Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) and his girlfriend was on holiday at a beach when a group of terrorists attacked. His girlfriend was killed and that triggered Mitch to train himself to be an assassin so that he could get revenge. 

If you read the synopsis above, you might think that this is a typical revenge story. Welp, it's not. The revenge part is just short. Then, the main character got sucked into a world of spies and CIA shit. I have to say, the revenge part, which is at the first 10 to 20 minutes of the film is very intriguing for me. The rest of the film?? Hmm... Not so much. To be honest, this movie is boring. 

The story is kinda ridiculous. A man who train himself to be an assassin is hired by the CIA to do some shit. Of course, when talking about CIA, then ought to be some secret program to train people into spies. The main character got thrown into that secret training program for, I don't know, maybe 2 days??? and then got permission to join a mission. Oh wow. 

The training scenes are hilarious. I did not mean it in a good way. It's unnecessary and it's just a poor excuse to introduce the main character to the Micheal Keaton's character - Stan Hurley, the secret program instructor. There's nothing cool about the training scenes. I thought it was going to be a tough program but nope. 

Furthermore, the pacing is slow. Characters spend too much time talking to each other about how people should not take this shit personal and only focus on the mission. For fuck's sake, there isn't even a love scene. You know, if a movie is bad, but there's a scene where the main characters make love for a few seconds, you would be thinking "Welp, at least the sex scene is good.". Nope, nope. This movie has no sex scene, no lovey dovey. There is a moment of tension between the main character and his female colleague and they were in a bathroom. But nope. He beat the shit out of her. Literally. 

In terms of acting, Dylan O'Brien did an okay job. I think the material he was given to work with is lacking something. The character lacks... conviction? Like he doesn't know whether he's a brat with a mouth or just an emo guy. 

The script also does not bring the best out of Micheal Keaton. Like, what a waste. Micheal kept talking and talking and talking, it bored the shit out of me. 

Apart from that, the action is meh. There are no over the top spy action shit. Just regular shooting and stabbing and brawling. The main character spends too much time fighting nobodies. For example, there's this scene where he breaks into an apartment and he takes so much time to kill one bodyguard. Like hell, kill him already!! The title of the movie suggests that this movie would be filled with cool assassinations. Hahahahahaha.... Nope. No assassinations in here. 

All in all, I would recommend you to skip this movie because it is boring. The story is uninteresting, the action is not intriguing, and the characters just won't stop talking. 

1 star out of 5. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Jacob (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a plain, married suit and tie guy, was sent to prison for a crime he unintentionally did. In prison, he quickly learned that he needed to adapt or die. 

I have to admit, I was interested in seeing this movie because Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (damn it's hard to type his name) a.k.a the infamous Jamie Lannister a.k.a the kingslayer is in it. This guy is damn good in Game of Thrones and I was intrigued that he is willing to star in a prison gangster film. 

I have to say, Nikolaj is the best thing about this movie. His acting is on point. At first he is portraying this tough, scary prison gang member and then during flashbacks, he seems like total nerd. That's good acting. The whole appearance change from nerdy to frightening formidable guy is also impressive. I'm not talking only about the looks. His presence, his persona... Damn, this guy is good. 

Talking about acting, the supporting characters are also awesome. Jacob's wife, Kate, played by Lake Bell is also a good character birthed from good acting. Another outstanding actor is Jon Bernthal a.k.a The Punisher who played Jacob's fellow gang member, Shotgun. 

I can say that all actors and actresses in this movie did a really good job. 

The story and plot is also outstanding. The transitions between real time scenes and flashbacks go smoothly and do not seem out of place. The pacing is nice. It's not too fast and not too slow. I don't know how to describe it but it is nice. It glued me to my seat. I don't feel bored at all. 

Furthermore, this movie is beautifully shot. The camera angles and picture edit made me think, "Oh, this would make a beautiful photo." a few times. I am pretty impressed with the director. 

Apart from that, the fight scenes are bloody and kinda realistic. It is not over elaborated. All of them are prison style. Shanks, clumsy brawls and etc.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy this movie and hoping that there would be a part two because the main character can be seen as necessary evil or something like that. The actors are awesome and the story is well written. 

