This Means War

Released Year: 2012
Directed by McG

Casted by:
Reese Witherspoon as Lauren Scott
Chris Pine as Franklin Delano Roosevelt "FDR" Foster
Tom Hardy as Tuck Henson
Til Schweiger as Heinrich
Chelsea Handler as Trish
Story:

CIA agents and best friends FDR Foster and Tuck Henson are deployed to Hong Kong to prevent international criminal Heinrich from acquiring a weapon of mass destruction, but the mission goes awry, resulting in the death of Heinrich's brother Jonas and Heinrich swearing revenge against them. For their protection, their boss, Collins, assigns them to desk duty upon returning to America.

FDR is a womanizer, whose cover is that he's a cruise ship captain, while Tuck, who presents himself as a travel agent, has an ex-wife, Katie, and a son, Joe. After seeing a commercial for online dating, Tuck decides to sign himself up and is paired with Lauren Scott, a product testing executive who's dealing with the recent engagement of her ex-boyfriend. Her best friend, Trish, has signed her up for the same online dating site. FDR insists on being Tuck's backup for the date and hides nearby, but Tuck & Lauren hit it off.

Shortly thereafter, FDR runs into Lauren at a video store and tries to flirt with her, not knowing she's Tuck's date, but she notices that he's a ladies' man and ignores him. Intrigued, FDR crashes into one of Lauren's test groups and persuades her to go on a date with him, where they also enjoy themselves. Lauren feels guilty about dating two men at the same time, but is persuaded by Trish to make the best of the situation. FDR and Tuck soon discover that they're seeing the same woman and decide not to tell her that they know each other, to interfere with each others' dates, nor have sex with her and let her come a decision between them. However, they soon break their rules and use CIA technology to spy on her and discover her preferences, as well as try to sabotage one another. FDR and Lauren eventually have sex, and Tuck and Lauren nearly do as well, before Lauren interrupts it, feeling bad about herself.

One day, Lauren invites Tuck to lunch, while FDR discovers that Heinrich has come to America to get revenge against them. He interrupts Lauren's date with Tuck to warn him, but Tuck doesn't believe him and they get into a fight, during which Lauren discovers that they're friends and decides to leave alone with Trish. At that moment, they are captured by Heinrich and his men, who are pursued by FDR and Tuck. FDR and Tuck rescue Lauren and Trish after a car chase, in which they reveal that they are CIA agents and, on Lauren's advice, shoot the headlights on Heinrich's car, deploying the airbags and sending Heinrich's car spiraling out of control. FDR and Tuck, on different sides of the road, urge Lauren to come to their side, and she ultimately choses FDR as Heinrich dies when his car swerves off the bridge and crashes below. Lauren decides to be with FDR, and Tuck makes amends with him. Tuck soon reconciles with Katie and they get married once more.

Shortly thereafter, FDR and Tuck are about to parachute out of a cargo plane when FDR reveals that he'll marry Lauren, and also that he had sex with Katie before she met Tuck, and no longer feels guilty about it because Tuck had sex with Lauren. Tuck, however, reveals that they didn't go all the way and angrily tackles FDR out of the plane.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

This is a really nice movie, Witherspooon looks so sweet and cute in this movie. Love the way she perform in this movie, her body language and her tone is just right for her character. The two guys are hot too, Chris Pine is damn sexy but the english stalion Tom Hardy definitely took my breath away~

New Perfect Two 新天生一對

Released Year: 2012
Directed by 朱延平 Kevin Chu

Casted by:
周渝民 Vic Chou as 陳翰賓 阿B
小小彬 Benny Wen as 彬彬 Bin
陳嘉樺 Ella Chen as 馬妞 Niu
楊冪 Mini Yang as 方家蔚 Wei
Story:

B is a car racer who lost confidence after one terrible accident. The wife Wei left him together with their son Bin. B was staying at a hill edge near a beach where Niu and her sister work. Wei came and left Bin to stay with him. B put a lot of feeling towards his son and willing to earn money to make a new life with Bin.

