Fifty Shades of Grey

 Released Year: 2015

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson

Casted by:

Dakota Johnson as Anastasia "Ana" Steele

Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey

Eloise Mumford as Katherine "Kate" Kavanagh

Jennifer Ehle as Carla Wilks

Marcia Gay Harden as Grace Trevelyan Grey

Victor Rasuk as Jose Rodriguez

Luke Grimes as Elliot Grey

 Story:

21-year-old Anastasia "Ana" Steele is a literature student at Washington State University's satellite campus near Vancouver, Washington. When her roommate, Kate Kavanagh, becomes ill and is unable to interview wealthy entrepreneur 27-year-old Christian Grey at his company headquarters in Seattle for the college newspaper, Ana agrees to go in her place. Christian is interested in her, and soon after visits the hardware store where Ana works. He agrees to Ana's request for a photo-shoot to accompany the article.

After the photo-shoot, Christian invites Ana to have coffee, but leaves abruptly, confusing her. For her graduation, Christian sends Ana first edition copies of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Ana celebrates with friends, and, after drinking too much, spontaneously calls Christian. Concerned, he goes to the bar to find Ana, who passes out. She wakes up the next morning in Christian's hotel room and is relieved when he says that they did not become familiar.

Ana and Christian begin seeing each other. After she signs a non-disclosure agreement that prevents her from revealing anything about their alliance, Christian tells her he only has interrelations involving bondage. Ana reveals that she is celibate. While she is considering the agreement and negotiating her terms, she and Christian begin a procreative relationship that includes some of the objectionable practices Christian desires.

Christian showers Ana with gifts and favors, such as a new car and laptop. After moving to Seattle with Kate, Ana becomes closer to Christian. One night, she accompanies Christian to his parents' house. During dinner, Ana mentions she is leaving the next day to visit her mother in Georgia. Christian is infuriated as Ana had expressed she wants romance rather than the one-sided relationship Christian is suggesting. She is shocked when Christian unexpectedly arrives in Georgia while she is visiting her mother. Christian leaves soon after to tend to an emergency in Seattle.

After returning home, Ana continues seeing Christian, who is still interested in further sexual experimentation. Ana initially consents and participates willingly. Christian, however, keeps Ana emotionally distant, upsetting her. While still considering the contract, and in an effort to understand Christian psychologically, Ana asks Christian to demonstrate how he would "punish" her for rule breaking. Christian whips Ana's backside six times with a belt, making her count each time he strikes her. She is upset and finds it far from her romantic expectations. Ana concludes that Christian is wrong for her and that his practices border on being deviant and excessive and leaves.

In an alternate ending, both Ana and Christian experience flashbacks. Christian jogs in the rain, whilst Ana is sobbing in her apartment. Christian encounters a gift given by Ana with a note which revealed "This reminded me of a happy time. -Ana".

 L² Scored: 6.5/10 

L² Comment: 

Before it show in the blockbuster, everyone wanna watch it, a hit and erotic romantic movie. But when I watched it, its very normal only, not that spicy at all... I prefer they can do more exciting thingy and the sex part should be wilder right? This is like a piece of cake~

Drag Me to Hell

Released Year: 2009

Directed by Sam Raimi

Casted by:

 Alison Lohman as Christine Brown

Justin Long as Professor Clayton "Clay" Dalton

Lorna Raver as Mrs. Sylvia Ganush

Dileep Rao as Rham Jas

 Story: 

In 1969 in Pasadena, California, a couple seeks the aid of the medium Shaun San Dena saying their son has been hearing evil spirits' voices after stealing a silver necklace from gypsies. San Dena aids the family by carrying out a seance, but they are attacked by an unseen force that pulls the boy into Hell. The medium says she will encounter the force again one day.

In present day Los Angeles, bank loan officer Christine Brown hopes to be promoted to assistant manager over her co-worker Stu Rubin. Her boss, Jim Jacks, advises her to demonstrate that she can make tough decisions to get a promotion. Christine is visited by an elderly woman, Sylvia Ganush, who asks for an extension on her mortgage payment. Christine, though empathetic with the old woman's crisis, decides to deny Ganush an extension to prove herself to her boss. Ganush begs Christine not to repossess her house and kneels in front of her, but Christine gets scared from the woman's bizarre pleading as she is helping her to stand up and calls the security, who take Ganush away while Ganush blames Christine for "shaming" her. Ganush vows to take revenge. Jim compliments Christine on how she handled the situation.

When the working day is over and Christine goes to the bank parking garage to head home, Ganush attacks Christine in her car, rips a button off Christine's coat and uses it to place a curse on her as revenge. Later, Christine and her boyfriend Clay Dalton meet the fortune teller Rham Jas who, after seeing multiple demonic faces, tells Christine that she is being haunted by an evil spirit. At her home, Christine is attacked by the spirit and has nightmares about Ganush. At work the next day, Christine snaps at Stu and has a projectile nose bleed that soaks her boss in blood. She runs away and Stu is seen secretly taking a file off Christine's desk.