5 stars from me. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Eloise (Anna Kendrick) is relieved from her duties as the maid of honor after being dumped by her boyfriend, Teddy (Wyatt Russell) who is the bride's brother and best man. However, she decides to attend the wedding anyway and ends up sitting at table number 19 together with the other unwanted guests. 

To be honest, the main reason why I wanted to watch this movie is because of Anna Kendrick. I am a fan because she's like this awkward funny kinda girl. This makes her quite perfect for the role because most of the situations in this movie are super awkward. Can you imagine? Attending a wedding alone while your ex which you clearly still have feelings for is the best man and he has a date. Err... super super awkward. I love her. 

The other supporting actors and actresses are also charming in an awkward way. Yeah, this movie is so big on awkwardness. We have Renzo (Tony Revolori) who is a young, weird teen looking to score a date. Then, the married couple Bina (Lisa Kudrow) & Jerry Kepp (Craig Robinson) who keep arguing with each other. Making things more weird, Walter (Stephen Merchant), who claims himself as a businessman but actually a former convict. Lastly, Jo Flanagan (June Squibb), the bride's former nanny who is hopeful that the bride still remembers her after those long years. Together, they and Eloise form a squad of charming, awkward people. 

Truthfully, this movie is not the type of comedy that gives you full blasts of laughter, no. Rather, most of the jokes would just result in snickers and snorts. I don't mean it in a bad way but I think many would not like this movie. The pacing is rather slow and the jokes are more of one liners and awkward moments. So, if you are looking forward to laugh your ass off, pick another movie because you won't be getting that from this one. If you're into something indie and charming, give this one a go. 

All in all, Table 19 is a charming movie that is slow paced and awkward. It is not much of a rom - com but it's more towards incidentally finding friends in the most awkward situations ever. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

“Ever hear the saying an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind?” 

“The world's already blind.”

SYNOPSIS: 

Noelle (Francesca Eastwood) is a rape victim. Feeling helpless and not getting all the help she needs, she takes matters into her own hand and avenges other sexual assault victims. 

I have to be honest, reading the synopsis, I thought that this movie is going to be dumb. To my surprise, I found that I actually like this movie because it is rather good. 

First of all, I have to commend on the rape scenes because I feel that they seem rather disturbingly real. The way the rapists act, the way the victims react, the scenes seems so genuine to me that I couldn't bare to watch them. 

Being said that, in my opinion, the actors and actresses are awesome in their roles. The lead, Francesca Eastwood is awesome as always. She is that kind of girl that I think is weirdly cute. Her eyes are so big. She is able to portray the suffering of Noelle so well and her murdering confident look is awesome too. I like her so much in this movie. Besides that, the minor characters also are good and do exactly what they are supposed to do. 

For some reasons, the story feels quite personal. Going through the story development, I couldn't help but feel empathy towards not just Noelle but other victims also. Maybe it's because of the powerful performance by the actors and actresses or maybe it's because of the way everybody on campus seems genuinely ignorant about the issues of sexual assault on campus. Whatever it is, I was into the movie from the start til the end even though the pacing is rather slow. 

All in all, I think that M.F.A is a good movie because of the powerful performance by Francesca Eastwood and all other side characters. I'm also into the movie because the issues being tackled hits rather close to home and I feel what the characters feel. 

4 out of 5 stars.

SYNOPSIS: 

Sun Wu Kong (Eddie Peng) arrives to the Immortal Mountain seeking revenge upon the gods. Unexpectedly, along the journey, he gains new friends and learns the meaning of love.

I love the Journey to the West stories as I have read so many version of it. Wu Kong is indeed different from the version I read as the story is altered to give new refreshing twists. Even though I like the original story better but this one which is written by Hezai Jin is not bad. 

It starts off bombastically with impressive fight scenes but the middle rather falls flat for me. Luckily, the ends with a huge and satisfying fight scenes. 

Do not expect this movie to be filled with Chinese martial arts fight because the fights are more magical rather than physical. I am talking about flying daggers and over the top godly powers.

