Spy Day

That title is a pun on spa day, or Spidey.. I'm sorry. That's not funny. Alright, so last Friday I had a spy day. I probably should stop saying spy day. So on spy day, I watched Guy Ritchie's stylish adaptation of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and James Bond's latest Spectre. I enjoyed both of them immensely. This has been a good year for spies. Kingsman: The Secret Service is still one of my favorites of 2015 and then Tom Cruise's Rogue Nation is also this summer's best. And the four of them remind me to get to the gym and work out. Unless Alicia Vikander or Lea Seydoux is also in the gym with me, going to the gym would probably be a dream.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E

The only reason I can think of as to why this movie flopped is that not many people care for this movie adaptation of a 60s TV show. Because, this movie is awesome. Guy Ritchie has been making stylish, cool movies since his first feature Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. His studio features are also amazing. Warner Bros has been struggling to produce a hit but I must commend them for keep shelling out quality movies like this. The premise is genuinely intriguing. A Russian spy and an American spy team up to stop a terrorist threat. Add that with great (and beautiful) actors at the lead Armie Hammer, Henry Cavill, and Alicia Vikander. Supporting cast include Jared Harris, Hugh Grant and the forever stunning Elizabeth Debicki. It's set in Europe, most particularly in Rome. What more do you need? According to Guy Ritchie and his writers, apparently so much more. The film has the coolest editing, score and soundtrack, costume design, and story. It's just the type of style you have come to expect from Guy Ritchie and I hope he can still maintain and repurpose it for next year's King Arthur. The score by Daniel Pemberton is amazing. The soundtrack is expertly chosen. The movie is a welcome attack of visual and audio that is gorgeous to enjoy. I hope Armie Hammer lands a hit though, he's actually the Taylor Kitsch in movies with two leading men (this and The Lone Ranger). If I didn't enjoy one thing from this film, that would be the half-assed romance between Armie's Ilya and Alicia's Gaby (I'm on first name basis yo). The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: rated 3.5/4

Spectre
I'm a big Bond fan. Casino Royale is royalty and Skyfall set the sky for its standard. Spectre has a lot of pressure to follow the $1 billion Skyfall. But right from the start, from the gunbarrel at the very beginning(!!), and the Day of the Dead sequence, the filmmakers have put us in the very top entertainment quality and they would gladly let us fall down gradually from there. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace might shy away from being 'your dad's' Bond film by doing a different variation of the gunbarrel opening, doesn't give a damn on vodka martini, and drinking Carlsberg. Skyfall tried to embrace the tradition back by numerous easter eggs and that mandatory Aston Martin DB5 cameo and of course the Bond tune all over the movie. Spectre is a full-fledged Bond film. The gunbarrel is at the very beginning, awesome opening sequence with women's bodies, Bond themes, shaken-not-stirred vodka martini, Aston Martins, mono-syllabic bad guy and of course Blofeld and his Spectre supervillain group which is like the white people ISIS in our modern day (is this racist? tell me if it is). The action is amazing starting from the nonsensical helicopter fight, majestic car chase in Rome, and the climactic MI5 maze. Best-directed sequence though is when we first see Oberhauser Blofeld for the first time in the Spectre meeting. It is intense af.

While all the action sequences, direction and acting are on point, the story might be a little unoriginal. It's like Fast & Furious 6 meets Star Trek Into Darkness. I hate to admit that. I hate to say that a Bond film copied Fast and Furious but it's true. Blofeld is the author of Bond's pain through Le Chiffre, Greene and Silva, much like Furious 6 baddie, who is like the big baddie who killed Letty and is the leader of this criminal organization. And Blofeld is Oberhauser but is Blofeld much like Cumberbatch's Khan is John Harrison but is Khan. Daniel Craig is so good at being Bond, that I don't see anyone but Idris Elba is worthy enough to succeed him. Damian Lewis? Come on, I'd be out of breath listening to him speak. Lea Seydoux is born to be in a Bond movie. She's so pretty but her romance with Bond is unlike Bond-Vesper, that when she suddenly says 'I love you' it doesn't make any sense. It's a good plot to see Bond in love again but I wish it would've been done better. And of course, I'd like to see more of Christoph Waltz terrorizing people and oozing menace on the screen more. He's just not given enough stuff to do and say. I hope they do him justice next time. Oh and Sam Smith's song isn't that bad when used in the film, because it fits the theme of the movie. And be happy it's not as bad as Madonna's. I'm giving 3/4 but I like this movie so much (objective reviewer point!). That Day of the Dead sequence alone is enough to guarantee a second viewing (which I will do). Spectre: rated 3/4.