B went back to car racing and hope to win back Wei and Bin but he lost. In the end, Wei brought back Bin to B and B attached with Niu who is always behind him all these while.

L² Scored: 6.5/10

L² Comment:

Its quite special and i believe would be the first time Vic Zhou acted in a father character. It is good though still a bit of ammature~ The storyline is a bit normal, nothing really special... but the view & sceneries at there is fabulous~ :)

Evan Almighty

Released Year: 2007
Directed by Tom Shadyac

Casted by:
Steve Carell as Evan Baxter
Morgan Freeman as God
Lauren Graham as Joan Baxter
Johnny Simmons as Dylan Baxter
Graham Phillips as Jordan Baxter
Jimmy Bennett as Ryan Baxter
John Goodman as Chuck Long
Story:

Newly elected to Congress, former local television news reporter Evan Baxter leaves his hometown of Buffalo, New York and moves to suburban northern Virginia, where his campaign promise to "change the world" is ridiculed by some, but Evan remains optimistic about his new position. On the first day on his job, Evan is given a spacious office and is invited to co-sponsor a bill with top congressman Chuck Long, something rare for a first-timer. His family is happy, but due to the change in their situation to the move when Evan's wife Joan, who prays that Evan will have a greater sense of togetherness. Everything seems to be going well for Evan. Soon after Evan's arrival to Congress, strange things start to happen in his household:

1. Evan's alarm clock repeatedly goes off at 6:14 A.M. despite being set for a different time every night.
2. Large quantities of ancient tools and wood are delivered to Evan's house daily without explanation.
3. Animals follow Evan without any apparent reason (with birds even getting into his office through the window).
4. Evan grows a beard that magically grows itself back no matter how many times he shaves.
5. Eight vacant lots in Evan's neighborhood are purchased in his name.
6. A mysterious company named GO-4-WOOD delivers a shipment of lumber that Evan did not order.
7. The number "614" follows Evan everywhere he goes.

Evan soon learns that 614 refers to the verse in the Book of Genesis, where God (Morgan Freeman) instructs Noah to build an Ark in preparation for a flood. God shows himself to Evan, cordially insisting that Evan should build an Ark as well. Although Evan resists, God follows him using different guises and eventually convinces Evan to build the Ark. Joan, concerned about his behaviour, believes that Evan is having a mid-life crisis. Without Joan's support, Evan enlists his three sons Dylan, Jordan, and Ryan (Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips, and Jimmy Bennett) to help him to build the Ark. Reappearing, God tells Evan the flood will come on September 22 at noon. The Ark used for filming was located in Crozet, Virginia.

Animals continue to follow Evan around, getting increasingly annoying as time passes. At first, Long is unimpressed, and allows this behavior to occur, but warns Evan that he will not want any more animal surprises. Unfortunately, the animals follow Evan to Congress numerous times despite his efforts to detain them. This compels Evan to confess to Long, other Congressmen in the room, and the television cameras broadcasting the meeting is that the reason for the animals, strange behavior, robe, and beard is because of God convincing Evan to build the Ark. Humiliating both Congress and the controversial Public Land Act bill that Long is attempting to pass, Evan is temporarily suspended from Congress and removed from Long's bill. As Evan is dragged away, some birds poop on Long upon departure. Joan becomes angry and disappointed on Evan's behavior and leaves Evan because she believes he is insane. Evan does not let this stop himself and continues to build the Ark alone, gaining international notice and public ridicule. Meanwhile, God appears to Joan, disguised as a waiter at a diner with his name tag "Al Mighty". In this guise, God tells Joan that he believes himself and does not give things, but only the opportunity by which to obtain things, and gives an example of family togetherness. Having a revelation, Joan returns to Evan with newfound faith to finish the Ark together. Meanwhile, word reaches Evan that Long has unexpectedly commissioned his dam and has to cut the corners in doing so.

