Moana

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by Ron Clements & John Musker

Voiced by:

Auli'i Cravalho as Moana

Dwayne Johnson as Maui

Rachel House as Tala

Temuera Morrison as Tui

Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa

Nicole Scherzinger as Sina

Alan Tudyk as Heihei

 Story:

A small pounamu stone that is the mystical heart of the island goddess, Te Fiti, is stolen by the wind and sea demigod, Maui, who plans to give it to humanity as a gift. As Maui makes his escape, he is attacked by Te Kā, a lava demon of Earth and fire, causing his power-granting magical fishhook and the heart of Te Fiti to be lost in the ocean.

A millennium later, Moana, daughter and heir of the chief on the small Polynesian island of Motunui, is chosen by the ocean to receive the heart, but drops it when her father, Tui comes to get her. He insists the island provides everything the villagers need. Years later, a blight strikes the island as fish become scarce and the island's vegetation begins dying. Moana proposes going beyond the reef to find more fish. Tui rejects her request, claiming that sailing past the reef is forbidden.

Moana's grandmother, Tala, shows Moana a secret cave behind a waterfall where she finds boats inside and discovers her ancestors were voyagers, sailing and discovering new islands across the world. Tala explains that they stopped voyaging because Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti, causing monsters to appear in the ocean. Tala then says Te Kā's darkness has been spreading from island to island, slowly killing them. Tala returns the heart of Te Fiti to Moana, which she had recovered after Moana dropped it.

Tala falls ill, and with her dying breaths, tells Moana to set sail. Moana and her pet rooster, Heihei, depart in a drua to find Maui. A manta ray, Tala's reincarnation, follows. After a typhoon wave flips her sailboat and knocks her unconscious, she awakens the next morning on an island inhabited by Maui, who traps her in a cave and takes her sailboat to search for his fishhook. After escaping and catching up to Maui, Moana tries to convince him to return the heart, but Maui refuses, fearing its power will attract dark creatures.

Sentient coconut pirates called Kakamora surround the boat and steal the heart, but Moana and Maui retrieve it. Maui agrees to help return the heart, but only after he reclaims his hook, which is hidden in Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters. At Lalotai, they retrieve it by tricking Tamatoa, a giant coconut crab who collects rare sea treasures. Maui teaches Moana how to properly sail and navigate. They arrive at Te Fiti, where Te Kā attacks. Maui is overpowered and Te Kā badly cracks his hook and repels their boat far out to sea. Finally having enough of Moana's meddling and fearful that returning to fight Te Kā will destroy his hook, an angry Maui abandons her.

Distraught, Moana begs the ocean to take the heart and choose another person to return it to Te Fiti. The spirit of Tala comes to her and encourages Moana to find her true calling within herself. Inspired, Moana retrieves the heart and returns to Te Fiti alone. Maui, having had a change of heart, returns and distracts the lava demon, but his hook is destroyed in the battle. Realizing that Te Kā is a corrupted Te Fiti without her heart, Moana asks the ocean to clear a path for Te Kā to approach her. Moana then sings a song to help Te Kā remember who she truly is, and she allows Moana to restore her heart. Te Fiti returns and gives a new boat to Moana and a new magical fishhook to Maui before returning to her island form.

Moana bids farewell to Maui and returns to her recovering island with Heihei. Later, the villagers and Moana (who becomes their new chief) begin voyaging and set sail in search of new islands, as Maui and Tala accompany them in their giant hawk and manta ray forms, respectively.

