Olympus Has Fallen

 Released Year: 2013

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Casted by:

Gerard Butler as Mike Banning

Aaron Eckhart as Benjamin Asher

Morgan Freeman as Allan Trumbull

Rick Yune as Kang Yeonsak

Angela Bassett as Lynne Jacobs

Dylan McDermott as Dave Forbes

Finley Jacobsen as Connor Asher

Melissa Leo as Ruth McMillan

Ashley Judd as Margaret Asher

Radha Mitchell as Leah Banning

 Story: 

Former Army Ranger Mike Banning is the lead U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to head the U.S. Presidential detail. Banning maintains a personal, friendly relationship with President Benjamin Asher, First Lady Margaret and their son Connor. During a snowy Christmas evening drive from Camp David to a campaign fundraiser, the car transporting the First Family spins out of control on a bridge; Banning pulls Asher from the vehicle, but Margaret falls to her death while inside the car.

Eighteen months later, having been removed from the presidential detail, Banning works at Treasury headquarters. During a meeting between Asher and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo (Keong Sim), terrorists led by Kang Yeonsak, a North Korean terrorist driven to reunify Korea, mount an air and ground assault that results in the capture of the White House. The group is aided by treasonous members of the prime minister's own detail, including Dave Forbes, a former Secret Service agent. Asher and several top officials are held hostage in the White House bunker; South Korean Prime Minister Lee is executed on live video. Before his own death, detail agent Roma alerts the Director of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs that "Olympus has fallen".

Kang seeks to use Asher's hostage status as leverage to force U.S. officials to withdraw the Seventh Fleet and U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula, removing American opposition to a North Korean invasion of South Korea. He also seeks to destroy the American nuclear weapons stockpile by detonating them in their respective silos across the country, turning the U.S. into an irradiated wasteland as revenge for the death of his family. To accomplish this, he requires the access codes to a system in the bunker called Cerberus, which are held by three top government officials within the bunker, including the President. Asher orders the other two officials to reveal their codes to save their lives, certain that he will not give up his code.

During the initial assault by Kang's forces, Banning joins the White House's combatants. He falls back into the White House, disabling the internal surveillance and gaining access to Asher's satellite ear phone, which he uses to maintain contact with Jacobs and Allan Trumbull, the Speaker of the House, now the Acting President. Authorized to proceed, Banning’s first act is to save Connor, whom Kang plans to use to force Asher to reveal his Cerberus code. Banning finds Connor hiding in the walls, thanks to the training Banning had given him, and sneaks the boy to safety. Banning begins reconnaissance and reduces the terrorists' numbers. Banning kills Forbes, first convincing the traitor to report to Kang that Banning is dead. Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg convinces Trumbull to order an aerial SEAL assault on the White House. Kang deploys an advanced anti-aircraft gun system in his possession. Discovering the system, Banning advises Trumbull and Clegg to abort the mission, but the new weapon system annihilates the assault force before Banning can stop it. Kang retaliates for the infiltration by killing Vice President Charlie Rodriguez.

After Banning disables Kang’s communications, Kang tries to execute Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan outside the White House in front of the media, but Banning rescues her, taking out several of Kang's men in the process. With his forces dwindling, Kang fakes both his own death and Asher's by sacrificing several of his men and the remaining hostages. However, Banning believes that Kang has faked his death and will attempt to sneak away. Kang eventually cracks Asher’s code using brute-force attack and activates Cerberus. As Kang attempts to escape, Banning kills the remaining terrorists, but Kang shoots Asher in the abdomen when the President tries to resist. Banning and Kang confront each other and a climactic fight breaks out, in which Kang quickly maintains the upper hand. Eventually, Banning kills Kang by stabbing him in the head with a knife and then disables Cerberus with the assistance of Trumbull, with only seconds to spare. During daybreak that day, Banning walks out with Asher and is received by the soldiers posted to await their arrival. After the events, the U.S. begins to heal from the attack, while Banning once again heads the president's security detail. President Asher addresses the public while Banning, Jacobs, Clegg, and Connor observe.

