Ghost Rider 2 - A far cry from the first

Yes, that is official. The movie is much worse than the first installment. We had much hope and hype when we saw the trailer, and could not wait to go to the cinema to catch it, but all that we felt after the movie was disappointment.

Nicolas Page is back again to revive the franchise, after the initial success, but he seems to have lost his golden touch, after several unsuccessful movies recently. Earlier was Season of the Witch, and now this movie. We love him, but if he continues down this path, sooner or later we will need to think twice before seeing his new movies.

Compared with the first movie, the only plus point is the graphics. There were more flames, more explosions, more fights and more skull displays, and the CGI was more real and on a grander scale, probably thanks to a bigger budget. However, that was the end of it. Nothing else to save the movie from becoming a total failure. The story was weak, the details scarce, the acting mediocre, and the chemistry between the characters cannot be looser.

The movie continued with Johnny Blaze, still struggling with the wrath of the power of the Ghost Rider. Unable to let go of it entirely, he sought solace in the confinement of a church in the middle of nowhere, but then got persuaded to use his power again to thwart the plan of the Devil to come back to power and eternity, and save a boy, whose future was destined to be doom because of a stupid mistake made by his mother during her young and wild days. He managed to achieve that, and in the process, found a whole new meaning of his existence, and the power inside him. He was transformed and became the angel of justice. The boy lived, his mother lived, a lot died. Enough said.

It's so disturbing to see Johnny struggling to control the power of the Ghost Rider. I remember that he was so cool by the end of the first movie. Of course, he struggled at first, during the first transformations, but he got back his control and composure, and seemed at ease with the change in the end, so I don't know why, after some time, he started struggling again. It was so irritating to see his half skin half skull head. It just was not right. We did not see Wolverine crying in pain every time he pushed out his claws. We did not see Jacob crying in pain or acting insanely every time he transformed into wolf. No, we are not prepared for that. Not with the cool Nic Cage.

There was a new actor for the role of the Devil as well, a more modern version of the Devil. He looked scarier and more distorted than the first, with his red eye and his crumbled face, but the old man looked more menacing. I prefer seeing him in long black cloak, wielding a staff and looking emotionless. That image exudes more fear, as it give no hint of what he has inside his cloak, or what he can do with his staff. The new guy looks weaker, especially with his involuntary magical movements and his shaky hands. Seriously, this is no opponent to the scary looking Ghost Rider. Not even close.

The introduction of the new antagonist, Blackout, was a feeble effort to make the movie more interesting and gave Ghost Rider a run for his money. However, the new guy was nothing compared to Black Heart, the Devil's Son, to whom Ghost Rider almost lost, and only won by a moment of wit and a stupid mistake made by that guy himself. This guy seemed scary and devastating at first, with his ability to make everything decay. He could even make the air disappear, which might help to quench the fire of the Ghost Rider. We expected that to happen, but it did not. He could not do much harm to Johnny, and he was quickly subdued. And the worst thing is, he still has a soul, albeit a decayed one, that could be burnt to ass. Too bad. There was one scene in which he could not decay the plastic bag. I thought it was a hint to something interesting, but in the end, it did not. What a waste.

There were a few moments of silly fun, such as the scene where the Ghost Rider peed in ghost form, but overall the movie was just bland. Nothing memorable.

In terms of acting, there was not much to say. Other than the soulful Cage, who could deliver with very little material, the rest of the casts need extra tuition for their acting. The boy was emotionless, stiff and dry, and his mother failed big time to deliver her lines and to express the right emotions for those lines. Maybe the reason was partly because she was Italian, and English was not her strength. When it came to showing fear and anxiety, the camera zoomed into her eyes, but there was no fear inside there. That was really irritating. I really prefer Eva Mendes, not because her acting was better, but at least because she had better assets, which was quite useful in this kind of movies with lots of men, flames, skull, explosions and fighting. The damsel in distress. You got me, right?

As usual, some more photos. I don't expect them to speak a thousand words. A few words are good enough.

Johnny's friend and companion

Do you have a soul to burn?

The fiery skull

Spitting out bullets and fire

On his familiar bike

The Devil is not very powerful after all

The soulful Nic. Cannot hate him still.

Angel or demon?

Another look at the Devil

This is how the Ghost Rider pees

The execution that almost happened

The Girl with the dragon tattoo – A movie that makes you want to go back to the book

It has been quite a while since we last saw a movie so good that we dropped by the book store after that to check out the book from which it was adapted. This movie is one of them. In fact, we even hunted for another version of it, to watch, compare and appreciate. And after watching both, we agreed that this version was better than the original adaption. It was edgier, darker and more emotional. Love it.