The best thing about this movie is the CGI. As the fights are more of magic duels instead of physical attacks, they rely heavily on CGI. Fortunately, the CGIs are extremely well made. This movie is indeed beautifully edited.

The actors and actresses are also talented and total eye candies. Eddie Peng is awesome as Wu Kong because he has that bad boy kind of looks but at the same time manage to portray grit in his acting. I particularly love the romantic moments between Wu Kong and Zi Xia (Ni Ni) because the interaction and awkward silences seems real and sweet. I also adore Erlang Shen or Yang Jian (Shawn Yue) as his character is very cool. 

All in all, the CGIs are awesomely beautiful especially during the fights and I love the characters so much. In terms of story, I think the mid part can still be improved to be more engaging and believable. 

Rin (Hana Sugisaki) swears revenge upon Anotsu Kagehisa (Sôta Fukushi) for killing her parents. In order to kill Anotsu, she seeks help from Manji (Takuya Kimura) who is a highly skilled samurai cursed with immortality. 

I love the manga and that was the drive for me to watch this movie. Now, the best thing about Blade of the Immortal is that it is truly an action movie. From the start til the end, Manji slays and slays and slays everyone, like literally. I thought cramping 30 volumes of manga in a single movie would result in a rushed pace or shorter action sequences but no, the pacing of the movie is just nice and the sword fights are crazily satisfying. 

The second thing I love about it is the fight scenes are not heavily edited. There are no slow mo, no close up slash or whatever, no repetition of the same action from different angles, no. There are some cut scenes and a minimum amount of shaky cams, but the majority of the action scenes are portrayed to be in a continuation which for me, indicates that they don't really use stunt doubles and the actors know what they are doing. I'm impressed. 

Apart from that, I love the way the actors look and act. They really appear to be the same as the characters in the manga. The production really does an extremely good job in styling the costume, the hair and the weapons. Yeah, I love the weapons so much. 

Besides that, wow, the actors are awesome. I love Takuya Kimura so much because he is awesome as Manji. Sôta Fukushi is also good as the cool villain. Hana Sugisaki also gives her all but I wish she would dial down the high pitch yelling. It's impressive that she plays multiple characters which are Rin and Manji's sister. 

All in all, I love this manga adaptation so much because of the plenty amount of samurai action and the great performances by actors and actresses. Besides that, the cinematography is awesome and I love the way the characters look exactly like in the manga. 

4 out of 5 stars.

“It's time for the Jedi to end.”

SYNOPSIS: 

Rey (Daisy Ridley) seeks guidance from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to search for a place that she truly belongs. Meanwhile, the rest of The Resistance faces brutal attacks from The First Order and struggles to survive and keep up the galaxy's hope for freedom.

I am going to start by saying that The Last Jedi is indeed a visually stunning movie. Not just the CGI but the costume and settings are truly magnificent. I especially love Snoke's throne room with all that red background and red bodyguards. From the moment I saw the red guards wielding different types of weapons, I got overly excited and couldn't wait to see them in action. Besides that, I also love how Planet Crait looks. The reveal of the crimson red soil underneath white is just too orgasmic for me. I really love how this movie looks. 

In terms of story, I think that the early to the middle part is rather boring. There are many things going on in the first part but non of them got me excited. Judging from the trailer, I expected that Rey and Luke are going to have awesome training sessions together. Well, the training does happen but it is not awesome. I am truly disappointed with that. Even the space battle is rather draggy. The movie starts with an amusing stunt by Poe Dameron but the excitement doesn't continue. 

Luckily, things get exciting at the climax. I feel satisfied with how the climax and ending battles turn out to be. As I mention, I just couldn't wait to see Snoke's red guards in action and they truly don't disappoint. I really love everything that happen in Snoke's room. The fight with the red guards and the Force fight for the light saber are pretty satisfying to watch. The last battle at Crait is not bad too. The First Order's weapons are really impressive. 

I like the element of humor being presented. Some of the jokes made me laugh so hard. However, I am at the same time concerned that future Star Wars episodes would turn to be Disney kind of movies which is cartoonish and too family friendly.

