Rush Hour 3 (2007)

                               

Sequels often aren't able to live up to the expectations that are placed on it by the film loving population, however this particular film doesn't disappoint. Expectations were great, especially upon Chris Tucker (playing James Carter) who became the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time of filming.

Rush Hour is an action packed comedy which follows Hong Kong's Inspector Lee (played by Jackie Chan) as he attempts to infiltrate the triad headed by Kenji (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) , whom which he grew up with in an orphanage. Once again, Lee's partner James Carter is not shy to flaunt his flamboyant personality throughout the movie, which often gets the dynamic duo into sticky situations.

Their antics are great for those that enjoy slapstick and also appeals as an action movie with the inclusion of Jackie Chan in the cast. Although the plot is somewhat unrealistic, this film was not created for the purpose of being a sophisticated plot, but rather as 90 minutes of jam-packed entertainment. If you have not seen this film yet, it is a must (obviously after watching the other 2 films) as you will be treated to comedy in the form of both slapstick and more sophisticated one-liners whilst Jackie Chan busts some sweet moves.

Rate: 8/10

Vivian

Moneyball

Baseball, along with gridiron, represents the quintessential national sports of America. Millions of dollars are spent on the sport annually, often with thousands attending a single game. Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, a failed baseball player who was drafted in the first round who traded in his career as a player to become a scout and eventually the 44-year old general manager of the Oakland Athletics (commonly referred to as the A's). The A's are an underfunded team that deal with the dilemma of constantly having their best players 'poached' by teams with deeper pockets and consequently struggle to compete. Whilst attempting to rebuild his team he meets the timid 24 year old Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill), an economist from Yale. Peter Brand alludes to Billy that baseball is not a sport of hoarding stars, but rather the performance of a team. The aim of baseball is essentially to get as many runs as possible without getting the three outs required for the opposition to complete an innings. In order to do this, the batters are required to 'get on base'. A plethora of other statistics come into play and shows the useful applications of mathematics in everyday life, including the sports that we love.

What makes Moneyball more intriguing is that it is based on true events and confirms that expected values (averages) hold in the long run (for those that are interested in Statistics). Not only does this film appeal to thinkers, but also the general population as baseball is an American pastime. This movie is a personal favourite as Billy Beane's journey also explores various moral issues.

Rate: 7.8/10

Vivian

Lan Kwai Fong (2011)

Cast: Jason Chan, Shiga, Chen Zhiming, Wang Zongyao, He Peiyu, Chen Jing
Director: Wilson Chin

Where shall I start? Well for starters… don’t watch the entire 90 minutes of this dismal and empty film just to perceive the nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong- Hong Kong. If Wilson Chin’s “Lan Kwai Fong” truly intended to demonstrate clubbing in Hong Kong, the first three minutes of the film pretty much sums it up – tourists, string of one night stands, gays, lesbians, cheating, drunkards, fighting, regret, ITS ALL THERE! After this short interval the directors has definitely overhyped the late night partying lifestyle in Hong Kong, often criticised as being lacklustre and posh.

“It definitely wasn't exactly what I had envisioned. This place has turned into an American attraction with overpriced drinks.”

“A short stretch of pubs and clubs that is over-rated and brimmed with throngs of tourists taking photos. Don't understand the hype about this place”

In this first instalment of Lan Kwai Fong, the focus is on Chen, starring as Steven; a wine salesman during the day and the typical playboy during the night. In the film Steven and his bunch of lavish friends’ (Sean and Jacky) encounters a rollercoaster of emotions and events ranging from one night stands to true love, hitting on anything in a pair of heels. Meanwhile, flight attendant Jennifer and playgirl Cat (Shiga Lin and Dada Chan) are newbies to clubbing and are quickly intertwined with the fate of Steven, who likewise spends their nights drinking themselves unconscious. The chemistry between the guys and the girls rapidly turns into something deeper as they seem to have a tracker attached on each other, meeting at the same club every week… and even years.

Ultimately like every other ending of a “fairy tale”, the heroines and heroes pit of in either love or despair. The poor acting in the film is often overlooked by the appearances of the actresses, showing their bareback and cleavages captivating the male audience. This brings up the point that the actors/actresses were probably appointed since they are already familiarised with exposing their skin in the Asian Entertainment Industry. However one thing positive about this film is the music! The high beat music really matches the experience of any club. Hear for yourself!

I’ll recommend this to teenagers who have a heap of spare time on their hands and those who enjoy looking at hot Hong Kong ladies.

