The Guardian

Been wanting to watch Night at The Museum for weeks liau, so planned to watch it that night. But somewhat unsurprisingly, tickets for the show all sold out. At first I was pretty disappointed, as there wasn't really any good alternatives to choose from. There were a number of those typical Asian horror flicks, and a couple of Malay movies as well.

Then I saw the title "The Guardian", and I immediately thought of what my friend, Gillian told me a few days before about the show. She said the show is very nice, very moving and meaningful. I was pretty skeptical bout it as I'm certainly not a big fan of Ashton Kutcher, or even the evergreen Kevin Costner. Some of their previous below-par movies left a bad taste for me. And I'm also not fond of rescue flicks and anything that have to do with the ocean (think Perfect Storm, Waterworld and Deep Blue Sea).

But oh what the heck I thought, watching this show is certainly a much better option than watching Cicak-Man (no disrespect to the local movie industry) , or watching those horror flicks (I'm currently abstaining myself from horror movies due to what perceived as spiritual attacks), or even re-watch Curse of the Golden Flower or Confession of Pain.

* The movie's 2 main characters, teacher Ben Randall (K.Costner), and student Jake Fischer (A.Kutcher)

And guess what? Turns out The Guardian is very much a gem I would say. The acting is convincing (yes, even Ashton Kutcher's), the action/rescue scenes are intense and realistic, and the funny scenes are, well, funny! The storyline is pretty predictable some might say, but somehow you will be glued to your chair, wanting more of it.

* One of the many rescue scenes. Look at the bodies floating around the rescue swimmer (Kevin Costner)

In this movie, you will see how boys learn to be men, how people learn to cope with traumatic moments in their lives, how boys falling in love (and falling out) with girls, how men valiantly trying to save others, and sacrificing one self for others.

* Melissa Sagemiller, acting as Ashton's love interest in this movie.

Well, I wouldn't wanna spoils it all by telling you everything or even the ending of this movie. Do trust me, please do go and watch it. Chances are you'll be lovin' it as much as I do!

P/S: The US Coast Guard rescue swimmers' motto reminds me alot of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for all of us. The motto is "So Others May Live".

Starring: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Sela Ward, Melissa Sagemiller
Director: Andrew Davis
Genre: Action-Drama

Tai Jor Lah's rating: 78/100

Casino Royale (2006)

I've just watched the latest James Bond movie, The Casino Royale. Kekeke....need awhile to adjust to the fact that the new James Bond is a blondie. While I must say the new boy Daniel Craig looks much more tougher, charming and stylish than the previous Bond; Pierce Brosnan, I still feel that Daniel Craig lacks the charisma or the X factor to be an ideal Bond. Or maybe because Sean Connery sets the bar too high!

Oh well, I wouldn't say this is the best Bond movie, it is still a very enjoyable movie. There is a very cool chasing-after-the-villain scene, plus lots of poker playing. I thought all those was awesome, but the lack of cool gadgets, Q, crazy car chases, cheesy one liners (there were a few but not much), and the Bond theme playing not until the end credits definitely took a lot out of it. And as usual there are a lot of love scenes and kissing as well, but our lovely and protective government make sure all of 'em are censored from our innocent eyes!

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical back when the movie was first announced, however, I do enjoyed this one.

The different approach to the series was very nice to see, as the past few entires have basically been all the same, with near-impossible stuff occuring in them, which just made the movies laughable. I like this one because it was more realistic, to an extent. It brought new life into the series, which had become a little too cliche as of late.

Anyway, for all those Bond's fans out there, you have a chance to be upclose and personal with Daniel Craig himself. Just tune in to the Ticket's Moviedate on Wednesday, 22nd Nov, 8pm. If you are lucky, you could win a trip for 2 to Sydney to see Casino Royale Premiere together with Daniel Craig and the rest of the stars (Eva Green is hot!!).

My Rating: 75/100