Review: Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas is a story about the Santa family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with a personal mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.



The movie started off with Santa, together with his son (Steve) and the elves, sending gifts to all the kids with their technological-advanced spaceship, gadgets and tools. They're like on a top-secret mission.



There were several funny and witty scenes here and there - but possibly funnier for the young audience.



Arthur was a trouble-maker turned hero as he went on a personal mission to deliver a gift that was overlooked earlier. He, together with Grandsanta, set off with the conventional sleigh but had to faced quite a number of obstacles - the wrong location, to start with. Even the local authorities thought they're aliens from outer space.

Nevertheless, as expected, it all ended well and every one was proud of Arthur.

Overall, the movie is definitely catered for children and kids. It could be funny but for the adults - it's neither funny nor exciting. My personal thought that it's just usual trouble, trouble and trouble before everything is fine.

Noobie Rating: 4/10 (Only suitable for kids)

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Review: Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots is about the adorable but tricky Puss in Boots trying to clear his name from all charges - which made him a wanted fugitive.



While trying to steal magic beans from the infamous criminals Jack and Jill, the hero crosses paths with his female match, Kitty Softpaws, who leads Puss to his old friend, but now enemy, Humpty Dumpty.



Memories of friendship and betrayal by Humpty were refreshed, but he eventually agrees to help get the magic beans. Together, the three plan to steal the beans, get to the Giant's castle, nab the golden goose, and clear Puss' name.



Little did Puss know, they were just using him for his skill to steal the baby goose that lays golden eggs. But along the way, Puss and Kitty sort of fall of each other.



Puss eventually found out about the conspiracy, the mother of the goose came for the rescue, Humpty sacrificed himself, peace came back and Puss kept running as a fugitive. The end.

Overall, it has an interesting story line with a twist of fairy tale characters. Despite the 'Zorro' themed (probably the similarity due to Antonio Banderas' voice), it has a uniqueness of its own.

Salma Hayek's character, Kitty Softpaws, and Zach Galifianakis' character, Humpty Dumpty, provided further insight and flashback to the life of Puss and the story of him growing up in his hometown.

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Watch it if there's no other better movies)

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Review: In Time

In Time lies in a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth.



Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.

In the movie, every newborn will have a time system on their arm. Once they turn 25, the time starts ticking and by the time it ends, the person would eventually die.



However, like any ordinary world we're living in currently, the powerful people gets the most advantage. They have the most time, which is also used as a monetary system to purchase things. Hence, the rich has the most time.

Time zones segregates people from different time values. The more time you have, the better time zone you're at - while the more unfortunate people live in further time zones.

Once Will Salas got all the time he needed, he went straight to the prime time zone where all the rich people are at. He met Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), who eventually became an unlikely partner for his objective of sharing the wealth to everyone.



However, Will didn't blend in well with the rich. He was tracked down, his excessive time was confiscated by the Time Keeper and he eventually went back to his own time zone. But he didn't go back alone, he had Sylvia with him. Initially as a hostage, Sylvia then turned into an alliance.



Will demanded for extra time to be credited to a local back in his time zone from Sylvia's father. But he didn't fulfill the demand and therefore caused Sylvia into a state of disbelief because she thought her father would.

Therefore, they started time robbing from banks.



The robbing went on till the last minute of the show. The Time Keeper tried to neutralize them but always fail.

Overall, the concept of portraying time as an important value in life is interesting. It shows that time is valuable and with time, there is power as well. The more time you have, the more you could you - but the way you manage the time is subjective and it's up to the person's own judgement.

Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried played their characters very well, with much emotions and relation to the story line. There isn't much action, unless you enjoy bank robbery scenes. The movie is ultimately about one man's dream of sharing the time with others - probably the Robin Hood of the future?

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Watchable, like the concept)

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Review: Real Steel

Real Steel is set in the near future where robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling man feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who has strong interest in robot fighting too.



In the beginning, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) aims to win money with scrap robots but every time he goes on a fight, his robot loses - therefore owing his opponents more and more debts.



