, the whole experience was marred by the storytelling... although I loved that the story had layers and it was told separately but was united at the end by one common thread... but there were things that did not work...

For example... Fiqah... where did she fit into all this... it was just too coincidental for her involvement in this... why was she haunted by Fatin? Why doesn't Fatin just haunt someone else into solving the mystery of her disappearance? Why did she show up at her mom's place that night and not the nights before? And why doesn't the people around the flat do something about her and Kang Suman's disappearance? Plus, dead body? Would've reeked right? The entire flat would've smelled like, well, rotting flesh...

Anyway, even after all that, I still liked this movie... mostly because how every character and storylines eventually link to one another... it's like an onion, multilayered and delicious... hehe...

Acting-wise... not too bad... I've never really liked Intan Ladyana coz she was not too good an actress plus her voice is a bit too shrill... but she was not bad in this movie... suited her... Ery Zukhairi and Adey Shafrien looked like they could be twins or brothers... faces are too similar... they did not do a bad job but kinda stiff in a couple of scenes...

All in all, enjoyable... not too bad...

Review - Cun!

Maya Karin. One of the best working actresses we have today. So when my colleague said that there was a preview/premiere for a movie called Cun!, I was not really into it. But when he said it was Maya Karin, I jumped at the chance to go see it.

I am so glad I did. No, I did not get to meet Maya or any of the other stars of the movie. But I did spot some of them (Farid Kamil, Fimie Don, Kartina Aziz, Lisa Surihani etc) while seated in the cinema hall. The reason I am glad... is because the movie was a nice distraction and of course, I got to meet and chat with one of the most famous blogger in KL... I am not worthy... ahahha...

Anyway, so Cun! tells the story of Luna Latisya (Maya Karin), the host of a trashy tabloid gossip TV show, getting her comeuppance when she caught her actor boyfriend cheating on her. She packed up her life and went away to the countryside to lick her wounds. There she meets Atan (Remy Ishak), a simple kampung boy who is the complete opposite of her world in KL. Meanwhile, her TV show crew plots to get her back in the spotlight...

Story-wise, it's a simple romantic comedy plot... but this one is peppered with strongly written characters, or at least, interesting characters... supporting characters anyway... even the buffalo plays an integral role... and the funny are quite spontaneous and kinda not scripted, for the most part... so that is always a pleasant plus... and for a lighthearted comedy, it tugs on your heartstrings really powerfully too...

As usual, Maya Karin is a delight to watch... haven't really seen much of Remy Ishak movies before this, but I guess I am gonna have to start coz he was quite good here... comic timing and all... the supporting cast was also good... especially Ning Baizura, who is deliciously over the top as the Cruella-inspired producer... ordinarily, I would've been turned off by the characterization but Ning makes it work... you're supposed to find her annoyingly bitchy... hehe...

Okay, now for the not so good stuff... the movie is of course predictable... even before watching, you know that they're gonna fall in love... guess the happy ending is what counts... wish they'd try a different approach for once... like Jennifer Aniston's The Break Up... they did not end up together, and the movie left it all up to the imagination... which of course we know they'd hook up later...

And why must a few scenes in the movie be so loud? Everybody's screaming at once or talking at once... and there was quite a handful of scenes like this... gets annoying...

Other than that, it was a lovely experience, especially after the disappointing showing the previous night...

Reviews

These past couple of weeks have been eventful for me... was sooooo busy with stuff that I did not really have a chance to catch a movie... I think the last one I saw was either I Am Number Four or Sini Ada Hantu... both of which I had yet to write a review...

Then comes this week... it's been two days in, well, two and a half, and I've been to two previews/premieres... three counting the one tonite... So will work on getting the reviews out some time this week...

I was fortunate enough to be invited... okay, okay, I tagged along with my colleague who was invited... the first one, on Monday was Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, at Cineleisure... the second was was Cun!, at Times Square... tonite, Anu Dalam Botol at The Gardens... or is it Dalam Botol now...

Anyway, will be dedicating tomorrow to finish up scripts for work and also this blog's reviews...

And for those who follow American Idol, the song set for the Top 13 has been leaked...

http://www.rickey.org/?p=59830

Review - Going the Distance

I haven't even heard of this movie until an ex-colleague of mine asked me to accompany her for a sneak preview. Boy, it was soooo sneaky that there were only a handful of people in the cinema hall. Like 10 people... which was good coz we were seated so far away that we could sit comfortably... hehehe...

Anyways, I have always liked Drew Barrymore so I thought why not... plus, Justin Long and Barrymore have been the talk of the town in regards to their relationship... whether it's on or it's off...

Either way, this movie is a romantic comedy about two people who met and got it on famously... but the problem is the girl's leaving to the other side of the country.

It's a nice enough movie. The two leads have excellent chemistry together and the acting was not too bad.