Christine then goes to talk to Ganush at her soon-to-be-taken home, only to find that she died the previous night and a wake is being held. Christine returns to Rham Jas, who explains that as long as Christine is the owner of an accursed object (her button), she will be haunted by a powerful demon called the Lamia (not to be confused with the Greek child-eating demon) that will torment her for three days before taking her to Hell. He suggests a sacrifice to appease the demon. The next day, the Lamia returns and thrashes Christine in her bedroom. Desperate to stop the attacks, Christine sacrifices her pet kitten, an act that leaves her heart-broken. At a dinner party with Clay and his parents, she is again tormented by the Lamia, but this time through the use of illusions, which frightens the Daltons.

Christine returns to Rham Jas for further help. He says that Shaun San Dena will risk her life to stop the demon for a fee of $10,000. Further supernatural attacks on Christine lead Clay to pay the fee. San Dena prepares a seance to trap the Lamia's spirit in a goat and kill it to vanquish the spirit. San Dena allows the Lamia to inhabit her body. Rham Jas tries to persuade it not to steal Christine's soul, but it refuses and vows never to stop until Christine dies. Christine then places San Dena's hand on the goat, causing the spirit to enter its body. San Dena's assistant, Milos, attempts to kill the goat, but is instead bitten by the goat and in turn becomes possessed, attacking the members of the seance. San Dena banishes the Lamia from the seance, but dies in the process. Christine thinks the medium has overcome the Lamia, but Rham Jas explains that she only managed to drive the spirit away until the next day, when it will come back for Christine. Then he seals the cursed button in an envelope and tells Christine that before the next day comes, she can get rid of the curse by giving the button to someone as a gift, thereby passing the curse on to that person.

After being driven home by Clay, who doesn't know what actually happened at the seance, Christine attempts to find a recipient for the curse. She decides to give the envelope to Stu in revenge for his stealing her work, but changes her mind after seeing how pathetic, tearful and panicky Stu is when he meets her. With guidance from Rham Jas, Christine learns that she can give it to Ganush even though she is dead because "the soul never dies". Christine drives to the cemetery where she is buried and digs up her grave. In a torrential downpour, Christine jams the envelope in Ganush's mouth in anger and gets out of the grave just in time before dawn.

Christine then returns home. Preparing to meet Clay at Los Angeles Union Station from where they plan to depart for a weekend in Santa Barbara, she gets a phone message from her boss telling her that she landed her dream position after Stu confessed to stealing her work and was fired. At the station, Christine also buys a coat that she has been eyeing for a long time, as a sign of a new beginning. Clay, planning to propose, reveals to Christine that he found the envelope containing the cursed button in his car. Christine then realizes she mixed up her envelope with another that she gave to Clay when she accidentally dropped it. Horrified, Christine backs away and falls onto the tracks. As a train barrels towards her, fiery hands burst from the ground under the tracks. Clay can only watch in horror as Christine is dragged screaming down into Hell, and is left holding Christine's cursed button.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

This was one of my black comedy horror film back in 2009, love the storyline and how the comedy comes in on and off during the horror time... Think nobody will doubt that i give a full score to this movie right? But its a pity that after winning so much applause from this film, Alison Lohman decided to get marry and leave the hollywood until now...

Resident Evil

 Released Year: 2002

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

Casted by:

Milla Jovovich as Alice

Michelle Rodriguez as Rain Ocampo

Eric Mabius as Matt Addison

James Purefoy as Spence Parks

Martin Crewes as Chad Kaplan

Colin Salmon as James "One" Shade

 Story: 

Umbrella Corporation is the most powerful corporate entity in the world, and 9 out of 10 residents use its products. However, most of the real profits come from clandestine projects relating to viral weaponry and genetic experimentation. The main stronghold of the research is The Hive, a secret genetic research facility set underneath Raccoon City, which houses over 500 employees, mostly advanced scientists, researchers and support staff. The Hive is fully automated by a high-tech artificial intelligence called the Red Queen.

One day, a thief steals the genetically engineered T-virus from the storage labs. To cover up the theft, he throws one of the vials and smashes it, releasing the T-virus airborne. Red Queen detects the vial and the exposure, which can transit airborne. To prevent the release of the T-virus, Red Queen takes control of the security systems and initiates a facility-wide lockdown, and then releases lethal doses of halon, which murders the entire staff inside.

Alice awakens in a deserted mansion with amnesia under the shower. She dresses and inspects the mansion, finding a cryptic message written by an unknown person and a large cache of weaponry in a drawer locked with plexiglass. After briefly stepping outside, a helicopter flies over the mansion, and she is subdued by a police officer, Matt Addison. However, Matt is quickly subdued by a group of commandos who storm the mansion, and they handcuff Matt. The leader, named One, requests a report from Alice, but she is clueless. One decides to take Alice and Matt, along with his commandos, to a secret entrance to The Hive using an underground train. Along the way, they find another amnesiac, Spence, and One explains that they are operatives working for Umbrella, and they are in a sham marriage to protect the Hive's entrance and secrecy of the facility. One also explains the situation and the need to reach the Red Queen.