Character wise.... hmm... I think non of the characters stand out. Rey is Rey. She continues to be that strong and emotional woman that is introduced in The Force Awakens but there is not much of development in her character. As I said, I expected Luke to train her to reach a new level but the training is just meh. Luke's character is a major disappointment. In The Force Awakens, I was so hyped to see just a brief moment of him but the hype doesn't continue in this sequel. Turns out he is no wise Jedi master. He's just a grumpy old man. Yeah, all of the major characters fail to excite me. Even the great Snoke turns out to be mediocre. 

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the actors don't deliver. The actors and actresses are awesome in portraying their roles but I am just disappointed with the character developments. The newcomers, Rose and DJ, also fail to leave any memorable impressions. 

Though, I do find the connection between Rey and Kylo Ren to be amusing. What are they? Are they siblings? Are they lovers? What is this deep love hate connection? I would love to see more of them together either as allies or enemies because their relationship is so intense. It's like young love. I love it. 

I am not a fan of Star Wars but I have watched all of the movie series and I love what JJ Abrams did with The Force Awakens. Besides that, Rogue One is also kinda cool to watch. So, it is rather sad to see The Last Jedi fail to deliver the exact excitement as the two previous 'new' version of Star Wars. I feel that Rian Johnson wants to tackle many things but doesn't really achieve what he was planning with the plot. Besides that, he ignored the major unanswered questions in The Force Awakens like who are Rey's parents and who Snoke really is.

Fans have the right to be angry on this one. 

3 out of 5 stars.

P/S : I am also bumped to see the icy fox creatures not doing anything significant. I expected Pokemon level of awesome :-P

"That dog saved my life."

SYNOPSIS: 

Based on a true story. Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) feels lost after the death of her bestfriend and decides to join the marines to run away from her troubled life. While at the K9 unit cleaning the dog kennels, Megan connects with a German Shepherd named Rex and then later becomes his handler.  

Contains spoiler.

I think people with a strong connection with their pets would love this movie because it really explores the bond between Megan and his war partner, Rex. I know it is labelled as a war movie but it is not actually focused on the war. Rather, it is more of how Megan falls in love with Rex and how desperate she is to keep that unconditional love after their military service ends. 

Therefore, if you plan on watching this movie, do not expect it to be like Saving Private Ryan or Kajaki. Instead, just expect it to be like Marley and Me and Max. 

The story has three parts. Part one is about Megan joining the marines, meeting Rex and training him. This part is rather charming and it feels good to see how Megan is so determined to be Rex's handler.

The second part is when both her and Rex get deployed to Iraq. This is where the action is. Honestly, some of the parts are rather suspenseful because it is unknown when a bomb would explode. To see how Megan and Rex get so close to a suspected bomb location is rather unnerving. The gun fighting scene is also good but not great. I don't particularly like the fact that two armored Humvees can't win against some barefooted jihadis. 

Lastly, the last part is about Megan fighting to adopt Rex after she quit the military. This part feels a bit draggy but it is rather necessary to show how a hassle is the process that Megan has to go through and the emotional struggle in order to get Rex home.

Honestly, the story is not that mind blowing and it is rather predictable but the journey from start to end is rather charming all thanks to how well the actors and actresses perform. 

Kate Mara does a good job in portraying Megan where she is able to really portray the troubled, tough personality as well as the emotional part. There is a scene where she has to cry for like a couple of minutes and for me, her performance is superb. That particular scene almost made me shed a tear. The other side characters are charming too. I particularly like Megan's love interest, Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) and one of Megan's superiors, Gunny Martin played by Common. 

All in all, Megan Leavey is a nice movie because of the emotional sparks that it undertake through the relationship between Megan and Rex. Again, if you love pets, then this movie is most probably for you.

3 out of 5 stars.

"I did not start this war. 

But I will finish it."

SYNOPSIS: 

A trained and organized army attacks Caesar's (Andy Serkis) home and forces him to choose whether he should take revenge or let go of the hurt and focus on being a good leader.  

This movie is the third installment of the prequel / reboot of The Planet of the Apes. In the first movie, everybody's mind was blown away by Andy Serkis's performance acting as Caesar, birthing the debate over whether computer generated characters should be given consideration on winning prestigious awards and honours. His facial expression and aura made everyone's hair stand. That's how powerful Andy's performance was. 

