Sunny's Diary

Dark Shadows (2012) - Based on the 1970s soap opera TV series with the same name, this dark comedy is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as a 200-year-old vampire named Barnabas Collins who is the main character of the story about revenge and redemption of family’s business. The film has a great setting, however, the script and the storyline fells flat. I think that Tim Burton tries his best to deliver the film with great cinematography to the audience. Similarly, Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast deliver a good performance but that could not make up to the poor storyline. May be I have my expectation for this film too high and it turns out to be not that great. There are some enjoyable moments here and there but all in all nothing of spectacular nature.

Safe (2011) - This is another action film starring Jason Statham. The setting is in New York City and the story has to do with corrupted cops and the deal with Chinese triads and Russian mafia that involved a 12-year-old Chinese girl. The action is as enjoyable and exciting as it could be however the plot is so chaotic and the storyline is so unreasonable that it discounts the action itself. Nevertheless, if you enjoy the action, you may overlook the stupid script and enjoy the film as it is…

Mongol (2007) - This is a fictional historical film about the rise to the power of the great Genghis Khan of Mongolia. The film was co-produced, co-written and directed by Russian-American film maker, Sergei Bodrov. Although the story-telling is not well transitioned between each important historical events that the film wants to portray, the film as a whole is enjoyable to watch. The cinematography is wonderful with a number of breathtakingly beautiful scenes as the backdrop of the story of fighting and survival of the young Temüjin, who later came to be known as Genghis Khan. The fighting sequence is gruesomely real. On a side note, the film was nominated for the Oscars in 2007 for Best Foreign Language Film as a submission from Kazakhstan.

The Raven (2012) - This thriller film tells a fictional story of Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American writer and poet, who have to pursue a serial killer whose murders imitate the stories he wrote. John Cusack takes the leading role of Edgar Allan Poe. The plot as well as the script is painstakingly boring. The film tries to be scary but it falls flat by showing just gruesome murder scenes that is not new at all. The acting is stiff and painful to watch. It is sad that the story of American great poet is not used at its full potential. 

The Avengers (2012) - This superhero film is one of the most anticipated film of 2012 as it has been built up from the previous superhero film in Marvel Comics Universe. It is an assemble of the superheroes by Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., which includes Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction. The film is as enjoyable and as exciting as it could be. The plot accommodates all the star-studded cast members and brings out a good (and bad) chemistry among the superheroes. The special effects are top-notch - the destruction of New York City in the final battle is epic. Even though the script is unreasonable and seems to cram everything into the coherent storyline, it serves the purpose of the film to entertain the audiences as it should be. All in all, it is the first blockbuster of 2012 and it lives up to the expectation.

Chimpanzee (2012) - This nature documentary film tells a story of a young orphan chimpanzee who is amazingly adopted by another adult chimpanzee as his own child. The cinematography of the film is breathtakingly beautiful, especially the shots of the forest. The story is incredible even though it seems to me that the film incorporates too much musical background as well as the forceful scripted narration (by Tim Allen) to stimulate the emotion. All in all, it is an enjoyable documentary that is worth seeing for the scenery alone.

Coriolanus (2011) - This film is an adaptation of the tragedy play with the same name written by the famous William Shakespeare. Ralph Fiennes produced, directed and starred in the film as the lead character “Coriolanus” - a Roman soldier who is banished from the city and decided to join the enemy to destroy the city he used to fight for. The film uses modern day setting and warfare but still keeps most of Shakespeare’s dialogues. It seems to be innovative at first but the situation turned out to be awkward and absurd when the characters decided to ditch the gun and used knives in a close combat - just to be faithful to Shakespeare’s original play. Well, if that’s the case, I think it’s better to use the original setting instead of the modern day interpretation. All characters seem to deliver over-the-top performance that looks ridiculous rather than serious as they should be.