He bough a new robot from Japan (or China, whichever) named Noisy Boy. It's one of the top robots in the fighting league. Charlie took it to battle in an underground stage with the ultimate Midas for a high stake but eventually lost too because he didn't practice enough with Noisy Boy.

Together with his reunited son, Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo), they went to a junkyard in search for replacement parts for their broken Noisy Boy. Max slipped off a cliff and was saved by a hook - which he then discovered an old robot.



Max salvaged the robot, which they then realize that it was used as a abandoned sparring robot used back then. Named Atom, Max quickly fell in love with it and claim ownership of it.



Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly) is Charlie's love interest who helped and supported him most of the time. She's sort of Charlie's mechanic to repair and fix robots.



Charlie and Max then started bringing Atom to small fights which they won due to father-son teamwork and continuous practice sessions by Max. Max groomed Atom into a true robot fighter while Charlie taught it to box.



With Atom's ability to shadow movements, it became more famous when Max dances together with it whenever they enter a match.

With such fame, they eventually got selected to the Worldwide Robot Boxing (WRB). The battle ensued and they won Twin Cities, a robot with 2 heads. They then proceed to the final match with Zeus, the ultimate robot fighter, which they somehow manage to sustain till the very end.

Overall, the movie was great. Despite started off pretty slowly, it turned out to be engaging and with lots of robot fighting actions. Real Steel also feature an emotional side where it involves a father-son relationship between Charlie and Max.

Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo played their characters well and it was emotionally touching to see how their relationship developed together with Atom. It's breathtaking and at the same time tiring to watch Real Steel. The suspense was brilliant, my heart kept beating in excitement! Amazing robot CGI.

The robot fights in the boxing ring felt so real that you'll feel like cheering as though you're watching a real live boxing match. It definitely captive the hearts of the audience. Fantastic movie!

IMHO, it's way better than Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.

Noobie Rating: 8/10 (Must watch!)

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Review: Fright Night (2011)

Fright Night 2011 is a remake of the 1985 original, featuring teenager Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his battle against new neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell) - a vampire.



Jerry the vampire is responsible for a string of recent deaths. One by one went missing, including his best friend, Ed, who knew that Jerry is a vampire but Charley wouldn't believe initially.



When no one he knows believes him, Charley looked for Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a self proclaimed vampire killer and Las Vegas magician, to help him take down Jerry.



Together with his hot sexy girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots), Charley went on a mission to annihilate the vampire. Vincent chickened out at first, but later on decided to help out.



But as Charley became braver and more daring, Jerry was left with no choice but to hunt him as well. Since vampires couldn't enter a house without being invited, he literally set Charley's house on fire to get him out.



Charley, together with Amy and his mum managed to escape in their car. But Jerry wasn't far behind as he was driving behind them as well.



The car chase came to a halt on a road out of nowhere and Charley started to use his anti-vampire tools to kill Jerry, but he couldn't. Jerry was so much stronger. However, he managed to hurt Jerry so badly that they were able to escape again and fled to the nearby city.

Later on, Amy was Jerry's victim too. But after a combination with Vincent, both of them (equipped with weapons and tools) stormed into Jerry's territory and managed to kill him. All those victims who have turned into a vampire transformed back into human after Jerry was dead. Happy ending. The end.

Overall, it was an interesting movie. According to sources, the original Fright Night was scarier than this remake but since it's released and distributed by Disney, it must have customized and rewritten to suit a general audience. Kids could actually watch it too, I think. There aren't much horror and trill in the plot.

The story line is predictable, a minor number of suspenses. Colin Farrell is sizzling macho, there are some sense of humor, and a modern setting with references such as eBay.

Oh yeah, it's definitely better than the Twilight saga.

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Not bad for a vampire movie)

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Review: Johnny English Reborn

Johnny English Reborn is about Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) returning to the role of the accidental secret agent who apparently doesn't know fear or danger.