On September 22, Evan loads hundreds of animals onto the newly finished Ark in front of hundreds of spectators and live news crews, and invites the crowd to join them, but is made fun of. However, the police arrive on the scene with a wrecking ball and attempt to destroy the Ark because of its violation of numerous building codes. Noon arrives, and minutes pass with no sign of rain, provoking spectator scorn. A short downburst of rain does come, but it is short-lived. Joan asks Evan to leave the Ark, explaining that he has built it and succeeded in his mission; but at this moment, Evan sees Long's dam burst from the distance. With the water from the dam rushing towards them, all of the spectators, reporters, and policemen immediately seek refuge in the Ark, which rides the flood through the streets of Washington, D.C.. The Ark eventually reaches its final destination in front of the Capitol, where other Congressmen are greeted by the Ark by crashing into the side of the structure. Long, who is outraged that the flood did really happen, is told by Evan that the flood was caused by his defective dam, but Long did not believe this, and was told already that this could not happen again. Those events entice Evan and other Congressmen to turn against Long. With Long under investigation about his dam, Evan celebrate the events by going on a hiking trip with Joan and three sons, where God reappears and tells Evan that the way to change the world is by doing one Act of Random Kindness (ARK) at a time. The film ends when Evan and God doing a happy dance together before God disappears, leaving Evan, Joan, and three sons behind.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Love this film so much, the same type with Bruce Almighty but this time with Steve Carell who quickly take over the comedian place of Jim Carrey. :) The shooting of multiples animal together is not easy, and i believe they use up a lot of computer technique to shoot this~ i hope they are gonna do this religious-comedy again~

Real Steel

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Shawn Levy

Casted by:
Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton
Dakota Goyo as Max Kenton
Evangeline Lilly as Bailey Tallet
Story:

In 2020, human boxers have been replaced by robot boxers. Charlie Kenton is a former boxer who owns such a robot, Ambush, competing in unsanctioned matches and in exhibitions with it. At a rural fair, Ambush is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to promoter Ricky. Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn't pay before leaving.

Charlie is informed his ex-girlfriend has died, and that he must attend a hearing to decide the fate of his preteen son Max. Max's wealthy aunt Debra and uncle Marvin want full custody, which Charlie gives them in exchange for $100,000, half in advance, on the condition that Charlie take care of Max for three months while the couple are away on a second honeymoon.

Charlie and Max meet with Charlie's childhood friend Bailey Tallet, who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie's old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand World Robot Boxing league (WRB) robot, the once-famous Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit's champion, Midas, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn. Partly due to both his inexperience with Noisy Boy's combinations and his own overconfidence, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.

Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom by getting snagged on the arm of a buried robot. After Charlie pulls Max back up, Max digs out the entire robot, called Atom. On Max's insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey's gym, where they discover Atom is an obsolete Generation-2 sparring bot built in 2014. Atom has been designed to sustain massive damage, but is unable to deal much damage itself. Atom also has a "shadow function" for following human movement. Partly due to both Max's insistence and Charlie needing money, the duo has Atom fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro. Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie's money.

Max later upgrades Atom to take vocal commands and to have harder-hitting fistcuffs, using parts from Charlie's demolished robots, and convinces Charlie to train Atom. Atom's string of subsequent wins attracts the attention of a promoter from the WRB, who offers Atom a professional fight against the robot Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie's boxing experience allowing him to locate and take advantage of a small tell in Twin Cities' punch. Reveling in their subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by genius Tak Mashido and sponsored by wealthy Farra Lemcova , who before the match tries to buy the upstart Atom.

As Max and Charlie leave after the Twin Cities fight, Ricky and his men attack them, and steal their winnings. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle, feeling Max will be safer with them and refusing the second half of the money he was promised. Bailey convinces him that he can be a better father. Debra allows Charlie to take Max out for one last night, to the Zeus-Atom match. Zeus severely damages Atom while also getting injured for the first time. Ricky, who had bet Finn $100,000 that Atom would not last the first round, tries to slip away, but is cornered by Finn and his colleagues.

