Movie Review Time!

It was a busy weekend for the David Family as we went on a movie binge. We watched 3movies last week and they were as distinct and unique as they can be. It's great to see my kids having my genes where they really appreciate movies. They will watch it and then re-enact the scenes for us or they will remember something that they don't know and ask us about it. Unlike Melissa who will come out watching the best comedy or action show which she will fully enjoy and after 2 minutes of our the cinema she will have almost no recollection of the movie.

The first time I did this with Melissa was back when Cathay and Pavilion cinemas were side by side. We watched Disney's "Little Mermaid" and then ran across to watch Chow Sing Chi's "Saint of Gamblers". Boy, was she confused after that! Now did the mermaid swim to the witch so that she could play poker better and save her true love and uncle?? What was the crab doing in a poker game??

That's why Daddy's cooler!

On with the review. This weekend we watched "Monsters vs Aliens 3D", "Terminator Salvation" and "17 Again".

1. Monster vs Aliens
I highly recommend the 3D version. Since it was double the price, we watched it on a Wed which was cheaper....hey I am half Indian so that makes me half-cheap. I will spring for the tickets but on a Wed....wait a minute, I think Melissa paid for them.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable movie and the 3D made it a lot more fun. It is a story of an "Area 51" type of organization that looks after failed experiments or monsters. An asteroid hit girl who has grown to be 50 foot tall with enormous strength is put together with a cockroach man (I can see Melissa cringing), a half man, half sea creature (looks like something that was a result of Aquaman mating with a fish during a drunken night) and a blob named B.O.B..

BOB was funny because he had no brains. Something like our members parliament but only funnier. And they were called upon to....save the world! Hooray! Of course its a happy ending and everyone learns a lesson. The story line is tried and tested so nothing unusual but the jokes and moments were pretty hilarious.

Look out for the scene when they visit Susan's (giant lady voiced by Resse Witherspoon) home. It is very enjoyable but not enough for me to buy a DVD to keep and collect.


2. Terminator Salvation
I had a lot of mixed reactions when I hear about this movie. Many felt that it was not up to the hype. I am not sure if its the Termninator hype or the Christian Bale (he saved the Batman franchise after Val Kilmer and George Clooney screwed it) hype. My daughter fell asleep and Melissa wasn't sure why John Connor's father is younger than him.

I found it to be highly entertaining. Maybe its because I let my expectations start very low but I thought I didn't have to. I would have liked it to be more fast moving though but it was a leading very gradually to the story we know which wasn't easy with so many premutations set up in the TV Series and earlier pre-quels. So the action wasn't as fast as T2 (which was the best Terminator movie for me) but hey, Terminator is Terminator.

Plot was not bad and the story flow was commendable. Effects was alright but the show's setting was kinda dark. We enjoyed it (including Mandy who enjoyed her sleep). We will see a few more installations of this new Terminator. Christian Bale just cornered 2 very important franchise roles and he cornered it well.


3. 17 Again
This is a movie for my Mandy since she likes Zac Efron. I was hoping of more Matthew Perry but I think he only appeared in about 5 minutes of the whole movie. It is a chic flic with a twist. Again tried and tested. Matthew Perry's character has had a horrible life and he blames his family for it. He wishes he could be 17 again to set things right.....for himself. Along the way, he realizes that he was sent back to set things right with his family.....deja vu?

There are some hilarious moments when his best friend tries his luck on the principal. It was a relatively weak movie but if you like Zac Efron (for some reason like maybe you are gay or maybe you are 8), you may enjoy this. He is not too bad here as a 35 year old who turned back to 17.

Other than that, it is a true "cliched" movie. If you have better things to do, go do it. Hopefully it will be shown on cable TV in a year or two.


So there you have it readers. A snapshot of the movies we watched. Better catch them now as end of this month....Revenge is Coming!