In a post-credits scene, Tamatoa, who has been stranded on his back during Moana and Maui's escape, tells the audience they would help him if he was a Jamaican crab named Sebastian.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment: 

A great production from Disney again :) This time a Polynesian's myth was brought into the cartoon. The myth is actually the demigod Maui, but disney as usual, they will focus more on a female character, that's why Moana's character occur...Love the storyline as its not like the usual Disney "princess & prince", but a bravery of a girl attracted me... And it has gross a lot, nice job :)

Underworld: Blood Wars

Released Year: 2016

Directed by Anna Foerster

Casted by:

Kate Beckinsale as Selene

Theo James as David

Tobias Menzies as Marius

Lara Pulver as Semira

James Faulkner as Cassius

Charles Dance as Thomas

Bradley James as Varga

Clementine Nicholson as Lena

Peter Andersson as Vidar

Daisy Head as Alexia

Story:

The remaining vampire covens are on the verge of being wiped out by the Lycans. Both species are searching for Selene: the vampires seeking justice for the deaths of Viktor and Marcus, and the Lycans, led by Marius, intending to use her to locate Eve, whose blood holds the key to building an army of vampire-werewolf hybrids.

Semira, a council member of the Eastern Coven, wishes for Selene to be granted clemency so that the latter can train the Eastern Coven's neophyte Death Dealers. To that end, she enlists Thomas to plead Selene's case before the full council. Thomas succeeds and Selene arrives at the Eastern Coven with David. Selene is betrayed by Varga, Semira's ally and lover, who poisons the former and slaughters the Death Dealers at the behest of Semira. Semira begins draining Selene of her blood, which she intends to drink to gain Selene's power, but is interrupted when Thomas and David come to Selene's rescue. In the ensuing fight, Thomas is killed delaying Semira and Varga so that David can escape with an incapacitated Selene.

The pair seeks refuge with the Nordic Coven. They are pursued by Alexia, an Eastern Coven vampire dispatched by Semira, who consumes the blood from Selene and strengthened by its ingestion but unfamiliar with the enhancements. Selene and David arrive at Vador, the stronghold of the Nordic Coven, where Vidar, the Elder, reveals that David was the son of the High Elder Amelia, making him the legitimate heir to the Eastern Coven.

The Nordic Coven is attacked by Marius and the Lycans, who were alerted by Alexia, Marius's mole and lover. The Nordic vampires, led by Vidar's daughter Lena, fight with Selene and David. Selene engages in single combat with Marius, who demands to know Eve’s location; Selene insists she does not know the location, being confirmed by Alexia by tasting some of Selene's blood. Marius sounds the retreat for his troops and Selene, no longer wishing to live, slides herself under the now-broken ice of the lake.

Upon Alexia's return to the Eastern Coven's castle, she informs Semira of the events at the Nordic Coven. Semira kills her, revealing to have always known of Alexia's treachery, and has been manipulating Alexia for her own ends. David returns to the Eastern Coven and presents himself as its rightful heir. Semira is arrested by none other than Varga, whose ultimate loyalty is to the rightful leadership of the coven. She is subsequently imprisoned in the dungeons. The coven comes under attack by Marius and his forces. The Lycans blow holes in the castle's walls, letting in sunlight, killing most of the vampires. David continues fighting, only to find himself face to face with Marius. Selene suddenly reappears, wearing a Nordic appearance and coat over her normal Death Dealer uniform. It is revealed that the Nordic Coven revived her and in doing so enabled her to develop new abilities. She swiftly begins dispatching the Lycans, as the rest of the Nordic Coven, led by Lena, join the fight. While Selene is making her way through the castle, the guards in the dungeons are killed by Semira, who then escapes from her cell. Selene and David find Marius, but David is waylaid by Semira. As Marius and Selene's fight continues, a drop of Marius's blood lands on Selene's lips. She is suddenly flooded by a series of blood memories in which Marius finds Michael. She sees Marius capturing Michael and slitting his throat in order to collect his blood and consume it. Believing that Michael is dead, she bites her own wrist, using her own blood memories of the time she has spent with Michael, Eve, and David to fuel her rage. Although Marius has transformed, Selene rips out his spine, killing him instantly. David manages to kill Semira. He shows Marius's severed head to the Lycans, who decide to retreat.

In the aftermath, Selene, David, and Lena are chosen as the new Elders. It is revealed that after being resurrected at the Nordic Coven, Selene was reunited with Eve, who has been following her mother.