The movie traced the story of an investigation into a suspected murder case 40 years ago that was never confirmed or resolved. A renown investigation journalist teamed up with a freelance inspector to solve the case, staking his whole career on it, as the result of the case would either save him from his impending jail term, or make him sink further and shatter his whole career totally. The mysterious girl, on the other hand, joined the team for money and out of curiosity, about the mystery and about her teammate. The case was challenging as the traces had been cold after 40 years, and even more because the more they unearthed, the more dark secrets started surfacing, and it became much much bigger than a missing girl and a family conflict only. Moreover, the deeper they dug, the more dangers ensued and the higher the odds were staking against them.

The movie was thrilling and chilling till the end, as the story unfolded gradually, and the plot was nowhere near unpredictable. Of course, credits must be given to the writer, but the editors also did a good job adapting and making it a seamless flow. There have been too many bad adaptions of marvelous book so far (Eat, Pray, Love perhaps)

It was no surprise for me that Josie got nominated for an Oscar. She was much better than the girl in the Swedish version. She was stronger, more mysterious,more cruel, darker but also more real. She successfully portrayed the type of wicked girl who was determined, into the job, but still lived so wildly and natively I sometimes had a feeling she was more an animal with a smart brain who always followed her instincts and gut feeling, in life and in work, than a contemporary girl of the 21st century. She stood out of the crowd, yet fitted in perfectly. She was a computer genius. She was so rebellious, yet so loyal once you can win their trust. She could be a menace, but also a wonderful friend who would do everything for you if you need help. She might not be a good wife, but she surely is a great lover who loves and lives wildly, and if you are the lucky guy, be prepared, mentally and physically, for continuous sex, of course.

Starring opposite Josie is Daniel Craig. A smart choice. He did not talk much, but he was calm and composed, and he had the perfect look and composure of an inspector. He was not too old and haggard, like the Swedish guy, and his facial expressions were not too stiff. Of course, he was not the star of this movie, but he also contributed his part to making it a good film. Indeed.

The movie might not be a bigger Oscar winner, but it's good enough to watch more than once. There's quite a fair share of sex, but they are not the main focus of the movie, just an ingredient to make it more interesting.

Looking forward to the full DVD version or director's cut to come out, so that we can watch it and enjoy it again.

By the way, Josie is actually a very pretty girl, so kudos to the makeup team for transforming her and making her look so ugly. Hahaha.

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Location:Punggol Field,,Singapore

We bought a zoo, a light but heart warming movie

Recently, there has been quite an influx of movies about father love for his child, and trust me, they hardly go wrong. Earlier this year, we had a beautiful movie called Real Steel, and now comes We Bought A Zoo. Nice family movie, I must say, and perfect for a weekend evening for the whole family to chill together.

The story is based on a true story, and is quite simple, actually. It mainly revolved around the life of Benjamin Mee, a widowed father of two, and his struggle to let go of the past to pursue a better future, albeit a strange one: Owning, rebuilding and running a zoo, while taking care of his two little children. There were ups and downs along the way but everything turned out well in the end, and the zoo is still successful nowadays.

The plot is quite predictable, so the main attraction of the movie comes from the high profile of Matt Damon as Benjamin and Scarlett Johansson as the pretty young zookeeper. In this competition, I have to admit that Matt had the upper hand. He was soulful, emotional, and interpreted the script really well. We could really feel his pains when he saw his wife pass away in front of him, his frustration when there was no other way but to give up on the zoo, his great love for his children, his sadness when his son misunderstood him, and his utmost happiness and joy when things fell into place and the zoo was ready to open. He is a talented actor, and I don't know why he is still not a superstar yet.

Starring opposite Matt, Scarlet became inferior. Her face did not express much emotion, and neither did her voice. She was pretty, sexy and attractive. Nobody can deny that fact. But she will need to beef up her acting skills a lot if she wants to become a great actress and win some awards. Otherwise, she will be limited to those brawny action movies only, or worse, soon forgotten.

However, what I love most about this movie is not its star power, but the kids. They are small, but they are really awesome. They can act really well. The little girl is very cute and lovely, and her lines were perfectly delivered to fit her own age. It was like she did not act, she lived the role herself. I don't know whether she will be able to progress from child star to adult star, but her natural acting skill is really a gift that she should utilize in her future movies.

The actor who played the boy was also relatively new. I could not recall seeing him earlier. Yet he was quite good also. He managed to portray the image of the boy who felt left out, and lived in the shadow of the past and the guilt and pain of losing his mother truthfully and naturally. I could really connect with him, his feeling and the sufferings that he had to go through. That boy reminded me of the boy in Sixth Sense. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future as well.

Overall, this was a nice movie, not too overly done, but subtle and delicate. It will not win big, but it will not lose big either. And one last thing, the animals are really cute, so it may impulse you to visit the local zoo again later 😃

Some more photos after the jump:

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Punggol Field,,Singapore