 L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

There's really not much fate between me & this movie actually. I remember the first time when I bought the movie ticket to watch this movie, within the first half an hour, a friend called me and say he needs help due to an accident, i ditched the movie and went for rescue. The friend whom i offered my help treat me to cinema to watch this movie on the following week, but i was forced to cancel it because i got high fever at that time...

When i wanted to watch this movie with my friends after a year through blu-ray, when we open the DVD, we realize it was not "Olympus Has Fallen" in it, instead it was a thriller movie that time lol~ Finally when i was alone in a quiet night, i managed to finish this movie :p

It was nice, very exciting as well. But of course i understand this is just a movie, but the attack of the terrorist is too powerful and it make me scared ~ Gosh... who can protect us if the US white house is down too? Lol~ i'm just being a bit too drama myself haha...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Released Year: 2009
Directed by Michael Bay

Casted by:
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel as Maj. William Lennox
Tyrese Gibson as CMSgt. Rob Epps
Isabel Lucas as Alice
John Turturro as Seymour Simmons
Ramón Rodríguez as Leo Spitz
Kevin Dunn as Ron Witwicky, Sam's father.
Julie White as Judith Witwicky

Voiced by:
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime
Mark Ryan voices Bumblebee
Tony Todd voices The Fallen
Hugo Weaving voices Megatron
Charlie Adler voices Starscream

Story:

In 17,000 B.C., the Seven Primes traveled the galaxy to create Energon with star-absorbing machines called Sun Harvesters. The Primes followed a rule in which to never destroy planets with life, but one of them, Megatronus Prime, later called The Fallen, deceives the others by building an army in secret and sets up a Sun Harvester on a planet with abundant life, Earth. After defeating ancient humans, The Fallen is confronted by the other Primes who defeat and imprison The Fallen before he can harvest Earth's sun with the Matrix of Leadership, and shortly afterwards sacrifice themselves to hide the Matrix.

Two years after Megatron's demise, the Autobots join the U.S. military to form the Non-Biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty (NEST), a classified task force hunting down surviving Decepticons, led by William Lennox and Rob Epps. During a mission in Shanghai against the Decepticons Sideways and Demolisher, Optimus Prime learns of The Fallen's return from Demolisher's dying words: "The Fallen will rise again", but is unfamiliar with the name. National Security Adviser Theodore Galloway scolds the task force for their destructive tactics, reminding them that Megatron's corpse is still in the Laurentian Abyss and the last known AllSpark shard is locked up in NEST's headquarters. The Decepticon Communications Officer Soundwave hacks into a U.S. military satellite, eavesdropping for information and sends Ravage to retrieve the shard.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky prepares to attend college, leaving his girlfriend Mikaela Banes and guardian Bumblebee behind. While preparing for college, he gets a call from Mikaela. While on the phone, he removes an old jacket from his cupboard; a smaller AllSpark shard falls from within it. He picks up the shard, accidentally channeling its knowledge into his mind, causing him to see Cybertronian symbols and bringing the kitchen appliances to life. After Bumblebee destroys them, Sam gives the shard to Mikaela, who later captures the Decepticon Wheelie when he tries to steal it. The Constructicons resurrect Megatron by using the shard retrieved by Ravage and killing one of their own allies to provide parts for him. Megatron then flies to a moon of Saturn and reunites with his master, The Fallen. The Fallen orders Megatron to capture Sam alive and kill Optimus, who is the last of the Primes and the only Transformer who can defeat him.

Sam, Mikaela, and Leo, Sam's college roommate, are targeted by the Decepticons. Alice, a Pretender Decepticon, first attempts to seduce Sam and then tries to attack him, but Mikaela and Leo enter the room and help him escape. They kill Alice, but are captured by Grindor under the orders of Megatron, who says that the symbols in Sam's mind will lead the Deceptions to a new Energon source. Megatron orders Scalpel to remove Sam's brain, but Optimus and Bumblebee arrive to rescue them. Bumblebee, Leo, and Mikaela escape as Optimus engages Megatron, Starscream, and Grindor in a vicious fight in the forest. Sam watches the three Decepticons overpower Optimus, but Optimus eventually gets the better of Megatron and Starscream; also killing Grindor. As Optimus attempts to find Sam, Megatron mortally stabs him. After encouraging Sam to run, Optimus dies. This forces the humans to retreat as Autobots repel Megatron and Starscream.