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

This should be the final installment of this movie which i finally scored it a 10/10 on this one and only movie out of the whole series. To me, Underworld all these while is a good movie but not really that great comparing to others series of movie. From the first movie 2003 till 2016, 13 years have passed and our Beckinsale is getting older, maybe its better to end the series after all when it is doing well instead of leaving us a bad memory instead :)

The Great Wall 長城

Released Year: 2016

Directed by 张艺谋 Zhang Yi Mou 

Casted by:

Matt Damon as William Garin

景甜 Jing Tian as 林梅 Commander Lin Mae

Pedro Pascal as Pero Tovar

刘德华 Andy Lau as 王军师 Strategist Wang

Willem Dafoe as Ballard

鹿晗 Lu Han as 彭勇 Peng Yong

张涵予 Zhang Hanyu as 邵殿帅 Commander Shao

彭于晏 Eddie Peng as 吴将军 Commander Wu

林更新 Lin Gengxin as 陈将军 Commander Chen

黄轩 Huang Xuan as 邓将军 Commander Teng

 Story:

During the Song dynasty, a few miles north of the Great Wall, William, Tovar, and three other survivors from a European mercenary group searching for black powder are pursued by Khitan bandits. Upon escaping they seek refuge in a cave, but are attacked by a shadowy monster, leaving only William and Tovar alive, the former having slashed off the monster's hand. The next day, they stumble upon the Great Wall and are taken prisoner by Chinese soldiers, who are led by General Shao, General Lin, and Strategist Wang. The officers have been preparing for a monster invasion which happens once every sixty years. However, they are frightened upon seeing the monster's hand, identified as a member of the Taotie species, as they believed the invasion was still weeks away. Suddenly, a wave of monsters attack the Great Wall, and the soldiers respond with archery, ballistas, and catapaults which throw burning rocks. Lin leads a company of female soldiers who jump off the Wall and are pulled back with elastic cords. The monsters are more intelligent and numerous than the soldiers' expectations, but are repelled with William and Tovar's assistance, which earns the soldiers' respect. Later, William and Tovar meet Sir Ballard, a European who, like them, had ventured east twenty-two years ago in search of black powder, which might be sold for a fortune back in Europe. However, Ballard was also taken prisoner, and has been serving as an English and Latin teacher. The three men discuss plans to steal black powder from the store-room and flee while the soldiers are occupied by battle.

During the night, two monsters manage to climb the Great Wall and kill a guard. Shao and Lin lead a platoon to investigate, but they are ambushed and Shao is killed, leaving Lin in charge. Around this time, an envoy from the capital, Bianliang, arrives with an ancient scroll, which suggests that the monsters are pacified by magnets. To test this theory, William suggests that Lin should capture a monster alive using harpoons laced with sedatives, and delays his escape plans to help. At the next battle, several monsters are ensnared, and William bravely slides down a chain to ensure that an ensnared monster is not freed by other monsters. Tovar delays his escape to assist William, to Ballard's disappointment. The soldiers resist the monsters by fighting vertically along the Wall while tied to a chain, and by using spinning mechanical blades. As the monsters are too numerous, Lin resorts to using black powder rockets, whose existence had been a secret. After the battle, the captured monster is taken to the capital by the envoy. A short while later, a hole is discovered in the base of the Great Wall, which the monsters have used as a bypass, a reflection of their cleverness. While Lin investigates, Tovar and Ballard try to escape, and knock William unconscious for resisting. Some distance away, Ballard abandons Tovar, stealing his horse, but is captured by the Khitans, who accidentally ignite a bomb killing themselves and Ballard. Tovar reclaims the horses, but is captured by Chinese riders.