After a while, they reach the Queen's chambers. One, Alice, Spence, Kaplan, the team's medic and two other commandos go to the chambers, while J.D and Rain keep watch of Matt. One and his commandos enter the hallway leading to the chamber, while Kaplan unlocks the central chamber by hacking the systems. However, he accidentally seals the commandos, and Red Queen activates a laser defense system, which slices most of the commandos and bisects One into pieces. Kaplan deactivates the system and heads inside with Alice, and uses a machine to disable Red Queen, and removes her circuit boards to prevent her from rebooting. However, in the process, he unlocks all the doors and gateways in the Hive, and this releases the zombified staff. During a battle with the zombies, Rain is bitten and J.D perishes in a zombie horde. Alice begins regaining her memories, but Matt and Alice are separated from the group. Matt looks for information about his sister Lisa, while Alice encounters several infected Dobermans and surprises herself when she reflexively defends herself with martial arts.

Matt finds his sister zombified. Alice saves him and Matt explains that he and Lisa were environmental activists wanted by the FBI and Quantico, and that a police officer persona was only a fake alias (commandos assumed that he is a cop despite not having records of him since he lied about being just transferred). Lisa infiltrated Umbrella to smuggle out evidence of illegal experiments but failed to succeed. Alice remembers she was Lisa's contact in the Hive and was intending to bring down Umbrella, but keeps this silent from Matt in fear of his revenge.

The survivors reunite at the Queen's chamber. The commandos explain that they have one hour before the Hive will seal automatically using a device they set at the blast doors, trapping them inside. Alice and Kaplan activate the Red Queen in order to find an exit and rig the Red Queen's circuit breaker so they can shut her down remotely to force her cooperation. As they escape through maintenance tunnels from the chamber, they are ambushed by zombies, including a reanimated JD who bites Rain, having being bitten twice before hand and infecting her further. When JD tries to attack, Rain kills him. They still managed to get to safety, However, Kaplan is bitten and separated from the group.

Alice remembers that an anti-virus is in the storage lab, but when they arrive it is missing. Spence suddenly regains his memory; he remembers having overheard Lisa and Alice's talk about the T-virus theft, and Alice wanted to destroy the corporation. However, Spence himself infiltrated the Hive and stole the T-virus, releasing it to cover his tracks, and he hid the vials on the train, where he passed out from the gas that was released. He reveals that he did it solely for the purpose of selling it on the black market, and he wrote the cryptic message to Alice, assuming this was what she wanted. However, she refuses to cooperate, so he holds her and Matt at gunpoint before locking them inside. However, he is bitten in the process.

Spence arrives on the train, but the Red Queen talks to Alice and reveals she was keeping a Licker, a genetically mutated animal (implied to be a rabbit), for them, and she releases him on Spence, who is devoured by it as they watch it on a monitor. Queen offers to spare Alice and Matt if they kill Rain, whose health is fading and who has been infected too long for the anti-virus to work reliably. As the Licker attempts to reach them, Rain tells Alice to kill her. Alice refuses and smashes the Red Queen's monitor, then a power outage occurs. The lab door opens to reveal Kaplan, who disabled the Red Queen to open the door. They reach the train, where Alice dispatches a zombified Spence and takes the anti-virus.

On the train, they inject Rain and Kaplan with the anti-virus. However, the Licker is hiding on the train, and attacks them, clawing Matt over his arm. The Licker grabs Kaplan and hurls him from the train, killing him instantly. Alice and Matt battle the Licker using the remaining pistol and several lead pipes. Licker attempts to grab Alice using his tongue, but she grabs a pipe and jams it into his tongue, trapping him. Rain turns into a zombie and attacks Matt, but he subdues her and shoots her, killing her. He opens the trapdoor, sending the Licker on the tracks, who bursts on fire due to intense friction, before sealing it, ejecting him from the train.

Alice and Matt, the only survivors, arrive safely back in the mansion just as the blast doors close, resealing the Hive. However, Matt's wound begins mutating. Before Alice can give him the anti-virus the mansion doors burst open and a group of Umbrella scientists and commandos seize them. They subdue Alice and take Matt away, revealing he is to be put into the Nemesis Program, and they intend to re-open the Hive. Alice attempts to fight them off, but is knocked unconscious by the swarm of scientists, led by Dr. William Birkin, who experiments on her personally.

Some time later, Alice awakens at the Raccoon City Hospital strapped to an examination table, with no memory of what happened since her capture. After escaping, she goes outside to find Raccoon City abandoned. A newspaper clipping shows that the T-virus spread to the surface after Umbrella reopened the Hive, creating an army of undead that devastated the city. Alice arms herself with a shotgun from an abandoned police car.

 L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Can I say that I finally take the courage to watch the first movie of Resident Evil? lol~ ever since i watched the Resident 3D: Afterlife in 2010, i told myself its time to watch the first movie, but everyone kept telling me this is a fucking horror zombie film which really will scare the shit out of me, so i wait and wait till i forgotten about it... 

