moviegirl181 Reviews

Saigon Electric (2011)

A Vietnamese version of "Step Up"

[7/10 · 6 August 2012]

A great movie! So here's the storyline; a young, innocent ribbon dancer from the countryside moves developing, populated Ho Chi Minh City to pursue a career in dance. Here she is introduced to the busy city life of modern 21st Century Vietnam including its dance and pop youth culture. She befriends a young streetdancer part of a dance crew- Saigon Fresh which rivals dance crew- North Killers from Hanoi.

Its an interesting movie, probably the first to portray break dancing from Vietnam and it has an appealing enough plot to keep you watching. Not only that, the youth-pop-dance scene most popular in American (NY) movies such as "Step Up", etc. is portrayed with a lot of authenticity and skill. It's a bit clique but who cares- the characters, plot, choreography is quite impressive!

The Hunger Games (2012)

The best film adaption! -Amazing

[9/10 · 6 April 2012]

What a fantastic movie! As a big fan of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, I went to see the film adaption and was so pleasantly surprised. Director Gary Ross has done an exceptional job bringing the fantastic beginning of the epic trilogy to the screens and producing it in such a way that it will leave the audience hungry for more!

The Hunger Games of 16-year-old hunter, Katniss Everdeen who lives in the fantastical and futuristic world of Panem. Every year, there is an important and popular television show called "The Hunger Games" where two tributes (one male and one female) from each of the twelve districts and made to compete to the death for the entertainment of the ruling and powerful, Capitol. Katniss Everdeen, a courageous and independent girl who has to hunt food to feed her family finds herself being the tribute from district 12, the poorest district if Panem where most of the civilians live in poverty. And there, the audience goes on an epic adventure.

In a way, the movie "The hunger Games" was amazing and could be better than the book. The setting and sceneries were beautifully filmed. Gary Ross got is absolutely right with the way the districts, the Capitol and the arena of the games were supposed to be like and this brought so much life and beauty to the movie. The extra scenes added to the movie where we could watch the actions of the game-makers as they plotted the games, the commentators and the reaction of the audience in the district and the Capitol gives more insights that the novel. I was really impressed with the cast, Jennifer Laurence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman (my favorite) and all the tributes. All these actors played the character the way it was supposed to be. The action scenes were brilliant ; the fight in the Cornocopia, the hounds, the attack of the tracker jackers, etc. could have not been more better. Gary Ross ignored a few minor which will be noticed by those who have read the book but the end result was brilliant and epic as the storyline was so well explained. The Hunger Games is the best film adaption I have ever seen!

I cannot express my thoughts more by saying that The Hunger Games is a must-see and is guaranteed to disappoint anyone!

The Vow (2012)

A beautiful and romantic movie

[7/10 · 11 February 2012]

I got dragged to see "The Vow" by Michale Sucsy by a couple of my teenage friends and I ended up quite liking this movie as it was very enjoyable and romantic. Set in a beautiful and comfortable city, The Vow tells the story of a nice and cute couple who are very much in love. But the problem is perfectly shown when Paige (Rachel McAdams) has memory loss after being in a car accident with her beloved husband, Leo (Channing Tatum). And there things start to unfold.

This movie was so interesting and romantic to watch as we also get to see the first life Rachel and Leo have together before the accident and how they came to be together. The reason why I loved this movie was because it is set in a city, unlike many other romance movies and the life the characters have is interesting. The scenes were beautiful and comfortable with an excellent soundtrack therefore the story seemed so real. And the characters seemed real too; Paige is a sculptor artist who has left her family to follow her heart and Leo owns a recording studio. The movie mainly focuses on Paige's actions and reactions played so well by Rachel McAdams who was prefect for the role and connected so well to her character who had 2 very different lives; the one before and after the accident. And this is the best I've seen of Channing Tatum. I have never been impressed with his acting ability but here he puts on a marvellous performance never seen before. His character seemed so real and I was able to connect with his emotions; the sadness and frustration of losing his beloved wife. And put it together, Tatum and McAdams were excellent, the romantic showed their comfort and connection with each other.

