Amy

An intimate and harrowing look into the brief life of Amy Winehouse.

What this documentary did very well was that Asif Kapadia and company gave us a very personal look into Winehouse - from her rise to fame to her addiction and ultimately - and sadly - her untimely demise.

Kapadia wisely used a mix of video recordings (so many camcorders at that time! - the modern equivalent will be Instagrams, Vines, Tweets and Facebook statuses) with Winehouse's lyrics and voice-overs by the people close to her, and often times too, Amy's own words to give a very intimate look into that period of her life.

However, one thing that this otherwise riveting documentary could have done better was if it could have gave us a better understanding of Amy Winehouse the person, rather than Amy Winehouse the celebrity/drug addict.

One leaves the theater with a feeling that although I know about the life and times and tribulations of Amy Winehouse, I still do not really know who is Amy Winehouse. An intimate look that lacked the intimacy.

But if nothing else, this would serve as a great cautionary tale against drug/alcohol addiction! Looking at you Lindsey Lohan!

Magic Mike XXL

A pale comparison to the original and this was already giving it the Ultron treatment: a lower expectation for a sequel of an unexpectedly wildly successful film.

This road trip really went nowhere. Poor characterisations throughout with the flimsiest of plot (even less material than the strippers' - sorry, male entertainers - g-string or throngs, and a sorry excuse to try to get away with it all with a minimal showing of skin. If all else fails at least own the nudity. 

Why Channing Tatum would want to do this after his turn on Foxcatcher? At least Matthew McConnaughey had the right idea to bail. And Alex Pettyfer too. 

They tried to make this sequel a bromance-heavy road trip but it really fell short on the comedy. Maybe except for Joe Manganiello, the rest of the cast had no comedic timings. Manganiello was the breakout star of this sequel - good for him!

Reality and realism was really thrown out of the back seat in this poorly acted, scripted and directed money-grabbing sequel. And there was not even enough skin/nudity shown! 

Leviathan (Левиафан)

What a great film this was! A depressing but emotionally resonant movie that bravely showed the corruption within (the Russian) Government and the complicity of Religion, and how they, hand in hand, but also with the actions of Man, led to the destruction of lives and shattering of dreams. Is there Hope? Are we just but doomed to be nothing but a skeleton in the sands of time, left there beyond our control? Or are we instruments of our own Fate? Which will give the better outcome? The Heart, the Mind or the Faith? A real masterpiece that was more complex than it seemed.

Terminator: Genisys

A total reboot of the franchise that was entertaining and obviously built to hopefully start off a new franchise, but it lacked the grit and adrenaline of the first two or the charisma and action of Christian Bale's Terminator Salvaation. Although Arnold gamely hammed it up and was one of the few bright spots.

Alan Taylor is a competent director but based on what he did for Thor: The Dark World and this, he still need to brush up on his pacing and action choreography. And also to get the most out of his actors. There were not really any images or set pieces that stood out which was disappointing for a summer action blockbuster, and when the story slowed down for some exposition or pre-requisite romance building the whole film felt draggy. 

Furthermore, with the child-friendly ratings, Taylor had to do weird things with the camera angles and lighting to block off any hint of nudity or blood. It kind of became too jarring and then just plain silly. 

Story wise, an interesting way to reboot the franchise but way too much plot holes and contrivances that weren't really explained. A better writer and director will surely be needed if there was to be a sequel. In the end, it was better to stop thinking too much and just follow the explosions.

Then we have the cast. Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney had no chemistry. 

Clarke may be believable as Khaleesee but absolutely not as Sarah Connor - a role made so iconic by Linda Hamilton! She was too clean and too pristine throughout. No sweat, no stains, no blood and not a hair out of place. 

Courtney is like an action version of Channing Tatum: a muscular jock with a weird face that somehow Hollywood wants us to think is handsome and can act but the truth is that he really ain't and can't. 

Jason Clarke was possibly more entertaining but his character was more of an headache if too much thought was put into his motivations and purpose. 

Poor Matt Smith was wasted. 

At least we will always have Arnold. What a man! He got the best lines and really just hammed it all up such that he was really the bright spot throughout. 

IMAX and 3D was not really worth it.

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting on Existence (En Duva Satt På EnGren Och Funderade På Tillvaron)

A bizarre and delightful film that explored humanity and the way we live our lives through a series of magical realism-tinged odd and eccentric vignettes that yet seemed grounded in some sense of realism. The direction was spectacular with notes of Wes Anderson and Gus Van Sant wafting about! With a unique way of placing the camera still in each scene and having each little story played out in totality in that space. A art house film no doubt but one that really intrigued and tickled the mind/intellect as it teases and subverts our expectations.

