CallYap Reviews

Barbie (I) (2023)

What was all the hoopla?

[6/10 · 25 December 2023]

Decided to pick this from red box for the long weekend.

Started strong with lots of pink and plastics B&K, then the story moved into LA for the main feature. Even in LA, if you dress up as B&K, you will not get many compliments. Some of the costumes were nice and beautiful. Good to see different versions of Barbie over several generations.

Story was not very strong, but this is more a visual show than anything. Not surprised that the ending ended with Barbie in control, although the visit to the ObGyn was out of the blue. Still cannot see what the connections were. Guess this is so successful, there will definitely be sequels.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Too confusing with multiple time dimension jumps

[3/10 · 25 December 2023]

Got this for the long weekend, and this is a miss.

Started good, became confusing in the middle and then rapidly moved to the ending.

One hundred and twenty minutes is too long, and you could cut in down to ninety tops. Remove some smaller plots, girlfriend, dog mother etc, and it could run 60-70 minutes total.

Hope there will not be any sequels, and don't waste your one hundred and twenty minutes unless you really really do not have anything better to do. This reminds me of Dune, which is also another long and confusing movie that I do not recommend. Time is precious, use it to do more better things.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

More revenge than a love story.

[9/10 · 3 February 2023]

Watch this in 3D theater. If there was any reason to see the technology, this movie is it. The 3D glasses look like sunglasses nowadays.

The story is about the sea people that the family had taken refuge in. Underwater animals and plants are stunning visually. There is a mini love story with the new characters. Obviously, the key story is about one of the kids.

Cameron is known to have violent fights in his movie, and there are plenty here. Stylized fighting scenes are how I would describe it.

Three hours plus is a tad long. He could have shorten it to under three, but Cameron does what he does. There will be Part 3 soon.

Their Finest (2016)

It creeps up slowly into you

[10/10 · 16 November 2022]

Quirky British movie about personal relations and will to fight on. Not giving up the plot, but the emotions go up and down and up. The two main characters are Bill and Gemma and both brings different strength to this movie.

Trying not to write a very long summary but they do require you say a lot of stuff, and I am trying my best to comply. Great scenery and costumes. It does have some violence related to WW2, and it did catch many by surprised about 2/3 of the movie in.

Great movie to chill out with, during the holidays. Knew it was written by a woman, the characters had good depth. I rest my case.

Every Day Is a Holiday (2012)

History of a young man from Malaya during WW2 till his US adulthood

[10/10 · 24 July 2022]

Trace historical events during WW2 in Japanese occupied Malaya to his journey in US as an adult and parent.

Told from his perspective with his daughter has the filmmaker.

Sing 2 (2021)

A hit

[10/10 · 27 December 2021]

Very beautiful movie for kids and adults. There is a story, about koala making a hit show with his friends. One of the few movies where II is better than the original. Also less than two hours.

Dune (2021)

Keep it simple

[5/10 · 23 October 2021]

This is just the beginning ...

It is a very long movie. Wish they trim it down to 2 hours or less.

Be prepared if you and your family plan to watch this, because of the numerous good reviews and PG13 rating. Have lunch or dinner, and use the bathroom first. Reminded me of a Star Wars movie.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Stylized fighting

[6/10 · 4 October 2021]

Lots of stylized fighting scenes. If you have seen many Kung Fu movies, this is an average one. If you have not, it may be of interest. Story line was predictable. Throw in some dragons, flying bats etc for special effects. Some stereotyping characters, so don't be offended.

Cobra Kai (2018–2025)

Great start, violent ending

[6/10 · 27 January 2021]

Enjoyed the first two season, they paraded a string of characters from the Karate Kid movies. However, the third season turned dark. Lots of violent fighting among the kids and adults. These are street brawls, not karate choreography. Sad to see it going down the drain...

Frozen II (2019)

Get it on video

[5/10 · 23 December 2019]

You would think that after so many years, the producers and screenwriters would get it right. Don't they teach in arts school, it's the story, story and story first. Visuals are fine. Is it just me, or is male bashing in Frozen II just as the original. If you have seen both, you will understand it. Get it on video and save $13.50

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Disney prints all over

[17 December 2017]

This movie is 2+ hours long. There is no reason why it cannot be edited shorter. There are a lot of stuff that are just not necessary. I would prefer they give more time to the new stars, and delete the new characters in this movie. It is OK to give cameos to Luke, Leia etc but their time have come and passed. The story is not focused and some scenes are just not believable. For SW fans, this is heresy! Others like myself, we just want an entertaining picture. Personally, I prefer the Disney animated movie as the story is more believable and coherent. Wait for the dvd to come out or watch it at the discount cinema. No one is going to talk about this as a classic, must see movie.

Odd Squad (2014–2022)

Family show

[10/10 · 21 April 2017]

My son Patrick has been watching this from the beginning and loves it. He even continued after they switched the two main agents a few years ago. Wonder why that happened? He likes the episodes where there are math problems. I get to learn about names starting with the letter O. They also have video games associated with this TV show and that is a big hit too. I guess when Sesame Street bolted to HBO, PBS needed to fill the void and this is a good replacement.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Better than the last SW

[7/10 · 16 January 2017]

I like that this had a story rather than just a reboot! The story is book-ended by the original Star Wars, re titled a new hope. The story moves at a slower pace than I would have liked. Fell asleep twice near the same spots because it was slow, and the scene was dark for the prolonged night scenes. Did wake up in time to see the ending, with the actions and daylight views. Am I the few that noticed both the last two pictures were dominated by female heroine? More for girl power! They did bring back a few characters from the original Star Wars, so best to know who the original stars are. I guess they used a lot of cgi, or else those actors did not age much over 30+ years ago. I hear Disney plans to release one movie a year to recoup the expenses to buy out George, this is a better effort but I cannot see the franchise make mega bucks for the next one unless the story and special effects improve. Who wants to watch another remake?

La La Land (2016)

Not a date movie

[8/10 · 16 January 2017]

I don't recommend bringing a date to this movie because of .... The story is decent, the last ten minutes made me cringe hoping they do not screw up the ending. It is not difficult to guess what the ending is going to be, but the journey to the conclusion is what makes this interesting. The singing and dancing was not really that good. OK for the shower at home, but not for Hollywood. They are good actors, but you need different skill sets for the other two. He was stronger than her! When they dance in an ensemble, the lack of grace and smoothness shows. This is about young lovers, dreaming big and hitting the reality barrier and making adult choices. Not date movie!

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Am I the only one who found it a letdown?

[5/10 · 20 December 2015]

I loved the original Star Wars 1977, and this is not SW7! This is a remark of the original. The same story by three different characters against Darth Vader 2.0 and Death Star 2.0! No new story to speak of, and I could guess the ending by halfway. If you haven't seen the first one, this might be a good movie, but for the veterans I felt this was a letdown. You get to see all the old characters from SW1, and that made some cheer. Great special effects, letdown by mediocre story, yes, including that twist for those who saw the show. I would have preferred to see other syfy like Avatar which had both good effects and story. There is no ending in this movie, you'll have to watch the next one to see where the story goes, ala The Empire Strikes Back.