Drew Barrymore's forte is lightweight comedies so she's pretty good here. Justin Long is also good as the guy who has to deal with the long distance relationship. He sidestepped his normal roles AKA quirky and annoying and made the guy somewhat likeable. The scene when he had to make a difficult decision was kinda heartbreaking. Proves how good he actually is...

They're supported by a few interesting and hilarious characters. Guess that's the norm when it comes to quirky romantic comedies. The wacky sidekicks.

Christina Applegate is especially hilarious and the tough as nails and no nonsense older sister. She's excelling in this kind of role, especially after carving out a name for herself in Samantha Who? and her Emmy winning scene stealing role as Rachel's sister on FRIENDS.

Watching Movies

Over the long New Year's weekend, I caught a couple of movies. I know, I know, holidays equals many people. We went to catch the movies at MBO in Galaxy, Taman Dagang.


The first movie we saw was Did You Hear About The Morgans?, featuring a very type-casted Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker.




I did not really wanna watch this movie. Mostly because of Sarah Jessica Parker. I liked her before Sex & The City. She was in Hocus Pocus, one of my fave movies... :)



I have not seen Sex & The City. But I have this aversion for all the S&TC girls... I dunno why... I just don't get them... Kristin Davis was in Will & Grace and Friends but I don't get her. She was in Couples Retreat and I did not get her... sigh...

Anyway, I am glad I decided to go and watch The Morgans coz it's quite a good movie. Fish out of water stuff but not like the rest. The witty banter is enjoyable. I think it's due to the chemistry between SJP and Hugh and of course the script. The Sarah Palin joke had me laughing out loud.

SJP and Hugh Grant got ample support from Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliott as the deputies in charge of putting up with them...

Next, and when I say next, I mean, the same night... we saw The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus or as I like to call it, Parnasium...

As most of you would know, this is the late Heath Ledger's final movie. This fact alone was reason enough to go catch the movie.


The first time we saw him in the movie, he was hanging by neck on a noose. Chills...


Terry Gilliam, who made 12 Monkeys, is the director. The movie also stars Christopher Plummer and Verne Troyer.

Again, as you may have known, Heath passed away before he could complete the movie so the movie had to be tweaked and his role was finished by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

The movie itself is a bit trippy and weird but not in a bad way... in its own way, it's a movie about the eternal battle of good and evil...




After the weekend, I was at Times Square and had some time so I decided to watch Cirque De Freak (in English meaning Circus of Freaks, I think). This is the third movie in a row I've watched that I haven't at least read up on. Going in blindly worked quite well for The Morgans and Parnasium.


It worked well for this movie as well. I really enjoyed this movie. I hope there would be a part two in the works.


Cirque De Freak is about Darren Shan, a boy who volunteered to be a vampire to save his best friend.


CDF has plenty of star power and awards calibre actors, except for the lead, he's not really been in that many movies.

For example, we have Oscar nominees John C Reilly (Chicago), Salma Hayek (Frida), Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) and Willem Dafoe (Shadow of the Vampire)... then Emmy nominee, Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) and finally, Josh Hutcherson, who is all grown up now and was in Journey to the Center of the Earth and Zathura.

Movie-wise, it's a cross between drama and comedy, with some action and supernatural stuff thrown about. Quite nice.

All in all, this was a good way to start out the movie-watching year... :)

Watching Movies

Yesterday, I went to Times Square (and braved the KL jam) to catch Zombieland... which was good, according to the ticket guy at GSC...

And he was right... it was a rockin' good time! They did not really bother explaining the cause of the zombie plague... the movie just dove straight into the story...

It was told from the point of view of Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a nerdy, thin guy who had survived the zombies by sticking to his rules and on his way back to his home town, hoping that his family was still alive.

Along the way, he met Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a crazy guy who loves killing zombies way too much and two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) who is still conning, even after humans are almost extinct. The two girls are heading to Pacific Playland in California, supposedly clear of the zombie threat.


That's basically the story. There's no searching for cure or survivors. Or trying to find someone with the key to ending the zombie menace. Nothing like that at all. Just four people trying to survive and heading to California. And killing zombies getting in the way.

This movie reminded me of a lot of monster movies such as:

Planet Terror,

28 Days Later (and 28 Weeks Later)

and of course, the Resident Evil films...

and definitely not this film...

But more closely resembles Planet Terror than the rest because Planet Terror has a dark comedic influence to it. However, Zombieland is a lot more comedic than Planet Terror.

Overall, it's a fun ride and the actors are quite good. Woody Harrelson has always been a joy to watch, ever since Cheers. Jesse Eisenberg plays nerdy to perfection, as evident in Cursed. Abigail Breslin is of course an Oscar nominee for Little Miss Sunshine. Emma Stone is good as well but I can't for the life of me, think of her other movies. She looks like Mila Kunis though, in Max Payne.

Anyway, Zombieland is a good movie to watch to relax, unwind and laugh... on a side note, the censorship is not too bad with this movie... sometimes, a couple of 'F' words go through... :)

Tonite... watching The Storm Warriors at Pavilion...