Until recently when i do some check back on my blog, i realized i have been ignoring this series of movie, so here i'm... i don't play this game, and this is never the game that i will play coz i can't take it... watching the first movie, i understand how this movie really begins with, and i admit some part really scare the hell of me, but i'm so gonna watch the rest of the movie.... :D

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

 Released Year: 2008

Directed by Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath

Voiced By:

Ben Stiller as Alex

Chris Rock as Marty the Zebra

David Schwimmer as Melman

Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria

Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien

Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice

Andy Richter as Mort the Lemur

Bernie Mac as Zuba the Lion

Sherri Shepherd as Florrie

Alec Baldwin as Makunga

Elisa Gabrielli as Nana

will.i.am as Moto Moto

 Story: 

As a cub, Alex the Lion was called Alakay and was the son of Zuba, the alpha lion. Though Zuba tries to teach Alakay to be a hunter, the cub is more interested in dancing, and is captured by poachers when Makunga, Zuba's rival, challenges Zuba to a fight for the position of alpha lion. Alakay is forced into a crate, and taken away despite Zuba's attempts to rescue him. The crate falls into the ocean where it drifts to New York. There, Alakay is renamed Alex and sent to the Central Park Zoo where he grew up, meeting Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus. Most of the events of the first film are then described through a series of news flashes.

In the present time, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the Hippopotamus, the Penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico, the Chimpanzees Mason and Phil, and even the Lemurs King Julien, Maurice, and Mort board a repaired airplane to fly back to New York. The plane takes off, but crash-lands in continental Africa. In Africa the animals are amazed to find more of their kind. Alex is reunited with Zuba and his mother. Marty fits in with a herd of zebra who all look and sound exactly like him. Hypochondriac Melman becomes a witch doctor. Gloria attracts the attention of a smooth-talking hippo named Moto Moto.

Meanwhile, the penguins set about repairing the plane. They carjack several jeeps under "Operation Tourist Trap", leaving the tourists stranded in the jungle. Nana, a tough old woman known for beating up Alex in the first film, takes charge of the group.

Unfortunately, life in Africa is not as wonderful as it first seemed. Makunga, still determined to take the position of alpha lion, reminds Zuba that Alex must complete a traditional coming-of-age challenge that he did not complete. Alex, thinking that the challenge is a dance contest (it is actually a fight) competes against the strongest lion, Teetsi who was recommended by Makunga and loses quickly. To avoid banishing his own son for failing, Zuba relinquishes his title as Alpha lion. Makunga immediately takes the position and ousts Alex and his family. Marty, meanwhile, begins to feel upset because there is nothing unique about him. Melman is happy until he learns that he has the same symptoms that apparently caused the previous witch doctor to die. Melman is also forlorn about Gloria dating Moto Moto, as Melman has secretly loved her for a long time. Gloria goes on a date with Moto Moto and quickly realizes that he only loves her for her large body.

The next day, the animals panic when the watering hole dries up. Determined to make up for his earlier failure, Alex and Marty leave the reserve to investigate. They discover that the stranded New Yorkers, under the instruction of Nana, have dammed up the river and built a primitive civilization. Alex is captured by a trap, forcing Marty to abandon him to seek help. Meanwhile, Zuba hears from Makunga what Alex did and goes to assist him.

Back on the reserve, King Julien suggests that the animals offer a sacrifice in the volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, to appease the water gods. Believing that he will die soon, Melman volunteers to be sacrificed. Gloria stops him just in time and Marty arrives to tell them about Alex. The trio, the penguins, and several chimpanzees use the newly fixed plane to execute a rescue.

However, Alex has already managed to rescue both himself and his father by dancing for the New Yorkers, who fondly remember him from the zoo. The other animals arrive to pick them up with the plane (redesigned as a helicopter), and together they all destroy the dam, freeing the water.

Meanwhile, back at the volcano, Mort turns up after being chased through the jungle by a shark. The shark falls into the volcano, completing the sacrifice and causing King Julien to think that he brought back the water.

As the watering hole fills, Makunga angrily makes a stand for control. However, Alex manages to remove Makunga from power by tricking Nana into attacking him. Zuba gives the alpha position to Alex, but Alex refuses, resulting in both father and son becoming co-leaders.

The movie ends as Skipper marries a bobble-head hula doll from the plane and leaves on a honeymoon in Monte Carlo with the chimpanzees, and a huge tub of diamonds and gold, leaving Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and The Lemurs to happily remain in Africa with Alex's parents.

  L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

Seriously, the 2nd movie is not as good as the first one... issit always the norm? Even though some of the character which appear a short while in first movie is very interesting, such as nana, but when she appear too much in the 2nd movie, it become a bit bored and not focus on the 4 main characters. Basically the storyline is still ok, but hopefully the 3rd movie will win back my heart again~

Jack the Giant Slayer

 Released Year: 2013

Directed by Bryan Singer

Casted by:

Nicholas Hoult as Jack

Eleanor Tomlinson as Isabelle

Ewan McGregor as Elmont

Stanley Tucci as Lord Roderick

Ian McShane as King Brahmwell

Bill Nighy and John Kassir as Fallon

 Story:

In the Kingdom of Cloister, Jack, a young farm boy, is fascinated by the legend of Erik, an ancient king who defeated an army of invading giants from a realm in the sky by controlling them with a magical crown. At the same time, Princess Isabelle becomes fascinated with the same legend.