I would have loved to score this movie 10 out of 10 due to the characters and setting but the storyline lost it towards the end after starting off so perfectly. It was a bit of a disappointment to actually watch Leo give up his effort to win Paige's heart back, even going for a divorce after her Dad's encouragement. The movie didn't end the way we were expecting where Paige slowly regains her affections for Leo and her former life.

Apart from the flaws with the ending, "The Vow" is beautiful and romantic story that lives up to its expectations (except for the ending) . It was much better than other movies of romance such as "Dear John, "The Last Song" and "Letters to Juliet". The Vow has a very original and interesting storyline and is sure not to disappoint. If you are a love of romance movies, this is a must-see.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)

A fun, enjoyable movie for the kids!

[7/10 · 6 January 2012]

Before I start, I'd just like to say how awful it is reading all the nasty comments from many IMDb members about Mike Mitchell's "Chipwrecked". The majority of members and users of this site are in fact adults whose reviews and ratings you have read show personal distaste to a film aimed to the age group of young children. It's no surprise that they didn't enjoy it as much as they should have!

As a teenager, I had the pleasure of taking my three younger siblings to the cinemas to see Chipwrecked. They had all been, and I along with them to see the previous movies in the sequel and were so excited for this one. For me, I had absolutely loved the first film in the sequel, Alvin and the Chipmunks when I went to see it as a 10-year-old in 2006. The storyline and characters were excellent and it has become one of my favorites right up to this day, seeing it about ten times on DVD. Last year, I found the 2nd movie to the sequel a total disappointment with its poor plot and lack of interest compared to the previous film.

However, I found Chipwrecked pleasantly enjoyable and I have to also say that this movie was better that the first two with the storyline of the playful chipmunks being shipwrecked on a deserted island. This time, Dave (Jason Lee), the loving and caring human father of the chipmunks is back which he for some reason disappeared in the 2nd movie. That main highlight of Chipwrecked, the 3 chipmunks and chipettes were really interesting due to their character development; Simon who suddenly turns into a Frenchman, Alvin who changes his usual fun and outgoing attitude to becoming more responsible and Brittany who becomes smart. There is also another person marooned on the island, Zoe (Jenny Slate) who might be just a little different to a normal person. Thee antagonist of the sequel, Ian (David Cross) is also back as a member of the shipwrecked part and this time he shows an interesting good side to him. Chipwrecked is also a good laugh for the audience containing many jokes and funny scenes with the chipmunks as well as great songs to which they sing too (Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Willow Smith, Katy Perry, etc) . The singing was great and really enjoyable although I wish each song was longer that just the chorus. Who doesn't like singing and dancing chipmunks?

In conclusion, all children (and maybe a few adults) will love Chipwrecked with the cute and adorable chipmunks characters, great storyline, funny jokes and great singing.

Immortals (2011)

Horrible, cheating, pitying by highly entertaining!

[7/10 · 22 December 2011]

For my 15th Birthday, as a movie lover, Greek mythology lover and somebody who likes to try out all movies, I decided to go to see the Immortals. Let's just say that there weren't any other movies interesting to me and I really wanted to prove that I was at an age where I would be able to see M.A+15 rated films. Well, I walked out of the cinema with mixed emotions: Firstly, I thought the movie was horrible due its gruesomeness. Don't get me wrong, I love action films with plenty of swordplay and fighting scenes but this movie was just too much for a 15-year-old-girl like me. It seemed like all the characters enjoyed killing each other and things like chopping of heads or other body parts, throat slicing, head knocking and stabbing were enhanced. The trailer doesn't show anything like this so I was totally taken aback at the horror of some scenes and do not recommend the Immortals for anybody of the same age group unless you like strong violence.