Knowing that the monsters are nearing the capital, Lin orders the use of an unstable technology, namely hot-air balloons, to reach the capital more quickly. Most of the balloons catch fire and the soldiers fall to their deaths. William boards the last balloon with Wang, following Lin to the capital, where they find most of the city already ruined. However, they think of a plan to kill the queen monster by tying explosives to the captured monster from earlier, and giving the monster meat to deliver to the queen. The three people climb a tower to shoot a black powder rocket to detonate the explosives, during which Wang is killed. Two rockets fail, but the third succeeds, after William throws a magnetic stone at the queen right before the rocket hits. In the aftermath, Lin is promoted to regional marshal, and William forgoes a reward in exchange for freeing Tovar. The two are allowed to return to Europe and a contingent of cavalry are sent to protect them.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

This is the first english-language movie that is directed by Zhang Yi Mou in his 33 years of being a director. He has won a lot of awards in Asian but can he won one from the Western country by this movie, let's see... Using the same concept of his 2002 movie HERO, he used sharp colors to differentiate the team of army in this movie.I love the storyline of the movie, very exciting and new while the way of defensing The Great Wall are fascinating as well. Matt Damon still look superb, being the few only western actor, he managed to shine together with the Asian actor but not overly outcast-ed his fellow actors in the same film, which i think is quite important as well... Of course this movie also let a lot of the Asian actors & actresses has the chance to show their face in Hollywood, good work Zhang Yi Mou :)

Finding Dory

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by Andrew Stanton

Voiced by: 

Ellen DeGeneres as Dory

Albert Brooks as Marlin

Hayden Rolence as Nemo

Ed O'Neill as Hank

Diane Keaton as Jenny

Eugene Levy as Charlie

Kaitlin Olson as Destiny

Ty Burrell as Bailey

 Story: 

Dory, as a child, gets separated from her parents. As she grows up, Dory attempts to search for them, gradually forgetting them due to her short-term memory loss. After accidentally running in with Marlin, a clownfish, who's looking for his missing son, she goes to help him.

One year after reuniting Nemo with Marlin, Dory has become a helping hand in raising Nemo. One day during a field trip with Nemo's class to learn about migration, Dory recalls through a childhood flashback that she has a family. She decides to look for them but finds her short-term memory loss to be an obstacle. The only thing she remembers is that they lived at the Jewel of Morro Bay.

Marlin and Nemo accompany Dory in her quest. With the help of Crush, they ride a water current to California. Upon arrival, Dory accidentally awakens a predatory squid, who immediately pursues them, almost devouring Nemo during the chase. Marlin tends to his son afterwards and berates Dory for almost getting him killed. Feeling hurt, Dory travels to the surface to seek help and is captured by staff members from the nearby Marine Life Institute after being caught in six pack rings.

Dory is sent to the quarantine section and tagged. There she meets a grouchy yet well-meaning, seven-legged octopus named Hank. Dory's tag shows that she will be sent to an aquarium in Cleveland. Due to a traumatic ocean life, Hank wants to live in the aquarium instead of being released back into the ocean, so he agrees to help Dory find her parents in exchange for her tag. In one exhibit, Dory encounters her childhood friend Destiny, a nearsighted whale shark who used to communicate with Dory through pipes, and Bailey, a beluga whale who believes he has lost his ability to echolocate. Dory subsequently has flashbacks of life with her parents and struggles to recall details, but finally remembers how she became separated from her parents: she overheard her mother crying one night, left home to retrieve a shell in hopes of cheering her up, and was pulled away by an undertow current. Subsequently, she learns that the rest of her regal blue tangs species are being moved to Cleveland.

Marlin and Nemo attempt to rescue Dory. With the help of two sea lions named Fluke and Rudder and a disfigured common loon named Becky, they manage to get into the institute, and reunite with her in the pipe system. Back in Quarantine, they locate the tank of blue tangs who tell them that Dory's parents escaped the Institute a long time ago to search for Dory but never came back. This leaves Dory under the impression that they died. Hank retrieves Dory from the tank, accidentally leaving Marlin and Nemo behind. He is then apprehended by one of the employees and unintentionally drops Dory into the drain flushing her to the ocean. Whilst wandering aimlessly, she comes across a trail of shells; remembering that when she was young, her parents had set out a similar trail to teach her how to find her way back home, she follows it. At the end of the trail, Dory finds an empty home with multiple shell trails leading away from it. As she turns to leave, she sees her parents Jenny and Charlie in the distance and joyfully reunites with them. They tell her they have spent years forming trails for her to follow in the hopes that she would eventually find them.