In the fourth round of the five-round match, Atom's vocal receptors are damaged, and Atom must fight the last round in shadow-boxing mode, copying Charlie's moves from the aisle. Zeus, now controlled manually by a furious Mashido, expends energy on trashing the defensive Atom, running low on power and turning sluggish as a result. The fight swings in Atom's favor as he overwhelms the weakened Zeus, even knocking the seemingly invincible champion down once, but Atom is unable to win before the round ends. The judges declare Zeus the winner on points, but the near-defeat leaves the Zeus team humiliated. Atom is labeled the "People's Champion" as Charlie and Max celebrate their success.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Whoa, this is way much more better than transformer :) At the story point, its good, nothing about the stupid-revenge-old-expectable story like transformer. But it still shows that we, human is the "owner" who control robots :) The whole fighting scene is not that violence like Transformer either. I hope the sequel will come soon in this year or maybe next year...

Catacombs 2007

Released Year: 2007
Directed by Tomm Coker & David Elliot

Casted by:
Shannyn Sossamon as Victoria
Pink (Alecia Moore) as Carolyn
Mihai Stanescu as Jean-Michel
Story:

Victoria receives an invitation from her sister Carolyn. The first line of the film is a voice-over: "My sister sent me a postcard, all it said was 'Come to Paris. It'll be good for you.' 48 hours after I arrived, she and everyone I'd met were dead."

Victoria arrives in Paris and Carolyn takes her home, where one of Carolyn's friends scares her with a mask. After settling in, the sisters tour Paris and shop. During a break Carolyn tells Victoria about a secret rave in the Catacombs of Paris that night. There is a long line of people at the catacombs, but Carolyn is friends with the bouncer and they are allowed in without waiting. Her entrance fee into this location was forced "services" by her friends. Carolyn is given two flashlights and a map to the rave and they arrive to hear an introduction by host Jean-Michel . During the rave, Victoria begins to feel dizzy and needs water for her medication. Jean-Michel escorts her to the private VIP area of the party, where they find Carolyn and a group of friends.

Jean-Michel pours Victoria a large glass of absinthe, and tells her of a killer living in the catacombs. Raised by a Satanic Cult, the killer, "Antichrist," feeds on people who get lost in the Catacombs. Most of the guys dismiss the story as a myth and decide to go skinny dipping. Victoria declines to join them, and becomes lost as she heads back to the rave. She is joined by Carolyn, and as the sisters attempt to find their way back, someone grabs Carolyn and drags her off into the darkness. Victoria finds Carolyn dead and panics. A man in a goat mask begins to chase her, and she finds shelter hiding in a storage room. When the man arrives and starts a generator, it appears that the storage room is his home. Victoria escapes and runs back toward the crowds.

She has scarcely returned when the Prefecture of Police burst in and interrupt the rave. Victoria is caught up in a mob and hits her head, and when she regains consciousness she is alone in the catacombs. She encounters a man named Henri who tries to help her, but every exit they come to is blocked. Henri falls through a rotted walkway while they are searching for a way out and injures his leg. Victoria tries to help him, but eventually gives up; she takes his map and leaves him in the dark, striking out on her own. When she finds an exit she is frightened by someone on the other side trying to get in, and she flees, fearing it is the Antichrist. After a chase through the tunnels she hides behind a wall column, armed with a mining pick. When the pursuer approaches, she strikes out blindly with the pick and hits him.

Shortly after, Carolyn and her friends show up and tell Victoria that it was all just a prank. They wonder why Victoria is crying until they see Jean-Michel lying dead, felled by the blow of Victoria's pick. Carolyn screams at the exhausted and terrified Victoria, who lashes out with the pick and kills Carolyn and her remaining friends. Escaping at last from the catacombs, covered in blood, Victoria returns to the airport in a taxi, and repeats the voice-over line which started the film.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

Phew, its so torturing to finish this whole movie. Well, i don't mean it as a bad way, but this horror movie really freaks me out!!! Now i know that i'm seriously afraid of dark if i m throw under the catacombs like Victoria, and running around by myself and worrying when will the goat-head-killer gonna slash my throat in any minute.