Update December 20 I'm very much convinced that Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey or The Guest or Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb should be the next James Bond.

White Roses

I've been a fan of The Hunger Games films. I loved the first two books, but not the last one. I was hoping that the film could elevate the bad source material. This last film is still directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and an array of amazing supporting cast like Julianne Moore, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. I had an okay-ish expectation for this film and the promotional material for this film doesn't hype me so, so I wasn't all that hyped. And most importantly, the movie scored a day-and-date release date for Japan that hasn't been seen since February's Fifty Shades of Grey, which is weird. The next day-and-date is more sensible though, you know, that film about people carrying long lightsticks they use as swords.

The film picked up right where Part 1 left off, after Katniss' being strangled by the Manchurian Candidate Peeta. Katniss then swore to kill President Snow herself and go to the Capitol. But rebel leader President Coin still wants her to be the symbol so she went with the star team, which is a waste of talent, considering you really need to fight and these guys know how to fight. President Snow knows this plan and rigged The Capitol with traps and weapons ala his annual Hunger Games.

If you hear other fans of other YA complained about how the Divergent series and Maze Runner series deviate totally from the book, you won't hear that with this The Hunger Games. The films have been so faithful to the book that even a crucial moment that I hoped to be more clarified is just like in the book. But not that it's a bad thing, because as a whole this film is great. From the performance, I almost forgot how I love Jennifer Lawrence in her usual kick-ass, awesome-acting mode and at last, I'm sold by Josh Hutcherson's acting in this film. However, Liam Hemsworth should consult his Norse God brother on how to share the screen with acting greats like people in this film. Donald Sutherland is creepily good and Julianne Moore is just as good. I also loved the fact that more and more TV people are creeping to the big projects like this. There are Natalie Dormer and Gwendoline Christine from Game of Thrones, Mahershala Ali from House of Cards, Mira (I forgot her name) from Homeland, and Robert Knepper from Heroes season four. 

The action is great in this film and it is expertly paced. The visual effects is so good. This series remains the best produced film from Lionsgate in terms of quality. The CGI or green screen is seamless unlike Divergent series. The ending for this film is grim just like people say, but it has so much more meaning than your average kick-ass ending. We've seen happy endings too much and Mockingjay Part 2 is taking the logical and mature way. This put The Hunger Games way further than the average young adult films. It has a class-of-its-own. I guess put it this way, the trendsetter is always the best one out of the trend, like Harry Potter films are of another level compared to Percy Jackson and so is Hunger Games, compared to Divergent or Maze Runner. Especially seeing that this post-apocalyptic dystopian setting has exactly the same plot points in general. Still the decision to split the film might hurt creatively if not economically. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: rated 3.5/4

up next fast
spy games Solo, Kuryakin and Bond

Double Feature

I'm supposed to write a review about Joe Wright's Pan. Not in the mood, but I can safely say that that movie is pretty pointless and has the worst child actor in a movie since The Last Airbender. You know which child actor has a better performance in a movie? Those two girls from the racist Owen Wilson-actioner No Escape and the girl from Ryan Reynolds' latest Self/Less. I mean, those two movies are not big budget studio tentpole and they did a better job casting a child for a movie. This review is long overdue. Once again I have shamelessly been a lazy-ass person who just eats, sleeps, raves, repeat. I saw the disastrous Pan early this month and finally saw the ensemble cast in the based-on-true-story Everest like a week later.

Pan

I love Joe Wright. Apart from The Soloist, I can watch his films like a hundred times. Atonement is awesome, Hanna is amazing, Anna Karenina is magical, and Pride and Prejudice is beautiful. While Pan, um, is none of those positive adjectives. Let's start with the good part first, Hugh Jackman as the villainous pirate Blackbeard is on his over-the-top scenery-chewing game which is necessary for this film. He's the only life of the film. Rooney Mara is great to look at but her performance is so bland I could be watching a picture of her and still get the same reaction. Levi Miller as Pan is unbearable. He only has two expressions for everything. Garrett Hedlund also churns out a laughable kind of approach to Hook. I was hoping the film to be like Jupiter Ascending, getting bad reviews but a fun one-off event of movie-going. Nope it wasn't. I even fell asleep after the obligatory Tinkerbell cameo. This is probably one of the worst movies I've watched in cinemas of all time. Even I didn't fall asleep during Fant4stic. I didn't remember the movie had any standout scenes apart from Hugh Jackman. There was a Smells Like Teens Spirit rendition that is so weird and so out of time. Probably that stands out. But not really. Oh Amanda Seyfried has a cameo, but I doubt anyone would remember from this forgettable film. I wish Joe Wright goes back to smaller movies after this. It's best to stick to Hook as your go-to Peter Pan movie. Pan: rated 1/4

