The Legend of Tarzan

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by David Yates

Casted by:

Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan / John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke

Margot Robbie as Jane Porter Clayton, Lady Greystoke

Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams

Christoph Waltz as Captain Léon Rom

Djimon Hounsou as Chief Mbonga

 Story: 

After being shipwrecked, John Clayton, his wife Alice, and newborn son John Clayton III are stranded in a tree house in the jungle of the African Congo. His wife eventually dies of natural causes, and John is killed by Apes, leaving the baby alone. The child is taken in by a family of Apes: his mother whom he calls Kala and his brother whom he calls Akut. Given the name Tarzan, he is raised by them and adapts well, becoming a part of the jungle as if he were made for it. Later, he meets a woman, Jane Porter, and falls in love with her. Shortly after, Kala is killed by a young hunter who is part of another tribe. Tarzan kills him in retaliation, unaware that he was the son of a chief.

As a result of the Berlin Conference, the Congo has been divided up between Belgium and the United Kingdom. The Belgian government is on the verge of bankruptcy, having gone into heavy debt to build a national railroad and other infrastructure. In response, King Leopold II of Belgium decides to extract the Congo's rich mineral deposits, sending his envoy Léon Rom to secure the fabled diamonds of Opar. An expedition led by him is ambushed and massacred, with only Rom surviving. A tribal leader, Chief Mbonga, offers him the diamonds in exchange for Tarzan.

John Clayton III has returned to England as "Lord Greystoke". Through the British Prime Minister, he is invited by King Leopold to visit Boma and report on the development of the Congo by Belgium. An American envoy, George Washington Williams, urges John to go, as he knows that he is Tarzan. John initially declines the invitation. However, Williams suspects that the Belgians are enslaving the Congolese population, and persuades him to accept it in order to prove his suspicions. Jane is disappointed when John tells her that she cannot come on the trip due to losing their baby years ago. Eventually, he reconsiders and allows her to go with him.

John, Jane, and Williams take their trip to the Congo. The trio encounter a tribe that knew John and Jane during their stay in the jungle. Having tracked them, Rom and his mercenaries attack the tribe's camp and tie up John and Jane, killing the tribe's leader in the process. They then escape with Jane and several of the tribe's members while leaving John behind. With the aid of the tribe's warriors, John and Williams intercept a Belgian military train carrying captured slaves. They discover that Rom intends to use the diamonds to pay for a massive army to subdue the Congo and allow Belgium to mine its wealth for Leopold's benefit.

Together with Wasimbu, an old friend of John's, Jane escapes Rom's boat. Meanwhile, John and Williams encounter a grown Akut, who is now the leader of the Apes. Aware that Akut considers him a deserter, John challenges him to a fight and loses. While attempting to recapture Jane, Rom's men open fire on the troop, killing several of them.

Reconciling with Akut, John pursues Rom, but is quickly cut off by Mbonga's tribe. He bests them in hand-to-hand combat and comes close to killing Mbonga when Williams arrives and convinces them to let him go free. Rom takes Jane and the diamonds to Boma, where he plans to take control of the army. Williams and Akut trigger a massive stampede of wildebeest, distracting the soldiers and allowing John to rescue Jane. With his boat sinking, Rom tries to kill John, but ends up being eaten by crocodiles.

Williams returns to England and presents the Prime Minister with evidence exposing the slave trade in the African Congo. One year later, John and Jane, having settled in Jane's father's old house, welcome their first child.

 L² Scored: 5/10

L² Comment: 

This movie is kinda boring at first seriously, too much talking and not much action for the first half an hour like tat slowly & indirectly "force" me into a sleeping zone... This should be the first movie I have ever see this Swedish actor Alexander in it. Though he has not too good acting skill, but I believe his nice body is good enough to make everyone "wow" in the cinema... Overall, I still think this is a so so movie, until i have the mood to re-watch this movie, or else 5/10 is the best score I will give at this moment~

Guardians of the Galaxy

 Released Year: 2014

Directed by James Gunn

Casted by:

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord

Zoe Saldana as Gamora

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer

Vin Diesel as Groot

Bradley Cooper as Rocket

Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser

Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta

 Story:

In 1988, following his mother's death, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by the Ravagers, a group of space pirates led by Yondu. Twenty-six years later on the planet Morag, Quill steals a sphere-like artifact only to be intercepted by Korath, a subordinate to the fanatical Kree, Ronan. Although Quill escapes with the artifact, Yondu discovers his theft and issues a bounty for his capture while Ronan sends the assassin Gamora after the orb.

When Quill attempts to sell the orb on the Nova Corps homeworld Xandar, Gamora ambushes him and steals it. A fight ensues, drawing in a pair of bounty hunters; the genetically-engineered raccoon Rocket, and the tree-like humanoid Groot. The Nova Corps arrives and arrests the group, imprisoning them in the Kyln. A powerful inmate, Drax, attempts to kill Gamora due to her association with Ronan, who killed his family. Quill dissuades him by saying that Gamora can bring Ronan to him. Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, unwilling to let him use the orb's power to destroy entire planets such as Xandar. Learning that Gamora has a buyer for the orb, Rocket, Quill, Groot, and Gamora work together to escape the Kyln.