Well, the other viewers are not giving a high rate on this film due to "Producer from SAW", which has given them a very very high expectation on torturing scene. But let's put ourselves as Victoria, if you have this kind of experience, i bet all of us will be freak out to dead... I'm serious. This is a good horror film, watch it!!!!

Despicable Me

Released Year: 2010
Directed by: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud

Casted by:
Steve Carell as Gru
Jason Segel as Victor 'Vector' Perkins
Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario
Will Arnett as Mr. Perkins
Miranda Cosgrove as Margo
Dana Gaier as Edith
Elsie Fisher as Agnes
Julie Andrews as Marlena
Story:

Gru is a super-villain, operating out of his suburban home that serves as a front for an underground lair where he, his partner, Dr. Nefario, and thousands of short yellow minions plan their nefarious deeds.

Gru's pride is injured when an unknown super-villain steals the Great Pyramid of Giza before he can. He decides to engage in a plan to shrink and steal the Earth's moon, an idea he has had since childhood but discouraged by his mother. The plan, including a spacecraft, is quite expensive, and Gru seeks a loan from the Bank of Evil. The Bank's president, Mr. Perkins, is impressed by the plan but will only provide the money if Gru can obtain a shrink ray first.

Gru and his minions easily steal a shrink ray from a secret Asia base, but it is stolen from them moments later by the up-and-coming super-villain, Vector, who was also responsible for the Pyramid theft. Gru tries several means to break into Vector's base without success, but notices three orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, easily walk into the base to sell Vector cookies. Gru, faking his credentials, adopts the girls from Miss Hattie's Home for Girls, planning on using them to infiltrate Vector's base. However, Gru has much difficulty nurturing them properly between their own rambunctiousness, their ballet classes, and his own unwillingness to be a parent.

Eventually, Gru and the girls successfully reacquire the shrink ray. The girls suggest a day at the local theme park to celebrate, whereupon Gru agrees, believing he can ditch the girls there. To his surprise, he comes to warm up to the girls over the course of the day, and takes them back home with him. Later, Gru returns to the Bank of Evil for his loan, but Perkins rejects him again, stating that they would rather see a younger super-villain, such as his son Vector, complete this theft. As Gru mopes about at home, the girls offer the contents of their piggy bank to fund the plan. Gru, inspired, sacrifices parts of his lair to construct the spacecraft. Gru plans to steal the moon when it is nearest the Earth, but this ends up being the same day as the girls' ballet recital. Gru becomes conflicted, and Dr. Nefario, seeing this interfering with the plan, arranges the girls to be returned to the orphanage.

Gru proceeds with his plan to steal the moon, successfully shrinking it to fit in his hand; he is unaware that Dr. Nefario has discovered the shrink ray effects are only temporary. Gru realizes he can still make the girls' recital, but he arrives too late and finds that Vector has kidnapped them, willing to hand them over for the moon. Gru makes the trade, but Vector reneges on the deal, flying off with the girls and the moon. As the moon starts to expand in Vector's ship, Gru, Dr. Nefario, and the minions pull off a daring mid-air rescue of the girls, just as the moon explodes out from Vector's ship and launches itself back into orbit. Vector is trapped on the moon as it regains its full size.

Some time later, Gru has readopted the girls and treats them as his family, and he writes them a bedtime storybook framed around his own experience. Margo hugs Gru, telling him, that she loves him, which he then hugs her back saying the same thing. The girls perform their own ballet recital for Gru, his mother, Dr. Nefario, and the minions, with the movie ending as they all get on stage to dance to "You Should Be Dancing".