Everest
This movie is based on an incident that happened in 1996. The movie is directed by Baltasar Kormakur and starring a great cast that includes Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, Emily Watson and so much more including the stunning Elizabeth Debicki. The movie feels real, like the feel of the mountain climbing is really there so that's a plus. I watched this movie not knowing that they shot some on an actual mountain. So I was hoping like obvious green screen all over. But then not at all. It was an intense experience. The cast are really good too. It's great to see Jason Clarke getting more leading roles because he can carry a movie. I would love to see more of Robin Wright and Sam Worthington though. The movie is also pretty respectful to the actual tragedy that killed several climbers without giving too much dramatization on the events. And the movie was really good in a large format 3D. Everest: rated 3.5/4


Next up quick Mockingjay Part 2

Misadventures

This was supposed to be a post dedicated to the pointless and plotless Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. But then I liked this one silly comedy too much so I decided to justify its existence with a short review.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

For me, the only YA series that actually mattered is The Hunger Games. I enjoyed Divergent too for its sheer garbage-quality yet starpower-appealing. The Maze Runner series is okay-ish at best. The first installment was fun but that's it. I mean, it doesn't interest me to follow the story further. It's mediocre, and the all boys cast is just not rewarding enough for me. The series stars Dylan O'Brien as the lead teen, and supported by Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Patricia Clarkson. This second installment has my favorite TV characters, Petyr Baelish/Littlefinger aka Aidan Gillen, Gus Fring aka Giancarlo Esposito and Missandei aka Nathalie Emmanuel. Naturally, I would tell you the plot of the movie from this point but I don't have a fucking clue what is going on here or how the writers define the word 'coherence'

Let's get on with the good part. The effects are top-notch, especially when you compare it to recent YA like Divergent series. It is clear that the high production value consumed all the energy to assemble a decent plot. The movie lives up to its title as the characters are constantly running away from something or running towards something or running both from and towards something. Yep, that's it I've ran out of nice things to say. It's easy to see that the film went on a very rushed production that rewrites must've been lost in the schedule. The zombie people also came out of nowhere. I remember jackshit from the first movie, but I'd surely remember if they mentioned people turning into zombies because of the sun. Bro, even Fantastic Four had a plot. I can at least tell people what the story is about. This film is just escape sequence after escape sequence without one uniting arc. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials: rated 1.5/4


Vacation
Surprised? Yeah this is the film that prompted me to do a double review. I don't know what happened to me. Compared to Scorch Trials, Vacation is a low budget comedy and also with questionable vfx in some scenes. However, what it has is a plot that's involving enough to make me care about the film. As Ed Helms' character Rusty Griswold said, this movie will stand on its own without having the audience know about the original 1983 Vacation, and it sure did. The movie works for me. It stars Ed Helms of The Hangover films, Christina Applegate from Anchorman along with stellar supporting/cameo roles like Chris Hemsworth, Charlie Day, Michael Pena, Norman Reedus, and Keegan Michael-Key. The story is about Rusty who desperately wants to spend time with his family by going on a nostalgia trip to Walley World, a place where his family went on vacation 30 years ago. But like his family 30 years ago, this trip doesn't go well as planned.

If you've seen this movie, you'll see a lot of jokes. At least half of those jokes are too juvenile for me (I'm famously hard to impress with comedy). But those jokes work when they're delivered awesomely by Ed Helms or even Hemsworth. The movie is fun and silly, it's just a light entertainment on a lazy day. It is also moving and has some message to tell to families. For me, when my parents is trying their best, we should support them. It's pretty deep for a film that features Chris Hemsworth with a prosthetic penis stuffed in his underwear. The musical scenes also delivered the best laughs like during the rafting scene or anytime that Seal song is sung. This film might not be among modern comedy greats like The Hangover or Bridesmaids, but it doesn't mean it's not entertaining in its own right. Vacation: rated 2.5/4




SPPS. (super powered post-script)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is having its best season so far. Five episodes and all are confident, mature hour of television. The same can't be said for Heroes Reborn, which is everything opposite of AoS. On the DC camp, Supergirl is nice. At least the effects are good, and the characters are not annoying or fake, unlike The Flash or Arrow. But if Supergirl is going for the alien-of-the-week type format, I'm outta here.


