Spectre

The name is Bond, James Bond.

007 is back in action, and this time, he is being pushed beyond the limits. Skyfall has paved way for the arrival of Spectre, 24^th instalment of James Bond, and Daniel Craig’s 4^th time reprising his role as 007.

Unlike the previous Bond movies Craig has played, the opening of Spectre has reverted back to the traditional way, with Bond walking pass the screen and taking a shot at the audience. Spectre started off with Bond settling a personal mission in Mexico, which is unsanctioned by MI6. His is tracing a villain named Marco Garcia (a named mentioned in a video sent from previous “M” to Bond after her death), which turns out to be a member of Spectre, a secret organization which will be revealed to Bond as the movie goes on. Bond then meets Blofeld, who is the mastermind behind all the tragic situations Bond had encountered starting from “Casino Royale”. Before the movie ends, Bond seems to have left MI6 behind, and chooses to continue his life with Swan (daughter of Mr. White), the woman he loves.

Spectre is nevertheless, in my opinion, another Bond film which lives up to its expectation. The story was well planned and presented smoothly. It continued the stories which were brought down from Casino Royale, where none of us knew, that Bond has already made his first encountered with a member of Spectre. The linkage between Spectre and the movies before can be considered as flawless. Also Spectre has managed to show the darker side of James Bond, who is willing to go beyond the extent and do everything that is necessary in order to save the person he loves and to protect his country. We also managed to see a Bond who believes in love, where he did everything he can to keep Swan safe and protected. If there is one thing that I’ll have to comment on, that will be Blofeld. He was too mysterious in the movie, even when he was revealed. However, that is who Blofeld is, head of a mysterious organization, hence the character should be mysterious as well.

No doubt, to me, Daniel Craig is considered as the best James Bond, followed closely by Sean Connery. His connection with James Bond has proven to be, unbreakable. He successfully portrayed James Bond as a cold-hearted, ruthless assassin, but at the same time, a man who knows how to love and treasure. There is a conflict in Craig’s Bond, but a conflict which I enjoyed. He doesn’t has the handsome look, and neither he is charming, but Craig has just got the Bond in him. A lot of people were criticizing Craig’s appointment as the new Bond when Casino Royale was announced as the next Bond film (I did had my doubts too). When Casino Royale was released, all the criticisms came to an end, as Craig showed the audiences he has got everything it takes to be Bond, not only Bond, but a close-to-perfect Bond. Daniel Craig is no doubt a true James Bond, and his name will goes down as one of the best Bond ever lived.

Rating: 4/5

(P/S: I’m a die-hard fan of James Bond, hence the rating might be biased as well. Should you not believe in my rating, watch Spectre, then you’ll know whether my rating biased or not.)

How I felt about - Terminator Genisys

So Skynet has returned once again, so does Arnold, reprising his role as the prominent Terminator. It has been quite some time since I last saw Arnold in a big screen. I got to say, he has grown much older since the Terminator: Rise of the Machines.

Terminator Genisys, the movie started in the future, which is 2029. John Connor is the leader of Human Resistance Army(HRA), where the battle between Human and Machines begun after Judgement Day happened. At the end of the war, where the HRA has almost destroy Skynet's core, it has managed to sent a Terminator back to the past to kill Sarah Connor, mother of John Connor. The forces John Connor's hand, who has no choice but to send Kyle Reese back to the future to protect his mother. Unexpectedly, Skynet, which itself has disguised as a Terminator, T-5000, attacks John Connor when the time machine is running, leaving Kyle no choice but only to witness his leader's downfall. Upon his arrival in 1984, Kyle found out that the timeline has changed while Sarah and her Guardian, the Terminator which was sent back when she was 9 years old to protect, has built a time machine. Sarah wants to travel to 1997 to destroy Skynet and stop Judgement Day from happening, but Kyle persuaded her to travel to 2017, by telling her that the future has changed. They are captured by police the moment they arrived in San Francisco, 2017 and are sent for treatment in a police station. John Connor appears and helps them to escape. The Guardian arrives, shoots John Connor and......................OKAY! ENOUGH OF TELLING THE STORY.

