“THE CALL” Movie Review. Be Warned that it’s One Hell of a Horrific Ride.

“THE CALL”  PRESS PREVIEW

Nail biting suspense, anyone?

Here’s another tour de force this week, specially crafted for true blue fans of pulse-pounding thrillers.

 This one should not disappoint.

 Film director BRAD ANDERSON blazes the trail with “THE CALL”, his latest pulsating suspense offering.

 It’s everything a scary feature should be, utterly gripping and brutally shocking, a la Alfred Hitchcock stylized whodunit.

 This diabolical tale of twisted suspense and macabre payback will have you taken for a precarious drive, gasping and guessing all the way, as to whether the victim is going to survive or die.

 HALLE BERRY and ABIGAIL BRESLIN dominate in this gritty tale that begins with a screamish 911 plea for help from a frightened teenage girl who’s been trapped in the trunk of a moving car.

 HALLE BERRY stars as Jordan, a 911 call operator who’s in a deadly race against the time, to trace the victim: a girl who has been kidnapped by a serial killer.

 Jordan soon realizes that the kidnapper is the same man who had killed another young woman whose emergency call she had answered six months before, a girl whose ultimate death Jordan still feels responsible for.

 Excellent performances from an all star cast.

HALLE BERRY as Jordan and ABIGAIL BRESLIN  (Casey) pitch in pushing-to-the- edge acting admirably. Even MICHAEL EKLUND who plays Michael, the psychotic predator with a glazed look makes it seems so real.

There’s nothing new in bits here and cliches there, as you’d have seen these highlighted in other features.

But all things being equal, it is the film director’s execution that’s two thumbs up.

“THE CALL” is a high voltage thriller, clever, gripping and intense with shocking gravity.

But you have to gear up your suspension-of-disbelief mode when you witness Jordan, unarmed and so alone, entering a creepy cabin and later a derelict basement to check out the rogue.

Wanna take this ride?

It may be a ride of pure terror, but go for it, as you are guaranteed a jolly horrific time.

“DEAD MAN DOWN” Movie Review. Vengeful Intents in this Neo Noir Thriller.

“DEAD MAN DOWN” PRESS PREVIEW

Along the seedy streets of New York by night, spins a dark tale of murderous intents.

A professional hitman is on his deadly prowl to follow shooting instructions.

A desolate woman, her face badly scarred from a horrific accident, is adjusting to a life of emotional torment.

Both share the same agenda: justifiable payback to the bad ones who had done them wrong.

This is a neo-noir revenge thriller helmed by renowned Danish director NIELS ARDEN OPLEV in his American debut set in metropolitan New York.

COLIN FARRELL plays Victor, an unhappy albeit sullen enforcer who’s working his way up his boss Alphonse’s (TERRENCE HOWARD) crime empire. Everything is not what it seems as  he is quietly plotting revenge against this crime lord  for the deaths of his wife and young daughter years earlier.

Unfortunately, his clandestine activities are espied by Beatrice (NOOMI RAPACE), the mysterious woman living across his apartment. As a bargain to keep her mouth shut, Beatrice insists that Victor performs a killing for her : to get rid of the drunken driver who had ruined her life and had been acquitted scot-free by the law.

Film director OPLEV’s treatment boasts a fine dash of European flavor, using taut and well framed shots. It is smart, entertaining and gripping.

All of which is a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood film, where diversity means pairing the hero with a black buddy.

At the end of the press screening, a fellow reviewer remarked:

“Thank God that the movie is not directed by an American director.”

I asked why?

“Because it is a refreshing change from the predictable American movie and I enjoyed this one immensely.”

The bottom line:

“DEAD MAN DOWN” is a take-off on the classic film noir that has action galore, suspense and maybe a doomed love story.

The movie poses an adrenaline tease, so go watch it armed with a suspension of disbelief.

You will be assured of the thrill of a pulsating ride.

Right.

“OZ the GREAT and POWERFUL” Movie Review. Effects laden, nevertheless Visually Stunning.

“OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL”

PRESS PREVIEW

There should be more than just a brimful of goodness in “OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL” given the worldwide media coverage.

As a peppy “feel good” movie, it’s positioned way-right-on-top, laced with an assortment of creative wonderment to entice you into its aesthetic world of awesome animation.

As a film, the surrealistic splendor is stylized with dazzling effects that will take your breath away, armed with fun characters and their boisterous banter, everything is set to bedazzle and tickle the mind.

That said, this is essentially wholesome family entertainment galore, and that’s what it’s meant to be, staying close to the familiar old school Disney doctrine that the good will always triumph over evil in eventuality.

“OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL” is crafted as an adventure fantasy directed by SAM RAIMI (The Spiderman Trilogy). He drums up a colorful extravaganza utilizing the brilliance of exotic blues, dazzling red and sparkling emeralds among others.

This 2013 film stays in top form to L.FRANK BAUM’s novel “The Wizard of Oz” and is actually a prequel to the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz”.

The glittering star ensemble comprising of JAMES FRANCO, MILA KUNIS, MICHELLE WILLIAMS and RACHEL WEISZ are all up for the challenge, competing tooth and nail for screen time, oozing charm and charisma.

Welcome aboard a wondrous journey of visual delights – on the ground, as in the Dark Forest, and in the air, when they travel via large transparent bubbles.

The colorful plot:

Oscar Diggs (James Franco) plays a conman, a compulsive womanising magician who has been swept up from a Kansas plain when a tornado hits and transported to  the merry Land of Oz.

Here, he encounters three beautiful albeit disdainful witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams).

Oscar becomes entangled in unexpected problems that are confronted by the citizens of Oz who had long awaited for a savior to rescue them from their lot.

Believing that Oscar would be their leader, they are buoyant with renewed hope, but Oscar who has always aspired to be a great and powerful man, will first have to redeem his wayward ways.

You are treated to flying moneys and flying baboons and what have you.  But don’t go making comparisons on past works over this present one.

Mesmerizing. Poignant.

“OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL” displays a refreshing take in arty surrealism.

The film director has certainly created a marvel.

Don’t miss it.

This THING called ANGST. When you’re FEELING

Friday, March 1, 2013

This THING called ANGST. When you’re FEELING 

HOT, stay COOL. (ReVisited).

(I absolutely LOVE this Article that I had written some 3 years 

ago, in 2009. It harbored a special personal significance

 in my heart then. 

Still, I have decided to trudge down memory lane again 

with this one. 

Enjoy!)

This THING called LIFE.

Into our LIVES, some rain must fall, right?

One cannot expect rays of sunshine all the time.

Forget about the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

No, Sir.

In the business world, FAILURE is a “four letter” word.

It can sap and drain your CONFIDENCE.

Isn’t it global recession now?

Mass unemployment, credit crunches, missed opportunities 

– the lot.

You’d cringe when big fat accounts zoom out of the 

window like birds fluttering away quickly 

for better weather.

LIFE IS NEVER EASY, NOR FAIR.

You might not be able to observe the mechanics of 

your own cycle, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

REALITY DOESN’T GO AWAY WHEN YOU STOP 

BELIEVING IN IT.

Human follies, uncharted lives, false friends, they will 

all exist in our daily struggles.

It ain’t summer all year round.

And winter comes with the frost bites.

Ahhh … this thing called ANGST.

When you are feeling HOT, stay COOL.

SMILE. LOVE YOURSELF. SMILE AGAIN.

Because if you do not love yourself, then it is 

impossible to love others.

Everyone needs some self-respect.

REALITY bites, ahh …

This bite can scorch really deep and hurting.

SHARON K, a fellow blogger provides some useful tips 

on how to weather this storm:

STAY POSITIVE, ALWAYS

Have you ever
Stopped to think
When tearing hair
And on the brink

Of wanting out
Of things to come
That all those things
Aren’t even done

They haven’t happened
Yet you act
As if they’re here…
You just react

React to what?
It’s in your mind
You liken it
To what’s behind

Yet when it comes
You find you sail
Right through it all
Without a wail

Why did you waste
That energy?
Maybe next time
You will just “be”.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE, FORGET THE PAST

Life isn’t as we all expect
It doesn’t go that way
We have to make the most of it
And take it day by day

Have no regrets about the past

And do not live in fear

Of what might come, and never does
Just put your focus here

Here in this moment, that’s the place
To make the most of life
Whatever comes, just turn it ’round
Create some joy from strife

I know you have that strength in you
I’ve seen it there before
Just draw on that to see you through
Don’t look back anymore.

SO WHEN YOU ARE FEELING HOT, STAY COOL, CHUM.

That is, if you wanna stay in one cool piece.

Are you blessed with a lyrical soul?

Can you thrive under the BEST and WORST conditions?

Look around you and count your blessings.

There are people who are born without limbs.

There are those who are blind.

Yet they are alive and breathing.

SMILE. THE WHOLE WORLD SMILES WITH YOU.

And tomorrow can always be better.

SO TREAD GENTLY.

PLAY IT SAFE.

WALK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF WISDOM.