The Great Gatsby
Baz Luhrmann is actually one of my favorite directors (thanks to the eternally brilliant Moulin Rouge!) and he's one of the few directors that all of his films I have watched. He made his return after Australia, and bringing F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless epic to the screen. Joining the circus are Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. The film was trying so hard to be epic. It has a magnificent set design (and CGI). The music was superb, especially Lana Del Rey's ballad that kept blaring everytime Daisy and Gatsby are on the screen. The colors were vibrant too. It has the right castings except maybe for Carey Mulligan or maybe her part was too underwritten. I experienced all the amazement that Carraway had for Gatsby but not Gatsby's feeling for Daisy. There are also an important scene that was becoming unintentionally funny, which is a bummer. Moreover, the computerized background and CG crane shots maybe too much too handle. Luhrmann's dependence on those computers backfired much for a film like this. Plus, the 3D looks pointless. The Great Gatsby: rated 3/4.After Earth
The second film in the 2013 Earth-in-ruins genre. After the superb eyegasm-eargasm that was Oblivion, this looks really pale in comparison. However, it is not M. Night Shyamalan's fault. It was Will Smith's fault. He tried so hard to make his son a star in a just-passable sci-fi tale. It has ideas, yes but not explored enough which was a big shame. The whole concept could still be elaborated, with the ghosting stuff and the 'fear is a choice' stuff. While the visuals on screen are not bad there are some occasional bad CGI and set design. The future tech looks cheap while it was quite awesome when you think about it. The story is downright predictable, and right when the credits rolled I thought, "it's over? just like that?" The whole film feels like a sub-plot to a bigger story. Overall, it's not fair that critics blamed Shyamalan for this, he's not even remotely responsible. For me, AE is less enjoyable than The Last Airbender. It was still a watchable film, but not the one you'd spend your money on or watch twice. After Earth: rated 2/4.The Hangover Part III
A Hangover film without any hangovers is like Bourne without Jason Bourne (read: The Bourne Legacy). And that what's happened to Part III. A non-comedy classified as a comedy, just like Bourne Legacy: a non-action classified as action. First of all, Ken Jeong is not funny, he's annoying. I found so few laughs in this film, and the craziness that made Part 1 and Part II super-enjoyable was totally absent. Instead we get more action than Bourne Legacy or peril more than After Earth. The after-credits scene was ultimately funnier than the whole film. The Wolfpack was good but not given enough laughs to carry the film as a comedy. After watching this, you realized that Part II was not lazily written because it's still funny and crazy and inappropriate, Part III was because it's not funny, not crazy and totally appropriate for the kids to watch. The Hangover Part III: rated 1.5/4.Come back in two weeks were I will finally review Fast and Furious 6, or in Japan called Wild Speed: Euro Mission!!
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