Ten years later, Jack goes into town to sell his horse to support his uncle's farm. There, Jack spots Isabelle and develops a crush on her after defending her honor from a group of hooligans. Meanwhile, Lord Roderick returns to his study, only to find that a monk has robbed him. The monk offers Jack some magic beans he stole from Roderick as collateral for Jack's horse. Back at the castle, Isabelle quarrels with her father, King Brahmwell, as she wants to explore the kingdom, but he wants her to stay and marry Roderick. Likewise, Jack's uncle scolds him for being foolish before throwing the beans on the floor and leaving the house.

Determined to be free, Isabelle sneaks out of the castle and seeks shelter from the rain in Jack's house. As it rains, one of the beans takes root and grows into a massive beanstalk that carries the house and Isabelle into the sky as Jack falls to the ground.

Jack, Roderick, and Roderick's attendant Wicke volunteer to join the king's knights, led by Elmont and his second in-command, Crawe, and climb the beanstalk in search of Isabelle. As they climb, Roderick and Wicke cut the safety rope, intentionally killing some of the knights. At the top, they discover the giants' realm and decide to split into two groups: one with Jack, Elmont, and Crawe, and the other including Roderick and Wicke, but not before Roderick forcibly takes the remaining beans from Jack (although Jack manages to save one for himself).

Jack's group is trapped by a giant, who takes everyone prisoner except Jack. Meanwhile, Roderick's group encounters two other giants; one eats Wicke, but before they can do the same to Roderick, Roderick dons the magic crown.

Jack follows the giant to the giants' stronghold, where the two-headed giant leader, Fallon, has killed Crawe. There, Jack finds the imprisoned Isabelle and Elmont. As the giants prepare to kill their remaining prisoners, Roderick walks in and enslaves the giants with the crown. He tells the giants they will attack Cloister at dawn and gives them permission to eat Isabelle and Elmont. Jack rescues Isabelle and Elmont as one of the giants prepares to cook Elmont as a pig-in-a-blanket. The trio makes for the beanstalk, where Jack causes the giant guarding the beanstalk to fall off the realm's edge. Seeing the giant's body, Brahmwell orders the beanstalk cut down to avoid an invasion by the giants.

Jack and Isabelle head down the beanstalk, while Elmont stays to confront Roderick. Elmont kills Roderick, but Fallon takes the crown before Elmont can claim it, and Elmont is forced to escape down the beanstalk. Jack, Isabelle, and Elmont all survive the fall after the beanstalk is cut down. As everyone returns home, Jack warns that the giants are using Roderick's beans to create beanstalks to descend down to Earth and attack Cloister.

The giants chase Jack, Isabelle, and Brahmwell into the castle, where Elmont fills the moat with oil and sets it on fire. Fallon falls in the moat and breaks into the castle from below. As the siege continues, Fallon captures Jack and Isabelle, but Jack throws the final bean down Fallon's throat, causing a beanstalk to rip apart his body. Jack takes the crown and sends the giants back to their realm.

Jack and Isabelle marry and tell the story of the giants to their children. As time passes, the magic crown is crafted into St Edward's Crown and is secured in the Tower of London.

 L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment: 

All of us known this story since our childhood, or its better known as Jack & the beanstalk ~ Overall the storyline is not bad, following the original story which we have familiar with. The graphic and thingy is good, only the giants might look a bit fake to me haha

Mama 2013

 Released Year: 2013

Directed by Andrés Muschietti

Casted by:

Jessica Chastain as Annabel

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Lucas Desange / Jeffrey Desange

Megan Charpentier as Victoria Desange

Isabelle Nélisse as Lilly

Story: 

Distraught after losing his fortune in the 2008 financial crisis, stockbroker Jeffrey D'Asange kills his business partners and estranged wife before taking his children, three-year-old Victoria and one-year-old Lilly, away from home. Driving dangerously fast on a snowy road, Jeffrey loses control and the car slides off and down the mountain, crashing into the woods. Surviving, he takes the children into an abandoned cabin and builds a fire, even though Victoria is resistant, thinking she saw someone inside. Planning to kill his daughters and commit suicide, he holds a gun to Victoria's head, but a shadowy figure suddenly drags him away, suspending him in the air and strangling him with his tie. Victoria turns around, but because her father had taken her glasses away, she did not see the gun and could not see what was happening. The girls, huddled by the fireside, are tossed a cherry by the mysterious figure.