The Decepticons prepare for The Fallen's arrival by launching an assault on many areas around the world simultaneously; after landing on Earth, The Fallen, now informed of the death of Optimus, hijacks Earth's telecommunications systems, asking for Sam. In return, the assurance of mankind's survival. Sam, now an international fugitive, enlists the help of Seymour Simmons, who reveals that the Transformers visited Earth eons ago and the most ancient, known as Seekers, live in secret. With the help from Wheelie, they track down an elderly Decepticon turned Autobot named Jetfire, helping the group get to Egypt to find the Matrix of Leadership, which will revive Optimus. Simmons contacts NEST, telling them to bring Optimus and the other Autobots to Egypt.

Sam's group finds the Tomb of the Primes hidden in Petra, but the Matrix disintegrates into dust in Sam's hands. Undeterred, Sam places the Matrix's remains in his sock. Megatron orders the Decepticons to assault the area around the pyramid, leading to a full scale Decepticon attack. NEST and the Autobots land, but they are attacked by a large force of Decepticons. During the battle, Sam reunites with his parents (having found out about the Transformers existence) before getting rescued by Bumblebee, who ends up killing Ravage and Rampage in the process. During the battle, Devastator demolishes one of the Pyramids of Giza, revealing the Sun Harvester inside, before being killed by a strike called in by Simmons. With the Decepticons gaining the upper hand, Lennox and Epps call in an airstrike, which kills a large portion of the Decepticon ground forces. However, Megatron manages to shoot Sam in the confusion, seemingly killing him, before being forced to retreat to the Sun Harvester. Nearing his death, the Seven Primes contact Sam through a vision, telling him the Matrix is earned, and that he earned the right to bear it. They restore Sam's life and the Matrix, which the latter is used to revive Optimus.

The Fallen, sensing the Matrix's restoration and the resurrection of Optimus, teleports to their location and steals the Matrix from Optimus, then returns to the pyramid with Megatron and activates the Sun Harvester. The military assaults the pyramid but are no match to the telekinetic powers of The Fallen, who all but destroys the attack force. A wounded Jetfire sacrifices himself in order for Optimus to gain his parts which gives him immense strength and the ability to fly. Optimus takes to flight and knocks The Fallen and Megatron off the pyramid, destroying the Sun Harvester in the process. The Fallen and Optimus fight ferociously until Megatron appears and attacks Optimus from behind. Optimus uses his new strength to severely injure Megatron, knocking him through a wall and disabling him. Optimus re-engages The Fallen who begins to tear Optimus' new armour apart, but Optimus gains the upper hand by disarming The Fallen and using his own spear against him, impaling him through the shoulder. Wounded, The Fallen attempts to escape, but Optimus rips his face off and crushes his spark out of his chest, finally killing him, while an injured Megatron watches in horror. Vowing vengeance, he retreats with Starscream. Victorious at last, the Autobots and their allies return to the United States as Optimus ends the movie with a victory speech.

In a mid-credit scene Sam, and Mikaela continue their relationship by kissing on a motor-cycle, In a second credit scene Sam returns to college, were the professor says "Thank you for joining us Mr. Einstein"

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

The 2nd movie of Transformer is still as good as the 1st movie. Sexy Megan Fox on the superbike is like a symbolic pose for a sexy beast like her. The storyline is exciting, a lot new transformers appear in this second movie for the good guys so as the bad guys. Love the fighting scenes between the autobots & decepticons; it almost blew me away watching it :) Too bad, when I thought about the 3rd movie later on "Dark of the moon" is not as good as the first two movies make me feel a bit sad... that is also the reason why i stop watching Transformer in cinema anymore... :(

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~

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky 力王

 Released Year: 1991

Directed by 藍乃才 Lam Nai Choi

Casted by:

