Argo

A definite crowd pleaser. It may get some critical love but I do not see it getting much Oscar love in the end. Although we have got to wait for the rest of the movies this year to decide on that. It may make it to the top ten movies. A great intro that supplied background and bring the audience into the situation, but the one big problem for this movie (especially for a non-American audience) is that we do not care about the hostages. The first act was good (how to rescue the hostages?); the second act was a drag (no empathy for the hostages); in the third act, Affleck and Terrio tuned up the tension with cheap (and meaninglessly dramatic) scenes, quick cuts, and Desplat's score. Ben Affleck sure has improved as a director in his third outing, but he tend to over-indulge in showy shots which do not really serve any purpose. However, his attention to historical details was laudable. Unfortunately, I do not think he is Oscar-nominating calibre yet. Furthermore, he should stop casting himself in his shows if he wants to excel more. Besides he is one of the weaker actors of the ensemble. I said it before, and I'll say it again, John Goodman's agent need a raise. He and Alan Arkin were easily the best moments of the show. Cranston and Garber are always reliable. The other big names were too briefly on screen for much impact. As aforesaid, the hostages were not sympathetic, not too hard to insert a scene tugging at the heartstrings. Sadly, I think this was also one of Desplat's poorest/least memorable score. Ultimately, a crowd pleaser that unabashedly turned a real life implausible event into Hollywood entertainment. Affleck is running the risk of turning into Eastwood, "The Town" could just be his "Iwo Jima".

Pitch Perfect

Passable Glee meets Step-Up mash-up with some mild laughs. A potentially strong first act that turned weak, a mediocre second and a third act that lacked the underdog triumphant climax. all bundled in a contrived excuse for a plot. A waste of the strong, young comediennes ensembled. It's sad when the funniest people are not the top billed ones, but the always reliable Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. Anna Camp and Brittany Snow were the best actresses of the bunch, but such a waste! Rebel Wilson had some good lines but her best were sadly after the end credits! As for Anna Kendrick, she's saddled with playing the straight girl. Sure, she's charming and cute and has cleavage, but her character is so boring. What a waste of an Oscar nominee! Her romance with Skylar Astin needs more work. It was strange, inorganic and rather unbelievable. As much as they like to diss "Glee", Ryan Murphy's gang had better songs, choreography and chemistry; Glee also better captured the zeitgeist. Jason Moore and Kay Cannon should have trimmed the movie by 10 to 15 mins.

Kith Cafe@Park Mall

A new breakfast available in town at the corner of Park Mall where Dome used to be. Nice ambience with a chill out al fresco area. Sadly, the food was much to be desired. The fruit brioche with fresh strawberry and yogurt was pathetic. 2 thin slices of brioche which was not really the melt-in-your-month kind; the yogurt and strawberry was a small serving and should have been served with a spoon. The bratwurst at the side was a saving grace. And thankfully one can't go that wrong with a green apple, beetroot and carrot juice. Service was acceptable, although they forgot about my cappuccino. But most unforgiveably, my friend's bowl of grapes has mould!! and there was a baby cockroach roaming around the magazine stands behind the seats. Unfortunately, for the price, neither quality nor quantity is justified.

Verdict: Won't be coming back again. No pull factors at all.

Trouble with the Curve

Tries to be this year's "Moneyball", but it lacked that certain spark of cohesion and brilliance. In the end, it's just another feel good movie that occasionally veered towards made-for-tv schmaltzy. Clint Eastwood replays his curmudgeon old man but unfortunately it does not break any new ground. Same for Amy Adams. They both will likely get overlooked by the Oscars this year. Justin Timberlake definitely has charm but this role is not really as outstanding as his role in "Tje Social Network". The whole movie could be trimmed a bit shorter and should decide whether its focus is on baseball or family. Robert Patrick and John Goodman should give their agents a raise. Ultimately, a watchable movie that failed in its Oscars ambition.

Arrow

Episode 1, "Pilot": One thing you can surely depend on for any CW show is the cast are definitely good lookers. Arrow does not disappoint in this aspect, with the handsome and charismatic, if still a bit stiff, Stephen Amell, and the pretty Katie Cassidy in the lead. They are supported by a cast of good looking young and slightly older adults including Susanna Thompson (from the oldie, but goodie "Once and Again") and Paul Blackthorne (Harry Dresden from "The Dresden Files"). Of course, with creators/EP Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim at the helm, this series has a lot of potential. As expected in a Pilot, the exposition was heavy, but at least it laid the threads for a larger conspiracy, some interesting potential character developments, and an interesting visual style. The Pilot was well executed and definitely hooks you in for more. For comic book fans, this has a potential for continual viewing. Although, the voice-over, though excellent in "Everwood", is a bit annoying here, and disrupts the pace of the show. As is the clunky dialogue.

Episode 2, "Honor Thy Father": Stylised show, but the VO got to go unless they really work harder on the dialogue. I understand it's supposed to imitate a comic and this is on CW where the target audience is younger, but seriously, the dialogue needs work. Diggle is turning out to be the most likeable character of the show. As a Hero, Green Arrow is sure killing a lot of people. And, by gosh, the mandarin in this show sucks (even Kelly Hu's!). Not much to say about the plot, typical Robin Hood-esque stuff. The conspiracy slowly inching forward. The island past gets interesting. The VO should really just be used to bookend the the episode.

Episode 3, "Lone Gunmen": Seriously, Oliver Queen's morality has gone apeshit. Character development arc! Not too bad and we are only in the third episode. Again, the damn VOs are killing it. I think I know what is irking me about them. The discordant between the tone of the VOs and Amell's face/"acting". Thea is getting annoying. She needs something more to do than just the bratty sister. Finally someone on the show that speaks better Mandarin. Interestingly, the hero-reveal is a bit sooner than expected. But at least these two have some chemistry.