Secondly I felt cheated due to the inaccuracies of the facts about Greek Mythology for Theseus, the gods, titans, etc. I'm not going to waste time stating every single point as many others before me already have. It seemed like the story writers had received a D grade in Greek mythology as many point were so ridiculous. What I don't understand is why they even stated the inaccuracies in the story. Was it to prove they were stupid? Or did they think the audience was dumb enough to go along with it? In my experience, the cast for the immortals was pretty good although the acting could have been much better. Henry Cavill could have been more devoted to his role as Theseus although he did look the part and was good at the fighting scenes, Mickey Rourke could have done something more than just eating to demonstrate his skill as King Hyperion and with Frieda Pinto, there were moments where she was flat as her role. But these three did not under act and the result was alright. I was particularly impressed with Luke Evans as Zeus and Isabel Lucas as Athena. I cannot imagine the movie without them as they were unique and added a lot to the movie. But with the other gods I could not tell apart and were there just to look the part. It was interesting how the gods were portrayed in this movie compared to others such as The Clash of the Titans (2010). Being a female teenager, I really enjoyed watching the movie with all the male characters showing of their fabulous bodies.

Thirdly, I felt pity after the movie the Immortals as it could have been much better. The storyline should have been revised in order to have one that really draws the audience into the story of what is currently happening in ancient Greek at the time and the hero Theseus. The conclusion was poor and lacked climax so the movie didn't end on a very high note. The directors had attempted to make it so but wasn't effective. There could have been more with the Epirus bow as it was the main object and Theseus should have used the bow to demonstrate its magical power and awesomeness in more than one occasion. in the end, the audience didn't really feel the importance of the bow at all. And what I strongly believe is that if you're going to let the gods play a big role in the movie, you could have it made it more special and unique with every single one in the scene at the end where they battle the titans. For example, Zeus should have used his thunderbolts, Poseidon with his ability with water, Apollo with his archery skills, and many others that weren't even included such as Hades with his army of dead, Demeter with her plants, Artemis, Hera, Dionysus, Aphrodite, etc.

In conclusion, the Immortals despite its poor storyline and inaccurate facts was actually purely entertaining. This was due to its stunning visuals,well-choreographed fighting and special effects that when combined with 3D made it feel amazing.I've always admired modern movie making skills and this movie had one of the most beautiful scenery as show in the trailer. I have not seen any movie by director Tarsem Singh before but I could tell he has an eye for visuals and action. So I rate this movie 7 out of 10 stars for its entertainment and beauty and also because I am in a happy birthday mood.

Beastly (2011)

This movie could have been a hundred times better

[4/10 · 22 December 2011]

The first thing I think about after watching this movie is- it could have been a hundred times better. Meaning it was a disappointment and a let-down compared to what I as a viewer was led to believe even though I am a young female teenager and this movie was particularly aimed at my age group. I thought this movie would be interesting as it is a modern version of the popular story of Beauty and the Beast, touching and romantic down to every point but it turned out it was uninteresting due to its bad and even silly plot and poor performance from the actors who did not play their role well.

Kyle Kingston (Alex Pettyfer) is a handsome, rich, popular, self-centered teenager who believes that looks are everything. After bullying another student at his school, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) who is actually a witch, Kyle gets turned into a hideous beast. He then lives isolated form the world except with the company of his housekeeper (Lisa Gay-Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris) with the curse that he has to find somebody who loves him for who he is. After this point, everything in this movie goes all wrong, Kyle doesn't even feel bad being hideous and takes on to stalking a girl from his school called Lindy played by Vanessa Hudgens. She moves in to live with him and their relationship starts to develop in a slow, silly and uninteresting way that teenage girls like myself were supposed to fall for. And The ending was absolutely ruined, there was no climax, no special emotion or joy the audience was supposed to fill as the story resolves. I actually saw another alternate ending for the movie which was actually much better (see: Youtube Beastly Alternate Ending) than the one that was eventually used.

The plot for the movie was weak and what made the movie even less entertaining was the acting. The main characters played by Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens was a very weak performance as these two had no personality like in the original book by Alex Flinn and everything they did seemed to be pointless as there was no chemistry between their characters Kyle and Lindy. Try some real romance next time and it may actually work.

Girls, don't get excited about the movie, it is not as good as it sounds but I am giving it a 4 out of 10 stars as it was kind of cute and was not that terrible although it could have been much better to gain full points.