樊少皇 Louis Fan as 賀力王 Lik Wong / Ricky Ho

大島由加利 Yukari Oshima as 黃泉 / 西倉天王 Huang Chung / Rogan

樊梅生 Fan Mei-Sheng as 單眼蛇 / 副所長 Assistant Warden Dan

何家駒 Ho Ka-Kui as 典獄長 Warden

陳國邦 Chan Kwok-Bong as 阿沙 Sha

陳治良 Frankie Chin as 嗚海 / 北倉天王 Hai / Oscar

杉崎浩一 Koichi Sugisaki as 泰山 / 東倉天王 Taizan / Tarzan

黃貴雄 Wong Kwai-Hung as 白神 / 南倉天王 Baishen / Brandon

葉蘊儀 Gloria Yip as 瑩瑩 Keiko / Anne

 Story: 

The plot closely follows the events depicted in the original Japanese comic and its anime adaptation, with some minor modifications in certain instances.

By the year 2001, all correctional facilities have been privatized. Lik Wong/Ricky Ho, a martial artist and former music student, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter after killing a crime lord who was indirectly responsible for the death of his girlfriend Keiko/Anne. Flashback scenes reveal that a group of thugs had captured her after she had witnessed their heroin deal. Anne was so scared in captivity that she ran upstairs and then leapt off the roof to her death.

One morning in the prison bathroom, an elderly inmate named Ma/Omar is viciously beaten by the captain of the cells, Wildcat/Samuel. As Samuel leaves, Ricky trips him, and Samuel falls on a piece of wood with nails on it, hand and face first. As Samuel devises a plan to get back at Ricky, one of the inmates suggest that they should have Zorro, a dangerous, morbidly obese inmate, kill him. Omar is later informed by the guards that they turned down his probation after Samuel tells the guards that Omar was spreading rumors although this was untrue. Stricken by grief, Omar hangs himself.

The next day, Zorro attacks Ricky, but is quickly and horribly killed along with Samuel. Shortly after, a member of the fearsome Four Heavenly Kings (Gang of Four in the English dub) named Hai/Oscar, the leader of the North Cell, suggests that Ricky should see the sadistic one-eyed Assistant Warden Dan. After Ricky confronts Dan, he suggests Oscar to kill Ricky. Outside the prison yard, Oscar and Ricky engage in a fight, which ends with Ricky defeating and killing Oscar.

Later on, Ricky soon discovers that the Gang of Four is growing illegal opium for profit. Huang Chung/Rogan, leader of the West Cell, discovers that Ricky had set the poppy garden on fire and they both fight. As the fight goes on, Brandon, leader of the South Cell, throws his needles and ties Ricky up with them, leaving him defenseless. Meanwhile, the guards report to Dan that the Warden is returning from his vacation in Hawaii, prompting Dan to raise the Zero Alarm. While the fight continues, Tarzan, leader of the East Cell, interferes, claiming that he wants to fight Ricky. As the Zero Alarm goes off, Ricky and the Gang of Four part ways for now.

The next day, the Warden and his spoiled, overweight son return from their vacation. Dan informs the Warden about the incidents during his absence, including the poppy garden which infuriates the Warden. Dan escorts the Warden to Ricky's cell. As the Warden questions him, Tarzan bursts through the wall and fights Ricky once again, which ends with Ricky brutally defeating Tarzan. The Warden then activates a ceiling trap to crush Ricky. As Ricky struggles to stay alive, Tarzan regains consciousness and saves him from being crushed by the ceiling, at the cost of Tarzan's life.

Later, the Warden orders the inmates to bury Ricky alive, which they reluctantly obey. The Warden claims if Ricky survives by staying underground for a week, he will consider freeing him from prison. As the week quickly passes by, Ricky survives, but the Warden does not free him. Later that night, Ricky is chained in his cell. A fellow inmate, named Freddy, brings him food so Ricky can regain his power. However, another inmate sees this and informs Dan about it and in response, Dan mortally wounds Freddy. Dan, dragging Freddy's body with his hook, then opens Ricky's cell to show the body to him. However, Dan and the other inmate find that Ricky has broken free from the chains, and Ricky kills the inmate and knocks out Dan's remaining eye. As the guards rush to the scene, the inmates rebel and violently ambush Dan.