The Lady (2011) - This is an biography film about “Aung San Suu Kyi” - the Noble Peace Prize winner and the lady who fights for democracy in Burma (known as Myanmar today) for more than 20 years, directed by Luc Besson and starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her late husband. The plot equally focuses on the political career of Suu Kyi as well as her love towards her family and the struggle to balance family and politics under the backdrop of Burmese military regime. Even though it has a good intention, the story fell flat. The only good thing in the film is the acting of Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis - all other supporting characters are either too rigid or seem to be miscast.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) - This British clay stop-motion animation (in 3-D) is based on the series of book by Gideon Defoe called The Pirates! The main plot is taken from the story of The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists and The Pirates! in an Adventure with Whaling. The story is fun and enjoyable for both kids and adults. The clay animation is beautifully choreographed. Even though there are some boring parts, all in all it is a pleasant film to watch (but the 3-D effect wears off after the first few minutes…)

Happy Together (1997) - This critically acclaimed Chinese film is directed by the famous Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai. The film stars Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as a Hong Kong gay couple with on-again off-again relationship who stuck in Argentina after their plan to visit Iguazu waterfalls fell apart. The film won the best director at Cannes Film Festival in 1977 for Wong Kar-wai. The film can easily be categorized as art-house movie as the story and its narrative is vague and unclear with swift editing. The cinematography of the film seems to fit perfectly with the mood of the characters and the story - it is not pleasantly beautiful but it is charmingly suitable with the film. The choice of musical soundtrack is perfect and I really enjoyed the covered version of the song “Happy Together” (which is taken to be the official English title of the film) toward the end of the movie.

Me and you and you and me
No matter how they tossed the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you and you for me
So happy together

The Five-Year Engagement (2012) - Produced, written and directed by Nicholas Stoller (the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and its spin-off/sequel Get Him to the Greek), this romantic comedy tells a story of a couple whose relationship is put to the test as their engagement has been continuously extended. The film stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as the main couple. The plot is predictable and it seems to drag the story too long. However, there are numerous funny moments here and there that keep the film from being a total boredom. All in all, it is enjoyable to watch if you don’t mind sitting through more than two hours for an hour worth of comedy.

Intouchables (2011) - This feel-good drama comedy French movie has been a box-office phenomenon in its home country which does not surprise me at all after I had a chance to watch it myself. The film tells a simple yet elegant story of human connection between a wealthy disabled man and his unlikely personal carer which is based on a true story. The plot is predictable but the script is well-written and provides a number of enjoyable moments along the way. The performance of the lead actors is fantastic. This is certainly a beautiful and entertaining movie.

Lockout (2012) - A science-fiction action film set in the future where the maximum security prison is an orbital space station, the film is co-written by Luc Besson and the two directors of the film, James Mather and Stephen St. Leger. The setting is promising but the story-line is cheesy and predictable. There are full of loop-holes and stupid characters in the plot. The action is exciting but it is none that we haven’t seen before. Anyway, the audiences get what they want to see - full of actions and nothing else.

North by Northwest (1959) - This classic thriller film is directed by the renowned director Alfred Hitchcock. It is a story of a man who is pursued from New York to Chicago to Mount Rushmore by secret agents of unknown organization because of a mistaken identity. The plot is still fresh and the movie is still exciting after more than 50 years of its original release date. The credit should go to the screen writer Ernest Lehman and the director Alfred Hitchcock who crafted and portrayed such an intelligent script and lead character that we all can root for.

P.S. The chasing scene on top of Mount Rushmore toward the end of the film was remarkably well-done and it makes me wanted to visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial myself.

The Lucky One (2012) - Adapted from the novel written by the famous American author Nicholas Sparks, this film stars Zac Efron as a U.S. soldier who credited a photograph of a girl he found on a battlefield in Iraq as a lucky charm that kept him alive. The storyline is as predictable as it could be. The screenplay is super-cheesy. This is the film that stays true to its genre and follows the exact formula for “romantic chic flick”. In fact, it is not bad if you come in the theater and know what to expect. The scenery and the location in the film looks so beautiful and it is much easier to the eyes than the acting of the actors in the film.