Up next
I might skip Pan because I'm too busy. But I really wanna see that film.
I'm continuing my streak of watching (financial or critical) duds of 2015 in cinemas, so far Jupiter Ascending, Tomorrowland, Terminator: Genisys and Fantastic Four are on that list.
But surely will see Everest when it comes out on Nov 6.

Tokyo Flixin'

When I was in Italy, I looked at my American roommate's Netflix and it's filled with movies I really want to watch. TV series that I always want to watch like Parks and Rec or The Office are in the library, arthouse movies are also there, obscure foreign movies too. So, when the Japanese Netflix was launched last month, I was pretty interested. Then just this week I was doing stuff, and I opened Netflix's website and they offered free one-month trial. So, I accepted the offer and was floored with disappointment. Here are my observation about the new service.

1. Limited film library
The Hollywood movies are mostly the new blockbusters like Star Trek, Iron Man, or The Hunger Games. But mostly they're only a part of the trilogy or the franchise. Like only The Fellowship of the Ring is available among the Middle Earth movies, or only Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk are available from the bulk MCU films. No Harry Potter at all. And the older films are also like that. I was excited when I stumbled upon Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior but then disappointed because the predecessor isn't in the library. The classic movies you can literally count with your hands, like Goodfellas or Breakfast at Tiffany's. Disappointment 1, Netflix 0

2. Handicapped foreign films
I'm so happy that there are titles that I really want to watch but might not be that interested to buy the DVDs or even illegally download. These are the foreign titles like Brazil's City of God or Almodovar's creepy-looking The Skin I Live In or Haneke's The Piano Teacher. The original Millennium trilogy is complete in Netflix Japan. HOWEVER, being a non-Japanese it's pretty hard/impossible to watch those movies as they are only offered with either the original audio or Japanese dub and solely Japanese subtitles. I don't know if this is a free one-month thingy or not but if it's not, then Netflix is heading for a very small market. Disappointment 2, Netflix 0

3. Japanese films are meh
I'm not a fan of Japanese films. But when I see Japanese films section, I excitedly search for Like Father Like Son, which is nada. And then the box office smash Eien no zero, which is also another nada. Even if they're available, it would be useless because they're not offered with any foreign language subtitles or audio. MEH. But if you can speak Japanese, I'm happy to tell you that some good films are here like Rashomon, Battle Royale, and the horror classics like Ju-On or The Ring. But I suck at Japanese so, disappointment 3, Netflix 0



4. TV series are pretty ok
The Netflix originals are here like Orange is the New Black, Narcos (which I just start watching), and Daredevil are here. But sadly no House of Cards. Many of my favorite TV shows are also here like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Supernatural and my high school times favorite guilty pleasure Gossip Girl. They bring back good memories but sadly some of them are not updated to their current seasons, like for example Homeland is only available until the 2nd season or Downton Abbey is also until the second. Stray thoughts: so many CW shows..

5. Documentary win
The docs are the good stuff in Netflix Japan, but I must emphasize that most of the potential Netflix subscribers are not doc hungry hipsters. But the titles offered are actually really great like Oscar winners or nominees like Searching for Sugar Man, Virunga, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Super Size Me, and Chasing Ice. Virunga and Jiro are currently on my queue.

6. Beasts Idris Fukunaga
Probably the most legit reason to have this free-one month trial right now. Cary Fukunaga-directed, Idris Elba-starring, serious awards contender Beasts of No Nation has been unleashed on Netflix from yesterday.

Update Nov 11: I have officially cancelled my membership to Netflix Japan, although during the last week they have added a considerable amount of movies to their library. Still not sold. In the end, the programs I enjoyed were the documentaries. Finally watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Going Clear.

In conclusion, Netflix Japan is doing something new by reaching to new market on the other side of the planet. Although they're not new to the streaming game in Japan (Hulu and some Japanese channels are here first), they should be offering something better. As an international company, which has produced numerous exclusive shows and now a ground-breaking feature film, Netflix Japan is not international-minded. They are aimed at Japanese people, while Netflix might pique the interests of others residing in Japan that are not Japanese people. Imma tell you the cold truth, I learned that Japanese people really respects the way of the olden days, new services like Netflix might not be interesting enough. Therefore, the movies and shows offered have to cater to not only Japanese but also international individuals residing in Japan. This can be improved by having at least English subtitles for every movie on Netflix. Otherwise, Netflix's bound to fail soon.