In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7's top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia - possibly at Tibet or China.



But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier's life, they must hunt down the people responsible. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7.



With mere days until a heads of state conference, Johnny English must use every trick in his playbook. For him, disaster may be an option, but failure never is.

Discussions where held to completely stop the Vortex team for assassinating their next target - the leader of China during a private conference discussion with the British Prime Minister.

As usual, comedic Johnny English made common silly mistakes while his sidekick Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) tried to discover the truth about a double-agent within MI-7 itself, which was Simon Ambrose (Dominic West). Unfazed by Tucker's attempt and accusation of Ambrose, English eventually committed the biggest mistake by trusting Ambrose and handing over the Vortex key to him.

Together with Kate Sumner (Rosamund Pike), both of them managed to discover the real truth and tried to stop Ambrose from being successful with his evil plans.



As the plot unravel, Vortex is actually a liquid drug which is used for mind controlling of its victim, which can only be controlled by Ambrose's voice of commands. MI-7 Agent Pamela Thornton (Gillian Anderson) was supposed to be the victim to assassinate the China leader but English drank the spiked drink.

Eventually English was under Ambrose's control and Ambrose commanded him to kill. But with his internal will and strength (and also recalling what his Chinese master has preached), he managed to fight the poison and prevent himself from killing anyone. He died for a while, a predicted outcome after drinking the drug. But with a kiss by Kate Sumner, he eventually became alive and gain consciousness.

In the end, Ambrose was killed by English and it's more or less the end.

Overall, Johnny English Reborn is just another action comedy show. Rowan Atkinson's talent in acting dumb is probably the main attraction of the movie, as he's already well-known as another character - Mr. Bean. The storyline is predictable, and despite being a spy movie - it's just an average movie.

There was no suspense and the bad guys are so easily to be identified. It's just a matter of time before silly Johnny English realizes it. On and off, there were funny scenes - laughable, mainly on silly actions.

If there's any consolation to the movie, it would be the appearance of beautiful Kate Sumner. She's professionally hot and elegant in a way. However, didn't expect her to fall in love with a bloke like English though.

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Watch for the laughter)

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Review: Final Destination 5

In Final Destination 5 the survivors of a suspension-bridge collapse learn there's no way they can cheat Death.



Another thriller by the Final Destination series, it promises that death has never been closer.

At the beginning, the usual story begin. A group of colleagues are on a trip to somewhere (can't remember), and Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto) has a vision, or premonition, that his colleagues and himself are about to die in a horrific accident.

Once waking up from the "dream", he started to get nervous and got a few people out earlier, the vision came true and they're safe and sound.



But that wouldn't last long, the remaining survives get mysteriously killed one by one. First, starting with Candice Hooper (Ellen Wroe) who died in a freak accident while she was practicing her moves at the gymnasium.



This first death has a lot of suspense scenes. The fan's wire were exposed and water dripping down from a ventilation fan above. But she didn't die from electrocution.

Then, one of the screws from the ventilation fan cover was loose and fell directly on the gym equipment when Candice was making her moves on it. Thought she would step on it and somehow die, but no. She didn't.



With so much suspense in this scene, I know she's gonna die soon - but just can't figure it out. And in the end, while she was practicing on the bar, another gymnast accidentally stepped on the screw, fell from the equipment, knocked on the flour pot, the fan blew it towards Candice, she couldn't see anything and she swung directly toward the ground, broke her back and died in an awkward position.

That was how crazy it was.

The next death scene involving Isaac (P.J. Byrne) dying in a Chinese massage outlet.



He eventually died because of the needles, fire and the Buddha statue fell and knocked his head.

Then another death scene worth mentioning is the lasik surgery scene with sexy Olivia Castle (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). Midway through the preparation of the surgery, with her head properly placed under the laser, the doctor had to leave because he was given the wrong figures that should be entered into the machine.



So the doctor left, some water cup spilled onto a power socket, the electric circuit went problematic, the machine got triggered to a high measurement (or some sort) and laser beams were shot directly onto her helpless eyeball. Even her hand got lasered when she tried to block the laser.