Five years later a rescue party, sponsored by Jeffrey's identical twin brother Lucas, finds Victoria and Lilly alive, but in a feral state after years of isolation. The girls are put in a welfare clinic under the psychiatric care of Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss. They make reference to "Mama", a maternal protector figure. When Lucas tries to communicate with the girls, they are initially hostile, but Victoria recognizes him after he gives her a pair of glasses and she can see him properly. Dreyfuss agrees to support Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel's custody claim against the girls' maternal great-aunt Jean Podolski. In exchange, they must move into a clinic-owned house and grant Dreyfuss continued contact with Victoria and Lilly for research purposes. When Victoria and Lilly arrive at the house, Victoria acclimates quickly to domestic life at the house while Lilly initially retains much of her feralness, not being used to being around people like Lucas or Annabel.

While in bed with Lucas, Annabel is startled by the appearance of a shadowy, monstrous figure in their doorway. While investigating, Lucas is attacked by "Mama" and is put into a coma after falling down the stairs. Annabel, who has no relation to the girls and is uncomfortable being around them, finds herself left alone to care for them. Although Annabel makes progress with Victoria, she finds Lilly hostile. Alarmed by nightmares of a woman and Victoria's warning about Mama's jealousy, Annabel asks Dreyfuss to investigate. He initially thought "Mama" to be an imaginary alter-ego of Victoria, believing she had to take on a parental role to take care of Lilly for five years; however, his research corroborates Victoria's story that Mama is an aggrieved mother and brings to light the story of Edith Brennan, a mental asylum patient in the 1800s.

Dreyfuss recovers a box from a government warehouse containing a baby's remains, and first encounters Mama when interviewing Victoria again. Annabel has a nightmare revealing Mama's past: when Edith Brennan ("Mama") was sent to St. Gertrude's Asylum, her child was taken from her and given to nuns. She escaped the asylum, stabbed a nun, and took her baby back. Fleeing her pursuers, Brennan jumped off a cliff, but before hitting the water below, Brennan and the child made impact with a large branch (accounting for her misshapen head) and her unconscious body fell into the water and she drowned; Edith's child died on impact with the branch, but the baby's blanket-wrapped corpse snagged on the branch and did not fall with Brennan into the water below. Annabel realizes that Mama still doesn't realize her child died from hitting the tree; Mama unsuccessfully searched the woods for more than a century and had taken on Victoria and Lilly as substitutes.

Lucas regains consciousness after a disturbing vision of his dead brother, Jeffrey, tells him to go to the cabin in the woods and save his daughters. Annabel and the girls are visited by Jean, who is alarmed by the girls' bruises from their still-animalistic behavior, and tries to get Annabel investigated for child abuse. Victoria's growing closeness to Annabel makes her less willing to play with Mama, unlike Lilly.

Dreyfuss visits the cabin at night to investigate and attempts to communicate with Mama. After his flashlight stops working, he uses the flash of his camera as a light but is suddenly attacked and killed by Mama. Finding Dreyfuss missing, Annabel steals the girls' case files from his office. She learns that Brennan and Mama are the same person, while Lucas leaves the hospital to search for the cabin. Shortly after making a breakthrough with Lilly after finding her outside in the cold, Annabel and the girls are attacked by a jealous Mama, who kills Jean and uses her body to spirit the children away in Jean's automobile. Annabel regains consciousness and hurries off to save the children. She meets Lucas along the way, and he joins her to find the children.

The couple spot the children on the same cliff where Brennan leaped with her child to their deaths over a century earlier. Mama is preparing to re-enact her fall, taking Victoria and Lilly with her. When Annabel offers Mama the remains of her child, Mama takes the skeleton, and transforms into her human form, sobbing at the baby's death. However, when Lilly (who, being younger than her sister, remembers only Mama as her original parent) calls out for her, Mama reverts to her more monstrous form, throws the baby's remains off the cliff, and takes the girls again, nearly killing Annabel and Lucas (but refraining from doing so mainly because Victoria clearly shows she cares about them). Lucas is knocked unconscious, but Annabel clings to Victoria, who asks to stay with Annabel instead of leaving with Mama after Annabel's struggle for Victoria to stay, despite Lilly's pleas to come with her. After a tearful farewell, Mama and Lilly float off the cliff and fall, turning into a shower of moths when they hit the branch that originally killed Brennan and her baby. The film ends with Annabel and Lucas embracing Victoria, and Victoria noticing a moth with bright blue wings (as opposed to Mama's moths, which were all dark) landing on her hand, indicating that Lilly is still with her in some form.

L² Scored: 5.5/10

L² Comment: 

This was actually based on the director, Andres' 2008 Argentine short film Mama. I did not watch that, so no comment on it. For this film, it is still ok on the storyline, scary part is quite ok, but something kinda missing, but i m not sure what it is... overall, i'm ok with it but won't watch it again in a short period of time

Splash

 Released Year: 1984

Directed by Ron Howard

Casted by:

Tom Hanks as Allen Bauer

Daryl Hannah as Madison

John Candy as Freddie Bauer

Eugene Levy as Dr. Walter Kornbluth

 Story:

As an eight-year-old boy, Allen Bauer is vacationing with his family near Cape Cod. While taking a sight-seeing tour on a small boat, he gazes into the ocean and sees something below the surface that fascinates him, while his older brother Freddie Bauer is walking around the boat fascinated by the women. Allen jumps into the water, even though he cannot swim. He grasps the hands of a girl who is inexplicably under the water with him and an instant connection forms between the two. Allen can now breathe under water as he is in the hands of a mermaid. However, Allen is pulled to the surface by the deck hands and the two are separated, though apparently no one else sees the girl. After the ferry moves off, Allen looks back at the girl, who dives underwater showing her mermaid's tail. Allen comes to believe the encounter was a near-death hallucination, but his bond with the mermaid proves so strong that his subsequent relationships with women fail as he seeks the connection he felt with the mermaid.