Rate: 7.7/10

Jacky

Batman -- The Dark Knight Rises

Finally, this is the last movie of the sequel – The Dark Knight Rises

In this finale for the Batman series, Batman is challenged by Bane. This is the first time Batman had somebody overpowered him physically. Since, Bane was once a student of Ra’s al Ghul, they fought in the same way. Bane is constantly inhaling a substance that boosts his physique in terms of ferociousness, speed, power etc. Different from Joker, Bane tries to put the fight in a form that it is the Batman versus the whole Gotham City. Bane achieved this by freeing the criminals from the prison who were kept behind bars under the Dent Act. Bane revealed to the whole world that the Dent Act was a lie, and subsequently demolished what Dent stood for including his legacy and his beliefs. Meanwhile, there is also the catwoman who is a highly skilled thief who is trying to start a new life with her sister once she has stolen enough money. Luckily, Batman is not alone; a new officer – Blake is there to help. Together, Gordon, Blake and Batman work to save Gotham City in one last fight.

This sequel is really an appropriate ending for the Batman series. Christopher Nolan has placed these 3 movies in the perfect order. Audience start by seeing how Bruce struggles with his own belief and finally, how he was finally confronted with someone who is stronger than him.

Rank: 9/10

Andrew  

Batman -- The Dark Knight

Here comes my second movie – The Dark Knight

In this movie, Batman is confronted by the Joker – a master of crime. The Joker believes that the only rule in the world is no rules and therefore, he wants to unmask the Batman. On the other side, Harvey Dent the new District Attorney is being hailed as the white knight of Gotham. For years, Harvey spent his life putting criminals behind bars. However, the Joker doesn’t just “joke around”; he successfully killed Rachel who is Bruce’s intimate and the girlfriend of Harvey. This struck Harvey in the face and turned Harvey into a devil that trusts luck only which he thinks is unbiased at all. This is a psychological battle between Batman and the Joker to see who reaches his limit first and who can succeed in defending in what he believes.

This is what I consider the best of the 3 movies. The Joker is portrayed not a human but as a devil to begin with. He morally challenges the ethics, the laws almost everything that we established. Just as the Joker says “madness is just like gravity, all you have to do is just a little push”. I especially love the part when Joker says that he has an ace in the hall – while I was thinking of some terrible events, I never thought he was referring to Harvey. On the whole, this is a great movie by Christopher Nolan.

Rank: 9.5/10

Andrew  

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is based on a young adult novel by American writer Suzanne Collins. The story is set in the future in totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. All the young participants are forced to eliminate other competitors while competing in the life threatening situation in which everyone fights to survive. When Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male partner Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

The highlight of the film is the survival game played in the closely monitored and manipulated area. More importantly, the film was presented how it was written. Although the story is not a perfect plot for a movie, the main characters perform well with excellent visual effect and well directed. Nevertheless, the plot development is slow with some of the developing scenes are slow in build-up and without much excitement before the climax. Finally, the film lack in characters’ connection and the theme of the film is uncertain.

Rate: 7/10

Anson

The Vow

'The Vow' was about an unexpected event between an engaged couple, Leo and Paige. Paige lost her all memories with Leo. She does not understand why she left law school, broke her engagement with her previous fiancé, Jeremy, and why she had not been in touch with her family and friends. Her parents insisted her to go back to their home, but Leo found a voice message of her very happy and romantic. Paige decided to go back with Leo, hoping it will help her regain her lost memory. When her parents invited Leo and her to a dinner, Leo did not fit in with her family and friends. However, he persisted in his attempts to help her regain her memory, but Paige was more driven to learning why she left law school and broke her engagement to Jeremy. The relationship was further strained when Paige's dad trie to persuade Leo to divorce his daughter, and by Leo punching Jeremy for talking about chances to bed his wife. Paige rejoined law school and Leo signed divorce papers. She realized why she had made those decision before she had amnesia, when meets an old friend. Paige, while in class, started sketching, so she continued her interest in art. She also turned Jeremy down. The movie ends with an open-ending where Paige met Leo again.

The movie was touching, because even though Paige never regained her memories, she still found her way back to Leo. The movie was about self realisation, and exploring things you really want to do. It expresses a lot about finding the self you want to belong to. This is an ideal movie for couples, as it sends an important message that love is about treasuring and supporting each other. The chick-flick fans may also add this movie into their collection. Personally, the movie was alright, it was not exciting that's why it was not fantastic.

Rate: 6.8/10

Aubrey