Sam reached in time and Olivia was still alive as she managed to escaped from the machine. But unfortunately she tripped off the glass window and fell directly onto a car outside the building. Her other eyeball got popped out onto the road, and a car drove over and smashed it.

Well other than that, the other death scenes were predictable. The death scene with Sam and Molly Harper (Emma Bell), his girlfriend who actually survived the whole ordeal, is related to Final Destination 1 - where the airplane exploded in the air after take off.

Sam and Molly was actually one of the passengers in the plane when he witness a few people arguing. According to the stewardess, the group were misbehaving because one of them saw a premonition that the plane will explode. And since Sam isn't the one having it, he eventually experienced the whole explosion. Molly was sucked out from the plane.

Nathan (Arlen Escarpeta) who thought he survived everything, eventually died too when a part of the plan came smashing into the bar he was in. The end.

Overall, it was gory, but not as gory as the previous Final Destination series. Why? It's because there were lack of interaction with heavy machines. In the previous shows, there were lifts, car engines, bullet guns, roller coaster, escalators and what not. For Final Destination 5, the worse is just a huge iron hook.

Noobing Rating: 5/10 (Watch for the gory fun)

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Review: The Smurfs (2011)

The Smurfs is about the tiny blur Smurfs who were chased out of their village by the evil wizard Gargamel. They then tumble from their magical world and into ours by smacking dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.



Being happy all the time, the colony of Smurfs was living happily - that's until Clumsy started the whole problem. By leading evil witch master Gargamel to their secret home portal, the Smurfs were forced to evade and run away.



However, thanks to Clumsy again, he ran the wrong pathway and got some of them over to the big city of New York. Gargamel eventually followed with his loyal expressive cat and continued his pursue to gain a Smurf particle for his magic potion.



Gargamel, played by Hank Azaria, is pretty evil and at the same time, funny and silly. Despite being the villain of the movie, Gargamel possesses a funny character that brings laughter to the audience with his hilarious characteristics and actions.



Lost in the big city and being so tiny, they eventually stumble upon an average couple - Patrick and Grace Winslow. Patrick didn't like the presence of the Smurfs as he thinks they're such annoyance with their stubbornness and happy song. But he changed his mind later on.



Grace, played by Jayma Mays from Glee, on the other hand was loving her new found tiny blue friends, especially with Smurfette. She took care of them, even making Patrick believe that they bring good luck - which could be true in some sense.

Clumsy's carelessness is actually a blessing in disguise for Patrick Winslow's marketing career. His boss is very proud of his work.



As usual in a fantasy cartoon movie, the villain almost got his way but eventually got defeated. Plain predictable cartoon story line, very easy to be understood and comprehend.

Overall, the movie was just a mediocre one for the adults while the kids would think that it's really entertaining. I thought it was childish at the start, but then enjoyed the rest of the movie.

One couldn't expect much from it. It isn't mind-boggling, nothing spectacular and the graphics were just fine. It's always best to watch the 3D version with animations but I didn't. Wasn't willing to spend the extra money on some kiddy animation.

The Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays combination is a good one. Both looking suitable as a loving couple with blue annoying "kids" bugging them all the time. Hank Azaria excelled well with his Gargamel character. The movie was funny at certain parts. Certainly a light-hearted show suitable for all ages, but if you're not a fan of such animation, you should just give The Smurfs a pass.

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Watch is just for fun)

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Review: Captain America The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger is based on the Marvel Comics character from World War II. A brave and young soldier named Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), volunteers to undergo a series of experiments for a US army Super Soldier program.



The military succeeds in transforming him into a human weapon, but quickly decide that their Super Soldier is far too expensive a creation to risk in combat. So, they decide to put him to use as an army celebrity and parade him across Europe to boost morale.

He is even given a costume that bear the colors of Old Glory for the stage. Then, when a Nazi plot reveals itself Rogers must rise up and and become the First Avenger, in order to save his country.