Years later, Allen is a co-owner of a wholesale fruit and vegetable business in New York City with his womanizing older brother Freddie. Depressed after his latest breakup, Allen returns to Cape Cod, where he encounters eccentric scientist Dr. Walter Kornbluth and again falls into the sea. He wakes up on a beach with a headache where he encounters a beautiful naked woman with long blonde hair, a necklace with a lion medal, and the inability to talk who, unknown to him, is the mermaid he met as a boy (her tail transforms into legs when it becomes dry). After kissing him, she dives into the sea and leaves Allen to return home. Kornbluth, while diving in order to seek proof of strange sea creatures, also encounters the mermaid in her sea form, causing him to become obsessed with finding her again.

The mermaid finds Allen's wallet in the water and goes to a sunken boat where she finds a map. Using Allen's wallet to find where he is from, she then decides to find him in New York. She comes ashore naked at the Statue of Liberty, where she is arrested for indecent exposure. Using information from Allen's wallet, the mermaid gets released into his care. She learns how to speak English from watching television, and says her name is a high-pitched chirp sound in the language of mermaids. She's eager to see a big city for the first time in her life, and she chooses the name Madison from a Madison Avenue sign. She tells Allen that she will be in New York for "six fun-filled days when the moon is full" and if she stays longer, she can never go home again (the reason for this is unexplained). Despite Madison's occasional unusual behavior, she and Allen fall in love. Allen proposes to Madison, but she declines and runs away. After pondering her reason for coming to the city in the first place, Madison returns to Allen and agrees to marry him, with the added promise of telling him the truth about herself at an upcoming dignitary dinner to welcome the President of the United States.

Meanwhile, Kornbluth, realizing that the naked woman at Liberty Island was the mermaid he had encountered, pursues the couple trying to expose her as a mermaid by splashing her with water. Many attempts are unsuccessful, and Kornbluth ends up with multiple injuries including a badly broken arm and whiplash. When he is finally successful at the dignitary dinner, the exposed mermaid is taken in by government scientists led by Kornbluth's cold-hearted former colleague and rival Dr. Ross for examination. However, Kornbluth regrets his actions after he learns that Madison is due to be studied and dissected, as he just wanted to prove that he wasn't crazy.

Allen is shocked by Madison's secret and when he denies his love for her, Freddie lashes out at him, telling his brother how happy he was with her. Allen confronts a guilt-ridden Kornbluth, who agrees to help him.

Impersonating Swedish scientists, Freddie and Allen enter the lab with Kornbluth and smuggle Madison outside. Madison makes it back to the ocean and tells Allen that he can survive under water as long as he is with her. Allen realizes she was the young mermaid he had met so long before. The United States military arrive to recapture her, ignoring Allen's demands to let her be free. Although Madison warns him that if he comes to live in the sea he can't return, he jumps into the water and they elude their pursuers. Together they swim along the ocean floor toward what appears to be an underwater kingdom.

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment: 

This movie starts well, but towards the ending part, it become a bit too fast. First, can't feel how much Allen missed Madison and got the desire to save her; Second, issit a bit too fast that Dr Kornbluth joined in the saving team without trying to fight for his right to participate in the experiment on the mermaid which he took risk on?

Overall the other parts are still good. Daryl Hannah is so so beautiful, I have been watching her "High Spirit" a lot of times before, never wonder she can look so hot in naked too lol~ 

A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures

 Released Year: 2010

Directed by Ben Stassen

Voiced by:

Dominic Cooper & Yuri Lowenthal as Sammy 

Gemma Arterton & Jenny McCarthy as Shelly

John Hurt & Stacy Keach as Grandpa Sammy

Robert Sheehan & Anthony Anderson as Ray

Kayvan Novak & Tim Curry as Fluffy

 Story:

Sammy, a Green sea turtle, hatches on a deserted beach and while trying to climb up a sand slope is caught by a seagull. He manages to escape along with another hatchling sea turtle caught by a seagull named Shelly. Sammy falls onto an old raft and gets carried into the open ocean, losing Shelly. Later he befriends a leatherback hatchling named Ray. The two friends grow up together.

One day Ray shows Sammy his new found Octopus friend Slim, but they are forced to take shelter from an oil spill, caused by an oil tanker shipwreck. After the raft collapses, Sammy and Ray are caught in trawler nets and separated. Hours later, Sammy is thrown back into the sea, but is revived by a dolphin.