In the kitchen, Ricky, the prisoners, and Dan burst through the wall and the Warden shoots Dan with a gas-pressured bullet, causing him to inflate and violently explode. Rogan and Brandon then confront Ricky one last time, which ends with Ricky gravely injuring Rogan. Brandon, realizing Ricky is far too powerful for him, flees from the scene, but not before the Warden shoots and kills Brandon. The Warden, revealing that he too, is a martial artist, transforms into a grotesque creature and battles Ricky. The fight quickly ends with Ricky crippling and throwing the mutated Warden into a meat grinder. In the finale, the prisoners rebel once again and start to attack the guards. Ricky then breaks the prison wall, allowing all the prisoners and himself to go free.

 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment: 

This movie is based on the Japanese famous violence comic of many years ago. I was surprise when I was able to found this on a website and its not censored after all... The gruesome and violence is shown exactly how it was portrait by the comic itself. And it was also the first time i ever watch Yukari acted as a male and a villain in a movie :) 

Helios 赤道

 Released Year: 2015

Directed by 陸劍青 Sunny Luk & 梁樂民 Longman Leung

Casted by:

張學友 Jacky Cheung as 肇志仁 / 赤盜 Professor Siu Chi-yan

張家輝 Nick Cheung as 李彦明 Eric Lee Yan-ming

池珍熙 Ji Jin-hee as 崔民浩 Choi Min-ho

崔始源 Choi Siwon as 朴宇哲 Park Woo-cheol

王學圻 Wang Xueqi as 宋鞍 Song An

張震 Chang Chen as 金燾年 Gam Dao-nin

文詠珊 Janice Man as 張怡君 Zhang Yiyun

余文樂 Shawn Yue as 范家明 Fan Ka-ming

顧美華 Josephine Koo as Sophia

 Story: 

South Korea's top most wanted criminal, nicknamed "Helios", and his assistant, nicknamed "Messenger", have successfully stolen a mass destruction weapon secretly developed by the South Korean military, the portable nuclear explosive device DC8 along with sixteen raw material spheres. The police forces of Hong Kong, China and South Korea were informed that "Helios" will hold an underground trading in Hong Kong.

An emergency response team was set up in Hong Kong. Its members, chief inspector Eric Lee Yan-ming of the Counter Terrorism Response Unit, senior Chinese official Song An, and two South Korean weapon experts Choi Min-ho and Park Woo-cheol, work together to trace the whereabouts of the weapon. Lee also specially invites Physics professor Siu Chi-yan of the University of Hong Kong to serve as a special adviser for the operation.

Hong Kong, China and South Korea face the same objective, but with different purposes. Choi wants to hunt down "Helios" to take back the weapon to make sure not to divulge secrets of South Korea. In the position of the Chinese government, Song wants to resolve the current crisis in Hong Kong and halt any terrorism activities in Chinese territories. Lee and Siu face pressure from the two countries and have to deal with the greatest challenge since the establishment of Counter Terrorism Response Unit, with the situation getting more tense.

As times passes by each second, with "Messenger" arrested and DC8 falls into the hands of the Hong Kong Police Force, China and Korea fight for the right to possess the weapon. On the other hand, "Helios" appears in Macau, with plans to retaliate and repossess the weapon. During the last stand, conspiracies are gradually revealed, with everyone caught off guard.

 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Its been quite sometime since I have watch a good HK's crime movie, a bit too bad coz I missed out this movie in the cinema last year. Few surprises in this movie such as Jacky Cheung first try on such character; actors from China + HK + Korea + Taiwan can be found in the same movie; Janice Man got the potential to be fighting actress; the most most surprise is to see Josephine Koo after so many years...

Storyline of this movie started a bit exciting & fast, just when you thought you can relax a bit in the middle of the movie, the story twisted & brought another peak part of this movie till the end. The only problem is that i need to read the chinese subtitle when the Korean actors & actresses communicate...