Marlin, Nemo, and Hank end up in the truck taking various aquatic life to Cleveland. Destiny and Bailey escape from their exhibit to help Dory rescue them. Once on board the truck, Dory persuades Hank to return to the sea with her, and together, they hijack the truck and drive it down a busy road before crashing it into the water, freeing all the fish. Dory, along with her parents and new friends, return to the reef with Marlin and Nemo.

In the post-credits scene, the Tank Gang from the first film, still trapped inside their (now algae-covered) plastic bags, reach California one year after floating across the Pacific Ocean. They are promptly rescued by the staff members from before, with Bloat asking for the second time, "Now what?"

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

Wow wow wow... This is really nice :) Love this movie as much as I love Finding Nemo. The crazy Dory seems to have a very pitiful background and its touching but at the same time funny as well. Marlin teams up with Nemo this time to look for the amnesiac Dory who is busying finding her parents when she managed to remember some of her memory. The whole story brought out almost the whole life Dory has... I couldnt stop laughing but at the same time feel pity for her...It really touched my heart at the scene where Dory thought her parents were dead... But finding them again, gosh, the story is real damn good.... By grossing over $1billion worldwide, this has cross the mark of Toy Story 3 in Pixar, let's hope it will win some awards this year, best of luck :)

Piper

Released Year: 2016
Directed by Alan Barillaro

Story:

A flock of sandpipers hunt for food at a seashore, rushing to peck at the sand when the wave recedes and retreating when it comes in. One baby is encouraged by her mother to join the flock, but she fails to retreat in time and is drenched by the incoming surf. The incident leaves the baby terrified of the water; she refuses to leave the nest, but soon notices a group of hermit crabs digging into the sand to find deeper food and keep from being buffeted by the tide. By copying their behavior, she starts to see the beauty of the underwater world and becomes skilled at discovering food for the flock.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Even though this is only a 6 mins short film, but it spends the director 3 years to create it~ wow! Its cute and quite meaningful. From here, we can learn that, without taking a step ahead, we shall never know what is lied in front of us. Be brave and take the challenge :)

Suicide Squad

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by David Ayer

Casted by:

Will Smith as Floyd Lawton / Deadshot

Jared Leto as Joker

Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn

Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller

Jai Courtney as George "Digger" Harkness / Captain Boomerang

Jay Hernandez as Chato Santana / El Diablo

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Waylon Jones / Killer Croc

Cara Delevingne as June Moone / Enchantress

Karen Fukuhara as Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana

Ike Barinholtz as Griggs

Scott Eastwood as GQ Edwards

Adam Beach as Christopher Weiss / Slipknot

 Story:

In the aftermath of Superman's death, intelligence officer Amanda Waller assembles Task Force X, a team of dangerous criminals imprisoned at Belle Reve Prison consisting of elite hitman Deadshot, former psychiatrist Harley Quinn, pyrokinetic ex-gangster El Diablo, opportunistic thief Captain Boomerang, genetic mutation Killer Croc, and specialized assassin Slipknot. They are placed under command of Colonel Rick Flag to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions for the United States government. Each member has a nano bomb implanted in their neck, designed to detonate should any member rebel or try to escape.

One of Waller's intended recruits is Flag's girlfriend Dr. June Moone, an archaeologist possessed by a witch-goddess known as the "Enchantress". Enchantress quickly turns on Waller, deciding to eradicate humankind with a mystical weapon for imprisoning her. She besieges Midway City by transforming its populace into a horde of monsters, and summons her brother to assist her. Waller then deploys the squad to extract a high-profile mark from Midway, which is reported to be under a terrorist attack.

