Movie Marathon Month

I've watched more movies this month than the entire 2008 year (I think). My way of celebrating the holidays.

Twilight. It's more of a teenage fan movie. Nothing fantastic and bombastic, just a glamorous vampire love fantasy tale. Personally I felt that the screen adaptation doesn't do justice to the novel, and as a result, I don't see the hype. But I could imagine how the writer Stephenie Meyer's would have written in such beauty and awe. People who love this movie are probably fans of the leading cast or the novelist. I rate it 3 of 5.

Yes Man. Me and my wife love Jim Carey movies. We love him for being him, just like most people love Stephen Chow for his comedic style. So we caught this movie. It's really a feel-good movie, and tells us how we should change our perspective, and with that, good things will follow. My rate: 4 of 5.

Australia. This movie should be called "Northern Territory", because everything happened only in that area. To say that the movie showcases all the beauty of the country is an overstatement. There are so many land in the country that the movie did not cover. While the aboriginal element is probably universal across the land, the portrayal is very limited - one to be exact.

Still, it's a visually attractive movie, especially with the 2 beautiful leading "-man", Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. The supporting child actor, Brandon Walters, is most captivating, loved his eyes and his hair. He should win some award. In the show, the bad guy didn't get a chance to be too evil. He's sort-of a bad-luck bad guy, who tries to be bad on the good guys but couldn't manage to do it

The movie has many touching moments, and the movie uses some familiar tunes like "Over The Rainbow", and "Nimrod" by Edward Elgar's "Enigma" Variations to bring out the intense emotions.

My rating: 4.5 of 5.

Ip Man. When I first saw the movie poster, it spelled "IP MAN", and for a moment I thought it's a sci-fi movie about the Internet Protocol superhero. Then I realised it's about Bruce Lee's master. I knew it would be another stylised kungfu movie, but I know I won't be disappointed if I wanted a kick out of the movie. Often, watching a movie is an escapade from your daily life. Being in a cinema with large screen allows you to submerge into the movie setting, the cast, the place, the sound. All the effort the producers put in to the movie in every detail - clothes, props, locations, music - fully rendered in the huge screen. Plus, getting some unexpected responses from the audience, laughing at the wrong parts (the Japanese General and Ip Man talking to each other in their native language), screaming at some scenes (like the cracking of bones during fighting), just adds to the entertainment experience of movie-going.

My wife commented however that Donnie Yen's face looks flawless for his age. Donnie has been acting for decades in many kungfu movies as supporting actor but only in recent years did he get more leading screen time. Good break from the usual Jet Lee and Jackie Chan.

My rating: 3.5 of 5.

4 days to end of 2008. Will I be watching another movie? Hmmm...