Elsewhere, Ronan meets with the titan Thanos to discuss his daughter Gamora's betrayal and the loss of the orb. Accompanied by Drax, Quill's group escapes the Kyln in his ship—the Milano—and flee to Knowhere, a remote criminal outpost in space built in the giant severed-head of a celestial. A drunken Drax summons Ronan, while the rest of the group meet Gamora's contact, Taneleer Tivan. Tivan opens the orb, revealing an Infinity Stone, an item of immeasurable power that destroys all but the most powerful beings who wield it. Suddenly, Tivan's tormented assistant grabs the stone, triggering an explosion that engulfs his collection.

Ronan arrives and easily defeats Drax, while the others flee by ship, pursued by Ronan's followers and Gamora's sister Nebula. Nebula destroys Gamora's ship, leaving her floating in space, and Ronan's forces leave with the sphere. Quill contacts Yondu before following Gamora into space, giving her his helmet to survive; Yondu arrives and retrieves the pair. Rocket, Drax, and Groot threaten to attack Yondu's ship to rescue them, but Quill negotiates a truce by convincing Yondu that they can recover the orb. The group agrees that facing Ronan means certain death, but that they must stop him from using the Infinity Stone to destroy the galaxy. On Ronan's ship, the Dark Aster, Ronan embeds the stone in his warhammer, taking its power for himself. He contacts Thanos, threatening that after the destruction of Xandar, he will kill Thanos; hateful of her adopted father, Nebula allies with Ronan.

On Xandar, the Dark Aster is confronted by Yondu's fleet, the Nova Corps, and Quill's group, which breaches the Dark Aster. Ronan uses his upgraded warhammer to destroy the Nova Corps fleet. Drax kills Korath, and Gamora defeats Nebula (who escapes) and unlocks Ronan's chambers, but the group finds themselves outmatched by his power until Rocket crashes the Milano through the Dark Aster and into Ronan. The damaged Dark Aster crash lands on Xandar, with Groot sacrificing himself to shield the group. Ronan emerges from the wreck and prepares to destroy Xandar, but Quill distracts him, allowing Drax to destroy Ronan's warhammer. Quill grabs the freed stone, and with Gamora, Drax, and Rocket sharing its burden, they use it to destroy Ronan.

In the aftermath, Quill tricks Yondu into taking a container supposedly containing the stone, then gives the real stone to the Novas. As the Ravagers leave Xandar, they remark that it turned out well that they did not deliver Quill to his father. Quill's group, now known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, have their criminal records expunged, and Quill learns that he is only half-human, his father being part of an ancient, unknown species. Quill finally opens the last present he received from his mother; a cassette tape filled with her favorite songs. The Guardians leave in the rebuilt Milano accompanied by a twig recovered from Groot, which is already growing. In a post-credits scene, Tivan sits in his destroyed archive with two of his living exhibits: a canine cosmonaut and an anthropomorphic duck.

 L² Scored: 3.5/10

L² Comment:

Seriously, this movie only managed to get me awake for around 1 hour then the rest i was mostly half asleep and half awake while watching it in the cinema. The storyline is just all over the place for me, not really like it. It makes me think of "the hitchhiker of the galaxy", which i dislike a lot... gosh~ i hate it coz this film have so many of my favorite celebrities inside and i still dislike it...

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Released Year: 2014

Directed by Dean DeBlois

Casted by:

 Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Cate Blanchett as Valka

Gerard Butler as Stoick

America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson

Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist

Story: 

 Five years after the Viking village of Berk has made peace with the dragons, dragons now live amongst the villagers as working animals and companions, and even take part in racing sport. Hiccup goes on adventures with his dragon, Toothless, as they discover and map unexplored lands and territories. Having come of age, he is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast, to succeed him as chieftain, although Hiccup remains unsure if he is ready for this responsibility.

While investigating a wildfire, Hiccup and Astrid discover the remains of a fort encased in a colossal ice formation and encounter a dragon trapper named Eret, who blames them for the destruction of his fort and attempts to capture their dragons for an insane conqueror called Drago Bludvist. The two riders return to Berk to warn Stoick about the dragon army that Drago is amassing, and Stoick orders the villagers to fortify the island and prepare for battle. Against Stoick's orders, Hiccup flies off with Astrid and they surrender themselves and their dragons to Eret so as to be taken to Drago in order to reason with him. However, Stoick, Gobber, and Berk's other dragon riders pursue and find them.