Steve Rogers becomes Captain America and he earns his way into the hearts and souls of every American, bringing hope and justice to the nation. Later, during a mission to Germany to stop his archenemy, The Red Skull, Captain America sacrifices himself and winds up frozen in ice - only to be discovered 6 decades later.



The movie started off well, with skinny Steve Rogers wanting to be part of the army but often ignored due to his size and lack of physique. After an experiment conducted by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) he transformed into a super solider - stunning bigger body and abs to be obvious.



The evolution of the story line was good - one pace at a time, especially when Rogers became an army celebrity. Bet no one expected that, he could have been a hero right away instead.

With the assistance of Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Iron Man Tony Stark's dad, Rogers finally became a true American hero - called Captain America.



Agent Carter was inspirational to Captain America and eventually they had feelings for each other. She's beautiful, spirited and sexy to a certain extent, I guess.



The best scene has to be the part when Rogers decided be a hero himself by saving his comrades from the clutches of Red Skull's army. He literally sneaked into the fort and released all the captives. The freed American soldiers then fought back and eventually came back to base - with Steve Rogers (Captain America) leading the group.

By proving his worth, he began leading soldiers into enemy lines, led by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), also known as the Red Skull.



Despite being action-packed and entertaining, the plot was pretty mediocre and predictable. Red Skull lost (unfortunately not killed, just sucked into some portal) and Captain America finally saved the day, by being frozen though.

Chris Evans is definitely the main attraction of the movie - with amazing body and his charming looks. Definitely a good character choice for the leading hero role.

By the way, remember to stay back until the credit ends. There's an Easter egg of scenes from the upcoming The Avengers movie in 2012. Possible characters to appear - Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor, The Hulk, Loki (from Thor) and many more!

Noobie Rating: 6/10 (Watch for the fun of it)

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Review: Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens is about Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) who lost his memory and has a mysterious shackle on his wrist. The people of Absolution don't like strangers and nobody makes a move unless ordered by Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).



Absolution is about to experience fear as the city is attacked by aliens from the sky. With breathtaking velocity and blinding lights, the aliens abduct the helpless ones.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As he slowly starts to remember, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he gathers a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation.

United against a common enemy, they prepare for an epic showdown for survival - Cowboys versus Aliens!



Well, being directed by Jon Favreau (the man that directs Iron Man), Cowboys & Aliens is totally a disappointment, a total let down. Daniel Craig is possibly the only reason why people would consider watching the movie.

Being grumpy and mysterious, Daniel suits the character of Jake Lonergan.



Colonel Dolarhyde, played by Harrison Ford, is just a supporting character that doesn't mean much to the movie. Just another grumpy man who wants to save his petty son who was abducted by the alien.



Ella, by Olivia Wilde, is also another supporting actor that her sole purpose is to be a weakling, saved by Jake, die and revive, get naked, reveal herself as an alien taking the form of a human (but why a WOMAN is the first place?) and eventually perished together with the other aliens.

She seemed desperate to get into bed with Jake at the beginning of the movie. Who knows she's another alien trying to help him.



The movie started off well. Pretty much a suspense and the audience would be eager to find out why and where this flying alien ships come from. The aliens abducted some villagers (the only exciting scene throughout the movie) and the rest of the movie towards the very end is just... plain boring.

The group of people moved towards the alien base. Met some people along the way, dialogues and conversations, fights, it rained and some alien appeared, a few men died and finally they discovered the base.



Since the alien was actually living off gold, I guess it's an amusing thing. Towards the end, the cowboys and aliens fought and while it appear that many men were killed by the alien troops during the fight - there were still many men standing at the end of the show. Another amusing point.

The alien spaceship was destroyed when Ella scarified herself with some bomb detonated by the shackle worn by Jake. Typical sacrificial "I don't want this to happen to your world" ending. *thumbs down*

Noobie Rating: 4/10 (Don't bother watching it)

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