February Movies

Hello hellooo...

February was a very short month and filled with loads of festivities, i guess that's why we watched lesser numbers of movies that month! 

 Half of the movies we watched were great, and the other half... Meh! So let's see which one is which!

1. Wild Card

I have featured many Jason Statham's movies in this blog, that's because my hunny is a typical guy-and he loves Jason Statham. Me? I find most of his movies highly entertaining (although he did choose very similar characters, one from another! It's beginning to change in the last couple of years though) and he is also not bad looking-for a bald guy. So i had no problem when hunny asked me to watch this movie.

This next paragraphs is taken from the movie's IMDb, because i cannot find any other way to describe this movie *LOL* :

Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When a friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. Having raised the stakes, Nick has one last play to change his fortunes...and this time, it's all or nothing.

Now, the synopsis sounds like his every other movies, but instead of the usual Hollywood action formula, this is a bit cruder, less polished (and therefore more realistic. At least a little bit) and also a little bit more boring *LOL*. It's alright, not super bad, definitely not awesome either. I did feel a bit sleepy here and there. Also, why is it that Milo Ventimiglia plays assholes all the time now? No better role for him? I don't think this is a must watch, not even for die hard action lovers.

2. Jupiter Ascending

Hunny told me (and i also read it from various sources) that it's a much anticipated movie, but honestly seeing the poster and reading the synopsis... It didn't appeal too much to me. After watching it i'd say that it's an OKAY movie. Quite entertaining, and i love how silly Mila Kunis can be (absolutely loved her in That 70's Show, Mila's naturally hilarious!) but i agree with the reviews that says that the movie is a bit... stupid? LOL. I hate the makeup (especially on Channing Tatum. He's not my type but he's usually quite cute, not weird like he was in this movie), don't really get the weird storyline (well, i get it as in understand it. But i don't get it as i don't really think the storyline's that interesting) and the villains gave me the creeps (not in a good way).

According to the signs, Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is destined for great things in life, but instead she's living a life that she totally hates. She works all day with her mum and aunt cleaning rich people's houses and couldn't catch a break. One day Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), some genetically engineered ex hunter from outer space rescued her and Jupiter was brought to a whole different world that doesn't even seem to make sense-and discover who she truly is and what she is destined for.

Yeah... A very comic-bookish sci-fi with pretty awesome special effects. Lots of funny scenes here and there (i especially love the weird robot like creature that helps Jupiter going through the regulations to reclaim her title and ownership! Even the gods and goddesses cannot escape annoying regulations, bribery and sabotages hahaha), i was never bored during the movie but it definitely didn't leave any lingering impression. I would recommend to watch this if you like popcorn movies and able to leave all of your logic outside the cinema's door!

PS : How creepy is Eddie Redmayne in this movie? I had the hardest time connecting him to the guy who sang like an angel in Les Miserable (in fact i didn't even recognized him, i had to google the movie to finally realize who he is!). And maybe i am getting way too old, but how is Douglas Booth's attractive in any way? My nieces cannot stop gushing about him and i can only stare at them in disgust.

3. Project Almanac

I have no idea why there were not more buzz about this movie, especially in Indonesia. I've never heard of this movie and never seen the trailer in the cinema before they started playing on local cinemas! I was bored and wanted to watch something when i stumbled into this movie in 21 Cineplex's website, read the synopsis and think it's super cool so i dragged hunny to watch it. I'm glad i did because i love it!

A group of geeky high school boys discovered the blue print of a time machine and decided to build it. When they succeeded, they start going back in time to have fun and fix little problems here and there but after a while things started to change in the future (as in their present)-and not for the better, series of disasters in the world made them realize the huge scale of butterfly effect their actions have caused so that they have to travel back in time far enough to make sure they never invent the time machine in the first place.

Now this is the kind of storyline i like! Although hardly original, it is very interesting and fascinating! I don't really like teenage movies all that much since i am way too old to understand teenage angst anymore *LOL*, but this is not just another teen movie-obviously. I was even more excited when i realized that it's a Michael Bay's movie. Although hunny protested because he hates hand held, footage style movies (i am not a fan either, it does make me dizzy from time to time), he still ended up enjoying the movie. I find it very interesting, exciting, smart for teen sci-fi and thoroughly entertaining. If you like sci-fi thriller, i highly recommend you to watch this!

4. Kingsman : The Secret Service

So hunny had been anticipating this movie for a long time, he's very happy whenever he sees the trailer on the cinema (when we're watching other movies) and moans about how it's not playing yet. I, on the other hand, wasn't so excited. Sure, the trailer looked quite fun, but nothing too special. But it turns out to be a much better movie that i thought it would be :D.

Kingsman is a British super secret spy organization that normally is closed for certain people (that pass the crazy tests/boot camp) with unyielding ability that comes from upper class or even blue blooded. One of their members believes that ability doesn't come from such things and recruited a street kid that always seems to get in trouble at the same time as crazy villain emerges (Samuel L. Jackson being crazy as usual) with crazy plan change the world (i used the words crazy three times in one sentence. WTF).

I didn't expect it to be such a fun movie *LOL*. Super fast pace, cool gadgets, cooler action scenes, good looking cast (Taron Egerton, who's super cute but actually much older than i thought he is *LOL*), interesting (although at times a bit ridiculous, especially the villain's character. But it's understandable) storyline, very entertaining but quite brutal and full of expletives (sort of like... Every sentence is peppered with them hahaha). I made a mistake of bringing Baby Boy in the movie and i felt like covering his ears with my hands the whole time. So, not a movie to bring your kid into, but it's a must watch for all action/adventure/comedy/spy fans.