Sammy makes it to shore and the next day finds himself in an enclosure, taken in by human hippies and has the company of a cat named Fluffy. Eventually Sammy shares the enclosure with a larger turtle named Vera, however Vera is released into sea as it seems the two are not mating. Not long after that, the unauthorized hippies are evicted by the police, leaving Sammy behind. Sammy returns to the ocean and is rejoined by Vera. On a search for food, Sammy and Vera rescue a female turtle, who turns out to be Shelly.

Sammy and Shelly travel the oceans and ask around in search of the secret passage Sammy heard of. Finally the two turtles brave the dangers of the Panama Canal but separated as they try to pass a lock. Sammy follows her trail to the Antarctic, where is picked up by Ecologists and taken to California where he meets Fluffy once again.

Soon after he is released back in the ocean, Sammy is requested by two leatherbacks to help a trapped turtle in a container. His rescuee is none other than his old friend Ray. With help from Ray's girlfriend Rita, Sammy explores a wrecked galleon and finds Shelly dating with another turtle. Rita reveals that turtle named Robbie is only a playboy. To win Shelly's heart, Ray enlists the help of the toothless shark Albert for Sammy to stage a rescue. Finally reunited with Shelly, the two turtles along with Ray and Rita return to their birthplace to make their own hatchlings.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

Aww, this cartoon is so cute and meaningful to watch~ it shows adventurous, friendship, love & passion as well... of coz the turtle is so cute too... And the most important thing that we can learn after watching this cartoon is? GLOBAL WARMING!!! As part of the earthling, or whatever, we should love our earth more! Keep it clean and don't hurt it~ peace :)

Madagascar

 Released Year: 2005

Directed by Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath

Voiced by:

Ben Stiller as Alex

Chris Rock as Marty

David Schwimmer as Melman

Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria

Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien

Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice

Andy Richter as Mort

 Story:

At the Central Park Zoo, Marty the zebra is celebrating his tenth birthday, but longs to see the rest of the world from outside his pampered life at the zoo, believing that he can find wide-open spaces to run around in, like in Connecticut. Marty's best friend, Alex the lion, attempts to cheer up his friend by singing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" with him. Still unsatisfied, Marty gets some tips from the zoo's penguins: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private. The penguins are similarly trying to escape the zoo. Marty's friends — Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippopotamus — realize Marty's folly and try to follow him. The four, along with the penguins and the chimpanzees Mason and his silent friend Phil, eventually find themselves at Grand Central Station, but are quickly sedated by tranquilizer darts when Alex's attempt to communicate with humans is mistaken for aggression. The zoo, under pressure from animal-rights activists, is forced to ship the animals, by sea, to a Kenyan wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins escape from their enclosure and take over the ship, intent on taking it to Antarctica. Their antics on the bridge cause the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria to fall off the boat and wash ashore on Madagascar.

The animals are soon able to regroup, initially believing themselves to be in the zoo at San Diego, California. Upon exploring, however, they come across a pack of lemurs, led by King Julien XIII, and quickly learn their true location. Alex blames Marty for their predicament and attempts to signal for help to get back to civilization. Marty, on the other hand, finds the wild to be exactly what he was looking for, with Gloria and Melman soon joining him in enjoying the island. Alex eventually comes around, though his hunting instincts begin to show; he has been away from the pampered zoo life of prepacked steaks for too long. The group is accepted by the lemurs, though King Julien's adviser, Maurice, cautions them about Alex's predatory nature. King Julien ignores Maurice's concerns and persuades the group to help the lemurs fend off the fossa, who hunt the lemurs as prey. While initially Alex scares the fossa away and is worshiped by the lemurs, compelled by hunger, he later enters a feeding frenzy and attacks Marty. Realizing that Alex is now a threat to them, King Julien banishes Alex to the far side of the island, where the fossa live. Marty begins to regret his decision to leave the zoo, seeing what Alex has turned into, and realizing how hard it is to survive with so many predators around the island.

The penguins, having been to Antarctica and found that it "sucks", land the boat on Madagascar. Seeing this as a chance to return Alex to New York, Marty rushes after his friend against the wishes of the others. Marty attempts to convince the now grizzled, starving Alex to return, but Alex refuses in fear of attacking him again, despite Marty using the "New York, New York" song. The penguins, Gloria, and Melman go to find Marty, but are trapped by the fossa. At the last minute, Alex finally overcomes his predatory nature and scares the fossa away from the lemur territory forever. The lemurs regain their respect for Alex and the penguins help him satisfy his hunger through sushi instead of steak. As the lemurs throw a bon voyage celebration for the foursome, the penguins decide not to break the news that the ship has run out of fuel, and that they are still stuck on the island.

 L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Its so nice to rewatch this animation, and surprisingly, it has been 10 years ago~ Times really flies without waiting for anybody. The cartoon makes a hit during that time and a lot of people. including me loves it so much. The storyline is cool, nice, fun to watch~ i'm gonna rewatch the rest of the movies too :)