In this movie, his acting is even better as it focuses on Caesar's inner conflict in deciding whether to choose to be like Koba or just forgive those who do him harm. 

Of course, props to the ones who generated the special effects and images. The apes are beautifully created and rather easily distinguished among each other. Seriously, the effects are so real that you can see the tiniest details. The hair on those apes looks so real. The facial expressions are impeccable too. 

Besides Caesar, a new and amusing character is introduced which is Bad Ape played by Steve Zahn. Bad Ape provides much needed humor in this mostly solemn and bleak movie. 

The human characters are awesome as well. Woody Harrelson's 'The Colonel' is certainly formidable and surprisingly easy to empathize upon. I mean, even though he is clearly the antagonist but as he shows his true intentions and reasons, I just can't help but to understand why he do what he do. If I was in his shoes, I think I would also act the same. 

Another good human character is Preacher played by Gabriel Chavarria. For me, it's kinda hard to predict him. At one moment he seems to be like an ape sympathizer but at other moments, he's hardcore loyal to the Colonel's cause. Will he help the apes escape or not? I won't spoil it for you. Not to mention, most movie or TV characters wielding crossbow and arrows do look cool. 

The story might be a negative point for people who expect this film to be an all out war. I'm glad I didn't watch the trailers because from what I read, most who did are disappointed as the full story is not like what is hinted in the trailers. 

The trailers promise the viewers war where many apes and humans die but instead, what is being focused is actually the emotional conflict that Caesar has. Yes, there is still war at the end but not the at a scale similar to war in The Hobbit's third installment. It's more of a skirmish to be honest. Hmm... Skirmish for the Planet of the Apes? Not attractive enough as a title. Heh.

To conclude, I rather like this movie because of the beautiful CGI and awesome portrayal of Caesar. There is no war though. So, don't expect it to be war movie. It's actually more of a drama. 

4 out of 5 stars.

"I decide when I'm done."

SYNOPSIS: 

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) sets out to prove to everyone and himself that he is still the best racer in the world despite the overwhelming sudden takeover by new and young cars. 

I think we all agree that the first installment, Cars (2006), is an awesome film. The visual aspects are beautiful and stunning and the story has a lot of heart. Then, Cars 2 came along and kinda destroyed the legacy. In fact, all other franchises that are related to Cars such as Planes (2013) and Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014) fail to be better or on par with the first and original. 

It is all because the stories in those other films lack the 'heart' or the emotional factor. The visual aspects might attract the younger viewers and sell toys but in order to really get a movie to be legendary, the story must capture the heart of adults. 

Disney finally understands what needs to be done when they made Cars 3. The visual effects and CGI are even more captivating than its predecessors but the thing that makes it the best one so far in the Cars franchise is the story. 

I have to admit that the overall story line is rather predictable. However, the journey from start to end is full with emotional roller coasters and awesome comedic elements. 

My kids love it. I watched this movie together with my 5 and 2 year olds and we were all hooked. My kids stayed and watched from start to finish and that says a lot about how awesome it is. Their favorite part? Well, the scenes at Thunder Hollow of course. hehe

If you're wondering about the values that kids can learn by watching this movie, well I can say that there are plenty. First of all, if you work hard and learn all the smart ways to achieve your dreams, with the right opportunity, you will surely win. Secondly, not all races can be won. It is wise to know when to press on and when to finally accept your limitations. Besides, winning is not the only thing that can make you happy. The bond and friendship is the most important thing. 

All in all, I think that this movie is awesome because of its story which is quite emotional and full of 'heart' besides the icing of nice comedic elements. The visuals are wow wow wow stunning. Definitely a fun watch for me and my kids. 

4 out of 5 stars.

I would like to take a moment to express how curious am I about the Cars universe. I mean, after or during watching, have you ever wondered how those cars make babies? Do the manufacture their young ones or... you know. They mate? Opps. This is turning into something that is disturbingly child unfriendly. Okay okay okay. Look at the world of cars. They have building and gadgets. How do they build those things without hands? Do they actually keep human slaves to do all the labor? I have this theory about how long long time ago in the Cars universe, suddenly vehicles gained consciousness and rose against humans and won.

