TO KISS OR KILL HIM

RED 2 (2013)
3 out of 5 stars

No one ever really retires, do they?

The group of Retired and Extremely Dangerous retirees are back this time to locate a nuclear weapon and prevent it from going off. It’s amazing how people of a certain age can still handle firearms with so much composure.

One of the best things is watching deal with able-bodied young men as if they were imbeciles. The next best thing is LEE BYUNG-HUN! He’s the youngest among them so he has the most action scenes. Eye candy!

Marvin: If there’s one thing I know, it’s women and covert operations.
Frank: Marvin, that’s two things.
Han Cho Bai: No, grasshopper. It is not.

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PLEDGE OOZMA KAPPA!

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)
4 out of 5 stars

This is the prequel to Monsters, Inc. and it tells the beginnings of the top scaring team – Mike and Sulley!

I’ve been looking forward to watching this and it does not disappoint! Mike and Sulley didn’t start off as friends. Mike being small and un-scary versus Sulley, who descended from a line of great scarers. When circumstances forces both of them to join forces to stay in the University, it results in an unexpected friendship.

The members of Oozma Kappa were really hilarious especially during the scene at the library. The team of oddballs can be very endearing. Baby Mike is really cute and he wears braces! There were many laughs especially during their training sessions. Other voices I recognized were Nathan Fillion’s (as Johnny) and John Krasinski’s (as Frank McCay).

Johnny: Enjoy the attention while it lasts, boys. After you lose, no one will remember you.
Mike: Maybe. But when you lose, no one will let you forget it.

STAY TILL THE END OF THE CREDITS FOR AN EXTRA SCENE!

I’M GETTING THE PIG!

RED (2010)
3 and a half out of 5 stars

RED stands for Retired and Extremely Dangerous. Based on a comic book series, it begins when former CIA agent, Frank Moses, is attacked in his own home. He brings along his love interest, Sarah, and gathers his buddies (Joe, Marvin and Victoria) – all retirees with lots of class and automatic weapons.

It’s like even though they look like normal retirees on the outside: hanging out at the retirement home, arranging flowers but it seems they always keep themselves armed. It’s a very funny movie, especially those parts where John Malkovich appears. He’s over-sensitive to technology, buzzing overhead helicopters or strange women who might be following them but he’s got the best weapon in the movie: the pig! Plus, Helen Mirren is really good with the guns! Non-stop firing! And Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda) from Gilmore Girls has a bit role in it!

TO THE WORLD~

STATE OF PLAY (2009)
– 3 and a half out of 5 stars

It’s actually a pretty complicated story, about how the apparent suicide or murder of a congressman’s lead researcher/mistress leads to the unravelling of a corporate conspiracy. The lead reporter in the story happens to have had a turbulent relationship with the congressman in the past and as he tries to get behind the truth, their lives are all at risk.

Personally, I wanted to watch this movie because of Rachel McAdams! It’s been so long since I saw her onscreen and Singapore didn’t air both her movies produced last year, so this is the first one since Red Eye. But the story was intriguing and just when you thought everything was solved, another loophole appears and there you have it – the actual perpetuator acting as the victim. Sometimes, the means used to get the means to the end won’t go according to plan. Sounds complicated, right? Well, you wouldn’t understand unless you saw the movie.

FRESH CUT

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS (2007)
– 3 and a half out of 5 stars

Caught National Treasure: Book of Secrets with my family. It’s quite good, considering that most sequels turn out disappointing. I guess treasure hunts are seldom lousy, in a sense. It’s well-paced and it’s wonderful how these clues are concealed in seemingly obvious places yet it takes a bit of brain matter to discover them. I especially enjoyed the banter between Jon Voight and Helen Mirren.

HER MAJESTY

THE QUEEN (2006)
– 3 and a half out of 5 stars 

Helen Mirren stars as the Queen Elizabeth II, in this movie that takes place after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The main issue was how each party viewed her death – was it a private affair or was it much more than that, after all Princess Diana was known as the People’s Princess.

Michael Sheen bears an eerie resemblance to Tony Blair, it’s hard to imagine he has a role in the Underworld movies. Watching this also gave me more insight into the death of Princess Diana, compared to what I knew I was a Primary 3 kid.