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

A nice cartoon, but i feel like its a bit same like Vin Diesel's "The Pacifier". Only that this is an animation, of course the story and all the things are more exaggeration... Despicable me 2 is on its way coming in 2013, hope it will be better than this :)

The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption

Released Year: 2012
Directed by Roel Reine

Casted by:
Victor Webster as Mathayus
Krystal Vee as Princess Silda/Cobra
Bostin Christopher as Olaf
Billy Zane as King Talus
Selina Lo as Tsukai
Story:

A handful of years after giving Mathayus the prophecy that his peaceful kingdom wouldn't last forever, Cassandra dies. Mathayus allows his kingdom to fall apart in the aftermath to the deadly plague which claimed his wife's life and he believes his reign of nobility to be over. Mathayus then becomes a mercenary once more, just as he was after his battle with Sargon and prior to his war with Memnon. Egypt is then divided into three kingdoms, one belonging to Talus, one to Horus and one to Ramusan. Talus' army grows to such an extent that he wishes to conquer Horus' Kingdom and to do so, he wishes to steal the Book of the Dead from Ramusan. To stop Talus, Horus hires Mathayus. In turn, Talus kidnaps Ramusan' daughter, Silda. Ramusan then tells Mathayus that if he can save his daughter, he will have the right to wed her and once again raise a kingdom in Egypt.

Mathayus manages to rescue Silda, but the two wind up in an exiles camp. Talus then arrives at Ramusan's palace and takes the Book of the Dead. Using the Book of the Dead, Talus reanimates the dead warrior Tsukai. Tsukai is a deadly yet beautiful warrior who is not only extremely skilled with the blade, but also magical prowess. In a test to see her strength, Talus orders her to kill his best men, which she does easily. Tsukai then attacks the Exile's Camp. Tsukai manages to defeat Mathayus in battle through not only the use of magic, but also pure skill. However, Mathayus manages to escape.

However, Talus nevertheless manages to capture Mathayus and Silda. Mathayus escapes and then attacks Talus, who is saved by the timely intervention of Tsukai. Silda then interferes in the match, allowing Mathayus to pursue Talus. Tsukai's servant Agromael manages to defeat Mathayus' ally Olaf and Tsukai easily best's Silda. Talus kills Ramusan and Mathayus recovers the Book of the Dead. Using the Book of the Dead, Mathayus manages to kill Talus and barely manages to stop Tsukai from executing Silda.

Tsukai, seeing Mathayus as the new ruler of Ramusan and Talus' kingdom bows down to him, defeating and sensing him as her new master. Mathayus and Tsukai then kick out all foreign powers in the portion of Egypt they are in, including Horus, with the recrowned Scorpion King vowing that he has reached a point in his life where he isn't afraid to lead his people to conflict and lay down his life for them. In a post-credits homage, it's revealed Mathayus and Silda shared a kiss on the night of their earlier party, though Silda appears to leave the prospects of a relationship with him behind as she bestows him the artifact which could one day be used to contact Anubis. While Mathayus may still have a while before deciding to lead his people on his fated quest to take over the known world, his destiny is now more clear than ever in the subtly more militiant stance he has taken compared to where he was at the end of the prior original film, with the Book of the Dead left intact for the subsequent events in The Mummy and the Scorpion King's own journey paved for the opening sequence of The Mummy Returns.

L² Scored: 0.5/10

L² Comment:

The 3rd film of The Scorpion King, which is a direct-to-video film. This is a sad thing as i believe that Dwayne Johnson has make the first & second movie a big hit in hollywood, but this 3rd movie with Johnson has cracked its own ship on the big rock and gone all its way down to the sea bed.

The whole movie i believe is shoot in Cambodia, it i'm not mistaken, a lil mix of the ninja fight and thai dance make the whole film confusing. I really hate those American producer who simply mix up our Asian culture to film this kind of rubbish movie!!! I believe our South East Asia is already well known in the whole world, and please don't do all this stupid "mix-up" things on your stupid movie!!! Gosh~