Public Enemies

This movie tells the story of John Dillinger, a bank robber during the Great Depression. A great performance by Johnny Depp showing a man that loved what he did and lived openly in the roads of Chicago. Eventually the government and FBI start to put more effort in running down crime so John ends up alone and is eventually killed. I really like the story which is based in real people from those tough times of the depression.

I give 3.5 out of 5 for this movie.

10 Conditions of Love

Yesterday I saw this amazing documentary about Rebiya Kadeer who advocates for the independence of Uyghur (East Turkestan) from China. It shows the struggles and punishment her family went and go through because of that. Kadeer rose from obscurity and poverty to become the seventh richest person in China and was two-time nominee for the Peace Nobel Prize. The documentary is fantastic, well produced and bringing the reality from the point of view of Kadeer and her family. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about this region of China and their culture and beliefs. Despite the fact it was a monday and really cold and raining the theatre was fully booked since this moving is getting a good word of mouth. I would recommend this documentary to anybody interested in learning about the struggles people go through to see their people free.

I give 4 out of 5 for this movie.

I also had the opportunity to the the short movie prize winning "Two Men". Basically there are two men running really fast one after the other and a third person watching them and narrating the ideas that go through his mind. I think is a fantastic idea.

The Proposal

Just came back from the theatre, where we saw The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. We were expecting a comedy with a lot of jokes, but in fact this movie was quite serious with only a few funny moments. The story line follows an idea that has been used so many times before, in which a marriage is staged to avoid deportation. As usual, the couple hate each other at first, and end up falling in love. Unfortunately the chemistry between the two people was not there, and it was less that clear when they were falling in love. Overall, the movie was reasonable with beautiful views from Alaska.

We give this movie 3 out of 5.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a few weeks ago and although it's a bit too late, we'd like to write a quick review about it. We really enjoyed watching the movie, but we might be a bit biased since we are great fans of the books. A lot of people think this movie is a bit boring, too dark and flat with almost no jokes, but it is supposed to be like that, since it is more about explanation and preparation for the final movie. This movie follows the book closely with just a tiny bit of modification to make it shorter.

We give this movie 4 out of 5.

G I Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Just came back from the cinema and decided to give some thoughts about the movie. We think G I Joe is quite entertaining and will be specially suitable for the young since it defines from the start a bunch of bad guys against the good guys. And the good guys always win; in fact the good guys have quite an easy time in this movie. Those who like action and special effects without thinking much of the story will have a fun time since this is the strength of Rise of Cobra. On the down side, the story is poor and there is no need for thinking since all the information is clearly given.

We give 3 out of 5 since it will be mostly appreciated for a restricted audience.

Up

Up just opened in Singapore and we went this afternoon to see it. As usual we had our baby Carla with us. She was behaved once again and got to see a bit of the movie herself. We had fun watching the movie as it is really entertaining. Children will love Up, since it is full of cute animals, colourful features and the story is easy to follow. Parents who accompany their children will also enjoy this movie, although it does not have clever jokes that are usually featured in animation movies to keep parents as well as children entertained.

We give 4 out of 5 for Up.

Hangover

Hangover has been really popular in the US raising more than 250 million up to today and the reason is clear. The movie is extremely entertaining, fast paced and funny most of the time. It is made for the young audiences but not too young since is R16. It can please everybody with a good sense of humor. The idea is not completely new: 4 guys go to Las Vegas for a bachelor night and crazy things happen. They wake up next morning and try to find out what happened the night before and go through a lot of trouble to find the groom who is missing.

We give 4 out of 5 for this movie. Worth your time and money.

Dear Readers

In this blog we will post small reviews of the movies as we see them. We live in Singapore and go to a cinema nearby called Eng Wah in West Mall. We usually bring our baby Carla and sit in a sofa in the back and enjoy the movie.