Hanna movie review (2011)

Hanna (2011)

Brief review: Although it has a couple of dull moments, and a few rather unnecessary scenes, Joe Wright's latest flick is a fast-paced, intense and fantastically-crafted thrill ride, that delivers the goods. "Hanna" is nothing short of captivating, visually, due to Wright's dynamically versatile, yet sophisticated direction, the beautifully washed-out color palette of the cinematography, and the various stunning locations used in the film. Furthermore, "Hanna" 'sounds' as cool as it looks, thanks to Chemical Brothers' original music score, filled with intense electronic beats that prepare the viewer for action. Speaking of action, "Hanna" is not only wonderfully-choreographed, but also creative and edge-of-your-seat thrilling. Acting-wise, "Hanna" succeeds vastly because of its top-notch cast. Saoirse Ronan is a true force of nature in her difficult role as Hanna, who discovers the world for the first time. Her sweet, innocent look contrasts with her daring, fierce spirit, and despite her superhuman strength and abilities, Ronan is thoroughly believable as the title character. One of the finest actresses working today, Cate Blanchett, delivers an outstanding performance as the cold-blooded Marissa, and the insanely underrated Eric Bana gives another solid performance as the bold, protectful father of Hanna, Erik.

Overall summary: Thanks to its unique premise, brilliant execution, impressive variety of settings, and Saoirse Ronan's show-stealing performance, "Hanna" is not only a true breath of fresh air into the genre, but also one of the most clever and spectacularly entertaining action thrillers of the past few years.

Malefique movie review

Malefique (2003)

Short review: Eric Vallette's low-budget French horror flick "Malefique" didn't lack originality, and yet its uniqueness just wasn't enough for me. A cannibal, a transsexual, and a business owner are trapped in a cell. Along with a professor with an unhealthy thirst for knowledge, are all cellmates in a French prison. During a scuffle, a loose stone falls out of the wall revealing the diary of a former prisoner. The diary is also a spell-book which may help them escape, or drive them all mad. It's an intriguing concept, but the story was so odd, unsatisfying and boring, that the fast-forward button on my remote was used very often. In "Malefique", everything revolves in one single cell and it all became annoying very quickly. The characters were nasty and weird, and I was hoping to see them all dead. Thankfully, my wish came true. The scares were mostly non-existent, as was the suspense. Simply said, "Malefique" is overrated! It must have been some kind of spell put over the viewers, to make them like this movie. Well, this spell just didn't work for me.

• My Rating: 4.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 6.6/10

Long Weekend movie review

Long Weekend (2008)

Short review: "Long Weekend" is pretty much about a husband and wife, who are having marital problems, going camping on a beach. They are trying to make the best of it but weirder and weirder things keep happening, none of which they can explain. The 'nature fights back' idea sounds good on paper, but the execution was bad, to say the least. It was slow-paced, dull and often boring. The two main/only characters were just unbelievable and annoying, especially the always dissatisfied Carla. James Caviezel looks great for his age, but his acting skills are equal to zero. The beautiful Australian shores were stunning to look at, but these nice visuals didn't help the movie much. At least we learned a valuable lesson from this otherwise weak film - Don't mess with Mother Nature! If you do, expect retribution.

• My Rating: 4.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 5.6/10

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen movie review (2010)

Legend of the Fist:
The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

Set in 1920s Shanghai, Andrew Lau's latest effort tells the story of Chen Zhen, who single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country. After a '10 out of 10' opening sequences full of dynamic and spectacular stunts, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" somewhat loses its energy, but fortunately it picks up later on to deliver a passable entertainment for all martial arts and action fans. The film feels a bit unfocused and incoherent at times, as it's muddled with far too many sub-plots and undeveloped characters, but as a whole, while not as satisfying as I hoped, the story is decent enough and still manages to hold viewer's attention most of the way through. Performance-wise, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" is just okay. Donnie Yen is absolutely thrilling to watch, during the fight scenes, and he also does a good job in portraying the title character. He certainly grew up as an actor over the years, and it shows. Qi Shu is a charming and very charismatic Asian actress, but her character Kiki is pretty unlikable - she's just mincing around, not doing much but smoking and drinking. The rest of the supporting actors also give good performances. Special mention goes to Ryu Kohata, as the nasty and evilicious Colonel Chikaraishi. The action sequences, choreographed by Donnie Yen himself are decent, yet rather unimpressive. The fights themseves are so short, that they fail to provide total satisfaction, excluding the opening action scene, which is nothing short of breathtaking. Visually, "Legend of the Fist" is truly arresting, as it offers gorgeous settings of 1920s Shanghai, and the music score is good enough to raise tension when needed. While it doesn't rank among the best martial arts flick ever made, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" is a well-shot, nicely-choreographed and fairly entertaining action flick, that hardly disappoints.

• My Rating: 7.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (2 Reviews)
• IMDb: 6.1/10