Nine Over Ten 9/10

I recently received two 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-Ray discs, namely The Dark Knight and Transformers from an online acquaintance who help purchase them from Amazon.com. The cost to my pocket? Just RM 220, shipping included.

One thing I noticed though about the Transformers Blu-Ray disc, it gets stuck at the beginning with a Loading screen shown on screen. At first I was worried I had a defective disc, but a quick check online reveal that it had something to do with the BD-Live settings (link here). I’ll try again tomorrow with that in mind.

I’ve never seen any of Marvel’s animated films (Ultimate Avengers 1 & 2 and Iron Man) being sold in Malaysia, so it was quite a surprise to see the new Doctor Strange animated movie on the store shelf of a Video Ezy outlet earlier this evening.

Quite a “catchy” cover isn’t it? The addition of Chinese words on the title and on the rest of the cover almost had me thinking that it was one of the many anime games featured on that particular shelf.

I usually run in 10 KM races and friends, particularly those belonging to the couch potato class always ask me why. Simply answering that I like running isn’t enough as it would just lead to more question, but now I think I have the answer. Just ask them to watch Run Fatboy Run.

Simon Pegg is one of my favourite actors and when I heard that this movie was showing in the UK last year, I was waiting with full anticipation for it to arrive in Malaysia. The temptation to download was there, but I would much rather watch the movie on the big screen.

Unlike Hot Fuzz, where he plays a gung-ho super cop, Run Fatboy Run has Simon playing Dennis, a loser in life who leaves his pregnant girlfriend, Libby (Thandie Newton), on their wedding day (he practically jumps out the window and runs). Five years on, he is a “high level security analyst and operator at an upscale retail outlet”, putting it simply, a security guard at a women’s clothing store.

Living in the basement room and having a landlord by the name of Mr. Goshdashtidar hounding him for rent, Dennis represents the monotony and the struggle to make ends meet of the working class. He’s back in talking terms with his ex-girlfriend but after having met her seemingly perfect new boyfriend (Hank Azaria as Whit), who also happens to run in marathons on behalf of charitable organizations, Dennis too decides to take part in one.

Throw in a side bet by Dennis’ friend, Gordon, and a deal with Mr. Goshdashtidar’s daughter, Maya, there are many motivations for Dennis to join and finish the 26-mile race but the most important one is his own, which is to prove himself to Libby.

The race itself proved to be a grueling one, when Dennis decides to continue on racing with a broken ankle after Whit’s attempt at taking him out of the race. He finally hits “The Wall” but with renewed mental strength manages to make it to the finish line, many hours after the second last runner had arrived.

There are many laughs along the way, some disgusting (the one involving a huge blister, and Dennis’ attempt to run in his swimming trunks) and some laughingly painful (watch Dennis and Gordon beat each other up, or Dennis’ attempt to relieve an itch down there due to running in his trunks).

Although marathons are considered serious events by many of its participants, Run Fatboy Run doesn’t take itself seriously, which is a good thing anyways, otherwise I wouldn’t be laughing so much. In fact, you’ve got to suspend your disbelief when a totally unfit guy can be transformed into marathon running material in three weeks.

Run Fatboy Run is still screening in cinemas, in the Klang Valley at least. I would certainly recommend it to not just running enthusiasts but also anyone looking for a really good laugh, and typical Brit humour.

I managed to catch a movie based on a John Grisham novel last night on TV. Called The Chamber, it starred Gene Hackman as Sam Cayhall, a racist guy and a Klansman who killed two children (albeit accidentally) in a hate crime, and is in death row for that.

Chris O’Donnell stars as Adam Hall, a young lawyer and also Cayhall’s grandson who tries to save his grandfather despite the animosity and contempt shown by Sam towards his grandson and Adam’s late father, who had committed suicide due to Sam’s misdeeds.

With just 28 days before Sam’s execution by gas chamber, Adam exhausts every avenue of appeal but fails, despite getting evidence that Sam wasn’t the only participant in the hate crime. More interestingly is the transformation of Sam from a hateful figure to someone who finally breaks down upon realizing what kind of monster he became.

Sam meets his end in the gas chamber and the movie does have a slightly graphic depiction of that. The movie does raises questions on capital punishment, and while it’s really “eye for an eye”, can mitigating circumstances that warrant a different punishment?

In the case of Sam Cayhall, he was born and bred a Klansman and was used to hate crimes since he was a kid. Does that warrant due consideration when it comes to his actions as an adult? What do you think?

I got home late Wednesday night after going through an incredible sonic bombardment known as The Incredible Hulk no thanks to the THX-certified cinema I was watching in.

The movie, or at least the cinema, was adamant in its quest to put everyone in the mood of the angry green giant even before the movie started. There was a long queue at the Internet booking counter and for some strange reason quite a number of people had their Internet bookings rejected, including mine.

Funny thing is, the booking number shows up in online, but not in the cinema’s ticketing system.

One guy managed to get through but because his friends didn’t show up, he immediately offered the seats to us. All was not lost after all.

The Hulk has its big coming out party several years back, with an Ang Lee-helmed movie and Eric Bana playing the lead character role. Despite what some people might say about the movie, I liked it alot, especially the comic book panel-like effect. The only problem I had was with the ending; it made a slow, calculated movie even more confusing.

In any case, The Incredible Hulk will have non of it. A reboot of sorts, it isn’t really an origin story. Suffice to say, what took the the better part of Ang Lee’s movie to tell was compressed into the first few minutes of The Incredible Hulk.

Edward Norton brings about a wryly, in fact a little neurotic looking Dr. Bruce Banner, on the run from the US military after an experiment involving gamma radiation causes him to go big, green and angry. Fleeing from Brazil to Guatemala and then back to the States (but not before turning into the Hulk), Banner is in search for the one person who can cure him.

Along the way, he is faced by an extremely kiasu opponent, in the form of Emil Blonsky, who is given more and more doses of a super-soldier serum in order to be able to go head to head with the Hulk. LIke drug-abuse, things start to go bad both for Emil and the Hulk.

Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner reminds me of the Ultimates version of Bruce Banner. I would say if there’s a movie adaption of The Ultimates, Edward Norton is the go-to guy to play Banner. There’s also a scene from the movie that slightly mirrors the comics, involving him, a transport helicopter and turning into the Hulk.

I really like this movie and I’m sure that comic book fans are in for a treat with The Incredible Hulk. There are cameos and hints on what this movie and that other super hero movie, Iron Man, would lead to. Go on, go watch now, or else Hulk SMASH!

Here’s something I grabbed from The Star newspaper’s website:

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, began principal photography on May 5, 2008, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The McG-directed film, which has a script by Michael Ferris and John Brancato, is the highly anticipated new instalment of The Terminator film franchise.

It is set in post-apocalyptic 2018, and Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. However, the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row.

Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, Charlotte Gainsbourg as Kate Connor, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, Common as Barnes, and Jadagrace as Star.