Basically, I wouldn't say that Terminator Genisys is a 2 thumbs up movie, neither it is bad too. It managed to bring the element of the original Terminator into it, where the someone is sent back from the future to protect the VIP. Instead of watching an old and dull repeating story from the trilogies, Genisys managed to create an alternate timeline, where the people from the past has been preparing for the arrival of someone from future. Also in this movie, the Terminator which was tasked with protecting Sarah also showed more human emotions given the fact that it has been leaving with her since she was 9 years old. What I like about this movie is that it has shown more feelings, where the Guardian sacrifices himself to protect Sarah. Also it has given Sarah a chance to make her own choice, rather than the original timeline where everything has been fixed and Sarah has to accept Kyle Reese in order to give birth to John Connor. Instead of doing so, Genysis has included more of a realistic feelings and mindset of a human. 

What I dislike about this movie is that the alternate timeline is a little too messy. Also it was a little too rush where it never really explained what happened to John Connor, only a brief flashback of his memories. The plot twist is a surprise element (only to be spoiled by the trailer), but lack of solid reasons and explanations. Anyhow, in my opnion, at least Terminator Genysis managed to recover from the widely criticize Terminator: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation. It gives the audience something different, but not something too far away from the originals. To me, Terminator Genysis is a mediocre movie.  

My personal rating: 2.5/5

P/S: Trust me, don't watch the 2nd trailer if you still haven't do so. Head straight to the cinema.

How I felt about - Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of the superb blockbuster in 2015, has been released.

I'm sure Marvels fans will be looking forward to this movie because, I, myself, as a non-Marvel fans is also craving to watch even before the trailer was released. 

Now let's talk about the movie plot first. The movie started with a battle in Sokovia, where the Avengers are in pursuit of Loki's (The Avengers' main antagonist) scepter, which has fallen into the hands of Hydra, a terrorist organization. During the battle, they come across with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, superhero twins created by Hydra with the power of Loki's scepter. The team manage to retrieve the scepter and Iron Man persuades Hulk to harness the energy of the scepter to create a new artificial intelligence to complete "Ultron" program. Somehow (I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY) Ultron become self-aware and decides that all human must be destroyed. There comes the battle and so on...............................The final battle saw the stand off between the Avengers with new recruits including Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. At the end of the story, as you and I know would have predicted, Ultron is defeated but at the expense of Quicksilver's life.

Okay, now, getting into my personal opinions. First of all, if I am to compare the sequel and prequel, I prefer former. Why? Because I find that "The Avengers" has a better story-line than "Age of Ultron". I'm not saying that Age of Ultron is bad but I somehow feel that the flow of the story is not fluent enough, which leads me to the question HOW THE HELL CAN ULTRON BECOME SELF-AWARE IS SUCH A SHORT MOMENT??? Also there is a common situation which happens in both the sequel and prequel. Villains from both managed to psychologically and mentally break down the whole Avengers team. Loki tried to turn the Avengers against each other and Ultron, did exactly the same thing again. I think that they should consult a psychologist or build up a better bond or chemistry among the team before thinking about heading into another war. 

There is one thing though the movie has truly satisfied me, which is the final battle in Sokovia(AGAIN). This battle truly shows what it means to be a superhero. The Avengers are all ready to sacrifice themselves in order to stop Ultron from succeeding his evil plant which eradicating humanity to save Earth. Wasn't this the main objective of Avengers? 

On the other hand, the war between human and machines has truly defined what it means to be a machine. A machine has no soul, it doesn't have any feelings nor mercy. Ultron's doings in the movie have shown the world what a disaster is if a man-made artificial intelligence becomes self-aware. Nature has its limits. So do Man. Unknown to human, is that everyday, we are creating a new monster to fight ourselves, We are basically preparing our path towards extinction. Technology is important for the improvements of human life but only up to a certain extend. There are certain things which are better left untouched. A human robot, is something I truly believe that it shouldn't exist. If it does and if it happens to be self-aware, then maybe John Connor is humanity's only last hope.

P/S: I'm not anti-technology so please don't mistaken me as God's messenger for condemning the existence of technology. I too embrace technology. By the way, Ultron's voice is so sexy.