.... 

I'm sorry for rambling. 

"Welcome to Alpha, the city of a 1,000 planets, where for hundreds of years every species has shared their knowledge and their intelligence with each other. It's paradise."

SYNOPSIS: 

Alpha was originally a space station from earth but throughout the years, it continues to expand and now is the home of countless species from various planets. However, there is an unknown force that is trying to destroy Alpha. Therefore, it's a job for Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) to safeguard Alpha and protect the lives that call it home.

First of all, you have to know that I love sci-fi and CGI. That's why I was so excited to see this movie. However, reaching half of the movie, I found myself wishing that it would end sooner because it's rather infuriatingly boring. 

What is wrong with it? Well, the most obvious con is the lack of chemistry between the two main characters, Valerian and Laureline. 

I have loved Dane DeHaan since I first saw him in Chronicle. He has that sinister look and troubled teen kinda charm that I find interesting. Unfortunately, in Valerian and the City of Thousand Planets, his charms just doesn't work. The same goes to Cara Delevingne. She is supposed to be rather sassy and headstrong but Cara fails to deliver. 

As I mentioned, there is no chemistry between Dane and Cara. Their characters are supposed to be intense lovers but there is no intensity. No romance between them too. The banters between them seems so scripted and any physical contact looks painfully awkward. 

Adding Rihanna to the cast is also a mistake. I love her songs and dances but AAAAA she can't act! Obviously, Rihanna is in here because to promote this movie more.

The bad guys are also lame. The one that swears to kill Valerian only appear in the beginning of the movie and the main mastermind is literally asleep throughout the movie. 

Besides that, there are so many missed opportunities to make this movie into a good action movie. For instance, I would love to see Valerian's battle suit to be used more in battle rather than just to crash into multiple walls. The suit looks so cool and I was hoping that he would use that super strength in a fight but no, no, no. It's only good for chasing bad guys. There is the lack of cool elements in this movie. I mean, come on. You have access to alien technology! Can't you come up with more cool weapons and stuff? Urgh. 

Is there anything good about this movie? Hmm... It's hard to think of one. Well, I like the concept of Alpha. When Alpha is introduced at the start, I was like, "Damn... that's awesome." 

The CGI also looks good. There are certain scenes that remind me of the movie Avatar. 

All in all, this movie is rather boring for me because of the lack of chemistry between the two main characters and there is little cool factor in it. Honestly, I am quite disappointed. 

2 out of 5 stars.

"My job is to keep you out of harm's way."

 "Shit, motherfucker. I am... harm's way."

SYNOPSIS:

Micheal Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) works as a bodyguard and under certain circumstances, he finds himself having Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson), a pro hitman, as his client. 

Now, if you have watched many of Ryan and Samuel's individual movies, you would definitely know what to expect from this one. Ryan is famous for his foul words filled rants and Samuel is known for being a badass motherfucker. Put them together and you have a very funny interaction between these two, which is the best thing about this movie. Seriously, most of their lines manage to crack me up. This movie is definitely funny. 

Besides that, the action scenes are over the top and awesome. I enjoy every single car chase, every bullet trade, every hand to hand combat in this movie. Besides awesome, some of the actions are also funny to watch. 

An icing on the cake is the addition of romantic gestures of the main characters to their love interests. No, not towards each other. Don't read that wrong. Amelia Rousel played by Elodie Yung provides a nice backstory on how Micheal Bryce ends up being desperate enough to accept Kincaid as a client while Salma Hayek's Sonia Kincaid provides the story on how Darius wound up being in jail despite of his notorious reputation as a hitman. 

Seriously, the story is nicely written as every reason of how the characters end up connected to each other is explained effectively (though not in a straight lined manner). Don't get me wrong, the plot is not that mindblowing but I just want to say that it's a good one. Again, not Inception kind of mindblowing but the story is nice. 

This movie really reminds me of The Nice Guys (2016) where the story is typical but the movie is a success because of the funny interaction between the two main characters. But I also think that The Hitman's Bodyguard is slightly better than The Nice Guys because there are more engaging action scenes. 

4 out of 5 stars!