5. Mortdecai

Okay, sadly the streak of good movie has come to an end. It's a string of bad movies from this point on (well, the next one's not that bad but it is if you don't have young children hahaha). Other than Kingsman, hunny was also waiting for Mortdecai. I did a bit of snooping around, got a bit of a shock when i read how bad the reviews are, decided to keep it to myself because i didn't want to ruin the experience for him (coz we all know how sometimes bad reviews can mold our opinion even before we watch it). He ended up still quite liking the movie (i guess his sense of humor is even worse than me haha) while i think it's a piece of total crap.

Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) is a noble, art dealer and (sometimes) art smuggler-who keeps his job while being the police's (who happens to be his old friend who's always in love with his wife) snitch. He is in deep water financially and needed to make a few millions pound fast to pay off his back taxes when an art restorer was killed and the painting she was working on went missing-which is more than meets the eye. Mortdecai then was forced to help the British government to hunt down the culprit, and the art-in no time he was kidnapped, flying all around the world and keep his trusted handy man busy trying to save his ass.

Okay... so... I actually think Johnny Depp is pretty good at being funny (he is HILARIOUS as Captain Jack Sparrow), but... I dunno. I dun think even he can save this movie. Hunny said something about the manner of this movie being something in the way Pink Panther comedy is... Well. Pink Panther was funny, this was very forced and cheesy. Lots and lots of big names in this movie, but yeah... Nope. Unless you find ridiculous slapstick comedy with exaggerated jokes entertaining, i suggest you to skip it. I know a lot of guys share my hunny's cheesy sense of humor though, if you are one of them-then it's still passable for you :p.

6. Shaun the Sheep Movie

I did not expect it to get rated so highly in IMDb! Don't get me wrong, it's funny, it's entertaining and it's heart warming (even without any dialog), but it's Shaun the Sheep! LOL. I dunno, maybe i am just not cut up for this kind of family movie (coz i also feel the same way about Paddington. You know, i enjoyed it but am hardly excited about it)-i did laugh a lot and my Baby Boy enjoyed it too. You should totally take your kids to watch this if they're under 10, kids older than that age might find it too kiddish.

Shaun was bored out of his mind of his everyday routine, every day is exactly the same and he just wants a break! He cooked up a plan for a day of vacation, but everything went out of control! The Farmer ended up missing in the Big City so now it's up to Shaun and the flock to find him and return things to the way they were.

One thing that i really love is how they're all made of clay hehe. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that (i guess stop-motion is my thing?) and find it fascinating that sometimes you can even see finger marks on the characters! It has no coherent dialog whatsoever though and it turns out that no dialog bores me a bit so i was a bit sleepy in some parts. But it's still funny, entertaining and i cannot believe characters made of clay choked me up *i'm such a cry baby* hahaha. Bring your little ones to see this for a wholesome family fun!

7. Dragon Blade 

Again, i was really surprised that IMDb reviewers rate this movie 6.8, i expected it to be like... i dunno... 5.7? 6, at most.It's not that it's a horrible movie or whatever, but IMDb reviewers usually can be a little harsh *LOL*. I find this movie to be quite entertaining, quite funny, but very very cheesy and cliche. Jacky Chan's still fun to watch though.

The movie is set on the Silk Road, where there are 36 nations warring against each other. Huo An (Jackie Chan) and his men are the Protection Squad, tasked to maintain the stability there. They were framed and exiled into the Wild Geese Gate-while a Roman general, Lucius (John Cusack) flees with his legion and an heir to the Roman consul to the East and of course, they all met. Huo An and Lucius ended up working hand in hand to finish the fortress' restoration and escape the Emperor's penalty, but their happiness didn't last long because the heir's evil older brother (Adrien Brody) is near, chasing them with a huge army, seeking to destroy all of them and take everything in his path to be part of the Roman empire.

I'd say it's a... very ambitious movie. I know Jackie Chan is a very typical Chinese man *LOL*, he is also a philanthropist and always have this idea of making every nation to feel like family. It's good and all, but i feel like the ambition makes this movie kinda cheesy (with all the working together between nations, singing and dancing while at it) and cliche (although i admit they were not afraid to kill off characters, which is unexpected from Jackie Chan movies haha). I also feel like they chose the wrong child actor to play the heir. I don't know who he is and i cannot find any information on the boy in the internet, but he was kinda unnatural. It was a bit painful to watch, like those annoying kids in Indonesian sinetrons zzz.

Having said that, i still quite enjoyed the movie in general. There were funny scenes, the action scenes also quite entertaining, and i wasn't too bored or anything but i feel like it's a bit of a mess and kinda pointless *LOL*. And how ugly is Vaness Wu *shudder*??? I was also a bit shocked at how little Choi Si Won's scenes are, so if you're thinking of watching it just for him (you know who you are, die hard K-Pop fans!), you better think again. Personally i think it's not a must watch (by a mile), maybe guys would think differently (coz hunny seems to quite enjoy it).

And that's all for February movies! My fave are Project Almanac and Kingsman while my least fave is definitely Mortdecai! What about you, did you watch any movie that i listed here?

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