Students and Politics

What does a student has got to do with politics? The answer varies from one student to another.

Last night when I was in "pasar malam", there was a group of "Pakatan Rakyat"(opposition) members requesting for signatures as a petition to free Anwar Ibrahim. It was part of their freeing Anwar from jail campaign. The group approached us and requested for signatures. My instant reaction was to sign but then when I saw my friends rejected and walked away, I chose to follow too. My friend said that we should not be involved in politics due to our identity as a student. Right now we should keep our head down and leave politics aside. Let the grown ups take the fight into their hands. I was thinking, aren't we grown ups? Aren't we matured enough to think? Aren't we should be the generation leading the reformation of our country? 

What has happened to this country? As a student we are given enough education to define right and wrong. The country is falling apart and all we do are just to sit down and wait for others to save our future? It is easy for some people to leave the country if they do not find any hope lefts in this country. But what about those who are stuck in the country due to some other reasons? Should they suffer for the mistakes that are made by the current government of our country? NO! Everyone deserves better than we they are having now. 

Look at Adam Ali, a Malay who is leading a group of younger generation in his quest of reforming the country for a brighter future. Wasn't he a student just like us? Doesn't he want a bright future who can be pampered with money? Instead of choosing that future, he gave up what he is having now, took a place in the front line, fighting for a change in our country. 

As a student who uses pen all the time, is that so hard for us to hold a pen a sign a signature? You might think that your own signature doesn't even worth a penny, but when time comes every signature might be the key to unlock a better future for we Malaysians. Student movement is what lack in Malaysia right now. If we, students are brave enough to step up and face the evil regime that is depleting what's left in our country now, who knows, spring might just be around the corner. 

P/S: You can say I'm a hypocrite because I too walked away from the request. 

How I felt about Furious 7

Fast & Furious 7, one of the most anticipated movie in 2015, has come on screen.

Now let me clarify one thing before I start, I'm not a die-hard fan of Fast & Furious but I have watched every single film which has come under the name of Fast & Furious. I, personally, am only interested in the street racing scenes. Call me stupid but that's true. I have never watched any Fast & Furious series in cinema, until now, FURIOUS 7 IS THE FIRST EVER.

Torreto, leader and the most magnificent fighter in the crew, has called on a "one last ride" to his men as they were being hunted by Deckard Shaw, brother of Owen Shaw(villain in Furious 6) due to vengeance. Deckard killed Han in Tokyo, blew up 1327 and put Hobbs into hospital. Toretto is then approached by Mr Nobody, a leader of covert ops team, offering to assist him in hunting down Shaw, in return of saving a hacker named Ramsey who created a software named God's Eye. The movie went on to Caucasus Mountain, then Abu Dahbi and finally the fight was being brought back to the streets of LA.

Overall, the movie isn't a disappointed one. In fact, I would say that this is not a movie just about street racing, it is about protecting the family. Like the slogan from the poster, "vengeance hits home", so the family members will doing everything they can to protect each other. For the fighting scenes, I would prefer Hobbs v Deckard instead of Toretto v Deckard. The latter is too overdone. Faces being whacked by bars and guess what, NO ONE EVEN FELT A SENSE OF DIZZINESS. Try using a broom and smashes it right into your face and see how you will feel.

Jason Statham, he perfectly executed the role as a villain. Being a bad-ass brother is not easy, but Jason, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU DID IT!

The racing scenes never disappoint me too. They lived up to their name as "fast and furious". I really enjoyed the movie for whole, but sadly, the ending was too cruel.

The send-off for Paul was truly a touching one. It is hard to imagine another sequel without Paul. The ending saw Brian and Dom bidding each other farewell and drive off in separate ways, acknowledging Brain is better off retired with his family. But we all know the truth that the scene is a send-off for Paul, who had left us on November 30, 2013 due to a fatal car crash that claimed his life. The parting was followed by a montage of Paul's journey throughout the series, from the very first Fast and Furious until the current one. Kudos to the director and crew's of Furious 7 as they have done a great job for Paul.

"One last ride", for Paul.

For Paul