Stoick explains that he once met Drago and found him to be an unreasonable madman, but Hiccup refuses to believe that war is inevitable and flies off with Toothless. They are captured by a dragon rider named Valka, who is revealed to be Hiccup's long lost mother. She explains that she spent twenty years rescuing dragons from Drago's traps and bringing them to an island haven created out of ice by a colossal Alpha dragon called a Bewilderbeast, to whom all dragons answer. Stoick tracks Hiccup to the island where he discovers that his wife is still alive. Simultaneously, Astrid and the other riders kidnap Eret to find Drago, but they are also captured and Drago learns of Berk's dragons.

Drago and his army lay siege to Valka's sanctuary, where he reveals that he has his own Bewilderbeast to challenge the Alpha. A titanic battle ensues between the two Bewilderbeasts in a fight for control over all dragons on the island. Drago's Bewilderbeast emerges victorious and seizes control of all the dragons, including Toothless. Hiccup tries to persuade Drago to end the violence, but Drago orders him killed as well. Toothless, under the influence of the new Alpha, approaches Hiccup and fires a plasma blast. At the last instant, Stoick pushes Hiccup out of the way, and is hit instead, killing him instantly. Drago leaves Hiccup to his fate and, riding Toothless, leads his now larger army to destroy Berk. Stoick is given a ship burial and Hiccup, now filled with regret at the loss of his father, decides that he will fly back to Berk to defend his people and live up to his father's legacy.

The dragon riders ride baby dragons, which are immune to the Bewilderbeast's control, and arrive at Berk after the Alpha had already attacked the village and taken control of the dragons there. Hiccup confronts Drago and a brainwashed Toothless while the other riders work to distract the Bewilderbeast. Drago again orders Toothless to kill Hiccup, but Hiccup succeeds in disenchanting Toothless. Drago then orders the Alpha to shoot the pair, and the Bewilderbeast successfully encases them in a large blast of ice, seemingly killing them. His victory is short-lived, as Toothless, now glowing with plasma, blasts away the ice, revealing that both he and Hiccup are unharmed. Toothless challenges the Alpha and repeatedly fires plasma blasts at the Bewilderbeast. This frees the other dragons from the Bewilderbeast's control and all fire at it, severely injuring the colossal dragon until Toothless fires a final massive blast, breaking its left tusk.

Defeated, Drago and his Bewilderbeast retreat into the ocean as the villagers celebrate their victory. All the dragons acknowledge Toothless as the new Alpha dragon, and Hiccup is made chief of Berk by the village elder. The film ends with Berk being rebuilt with a statue of Stoick erected in his honor, and Hiccup doing his duties as chief, proudly declaring that while others may have armies and armadas, Berk has its own dragons.

 L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

After 4 years, this nice animation is back for the sequence~ the character has grow big and so are the dragons. The graphic and story are much more better than the first movie and apparently there are more characters involved as well. Feel kinda excited when i see the dragon king appeared but more shock and exciting to see night fury has got its special power~ Hope there will be a 3rd movie coming up soon~

Push

Released Year: 2009
Directed by Paul McGuigan

Casted by:
Chris Evans as Nick Gant
Dakota Fanning as Cassie Holmes
Camilla Belle as Kira Hudson/Hollis
Djimon Hounsou as Henry Carver
李小璐 Li Xiao Lu as The Pop Girl
溫明娜 Ming Na as Emily Hu
Story:

The movie describe some sort like mutant things since the Berlin War. A lot of people who has the ability or power has been trained as a secret weapon for war.

There is "mover" who can move object; "pusher" who can control others' mind and push them to do something; "Watcher" who can see future through premonition or others' intention; "snifer" who can sense through other people's track by touching certain object; "shifter" who can shift one thing to another; "shadower" who can hid some object without other seeing/knowing; "sticher" who can heal wound or hurt others; "wiper" who can wipe out other memories; "bleeder" who use huge voice to hurt their opponent.

Nick lost his dad when he was young to the division who try to capture them. Division is an agency which capture all these mutant and try to evolve them into the next stage for war. Nick then move to HongKong for a safety hide-out. Later he met Cassie who sense their future. Cassie sense their future as a dead body and the only way to solve this is to find a girl with beads; then she will lead them to a case which can kill the head of division, whom is Henry Carver.

Both Nick and Cassie found Kira, who happened to be Nick's girlfriend. But division kept on looking for them while there's the chinese gangster who are looking for the case too. A few exciting scene of fighting, then it leads to the pop girl who try to kill Cassie. But Cassie managed to switch her future and KO the pop girl. While for Nick, he managed to win back Kira and Kira used her pusher power to defeat Henry Carver.

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Personally, i love all these superpower/magic/mutant thingy very much :) Chris Evans is hot; Camilla is sexy; Dakota is flawless while Li Xiao Lu is a goddess ~ Big applause to china actress Xiao Lu for showing her 1st appearance in Hollywood. Although her cantonese sucks as usual, but surprisingly her english is good :)

While Dakota has been grow up quite a lot, think she gonna have more movie waiting up for her soon. Overall the movie is very good and i simply love it :D