Minions

A funny, mindless animation with those loveable, hapless idiots that is clearly aimed at the young ones, although some jokes were obviously inserted in for the parental units/adults.

Stretched out to just over 90 minutes, the film started out strong - with a very spoiled prologue (that is why I hate watching trailers!) - but faltered a bit in the middle act but managed to regain its (still rather) uneven footing in the end.

The voice acting was unspectacular, with both Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm, going a bit over the top; Michael Keaton, Allison Janney and Jennifer Saunders were better but pity did not have much to do; Geoffrey Rush was outstanding as the narrator - must be the Aussie accent - and was as good a choice as any if Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones were not available.

The minions themselves had a very entertaining language. And now that it is in full-length, you can really appreciate it more - and that's where a lot of the humour is from for the adults. Recognising the hodgepodge of languages that they bastardised from! Even Bahasa Melayu!

A good fun watch, and well worth the 90 minutes. Just do not expect it to be as deep as a Pixar animation. But entertainment-wise, it is there!

Oh, and thank you The Minions for brining the Banana Pie back to McDonald's (best thing EVER!)!

Far From The Madding Crowd

What a great movie this was! Romance and Drama in a riveting package that only the Victorian literary classics can do so well. It succeeded because of the brilliant directing by Thomas Vinterberg (of the underwatched but equally fantastic The Hunt) and the very excellent cast of Cary Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts and Michael Sheen.

This joins the short list of excellent Victorian-aged dramas that succeeded in bringing the book to life, joining the ranks of Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, Lee Ang's Sense and Sensibility and Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre.

Like all book-to-screen adaptations, expectations have to be appropriate. There is no way that a movie can keep everything - all the themes, side plots, characters - to its 90 - 120 (or even 180) minutes running time. If it was a mini-series, now that, the expectations are different! And Far From The Madding Crowd is no exception.

The film was beautifully shot (The Hunt's Charlotte Bruus Christensen at work again) and the pacing was excellent, with a great amount of story being told in just the first 30 minutes but with no loss of depth from brevity nor lack of sense from condensation. The gorgeous strings and score by Craig Armstrong definitely helped to move the quiet scenes along and was never jarring or intrusive.

However, having said that, unfortunately the weakest link in author's David Nicholls screenplay the relationship between Sergeant Frank Troy and Fanny Robin, and because of that, Troy relationship's with our heroine Bathsheba is less well-explored than that between her and Oak and Boldwood. Troy appeared more like an obstacle rather than a real challenge for her love.

Another fault in the movie was the overall characterisation of Bathsheba. She started off strong - an educated woman who knows what she wants and how she wants it - a feminist ahead of her time, but as the movie progressed and ultimately towards the end, Nicholls and Vinterberg had her reduced to almost just another damsel in need of a man to save her. Thankfully, they had Mulligan.

Mulligan was sublime. Ever since her Oscar-nominated debut in An Education (or even earlier in one of the scariest Doctor Who episode - Blink) she has been churning out great roles, even in not so great movies. But here, she defined Bathsheba. Her strength and her vulnerabilities were all exposed and revealed and translated beautifully across the screen. She was only let down by Nicholls' script, but it was because of the strength that she imbued into her Bathsheba, that she did come off as weak and needy in the end.

I wonder how Thomas Hardy had written Bathsheba.

Schoenaerts and Sheen were Mulligan's worthy sparring partners; sadly not Tom Sturridge.

Schoenaerts, last seen battling it out with Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone, was excellent as the quiet, dependent Mr Nice, and thankfully his Belgian accent was not obvious which suited his character. Although his character may seem boring, but Schoenaerts managed to find that warmth and sincerity within that honesty and righteousness. His chemistry with Mulligan was crucial to the backbone of the story and it really did stood out.

Sheen is a class of his own, but pity he was not given much to do. It would have been nice if we could explore the bromance between Boldwood and Oak. Schoenaerts and Sheen had a good vibe going in their few scenes together.

Sadly, Sturridge was a victim of adaptation. Troy's on screen characterisation was paper thin and appeared to be more of a one-dimensional villain rather than the supposedly Romantic that was hinted within. The subplot between Troy and Fanny Robin really ought to have been fleshed out more to give his character depth - which, as fore said, would have given Bathsheba even more complexity.

A great film by a director that interested in character and manages to draw it out of his exceptional cast!

Now let me get to the book!