Harley's homicidal lover, the Joker, finds out about her predicament and tortures Belle Reve Security Officer Griggs into leading him to the facility where the nano bombs are made. There, he blackmails one of the program's scientists into disabling Harley's bomb. On approach, the squad's helicopter is shot down, forcing them to proceed on foot to their target. Boomerang inaccurately convinces Slipknot that the bombs are a ruse to keep them in check; Slipknot attempts to escape and Flag kills him via his nano bomb, while the squad is attacked by Enchantress' minions. They eventually manage to fight their way through to a safe room, where they learn that their mark is Waller herself, who is attempting to cover up her involvement in Enchantress' siege.

The squad escorts Waller to a rooftop for extraction, but the arriving helicopter has been hijacked by the Joker and his men, who open fire on the squad while Harley climbs aboard. However, Waller's men shoot down the helicopter, and Harley falls out while the Joker is presumed dead, after which Harley rejoins the squad. Alerted to Waller's whereabouts, Enchantress' minions arrive and kidnap her. Deadshot finds Waller's confidential files and learns the truth about Enchantress. Flag is then forced to confess the truth, causing the squad members to abandon him. With Waller compromised, Flag relieves the squad of the mission, but chooses to continue. Realizing they have an opportunity to prove themselves, they soon rejoin him and locate Enchantress at a partially-flooded subway station. Killer Croc and a group of Navy SEALs, led by Lieutenant GQ Edwards, go underwater to plant a bomb underneath her brother. El Diablo embraces his abilities and manages to distract Incubus long enough for the bomb to detonate underneath, killing them both as well as Edwards.

The remaining squad members battle Enchantress together, but are ultimately defeated. Enchantress offers to fulfill their deepest desires in exchange for their allegiance, and Harley feigns interest in order to get close enough to cut out Enchantress's heart. Killer Croc then throws explosives into Enchantress' weapon and Deadshot shoots them, destroying the device. Flag takes Enchantress's heart and crushes it, finally freeing June from the curse. Waller, still alive, emerges, and the squad members are returned to Belle Reve with ten years off their sentences. All but Captain Boomerang are allowed special privileges. The Joker, alive and unscathed, breaks into the penitentiary and rescues Harley. In a mid-credits scene, Waller meets with Bruce Wayne, who agrees to protect her from the backlash of Enchantress's rampage in exchange for access to the government's files on the expanding metahuman community.

 L² Scored: 4.5/10

L² Comment:

After watching a superhero film, its time to "balance" myself with some nasty villain movie. I thought this will be a supercool movie but in the end i don't really into it at all, and some part is kinda boring as hell. Casting wise, yes the movie did manage to found Will Smith and Jared Leto which i'm quite surprise, however i really not familiar with these characters at all, except The Joker. And how come there's no catwoman?!? DC is always on the lose side comparing to Marvel, sorry to say so...

Doctor Strange

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by Scott Derrickson

Casted by:

Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo

Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer

Benedict Wong as Wong

Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius

Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

 Story: 

In Kathmandu, Nepal, the sorcerer Kaecilius and his zealots enter the secret compound Kamar-Taj and murder its librarian, keeper of ancient and mystical texts. They steal a ritual from a book belonging to the Ancient One, a sorcerer who has lived for an unknown time and taught all at Kamar-Taj, including Kaecilius, in the ways of the mystic arts. The Ancient One pursues the traitors, but Kaecilius escapes with the pages and some of his followers.

Stephen Strange, an acclaimed neurosurgeon, loses the use of his hands in a car accident. Fellow surgeon and former lover Christine Palmer tries to help him move on, but Strange, firmly believing he can regain use of his hands, instead uses all his resources pursuing experimental surgeries in vain. After learning of Jonathon Pangborn, a paraplegic who mysteriously was able to walk again, Strange seeks him out, and is directed to Kamar-Taj. There, Strange is taken in by another sorcerer under the Ancient One, Mordo. The Ancient One shows Strange her power, revealing the astral plane and other dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension. Amazed, Strange begs her to teach him, and she eventually agrees despite his arrogance, which reminds her of Kaecilius.