Episode 4, "An Innocent Man": How does Oliver Queen even know the strange man is speaking Mandarin?? Actually, this ditching of bodyguards and constant rotation could be made into a rather amusing running gag. Also, they should really stop making Detective Lance appear so incompetent, though his storyline seemed to be getting interesting. Will he be Green Arrow's inside man? 4 episodes in and I am now more interested in the family conspiracy and Walter is starting to be intriguing. And finally, John Barrowman appears (pity no more Captain Jack Harkness) with cryptic warnings of "the list".

Episode 5, "Damaged": This episodes throws more questions than answers. Minor character development for Oliver, but major reveal for Moira. Who is she? What other secrets does she have? Also, hopefully Barrowman gets more to do than just making threats. Hopefully Walter stays around more, I am just getting warmed up to his character. One good thing is the VO is only in the start, and at the end we have Diggle - as the voice of reason/conscience - talking to Oliver instead over a montage.

Episode 6, "Legacies": 6 episodes in and we have yet to glimpsed the "Big Bad". There needs to be an overarching mythology to make it more interesting. The familial conspiracy died down. No Big Bad. This is becoming a regular superhero outing. At least the supporting characters got a bit of development, but otherwise, not much happening here this round.

Update (20 Dec 2012): I kinda stop caring about this show. Not much impetus to actually follow the exploits of Oliver Green, regardless of how rip his body is. Even the introduction of the Huntress did nothing to excite me, although the news of Seth Gable joining the cast is truly exciting, the producers should have introduced him earlier. Instead, now he seemed like a last minute attempt to get the fanboys (and girls) to watch the show. News of John Barrowman being the second archer is intriguing, but Jack Harkness he is not.

Wizards vs Aliens

Episode 1 & 2, "Dawn of the Nekross": What an interesting concept from the fertile mind of Russell T. Davis (and Phil Ford). I always wondered why there's no magic in the Whoinverse, but here comes along a CBBC programme that tries to marry these two disparate entities. Sure it is a children telly, but hey, so was (and is) "Doctor Who". These first two episodes were a bit chunky on the exposition and served mainly to introduce us to the characters. Our protagonist is a young Channing Tatum lookalike who is a wizard and his "friend" (that relationship needs more definition) is the Scully to his Mulder, who like Scully tried his best to explain magic in terms of scientific concepts. Davis did a great job of introducing the aliens to this storyline, and how aliens and magic can clash. The Nekross were sufficiently scary, especially the king - voiced by the very evil sounding Brian Blessed. Surprisingly, it was Brienne from "Games of Throne" who was the most entertaining to watch (under all that prosthetics). It'd be interesting to see how the series continues: 6 2-parters and a second season already green-lighted. A fun break from the more serious, grown-up fare.

SkyFall [IMAX]

Bravo Sam Mendes! Bravo!! Bloody good Bond outing with an extremely strong performance by the 3 leads! Yes, even Daniel Craig who had re-defined Bond to make it his role! He oozed charisma and sex appeal, and made Intelligence sexy (again). Craig is definitely giving Connery a run for his money as the best Bond ever. Javier Bardem was brilliant to watch as the flamboyant Bond villain. He got the best lines and really nailed them all; not evil, per se, but oh so deliciously insane! And he had a bloody good entrance! That entrance and opening monologue was simply brilliant and memorable! Well done Bardem and Mendes! Judi Dench gets her meatiest Bond role and sold it with such gravitas and luminosity, the way only a Dame like her could. She is easily the best Bond girl of the show. Sam Mendes directing was superb and he infused his own style throughout, and as expected the dramatic scenes stood out. Riveting, tense and nuanced. His action scenes were brilliant in their simplicity and served their purposes without being overly complicated or confusing. There were many outstanding set pieces and so many visually stunning images! Kudos to the cinematographer, Roger Deakins! Sumptuous looking images on the IMAX! In the end, this was a good old fashion spy-on-spy flick, with a simple, straightforward yarn and not the silly, nonsensical, action pumping ones churned out from Hollywood. It was well-paced and gripping throughout, but not exactly adrenaline-pumping palpitations inducing. Thankfully exotic locales were kept to a minimum and basing much of it in London kept the show grounded. Great job by scribes Purvis, Wade and Logan, although Bardem's character's motivation lacked the necessary backstory to give it more credibility, and there were some (forgiveable) plot holes. The opening scene was wonderfully shot and choreographed, and makes the similar scene in "Taken 2" seemed amateurish at best! Even Adele's theme and the opening song montage was ace! The montage had so much foreshadowing on hindsight. The leads were supported by a competent supporting cast of Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Wishaw and Rory Kinnear. Bond girl Bérénice Lim Marlohe was sexy and served her purpose of being just that! Unfortunately, girls, no Craig in trunks this outing. One noticeable thing in this Bond entry was that Mendes seemed to have deliberately kept the sex a notch down compared to the usual Bond flicks. Instead, the sex appeal here was essentially just of Craig exuding it from his suave portrayal of Bond. Of course, those fine suits made a whole lot of different! Sartorially, it is hard not to give a shout out and love to the drool worthy Tom Ford O'Connor suit. The suits sure does maketh the Bond. And lastly, although Thomas Newman's score was sparingly light on the iconic Bond theme, but as it was sprinkled throughout and only in key scenes, they greatly enhance the effect of urgency and underscored the scene! Once again, bravo Sam Mendes! Can't wait for the next Bond! This should really be seen in IMAX!