Movie Reviews

Wilson Yip (director) / Edmond Wong (screenplay)

CAST :

Donnie Yen … Ip Man
Lynn Hung … Yong
Simon Yam … Quan
Sammo Hung … Hung
Xiaoming Huang … Wong Leung
Siu-Wong Fan … Jin
Darren Shahlavi…Twister

“Ip Man 2″ picks up where “Ip Man” left off. Ip Man (Donnie Yen) travels to Hong Kong with his family with the intent to propagate Wing Chun to the Hong Kong masses. The first hour charts the establishment and proliferation of Wing Chun by Ip Man. The hero is confronted with poverty, zero recognition, and threats from others masters for the right to teach.

The climax of the film shows Ip Man and Hung focusing their energies on defeating loudmouth British boxing champ Twister, played by Hong Kong stuntman Darren Shahlavi.

Apparently, the sequel is basically a rehash of the first movie’s major plot, showing Ip Man defeating the other masters, followed by his humbling of arrogant foreigners.

The speed of Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung is impressive. Their fight, which serves as the main selling point, ends in a draw. However, I must say the script does a grave disservice to Simon Yam’s Quan and Fan Siu Wong’s Jin, where both are completely wasted as there are not many fighting scenes with Jin and not at all for Fan.

Ip Man 2 depicts Chinese culture in its truest form, as simple as of drinking tea, to respecting teachers and patriotism for your motherland.

I suppose if you’re a real connoisseur of martial arts, there is some pleasure to be gleaned from the two men’s divergent fighting style.

-by Audrey-

Recently I caught ‘Avatar’ in 3D and to my surprise it was full house as the show opened early last December. Initially I have no intention to catch the show as the trailer doesn’t interest me. I was away for holiday and when I came back, people around me were selling it to me. Most of them watched it more than once.

As first I was telling them I will catch it when the DVD is out. However they were telling me the effect is best on the screen in 3D. What happens next is that I was sold!

Let me give you the gist of the story…
The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora’s reserves of a precious mineral which can fetch them millions, while the Na’vi—a race of indigenous humanoids—resist the colonists’ expansion, which threatens the continued existence of the Na’vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. Ironically, the “spy” who mingled among the Na’vi eventually joined forces with the Na’vi to fight against his own race to defend the Pandora and its residents.

My own verdict of the show… I LOVE IT! It’s a show not to be missed. The idea of the story is fresh and something different. I like the computer graphics, the interesting plants and species being portrayed.

Human beings are often found engaging in activities that are harming the environment and the living things on earth, due to their greed and self-centeredness.

Thinking back, how many people actually bother to slow down their pace and appreciate what Mother Nature has bestowed upon us? On the other hand, many people are always exploring new arenas like outer space and unknown territories.

I was just sharing with my colleagues the other day that I was very happy that I get to touch and feel the grass and trees on my last holiday. As the car was cruising along the road and passing by the mountains… A thought came to my mind “Wow! How beautiful the grasses are on the mountains with varying shades of earth colours. If only I can touch it or lie on it.”

Whenever we stopped over at places, I never miss the chance to mingle among the trees and grass and I even lie and roll on it. Yes, my friends say I am crazy. It feels good to be in and with nature.

We never know when we will wake up not seeing the sun or the moon might just disappear one day.

For our future generations, love the earth and do our part to keep it thriving.

-by Audrey-

I caught Astro Boy last weekend. All along I know there is this cartoon character yet I never know the origin of it.

Let me give you brief background information about Astro Boy.
His “father” is a scientist. One day the scientist’s son ventured into the laboratory while they are having a dangerous experiment. The experiment went wrong and the boy was sacrificed. Out of grief, the father “cloned” a robot with the memory and appearance of his son, in the hope of replacing his son. Soon he found that Astro Boy is just another robot who can’t replace his son. He is too perfect to be true. Devastated, he chases his ‘son’ away from home. Astro Boy was heartbroken.

Astro Boy is powered by blue energy. This is highly limited and sought after by the government against warfare. Hence, Astro Boy is being hunted down and the father is supposed to remove the blue energy from Astro Boy, which literally means ending his life!

The story ended on a happy note. Astro Boy found his purpose in life (to save the world) and the father finally recognized Astro Boy as his son.

One thing I learnt from this show: Many times we tend to make impulsive decisions that we may regret later. Yet the decision actually creates an impact on others, which we must be responsible for. This really serves as a reminder to think twice and weigh the consequences before we act.

Overall, I think it’s a nice show worth watching. Good computer graphic with storyline. Touching scenes reflecting struggle between father-child relationships. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

How long do you want to delay your dreams and to what extent would you go to fulfill your dreams?

Those were the thoughts that struck me upon watching “Up”.

“Up” speaks of a young Carl Fredrickson meeting a young adventure-spirited girl named Ellie. Both young protagonists adored the same well-known adventurer and dreamt of following the path of their idol – to a Lost Land in South America. The common dream lurked in the air as Carl and Ellie grew up and eventually got married. They lead a happy marriage (well, with real life hiccups that couples faced nowadays), and as things cropped up, their dream got postponed, again and again.

70 years later, Ellie died and while reminiscing and grieving over his loss, Carl remembered the promise he made to her. Then, when he unintentionally hit a construction worker in a fit of anger and was forced to go to a retirement home, he took a leapt of faith. Just before the retirement home personnel could take him, he and his house flew away, on balloons! (Do your Math, an average load of 50kg needs about 4000 Helium balloons to just lift it, how many balloons does it take lift a house, let alone fly away!?)

A lovely story of friendship blossomed when Carl met (and got stuck to) an 8-year-old boy named Russell, whose “doing all” means to get an “assisting the elderly” badge (Russell is the epitome of earnest persistence). Together, they embarked in an adventure, where they encountered talking dogs, an evil villain (which happened to be Carl’s and Ellie’s childhood idol!) and a rare bird named Kevin.

No doubt, “Up” is one of the top cartoons that tugs at my heartstrings. It has a rich emotional content, real in reflecting themes that are common in our lives today. All in all, “Up” taught me two things: One – the will to pursue your dream starts now, today. Most people fail to achieve their dreams in life for one simple reason: They never take the first step (or they postponed it too much). Two – be open to changes and learn to let go of the old and let in the new. If Carl had held on tightly to the house, he would not be able to save Kevin nor be a great friend to Russell eventually. Carl’s life changed from a “me-self-centered” to one that encompasses love and friendship when he finally decides to let go (literally) and embrace the adventure ahead.

So, take the step – go catch the movie, today!