Strange begins his tutelage under the Ancient One and Mordo, and learns from the ancient books in the library, now presided over by the master Wong. Strange learns that Earth is protected from other dimensions by a spell formed from three buildings called Sanctums, found in New York City, London, and Hong Kong. The task of the sorcerers is to protect the Sanctums, though Pangborn chose to forgo this responsibility in favor of channeling mystical energy into walking again. Strange advances quickly over several months, even secretly reading from the text Kaecilius stole from and learning to bend time with the mystical Eye of Agamotto. Mordo and Wong warn Strange against breaking the laws of nature, comparing his arrogant yearning for power to that of Kaecilius, who believes, after the deaths of his loved ones, that everyone should have eternal life.

Kaecilius and his followers use the stolen pages to begin summoning the powerful Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time does not exist and all can live forever. This destroys the London Sanctum, and sends Strange from Kamar-Taj to the New York Sanctum. The zealots then attack there, where Strange holds them off with the mystical Cloak of Levitation until Mordo and the Ancient One arrive. Strange and Mordo become disillusioned with the Ancient One after Kaecilius reveals that her long life has come from her own use of Dormammu's power. Kaecilius mortally wounds the Ancient One, and escapes to Hong Kong. The Ancient One tells Strange that he, too, will have to break the rules, to balance Mordo's steadfast nature. She then dies, despite the best efforts of Strange and a bewildered Palmer. Strange and Mordo arrive in Hong Kong to find Wong dead and the Sanctum destroyed, with the Dark Dimension already engulfing Earth. Strange uses the Eye to turn back time and save Wong, before creating an infinite time loop inside the Dark Dimension that traps himself and Dormammu in the same moment forever. After killing Strange many times to no avail, Dormammu reluctantly agrees to leave Earth if Strange undoes the time loop, taking Kaecilius and the zealots with him.

Disgusted by Strange and the Ancient One's disregard for the consequences of defying nature, Mordo departs. Strange returns the Eye, which Wong calls an Infinity Stone, to Kamar-Taj, and then takes up residence in the New York Sanctum to continue his studies. In a mid-credits scene, Strange agrees to help Thor, who has brought his brother Loki to Earth to search for their father Odin. In a post-credits scene, Mordo confronts Pangborn and steals the energy he uses to walk, stating that Earth has "too many sorcerers".

 L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

I never read the comic version before nor even know about this character until recently I'm been too into superhero movies and notice that Marvel is actually going to release this movie. Same as his surname, this movie give me a strange feeling; I feel that I will like this movie but in another hand I'm kinda afraid i might get disappointed after watching this movie. But luckily, i did enjoy the movie and love all those special effect and graphic. Tilda Swinton is the best, but reading from other articles & done some research, I noted that her character was supposed to be a man instead. But i don't really care because she is so fucking cool :) Overall the movie is great, I enjoy it and hopefully will see Doctor Strange very soon in the upcoming Avengers then~

Ghostbusters 2016 (Ghostbusters: Answer the Call)

 Released Year: 2016

Directed by Paul Feig

Casted by:

Melissa McCarthy as Dr. Abigail "Abby" Yates

Kristen Wiig as Dr. Erin Gilbert

Kate McKinnon as Dr. Jillian Holtzmann

Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan

Chris Hemsworth as Kevin Beckman

Andy García as Mayor Bradley

Bill Murray as Martin Heiss

Dan Aykroyd as Taxi Driver

Ernie Hudson as Bill Jenkins

Sigourney Weaver as Rebecca Gorin

 Story:

Physicists Abby Yates and Erin Gilbert are co-authors of a book which posits the existence of paranormal phenomena such as ghosts. Gilbert has disowned the work and become a professor at Columbia University, while Yates continues to study the paranormal at a technical college with eccentric engineer Jillian Holtzmann. Gilbert learns Yates has republished the book, threatening her bid for tenure at Columbia. She reunites with Yates and, in exchange for Yates removing the book from publication, reluctantly agrees to assist her and Holtzmann in a paranormal investigation.

The group witness a malevolent ghost, renewing Gilbert's belief in the paranormal. However, a video of their investigation is posted online, and Gilbert is denied tenure. She joins Yates and Holtzmann's project, but when a new institute director learns its nature, he fires them. They open an office above a Chinese restaurant and call themselves the "Conductors of the Metaphysical Examination." They build equipment to study and capture ghosts, and hire dimwitted but handsome Kevin Beckman as a receptionist.

MTA worker Patty Tolan witnesses a ghost in a subway line and contacts the group. They document the ghost and successfully test Holtzmann's proton containment laser, but their findings are again dismissed. They continue to develop their technology and advertise their services as what pundits have dubbed the "Ghostbusters". Tolan joins the team, providing historical knowledge of New York City and a repurposed hearse, "Ecto-1".

Unbeknownst to them, the ghosts are being summoned by devices built by Rowan North, an occultist and mad scientist attempting to bring about the apocalypse. When Rowan plants another device at a live music venue, the Ghostbusters are called in and capture the ghost in front of the audience. When supernatural debunker Dr. Martin Heiss challenges the Ghostbusters, the incensed Gilbert releases the ghost as proof; it throws Heiss out a window before escaping. The Ghostbusters are brought to see Mayor Bradley, who reveals that the city and the Department of Homeland Security are aware of New York's ghost problem. While privately supporting the team's work, the mayor's office and DHS publicly denounce them as fraudsters.

The Ghostbusters realize Rowan is planting his devices along ley lines which intersect at the Mercado Hotel in Times Square, a site with a history of paranormal activity, and discover Rowan building a portal to the ghost dimension in the hotel basement. Rowan deliberately electrocutes himself and Holtzmann deactivates the portal. Gilbert discovers a copy of her and Yates's book among Rowan's possessions, and realizes that he planned to become a ghost and command a spirit army. Rowan returns as a powerful ghost, possessing Yates and then Kevin. As Kevin, he opens the portal and releases hundreds of ghosts. The police and DHS are quickly subdued, but the Ghostbusters fight through the army of ghosts to reach the portal.

Rowan takes the form of the ghost in the Ghostbusters' logo, grows to enormous height, and attacks the city. The team devise a plan to use Ecto-1's nuclear reactor to close the portal and return the ghosts to their own dimension. The plan succeeds, but Rowan drags Yates into the portal with him; Gilbert leaps into the portal and rescues her. The mayor's office agrees to secretly fund the Ghostbusters' research while continuing to publicly denounce them as frauds. With new funding, the Ghostbusters move to a better facility, a disused fire house. Despite the mayoral smear campaign, New York lights up with thanks and tributes to the Ghostbusters. Tolan listens to a recording of a ghost encounter and asks the others if they have heard of Zuul. 

L² Scored: 5.5/10 

L² Comment: 

Hmm, i'm not sure how to say about this, but i feel that the trailer of this movie is probably better than the actual movie. Or maybe because that i'm a big fans of the cartoon version and i'm putting too much hope into this movie, but i remember the previous 1984 & 1989 version are nice to watch as well, but this 2016 version is kinda a bit boring on the story wise...

Its a good idea to change the 4 main ghostbusters from guy to girl and the blondie secretary is replaced by the macho Chris Hemsworth, but the draginess of this movie is simply making this movie walks toward a dead zone for me. Why not make more different kind of ghost appear and how they try to catch them instead? I'm quite happy to know that a lot of the previous version actors & actresses are back in this movie for cameo purposes :) But will there be another sequal after this? Seriously not sure but finger cross and hopefully they got another chance to prove us wrong again...